The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 322

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Yeo Joo Saves the World
Part 2, Episode 143

[ Smoke Scorpion (A)
: A colossal scorpion monster whose entire body is covered in luminescent crimson crystals.
Its tail spews scorching black smoke. ]

[ Ore Troll (A+)
: A muscular beast resembling half-melted rebar.
It can regenerate infinitely using magma. ]

[ Flare Knight (S)
: A fire-attribute knight-type monster clad entirely in black iron helmet and armor.
As long as crimson flames burn in place of eyes within the helmet, it is immune to death. ]

Monsters teeming throughout this vast cavern.
True to their name as a legion, they moved with the organization of an actual military force.
Look at them now.
Unlike ordinary monsters that charge immediately upon spotting a Gate assault team, they stood their ground like disciplined soldiers, watching the hunters across from them without making the first move.
“This should prove worthwhile to fight.”
True to form for a fire-attribute user.
Sa Ma Young drew his sword with a savage grin, seemingly unbothered by the heat radiating from the magma.
Yet he did not charge forward recklessly.
His mind was sharp, but he was on a leash nonetheless.
A leash called Kang Young Won of the Justice Guild.
The other hunters were no different.
They stood ready to engage in combat the moment orders came down, but no one urged them to attack hastily.
It was possible because of their trust in Kang Young Won.
“Sub-guild Master, please put me down now.”
I tapped Kang Han’s shoulder lightly as I spoke.
“It would certainly be more comfortable for you to keep holding me.”
“Of course it would, but I can’t keep doing this. People are watching.”
Given that we were moments before combat, no one made jokes or laughed at us, but certainly eyes drifted our way.
It was definitely overprotective, even for a healer.
Especially when Ji Sung and Sung Ro Sa, similarly fragile, were standing on their own two feet.
“If you must, put me down near the Guild Master.”
Kang Han seemed to want me safely in the rear with the mages, but there was something I needed to do before the battle truly began.
Cradled in Kang Han’s arms, I moved forward while organizing my turbulent thoughts.
‘Now that I’ve entered the Cheon Ho Dong Gate, there’s no helping it.’
There was no time to waste on regrets.
I needed to wake Kang Han quickly and escape this place before then.
But since I’d confirmed the restriction preventing me from directly stating this wasn’t reality, ironically, I needed time.
And until then, for both Kang Han and me to survive unscathed, it was crucial that as many hunters as possible remained alive and fought alongside us.
“Mother.”
At the tunnel’s end, Kang Young Won, who had been lost in thought watching the Lava Legion’s monsters, turned at Kang Han’s call.
“You two have grown quite close, haven’t you?”
Amusement tinged her voice as she observed my form cradled in his arms.
“The Sub-guild Master takes such good care of us. I have something to tell you, Guild Master. It won’t take long. I’ll be quick about it.”
I spoke as I descended to the ground.
“Have you finalized the battle strategy?”
“Yes. It will be a melee.”
I nodded in agreement with her assessment.
No matter how formidable the raid team’s forces were, the legion’s monsters were equally powerful.
And then there was the river of lava that would melt flesh on mere contact.
From the moment combat began, no one could guarantee another’s survival.
The dwindling time limit that continued to shrink even now went without saying.
Yet despite all this, Kang Young Won did not rush me.
Her green eyes, similar to Kang Han’s but gleaming with a lighter hue, simply waited for me with composure.
Meeting those eyes, I understood why she commanded such profound trust from S-rank hunters who lived for their own pride.
From our first meeting in the elevator until now, Kang Young Won had remained unchanged.
In any situation, she never lost that faint smile.
It was the composure of a strong person who knew her own strength, and the authority of one who always stepped forward to bear the weight of duty and responsibility.
Was this what a true hero was?
The moment I truly grasped what kind of being Kang Young Won was, sorrow and regret crashed over me simultaneously.
Through the Fifth Dungeon Break, we lost such a giant.
There was no way to revive a hero who had already become the past.
But I would surely keep alive the new hope that would follow in her wake.
I took a shallow breath to avoid recalling the excruciating pain I’d endured moments before, then opened my mouth.
“From now on, I’m going to tell you something. But when I do, I’ll come under attack. You two will need to protect me.”
Fortunately, my throat didn’t constrict, and blood didn’t rise from within.
Good—this much was acceptable.
I took another step forward, watching the large question mark appear above the Kang family’s head.
“This dungeon is more dangerous than Hunter Kang Young Won thinks. It’s a Double Dungeon.”
Boom!
Suddenly, a nearby cave wall exploded outward, and a massive boulder crashed down toward me.
Whoosh.
With a single light gesture from Kang Young Won—as if swatting away a fly—the attack crumbled to dust. But had it connected directly, it would have pulverized my body in an instant.
“…I was right, wasn’t I?”
I wanted to laugh coolly, but it remained a fantasy.
I had to scratch my throat frantically and swallow down the bile rising in waves.
In truth, the moment I uttered the words “Double Dungeon,” a sharp abdominal pain began that was excruciating.
I wanted to bend over and vomit up my entire insides.
But I hadn’t yet conveyed all the crucial information.
I pretended to clasp my hands behind my back, hiding my trembling fingers.
“A Double Dungeon? You mean another Gate is opening?”
“Yes, that’s right. As the Master predicted, there’s no boss monster. Instead, a different Gate forms. …One that leads to another Dungeon.”
Rumble rumble rumble!
The Dungeon convulsed.
Unlike the single impact from before, the entire Underground Tunnel where the raid party was evading began to shake violently.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
Simultaneously, explosions erupted in rapid succession around me.
“Everyone, get outside!”
Kang Han deflected the boulders flying at me with his spear as he shouted.
“What the hell is happening?!”
“They’re launching an attack!”
“Damn it, let’s all go at them!”
Screeeech!
Kyaaaah!
The tunnel trembled as if it might collapse at any moment.
Amid the chaos of hunters and monsters roaring as they rushed outside, Kang Young Won remained perfectly still, her gaze fixed on me.
Mysterious violet light swirled within her bright green eyes.

[ ‘Kang Young Won (Reconstructed Data)’ uses the skill ‘Justice Pursuit’. ]
[ Verifying the truth of the ‘Double Dungeon information’ spoken by Yeo Joo. ]

‘Justice Pursuit’ was a broken skill that could distinguish whether any designated target—information, people, emotions, regardless of type—was real or false.
Like an innocent defendant standing in court, I held Kang Young Won’s gaze and awaited the verdict.

[ Verified as truth. ]

“Ha!”
As the appraisal window materialized, Kang Young Won let out a hollow laugh.
In the same instant, she drew forth a deep violet blade from empty air itself and swung it with lethal grace.
Crash! Boom—!
The massive boulder hurtling toward my back shattered in a single stroke and plummeted to the ground.
“Our healer Yeo Joo turned out to be far more precious talent than I expected.”
Kang Young Won spoke, wreathing her entire body in violet mana that rippled like a phantom.
“Han.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Don’t advance to the front lines. Guard our healer Yeo Joo well.”
Then she turned toward the battlefield and left one final word.
“Once we leave here, we’ll have much to discuss.”
Watching her charge into the heart of combat at a speed my eyes couldn’t even follow, I swallowed the blood pooling in my mouth.
‘Once we leave here.’
That promise I couldn’t keep tasted unbearably bitter.

+++

The battle unfolded exactly as Kang Young Won had described—a chaotic melee.
The legion’s monsters were numerous, formidable, and utterly fearless.
Moreover, whenever the hunters gained even a sliver of advantage, lava would erupt from the ground and overturn the entire situation, making the hunters wonder if the Dungeon itself had sided with the monsters.
Yet the raid party, composed entirely of S-rank hunters save for the healer, refused to yield.
“It’s collapsing now! Get back!”
At someone’s shout, Yoon Ki Baek, the Justice Guild’s shield, who had been facing a Smoke Scorpion alone, swiftly withdrew.
The moment his lightened boots touched safe ground nearby, the earth he’d been standing on moments before melted into the lava below with a soft hiss, dissolving like cotton candy.
The Smoke Scorpion atop it vanished along with the ground.
It was an attack exploiting the phenomenon where the earth disappeared if one remained in one place too long.
‘If all the ground disappears like this, it’ll be difficult to advance to the second sector.’
At this sudden thought, Chae Jung Woo, the sub-guild leader of Utopia, furrowed his brow while catching his breath, which had risen to his throat.
It was the aftereffect of completely detonating the ore golem earlier to prevent its recovery.
Though the moment had been brief, the cost of lowering his guard was steep.
“Ugh?!”
As he lost his balance, his body tilted to one side.
The ground beneath his right foot was crumbling.
If he died like this, his juniors at Utopia would mock him even in death!
Just as Chae Jung Woo desperately tried to twist his body away from that thought more terrifying than death itself—
An ice platform materialized beneath his right foot, hovering mere inches above the roiling lava, and thrust him toward the opposite side.
Using that repulsive force, Chae Jung Woo safely rolled to secure ground and, still lying down, thrust his right thumb upward.
An ice platform appearing out of nowhere—there was no need to look back to know it was Han Ji Sung’s work.
As Chae Jung Woo grinned with the exhilaration of nearly dying and being saved, he caught sight of Kang Young Won launching herself upward in his field of vision.
Draped in violet energy while defying gravity itself, she bore no resemblance whatsoever to a fellow Hunter—nor even to a human being.
Chae Jung Woo let out a hollow laugh as he rose lightly to rejoin the battle.
‘All I need to do is finish this before the ground disappears completely, right.’
It was somewhat absurd to harbor such thoughts while facing another guild’s master, but he had to acknowledge the truth.
Now that Kang Young Won had truly entered the fray, this battle would soon reach its conclusion.
True to Chae Jung Woo’s prediction, Kang Young Won intended to bring this battle to a swift end.
She ascended to an altitude where the entire battlefield lay visible before activating her skill.
Whoosh—!
A long whistling sound cut through space, and at that eerie sonic boom, the eyes of the Flare Knights—those beings of living flame—turned toward her, but only for a moment.
“‘Domain Declaration’.”
With the soft incantation, a vivid violet shadow blanketed the battlefield.
An absolute proclamation of domain—all targets within the sphere of influence that Kang Young Won deemed enemies would lose their free will.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————