Chapter 683

“What, it wasn’t over yet?”

“It still grants wishes?”

“Not only that. It says we can stand on the same side as Kang Jinhyuk or Medrey and fight.”

“It even lifts the restrictions. Does that mean we can use one of the weapons or items we used before the return?”

Murmur, murmur.

The returnees who had been trying to leave just a minute ago were shaken to the core.

A game changer. The rules of everything had changed.

“Hahahaha! The more you peel it back, the more amazing it gets. To think you were in a position to call not only an ancient being, but even an Upper Administrator.”

Medrey burst into laughter.

He’d believed he’d faced more powerful beings than anyone else, but he could say with certainty that he’d never encountered a climber this mysterious and alien.

To Medrey, Jinhyuk was more intriguing—someone he wanted to understand more—than even Frost Spirit, whom he’d met before.

“Player Kang Jinhyuk really does have a knack for attracting people. I honestly didn’t expect you to recruit even Medrey.”

Rick voiced his sincere thoughts as well.

The subtle smile on his face conveyed his conviction that his choice had been the right one.

“It’s thanks to you for helping at the right time.”

“Well, I’m just struggling to keep this tower’s balance from collapsing. There are already too many holes because of those with too much power.”

“We have to prevent even bigger holes from forming in the future.”

“Hehe. You’re absolutely right, but I think my role ends here today.”

Rick lowered his fedora slightly.

Yomaganto’s fury, with its plans ruined in so many ways, was about to turn toward Rick.

Rick had already done more than enough.

As he said, the rest was up to those present.

Jinhyuk cracked his knuckles.

From here on out, it was a fight of how well he could use the overflowing pieces in the right places.

“The die is cast, so what are you all going to do? You were so eager to have your wishes granted that you were dying to devour me. Surely you haven’t chickened out just because the opponent changed?”

“Shut up! I’ll kill the one who fell for that sweet talk first. If you don’t want to end up like Clemence, run back to where you came from right now. Then I’ll make an exception and not chase you down to burn you.”

Yomaganto used its second flame.

Slow Fire.

Flames that could burn heaven and earth surged up, and the barren land instantly became a sea of fire.

The flames rode the wind at hundreds of meters per second, proving Yomaganto’s words weren’t an exaggeration.

The returnees hesitated.

In the face of that terrifying momentum, no one readily moved to stand with Jinhyuk.

“As expected. Unless they’re insane, they wouldn’t side with a guy who’s sure to lose.”

Yomaganto snorted and blew on the flame gathered on its palm.

Hoo-ooh.

With a light breath, the flames shot toward Jinhyuk.

Fast and light.

But just before they reached him—

Boom boom boom boom boom!

White cold air swirled wildly.

“Krrr…!”

“Kroooo!”

Snow-mountain wolves with white manes formed a wall in front of him, as if to protect him.

Cheeeek!

The onrushing flames quickly subsided in the cold air.

“I’ll join you.”

Gregory aimed his crossbow at Yomaganto.

The first rebellion.

From there, the returnees began to move one by one. As if they’d promised it, they gathered for a single purpose.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The undead forces that had been chasing Muhon and Pendariel’s remnants immediately changed course.

Holy knights and vampire hunters. Half-dragons and martial artists. Necromancers and more. Returnees of countless classes and abilities turned their sights to a new target.

“What’s Hyung’s name?”

The white-haired boy smiled brightly.

Chun Yoosung let out a sigh and answered reluctantly.

“Chun Yoosung.”

“My name is Adel. Pain von Adel.”

Adel’s smile grew even brighter.

Just as Chun Yoosung was about to ask what he wanted, Adel added another line.

“I have to settle this no matter what. But this time, I couldn’t get a clear result. So I’m going to keep looking for you in the future, Hyung. Until one of us shows the red flesh inside.”

“…Are you serious about that?”

“Yes!”

A pure, childlike answer without malice.

Cold sweat ran down Chun Yoosung’s spine.

At the same time, he realized for the first time just how terrifying an obsession bordering on madness could be.

—

“So you’re finally drinking poison with your own hands.”

Yomaganto looked at the enemies taking positions from every direction.

To think mere creatures would unite and resist a god.

Even though it was uncommon for it to manifest on the tower’s lower levels, it had no intention of showing mercy to bugs that couldn’t recognize their place.

Bugs deserved a bug’s end.

[The second flame ‘Slow Fire Dance’ is activated!]

It was on a completely different level from the flame it had blown out with its breath earlier.

A fireball the size of a house spun at high speed and slammed into the approaching undead forces.

BOOOOM!

What followed was beyond comprehension.

Flames spanning tens of kilometers linked together like a spider web, erasing even the traces of the undead from this world.

“Kroooo!”

“Kaaaah!”

It didn’t matter if the target was low-level or high-level.

From skeleton soldiers with basic gear to Death Knights capable of wielding Aura.

Anything that touched the fire was burned away.

“What kind of power is that….”

“Annihilation in a single strike?”

The returnees who barely escaped the blast radius spat out curses.

A power that combined kill radius, speed, and destructive force all at once. They’d expected a hard fight, but this was far beyond the line.

“Cough! Keok.”

The necromancer, who lost more than ninety percent of his forces in an instant, coughed up blood.

He’d taken too much damage in too short a time to keep his sanity intact.

[Returnee ‘Necromancer Shadoreu’ has been eliminated.]

The strongest existence in one world fell so futilely.

But before anyone could even catch their breath, Yomaganto’s assault continued.

Fwoosh!

This time, a thick stream of fire soared into the sky.

[Slow Fire ‘Dull Volcano’ is activated!]

BOOOOM!

Volcanic bombs began to erupt and poured down in every direction.

Magma soaked the earth, and a red river overflowed.

Does it have infinite Mana? It was absurd how it could casually unleash wide-area skills like this without even breaking a sweat.

Right then.

[‘Scarlet Caterpillar’ awakens!]

[‘Dark Blue Spider’ shoots out its web!]

[‘Silver-Brown Butterfly’ answers its master’s call!]

Medrey summoned Divine Beasts.

The three Divine Beasts used different skills. Red, dark blue, and silver-brown powders and liquids layered into a sticky barrier.

BOOOOM!

An earth-shaking impact rang out.

At a glance, they were just secretions from insignificant insects. Of course, it was ridiculous to think they could block an ancient Divinity’s attack.

But—

Cheeeek!

The three-colored wall didn’t melt even in Yomaganto’s flames.

Its surface was scorched badly, yet those behind it suffered no damage from the fire.

Twitch.

Yomaganto’s brows furrowed.

It was even more unpleasant that an attack it had poured considerable power into had been blocked by a mere returnee.

“I heard you’re the most useful among the returnees, but you’re playing cute tricks.”

“It’s an honor that the great one would compliment me. It’s meager talent, but I’ll do my best to deal with you.”

“How dare you speak to me like that?”

“I know it’s impossible. But I can’t just die, so I have to struggle, right?”

Medrey poured Mana into the Divine Beasts.

“I’ll burn you to the bone.”

Yomaganto’s aura shifted.

Flames of Fear, far hotter and redder, rained down like fire.

Cheeeek!

A temperature nearing the sun’s core.

It was a level even ice-type users couldn’t dare to block. Fire snakes, tongues flicking, tore into Medrey and the Divine Beasts he’d summoned.

Rumble rumble rumble!

The snakes crawled at high speed, formed a perfect circle around Medrey, then exploded all at once. Clouds split, and even the sky burned.

A tremendous blast erased part of the canyon itself.

However—

“……!?”

The result was similar this time as well.

The barrier was half-melted, but Medrey only suffered minor burns and didn’t die.

Jinhyuk quietly clenched his fist.

‘As expected.’

Medrey wasn’t special just because he was the noblest and strongest among the returnees.

Medrey, who had reached the extreme of balance and harmony, had crossed the wall. As a result, he’d developed a new ability recognized by the tower’s system.

[Rainbow Bridge – ‘Field of Mixed Colors’ is activated.]

The power to transcend existing forces by mixing colors.

If the Necronomicon was the strongest spear that could threaten ancient beings, then Medrey’s power was the strongest shield—one that could offset an ancient being’s might.

And if the strongest shield was firmly in place—

“Alice. Frey.”

“I know.”

“Okay.”

The means to injure Yomaganto were in place.

[Unique Holy Spear ‘Chrono Sphere’ is activated!]

[Unique Holy Spear ‘Apocalypse of Revelation’ – Blood Eclipse is activated!]

[Unique Holy Spear ‘Immortal Puppeteer’ – Sphere Dancing is activated!]

Three attacks unfolded from different directions.

Vwoooom!

Chrono Sphere’s flash struck Yomaganto’s shield first.

Cracks formed across the barrier of flame.

A storm of blood slammed into those thin cracks.

Crrrk!

The cracks spread wider and wider.

A powerful wide-area skill, no less overwhelming than Yomaganto’s, steadily forced the gap open.

At the same time—

Thud!

Frey, whose presence was nonexistent, dug into Yomaganto.

The short spear churned through flesh and burst out the other side.

‘…Did it work?’

The moment she thought that, Frey instantly pulled away.

Purple flames rose from the pierced wound instead of blood.

Crackle.

A terrible killing intent flashed in Yomaganto’s eyes.

‘Damn it. I thought Frey’s short spear would at least do some damage, but even in Unique Holy Spear mode, it only provoked it.’

If that was the case—

This time, Jinhyuk called out to the other side.

“You’ve worked hard. I’ll call you again later, so stay inside for now.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help.”

“You did your best. Keep your promise.”

Muhon and Pendariel watched Jinhyuk carefully.

Their faces were tight with anxiety that the promise to return dominion over their floors might be overturned.

“Don’t worry. I always keep my word.”

Jinhyuk reverse-summoned Muhon and Pendariel.

Even in that short span, his understanding of the Unique Holy Spear had deepened a lot thanks to pushing the two bosses’ abilities to their limit.

In other words—

[The stats of the Warrior’s Stand ability have been upgraded.]

It meant he could summon a higher version of the boss.

The second boss he was summoning was a bit special.