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chapter 77
Crush Yeon Mirae.
Drive Yeon Mirae to despair.
Corrupt Yeon Mirae.
That was the command Oracle had given to his subordinates.
And he even added: use any means necessary.
In other words, to drive Yeon Mirae into despair and corruption, anything was permitted.
So Oracle’s followers did not hesitate to bring out the latest equipment their organization had developed.
“(How much did one of these cost again?)”
“(No idea. I heard it was about the same as the annual budget of a small country.)”
The equipment they had brought was specifically designed to deal with Yeon Mirae, who was presumed to be an Aura Master.
Even if their opponent was an Aura Master, using equipment equivalent to a national budget seemed wasteful. But Oracle and the executives still allowed them to deploy it.
That showed just how important it was to Oracle to corrupt Yeon Mirae.
“(Alright. Activate it immediately.)”
The one who appeared to be the leader gave the order.
“(Now? But Yeon Mirae isn’t even in sight….)”
“(Don’t underestimate an Aura Master. She’s probably already aware we’ve entered this dungeon. If we hesitate, she could cut our throats before we notice.)”
They knew their place well.
No matter how many Aura Masters or Archmages they had killed before, that had only been possible thanks to the equipment their organization provided, not their own strength.
So they quickly set up the device and activated it.
Bzzzz….
The equipment, shaped like a lightning rod, released small waves that spread throughout the dungeon.
And then—
‘Huh?!’
Yeon Mirae, watching them from a distance, realized what the device was doing.
‘My inner energy… no, my demonic energy…’
It wouldn’t move as she willed.
It was so heavy that even moving a little drained her strength.
At that moment, she understood how these terrorists could face an Aura Master.
If an Aura Master couldn’t move their aura at all… they were nothing more than a slightly sturdier human.
A weakling, suddenly unable to properly cut through monsters.
‘…Just like I was in the past.’
Of course, her skill as an Aura Master hadn’t disappeared. But normally, one weakened to that extent could be subdued by a group of ordinary Awakened working together.
“(… Found her.)”
While Yeon Mirae was thinking this, one terrorist smirked and pointed toward her hiding spot.
Because her demonic energy had been bound, the concealment spell cloaking her unraveled.
Yeon Mirae had been minimizing her presence in more ways than just magic, but their search ability was sharper than she expected, and she was exposed almost immediately.
“Click…”
The moment she realized she’d been found, she moved.
Charging straight at them.
“(Stop her!)”
The terrorists formed up defensively around the device, but—
Boom!
“(Gah…!)”
Her downward slash sent one of them flying, and the mood shifted instantly.
“(What the…?)”
“(We disabled her aura, didn’t we?)”
The terrorists were thrown into confusion.
Her strike was impossible for someone unable to use aura.
There was no doubt she was under the device’s influence—if she weren’t, they’d all already be dead.
Which meant—
“(She’s… forcing her heavy aura to move?!)”
“(That’s even possible?!)”
Yeon Mirae had wrapped her blade in aura by sheer force, moving it despite its crushing weight.
Heavy didn’t mean immovable.
‘Still… with aura not flowing freely, I probably can’t form an Aura Blade…’
That was fine.
Sword ki was enough.
[Yeon Mirae’s sword ki wasn’t on par with an Aura Blade, but to those ignorant of martial arts, it looked almost identical.]
[Because the supreme art she practiced—Reverse Heaven Divine Art—was designed to unleash maximum destruction with minimal energy, the power of her sword ki alone was close to that of an Aura Blade.]
For Yeon Mirae, her sword ki had attack power rivaling other Aura Masters’ Aura Blades.
And since her inner energy had converted into demonic energy, its destructive power was even greater now. It might even surpass most Aura Blades.
‘…Good.’
She swung her sword again, convinced this was enough to deal with them.
The terrorists scrambled to evade.
“(A black Aura Blade…?! What is that?!)”
“(What kind of energy is this?!)”
Cold sweat dripped down their faces as they felt the ominous force in her sword ki.
And they finally realized—
They had come here to drive Yeon Mirae into despair and corruption…
But in truth, the ones drowning in despair were themselves.
“(…Fire!)”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They knew their lives were precious.
So they quickly opened fire with their sidearms, weapons they’d prepared for emergencies.
Boom!
‘What…’
These weren’t normal bullets.
‘AM rounds…?’
Explosive ammunition usually reserved for monsters.
Without protective aura, she couldn’t block them.
So Yeon Mirae deflected or dodged them instead.
Boom!
“Ugh…!”
Even when deflected, the rounds exploded on contact, pressing her further.
The impacts accumulated on her blade, wearing it down.
“(Reload!)”
“(Do it in rotation, just like in training!)”
“(Yes sir!)”
Realizing their bullets were working, the terrorists’ morale rose.
‘…Doesn’t look like they’re short on ammo. Time’s not on my side.’
Each AM round cost at least hundreds of thousands of won per shot. How many did they bring?
First missiles in Sydney, now this… how obscenely rich was this Oracle group?
Muttering inwardly, Yeon Mirae readjusted her sword grip.
Then she gathered demonic energy into her legs.
Not to rush them through the barrage, but simply to—
Boom!
“(What?!)”
“(Damn it…!)”
—slam it into the ground.
The dungeon floor collapsed under her strike.
“(The ground’s caving in?!)”
“(Fall back! Protect the device!)”
But the terrain itself shifted.
They were in a rocky mountain dungeon. Near the entrance it was flat, but right beside them lay a massive rocky slope where kobolds dwelled.
Her strike had destabilized it.
Rumble…
“(What now…?)”
A terrorist turned toward the ominous noise, then froze.
Then shouted for all to hear:
“(Watch out! Landslide!)”
The mountainside crumbled, sending boulders crashing down toward them.
“(Shit! Dodge!)”
“(No, guard the device!)”
“(Damn it, what am I supposed to—!)”
CRASH!
Caught between saving themselves or the priceless equipment, they faltered.
And were buried under the falling rocks.
“(Cough! You guys okay?!)”
“(Y-Yeah… thanks to you…!)”
None had died—they were still skilled Awakened who had once felled an Aura Master with the aid of equipment.
But many were battered and bleeding.
“(…Wait. Where’s Yeon Mirae?)”
“(And the device… it’s gone too?)”
In that brief chaos, their target and their only advantage had disappeared.
As they glanced around—
“Whew… I can finally breathe again.”
“……”
“……”
Her voice came from above the boulders crushing them.
They looked up—
“I’ll be taking this with me.”
Yeon Mirae held the device that had weighed down her energy.
“(…Damn it…!)”
“(Forget it—just focus on survival!)”
Which meant she was free again.
And that they had no hope of restraining, let alone defeating her.
“Do you think you’ll escape alive?”
Yeon Mirae had no intention of letting them walk out of this dungeon.
She only intended to test her newfound power of demonic energy and demonic arts on them.
Hissss…
Her demonic energy spread like a dark mist, filling the area.
Its oppressive, vicious aura dominated the space.
“(…Black mist…?)”
One terrorist muttered.
It resembled humanity’s great enemy, the Black Fog—devouring everything, spreading despair.
“That’s insulting.”
Yeon Mirae took his words as an affront.
Yes, demonic energy and demonic arts weren’t truly “proper” powers in her own eyes either.
But to compare them to the Black Fog was too much.
So she drew more demonic energy from her core.
And forged it into a blade of energy.
“……”
The terrorists were struck silent.
Mesmerized by her dark blade.
The black sword aura held their gaze.
And then—
Slash.
It consumed their heads in an instant.
“Honestly…”
Looking down at the corpses of terrorists cut down so easily, Yeon Mirae muttered with dissatisfaction.
“If they die this easily, how am I supposed to test my demonic energy and arts?”
