Chapter 635
Every possible scenario flashed through my mind, but my deliberation didn’t last long.
The best possible course of action was already mapped out in my head.
Thump….
Jinhyuk’s body lightly descended below the fortress wall.
“Contractor!?”
“What are you doing?”
“My Lord!”
“Mr. Jinhyuk!”
The remaining members shouted in surprise.
Even if the main gate was relatively less dangerous, packed with elites including Heracles and Thor…
Descending below the fortress wall was an act of completely isolating oneself.
Especially Alice, who almost unconsciously threw herself down after Jinhyuk.
However, Jinhyuk shook his head as if to say not to worry and began dashing in the opposite direction.
It was completely incomprehensible behavior.
Right at that moment.
Clatter.
From within Jinhyuk’s embrace, a box that seemed as aged and worn as an old fountain pen appeared.
To all who were watching, they were just miscellaneous junk of no particular importance.
Except for one.
Except for the primordial being who accurately perceived the true value of the two items.
The corner of Jinhyuk’s mouth, watching Gros, twitched upward.
He couldn’t possibly not know.
How could he not know?
The ‘Truth-Veiling Pen’ and the ‘Old Broken Jewel Box’.
Both were clues to reach the ‘Ouroboros Labyrinth’.
“That is…”
Gros reflexively squirmed.
Because of that, for an instant, the movements of all the Black Goats and Sheep faltered.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
In war, a single fleeting second creates a ripple effect far greater than one can imagine.
Enough to completely turn the tide of battle.
“GROOOOAH!”
“BAAAAAH!”
Due to numerous Magical Bullets and spells, over hundreds of troops on the primordial side turned into a handful of ash and vanished.
“Why are these guys suddenly acting like this?”
“Stopping their attacks… and doing something else.”
“Whatever it is, it’s an opportunity! Push them back even harder now. I said mobilize all firepower!”
A rare chance to whittle down the enemy’s forces.
For a prolonged war, inflicting greater damage was absolutely necessary.
“HOOP!”
“Here I go!”
[Thor activates Lv??? ‘Call of Thunder’!]
[Heracles activates the Unique Holy Spear ‘Nemesis’!]
Terrifying Mana was released as two flashes of light pierced deep into the enemy lines.
Severed limbs of the enemies scattered in all directions.
The ground was dyed red along with fountains of blood.
“What are you doing!”
Unknown shouted towards Gros.
He couldn’t help but feel rage towards Gros, who had lost focus at such a critical moment.
But Gros himself, the one actually involved, had no interest whatsoever, whether Unknown was annoyed or how many troops were being wiped out.
‘……He’s already gathered that much? And he’s even repaired the broken parts?’
For the primordial beings, there was only one great threat: the book called the ‘Necronomicon’.
It was a forbidden text among forbidden texts, containing not only detailed information about them but also weaknesses that should never be revealed and even the locations where they could be found.
Even if every single troop here were annihilated, he absolutely had to secure that clue.
Wriggle!
Strong resolve, anger, and fear dug into Gros’s mind.
KWANG!
From that moment, Gros’s body shot forward like an arrow.
“Capture that human!”
The top priority in the minds of all the Black Sheep and Goats changed.
From capturing the fortress and destroying the great mythos to capturing Jinhyuk.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
In an instant, the entire force turned their backs to pursue Jinhyuk.
“Idiots!”
Unknown reached out a hand a beat too late, but it was already over.
Because they simultaneously repeated charging and retreating, the entire force became tangled and confused.
Mass chaos.
There was no more fitting word to describe the situation.
“Pursue! Now that it’s come to this, there’s no other way!”
Unknown gave the order to his personal guard behind him.
“To possess such power yet respond so clumsily.”
“One cannot find a shred of a commander’s qualities.”
“Whatever, we have no choice but to follow.”
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, whom he could now control after gaining the ability to handle the covenant, and the Avatars of Apocalypse, including Shade Reaper, immediately moved.
And so, the game’s situation completely shifted.
***
‘Good. Just as expected.’
Jinhyuk became more cautious with his Movement Technique.
The further and faster he could run away, the more breathing room it would give his allies’ combat strength.
Moreover, since it would allow Berial’s trump card to be perfectly prepared, he had to exert himself even more on this side.
The problem was…
KU-KU-KU-KU-KU… KU-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!
The death swarming towards him now was faster and vaster than he had imagined.
‘Gros…’
Jinhyuk swallowed dryly at the chilling murderous intent he felt on the back of his neck.
He was a cosmic entity, a monster positioned at the very top of the primordial beings, just like Nyarlathotep.
A formidable enemy with slim chances of victory even if he used both crowns.
Although he was pouring all his Mana into speed, even using ‘Domain of Wind’ and ‘Wind God’, he couldn’t imagine being able to escape from Gros for more than ten minutes.
Unless he got his hands on a new weapon at the very least.
Or else…
Jinhyuk recalled the painting he kept deep within his subspace.
‘Napoleon’s Crown’.
The Sacred Relic that could recreate his prime was his current one-hit-kill card.
‘No…’
Even if he returned to his prime, he couldn’t defeat Gros right now without the help of the Necronomicon.
Above all, as long as the variable named Unknown existed, creating the optimal environment and conditions to use his strongest card, the Crown, was the priority.
Then.
[The Unique Holy Spear ‘Lingering Moonlight’ is activated!]
WOO-WOO-WOONG!
The light split into multiple parts, and Jinhyuk divided into over ten individuals.
If quality falls short, make up for it with quantity.
If at least ten clones headed in different directions, even by simple arithmetic, he could buy over ten times more time.
“Hold out as long as possible. You don’t need to fight, just run away well.”
“You always call me for the difficult tasks. Well, I suppose that’s fitting for me.”
“Tag is my specialty.”
“Hmm. If you get caught first, you’d better be embarrassed.”
Each of the clones shrugged their shoulders.
⁕
The game of tag, now involving clones, began in earnest.
How much time had passed like that?
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
KWAAANG!
From far away, along with explosion sounds, he felt the Mana of the clones disappearing.
They were being annihilated one by one by Gros.
That makes seven already.
Just a few minutes ago, only about two had been lost, but as Gros continued the pursuit, he must have gotten a feel for how to hunt efficiently.
Damn. Even so, I didn’t think he’d be that fast.
I was reminded once again just how far beyond the norm Gros’s power was.
‘But I think I can barely slip away…’
Thanks to the clones created by Lingering Moonlight luring him quite far, Gros was wasting a considerable amount of time.
But just as I was thinking that…
WOO-WOONG!
An unusual energy was detected.
I hadn’t been caught yet.
Gros’s figure wasn’t visible within a 1km radius.
Yet, to feel such ominous Mana…
Jinhyuk’s gaze turned upward.
[Gros activates the unique ability ‘One Eye Moon’!]
KWA-DDEU-DEUK… KWA-DDEU-DDEU-DEUK!
An anomaly occurred from the distant sky.
The moon’s surface split vertically, and a giant single eye appeared.
A massive, ominous eye that felt like it could suck you in.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away for several seconds. My once-light footsteps felt heavy, as if glued to the ground.
That was brief, as a tremendous shock struck my mind.
KWANG!
Mental collapse.
It was a power even Jinhyuk, who had resistance to most skills, found hard to endure.
“Grruuuk…”
Jinhyuk gritted his teeth so hard they might break.
As the primordial domain, transcending perception, unfolded, if I let my guard down for even a moment, I would lose my grip on reason entirely.
“There you are.”
A boy’s slender, sweet voice was heard right beside me.
Simultaneously, every cell in my body sent out a peak warning signal.
The Mana I reflexively gathered concentrated in my right arm.
[Tomb Grave’s Right Arm is activated!]
[The Unique Holy Spear ‘Twelve Labors’ – Demigod’s Body is activated!]
KWAAANG!
With a dizzying impact, Jinhyuk’s body was sent flying through the forest.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA… KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
Trees snapped left and right, creating a scene as if they had been directly hit by a typhoon.
“Hoh. Quite sturdy.”
Gros uttered a word of admiration as he watched Jinhyuk stand up from the other side.
Until now, countless enemies he had faced had their lives ended by that single strike just now.
So it was only natural to find it curious that Jinhyuk hadn’t died from a fairly powered attack.
Moreover, wasn’t the opponent merely the fragile flesh and bone of a mere human, not a main god, mythical beast, or divine beast?
“I don’t know why these primordial beings, like Tulcha, keep suddenly appearing and hitting me in the back of the head.”
Jinhyuk brushed the dust off his body.
Still, thanks to him appearing directly, the mental attack that was tightening around his head had lessened considerably.
“Now that I think of it. Did you say you fought that foolish dancer too?”
“She was putting on a kindergarten show in front of me, so I gave her a few knuckle raps.”
“Impressive. But…”
Gros chuckled and tried to continue.
“You’re not going to say something like a third-rate villain, ‘That guy is the weakest among us,’ are you?”
“……”
At Jinhyuk’s words, Gros’s mocking mouth corners straightened and pressed tightly shut.
It seemed he had hit a sore spot.
“Nyarlathotep said talking with you would give me a headache. That seems to be true. I didn’t come here to engage in pointless conversation either.”
Gros reached his hand out towards Jinhyuk.
Hand over the clues about the Necronomicon.
Or I’ll kill you.
It was that kind of mundane threat.
Of course.
Jinhyuk wasn’t one to be swayed by such threats.
[The Unique Holy Spear ‘Phase 2’ is activated!]
In an instant, his entire body was engulfed in black dark flames.
Simultaneously, as ‘Primordial Flame’ and ‘Chrono Sphere’ activated, a crimson-dyed bullet shot towards Gros’s face.
WHOOSH!
Scorching flames swallowed Gros’s entire body.
A terrifying heat surged forth, intense enough to vaporize the surrounding rocks on the spot.
Seizing that opening, Jinhyuk used his footwork to burrow into Gros’s flank.
‘I have to press relentlessly.’
Only by not giving him a moment’s respite could there be even a sliver of a chance.
[The Unique Holy Spear ‘Plague’ is activated!]
[The Unique Holy Spear ‘Eight Swamps’ is activated!]
Sticky flames imbued with virulent poison and infectious disease intermingled.
Along with acrid smoke, everything visible in the surroundings began to melt.
Jinhyuk, even drawing the spear of ‘Frost Spirit’, aimed for a single point on Gros.
Within the acidic mist….
……A single spear thrust out like lightning.
A single flash of light pierced through the atmosphere.