๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐: ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ 2
The Poison Salamander flicked its tongue.
Black venom blossomed like a flower, slowly melting the ground where it landed.
Its face was that of a dragon’s head and its body was that of a large salamander.
With each breath of the Poison Salamander, venomous fog bloomed.
It was a creature made of poison.
โShuaaak.
The salamander’s eyes glared at Siwoo.
It was the gaze of a predator looking at its prey.
“Kill him.”
As soon as Giovanni gave the order, the salamander’s tail shot out like lightning, striking Siwoo.
โโโโKwaaang!
Siwoo’s body was thrown through the wall of the banquet hall at a terrifying speed.
“Hahaha! Go after him, Salamander!”
He smiled broadly and jumped out where Siwoo had flown.
Numerous Hunters were already fighting against the other members of the ใPandemoniumใ outside the building.
It was a fierce battle, like a dogfight.
“Whew.”
Siwoo raised his body with a frown.
He had put up a shield in an instant, so the damage was almost zero.
However, he could tell from the single blow how dangerous and powerful the summoned creature was.
‘๐๐ต’๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐-๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ต ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ณ.’
Of course, Siwoo would not let his party members take such a risk.
He believed that they were doing their part inside, so Siwoo decided to do ‘his part’ as well.
‘๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ข ๐๐ฐ๐ช๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ. . . ๐’๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ.’
Basically, a salamander is a being called a fire spirit.
Spirits are a different concept from magic. If magic is a phenomenon caused by reciting a spell, spirit magic is a method done through a contract.
And the salamander is also the name of a fire spirit that spirit masters make contracts with.
Siwoo noticed something strange here.
He had noticed that the way Giovanni used the poison was similar to fire.
If the poison was a liquid, it should be similar to water magic, but the way Giovanni handled it was closer to fire than water.
And his doubts turned into certainty when he saw the summoner who combined poison and salamander.
‘๐๐ต’๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ?’
It is no exaggeration to say that magic is a combination of imagination and will.
Embodying the magic you want means filling your magic with your imagination and willpower.
Magical power is just a catalyst.
At that moment, the salamander opened its mouth and venom erupted like a flamethrower.
The grass and trees that the blue-black venom touched instantly rotted.
Siwoo quickly strengthened his shield.
Thinly spread magical powers were woven together like warps and woofs, forming layers of layers.
Normally, he would have rotated the multi-layered shields in different directions and deflected the opponent’s attack.
However, there were many Hunters fighting nearby, so he couldn’t do that.
If he made a mistake, the venom might hit someone else.
Hwareureureukโโ!!
A hot black heat poured down on Siwoo.
Whether it was because of the intense heat or the toxicity of the venom, he could feel the shield melting.
“Kekeke, that shield won’t last long.”
Giovanni’s sneering voice could be heard from a distance.
He materialized a spear and held it in his hand, then threw it with all his might toward Siwoo.
Kwagaโโng!
The shield shattered in an instant and the blade pierced the tip of his chin.
Giovanni didn’t stop there.
“I will spread all my demonic energy and magical power to you like a disaster.”
He continued to materialize spears.
The spears, each about 2 meters in size, left Giovanni’s fingertips and flew toward Siwoo at lightning speed.
ใ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฉ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐, ๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฉ, ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ฒ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐!ใ
“Wouldn’t it be better to just help me if you want to eat rice?!”
ใ๐๐ก. . . ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ง’๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ!ใ
A huge magic circle was drawn under Siwoo’s feet and a blue ice field gushed out.
Soon, a freezing cold that made his breath freeze enveloped the surroundings.
[Snow Story: Ice Age]
Jjeojeojeo. . . jjeojeojeojeog. . .!!
The Poison Salamander within the range, from its legs to its face, was covered in a chilling cold, freezing even its venom.
Siwoo immediately pulled out Balmung and deflected the flying spears.
‘๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ.’
He put all the remaining magical power into Balmung while looking at the continuous attacks from Giovanni.
The blade of the sword trembled.
A faint blue light bloomed on the blade.
Siwoo swung his sword as if he was going to cut the horizon.
A crescent-shaped sword light flashed across the ice field, bathing the surroundings in light.
Kwagaโโng!
The ground erupted, and white dust scattered.
An uncomfortable silence.
“Kekeke, Mr. Siwoo. It seems you’re out of magical power now. I think you can see that I’ve won.”
A black silhouette rushed toward Siwoo through the dust flying in the wind.
Giovanni’s shoulders, which had been pulled back far, swung forward.
Swiโโsh!!
The flesh burst and Siwoo flew dozens of meters, rolling on the ground.
He could feel the impact on his fingertips.
“You little punk, that’s why you shouldn’t mess with adults.”
Giovanni looked away and smiled smugly.
It was quite a tough battle.
Usually, any opponent who was hit by his poison wouldn’t last more than 3 minutes at most, but Siwoo had been attacking until he ran out of magical power, so even Giovanni couldn’t help but be nervous.
“Poison Salamander, release.”
He released the frozen summoner and reabsorbed the magical power and demonic energy.
‘๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฏ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ. ๐๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต 30% ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต.’
He had known from Kaise and Diakan’s reports that he was strong, but he hadn’t expected him to withstand even an SS-rank opponent like himself to this extent.
Even so, he had only thought of him as a ‘slightly strong’ Hunter, ranked somewhere between 20th and 30th.
However, his true abilities were not at that level.
Although Giovanni did not fight with all his might, it was true that he fought with all his might with the intention of killing him.
The result was that 70% of his total magical power and demonic energy had been consumed.
‘๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ช๐จ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต.’
Giovanni grumbled that there were many problems with the report and that he would have to find areas for improvement, and was about to leave.
Kim Hwan and Skinner will still be fighting inside the banquet hall.
However, there was one thing he knew and two did not.
‘๐๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ๐ถ๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ง๐ช๐จ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ท๐ฆ.’
Giovanni had no intention of going inside and trying to save them by appealing to his loyalty to Kim Hwan or Skinner.
If they were lucky, they would come back alive, and if notโ.
‘๐’๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ.’
He took a step with a self-deprecating laugh.
That’s when it happened.
A strange air current that you feel when you shouldn’t be getting up.
An ominous premonition crossed his face.
Giovanni’s instincts screamed strangely.
It was telling him that it was dangerous, to run away quickly.
‘๐๐ฆ, ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช, ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ? ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ!’
However, the warning was blocked by Giovanni’s instincts.
Since it was the first time he had felt such an emotion after awakening his fear, Giovanni could not respond honestly to that emotion.
He turned his head towards the direction where a chilling murderous intent was blooming.
“Mr. Min Siwoo. . .?”
He had definitely hit him in the head with a fist full of poison and magical power.
He had definitely seen blood gushing out and flesh falling off.
He should have died.
That guy was getting up from his seat and glaring at Giovanni with strange eyes.
With a perfectly fine face.
“You have no magical power left, so just pretend to be dead and stay there. Why are you getting up again? Are you courting death?”
“When did I ever court death?”
“Right now, you are.”
Giovanni regained his magical power and walked briskly toward Siwoo.
For someone without magical power to approach an opponent with magical power is like running into the middle of the enemy lines on a battlefield without a gun.
‘๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ณ๐ข๐ป๐บ ๐จ๐ถ๐บ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ. ๐๐ง ๐ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ, ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐น๐ค๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ 1๐ด๐ต ๐๐ช๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด.’
He arched his back and pulled his shoulders back as far as he could.
Demonic energy and magical power mixed together and gathered in his fist.
The muscles in his thighs, calves, and buttocks swelled and hardened from his heels.
“Let me kill you easily.”
His shoulders and elbows rushed forward at the same time with the recoil of his waist.
Bang!
“Kyaaaak!”
Giovanni fell to his knees, clutching his hand.
The fist surrounded by magic power was covered in blood with bones protruding here and there.
He raised his head, his right hand trembling.
He definitely didn’t feel any magical power. . .
‘๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ. . . ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ. . .?’
The position of 2nd rank and the title of 2nd Hierarchy in ใPandemoniumใ were not just given.
They were achievements based on stronger magical power than others, vast combat experience, and a sense of skill.
Therefore, he could tell whether an opponent was controlling their magical power or if they had run out of magical power, even with his eyes closed.
Siwoo was definitely out of magical power.
His ragged breathing, his pale complexion due to lack of magical power, and the concentration of magical power fading from his body, starting from the farthest part of his dantian.
The difference was so subtle that it was impossible to notice unless he concentrated, but Giovanni was able to grasp it with his wild senses.
“How did the lost magical power. . .?”
He hadn’t taken a potion.
No matter how effective a mana potion is, it can only fill about 30%.
However, the momentum of the magical power now bursting out of Siwoo was not at the 30% level.
‘๐๐ต’๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ธ ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ. . . ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ?’
This was theoretically impossible.
Unless he had two dantians from the beginning.
“That fist just now was a little painful.”
Siwoo opened his mouth as if growling.
Giovanni flinched and looked at his face, but there were no wounds other than a little blood.
“Don’t tell me. . . You just played with me. . . Did you?”
“No, I didn’t. I couldn’t just play around with the 2nd rank. But I didn’t use all my strength either.”
Siwoo’s words were not a bluff.
The magical power and murderous intent that radiated from him, thick enough to make one’s skin crawl, were proof of that.
Giovanni broke out in a cold sweat as he felt the momentum of his opponent, which he couldn’t keep up with.
“Kekeke. . . Are you going to have a second round now?”
“No. Not a second round.”
Siwoo clenched his fists so tightly that they made a cracking sound.
His arms were pulled back.
“It’s my turn to return what I received.”
!!!
As his fist swung, Giovanni’s upper body completely disappeared.
The grass fell back and a cool breeze blew.
Siwoo flew into the still-chaotic banquet hall, leaving behind only the lower half of his body.
He glanced at the chaotic scene and looked for the ใPandemoniumใ organization members.
“Kukakakaka! Even Harold Bloom is nothing! There is no spear that can pierce my shield!”
Skinner, with one arm tattered, came into view, spewing madness.
“Who are you? You too will die under my shield.”
“Shut up and get out of my way.”
Zzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeng!!
Siwoo’s ether tore through Skinner’s shield and sent his head flying.
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