S-Class Monster (6)

“You three, leave this to me and hurry up!”

Su Ok-bin shouted as she unleashed skills toward the Kirin.
We did not hesitate to respond.
One was Senior Divine Light Garam.

The other one, Peng Jin-ah and I rode together.

“Cadet Yu Seha, hold on tight!”
“Yes, yes!!”

The reason I insisted on riding with Peng Jin-ah.

Well, it’s nothing special.

‘It is just that I don’t know how to ride a horse…’

At this moment, every minute and second is precious to us.
Mobility was the lifeline of the operation.

At the same time, we had to conserve stamina and mana to burn everything at the decisive moment.

To do that, I had no choice but to ride the [Blood Horse].

B-But….

This is a bit….

But?

Peng Jin-ah looked back.

“Cadet Yu Seha?”
“……”

Currently, she was wearing a battle suit that revealed her figure plainly.

Until a moment ago, she had been running around splitting lightning strikes to reduce the damage to the Order Knights.

Sweat dripping from intense exercise and the hot heat from her body.

At the same time, a sweet scent like café latte, which I had smelled many times before, wafted my nose.

At that moment, Peng Jin-ah leaned her upper body forward.
Her hips pushed straight toward my groin.

She was getting into a posture to run the horse quickly.

Her alluring brown back, glistening with sweat, filled my vision.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘N-Not the time for these thoughts!’

“Cadet Yu Seha! Grab me quickly! There’s no time to hesitate!”
“Yes, yes!”

With my eyes closed, I tightly embraced Pang Jin-ah.

Alright, now let’s go…?

“…Teacher?”
“……”

Something was strange though.
Peng Jin-ah, who I thought would run immediately by increasing the speed, hesitated as if frozen like a stone.

Then, clearing her throat several times, she muttered hesitantly.

“…C-Cadet Yu Seha… you’re holding well with your left hand… but the position of your right hand is wrong.”
“…What?”

I lowered my gaze.
And I saw.

My damn fingers placed over Peng Jin-ah’s chest….

“…Ah.”

Sigh…

Damn it.

“S-Sorry… I’m sorry!!!”
“I-It’s okay. We’re master and disciple after all. Mistakes like this happen… D-Don’t panic, Cadet Yu Seha. The horse is startled and twitching!”

Peng Jin-ah looked at her cute, flustered disciple with a flushed face.

It was naturally embarrassing in this urgent situation…

Well, touching doesn’t wear anything out, and maybe because it was Yu Seha who did it, it didn’t feel that bad to her.

But Yu Seha didn’t seem to feel the same towards her.

Uncharacteristically, she couldn’t keep her composure.

Even his [Unwavering Insight] was powerless at this moment.

Eventually, this led to a strong smack on the [Blood Horse]’s rump.

“Vroom!!!”

Taking that as a signal, the [Blood Horse] galloped powerfully.

Divine Light Garam, who had been watching with a critical eye, also started running alongside.

Thud thud thud thud!

The [Bloody Horse] raced fiercely.

Peng Jin-ah, experienced in horseback riding, adapted quickly.

But Yu Seha did not.

His body wobbled like a puppet at the event hall, as if he might fall off the horse at any moment.

“Cadet! Calm down! Hold onto my waist!”
“Yes, yes!”

Slam!

Yu Seha hugged Peng Jin-ah as if about to break.
Fortunately, this time he held her waist properly.
Though a bit tightly.
Peng Jin-ah felt this sensation throughout her body.

‘……’

For a moment, Peng Jin-ah felt as if everything around her slowed down.
Yu Seha’s body heat came distinctly close to hers.
Even the small trembling vibrations he made were clearly transmitted into her senses.

Thump, thump, thump.

‘Huh, huh?’

Peng Jin-ah was puzzled.

She couldn’t understand why her heart suddenly raced wildly.

She glanced down.

Yu Seha’s arms wrapped around her waist.

Recently, the precious disciple of her seemed to have been somewhere else…

In a short time, he had become unbelievably strong.

‘…Wh-What muscles he has…’

As proof, his arms, filled with thick muscles like art, tightly embraced Peng Jin-ah’s slender waist.

The way he held her as if not to let go of her exuded a wild masculinity.

‘So, so gallant.’

So strong.

When she first taught him, he was fragile and weak.
He was a powerless boy she had to protect.
When did he grow up like this?

‘…!!!’

Thinking that far, Peng Jin-ah felt something, something… very strange inside and turned her head.

She quickly shook off the pink fantasies clouding her mind like fog.

‘Get a grip, Peng Jin-ah!’

Don’t think weird thoughts.
His hand on her chest was an accident.
Having strange thoughts now is also an accident.

Don’t give meaning to meaningless things and fantasize alone.
Don’t forget the Kirin surrounded by swirling lightning before your eyes.
Don’t forget the gravity of the situation!

Decisively….

‘I don’t see Yu Seha that way.’

Just, just….

Because he is a precious disciple, I care.

That’s it!

Thud, thud, thud. Thud, thud!
Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The rough noise of pounding the ground echoed.

One of the blood arts that hears unsettling sounds everywhere.

But it was also a blood art considered to have great performance in wars.

And the brave steed summoned by this blood power.

That was the [Blood Horse].

The blood horse summoned by the blood ritual was incredibly strong, brave, and ran swiftly.

At the moment not far from reaching the Kirin.

A different kind of mana surged around the Kirin’s body.

“…!”

Peng Jin-ah clearly recognized it.

The lightning that had been swirling around the Kirin’s body disappeared.

Soon, the lightning melted into pure mana crystals, transforming into thin hexagonal mana plates one by one.

They began to cover the Kirin’s entire body like skin.

Peng Jin-ah recognized that this ability was the ‘first pattern’ Yu Se-ha had informed her about in advance.

“Cadet! It’s Dragon Kirins!”
“…It has begun!”

Swish!

A blue protective shield swiftly covered the Kirin’s body.

The shield rippled like waves with even small vibrations, increasing its cohesion.

The shield was so transparent and dense that it was hard to notice without focusing.

It looked like it would break easily if stabbed with a sword, but its actual strength was not like that at all.

Boom boom boom!!!

At some point amid the rough explosions and continuous attacks, the paladins slowly realized.

“Wh-What? It seems like there’s no damage?”

Exactly.

No firepower could penetrate the mana-formed shield.

That was the Kirin’s first special pattern.

The power of Dragon Kirins.

Dragon Kirins had one characteristic feature about them.

‘A curtain boasting absurd strength.’

I don’t know the exact calculation, but to break it with pure brute force, you’d need a tier-1 ultimate skill like [Overlord Annihilation] at point-blank range.

Perhaps because it boasts such tremendous strength.

As a penalty, while Dragon Kirins lasted, the Kirin could not take any action.

But the Kirin was an S-rank monster that healed injuries over time and grew stronger.

It was essentially a dirty stalling pattern prepared for it.

But even Dragon Kirins had a clear weakness.

It had a CC gauge called status abnormality, and when it filled, the effect was removed.

Similar to how [Mark of Corruption] used by Jing Daram was overcome by a heal gauge.

‘Each of those scales now counts as a CC effect.’

Long story short, hitting it with a very powerful area status abnormality skill can easily neutralize it.

And there was exactly one person who could do this now.

Yu Seha turned his head and looked at Divine Light Garam.

A neighing scream came to his ears.

Divine Light Garam had experience riding horses but never ridden such a strong and wild steed in her life.

As a result, she was not controlling the [Bloody Horse], but was practically being dragged by it.

This meant…

“Neeeeeeigh!!!”

She just cried out neighing with a distressed face.

“Senior! We have to proceed according to the plan! We need your strength!”

“Cadet Divine Light Garam! It’s your turn to step up!!!”
“…Nung, neung!”
“Senior Neung!!!”
“Neung! I’m not Neung, I’m Divine Light Garam!”
“Senior Neung. Please!”
“Neunggg!”

Divine Light Garam, crying atop the Blood Horse, raised both her hands high.

A brilliant flash.

The powerful <Holy Law> she received from the Lord began to spread.

Soon, a powerful light gathered through her hands and shot toward the Kirin.

Though not an offensive holy law, it was the most dangerous divine judgment for the Kirin now.

Crack!

Soon, cracks appeared on the Dragon Kirins, and they began to shatter into pieces.