Floor 24, Kokari Swamp (4)

"We're holding them off from up on the roof!"

"Understood!"

"Kkiik! Got it!"

After giving my instructions to Comet and Dobby, I picked up the pace.

The distance between me and the Great Warrior of Terror was two rooftops. Yet unlike me, sprinting full tilt, the Great Warrior remained rooted to the first roof, spear in hand.

What is this? Is he planning to have a chat with me or something?

Leaping across one roof, I shifted my axe down toward my lower left. I had no idea what he was playing at, but I had no intention of stopping for it.

One side running, the other standing still. It was only natural that momentum lent greater force to the side that carried it. There was no reason to throw away an advantage.

I tensed the muscles of both arms to their limit. If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I could help it, I wanted to end this in the very first clash...

One roof remained between us.

The instant I was about to use Lightning Flash at the perfect moment, the Great Warrior's voice rolled out, sinister and cold.

The world inverted in an instant, just as before. The hellscape I had witnessed when I killed the High Priest and first came face to face with Standing Terror unfolded once more.

But something was different this time.

Like a broken projector, my vision flickered and kept flipping back and forth.

The Great Warrior with his spear. The hellscape lined with mountains of corpses. The Great Warrior charging in again, spear raised. The hellscape again.

And every time the hellscape appeared, my movements stuttered and broke apart. The moment I returned to reality, I had to summon strength all over again just to make my body move.

Damn it.

With my vision flipping chaotically, I immediately used Lightning Flash.

The scenery that appeared was the hellscape. In the slowed flow of time, the blood-red world came into sharp focus.

And though I couldn't see it, I could tell something dwelled in this world. An overwhelming presence that prodded at the primal fear every human carries.

Hoo.

My vision flipped again. In the returning image, the Great Warrior had just crossed over one roof, his black spear — nearly three meters long — angled low and ready to thrust.

I set my frozen body moving again within the hellscape, positioning my axe at my lower right to meet his spear.

Standing Terror. So that's what the name meant.

An ability that showed visions designed to make any human feel fear — and on top of that, while you were trapped in the illusion, your movements were shackled.

Maybe it was thanks to the Unyielding skill, but mercifully, it wasn't all that terrifying.

Well, it's disorienting as hell and it shackles my movement, which is a pain, but... Thank goodness for Lightning Flash. Without it, I never would have been able to move freely through a vision that flipped without a moment's rest.

At this speed, I could handle the Great Warrior well enough.

My vision inverted again. Within the hellscape, I worked out how I would fight him.

Stuttering movement. What mattered most now were concentration and prediction. I had to remember the Great Warrior's movements and my own from before the vision changed, predict his next action and the probable path of his spear — and then move my body the instant the vision flipped again.

The distance is three meters. His spear was coming in from the left.

Deflect the spear with my axe, then switch straight into the attack. That should do it.

Just as I was about to move my body through the flipping vision, a thought flashed through my mind.

Every time the vision inverted, I had to tense my body all over again. Then couldn't I move against the laws of physics at the exact moment it flipped?

No harm in trying it once.

It was a little regrettable that I couldn't test it beforehand, with the Great Warrior right on top of me... but if I set things up so I wouldn't get hurt, there was nothing to lose.

The problem was that I had to time the flip of my vision precisely. I'd need to control the distance carefully.

The vision inverted two more times, and through both I stepped back a single pace to set the range. Now the Great Warrior was right in front of me.

His spear came thrusting in on a diagonal. I swung my axe up from my lower right toward the upper left.

Clang—!

The harsh ring of metal acted like a signal flare, and my vision flipped.

The blood-red world spread out before my eyes, but my mind was already on the axe's next movement. Time was plenty. Counting seconds in my head, I tensed the muscles of my arms.

Three, two, one...

The Great Warrior came back into view. In the same breath, I put my whole strength into both arms and brought the axe down and forward.

"Hngh—!"

The Great Warrior twisted his body with a rough gasp. Whether by his god's protection or not, the speed of his dodge was startling even for a split-second evasion.

Where the axe came down was his left arm. With a crunch of splitting scale armor, the axe bit in and tore the Great Warrior's left arm clean from his torso.

The ownerless arm went sailing through the air, blood jetting from the severed stump.

Now it was time for my vision to flip again. Determined to end this with my next attack, I tracked the Great Warrior's movement.

Huh?

But the flip never came. Had the illusion been dispelled when the Great Warrior took the wound? I couldn't tell.

All I knew was that, while I stood there thrown by the anomaly, the Great Warrior leapt far backward.

Even with his arm severed, he didn't let out so much as a groan. Instead, gripping the severed left forearm with the hand that still held his spear, he called upon his god.

"—O Terror!"

Red light instantly clothed the severed arm, and the gushing blood vanished as though washed away.

He was a god's Great Warrior; it was no surprise he could wield divine spells.

Healing complete, the Great Warrior fixed me with a glare, red light smoldering in his eyes.

While he stood undiminished, not one iota of his fighting spirit lost, it was the heathens beneath the roof who screamed instead.

"Great Warrior!"

"The Great Warrior—!"

"Stop!"

Watching the Great Warrior bellow his followers into silence, I readjusted my grip on the axe.

I didn't know why, but the illusions no longer came. I had seen through the trick's weakness — and even while it was active, I'd still cut off one of his arms. It would be easier going now.

Just as I moved again, the Great Warrior spoke first.

"You... you are not the heathens' Great Warrior."

"...How did you know?"

"Those who wield the power of the wind cannot move easily before the power of Terror."

I didn't understand at first — then the meaning landed.

The constant flipping of my vision, my movements freezing over and over. For people whose every motion was aided by the wind, it would be nothing short of a catastrophe.

Having finished, the Great Warrior rolled his spear as if loosening his body, no doubt trying to adapt to fighting with one arm. Then a red light flickered in his eyes and faded.

"Wait. Standing Terror has taken an interest in you."

"Interest?"

"You are no party to this affair. Withdraw quietly now, and Standing Terror will bestow his grace upon you."

The heathens' god, handing out grace just for me? A hollow laugh escaped before I could stop it. Judging by that flicker of red light, it didn't seem to be a lie, though...

"Not interested in some heathen god."

There was nothing to be had from a deity that encouraged human sacrifice. I had no desire to show these heathens any respect, either.

I stepped forward once more. Enraged by my words, the Great Warrior roared.

"You dare! A heathen god! Blasphemy! The god of this world has been Standing Terror since the very beginning!"

At the sudden declaration, my body stopped for a beat.

The world's original god had been Standing Terror?

Then Comet, behind me, ground his teeth and shot back.

"You wicked heathen! Speak no lies! The god of this world has been the Blue Dawn Breeze since the dawn of time!"

"That is only because the Blue Dawn Breeze falsified history!"

The heavy atmosphere lightened in a heartbeat. They had both looked like such grave, weighty men, and yet...

Over a petty religion, of all things.

As the two Great Warriors shrieked at each other, all dignity abandoned, I let out a long sigh.

It was pointless. Beyond the Tower's command to drive out the heathens, I had no intention of siding with a god that fed on human sacrifice — hidden quest or not.

I shouted loudly enough to cut through the two Great Warriors' ludicrous squabble.

"Enough!"

It was time to put an end to Floor 25. Without a word, I began walking toward the Great Warrior of Terror.

Behind him lay the edge of the sloped roof. Nowhere left to run. Five steps remained.

Just as I took the next one, a red light kindled once more in the Great Warrior's eyes.

And then the High Priest shouted toward somewhere below the roof.

"High Priest!"

The High Priest? I'd already killed the High Priest. Don't tell me there was another one?

With no way of knowing how things would unfold, I hurriedly used Lightning Flash — but I was a beat too late.

Within the slowing flow of time, the words the High Priest had already spoken reached my ears.

As the High Priest's words ended, I was standing in the blood-red world. Literally standing in it. This was no simple flip of vision like before — my body itself had been carried into this world of blood.

In the middle of my confusion, the stench of rotting corpses mixed with the reek of blood and stung my nose.

"Fuck... what is this?"

I hurriedly checked my notification window, but nothing rose from the Tower. Like the factory — had I really been dragged into another world?

No — what kind of goddamn cheat skill was this...

Even as bewilderment and helplessness washed over me, I started to worry about Comet and Dobby, left behind.

I have to get back. Fast.

The coordinates: the rooftop I'd just left. I frantically drew up my mana to open a portal. But no portal formed.

Damn it — why on earth not?

Something hot surged up in my chest, frustration choking me. The portal had opened even inside the factory, in another world. I couldn't understand why it wouldn't open here.

Could it be because this place is steeped in a god's power? That seemed most likely. Then when — how — was I supposed to get back?

No... maybe waiting wouldn't be enough. Maybe there was an exit somewhere in this place, and I was the one who had to find it.

I scanned left and right in a hurry, but my sixth sense sent no signal at all.

Come to think of it, there was no warning from my sixth sense back then, either.

Damn it — was it not going off because I wasn't actually in danger?

Comet I could set aside, but Dobby worried me terribly. He was the one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had climbed with me from Floor 1 all the way to 25. Our first meeting had been anything but smooth, but somewhere along the way I'd grown terribly fond of him...

If something happened to Dobby, I wasn't sure I could keep my own head straight.

First — do something. Anything.

Gritting my lower lip between my teeth, I began walking over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the mounds of corpses. My direction: right.

And so I started to move, searching for an exit I couldn't even be sure existed.

Who knew how long I'd been chewing my lip — blood had run down, dripping from my chin, drop by drop.

Then, after roughly ten minutes had passed...

The scene atop the rooftops came back into view.

"Kill the heathen remnants!"

"Smash that barrier!"

Clang! Clang! The harsh ring of metal and the voices of the heathens caught my attention first. The Great Warrior was nowhere in sight. Instead, I saw the heathens hammering away at a solid black iron sphere.

The Emergency Steel Barrier. A piece of equipment Ha Heejung had given Dobby in case of crisis. Thank goodness — he was still holding out.

Relief flashed through me first. Then came the fury.

"Where do these sons of bitches get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off...!"

They were trying to get at Dobby!? I swallowed the rest of the sentence and tore across the rooftop like a gale.

My axe cleaved through the heathens, and lightning crashed down upon them. In less than five seconds, the heathens ringing the barrier dropped like straw.

I knocked anxiously on the barrier.

"Dobby! It's me! I'm here!"

"K-Kkiik?"

"It's me! Kwon Suhyeok!"

Two seconds of silence. Then the black barrier released.

From where the iron sphere had vanished, Dobby, eyes brimming with tears, threw himself into my arms.

Startled as I was, I stroked Dobby's head with my left hand. I could feel him trembling like a leaf in my embrace. He must have been through absolute hell.

Training or no training, he was still a young goblin. And this hadn't been some one-on-one duel — the terror of facing a horde of crazed fanatics in overwhelming numbers must have weighed on him heavily.

My rage toward the heathens flared up all over again, but that wasn't what mattered now.

Comet was not inside the barrier.

"Dobby... where did Comet go?"