Chapter 670
Umm.
What on earth is happening?
Alice stared blankly at Jinhyuk as he was getting battered into rags.
Kwaaaang! Kwakwakwakwang!
“Ahht.”
“Heueung! Ahaang!”
Watching him get pummeled by the enemy’s attacks while making those unpleasant, suggestive sounds…
…made her feel faint.
Hwareureuk! Jjeojeojeok!
He was being burned alive, frozen solid, pierced by sharp thorns, and sliced open. Normally, he should’ve been writhing in agony.
Instead, Jinhyuk’s face was flushed red, and he even smacked his lips as he took every new kind of pain.
With his eyes rolling back while blood dripped down, it was hard to tell who was the undead and who was the human.
“Hoo.”
A deep sigh escaped Alice.
She’d known for a long time her contractor wasn’t normal, but it felt like his symptoms were getting worse by the minute.
“…According to my calculations, there’s a 99.98% chance he’s a pervert, or a 0.02% chance he’s deliberately getting hit to satisfy a specific condition.”
Frey wore an expression Alice had never seen before. It was hard to believe the immortal homunculus could even look like that.
“You’re saying I’m supposed to bet my entire life on that 0.02%?”
“You can give up if you want. Wanting to reduce risk is the instinct of all living things.”
Frey didn’t let Alice hear the quiet add-on.
‘It wouldn’t be bad if the competition decreased. Yeah.’
“I’m already troubled enough by that tiresome Saintess. I’m not giving up over something like this. I’m enough on my own, so why does the contractor keep dragging in these strange burdens?”
Alice’s gaze toward Jinhyuk.
Her intuition and instincts, honed over countless years, were screaming the highest-level warning.
Never leave them alone together.
“My head hurts.”
Alice lowered her head.
As if the Saintess and that fox from the mental hospital weren’t enough, now she even had to count a doll as a rival.
As a proud True Ancestor, the very concept of competition was unfamiliar to her.
—
“How dare you do this in front of me!”
Clemence couldn’t contain her anger.
Even without taking it seriously, the situation was already unfavorable.
The side that should’ve had room to relax was hers—the side that had prepared thoroughly. Yet the opponent was deliberately taking hits and even trying to enjoy them?
[Because the opponent is not feeling deep pain, the Mana conversion rate is reduced to 7%.]
A trait that made her stronger the more her opponent writhed and begged.
Her advantage was being nullified. Of course she was furious.
The thought of inflicting pain and siphoning off as much Mana as possible vanished.
Clemence’s eyes turned cold.
At the same time—
Pachichik!
Several spells fired from her staff.
[God-Slaying Magic ‘Domain Collapse’ is activated!]
Crimson sparks erupted, and a giant hexagram spread across the ground.
“Kuaaaaaaa!”
“Kuooooo!”
Black threads were drawn from the bodies of the densely packed undead. She was recreating the magic that killed a god, scraping together the faint life force and Mana lingering within them.
Jinhyuk swallowed hard.
It looked ominous at a glance.
Just imagining taking a direct hit from a being who had pacified an entire world made his cells scream.
But the thought that he could copy the ability if he endured it reignited his will.
Jinhyuk fixed his gaze on the black spear flying toward him.
He needed to avoid vital points as much as possible—while still getting hit somewhere that would hurt the most.
Peopeopeok!
The black spear pierced his collarbone and burst out the other side.
If he’d hesitated, his neck would’ve been torn off instead.
He gagged.
Blood poured out.
“This… beggar. You’re really out of your… mind.”
He had to deceive even himself.
That this pain was exhilarating. That it was pleasant.
The foreign object lodged in his body burned pain straight into his brain, but Jinhyuk forced himself to endure.
And then—like a lie—an unknown sensation spread through his blood vessels to every corner of his body.
At that very moment.
[The condition has been met.]
[Copying Clemence’s Unique Holy Spear ‘Forgotten Empire’!]
[Forgotten Empire]
Acquisition Difficulty: SSS
Description: Allows you to revive the forces you have fought against and use them as undead. (However, this ability is greatly affected by your understanding of the undead and your proficiency with the ability, so careful control and understanding are required.)
[The copied ability is stored in ‘Memory of the World’!]
The instant the condition was met, [Blessing of the Stars] and [Mandala] rapidly regenerated his wounds. Because the injuries were severe, a significant amount of Mana was consumed.
Still.
‘I finally got it.’
Enduring torture-level attacks—and the contempt and disgust around him—had paid off.
“I’ve seriously never met anyone as crazy as you. People say I’m not normal, but when I look at you, I feel normal.”
Clemence shook her head, staring at Jinhyuk as he chuckled.
Then she added,
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you won’t be able to keep taking my attacks. It’s obvious you’ve burned a huge chunk of Mana healing yourself.”
Her Mana detection had reached a godlike level.
She’d already grasped how much Mana Jinhyuk had left.
“Well, I did push it. Those copy conditions were the hardest ever.”
It was annoying that he’d used about half his Mana, but now he was free from the shackles of that condition.
Meaning he could finally fight at full power.
“Hmph. Nonsense.”
Clemence snorted and began preparing God-Slaying Magic again.
At the same time, the undead guarding her surged toward Jinhyuk.
Jinhyuk crossed his two daggers.
[Glacial Sculpting ‘Sword of the Sky’ is activated!]
Pachichichik!
Ice pillars fell from the sky—
[Glacial Sculpting ‘Sword of the Earth’ is activated!]
—and ice pillars surged up from the ground, meeting at a single point.
The knights charging from the front were trapped in ice mid-stride.
Jjeojeojeok!
[‘Black Moon Night’ is activated!]
A black crescent slash streaked diagonally.
Seogeok!
Large undead approaching from the rear were cleaved apart and collapsed. Each strike carried overwhelming power—on par with a high-level Unique Ability.
The elite troops that had survived the Empire’s rise and fall couldn’t even resist properly before being cut down.
Even so, taking damage was within Clemence’s calculations.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwa!
The black spear fired again.
The spear, which seemed to transcend space itself, grazed Jinhyuk’s side by a hair’s breadth.
“It’s fast, but not enough. I’ve dealt with plenty of guys who play with projectiles.”
Jinhyuk pushed in even closer.
At that moment—
[‘Black Coffin of Inscription’ is activated!]
[‘Chains of Bahamut’ is activated!]
His vision turned black.
Jinhyuk was sealed inside a massive coffin with black walls on all sides, while his arms and legs were bound by chains of green iron.
Chwareureureu… reureuk!
“Comparing me to those mediocre pests is nonsense. And even a slippery eel like you won’t crawl out of there easily.”
Clemence flicked her fingers.
“Kieeeee!”
From east, west, south, and north, four Demon Kings spewed sticky liquid toward the coffin.
[Authority of the Demon King ‘Flesh and Blood Swamp’ is activated!]
A large-scale annihilation skill unfolded beneath the hexagram of God-Slaying Magic.
Kwakwakwakwakwang!
The Black Coffin was torn to shreds.
And with the coffin’s binding force gone, there was no need to check what the contents inside would look like.
That would’ve been the normal, logical result—
until the sound of a firing pin snapping was heard.
Cheolkeok.
With a cold metallic scream, a new weapon appeared from Subspace.
“……!?”
The hairs on the back of Clemence’s neck stood on end.
It was like the heat in her body cooled in an instant. A chill pierced straight into her bones.
[Clemence activates the 11th Circle ‘Dimensional Barrier’!]
An absolute defense spell that distorted space itself.
On top of that—
“I… will protect!”
“The… Emperor and his descendants…!”
The knights known as the Empire’s Swords raised their shields and stepped in front of Clemence.
The undead, sensing crisis, swarmed to protect their master.
But why?
Even with layers of barriers, her trembling didn’t stop.
And then—
[Unique Holy Spear ‘Outlaw of the Wilds’ is activated!]
[Sacred Relic ‘Billy the Kid’s Pistol – X Model’ is unlocked!]
“The sunset….”
A calm voice spread clearly.
Even though it wasn’t sunset, it felt as if a red dusk had washed over everything.
“…falls.”
Taang!
A single gunshot rang out.
—
Kwakwakwakwakwang!
Peopeopeopeok!
Divinity and Sword Aura collided, and tremendous Mana detonated.
[Teresa activates ‘Divinity Focus’!]
Uuuuung!
Seven golden crosses descended from the sky and surrounded Teresa.
“I will support you!”
[Resistance to Dark Attribute of allies increases by 40%!]
Light drove out darkness, and Veteran Corporation’s power surged.
“Kuhahaha! Good. I can definitely feel it!”
Behemoth swung her greatsword like a windmill, pressuring Gensuke.
Kakakakakakang!
Flames bloomed chaotically.
“Tch.”
Gensuke clicked his tongue.
Against an ancient species’ tremendous defense, his hidden weapons couldn’t fully show their power.
Above all, the flow of battle—which had been easy—started twisting the moment the pink-tights paladin joined in.
“Their teamwork’s good. More troublesome than I expected.”
Gregory tightened his grip on a crossbow and a Gurkha knife.
Just one additional person had made the difficulty spike severalfold.
“Let’s enjoy it slowly. It’s more fun this way, honestly. Kikik.”
With an assassin’s unnatural agility and speed, Gensuke twisted in midair and hurled hidden weapons fast enough to make you dizzy.
Peopeopeopeok!
Tukwaaaang!
Shuriken rained down like a shower.
“Kuaaaak!”
Malang the Azure Dragon took the hit head-on.
[Weather Modification] faltered, and the hazy smoke rolled back in—targeting gaps Divinity couldn’t fully cover.
“I’ll take him!”
[Chun Yoosung activates ‘Soul-Chasing Sword’!]
Chun Yoosung, Sword Aura flaring, charged straight at Gensuke.
Kukukukuku… kwakwakwakwang!
Using his acceleration properly, the two crossed the valley for hundreds of meters in a single clash, crashing to the opposite side.
Hudududuk.
Dust rose thickly among shattered trees.
Chun Yoosung reset his stance.
He didn’t expect to defeat a Returnee in one exchange. Still, forcing a 1:1 without Gregory nearby made it worth trying—
That was what he thought.
Then Gensuke’s face twisted strangely. No—his entire presence changed.
His physique. His voice.
Everything.
“What….”
Before the word could fade, Chun Yoosung’s body froze in place.
Ossaak.
He’d never felt a wall this overwhelming—not even when facing Kang Jinhyuk.