Chapter 323. Attack Design Option (2)

“…Huh?”

A dumbfounded sound escaped from Raphael’s lips. He couldn’t believe it. He was utterly flabbergasted.

‘Why?’

So sudden, so unexpected. His strength drained away like water receding. His arms drooped, his neck extended like a turtle, his back bent, and even the tension in his knees disappeared!

‘What is happening?’

Raphael’s heart pounded with urgency. This couldn’t be happening. He was executing an important mission in the mortal realm, punishing those who obstructed his duty.

‘But why did I put down my mace? Ugh!’

He tried to straighten his back, reach out, grab the mace again, and subdue Lloyd and Javier. But no matter how much he tried, his body wouldn’t respond!

‘Why?’

As he struggled to shake off the confusion, Lloyd Frontera’s sharp shout reached his ears.

“Hey! Step on him!”

Thwack!

“…!”

A blow to his ankle sent Raphael reeling. He felt as if the sky was spinning. No, he was actually falling, his body collapsing in a graceless posture.

‘Huh?’

The sky flipped above him, his legs dangling in mid-air, his torso crashing backward.

‘A shovel? Did he hit my ankle with that?’

Just before his head hit the ground, he saw the shovel in Lloyd Frontera’s hand. He finally understood part of the situation. While he had been momentarily dazed, that human had struck his ankle with a shovel.

‘Unbelievable. Did I lose my balance because of that? What is this…!’

Crash!

The ground welcomed the back of Raphael’s head with a harsh impact. It didn’t hurt much, though he bit his tongue slightly. Despite this, Raphael’s tough body felt almost no pain. The impact was minor.

‘This is nothing!’

Raphael fumed. He was humiliated. He couldn’t understand why, but being felled by a mortal’s attack, especially with a mere shovel, was incomprehensible and disgraceful. He tried to stand up. But he couldn’t!

‘Huh?’

Raphael froze. He needed to get up and punish the insolent human. But his body refused to move!

‘Why?’

He screamed internally, but it was useless. Despite his desperate efforts, his body remained limp, adopting a defenseless posture.

‘Why?’

Frustrated, he struggled, only to be hit repeatedly by Lloyd’s shovel.

Thwack! Thwack! Thud!

‘Ugh! Oof!’

He barely managed to roll his eyes up. Lloyd Frontera was swinging the shovel with a joyful expression, as if playing whack-a-mole.

“Hey! What are you doing? Step on him already!”

Lloyd shouted, looking to the side. Javier Asrahan’s eyes changed. Raphael felt his heart drop.

“…!”

Lloyd Frontera’s blows didn’t hurt. But if that Grand Master attacked him in this defenseless state?

‘That’s not good!’

Raphael felt a surge of urgency. He had to move. He mustered all his strength. Finally, his limp body regained some power!

“…Kraaah!”

He sprang up just in time. A moment later, a powerful sword strike hit where he had been lying.

Sssshhh—!

Thousands of aura slashes ripped through the ground. Had he been a moment slower, he would have been torn apart.

‘Aura is dangerous.’

Mortal beings couldn’t usually harm him. But aura was an exception.

‘Aura is pure mana condensed. It can directly damage my spiritual body. Especially that Grand Master’s aura… it’s particularly dangerous.’

He had been struck earlier. It was genuinely dangerous. If he got hit properly, he’d be rendered combat-ineffective immediately. If that happened…

‘I’d fail my mission. That can’t happen.’

He couldn’t afford to fail. His accumulated achievements and his future service to the heavens would be ruined. That was unacceptable.

‘Grr!’

Regaining his determination, Raphael rolled his body, grabbed his mace, and leaped.

Boom!

He intercepted Javier’s sword, creating a fierce shockwave. He charged at Javier, pushing him back.

Clang! Clang! Thud! Clang!

He struck, slashed, and smashed. Javier’s sword responded with dazzling moves, parrying every attack. It was a fierce clash, just like all their previous encounters. But to Lloyd, watching from the side, it was different.

His grin stretched to his ears.

‘Good. This is perfect. The Attack Design option is even better than I expected.’

Lloyd reviewed the past few seconds. He had been hopeful but unsure. Now, having applied the Attack Design option in reality, it worked flawlessly!

‘The Attack Design in slot 1, “Munyeom Musang,” made Raphael completely defenseless, just as planned.’

His first attempt at Attack Design was simple but effective, making Raphael drop his mace and become utterly defenseless.

‘And it worked perfectly. He dropped the mace and took the exact posture I designed.’

Not only that, but his own attack move, hitting Raphael’s ankle with the shovel, also played out exactly as planned.

‘I struck his ankle, he fell, and I hit him with the shovel while he was on the ground. The only thing that didn’t go as planned was Javier’s slightly delayed reaction.’

Lloyd had hoped Javier would join in and step on Raphael. Unfortunately, the 5-second duration of the Attack Design option expired just before Javier could strike.

But it didn’t matter.

‘I still have two more slots!’

Lloyd moved stealthily, taking advantage of Raphael’s focus on Javier. He positioned himself behind Javier, the safest spot to avoid Raphael’s attacks and the shockwaves from their clash.

“Hey, Javier. Why didn’t you follow my instructions earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

Clang! Clang!

In the midst of endless clashes, Javier glanced at Lloyd and questioned him.

“I mean, what exactly did you do earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did the angel stop attacking as soon as you looked at him?”

“Yeah, and?”

“You attacked as if you were waiting for it.”

“Is that strange?”

“Yes.”

Javier nodded briefly.

“No matter how I look at it, it seemed like you were waiting for something.”

“That’s nonsense.”

Lloyd snickered.

“How could I stop an angel with just a look? Does that make sense?”

“…”

“It just seemed like the angel zoned out during the fight.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Look now. No matter how much I look, the angel is still fiercely attacking you, right?”

Bang! Clang! Clang!

It was true. Even while talking, Javier had to focus almost entirely on the fierce clash with the angel. Otherwise, he’d be overwhelmed by Raphael’s relentless assault.

‘But something still feels off.’

Javier tilted his head slightly. Still, he had no choice but to believe Lloyd’s words. What supernatural power could Lloyd possibly have to immobilize the angel with a glance?

Raphael felt the same.

‘Could that really be it?’

His brow furrowed. Swinging his mace and radiating holy light with his wings, Raphael chastised and reflected on himself.

‘Yes, Lloyd Frontera is right. I couldn’t have been toyed with by a mere mortal.’

It made sense. The idea of being toyed with by a mortal was absurd and impossible. The conclusion was clear.

‘I was careless.’

He had underestimated the mortal. He had let his guard down without realizing it. Amid the intense battle, he had lost focus and zoned out.

‘Tch! I was complacent. I had become arrogant after continuous success. This won’t do. I need to reflect and never make such a foolish mistake again.’

Grinding his teeth in repentance, Raphael strengthened his resolve. He gripped his mace with renewed determination. And then, once again, he felt his entire body weakening.

It happened as soon as Lloyd looked at him with a meaningful glint in his eyes.

‘PT 8!’

Ding-dong!

[Activating the Mana Heart skill’s exclusive option ⑥: Attack Design.]
[Loading the data of slot 2 ‘PT 8’.]
[250 RP will be consumed for using the option.]
[Current RP: 321]

‘…Huh?’

As soon as he felt something was wrong, a chilling sensation ran down Raphael’s spine. He sensed that things were going awry. Simultaneously, informative messages popped up before Lloyd’s eyes.

[The data of slot 2 ‘PT 8’ has been applied to reality.]

At that moment,

“Huh? Huh?”

Swoosh!

Raphael fell backward again. He dropped his mace, spread his arms, and pressed them to the ground. He straightened his legs, raised them to a 45-degree angle, and lifted his head slightly, tightening his abs.

It was a posture completely out of place in the fierce battle.

‘Of course! This is the PT 8 abdominal exercise!’

A wicked smile spread across Lloyd’s face. The Attack Design had worked perfectly again. With confidence, he shouted,

“Hey! This time, step on him properly!”

He pointed at Raphael with his shovel. This time, Javier didn’t disappoint.

Seeing Raphael fall into such a strange posture, Javier sensed an opening and raised his sword.

‘As I thought, Lloyd is behind this.’

The silver-haired knight was convinced. Despite Lloyd’s denial, Raphael’s behavior was undeniably odd. It wasn’t that Raphael had let his guard down. He was undoubtedly caught in Lloyd’s scheme.

But it didn’t matter.

‘I can’t miss this chance!’

Swoosh!

Javier’s sword sliced through the air, slashing at the awkwardly positioned Raphael.

Slash!

“Gah!”

Raphael screamed, unable to resist. He could only lie on the ground, taking Javier’s fierce attacks.

‘Ugh… Gah!’

His vision blurred. It felt like his entire body was being torn apart at the atomic level. But Raphael gritted his teeth.

‘I won’t fall like this!’

He summoned all his divine power, amplifying the holy power absorbed from the angel’s halo. He invested all his strength into recovery, enduring the thousands of aura slashes that threatened to tear him apart. He prayed fervently for the strength to withstand.

After what felt like an eternity, the 5-second duration ended.

“…Cough! Gah!”

Am I still alive?

Raphael, battered and bruised, managed to lift himself. He planted his hands on the ground, his legs limp. He barely raised his upper body, driven by either his will or divine guidance. Crawling forward on his hands, he looked up, his eyes blazing with determination.

‘I won’t fall. I won’t be defeated by mortals. I won’t crumble like this!’

He saw it then. A shovel head aimed right at his forehead.

‘…Daring to strike me with a shovel!’

Grinding his teeth, Raphael found it laughable. Just a shovel. It was a mere piece of metal without aura. He believed he could withstand it easily. He would endure, stand up, recover, and then…

‘I can do it. I can recover and fight again. Eventually, Javier will tire. I’ll be the final victor. I will complete my mission!’

He screamed internally, steeling his resolve. But there was something Raphael didn’t know. His current posture, crawling with his hands, and Lloyd Frontera’s shovel aimed at his forehead were all part of the third Attack Design slot, “Kkang.”

“…”

As Raphael steeled himself, a radiant aura flared from the shovel head. It struck Raphael’s forehead with a fierce blow, igniting a full-fledged conflict with the heavens.

Thud!