Chapter 503
One Sword, One Unity.
Chun Yoosung, who had fought hundreds of battles, had already succeeded in using it several times.
But for Alice, this was the first time.
Naturally, it was somewhat awkward…
But why?
That awkwardness somehow made their sword strike even more perfect.
Fwoooosh!
The crimson aura elegantly carved out the path of the blade.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to pull, but whatever last-ditch effort it is, it’s pointless!”
Excension, having completed the breath, roared.
As he said, the breath condensed at the tip of his sword radiated power beyond comprehension.
With the crown’s amplification, the breath might even rival that of an ancient dragon… perhaps even Goguma’s breath seen previously.
And finally—
Wuuuuung!
The blood-forged breath was unleashed.
“Die!”
A flash streaked forth.
Then came the storming gale, now turned into a violent tempest.
A crimson light that burned through anything it touched.
Jinhyuk looked at Alice.
The warmth of the hand holding the sword—
And her unwavering gaze, even in what might be their final moment.
Calm breaths.
Contrasted by the raging pulses of mana.
He synchronized with every emotion passed through them.
Jinhyuk and Alice raised their sword high.
[One Sword, One Unity]
A single sword strike manifested from two bodies.
A pair of crimson wings spread wide on either side.
…Here we go.
In perfect unison with the strongest breath, Jinhyuk and Alice’s sword moved.
KWAANG!
The blade collided head-on with the breath.
In an instant, scorching heat and crushing pressure engulfed their entire bodies.
“Khuhk!”
“Ugh!”
Taking a breath attack head-on with one’s body was close to suicidal.
Ordinarily, one would evaporate down to the bone upon contact.
However, the physical form empowered by One Sword, One Unity reached a realm far beyond normal limits.
Dimensional Slash.
A fleeting moment—barely a second.
Far too short to comprehend, let alone react and execute a sword strike from that comprehension.
But—
‘For me, it’s more than enough.’
Jinhyuk stared straight at the breath—and at the tip of Excension’s sword spewing it.
…Cut.
His hands overlapped into one.
The mana from their wings scattered to the sides.
Slice!
The blade, outlined in red, split the breath apart.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
“Cough!?”
Excension blankly stared at the slash running from his shoulder to his waist.
His expression said he still couldn’t comprehend how his breath was cut—and how his body was as well.
Pshhhh! Pshhhhht!
Blood poured from the wound like a waterfall.
“I… lost…?”
He couldn’t believe it, but the wound left on his body made it painfully clear who had won.
A moment later, overwhelming pain and a fear greater than that pain chilled his thoughts.
He didn’t want to die.
He had come so far to reach this point.
He didn’t want it to end so pathetically.
Excension crawled toward Alice.
“S-Spare me…”
If he could get a transfusion from Alice, he might survive.
He needed blood.
Pureblooded blood filled with mana—enough to match a family head.
“Please… s-save me…”
His trembling fingertips touched the tip of Alice’s shoe.
“…….”
Alice silently watched him with sunken eyes.
Right then, it felt as though every grudge she had carried was finally lifted.
“Alice… f-for old times’ sake… no, even for Ataraxia’s restoration… you’ll need me. So, just this once.”
Just this once—have mercy.
Pathetically. Desperately.
Excension begged for his life.
But—
Alice responded by gently stepping on Excension’s hand.
“That despair you’re feeling right now—carry it for as long as you can. Once you’re dead, you won’t even have the chance.”
“No… no, this can’t be… Aaaaargh! M-my body. My body is…!”
Excension clawed at his own disintegrating form.
But there was no way to reassemble the ashes now blowing away.
[Excension, the current Head of Ataraxia, has been annihilated.]
With that, the head of Ataraxia changed once more.
The crimson star fell.
And the original star rose again.
Then, at that moment—
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up….]
[…Level up!]
[You have acquired the ‘Emblem of Ataraxia’!]
[You have acquired the sacred relic ‘Crown of Pureblood’!]
[You have acquired the sacred relic ‘Greatsword of Fresh Blood’!]
[A new Head of Ataraxia has ascended.]
[Affection level of Alice von Ataraxia has exceeded the threshold.]
[From this point on, Alice and the blood kin of Ataraxia will show you eternal respect and gratitude.]
Notification messages appeared one after another.
The rising level count was beyond abnormal.
This might actually be…
Jinhyuk quickly opened his personal status window.
——————————————————
Name: Kang Jinhyuk
Gender: Male
Level: 194
Strength: 109
Agility: 121
Stamina: 85 → [130]
Mana: 429 → [459]
Gap: 100
Luck: 10
Adaptability: 78
Energy: 141.55
Available Stat Points: 75
Coins: 11,231,494
Class: Ruler of Runes
Unique Holy Spears: [Wheel of Heaven’s Reversal], [Phase 2], [Eight Swamps], [White Night], [Final Genesis]
Unique Abilities:
[Fusion], [Grave of Swords], [Blessing of the Stars], [Judgment of Anubis], [Blood Demonic Energy], [Mandala], [1 Second of Invincibility], [Heaven’s Devouring Venom], [White Beast], [Shared All Things], [Sanctuary of the Sun], [Black Heaven Demon Emperor Arts], [Triple Magic], [Strike of the Colossus], [Breath of the Fire Dragon], [Rapid Sword], [Tombgrave’s Right Arm], [Berserker], [Domain of Wind], [Phantom Shadow Swordsman], [Primordial Flame], [Blood Explosion], [Black Tear], [Tombgrave’s Leg], [Demonic Strength], [Core of the Legion], [Ancient Barrier], [Heavenly Demon Divine Art], [Mentra Taming], [Nihilism], [Heaven-Purging Myriad Venoms], [Red Hare Steed], [Mechanical Sovereign], [Ultimate Taekwondo], [Nightmare’s Oath], [Will of the Ocean], [Golden Apple of the Apostate], [Predatory Growth], [Grasp of Subjugation], [Earth Quake].
Skills: Skill list has been minimized due to excessive content.
——————————————————
Including the experience gained during the Guntafer incident, he had leveled up a total of 25 times!
This was the result of hunting Excension after he had broken free of the system’s constraints, plus all the experience from defeating the Old Guards.
‘I’ll need to invest in Stamina this time.’
Up until now, he had been pushing efficiency to the limit, but the higher he climbed, the less that worked.
For prolonged battles, raising Stamina was necessary.
[Stamina increased from 85 → 130.]
[Mana increased from 429 → 459.]
He allocated 45 points to Stamina and 30 to Mana—a well-balanced distribution.
After closing the status window, Jinhyuk quietly looked at Alice.
“…….”
Having reached the end of a long, long battle, Alice wore an indescribable expression.
The wish she had been pursuing ever since forming a contract with him—
Seeing her like this made it feel like all their hardships were finally being rewarded.
Belus and the other blood kin were also overwhelmed with emotion, so it was best not to interfere for now.
‘Only the simple things are left now.’
Jinhyuk glanced at Hastings.
Now that everything had fallen apart, that guy had no reason to remain here.
[A gate exclusive to administrators has opened!]
“God…damn it.”
Just as expected, Hastings vanished, swallowing his tears.
It didn’t really matter whether he died now or later at the hands of Nyarlathotep.
After all, the instinct of every living being was to cling to life for even one more second.
In contrast, Tamia, who was left alone, had missed her chance to escape.
From the start, there was no such option with Thor standing in her way.
“Damn…”
Tamia backed up until her back hit the wall.
There was nowhere else to run.
“What now? If you really want to fight us all alone, I won’t stop you.”
Jinhyuk shrugged.
Excension was dead. His entire bloodline annihilated.
“…Fine. I surrender.”
Thunk!
Tamia planted [Brynhilda] into the ground.
She then raised both hands above her shoulders.
“Will this… let me live?”
A clear sign of surrender.
That a proud and noble dragon would admit defeat to a human—it was something few would believe had they not seen it themselves.
But—
“As if.”
Jinhyuk didn’t have the slightest intention of letting her off with just that.
This was a dragon’s life they were talking about. Letting her go just because she bowed her head a bit?
Ridiculous.
Even in fantasy novels, saving a dragon’s life usually meant looting their lair or gaining a wish.
“Fine. Then I’ll give you treasure or grant you a wish through an oath. That’s more than enough compensation.”
“That’s… obvious.”
“Obvious?”
“If you’ve got a problem with it, just die. I’m tired, but I’ve got enough strength left to kill one dragon.”
Jinhyuk’s eyes sparked with intensity.
It almost felt like small horns were about to sprout from his head.
Gulp.
Tamia swallowed hard.
That cold, oppressive aura—
His greed was so endless, it felt like peering into a bottomless pit.
Without a doubt, he was the most insatiably greedy human she had ever met.
“Then… what exactly do you want?”
“You know. That thing you’re holding like it’s your baby. From what I’ve heard, the only way to take ownership is if the owner gives it up willingly or dies.”
Brynhilda.
A spear made from the bones of an ancient dragon—certainly worth the trade.
‘As much as I’d love to brand her with a Mark of Soulbind, that’d be too much right now.’
It was obvious she was eyeing the Dragon Lord’s throne. If he tried to make her submit right now, she’d immediately rebel.
Besides, he hadn’t built up enough to make her a slave just yet.
‘I’ll have more chances in the future. I’ll roast her slowly.’
Besides, having a dragon slave didn’t sound like a bad idea.
Tamia looked back and forth between Brynhilda and Jinhyuk with lingering attachment.
But her life was what hung in the balance—there was no time for hesitation.
“Fine… take it. Just take it.”
“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use.”
Jinhyuk received the spear made from bone.
“Hmm. Are you really going to let her go?”
Thor didn’t seem pleased that Tamia was walking away so easily.
“It’s fine. If you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to let the small fry go.”
“Calling a dragon a small fry… Kuhahaha! As expected, I knew I had a good eye.”
Thor roared with laughter.
“I’d like to stick around a bit longer, but as Hastings said, it seems the Olympus lot has caught wind of me. I’ll have to stop here. So—”
“If it’s about Yggdrasil, don’t worry. I’ll gather the materials before this floor is cleared.”
Jinhyuk scratched exactly where it itched.
Thor nodded with satisfaction.
“Then I’ll count on you.”
Wuuuuung!
A gate opened, and Thor vanished.
As for Rear Queen or any other issues—they could be handled in due time.
For now, it seemed things were wrapping up.
Or so he thought.
Ding!
[‘Incoming Call’ has arrived.]
An unexpected message appeared.
[……Do you accept?]
At a rather fateful timing.
