Hard Carry Support

Chapter 93 - The Land of Eclipse Dyed by the Abyss (1)

'Does she remember me…?'

Hyun and Keidrial had already met each other before.

While picking a job, he had called 'Deception' by her real name, and because of that, he'd seen her true self.

Hyun remained silent because there was nothing good to be gained by recalling that incident.

Thankfully, Radiette intervened.

"Return."

"…"

"I know you can't use your strength."

If a Transcendent wanted to go against the law of cause and effect, they had to pay a price equal to it.

By looking at the fire burning around her, it was clear that she was burning a huge amount of her ego.

She wasn't planning to take a huge penalty just for killing some humans there.

Radiette knew it, so that's why he was able to remain calm.

She had made an impressive appearance, but that was it.

"I can't use my strength?"

The Demon of Deception made a creepy smile after listening to Radiette's words.

"What if I can…?"

Then, she slowly lifted her claws.

Radiette frowned.

If a Transcendent intervened in the world without obtaining Empathy through prayer or a ceremony, it lost a lot of oneself.

Just making a little bit of influence was enough to lose strength equivalent to hundreds of years.

It was fatal damage.

There was no way that a greedy Demon would make such a choice, but one never knew, so Radiette was nervous.

"Fufu, you're right. I have no intention of wasting my ego."

While everyone was holding their breath, she turned her eyes toward Ain.

Hyun took a deep breath while feeling chills at the same time.

He felt that she was analyzing his soul.

"It would've been great if I had more time, too bad…"

After saying that, just as suddenly as she’d appeared, she vanished.

As the Demon disappeared, the flight attendant's body returned to normal.

Only then could they relax after feeling a choking pressure.

But the dangerous situation wasn't over just because the Demon had disappeared.

"We're in trouble!"

The Great Demon had left a huge mark just by appearing.

The fire and dark energy she’d poured out had melted the shuttle.

Everyone's faces turned pale as a portion of the shuttle got cut out, and the scenery outside became visible.

The probably was that no human could survive if thrown into space.

Bzzt-!

Before a difference in pressure occurred, Raidette created an ice shield and covered the hole.

"Is a crash landing possible?"

"I… I'll do my best!"

The good thing is that it had happened when they'd almost reached Iluna.

Whish-

As they entered Iluna's atmosphere, the wind hit, and shook the shuttle.

"The cracks are getting worse…" Radiette gritted his teeth and murmured.

Those who understood the meaning became either pale or serious.

"The strong ones protect the weak."

Crash-!

The moment Radiette said that, the shuttle fell apart in midair.

The destroyed pieces of the shuttle began falling, attracted by the gravity force of Iluna.

'Damn… What is this!'

Hyun and Ain were swept away by Iluna's air currents.

Not only was it not reached by the sunlight, but there was also a blizzard in the sky, so they couldn't see anything.

«Wind Barrier».

Hyun created a foothold in the sky and regained his balance.

Judging from the situation before the crash, they were probably thousands, or maybe tens of thousands, of feet above the surface.

If they were swept away by the air, they could end up dying, so it was important to slow down their speed.

「Ain, please find Radiette!」

「I also can't see anything!」

「Use your flames.」

「Ugh… Okay!」

Ain activated «Efreet's Claws» in both hands.

She thought that if she waved a pair of flames in the middle of the darkness, Radiette would be able to find them for sure.

'I can't see him.'

Ain waved her hands for a while, but there weren't even any traces of Radiette.

The powerful winds of the blizzard hit their ears with force strong enough to cover the entire world.

The moment they’d been swept away by the wind, everyone scattered away, so there was a chance that the distance between them had increased.

「Is it too late to find him?」

The winds that covered Iluna's atmosphere were more than ten times faster than those of a typhoon.

If they were swept by it even once, they would end up dragged away by it.

Hyun looked at the ground.

He thought that, once they were on the ground, they'd be able to meet Radiette.

While letting his body drift through the wind, the current of air entered a downward stream.

Hyun and Ain passed through a translucent membrane.

Paf-!

At that moment, the snow blizzard suddenly stopped.

The wind also calmed down.

Iluna became silent as if it had become static.

After passing through the barrier, the flow of the atmosphere completely changed.

Status Quo Barrier…

Translator - Daniel Shin

Proofreader - ilafy

* * *

The enormous magic circle that enveloped the satellite had been created by a Transcendent in the past.

The main job of the barrier was to maintain an atmosphere similar to the one in Asra on Iluna.

Thanks to that, even though the sun didn't reach inside the barrier, there was always a brightness similar to a sunset.

There weren’t any strong wind currents, it didn't snow frequently, and the gravity was similar to Asra’s.

Hyun felt that their speed of descent had increased since they’d gone through the barrier.

It was as if they were skydiving. But with Ain's Agility, he probably didn’t have to worry about receiving damage from falling.

「It seems like we've gotten quite far away.」

Hyun first tried to see their location.

After they entered the barrier, the view had gotten clear.

He could see remnants of the shuttle falling on the horizon with smoke trailing from it.

It seemed like they'd been swept away in a completely separate direction from the rest because of the strong wind currents.

Radiette was probably near the place where the shuttle had fallen.

「Hyun, look down!」 Ain suddenly shouted.

「Look at the people that are beneath us!」

Just like she'd said, Hyun found a group of people on the ground.

They were all looking up.

Were they the people who had fallen before them?

He thought that for a little while but soon discovered he was wrong.

'Ugh…! «Wind Barrier»!'

Hyun quickly created a wall in the air and stepped on it right before a giant flame brush passed them.

Someone under them had cast a magic aimed at them.

「Who are they…?」

Hyun's eyes were filled with nervousness.

They’d almost gotten hit with a strong magic because he’d been lost in his thoughts.

After coming back to his senses, he looked down.

「Who are they? Why are they attacking us?」

「Hmm, aren't they part of the Abyss?」 Ain mumbled.

They got a clearer view of the people as they got closer to the ground.

They were wearing robes of Magician NPCs that belonged to the Abyss.

—They were the opponents he always used to face while playing Asra.

「If the Abyss is here… It seems like the unexpected event is really happening.」

「Definitely. This doesn't seem normal.」

Iluna's Unexpected Event…

The fact that they were there, in a territory that belonged to the Heavens, was proof that something weird was going on.

After feeling the hostility coming from them, Hyun murmured.

「It seems like we'll have to fight.」

「Should I use the Ultimate Attack?」

「No, save it.」

Several projectiles came flying in their direction, but Hyun used the «Wind Barrier» to step on and dodge the incoming attacks.

Boom!

Ain’s body soon hit the ground as if she were a meteorite.

[Fall! You've received 5271 damage!]

Hyun quickly looked around. He soon realized their level based on their appearance.

He'd faced many NPCs that belonged to the Abyss, so he could correctly guess their levels just by looking at their clothes.

「They're all around level 200!」

Grrr-!

A giant bear with claws sharp as a demon rushed in their direction.

It seemed like there was either a Summoner or a Hunter among the opponents.

A bear was a tank summon with high HP…

For most people, it was a troublesome opponent to face, but for Hyun and Ain, it was easy prey.

Fwoosh-!

Two claws made of fire appeared on Ain’s hands.

'Amplification buffs!'

The moment Hyun activated the skills, two auras of different colors spread.

«Powerless Wave», «Impact Amplification».

Ain, powered with both buffs, used her claws to attack the bear.

Both of their claws were targeting each other!

But Ain's claws were bigger than the bear's.

The bear screamed in pain after receiving many attacks because of the difference in the reach.

[You've received 1049 damage!]

[You've received 1102 damage!]

[You've received 749 damage!]

Because there were lots of attacks coming from the sides, Ain was also receiving damage, but it wasn't enough to influence the result of the fight.

[Critical Hit! You've dealt 46039 damage!]

After all, the amount of damage Ain received was less than the HP she recovered!

「Can you resist?」

「I'm not going to die with just this!」

The HP that appeared on Ain's interface was varying quickly.

The moment she received damage, it was immediately filled.

As Hyun and Ain's new skills combined, their damage output couldn't be compared to the past.

After learning the situation they were in, the opponents stopped attacking for a while

—And then they centered all their attacks on one point.

Lots of magic, arrows, and weapons began pouring to one point.

After looking at the numerous projectiles flying toward them, Ain's voice became urgent.

「Hyun, I can't resist this!」

「It's okay, leave it to me.」

«One Second Absorption», «Shield».

Hyun activated both skills and turned the claws 360 degrees.

Ting-!

He brushed off some of the attacks with the claws, and the rest were absorbed with his skill.

Ain didn't receive any damage at all.

On top of that, there was the effect of «Shield».

Half of the opponents were stunned.

As a gap of three seconds appeared…

「Ain, now!」

「Now?!」

Boom-!

Ain used the «Latent Potential Increase».

Hyun used «Invisible» and «Biorhythm Acceleration» at the same time.

Fwoosh-!

Invisible flames spread.

Ain targeted a Magician that was in the back row.

"Coff…!"

Because a strong shield surrounded the Magician, he didn't die even after receiving multiple attacks from Ain.

Paf-

After feeling his life was at risk, he used a teleport scroll to escape.

Tsk- Ain clicked her tongue.

The reason was because killing a high-level human opponent NPC gave a lot of experience.

「Don't overdo yourself!」

Even after «Invisible» and «Biorhythm Acceleration»'s effects had ended, Ain tried to charge toward the opponents. Hyun used control priority to stop her.

「Look around. More enemies are coming in our direction.」

「Hmm… Yeah, that's right.」

The opponents that were five had multiplied by seven… No, eight.

As time went on, the number of enemies increased.

Ain suddenly murmured.

「Was this a land of the Abyss…? Where are all of our allies?」

「The current state of Iluna is weird! Let's go over there for now!」

Hyun and Ain started to run toward where the shuttle had fallen.

But that place was plain.

Because there weren't any obstacles, it was a place that benefitted the pursuers.

Ain's steps were constantly delayed because of the relentless attacks from the enemies.

「Be careful…!」

Smash-!

A metal thorn of three meters rose in front of Ain.

If Hyun hadn't quickly slowed down, that thing would've penetrated them.

«Metal Edge»…

That thing that rose from the ground had the effect of stunning, so it was a close call.

'Isn't it easy…?'

After taking a glance behind, Hyun saw another Magician flying toward them who had almost finished casting.