Chapter 19
‘This is a one-sided massacre. Nothing less….’
Watching Yoo Seol-a fight from the rear, Yura summed it up in one word: “Massacre.”
That was how brutally Yoo Seol-a trampled the Wraiths as she quickly made her way up to the mansion’s upper floors.
And what’s moreㅡ.
‘The young lady alone is already overwhelming, but that one-horned girl in a hanbok, who seems to have been summoned by the young lady, is no pushover either. She might even be stronger than me….’
Yura could only marvel at the one-horned girl in a hanbok, who swung her enormous hammer with one hand and turned the Wraiths one after another into things that could only be described as ‘crushed.’
Yura had once been a member of the Black Dragon Corps, which had disappeared along with the Sword Emperor.
Naturally, she’d experienced plenty of A-rank Gates and even higher-ranked Gates, so it was fair to say her skill ranked among the top ten in the Sword Emperor family at present.
And yet she’d judged that one-horned girl to be stronger than herself.
“Didn’t you say that the young lady only awakened recently, Lady Yura?”
Team Leader Park Chae-rin spoke carefully into Yura’s ear.
“That’s right. It hasn’t even been a week.”
“But she’s already handling her ability that skillfully?”
Her green eyes widened in astonishment.
She couldn’t help it.
Those who had just awakened an ability had to figure out for themselves what it could do.
Naturally, they needed time to adjust, and they could only register as Hunters after going through various trials and errors.
Of course, some Hunters awakened the same abilities, so they could also seek guidance by interacting with them.
ㅡThough that wasn’t recommended among Hunters, since it was dangerous.
Anyway, although she was now a full-fledged A-rank Hunter, she, too, had gone through those steps before she could become a member of the Sword Emperor family.
From her perspective, Yoo Seol-a was simply beyond all convention.
“Honestly, I’m just as taken aback. But if you look at it another way, couldn’t you say, ‘A peerless genius has appeared in the Sword Emperor family’? After all, she’s going to be our master.”
At Team Leader Park’s words, Yura chose to see things in a positive light.
To her, Yoo Seol-a was practically her master, someone she was meant to serve, so she had absolute faith in her.
And the same could be said of Park Chae-rin.
“Now that you mention it, you’re right. We came here to prove that the young lady is a suitable successor to the family head, so she can stand against the current head’s rule.”
“So we just have to watch the young lady’s performance until the very end. Understand, Chae-rin?”
“Yes, Lady Yura.”
◈
Before long, I reached the mansion’s top floor.
On the way here, I’d defeated so many Wraiths that my abilities had grown considerably.
【Ability: Dokkaebi Princess (Mythic/C-rank) - The stronger the ability’s rank, the more powerful it becomes. (Max: S-rank)】
Since I’d defeated so many monsters in an A-rank Gate, I’d gained a substantial amount of experience. Even though this was the highest ability rank, Mythic, I’d managed to raise it from F-rank to C-rank.
Abilities had ranks just like items, and Mythic was the highest of them all.
They were incomparably powerful compared to abilities of other ranks, such as Normal, Rare, and Epic, but naturally, the amount of experience needed to strengthen them was tremendous.
If I hadn’t gained this much experience by practically having an A-rank Gate all to myself, it would’ve taken two or three years to get this far.
‘Hong helped a lot, too.’
I looked over at Hong, who seemed even more excited now.
Without her horn or enormous hammer, she was just a cute girl in a modified hanbok, but among the dokkaebi subordinates Yoo Seol-a commanded, she was the best attacker.
There were two other dokkaebi besides her, but I didn’t need to record everything on video, so I’d only summoned Hong, who made the biggest spectacle.
That way, I could catch the Sword Emperor family members who followed Yoo Ho-ryeong off guard when I had to fight them.
ㅡAnd the Association, too.
“Princess, this looks like the last door. Should I go in first?”
Clank.
Hong, the enormous hammer resting on her shoulder, asked me.
‘She’s doing that because she’s worried about me. There’s a boss monster beyond this door.’
She’d asked because she could sense the powerful evil energy beyond the door and knew that something on an entirely different level was waiting inside.
The boss monster of Death Mansion was a monster named 【Wraith Queen ‘Isabella’】.
She was powerful enough to be called the queen of evil spirits, and in the story, she even drove the female protagonist and Kim Hye-seong into a corner.
The reason she was so powerful was that the Sword Emperor family hadn’t defeated the boss monster since the Sword Emperor and the Black Dragon Corps were wiped out in the Red Gate.
Ordinary Gate monsters could be defeated as they appeared, making it easy to control how many monsters a Gate could hold.
But since boss monsters were always located in the deepest part of a Gate, people generally left them alone unless they intended to clear the Gate.
They chose the easier path to avoid risking casualties.
But the flaw in that approach was that the longer a boss monster was left alone, the more its power accumulated.
This fact came to light in the early-to-middle part of the storyㅡ.
That was after the female protagonist and Kim Hye-seong explored this place, and it sparked a huge uproar among every organization that managed Gates.
Then, to keep the situation from spiraling out of control, they hastily put together assault teams, but some organizations suffered heavy casualties.
A considerable number of B-rank and A-rank Hunters died, and the Gate Management Act was revised as well.
‘At this point in time, they’re still much earlier than when the heroine and Kim Hye-seong explored it, so it probably won’t be that strong.’
I was still uneasy.
The powerful evil energy beyond the door was so intense that I could hardly believe it was coming from an A-rank boss monster.
But my dokkaebi ability, which was especially well suited to fighting evil spirits, should be more than enough to make up for it.
And I had Hong, my best attacker. If she wasn’t enough on her own, I could summon the other two, too.
“Yura? Team Leader Park?”
“What is it, miss?”
“??”
Maybe because I’d suddenly called them over, the two of them approached me with puzzled expressions.
We’d made it this far, but they seemed to think I was going to give up with the boss right in front of us.
But of course, I had no intention of giving up.
“From here on, I think we should have the B-rank Hunters wait outside, and only have you and Team Leader Park come in to film.”
I’d only called them over to arrange things, since it would be better if the B-rank Hunters didn’t go in there.
“Can’t you two feel it? The powerful evil energy beyond this door.”
“The energy beyond the boss room? I usually can’t feel it.”
Park Chae-rin tilted her head at my words.
Howeverㅡ.
“I can definitely feel something eerie as we get closer to the boss room. I think it’d be better to give up on the boss….”
Yura stared at the boss room with narrowed eyes.
She added that it would probably be best to turn back now.
As expected of a former member of the Black Dragon Corps.
“I’m going to defeat the boss and leave. That’s the proof, isn’t it?”
But I was going in there anyway.
That was the fastest way to prove it.
Besides, we’d come all this way. It’d be a shame to turn back now.
“If it looks dangerous, I’ll step in.”
“…There probably won’t be any need for that.”
Creeeakㅡ!
I opened the boss room door and stepped inside.
At a glance, I could see a spacious room where some noble must have once held meetings with their retainers, and a massive throne stood at the far end.
A translucent woman dressed like a noblewoman sat on it, looking every bit the haughty queen.
That’s right.
That woman was the ruler of this place, 【Wraith Queen ‘Isabella’】.
“So you are the intruders who entered my mansion. It would be wise not to expect to leave here alive.”
Having noticed our arrival, she rose from the throne and quickly flew toward us through the air.
Up to this point, she might not have seemed very impressive for a boss monster.
But though she looked like a noblewoman, she was an exceptionally skilled martial artist.
Just looking at the gauntlets covering the hands she’d folded neatly over her stomach was enough to tell.
They were worn and battered.
“Hong, be ready. She’s no pushover.”
Whoosh!!
As soon as I finished speaking, Isabella’s gauntlet shot toward Hong’s face as she stood at the front.
It was incredibly fast.
Fast enough that most A-rank Hunters would have trouble reacting to it.
“Kyaa~! This is getting my heart racing! What a worthy opponent♡!”
ㅡBut it only stirred Hong’s fighting spirit.
“Hyaaah!!”
Whoosh! Boom!!
As if answering Isabella’s attack, Hong swung her enormous hammer with all her might.
Isabella managed to block it by crossing both arms in front of herself.
Butㅡ.
“Kyaaahㅡ!!”
Thud! Crash!!
The tremendous impact sent her flying all the way into the wall.
“Princess, that woman’s way too sexy.”
“You’re just too strong, Hong. Still, don’t let your guard down. Your cheek’s bleeding.”
“Oh. So she managed to hit me back in that brief moment?”
Swipe, swipe.
Wiping the blood from her cheek, Hong looked toward Isabella, who was embedded in the wall.
“She’s fun, Princess. For an evil spirit, she actually managed to hurt me, a dokkaebi.”
“The real fight starts now. She hasn’t even brought out half her true power yet.”
But so far, this had only been a probing exchange between them.
In the story, the female protagonist and Kim Hye-seong had let their guard down just like this and nearly died.
If that had been all there was to it, I would’ve let the B-rank Hunters come in and watch, too.
She’d gone down far too easily, and she hadn’t seemed like much of a threat.
But the real fight was only just beginning.
Rumble!
The room began to shake.
“Kyaaahㅡ!!”
At the same time, Isabella began to roar, and the area around us started to waver.
A moment later, ten knight Wraiths clad in armor appeared.
They took up positions around Isabella, as if guarding her.
‘So they’ve appeared—the Wraith Queen Isabella’s guards.’