Chapter 533
Boom! Boom!
Two different types of spikes collided in midair.
Shards and fragments scattered in every direction.
A battle was unfolding on the bridge. It was hard to believe that such a colossal spectacle was being created by just two people.
But as the clash continued, Alice’s expression grew darker.
There was no other way.
[Your attack does not work.]
[99.86% of physical and magical damage is nullified.]
On the Bridge of Illusion, all abilities except magitech are reduced to dreams.
Even someone as overwhelmingly powerful as Alice could do nothing but neutralize the opponent’s attack.
So, as time passed, the tide of battle slowly began to turn.
“Ahaha! That’s why I told you. You’re not enough.”
Creed became even more aggressive.
The chalk-white spikes in both his hands began to twist bizarrely.
At the same time, massive crystal ornaments made of gemstones appeared behind Creed’s shoulders.
[Creed activates Lv34 ‘Crystal Armament of the Dreamer’!]
Sapphires, rubies, and emeralds resonated together.
The multicolored haze swallowed up the spikes.
A force incomparable to earlier surged.
It was the moment when physical force was combined with the magitech essence of the crystals.
Zzzzt!
The spikes wrapped in three lights finished charging.
They flew without any boosters, as if their mass had disappeared.
Boom!
The head!
No, the heart.
“……!”
Alice barely reacted in time and was pushed back.
The shield she made with ‘Blood Lord’ had long since shattered in a single blow.
The sheer power was staggering.
And the threat from the crystal spheres wasn’t over yet.
‘Snap.’
With a snap of Creed’s fingers, something began to rise from beneath the bridge.
Click-clack… Clack-clack!
Creatures crawled up the cliff.
Scorpions, centipedes, and spiders made of machines.
Each had a different colored crystal sphere embedded in its scorpion tail, centipede legs, and spider eyes.
Sparks flew between the crystals, maximizing their magic.
“Kieeee!”
“Krooo!”
The numbers were so immense it was disgusting.
Alice and Lee Tae-min could no longer cover everything.
“Aaaah!”
“Damn it, they’re swarming up like ants!”
“H-How are we supposed to block all this?”
“We need to run. If we just go back the way we came…”
Panic broke out among the players.
Just facing Creed alone was enough to paralyze them, but now there wasn’t even time to be afraid.
While everyone panicked—
‘Hmm. So that’s how it is.’
Jinhyuk stroked his chin and nodded.
It was true that the monsters Creed summoned were threatening.
But right now, what mattered wasn’t fighting each one.
From the start, Creed’s top priority was only one thing.
“Wow. I might be wrong, but… aren’t those crystals specialized for breaking barriers? I feel like I’ve heard of mixed-color crystals being used for something like that…”
Jinhyuk muttered to himself.
“…What?”
“No, look over there. That old man Johannes. He’s up to something.”
“…!?”
Creed, who had been enjoying himself, quickly turned toward one side of the cliff.
“H-Hurry up! Activate it now…! No, what are you even doing!”
There, Johannes was yelling his head off.
“It’s just… the barrier is so complex…”
“We’re trying, but it’s not easy.”
The magitech engineers looked troubled as Johannes scolded them.
It was obvious what they were up to.
They were looking for a way out—trying to escape like rats.
“Unbelievable. When did they prepare something like that behind our backs?”
He never imagined they’d have a trump card that could pierce the grand barrier of the ruins.
“That’s what I’m saying. We shouldn’t be fighting each other. If you let Johannes escape while you’re busy trying to catch us, you’d end up the complete fool, right?”
“……”
He was right.
That would be the worst outcome.
If he wanted to release all the rage that had built up, he absolutely had to catch Johannes.
“Tch! Fine, you’re right. I’ll see you in a bit. Enjoy your borrowed time while you can.”
“Sure, sure. Take your time.”
Jinhyuk even waved kindly.
Bang!
Creed instantly leapt toward Johannes.
And that was the beginning of a nightmare for both sides.
* * *
“Aaaagh!”
“H-He’s coming! He’s coming!”
A magitech engineer gave a frantic warning as Creed approached.
Johannes’s eyes widened.
Knowing Creed’s personality, there was no way he would ignore the pests in front of him and come after them directly.
Especially since he was certain the prey was trapped in a cage, there was no way he’d hurry the hunt.
And yet—
‘No way…’
Something flashed through Johannes’s mind.
He could see Jinhyuk waving from the bridge with an evil grin.
‘That bastard is infuriating…’
He couldn’t help but swear.
He could finally understand why the gods of other floors all wanted Kang Jinhyuk dead.
He should have been more careful.
He should have had not just one, but plans B and C ready.
Looking down on his opponent was the worst mistake.
But regretting it now was pointless.
Boom!
“Aaaagh!”
“My arm…!”
Creed swung the spikes in both hands, unleashing a shower of blood.
“Where do you think you’re going, leaving me behind? We still have a lot to talk about.”
“You filthy half-breed… If you’d just guarded the ruins like you were supposed to… How dare you bare your fangs at us?”
“Hoh. You’re still running your mouth even on death’s door? If you keep that up, you’ll just die even more painfully.”
“Hah! Nonsense! You may be a monster, but we didn’t come here totally unprepared.”
Escape was no longer an option.
Johannes pulled out a cube adorned with runes.
Vwooom!
[You have used the ‘Sealed Hexa-Cube’!]
[Magitech Weapon ‘Crystal Dragon (SS)’ awakens.]
[Magitech Weapon ‘Titanium Golems (AAA)’ awaken.]
Troops appeared at Johannes’s sides.
A Crystal Dragon boasting overwhelming size.
“Krooo!”
Not a match for a real dragon, but it could rival a bone dragon from the undead family.
Just that alone was enough to threaten Creed.
And there were a full hundred Titanium Golems, second to none in strength.
Originally, they’d been prepared for Pendragon and the ‘Grand Plan’…
But that didn’t matter.
Nothing was more important than survival.
“Crush that vile guardian right now!”
At Johannes’s order, the Crystal Dragon and Titanium Golems moved.
“Kahahaha! Of course, even a worm has to squirm. Now it’s getting interesting.”
Not to be outdone, Creed led his own army toward the cliff’s edge.
Another massive war broke out.
“Krooo!”
The Titanium Golems’ fists smashed bugs, and the Crystal Dragon swallowed a spider whole.
On the other hand, the monsters, leveraging their numerical superiority, surrounded the golems and picked them off one by one.
It was impossible to know which side would win.
But then—
Boom!
An explosion erupted in one of Johannes’s Titanium Golems.
“Ugh, what the—what now?”
Johannes, who had been commanding the golems up close, was caught in the blast.
He managed to brush the fire from his robe and glared at Jinhyuk.
“Ah, sorry, sorry. My bad. Bad aim. I’ll make sure to hit the right target next time.”
Jinhyuk raised a hand.
Boom!
This time, Creed’s head snapped back.
“Oops, that must have hurt. Sorry. My aim’s been off lately—maybe my eyesight’s going bad. Ahem.”
Jinhyuk bowed ninety degrees in apology.
Then, bit by bit, he began whittling down both sides’ forces.
He didn’t make it obvious, but it was enough to get on their nerves.
-Am I seriously dancing in that guy’s palm?
-If he’s deliberately sowing discord and weakening both sides’ forces…
He understood Jinhyuk’s intentions.
The problem was that even knowing the plan, there was no way to stop it.
With a deadly enemy in front of them, there was no time to worry about anything else.
-Once I kill Johannes, he’s next.
-Once Creed is smashed, I’ll deal with him properly.
Both men ground their teeth, postponing the reckoning for later.
* * *
He’d bought a bit of time with this.
Until one of them died, he’d have to think of the next move.
“I think we should also find a way to escape. Fighting that thing any longer is pointless.”
Alice coolly assessed the situation.
She was right. Facing Creed here was too risky.
Not only could he be harmed only with magitech, Creed also had abilities specialized for both duels and large-scale battles—he was an all-purpose guardian.
‘Of course, it’s not impossible to kill him…’
A chance was needed to create an opening.
Someone had to stand at the front and take on everything Creed had.
Lee Tae-min.
A precious companion since the days of the Tower of Trials, and the key card in conquering this floor.
‘If I want to awaken him, that method is best…’
Jinhyuk considered the first route that came to mind.
It was the surest way.
The downside was, he’d probably get cursed out by everyone later.
‘Awakening or being the villain…’
It wasn’t a hard decision.
He’d been cursed out so much, it was like a lullaby by now.
Jinhyuk pressed a dagger to his thigh.
Without hesitation, he stabbed deep.
‘Shk!’
Blood dripped from his thigh.
“Contractor? What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
Alice was startled and tried to heal him, but Jinhyuk stopped her with a raised hand.
‘It’s not enough.’
Slash!
Once.
Swipe!
Again.
While Lee Tae-min and Yoo Yeonhwa were fighting the monsters, he needed to increase the ‘critical wounds’ as much as possible.
“Kieee!”
“Kyaaa!”
Huge monsters.
Unlike the panicking Johannes, Creed had redirected some of his troops this way.
“Block this side a little longer! I still don’t have enough mana to run all the drones…”
“Got it! Everyone, you heard him! Don’t just stand there if you want to live—do your part!”
“Damn it. Let’s do this.”
“We can’t leave everything to Veteran Corporation. I’m in too!”
“Uwaaaaaa!”
Led by Lee Tae-min and Yoo Yeonhwa, the other players formed up.
The opening act of a desperate defense to withstand the relentless assault had begun.
Meanwhile—
“Wow, perfect.”
Jinhyuk finished applying fake wounds that could put Halloween makeup to shame.
Blood and wounds everywhere.
Anyone would assume he was seriously injured.
All the wounds had already been healed with ‘Blessing of the Stars,’ but unless someone stripped him naked, there was no way to know. The blood stains were enough for dramatic effect.
The costume theme was—
‘Companions… and noble sacrifice, maybe?’
It’s a must-have element in classic shonen stories.
Jinhyuk began his act to awaken Lee Tae-min in earnest.