Level Up Machine

Chapter 144 Hero Lucia (4)

“Suit…?”

Kim Jae-hyun looked at Yeong-sik with a stunned expression.

Dense anxiety swept through his entire body.

The red light emanating from the visor was directed at him.

“Kim Jae-hyun.”

Kim Jae-hyun frowned at the voice of Yeong-sik coming from inside the suit.

After falling away from Lucia’s body, he instinctively took a step back.

“Where did you get that…”

“Watch your head.”

“What? What are you saying…”

Before Kim Jae-hyun could resolve his confusion over the sudden remark, Yeong-sik’s body moved.

– Kwooooosh!

Black flames erupted like wings.

The entire palace shook as if hit by an earthquake from the tremendous impact.

Before Kim Jae-hyun could even register the movement, Yeong-sik’s fist struck his head.

– Thwack!

Kim Jae-hyun was flung backward without even a scream. His body bounced off the floor like a skipping stone, smashing through the walls in succession.

“Ugh… Please, quickly, escape now.”

Lucia trembled violently in unbearable pain as she spoke in a desperate voice.

With Kim Jae-hyun being attacked and thrown away, this was the only chance they had to escape.

“Aaagh… Noooo… Aaaah!”

The command that Kim Jae-hyun had left in her mind, “Kill everyone here,” dominated her entire being.

Lucia, unable to resist the absolute command any longer, swung her sword towards Yeong-sik in front of her.

– Clang!

“What…?”

The black blade that emerged from the back of the suit’s hand collided with her sword.

A heavy shock transmitted through her hand.

For the first time since waking up in the wasteland, she felt her attack being completely blocked.

– Click.

The suit’s right wrist bent, revealing two gun barrels aimed at her.

“Full burst.”

– Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of explosive sounds roared as the barrels fired. Lucia, sensing the imminent danger instinctively, quickly retreated.

– Shoooo!

Before she could fully retreat, Yeong-sik’s body approached her rapidly. Twisting his body in mid-air, he struck her abdomen roughly.

– Boom!

Lucia’s body, hit by Yeong-sik’s foot, crashed through the wall and was flung out of the palace.

The sight of Leopold in the midst of war entered her vision.

She clutched her stomach, which had been hit by Yeong-sik, and got up from the ground.

Even though she had flown nearly 100 meters after crashing through the wall, she didn’t have even a scratch.

“How… how is this possible…?”

A voice filled with disbelief escaped from her lips.

Until now, everyone she had faced had died futilely, losing their lives before the real fight even began.

But the being in front of her was different.

He could withstand her attacks. He could counterattack and retaliate.

‘If it’s this person…!’

A spark of hope ignited in Lucia’s eyes.

She thought he might be able to kill her.

She believed he could cut her down and break the hellish cycle she was trapped in.

She had no desire for life.

No, as a living being, it wasn’t that she didn’t have the will to live, but she thought it would be much better to die than to live in such despair.

“Please… kill me.”

Lucia pleaded with him desperately.

Yeong-sik, who had followed her outside the palace, glared at her.

– Clang! Clang!

Contrary to her plea to be killed, she swiftly parried Yeong-sik’s blade.

Without Kim Jae-hyun’s command, she couldn’t even choose to end her own life.

A fierce swordfight ensued. In the blink of an eye, their swords clashed chaotically.

The movements surpassed the speed of sound, creating a sonic boom.

She desperately suppressed her strength to avoid counterattacking.

She didn’t use any of the numerous skills and spells that came to her mind.

She knew she could easily win if she put a bit more magic into pushing him back.

But she forcibly avoided using the ‘methods to win’ that surfaced in her mind.

If she used those methods, she would have to live as Kim Jae-hyun’s slave forever.

She continued the fight against Yeong-sik using only her pure physical abilities.

– Clang! Clang!

Terrifying sword strikes continued.

Even though she was suppressing her strength, she was a strong fighter who far surpassed human limits.

The fight did not easily tilt in favor of either side.

‘This…?’

Lucia shuddered as she exchanged blows with Yeong-sik.

The swordsmanship felt familiar somehow.

‘Why?’

She looked at Yeong-sik with a puzzled expression.

He was someone she had met for the first time today.

It was strange to feel such familiarity.

– Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Heavy explosions echoed, interrupting her thoughts.

Dozens of cannons emerged from the back of Yeong-sik’s suit.

Click.

Simultaneously, the shoulder parts of the suit opened.

“Jericho Missiles.”

– Boom! Boom! Boom!

With Yeong-sik’s low voice, missiles launched from his shoulders and back at the same time.

The horrifying explosion swept the surroundings.

“Ugh!”

Red blood spewed from Lucia’s mouth as she was caught in the explosion.

The fierce impact penetrated the magical armor she had wrapped around her body.

For the first time, she sustained a wound that looked like a real injury.

The light of hope in Lucia’s eyes grew even brighter.

– Zzzzing.

“Ugh…!”

Two laser beams shot out from the visor, targeting her.

Lucia reflexively stretched out one hand to deflect his attack.

– Boom!

Blocking his attack, Lucia took a rough step forward. Her body seemed to elongate as she moved directly in front of Yeong-sik.

– Bang!

Utilizing her superior physical abilities, she delivered a spinning kick to him.

The term “spinning kick” hardly did justice to the attack, which was powerful enough to make one think it could topple a building.

“Ugh?!”

A groan escaped from Yeong-sik’s lips.

Despite wearing the suit, the shock reverberated through his entire body.

– Sizzle.

– Warning. Suit damage rate has reached 20%. Combat mode must be terminated for automatic repair.

‘The suit…’

Yeong-sik’s expression twisted.

This was the first time the suit itself had been damaged since he started wearing it.

‘Is this the power of one of the Eight Heroes?’

The power to potentially destroy an estimated SSS-grade suit.

Her powerful attacks battered Yeong-sik’s entire body.

– Sizzle. Damage rate has reached 30%. Suggesting battlefield retreat.

‘This is dangerous.’

Yeong-sik’s expression hardened.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to escape; he simply couldn’t escape from her attack range even with the suit’s boosters at full power.

“Heaven’s Rain!”

“Wrath of the Water Dragon!”

At that moment, Tiria and Park Si-a, who had followed him outside the palace, launched their magic at Lucia.

Hundreds of beams of light created in the air fell towards her, followed by a massive water dragon targeting her.

Lucia quickly retreated and raised her sword to block the incoming attacks that she could not afford to ignore.

“Demon.”

Yeong-sik was not one to miss the opportunity created by Tiria and Park Si-a.

Thirty mines poured out from Yeong-sik’s knees and crawled toward Lucia.

Using his boosters to retreat, Yeong-sik raised his right hand toward her.

– Wooooong!

A sphere of black energy gathered in front of his right hand.

Yeong-sik covered the surface of the energy blast with plasma.

“Great Explosion.”

Simultaneously, the mines approaching Lucia detonated.

– Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Ugh…”

The massive explosion swept over Lucia once more.

She grimaced at the heat that penetrated through the magical barrier enveloping her body.

Then, an energy blast charged to its limit was fired at her.

The black energy blast, amplified by the suit’s power, was larger than her body.

A short gasp escaped from Lucia’s lips.

A skill that could block the attack flashed in her mind. Her body moved to use that skill.

‘No, don’t…’

She desperately suppressed her body to prevent it from blocking the attack.

‘This is the last chance.’

The last chance to break free from Kim Jae-hyun’s control.

It was the only way to escape the shackles that bound her.

She fought with all her might to suppress her body, which was trying to forcibly activate the skill.

The excruciating pain shook her entire being. Blood trickled from her lips, which she had bitten hard.

And then Yeong-sik’s energy blast engulfed her body.

– Kwoooooosh!

Like a dragon’s breath, Yeong-sik’s energy blast scorched the surroundings.

Dust rose from the ground, covering the area.

– Sizzle.

– The multipurpose functional combat suit Lacteon Type 2’s usage time has expired.

– Disengaging the suit.

Click. Yeong-sik emerged from the suit. A heavy sense of fatigue pressed down on him.

“Haah, haah…”

Rough breaths escaped from Yeong-sik’s lips.

Even he, who rarely got tired, couldn’t avoid exhaustion from the fierce battle with Lucia.

He put the suit back into his inventory and slowly walked toward the source of the rising smoke.

“■Huuu… O O …”

■ ~才、? -人、?

There lay Lucia, groaning on the ground.

Click.

A blade sprang out from the back of Yeong-sik’s hand.

“You… you were the one who saved me.”

Lucia, who had fallen to the ground, turned her head with difficulty to look at Yeong-sik.

A bright smile spread across her lips.

“Thank… you.”

She spoke to him in a faint voice that seemed like it could break at any moment.

His expression was cold, but there was something about him that made her feel at ease and want to rely on him.

“…Thank you?”

“Yes. Thank you for stopping me, for giving that filthy guy a good hit.”

Lucia smiled brightly.

Yeong-sik knelt on one knee and placed the blade against her neck.

She closed her eyes and wore a peaceful expression, as if genuinely happy.

“And thank you for killing me.”

Yeong-sik tightly closed his mouth at the words “thank you for killing me,” which he had never heard before. Complex emotions swirled in his mind.

“Ah, before I die, I want to know your name.”

She asked Yeong-sik his name in a cheerful voice.

“…Yeong-sik.”

“Hehe. It feels like a familiar name for some reason.”

She nodded with a satisfied smile.

Yeong-sik, for some unknown reason, was a word that remained faintly in her memory.

‘What kind of person was I before I lost my memory?’

Suddenly, she became curious about her past.

Her past, when she was called a hero, before she woke up in the wasteland.

‘It’s all meaningless now, though.’

She smiled a faint, almost extinguished smile and closed her eyes again.

“…I don’t like this.”

Yeong-sik frowned as he looked down at her, pleading for death as if asking for a favor.

For some reason, it made him extremely, intensely uncomfortable.

“Do you know why you can’t disobey Kim Jae-hyun’s orders?”

“…I don’t really know the reason either. Actually, I have no memory of when I was called a hero. When I woke up, it was a vast wasteland, and I was in a state where I couldn’t disobey Kim Jae-hyun’s orders.”

Lucia opened her eyes slowly and continued speaking with a bitter expression in response to Yeong-sik’s question.

“If I try to disobey his orders, my head feels like it’s going to split open. And my body moves against my will.”

“What if Kim Jae-hyun dies?”

At his question, Lucia shook her head with a sad expression.

“Even if that happens, I will still try to kill you all according to his last command.

The only remaining way is for you to kill me.”

She forced a smile and gently pressed the blade against her neck with her hand.

“So, please. Kill me.”

Yeong-sik firmly closed his mouth at her words.

He closed his eyes and fell into thought for a moment.

‘If she tries to disobey the command, her head feels like it’s going to split open and her body moves against her will.’

The deliberation did not last long.

Yeong-sik slowly opened his closed eyes.

His deeply settled gaze turned towards her.

– Click.

The blade retracted back into his hand. Lucia called out to him with a desperate expression.

“W-Wait a minute! Please…! If you don’t kill me here, I will again…!”

“I have something to test.”

Interrupting her, Yeong-sik reached out his hand.

His hand touched her forehead.

“Structure Analysis.”

A low voice flowed from his mouth.