Chapter 650

               

The moment Chun Yoosung appeared, it tore open a crack.

A small gap formed in what should have been a perfectly sealed space.

“……How the hell did that guy….”

Unknown’s mask trembled violently, as if even he hadn’t expected this.

Chun Yoosung was strong, sure—but he was still only at the level of a chief god. He shouldn’t have been able to enter a domain created by Primordial Beings or Operators.

That was what Unknown believed…

…until the thin sword mark that ran from sky to ground shattered common sense.

Unknown’s gaze shifted to Chun Yoosung.

The human standing there with such dignity felt—uncomfortably—like another Jinhyuk.

‘Not bad.’

To think another threat had grown right under his feet, unseen.

An enemy worth remembering.

But—

A small pebble couldn’t overturn the sea.

[Azathoth’s palace has been realized by 88%!]

Kukukukukuku!

The ground split open. Enormous tentacles writhed and rose.

[Severe damage to the mental system is occurring!]

[You have been afflicted with the ‘Status Abnormality’ due to Absolute Judgment!]

[If you continue to be exposed to the palace’s influence, fatal consequences may occur!]

Status windows flooded in one after another.

The hair across their bodies stood on end.

“Kuh…”

“……Hoo.”

Jinhyuk and Chun Yoosung clutched their heads.

Pain—far beyond what their existing stat resistance could absorb—pierced into their minds.

There really wasn’t much time left.

They had to stop the palace before it fully manifested, no matter what.

“Damn it. What were you doing until now?”

“Hey, it’s not like I was slacking. I was busy hunting vampires, trading blows with those creepy Reapers and Horsemen of Apocalypse.”

“You call that—? Damn it. What do we do now? Can we just cut down the palace or whatever it is?”

Chun Yoosung started to lift his sword again.

Whenever this idiot hit a wall, he defaulted to the blade.

The fact that he genuinely thought he could slice Azathoth’s palace just because he’d cut a Barrier made Jinhyuk want to crack open his skull and see what part of his brain produced that idea.

Still, there were moments when that ignorance was… reassuring.

He could trust Chun Yoosung.

“I’ll try to delay it. Keep the others from interfering.”

“You mean the masked guy and the rest of the riffraff.”

“Yeah. Them.”

“Got it.”

Chun Yoosung settled into a stance.

Even while taking the mental assault head-on, terrifying energy wrapped around him, flowing from the tip of his sword.

Now was the moment.

Kwaang!

Jinhyuk launched himself forward.

“Kieeee!”

“They’re coming.”

“Block them! If we hold out this time, we win!”

At Shade Reaper’s command, the three Horsemen of the Apocalypse moved to block the way.

The sword that executed the Covenant erupted, aimed to pierce Jinhyuk.

Kaaang!

At that exact instant, Chun Yoosung drew.

A flash-like strike burst out and blasted the knights aside.

A single draw from behind, and at a speed so absurd the enemies couldn’t react properly.

Almost simultaneously, Chun Yoosung slid in front of Jinhyuk.

“Go. I’ll handle these guys.”

Kakakakakang!

The cursed sword carved green arcs through the air.

Domineering swordsmanship, striking in every direction—each movement an ultimate technique.

Perfect support to buy time.

The moment Chun Yoosung pinned them down, Unknown struck.

[Unknown activates ‘Sharing of All Things’ – Blood Spears!]

Woooowoong!

Space cracked open and countless skewers formed midair.

Every single point aimed at one target.

Then—

Wooowoong!

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

“Don’t you dare show me a fake. You worm-like, insignificant being.”

Space cracked on Alice’s side as well.

“Alice…. Right. You’re still here too.”

“You will not touch a single hair on the Contractor’s body.”

“That’s something we’ll have to see.”

Countless skewers met countless skewers.

Kwakwakwakwakwang!

Twokwaaang!

They shattered on impact, and a thick blood rain erupted upward.

An endless chain of interceptions turned the battlefield into another spectacle.

“Hm. The potential of you humans is quite something.”

Tamash resumed the Meteor Storm he had paused. Meteors wrapped in blue flames began to fall again, one after another.

The plan was simple: bury the path to the palace itself under wide-area destruction.

[Goguma activates Lv??? ‘Breath’!]

What met the meteor shower was black-winged Goguma, beating his wings in the air.

Kukukukwakwakwakwakwakwa…!

It carried less raw power than the sword that executed the Covenant, but in terms of sustained firepower, this was far more efficient.

“Mogiii!”

Mana that had been stockpiled by devouring massive amounts of Mana Stones detonated all at once.

Crimson breath collided with the meteor shower, and another terrifying shockwave rolled outward.

Tamash’s brows furrowed.

Dozens of meteors were erased outright, and the ones that followed evaporated before they could even touch the ground.

With infinite Mana, his Meteor Storm would never truly end—but being delayed by a single Ancient Species was a loss by itself.

Worse, it was an insult to his pride.

“I’ll turn you into lizard skin.”

Tamash invoked another spell.

First, pin down mobility.

Then hunt the rabbit.

[The formula is rearranged.]

Primordial magic that transcended the circle completed at ultra-high speed.

The calculation rate had already surpassed what could be perceived.

Wooowoong!

Seven great magics were finished in the blink of an eye.

But just before the attack spells could fire at Goguma, a cold sensation crawled up the back of Tamash’s neck.

…Something was coming.

“Already?”

Tamash shouted in surprise.

He hadn’t even sensed the two shadows until they were right in front of him.

A surprise attack that slipped through gaps in multilayered boundary and defense magic.

“Don’t lay a hand on my Lord’s comrades.”

“…Success probability is 12.5%. Yeah.”

Wolyoung and Frey thrust sword and dagger.

Pook!

Poook!

A squishy liquid shield barely saved Tamash’s heart.

If he hadn’t been obsessively protective of his own body, that would’ve been a clean hit.

“How dare insignificant humans and dolls try to touch my body!”

Tamash raised his crystal orb high.

A swarm of two-meter locusts with brown exoskeletons poured out.

“Chwiik!”

“Chwiit!”

With jagged teeth, they rushed to devour Frey and Wolyoung.

For their size, they were absurdly fast.

Frey activated her Unique Holy Spear.

[Unique Holy Spear – Immortal Puppeteer is activated!]

“We can hold for about 4 minutes and 32 seconds. Yeah.”

Dolls identical to Frey surged forward, each wielding different weapons, meeting the locust swarm head-on.

Teresa and Gabriel were also holding a flank against the mass of monsters. It was precarious, but they were doing more than what was expected of them.

‘At this rate….’

It was possible.

It really was possible.

This fight wasn’t over yet.

He had to seize the opening everyone was carving out with their lives.

Jinhyuk squeezed out what Mana he had left and sprinted for the palace in a single breath.

—

Jinhyuk reached the palace’s entrance.

Kwaaaang!

Unable to fully control his speed, he smashed through several pillars even as he tried to brake.

Patsutsu…!

A massive purple crystal at the center pulsed with light.

That was the core.

The heart.

Throb. Throb. Throb.

The headache intensified.

With every step, an urge surged up—an impulse that threatened to snap the thread of reason.

This was Azathoth’s palace.

The dignity of an absolute being—one that could shatter the universe’s order simply by manifesting.

‘I still need so much to fight that monster.’

Even at his peak, he’d prepared for three months.

He’d stacked countless traps and items for the final battle.

And even then—starting with sealing Azathoth’s most troublesome abilities and bringing five Sacred Relics—he had barely managed to win after fighting day and night for two weeks.

That meant skill, effort, preparation, talent…

…and above all, luck had to align in a ridiculous way for victory to be possible.

But—

He couldn’t output anything close to that right now.

So he had to use a different trick.

Jinhyuk pulled out the reward he’d obtained from his Subspace Inventory.

[SSS-Rank Random Box is activated!]

Chwareureuk…!

The reward list on the box spun at an invisible speed.

It wasn’t a matter of eyesight.

It was probabilistically and physically impossible to “pick” what you wanted.

Of course—

He’d already prepared for this, too.

He’d made a deal with Shylock.

[‘Radiance-Devouring Gem’ has been used!]

[Causality is partially distorted!]

[‘Strange Fortune Cookie 10’ has been used!]

[Total probability increases by 25%!]

He poured in every commemorative item created for the Tower of Trials’ founding.

Wooowoong!

The images floating across the box’s surface slowed noticeably.

If he’d only wanted a decent Sacred Relic, he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of bargaining with Shylock and stacking probability boosters.

He wanted something far better than normal rewards.

Something that would give him several times the payoff.

[Item has been selected.]

[Summoning ‘Greedy Toad’.]

“Kkureureuk…. Kkureureuk!”

A bloated toad appeared before Jinhyuk.

The so-called Lamp Toad.

A creature that carried Sacred Relics inside its belly—and under specific conditions, would spit out four Sacred Relics.

But there were restrictions.

Those four items had to be used for four different people.

‘Annoying. But four immeasurable items is still four immeasurable items.’

Just imagining how he’d make them his slaves for life while taking all the credit made him feel secure.

Jinhyuk quickly shoved a red fly—bought from the Coin Exchange—into the toad’s mouth.

The only way to make it cough up what it held was feeding it this ruby tsetse fly, its favorite.

Most idiots fed it something else—or cut it open to rip the goods out.

That was why almost no one understood the toad’s true value.

‘Except me.’

Jinhyuk gently stroked the toad as it gulped down the fly.

Then—

“Kkuweeeeek!”

Sacred Relics poured out of its mouth.

‘Good.’

The corners of Jinhyuk’s lips lifted.

They were exactly what he wanted.

(T/N : Yep! And this is exactly what we dont want… another cliffhanger. Sorry guys! )