Chapter 498
[Napoleon’s Coronation is activated.]
[Reproducing the caster’s prime state.]
FZZZT…
Mana condensed.
Jinhyuk stared at the slowly burning “Napoleon’s Coronation.”
The memories of all the hardships he went through to acquire it resurfaced one by one.
But they were fleeting.
There were no regrets.
Because he had a reason worth throwing everything away for.
[Restriction lifted — ‘One of your Unique Armaments will be replicated.’]
[Configuration time: 0h : 2m : 59s]
Several options appeared.
All were weapons, armor, and accessories he had used during his peak atop the Tower.
Of course, he had already chosen what to select.
Click!
‘Crimson Lotus’ transformed, and in his hand now rested a pistol.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
What was this?
This chilling killing intent?
Angela looked down at her stiffening limbs.
It was unbelievable, but her body was no longer obeying her.
She had never experienced anything like this before.
No, to be precise, she had felt something similar once.
A very long time ago…
Yes, the same sensation she felt when she knelt and pledged fealty to Nyarlathotep for the first time.
“W-What’s happening?”
“Is it… his aura?”
Even the other Old Guard members spoke with trembling voices.
A figure who looked nothing like the one from moments ago.
Even the petrification curse of absolute judgment had already been lifted.
‘We… no, I… am afraid?’
Grit!
Angela clenched her teeth hard enough to break them.
No way!
She was someone who held the full trust of primordial beings, who hunted mythical great heroes—how could she possibly be afraid of one human?
This was simply unease caused by an unfamiliar presence.
…Yes. That had to be it.
“I’ll distort time again. While I do that, all of you—”
Before Angela could finish, Jinhyuk raised his gun.
Angela reacted immediately.
‘As long as I can see where the barrel’s aimed, I can block or dodge it.’
Naturally, defense was the best way to minimize risk.
“Novade!”
“Got it.”
Right beside her, “Romanovski”—no, the Old Guard Novade—brought out a massive shield.
[Unique Ability ‘Immortal Shield’ is activated!]
Ranked 17th.
But when it came to defense, he was easily within the top 5.
A blessing granted by the Fire Titan ignited the shield, surrounding it in intense flame.
“Bullets made of metal? They’ll melt before they even reach the shield…”
KAANG!
A resounding impact hit the shield.
And then—PUHUK!
A grotesque tearing sound as flesh was obliterated.
“Huh…?”
Novade’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Something felt strangely empty in his lower abdomen.
The once-reliable shield was gone.
All that remained was a glowing red hole—and the space that, moments ago, had been filled with his body.
“Graaaargh!”
“No way. It pierced him in one shot?!”
“Novade!”
Angela and Akador shouted at once.
How could such a ridiculous bullet exist?
Even a direct hit from Zeus’s divine artifact Astrapē wouldn’t have broken the Immortal Shield so easily.
Not even Nyarlathotep could pull off something this absurd.
But the nightmare was just beginning.
Flick.
Jinhyuk’s figure disappeared.
Teleportation?
No, this wasn’t that kind of technique.
A proper leap involved a preparatory step.
Spatial movement required casting time.
But Jinhyuk had skipped all of that.
As if the space itself had folded—he stood right before Novade in an instant.
Click.
The cold barrel touched Novade’s chin.
Only then did Novade register that Jinhyuk was now within striking range.
He tried to shield himself with the shattered remains of his shield—
But it was already too late.
CLACK! The hammer cocked.
“W-Wait—!”
BANG!
A bullet invisible to the eye fired from the barrel.
[Lv??? ‘Instant Death Light’ is activated!]
A blinding white flash—and Novade’s head vanished.
His decapitated body staggered, then collapsed.
Message after message displayed level-ups, but Jinhyuk paid them no mind.
Expressionless, he looked to his next target.
His eyes met Akador’s and Angela’s. Both let out a heavy breath.
Barely five seconds had passed.
And in that time, the Tower’s most powerful tank had died.
“Damn it! They said it’d be an easy hunt if we got the jump on him… What the hell is this?!”
“…Even I didn’t expect this.”
“Fighting Hercules would’ve been easier than this. Screw it. I’m out. We need to bring in the commander for this.”
Akador immediately focused mana into his legs.
If Angela specialized in close combat and Novade in defense,
Akador’s strength was speed.
With the situation this dire, if he went alone, he had a chance to escape.
Rather than gamble his life in a fight with no odds, fleeing at full speed was the right call.
“Wait! You just saw what he—”
Angela couldn’t finish her sentence.
Akador had already vanished from his spot.
And right above him in mid-air—
Jinhyuk had him pinned.
“You… predicted my escape route?”
“For a ranger, tracking’s a basic skill.”
There was nothing special about it.
From above—
And down.
His dagger traced a clean arc.
SLASH!
Akador was split in two, each half falling in different directions.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
That made two.
The two Old Guard who came with her were both dead.
“……”
Angela averted her gaze from the corpses.
Akador, specialized in high-speed ambushes.
To catch him so easily meant that not a single member of the Old Guard could escape Jinhyuk’s grasp.
Fighting him was just as hopeless.
Angela raised both hands.
“Okay, you win. So, name your price. Coins? Mana crystals? Artifacts? Tower intel? Whatever you want, I can give it to you.”
Though she was employed by Nyarlathotep, it was merely a transactional relationship.
Unlike most Old Guard who swore absolute loyalty, Angela had no intention of dying for anyone.
Angela was even willing to divulge information about the Primordial Beings if Jinhyuk asked.
But—
“The dagger you threw at Alice.”
What came out of Jinhyuk’s mouth was unexpected.
“The dagger…? You mean the one with the [Petrification Curse]? Was that what you were after?”
That wouldn’t be hard to give.
Sure, a divine relic with absolute judgment was rare—but not worth more than her life.
“Which hand was it?”
“I can give it to you right now—wait, what?”
“I asked which hand you used to throw the dagger at Alice.”
“What does that—?”
A chill ran down her spine.
Angela shivered as goosebumps crept across her entire body.
Instinctively hiding her right hand behind her back had been a mistake.
“So it was that one.”
Jinhyuk swung [Barnard].
SLICKK!
“Aaaaargh!”
Angela’s right arm flew into the air.
A spray of deep red blood scattered in all directions.
The shield she had prepared just in case, as expected, failed to serve its purpose.
“You dare attack me…?! I—I said I’d tell you everything! Don’t you want to know? If you plan to keep climbing the Tower, you’ll need my information!”
Angela screamed in outrage.
But Jinhyuk didn’t even blink.
“I don’t need it.”
No matter what she offered.
No matter the price.
He didn’t care.
The sole reason he used Napoleon’s Coronation
—was to make the one who grievously wounded Alice pay the price.
And Angela understood.
There was no room for negotiation.
Now that compromise was impossible, the only option left was to fight, no matter what.
“Damn it.”
[Angela activates Unique Holy Spear – ‘Twin Times’!]
The same ability she used earlier—time-distorting power—was activated again.
And on top of that—
[Unique Ability – ‘Dance of Death’ is activated!]
A combat-specialized ability followed suit.
WUUUUUNG!
A ghostly figure with long hair appeared.
It stood nearly 20 meters tall.
Connected to Angela, the ghost fought in her stead as her avatar.
“Kiiiiiiiehh…”
Its face was obscured by hair, but smoke continuously poured from its pale lips and skin.
“I get it. You’re a monster. But I didn’t come this far for nothing, either.”
Angela pulled her remaining arm back.
The ghost mirrored her movements, raising its long arm.
FZZZT!
Black smoke condensed into a massive greatsword, even larger than the ghost’s own body.
With skulls embedded all over the blade, it was clearly no ordinary weapon.
“I don’t normally enjoy such intense battles, but this time, I’ll play along.”
Angela took a deep breath.
It was easy to guess what she was trying.
She was stalling—buying time to call for help from Excension, Tamia, or Rear Queen, who still hadn’t grasped the situation.
As if to say, “If I go down, you’re next.”
And judging by how carefully she was gathering her mana, she clearly had another hidden move left.
But—
No matter what.
It wouldn’t matter.
Right now, even if the 50th Floor itself descended, he could crush it.
“KIEEEEEEEEE!”
The ghost let out a monstrous screech.
The skulls embedded in the blade joined the chorus.
“Aaaaargh!”
“It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!”
“I’ll curse you! You’ll all die!”
“Kikikikik!”
The shriek could shatter the heavens.
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA!
The greatsword swept horizontally.
The destructive sound tore through the air and rattled eardrums.
But Jinhyuk didn’t dodge.
BANG!
The bullet of light veered off its path, and the greatsword grazed past by a hair’s breadth.
“Kh!”
“KIEEEEE!”
Angela and the ghost attacked again.
The sword spun counterclockwise, thrusting toward a single point.
Calling it a “thrust” was an understatement.
It had enough power to pierce through a colossal monster in one blow.
Whoosh.
Jinhyuk spun his body with a dagger in hand.
His blade traced the ground and aimed for the perfect moment beneath the oncoming greatsword.
BOOM!
An unbelievable sight unfolded.
A mere 30cm dagger had launched a massive greatsword skyward.
And that wasn’t all.
CRACK!
The blade fractured—part of the greatsword shattered.
“T-That broke…?”
Angela’s jaw dropped.
But accustomed to the absurd, she quickly shifted to her next move.
This time, instead of one massive weapon, she opted for quantity.
[Dance of Death – Mad Frenzy of the Dead is activated!]
The ghost’s arms split into dozens.
Each held a black katana.
Even one hit—
Just one—
Would trigger a flesh-rotting curse.
The time-distorting Holy Spear also interfered with Jinhyuk’s sense of time.
“No matter how strong you are, you can’t block all of this!”
Angela poured every last drop of her mana into the assault.
And just then—
Jinhyuk, who had silently observed everything, raised his gun toward the sky.
RATATATATAT!
Flashes of dazzling light erupted one after another.
“You idiot! What are you even shooting at?!”
Angela shouted in disbelief.
Her laughter came from thinking it had been a mistake—an error.
But then…
She realized.
The white bullets fired into the sky hadn’t embedded into the ceiling.
Instead, they floated—suspended just below it, absorbing surrounding mana.
They were even sucking in the distorted flow of time.
[You have used ‘Spatial Binding’.]
“This is what you call something that can’t be blocked.”
[Lv??? ‘Light of Eternity’ is activated!]
The suspended bullets in midair—
Began to fall all at once.
