# Chapter 86
The Dark Elf watched for an opening from Geonwoo. Judging by how he had sent the Espers outside the barrier, it seemed likely he wouldn’t try to kill the B-class Espers right in front of him either. The Dark Elf only needed that brief moment—when Geonwoo was trying to stop their attacks or extract the parasites from their bodies. That small window of opportunity was all he needed to strike.
Geonwoo looked at the B-class Espers. Suddenly, his gaze shifted toward their feet. At that moment, countless wooden vines burst from the ground. They ensnared the B-class Espers completely, binding their entire bodies. None of them could move. The more they struggled, the tighter the vines constricted around them.
Geonwoo walked past the restrained B-class Espers. With his eyes fixed solely on the Dark Elf, he approached him. In Geonwoo’s hand was a dagger dropped by one of the elves. Somehow, its tip was already coated with blue blood. Near the hearts of the B-class Espers were stab wounds, blue blood trickling from them.
“…!”
When had he done it?
None of the Espers could follow Geonwoo’s movements with their eyes. The same was true for the Dark Elf. The Dark Elf’s expression changed. His pupils trembled, and terror took root deep within them. His attempt to exploit an opening had instead made him acutely aware of the overwhelming difference in power.
The Dark Elf, still mounted on his black horse, loaded all his arrows. The surviving elves charged toward Geonwoo with daggers in hand. The monsters remaining around the temple did the same. They couldn’t disobey the command of the Dark Elf who controlled the parasites.
But as expected, the battle was entirely one-sided. Like a predator devouring its prey, the monsters were hunted down one by one, their lives extinguished.
The black horse carrying the Dark Elf whinnied and stepped backward. It was frightened by the killing intent Geonwoo emitted and the scene unfolding before it.
The Dark Elf wasn’t much different. This was his sacred ground. It had become a graveyard for the monsters he’d created. Yet now, in his own kingdom, the Dark Elf was being hunted like the prey he had once hunted. He felt his throat constricting.
[Kuaaaak!]
The Dark Elf wanted to live. It was instinct. He roared loudly—a roar that functioned as a spell. In response, a gate entrance appeared inside the barrier. The Dark Elf spurred his black horse. To survive, he needed to escape through the gate. Behind him, he could hear the screams of the elves.
[Must live…!]
The entrance was right in front of him.
But then.
Bang-!
Knocked off his black horse by telekinetic force, the Dark Elf was dragged backward. The distance between him and Geonwoo was rapidly shrinking. Desperate to survive, the Dark Elf dug his nails into the ground. They left deep grooves in the earth.
Crack-!
[Uaaaagh!]
Geonwoo lifted his foot and broke the Dark Elf’s leg.
“It was you.”
The scenes from the dream were still vivid in Geonwoo’s mind. The Dark Elf who had repeatedly killed his hyung in the dream. In the dream, he had witnessed countless deaths of his hyung. He had even seen countless versions of himself dying after hastening his awakening to protect his hyung.
Geonwoo grabbed the Dark Elf by the neck.
[Sa… save me…]
The Dark Elf begged. Never having been in the position of prey before, he now pleaded for his life. But Geonwoo simply threw him by the neck.
Kwagwagwang-!
The Dark Elf, flying at tremendous speed, crashed into the temple wall. The wall crumbled with a rumble. Blood gushed from the Dark Elf’s mouth. Desperate to survive, he immediately regained his senses and tried to crawl away. Jaehee stood near the fleeing Dark Elf.
“Release it.”
Geonwoo spoke monotonously, looking down at the Dark Elf. The Dark Elf understood immediately. The curse! A glimmer appeared in his eyes. He saw hope.
If I can use that human!
[If you spare my life…]
Crunch-!
[Uaagh!]
The Dark Elf’s fingers bent backward and broke. But that wasn’t the end. Geonwoo systematically broke each of the Dark Elf’s joints, one by one. It was a cruel sight.
Watching this, the Espers outside the barrier involuntarily trembled. It wasn’t out of sympathy for the Dark Elf—a being unworthy of such emotion. Rather, they were instinctively terrified by Geonwoo’s overwhelming power, which allowed him to so thoroughly subdue an opponent that had given them such trouble.
Moreover, what disturbed them was that this was supposedly Choi Geonwoo’s first battle, yet he showed not the slightest hesitation in killing monsters. These two aspects combined made Choi Geonwoo seem like a monster himself.
“Release it.”
But Geonwoo had seen it in his dream. Even the slightest hesitation, that momentary faltering, had driven Jaehee to death. Countless deaths had dragged Jaehee to hell. And the only one who had ever pulled Jaehee out of that hell was Geonwoo. That’s why he showed no hesitation whatsoever.
Finally, the Dark Elf began to cry.
[Sa, save me…]
Yet he still refused to lift the curse on Jaehee. It was his last hope for survival.
Crunch-!
[Save… me…]
But even that didn’t last long. The Dark Elf released the curse on Jaehee. And he no longer begged to be spared.
[Ki… ll me…]
Geonwoo had no intention of letting the Dark Elf live. The Dark Elf sensed this. The only thing he could do now was beg for death.
Soon, the black markings on Jaehee’s body disappeared. Simultaneously, the Dark Elf’s body began to burn from the feet up.
[Uaaaagh-!]
It was an excruciating end.
“We… we survived…”
Perhaps due to the release of tension, Minhun collapsed to the ground. The relief of being alive washed over his entire body. As his breathing eased, the abilities he had witnessed Geonwoo display replayed in his mind like a rewinding tape.
‘An all-rounder.’
Someone who could use all combat abilities.
He had never seen or heard of such a person in his life. But “all-rounder” was the only way to describe Choi Geonwoo.
“Haah…”
In any case, it was fortunate that such a person was on their side.
Soon, the barrier surrounding the temple disappeared. Behind the Espers, a gate entrance appeared, signaling the death of the boss monster. The gate had been cleared.
“It’s all over now. Oh, right! Is everyone okay?”
Minhun turned around. Somehow, all the Guides who had been trapped in the spider webs had been rescued, and all the Espers were receiving guiding. Among them was Jiwoon, whom Minhun had saved. Dohyun was beside Jiwoon. Dohyun, while never taking his eyes off Geonwoo, was absorbing Jiwoon’s guiding energy. Fortunately, the red color had disappeared from his eyes.
Having finished all combat, Geonwoo approached Jaehee.
But at that moment, someone blocked Geonwoo’s path.
“Captain!”
It was Kang Dohyun. Somehow having positioned himself in front of Geonwoo, he used telekinesis to immobilize Geonwoo’s body. Geonwoo had just faced so many monsters; surely he would have a weakness now. Just like he had subdued Geonwoo in the examination room that day, Dohyun grabbed him and slammed him to the ground. Unlike that time, he pulled down with all his might, resolved to kill Geonwoo.
But quickly, Dohyun’s ability dissipated as if it had never existed. Instead, an enormous force wrapped around Dohyun’s body.
“Is this how you do it?”
Just as Dohyun had done to him, Geonwoo enveloped Dohyun’s body with his telekinesis.
And then.
Kwang-!
He pressed Dohyun hard against the ground.
“Kugh!”
Dohyun groaned in pain. Geonwoo looked down at Dohyun with an emotionless gaze, then approached him. He raised his foot and stomped on Dohyun’s back. The image of Kang Dohyun from his dream flashed before Geonwoo’s eyes.
-Why should I care about Lee Jaehee’s death?
That statement was unforgettable. Geonwoo’s foot pressed down harder on Dohyun.
“Ughk!”
He wanted nothing more than to kill Dohyun right there. But something held him back. The fact that both his hyung in the dream and his Guide in reality had cared for Kang Dohyun. That created hesitation.
Kwagwang-!
Geonwoo used telekinesis to crush Dohyun further. Blood spurted from Dohyun’s mouth. As Dohyun’s eyes closed, Geonwoo carefully picked up Jaehee and headed toward the gate entrance. Everyone moved aside, unable to even make eye contact with him.
But one person—
Jiwoon watched as Geonwoo and Jaehee left through the gate.
“I told you not to repeat it… I’m sure I said that.”
A small murmur, heard by no one, dispersed from his lips.
