Chapter 57
Turning point.
A decisive cause that triggers change.
The encounter with the Prophet served as the once-in-a-lifetime turning point in Kim Byung-han’s life.
‘I have to become stronger. In this world, the only person I can trust is myself.’
Not friends, not family, not even the comrades he had endured hardships with for years.
He came to believe with certainty that no one could be trusted inside the Abyss.
In the end, humans are creatures that change according to their circumstances.
If you want to survive, you have no choice but to hone your own combat power.
‘I won’t trust anyone anymore.’
When the “Abyss” began right after arriving at work, he was sniped.
Once the Creator who opened the Abyss designated him for death, Kim Byung-han instantly became prey.
No one objected. No one tried to save him.
Not the friendly coworkers who usually acted close with him, not those he always looked after, not even the pure-hearted juniors he thought of as angels.
All of them glared at him with bloodshot eyes and raised their blades.
They all craved only Kim Byung-han’s death.
‘I never… never want to go through that again.’
If there was such a thing as living hell, that was it.
Just remembering that day made his knees tremble.
He ran desperately to survive.
He crawled across the floor, bleeding profusely.
Shaking in betrayal, he still prayed—just one person, please take my side.
But there were no exceptions.
Everyone there was a demon.
From that day on, Kim Byung-han became even more selfish.
He struggled relentlessly to grow stronger.
Because he realized the truth: in the Abyss, no one could be trusted.
Unless something benefited him, he never acted.
He moved with cold calculation.
But—
There was one single exception to this principle of his.
‘The Prophet!’
The one Lee Hyuk-soo called the Prophet.
The Archmage who conquered the Abyss!
Especially the sight of him facing the Death Knight—he would never forget it.
He wouldn’t forget it for the rest of his life.
That’s how overwhelming it was.
It was definitely the Prophet.
Even if his outfit had changed a bit, how could he possibly forget?
The moment he recognized him, Kim Byung-han dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
The Prophet had saved him. Gifted him a new life.
To Kim Byung-han, the Prophet was on par with—or perhaps greater than—a Creator. A god.
“…Prophet?”
“That mage?”
However, Lim Chang-yeol and the other Seoul Union members, who didn’t know any of this, simply tilted their heads in confusion.
The Witch of Death, Adora, had brought along one man.
And Kim Byung-han was now worshiping him as the Prophet.
But none of them had seen the man before.
The data on just about every major Korean powerhouse had already been collected—yet there was no information at all on a mage dressed like that.
And if he was being called the “Prophet,” he couldn’t be ordinary.
“Kim Byung-han. Do you know who that man is?”
Seoul Union’s leader, Lim Chang-yeol, asked.
At that moment, Kim Byung-han raised his previously bowed head.
Then, with eyes blazing like an erupting volcano, he spoke.
“You fools! How dare you keep your heads high in the presence of the great Prophet! Bow your heads at once!”
“…?”
Lim Chang-yeol tilted his head openly.
He thought he had a decent grasp of Kim Byung-han’s personality, but what he was seeing now was unexpected.
Kim Byung-han was suspicious, greedy, and selfish.
Men like that usually didn’t believe in anyone.
Yet here he was, showing blind faith in that man.
He was nothing short of a fanatic.
‘Just who the hell is he?’
The one who became Adora’s sole closest aide, surpassing countless other competitors.
But Lim Chang-yeol’s interest ended there.
‘At best, he’s still just a mage.’
He wasn’t particularly interested in mages, especially since after the Abyss appeared, those who used “magic” had failed to make much impact.
Mages weren’t exactly a welcomed class.
Magic took time to cast, and in the variable-filled Abyss, it often failed to respond in real time.
Its destructive power wasn’t particularly impressive either, and most mages lacked stamina and tenacity.
Worse still—
They could barely function alone.
Across various communities and social media, mages had long become pariahs.
—Never pick a mage-related class.
—Mages are dead weight. They’re no help in team fights.
—Why learn magic? If you want to shoot fire, just use a lighter.
—All style, no substance. You’d be better off swinging a sword once instead of casting a spell.
It sounded like mockery, but it was all true.
At present, it was sword-wielders like Lee Hyuk-soo, Han Shin, and Lim Chang-yeol who led the world.
And it didn’t seem like that would change anytime soon.
‘Looks like he uses some kind of unique magic.’
Maybe Kim Byung-han was just dazzled by that.
Above all—
‘…This is a fight between Kankun and Adora. Humans can’t interfere anyway.’
In the Tower of Arrogance, there was no room for human interference in battles.
The upcoming clash belonged to Kankun and Adora alone.
Lim Chang-yeol lost interest in the mage.
“……”
“……”
There was no room to focus on anything else anyway.
Kankun and Adora—
The two were now facing each other.
Though silent, the cold tension between the two monsters had already surpassed what humans could endure.
“We should… move back.”
Lim Chang-yeol spoke quietly.
Staying close would get them caught in the crossfire.
Anyone caught in a clash between those two monsters would die without exception.
All the Union members on Kankun’s side quietly retreated.
In that moment, Kankun spoke first.
“Witch of Death. I no longer fear your death.”
Witch Adora.
The death she commanded, the dark magic she wielded—
Kankun had overcome it all.
In their first battle, he had suffered near-catastrophic damage, but now that he had awakened the Heart Sword, he feared nothing.
“I will kill you here.”
Even if it meant dying, he would kill her.
Orc Master Kankun slowly raised his greatsword.
His eyes were filled with only one intent—to kill his opponent.
Rumble!
As Kankun stomped the ground, violent mana shook the earth.
In the instant the aura of death dispersed, Kankun did not miss the opening.
Crack!
He stepped forward with his right foot and drove his greatsword straight down.
Rumbleeeeee—!
Sword Qi erupted from the blade and surged toward Adora.
Even just grazing it seemed enough to rip through the earth and stir the air violently, distorting the very terrain.
A direct hit would pulverize her without even a speck of dust left behind.
Everyone could only watch in stunned silence.
In that fleeting moment, Adora raised her hand.
The magic of death gathered and formed a thick shield of darkness.
The shield stacked ninefold, leaving not a single gap around Adora’s body.
Clang—!
The moment the Sword Qi struck the dark shield.
With a single powerful clang, the Sword Qi vanished.
It had failed to penetrate Adora’s shield.
But then—
“Blocking it won’t save you, Witch!”
Shhhk!
Kankun’s greatsword followed in behind.
Through the tiny opening the Sword Qi had created, Kankun’s greatsword pierced through.
Crack!
The ninefold shield began to fracture.
Even the smallest opening was enough.
Kankun brought both hands together.
He was about to condense all his energy to form a [Heart Sword].
Quick and decisive.
Kankun knew that if the fight dragged on, it would turn against him.
“T-That’s…!”
“S-Swords… in the air…!”
Above Adora’s head—
As the energy converged into a vortex, swords of light filled with brilliance were born.
And they weren’t just one or two.
Hundreds, thousands of swords appeared.
An uncountable number of radiant swords swarmed in from all sides toward Adora.
Crash! Crackle!
The dark shield shattered.
One, two, three…
When the eighth was broken, Kankun reached out again.
His greatsword returned to his grasp, and he stepped forward, folding space itself to close the gap.
With speed never seen before, he closed in and unleashed a blow intended to slice Adora in half along with the final shield.
Kuaaaaang!
An explosion and a blinding flash burst forth, forcing onlookers to shut their eyes.
One thing was certain—the final shield had been broken.
That last image they saw confirmed it.
At that moment, everyone was convinced.
‘There’s no way she survived that.’
‘Kankun has won!’
Kankun’s overwhelming victory.
And theirs too, for choosing his side.
No one could even imagine what kind of reward awaited them.
…However.
When they opened their eyes again—
“…!”
“W-What is this?”
They were forced to witness something completely unexpected.
Kankun’s greatsword was aimed precisely at Adora’s forehead.
Yet just before making contact, both Kankun and his sword were frozen midair.
The dark, cloud-like aura flowing from Adora’s entire body had coiled around Kankun.
Kankun’s eyes were filled with disbelief.
He had overcome death, awakened the Heart Sword, and become a complete warrior.
There was nothing he couldn’t cut.
And he was certain he had cut through death and black magic.
But…
He had been caught.
Which meant—
…He hadn’t cut through after all.
Adora had only pretended to be struck.
She had lured Kankun into her domain on purpose.
To bring him within reach—right to the doorstep of death.
To grant him a death he could never escape.
“You… witch…!”
Kankun barely managed to speak.
It was mockery in its purest form.
But he couldn’t understand it.
In their previous fight, the gap hadn’t been this wide.
They had clearly been evenly matched.
So where had this overwhelming difference come from?
“T-Trans…cen…dent…!”
A being capable of toying with even a Heart Sword–awakened Kankun.
Only a [Transcendent] could do that.
One who surpassed the 10th Realm and reached the 11th was called a Transcendent.
Just as Kankun had grown through awakening and enlightenment—
So had Adora.
But such a dramatic change shouldn’t have been possible so suddenly.
Kankun shifted his gaze.
To the mage not far away.
Just as a human warrior had helped him achieve enlightenment, perhaps that mage had done the same for Adora.
A witch who brought death just by proximity.
The fact that she kept that man so close meant he was that important.
‘In that case…!’
Kankun poured his last ounce of strength into a final strike.
He squeezed out every last bit of mana down to his very cells.
And then he triggered one final [Heart Sword].
It wasn’t large like before, but he took extreme care to avoid detection.
Behind the mage, the Heart Sword took form.
Adora and the mage had yet to notice.
Kankun used all his strength to trace a cutting path for the Heart Sword.
And at last—
‘Feel it too. The despair I felt.’
Thud!
The Heart Sword pierced the heart of the mage—Park Chan-woo.
