Chapter 647

               

“This is….”

“…….”

The expressions of the enemies facing Jinhyuk changed completely.

A chilling Mana prickled across the entire body.

The overwhelming power of the great item that recreated his prime devoured the surrounding energy whole.

Kukukukukuku!

On the trembling ground, Jinhyuk slowly raised his gun.

Velus stared blankly for a beat, then snapped back to his senses.

“Kugh!”

To leave an opening against a firearm—

…a miscalculation.

Spreading his long black wings wide, Velus tore through space.

And at that moment—

[Lv??? ‘Dimension Bullet’ is activated!]

Fire burst from the muzzle.

Taang!

The bullet warped into the shape of a viper and shot forward.

It wasn’t a mere piece of metal a few centimeters long, but a wide-area skill whose attack range spanned several meters.

Shiiit!

Velus crossed his claws in an X.

Kwaaaang!

A tremendous shockwave erupted.

“Kuaaaack!”

Struck by the viper’s fangs, Velus screamed at the top of his lungs.

His immortal flesh began regenerating immediately, but the wound left by those venomous fangs refused to close.

Flesh burned. Bones melted.

A poison he had never encountered before raced through his nerves and stabbed into his brain.

Before he could even acclimate to the pain, Jinhyuk’s second strike came.

A dagger traced a purple arc and snapped toward Velus’s neck.

Just before the blade could bite—

Kaaang!

A third party intervened.

“It seems Velus alone isn’t enough.”

The one holding Crimson Lotus and Barnard was Unknown.

“With that equipment, you can’t fight me as I am now, can you?”

“That’s probably true.”

Unknown didn’t deny it.

In truth, blocking that blade was already his limit, and the longer the standoff dragged on, the more Barnard and Crimson Lotus screamed under the strain.

But—

“I have no intention of fighting you one-on-one.”

He hadn’t brought an army for nothing.

If his items lacked raw specs, he could compensate with elite troops.

Kwakwakwakwakwa!

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse raised their blades.

[Absolute Skill ‘Execution Sword of the Covenant’ is activated!]

If all four swords struck at once, it was absolute judgment—an execution that would surely take the target’s life.

Jinhyuk slipped between the blades by a hair’s breadth.

At the same time, bullets flashed from the muzzle like lightning.

Kwaaaang!

The Horseman of Disease raised a shield coated in countless pathogens and blocked.

But—

“Cough?”

The knight’s pupils shook violently.

He had timed the defense perfectly.

His Mana was abundant—overflowing, even.

Then why—

…was there a gaping hole in his chest?

The puncture channel burned red-hot from friction.

The Horseman of Disease staggered, then collapsed.

“Don’t give them any room to attack!”

If even that shield couldn’t stop it, ordinary defenses were worthless.

Then the best defense was offense.

Unknown formed spears through Glacial Sculpting and Primordial Flame. Hundreds of spears rained down from afar, turning the area around Jinhyuk into scorched wasteland.

As expected of someone who could wield Jinhyuk’s abilities as his own, the threat behind every skill was immense.

Puhpuhpuhpuhpuhpuk!

Steam flooded the air as ice and flame collided.

“Kieeeee!”

Shade Reaper lifted its scythe high, waiting for an opening.

A single graze from that scythe—capable of restricting causality—could clamp all manner of shackles onto its target and unravel the battle’s balance.

Of course—

[Sacred Extinction Art ‘Possession Sacred Spear’ is summoned!]

[Apocalypse of Revelation – ‘Blood Explosion’ is activated!]

To keep the fight with Unknown at a true one-on-one level, Jinhyuk had brought reliable support from Veteran Corporation.

“Mogiii!”

“You dare try to wound my contractor with those filthy things?”

Goguma and Alice unleashed what they had prepared.

A red-hot sword cleaved through the air. Blood flooded the ground and dyed everything in sight a deep crimson.

Kukukukukukuku…!

“Kuaaaack!”

“Uaaaaaa!”

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse recoiled as the blow landed cleanly.

Even with the Covenant’s protection, it wasn’t easy to walk away unscathed from an attack carrying the might of an Ancient Species and a True Ancestor.

“Damn it. You vermin…!”

Unknown reached out to open his own Memory of the World copy.

Taang!

A gunshot cracked out before the Archive could fully open.

Kaaang!

Unknown barely deflected the bullet. If he’d been even a moment slower, he would’ve ended up like the Horseman of Disease.

And the cost of deflecting it was heavier than expected.

Kwadeuk….

Fine cracks spread across the surfaces of Crimson Lotus and Barnard. The weapons were damaged even though he had only twisted the bullet’s trajectory rather than stopping it head-on.

The power was monstrous.

“Not bad. Deflecting that. I was going to punch a nice hole in your forehead with that shot.”

Jinhyuk flicked smoke from the muzzle.

“You’re arrogant for someone who only forced an awakening through the Coronation. You’ve burned your one-time card here. The road ahead will be thorny.”

“It’s a waste, sure. But if I can smash you to pieces, it’s not a bad trade.”

“Hehe. You’re always consistent—never thinking about the future. Fine. I expected that single-celled mindset. If you’re going to charge forward mindlessly, I’ll answer you with something that suits.”

Unknown drew a jewel shimmering with blue light from his chest.

“……?”

Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.

He had seen countless items and Sacred Relics in the Tower of Trials, yet he’d never seen a jewel of that color.

Before Jinhyuk could activate Eye of Gluttony, Unknown swallowed the jewel whole.

Then—

Kwakwakwakwakwakwa!

The Mana pouring from Unknown became denser and more ominous than before.

[‘Eternal Bloodstone’ has been consumed!]

[Unique Holy Spear ‘Phase 3’ is activated!]

Description: Maximizes proficiency with a single weapon.

[Mental Image Manifestation. – Weaponry]

Description: Can manifest one imagined item into reality. However, the duration varies depending on the manifested weapon’s stats.

[The greatest and most dismal palace is about to be summoned.]

Description: If the target who consumed the Bloodstone is not killed within 1 hour, Azathoth’s palace will manifest here. However, this effect can only be used if the ‘Covenant’ is in progress among the Apocalypses.

Countless red status windows flooded into view.

At the same time—

Chwareureuk….

Unknown discarded the half-broken dagger and drew a new weapon.

A Serpent Sword, its blades extending in successive segments.

“I’ll make you understand how precious time is… down to the bone.”

Unknown’s mask twisted into a grotesque shape.

—

Hwareureuk….

White flames and feathers mingled together.

Blonde hair spilled down beneath a dazzling crown, softly covering white armor.

“You… won’t regret it?”

Gabriel looked at Teresa, emotions tangled in his gaze.

Teresa’s life force—awakened as an Apostle of Eden—was rapidly draining after using Seraphim.

It was only natural.

Seraphim, among the most special of Unique Holy Spears, forced a human body to reach the realm of an Archangel.

She would clearly lose her life when this fight ended—perhaps even before then, in the thick of battle.

“It’s okay.”

Teresa didn’t regret her choice even slightly.

If she could protect someone precious—if she could buy him even one more minute, one more second—that was enough.

“Haa. As expected of the Saintess we chose. Her dullness. Her foolishness. And because of it, her lamentable nature never changes.”

Gabriel pressed his fingers hard against his temples.

Joan of Arc had been the same. Those appointed as Saintesses always volunteered for roles that ended in loss.

That was why—

“I can’t just leave her alone.”

Gabriel stepped up beside Teresa.

“Are you going to join me?”

“I like idiots, you see.”

For some reason, he couldn’t stand by and watch innocent fools burn themselves out.

The Archangel and the Saintess released the Divinity within them at once.

Uuuuuung!

[Sanctuary ‘Red Sea’ is activated!]

Around Teresa and Gabriel, two colossal waves of Divinity surged—the myth of protecting their people from an enemy army.

The holy tide that would drown the pouring enemies split far to the left and right.

⁕

“Annoying.”

A frail old man with silver skin clicked his tongue.

The Great Sorcerer Tamash.

A servant of the Primordial Beings, tasked with commanding their forces in this mission.

He had planned to sweep the enemy aside and return to the original 50th floor without trouble, but once battle began, their counterattacks proved troublesome.

The pairing of Gabriel and Teresa, charging in while burning everything they had, was dealing more damage than he’d anticipated.

In particular, the large-scale wide-area skill Red Sea grew several times stronger the larger the difference in troop numbers. Hundreds of goats and sheep vanished within those waves.

“Unknown is quite cornered as well.”

Tamash shifted his gaze to where Jinhyuk and Unknown were fighting. Seeing Unknown use the Eternal Bloodstone meant he could no longer defeat the human called Jinhyuk by ordinary means.

Still, now that he had brought that out, the humans had no path to victory.

Everything would flow toward the predetermined ending.

Tamash lightly waved the crystal staff in his hand.

[Sacred Relic ‘Shaded Amethyst’ is opened!]

[Those exposed to endless illusions will have everything they see and hear completely altered.]

Tamash specialized in illusions and hallucinations among the countless branches of magic.

And—

Extreme self-hypnosis induced through illusion could make already powerful Primordial Beings several times more ferocious.

“Umchitkaturamada… Iketraya!”

“Asmutmo Gurashayika!”

The medium-sized Utumands narrowed their pupils.

The momentum that had been dulled by Red Sea was gone.

Even the towering waves looked like a barren wasteland to them now.

With revulsion erased, only overwhelming confidence remained—along with the instinct to trample the enemy.

“Kreureu….”

“Kieeeee!”

The black goats and sheep, now emboldened further, charged toward Teresa and Gabriel.

At the same time—

[Great Magic ‘Eternal Meteor Storm’ is activated!]

Gigantic meteorites appeared above the waves.

This was no illusion.

It was the strongest siege weapon prepared specifically to destroy the Sanctuary.

“I’ll get to taste angel meat tonight.”

Tamash smacked his lips.