Chapter 78
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Pureblood Duke's High Castle (6)
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“Hahaha. You lot are truly promising. Mind if I ask your names?”
Gradiut burst into laughter as he watched the two bantering like it was a joke.
“Your names. I’d like to know the names of the hunters who’ll kill me. And the name of the one I’m about to kill next, too.”
[Consumed 687 indigo coins to apply buff ‘Enlightened Warrior’!]
[Trait ‘Unrealistic Martial Arts Master (A)’ evolves to ‘Martial Arts Superhuman (S)’!]
[Agility, Strength, and Willpower increase by 15 points. Technique increases by 50 points.]
[Holy power charged into ‘Angel’s Wings’. Sudden acceleration efficiency increased by 200%.]
“What, no chit-chat? How disappointing.”
Ju Gonghyeok ignored the dejected act.
But Nathani el, slipping out of the possessed Hontar, answered with pity in her voice.
“I’m Nathani el. This is Ju Gonghyeok.”
“Nathani el. Ju Gonghyeok. Got it. Fine names. Makes me want to talk more.”
“Cut the crap. Fake.”
“Delightful. Truly delightful. Even if you dismiss me as a fake, it’s fine. At least my memories stretch unbroken from the past to now.”
Gradiut’s eyes turned red as he guffawed.
“First conversation in 400 years. It was a pleasure.”
[Final Boss appears. ‘Pureblood Duke Gradiut’.]
[Average Rank A. Potential Danger S+]
[Gradiut and his brother the Vampire King took great interest in contacting vampires from other worlds.
They attempted a ritual to summon vampires from another world but failed, and as a result, an unknown entity took root in Gradiut’s body.
After 100 years of research, they discovered a clue that the entity in Gradiut’s body was linked to the vampire progenitor—but that was it. Though he gained immense power from the unknown entity’s influence, Gradiut could no longer control his bloodlust and was thus confined by the Vampire King.
The Vampire King sent the fourth princess to him with a hint to activate the ‘hidden function’.]
The message appeared, and 0.02 seconds passed.
A cross-shaped flash erupted behind Gonghyeok.
[Photon Magic Cannon fired.]
[Target: ‘Pureblood Duke Gradiut’. Output at 98%.]
Tsssk—
First strike wins.
The ‘B’s Photon Magic Cannon hit Gradiut dead-on.
Its firepower could melt even a heavenly knight on impact.
No way Gradiut, with average stats barely at A-rank, could withstand it.
Before 0.1 seconds had passed, Gonghyeok’s lips moved.
‘Ra-Djehuty.’
= Hm!
[Ra-Djehuty (SS) secondary ability. ‘Omniscience Magic Tome’ activated. All magic efficiency doubled.]
[Ultra-High-Speed Flight (S-) activated!]
He called out to Nathani el as he rocketed toward the charred Pureblood Duke.
‘Nathani el.’
- Ten simultaneous activations, go! Go!
[Chain Demon Chaser Hontar (SS) activates special skill ‘Shield Breaker’!]
[Sephirot Stage 3 Vessel unlocked. All stats +50...]
[‘Archangel’s Purification (S)’...]
[Angel’s Wings accelerating...]
[Flames of the Holy Spirit...]
Grooooar—
As if refusing to go down easy, the blood-water palace constricted from all sides.
- Ninth one! Almost there!
Nathani el shouted.
[Defensive barrier ‘Flames of the Holy Spirit’ output reinforced by 2,227%!]
[‘Sandalfon’s Colossal Die’ replenishes deficient holy power!]
Flames bloomed from Gonghyeok’s body, blasting away the blood-water.
Holy power supplied from the massive die he’d wrenched from Sandalfon.
Wrapped in over 20 times the output, Ju Gonghyeok streaked forward like a meteor, trailing fire.
‘0.7 seconds, huh.’
Gradiut, charred to a crisp by the Photon Magic Cannon.
His body twitched unnaturally.
Signs of advancing to the next phase: ‘Vampiric Weapon’.
Ju Gonghyeok activated his trait ‘Martial Arts Superhuman (S)’.
‘End it in one strike.’
Martial arts traits defied the laws of the world through mastery of combat realms.
Using Yangga Ohaenggek and Pig God Technique’s Molars Stamp simultaneously with ‘Martial Arts Superhuman’ would perfectly eradicate the entity in Gradiut’s heart.
Vreeee—
Hontar’s drill spun wildly as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven wrapped around Gonghyeok’s head with a playful grin.
= Let sis show you her technique!
[Great Sage Equaling Heaven (SS) tertiary ability. ‘15,000-Jin Ruyi Jingu Bang’ activated!]
[Weapon mass adjusted to the limit allowed by mana!]
[‘Chain Demon Chaser Hontar’s mass increased by 1,000 times!]
Hontar weighed about 19.6kg.
A 20kg bludgeon transformed into a 20-ton monstrosity.
Add supersonic flight speed and physics-defying strength, and it birthed a strike more vicious than any earthly mass weapon.
Gradiut’s freshly regenerated eyes met Gonghyeok’s.
“Die.”
Yangga Ohaenggek: Five Elements Cycle
Pig God Technique: Molars Stamp
Gonghyeok pierced Gradiut’s body and flew on for a good distance.
[‘Pureblood Duke Gradiut’ defeated.]
[Time Attack! 0.98 seconds!]
[Astonishing feat! Defeated the boss in under 1 second!]
[Achievement rate 102%! Rewarded 102 blue coins for the achievement!]
[As you can see, you delete bosses like it’s breakfast.]
[New title 「Instant Kill Expert」 granted.]
[When equipped with title...]
As the message windows popped up, Nathani el raised her head.
- Ah! Awesome! Incredible! But...
She looked somewhat dissatisfied.
- Somehow, it felt 2% rougher squishing the guts than usual...
“......”
Rumble rumble rumble
The palace lost its form, converging on Gradiut’s ashes.
- W-What!? Wasn’t it dead?
Gonghyeok muttered lowly.
“A bit. Off the mark.”
The blood palace merged with Gradiut’s ashes.
The Vampire King’s 100 years of experiments on Gradiut’s body.
It wasn’t mere fear of his power that led to confinement.
He’d been remodeled into a weapon using otherworldly power, prepared as a contingency for any vampire crisis.
[Hidden Boss appears. ‘Progenitor Vampiric Weapon Gradiut’.]
[All stats rise one rank, various traits added.]
[Danger level reassessed. Average Rank S+.]
Gonghyeok hadn’t obliterated Gradiut’s heart in one go.
At the crucial moment of impact.
Something had shattered his focus.
Gonghyeok raised his ring.
[Guard Sand summoned.]
A blood-smeared Guard Sand appeared before him.
“What is it, human? I was grabbing the holy knights like you said...”
Crack!
“Gah!”
Gonghyeok mercilessly smashed Guard Sand’s head with Hontar.
“You didn’t check where Damo went, did you?”
“Damo? What’s that? Food!?”
“...... Shut up.”
Expecting a clueless punching bag to figure it out on his own was asking too much.
Even Gonghyeok himself had let it slide with a “no way”.
A long, piercing scream echoed in Gonghyeok’s ears.
“KyaAAAAAH——”
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
“——AAAAAAH!”
Team 7, who had come to the underground sanctuary with Gonghyeok.
Sally’s wail echoed through the sewers.
Two corpses lay before her.
Schumacher, Team 7’s ranged DPS.
Cain, the promising talent Gonghyeok had nurtured with job skillbooks and items.
“Back!”
Soma grabbed Sally’s collar and rounded the corner.
Bang!
Crack!
A gunshot rang out, and the staff Sally held shattered.
Lucky it hadn’t hit her.
Soma glanced at Gonghyeok beside him.
“Both killed in one hit—no, one shot.”
“I know.”
“It’s strong. Do you know who?”
“Yeah.”
Killing intent flickered in Gonghyeok’s eyes for the first time in ages.
Damo.
The one who led the contractor group and showed favor to Gonghyeok—no, to X.
And...
“A killer robot from the future.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The skill-reinforced wall crumbled absurdly.
Erosion marks on the debris.
Gonghyeok asked while eyeing it.
“GM.”
[Database search.]
[Identified as Type 3 combat weapon. ‘Gauss Pistol Automatic’.]
[Model: 0.577 Eroder Kochzion.
Unique model. Judgment upgraded from Type 3 to Type 2 combat weapon.
Manufacturer: Hephaestus ‘Williford Hoover’...]
He remembered.
A unique weapon, only three made, from the 45th floor plant boss, Eroding Tree Kochzion.
A future weapon, just like ‘B’s Photon Magic Cannon, that shouldn’t exist yet.
“Not good.”
Gonghyeok muttered.
His 97% clone A was locked in fierce battle with Gradiut.
1% clone B had joined the holy knights, deceiving the bishop.
Clone C had retracted its wings and stayed by Sesque.
Thus, clone D here had barely 1% power left.
Drawing power in this dispersed state would take time.
‘Gotta gauge the enemy and stall.’
Hiding behind cover, Gonghyeok tossed out a line he’d heard somewhere.
“Hey. Terminator. Before you die, how about your name? Least I wanna know who’s killing me.”
Clack, clunk.
The spent magazine dropped from the pistol, and its mouth opened.
“My name is Damo. Assigned code: ‘D’.”
The bullet generator on its left arm bubbled, spitting out a fresh magazine.
“I am one of twenty-four bullets.”
Clack.
The metallic click as the magazine loaded.
“I. We...”
The pistol drifted ghostlike toward Gonghyeok’s hiding spot as Damo’s lips moved silently.
“Ju Gonghyeok. I’ll kill you and save the world.”
Arc discharge sparks blazed brilliantly from the barrel.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
After meeting ‘X’, Damo thought.
‘Truly Laplace’s Demon. Strong.’
From one-shotting high-rank contractors to commanding unheard-of vampires.
A perfect rival for Ju Gonghyeok.
‘Records say X kills the vampiric weapon now and gains new power.’
Then X and Ju Gonghyeok clash in this mission.
But the fight ends in X’s defeat.
Because Ju Gonghyeok secretly sends a clone through the sewers to absorb the descending angel.
‘Can’t let that happen.’
[Mosaic Organ activated.]
[Applied Mist Worm’s Stealth.]
Damo vanished and split from the outlaws.
First target: the Company.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“What the—! Where’s it shooting from!”
“Crazy! What gun hits like that!”
If the Company left the castle, they’d aid Ju Gonghyeok against X.
To prevent that, Damo dismantled the Company inside the castle.
“No good! Scatter! Run!”
“Sticking together gets us killed! Spread out and fight!”
The Company group shattered, fleeing to corners of the castle.
Contractor packs of 40 or Guard Sands would finish them off.
He passed a skirmish between the rescue society and Guard Sands.
41 of 42 dead.
The last survivor: Luke Bernstein.
He too was about to die to Guard Sand.
Then Ju Gonghyeok in white priest robes appeared.
No doubt the real one, manipulating the holy knights from behind with angel wings.
‘Kill him?’
As he raised his gun.
Guard Sand recoiled in fear.
‘Guard Sand retreating?’
Guard Sand was originally earl-rank.
But that was pre-Babel.
Just as hunters grew incomparably stronger ascending Babel, Guard Sand had become a heavenly knight, leagues beyond earl-rank.
Currently limited to 39% power.
Yet Damo’s internal sensors reported.
Guard Sand rivaled the Vampire King.
‘No clue what percentage clone that is. Reckless to charge when even Guard Sand retreats.’
The white-robed Ju Gonghyeok embraced the wailing Luke Bernstein clutching his comrade’s corpse, soothing him.
Damo regretfully lowered his gun and descended.
‘Handle the Ju Gonghyeok who snuck underground, then clean up the contractors.’
X had allied with contractors before to counter Company forces and sow rear chaos.
But Company was already broken, and sowing chaos? Damo could handle it alone.
‘Turn useless outlaws into coins for X. If civilians need killing for rear disruption, I can do it solo.’
Sewers.
Spotted Team 7 heading to the underground sanctuary.
Wanted to blow Ju Gonghyeok’s head off instantly, but Soma and Ha Yeonsi blocked the line of fire.
‘Dhritarashtra Soma Sangai and Vampire Princess Ha Yeonsi are key to saving the world later. Can’t kill unless worst case.’
Sacrificing two for one clone wasn’t worth it.
Damo’s barrel shifted slightly sideways.
Bang! Bang!
Thud! Splurt!
Subtank Cain’s chest exploded, Schumacher’s head burst like a watermelon.
“KyaAAAAAH——”
Sally’s scream echoed long.
Damo’s pistol aimed at her head.
“For X. To save the world.”
Die, Ju Gonghyeok.