[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 171: Time (1)

Takamine Ryoko stared silently at the CCTV screen.

The situation was spiraling into disaster. Kwon Mi had been defeated, and the Black Sharp agents were in no condition to offer support.

“At the very least, we have to save Kwon Hanul…”

The problem was that Kwon Hanul couldn’t be moved from the coffin.

The Rebirth procedure used specially compounded drugs to forcibly break down the body, which was then kept alive within the coffin, undergoing reconstruction.

Currently, Kwon Hanul’s bones, muscles, and organs had melted and fused due to the drug cocktail. He was an unformed mass being held together only by the life-supporting magic of the coffin.

Opening it would kill him instantly. He was completely immobilized.

“Time left: One hour, twenty minutes…”

With a worried expression, Takamine Ryoko looked toward the Hyukcheon Hunters locked in a standoff with Odin.

For now, all she could do was hope they would hold out.

“It’s been a long time. Nearly twenty years, right?”

Odin spoke as he looked at Joo Hayun.

“Do you have any idea how thrilled I was to meet you back then? A spatial-type aptitude—one that had never appeared before! I almost jumped for joy. I was convinced you’d make my power even stronger.”

His voice was gentle, as if reminiscing fondly. But all Joo Hayun felt was revulsion.

“But to think Hyukcheon would ambush me and take you away… You can’t imagine how much I cried back then.”

Odin let out a deep sigh.

“That’s why I hate Hyukcheon. They always show up at the worst moments and ruin everything. They have no idea what it’s like for the one on the receiving end. Arrogant, insolent, infuriating bastards.”

“Shut your mouth.”

Joo Hayun’s voice cut in coldly, unwilling to listen any further.

“Scum like you don’t get to insult Hyukcheon.”

“Scum, huh? I guess I would be from your point of view—after all, I’m the one who killed your father.”

There was a sharp intake of breath. Joo Hayun ground her teeth.

“My mother.”

“Oh, was it? Eh, doesn’t matter. Let’s move on.”

Odin spoke dismissively. Joo Hayun clenched her fists without realizing it.

“Still, meeting me wasn’t all bad, was it? You learned magic from me, didn’t you?”

He shrugged casually.

“You rose through Hyukcheon thanks to the magic I taught you, and now you spit on me? That’s pretty ungrateful. Even a dog remembers a favor…”

Unable to hold back any longer, Joo Hayun unleashed her magic. The blast tore through the space Odin stood in.

But Odin’s barrier of curses blocked it effortlessly.

“Don’t talk about favors. You tried to absorb my power.”

Joo Hayun knew the truth.

Odin’s rise to power in Pandemonium wasn’t due to talent alone.

Curse magic scaled with the strength of the user’s soul. To increase that strength, Odin used a simple method: killing others and absorbing their souls.

Absorbing a mage’s soul was far more effective than an ordinary person’s. So he would train talented individuals in magic… then kill them and take their power.

Joo Hayun had been kidnapped by Odin for this exact purpose.

“Still, a favor is a favor, right?”

Even with murderous intent flaring around her, Odin didn’t flinch.

“It’s true you succeeded thanks to me. If it weren’t for me, you’d have lived a boring, ordinary life.”

Joo Hayun’s face contorted with fury. Her killing intent surged.

“Khak—”

Kwon Mi, still in Odin’s grip, coughed up black blood, her insides rotting away.

“Getting heavy.”

Odin flung her aside like trash. Kwon Hudon’s eyes hardened.

“Such filial devotion. I suppose it’s only natural to be angry.”

Odin nodded mockingly.

“But why aren’t you attacking? Don’t tell me you’re just pretending to be mad because you’re scared of me. That can’t be right. A member of Hyukcheon wouldn’t stoop to that…”

At that moment, Kwon Hudon’s rage boiled over.

He shook off Mei Hong and Gael Garcia and charged forward.

In that instant, his body was encased in black-scale armor. A giant in ironclad form, he hurled a fist at Odin.

“A dutiful son, huh?”

But Odin’s curses moved faster than the blow.

Dozens of cursed blades slashed through Kwon Hudon, cutting through his armor like paper and impaling his now-exposed body.

“Huh?”

Odin blinked—Kwon Hudon had vanished.

Turning his gaze slightly, he saw Hudon collapsed beside Joo Hayun.

She had used spatial leap magic to save him at the last second.

“Kwon Hudon.”

Spatial magic was powerful but inefficient. Moving even one person consumed significant mana.

“I understand your anger. But that man is not someone who can be beaten with rage alone.”

“Oh, I didn’t think you held me in such high regard.”

“Shut your mouth.”

Her voice was laced with fury.

“All three of you—fall back.”

Joo Hayun’s tone was cold. Under normal circumstances, she would’ve been more diplomatic, but there was no time.

“Secretary Kim.”

“I’m listening.”

“It looks like both of us will have to risk our lives.”

“Didn’t need to say it—I already knew.”

Secretary Kim opened a subspace and pulled out a sharp spike.

It wasn’t an ordinary spike. He’d been saving it for a moment like this.

“Tch…”

He stabbed it into his own chest. The spike liquefied and spread through his body.

His curse-damaged body healed—no, it surged with vitality.

But he didn’t smile. He knew the cost of this strength.

“I’m ready.”

“So am I.”

Joo Hayun activated her magic. A sigil floated in midair, and space warped.

The distortion stretched like a staff. She gripped it and swung.

“So you really are ready to die.”

Odin watched them, intrigued.

“But you both know there’s no chance of winning, right?”

They didn’t respond. Instead, they attacked.

Odin recognized the staff Joo Hayun had conjured.

He wasn’t compatible with spatial magic, but he’d read the grimoires.

The Impossible Weapon That Shouldn’t Exist in the Causaeum.

In simple terms, a weapon formed by compressing physical force through magic.

It could change form freely and, though it was a staff, perform slashes, strikes—any kind of attack.

Joo Hayun used a spatial leap to get close and brought the staff down on Odin’s head.

He chose to evade rather than block, gliding backward using magic.

The staff grazed his nose and smashed into the ground, pulverizing it entirely.

“Ooh.”

Odin whistled.

She had multiplied its weight by thousands in the moment of impact.

His curse barriers were tough, but that attack was dangerous.

“Smart of you. Going for close combat.”

Magic usually offered range and versatility.

Her spatial magic could sever entire areas or crush enemies in an instant.

But she’d abandoned that advantage for a melee strategy.

Spatial spells were fast and efficient—but lacked power. Against someone like Odin, they couldn’t inflict fatal damage.

Just like how he had easily blocked her earlier spatial cut.

“Still got energy to waste?”

Suddenly, Joo Hayun stabbed the staff into the ground—but it vanished instead of sticking.

“Huh?”

Odin turned his head. A spear shot from behind, piercing the space where his head had been.

Joo Hayun had redirected the staff and swung it midair.

Half the staff disappeared, and dozens more appeared around Odin.

“Spatial refraction?”

Odin was once again impressed. Pulling off such advanced magic like it was nothing…

Then again, that weapon was optimized for spatial manipulation. Still, it was extraordinary.

“You’ve really grown.”

Curses surged from beneath him, wrapping around his body like armor.

The staff grazed the armor, but couldn’t penetrate.

“If that’s all, I’m sorely—”

Then he saw it.

The scenery behind Joo Hayun wavered like a mirage.

“…A barrier?”

The distortion vanished, revealing an entirely different scene.

Secretary Kim stood with his hand raised toward the ceiling, hundreds of rings floating above him.

Odin realized what the barrier was for—buying time for Kim to prepare his skill.

“Joo Hayun! Move!”

Kim shouted, swinging his arm down. She leapt to his side with spatial magic.

Hundreds of rings shot toward Odin.

One struck his curse armor—then embedded itself and exploded.

“What?!”

It didn’t wound him, but just piercing the armor was shocking. His barriers were as tough as SS-class monster hides.

Then more rings struck. Odin was thrown backward, half his armor blown away, his skin charred.

“I underestimated you!”

No time to panic. More rings rained down.

Odin roared and summoned curses in waves to block them.

It became a race: would the rings run out first, or would his curses?

…Until he felt a presence behind him.

“…Hayun?”

She stood at his back, though she had just dodged to Kim’s side.

“How did you teleport in this chaos?”

Spatial leaps were nearly impossible in such turbulent mana. It disrupted the spell.

“I didn’t expect you to have come this far.”

His heart swelled with emotion. Who would’ve imagined the girl he lost twenty years ago would grow so powerful?

“Hayun, you’re truly—”

Then he noticed: she hadn’t spoken a single word.

“…You…”

Overwhelming mana surged from her. She had been silently controlling it for a grand spell.

Joo Hayun brought her hands together, one above, one below.

A vortex swirled between her palms, distorting space itself.

The surroundings warped like shattered glass.

“…No way…”

A spell Odin had never seen—not in any spatial grimoire.

Yet he could guess its nature.

“…Compressing space?”

Before he could finish his sentence, Joo Hayun released the compressed space.

She had been aiming at his exposed back—unable to guard it while blocking the rings.

Her spell struck with devastating force.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]