Chapter 536
“What, what is this?”
Creed stammered.
His mind stopped working in the face of such an utterly bewildering sight.
Up until now, all the abilities Jinhyuk had shown were of a completely different kind from magic engineering.
‘He already possesses so many abilities… there’s no way he could have mastered magic engineering too.’
A mortal, bound by the limited lifespan of a human.
The talents granted to such people were fixed.
However.
What was unfolding before his eyes was unmistakably magic engineering.
Not something picked up superficially, but exuding a sense of true mastery.
Shudder. Shudder.
Goosebumps ran over his entire body.
Had he been hiding his abilities all along?
Then what was the reason for that?
…I don’t know.
He could no longer even guess his opponent’s intentions.
“You… what are you? Just what are you….”
Creed’s question didn’t last long.
Buuuuung!
He sensed a massive golem approaching from the side.
“Kh!”
Creed quickly summoned a golem of the same kind.
Unlike the insect-type, this was a special golem meticulously crafted with a custom crystal core.
[The golem draws its ‘Crystal Shield’!]
A figure that looked heavy at a glance, and a thick shield.
At the center, several layers of defensive skills were stacked on top of each other.
It was so reinforced that it could withstand a direct collision with a meteorite.
But then—
Kwaaang!
The moment the fist and shield collided, Creed’s expectations were shattered again.
The shield of his own golem couldn’t withstand a single blow and was pierced right through.
Fragments fell with a crash.
“Groooar!”
The golem, whose crystal core had been destroyed, let out a death cry and tumbled down the cliff.
“No way!”
Creed screamed.
How much of a gap in strength was there…?
To see something this overwhelming unfold before his eyes.
Even though he saw it with his own eyes, he simply couldn’t believe it.
But the nightmare was just beginning.
Step.
Jinhyuk, appearing right in front of him in an instant, used a new ability.
[Unique Holy Spear ‘Phase 2’ activates!]
The white armor created by the effect of ‘Last Meister’ was layered over with ‘Phase 2.’
A strange-looking gauntlet completely encased Jinhyuk’s fists.
Wooooong!
The crystal embedded on the back of his hand spun violently, creating a storm.
Sensing danger, Creed reflexively took a defensive stance.
“No learning ability, huh? You’re really going to try to block this?”
From below…
…to above.
Jinhyuk’s fist pierced through the air.
A flash of light flickered.
Tukwaaang!
“Gaaah!”
Creed’s body bent at a right angle.
An absurd amount of force.
Defense was completely meaningless.
Unprecedented agony tore through his nerves and raked his entire body.
“Sorry, that looked like it hurt? I thought I was holding back.”
“You son of a…! Let’s see if you can still smile after this.”
The crystal cores floating beside Creed all flashed at once.
He was about to use the very lasers that had cornered Lee Tae-min.
Pazzt… Chichik!
A net of lasers targeted Jinhyuk from every direction.
But—
[Unique Holy Spear ‘Last Meister’ – Lumen Reflector activates!]
A translucent reflector appeared in the path of the lasers.
The moment the lasers hit the reflector, their trajectories started to twist, scattering in all directions unpredictably.
A dizzying movement impossible to predict.
The lasers didn’t distinguish friend from foe and slashed through everything in sight.
“…Huh!?”
Creed flung himself out of the way in panic.
At the same time, he cut off the mana supply to the crystals he was firing indiscriminately.
If he continued, he might end up being killed by his own lasers.
Meanwhile, Jinhyuk stood there with his hands behind his back, as if calmly waiting for the next attack.
As if to say: What’s your next move?
Grit!
Creed clenched his teeth so hard they nearly broke.
“Just now… you had the perfect chance to target me, so why did you just stand there and watch?”
He’d lost his balance while dodging the lasers.
If he had attacked, it definitely would have been a heavy blow.
“Well, sure. But… you need a good punching bag to properly get the feel for a new ability.”
“A good… punching bag?”
“Yeah. I’ve still got a lot more skills to practice, and I can’t have my sandbag blowing up too soon. So I’m adjusting the strength appropriately.”
Jinhyuk gave a slight smile.
And that sentence snapped Creed’s last thread of reason.
What the hell is this guy saying?
A sandbag?
Adjusting his strength to train his abilities?
The strongest guardian of the ruins.
“You’re telling me… you’re holding back on me?!”
A murderous aura exploded from Creed’s body.
Mana surged in a raging torrent.
He’d gone so far past his limit of anger that he could no longer see anything in front of him.
[Creed activates Unique Holy Spear ‘Iron Lotus Blossom’!]
Puff! Puff!
The crystals embedded in the insect bodies and those floating in the air were all smashed at once.
Thousands of power sources disappeared simultaneously.
Thud!
Boom!
Like puppets whose strings had been cut, countless bugs collapsed on the spot.
Tsutsu!
Now, the shattered crystal dust gathered in one place.
Hundreds of millions of fragments formed into the shape of a flower.
Each of those countless shards was a power source.
[The petals fully bloom.]
Countless lights flickered.
This was Creed’s Unique Holy Spear, ‘Iron Lotus Blossom.’
“Haha… Hahaha! Yes, this is it. This is what I’m talking about!”
Creed burst out laughing, intoxicated by his own power.
The risk was high, but a Unique Holy Spear was still a Unique Holy Spear.
While it was active, it boasted maximum efficiency.
Bang!
With a deep footprint left on the ground, Creed’s figure vanished.
Jinhyuk’s gaze flicked to the side.
“Kick!”
But when he reached out, Creed had already arrived at the opposite end.
At that moment, the flower petals began spinning at high speed.
An attack maximizing both destructive power and penetration.
Kwaaang!
The punch struck Jinhyuk square in the face.
A heavy impact jolted his brain to its core through his fingertips.
…It landed cleanly.
“You’re not done yet!”
Wham! Puff! Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwang!
Front, back, left, right.
Fists flew relentlessly.
At the same time, behind Creed, flower petals gathered into the shape of a long spear.
A final attack, aimed for the opening amid the barrage.
Gripping the spear in both hands, Creed poured all his mana into one point.
…This is it!
The tip of the spear aimed precisely for the heart.
If the spear, covered in Iron Lotus Blossom dust, pierced flesh, there’d be no recovery.
Creed wore a triumphant smile.
But then—
Kaaang!
What rang out wasn’t the sound of flesh being torn, but a sharp metallic clang.
No way, this got blocked?
It had to be a coincidence.
The opponent must be little more than a bloody mess after that combo.
If his foe was about to fall, just a little more pressure would do the trick….
…That would be normal.
“Uh… urgh…”
A thick vein popped out on Creed’s forehead.
He was going all out, but for some reason, the spear didn’t budge, as if it were stuck in place.
Jinhyuk, gripping the spear’s blade with his gauntlet, wore a disappointed look.
“If this is all you’ve got… you’re not even worth copying… Hm, did I overrate you because of nostalgia? Or am I just too strong now?”
He didn’t understand a word the man was saying.
Going on about the past or whatever, spouting nonsense.
“……”
A curse rose to the tip of Creed’s throat, but he didn’t even have the composure to let it out.
It was all he could do to just maintain this delicate balance.
But even that feeble equilibrium didn’t last long.
Kwadududuk!
As Jinhyuk applied pressure, the spear began to crumple.
And right at that moment—
Kwaaang!
Jinhyuk’s attack was unleashed.
“Gaaah!”
The Iron Lotus Blossom shattered in one blow.
His chest caved in and his ribs shattered.
Blood gushed from his mouth.
When he lifted his head, Jinhyuk was already gone.
Bang!
Agonizing pain exploded at the back of his head.
His consciousness felt like it was slipping away.
Bang! Puff!
Then from the side.
Next, from another angle.
Shadows blurred and left only afterimages.
In an instant, Creed was left battered and bloody, staggering on his feet.
A beat later, the skewers formed by Iron Lotus Blossom slashed through the air, but naturally, they didn’t even graze Jinhyuk’s clothes.
The enemy beat him senseless without getting hit once in return.
‘It’s hopeless with my strength.’
It was frustrating, but he had to admit it.
The opponent was so strong, he could barely look him in the eye.
If he didn’t find another way…
He was sure he’d really die here.
At that moment.
A thought flashed through Creed’s mind like lightning.
The only possible escape from this hell.
He didn’t hesitate long.
Tuk.
After widening the distance as much as possible, Creed leapt into the air.
[Creed opens Lv33 ‘Gate of Magic’!]
Dozens of lights appeared in the sky.
He planned to blow up the entire bridge with a carpet bombing.
“If you survive, everyone else dies.”
That’s enough.
Just seeing that smug face twisted in agony would be satisfying.
If even a few others survived, he could use the confusion to escape—that would be the best outcome.
On the other hand, if Jinhyuk tried to block the bombardment head-on, no matter how much of a monster he was, he wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
Jinhyuk looked up from below and let out a sound of admiration.
Dozens of lights about to fall from the sky—a scene truly worthy of ‘opening the gate.’
“That’s a pretty cool attack, I’ll admit.”
But—
[Lv?? ‘Gate of the Abyss’ opens!]
Black energy spread from the shadows, seething in a circle.
Pazzt!
Hundreds of gates opened, each radiating a pitch-black light.
“At the very least, you need something like this to call it a ‘Gate,’ don’t you think?”
If you want to force a choice, half-baked power won’t cut it.
You have to have overwhelming might that can break the enemy’s fighting spirit entirely.
“Ugh… uwaaah!”
Creed screamed and unleashed his mana.
But,
Neither in the number of ‘Gates’ nor the quality of magic in each one could he even compare.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwa!
Black light shot up from the ground and erased all the lights in the sky.
Naturally, Creed—caught right in the middle—was engulfed in the blaze.
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[Level up….]
[……Level up.]
A series of messages signaling he’d leveled up.
[You have reached the maximum provocation against your opponent.]
[You have successfully copied the Unique Holy Spear ‘Iron Lotus Blossom.’]
A message announcing the successful copying of the ability also appeared.