The Late Game Healer Is Way Too Strong – Chapter 288

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟖𝟖: 𝐋𝐮𝐱 3

Gandharva’s gauntlets gradually turned red.

The special material gloves that allowed her to use the power of the sun were the epitome of magical engineering, with dozens of complex magic circuits inscribed upon them.

Furthermore, since the actual user was not just some lowly hunter but Gandharva of ‘Misteltein’, the research staff at the Magical Engineering Institute had no choice but to stay up all night for several days to create the formula.

Thus was completed the so-called ‘Agni’s Dominion’.

Gandharva clenched her two crimson fists and charged at Sakon and Yakon.

One would expect an intense heat, but the gauntlets merely emitted a red glow, calmly containing the heat.

The dozens of intricately intertwined circuits were sealing off the heat so that her skills would not be wasted.

Sakon and Yakon sensed the drastic change in her aura and immediately drew upon their demonic energy with all their might.

Unlike the demonic energy of Burdeos or Harold Bloom whom she had faced previously, a distinctly different demonic energy erupted violently, releasing a sharp and piercing darkness.

Kwadudduk!!

Hundreds of whips made of darkness lashed out, scraping the floor.

Before she could even consciously react, Gandharva’s body responded instinctively.

She twisted her waist to dodge the incoming attacks in succession, then dashed forward like a bolt of lightning and punched Yakon hard in the side.

Zzzzeeeeeeeeoooooow!!

A deafening roar echoed as if a stone wall had been shattered.

But that was not the end.

Part of ‘Agni’s Dominion’ activated, and scorching heat enveloped Yakon’s entire body, igniting bright red flames.

Hwarururururuk!!

“Yakon!!”

Sakon screamed as the immense flames consumed Yakon.

He took out one of the beads hanging from his necklace, put it in his mouth, and chewed it vigorously.

A huge formula appeared in front of Sakon, and a stream of blue water gushed out from the magic circle, wrapping around the flames that clung to Yakon.

Soon, the torrent that had absorbed all the flames rushed towards Gandharva.

“Are you really going to attack with something like water?”

She scoffed and slammed her two fists together.

Pazijijijijijijij. . . !!

A small sun blazed forth with a blindingly bright flash and rose in front of her.

As if she had released all the heat she had been holding back until now, scorching heat poured forth, causing the temperature of the surroundings to skyrocket.

“Extinguish, sun!”

Sakon roared.

The white orb of light and the torrent of water collided with each other, creating a deafening explosion and generating a thick fog that covered the area.

Gandharva spread her magic shield to escape the impact and sensed the demonic energy of her enemies to locate them.

However, the energy of her enemies was completely different from what it had been a moment ago.

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘰. . . 𝘯𝘰, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦. . . ?’

Gandharva was slightly confused.

The energies of Yakon and Sakon were mixed together, causing her to sense them strangely.

She stepped forward through the thick fog towards her enemies.

She intended to finish them off once she caught up to them.

And what appeared before Gandharva’s eyes was a grotesque monster that was twice her size.

Aaaagh!

The monster swallowed several of the beads hanging around its neck in one gulp.

And then it extended its fist towards Gandharva.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡKwaaahhhhh!!!

The terrain of the surroundings was scorched, and a large hole was created where she had been standing.

The monster, with only a single vertical eye in the middle of its forehead, searched for Gandharva, revealing its jagged teeth.

She managed to dodge the blow at the last moment and minimize the damage, but that did not mean there was no impact.

“Wh. . . what the hell are you. . . !”

Gandharva rubbed her forearm and glared at her opponent.

“I am Sayakon. This is my true form.”

He filled his mouth with a massive amount of demonic energy and exhaled it towards Gandharva.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Meanwhile, the world had descended into chaos.

While the Reverse Gate had yet to be resolved, a horde of zombies had suddenly appeared.

No, rather than appearing, it was as if normal people had transformed into zombies.

An ordinary office worker, a father on his way to work, a mother taking care of her child, a student attending class, a CEO presiding over a meeting, a pastor spreading the word of God.

They suddenly began to convulse and then started biting the people around them.

The situation was particularly severe in areas such as drug-infested zones, slums, gangster hideouts, dawn clubs, and drug offender detention centers.

The more people crowded into a small space, like chickens in a coop, the more geometrically the damage increased.

In numerous countries, armies, police, and hunters were dispatched, and a state of emergency was declared, while countries that were experiencing both the Reverse Gate and the zombie outbreak declared martial law.

“We will move out immediately. The Magical Science Investigation Unit will remain, and the HSIU and Hunter Association will depart.”

Choi Dae-soo had heard about the zombie outbreak while fighting a chimera in Baba Yaga’s lair.

He had come here first because there was a place where the Reverse Gate had not yet activated, but he had never imagined that such a strange incident would occur.

He led the combat hunters straight to the nearby portal.

And he headed to Johannesburg, the economic capital of South Africa, which was considered one of the areas where the situation was most severe.

The place they arrived at was a scene straight out of hell.

On one side were the military, firing guns and missiles behind barricades, and on the opposite side were hordes of dark-skinned zombies charging blindly forward.

Gunshots and explosions could be heard all over the streets, along with the sounds of car alarms, breaking windows, screams, the cries of babies, the acrid smell of burning corpses, and the gunpowder.

Choi Dae-soo’s brow furrowed involuntarily.

This was why he hated urban warfare more than fighting monsters inside the Gate.

“Damn it, this is a war.”

He sighed, taking a deep breath of the acrid smoke.

“Yaksa-nim, please give us your orders.”

At that moment, those who had followed Choi Dae-soo looked at him and asked what to do.

“Orders. Are there any regulations or guidelines regarding ‘those’?”

Choi Dae-soo asked, pointing at the zombies.

His meaning was clear.

Would their superiors recognize ‘those’ as people or as monsters?

If they were recognized as people, the hunters would have to subdue the zombies, but if they were recognized as monsters, they would have to be killed.

In fact, this was not a simple matter, but a very complex one.

Were these zombies temporarily in this state due to magic or a curse, or were they destined to remain in this state forever?

If they were destined to remain in this state forever, was it possible to turn these zombies back into humans?

Or was there a skill or magic that could restore them?

Or were these zombies currently biologically dead, so that immobilizing them would not constitute murder?

One might ask who would be concerned with such matters when faced with monsters right in front of them.

Of course, this was not a concern for ordinary people.

However, it was an important issue for hunters and soldiers who had to kill countless zombies.

What if they killed dozens, hundreds of ‘zombies’, only to find out later that they were ‘people’ whose bodies had been possessed but whose minds were still intact?

And what if, as time passed, all the zombies were freed from the curse and became human again?

They might live their lives haunted by the guilt of having killed people, even if they had done so under orders.

“Regulations. . . It says that it is up to the discretion of the commander in the field.”

For the hunters, the fear of being killed by the zombies was greater than the fear of killing them.

Choi Dae-soo shouted in a short, firm voice.

“Understood. There are only two orders. Kill the enemy. Do not hesitate. I take full responsibility for all consequences of this order. End of transmission.”

The hunters nodded and immediately dispersed in all directions.

Choi Dae-soo could not be sure whether this order was absolutely correct.

It was possible that the perpetrators would regain their senses once Baba Yaga’s spell was broken.

Or they might return to normal if Baba Yaga was killed.

However, all of this was just speculation.

“We have to prevent any more casualties.”

Choi Dae-soo focused on that and carried out the operation.

After all, the rest was not his responsibility, but that of others.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

An ominous and thick demonic energy rose high into the sky behind Baba Yaga.

Kuwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

The ceiling broke open, revealing the vast sky above.

The demonic energy that had risen so high split into tens of thousands of strands in the void and poured down on the world like dark green rain.

“Hohoho. Even if you had come a little earlier, you wouldn’t have been able to stop it. Lux has already been consumed by many, and my spell was not activated just now.”

“So you had already constructed the formula and were just waiting to pour in the magic power.”

“That’s right. These things require thorough preparation, you know. It would be a shame to die after drawing the ritual too late.”

Baba Yaga scattered the potions next to her into the air with a mischievous smile.

The purple liquid wobbled like jelly, not falling to the floor but hovering in the air.

“So in other words, the batteries. . . are the zombies?”

“Well, the world calls them zombies. I call them my pets.”

“Are those zombies dead?”

Baba Yaga blinked and then let out an ‘ah’ as she realized the intention of the question.

“Hohoho. You are so sharp, even in this situation. Do you want to solve everything by yourself?”

“No, that’s not possible. I can only do what I can do. So will you answer me? Are they dead or alive?”

“Hmm, well.”

She tilted her head as she swished the purple liquid around with her staff.

Siwoo grew tired of waiting for an answer and drew his Muramasa.

Sreung!

The moonlight-like blade flashed, revealing its sharp form.

“You’re quite impatient.”

“I usually cut off an arm or a leg if they don’t seem like they’re going to answer. Then they start talking.”

“Oh my, how cruel.”

“An arm or a leg. Choose.”

“Would you cut off the arms and legs of such a beautiful woman?”

“Sure.”

As Siwoo responded without a shred of hesitation, his eyes gleaming coldly, Baba Yaga let out a hollow laugh.

“Actually, I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve used such a large-scale spell. However, when I’ve used similar spells on a smaller scale. . . I think they were dead.”

“I see. If I split your head open, will the spell be broken?”

She found Siwoo’s blunt phrasing amusing and shook her shoulders, her laughter echoing.

“Well, that might be the case. But even if you are an SSS-rank, aren’t you underestimating me a bit? I am ‘Misteltein’ and a 1st Hierarchy of 〈Pandemonium〉.”

“I’m not underestimating you. I’m just stating the usual outcome when facing me.”

“Hmm, I like that, I really do. I wish you were in 〈Pandemonium〉.”

“Sorry, but you’re not my type.”

After finishing his words, Siwoo charged his Muramasa with magic power and swung it down with all his might in a diagonal line.

Kwa━━━━ng!

The path of the sword’s energy was completely severed, and even the magic circle that had been blocking Baba Yaga’s path was shattered.

Siwoo glared forward with murderous eyes and quickly erected a shield.

Kwajiiiiiiiiiiik!!

A purple arrow pierced Siwoo’s dense shield, coming close enough to almost touch his flesh.

If he had erected the shield even a moment later, he would have been pierced by the arrowhead.

“Oh my, that’s too bad.”

She said, frowning.

“Next time, I’ll break your shield and hit your heart.”

“Everyone in ‘Misteltein’ seems to be overflowing with confidence.”

At that moment, Siwoo muttered as if he were tired, turning his head from side to side.

“Do I seem that way?”

“I have to deal with the Reverse Gate. I have to deal with Lux or the zombies. And on top of that, I have to organize the 〈Pandemonium〉 documents.”

“Hohoho. I will make you my exclusive pet and free you from all those tasks.”

“Let’s see if you can do that, even after getting beaten up.”

Baba Yaga’s mouth fell open as she watched Siwoo’s figure disappear in an instant.

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