Chapter 102: Panic Goes First
Night drowned the island in black. The air reeked of salt and rotting sea life.
Before the fortress trembled, before Pain and Snare tore through to the forge floor, Seo-jin had already broken through to the surface. He didn't pause. Didn't breathe. His speed never dipped as he ripped Panic from his back and hurled him like a bullet the second he stepped out of the stairwell, then without slowing, vaulted to the top of a tree.
The Snake Tribe had been waiting, coiled in the canopy, eyes glowing faint in the dark. They thought they were ready.
They weren't.
Panic slammed into the first one mid-lunge, laughing like a feral thing as the two crashed through the branches. Claws, dagger, and teeth tore scale and flesh before they hit the dirt. By then, Seo-jin had already ripped the second in half and was closing on the third.
When Brundar finally climbed through the surface breach, the first thing he saw was half a torso slap into the dirt at his feet. The next was Panic, buried elbow-deep in a snake's skull, sawing his dagger inside its eyesocket.
Seo-jin landed beside him, blood running from his chin, calm as ever.
"Try to keep up."
Brundar spat, rolling his shoulders as he caught his breath, but the demon and his spawn were already gone, streaking toward the beach.
Seo-jin tore through the jungle, one hand gripping Panic by the scruff. The broodling's laughter rattled the dark like a cracked bell.
'Broodfather needs me! Must make him happy!'
The link between them burned hot. Raw, feverish emotion flooded in from the broodling until Seo-jin almost dropped him.
'Kill fast. No art today.'
'Fast as fuck, Broodfather!'
He grinned, muscle tightening as the ground blurred beneath him.
'Show me.'
Three green auras flickered ahead—moving toward the dwarven entrance. Armed. Armored. Ready.
He didn't slow.
Panic's body went rigid with joy as Seo-jin whipped his arm back, then launched him like a living spear.
The lead Snakeman barely had time to hiss before teeth, claws, and mad laughter crashed into his face.
Too fast to dodge, too insane to process, Panic hit the Snakeman like a cannonball. Bone cracked on impact. The two others recoiled, hissing, spears flashing up in defense.
Confusion lasted a breath. Then both lunged, aiming to skewer the writhing demon chewing through their kin's face.
"Watch your back."
The whisper brushed one's ear an instant before Seo-jin's claws tore through its spine. Bone split, flesh gave. The body hung twitching on his arm before the other Snake turned, thrusting its spear toward him in panic.
Seo-jin lifted the corpse and let it take the hit. The steel punched through dead ribs, stopping short of his chest.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
The Snakeman hissed, then choked mid-breath as Panic jumped from behind, dragging his dagger across its throat in one clean pull. Blood sprayed, a body fell.
"I warned you to watch your backs."
He grinned.
"Oh well."
[Having fun?]
'Tons.'
Seo-jin shook the corpse from his arm, tearing a strip of tail between his teeth before tossing it aside. The meat was tough, sweet in the best way. Panic crouched over the kill, gnawing to heal, while Seo-jin's eyes turned toward the beach. His [Soul Sight] reached outward, scraping across the forest floor. Nothing.
"That's enough."
He started walking, each step quiet, measured, keeping to cover and shadow as he advanced. Behind him, Panic swallowed, eyes narrowing as he felt the air shift around his father. The warmth in the bloodlight dimmed. The world itself seemed to hold still.
Taking a deep breath through his nose, Seo-jin stretched his senses as far as he could.
'Something's wrong.'
Scanning the treeline, the forest to the shore was empty. No movement. No auras. Not even a whisper of heat.
'Too quiet. There's no way they left their flank unguarded.'
[Maybe you're overthinking.]
Seo-jin crouched low, parting the brush with his palm...then froze. Every muscle locked. Slowly, deliberately, he carefully drew his hand back.
Behind him, Panic mirrored his stillness, eyes narrowing, pulse racing through the broodlink.
'Something wrong, Broodfather?'
'Don't make a sound. Get behind me.'
The broodling obeyed without question, crawling back until he could feel the cold of his father's shadow.
[Notice something?]
'Yeah. We're fucked. If we move forward, something's waiting. It's faint, but I felt it—the air twisted when I touched the bush. Curse magic.'
His skin still prickled where it had brushed the leaves, a pulse that didn't belong to the night. It was a barrier, or a trap, or both. The ground ahead bled with wrongness, an unseen haze that made the darkness shimmer.
[We can't sit here.]
'I know.'
The forest was silent except for his own breathing. The night wasn't empty...it was listening. He could feel it. Each heartbeat echoed like a footstep in open ground.
Still, he couldn't stay crouched forever.
He reached out across the broodlink.
'Stay hidden until I call.'
'I can do that! Nothing will see!'
Panic dropped to all fours, blade clamped between his teeth. He crawled toward the nearest tree, movements smooth and soundless.
To Seo-jin's eyes, the night glowed like dull daylight, every leaf and shadow carved in faint red from his [Dark Vision]. Ahead, the air itself seemed to waver, bending around something unseen.
He didn't blink.
Whatever it was, it was waiting.
Just as Seo-jin steadied himself to face whatever waited beyond the brush...fate, or misfortune, decided for him. Brundar's approach broke the silence. The dwarf's boots thudded against the dirt, his heavy breath dragging behind him like chains.
'Perfect timing. If he lives, I'll thank him later.'
[You truly are lucky.]
'Or he's unlucky. I'll take either.'
The bald dwarf came into view, his path cutting wide enough for Seo-jin to stay crouched in cover and watch. Brundar moved like a bull too tired to care, huffing curses through his beard until instinct, or luck, made him slow. His axe came up. He stopped just short of the cursed zone.
'Come on. Just one more step. They heard you, they're watching… there you go. Try to find me.'
Suspicion twitched across the dwarf's face, but curiosity won. He stepped forward—then jerked. Axe up.
TING!
A dart hit, deflected. He staggered back, eyes snapping toward the shadows.
"Come out, ya cowards!"
Another ding followed as steel caught steel. Brundar ducked behind a tree.
"Broodfather! You alive?! Where are you, you ugly bastard?!"
Seo-jin exhaled through his nose. Not helpful. Still, it told him enough. The magic wasn't lethal, it was concealment.
'Cloaking, not invisibility. Invisibility's too advanced. But it's at least decent—my Soul Sight can't even pierce it.'
He dug his toes into the cold dirt and counted the seconds between the dwarf's ragged breaths. Another shout from the dwarf, and Seo-jin moved—flashing between trees in silent bursts until he reached the trunk beside Brundar.
"I need you to advance and draw their fire."
"Where the hell've you been?! What's—"
"Shhh! Don't show I'm here."
Brundar winced, then slammed his axe flat against the trunk repeatedly.
"Oily cowards! Where the hell ya been?! Show yourselves!"
Seo-jin rolled his eyes, motioning toward the beach.
"We're losing time. Keep 'em busy—I'll clean them up."
The dwarf nodded once, face grim. He pressed his back against the bark, drew in a lungful of damp night air, and roared.
"Alright then! For the forge!"
Seo-jin steadied his breath. He was gambling, but at least it wasn't his life being risked.
"Stay close to cover. Keep their lines tight—don't give them too much room to aim."
That was all the warning Brundar got before Seo-jin scaled the nearest tree, settling into the canopy's shadow. The dwarf needed to limit their angles of attack, if too many of them are able to take a shot, it'll only make it harder to single one out.
'I was hoping to practice first.'
[You'll manage. Try being confident.]
A mocking grin cut across his face as he focused his Dark Vision. The world brightened, black and red outlines flickering against the dark. Below, Brundar's axe struck another tree trunk with a heavy clang, the sound echoing through the still forest.
Seo-jin triggered his armor skill for the first time.
[Severborne Array // Activate]
[Blade Durability]
[1st // 100]
[2nd // 100]
[3rd // 100]
[4th // 100]
[5th // 100]
No flash. No noise. Just heat, clean and instant bloomed in his mind. He could feel the blades split from his armor like shards of living metal, each piece floating to their place and hanging in a loose circle around him. He felt each one like an extension of himself. The feeling was strange, but he didn't have time to familiarize himself.
Brundar didn't wait.
"I'll kill every last one of you slick-skinned bastards! Come on!"
The dwarf broke cover, axe raised high, charging to the next tree.
Seo-jin's eyes swept the canopy. His pupils darted, tracking shapes, shadows, flashes of movement.
'Show yourself...there!'
Too late. Brundar made it behind the tree, just as another dart whistled past his ear. Seo-jin traced the shot, catching the faint shimmer of a snake tail vanishing through the branches above.
Below, Brundar cursed, sweat dripping into his beard. Every muscle screamed just as loud as he was cursing himself. Following the orders of a demon while his kin bled out below burned his pride.
Grinding his teeth, he lunged from cover again, legs pounding the dirt. Short bursts. Controlled movement.
A whisper of air.
TING!
He snapped his axe up, the dart deflecting with a spark. He dropped low, slid behind the next trunk—then TING! again. Another impact. He spun, diving back toward the last tree, rolling through dirt and leaves as two more darts missed by inches.
"What the fuck are you waiting for?! I'm gonna die out here!"
He slammed his elbow into the bark, frustration bleeding into panic. He didn't even know what that damned demon was doing, or if he was doing anything at all.
His hand went to his chest, ready to call on something older, something desperate.
Up above, Seo-jin crouched motionless. The forest was silent, but inside his skull was screaming.
'That's not helping! Shut the fuck up and let me focus!'
[This isn't working. Your control's garbage.]
Sweat dripped from his chin. He'd finally tracked one of the hidden bastards when Brundar blocked that last dart, and now every blade was stuck in the trees.
Each one trembled midair, tips buried in wood, twitching like they were mocking him.
He clenched his jaw.
'Useless. All fucking useless!'
One by one, the blades wrenched free and drifted back to him as he struggled to guide them. Below, Brundar's roar split the night.
"I'm makin' an opening! Break for the beach before they recover!"
Seo-jin blinked, confusion flickering for a breath.
"Huh? How's he gonna—"
The dwarf hurled something small and round. It hit the dirt...then the world erupted.
Flame and sand tore upward in a deafening blast.
"Beautiful."
A grin cut across Seo-jin's face as the glow painted the trees in molten orange. He moved—sprinting straight into the inferno. Trees whirled passed him in streaks, slicing through smoke as he burst onto open ground.
The blast had done more than clear a path; it burned the snakes out of hiding. Their camouflage flickered and failed, the air flooding with hostile auras.
One burned the brightest at the edge of his vision. Yellow teetering on red.
Landing on the beach, his feet cratered into the sand. Sending a message to Panic, he felt the broodling answer and, behind him, Brundar's aura surging closer. Bull-strong, battering through trunks. A second explosion hammered the forest, louder, closer. Heat rolled over the beach in a wave of ash and ember.
Only then did Brundar stagger out of the smoke, beard singed, eyes bright with murder. He planted himself between Seo-jin and the treeline.
"Go! I'll hold 'em!"
Seo-jin almost smiled. He wasn't gonna argue, so he turned and ran. But the dwarf didn't wait for a response. He tore open a pouch at his belt, hesitated only a heartbeat, then loosed it.
Just as Seo-jin's feet hit the surf, cold biting at his skin, the weight dropped. A pressure slammed into the air so heavy it made the ocean flatten.
He turned back.
The ground in front of Brundar had cracked, sand solidified into shattered glass. Something stood there, massive and glowing with heat, its form shaped from the glow of molten runes.
Seo-jin's mouth twitched into a stunned grin.
"If he had that, why the fuck did we bother?"
[At least B rank. Possibly A.]
The sand buckled under its weight.
A low grind rolled through the beach as the thing rose from the runes, molten light spilling from its chest like a cracked forge. Its armor wasn't polished, it was raw, hammered black steel bound together by heat and pressure, the seams glowing orange from the fire caged inside.
It stood barely thirteen feet, but its presence filled the air like a mountain pressed down on the world. Each movement dragged sparks and ash off its frame. The heat rolling from it made the surf hiss and recoil.
Magma sloshed in the hollow of its head, visible through the jagged cut of its helm. Its eyes burned through the dark, twin furnaces locked in place. Steam vented from its shoulders, and a slow river of molten metal poured from its open jaw, hissing as it carved a trench through the sand.
Seo-jin stared, silent, blood humming in his veins. Every instinct told him to move, to attack, to run—none of them won.
It wasn't fear. It was the first real thrill he'd felt in a long time.
The golem's core brightened. The seams of its armor flared white, heat distortion bending the air around it.
Then it roared.
The sound ripped through the night, metal grinding, fire howling. Trees along the front line ignited instantly, bursting into white flame as their trunks split and fell, ash scattering across the black beach like snow.
And for a moment, everything else stopped moving.