Banter [25]

Jin-Woo felt intense heat rise through his body as he pushed his body to its limits. He was uncaring of his surroundings, shattering the cement in his rampaging sprint. But after about thirty seconds of running at full speed, Jin-Woo calmed down, if only a little bit.

His pace didn't drop at all, but he started breathing properly and he allowed his use of Umbra Control to flow more naturally, lowering how much excess stamina he was losing. Between steps, Jin-Woo summoned his status window, suddenly remembering the unused points he received after defeating Lycaon. Without a bit of hesitation, he put all 23 of the points into Agility, making it his highest stat, and a single point into Vitality, bringing it to a round 80.

Because Agility hit 100, Jin-Woo received a new skill.

[Elder Kitsune's Grace | Lv. Max]

Elder kitsune's are well known for their incredible magical abilities, but their agility allows them to stay a step ahead of their prey. You hold the speed to easily match these beings.

100% Increase to Movement Speed and Attack Speed.

75% Increase to Evasion.

Jin-Woo felt his muscles strengthening, streamlining with speed in mind without losing the power he'd already obtained. Even between steps, he could feel himself get faster. His body adapted to his skill, and he felt lighter than ever. He picked up the pace, without overextending his energy, opening his status screen, almost completely ignoring his HP and MP. However, when he did give them their attention, he was surprised by a few things he'd noticed unconsciously, like his lack of HP despite not being hit or his abundance of MP.

[Name: Sung Jin-Woo]

[Level: -50]

[Class: Necromancer]

[Title: Black Wizard]

[Soul Attribute: ????]

[HP: 7,000/8,000]

[MP: 8,500/10,800]

[Strength: 108 (+108)]

[Dexterity: 59 (+59)]

[Agility: 116 (+116)]

[Vitality: 80 (+80)]

[Intelligence: 108 (+108)]

[Faith: 53]

[Luck: 52]

[Status Points: 0]

He believed he knew why, but he wanted a proper confirmation anyways. He swept open the descriptions of Umbra Control and Void Slash.

[Umbra Control | Lv. 1 | HP: 500]

Mana of Death cannot be manipulated in traditional ways, so it must be gathered and channeled through this ability, created by the first Black Wizard. This skill also collects Death Mana by absorbing Life Mana. When used, mana is stolen from the surroundings, increasing the user's MP and decreasing the MP of everything around, friend or foe.

Passively allows user to manipulate Mana of Death more efficiently.

Permanently doubles MP capacity.

While activated, 100% MP regeneration.

While activated, 10% MP absorption.

MP absorption range: 1 meter.

Costs 500 HP per minute while Umbra Control is active.

[Void Slash | Lv. 2 | MP: 90]

Slash with the power of the void, touching souls. When a soul is damaged, it heals automatically, however, Mana of Death stops that process by absorbing the soul entirely, slowing or stopping regeneration.

500% Damage Increase. Damage increases with stats.

50% Defense Penetration.

Additional MP can be used for additional damage.

Umbra Control confirmed what he believed he knew, specifically that it was a skill that costed HP rather than MP. It made sense, given its ability to heighten his MP regeneration. It also increased his overall MP, presumably by changing the amount of MP he gained per Intelligence point from 50 to 100, doubling his MP capacity.

Of course, he couldn't ignore the absolutely insane buff of Umbra Boost, which doubled 5 of his 7 stats. The effects of the buffs seemed to vary, overall changing the efficiency of his stat skills, but not changing the amount of his HP or MP, in the case of Vitality and Intelligence.

Jin-Woo didn't linger on the thoughts for long. Having a proper description for Void Slash satisfied him, especially due to the shockingly low cost of the skill.

Shaking away the thoughts, Jin-Woo's eyes scrolled down to his skills. He was used to most of them after a few days of getting used to them. It was like the voice in his head recommended. As he got used to his ability, using it how he thought was best was giving him the best results.

Suddenly remembering the voice inside his head that was certainly not his own, Jin-Woo made sure to make a side note to himself to research if the phenomenon meant he was developing another personality or if it was a normal symptom Hunters experienced.

The most important skill Jin-Woo obtained was Umbra Observe, which was an active version of Observation and Advanced Observation that allowed Sung to personally look at the status page of whatever he used the skill on. It wasn't omnipotent, and it could be blocked by the right means, but it allowed him to get an accurate understanding of his abilities when compared to his opponents—or allies'—abilities, so he used it quite often, just to stay properly informed.

Then, he looked at his unknown Soul skill, the real reason why he wanted to look towards his skills. He clicked it and two more options appeared.

[Soul ??? | Lv. 1]

Due to several conditions being met, a new skill can be selected out of two options.

Option 1: Soul Fusion – Gain the ability to fuse with the souls of the dead for boosts in power. Powerful, but momentary boost.

Option 2: Soul Empowerment – Gain the ability to obtain additional stat points from summons. Less powerful, but permanent boost.

Jin-Woo thought about the pros and cons of both options but settled on the former option. If time was on his side, he'd be patient and choose the latter option, but his fight against Lycaon flashed vividly within his mind.

He doubted if Soul Empowerment could've saved him, while he was almost positive that Soul Fusion did save him.

He clicked on the first option and confirmed it.

[Soul Fusion | Lv. 1 | HP: 1000 MP: 1000]

Through Mana of Death, the connection between a soul and a living being can be established, granting immense power to the living being.

Through the fusion with souls, full access to that soul's skills will be granted to the user for the period of the skill's activation. However, the skills won't be as powerful as the souls'.

Depending on the skill's level, the soul's power, the familiarity between the soul and the user, and the user's efficiency in tapping into Mana of Death, the power of the skill will change.

Additional 1000 HP and MP per minute per souls fused with.

The skill had a few options underneath it, that were named after Jin-Woo's named summons, one for Tempest and one for Igris. He clicked the options curiously, revealing the stat boosts the two would give him. They were both impressive, but Tempest's boosts outpaced Igris's.

"Tempest," Jin-Woo called out, activating Soul Fusion.

The drain of Soul Fusion left Jin-Woo momentarily reeling between his steps. It was starkly unlike any of his other skills, where their costs were fairly low. Even Umbra Control was only 500 HP per minute, and while it wasn't an easy cost to handle, it wasn't awfully hard on Jin-Woo if he managed it correctly.

Soul Fusion, however, was much twice that amount, and the power it offered was worth the price.

The disorientation was soon whisked away, and Jin-Woo was left with shocking power in its wake.

It was strength. True, unadulterated strength and power, so much power. His muscles, bones, and even his blood pulsed with it. It was incredible, feeling more strength in his fingertips than he felt in his entire body just weeks earlier.

Pitch-black energy erupted from within, spreading across Jin-Woo's skin like a pitch-black plague. Unlike in his fight against Lycaon, this time only a cloak of shadowy fur covered him, becoming a powerful cloak around himself.

He glanced at the notification that flickered into existence at the corner of his vision.

[Tempest Soul Fusion Buffs: Strength, Dexterity, Agility, and Vitality are increased by 200.]

While Jin-Woo was positive that he activated Soul Fusion on a whim in his last moments against Lycaon, the buff applied by the sudden growth was different than this one. That buff was fractured, incomplete. It was a momentary rush of what felt like unbelievable power, but it was unstable, like a rush of adrenaline that was short lived and fleeting.

This rush was different. It didn't feel any less powerful than before—a result of fusing with the Elite Knight Tempest instead of the Knight Igris and the Elite Tempest—but it was also far more controlled.

Furthermore, the buff Jin-Woo received was more than just a plain stat boost. Additionally, Chaos of Fenrir boosted his abilities by at least 100%, and that was in a nerfed state compared to the boost Tempest experienced.

However, Jin-Woo didn't spend anything more than a second observing his changes, the importance of Jino easily surpassing anything with his powers. However—

"Jin-Woo, we must save your pack-mate!!" Jin-Woo nearly jumped out of his skin when a young woman's voice rung out in his head. He didn't stumble between his steps though, his attention staying locked onto his goal.

He thought about questioning the voice, but he quickly pushed the thoughts aside, his sister's voice ringing even stronger within his mind. Besides, he already had a pretty good idea of what was occurring.

"Thanks, Tempest," Jin-Woo buried his feet into the ground before rocketing forward, a blur of black mana and shattered concrete being left in his wake. The air went still as he rushed past it before it followed him like a powerful tornado.

[Skills: Umbra Dash and Sprint have been used. Speed has been increased by 100%.]

Compared to his speed before, Jin-Woo was several times faster, and with that speed, he arrived at his home's street in seconds, time seeming to slow in the face of his incredible speed.

Jin-Woo turned a corner to see one of Korea's strongest S-Ranks holding Jino within his arms. Jin-Woo met Alnair's eyes, one golden gaze meeting another as he slid to a stop.

[Budding Reign of Dragons]

[Alnair Sung]

Flickers of now-distant memories bubbled up to the surface. So much blood, and the awful stench of the bodies stained Jin-Woo's mind. Bloodlust started leaking from Jin-Woo, causing Alnair to clench his jaw. Jin-Woo readied himself to leap towards his enemy, but Jino's voice, so quiet and strained, stopped Jin-Woo in his tracks.

"…Alnair… saved my life. That monster… attacked us…." Jino spoke slowly, but it was as if the world stopped, just so her words could be heard.

Jin-Woo's head snapped towards his home. Where the wall once stood, there was a familiar man with an overflowing power looking down with an amused smile on his face.

It was Yogumunt, completely healed from the backfiring of his skill.

"Oho, I didn't expect to meet you again so soon! And look at you, you've grown so much in just a few days!" Yogumunt went on and on as if he was living in his own world. However, he did seem more excited than when they originally met. Jin-Woo couldn't figure out why.

'I got too relaxed. I can't believe I was just training instead of going for him, damnit!' Jin-Woo cursed to himself, taking one calming breath before entirely tuning Yogumunt's voice out, keeping his attention on the Sovereign even as he approached Alnair.

The two golden-eyed men didn't exchange any words.

Jin-Woo peered down to Jino, who gave her older brother a soft smile.

"Sorry about the house…. It all happened so fast," Jino spoke softly, but Jin-Woo only shook his head softly. Her eyes got heavy. "Alnair he… he helped me. Don't be too angry, okay?"

Jin-Woo looked at her with soft eyes. He softly ran his fingers through Jino's hair. "Just rest, okay? We'll talk later."

Jino nodded, and then closed her eyes, sinking into unconsciousness.

Jin-Woo pulled his hand away from Jino's hair, meeting Alnair's troubled gaze with a determined one.

"Igris," he called his summon, the red knight appearing by his side.

Alnair didn't quite flinch, but he clearly grew far more attentive, the red knight's presence suddenly changing something within him.

"Take Jino to a hospital," Jin-Woo turned around, beginning to approach the monologuing man in his home. The Sovereign's topic changed from Ashborn to Igris upon seeing the red knight suddenly appear, but Jin-Woo didn't care to listen to his words.

Alnair didn't let go of Jino, scowling at Igris. "You'd let a summon take your sister away from an S-Rank?!"

Jin-Woo didn't turn around. "I'd let a summon take my sister away from a murderer."

Alnair was quiet, but he remained steadfast, not moving from his spot. "She'll get frostbite in this cold. She's only okay right now because of my mana."

Jin-Woo clenched his jaw. "Igris, watch him. If he moves to hurt Jino, don't hesitate." As Jin-Woo finished, his other summons, save for Tempest, appeared around Alnair.

Sung turned his attention to Yogumunt, his gaze cold. Umbra Observation didn't tell Jin-Woo much more than he had already figured out, but the confirmation of Yogumunt's stats allowed him to formulate a proper plan. However, there wasn't much information about Yogumunt's past, leaving Jin-Woo with a vacant understanding of the Sovereign's desires.

There was a lot of information to gather, but Jin-Woo homed in on Yogumunt's only lacking stats being Agility and Strength. In a physical fight, Sung had some semblance of a chance of victory.

"Ah, so while I can't confirm if your soul is truly Ashborn's or not, I can tell that you have proper access to Mana of Death now! It's quite impressive actually, since there's only been a little bit of time since when we last spoke! Now, now, I was willing to wait for you to come around, but seeing you here, I'm confident that—"

Jin-Woo Dashed from his spot, sinking his feet into the wall of a nearby building and shooting off towards Yogumunt. Darkness radiated all around him, hungrily pulling nearby energy in like a black hole.

As Umbra Strike cloaked his hand in pitch-black energy, Sung's fist rushed towards Yogumunt's face, but he was stopped a few inches before his fist could land. A solid pane of red mana soaked up all Jin-Woo's force as if it was nothing but a gust of wind. Yogumunt was completely unfazed.

Jin-Woo clenched his jaw. The necromancer focused his attention on Umbra Control, and a small crack shot through Yogumunt's mana pane. Yogumunt let out an interested coo, seemingly unbothered by the crack's presence.

Pushing past the mana pane, Jin-Woo grabbed the Sovereign's collar, gravity starting to pull him downwards. Yogumunt fell with Jin-Woo, but before they crashed into the ground, Yogumunt's mana flared up, pushing himself away from Jin-Woo and allowing him to land softly on the ground several feet away from the golden-eyed necromancer.

Jin-Woo hit the ground hard but was surprised when he wasn't hurt as much as he thought he would be. Whether it was because of Chaos of Fenrir, Soul Fusion, his natural level progression, or something else, he couldn't care less.

However, the immediate explosion of Yogumunt's energy did take a chunk of the necromancer's HP away, even when the move didn't seem like it was intended for combat. His HP started rising instantly, thanks to Young Werewolf's Regeneration, but he wasn't willing to rush in recklessly with over 30% of his HP suddenly gone.

With all his skills activated, his MP could sustain itself fairly efficiently, every passing second giving him more MP than he'd use up. However, his HP wasn't the same. Around 1500 HP was being spent every minute, and Yogumunt's attack was not helping with that unbelievably high cost.

His HP regeneration was nowhere near as high as his MP regeneration, so he couldn't afford to push too much too fast.

Jin-Woo rose from his spot, deactivating Umbra Control and Umbra Aura. His stats and MP regeneration dropped more than he liked them to, but Soul Fusion kept his stats higher than they'd normally be.

Jin-Woo locked eyes with his enemy, but Yogumunt just nonchalantly patted away any dirt that touched his cloak.

"Ah, and I forgot to mention, I have a Construct named Jill who has this really intense desire to—"

Jin-Woo charged forward, summoning Legacy, and becoming a blur as he charged towards his enemy.

In a few seconds, the two went up and down the street, Jin-Woo's blows getting close to hitting Yogumunt, but never actually hitting the monster. Jin-Woo took half a step back, taking a moment to reevaluate his opponent.

'I'm attacking too recklessly; I need to calm down. This man's experienced enough to hold his own against Alnair. I need to be realistic, I'm not gonna win a fight like this through sheer anger and grit alone. I have questions I need answered, and this guy clearly likes to talk, so I'll start there,' Jin-Woo took a deep breath, relaxing a bit. He stayed attentive but managed to pull back his fury. However, he didn't try to dispel his Bloodlust. He knew he would need it soon enough.

However, he let Soul Fusion fade away, his cloak fading into the wind. It left his HP and MP to regenerate more efficiently during the talk, but it also left him feeling oddly defenseless. With the cloak being the closest thing to proper armor, it made sense.

In the back of his mind, he made a mental note to make either learn how to protect himself using mana, or to get armor, preferably both.

"—fight you, but unfortunately, I don't believe she's ready for such an excursion. Especially because—" He didn't stop talking, even while Jin-Woo was thinking.

"Yogumunt, right?" Jin-Woo knew it already but decided to start somewhere simple. Basic questions and answers seemed like a good place to start out, mainly with the desire to get Yogumunt to loosen up.

Yogumunt's eyes started to shine excitedly. His demeaner entirely changed, an odd sense of pride welling up within him. "Ah, yes, of course, that's me!"

"Why are you here, Yogumunt?" Jin-Woo asked, keeping his hesitation, anger, and any other combative emotion locked up tight. He was still ready to protect himself but didn't want to alarm his opponent.

"Well, I originally came here for Antares," Yogumunt gestured Alnair, shrugging. "But now you're here too, so your assistance would be nice."

Jin-Woo decide to keep his lack of knowledge to himself. He had a feeling that the conversation would end very abruptly if he didn't abuse all his advantages very carefully.

"And what do you need us for?"

Yogumunt's smile widened to an unsettling degree. "Well, I can't say I have a single goal, but if I had to say one, it would be that… I just wanted to see if your opinion—well, Ashborn's opinion, but you seem to be the closest thing for now—agrees with mine. About my Constructs. But…."

Jin-Woo expression darkened. 'Damn, I guess it makes sense, since I did kill Jill, Kabuto, and Lycaon. Guess I'll have to hold him off until—'

Yogumunt shrugged, his smile unfading. "Well, you've only helped me out in the end. Without meeting you, I wouldn't have come to meet Antares, and then I wouldn't have finally learned that reincarnation is possible. Besides, your energy is truly perfect for trimming down their souls, so I wanted you to work with me to create more!"

A chill swept through Sung's body. A bad feeling arose within him. He pushed off Yogumunt's comment about reincarnation and focused on what the Sovereign wanted him for specifically. "And what are these Constructs made out of?"

The Sovereign of Magical Constructs turned his head, seeming confused. "Why, humans, of course! They do have the best souls, after all!"

Jin-Woo's stomach sunk. It made sense.

When it came to the Constructs not entirely following Jin-Woo's summoning, there was a theory that the necromancer originally completely overlooked, but it held a certain weight. All the Constructs had humanoid forms, whether that was Kabuto, Jill, or Lycaon. The other reason was something vaguer.

Jin-Woo failed to retrieve any of the three's souls, not entirely anyways. He believed it was just because of his lack of strength, but there was another reason. Jin-Woo never faced the issue head-on, but he believed that using humans for summons would be wrong.

He thought it would make him worse than murderer, no worse than Alnair. His stomach churned when he thought about Tempest receiving a bit of Lycaon's soul, and it unsettled him further to know he had fused with Tempest.

With that in mind, his utter failure of obtaining the souls of the Constructs made a bit more sense to him. Truly, he didn't even know if he'd want to get the Constructs as summons anymore.

"Unfortunately, the human souls are just the bases! I must get creative in where to go from there. However, with your help in defeating my Constructs, I've been able to think about the situation from a different perspective!" Yogumunt laughed happily, his guard completely down. Jin-Woo thought to take advantage of the weakness but didn't move. Not yet. "Ah, the biggest problems the Constructs face is that their souls don't align properly with their bodies, so sometimes they end up breaking down and that's where the Constructs you've seen come from! They're the failures!"

Normally Jin-Woo would've interrupted Yogumunt's monologue, but the excessively long conversation was on his side. He was willing to milk it for what it was worth. His MP was regenerating well, almost back to full, while his HP was still far from it.

He swallowed. He needed more time.

"And what did you need Alnair—er, Antares for?" Jin-Woo asked, tightening his grip on his dagger ever-so-slightly.

Yogumunt blinked. "Well, it's easier to get the souls if their hosts are dead. Of course, it's possible to make quick Constructs with souls I take momentarily, but the excess parts of the soul end up devaluing the Construct. So, whether it's you or Antares, I'd like some assistance. You, for cutting off the excess bits of the soul, or Antares, for killing the human with the soul. Either one."

Jin-Woo clenched his jaw.

"Why are the Constructs only in Red Gates? Are the Red Gates your creation?" Jin-Woo questioned, his hostility finding a way to sink into his words.

Yogumunt laughed. "Is that what they're being called? Well, whatever you call them, yes, these… Red Gates are my domain. All my dear Constructs are within these 'Red Gates,' getting stronger by devouring the other monsters—or the occasional human that may stumble into one—within them. All the Sovereigns who agreed with Antares gave me small portions of their domains. Ah, but sadly, Ashborn didn't. He was always talking about letting his subjects be their own people. But you aren't him, right? I could see his soul, but I can't see yours."

The necromancer glanced towards Jino, who was unconscious within Yogumunt's arms. He responded to Yogumunt's question with a different one.

"What about the girl over there? Why did you attack her?" Jin-Woo asked, trying to hide his anger. He clenched his jaw as his golden eyes shimmered.

Yogumunt looked back at the two, his eyes meeting Alnair's. He turned back to Jin-Woo and shrugged nonchalantly. "Why does it matter? Antares always reacted better to violence anyways. Ashborn and Antares brothers, aren't you? You would know!"

Jin-Woo clenched his jaw, he could sense they were coming closer. "And what would happen if I wanted to stop you?"

Yogumunt blinked, expression growing serious. "Well, as unfortunate as it would be for science, it's simple. I'd have to kill you."

Jin-Woo locked eyes with Yogumunt, one of resolve meeting one of nonchalance. Jin-Woo clenched his fist before activating Tempest and Igris's Soul Fusion, armor slipping over his body.

'Sorry, Ichigo, Fanzer, but I just don't want to back down from this guy,' Jin-Woo let out a soft sigh before nodding. He grinned, confidence filling the expression. "I'd like to see you try."

Jin-Woo's Bloodlust shot out as he let out an inhuman howl. The sound came from deep within, heavily enhanced by all the mana spilling out of Jin-Woo's throat.

[Slot Number Two, "Tempest," has been activated.]

[Skills: Bloodlust Lv. 3 and Unchained Howl have been activated. The target's stats will be lowered by 65% for one minute.]

Yogumunt flinched, and in that instant, Jin-Woo took a small step forward, swinging Legacy—still in its dagger form—forward. A super-charged Void Slash's inky dark energy coating his blade.

Yogumunt's expression shifted. "Oh?"

Dashing forward, Ruinous Dawn and Black Lightning rose off Legacy, enhancing the power of Jin-Woo's strike even further. Legacy shot towards the Sovereign's throat.

Yogumunt's mana shield appeared to stop the dagger in its tracks, but the mana was quickly absorbed as Jin-Woo activated Umbra Control. The man's red eyes widened before his gaze sharpened, just mere inches away from taking his head off his shoulders.

[The target's resistances are too high. Bloodlust and Unchained Howl will be dispelled.]

[Yogumunt is using the skill: Soul Realm.]

A dark red energy—Yogumunt's energy—pulsed out of his body, creating a small area with Jin-Woo and himself captured inside. It was like Byung-Ho's barrier, but very different.

Legacy's blade started to cut into Yogumunt's throat, but after barely brushing past the surface of the monster's skin, Yogumunt moved—or more accurately, was pulled—backwards. Red mana latched onto his arms and legs like an extension of his body and hauled him away from Jin-Woo's attack. However, Legacy extended, just slightly, turning to its shortsword form.

The attack nicked Yogumunt's throat, a few drops of blood falling to the ground.

It was like an unnatural movement that had no basis in the physics that Jin-Woo was so used to, like Telepathy. The movement caught Jin-Woo off-guard, and he couldn't react fast enough to properly catch his opponent, even with the incredible growth he'd made.

Jin-Woo tried to approach again, but his HP and MP were totally drained from the attack. His legs didn't move despite his desire to defeat his opponent, as if the sudden move had been too much for his body.

Yogumunt's skill didn't make things any easier. Jin-Woo could tell something had changed. While Byung-Ho's barriers were fairly easy to understand, Jin-Woo couldn't wrap his head around what Yogumunt's skill did.

And before he could really try to think about it, intense exhaustion overcame him, but he tried to keep it hidden, at least in front of his much-more-powerful foe. His body shivered, but he ignored it, glancing at his status bars as he let go of his skills, allowing them to start recharging. The only thing he kept was Tempest's Soul Fusion, even if it was getting dangerously close to forcing his HP to hit zero. He'd have two minutes to maintain the skill at most.

"I think you'll see that you don't want to face me," Yogumunt stuck his hand out, a wave of his mana following his movement and sending Jin-Woo flying. Just before the attack hit, Jin-Woo protected himself with his cloak.

He barely managed to right himself, sliding back on the ground on the balls of his feet. The damage wasn't horribly intense, but it pushed his time down from two minutes to one.

As soon as he got his eyes on Yogumunt, another wave of mana slammed into his back, before another struck him from above, pinning him to the ground under its weight. The damage alone pushed Jin-Woo's HP under 1000, forcing him to deactivate Soul Fusion.

However, Jin-Woo wasn't out for the count yet. With his pure stats alone, bolstered by Umbra Aura, Jin-Woo pushed against the weight. And while he was doing that, Tempest and Igris emerged from the nearby shadows, rushing towards Yogumunt.

Yogumunt let out a sigh, flicking his hand. Unlike normally, the mana just swirled to life around Igris and Tempest, catching the two Summons off-guard.

[Yogumunt is using the skill: Soul Bind x2.]

"I've learned something very interesting in my years of researching Ashborn's summons. They are powerful, yes, and they can regenerate essentially limitlessly, but they aren't all-powerful," As Yogumunt casually spoke, his spell lashed out and bound Igris and Tempest. Even with Tempest's new power boost, Yogumunt's binding was too much. "A good binding will tie them up quite well."

"I'd like to avoid killing you if possible. I'll make a Construct out of you, if need be. Either way, you'll be coming with me," Yogumunt waved his hand, a Red Gate appearing before him. The mana that held Jin-Woo to the ground suddenly picked him up, restricting his movements. He started slowly floating towards the Red Gate. The golden-eyed E-Rank resisted fervently, but Yogumunt's bindings held strong.

As soon as they sensed Jin-Woo being in danger, the Summons that surrounded Alnair started sprinting towards the necromancer. Alnair did the same, but far faster, outrunning the Summons easily. He held Jino close to his chest, trying not to let her get hurt, but when she let out a pained whimper, he hesitated, and then he realized he couldn't get to Jin-Woo in time. He yelled out with all his heart.

"Get away from him, Yogumunt!" Alnair roared, but Yogumunt only gave him a passing glance.

He smiled, shrugging, "Or what? You'll stop me with that defenseless girl in your arms, Antares?" Yogumunt sighed, shaking his head. "I can't believe you've gotten so weak."

[Fanzer is using the Soul Attribute skill: Lucky Coin.]

[Fanzer's mana control has momentarily risen to 100%!]

[Ichigo is using the Soul Attribute skill: Devouring Meat.]

[Ichigo's Strength stat has momentarily risen!]

A gust of powerful wind raced towards Yogumunt, and on the racing wind, a metal bat-wielding woman cranked back her arm. Within the blink of an eye, her bat slammed into Yogumunt's head. Or, more accurately, it slammed into the Yogumunt's mana shield, cracking it.

However, Ichigo's sudden entrance did break the barrier surrounding Jin-Woo and Yogumunt.

[Yogumunt's Soul Realm has been destroyed.]

Yogumunt slid a few meters away, losing control of his mana and dropping Jin-Woo. The 21-year-old hit the ground with a groan.

As Ichigo pulled some Yeti meat from her personal protected space, Fanzer rushed next to her, crackling with purple electricity, powerful wind blowing behind him.

"Cocky bastards are really the worst," Fanzer sighed, grinning. The ends of his hair stood up as purple lightning flickered through his eyes.

Ichigo sighed, shaking her head, chewing her food nonchalantly. "Aren't you extremely cocky?"

Fanzer huffed. "Hey, it's confidence, not cockiness!"

Ichigo shrugged, taking another big bite of her food.

Jin-Woo groaned softly. "I was waiting on you guys. I had to bear to listen to this guy talk on and on."

Fanzer chuckled. "Sorry for being late then."

Ichigo took a step towards Jin-Woo, but he gestured for her to keep her attention on Yogumunt, the actual threat. Fanzer's eyes never left the Sovereign.

Yogumunt looked around, his expression much less relaxed. His eyes locked onto Ichigo and Fanzer before looking past them. Although there was no one there, he sensed a presence far stronger than expected.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting all this company. I think I'll have to call in for a raincheck. Antares," Yogumunt bowed to Alnair, not even bothering to give Ichigo or Fanzer his attention, even as they attempted to attack him. He just held his hand up towards them, pulling together an incredibly dense shield of his soul mana, stopping them in their tracks.

"I'll be back for you another time," he spoke to Jin-Woo. He looked back past Ichigo and Fanzer, seeing a blur racing towards them at a horrifying speed. The blur threw a kunai towards Yogumunt, the object slicing through the air. "We'll be meeting again soon. Try to ignore the influx of my Red Gates, I think this conversation has brought me to a breakthrough! I've just got to create my next batch of Constructs!"

Yogumunt stepped into his Red Gate, but not before the kunai crashed into his mana barrier, shattering it. Even after crashing through the extended barrier, the kunai had enough power to strike the thin barrier around Yogumunt's body. It struck past it, barely piercing the skin on his forehead. Yogumunt met Miyoung's gaze for a moment. She looked fierce, his eyes shimmering powerfully.

He laughed as blood ran down his face, dripping off his chin and plopping onto the ground. He pulled the kunai out of his barrier and studied it. "Humans have always had just a little too much potential."

Miyoung tried to throw another kunai at Yogumunt, but the portal long since closed, leaving a ruined street, two injured members of the Sung family, and a few Hunters behind.

The monster got away, leaving only ruin in his wake.