Chapter 316

Crack.

Even though it was clearly a human hand, the five fingers on the Beast's arm dug into his shoulder with unbelievable force, like iron claws.

"!!"

Jung Haseong could not avoid being injured in the process.

As could be seen, the small-statured Beast that had appeared possessed an Awakening ability of the "Enhancement" type. The moment that common yet by no means weak magic activated, the Beast tightened its grip around the hero's shoulder muscles and tore into them.

Moreover, as though worried its prey might escape, the Beast drove the claws of its other hand into an innocent Awakened standing nearby, taking out a kind of insurance policy just in case.

That meant Seonwoo Yeon had been caught in its grasp as well.

"Aah!"

For a B-rank Hunter with relatively low defensive ability, the consequences were severe. The claws sank so deeply that they even punctured her upper arm.

"The Shroud of the Underworld, at a time like this?"

This was a complete disaster.

The Beast was clearly trying to drag the Korean Hunters somewhere far away. But if everyone simply stood by and watched the situation unfold, what exactly would the raid team gain from it?

The only people capable of fully reacting to this sudden crisis were the two top-tier Awakened with S-rank physical abilities—and perhaps an archmage whose instincts surpassed even theirs.

"Crazy!"

In truth, Kim Giryeo had already begun moving before Seonwoo Yeon even tried to pull the hero toward herself.

But with an F-rank body, it was only natural that the superhuman reflexes of genuine S-rank Hunters would outpace him before he could accomplish what he intended.

"What is wrong with this lunatic...?"

Esther and Jung Haseong attacked the Beast almost simultaneously.

Since their ally Seonwoo Yeon was caught alongside the creature, they avoided using skills and instead tried to separate the enemy from them through sheer physical force.

"Damn it!"

Then, in a desperate situation like this, what could a washed-up mage possibly do?

Kim Giryeo finally rushed toward the shadow spreading across the ground and reached out his hand.

Since assisting through physical strength was all but impossible with his current abilities, the reincarnated archmage had decided from the beginning to target the [Shroud of the Underworld] itself.

"This is...?"

He had to unravel the magic of an artifact he had never particularly cared about before—in the span of a single fleeting moment.

And not merely analyze it, but dismantle its structure on the spot.

Surprisingly, the process went smoothly.

Though he had been trapped inside the frail body of an old, weak mammal and suddenly reduced to the status of a powerless nobody, the innate talent engraved into his soul remained intact.

Even after crossing the cosmos.

Thus, the mage of Alphaut completely deciphered the Shroud of the Underworld in a matter of seconds.

At such a speed, even Earth's rulers would have had no grounds to complain if someone called him a monster.

In the very same instant, the alien also completed the reverse calculation of the cloak's spell formula and found a method of interference.

There was only one problem.

[ Under conditions of 760 mmHg and 22°C, interruption of the spell requires 3884.7 M Magical energy ]

He had completed the calculations with unmatched speed.

And yet the conclusion waiting for him at the end was nothing but despair.

[.: A worthless nobody with no magic left can do nothing ]

Honestly, the ink on his newly issued F-rank Hunter license had barely even dried.

What could anyone possibly expect from him?

Of course, relying on the black gloves he was wearing was hardly a viable option either.

Magic that had already been tightly bound to physical matter was difficult to absorb even through direct contact with the Midnight Gloves.

Conversely, the magic stored inside the Midnight Gloves was likewise not easily affected by outside forces.

Back during the Su Yahee incident, they had managed to overcome a similar artifact with something called a Collapse Particle.

But that had destroyed the equipment while it was still in standby mode, before its function had even activated.

Could anyone really expect the same result now?

It wasn't enough.

Crack.

The Beast.

Jung Haseong.

Seonwoo Yeon.

Right now, the criminal's claws were embedded in the other two like iron hooks.

Because of that physical connection, the [Shroud of the Underworld] would likely recognize all three of them as passengers linked through the same shadow.

Esther grasped the overall situation at a glance and made an immediate judgment.

I have to stop Hunter Jung Haseong from being separated from us no matter what!

She did not know what coordinates the artifact had been set to target.

But if anything happened to Jung Haseong—

If he died—

It would shake the very foundation of the nation's power.

"Still, since the Beast itself is going with them, the destination probably isn't a death trap."

Believing that she had to remain with the top-ranked Hunter no matter what, the second-ranked Hunter willingly made physical contact with the group.

And one alien, having moved too close while analyzing the artifact, had inadvertently entered the shadow as well.

If he had focused solely on escaping at that moment, even with his clumsy F-rank body, the archmage might still have managed to flee the danger zone.

But Kim Giryeo abandoned the idea of running.

There was still one more unfortunate mammal trapped in the enemy's claws.

"Aaack!"

It was simply bad luck.

Seonwoo Yeon had happened to be the person standing closest to the gate, and so the predator had chosen her as its insurance.

Even the nation's hero could not break free from the Beast's monstrous strength after it had been amplified by some kind of drug.

For a B-rank technician with far less physical power, escape was completely impossible.

It can't be helped.

The moment he saw that, the archmage gathered the tiny amount of mana he still possessed—

and performed a single miracle.