Chapter 78 – Iron Golem
Too too too too too..
Three helicopters in Titan’s possession rose into the air.
Kahng-woojin, the Holy Maiden, Titan’s Guild master, and 10 Holy Knights were the only ones being sent on this operation.
Deacon still had a worried expression on his face.
“Will it be ok if we don’t have any backup?”
He whispered towards the Holy Maiden.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Still, our fire power….”
The US Roused support team had a little bit of a different way of operating compared to the Korean teams. If observed in microcosm, the Korean support teams were like mercenary bands and a large guild like the Titans were like Army units.
Instead of a small number of Roused, the Titan’s team relied on overwhelming firepower to deal with the Dungeon Breaks.
“If it’s fire power, that man’s familiars is all we need.”
The Holy Maiden still couldn’t forget how Woojin used his familiar Lich and the force of Skeleton Magicians. She watched Flame magic fall from the sky like rain. The scene had been too terrible of a disaster to describe it as a spectacular sight.
“I can’t call Janice yet.”
Woojin had been disinterestedly looking out the window when he said the words in passing.
“What?”
“I also can’t summon the Lich.”
“How….”
“They are sealed.”
“…….”
The Holy Maiden’s eyes shook violently when she heard Woojin’s words.
Sealed? The Immortal’s power? That vast Necromancy magic?
“The Death Knights….”
“Soon, their seals will be released, but I can’t call them out yet.”
The warriors that never shedded blood or tears.
The Commanders of the Skeleton Soldiers.
The spearhead of the Undead Army.
If they were still sealed, then the familiar he had next to him was….
She was sure the ball of light that took up a seat inside the helicopter was the Titan of Destruction. There was the alien energy within the shadows, and the Illusion Witch captured by Rashmode…
‘If it’s only them….’
Woojin grinned as if he could read the Holy Maiden’s thoughts.
“What? You want to take a shot at me?”
The Holy Maiden was startled.
The image of him grinning made him look very dangerous.
“I don’t know what you are talking about….”
“I can see your eyes rolling around trying to size me up.”
“…….”
“I’ll be your opponent any time you want. However, even if you want to go against me, wait until a later time.”
He didn’t care if the Holy Maiden wanted to turn hostile against him. He knew what he had done in the past, so it would be a joke to expect her to look at him in a better light. The only reason why the Holy Maiden was being careful was because of the fear that blanketed her memories.
If the Holy Maiden did attack him, it wasn’t as if Woojin was helpless.
However, he had to rescue Bibi first.
Even if he weren’t at Max Level, he could handle one Holy Maiden.
“I’m am merely observing the Monarch.”
“That’s funny.”
Woojin grinned as he spoke.
“Their base is up ahead.”
“Huh?”
At the helicopter pilot’s words, Deacon’s eyes became round when he looked at what lay in front of them. The farmland was an empty plain. Still, how can a base like this be located so close to New York?
Deacon let out a sound of disbelief.
Woojin started to track the trace left by Bibi.
When he looked towards the demolished building, he felt Bibi’s energy.
At the same time, he felt a sticky and unpleasant energy nearby.
“Rashmode.”
Woojin’s gaze became cold.
*
The enormous farmstead held a helicopter, military vehicles, and even tanks….
At a glance, it looked like a private collection of a rich military enthusiast. In truth, it was a warehouse with weapons procured by the Mafia.
From a room located inside the warehouse, a voice of a man swearing half the time was leaking out.
“Nyahhng.”
Bibi had been crouching within the darkness. She quietly approached the man and her ears twitched.
[Boss. He failed. The mark is still alive.]
“What? Say it again!”
[The target is alive. We are returning right now.]
“Hurry up and come back here soon.”
Jack was the boss of the River’s organization. After ending the call with the scout he had sent into the city, he let out a string of swear words.
“Shit!”
“Boss. What’s wrong.”
“Assad failed.”
“What?”
He never imagined such a thing could happen. Assad was the best assassin in the Middle East, yet he had failed.
“This means he isn’t an average Necromancer.”
“What’s the point of saying such an obvious statement?”
An ordinary Roused of the Magician class would have a very hard time killing Assad. The fact that the Necromancer came out of the Dungeon meant he had killed Assad himself.
“Do you think our base is compromised?”
“Eeek…. I knew we shouldn’t have worked with those Middle Eastern bastards.”
His stress continued to pile on as he thought about what could happen in the future. Since their target was still alive, a massive investigation would be under way soon.
“It’s ok. We’ve already decided to abandon this base.”
“But we still have some research to do….”
“…We’ll have to move up the timetable a little bit.”
Jack put on his vest. The tactical vest had two pistols holstered on it.
“I’ll be back after I meet the professor. Beef up the security, then arrange it so that we can leave immediately.”
“Yes, boss. How much should we pack?”
“You idiot! We are throwing it all away. We will gather the research results, then we’ll blow the base up.”
“…Yes, boss.”
They were outdated tanks, missiles, and military vehicles. It was still a huge loss, but they had no choice. If they ran away while they took everything, then it would be too noticeable.
The members of the organized crime syndicate started to pack up in a hurry, then started to install explosives in various locations.
Jack exited the office building and then entered a small concrete building placed at the edge of the farm.
Ggi-reek, ggeek.
When the thick steel door opened, a stairway leading underground was revealed.
If the farmstead was the River organization’s weapons warehouse, the underground bunker was the source of all their funds. It was the New Dungeon Research Facility.
The Rivers organization received backings from US defense industries to help in their research. They had found a suitable location for the research and they protected the research staff.
Rivers used to be a small-time organization. Their meteoric rise to becoming a large crime organization was mostly due to the strong backing they received from the defense industries.
Tuk, tuk.
Jack’s footsteps rang out in the underground passageway. He stopped when he felt something amiss.
“Who is it!”
He quickly drew his pistol and aimed it towards his rear.
“Nyahng.”
Jack saw a cat tilting its head, stopping after coming down from the stairs.
“What? Fuck off.”
When he saw the stray cat, Jack lowered his guard and continued down the stairs. Jack tried to take loud steps to threaten the cat. The cat only paused for a moment before it continued to follow behind him.
Jack ignored the cat as he descended the stairs to the research facility.
*
The research facility was deserted.
At the end of the stairway, there was a space where the research staff could sleep. There were only a couple of computers,as well as many strange looking machines.
The only thing remarkable about the space within the underground bunker was the fact that it had expanded in every direction like ant tunnels. Moreover, bloodstones were piled up inside the tunnels.
“Professor Riola! We have to move our base.”
Riola, the person in charge of the research, frowned at Jack’s words.
“I’m at the cusp of finishing my research. I can’t move right now.”
“There is a chance our base is compromised..”
“Didn’t we plan on moving in two days?”
If their original plan had held up, then that would be the case. They had fired a missile within New York, so the US Department of Defense would be looking for the culprits as if they were combing for a tick. After a certain amount of time, they planned on letting the DOD find their base. However, their target was still alive, so they had to change the time table.
They could be caught much earlier.
Even their sponsors wouldn’t be able to do anything if the US government retaliated. The government had the backing of the public, and they would be angered over the terrorist act.
They had to pull out as fast they were able to.
After a lengthy argument, Riola backed off.
The calculations were already all done. They just had to conduct their last experiment and collect the resultant data.
“All right. Just give me 3 hours. We’ll leave after I attempt my last experiment.”
Bibi quietly hid herself inside the darkness as she thoroughly explored the underground lair.
‘Something’s strange.’
She felt a strange sense of danger and it was getting on her nerves.
The research staff busily placed bloodstones in various locations. Professor Riola opened a black box and took out a bright purple gem.
‘Dimensional Fragment!’
Bibi’s eyes shown, since she had seen this item once before.
Professor Riola arranged the bloodstones like a magic circle. He placed the gem in the center, then he turned to look at the other researchers.
“We can head up now.”
Jack’s boring wait had come to an end. He went up the stairs with the researchers. When everyone disappeared, the Dimensional Fragment rose into the empty air.
“Nyahng. Something very grave is happening here-ahong.”
Bibi was the only one left inside the bunker. She had an uneasy feeling as magical energy swirled around the Dimensional Fragment.
The bloodstones placed around the surrounding let out a hum. One after another, the bloodstones rose into the air as it emitted Mana.
“Ooh-ook. Something bad is going to happen if this continues-ahong.”
Bibi felt something was wrong, so she started running up the stairs. Before Bibi could clear the stairs, the pillar of light shot out from the underground bunker and into the sky.
Pah-pah-paht!
When the amazing spectacle receded, the entrance of the underground bunker returned to its original appearance.
“Hurry up and bring it over here.”
With a pounding heart, Professor Riola activated the instrument that measured the Dungeon Energy. A fellow researcher was operating the machine and his eyes turned round when he saw the rising value.
“Uh uh? It seems we’ve succeeded.”
“What’s the measured value?”
“
It’s about 5 stars. Uh… It…it went past 6 stars.”
“Great!”
Rioloa made a fist. He will overtake Toppler and be known as the world’s top authority on Dungeons.
He accomplished something no one else had ever done.
He was able to create a new Dungeon that wasn’t located inside a subway.
“Uh uh? The value is rising sharply. This value is… It’s a 7 star Dungeon….”
“What?”
Riola was surprised as he looked over the numbers given by the measuring instrument. This was a value never before seen.
Pah-paht!
A powerful shock wave came out of the Dungeon. The measuring equipment and the poorlu built ceiling of the farmstead collapsed. The shock wave pushed back the tanks within the warehouse, and the other vehicles were thrown backwards as if a tornado had descended.
Riola and Jack, who were near the Dungeon, was thrown to the floor and sent rolling away. Several unlucky people died immediately. The other, more unlucky people were at death’s doo, letting out ragged breaths.
“Koo-hahahah. Which human summoned me, Rashmode?”
A bizarre phlegm-filled voice was heard as Rashmode squeezed through the narrow door to the Dungeon. His eyes twinkled as he looked at the cat within his grasp. Her hackles were raised.
“Ho-oh. It’s a succubus with a very familiar energy signature…”
“Nyahhng.”
Bibi glared at Rashmode, but she couldn’t do anything. Ggaebi, who was in the shadows of the reconnaissance team inside the office, slipped out.
*
The helicopter landed near the farm.
Woojin walked without any hesitation and a worried Dolsae followed behind him.
Deacon, the Holy Maiden, and the nervous Holy Knights brought up the rear. His eyes traveled up the rough unpaved road as he headed towards the collapsed farmstead.
Woojin saw the poorly equipped humans, who couldn’t run away, looking towards Rashmode.
“Hahahaha. It really was the Immortal’s succubus.”
Rashmode held the limp Bibi in one hand, and he roared with laughter. Woojin narrowed his eyes.
“I guess it isn’t synchronized yet.”
“Koo-kook. Earth is still unripe. I came out of curiosity. I wanted to see who had formed the summoning magic circle. I would have never guess it was the Immortal!”
Rashmode seemed to be genuinely delighted by the current situation.
“The Immortal ran away and hid on earth?”
“Return Bibi to me.”
“Ah ha. This little missy?”
Rashmode shook the limp cat in his grasp.
“I know the Immortal’s familiars can’t be truly killed. They are similar to us in that aspect.”
Yes. Trahnet’s commanders were like leeches.
“Koo-kook. I know, better than others, the pain and despair of death.”
When one is revived, it doesn’t undo the death one experiences. The memory of going through death was truly frightening. As one remembered the experience, the fear one felt increased. Woojin didn’t want Bibi to experience the pain and despair caused by death.
“I guess dementia has finally come to you? Didn’t you die around five times by my hands?”
“Ah, that’s right. That did happen.”
Rashmode let out a cheerful laugh.
“However, it was the version of you that hadn’t been initialized.”
“…….”
Rashmode looked as if he was trying to see through Woojin. Woojin’s face had already hardened.
“Let’s see if you are confident enough to challenge me once again. Koo-kook.”
Rashmode glanced at the Holy Maiden and headed towards the underground Dungeon.
“Let’s leave our minions out of this. Come at me. Let’s have a fair fight.”
Rashmode let out an unpleasant laugh then he headed inside the Dungeon.
Before Woojin could walk forward, the Holy Maiden grabbed him.
“It’s a trap.”
“It always is.”
“…….”
“There’s no trap that I can’t overcome.”
The Immortal’s track record bore this out.
Woojin was about to head into the Dungeon when the monsters rushed out.
“Koo-rah-rahk!”
The members of the Rivers organization ran away from the Dungeon when they saw the endless flow of monsters. Woojin laughed when he saw the monsters pour out.
“Leave all our minions?”
Rashmode was sending all the monsters out from inside the Dungeon. The Dungeon Break couldn’t happen without the express consent of the Dungeon’s owner. Basically, the owner could create a Dungeon Break any time the owner wanted.
All the monsters from within the Dungeon was sent out. The Holy Maiden had a frightened expression when several hundred monsters came out.
This was Rashmode’s choice.
Rashmode didn’t want to give Woojin any corpses, so he was giving up his underlings.
“Dolsae.”
Weeeeeeeeng.
It seemed Dolsae’s vibration was more intense, since he was worried about Bibi.
“I’ll rescue her.”
Weeeeng.
He felt Dolsae’s sadness, worry, and anger.
“These trashes…”
Woojin extracted all his magical energy, and he gave it to Dolsae.
“You sweep them up as you like.”
Weeeeng.
Woojin opened his Inventory. He took out a magic potion and drank it. Then, he started walking towards the monsters. As if they were trained dogs, the monsters held firm without making any moves towards Woojin as he walked past them. The monsters kept order as they unleashed a killing intent. It was like watching a horde before their charge.
He felt a familiar feeling.
‘This is it.’
Woojin laughed at this nonsense. He had fought Trahnet’s army ad nauseam, and now he’d have to fight them once again. So why was his heart beating faster?
When Woojin entered the Dungeon, the monsters immediately went into a frenzy.
“Kwahhhhhh!”
“W…what should we do? We should have brought backup…”
Deacon began to have late regrets about everything when a storm started to form around Dolsae.
Gi-gi-gi-geek.
The tanks scattered around the surrounding was pulled towards Dolsae. The helicopters, vehicles, and missiles was also dragged along. Even the steel framework of the barn and the thick steel doors flew towards Dolsae.
Goo-goo-gook.
The helicopters were crushed and the tanks were being disassembled. The pieces then started to reassemble themselves. The missiles attached themselves to Dolsae’s shoulder and the blades of the helicopters were attached onto his arms.
“Goo-ohhhhhhh!”
The Steel Titan let out a roar and the monsters flinched back in surprise.
The Holy Maiden swallowed drily.
“The Titan of Destruction….”
This summoned being was rumored to be the most ruthless being amongst the Immortal’s familiars.
The Steel Golem started running rampant.