Before the Buff Wears Off
Before the buff wears off.
—Who the hell called for the undertaker?
The black-clad man I'd been seeing a lot lately appeared on screen.
The undertaker in black, greatsword in hand. Cigarette dangling from his lips, he looked thoroughly delinquent.
A cigarette. A cigarette, of all things. That hadn't existed originally either. Tobacco in an all-ages game? Just how loose was this parallel world?
Then again, even Camilla's outfit alone had been hit with all sorts of regulations back in the original world.
In a worldline where every one of those restrictions had vanished and Abyss had become a god-tier game, a cigarette was probably nothing.
Undertaker Lenox—a stylish hero who used a greatsword as his main weapon.
His distinctive looks and flashy skillset meant he always had demand. In low tiers you got called a one-trick for picking him, but if you could actually play him well, nothing looked cooler.
That was why mad movies featuring him dropped constantly, and there were even dedicated Lenox BGMs on VTube.
Honestly, though, he wasn't my style. Looks, gender—none of it.
In any game I always picked female characters first, so regardless of performance, he never really caught my interest.
When I already had Camilla—whose heart was as wide as the ocean and whose face alone melted away any anger—there was zero reason to pick some gloomy middle-aged guy.
That had always been true. The reason I was deliberately picking Lenox instead of Camilla right now was, well, a somewhat emotional decision.
But I had no regrets. If I didn't do at least this much, the itch wouldn't go away.
Last game's influence had been huge.
Getting Camilla stolen out of nowhere and having to scramble for Alec… that feeling had been like getting smashed in the back of the head with a hammer.
The silver lining had been that my first disciple Nikang inherited my will.
Watching my disciple dance around and show off in-game had even cooled the nasty thoughts that had been bubbling up.
And so we arrived at the present result. Getting to watch my disciple play after so long was nice, and there were plenty of mitigating factors, but the mastermind behind such a heinous scheme still needed a proper thrashing from my own hands.
This was my traditional method of revenge, after all.
Back in the old days, whenever some clueless user banned my Camilla, I'd snatch their most-played hero the next game and return the favor exactly like this.
Even if queues took twenty minutes and you kept running into the same people while certain heroes were absurdly overtuned, those days still had romance.
Ah, the good old days. Those days that have now passed us by…
"Kayack, so you're going to move once Yu-hye's position lights up, right?"
"Yeah."
Hangang's voice pulled me out of my reminiscing. This game he was handling overall shotcalling and team direction in my place.
I didn't feel the least bit uneasy. I'd already confirmed the team's skill. Even without me they wouldn't get pushed around.
"Can't we just hold like last game?"
"If Kayack wins the 1v1 and comes to reinforce, then yes."
"Teacher's not going to lose! You're definitely going to win!"
With me and the enemy team's biggest threat—their captain Yu-hye—both absent, the two sides were roughly even in strength.
I thought our side had better momentum, but that alone wouldn't decide the advantage.
In the end the key to victory rested with me, yet I felt no particular tension.
It wasn't anything new. Abyss—games in general—were brutally honest: play well and you win, play poorly and you lose.
I was focused on something else entirely. How could I mess with the other guy just a little more?
In that regard Camilla would have been perfect. I could refuse to use the sword and just dance him to death for the ultimate teabag.
It was a real shame Lenox didn't have any dance skills like Camilla's.
I'd have to make do with emotes. I was pretty sure there was one where he held the sword and struck some rhythmic pose…
"Teacher, take the buff before you go."
While I was thinking, my third disciple Ririyang looked at me and waved her staff.
Sacred light fell over my head, but for someone about to act independently it was basically useless. The duration wasn't even a full minute.
Ririyang had to know that. So why cast it? Simple. It meant "go win and come back." A kind of cheer.
In answer I raised the greatsword high and spoke.
"I'll be back before this buff wears off."
I'd take the enemy general's head and return like a triumphant general—
With those final words I turned and walked away.
Heavy plate, a pointed shield, and a one-handed sword.
A giant whose every step boomed like thunder was cutting across the battlefield.
A radiant halo shone behind him, and sacred patterns were etched into the armor he wore, proof that he was beloved by the gods.
Holy Knight Alec. The spare pick Yu-hye always grabbed whenever he couldn't take Lenox.
Spare or not, he was nothing to sneeze at. Yu-hye's win rate on Alec was nearly as high as on Lenox.
Right now, though, the feelings of the man heading to the field were a tangled mess.
Rage, irritation, doubt, wariness, anxiety… every emotion mixed together. Wearing his usual mask had become a burden.
"Yu-hye, what should we do? Push mid like last game?"
"Of course we push mid. That's all we've practiced. You planning to not go mid?"
"…Ah, y-yes. Heading mid."
The barbed reply came out naturally. He even noticed himself how sharp he'd been.
That kind of attitude could spark community posts or angry emails about his stream.
But Yu-hye had no bandwidth for any of that right now.
How dare they pull a cheap provocation like this?
His head was full of one person only. Kayack. That arrogant one-trick streamer.
Openly, deliberately snatching Lenox right in front of him was something that could never have happened without an order from the team captain—Kayack.
Yu-hye himself had done the same. Without the captain driving it, such a bold strategy would never even be attempted.
In the end you're still just a streamer who doesn't know his place.
What did he think he was going to accomplish by stealing Lenox?
Yu-hye felt pathetic for falling for such a cheap taunt, and at the same time his insides boiled at how little they must have thought of him to pull this stunt.
Picking Lenox—a hero specialized in 1v1s and side-lane duels rather than teamfights—was basically an open challenge to settle it mano a mano.
That was why, even in the flustered moment of having his pick stolen, Yu-hye had immediately answered with Alec.
Did this streamer really think that because he'd lucked into a win last game he could actually beat him in a 1v1?
Regardless of the match result, Yu-hye decided he needed to stomp this streamer at least once—to reassert the hierarchy.
What a complete joke—
Thud—
Alec's heavy steps halted. A black-clad man stood before him.
Undertaker Lenox. That was him.
The exact setup would differ from Yu-hye's, but a greatsword-main build wasn't far off.
Then it happened. While he was still studying the Lenox who had planted his sword in the ground—
Out of nowhere Lenox raised both arms over his head.
Then three steps left. Three steps right. Side-to-side like a crab, facing forward the whole time.
Yu-hye, who had been watching the baffling display with quiet tension, twisted his face not long after.
"You son of a—"
Wiggle-wiggle.
Lenox held up a middle finger and beckoned him forward with a curling motion.
The moment Yu-hye's Alec saw it, he charged.
Clang—!
A clear metallic ring announced the start of the fight.
Yu-hye, who had rushed in first, claimed the initiative. He swung the one-handed sword, smashed with the shield in his other hand, and followed with a kick—a merciless flurry.
The classic Alec national combo unfolded from Yu-hye's hands without a single error, fast and razor-sharp.
Lenox was hard-pressed just to block. Even at a glance the size difference was massive.
One was a holy knight with a giant's frame; the other a rather slender undertaker.
Once Alec started landing the full combo it looked like an adult bullying a child—one-sided violence.
Yet the frown that had been on Yu-hye's face from the beginning refused to smooth out.
Look at this…?
The attacks weren't landing properly. There was no satisfying feedback. Lenox's HP had barely dropped from where it started.
Meanwhile Alec's stamina had clearly plummeted.
So you won't go down easy, is that it?
The excitement from watching those elegant deflections cooled fast. Instinct told him he needed to stay calm if he wanted to win.
Alec, still mid-combo, took a step back. He blocked the greatsword that came thrusting after him with his heavy shield and slipped his own sword in on the counter whenever the timing allowed.
He intended to win slowly but surely. Trade one careful blow at a time and chip away at the health bar.
In the end the opponent, unable to endure the losses, would be forced to charge—Yu-hye's specialty.
Even the long one-handed sword specialized for poking was already set up for exactly this kind of fight. For someone who could read each exchange with a different eye than most, no better method existed.
Circle, circle.
Like a predator hunting big game, Alec began slowly circling Lenox. Whenever an opening appeared he stabbed once.
It was a sly tactic for such a large frame, but the effect was certain.
Lenox couldn't keep blocking forever while moving unsteadily under those attacks.
Nothing special and still talking big—
Lenox's HP drained bit by bit. That was why the corner of Yu-hye's mouth slowly curled upward. Lenox was at half health; Alec was still nearly full.
What are you going to do now? Come on, what?
The momentum had already shifted, yet Yu-hye never let his guard down. The moment the opponent couldn't take the poking anymore and charged was approaching. He couldn't lose focus. If he just slipped that one attack cleanly, victory was his.
Here it comes!
In that split second, exactly as he predicted, Lenox—who had just taken another stab to the torso—suddenly leapt forward.
An utterly telegraphed move. Yu-hye's lips stretched into a wide grin.
Too obvious!
A different radiance gathered on Yu-hye's one-handed sword.
Alec's unique skill: Holy Strike.
He meant to finish the opponent who had left an opening and was already low on blood in a single blow.
Ting—!
"…Huh?"
What followed was a scene Yu-hye had never imagined, one he couldn't even comprehend.
Alec's sword was flying on the wrong trajectory. The blade that should have pierced Lenox clean through was sailing into the sky.
Blinking, Yu-hye finally grasped the situation.
Parry. A secret technique only sword characters who invested a certain number of points into that trait could use.
That technique had just unfolded right before his eyes.
"Crazy—who the hell puts points into parry on Lenox these days—"
Whether he finished the sentence or not, while Alec's sword soared skyward, Lenox's blade flew true toward its target.
And then—
Shunk—!
The greatsword with its distinctive white blade punched straight through Alec's heart.
A parry multiplies its power when it deflects a strong technique. The skill Alec had used was a unique ability beyond a mere heavy attack.
Bouncing that away had left his upper body completely open from the recoil.
Heart pierced clean through.
As a high-ranking holy knight Alec didn't die instantly, but the outcome was already decided.
"What the hell is this…"
Yu-hye's hollow mutter was the last thing he managed before the blood-red vision slowly faded to black.
"I took the enemy general's head!"
"Kayack! Kayack! Kayack! Kayack! Kayack!"
"I believed in you, Teacher!"