Meanwhile, while Liam was in the United States.
"Ah, I'm so tired."
Just after thwarting a terrorist site, Hajoon returned home.
His sabbatical had ended, and he was attending the academy's classes as usual when some crazy villains carried out a terror attack. The situation was overwhelming, so Hajoon had to step in and had just resolved it.
Of course, with so many incidents happening, his stats had grown, and there were more quests, so his level had increased quite a bit, reducing his physical fatigue to some extent.
Still, he felt mentally drained and tired.
On his way back after resolving the situation, he thought about going straight to the dormitory, but craving a home-cooked meal for a change, he decided to go home.
"Haah! Haah! Oh? Brother, you're back?"
"Ugh, I'm stiff. Huh? What's up?"
When he arrived home, he saw Elaine and Irian sparring in the spacious garden.
Wiping their sweat with towels, the two approached Hajoon, who opened his mouth to speak.
"I wanted some home-cooked food."
"Ah! Perfect timing. We were just about to eat."
"Elaine is quite a good cook."
With that, the three of them went inside the house. While Elaine was preparing the meal, Irian looked at Hajoon and asked.
"By the way, he hasn't come back yet, has he?"
"Who?"
"Liam Martel. Didn't he go to the U.S. to capture Lain? Don’t you need to help him?"
"He'll manage on his own."
Honestly, he wasn’t too worried.
The world's number one and fifth heroes were alternately guarding Liam Martel. Moreover, the fragmented Villante didn't feel very threatening now.
Besides, he can't always clean up their messes.
They have to learn to deal with things on their own eventually.
Especially since Liam has a mythic-grade artifact in his possession. Considering his current strength, he's at least equal to, if not stronger than, a top-tier hero.
"Alright, everyone, get ready to eat."
Just then, Elaine, who had set the table in the kitchen, called out.
She was originally from England, but strangely good at Korean cooking.
She learned by watching YouTube videos.
"Oh! That looks delicious."
Hajoon and Irian headed towards the table, lured by the savory smell of Doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew).
That’s when it happened.
Ding-ding-
Hajoon’s phone started ringing at the most inconvenient time.
What now, another villain attack?
Hajoon answered the call with a crumpled expression.
"Who is this?"
-Irregular, it's the president.
"…President?"
For the record, the call was from Andre Heut, the president of the American Heroes Association, not Korea.
He urgently conveyed his message to Hajoon, and Hajoon's expression began to crumple.
-Liam Martel has gone missing.
"Missing?"
It was then.
Ding-
"…?"
Just as he heard those words, the sound of a system notification rang out.
Hajoon's eyes widened at the notification that appeared before him.
[● Liam Martel (Progress 91%)]
This was a few minutes before Hajoon was about to eat.
As the attack by Lain unfolded, a battle ensued.
Keeeeng!
"Ugh!"
Liam managed to block Lain's strike with Mirtain, but the impact tore up the grass on the ground and pushed him back.
Nevertheless, Lain grabbed Mirtain, relentlessly pressing Liam.
Quickly kicking off the ground, Joa swung her mace at Lain from behind.
Whoosh!!
Clang!!
“?!”
Suddenly, a huge, dark octopus tentacle emerged from the ground, blocking Joa's mace.
This enormous creature began to reveal itself from the ground.
It was a monstrous creature with fierce teeth and glaring red eyes, its upper body resembling a dragon, while its lower half was reminiscent of octopus legs.
The mythical beast, Leviathan.
It swung its massive arm towards Joa.
Whoosh! Boom, boom, boom!!
Joa immediately jumped high, dodging the creature's arm, but its sweeping motion demolished the house.
Joa narrowed her eyes mid-air, surveying the surroundings.
Agents guarding the house were already engaged in a standoff with Villante's Millie, Hakuse, and Hal. In other words, the deployed agents were unable to provide assistance either.
Having assessed the situation, Joa shouted towards Liam.
"Liam! Hold on for a moment!"
"Yes! Got it!"
Joa could trust the current Liam.
Although only 17 and lacking in experience, she knew well his talent.
The child favored by artifacts.
Every artifact in the hands of this child could unleash its power to the extreme.
"Let's see you jump around."
Liam grinned and firmly grabbed the arm of Lain, who was pushing against him.
"Mirtain!"
Liam called out to Mirtain.
Responding to his call, Mirtain emitted a silvery light and began to vibrate.
Soon, a round, silver ring attached to the spear detached, floated in the air, expanded in size, and created a gateway leading somewhere else.
Towards this gateway, Mirtain burst through the air, pulling Liam and Lain into another location.
Whoosh!!
'Let's see...'
He needed a vast space.
Considering the damage he might cause in a confrontation with her, it would be better in a place devoid of people.
When he spotted a large, relatively deserted field, Liam swung his arm, hurling Lain towards the ground.
Thud!
However, Lain skillfully regained her balance in mid-air and landed on the ground.
In front of her, at a slight distance, Liam, who had been hanging onto the spear, slowly landed on the ground.
-The energies are chaotically intertwined. They're all energies I know. But who is this woman?
"A villain targeting you."
-...I see.
Liam lightly responded to Mirtain's question, but Mirtain felt an unclear sensation. To this, Liam spoke.
"Focus, we might die."
-...Understood.
Soon, silvery energy erupted from Mirtain, enveloping Liam's entire body.
When the silver energy completely covered Liam, he assumed a stance, targeting Lain with Mirtain. Lain's face began to contort menacingly.
"That power is..."
Her voice trembled.
Seemingly consumed by rage, she glared at Liam, starting to unleash her magic in all directions.
Then, a transformation occurred in her body.
Dragonification.
Dragon scales sprouted all over her body, and her eyes turned into those of a fierce beast.
Dragon wings emerged from her back, and she, now floating in the air, burst out in anger at Liam.
"That's not your power."
Boom!
With her face twisted in rage, she charged at Liam again.
Sharp dragon claws emerged from Lain's hand, reaching for Liam's neck with a speed that made it nearly impossible to react.
Despite her sonic boom-like speed, Liam responded.
He immediately engaged in combat.
Liam's eyes moved rapidly.
Swinging Mirtain, he deflected her claw with the blade of the spear and smoothly counterattacked. Simultaneously, Lain stretched out her other hand in a rapid succession of strikes, which Liam parried, maintaining distance with his spear.
Ting! Ting!
In the midst of this standoff, a destructive phenomenon began to warp the surroundings.
Bang!! Crackling!!
Grass was swept away around Liam and Lain, exposing the soil, and sparks began to fly due to the collision of their magic.
In this situation, Liam swung his spear calmly.
He swiped horizontally, then vertically from top to bottom, and thrust forward.
His movements were so fast they could hardly be considered large.
In the midst of this standoff, Mirtain quietly began emitting silver energy.
Sensing something, Lain quickly retreated and looked up at the sky.
In the air, dozens, maybe hundreds, of spears floated, raining down on Lain like arrows.
Whoosh!
"∎∎∎∎∎."
Simultaneously, Lain uttered a dragon's chant.
A language beyond human comprehension caused a phenomenon.
A spherical shield formed around her, blocking the countless falling spears, and she reached her hand towards the sky, chanting another dragon spell.
Ziiing! Bang!!
Amidst the hundreds of falling spears, a terrifying energy burst out, sweeping away the surrounding spears.
However, while she was busy blocking the numerous spears, Liam had already prepared.
Keeeng!!
Mirtain vibrated as if roaring.
Liam threw Mirtain like a javelin towards Lain, and Mirtain created a sonic boom, shooting straight at her.
Boom!! Crack!!
Simultaneously, the shield protecting Lain shattered just before Mirtain's spear touched her body.
The spear's blade seemed like it would penetrate Lain's flesh, but the dragon scales protecting her body blocked Mirtain's blade.
Lain immediately grabbed Mirtain.
However, in an instant, Mirtain's form disappeared, reappearing in Liam's hand.
Clack-
Seeing this, Lain's expression contorted in frustration.
As expected, she couldn't obtain the artifact unless she killed its current owner.
Whoosh!
Lain soared into the sky.
With a mythic-grade artifact in his hand, ordinary means couldn't kill him.
"∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎."
Lain then uttered a dragon chant.
The longest sentence of dragon language she had spoken so far.
"∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎."
As her sentence continued, her magic power grew increasingly violent and fluctuating.
Then, as Lain opened her mouth, a terrifying energy began to gather inside it.
-This is bad... Liam, run!
Sensing the severity of the situation, Mirtain shouted at Liam.
Liam, too, felt an overwhelming magic power gathering in her and quickly opened a gate with Mirtain.
Just before escaping through the gate.
A terrifying energy shot out in a straight line from Lain's mouth towards Liam.
Boom!!!
In that instant, Liam reacted swiftly.
Abandoning his escape, he chose to block the attack instead.
He immediately changed the destination of the gate to a desolate place and altered the gate's direction upwards, directing the destructive beam shot from Lain's mouth elsewhere.
However, the range of the beam began to widen gradually.
It expanded massively, almost covering the entire gate.
Liam's hand, tightly clutching Mirtain, began to shake.
He tried to enlarge the ring creating the gate to match her expanding beam, but the beam's widening range was overwhelmingly faster.
Finally, when Lain's beam engulfed the ring creating the gate.
Crack- Boom!!
A massive explosion of light enveloped Liam and Lain.
"Uh... where is this?"
Regaining consciousness, Liam looked around.
He was in a place similar to the Amazon, filled with dense forests and the sounds of wild animals.
Liam quickly surveyed his surroundings.
The trees around him were individually enormous and tall.
They were so high that they created dark spots by blocking the sunlight.
It was then that Liam heard Mirtain's voice while he was inspecting his surroundings.
-Are you awake?
Liam turned his head towards the source of the voice.
There, Mirtain was floating in the air, almost as if looking at Liam.
Liam asked Mirtain.
"Where are we?"
-In your language, it's called 'The Abyss'.
"…What?"
Liam looked at Mirtain with a bewildered face.
Mirtain responded bluntly to Liam.
-Stop making a face like a goddamn idiot. The gate you opened earlier led to 'The Abyss' anyway.
"Why did you open a gate to The Abyss?"
-There was no other place to redirect that woman's beam.
"That woman?"
Referring to her, Mirtain pointed its blade somewhere.
Liam's gaze followed where Mirtain was pointing.
There, he could see Lain lying unconscious on the ground.
