CHAPTER 71 – King Zlatan’s palace under the lake (Part 2)

*NARRATOR'S POV*

Magic-arrows ascended to the artificial sky inside the bubble, with only one target to hit, while Cristopher, the said target, stood in his place, looking at the women, the Rusalka, and Undines, that held their bow after shooting, putting new arrows to shoot once again. He then turned to look at the rest of the women that held orbs and staffs, as they were chanting spells, creating ice spears, hundreds of water bullets, and even big projectiles that had the form of some aquatic animals like sharks or rays.

Right when the arrows reached the highest point they started to fall over his head, while the magicians send their spells flying towards Cristopher. While the fishmen and Vodyanoys, alongside some warrior-looking Undines, took a protective stance in front of them.

"Wow… Such an organized army."-Cristopher said, right before taking out the magic sword from his coat, sending his magic power through it.

Immediately, a surging blade of magic power rose from the handle, forming a calm and still blade that looked made of shining whitish-blue metal. The sword elongated until it reached a length of two and a half meters and a width of thirty centimeters.

With a swing of the sword, a mix of winds and flames deviated the arrows that would otherwise hit him, before he started to run towards the organized army of aquatic demi-humans and monsters.

Using fast steps and an erratic movement he avoided most of the spells coming towards him, while those that couldn't be avoided were cut through with his sword. After bypassing the barrage of spells, and before the new rain of arrows could make its way towards him, he disappeared and reappeared right over the rows of warriors, sending a mana-charged swing of the sword towards the front-most Vodyanoy, which resulted in the demi-human being cut in half, while those around and behind him were sent flying back thanks to the strong impact of the mana and the bursts of winds that resulted in the swinging of the condensed mana that formed the sword, sending the place into chaos, and marking the start of the war between King Zlatan's subordinates and the warrior.

***

*KIM HAJIN'S POV*

"Mm? He didn't text me, weird, he did say he would tell me when he would enter the dungeon."-I said the next morning while looking at my smartwatch, looking for a text from Cristopher. "Oh, well, he probably forgot."-I then went towards the table, where a little seed was covered with white bandages.

"Did you already finish those?"- I asked the almond-sized seed, which was slightly trembling as if asking for more. "Wait just for a moment, I'll feed you soon.".

I then took a gauze covered in blood from my stigma, took the white one, and then covered the seed once again with the blood-filled one.

"Mm… This time is Cristopher's blood…"

{Thinking about it… How would she look like when she's born? Will she take both the appearance of Rachel and Cristopher? I never specified how she took her appearance in the novel…}-I asked myself while looking at the little seed hungrily devouring the blood that slowly, really slowly, disappeared from the gauze.

***

*CRISTOPHER'S POV*

"ARGH!"-The scream of an undine resounded once I cut her down. I've been fighting for half an hour now, and while the time was coming to an end, I was still inside the town, albeit almost reaching the palace.

{Almost at the doors.}-I thought to myself while kicking a fishman that jumped at me with a small dagger that could perfectly be called a knife.

Then I quick-stepped inside a group of vodyanoys that were running towards me, cutting the ones in front of me.

{This sword is great.}-I thought while instantly increasing the length of the sword to cut the remaining ones in one swift swing, not caring about their armors or shields. {I should try to look for something similar to this one.}

Evading an incoming water shark, I rushed towards a group of rusalka that was invoking a rain of water bullets towards me, cutting every fishman, vodyanoy, or undine that tried to stop me, finally making my way towards the group, killing each one of them and stopping the invocation of the spell.

{I guess I should start running straight towards the castle.}-I thought while looking around. The number of enemies was over two hundred. So, I either started focusing more on running towards the castle, or I'll be staying here for a while killing each of them.

With that thought in mind, I started rushing towards the castle's walls, cutting everything that tried to stop me.

After cutting, evading, and killing my way through, I made it to the gate in the castle's walls, where a big armored monster waited for me.

It was a four meters giant, who was dressed in blue-colored armor with a shark fin on the helmet and some kind of spikes on the shoulders and back, holding an anchor-like hammer and a tower shield.

"Ho… What are you? Some kind of mid-boss?"

"You can't go past this door. Intruder."-A deep voice came out of the helmet of the armored giant.

"Says who?"-I said while changing the length of the sword from three to five meters.

{I love the fact that this thing can accept mana so well, with just the right control and potency I can have a nice sword, not remotely close to the ones I have back home, but better than using just any sword here. If it can also accept Natural Energy and Draconic Energy, this shit's going to be amazing.}

"I'm this town guardian. I won't let you leave this place alive and disturb his majesty's castle."-The giant said.

"…"-I look at him. "*sigh…*"-I used quick-step to disappear and reappear right in front of it, swinging my sword towards it.

But, contrary to its giant size, the monster moved quite fast, and it stopped my sword with its shield, which was quite resistant to magic power.

"…"-I looked at the shield before crouching to evade the incoming hammer.

*BOOM!!!*-A big impact resounded when the hammer hit the ground, sending dirt and dust flying everywhere.

{That's a heavy hit.}-I thought to myself while landing a few meters behind after jumping back, looking at the immense crater that remained after the hit.

"You're fast."-The giant said.

"I should be the one saying that. For someone so big, you sure move fast."-I said while lowering my stance and rushing in towards him.

I tried to cut him again, but he still used his shield to stop my attack.

"Urg…"-A low moan escaped his mouth when my sword made an impact and he had to retreat one step, breaking his balance and stopping him from attacking, while a cut was now visible on the shield

"Even if your shield can resist magic power, it has a limit. The game is about finding that limit."-I said, before increasing once more the magic power density in my sword while keeping the same sharp edge.

{I hope the limit of this magic sword isn't low. For the moment it doesn't have any problem.}-I thought while cutting at the giant's leg.

He stopped the attack gain by stomping the shield on the ground, right in front of his leg, and while he didn't step back thanks to the support of the ground, he still groaned and a deeper cut was made to the shield.

"HA!!!"-It shouted as if encouraging himself, swinging his shield right before I continued with my next attack. I jumped back, not letting it hit me, and after landing I used the sword to stop the incoming anchor-like hammer.

*CLANG!*

"Grrr… You're strong for your size!"-The monster said before using its shield to attack me once again, but I parried it with the sword and jumped in to kick it away.

"URGH!"-It groaned again before crashing on the gate to the castle, denting them.

"Well, it's not only about physical strength but yeah… I'm not intimidated by your size."-I said while walking towards it, but had to stop to evade a magic arrow. "Mm? You're not tired?"

Looking around, I could see that some archers were once again positioning themselves around us, while I could also see some magicians and even warriors coming here to continue their attack.

"I thought you all just ran away."-I said while frowning at the incoming magic arrows and spells, right before cutting or evading them.

"We… Are not that weak to run away from an enemy that threatens our kingdom!"-The giant came rushing after standing up.

Each one of its stomps made the ground around us tremble, but this didn't stop the march of the warriors coming or affect the stability of the archers and magicians.

{Mm…}

"Oh well."-I said as lightning started to travel around my body. "Time to step up the power."-I smiled, before disappearing from the spot and reappearing in front of the running giant cutting at him.

It stopped the attack just in time, but even then, the shield couldn't hold on to this attack that was faster, stronger, and with even more mana on it.

"AAAARGHHH!!!"-The giant screamed as the pain invaded its arm. But even then, it used the scream to gain strength and drop its hammer down on me, only that I wasn't there anymore.

*BOOM!!!*

"Grr… Huh…? Wher-"-It stopped and turned around, but not with enough speed, as the arm that held the hammer went flying up. "Huh?"-The giant just looked at its missing arm.

"Playtime's over."-I said as I beheaded it, before turning towards the scared magicians and archers and pointing my left index and middle finger at them. "Chain of Lightning."-I said, and a bolt of lightning went out of my hand towards the first archer, electrocuting it, before jumping towards the next one closer to it, electrocuting it and once again jumping towards the next one closest to it.

The spell jumped from target to target, attacking anyone closer than 20 meters to the last target it hit.

Looking at their fallen comrades, the warriors stopped their march, not knowing what to do.

I just looked at them, before turning towards the dented gate and cutting it with my five-meter-long sword. They just stood there for a moment, before running towards me once again, but not even looking at the sky, where a lightning orb was slightly growing without no one knowing until it transformed into a ball the size of a basketball.

"Idiots."-I said while passing through the gate, while the orb of lighting exploded and send a rain of lightning towards the running warriors, killing them. "I wanted to save mana… Oh well, doesn't matter. I'm more worried about tiring myself rather than staying out of mana."- I said once inside the garden. "Ho? You guys look stronger than the ones from before."

Right in front of me, stood another army, although smaller in size, than the one from before. But the difference wasn't just in its size, as this one was wearing more finely crafted armors.

Completely covered in steel, the warriors here looked almost the same as the giant from before, the difference was that they didn't have the spikes on their shoulders or backs, and their armor wasn't of a clear blue color, but the metallic whitish-grey color of steel.

From afar, Rows of crossbowmen were lined with their weapon pointing at me. While from the top of two open-ceiling towers at both sides of the castle, small groups of totally robbed magicians stood with staff.

And to end all of this. From the top of a tower in the center of the castle, a beautiful Rusalka stood there, wearing what could perfectly be the combination of steel armor and a robe, and with five ocean-blue orbs floating behind her back while forming a spinning pentagon.

*sigh…* {I knew this one was also a stage dungeon… But did they have to take it this literally? I mean… At this point. I'm pretty sure that once I get into the castle, Royal Guards and Knights will appear.}-I thought after letting out a sigh.

"You've dared to intrude our king's palace! Now is time for you to pay for your crime and the blood of our citizens! All soldiers! Attack!"-From the top of the castle, the woman said, with what seemed to be some kind of sound amplification magic, making all the warriors in the front rush towards me, while the crossbowmen shot their magic bolts and the magicians on the towers started to chant either in groups or three or individually, making different spells appear on top of the castle, all of them probably aimed at me.

"This seems more like a game than a dungeon…"-I murmured to myself while thinking about that stage's intro that the woman said, before returning the size of the sword to a two-meters-long blade and running towards the marching crowd of warriors. The hunting was about to start again.

***

*NARRATOR'S POV*

Somewhere in Seoul, South Korea, early in the morning on a Sunday in an almost empty and small street, two seemingly normal guys were looking around the place that months ago suffered from the attack of monsters.

"The first time he got recorded was here."-Said one of the guys while looking at the street.

"Look there."-The other guy pointed towards a store's front that point directly towards the position that the other guy was looking at.

"Mm? A store? What about it?"

"Idiot. Look closer, don't you see something else?"

"Huh… It's a food store? What about it? Are you hungry?"

"*sigh…* You're exasperating… Look over there. It has a camera!"-The guy, getting tired of his partner's lack of attention to details, finally spoke. "If we get the recordings of that camera, from that day, we may be able to find where he came from, and maybe slowly start tracking him down. Don't you think?"

"Um… That's a great plan… But… How would we get those recordings? It's not like we can just ask for them, right?"-The partner said.

"…"-While the other guy just stood there as if looking at someone stupid. "We're goddamn-"-He started to shout, but suddenly remembered where he was, and stopped. "*sigh…* We're Djinns… Why would we ask for them, when we can just plan an attack and rob them from the recordings?"-The guy finally whispered.

"I'm sure mister Kim Hakpyo wouldn't like that… It would attract too much attention."-The partner said with a frown.

"There's no problem. Trust me. Mister Silasen ordered us to find any clue, using any means necessary for it. I'm sure if we talk to him, we may be able to ask for some help to rob that store's recordings."-The guy said.

"Well… If you're sure, Alork… I'll go with that plan."-The partner said.

"Trust me, Ryan. We'll find that guy soon!"-Alork said before laughing, while Ryan just looked at his partner with worried eyes.