Chapter 54

I looked at him with a frown. What kind of question is this?

"I didn't follow you, I was trying to save you. Because I have the ability to fly."

"Then."

Ha Tae-heon came one step closer to me.

"If you don't have the ability."

"......"

"You wouldn't have fallen behind, would you?"

I shut my mouth.

The moment it was confirmed that Ha Tae-heon was falling, my body moved before rational judgment.

If I hadn't had the wind ability, would I have acted differently?

I wasn't even sure about that.

"...what's the point of such a question? Anyway, I moved with the intention of saving you. Isn't that enough?"

What does Ha Tae-heon want from me? From the moment I met him in Roheon a few days ago, his subtle and strange attitude kept coming to my eyes.

Even if I want to get closer, you get farther away. It seemed to me that even Ha Tae-heon himself couldn't sort out his confusion.

'Then why are you doing this? Please, let my words cool you down.'

I'm so frustrated. He's the kind of person who doesn't trust other people. I knew it because I read the novel... It was incredibly uncomfortable for me to go through.

"That's enough. Now it's not the time to talk about it. Let's find the way out first."

As I sighed and changed my words, Ha Tae-heon's expression darkened somewhat. Did I see it wrong? It's so dark I'm not sure.

Ha Tae-heon, who created a black sword, passed me by and took the lead. Every time Ha Tae-heon moved, the dust wrapped around him and shimmered. He looked like a princess from a fairy tale with fairies.

I walked along the dark hallway for a while. Ha Tae-heon, who had been quietly walking forward without a word, stopped suddenly.

"Why?"

"It doesn't feel right. I think we're going around the same place."

Ha Tae-heon raised his sword and swung it towards the wall. Kagak, deep scratches left on the wall.

"Do you know how long it's been since you fell here?"

"About 50 minutes. It's not accurate."

"I'm not even sure how many times we've wandered in 50 minutes."

I said as I put my hand against the wall.

"Now that we have left traces, let's walk against the wall. Let's check if it's a simple maze or a monster's ability."

Ha Tae-heon nodded his head and, like me, stepped forward, leaning against the wall.

It was dark all over the place, so it was not easy for him to make an accurate judgment in which direction he was walking. I swallowed dry saliva and focused all my attention on the wall felt in my palm.

'You shouldn't be nervous.'

The most important thing in this situation was to remain calm. If you started to agitate, you might miss something important.

"...we're back."

The traces that Ha Tae-heon had left before were touched by the fingertips that were touching the wall. It took about 15 minutes.

There's nothing we can do about it now.

"How about just breaking down the wall?"

"If you act rashly, you can touch a hidden device."

"But it's better than being stuck around, though. Shouldn't we get out of here as soon as possible? I don't know what's going on with the guild members."

Ha Tae-heon, who had been thinking about my words for a while, blinked at me.

"Stand back."

As I quickly hid behind Ha Tae-heon, dust gathered on the wall.

Kugugung! Bang!

The dust clinging to the wall began to explode all at once. Kururu, the wall crumbled down and a cloud of smoke spread under his feet. When the shaking ground had calmed down, I asked.

"What do you see?"

Beyond the wall, there was nothing in black space. Glittering dust flew over the wall, illuminating the surroundings.

"Nothing."

Am I and Ha Tae-heon standing in the middle of a large space with nothing but darkness? Horror, I got goosebumps.

"...if you don't know, can you take a look below?"

Glowing dust drifting through the empty space slowly went down following Ha Tae-heon's gestures. Holding my breath, I noticed something grey as I looked at the swarms of light descending.

"Just now..."

"There is something."

"We have to go down."

I swallowed dry saliva and looked down. I couldn't even guess what was underneath this.

"Are you okay?"

"There's no other way."

"That's true."

I didn't want to, but as Ha Tae-heon said, I had no choice but to do it. I stood up to Ha Tae-heon and spoke frankly.

"Hold me tight. I'm so anxious."

"......"

In the dark where even the person in front could be seen dimly. Still, I felt the body temperature and my anxiety subsided a little.

Perhaps he felt the same way as me, but Ha Tae-heon, who paused for a moment at my words, pulled my back and hugged me.

Huung, the wind came out and Ha Tae-heon's body floated up. Beyond the collapsed wall, I slowly descended to a place where there was only darkness. In the distance, Ha Tae-heon's dust glittered and shone.

"That..."

What was reflected in the light was a part of a large stone statue. Tap. As soon as my feet touched the ground, candles were lit everywhere as if they had been waiting.

"A goddess statue?"

I looked up at the huge statue of the goddess in front of me. It was a woman holding a sword and looking down at me. It was the goddess statue I saw in the central hall of the gate.

"How can this be here..."

"Han Yi-gyeol!"

Ha Tae-heon hugged me and hurriedly flew away. Kugugung! A gigantic sword made of stone statue slammed into the spot where I had just stood.

Gurururung!

The goddess' arms moved slowly. Several stone swords fell one after another towards us. I quickly used my ability.

Kwagwang! Kugugung!

Ha Tae-heon moved his body to avoid the sword while holding me. The energy of the sword that was stably piercing down was unusual. A frightening sense came over me.

"At least, ugh!"

Kwaang!

"S-grade or higher, that's it!"

Geugeuk. Gururung.

The eyes of the goddess who was looking down moved. It was a sound I had ever heard. My mind went cold.

'That's what I heard when I looked at the goddess statue in the central hall. That's...'

Are you saying her eyes were moving back then? I wiped the cold sweat running down my cheeks and said to Ha Tae-heon.

"Anyway, that statue... It seems to be S+ grade."

"Definitely."

Kugugugung!

The stone sword, which was stuck on the floor, was slowly pulled out and floated behind the goddess statue. The lips of the goddess who fixed her gaze on us were opened.

『Punish...ment.』 (처......단)

"Ugh...!"

"Keuk!"

I clenched my teeth at the heavy voice that shook my head. Even Ha Tae-heon groaned briefly as if he was shocked.

Geugeugeuk, gigik.

『Punish them.』

The huge sword the goddess was holding was lifted up at high speed. At the same time as the sound of cutting and shuffling the air, Ha Tae-heon jumped on the ground and ran.

Kwagwang!

The floor was dented with a huge impact and debris splattered randomly. The whole area shook as if a high-rise building had collapsed. The figure of the goddess, whose face was half immersed in the shadows, was very bizarre.

Sarararak.

Black dust gathered around Ha Tae-heon's body, which was holding me. As if wearing a shield, Ha Tae-heon swung his sword towards the statue with a lot of dust floating around.

Kagagagak!

The wrist of the goddess who had been hit with his sword was still intact. Ha Tae-heon frowned slightly. It's defensive against SS-rank attacks.

The aura I felt was definitely an S+ grade. If Ha Tae-heon's attack didn't work even though it was not SS-grade.

"It looks like it has some defence-related abilities."

Perhaps he had the same thoughts as me, Ha Tae-heon calmly looked at the statue. Most of the monsters with defence-type abilities existed as a medium. Only by destroying the core, which was the main axis of its ability, would the attack become meaningful.

"I don't see anything worthy of being called a core."

Kuung! Pajijik!

The sword of the goddess that fell over her head was blocked by Ha Tae-heon's dust and sparkled. Uuung, the seven stone swords floating behind the goddess statue lay horizontally and flew toward us like arrows.

Ha Tae-heon avoided the pouring stone swords and dug into the gap of the goddess statue. There was a difference in speed, even if it was fast, as much as its huge body.

Kagagagang! Aiming at the goddess' neck, he drew his sword horizontally, but again, there were no scratches left.

It would remain in this state until the core was found. I looked through the goddess statue while being hugged by Ha Tae-heon. Find the hidden core...

"Ah."

At that time, a moment that had passed without meaning came to my mind.

If I'm right, the core.

"Ha Tae-heon-ssi."

I said, raising the corners of my lips.

"This goddess statue, can you deal with it alone?"

Ha Tae-heon looked at me at the sound of my voice that was different from before.

"...you must have figured something out."

"Five minutes at most. Is that possible?"

"Let's do it."

It was a burden for Ha Tae-heon as the attack did not work on the opponent. But this was the best way.

I nodded and pointed down.

"I'm going to fall sideways at the right time. I will keep my ability. It will help you dodge the attacks."

Now that the goddess statue was looking, I couldn't move hastily. I had to sneak away at the most insane moment. Ha Tae-heon, realizing the meaning of my words, flew his body towards the goddess statue.

Kagagang! Kagang!

Although the attack continued to be blocked, Ha Tae-heon continued to swing his sword regardless. Geugeugeuk, the goddess statue who turned her eyes around once again opened her mouth.

『Punish them.』

Huuung!

The seven stone swords rose into the air again. Ha Tae-heon naturally moved downward, avoiding the stone swords that were pouring out randomly from all directions.

'Now!'

Just as the stone sword passed over my head, I jumped out of Ha Tae-heon's arms and jumped down. It was not very high, so I landed easily without any ability and ran straight to the right of the statue.

"Oh, damn it."

There was a pile of broken stones piled up on the floor. I hurriedly lifted my head and looked at Ha Tae-heon. Ha Tae-heon was seen battling the goddess statue's attack.

Should I use my ability? If my ability was used to both sides, the energy towards Ha Taeheon became unstable.

"......"

I didn't have time to think about it. I kept looking at Ha Tae-heon and began to clean up the pile of stones with my bare hands. Fortunately, there was no debris that was too heavy or too large to move. As I hurriedly clean it up without seeing it properly, a tingling sensation came up on both palms.

'Found it!'

The blue light flashed as I roughly moved the pile of stones to the side. A blue jewel that I found when I looked at the goddess statue in the central hall. Fortunately, it was also stuck in the same place here.

If my guess is correct, this is the core that maintains the defence. It was the moment when I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Gasp!"

Kwagwang!

"Ha Tae-heon-ssi!"

With the sound of falling down, I saw Ha Tae-heon buried on the wall. He was hit on the back by the sword the goddess statue wielded and flew away. The corner of my head was cold.

Ha Tae-heon got up with a dry cough. Blood dripped down his cheeks as if he was injured when he bumped into it.

'Calm down.'

Feeling my heart beating rapidly, I fumbled for a fragment of an appropriate size from the pile of stones. A core embedded in the ground. If you just break that.

"—Han Yi-gyeol!"

A shadow fell with an eerie sensation. When I looked up, I saw two huge eyes of the goddess looking down at me. The presence of shadows flickering in the light of candlelight approached with indescribable fear.

Gururung.

The goddess' sword rose and Ha Tae-heon was seen running from the opposite side.

I bit my lip and smashed the jewel with a shard.