91 – I Am the Boss – 6

“Art is an explosion.”

These were the words of Japanese artist Taro Okamoto in his book, *Keep Poison Inside You*.

Although it was easy to get the context backward, these were by no means the words of a mad bomber claiming that explosions themselves were art.

Taro Okamoto defined living itself as art, telling people to live a life like a violent explosion—one that flashed fiercely at every moment and sometimes ran wild without reason.

At this moment, having exploded the entire volcano without a second thought, Gi-jun thought that his life was indeed like the art Taro Okamoto had discussed.

“And death is a festival.”

Gi-jun chuckled as he leisurely endured the heat of the lava that drenched his entire body.

His heat resistance, which had increased through his contract with the spirit, applied perfectly to his equipment as well, was amplified once more by his Unbreakable Internal Clock, and reached a legendary state due to Adamant, which pushed all kinds of defense and resistance to their limits.

Even if he had been wearing only cloth clothes or underwear instead of Rare-grade armor, he would not have suffered any injuries from the heat in this situation.

“Cough…”

“This… is impossible.”

“Why… the entire volcano…”

The moment an entire massive mountain burst apart.

With hot lava surging and the ground splitting into hundreds of millions of pieces and soaring due to the terrible explosion, who could possibly be safe?

Except for Gi-jun, who had instructed Ur to trigger the explosion at that moment and protected himself by deploying Adamant, everyone suffered terrible damage.

‘Still, they were stronger than I expected. Hmm—using this to retire myself might have been a good passive method.’

Had it not been for the transmission device that automatically activated when receiving a fatal wound, there would have been hundreds of casualties.

It was a pity that he could not kill all the goblins and ogres here, but it was a relief that he did not have to kill the trolls, who had only been caught in the crossfire without knowing anything.

Perhaps among those who had already been transmitted away, some might not have escaped fatal injuries.

‘And the chance to kill them will come soon anyway.’

Gi-jun walked across the lava-flowing land, cleanly brushing away the debris from the explosion flying toward him by swinging his two shields.

The explosion had been so massive that more than half of the volcano had been blown away, transforming it into a somewhat gentle hill.

The lava covering the earth harbored a terrible heat of at least several thousand degrees, making it an environment where any being without Gi-jun’s level of resistance would take continuous damage just by stepping on the ground.

“Even so, is their stubborn survival because they are monsters?”

“You… what on earth…!”

The dwarf rolling on the ground noticed Gi-jun’s approach and ground his teeth, his eyes flashing fiercely.

When Gi-jun threw his shield without a word, the guy tried to dodge in a hurry, only to roll in the burning lava again, groaning in agony.

The shield, which circled through the air and returned, slammed into the guy’s head with a crack.

The device, activating slightly later, sent him out of the ruins, and the shield, having lost its target, returned to Gi-jun’s hand.

“About twenty percent left.”

Muttering quietly, Gi-jun threw his shield to deal with those who were near critically injured one by one.

In the land where the lava surged, heat still swirled everywhere from the lingering effects of the volcanic explosion, and rocks and pebbles flew fiercely, only Gi-jun moved calmly.

After diligently clearing out everyone he could, only about forty of the participants in the Faction War remained, of which only about ten were goblins and the rest were Sabers… namely, ogres.

Trolls? The trolls had been deliberately attacked and sent out first.

―The alliance… will not stand by… and watch this.

“If there is a rule I broke, name it.”

After shutting up the idiot who babbled through gritted teeth, he threw his shield with all his might again, and finally, someone appeared to block it.

It was a giant who had swollen his body to nearly three meters.

“To target our openings while we are weakened.”

“Isn’t that the weakness of the Saber race? Just take it.”

“I’ll break this damn shield first.”

Just as the guy exerted strength throughout his body to bend the shield, Gi-jun flicked his hand, and the shield spewed brilliant light and flames simultaneously, burning the ogre’s hands and soaring up to strike his chin.

Originally, his goal had been to pierce through him, but the transmission device activated before that, sending him away.

“What?!”

“Phew.”

Turning at the same time, Gi-jun smiled at a few goblins sneaking up behind his back and stamped his foot.

The lava flowing on the ground rose up all at once, sweeping over them and melting them down.

“Aaargh!”

“He—he’s controlling the lava!”

“He’s not a Flame Human, he is something far more terrifying than that—cough!”

Of course, because a Flame Human would not be able to control lava.

What appeared to be Gi-jun controlling the lava was actually just him running wild with the heat of the lava using the power of Ur, whose domain of control had expanded after evolving into the Unique grade.

Of course, that alone exerted a sufficiently astonishing power, and in this lava-flowing land, it made Gi-jun virtually invincible, but…

‘If it is this much at the Unique grade, I wonder how amazing it will become when it reaches the Legendary grade.’

When Lucy was of the Rare grade, the scope of her abilities was narrow, but now that she had reached the Legendary grade, was there anything she could not do, from scouting to physical enhancement, attack, and healing?

Since the concept of ‘heat’ had a massive impact on the world, Ur would also be able to wield an immense power rivaling Lucy’s once he reached the Legendary grade.

―Rumble…!

“Are you feeling calmer now, Ur?”

―Kyeet!

A giant fire cat revealed itself in the air.

This was the appearance of Ur, who had been enhanced in every aspect compared to when he was of the Rare grade.

His presence had become clearer, his ego stronger, and the limit of the power he could exert had been vastly amplified.

Everyone remaining in this place must have felt the heat of the area amplify even further the moment Ur appeared.

“If we kill that guy!”

“Everyone, rush him!”

The surviving ogres rushed at Gi-jun from all directions simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the handful of goblins, knowing that a frontal confrontation was hopeless, backed away to look for openings in Gi-jun’s defense.

Gi-jun and Ur, who had received his intentions, also took action at the same time; Gi-jun held his two shields in the shape of fangs, while Ur swiftly threw himself forward to break through the ogres—and began to burn the goblins beyond them.

This was because, unlike the ogres who could only fight in close quarters, the goblins, who had a mix of various classes, had the potential to become troublesome if left alone.

“Aaargh!”

“Why us—?!”

“Now!”

“Die!”

Perhaps they had been more wary of Ur than Gi-jun, for the ogres, seizing the opening while the spirit dealt with the goblins, rushed at him all at once.

Although the sight of dozens of giants, each several meters tall, surrounding and lunging at him at once was quite chilling…

Gi-jun threw himself toward them without hesitation.

“If you refuse to reveal your true identity to the end, then you will just have to die as you are!”

“Ugh?!”

Dodging the ogres’ fists and kicks flying at him from all directions as if he had eyes in the back of his head, Gi-jun swung his massive fangs, covered in light and flames that glowed blood-red, and smashed the head of the closest guy.

―Crack!

Although the transmission device activated the moment the guy fell, spurting blood from his head, it was uncertain whether he actually made it out alive.

“Kraaaaargh!”

“Kill him!”

However, regardless of their ally’s death, the ogres, whose eyes were already rolled back in anger, only threw themselves forward with the single-minded thought of killing Gi-jun.

Gi-jun began reducing their numbers, using the fangs that grew on his arms to smash and bite with his shields, starting with those closest to him.

Since their bodies were so massive, at most three of them could attack Gi-jun at the same time, so as long as his combat endurance was guaranteed, it was not actually that difficult of a situation.

And Gi-jun, whose skills had been perfected through years of training with Biche, was confident in one thing above all: fighting for a long time!

―Roaaar!

To make matters worse, Ur, who had quickly annihilated the goblins, lunged at them from behind.

Up to that point, the damage they had inflicted on Gi-jun was zero.

Although dozens of them were still alive, it did not seem like they could wound him even if they dragged out the time like this.

Above all, they were not of a temperament to endure such a humiliating situation.

“Grrrr…”

“Must we be defeated so pathetically like this? To kneel before just a single person?”

“No, we can’t… There is no way we can!”

And finally.

The change Gi-jun had hoped for occurred.

―Kraaargh!

―How dare you look down on us and trample us!

―Dieeeeeee!

The giants, who had already reached nearly three meters in size, grew even larger, and their fragile skin transformed into thick, tough hide.

It was the moment when the ogres, who had disguised themselves as the unheard-of Saber race, fully revealed their true identities.

It was the moment when the Faction War, which had already been completely overturned by the volcanic explosion, turned upside down once more.

It meant that nothing would be left.

―No!

Someone seemed to let out a single scream, but even that sounded sweet to Gi-jun.

If they had not revealed their identities, Gi-jun would have had to take a longer detour.

With this, the battle was decisively settled.

Since everyone must be watching this scene through the video transmission devices, who could possibly defend Demander for bringing in the Dark Faction?

―Grab him!

―Break the device—!

Gi-jun chuckled as he watched the ogres rushing at him while letting out roars that were almost screams, and threw himself toward them.

Until now, he had exerted effort to win without taking any damage, but now that their identities were revealed and the Faction War itself had become a mess, there was no need for that.

And naturally, the tactics differed between aiming for a no-damage clear and a simple clear.

―Crack! Boom!

―Kyeet!

Gi-jun strengthened his entire body with Adamant and began to run wild in earnest alongside Ur.

The ogres, who had revealed their true forms, were incomparably stronger than when they were disguised, but they were far from enough to defeat Gi-jun, who had hunted a divine beast.

Although Lucy was not here, Gi-jun was accompanied by Ur, who had grown to the Unique grade.

Furthermore, the environment was a lava zone where the spirit was extremely empowered.

If they wanted to blame someone, they had better blame the idiots of the alliance who had deployed him to the volcano.

―This can’t be—!

“Everyone thinks that right before they die.”

Boom!

The sharp, elongated fangs of red flame at the tip of the shield Gi-jun swung tore off the last ogre’s neck and burned it.

He had died without even having the time to activate the device.

Since most of the ogres had died this way, he probably would not feel it was unfair either.

“Finished.”

Although he had been struck a few times during the fierce battle, most of the impact was blocked by Adamant, and even the remainder was absorbed by the Shock Absorber Gi-jun wore under his armor, making it impossible to know how much damage had actually come through.

Well, no matter how many times he was hit by an ogre, it was meaningless anyway.

Had he known it would turn out like this, he would not have had to struggle to achieve a no-damage clear from the start, but since the special training for it had caused the abilities of Gi-jun and his party members to grow rapidly, perhaps it was for the best.

“Good work, Ur. Now let’s go save our friends.”

―Keee!

Since all the challengers had been eliminated, the Faction War had naturally ended.

This meant that the validity of the magic contract had also expired.

Originally, the magic contract had a clause stating that one could not apply impact to the device they wore, but now that the contract was over—one could trigger it themselves.

“Phew.”

Gi-jun, who activated the device by striking his heart area hard with his fist, immediately exited the ruins—and after taking a deep breath, he tore the device off his chest and threw it to the ground.

“What on earth are you doing—!”

Crash! Hearing a somewhat annoying voice, he swung his shield and crushed the speaker without even looking back, only to find it was the owner of the very voice that had been blabbing from the other side of the transmission device all this time.

As Gi-jun snorted down at the guy who lay unconscious on the ground and prepared to mount Ur’s back, alliance members belonging to Demander swarmed in from all directions as if they had been waiting only for this moment.

“Stop!”

“You violated the contract! You did not give us any advance warning about that volcanic explosion…!”

“You will be detained right now!”

Humans, goblins, and a few other races rushed forward all at once, pointing their weapons at him.

The other three of the alliance’s five representative races—namely, the Beast-kin, Cait Siths, and Orcs—were not present.

He could roughly figure out the situation now…

“Contracts… I have plenty to say about contracts too.”

“The alliance has never violated the contract!”

“Yeah, what a coincidence. Neither have I.”

Of course, although they had screwed each other over immensely within boundaries that did not violate the contract, they had indeed not violated the contract.

If he had violated the contract, he would have received a system-level penalty immediately, but there was no such thing.

As a bonus, the contract was already over.

“You ruined everything! The Gratia royal family will never stand by and watch this—”

“Shut up, you traitorous bastards.”

How could they believe that cleanup was still possible when the Saber bastards had completely transformed into ogres, and that fact had been broadcasted through the video transmission?

But just as Gi-jun, looking back at them with a cold expression, was about to use force,

A resonant cry echoed in the sky.

―Piyooooo—!

“Ugh?!”

“Why is the griffin here?!”

The shadow of large feathered wings spread across the ground.

Gi-jun also blinked at the familiar, brave cry of the bird of prey.

As the griffin, which had been circling in the air, rapidly descended to the ground, the alliance members scattered in all directions in panic.

While the griffin’s strength was formidable, it was also because the creature was one of the alliance’s most precious assets, so it would be a disaster if they accidentally injured it.

―Peeee!

The griffin, which had been descending as if to crash into the ground, spread its wings midway to slow down, and after flapping them a few times, landed stably.

Right in front of Gi-jun.

―Piyoo!

“…Are you telling me to get on?”

―Peeee!

The griffin nodded its head without hesitation.

Sensing the light shimmering within its body, Gi-jun showed a surprised expression.

If the light mana and light spirit power he had infused into it while flying through the sky on its back two weeks ago still remained and had guided it—then the place this creature was trying to take him now was likely…

“No, stop! The griffin is an asset of the alliance!”

“Hup.”

Gi-jun, who had shrunk Ur back down to place him on his shoulder, climbed onto the griffin’s back, ignoring the voices calling from behind.

“I told you to stop! I hope you do not add any more to your list of crimes, Flame Human!”

Goblin Honeypup, one of the five representatives of Demander, shouted in a shrill voice.

While the griffin flapped its wings, preparing to take flight again, Gi-jun looked back and sneered at Honeypup.

“Have you still not grasped the situation, goblin? The alliance is finished today.”

“We will not end like this! You seem to have no idea who is standing behind us—!”

“Right, that high noble. He had better be careful too if he does not want his head cut off.”

Right before the griffin soared into the sky.

Gi-jun narrowed his eyes and added:

“Or perhaps get a stake driven through his heart?”

“Eeeek—!”

Honeypup bit his lips at his words but still reached out to chant a spell.

He seemed to want to cast a spell to directly bind Gi-jun’s actions while targeting him because he could not bring himself to injure the griffin, but unfortunately for him.

―[Unbreakable Internal Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

―Resistance successful. A positive modifier is applied to [Riding (R)].

―[Unbreakable Internal Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

―Resistance successful. A positive modifier is applied to [Riding (R)].

Consequently, the griffin’s speed only grew faster.

“Let’s go, griffin!”

―Piyooooo!

The griffin, crying out valiantly, kicked off the ground and took flight, beginning to fly at an unbelievable speed.

The destination was, just as he had expected, the site of the species guild alliance Demander.

Gi-jun smiled faintly, sensing the residents of Cor looking up at him.

Indeed, the saying that art was an explosion seemed to be true.

“Let’s throw a truly grand fireworks festival…!”

―Peeeeeee!

Immediately after he quietly murmured, imagining what would be happening below,

the griffin began its descent.

* * *

[Biche♥(Dimensional Waiting Room): Jun, do your best.]

[Biche♥(Dimensional Waiting Room): There is no need to be scared, whether the opponent is a vampire or a noble.]

[Biche♥(Dimensional Waiting Room): The summoned might be a different story, but in the end, the NPCs belonging to the Light Faction will know you are right and support you.]

[Biche♥(Dimensional Waiting Room): That is how you will become a hero.]

[Biche♥(Dimensional Waiting Room): Though that is where the real problem starts, actually.]

[Biche♥(Dimensional Waiting Room): You will be fine.]

[Biche♥(Dimensional Waiting Room): Surely…]

[Biche♥(Dimensional Waiting Room): So, do your best.]