Chapter 490
Chun Yoosung’s appearance flipped the mood once again.
“You… stupid Sword Saint!”
“Oh my, Yoosung-ssi. You look dashing today. Are you thinking of joining the groom candidate lineup?”
Alice and Teresa reacted in completely different ways.
“I owe that damn guy a debt. Sorry, but I’ll be playing the gatekeeper holding the two of you back.”
Clang!
Chun Yoosung drew a line on the floor with his sword.
As if warning he would attack if they crossed it.
Of course.
If that level of intimidation worked, things wouldn’t have escalated this far in the first place.
“You should move while I’m still being nice. I’m busy right now!”
Alice drew a rapier from her subspace.
An explosive situation where they could strike at any second.
But then—
Teresa stepped in between them.
“Hold on.”
Clap.
She brought her palms together like she had made a decision.
“Let’s do this. Before we fight, the little brat and I will form a temporary alliance.”
“What? Why would I ally with you!?”
“Because Kang Jinhyuk is clearly up to something suspicious again. If we keep dragging this out, we’ll end up with nothing.”
“That’s…”
Alice paused.
It was true.
Every time something like this had happened in the past, they’d fought over the prize and ended up with nothing in the end.
Everything would go in Jinhyuk’s favor.
And all the others would go through hell and come out empty-handed.
“So you’re saying we capture the contractor first and decide who gets him afterward?”
“Fufu. For a little brat, you understand fast. That’s exactly it. And…”
Teresa looked down the hallway.
“From the looks of it, we’ve got another competitor in the mix. Isn’t that right, Andrea?”
Her sword pointed straight ahead.
Her will was clear—if needed, she would cut down the entire corridor.
“You can hide, but I’ve already sensed your Mana. Come out while I’m still asking nicely.”
“Busted~. Hello sisters. Hehe. Have you been well?”
Andrea raised both hands as she revealed herself.
“Hiding like a rat waiting to stab us in the back—how could we possibly be well?”
“Backstab? I just felt like the vibe was a little rough, so I was holding back.”
“Anyway, what’s your decision? Want to join our plan?”
The three of them would join forces to smash Jinhyuk and Chun Yoosung.
After that, the strongest would take the prize.
Not only would it reduce wasted effort, it was also the most reliable way to secure Jinhyuk before time ran out.
“I’ve got no reason to refuse.”
Andrea joined the alliance.
“…This wasn’t part of my plan.”
Chun Yoosung muttered with the face of a man bearing the world’s burdens.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
Shff… Papapap!
Chun Yoosung moved frantically.
Attacks flew in from three directions.
‘What a damn hassle.’
He’d never realized it before because they were always bickering, but now that they’d united under a common goal, their coordination was beyond belief.
“I’ll drive him to the left!”
Andrea used her Gumiho abilities to pressure Chun Yoosung.
This much was still manageable.
Andrea had certainly grown impressively, but Chun Yoosung had become several times stronger than that.
However, this wasn’t a one-on-one fight.
Alice, standing a bit farther back, launched a barrage of long-range attacks.
Pupupupung!
A flurry of skewers stabbed into the marble floor.
She timed them perfectly with the slight delay in Andrea’s rhythm, making it impossible for Chun Yoosung to regain the upper hand.
The biggest problem, though, was Teresa, who was preparing her ultimate strike.
From the start of the battle, she had been gathering Mana, pouring everything into one decisive blow.
“Damn it. Why did I make such a dumb mistake and end up in this hell?”
Chun Yoosung gripped his sword with both hands.
If time kept dragging on, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
In that case…
He needed to go all out to create an opening.
[Unique Ability ‘Song of the Sword’ has been activated!]
Fzzt…!
Blinding light burst along the sword blade.
A sword aura so powerful it could cut through anything rose toward the ceiling.
“Oh my. Are you going all in? The timing doesn’t seem bad, but if you fail, you won’t be able to recover.”
“This is the only path with a high chance of success. I’ll bear the risk if I must.”
“I don’t quite get it. Why go so far just to protect Kang Jinhyuk?”
“Protect, my ass! I’m doing this because of the contract…”
“Excuse me?”
When Teresa widened her eyes, Chun Yoosung quickly added,
“I mean, I couldn’t just abandon a comrade in crisis. He might be a devilish bastard, but he’s still the Master of our Guild.”
“Hmmm. I see.”
With their opinions still divided, Teresa shrugged.
“One last question. I do actually like you, Yoosung-ssi. How about it—would you consider being my groom? If I had both Jinhyuk and Yoosung by my side, every day would be pure bliss.”
“If the real Teresa comes back later, you’ll probably die of embarrassment. Just fight like you mean it.”
“Then I have no choice. I’ll have to conquer you by force.”
Teresa repositioned herself.
The aura blade coating her sword began to blaze as if it were ready to strike at any moment.
‘Phantom Blade Dance’…
A different sword form overlapped—
‘Holy Demon Sword Style’
Light and darkness blended into a single color.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
KWAANG!
Jinhyuk plugged his ears with his fingers at the deafening boom.
Jeez.
These lunatics with no sense of decorum were the real problem.
Blowing things up in public places—honestly.
Still, this kind of chaos wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
“I planned to use Yoosung, but I didn’t think he’d be this helpful.”
Like some noble master from the Joseon era using a servant.
For the next week, he fully intended to grind him down as hard as possible.
If possible, it’d be great if one of those double-sided stickers accidentally stuck to Alice or Teresa during the battle.
If Chun Yoosung ended up becoming the star of the engagement ceremony, that in itself would solve a whole bunch of headaches.
He’d have to deal with the aftermath too, so it would truly be a win-win situation.
‘New groom Chun Yoosung and me, Kang Jinhyuk—the owner of Napoleon’s painting… I like the sound of that.’
With the Mana going into Alice restricted as much as possible, the balance of the fight should remain intact.
Jinhyuk hummed a cheerful tune as he moved along.
While everyone else was caught in a brutal battle—
It was time to carry out the move that could shake the very foundation of this engagement ceremony.
His destination was the annex at the edge of the mansion.
That was where Dustin and the other servants of the Rosenberg family were staying.
They were stationed there to monitor the entire mansion until a winner was decided.
‘I made sure to come through blind spots where no drones or cameras are present, so there shouldn’t be any issue.’
Jinhyuk glanced up at the sky.
Vwoooom!
Drones buzzed about everywhere, moving busily to observe the participants.
The tightly-woven aerial surveillance net was rather impressive.
However—
With [Machine Lord] copied, the average security setup by normal people was nothing but child’s play.
Honestly, Lee Taemin could probably breach Pentagon-level security at this point.
[Unique Ability ‘Machine Lord’ – <Trojan Horse> is now active.]
He subtly generated a blind spot and erased his movement trail.
Perfect.
Tap!
Jinhyuk lightly leaped over the wall and entered the annex.
Somewhere inside was the engagement gift—[Napoleon’s Coronation].
Right then—
He sensed a presence in the garden.
It was the player ‘Lucius,’ who had been clinging to Alice.
‘Wait, what’s he doing here…?’
Didn’t he get knocked out cold by Alice earlier?
She planted that blow squarely in his gut and face…
But as expected of a Ranker, he recovered quickly.
‘Wait, wait a sec…’
A plan instantly formed in Jinhyuk’s head.
“Hey. Over here. This way.”
Jinhyuk carefully called out to Lucius from the bushes.
“…?!!!”
Lucius, who had been looking around, spotted him.
“You… you’re!”
“Shh! Don’t shout. Just come here first.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why the hell would I come to you?”
“It’s about Alice. You don’t want the guards to find you and alert the other competitors to your location, do you?”
“What? Something about Alice…?”
Lucius, who had been ready to lash out, lowered his voice.
He didn’t care about much, but at the mention of Alice’s name, his whole demeanor changed.
“What happened? What’s going on with Alice?”
So impatient.
“A bunch of competitors have swarmed in. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but it looked like Alice was holding back tears while muttering your name and wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. Broke my heart, man… sniff!”
“That… can’t be…”
A vivid scene began to play out in Lucius’s mind.
The genre: classic Romeo and Juliet.
A tragic heroine waiting for her beloved, braving hardship and despair.
As he immersed himself in this doomed romance, fire ignited in Lucius’s eyes.
‘Go on, then.’
To win his love!
“I’m going to rescue her this instant!”
“Yup. That way.”
Jinhyuk pointed toward the western end of the annex.
According to the drone footage, the painting was more likely stored on the east side.
That’s where all the Mana-rich individuals had gathered, after all.
“Woooooh! My lady! I’m coming for you!”
Lucius drew his sword and charged.
Judging by how loud he was shouting, guards would be swarming the area any moment now.
And that meant the security around [Napoleon’s Coronation] would become more lax.
Jinhyuk watched Lucius run off for a brief moment.
Then he immediately bolted in the opposite direction.
⁕
Upon entering the building, a variety of security systems blocked his path.
Of course, none of it even qualified as an obstacle.
The security was just too basic.
[Unique Ability ‘Ancient Barrier’ has been activated!]
Obscuring his presence, he bypassed the electronic devices one by one.
However—just before reaching the room where the painting was kept…
The worst possible scenario unfolded.
“Fufufu. Isn’t the groom a little late? I nearly broke my neck waiting.”
Teresa, who knew all the mansion’s secret passages.
“As expected. We knew you’d ditch us and go straight for the prize.”
Alice grinned with her sharp fangs exposed.
“So we just need to tie him up first, right?”
And lastly, Andrea, her smile full of mischief.
Damn it.
He had assumed they’d be competing with each other.
He never imagined they’d form an alliance.
‘I didn’t see this coming either…’
He thought it was impossible for beasts to unite when hunting the same prey.
But that prediction was now utterly shattered.
And it was time to pay the price for that miscalculation.
“Let’s start by hearing your thoughts. Well, it’s obvious I’m the most beautiful and charming bride.”
“What kind of nonsense is that!? I’m the head of Ataraxia, and—cu—cute! Cutest one here! Just hurry up and say it. Who are you choosing?!”
“It’s obviously me, right? Jinhyuk-nim! You remember all the traps we got through together in the mental ward!”
All three of them shouted at once.
