Chapter 568
[[Heavenly Demon Divine Art – Heavenly Demon Heart Sword] has been activated!]
Scarlet sword energy fused with the Heavenly Demon’s swordsmanship.
The dagger Jinhyuk had wielded countless times moved as though it were an extension of his body.
However—
A strike with perfect timing and speed was rendered meaningless.
Puhhhk!
The dagger was blocked by a shield made of smoke.
Hades stepped in front of Hermes.
Almost at the same moment—
“I’m going in!”
“Haaap!”
[[Teresa activates Lv35 ‘Stigmata of the Archangel’!]]
[[Andrea activates Lv30 ‘Core of Spirits’!]]
Two streaks of light shot forth like lightning—
From the left and right, aiming at the small blind spots in the mist created by the earlier impact.
“As expected of mortals… no sense of manners whatsoever.”
Hades swept his hand through the air.
The black smoke surged even more violently than before.
Kukukukuku!
A whirlwind roared, dragging the two streaks of light into the mist.
It was a power worthy of being called absolute defense.
But the assault wasn’t over yet.
With afterimages trailing behind him, Chun Yoosung closed the distance at high speed.
Pachichik!
[[Unique Holy Spear – White Night One-Heaven Sword Form 8: Sun and Moon Snow, Forgotten Radiance] has been activated!]
Snowflakes swirled as the sword sang a beautiful melody.
The power to manifest his mental world as sword strikes.
“…!”
Hades’s eyes widened.
He hastily gathered smoke to defend, but the snowstorm was far sharper.
Slash!
A long sword mark was carved across his cheek.
A bead of blood quickly welled up on the pale skin.
“Hmph. So gods can be cut after all. I suppose it makes sense—I’ve been fighting something far worse.”
“You… bastard…!”
Hades’s eyes turned blood-red.
* * *
“Wow.”
Jinhyuk let the word slip without realizing.
He hadn’t expected Chun Yoosung to have grown this much.
He really was terrifying now.
‘If I ever got cut by that…’
Hmm. Maybe it was time to start treating him a bit better.
That aside—
The problem was that even with that last attack, they hadn’t been able to subdue Hades and Hermes.
Hermes had already begun tearing the top of his scroll.
“As expected, when you people group up, you produce the most irritating synergy. That’s why I prepared something special—a stage where each of you will be isolated and hunted.”
Rip!
Hermes tore the scroll completely in half.
Then—
[[Forced Transfer Scroll] has been activated!]
A white pillar of light descended upon everyone’s bodies.
Kuuuuung!
Completely cut off from the outside—
“Jinhyuk…!”
“Damn it!”
“Jinhyuk!”
“Graaaah!”
Teresa, Chun Yoosung, Andrea, and the Titans vanished all at once.
They had been teleported to different gods.
“Haa…”
Left alone, Jinhyuk let out a quiet sigh.
If they’d used a Forced Transfer Scroll…
They’d definitely matched them to the most favorable opponents based on all the combat data they’d gathered so far.
They’d also have chosen locations advantageous and familiar to themselves.
More than that—
“That scroll shouldn’t be obtainable within Olympus…”
“Haha. You even know that? Sounds like you’ve got our entire treasure vault memorized.”
“Well, not completely—but I know the big ones.”
Rows A through C were packed with valuables.
Some were of an especially rare kind.
“Enough pointless chatter. Go and inform Zeus that the scroll worked. My mood is foul right now, so don’t drag your feet.”
Hades growled.
The wound Chun Yoosung had given him must have been throbbing; a suffocating killing intent filled the space.
“Ah, understood. Don’t worry, I’ve no intention of getting caught up in this fight.”
Hermes backed away, vanishing into the clouds.
A tense silence settled over the area.
A one-on-one against a top-tier god.
Jinhyuk wet his lips with his tongue.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
His heart pounded rapidly.
His fingers twitched around the dagger’s hilt.
“Hermes really is fast. The way he flaps off like that… Well, you don’t seem the type for long introductions either, so why don’t we just get started?”
“Arrogant brat. You think that just because you’ve gained power in the blink of a few decades, everything lies beneath you?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m humble enough to admit I’m not complete yet. But I think I can handle someone like you.”
“…What did you say?”
A thick vein popped on Hades’s forehead.
Regardless, Jinhyuk shrugged and added—
“And you think splitting us up will make us weaker…”
That was their biggest mistake.
The Veteran Corporation’s members wouldn’t falter just because they were separated.
Right now, they were probably each doing more than their assigned roles.
“You’d better worry about your brothers and sisters. If I had to guess, by the next holiday, there’ll be a lot fewer of you attending.”
Maybe Artemis, the only one to betray them, would be the sole survivor.
“I can’t beat you in trash talk. Fine. I’ll show you just how fearsome I am in my own domain.”
Hades gathered the rising smoke.
At the same time—
[[Unique Ability: Temple of the Underworld] has been opened!]
Brilliant temples were swallowed by darkness.
—
The stronger the light, the deeper the darkness.
As the sunlit temples sank into pitch black, all vision was lost.
Shhh!
The sound of unsettling, dust-laden smoke shifting filled the air.
‘It’s not just vision being blocked.’
Jinhyuk lowered his stance.
The black energy was mixing with the air, transforming into something else entirely.
Poison…
No, something closer to a curse.
He knew Hades’s usual abilities well, but this was slightly different in nature.
“Interesting. Looks like you prepared for this. Gives me chills… even makes me a bit excited.”
“Let’s see how long that smile lasts. I’ll start with a greeting.”
Kwakwaakwaakwaak!
From within the darkness, a black storm surged.
Jinhyuk activated both [Blessing of the Stars] and [Mandala], illuminating his vision.
A dazzling radiance shone forth—
But the lit area was barely three to four meters.
Beyond that was still pitch-black darkness.
Then—
Kwaaang!
A heavy impact struck the barrier formed by Blessing of the Stars and Mandala.
Jinhyuk was thrown backward.
“Kh…!”
It was heavy.
He grimaced, crossing his daggers to block.
An attack capable of breaking through two barriers and still inflicting damage—
Hades shouldn’t have anything like that.
Not without reaching over 600 mana and using a unique holy spear-level technique.
Unless…
One possibility crossed his mind.
Jinhyuk used [Eye of Gluttony] to pierce through his opponent.
Ttiring!
[Hades is currently equipped with Titan’s Legacy – ‘Ashen Armor of Tartaros’.]
[Additional effects are active due to base buffs!]
In the Tower of Trials, item grades were usually denoted by color.
The closer to violet among the seven colors, the stronger the item.
But there were cases that transcended color—
When one possessed a full set of items of the same type.
The Ashen Armor of Tartaros gained 50% more power for each additional set piece.
‘If he’s got all six, that’s a 300% boost. And with base buffs, even more.’
That explained the drastic difference from what he’d known before.
It also explained his confidence.
“Kahahaha! Can’t even move, can you? Blocking it must be exhausting.”
Hades gathered the smoke again.
This time, the gale became a full-blown tempest.
From all directions—
Kwakwaakwaak… kwaaang!
Tukwaaang!
An overwhelming offensive that ignored defense entirely.
‘Defense alone won’t cut it.’
If he kept taking hits like this, his body wouldn’t last.
But charging blindly in with no vision wasn’t an option either.
In that case—
Jinhyuk activated [Glacial Sculpting], summoning ice spikes.
Layering them with [Nihilism] nullified part of Hades’s power.
In less than a second, countless shards of ice shot out in all directions.
Like a porcupine releasing quills, the densely packed spikes pierced through everything.
Crunch!
Kwakwaang!
Pillars shattered, statues split apart.
But one spot—
Puhhhk!
The sound of a spike stopping mid-way.
…There!
Jinhyuk used [Sword that Divides the Era], sending two daggers flying.
The blades, carrying their master’s will, weaved through the air.
With [Grave of Swords] pushing his sword energy to the limit, not even smoke could block them.
Tap!
Hades tried to move—
“Going somewhere?”
Jinhyuk wasn’t about to waste the chance.
[[Unique Ability: Cascadia Slav] has been activated!]
[[7-Star Barrier: Multiple Chessboard] has been activated!]
[Coordinate Lock effect has stacked!]
Fwoooosh!
Pillars of flame laced with magma erupted from the ground.
Once he’d pinpointed Hades’s position, predicting his escape route and restricting movement was easy.
He had memorized every god’s combat patterns based on their personality.
‘Hades prefers mid-range, about 11–14 meters from his target. He likes to stand on the target’s right flank.’
And when cornered unexpectedly, he moved in the exact opposite direction.
In this case—
“Over here?”
Swish.
Jinhyuk’s gaze shifted.
He thought he saw eyes staring back from the darkness.
At the same time—
Kaaang!
The flying blades struck solid armor.
“Grahhh!”
Even the Ashen Armor of Tartaros couldn’t completely negate the impact.
The smoke thinned instantly.
And there stood—
Hades, his face twisted in shock and fear.