The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 396



Only Noblemtl

Episode 396

#396. Fighting is also mine.

“Leave it to me.”

Doris, who was in the middle of a battle with the Slayer and his allied guilds, left the fighting to her subordinates and quietly retreated.

Since he was a wizard, he stayed in the rear from the beginning, so the Slayers didn’t notice it right away.

Doris headed towards the gate alone.

The gate was filled with mana, like a balloon that was about to burst after being blown to its limit.

‘If I put just a handful more mana in, it’ll go berserk.’

When the rampage begins, it generates a high fever and greedily devours any remaining mana in the surrounding area like a black hole.

And boom!

“If Seoul goes away, Korea is finished. The balance in Northeast Asia will also collapse.”

After the Mirage sweep operation that was carried out simultaneously by leading forces from all over the world.

The reason Mirage, or rather Illusion, chose Korea as their comeback match was not simply because a new S-rank had appeared in Korea. It was not because Korea was easy either.

Illusion wanted to decorate the return match with a flashy display. He painted a picture of throwing a region into chaos beyond simply messing up a peninsula nation.

The most effective target among them was Korea.

‘Even before the Gate era, Korea was in a geopolitically important location.’

This was the case even after the gate era.

It has a huge monster habitat called the Demon Realm, and China and Russia, which are considered hunter powers, are fighting over it.

In addition, Japan has always been very obsessive about Korea, whether it is because of the past memories of being oppressed by the Korean hunter community or because of historical circumstances.

Since Japan was also an advanced hunter country, if these four countries bordering Northeast Asia were entangled and an accident occurred, the result could be not only disastrous but catastrophic.

‘The reason Northeast Asia has been safe until now is because these four countries have maintained their own level of security and society.’

It was surprising that the vast territory with a combined population of 1 billion people across four countries was stable, but it was even more surprising that the lever of this stability was Korea.

Illusion was trying to target this part.

‘If Korea falls, Japan will intervene in the Korean peninsula. Japan was originally very interested in the magic realm. With the magic realm of the two-party system being subtly shaken by the recent rise of Korea, if Japan reveals its hand, Northeast Asia will become chaos itself. And on top of that, there’s the evil dragon of the three heads.’

Can the countries that have been fighting fiercely join hands to fight the evil dragon?

In the era of great wars and small wars, even in the midst of major battles that determined the rise and fall of mankind, it was the hunters who calculated each other’s gains first.

It was clear that among them, there would be those who would try to use the evil dragon rather than stop it.

‘As a starting point, there can be no celebration more spectacular than the explosion of a gate.’

Doris recalled the illusion’s trick and touched the gate’s surface. The gate, already in explosion mode, sucked mana from Doris as if it had been waiting.

Zugggggggggg!

A vibration began inside the gate. It felt like something was working inside. It felt like a machine, like an engine turning and gears turning.

The gate turned red. So red that it became dull. Soon it went beyond dull and turned dark.

It was sucking in not only mana but also light from its surroundings.

Suddenly, the surroundings became quiet. The fighting stopped as the gate shook. But the silence was not due to the fighting stopping. The gate was even eating up sound.

“I’ve only heard about it, but it’s actually more amazing than I expected when I actually experience it.”

Doris was surprised that her own voice was not heard.

The gate reached its peak in an instant, ready to unleash not only the energy it possessed, but all the power around it.

The surrounding forces would also include hunters.

“Know it as an honor that you are all offering sacrifices on the altar of Illusion.”

Doris looked back and sentenced all the Hunters, including Mirage and the Slayer, to death.

Her voice did not reach. However, outside the area of ​​mute, the battle was fierce. The hunters who noticed the gate’s rampage and Doris’s presence desperately tried to approach the gate.

But the hunters of Miraju would not allow him to approach. He risked his life to protect him.

They thought of themselves as warriors of the temple, not knowing that their end would be martyrdom.

The glory of the dead was death itself.

“Okay, I’ll take my leave now.”

From the beginning, Doris had no intention of becoming a martyr. She used a one-time teleportation item that she had purchased at great expense from Mirage.

It wasn’t an item that could travel hundreds of kilometers as the legends said, but it had enough power to send you outside the blast zone.

The item felt like thin aluminum. Its shape was a scroll. The activation condition was tearing the scroll. It was difficult for an ordinary person to tear metal, but it was a strength that any hunter could use.

Doris tore the scroll. The scenery before her eyes turned whitish, along with a resistance different from that of paper.

The last thing she saw was a crack in the gate, a blinding light shooting out.

‘Starting today, everyone will fear Mirage.’

* * *

Thomas groaned as he flew through the sky, just a little way from the gate.

“Why didn’t I have a good feeling?”

When he arrived at Bukaksan Mountain, he was one step too late.

As I chased after the mana flying away, leaving behind a trail of light, I saw that the gate was splitting into hundreds and thousands of pieces.

Mana leaked out through the gap. This mana was far from the peaceful energy he knew. It was more destructive and malicious than anything else.

Not a companion, but the devil himself.

It was clear that the entire Bukaksan Mountain area would be reduced to ashes the moment it exploded, and the center of Seoul would completely lose its role as a city.

Thomas contacted Kang Mu-hyuk.

Before I could even explain the situation, Kang Moo-hyuk spoke first.

-Is it Bukaksan Mountain?

“Yes, you knew that.”

-Because there’s so much mana moving around that you can see it. If I saw it, I thought Thomas Hunter would have seen it too. What’s the situation? I’m thinking about follow-up measures, but I don’t know the scene.

“It’s about to explode.”

-I guess… I guess we have to assume the worst case scenario.

“Please think about the worst later, and listen to my will first.”

-testament?

“As I have no family, I will leave my entire estate, including my death benefit, to Dr. Marie, who treated me at the Ithaca Guild.”

-What are you talking about now… … .

“That’s it. I’ll take care of the notarization.”

-Thomas Hunter, what are you doing now?!

“There is one last resort. If I survive, I will cancel the will.”

-Thomas!!

Thomas hung up the phone. His smartphone rang immediately. He grabbed it.

Snap!

The object that was a smartphone fell to the ground.

‘Am I crazy?’

Why am I doing this now?

Strictly speaking, there was no need to risk my life here. There was no obligation to do so. I was born in Korea, but I lost my parents at a young age and was adopted to the United States. I had no memory of my home country.

‘But why am I like this?’

My head got better thanks to Mana Addiction, but maybe it got so good that I became weird.

Yeah, it was all because of mana addiction. Otherwise, there would be no rational need to risk one’s life.

He himself is an S-rank. He has lived as a low-ranked hunter for years, treated as a disposable magician, and now he has finally become a hunter who is treated well. If he reveals his rank, he can eat well and live well wherever he goes.

‘But why am I here?’

Gate. It’s all because of that damn thing.

The monster that came out of there ate my biological parents, and that fucking door even killed my adoptive parents.

My whole life was mortgaged to that door and I lived in misery.

The orphanage was burned down because of the monsters that came out of that gate, and the reason I was treated as a slave in the Ithaca Guild was because of that guy.

“Fucking mana addiction!”

Thomas had been angry for a long time. When was the last time he had been angry?

After being orphaned twice and feeling emotionally worn down? Since the day you were diagnosed with mana addiction?

I don’t know exactly when it started, but it was clear that it had been quite a while since I started acting out my emotions to hide the fact that I was different from others.

So, the current anger was also confusing.

Something that had been suppressed boiled up inside my chest as if it were exploding. Hot breath rose up into my throat.

Only then was Thomas able to reveal his true feelings, which were not much different from Kang Mu-hyeok’s.

‘In the end, I’m just like Team Leader Kang, a guy who can’t be with that guy.’

If the gate exploded, there would be a lot of Thomases in this city. There would be a lot more who would be deprived of that opportunity.

Could adults take care of children left alone? It was a busy world where people were busy living. Adult care was a blessing that only the lucky could enjoy.

Thomas wanted to break this endless cycle of bad luck.

It was the first time I witnessed my true feelings that I had never known about.

‘Why did I become a hunter? I’ve always doubted that.’

What kind of hunter is a guy suffering from mana addiction doing that?

It was just a coincidence. Becoming a Hunter was just a roll of the dice.

I thought and lived like that.

But not anymore.

“If it’s my mission to stop this kind of thing, then it is my mission.”

Or plural.

I was ready. I had no regrets. I had even less hesitation.

“Let’s give it a try.”

Thomas opened the ampoule kit he wore on his waist. Instead of a potion, it contained a healing potion that would relieve mana addiction. Unlike Kang Moo-hyuk’s, it was a strong drug.

He took out the syringe and administered the injection, not one, but two, three, four… … .

A drug that far exceeded the standard level was spread throughout the body.

‘Let’s capture the feeling of that time.’

He closed his eyes and explored the golden mana growing within him.

I could do it because I experienced it in LA. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it… … .

At that moment, he caught a ray of light that jumped out from deep within the space.

Thomas’ body turned golden.

His eyes flashed open. Golden eyes were staring at the gate.

“Uff dict.”

Fight.

With that voice, his right hand reached out towards the gate.

Geum-an glared at Thomas’ hand.

“Don’t act like you’re being selfish just because I lent you a handful of strength. Geum-an. I’m the one who controls this body. Not you.”

The outstretched hand paused. The light in his eyes faded.

Thomas withdrew his hand, then extended both hands. A gate was raised between his palms.

Although it was far away, it seemed like the gate was right in front of him, so Thomas carefully touched the gate.

“Fighting is also mine.”

At those words, the gate exploded.