878

 [Chapter 219]

[The Mastermind]

Samsan-ri, Yeongok-myeon, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do.

Many monsters lived in the mountains untouched by human hands.

As a result, people always had to monitor the area to protect the highway.

But on this day, the ecosystem in the mountains suddenly began to undergo a massive change.

Crack!

The distortion began at Songcheon Valley.

Players who detected signs of distortion and were dispatched thought it would be a 4th rank monster until then.

But contrary to the players' expectations, the distortion didn't burst and instead grew, invading the entire area.

"Oh, oh... This shouldn't be happening!"

"You idiot, is this the time to say that? Shouldn't we quickly contact the clan and ask for reinforcements?"

Crack!

In scale, it was above 3rd rank.

The monster hadn't appeared yet.

The players were startled and hurriedly tried to contact Gangneung city.

Just then, the distortion writhed.

Crack!

Monsters appear from within the distortion.

Snakes that looked like they were covered in armor.

On the heads of the snakes, which also looked like dragons, were long horns.

There were two of them.

""""...."""

What, what are those?

Can two monsters of such rank come out of a distortion?

The players were bewildered by a situation contrary to the common sense they knew.

Kyaaaa!!

While they couldn't come to their senses, the snakes moved.

As the two snakes moved their long bodies, trees fell one after another.

And that's not all.

Starting with the two, large amounts of distortion were detected in various places.

Snakes popped out from within them.

Smaller snakes than the giant ones.

They were filling the surrounding roads and forests, coming out into human territory.

"Pre-prepare for battle!!"

Someone shouted urgently then.

The players tried to prepare for battle, gripping their weapons.

Crack!

The snakes surge forward.

The sight and sound of these creatures without hands or feet crawling on the ground was terribly horrifying.

Especially the two horned snakes were emitting an intense pressure.

It was difficult to even resist.

It was then.

Kyaaak!!

The eyes of the giant snakes flashed.

People who met the eyes that momentarily flashed yellow couldn't respond in time.

Their bodies were swept up in petrification starting from their feet, turning to stone.

Before the battle even began, 20% of the players who were ignorant about the enemy were caught in petrification.

Crack!

Afterwards, the snakes advanced as they were.

The players had no choice but to give up responding and retreat.

That day, the snakes occupied the roads and mountains, paralyzing Gangneung city's transportation.

The Mana Management Organization located in Gangneung city considered this situation equivalent to a disaster and requested support from the Seoul Mana Management Organization.

The Seoul Mana Management Organization declared the commanders as 3rd rank overrank Twins Basilisk.

☆

The Mana Management Organization immediately summoned the Twelve Seats.

Two 3rd rank overrank monsters.

Given the situation, people's expressions were not good at all.

They listened to the briefing of Twelve Seat <Index > Yoon Seong-jin who appeared through the beam projector.

[The individuals' name is Twins Basilisk. The place where these monsters were first discovered is Montpellier, France. Well, such things aren't very important.]

Yoon Seong-jin quickly skipped over unnecessary information.

Soon, a photo of the monster taken up close appeared on the screen.

[As they belong to the Basilisk family, people who make eye contact with these guys fall under petrification magic. So you have no choice but to avoid their gaze before their eyes shine, or defend by greatly increasing your mana resistance.]

""""...."""

[If you fall into a petrified state, immediately receive treatment from a nearby player. Once petrification progresses to a certain extent, treatment becomes impossible.]

Monsters that use petrification magic.

They were tricky opponents, as just making eye contact could lead to petrification.

And there weren't just one, but two of these creatures.

People frowned.

But the terror of the Twins Basilisk didn't end there.

[This is the trickiest part, these guys don't die even when killed. When they die, they revive on the spot, and until the revival is complete, they nullify any external impacts.]

Monsters cannot avoid annihilation if their mana stones are taken.

But according to <Index >, Twins Basilisk don't disappear even if they lose their mana stones.

Even if the stolen mana stone turns to dust, a new mana stone is created inside their body, so they come back to life even if killed.

People who didn't know about Twins Basilisk couldn't help but doubt their ears when they heard this.

"Then how do we kill them?"

At that moment, Im Ga-eul asked.

Having heard information about the monsters in advance, she had a more composed face compared to others.

Nevertheless, her face was also somewhat hardened.

Yoon Seong-jin's answer was simple.

[You have to kill both at the same time. The commanders born from the same distortion carry each other's mana stones in their bodies, not their own. So even if one individual is annihilated, since that individual's mana stone is in the other individual, it comes back to life. To put it simply, the mana stones of the two commanders act like life vessels.]

In the end, to subjugate the commanders, both individuals must be subjugated simultaneously.

People couldn't say anything.

It's already tough to deal with one 3rd rank overrank individual, but they have to kill two individuals at the same time.

If the timing is off, the dying individuals will revive.

It's exactly the same as before regression.

That's why we formed two attack teams to subjugate the two back then...

Eun-ha recalled his memories from before regression.

If the situation flows like before regression, many Twelve Seats will be deployed to face the two commanders.

As a result, the commanders are subjugated, but in the process, they cause a lot of damage.

Most of the deployed forces die, and most of the survivors suffer mental problems.

<Yama > Kang Hyeon-cheol and <Thunder God> Lee Do-jin lose their lives as the price for defeating the commanders.

<Holy Mother> Park Hye-rim goes mad.

<Silent > Yu Su-jin goes missing due to this incident.

There were a lot of unsettling things back then too. Of all people, those who took Baek-yeon's side ended up leaving this world...

Because of that incident, the Fairy government was once again put on the chopping block by the citizens.

Im Baek-yeon, who was the 2nd Fairy at the time, became politically isolated as most of the people who had been on her side met their fate.

She couldn't exert any influence on the formation of the 4th generation Twelve Seats and could only be swayed by them.

If the appearance of Guma was the catalyst for Im Ga-eul's fall from being the Fairy,

The distortion that occurred in Gangneung was the catalyst that made Im Baek-yeon, who became the 2nd Fairy at 17, a complete puppet.

"Thank you for the briefing, <Index >-nim. So in the end, to deal with the two, we need to form two attack teams, right?"

What if such an incident happens again, and it spreads with similar damage as before regression?

There was no need to think deeply.

It's obvious.

The people who would become the Fairy's sword will all die, and in hurriedly filling the vacant positions, Twelve Seat positions will be given to those who aren't even loyal to the Fairy.

Eun-ha quietly gritted his teeth.

Thinking like that, he wondered if perhaps someone had intentionally caused this incident.

So he raised his hand.

"Fairy."

"What is it, Pandora Clan Lord?"

Im Ga-eul was about to divide the attack force into two teams.

She allowed Eun-ha to speak without being displeased by his sudden interruption.

"Pandora Clan will also participate in the attack on Twins Basilisk."

Before regression, he had no authority and couldn't even participate in the meeting.

Since Fog Flower Party wasn't a clan, they couldn't participate in the subjugation battle.

But now it was different.

Eun-ha had power.

He could actively participate in the attack.

To this, Im Ga-eul smiled brightly after hearing Eun-ha's words.

"I was about to ask Pandora Clan to participate in the attack as well."

Im Ga-eul turned her head.

Her gaze moved from Eun-ha to Jin Pa-rang and Han Chang-jin sitting on either side.

"<Lord >, <King of Shadows>, <Navy Wind>. Please participate in the attack by mobilizing Pandora Clan members and forces from the areas you currently manage."

That day at the meeting, the Twelve Seats participating in the attack were decided.

Adding <Thunder God> Lee Do-jin, <Yama > Kang Hyeon-cheol, <Holy Mother> Park Hye-rim, and <Silent > Yu Su-jin, there were a total of 7 people.

☆

When the meeting ended,

Twelve Seat <Yama > Kang Hyeon-cheol suddenly felt hungry.

He was hungry.

"Ah, before returning to the clan headquarters, should I go eat some hot soup?"

He rubbed his stomach.

This worked out well.

He should gather people to discuss how to proceed with the attack strategy.

He called out to Noh Eun-ha, Jin Pa-rang, and Han Chang-jin walking ahead.

"Hey! Pandora Clan Twelve Seats! Noh Eun-ha! Aren't you hungry? Let's have a bowl of soup while discussing..."

"Hyeon-cheol oppa."

"Huh?"

It was then.

Before Kang Hyeon-cheol could finish speaking,

Park Hye-rim, who suddenly appeared from behind, stopped him.

"That's great. You come eat too..."

"Look at me for a moment."

Park Hye-rim's face was unusual.

Kang Hyeon-cheol wondered if he had done something wrong recently.

It didn't seem like he had done anything wrong.

He asked puzzledly.

"What's the matter? If it's nothing special, let's just..."

"Just follow me quietly."

The soup was out of the question.

Park Hye-rim pulled on his collar.

Kang Hyeon-cheol clicked his tongue and followed Park Hye-rim.

"So what's the matter?"

Finally reaching a place without people,

Park Hye-rim let go of his hand.

Kang Hyeon-cheol looked down at her.

She rummaged through her pocket.

Then she suddenly pulled something out.

"Look at this."

"Huh? What's this?"

A device that looked like a pen.

Kang Hyeon-cheol tilted his head looking at what she pulled out.

Park Hye-rim held the device in front of his eyes with a face that looked like she was about to cry.

"Can't you see this?"

"What is this?"

"Can't you tell by looking?"

"Oh, hey, wait..."

Park Hye-rim whimpers.

By then, Kang Hyeon-cheol could realize what the device was.

Confusion clouded his face too.

"You don't mean..."

"It's two lines." "..."

"I checked several times just in case, but the result didn't change."

"Oh, hey... Um... Congratulations. Now you're really becoming a <Holy Mother>."

"Is this the time to say congratulations? What are we going to do?"

"What do you mean what are we going to do..."

"Take responsibility."

"Yes, ma'am."

Park Hye-rim was pregnant.

Kang Hyeon-cheol, who had only been dating her until now, now had to take 'real' responsibility.

It was a joyous occasion for Regulus Clan and Blaze Clan.