Chapter 631
Vwoooong!
An immense amount of mana was injected from the two crowns.
A jolt!
A bursting tremor spread along his blood vessels.
‘This is definitely amazing.’
The crowns, which he had temporarily fused last time, still had some minor damage, but they were still clearly showing their class as the strongest holy relics in the Tower of Trials.
Flinch.
Shade Reaper and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse frowned.
As the ones executing the Tower’s apocalypse, they knew better than anyone just how formidable the pressure from the crowns was.
“……Hoh.”
An intrigued exclamation escaped Unknown’s lips.
This was the first time he had directly faced Jinhyuk wearing both crowns.
There was a world of difference between hearing about it through intel and facing it in person.
But that was all.
[Unknown activates the special skill ‘Ark Covenant’!]
Once the covenant was activated, there was no chance of his side losing.
A chilling energy enveloped the apocalyptic horsemen and the apostles of Shub-Niggurath.
[‘Fear Resistance’ is activated!]
[For the 7 days that the Apocalypse ‘Covenant’ is in progress, all stats are increased by 30%!]
[The passive ability ‘Erosion’ is added! Damage taken from a being in the Erosion state is doubled.]
Status windows appeared one after another.
They made the already tricky apocalypse even more difficult.
Jinhyuk looked at Alice and Teresa.
Both of them, having finished their mental preparations, were concentrating their mana in their legs, poised to break through at a single point.
Pessis had finished searching for the route with the highest probability.
A gap formed in the tautly stretched air.
Blades enhanced with ‘High-Speed Sword’ and ‘Grave of Swords’.
……Now!
Jinhyuk crossed the two daggers.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
A sword strike, compressed to its limit, swept over the area in front of them.
Jinhyuk and the other members moved in different directions.
Kakakang!
The four horsemen blocked Jinhyuk’s sword.
It was a heavy blow, enough to gouge the ground, but it wasn’t enough to shatter their armor.
However, that was sufficient.
Thud!
Kwang!
“This way!”
Following Pessis’s guidance, the other members attempted their escape.
“Kwooooh!”
“Guooooh!”
The black sheep and goats immediately reacted.
The apostles of Shub-Niggurath, risen from the abyss, began to hurl black spears.
P-p-p-p-pak!
Kwaaang!
“Kikik!”
“Kieee!”
The dozens of mouths gaping on the surfaces of the spears cackled.
They were primordial holy relics that would bite and tear flesh on contact.
“It’ll be dangerous if they touch us.”
Alice instinctively showed her aversion to the spears.
She bared her fangs and put as much distance as possible between them.
If Alice was reacting this way, the pressure the other members felt was naturally even greater.
Then, this time, Vishnu stepped forward.
“Leave them to me.”
[Vishnu activates the Unique Holy Spear ‘Veil of Rejection’!]
A golden curtain unfurled.
The ‘Veil of Rejection’ was an ability that could temporarily specify a single property and nullify all attacks of that nature.
As one of the abilities that could be called the pinnacle of large-scale defense, it took the brunt of the countless spears’ attacks.
[Teresa activates the unique ability ‘Blessing of the Stars’!]
On top of that, Teresa’s unique ability activated, and a sacred energy reinforced the Veil of Rejection.
Perfectly synchronized teamwork.
Above all, Pessis finding the optimal route through the densely packed enemies played the biggest role.
Maybe they could escape with this.
They could at least harbor such a sliver of hope.
“That combination is a bit annoying.”
Unknown stroked his chin.
But, contrary to his words, his expression was that of someone amused by ants struggling to escape their anthill.
Just then.
Jinhyuk, having broken through the four horsemen, appeared right in front of Unknown.
Jinhyuk’s movement technique, buffed by the ‘Crown of Swiftness’, had reached a level where he could perform consecutive short-range spatial teleports.
Fast and light.
Thwack.
The two daggers aimed for the heart and the Adam’s apple simultaneously.
Kakakang!
Unknown pulled out an identical dagger and deflected their trajectory.
“You surprised me. I was in the middle of watching. Don’t you have any spectator etiquette, Jinhyuk?”
“A gloomy bastard who wears a mask is talking about etiquette. You’d better focus on me before I shove a giant poisonous mushroom up your nostril.”
“My, my. Are you perhaps jealous that I was looking at other people?”
“Of course. I’m the only one who gets to see my lovely Unknown’s bare face.”
Come to think of it.
I am quite curious about what’s under that mask.
Does he have a different appearance?
Or, does he have the same face as me?
The time to find out the truth was not far off.
Jinhyuk’s sword moved at a bizarre angle.
The forms left by the Sword Demon and the forms learned through countless battle experiences created a new sword path.
Kakakakakang!
An incomparably brilliant flurry of sword strikes raged like a storm.
The empty air was dyed completely red by the sparks created as sword met sword.
‘The more spectacularly I rampage, the higher the chance the others have to escape.’
He had to create an opportunity, even if it meant overexerting himself.
Jinhyuk released all the mana he had gathered at once.
[The ‘Memory of the World’ is opened!]
Countless books appeared, and the abilities he had previously copied were activated sequentially.
[The Unique Ability ‘Earthquake’ is activated!]
Kururururung!
With a great tremor, the ground began to crack like a turtle’s shell.
“Kwooooh!”
“Guoooh!”
The black sheep and goats lost their balance and staggered.
Due to the fissures created when they came up a moment ago, the effect of the Earthquake was bound to be several times more powerful.
Gush, gush, gush!
Lava flowed backward, and the air heated up rapidly.
“Hahaha. What an energetic human, isn’t he?”
“Don’t be careless. He’s more annoying than Thor or Loki.”
“Hmm. Is that so? He certainly seemed to have something, but I don’t think he’s that much of a threat….”
“Whatever it is, if it interferes with the covenant, we must get rid of it.”
The four horsemen surrounded Jinhyuk on the cracked ground.
[The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse activate ‘Apocalypse of Revelation’!]
“Hee-hiing!”
“Heeing!”
Four horses of different colors were summoned.
The horsemen mounted their steeds and slowly pulled the reins.
Plague, War, Famine, Death.
The apocalypse, composed of the most horrific things imaginable, targeted Jinhyuk.
Dudududu… Kwaaang!
A charge from point-blank range.
Four straight lines intersected from different directions.
A shockwave, added to the weight and acceleration, followed.
It was immense destructive power.
If it hit, of course.
Just before the four horsemen could trample him, Jinhyuk’s form vanished.
Everyone’s gaze moved swiftly.
They thought that if he were to launch a surprise attack, he would have targeted the rear of one of the horsemen.
“Let’s all just die while we’re at it.”
The voice came not from the left or right.
But from high above.
Jinhyuk, who had leaped up as if to touch the ceiling, wore an ominous smile.
[The Unique Holy Spear ‘Downfall’ is activated!]
This was not originally an ability to be used in an enclosed space.
Its power was so immense that there was a risk of burying everything alive.
“You’re… insane. You might survive somehow, Jinhyuk, but your comrades aren’t as sturdy as you are, you know?”
Unknown asked, dumbfounded.
“Who knows. If they trained hard as usual, they’ll survive. Right?”
A power that could shatter both sides if mishandled.
Whether that happened or not, the eyes of the veteran player, already addicted to gambling, were filled only with anticipation for the outcome.
Jinhyuk’s body fell like a single meteor.
Tukwakwakwakwang!
The pillars of the grand temple shattered like twigs as a ridiculous impact engulfed the area.
***
“Ughhh….”
“Cough… Keuk!”
Seriously injured operators lay rolling in the wake of the purple tentacles.
The primordial beings, freed from their restraints and restrictions, were surpassing even the operators’ calculations.
“This can’t be….”
A look of emptiness crossed JJ’s face.
Only despair swirled in his deeply etched wrinkles.
“You all used to think of us as mere watchdogs guarding the peak. Well, I guess you thought you were controlling us while hiding your identities behind the curtain… but that was underestimating us too much.”
Nyarlathotep continued to speak leisurely.
He exuded the composure that only a complete victor could show.
“Keuk!”
2Chickens reached a hand toward Nyarlathotep.
[The Administrator’s unique authority ‘System Manipulation’ is activated!]
[Sealing the target’s abilities!]
The reason administrators could stand above all residents.
It wasn’t just because of the amount of information they had.
It was thanks to the fraudulent power that could change another’s specs itself.
However.
Vwoooong!
Nyarlathotep was unaffected by System Manipulation.
He continued to walk with a lofty gait, closing the distance to the operators.
“You all seemed to trust that man quite a bit. But do you know? It was that man who told us how to escape from System Manipulation.”
Solely for the sake of greater fun and stimulation….
…He had judged that siding with the primordial beings was better than with the operators.
“He betrayed us?”
“Don’t lie!”
“That can’t be. There’s no way!”
Angry cries erupted from all over.
The great cause of creating and prospering the massive living entity called the Tower of Trials. Their relationship with that man was one united by that single conviction.
But betrayal?
Was that even a plausible thing to say?
But seeing Nyarlathotep completely unaffected by System Manipulation, all the operators here had no choice but to accept the bitter reality they wanted to deny.
”You alone must escape.”
JJ pushed 2Chickens, who was still unharmed, back.
“What are you talking about!”
“It’s already impossible for everyone to get out. We don’t have the strength left for that in the first place.”
In that case, he would get out the one with the highest chance.
To meet with the few comrades still scattered throughout the Tower and tell them this fact….
Thinking that far, JJ let out a self-deprecating laugh.
What would change even if he met the other operators now?
There was no hope left anyway.
“Find Sleeper Owl.”
The only operator who had said from the beginning that they shouldn’t trust that man.
He recalled the one who had consistently argued that they should pursue the Tower’s freedom.
If that wasn’t possible, the next best option was to find Kang Jinhyuk.
At least one of the two might be able to save this broken Tower.
“Old man!”
“Go!”
“……Damn it.”
Seeing JJ’s face, 2Chickens bit his lip hard.
Now that he had made up his mind, there was no way to persuade him.
“I’ll be sure to get revenge for you.”
Leaving those words behind, he turned his body.
“I’m not one for third-rate drama-like melodramatics… but well, now that I’m in this situation, I think I understand why such a well-worn cliché exists. Then….”
JJ took out a cigarette from inside his suit and put it in his mouth.
Chiiik!
As it lit, purple mana seeped down his throat and deep into his lungs.
[The holy relic ‘Ignite Flower’ has been burned.]
A kind of self-destruct agent that exchanged life for power.
He had no intention of getting out alive anyway.
[True Name is released.]
[JJ….]
[……Arma Eston activates the Unique Holy Spear ‘Night of Interminability’!]
In a pitch-black abyss where even light had vanished.
“Come and get me, you primordial vermin.”
A black flash shot out toward Nyarlathotep.