The Mist Vol 1 Chapter 33

Vol 1 Chapter 33

As his health and magical power hit rock bottom, the inability to exert strength throughout his body felt terribly real. And just as the dust was about to settle completely, suddenly a human shadow darted out from a corner in front.

"Shadow Step!"

Soon after, a faint silhouette moved at tremendous speed, accompanied by the sound of flashing sword light and the monsters' angry roars.

"Kraaah!"

It was Yu-wan!

'As expected, he's still alive and well.'

As some time passed while watching the writhing giant shadows, the dust finally cleared completely. The blue flashes of light slashing at the battered Lord Ghoul were clearly visible. He seemed to be attacking with all his might.

At that moment, Kapros saw the half-shattered bones of the Lord Skeleton next to the Lord Ghoul rattling. He quickly threw the Ice Spear in his left hand towards the skeleton's head. With a thunderous sound, as the large skull completely shattered and flew backwards, the Lord Skeleton completely ceased movement. Its bones crumbled with a clatter.

Following that, Yu-wan, who had momentarily stopped moving and had been invisible as if completely hiding in the shadows, pierced the Lord Ghoul's heart from behind with a battle cry. The blade tip protruded from the front along with spurting blue blood. Not missing that moment, Kapros successfully hit the Lord Ghoul's arm by throwing the Ice Spear in his right hand as well.

Boom boom!

Once thrown, the direction and speed of flight were more influenced by the caster's will than physical force. As long as one remained calm, it wasn't too difficult to hit the target. Soon, with a crackling sound, the Lord Ghoul's arm and upper body began to freeze.

As the blue aura-covered blade swiftly pulled out, a dull thud resonated as the monster collapsed. To completely silence the still twitching body, Yu-wan raised his sword and struck down at the Lord Ghoul's head.

"Haa... haa..."

While Kapros was still catching his breath, unable to relax, the fallen bone remnants and ghoul corpses slowly began to fade. The blue body fluids and blood pooled on the floor also disappeared as if being absorbed.

Ding.

- You have leveled up! Please distribute your points.

- You have become the Vanquisher of the Lords of the Dead.

The new text that appeared below Kapros's name on the automatically displayed information window was something he had never seen before, but he could immediately understand what it was. It was a title, a second name that usually doesn't exert influence but can affect other targets with the power of that name when needed.

After seeing Yu-wan sheathe his sword, Kapros staggered as he turned around.

Coolt, who had been bleeding, was already gone. It seemed he had died from excessive blood loss. As Kapros slowly walked towards where the monsters had disappeared, he saw Yu-wan just picking up something that had fallen where the Lord Ghoul died. Kapros discovered a tiny red earring near where the Lord Skeleton's bones had piled up and vanished, which he had almost stepped on. When he grasped it, an information window popped up before his eyes.

- Accessory type. This is an unidentified item.

This was practically the first time he had obtained a proper equipment item from a monster, but it was only one piece, not a pair. With mixed feelings, Kapros put the earring into his inventory window.

After finishing collecting the items, his vision blurred, perhaps from the relief. He couldn't die here after coming this far. As he staggered towards the side, trying to lean against the wall, he felt Yu-wan grab his arm and looked at him. Except for a slight furrowing of his brow, his face was almost expressionless, just like when Kapros first saw him. Seeing his black armor torn and tattered in various places, his face and body stained with blood no less than Kapros's own, it was clear he had sustained considerable injuries, yet his composed demeanor made Kapros feel slightly offended.

"I can stand on my own, let go."

"Really?"

Yu-wan casually questioned and then simply released his arm, causing Kapros, whose stamina was almost completely depleted, to collapse sideways. Kapros glared at him for the sudden action he couldn't react to, but Yu-wan just stepped back and watched with an expression that seemed to ask what was wrong. Kapros wanted to retort that he should have given him time to prepare, but feeling that would be even more ridiculous, he kept his mouth shut and stood up.

"Magic..."

Yu-wan muttered, looking at Kapros.

'That phrase...'

Feeling strange about the words he seemed to have heard once before, Kapros frowned, and at that moment, Yu-wan, who had been staring with an indecipherable gaze, suddenly turned his head and started looking at the various damaged areas.

"Is there no one else who survived besides you?"

"Probably not..."

Feeling no particular positive emotion, Kapros answered carelessly, then felt a belated regret for what he was doing here, not leaving as quickly as possible when the battle was already over.

"Then since it's all over now, I can leave first, right?"

"If you're going to leave, I'll go with you, mage."

"That's not my name."

He had called him 'mage-nim' earlier too, and now he was boldly calling him 'mage' even after the battle was over. Kapros quietly pointed his finger upwards above his head towards him. The emotionless eyes, whose thoughts were unreadable, looked up and then back down at Kapros.

"The name above my head."

Even after Kapros explicitly told him, there was no change in Yu-wan's expression, which seemed to indicate he couldn't see anything.

"I know."

In a situation where they had even introduced themselves before coming here, Kapros had thought Yu-wan wasn't using names out of laziness like himself, not that he knew but had no intention of using them.

"...Is that so?"

During the fight, Kapros had forgotten because Yu-wan had even saved him when he was about to die from losing focus, but seeing Yu-wan again after it was all over, he was just as strange and unpleasant as Kapros had initially felt, seemingly thoughtless. Suppressing the anger rising from feeling like he had done something foolish, Kapros finally decided not to exchange any more words with him as they left the cave together.