The fiends were agitated after losing seven allies in an instant. They had no reason or the patience to hide their frustration.

[...!]

Their attacks grew fiercer, with the Leviathan as their target. The serpent’s blue scales quickly started to blacken, losing their ever-bright hue. It could only mean that one of the fiends was using poison.

“Binding Chains! Water Shield! Wall!” Skaya continuously casted spells. The powerful fiends heading toward her didn’t allow her a moment of rest.

‘Their attacks are powerful, maybe because of the demonic energy.’ 

She hadn’t even figured out all their skills yet. They probably still had a few cards up their sleeves. No, she was sure they still had some tricks. It wouldn’t make sense for the Fiend Association’s elite troops to not have any.

Woosh! 

Behind Skaya, a woman with crow wings cut through the wind and charged toward her.

“Fire Wall!”

Fwoosh! 

A blazing wall of fire appeared in front of her.

‘Since I blocked off the front, she’ll probably come from the side.’ 

Skaya felt safe enough to turn away from the front.

Woosh! 

There was a large flash as something came through the flames.

“Too bad! I have fire resistance!”

The fiend was an archer and an assassin, but it wouldn’t be satisfying for her to snipe Skaya. She made a frontal attack, gripping a dagger.

“…?!” However, her blade didn’t even make a scratch on the Archmage. She looked down at the dagger, which was about three centimeters from Skaya’s skin.

“Too bad. I have seven mana shields protecting me around the clock.”

“W-what…”

“Still, you were the first one to break through one today. Congrats.” 

A celebration wouldn’t be complete without fireworks. As such, Skaya’s lips moved. “Explosion.”

At her command, the magic power within her shot through her circuits and exploded outward, creating a beautiful explosion.

Bang! 

The fiend was defenseless as she took the brunt of the powerful direct attack before directly falling into the ocean.

‘I’ve been too careless.’ 

Skaya hadn’t expected for there to be a fiend with such high fire resistance.

She looked around.

‘And what’s taking him so long?’ 

The powerful presence she had sensed from Seo Jun-Ho had disappeared at some point. Honestly, she couldn’t even sense him anymore.

“Gilbe, where’s Jun-Ho right now?”

[He’s headed…]

“Ow! Ear! My ear…!”

[...Over, right now.] Gilbe replied after having just severed a fiend’s ear with a bullet.

“Wait! Now that I think about it, he can’t fly. Did he get a boat or something?” Her mouth fell open, appalled. Riding a boat in a place like this was suicide.

‘But carrying him while I use Fly is a bit…’ 

She chewed on her fingernails, deep in thought.

[...!]

The Leviathan wailed again. The thrashing of its enormous body was enough to create huge tidal waves.

“Levi!” A spear had pierced through its scales, with long chains protruding from the end.

“Tie it up with this!”

“For a monster as strong as the Leviathan, we must implant the demon jade when it’s exhausted enough.”

The fiends were reaching the final stage of their hunt. At this rate, the Leviathan might actually fall under their control.

“No…!” When she tried to interfere again, two fiends turned their attention toward her.

“You should stay out of this now.”

“I must say, I’m impressed. I didn’t think you’d interrupt us so much, Archmage.”

“...” Skaya’s eyes were solemn as she faced them. There had never been fiends this powerful in the past.

‘Jun-Ho, that idiot. What’s taking him so long?’ 

She spat in frustration, but her face suddenly changed. “Huh? Is that…Jun-Ho?” As she stared across the ocean, the fiends snorted.

“That might’ve worked 26 years ago, but not anymore…”

“Huh? What is that?”

“...” The fiend scowled as they were interrupted by their comrade. “Are you dumb? That’s obviously an illusion. How could you fall for something so obvious?”

“No, there really is a person down there.” The fiend turned at their comrade’s words, and their face grew confused.

“...What’s with him?”

They were currently at sea, meaning the only thing below them was water.

“I know it sounds crazy…But is that person walking here?”

“...”

As they said, it really was crazy. How could someone possibly walk on water? There were skills that allowed people to swim fast, hold their breath for a long time, or even slide across the ocean. But what kind of skill would let someone walk on water?

Moreover, the figure seemed relaxed as they walked on water.

“An ice umbrella… A jet-black coat…”

“Wait, an ice umbrella?” The fiend’s eyes flashed. “They told us on the communication line earlier that Pride was killed by an ice elemental user.”

They hadn’t had much time to think about Pride’s killer during the battle with the Leviathan, but they knew who it was.

“...So that’s Seo Jun-Ho?”

“It should be. He’s wanted by the Fiend Association, especially by Nazad Hallow-nim.”

“I bet we’d get a hefty reward if we brought him back.”

Although they hadn’t forgotten that he was the same Player who had killed Pride, the look in their eyes changed.

‘Pride was pretty strong.’

‘We weren’t in the same Squadron, but the fact that he became a Squadron leader means that he had proved himself.’ 

However, the members of the Despair Squadron were confident that they would have been on even ground with Pride if they were to fight him as a team. Actually, they were pretty sure that they could defeat him. The reason they thought this way was thanks to none other than Gu Shi-On.

‘Our captain had always said something about Pride.’

‘He said he wouldn’t have been able to become a Squadron leader in any other group.’

‘...So doesn’t that mean he wasn’t that much stronger than me?’

‘Even though Seo Jun-Ho killed him… He doesn’t seem all that impressive.’

‘He’s only been doing this for two years, but we have about forty years of combined experience.’ 

However, they were having a huge misunderstanding. The fiends in the Fiend Association weren’t idiots, and they knew that Pride wouldn’t have been able to lead a Squadron if he had been weak. But because of Gu Shi-On's constant complaints, they became biased against Pride. Naturally, they weren’t that impressed by Jun-Ho.

Seo Jun-Ho finally came to a stop.

Fwooosh-

Even as the tidal waves crashed and raged, they never touched him.

“One…” He looked up and counted the fiends. “Two, three, four… Eleven? There are only eleven of them left?” 

It was a little disappointing, but this would do. His opponents weren’t weak, and they were part of the Despair Squadron as well.

‘They should be pretty sturdy, right?’ 

Seo Jun-Ho felt his heart beating against his chest. He swallowed in anticipation.

‘I’m excited.’ 

He could still clearly remember the last time he had felt this way.

‘That was the first day I used Watchguard of Darkness in battle.’ 

He had been so excited that he had spent all night tossing and turning. It was a similar feeling to what a middle schooler might experience the night before they bought the newest smartphone model.

“Heh.”

“Pfft!”

“Hahahaha!”

The fiends burst out in laughter. Even though it was raining and they were several dozen meters away, they could still clearly see him.

“That rascal… He’s trembling all over.”

“Of course, he’s scared. He has probably never faced this many fiends in his life.”

“Too bad for him. It’s too late to go back.”

The fiends started to give off a wild aura as demonic energy shone in their eyes. Their dark energy seemed to make even the raindrops murky.

Skaya quickly flew down to him. “Jun-Ho.” 

She looked both pleased and worried. “You changed a lot, didn’t you? You’re cooler now. Though, you’re still not my type.”

She looked around, but the Frost Queen had already run away. “Fuze told us after we tortured him. You were trapped there for a year, right?”

“Yeah…”

“...I’m jealous. So that’s how you got strong.” She actually did look envious.

“You should go in there if you ever get the chance. I've learned a lot.”

Nowadays, Players had no time to reflect on themselves. Well, Gu Shi-On had probably never used his skill for that reason either.

“How many do you want?” she asked excitedly. Her trustworthy teammate had come, and they could finally crush all the fiends.

However, Seo Jun-Ho shook his head. “Sorry, but I want you to leave them all to me.”

“...You’re not even gonna give me one?”

“I heard from Gilbe that you’ve already killed four of them,” he explained.

“B-but that was with Reverse Gravity… I haven’t even gotten a taste…”

“I heard that you killed dozens of fiends downtown. Was that not enough?”

“Hmph.” Skaya wilted. There had barely been any Squadron members there.

‘If I knew this would happen, I would’ve just given them all to Gilbe…’ 

It felt like she’d given up the main course for mediocre appetizers. “Alright, fine. But if I think you’re in danger, I’m gonna intervene,” she grumbled.

“Thanks. I’ll be counting on you.” Seo Jun-Ho made another ice umbrella and held it out to her.

He always had a good sense for this kind of thing…

“A bit of advice: don’t let your guard down. They’re no weaklings,” she warned.

“I know.” He knew all too well. The Squadron members had been chasing him for so long. Now that he had actually come across some formidable opponents, he wouldn’t let himself make a mistake. “It might be a little boring this time. Fights are only fun to watch when there’s a back-and-forth.”

Seo Jun-Ho stared up at the sky and looked around. “My neck hurts looking up at them.”

However, before Skaya could offer help, an ice pillar shot out of the ocean, propelling him upward.

“...Ha, he must’ve lost it completely.”

“He doesn’t even have a flying skill. How’s he gonna fight up in the air?”

They also didn’t like that Skaya was just waiting in the back. She didn’t seem like she intended to participate in the battle.

“Child. Bring the Archmage and the Envoy if you don’t want to be ripped apart.”

“A mission is a mission, but we like having strong opponents.”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho watched them silently, his heart pounding in anticipation. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t suppress the laugh that squeezed out of his lips.

“...Heh.” He looked crazed and excited.

“...”

“...”

The fiends’ faces darkened. It was enough to change their initial plans.

“You’re laughing? Right in front of us?”

“Sure, laugh while you can.”

Fiends were selfish by nature. They had no morals and no interest in maintaining the law and order of the world. Everything had to go their way, and they killed anyone they didn’t like. Naturally, they wanted to kill Seo Jun-Ho because they didn’t like him.

“Rivero, get rid of the storm clouds.”

“I don’t like you telling me what to do. But you’re right.”

The fiend in the back, Rivero, took in a deep breath. When he exhaled, a powerful gust tore the clouds apart, and the rain stopped.

“We heard that you made good use of Dread’s rain before.”

“There’s no need to give you extra weapons.”

“...You guys are good.” Seo Jun-Ho’s praise was sincere. They knew how to fight, and they didn’t let their guards down. They had already gotten rid of one of his weapons even before the battle started.

“Hup!” Rivero inhaled once more. This time, he aimed at Seo Jun-Ho. He didn’t bother saying anything else before attacking.

‘This was the first big lesson I learned in the goshiwon.’ 

Now that it was no longer raining, Seo Jun-Ho didn’t need his umbrella anymore. The sharp gale approached him, but he was still casually folding up his umbrella.

“That idiot… What is he doing?” Had he not even noticed the attack? Rivero looked disappointed. “He’s already dead.”

There was nowhere he could go, as he only had one ice pillar. It wasn’t like an ice elemental user could fly. It was so easy, but it was enough to dispel Rivero's malice.

“...First.”

But in that case, who was the owner of the low voice coming from behind him?

‘Why is there a voice coming from behind me? I’m in the rearguard…’ 

That gave way to another question.

‘...He disappeared?’ 

Seo Jun-Ho was no longer standing on the ice pillar.

Before his questions could be answered, an umbrella made of ice stabbed through his ribs.

“Let’s start with seventy percent output.”

Eleven pairs of eyes stared at the ice pillar, but there was no longer any light in Rivero’s eyes.