Chapter 713
Crunch!
The first thing they heard was the sound of everything being crushed beyond repair.
A grotesque cracking noise, vivid enough to make them feel a skull caving in.
“How anticlimactic.”
A quiet laugh came from the Inquisitors’ side.
It was far too hollow an ending for someone who had stepped forward with such confidence.
But a moment later, when Silvio’s body bent into an L-shape, everyone watching realized they had been completely mistaken.
“Guhhh…”
His scream did not last long.
Crunch crunch crunch… Thud!
Because Silvio, sent flying, crashed into the sand dune on the opposite side.
‘If I’m going to wipe them all out anyway, there’s no reason to keep hiding it, right?’
An unimaginable force burst from Jinhyuk’s body.
The heavy divinity that had been pressing down over the area vanished. In its place settled a killing intent as sharp as a needle.
Swoosh!
The blade revealed its will.
If there were no witnesses, then this truly would be the perfect crime.
Now that the restraints were gone, there was no longer any reason to keep up the newbie act.
[Unique Ability ‘Grave of Swords’ is activated!]
Fwoosh…!
Beyond the dagger, a Sword Aura vivid enough to blind the eyes surged out. Crimson flames blazed as the Infinite Library revealed its majesty.
“Wh… what?”
“W-what just happened?”
“Don’t tell me…”
A few seconds were far too little to accept reality.
And in battle, those few seconds were fatal.
Tap.
Jinhyuk’s body, which had vanished like the wind, appeared in front of a Ranker from the Titan Guild.
It was Aslan, a close-combat martial artist.
“Tch!”
Aslan immediately gathered energy into both hands.
As expected of a top-tier Ranker, his Mana flowed with astonishing smoothness.
The storm contained in his gauntlets took the shape of a water dragon.
[Aslan activates his Unique Ability ‘Dragon’s Domain’!]
An S-rank Unique Ability.
More than fitting for one of the skilled fighters selected by Seo Jeonghee’s side.
“So what?”
But then,
[Unique Ability ‘Heavenly Demon’s Annihilating Fear’ is activated!]
Crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch!
A water dragon living in a river could never reach a heavenly dragon that devoured the sky.
The tip of the blade collided with the gauntlet.
And at that same moment,
the gauntlet crumpled, unable to endure the impact.
Naturally, the fragile flesh and bones inside were twisted into something nothing like their original shape.
Pain so intense it threatened to blow away his reason entirely.
With the bones in both arms completely shattered, Aslan’s pupils rolled back until only the whites showed.
“Stop him!”
“A m-monster.”
Only then did they realize how dire the situation was.
As the surviving Rankers shouted, numerous Players hidden beneath the sand revealed themselves.
Assassins from the underworld, all trained in assassination-type abilities.
If the goal was not a fair fight, but simply eliminating the target, then they were the real deal, among the very best in the world.
And that assessment was not exaggerated in the slightest.
If the opponent had merely been an ordinary Ranker.
[Unique Holy Spear – ‘One Eye Moon’ opens!]
A fissure spread across the dazzling sand, and a giant eye appeared.
Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble!
“Guhhh…”
“Guhhhh…”
Just facing it was enough to make the mind collapse.
It was only an imperfect imitation of the real Gros’s eye, since his proficiency was still lacking, but that did not mean ordinary Players could endure it.
And on top of that, as a Barrier engraved with the Lost Language unfolded, this entire area became an untouchable domain belonging to an absolute being.
Swinging a weapon.
Using a skill.
Moving even a finger.
Running away.
Even breathing became difficult.
All sound vanished, to the point where even a pin drop would have been audible.
“As expected, it really is amazing. Just seeing it in person sends chills down my spine.”
A cold voice broke the silence.
A woman with a cute face stepped forward with a bright smile.
It was Jang Bo-kyung, an Apostle of the Elder Gods.
“I was wondering when you’d join in.”
Jinhyuk’s gaze turned toward Jang Bo-kyung.
There was a lot he wanted to ask this woman.
“Hehe. I needed to see for myself how much strength you have.”
“So, what do you think after seeing it?”
“You’re stronger than I expected. I think I understand why the great beings warned us to approach you with such caution.”
“And yet, even after taking their advice, you’re still pretty much the same as the others.”
“What do you mean?”
What did he mean?
“It means approaching me carefully isn’t anywhere near enough.”
[The Eye of the Abyss gazes upon the target!]
Crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch!
Before anyone realized it, the light gathering in front of Gros’s eye shot out in a straight line.
It was a destructive ray that shattered everything scattered through the atmosphere all the way down to the atomic level.
Shields and the like were meaningless.
If the response was even slightly off, it was instant death.
Nothing remained in the path the light passed through.
At that moment,
Sway.
Droplets of water gathered beside Jinhyuk.
“What a heartless man. The lady hasn’t even finished speaking yet.”
The droplets instantly took on human form and soon became Jang Bo-kyung.
Clang!
A pure white acupuncture needle collided with the First Blade.
At the same time, the high-speed rotating droplets multiplied into hundreds.
The [Eye of Gluttony] observed the flow inside those droplets.
At first glance it looked simple, but the Mana density and speed were different in each drop.
‘Close combat with the acupuncture needle is the feint. Her main force is the water-attribute ability.’
He had fought countless water-attribute ability users before.
Among them had even been top-tier Divinities like Poseidon, who had been called the final boss.
But this was the first time he had seen water manipulated in such an alien manner.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh…!
The water, pulled from the droplets and stretched into thin thread-like lines, transformed into a web.
It was no longer simply water, but a type of blade sharp enough to cut through diamond in the blink of an eye.
[Unique Ability: Cascadia Slav is activated!]
[Unique Holy Spear – Flare Eclipse is activated!]
In response, Jinhyuk activated two different abilities.
Whoosh!
Flames of Fear in different colors erupted.
Flames and water collided dozens of times at different points.
Ssssssssss!
An enormous amount of steam burst out.
Within that obscured field of vision,
Jang Bo-kyung transformed into a droplet, erased her presence completely, and came at Jinhyuk from behind.
[Jang Bo-kyung activates the special skill ‘Water God’!]
The volume and pressure of the water changed.
A sharply honed spray of water completely enveloped the acupuncture needle Jang Bo-kyung was holding.
Bang!
A piercing strike that broke the sound barrier followed.
It was fast. Very fast.
But when it came to speed, Jinhyuk was confident too.
[Unique Holy Spear – ‘Thunder God’ is activated!]
Crackle…!
Jinhyuk’s body turned into lightning and vanished.
Sparks exploded against sparks as several dozen more exchanges took place in an instant.
Two streaks of light, leaving behind afterimages as they crossed, came to a stop on top of a sand dune.
“Is that enough for introductions?”
Jinhyuk lightly stretched his joints.
He had wondered if his body had grown a little stiff from only playing around with small fry after leaving the Tower, but thanks to this, he had gotten some excellent exercise.
“…Yes. That should be enough.”
Sensing that this was no trivial situation, Jang Bo-kyung ran her tongue over her lips.
She had known it would not be easy, but now that she had faced him directly, his level far exceeded her expectations.
Of course, she had not even used ten percent of her true power yet.
Everything she had prepared also remained untouched inside her Subspace.
But…
‘It’s probably the same for him.’
The black-haired man with the sly look also seemed to have no visible limit to his strength.
If she did not create some kind of variable to split his attention…
…then the difficulty of this fight would rise sharply.
Her contemplation did not last long.
“Sir Dominic!”
Jang Bo-kyung shouted toward the Inquisitors.
“Please deal with Teresa. I will handle this one!”
“Thank you.”
Dominic gave a small nod.
He still did not fully understand how things had ended up like this, but he was simply grateful that she would deal with the most troublesome one, Jinhyuk.
“Attack.”
At Dominic’s command, the Inquisitors surrounded Teresa in a circle.
“Are you really determined to hunt me down even now? Don’t you… find the strange Mana coming from that woman unsettling?”
“Silence. For someone who bore the title of Saintess, you consorted with filthy rabble and fell from grace! If even a shred of conscience remains in your defiled body, cast down your weapons at once and submit to holy judgment.”
“You’re as stubborn as ever. But I won’t obey you anymore.”
The Saintess who had once been meek and obedient was gone.
Teresa had changed after meeting Gabriel.
“Do you think you can fight alone? Against us, Apostles of the great Raphael?”
“See for yourself.”
Teresa’s sword surged toward Dominic.
Clang!
Divinity clashed against divinity.
Holy light moved against holy light, each trying to condemn the other.
===
‘Looks like Teresa’s fully steeled herself.’
Watching her, Jinhyuk smiled faintly.
She had always suffered under duties and responsibilities that bound her, but now it seemed she had learned to bear that weight, even if only a little.
Now the problem was how to deal with that arrogant cat.
“Did you think I’d let my guard down just because you went after Teresa? If you did, that’s a bit disappointing.”
“Hmm. You seem to trust that woman quite a lot?”
“She may look weak, but she’s gone through some pretty brutal things. It won’t be that easy.”
Have you ever heard of a spicy Saintess?
The Inquisitors also seemed to be Apostles on Raphael’s side, but with that alone, their chances of defeating Teresa were practically zero.
“Well. It seems you are the one underestimating us.”
A bitter smile formed at the corner of Jang Bo-kyung’s mouth.
At the same time, a strangely shaped cube emerged from her Subspace.
“A die?”
Jinhyuk tilted his head.
No, it was not a die.
It resembled one, but its shape was changing in real time.
[‘Iob’s Unstable Dice’ is activated!]
Only after the [Eye of Gluttony] displayed its name did he remember what it was.
A Sacred Relic of Shub-Niggurath, one of the Elder Gods.
A top-tier item he had only seen once before while climbing the Tower.
And now it had appeared out of nowhere.
Damn it.
Jinhyuk reflexively grabbed his dagger and threw it.
Crash!
The die struck the ground first.
With a clicking sound, a purple wavelength spread out from it.
[‘Belaktrux’s Curse’ is inflicted.]
[For the next 3 minutes, the power of cold weapons is reduced by 99%.]
The First Blade was knocked aside.
“Let’s begin.”
Jang Bo-kyung took a wooden acupuncture needle in a reverse grip.
Thud!
A tremendous impact dug into his arm.
It was absurd destructive force for something that was nothing more than a wooden needle weighing only a few dozen grams.
‘So it was a die that massively boosts the stats of wood-attribute weapons instead.’
If the [Eye of Gluttony] had grown enough to reach the Elder Gods, he might have been able to access more detailed information.
But at its current level, understanding only the reduced abilities was the limit.
[Unique Ability ‘System Manipulation’ is activated!]
[Reduction rate changes from 99% → 94%!]
Even what [System Manipulation] could affect was only about five percent.
It meant he was fighting while wearing a massive shackle.
And that was not the only problem.
[The traces of the Stigmata grow faint.]
The Stigmata in the other locations must have all been destroyed.
All except this one.
‘There’s no time.’
Even now, the ones fighting the Setan Mummy were consuming stamina and Mana in a battle they absolutely could not win.
But with Jang Bo-kyung using [‘Iob’s Unstable Dice’], an overwhelming suppression force had intervened.
So overwhelming that even the Stigmata itself had changed its original position.
“You seem very anxious. You can’t focus at all because you’re worried the Stigmata will disappear, right?”
Jang Bo-kyung grinned.
“The more you struggle like this, the more miserable you’ll be later. I’m giving you sincere advice, so take it to heart.”
“My, my. How scary. I’ll be sure to remember that.”
He needed to hold this woman’s attention for even a brief moment.
At least until the Stigmata was destroyed.
But Jang Bo-kyung did not allow even that tiny opening.
As if she intended to make full use of the three-minute limit, she thrust the wooden needle like a storm.
[The traces of the Stigmata begin to vanish.]
He started considering whether he should force the issue, even if it meant taking a fatal wound from the wooden needle.
That was how desperate the situation had become.
But right then,
“Tsk! You really can’t do anything on your own, can you?”
A familiar voice rang out beside Jinhyuk.
Fwoosh…!
Blue Sword Aura bloomed along the blade.
A white blizzard surged as if answering its master’s call.
It was Chun Yoosung.