Chapter 649

               

There were only a few ways to escape pain.

Eliminate the cause of the pain.

Or—

Erase the body that could feel pain in the first place.

Only one of those two could be the answer.

And normally, the rational choice would be the former. But Velus, trapped in agony beyond imagination, had no room left to weigh options.

He just wanted it to end.

Right now.

No matter the cost.

So he reached for the only path that could sever immortality and embrace rest.

Velus pressed his own hand to his heart.

“Kuhhhh….”

“Velus! Stop! He’s trying to copy the ability!”

Unknown, having read Jinhyuk’s intent, shouted.

He couldn’t allow an Operator’s ability to fall into Jinhyuk’s hands again, and the urgency in his voice reflected that.

But he was too late.

Velus’s nails were already piercing into his heart.

Then—

Grip.

Jinhyuk grabbed Velus’s wrist and stopped him.

“Hey. Hold on.”

“Ugh…? Why—why are you doing this?!”

“Considering how often you’ve backstabbed us, you’re getting off easy. But you look desperate, so I’ll let you go peacefully if you grant me one small request.”

“E-Even dying has a price?”

Velus stared at him in disbelief.

He had never seen such a vicious bastard in his life.

“If you don’t like it, keep suffering.”

Pachichik!

Glacial Sculpting flared, frost crawling over Velus’s hand.

Weakened to the brink, he tried to shake it off, but he couldn’t.

No matter how hard he strained for his heart, his fingers wouldn’t reach.

“Tell me what you want! Hurry!”

“It’s nothing big. Your rapier.”

It looked good.

Even at a glance, it had to be a higher-grade weapon than what the family heads used. After all, it was an Operator’s chosen blade.

Jinhyuk smiled and held out his palm.

Velus squeezed out the last of his strength, opened a Subspace, pulled out the rapier, and threw it.

“Thanks.”

Jinhyuk nodded as he inspected his new acquisition.

Only then was Velus allowed to escape the endless pain.

“Cough…!”

Velus spat up black blood.

For a brief moment his pupils went unfocused, turning hazy—then his heart finally gave out.

Thud.

The Operator of the Tower—and Ataraxia’s second-in-command—collapsed.

[Acquired Sacred Relic ‘Blue Moon’!]

Blue Moon

Acquisition Difficulty: Unmeasurable

Attack Power: 980,000

Durability: 1,130,000 / 1,500,000

[Successfully copied Velus’s ability!]

Unique Passive ‘Noble of the Night’

Description: A noble vampire who dominates the night. Befitting that title, you can use various skills and abilities related to vampires, and depending on your proficiency, you can transform your body or control bats. In particular, the power to manipulate blood is greatly increased.

[The copied ability is stored in ‘Memory of the World’.]

“Tch.”

Jinhyuk clicked his tongue in disappointment.

If he’d used a more creative—more proper—method, he might’ve obtained the immortality ability he wanted most.

As befitting a fraudulent passive, this one clearly came with deductions in creativity and spontaneity.

Still—

‘Not bad.’

Copying new abilities was always welcome.

Especially from someone strong.

Jinhyuk activated the newly acquired passive, Noble of the Night.

Uuung!

Teresa and Alice’s wings vanished, replaced by Velus’s black wings.

Now that one of the biggest enemies was down, only Unknown remained.

“Shall we continue right away?”

“Hm. You look strained. How about you rest a bit before continuing? I can wait as long as you need.”

“Wow. I’m about to cry at how considerate you are. Why don’t we fight after my ability ends and Azathoth’s palace manifests?”

“That would be ideal. But it’s going to happen eventually anyway.”

A nasty smile formed beneath Unknown’s mask.

Losing Velus hurt.

He’d been loyal, and his combat specs were excellent.

Even so, Velus had nearly drained Jinhyuk’s strength—so it wasn’t a total loss.

As if on cue, the pistol in Jinhyuk’s hand began to lose shape and fade away.

Tting!

Red status windows flashed one after another before Jinhyuk’s eyes.

[Used over 80% of ‘Napoleon’s Crown’.]

[Restoration of the painting is required to reactivate the ability.]

That shouldn’t have been possible.

He had distributed his Mana precisely—enough to kill Velus and still face Unknown.

“There should still be time left… Could it be?”

Jinhyuk’s brow creased.

If his sense of time had been distorted, it explained everything.

[Currently, the Zodiac Constellations of Reversal ‘Black Aquarius’ is deployed here.]

Unknown had pulled a trick while Jinhyuk fought Velus.

A Barrier so natural and complete that Jinhyuk hadn’t felt even a trace of incongruity.

“I’m not stupid enough to just watch while hunting a tiger.”

Unknown shrugged.

“You got me.”

Jinhyuk clicked his tongue bitterly.

There was almost no time left.

At most, a few shots.

If he couldn’t finish it within that window, everything up to now would become meaningless.

Jinhyuk lowered his center of gravity and took his stance.

But then, as if the situation weren’t already stacked against him, another variable intruded.

“What…?”

As Jinhyuk looked up, a wave of scorching heat came down from above.

Uuung!

A meteor shower crashed toward him.

A wide-area strike that swallowed every direction—leaving no room to dodge.

Kukukuku… Kwaaaaang!

Boulders hundreds of meters across slammed into the earth, throwing up walls of dirt high enough to blot out the sky.

Kwaaaaang!

The shockwave swept over the battlefield like a typhoon.

—

It was Tamash—one of the Primordial Beings, and the Grand Wizard who led Azathoth’s magic corps.

“The opponent is stronger than expected.”

Having finished teleporting, Tamash appeared beside Unknown. With Teresa and Gabriel tied up elsewhere, they had the breathing room to support Unknown.

“He’s tougher than steel wire. But that’s about to end.”

“It better. Azathoth is displeased. How are we supposed to continue the great work if we’re dragged around by a mere human? Or is his power so insignificant that we’re struggling against one?”

The contempt in his tone was blatant.

As supreme Primordial Beings, they treated everything outside their race as beneath them.

“Watch how you speak of my master. Unless you want to witness the entire 50th floor vanish.”

“Hoo. You’ll take responsibility for those words?”

“Can you handle it? You’re spitting on my master’s plan—one even Azathoth acknowledged.”

A tense, silent battle of pride followed.

They cooperated, but neither intended to surrender control.

Still, they agreed on one thing.

The top priority was eliminating the nuisance called Kang Jinhyuk.

Their gazes shifted.

“The story isn’t over yet.”

“I’ll be waiting anytime.”

Kukukukukuku!

Unknown and Tamash unleashed a final blow meant to decide everything.

[Glacial Sculpting ‘Millennial Freeze’ is activated!]

[Armageddon ‘First Impact’ is activated!]

A single enormous meteor was wrapped in extreme ice—mass, speed, and Mana combined into a perfect strike.

The slowing and freezing effects spread for kilometers around the meteor’s radius, making even avoidance nearly impossible.

No—if it hit as-is, it would reshape the map itself.

Jinhyuk reversed his grip on First Blade.

Dodging was no longer an option.

He had to meet it head-on.

Patzitzitz…!

A purple wave rippled outward.

His last remaining Mana poured into the sword and manifested beyond the blade.

The meteor closed in, fast.

His entire vision filled with frozen stone.

Jjeojeok…!

The ground began to freeze as it approached, as if an ice age were descending.

Frost formed everywhere. Even his blood turned cold.

Holding onto fading consciousness was hard enough—moving his body was worse.

Jinhyuk’s body began to stiffen rapidly. A few more seconds and he would freeze alive.

Then—

A line appeared across the meteor’s surface.

Kwakwakwakwakwa!

That line stretched along its circumference, and an unbelievable sight followed.

The absurdly massive meteor split cleanly in half—then shattered into thousands, tens of thousands of fragments.

“This is ridiculous. That’s even possible?”

Tamash let his shock slip.

He had unleashed the strongest Primordial Magic he possessed, yet it had been destroyed with ease.

In a single strike.

“It would’ve been dangerous if you could keep using Coronation or whatever that is.”

“If only I could. I’ve almost completely burned it out with that last one.”

“Yes. Meanwhile, my Mana is infinite. It’ll be a pleasure to see how long you struggle.”

The meteors were smaller now—

—but they kept coming, one after another, plunging toward the ground.

He might cut one or two down, but even a monster couldn’t endure a meteor storm that didn’t stop until death.

Especially with Azathoth’s palace taking clearer shape, Tamash could push Primordial Authority to its limit.

A shadow fell over Jinhyuk’s face.

As they said, he had almost no cards left.

Then—

Jjeojeok!

Space cracked, and a new figure stepped through.

“What are you doing, standing there like an idiot?!”

An old rival he’d faced endlessly in the Tower of Trials.

Chun Yoosung.

A green trajectory slammed into the side of a falling meteor.

Kwakwakwakwang!

Rock shattered into pieces.

The path of a smaller meteor—about to smash into Jinhyuk’s head—was knocked violently off course.

“You…!”

“Pick up your sword and blow those bastards away. The bastard I know doesn’t give up that easily!”

Chun Yoosung shouted.

Hah….

To think he’d hear that from this guy.

Still—

“Thanks. I feel a little more awake now.”

The overwhelming pressure that had swallowed him eased, if only slightly.

Jinhyuk drew in a slow breath.

The little Mana he had left.

Now was the moment to bet everything and move.