Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 14: Annihilation

Inside the spacious building, the first thing that caught the eye was a giant mirror with a diameter of about 4 meters.

No, it looked like a mirror, but it wasn’t.

The giant, shimmering circle, surrounded by a purple halo, wasn’t attached to the wall but was floating in the air, slowly pulsating.

As Jin Beom-Min struggled to grasp the situation, he noticed the people gathered in front of the circle.

About 30 hostages, tied together in a line with rough ropes, and around them, about 20 Bugbears taking threatening stances.

Their combined 50 pairs of eyes focused on Jin Beom-Min.

Everyone seemed bewildered, their eyes wide with surprise, but no one had lost their sight or panicked from the flashbang.

It seemed the interior of the building was quite spacious, and the flashbang had exploded after being blocked by low furniture.

But it was clear that everyone was still startled by the unexpected loud bang.

And it was equally clear that the hostages were in danger.

“Get down!”

Jin Beom-Min shouted and charged forward.

As if his voice was a switch, the hostages and Bugbears, who had been frozen in surprise, moved all at once.

“Help!”

“What the……!”

“Garunta! Kruk!”

“Get down!”

“Tchik!”

“Karun!”

The hostages’ cries for help and the Bugbears’ shouts echoed chaotically throughout the building.

The Bugbears hurriedly turned their weapons towards the hostages, but it was already too late.

Crack!

With a single movement from Jin Beom-Min, two Bugbears were split in two, armor and all.

One Bugbear hurriedly swung its axe, but it only cut through the air.

Jin Beom-Min, who had already lowered his stance, sliced the legs of the axe-wielding Bugbear and then diagonally cut upward at another one.

“Kieek!”

“Uwaak!”

The Bugbear’s death throes intersected with the scream of a hostage whose face was splattered with the Bugbear’s warm blood.

“Poov! Kruk Poov!”

The Bugbear leader, wearing a horned helmet, grabbed the arm of the hostage at the front of the line and shoved him into the floating circle.

The hostage struggled, but he couldn’t overcome the Bugbear’s strength and his face collided with the smooth, mirror-like surface of the circle.

No, it didn’t collide.

The hostage sank into the smooth surface of the circle as if he were submerged in water. The surface of the circle rippled slightly, and a halo of light bloomed.

The hostage was pushed further in and completely disappeared into the smooth surface.

The rope, sucked into the circle, pulled taut, causing the hostages tied together to tumble forward.

‘……Portal……!’

Seeing this, Jin Beom-Min realized the true nature of the giant circle.

A spatial transfer portal. It was the spatial transfer magic used by high-ranking wizards in Jindar.

Why such high-level magic was being used here was something to think about later. For now, rescuing the hostages and dealing with the Bugbears was the priority.

Kwajik!

Bang!

Jin Beom-Min momentarily stomped on the ground. Two axes slammed into the spot where he had just been standing.

Thud! Crash!

Jin Beom-Min darted in front of the portal like a ray of light and cut the rope that was being pulled into the portal.

The hostages, who had been struggling on the floor to avoid being dragged into the portal, now fell backward all at once.

“Karun!”

The Bugbear leader with the horned helmet, who had just pushed the hostage in, roared and swung a double-edged axe that looked twice as big as the others.

Thwack!

Jin Beom-Min grabbed the handle of the axe, which was swung with a terrifying sound, with his left hand.

The axe stopped abruptly as if it had hit a wall.

“Kr……Jorunda!”

The Bugbear leader shouted at Jin Beom-Min in frustration. It meant”Who are you!”in the Jindar Orc language.

Naturally, Jin Beom-Min had neither the obligation nor the time to answer.

He simply pressed down hard on the axe handle he was holding.

Crack!

The Bugbear leader’s arm twisted, and the back blade of the double-edged axe split the horned helmet and dug deep into his body.

Thud!

As the massive body collapsed to the floor, nearly split in two, the Bugbears stared blankly at Jin Beom-Min with defeated eyes.

Originally, the strongest Bugbear in a group became the leader, and the leader usually had as many subordinates as he could handle at once.

This was because betrayal and insubordination were a common part of Bugbear culture.

In other words, Jin Beom-Min, who had easily defeated the leader who was strong enough to handle all of them at once, was an opponent they couldn’t defeat no matter what they did. Even if they all attacked him together.

Jin Beom-Min slowly walked towards the hostages. As he advanced, the Bugbears stumbled backward.

[Jin, what’s the situation?]

‘Sandman’, who was observing the situation while taking cover at the entrance of the building, asked.

“Come in and take the hostages.”

[There are still monsters left?]

“By the time you get here……”

A high-pitched frequency, sharp enough to pierce the ears, emanated from the mana-infused sword. The hostages winced and covered their ears.

“……there won’t be.”

******

“So this is……a kind of door? Something that can transport you to another place……?”

“Yes. That’s what I understand. In fact, one of the hostages was pushed inside……”

“Then where does it lead to?”

Jin Beom-Min shook his head at ‘Sandman’ and said,

“I don’t know. Not unless we go inside ourselves……”

“Hmm……So the monsters were gathered here to move somewhere with the hostages. That’s why they didn’t post any guards.”

“That seems to be the case.”

‘Sandman’ slowly approached the portal and reached out his hand.

Then, just before his hand touched the surface of the portal, he stopped and spoke again.

“It would be dangerous to go inside, wouldn’t it?”

“Of course. We don’t know what’s waiting on the other side. It could lead to the monsters’ base, or it could be connected to the middle of a boiling lava pit.”

“Hmm……”

While the two were pondering, ‘Reaper’ approached.

“All 34 hostages have been rescued. There don’t seem to be any fatalities, and one person is missing……”

‘Reaper’, who had come after checking the number of hostages, reported.

The one missing person seemed to be the one who had been pushed into the portal earlier.

“What’s the condition of the hostages?”

“They’re in good condition. The worst injuries are bruises or sprains, and no one is in critical condition. The other agents are checking their injuries and distributing water and food.”

“Alright. If you find someone in good condition, ask them what happened, and tell ‘Wraith’ to come here.”

“Yes, sir.”

Soon, ‘Wraith’, who had been with the hostages, approached with a puzzled look on his face.

“What’s up?”

“Do you have any reconnaissance drones left? Small ones.”

“Uh, yeah. I do, but why? It’s a new model, I haven’t used it yet.”

“We need to check the other side of the portal.”

At ‘Sandman’s words, ‘Wraith’ frowned and replied,

“With a drone?”

“Why, don’t you like it? Want to go yourself?”

“Uh……No.”

“Then get ready.”

‘Wraith’ pulled a small box with a handle out of his backpack.

When he opened the lid, a palm-sized miniature drone and a controller with an LCD screen were revealed.

“But if we lose this, you’ll have to pay me back, right? It’s a brand new model, and I only managed to get one.”

‘Wraith’ grumbled, and ‘Sandman’ replied irritably,

“Geez, you talk too much. How much is it?”

“20 million won.”

“Uh……That tiny thing?”

‘Sandman’ was taken aback by the unexpectedly high price and asked.

“It’s military-spec. The durability and performance are completely different from ordinary hobby drones. The frequency itself is different for anti-hacking purposes……”

“Alright, alright, just send it in.”

‘Sandman’ interrupted ‘Wraith’, who was about to start his explanation mode, and urged him on.

‘Wraith’ shrugged and pressed the switch, and the drone whirred into the air.

“……So, shall we go in?”

The miniature drone, perfectly balanced as if it were hanging in the air, slowly flew towards the surface of the portal.

The gray-painted drone’s reflection and the faces of the three men watching from behind were reflected in the smooth, mirror-like surface of the portal.

“Let’s go slowly, baby……”

‘Wraith’ carefully pushed the lever on the controller, and the drone slowly entered the portal.

At that moment, the LCD screen on the controller crackled, and……

The portal disappeared.

Clatter!

The drone, neatly cut in half as if by a knife, fell to the floor.

The portal, which had just moments ago been boasting its presence by perfectly reflecting its surroundings, also vanished in an instant as if it had never existed.

“Uh……”

‘Sandman’, who had been silent for a moment, cautiously asked ‘Wraith’, who seemed speechless with bewilderment,

“Well……It’s gone.”

“……It’s gone.”

“So……Does that mean you only have to pay half? Half of it is still there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we recovered half of it……”

“What are you……Oh? Wait a minute.”

‘Wraith’, who was about to retort to ‘Sandman’ in indignation, suddenly stared intently at the LCD screen and fiddled with the controller.

“Why, what is it?”

“This is……Oh, wait a minute. If we play it back in slow motion……There it is. Look! There’s footage transmitted right before it malfunctioned!”

‘Sandman’ and Jin Beom-Min rushed to ‘Wraith’s side and looked at the screen.

The three large men huddled around the small LCD screen, their helmets and shoulders bumping into each other.

“……Where is this?”

The last image transmitted by the drone was blurry, as if out of focus. Especially objects close to the drone were so badly distorted that it was impossible to make out what they were.

However, the background in the distance was quite clear, and the pointed mountain peak covered in perpetual snow at the top was shaped like a well-honed blade.

“……Is that……Kilimanjaro?”

“The shape is completely different.”

“……That mountain is called Brimwell.”

At Jin Beom-Min’s unusually subdued voice, ‘Sandman’ and ‘Wraith’ asked simultaneously,

“Do you know where that is?”

“Where is that?”

Jin Beom-Min, his eyes still fixed on the blurry screen, answered in a muffled voice,

“……It’s a sacred mountain in the south of Jindar’s continent. This is……my hometown where I was born and raised……Dunhilt.”

******

[As expected……The monsters……are coming from the world where Jin Beom-Min was……We were right.]

The satellite phone was heavy and inconvenient like a mobile phone from the 80s, and the call quality wasn’t very good either.

Jin Beom-Min strained to hear Lee Sang-Jun’s voice through the static and answered loudly,

“Yes. This confirms it. And when I searched the bodies of the dead monsters, I found empty magic scrolls.”

[Magic……scrolls?]

“You know, the thing I handed over to you before? The one I got from the High Orc.”

[Ah……Yes. The same thing……is it?]

“It’s the same thing, but there’s no magic in it. It’s already been used. The portal magic was contained in the magic scroll.”

[Then the ones we have……are also……?]

“They’re probably the same thing. They were probably trying to kidnap people in Seoul and return through the portal.”

[I understand……This could be a……clue for the research team.]

“It’s ominous. I’ve never even heard of magic that connects completely different worlds in Jindar. It’s definitely not magic that Bugbears can use.”

[……So there’s someone behind this……?]

“That’s right. Someone very powerful……”

At that moment, Jin Beom-Min, who had climbed to the roof of the building to find a place with better satellite reception, noticed something.

Looking closely, he saw something small and shiny flying high in the sky.

It was an airplane. He couldn’t see its shape clearly, but it was definitely not a typical commercial airliner.

“Uh……What’s that?”

[What is it? What do you……see?]

“Hold on. I’ll call you back.”

Jin Beom-Min hung up the phone and jumped down from the roof. Then he dragged ‘Wraith’, who was dejectedly fiddling with the broken drone, outside.

“What’s that?”