Chapter 664

“So… how does the great Ancient Dragon plan to move? Unless it’s something truly exceptional, that damn bastard will get one over on us again.”

Asura, representing the Demon Beast World, asked.

His eyes were bloodshot.

Recalling how he’d been played like a scarecrow by Kang Jinhyuk’s betrayal, killing intent naturally seeped into his every word and gesture.

Even before an Ancient Dragon, his determination to cut everything down didn’t waver.

Edon chuckled, then burst into laughter.

“You seem to have a lot pent up.”

“Anyone would, after being toyed with by that bastard.”

“Hmm. Unable to blame yourself for your shortcomings, you only spit your anger outward…. A being who can’t control his emotions, let alone his paltry skills. That’s why you’re always defeated by that human.”

“What… did you say!?”

Asura—

Heh heh heh!

Green Demon Beast Energy erupted all at once.

“Keuk!”

“What…!”

“How frivolous. Did you come here to fight among ourselves?”

The remaining Divinities raised their Mana, blocking the surge of killing intent.

But in that instant, Asura vanished from where he stood.

Whoosh!

Each of his six arms summoned a different Sacred Relic.

An attack packed with pure intent to kill came down.

Right then.

[Edon activates ‘Fear’!]

Crack-crack-crack!

The floor of Mana Stone split like a turtle’s shell.

“Kuek!”

Asura, who had leaped, was slammed straight down.

Something invisible—like a gravitational field thousands of times heavier—pressed down on his head and shoulders.

Udeuduk…. Kwadeudeuk!

His feet dug into the ground.

Even so, the fire in Asura’s eyes didn’t fade.

“Indeed, a great fighting spirit. If only your strength supported it as much as your stubborn pride, it would be perfect.”

“Lizard… will you still be so relaxed… after your head is cut off?”

Typed Mana and Mana collided.

If they took one more step, someone would inevitably bleed.

“Everyone, calm down! What do you think you’re doing!”

[Samiel activates Unique Ability ‘Light of Moderation’!]

Uuuuung!

A golden wave pushed between them.

Streams of light infused with Divinity flooded the area, cutting the taut string of tension.

“I understand everyone is on edge. But don’t you realize that fighting among ourselves only makes our opponent laugh?”

Samiel raised his voice.

The heated atmosphere cooled, if only slightly.

Kwaang!

Asura suppressed his rage by smashing a pillar, while Edon continued in a leisurely tone, as if none of it mattered.

“We’ve been delayed. In any case, one of the reasons Veteran Corporation has endured this stubbornly until now is the support of various Divinities. Norse and Olympus, Eden and Egypt. If those major forces hadn’t backed them completely, the outcome of the last battle would have been entirely different.”

In other words, if it were only their existing members pursuing a small elite, they could crush them with their current strength.

“So, we plan to isolate him completely.”

A united alliance is strong.

But what if their bases were attacked simultaneously? Or if internal problems erupted so severe they couldn’t even participate in battle…?

…Would they really be able to move to help Kang Jinhyuk then?

Edon invoked Dragon Speech.

[‘Map of the Tower’ is materialized.]

Various bases and detailed plans unfolded.

The goal was to drop Veteran Corporation into an inescapable hell the moment they tried to reclaim Eden.

—

Crackle!

Kwakwakwakwakwakwa!

A relentless storm of light raged.

…Livolt’s pattern had completely changed.

It wasn’t a matter of skipping a few steps. It was like an entirely different dimension.

“What, what is this?”

“Weren’t we supposed to… just follow the strategy?”

A shiver ran down my spine as the wave of light brushed past.

‘This is too dangerous.’

‘If we make one mistake, we’ll be annihilated.’

“What’s going on? You were so confident there was a strategy!”

Eden shouted at Kang Jinhyuk.

His eyes, packed with blame, looked like he might snap at any moment.

Kang Jinhyuk put on the most frightened act he could.

“No, how could I know everything? Ruins and labyrinths always have variables, don’t they? I just said we should go in trusting the reliable Rankers from the Awakened Association.”

“…Keuk.”

Eden bit down hard.

Recovering the collapsing formation was already out of the question.

‘Now is the only chance to escape.’

But—

‘I’m almost there.’

The distance to the deer was only about two hundred meters now.

The summit was close—close enough to clear the first hurdle of the S-Rank chain quest.

Temptation and instinct tore at each other.

Right then.

“Haa. It can’t be helped. I didn’t want to reveal it unless I had to, but since things have turned out this way, I’ll take some responsibility and show one of my cards.”

Kang Jinhyuk looked at Eden with sudden seriousness.

“Is there… a way?”

“Actually, my Unique Ability lets me foresee how an opponent will attack one second in advance. That’s why we could stay so relaxed against that auntie… no, madam, at the hotel.”

“……!?”

One-second foresight.

So that was it.

Eden finally pieced it together. The reason a low-rank player could act so confident.

It was only one second—but seeing an opponent’s movements first gave an overwhelming edge in response.

‘For mediocre guys, one second is the difference between heaven and earth.’

A C~D-Rank could fight on par with a B-Rank. More than anything, it was the perfect advantage against an enemy spewing area attacks like this.

“I understand. Then, Player Kang Jinhyuk, stand in front.”

“But you must follow exactly what I do. If you make even a slight mistake, I can’t guarantee your life.”

“Don’t worry about that. I only brought people who are good at what they do.”

Eden snorted at the absurd concern.

Their physical abilities wouldn’t be worse than a C-class player’s.

Once Kang Jinhyuk took the front, the situation flipped.

Step with the left foot, turn one hundred eighty degrees, jump about one meter. Or bend at the waist and roll to the side. And so on.

All they had to do was copy his movements.

“It’s a piece of cake.”

“This is nothing.”

…That’s what they thought.

But.

“Heoeok. Heoeok. Heoeok.”

“Haa…. Haa….”

As time passed, something felt off.

Kang Jinhyuk’s movements grew flashier and more complex. Soon, even keeping up became difficult.

Then he made another strange movement—graceful, fluid, almost natural.

The problem was the tempo and speed were absurd.

You couldn’t replicate it after seeing it once.

Eventually, the first victim appeared.

“Kkeuaaaak!”

One of the damage dealers running behind had his arm blown off.

The man who’d lost an arm from a single mistake screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Oops. You should’ve kept the angle between your left and right hands at twelve degrees there. What a pity. Don’t mess up next time and follow exactly. Fighting, fighting! You can do it!”

Kang Jinhyuk offered a light consolation, as if truly sorry.

Obviously, with one arm gone, it was impossible to follow the next movement properly.

“Hyung Yongjin!”

“Eueu… noooo!”

Kwaaaang!

One person was eliminated.

It was always heartbreaking to see someone eliminated.

But there was no time to mourn, and shouts erupted from all directions at once.

“It’s impossible now! We can’t do it anymore!”

The tanker with the massive shield barely calmed his trembling limbs. He didn’t even have the strength left to hold it properly.

If he took the next hit, the item’s durability would be exhausted for sure.

“Sprinkle this! It’s powder that resists light attributes!”

“Quickly… quickly!”

The tanker hastily took the blue powder Kang Jinhyuk handed over.

And without thinking, he dumped the entire thing over his head.

Swaaaaa….

It felt like some new power was being born.

“Good. Now endure—Kkeuaaaaaak!”

The tanker, braced behind his shield, was swallowed by white flames.

“Ah, you shouldn’t have sprinkled it all at once. You should’ve divided it and used it little by little.”

Didn’t you learn about proper usage in elementary school?

Too much is as bad as too little. Excess is never good.

“Why are you saying that now!”

Eden, having lost another comrade, finally snapped. Even his previously polite, respectful tone was gone.

He was showing his true colors at last.

But hell had only just begun, so why was he already losing it?

Either way, now that they’d come this far, there was no other choice.

“I understand you’re angry… but with the tanker gone, is it really wise to harass me—the only way out?”

“You… are you threatening me now?”

“Threatening? What harsh words. I’m the most innocent person in the world. I’m just stating the facts.”

Kang Jinhyuk smiled brightly, the most radiant smile in the world.

Pudeudeuk….

Eden ground his teeth.

He wanted to put a bullet in that face immediately, but as Kang Jinhyuk said, getting out of this crisis came first.

Besides, there was a contract. He couldn’t kill Kang Jinhyuk.

“There’s no time to talk.”

“Let’s finish the job, then decide what to do with that guy.”

“I agree.”

The remaining members suppressed their killing intent and followed Kang Jinhyuk’s instructions.

“Alright, now that we’re calm, shall we use a proper strategy?”

The so-called Ganggangsuwollae.

A ritual meant to weaken the light attribute by continuously circling the deer. In general, the more people who performed it together, the more its power multiplied.

“…….”

Eden pushed his vigilance to the limit, monitoring Kang Jinhyuk’s every move.

If he tried anything strange again, Eden would cut off his head—contract or not.

But.

It worked.

The deer, which had been unleashing attacks like madness until now, became docile the moment the ritual began.

“The power of the light attribute is really decreasing.”

The magician—best in the raid at magic—nodded. The deer, now visibly calmer, hardly showed any intent to attack.

‘It’s almost done.’

Using the lull, the raid slowly tightened the circle.

A few more meters, and they’d be within perfect striking range.

For the first time, hope lit up their faces.

And.

Kang Jinhyuk found a different kind of hope as he looked at the semi-transparent status window that appeared before him.

[Continuing the dance dedicated to the King of Light Spirits.]

[The sacred sacrifice ritual has progressed to 80%.]

Saving a fallen soul by sacrificing one’s own life.

What the raid party was doing now wasn’t making Livolt docile.

It was performing a sacred sacrifice ritual—offering themselves up.