Chapter 489
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA!
A section of the hallway was turned into rubble.
A lingering trace of terrifying Mana.
Only the sparsely embedded crimson skewers hinted at just how outrageous the previous strike had been.
“Fufufu. The groom is so shy. Running off with his bride standing right in front of him.”
Alice stepped out of the bedroom with a face soaked in madness.
The scent of iron filled the air.
Tiny droplets of blood began to saturate the space.
Creeeep…
Goosebumps crawled up Jinhyuk’s spine.
‘Dammit. This is seriously dangerous…’
The completely unhinged Alice was unimaginably powerful.
A vampire weapon born solely for the purpose of achieving a singular objective.
“It’s Alice!”
“Ooooh! There you are.”
“I’ll be the first to propose—ugh? Hiiiiek!?”
The men who had been running toward her instantly turned back the way they came.
Alice was radiating such murderous intent that it was terrifying to even look at her.
And once her pristine white dress became stained red with blood, true hell began.
Tap.
Jinhyuk bolted from his position.
In an instant, the spot he had just been standing in was riddled with holes.
“Are you seriously trying to kill me!?”
A groom riddled with holes on his wedding night?
Across all of time and space, no one has suffered a more miserable death.
“You’re whining even though you dodged everything!”
“No, that last one was really close. It almost took my leg off!”
“Don’t worry. If you lose a leg, I’ll support you for the rest of your life. Actually… that might be better. Without me, you won’t be able to go anywhere.”
Alice’s pupils twisted even further.
It wasn’t a joke anymore—he could genuinely feel his life in danger.
However…
‘I made sure to prepare some solid backup just for a time like this.’
Jinhyuk opened his subspace inventory.
Clatter!
With the sound of bones clashing, a skeleton warrior appeared.
It was T-Bone.
Though summoned without warning, he was fully equipped with armor, shield, and sword.
“T-Bone! I need a quick favor.”
“Master. Long time no see. If it’s a favor, I’d be more than—GUHEEEK!”
T-Bone’s body was instantly pulverized mid-sentence.
This was insane.
T-Bone was close to the highest-class Death Knight, and yet he was taken down in a single blow…?
“You dare try to stop me with this scrap? At least bring out an Ancient Species.”
As bone fragments rained down…
Alice’s red eyes flickered.
“I-I was going to bring out more anyway.”
Jinhyuk hurriedly summoned more allies.
“Mogiii Mogii!”
“Miyooo!”
“Hmm, what trouble has arisen now that the noble master of the East has been summoned?”
It was Goguma, Fried, and Malang the Azure Dragon.
Two Ancient Species and a Divine Beast proudly stood at the front, the backbone of the Veteran Corporation.
Alright, just seeing this lineup is enough to stir the heart.
No matter how strong Alice is, she shouldn’t be able to reverse-summon these guys with one hit.
“Guys, do something about that brat. Just make sure she can’t freely fling those skewers.”
“Well, do you really think that’ll go the way you want?”
Alice’s lips twisted subtly.
At the same time—
Alice’s subspace inventory opened.
“I anticipated you’d respond like this.”
VROOOOM!
At a glance, it was at least ten times larger and more luxurious than Jinhyuk’s.
As expected of the vault holding all of Ataraxia’s wealth and treasures—its scale was on another level.
Rattle…
What poured out were fat, chunky Mana Stones.
Every last one of them was top-tier.
“Mo-mogiii?”
“Miyooo!”
“Oho, now this is quite the rare treat. Even a noble being such as I can’t help but feel… chomp. Tempted… gulp.”
These damned bourgeois brats.
“But if you think you can break the bond I’ve carefully raised with these guys just with some of those—”
“Yes, yes. You’re siding with me? How admirable.”
“Mogi Mogi.”
“Miyo!”
“Just give the order, O great Vampire.”
Their bonds shattered with ridiculous ease.
They betrayed Jinhyuk without a moment’s hesitation and began scooping up the Mana Stones as if they hadn’t seen him.
Goguma even snuggled up to Alice’s leg, wagging his tail.
Hey, you guys can’t be doing this.
Jinhyuk yelled, but their eyes were already glazed over with sparkling Mana Stones.
“So, no more obstacles now?”
Alice closed the distance.
With every step she took, the pressure grew.
Still, Jinhyuk hadn’t given up hope yet.
‘It should be about time now…’
He glanced over to the window.
With this much commotion, there was no way they wouldn’t respond.
There was no way they’d just sit still—he was too familiar with the overwhelming Mana radiating from both of them.
Of course, her original personality wasn’t the proactive type, but for this battle, the other personality was bound to take over.
And at that moment—
KWAANG!
A huge explosion rang out from one side of the building.
Crash…
Falling debris.
“Oh my, who gave this little brat the nerve to drool over someone else’s man?”
A black cocktail dress in stark contrast to the white wedding gown.
Her long blond hair tied to one side made a striking impression.
Alice’s brow furrowed when she saw Teresa.
“You… that dress… no way?”
“That’s right. It’s what a newlywed couple wears to the after-party. Not bad for someone who looks dumb—you know your stuff.”
“Wh-who said the wedding is already overrrrr!?”
Alice shrieked.
And with her scream, her Mana exploded.
VROOOOM!
Over a hundred skewers appeared to her right.
Each one radiated terrifying killing intent—proof of how furious she truly was.
She wasn’t trying to subdue anymore. This was an attempt to kill.
But thanks to Teresa, Jinhyuk had a moment to breathe.
[Teresa activates ‘Blessing of the Fallen Saintess’!]
KUKUKUKUKU!
Black starlight rained down from the sky.
Among countless stars, Alice’s crimson harpoons flickered.
KWAANG!
KWAKWAKWANG!
The entire mansion quaked violently.
At this point, it was impossible to tell whether this was an engagement ceremony or a battlefield.
‘Good.’
If a new variable is thrown in at this tense moment…
Jinhyuk pulled a golden string from his subspace.
[You have used the item ‘String That Connects Conviction’!]
VROOOOM!
Dimension connected to dimension.
One of the Tower’s rare dimensional teleportation items was activated.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
Softly.
A landing so light it seemed to defy gravity.
Answering the call was one of the 5th Floor’s masters—Andrea.
“Jinhyuk-nim! It’s been a while.”
Andrea waved cheerfully.
Even after more than two years since the Tower of Trials opened, she was still defending the mental ward on the 5th Floor.
A clear testament to how sturdily Andrea was growing as a boss monster.
“It’s been a while. Something urgent came up, so I called for your help.”
“Huh… help? Hm?”
Andrea tilted her head curiously.
But only for a moment.
Seeing Alice and Teresa in dresses trying to kill each other gave her a general idea of what was going on.
“Ah, I think I understand.”
“Great. Saves me from having to explain. It’s nothing big—just stall for a bit.”
“Right. Stall for time…”
[Andrea begins the Gumiho version of ‘Fox Fireworks.’]
Nine lush tails and snowy white fox beads shimmered.
“But you know…”
Andrea smiled sweetly.
“…from my point of view, why should I pass up this golden opportunity now that the competition’s out of the way?”
Swaaa…
The mood flipped in an instant.
Now that he thought about it, Andrea hadn’t been a support unit back when something similar happened in Murim either.
She was a participant who had dived right into the heart of the competition.
It was like calling a hound to stop the tigers, only to realize that the hound was another beast going after its master.
[Andrea activates the Gumiho version of ‘Tail of Seduction’!]
In an instant, a sweet aroma brushed past his nose.
A seductive scent.
His head grew dizzy—his mind hazy.
“Let those uncultured sisters claw each other to death while we go have some fun elsewhere. It’s been a while since you visited the 5th Floor, hasn’t it? The mental ward can be a bit much, but the room I stay in is actually quite cozy.”
Andrea’s tails wrapped gently around Jinhyuk.
But—
Thud.
Jinhyuk barely slipped out of the tails’ grasp.
Thanks to his previous experience with the Succubus Remia’s charm, his resistance to mental-type abilities had grown stronger.
‘Still, this is dangerous.’
If he wanted to get his hands on [Napoleon’s Coronation], he had to manage his Mana more carefully.
He still had more preparations to make.
At this rate, there was only one option left…
He didn’t want to use it at this moment if he could help it—but there was no choice.
“Chun Yoosung!”
Jinhyuk shouted toward Chun Yoosung, who was calmly sipping black tea in the distance.
Of course, Chun Yoosung ignored the call like it was nothing.
He leisurely savored his tea, enjoying his own little slice of peace in the midst of this hell.
“Hey! Are you seriously going to keep pretending you can’t hear me!?”
“That’s exactly what I plan to do.”
“Come here right now!”
Jinhyuk dodged Andrea’s charge and shouted again.
“You… already forgot our promise? We made a contract using [Word Command], remember?”
“…!?”
Chun Yoosung’s expression changed sharply.
He couldn’t have forgotten.
How could he possibly forget?
That nightmare of betraying the Veteran Corporation and siding with the Demon King.
“You said it yourself. You promised to be my slave for a week. Don’t tell me the great Sword Saint is going to break his own word?”
“Damn… that was…”
Chun Yoosung ground his teeth.
Right. A man who prized his pride more than life itself wouldn’t break a promise.
Especially not when he’d caused massive harm to the team due to his own mistake.
Chun Yoosung clenched his fist until it trembled.
To him, this must’ve felt like someone had just dumped a bucket of sewage over his perfect mood.
“…Fine. As you said, I’ll be your slave for a week.”
“You agreed under [Word Command], right?”
“…Yes.”
[The contract has been completed.]
[Due to the effects of Word Command, player Chun Yoosung must follow all of player Kang Jinhyuk’s orders for one week.]
[If violated, the incident in the Demon Realm will be uploaded to the ‘Hall of Dishonor’ for one week.]
Verbal contracts were generally considered weakly binding in the Tower of Trials.
However, even a minor penalty could become a powerful restraint if it was painful enough for the party involved.
“All right, you brute. From now on, protect this noble one and fend off the vile masses swarming in.”
And with that—
He had secured the strongest reinforcement.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
KWAKWAKWANG!
The battle raged on for tens of minutes.
Most of the original engagement contestants had been eliminated.
The stronger Rankers got smashed for trying to flirt.
The weaker ones ran away in terror after witnessing the terrifying brides.
[Alice activates ‘Blood Rain’!]
[Teresa activates ‘Black Saint’s Cross’!]
Blood and corrupted holy power collided head-on.
Another deafening explosion swallowed the entire mansion.
“Huh?”
“Something feels… off…?”
It didn’t take long for them to notice something was wrong.
The reason they were fighting so fiercely—
The subject of the battle was nowhere to be found.
“W-wait. The contractor. Where’s the contractor?”
“…When did he disappear?”
Jinhyuk had vanished like smoke.
Step.
Just then, footsteps echoed.
But they didn’t belong to Jinhyuk—someone else had appeared.
“He rejected the wedding and ran away. Said not to bother looking for him.”
Slling.
Chun Yoosung approached, sword drawn.
