Chapter 497
Kukukukuku!
The resurrection of the fallen head of household.
Pureblooded mana drawn forth at the cost of her life force once again recreated the dignity of the one who had led Ataraxia.
Chill…
A cold shiver slid across Excension’s skin.
There was no way he could forget.
How could anyone forget?
The mightiest True Ancestor who had overwhelmed even the other heads of households.
However—
‘Her strength has been declining ever since that ability was activated.’
Reproducing her prime in that body was impossible from the start.
No matter how much life force she burned, there was a limit.
‘If I can just hold out for a few exchanges, the advantage will be mine.’
What he needed was an energy source to buy that time.
Normally, he would’ve solved it using the blood prison where the slaves were confined—but this wasn’t Ataraxia’s territory.
“Well, doesn’t matter. There’s no shortage of prey around here anyway.”
Right now, while Alice still wasn’t fully accustomed to her power, this was the only chance.
Excension reached out to a nearby Black Kaiser.
Sluuurp!
A massive flow of blood surged up his palm.
“Keuh…graaah…!”
Not even three seconds later—
The Black Kaiser writhed violently and collapsed.
“What are you doing?!”
Rear Queen’s brows arched sharply.
“I’m simply taking the necessary steps to win. Don’t make a fuss over just one.”
“I agreed to cooperate with you, but this is still my kingdom. Harming my children without my permission is a separate matter.”
“Still acting like a queen even in a broken kingdom, huh? Fine, fine. If you insist, I’ll try to be considerate.”
Excension responded nonchalantly.
But that casualness only intensified Rear Queen’s unease.
If he kept absorbing her children like this…
And showed not even a shred of guilt or hesitation in doing so…
Wouldn’t she be discarded in the end as well?
Still, she couldn’t say anything now.
If she turned both forces into enemies here, that would be even more troublesome.
“Hmm. That’s enough.”
After absorbing several more Black Kaisers, Excension nodded in satisfaction.
With fresh blood and mana supplied, his black droplets glistened like obsidian.
Alice had also completely stabilized her mana.
“Are you ready, Excension?”
“Don’t pretend you were waiting out of courtesy when you simply couldn’t control your own power. Your face already shows you’re overexerting.”
“Overexerting… huh.”
Alice murmured bitterly.
Indeed, her strength was fading by the second—far from what it had been in her prime.
Like a flower blooming and withering in an instant.
Fleeting and fragile.
Even so, Alice was satisfied just to have that moment.
‘Hold on, Contractor. I’m coming to save you soon.’
For the one who had endlessly reached out and saved her from despair—
She didn’t mind sacrificing what life she had left.
A thin trail of blood slid down from Alice’s eye.
Thump!
Her overloaded blood vessels and body had long since gone out of control.
Thump!
There wasn’t much time left.
“I will bring an end to this cursed fate.”
[Alice activates Lv?? ‘Pureblood Armament – Requiem’!]
The countless skewers vanished.
At the same time, Alice’s physical form disappeared.
Hundreds of blooming, pure-white blood blossoms.
A form wholly dedicated to close combat.
Tap.
She sliced through the wind.
Alice closed the distance in a flash, her rapier piercing through space.
Like a bullet. The rapier, aimed at a single point, targeted Excension’s heart.
KWAANG!
“Kh!”
Excension deflected it at the last second.
But that was just the greeting.
Alice pushed her step deep into Excension’s inner zone.
They were now close enough for their breaths to mix.
A move unthinkable for someone supposedly weak in close combat.
“You’ve dug your own… huh?”
Excension gasped mid-taunt.
WUUUUUNG!
An unfamiliar energy gathered in Alice’s left hand.
It wasn’t a skill of the True Ancestors.
It was something he’d seen before on the 20th floor of the Tower—martial arts used by residents of that realm.
“Martial arts…?”
While Excension flinched in shock, Alice steadied her breath.
“Hoo…”
Energy (ki) spread throughout her body.
She had watched Jinhyuk countless times at his side, observing his abilities and skills.
Yes.
This was just an imitation.
But.
This was Alice, one of the strongest among the True Ancestors.
The one with the greatest talent of them all, imitating it.
[Black Heaven Demon Emperor Arts, Form Three.]
Form connected to form.
The seamlessly flowing energy coalesced into a single shape.
[Blood-Penetrating Palm.]
No matter how strong the outer shield, it was useless.
Because this martial art destroyed from within.
KWAANG!
Excension’s body flew straight back.
KWA KWAKWAKWANG!!!
The wall collapsed entirely, and even then, the underground chamber shook violently from the impact.
That had to be a solid hit.
However, a moment later, Alice’s expression darkened.
‘I didn’t kill him.’
He must have dodged at the last moment—she could still feel Excension’s mana through the smoke.
Meanwhile, Alice had lost more mana than she’d spent.
…It was no longer sustainable.
Her entire body screamed in protest.
Any more would lead to disaster.
“No. No matter what, I will save my contractor.”
FWOOOSH!
Alice burned even more of her mana.
Her pure-white wings radiated blinding light.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
Drop… drop…
Blood trickled from his shoulder.
As the petrification advanced, his whole body felt waterlogged and heavy.
“You’re still standing?”
“Seriously. A real monster is a real monster.”
“Angela, this might be the first time I’ve seen you fail a surprise attack.”
Prime Service Guild.
Or rather, the ones who had posed as its members began to gather one by one.
“Three of them…?”
Jinhyuk let out a breathless laugh, exasperated.
He had hoped there’d only be two.
Turned out, more than half the players who had come here were part of the Old Guard.
And Angela—she was a monster, ranked third even among the Old Guard.
Thankfully, these three hadn’t completely broken free of the system’s restraints, but even so, three was too many.
Especially now, cursed with petrification.
‘Looks like Yoosung hasn’t found this place yet either…’
He was probably still hacking away at all the centipedes up above.
Summoning the ancient species or spirit beasts was an option, but he lacked the mana to sustain them all right now.
Most importantly…
Something was off with Alice.
Even after using her Unique Holy Spear, she hadn’t gained the upper hand.
“What, worried about her?”
Angela, wearing Kang Sua’s skin, teased with a mocking grin.
“Worried? Actually, I’m more concerned about the one fighting that mosquito queen.”
“Hmm, is that so? From what I see, your True Ancestor doesn’t look like she has a chance. Look—she’s practically dead already.”
Angela pointed into the dust.
And Jinhyuk saw Alice, on the verge of collapse.
No way.
There shouldn’t be any problem with her mana supply…
Why was she so badly hurt?
No…
“Did she… cut off the mana she was receiving from me?”
It was true.
Alice was burning herself up to keep fighting.
What an idiot.
To think he hadn’t noticed until she’d gotten to this state.
“Kikiki. See? Told you it was dangerous.”
Angela giggled with delight.
“Guess this isn’t the time to be taking it easy.”
FWOOOSH!
Black aura surged from Jinhyuk’s dagger.
[Heavenly Demon God Art] and [Grave of Swords] activated simultaneously.
He intended to break through in one strike.
But of course—
“Don’t be so hasty.”
“Let’s just play nice and slow among ourselves.”
“If you’re in such a rush, go on—try and break through.”
The Old Guard wasn’t about to let Jinhyuk pass without a fight.
“If you want to die quietly, get out of my way. I’m not in the mood to mess around.”
“Oh dear, that’s a shame. We were hoping to enjoy this little game as long as possible.”
“……”
Jinhyuk reversed his grip on the sword.
His stance lowered, center of gravity shifting downward.
He was going to break through.
KWAANG!
KAKAKAKANG!
The clash of swords roared like a storm.
[Unique Ability ‘Triple Magic’ activates!]
After a sweeping slash from left to right, arrows formed through [Glacial Sculpting] rained down.
But the formation of the three Old Guard held firm.
They struck back, exploiting openings in Jinhyuk’s hurried movements.
“Pushing yourself with an injured body just makes things too easy.”
Angela licked the blood from her dagger.
Alice, Wolyoung, and Teresa were all locked in their own battles.
A slow, methodical hunt—just the way Angela liked it.
[The petrification curse accelerates.]
Red system messages continued to flash.
His body stiffened more and more, yet no path to victory appeared.
Even escaping this place with the remaining allies would take extreme luck.
Jinhyuk scanned his surroundings quickly.
There was only one route left with even a sliver of hope.
[‘Demonic Sword Phantom Step’ activates!]
He squeezed out every bit of strength to move.
But—
That path wasn’t an escape route.
It was a trap deliberately left by the Old Guard.
As Jinhyuk’s foot reached a certain point, a magic circle on the ground erupted with dazzling light.
“Got you!”
[Angela activates Unique Holy Spear ‘Twin Times’!]
In that instant, time around Jinhyuk slowed.
Meanwhile, Angela distorted her own time and closed in.
“This dagger only needs to hit twice. I heard you were quite the troublesome one, but it seems even you falter when your allies are in danger.”
Angela turned her palm upward.
Float.
The dagger rose into the air.
Not too fast, not too slow.
It left Angela’s hand and flew toward Jinhyuk’s heart.
“Gr…ugh…my… body…”
Jinhyuk struggled with everything he had, but the two overlapping timelines would not break.
The blade was now less than 30 centimeters away.
Trapped in this, even using ‘1 Second of Invincibility’ or reviving with ‘Blessing of the Stars’ would only repeat the same result.
This power to distort time was that absolute.
But just as the blade was about to strike—
Someone stepped in.
PUUK!
With a chilling, flesh-tearing sound, the blade drove into flesh.
Blood gushed from Alice’s mouth.
Time…
Felt like it had stopped forever.
“W-Why…?”
Jinhyuk asked, but Alice didn’t answer.
Instead, she smiled faintly and gently caressed his cheek.
Her fingers were warm—yet already starting to cool.
“I’m… glad. Contractor. That you weren’t hurt…”
“Of course I wasn’t hurt. Did you really think I’d die from something like that? And what about you—what do you think you’re doing in that state? You’re a True Ancestor, damn it. You should be focusing on healing.”
“Hehe… Yeah. I guess I showed a really bad side of myself in front of my contractor. But it was worth it.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Get up. I’ll patch you up once we get out of here.”
“Mhm. Go on ahead first. I’ll follow after a short rest… I’m just so sleepy right now…”
Her eyes slowly closed.
Drop.
Alice’s hand fell limply to the ground.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
“Hooh. Now that’s a catch. To think I’d bag a stray from Ataraxia.”
“Tch! That was my prey.”
“Don’t get so worked up. As long as it’s dead, who cares who got the kill?”
“Well… that’s true…”
Excension and Angela chatted casually over Alice’s body.
And Jinhyuk heard every word.
“…………”
He would not let her die.
He could replenish lost mana.
But this—
This had crossed a line.
For the first time since he began climbing the Tower, Jinhyuk felt something he had never experienced before.
“Just hang in there. I’ll finish this quick and come back.”
He had always lived by cold calculations, discarding anything that didn’t bring him optimal gain.
But not now.
Not this time.
Talk of enhancements, preparations for the future—all of it had vanished from his mind.
His thoughts were colder than ever.
WUUUUUNG!
Jinhyuk opened his subspace.
[You have used ‘Napoleon’s Coronation’.]
“What the hell is that?”
“Why’s he suddenly pulling out an item?”
Just a single sheet of parchment. Seemingly meaningless.
But with that alone—
Something…
Changed.
“…What is that?”
Angela, who had just been mocking him moments ago, found herself stepping backward without realizing it.
