The Late Game Healer Is Way Too Strong – Chapter 168

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔𝟖: 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 2

Egyptian monster with a lion’s body, a human face, a tail with a viper’s head, and the wings of a raptor.

Sphinx.

『Growl. . . humans. . . You have come again to disturb the king’s eternal slumber. . . .『

The monster raised its huge body and uttered unintelligible words.

It was strange to see the Sphinx, which usually had a gentle expression, now contorted with anger.

“C-Comrade Sin-hyok. . . What does the king’s slumber mean. . .?”

“You idiot, why are you asking me? The gibberish of ancient monsters is considered a dead language, so just ignore it!”

“But I can understand dead languages—whoops, sorry, comrade! Please don’t hit me!”

Ryu Hyeong-myeong rubbed his palms together at Ri Sin-hyok’s sharp glare.

『I am the last shield guarding the king’s bedchamber. . . Anyone who dares to awaken the king’s slumber. . . must defeat me.』

The Sphinx flapped its wings as if it were about to charge forward with its massive body.

It was just a few flaps, but a strong gust of wind swept over Siwoo’s party.

“South Korean comrades! Didn’t I tell you! We can’t do this alone! I’ll buy some time with Ryu Hyeong-myeong, so get out of here!”

Ri Sin-hyok approached Siwoo and spoke in an urgent voice.

Even he, who had spent years as a hunter in North Korea, had never encountered this mythical monster.

It was obvious that everyone here would die.

Ri Sin-hyok thought quickly.

With his and Ryu Hyeong-myeong’s abilities, they could distract the monster for a very short time.

Of course, there was no guarantee that their lives would be spared after they distracted it.

‘𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺.’

Ri Sin-hyok shook his head as if he couldn’t believe his own decision.

Life in North Korea was each for themselves.

Who would care for whom, or who would look out for whom?

Even if the grandmother next door collapsed from hunger, a bowl of rice porridge for one’s own child was more precious.

The word self-sacrifice was merely a conceptual idea, not a value that was visibly demonstrated.

Ri Sin-hyok had lived his life without knowing the words poverty and starvation.

No, that was life in North Korea in the first place.

None of them knew those words. The dictionary definitions were different.

Ri Sin-hyok had lived that way his entire life.

From the age of four, he had learned that ‘man is a wolf to man’ by chasing after the neighborhood bullies as a flower swallow (a poor child who wandered around without a fixed residence in North Korea).

Words like compassion and kindness were swallowed whole into his stomach along with the money he earned as a flower swallow.

For such a Ri Sin-hyok, ‘monster hunting’ was a perfect fit.

Killing things that weren’t human-like brought in money.

This simple cycle drove his life.

After a few years of doing this, he became a leader and had a family. He had more crew members to take care of.

He, who had never cared for others, had risked his life for a colleague once.

The long scar on his right eye was from that time.

Ri Sin-hyok was unable to ‘hunt monsters’ for a while due to his major injury.

Money didn’t come in.

As a result, his family had to eat corn porridge for weeks to fill their hungry stomachs.

The colleague who Ri Sin-hyok had saved with his life took over his position and became the leader of the unit.

Ri Sin-hyok vowed never to help anyone else again, as his colleague never visited him or even called to check on him.

Until this moment.

“South Korean comrade! What are you doing, not running away?!”

Ri Sin-hyok didn’t even know what he was saying now.

‘𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?’

A feeling of ‘gratitude’ bloomed in him from the consideration and help he had received for the first time in his life, but Ri Sin-hyok didn’t know what to do with this unfamiliar feeling.

『The little rats are whispering. . . . But it’s too late. . . . Unless you defeat me, that door. . . will not open again.『

Ri Sin-hyok clicked his tongue at the monster’s words.

He had intended to let the South Korean comrades escape, but now he had no choice but to kill this monster.

But could he really kill such a beast?

Ri Sin-hyok thought that he should at least try to draw the monster’s attention.

“You damn bastard! Let the South Korean bastards go!”

『Why should I listen to you. . . vermin? I refuse. . .』

“You damn bastard! Are you looking down on me? Do you want your ribs rearranged?”

“Comrade Ri Sin-hyok, calm down.”

“Let go of me! You little twerp, don’t make me kick your ass!”

“Comrade Ri Sin-hyok! We can’t ignore this!”

Ryu Hyeong-myeong and Hyeon-dal didn’t understand Ri Sin-hyok’s exaggerated anger at the moment.

They blocked Ri Sin-hyok with their whole bodies, as if he were provoking the monster.

Ri Sin-hyok pushed Hyeon-dal away and grabbed Ryu Hyeong-myeong by the collar.

Then he spoke in a voice that no one else could hear.

“Hey, Ryu Hyeong-myeong. Where did you sell North Korea’s spirit? Why are you making a fuss like a child? If you’ve eaten what you’ve eaten, you should know how to help the South Korean comrades. Or what?”

“Ah. . . Is that why you’re suddenly acting all excited?”

Ryu Hyeong-myeong asked with wide eyes.

He had never imagined that the words ‘help them’ would come out of Ri Sin-hyok’s mouth.

“If you know, don’t let the South Korean comrades down. Isn’t it okay for the ‘monster hunter’ of North Korea to live in debt?”

“I understand. Comrade Ri Sin-hyok, this is the first time I’ve seen you like this. You suddenly seem more human.”

“What, you little punk, do you want me to burst your eardrums? Get ready!”

Ri Sin-hyok chased after Ryu Hyeong-myeong, his face flushed with embarrassment.

『I will not. . . wait any longer.』

At that moment, the Sphinx noticed their suspicious movements and swung its huge foreleg.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-!!

A tremendous shockwave blew in and left a huge scar on the ground.

Fortunately, no one was injured by the monster’s attack.

“E-Everyone, this is dangerous, so step back.”

Hyeon-dal ran forward and made Siwoo and his party step back.

“Can we win this?”

“I don’t know the plan, but. . . Comrade Ri Sin-hyok isn’t weak.”

She answered Siwoo’s question hesitantly.

She had originally intended to answer that he was strong, but she hurriedly changed her words when she realized that Lo-an was next to her.

After all, saying that he was strong in front of a top-ranked high-ranker wouldn’t have mattered.

“. . .Master. Can you not help?”

“What? Of course I’ll help. But is that how the Sphinx originally was?”

“What do you mean?”

“Where are the riddles?”

Lo-an was unable to respond for a while, wondering what his master was talking about.

“. . .Well.”

“I wanted to solve a riddle.”

“. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”

“Shall I ask for one?”

“. . .Do as you please.”

However, it didn’t take long for him to realize that his master had always been this kind of person.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Kwa-wa-a-a-a-a-!!

The Sphinx stared at its enemies with an expressionless face.

“Comrade Ri Sin-hyok, why does that monster look like that?”

Ryu Hyeong-myeong felt an unpleasant creepiness because the monster had a human face.

“How the hell do I know?! Hurry up and gather your energy!”

“I understand, stop nagging.”

At Ri Sin-hyok’s urging, Ryu Hyeong-myeong pulled up his magic power from his dantian.

Thanks to the potions given to him by Siwoo’s party, there was a considerable amount of magic power gathered in his dantian.

“Comrade Ri Sin-hyok, I’m ready!”

“Damn, it took you long enough! I’ll charge ahead, so attack with all your might!”

Ri Sin-hyok took out two short swords from his arms, held them in both hands, and rushed out like a bullet.

Then he dug into the Sphinx’s arms and stabbed its body from all sides with lightning speed.

Kwa-dad-deuk! Kwa-ga-ga-ga! Kwa-ga-ga-ga!

The short swords looked unremarkable, but they exerted a surprisingly strong force when they reacted to Ri Sin-hyok’s magic power.

The Sphinx felt irritated by the tingling sensation it felt all over its body.

『This little rat. . . I’ll kill you. . . !』

Just as the monster was letting its guard down, Ryu Hyeong-myeong’s technique unfolded on it.

A huge guillotine, larger than the Sphinx’s body, materialized, its sharp blade gleaming.

“Revolutionary death blade!!”

Deul-keung━!

The blade of the guillotine fell at an incredible speed.

Kwa-dad-deuk!

“This son of a b*tch. . . .”

Ri Sin-hyok bit his lips.

The Sphinx, sensing the threat, quickly twisted its body and pulled its neck out of the way.

However, the fact that one of its wings had been completely cut off made the monster’s anger reach its peak.

『I’ll burn you all. . . and turn you to ashes. . . !』

Koo-goo-goo-!

Black magic began to gather in the Sphinx’s mouth.

“Ah, you bastard, dodge it!”

The panicked Ri Sin-hyok put Ryu Hyeong-myeong’s body over his shoulder and ran hurriedly towards Siwoo’s party.

“South Korean comrades! Get out of here!!”

Kwa━━━━━━ga!!

The concentrated magic fired from the Sphinx’s mouth swept through the area as if it would crush it.

A powerful blow that condensed most of the monster’s magic power.

Not many creatures would be able to withstand such a powerful blow.

A fearsome force reminiscent of a dragon’s breath raged on the ground for several seconds.

『Make me. . . angry. . .』

The Sphinx tried to confirm the corpses of its enemies through the thick dust.

From experience, it was normal for them to be reduced to dust without a single bone left, but if, by any chance, there were any corpses left, it would be a long-awaited snack.

The monster was about to take a step forward with excitement when it stopped dead in its tracks.

Beyond the blue magic shield, it saw the figures of humans without a single scratch.

『This is impossible. . . I am the last shield guarding the king’s bedchamber. . . There can’t be any beings who can survive my attack. . . 』

The Sphinx felt a sense of fear for the first time in its life.

Siwoo, who had deployed the magic shield, retorted with a chuckle.

“It’s your delusion that there can’t be any beings. It’s like you’re being self-conscious about your attack, which is just a plain old attack.”

『What. . .? How dare you, a mere mortal, call me, the king’s shield. . . 』

“You should defeat ‘this mere mortal’ first and then talk big, shield boy. And are you really a Sphinx?”

『How do you. . . know my name?』

The Sphinx asked back in a bewildered voice.

“Oh, is that right? But why don’t you ask riddles?”

“. . .Master. I don’t think that’s the important thing right now.”

Lo-an whispered from the side.

『Riddle. . .? That was something my ancestors did. . . It has nothing to do with me.』

At the Sphinx’s firm answer, Siwoo looked at him with disappointed eyes.

It was a look that seemed to say, ‘Have you ever seen such a fake?’

『I-I. . . am a genuine Sphinx. . . It’s just that my ancestors are famous. . . Not all of our clan give riddles. . . . Really.』

The Sphinx, not knowing why it had to make excuses, answered in a resentful tone when it was suspected of being a fake.

“Hmm—then let me ask you a question.”

“. . .Master?”

“South Korean comrade?”

The people around stared at Siwoo with bewildered expressions, but Siwoo continued without paying any attention.

“What has four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?”

One of the most famous riddles among the Sphinx’s riddles.

People couldn’t understand why he was asking such an obvious question.

『You’re making fun of me. . . 』

“Really? What’s the answer?”

『The answer is man.』

Siwoo looked at the Sphinx with an impressed expression.

“Why on earth is Hyung acting like this?”

“Well. Master has always been like that.”

Min Si-joon and Kang Yeo-hwa chattered and gossiped among themselves.

The Sphinx said with a confident expression.

『Since I have won, you may pass. . . 』

“No. You’re wrong.”

Siwoo smirked and chuckled.

The others also looked puzzled.

“The answer is—”

His form disappeared and reappeared under the Sphinx.

Ppa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-!!

Then he punched the monster’s jaw up.

The Sphinx’s two legs, which had been standing on the ground, rose into the air.

“You, you bastard!!”

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