Chapter 472
[Grasp of Subjugation]
A power that freely manipulated attraction and repulsion.
Ignoring the laws of physics, a massive invisible hand instantly pulled Jinhyuk and Chun Yoosung toward Guntafer.
Vwooom!
Their airborne bodies hurtled straight toward the Demon King.
“Come closer.”
Guntafer gripped [The Sword of Cabalado] tightly.
“What the… this ability is ridiculously broken… Damn it, is there no way around this?”
“Stay calm. It just messes with our movements a little. If we time it right, we can work around it.”
“Easy for you to say…!”
Chun Yoosung gritted his teeth.
Being yanked at high speed while hovering a meter off the ground—then having to swing a sword properly? It was practically acrobatics.
“Watch and learn. This is how it’s done.”
Aligning his sword with the trajectory of the pull…
…Then redirecting the force by pushing against the blade’s flat side.
Kwaaaang!
As swords clashed, his body bent sharply in an L-shape.
By absorbing most of the impact, he avoided fracturing his bones.
But, of course—
“Kh…!”
Not everyone could time their movements that perfectly.
A heavy groan escaped Chun Yoosung’s lips.
His right arm trembled.
He wasn’t incapacitated, but this was the worst possible start to the fight.
“At least neither of you died in one hit. Good, good. It would’ve been too anticlimactic otherwise, considering how much you’ve irritated me.”
Guntafer swung his sword again.
This time from the upper right, aimed at their waists.
“Yoosung!”
“I know!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Twin [Soul Chasing Sword Dance] techniques unfolded.
A dazzling array of intersecting slashes peeled away Guntafer’s sword barrier.
As expected.
While his powers and equipment were absurd, his swordsmanship itself lacked refinement.
Compared to the countless martial artists Jinhyuk had faced…
Reading this level of swordplay was manageable.
Kaang!
Guntafer’s sword was deflected overhead.
Rotating counterclockwise, Chun Yoosung completed his [Soul Chasing Sword] form.
At the same time—
Jinhyuk, launching himself off the ground, mirrored the same form.
[Soul Chasing Sword Dance: Eleventh Form—Two Blades, One Strike.]
It wasn’t as powerful as when he had used it against Antlad.
However, the speed at which both sword dances merged into a single attack—
That had surpassed anything from before.
A brilliant gleam flashed.
Two swords converged from opposite angles, targeting Guntafer’s vital points.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
Two blades moving at lethal speed.
Their timing, their speed, their force—
Everything was perfectly honed to kill.
And Guntafer… lacked the sword skills to counter a high-level ascending sword technique.
But there was just one problem—
[Guntafer activates the Unique Ability ‘Grasp of Subjugation’!]
Guntafer had an ability that could negate all of that effort.
Right after using powerful attraction—he unleashed an overwhelming repulsion.
Just before the swords could pierce his vital points, they instead slashed through empty air.
Or so he thought.
Tss!
A thin droplet of blood formed on his forehead.
Chun Yoosung’s attack had missed entirely, but Jinhyuk’s [Crimson Lotus] had barely managed to graze Guntafer’s skin.
Guntafer wiped away the tiny bead of blood.
“Ho… That last move. I see. You possess an ability that can neutralize mine?”
Rather than anger, his tone carried intrigue.
It had been a long time since he’d been wounded.
[Nihilism] could only create small variables.
But disrupting an opponent’s natural combat distance? That alone was a promising result.
There were still plenty of things left to try.
Fzzt!
At the tip of [Barnard], an orb formed from [Glacial Sculpting].
Meanwhile, [Crimson Lotus] was coated with a blade forged from [Primordial Flame].
Stacked on top of that—
All the skills Jinhyuk had plundered from Guntafer’s treasure hoard activated simultaneously.
“Keep him as distracted as possible.”
“Just don’t hit me from behind.”
Chun Yoosung handled close-range combat while Jinhyuk bombarded the battlefield with magic.
And from long range, Teresa provided support.
[Teresa activates Lv19 ‘Divine Call’!]
A golden cross descended from the sky.
Teresa initiated the attack.
Kwaaaaaang!
A massive burst of divine energy swallowed the Demon King whole, scattering blinding sparks in all directions.
“Now!”
Taat!
Chun Yoosung dashed forward once again.
Closing the distance in an instant.
Of course, Guntafer immediately pulled him in with [Grasp of Subjugation].
His sword couldn’t reach.
And worse—[The Sword of Cabalado] countered his [Flowing Fire], causing the weapon to screech in agony.
“Kh…!”
Even among holy relics, there was still a difference in power.
Without proper shock absorption, even divine weapons could temporarily lose their abilities.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaang!
At that moment, a barrage of multicolored magic exploded across the battlefield.
Jinhyuk had unleashed every spell he had prepared.
A hellfire bombardment.
Thick black smoke billowed in all directions.
“What a filthy fireworks display.”
Before the smoke had even cleared, Guntafer’s voice rang out.
A dark sphere encased his entire body.
Mocking all of their efforts, not a single wound could be seen on him.
A Demon King proficient in Dark Magic—
It was nearly impossible to break through his shields with standard spells.
“So, what else do you have left—hm?”
Guntafer suddenly paused.
Chun Yoosung and Teresa were still in his sights.
But the most annoying one—Jinhyuk—
Was nowhere to be seen.
“I know. This much won’t be enough to kill you.”
The voice came from inside the sphere.
Close enough that he could feel the breath against his skin.
No matter how strong a shield was, it was useless against an attack from within.
[Shadow Execution].
Using his shadow, Jinhyuk had teleported directly behind him.
Both daggers in his hands lunged forward.
Kaang!
But [The Sword of Cabalado] intercepted them in the blink of an eye.
“So… is this all you’ve got?”
“There’s no way that’s all.”
Though his twin daggers were blocked, Jinhyuk still had a fused skill left.
[Skill ‘Air Blast (C)’ and Skill ‘Ember (D)’. Unique Ability ‘Primordial Flame’ have been fused!]
[Fusion successful! Skill ‘Flame Golem’s Hammer’ acquired!]
[Flame Golem’s Hammer]
– Difficulty to Obtain: S
– Description: Summons the hammer of a fire golem dwelling in the lava zone on the 36th floor of the Tower of Trials. Inflicts 500% additional fire damage and is specialized in destroying shields and armor.
[The fused skill has been stored in ‘Memory of the World’!]
Whoosh!
A massive, flaming hammer emerged over his shoulder.
As expected from a weapon wielded by a high-ranking fire golem, its sheer size and intensity overwhelmed everything around it.
And at nearly the same instant—
Jinhyuk coated the tip of his [Glacial Sculpting] spear with [Black Tear].
Throb! Throb!
With Alice running rampant elsewhere, his mana consumption was already at an extreme.
Stacking multi-casting on top of that made his veins feel like they were burning.
But Jinhyuk didn’t so much as twitch.
…This is it.
From above—
To below.
The hammer came crashing down.
At the same time, countless ice spears rained down to skewer Guntafer like a pincushion.
KIIIIING!
Yet, instead of a satisfying impact, only a grating dissonance rang out.
Weapons shattered against an unseen wall.
Even at this range… He could generate this level of repulsive force in an instant?
“I already told you. It doesn’t matter if you stab me up close, throw your little spells, or use that disgusting divine power. None of it will work.”
Kukukukuku!
The ground cracked like a turtle’s shell as chunks of rock began to levitate.
“As repayment for that last attack, allow me to return the favor. You seem quite exhausted—let’s see how well you handle this.”
Jinhyuk, who had been thrown back outside the shield, was now in the path of countless reinforced projectiles.
Each shard packed immense power.
But the real problem was the sheer number of them.
The entire battlefield had been churned up, creating a storm of debris impossible to count with the naked eye.
Right at that moment—
[Teresa activates her Second Awakening: ‘Call of the Stars’!]
“I’ll cover you!”
Jinhyuk’s vision flickered.
His surroundings turned pitch black.
And from the void—
A meteor shower rained down.
Kwakwakwakwa…!
…Kwaaaaang!
Dark magic-enhanced boulders clashed with the descending stars, shattering into dust.
Any fragments that slipped through were swiftly cut down by Chun Yoosung’s blade.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
Thud-thud-thud.
Stone shards rained down like hail.
But in the end, the attack accomplished nothing.
‘That formation is troublesome.’
Guntafer frowned as the battle dragged on.
Individually, none of them posed a threat.
But the fact that he hadn’t ended this yet was starting to irritate him.
‘I could still win if I just keep wearing them down.’
His mana reserves were incomparable to theirs.
And his forces—both in quality and quantity—were beyond question.
But…
There were some unknowns.
First, the Ancient Species… Goguma.
Ancient beings were often unpredictable.
If left unchecked, it could become something truly monstrous.
Then there were Archangel Gabriel and True Ancestor Alice—they couldn’t be ignored entirely either.
But the biggest concern was Berial.
For now, Berial was imprisoned in his domain.
But if Guntafer left for too long, Berial might realize he wasn’t around.
Even with his wings clipped and his foundation weakened, Berial hadn’t become a Demon King for nothing.
That meant…
It was time for a more efficient approach.
Guntafer quietly gathered his mana.
A power whose worth had been proven countless times.
[Unique Holy Spear ‘Deep Desire’s Bargain’ has been activated!]
Fzzzzt…
An eerie, colorless mist seeped toward Teresa and Chun Yoosung.
A power that subtly drew out the deepest, most hidden desires within its targets.
Only one person…
‘Finally, he used it.’
Only one person was unaffected.
Jinhyuk grinned.
He had meticulously provoked Guntafer, carefully setting up this moment.
This ability was the key requirement for copying Guntafer’s powers.
‘So he’s targeting Teresa first.’
Understandable.
Her constant bombardment of divine energy had to be a major nuisance.
But…
Of all people, Teresa would be the last person for this ability to work on.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
—If you join me… I will free you from that hypocritical mask. You know it too, don’t you? The weight of the saintly duty you’ve forced upon yourself…
A sweet, seductive voice whispered into Teresa’s ear.
A voice that dug into her subconscious, accompanied by the Demon King’s authority.
‘A saint? Ha. Turning one of those is child’s play.’
This ability had corrupted countless souls before.
There was no way it would fail.
But then—
“Hmm. But I already have all that? I live exactly how I want. If you really want to make a deal, why not offer me a way to trip up that blockhead instead?”
Teresa’s voice sounded… strange.
A crude, low-class accent, completely different from her usual tone.
Not just her voice—her eyes and hair color had changed as well.
A unique aura, one that only her own kind could recognize.
‘…A demon?’
One thing was certain—
The person standing in front of him was no longer a saint.
—Then… how about I free you from a hollow life devoid of satisfaction? You may not look the part, but surely, there’s something missing inside you…?
“I… I am a devoted Holy Knight who has sworn an oath to God. I already live a fulfilling life.”
Her personality had shifted again.
—…
Guntafer had no idea what was happening.