Magic Monopoly: Reborn as the Sole Magic Tower Master-Chapter 216: Episode

Episode 216

Wayne Jones was busy in Korea.

He had provided Frost with information and PHC equipment, but he hadn’t directly helped them. He couldn’t care less how the political situation in Korea turned out.

Wayne’s only objective was Yusin.

A hunter who could manipulate dungeons was the demonkin’s number one extermination target. Of course, Wayne also had his own personal grudge.

When he heard that Yusin was going to Russia’s Immortal Dungeon, it was Wayne who advised Frost to dispatch troops there.

And after Yusin entered the Immortal Dungeon, Wayne stayed on edge and gathered data, preparing for the possibility that someone who could manipulate dungeons might actually return.

While Yusin was inside the Catastrophe, Wayne mainly tailed his companions. At the same time, he secretly slipped into Sanggye-dong—where they were frequently spotted—and conducted an intensive investigation.

What caught Wayne’s eye during that stakeout was the massive “Tower” that people called Seoul’s eyesore.

In truth, otherworldly structures like that could be found all over the globe after the Overlay Incident, and there were even a few more in Seoul alone, so it wasn’t particularly strange.

The Association’s official documents said the same. Other than the fact that it couldn’t be destroyed, there were no special notes, so it had been classified as “worthless.” After that, the Tower had faded from public interest.

However, Wayne found it suspicious that Yusin and his companions’ movements were focused solely around Sanggye-dong. The correlation between that Tower and Kim Yusin was worth investigating.

After a long undercover investigation, Wayne finally managed to catch sight of one of Yusin’s companions entering the control zone.

Wayne immediately tailed the companion, but he lost them at the point where a thick fog spilled out.

He spent hours wandering in the fog and came up empty-handed.

’Kim Yusin’s magic.’

As time passed, Wayne’s doubts about the Tower only grew stronger.

Why had Kim Yusin cast magic around an empty eyesore? Why did his companions go in and out of the control zone where the Magic Tower stood so frequently?

As he mulled over these questions, Wayne became convinced.

That Tower was the source of Yusin’s power.

And if he took his speculation a bit further, it was highly likely that the Tower was an “otherworldly ruin,” a core structure of a world guild, like the Gravekeepers’ “Great Tomb” or the Holy Knights’ “Sanctuary of the Void.” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

If he assumed that, then all the mysterious powers and phenomena Yusin had shown so far could be easily explained.

’He really managed to keep something like this hidden until now.’

Wayne immediately began preparations.

Important research facilities had been destroyed one after another by Yusin, and his contact with the higher-ups had been cut off, but that didn’t mean the independent network Wayne had built while traveling the world had disappeared.

Wayne gathered every demonkin he could mobilize, not only in Korea but from all over the world.

’We hit Kim Yusin’s home base.’

The worst-case scenario for Yusin would be having the Tower’s true nature exposed to the public. However, from the demonkin’s perspective, there was nothing to gain from that.

Even if it wasn’t Yusin, whoever became the Tower’s master would be a threat. In the worst case, there was the risk of a new “world guild” being born.

The thought alone was horrifying. The idea of those monsters who hunted demonkin all over the world, increasing from five to six, was not a welcome prospect.

The best outcome was to storm the ruin, kill Kim Yusin, and then completely destroy it so no other humans could use it.

While he waited for the right moment, an opportunity finally came.

Just as Wayne had initially predicted, Yusin escaped the dungeon by some unknown method and appeared with Hong Yul in tow.

They ousted Frost and turned everything upside down. Korean society was in upheaval, and in the chaos, the demonkin detection net of the police and hunter community had grown lax. There would never be a better time to move.

Creak. Creak. Creak.

As the promised day approached, Wayne sat in a shuttered corner store in Sanggye-dong, rotating his prosthetic arm.

Step. Step. Step.

As night fell, demonkin began to appear one by one in the shabby alley.

Office workers, high school students, construction laborers, restaurant staff, foreign laborers, part-timers—every one of them looked like an ordinary human being, but their true identities were demonkin.

Their number was a staggering 207. It was overwhelming firepower for taking out two officially certified 3rd-class hunters and a few assorted small fry.

“Long time no see, White Wing.”

A broad-shouldered, heavily built man approached and spoke. Wayne lifted his head, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Thanks for coming all this way, Clint.”

The two bumped fists and clapped each other on the shoulder.

“It’s your request. Of course I had to come.”

Clint was a celebrity in the demonkin world, a man who had massacred over two hundred humans so far. From Wayne’s perspective, he was an incredibly reassuring reinforcement.

“So, putting that aside, what’s this Korean archmage like, the one who’s been giving you so much trouble?” Clint asked.

Wayne gave a bitter smile as he answered.

“He’s cunning as hell.”

The time had come. Once all the demonkin who were supposed to gather had assembled, Wayne rose to his feet.

“Let’s go.”

Over two hundred demonkin vaulted the barbed wire and entered the control zone. It was a dense forest swarming with monsters.

The Magic Tower members had a designated safe route, but the demonkin didn’t care where they went in the woods. Monsters don’t attack demonkin.

After a short while, the fog barrier that blocked the path to the Magic Tower appeared.

This fog couldn’t be passed by physical means, which was why Wayne had lost track of Yusin’s companions before. This time, however, Wayne had come prepared.

Wayne signaled to the demonkin beside him. The man nodded and crouched down.

The demonkin’s body swelled. His clothes tore as his muscular shoulders and thighs bulged outward.

His muzzle elongated, and a tail sprouted; he now looked like a sleek, canine-type monster. He pressed his nose to the ground and sniffed, then gestured for them to follow.

He could track scents that were over a week old, and every path was thick with the smell of humans. All the demonkin followed in his wake.

A short time later—

“We’re out.”

The demonkin emerged from the fog and looked around.

They could see the Magic Tower. From a distance, it hadn’t seemed like much, but up close it felt enormous and imposing.

“We proceed according to the plan I sent out in advance,” Wayne said, turning to the demonkin.

“Priority one is the assassination of Kim Yusin. Priority two is destroying the ruin. Aside from Kim Yusin, they’re ordinary rank 5s, but there is also one rank 3 hunter, so be careful.”

The demonkin nodded.

“And Kim Yusin is a cunning bastard. If you spot him, don’t ever try to face him alone. Call for backup and—”

Wayne broke off in shock.

A single sword had appeared out of nowhere, planted right in the middle of the gathered crowd.

“What the hell is that?”

The demonkin stared in confusion. Wayne saw the countless magic circles engraved on the blade and shouted.

“It’s an attack! Move!”

A torrent of fireballs erupted from the sword.

In an instant, the flames swept across the field and surged toward the demonkin. Caught in the blaze with no time to dodge, they writhed on the ground in agony.

“Everyone stay calm! Get out of the smoke!”

Right next to the shouting Wayne, a demonkin’s face caved in and his body went flying. The others flinched and dropped into fighting stances.

Every time the surroundings flashed, demonkin bodies went flying through the air. They were under attack by someone, but the assailant was moving so fast they could barely see him.

“I’ve been waiting for you, White Wing.”

Yusin appeared in a burst of light and snapped another demonkin’s neck with a kick as he spoke.

“So this is all you brought? Around two hundred? That’s light work.”

“...Kim Yusin!”

“That’s the archmage! Get him!”

Demonkin swarmed in from all directions to surround Yusin. He simply spun in place.

His hunter suit fluttered in the wind as spears of frost unfolded around him like a painting, then shot forward.

“Argh!”

“Ack!”

The demonkin impaled on the spears writhed in pain as their bodies swelled and transformed into monsters.

Demonkin could transform into monsters even after taking mortal wounds in human form, effectively giving them two lives. Some of them even set down their hunting equipment and charged at Yusin after transforming into monsters from the start.

“Figures.”

Yusin stomped hard on the ground.

<Gaia>

Centered on his right foot, the earth rose like a wave and shoved the demonkin back. A wall sprang up to block their rear, and the demonkin who tried to rush in again found their legs sinking as they were buried in pits.

Trampling over demonkin corpses, the master of the Magic Tower ruled the battlefield like a nightmare.

Every time he swung his arm, rebar shot up from the ground and strangled the demonkin by the neck, and every time his fingers flicked upward, blades of earth split their bodies in half.

<Fire Cannon> ×100.

From the sky, a relentless barrage of fireballs rained down. The demonkin were being completely overwhelmed by the firepower of a single man.

“What the...!”

“He’s doing all of this by himself?”

While they hesitated, stunned by the magical firepower they were seeing for the first time, a shadow crept up silently from behind and sank sharp fangs into the demonkin’s throats.

“M-monsters!”

Monsters with blood-red eyes burst out of the foggy forest and began attacking the demonkin in a pack. There were not only the weakest rank 1 monsters, Guruma, but also large monsters.

“Monsters? Why the hell are they attacking us?!”

A massive bipedal crocodile-type monster chomped down and swallowed a demonkin whole. The demonkin panicked and tried to flee.

The reason the monsters were attacking the demonkin, the secret behind it, was of course—

—Ha ha ha ha! Reinforcements reporting in, Master!

It was Na Daeyong’s field magic. A field spell called “Berserk” that excited monsters and ramped their aggression up to the extreme had been cast over this forest.

—Golem online. Initiating control.

This time, Ea’s voice reached Yusin’s ear.

Golem arms burst up from the ground and seized the legs of the charging demonkin.

“Huh?”

With their legs pinned, the demonkin were slammed into the ground. Then, a Mud Golem’s upper body rose from the earth and smashed them with its massive fists.

Regardless of terrain or location, golems were appearing all over the forest and beating the demonkin down.

“How many enemies are there?!”

Yusin and the golems in front, monsters in the rear. The demonkin were completely disoriented.

Watching the front line collapse in an instant under attacks from both sides, Wayne shouted.

“Leave the monsters alone! There’s only one real enemy! Kim Yusin! Take down Kim Yusin!”

Growl!

Demonkin, who had transformed into wolves, lunged at him, but Yusin remained relaxed.

"Hunter Kim Yusin. I will provide support."

Warp gates opened one after another in midair. Huge potions flew out of them, hit the ground, and erupted into raging pillars of fire.

Whine!

The demonkin caught in the flames turned to ash. It was none other than Jin Bora’s latest creation, the Prometheus Elixir.

“Out of my way!”

Unable to watch any longer, White Wing’s hidden card, Clint, stepped forward.

His body swelled to an enormous size, shredding the white T-shirt he was wearing. His entire body was covered in overlapping scales that resembled a pangolin’s armor.

A long tail, a twisted face, and the massive molars visible in his mouth all gleamed with a cold light.

“Hmph.”

Yusin, unimpressed, simply stretched out his arm and fired off a Fire Cannon.

Fireballs slammed into Clint one after another, yet he remained completely unscathed.

“You will pay for this with your life!”

Violet mana coated the scales all over his body, which then shot out like blades.

Ea conjured a shield in midair, but Clint’s scale blades shredded through it as if it were paper.

Yusin twisted his body to dodge them, speaking as he moved.

“Looks like not everyone here is a pushover.”

“Insolent wretch!”

While nimbly avoiding the flying scales, Yusin cast Fire Cannon, Ice Javelin, and Flame Taurus in succession.

However, none of them had any effect on Clint.

Likewise, Clint’s attacks failed to land on Yusin, whose movements, based on “Predictive Evasion,” were far too crafty to pin down.

Resolving himself, Clint drew deeply on his mana. Thousands of scale blades erupted from his body, spinning as they transformed into a whirlwind.

It was a veritable storm of blades. Monsters from the Restricted Zone that rushed Clint were ground up like meat in a blender.

“Disappear!”

Clint hurled the blade storm at him. Yusin countered, using Gaia to send a massive wave of earth surging forward.

The moment they collided, the blades tore the earthen wave to shreds and pushed through, reaching all the way to where Yusin stood.

CRRRRUNCH!

Clint’s lips curled into a smirk as he imagined Yusin’s body being ripped to pieces.

“Clint! Above you!”

Wayne’s shout made him snap his head up. Somehow, Yusin had taken to the sky and was preparing a spell.

Even so, Clint felt no urgency.

“Hahaha! No matter what spell you use, it’s useless! My armor is invinc—!”

A moment later, Specter appeared, its blade resting on Clint’s shoulder. At the same time, Yusin, trailing a black tail, plummeted from the sky like a comet.

<Devastar>

An immense pressure crashed down on Specter. The blade pierced straight through Clint’s scales and drove two-thirds of the way into his upper body.

“G-Gaaaaaaaaaah!”

Clint let out a bloodcurdling scream. Yusin stood with his arms folded, one foot on the flat of Specter’s blade and the other on its hilt.

“What was that about being invincible?”

“Urrgh, ggh!”

Foam bubbled at Clint’s mouth, and he could not even form proper words. Yusin began channeling a spell into Specter’s blade.

<Frozen Heart>

“Clint! Pull that sword out, now!” Wayne shouted frantically.

Yusin grinned and pressed his index and middle fingers together.

“Too late.”

Icicles erupted from deep within Clint’s body, ripping through his organs and shattering his bones as they burst outward.

The gash in his shoulder, already a third of the way through him, was forced wider and wider until his body was pried apart in a gruesome V-shape. A few of the demonkin squeezed their eyes shut.

THUD!

Clint died without ever opening his eyes. As Yusin landed lightly on the ground and raised his right arm, Specter snapped back to him with a sharp swish.

“So, what now, White Wing?”

The hem of his suit jacket fluttered as Yusin strode toward Wayne.

* * *