"Hyung-nim, how dare this crazy grunt!"
Yunseong, who had been following Sangpil, was greatly riled up by the opponent's brazen taunt.
"Right? What does this bastard take us for."
The two set aside their momentary dread and pursued the bastard's trail.
"Let's go. Let's teach this insolent grunt a lesson."
Steeling themselves, they moved even more carefully than before.
Rustle, rustle.
Sangpil silently signaled at the subtle footsteps coming from beyond the bend in the passage.
Yunseong nodded and prepared for an ambush.
As the sounds drew closer, Sangpil lowered his stance, ready to spring out at any moment.
"Now!"
He leaped out, about to throw his axe.
And simultaneously gasped upon seeing the opponent.
"Holy shit!"
"Whoa."
"Oh, shit."
The opponent was wearing a mask.
He too had been moving, weapon in hand.
The three looked at each other and flinched in surprise.
"Damn! Hyung-nim Sangpil, why are you coming out of there?!"
"I was about to say the same! Where are the others?"
The man pulled down his mask and wiped away the cold sweat as he spoke.
"Haven't seen 'em. I only saw several corpses myself, never even caught a glimpse of the rest."
"Sigh. For now, come with us too. It's not the time to wander around separately."
He quietly agreed.
Sangpil resumed the pursuit, their numbers now bolstered to three.
"Let's move again."
Tuk, tuk.
Everyone reacted sensitively to the sound of something stirring once more.
"Where are you!"
"Come out!"
Sangpil looked toward the source of the sound.
However, the opponent was nowhere to be seen.
"You little bastard!"
The enraged man sprang forward.
"Come out! You bastard! Come out!"
He charged ahead, but there was nothing there.
"Wh-what?"
Tuk.
He looked down at something snagged on his foot.
Right there, two grenades with their pins pulled were lying in wait.
"Damn it."
Sangpil, who had been trailing slowly behind, urgently shouted at the familiar sight on the floor.
"Hit the deck!"
Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions shook the ancient castle's labyrinth.
"Damn it!"
Sangpil and Yunseong, who had been barely within the blast radius, just barely managed to survive.
However, the man who had been at the very front died instantly.
"You fucking bastard!"
Sangpil shot up in fury and rushed out.
"Hey! Come the fuck out!"
He moved forward across the blast site.
Yunseong followed right behind him.
"S-spare me."
As they went down the path, what they saw was Sinhyeok, wearing a military uniform with an expressionless face.
He pressed the muzzle of his gun against the masked man's throat.
"Are you here to kill me too?"
Sinhyeok asked, looking at the two who had even thrown off their masks.
"Ha, is this bastard seriously threatening us right now?! Just kill him! We don't need any hostages."
Bang!
Sinhyeok pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Calmly holstering his pistol, he spoke.
"You're all going to die here anyway."
Smiling, he took out the last grenade from inside his jacket and flung it.
"I seasoned that one a bit, so be careful."
The two felt a sense of foreboding as they saw the grenade flying through the air, enveloped in an unknown light.
"Yunseong!"
Called by name, Yunseong hastily took out the artifact he had been saving.
"Shield!"
Kwa-boom!
An explosion rang out, and fragments scattered in all directions.
At the same time, fierce flames and wind burst in every direction.
"Keuk."
The two hugged each other tightly to endure the explosion and flames.
As the flames died down, the two fell down with a thud.
"Damn, damn!"
Unable to contain his rage, Sangpil sprang to his feet.
"Where is this son of a bitch! Come out!"
Yunseong also stood up and gripped his dagger tightly.
"I'll kill you."
As they looked around, they suddenly felt a bizarre sensation.
The skin all over their bodies prickled.
"Hyung-nim?"
Sangpil spun around agilely.
"Behind us!"
Turning around, Sangpil found Sinhyeok aiming a rifle at them, exactly as he had expected.
"You're dead!"
Bang!
He split the bullet, wrapped in blue light, with his axe.
Klang!
"With such a crude bullet!"
Sinhyeok smiled, lowered the rifle, and picked up the machine gun he had prepared in advance.
"Right. That was a bit crude. Then how about this?"
Click-clack.
He pulled the trigger of the loaded machine gun tightly.
Sangpil spat out a string of curses.
"So what! It's just a fucking—"
Tatatatatata.
Of course, every single bullet was an enhanced magic round.
He panicked at the absurd, common-sense-defying power piercing his entire body and was helplessly overwhelmed.
"Kweeeek!"
He was beaten so relentlessly that his whole body was being torn apart.
"Kuaaaack!"
Sinhyeok fired mercilessly, turning him into a lump of meat.
Tuk.
Ceasing the barrage, he checked the man who had become a perfect hunk of flesh.
"He's dead."
For a moment, the surroundings fell silent.
Sinhyeok saw a poisoned needle approaching from the side.
"Die! How dare you let your guard down!?"
Sinhyeok simply turned his head with a pitiful expression.
"I can see everything."
Thanks to Mapping, he had no blind spots.
He immediately swiveled the machine gun and aimed it at him.
Yunseong let out a hollow laugh upon seeing the machine gun aimed directly at him.
"What a crazy waste of money. Grinding magic stones into bullets."
Tatatatatata.
The barrage resumed, and he too was battered by the enhanced magic rounds and sent flying.
Sinhyeok glanced at him, pinned against the wall.
He was barely breathing.
"Son... son of a bitch......."
"Anyone watching would think I'm the villain."
Leaving the dying man behind, he became aware of someone coming up from below.
"He's really coming up like a brute."
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Someone was coming up, accompanied by the sound of things breaking.
The wall beside him broke down, and he came face to face with an unpleasantly familiar figure.
"Well~ here you are. Long time no see."
He greeted him as if they were old friends.
Sinhyeok also spoke with a smile.
"You look better since I last saw you. Did you get plastic surgery? That cheek of yours looks especially handsome. Hey, where'd you get your face done? It's gotten much fuller."
Crack.
Kim Mincheol, the former Persona Guildmaster, spoke with eyes flickering with killing intent.
"Thanks to whom, I wonder. Now die."
Black flames surged to fill the space. Soon, they covered the surroundings.
Sinhyeok stared quietly.
"Ha! That shitty constitution of yours is still the same."
The flames parted around Sinhyeok.
No, to be exact, they solidified right in front of him and flowed down to the floor.
Sinhyeok put his hand into the flames and spoke.
"This idiotic illusion is still the same."
The flames touched by his hand collapsed and flowed down.
Seeing that, Kim Mincheol showed irritation.
"That damn constitution is still the same."
"It doesn't go anywhere."
At the calm reply, he gave a meaningful smile.
"Well then, shall we see if our little soldier bastard is still the same?"
The flames disappeared and the surroundings changed.
Sinhyeok checked his Mapping first against the familiar illusion.
'Around here.'
Mapping's probes were deployed around Sinhyeok as if guarding him.
'Phew.'
He focused and scanned the surroundings thoroughly.
The illusion, the ability of the Persona Guildmaster that Sinhyeok knew, was activated.
"How is it? Familiar?"
A voice echoed from all directions. The surroundings were similar to before.
The traces of destruction had vanished, and the Persona Guildmaster himself had disappeared.
"Can you find me? Huh!?"
Swish!
A whip sound that tore through the air rang out along with a roar.
Sinhyeok rolled across the floor to avoid the attack. Even looking around, there was nothing different visible to the eye.
"Your senses are still good. No, is it thanks to that weird skill? It's really a cheat. Some people had to hunt and level up like crazy to get to this level."
As soon as he finished speaking, the whip lashed out again.
Swish!
Tearing through the air, it aimed for Sinhyeok's head once more.
He lowered his body and immediately aimed at the opponent.
'Around there.'
Estimating the opponent's position through Mapping, he fired the prepared magic rounds.
Tatatat!
Three shots were fired in succession, and blue flashes streaked across the front.
"Tch."
The surrounding illusion flickered and wavered.
The opponent still wasn't visible, but signs of agitation were evident.
"You're so pathetic, both then and now, that I can't stand watching."
Sinhyeok calmly checked his magazine while tracking him as he prowled around.
"Haah, you damn bastard. This is why I hate you. Others can't see or hear anything."
His energy oppressively bound Sinhyeok, but it was of little use.
His damn constitution.
Due to its coagulating property, it simply flowed away.
It became useless due to Sinhyeok's will to resist.
"Too bad. See, you should have chosen your opponent better."
He aimed at the Persona Guildmaster, who had stopped moving.
The opponent looked at Sinhyeok, who was aiming precisely at him, and let out a hollow laugh.
"Right, you should have chosen better too. Why did you try to face me alone, Mr. F-Rank Yu Sinhyeok."
All surrounding illusions were withdrawn at once. Having withdrawn the illusions, he smiled meaningfully.
He smiled silently and spread both arms. Following his outstretched arms, his shadow spread widely.
"I thought it'd be boring to play alone, so I brought some of our kids. You don't mind, right?"
Without asking for permission, of course, he began a one-sided invitation.
People wearing antique masks emerged from his shadow.
"Oh, our kids are very shy. Please understand."
Swish.
Those who emerged from the shadows drew their weapons and glared at Sinhyeok.
The Persona Guildmaster smiled brightly with genuine delight and lowered his arms gracefully.
"The curtain rises now. An endless nightmare begins."
With those words, the ones who had been standing still began to move.
"Che......"
Sinhyeok bit his lip tightly and aimed forward.
'Right for the head.'
He was about to aim for the head and fire when he saw the figure's smiling face in the corner of his vision.
'Why is he enjoying this?'
He was enjoying this situation.
Even though the mannequin-like things he had brought were clearly grunts with no abilities whatsoever.
"Heup!"
Taking advantage of the gap in his concentration, a masked figure's sword stabbed in sharply.
He struck the sword with his gun barrel, causing the opponent to stagger greatly.
"Aah, do your best, team!"
Beside the staggering figure, the remaining masked ones launched a combined attack.
'Pathetic.'
They were so pathetic it would be embarrassing to waste bullets on them.
No energy was imbued in them at all.
For now, without pulling the trigger, he simply pulled his body back.
"Ah~ what a shame."
Watching him lament, Sinhyeok aimed his rifle at the feet of the charging person.
Bang, bang.
"Keuk."
The opponent collapsed to the floor just like that.
'Red blood.'
Seeing the red blood flowing and the masked figure struggling in pain, his suspicions grew even stronger.
"What did you do to them?"
"Kekekeup."
The Persona Guildmaster held his tongue this time and merely flicked his fingers.
"Who knows."
At his gesture, the masked figures pressed in on Sinhyeok even more fiercely.
Seeing them swarm in like a flood, Sinhyeok lowered his rifle with a tap.
The rifle, tethered by a strap, naturally dropped to his left hip.
'Flashbang.'
He had prepared a bullet heavily packed with 1st Circle light magic.
Its power was roughly similar to a flashbang.
Chak.
As he aimed right in front, the Persona Guildmaster cheered.
"Ooh! Yes, kill them! Kill them!"
Seeing his reaction, the suspicion became certain.
"No."
Bang.
The bullet was fired, and Sinhyeok immediately closed his eyes.
Hwaaaaah.
Light exploded like a bomb in an instant.
"Damn!"
Exposed to the light, the Persona Guildmaster flailed about.
"Damn it! Kill him!"
However, the masked figures were also flailing about, exposed to the light.
'Quickly.'
In the meantime, Sinhyeok moved quickly and checked the masked figure who had been shot in the foot first.
Removing the mask, he could see the opponent with hazy pupils and even breathing.
Looking at the opponent, he could hear an unusually distinctive breathing sound.
'They're asleep.'
A limp expression and unusually even breathing.
As the light subsided and his vision returned, the Persona Guildmaster found Sinhyeok.
Seeing him check the fallen masked figure on the floor, he sneered.
"Why are you bothering sleeping people, huh? They were having such pleasant nightmares."
He smirked and provoked Sinhyeok.
"Heh. I heard you have strong military ethics, so you don't kill civilians easily. Or maybe you can't? Well. I suppose it doesn't matter."
Sinhyeok's surroundings were filled with people being controlled by him.
"Shoot them all dead like our kids."
He stared at Sinhyeok with a wicked smile.
"Aah, can you not? Do you not even have the ability?"
Sinhyeok holstered his pistol and slowly drew his military greatsword.
"Wow, your situational judgment is amazing."
He clapped and widened his shadow even further.
"But I have more~"
Sinhyeok's head began to ache at the increasing numbers emerging from that place.
"Bring out as many as you want."
He took out the leftover 1st Circle magic crystals from his inventory.
He gripped the yellow-tinged crystal tightly in his left hand. When he cut his fingertips slightly, they became drenched in blood.
"Wow, are you giving up?"
At the sneer asking if he was giving up, Sinhyeok smiled and spoke.
"No, I'm going to fry them all."
Lightning flickered in his left hand.
He let the remaining crystals tumble onto the greatsword with a tap and glared at his opponent.
"Bring out as many as you want. I'll knock them all out."