I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 105

105.

【He lost his mind? That’s some crazy power. At this rate, I won’t last long either.】

Yoo Ji-an’s eyes flashed gold as he relentlessly pressed Ignis. Each time he swung his sword, the flames Ignis created wavered precariously.

Meanwhile, the others gradually moved away. Seo-ah grabbed Alice’s hand and pulled her along.

The situation wasn’t promising.

Ignis’s size, as far as they could tell, had shrunk to half its original size.

“The exit is right there. Just a little further,” Kim Soo-hyuk pointed to the exit, which was quite close.

“But if we leave like this, what about this child? And the village…”
The other Hunters hesitated to answer Yoon Ah-jung’s concern.

If they left, they could survive.

But if Ignis fell, Yoo Ji-an would attack Alice. And after that, he would eliminate all the villagers, all the life left on this earth, before stopping his rampage.

[Main Mission: Save the village from the ‘Enraged Ignis’.]

In the midst of all this, Seo-ah reminded them of the mission.

“If Alice dies, Ignis will rage again. Whether it’s Yoo Ji-an or Ignis, if the village is in danger, we haven’t succeeded in the mission.”

“Then what are we supposed to do…”

Clang! Whoosh-

Ignis, who had been fighting against Yoo Ji-an’s Ruin Blade, suddenly turned into a massive flame and engulfed him.

A huge blue flame flickered, seemingly burning Yoo Ji-an completely.

“Damn it, is Ji-an hyung [older brother/term of endearment for a male friend] going to die like that?”

The onlookers couldn’t do anything. They couldn’t stop Yoo Ji-an, nor could they stop Ignis from burning him.

But suddenly, Alice, who had been silent all along, shouted at Ignis.

“Don’t disappear!”

As Alice shouted, a strange scene unfolded as the flames surrounding Yoo Ji-an seemed to falter.

“Alice?”

“Don’t leave me and fall asleep!”

Alice shook off Seo-ah’s hand and ran forward.

“Alice! No!”

Seo-ah also ran out to catch Alice.

【Don’t come, Alice.】

Even Ignis tried to stop her, but Alice didn’t stop.

At that moment, lightning struck the flames from the sky. Yoo Ji-an, engulfed in flames, was counterattacking.

Crackle, crackle-

The fire trembled whenever it touched the electricity.

Soon, Yoo Ji-an’s Ruin Blade flashed and split the flames in half. And Yoo Ji-an leaped out from within.

【I’m sorry, Alice.】

At the same time, Ignis’s flames gradually diminished and eventually went out.

“Ignis!”

Alice tried to run towards him, but Seo-ah barely managed to stop her with a hug.

“No, no. Alice.”

“Ignisssss!”

Alice struggled to break free from Seo-ah’s arms. Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-an’s gaze slowly shifted and turned towards them.

“…Ah.”

Seo-ah sighed softly as she saw his eyes. His fierce golden eyes were clearly fixed on Alice.

He stared at the wailing Alice with an indifferent gaze and walked towards her.

With each step he took, Seo-ah’s heart pounded heavily. This was clear terror. At this moment, Yoo Ji-an truly looked like the Grim Reaper.

Just then.

“Ah, damn it. We’re screwed.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Kang Hae-in and Kim Soo-hyuk grumbled as they blocked Yoo Ji-an’s path, protecting Seo-ah. And Song Jin-ho and Yoon Ah-jung stood beside them.

“Still, it’s not right to leave it all to an E-rank.”

“If we let him kill everyone like that, he’ll suffer alone again. How can we watch that happen?”

Yoon Ah-jung winked slightly at Seo-ah, who was standing there blankly. Then she looked forward again and said,

“Honestly, I don’t know if it’ll work. We only used this on boss-level monsters.”

Kang Hae-in took out her staff.

“We just have to try. Let’s at least weaken him a bit.”

“What if we die?”

“I’m not dying alone!”

Kim Soo-hyuk also took out Midnight and transformed it into a pistol.

Yoo Ji-an stopped for a moment, staring at the Hunters who were blocking his target.

“Damn it, it’s chilling to face him in person.”

“Snap out of it.”

“Here we go!”

First, Yoon Ah-jung deployed [Sand Armor] to defend the group. At the same time, she cast [Clay Trap].

Then, the ground around Yoo Ji-an turned into sticky mud, binding his feet.

Meanwhile, Kang Hae-in tightly wrapped Yoo Ji-an in a [Water Curtain].

As Yoo Ji-an’s movements slowed down for a moment, Kim Soo-hyuk aimed his pistol at him.

This coordinated attack was a tactic they usually used when facing high-level monsters. Having worked together for years, they executed their skills seamlessly without needing to say a word.

“Hey, not the heart!”

“I know! But still!”

Now, Yoo Ji-an began to thrash wildly inside the Water Curtain.

“Ugh.”

As Kang Hae-in struggled, Park Seo-ah quickly stood up and cast buffs on her, and Song Jin-ho cast healing skills on her.

Bang-

Kim Soo-hyuk, after hesitating, finally pulled the trigger.

But at the same time, the Ruin Blade was swung, deflecting the bullet.

“Eek!”

Kim Soo-hyuk, horrified by the bullet that flew back, quickly dodged. Yoo Ji-an swung his sword a few times and soon broke through the [Water Curtain] as well.

Kang Hae-in, who had been holding on, groaned and eventually released the curtain, and Yoon Ah-jung’s [Clay Trap] couldn’t hold Yoo Ji-an for more than 5 seconds.

Yoo Ji-an rushed towards the A-rank Hunters. This time, Song Jin-ho took out his mace and stepped forward.

Clang!

“Ugh.”

Song Jin-ho, who lasted only 1 second, was pushed back and collapsed.

“Wake up, Ji-an!”

Yoo Ji-an didn’t hesitate and punched Kang Hae-in, who was blocking his path.

“Cough.”

Yoon Ah-jung’s [Sand Armor] was easily broken by Yoo Ji-an’s lightning magic. In the process, Yoon Ah-jung also seemed to have taken a hit, clutching her stomach and collapsing.

Kim Soo-hyuk had already fled far away.

He had changed Midnight into a sniper rifle, but he couldn’t bring himself to shoot Yoo Ji-an directly. No, he wasn’t even sure if shooting would have any effect.

The reason Yoo Ji-an hadn’t killed them immediately was that they weren’t the ‘target’.

Right now, Yoo Ji-an was only after Alice.

At that moment, Seo-ah, who was holding Alice, suddenly hugged Yoo Ji-an around the waist.

“No!”

Yoo Ji-an didn’t even look at Seo-ah, lightly grabbed her by the collar, and threw her back.

“Ugh.”

Seo-ah, who had been thrown, fell to the ground and rolled, opening her eyes slightly. In her hand was a [Parasite Egg].

[‘Parasite Egg’ has hatched! Duration is reduced due to the stat difference between the user and the target. (Duration 00:05)]

‘Only 5 seconds?’

As Yoo Ji-an stood in front of Alice, a small flame flared up in front of Alice’s face.

“I…gnis.”

Alice muttered softly. Ignis, who had not yet completely disappeared, was desperately trying to protect his spirit master.

But it was too weak a force in front of the rampaging Yoo Ji-an. Yoo Ji-an looked at Alice and raised his Ruin Blade.

Seo-ah shouted.

“Stop!”

But that was all. 5 seconds was too short, and Yoo Ji-an only stopped for a moment after hearing Seo-ah’s command.

Then Yoo Ji-an’s head slowly turned towards Seo-ah. His expressionless face tilted slightly diagonally, and suddenly he rushed towards Seo-ah.

The ‘target’ had changed. He seemed angry that he had been controlled even for a moment.

“Ah…!”

There was no time to dodge.

In the blink of an eye, the back of her head slammed into the ground and she was strangled. The tip of the Ruin Blade was aimed at Seo-ah.

‘I’m going to die.’

Seo-ah closed her eyes tightly.

[Skill ‘Silent Night’ is activated.]

“Ah….”

After a while, Seo-ah opened her eyes slightly with some expectation.

Yoo Ji-an was still aiming his sword, frowning deeply. But he was stopped in place as if blocked by some force.

“Yoo…Ji-an Hunter-nim [term of respect].”

It was quite difficult to breathe with her neck in Yoo Ji-an’s hand. Perhaps if Yoo Ji-an put a little more force here, Seo-ah’s neck would be broken.

But there was something even more painful than that.

It was the burning pain felt in her heart.

She had been feeling it subtly since earlier, but it became more evident when she made eye contact with Yoo Ji-an.

It felt as if Seo-ah was feeling the pain he was enduring.

“Please… stop….”

Seo-ah fumbled and grabbed the hand strangling her neck with both hands. Yoo Ji-an was still fighting himself, holding the Ruin Blade tightly.

[Skill ‘Silent Night’ is strongly activated.]

Her vision was spinning more and more. Mana was draining rapidly, and breathing was becoming increasingly difficult.

Seo-ah slowly closed her eyes. At the same time, the Ruin Blade that Yoo Ji-an was holding fell to the ground with a thud.

“Park…Seo-ah.”

Yoo Ji-an’s golden pupils gradually returned to their original black color, and he hurriedly withdrew his hand that was strangling Seo-ah’s neck.

“Park Seo-ah.”

He lightly grabbed Seo-ah’s shoulders and shook her. When there was no response, he hurriedly lifted her head.

At that moment, a system window appeared.

[The main mission of ‘The Enraged Fire Village’ has been cleared!]

At the same time, a stream of water shot up into the air from the lake that had been pooling under the ground.

The A-rank Hunters, who had just regained consciousness, watched the scene with blank faces.