Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Pinned Down by the Divine
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My entire body felt crushed under the weight.
“?!”
No way... Did he just mimic my skill?
A circular red light burst out from Lenox, unleashing a fierce gale.
Whoooosh—
Queen and Abyss, who had been charging toward him almost to the end of the corridor, threw up shields and retreated in a hurry.
Even Hellcannon, who seemed poised to strike with a finishing blow, froze in place.
[Alert!]
[Lenox (Abnormal Status) has declared his domain. Divinity detected. Expected divinity level: 3, but upgraded to level 4 in this region.]
I'd only just awakened to level 1, and here he was at expected level 3—actually level 4?
Lenox's eyes glowed red.
“To dare oppose me in my domain. Your courage is at least admirable.”
His voice rang out crystal clear in my mind, piercing through the overwhelming pressure swirling violently around us.
It felt like being dominated by the authority he wielded as a god in Midgard—turned against me.
I was freshly realizing how NPCs must have felt all this time when Lenox floated up slightly, exuding the full dignity of Channel 1004's final boss, and asked,
“Who are you, and where do you come from?”
“My name is Kaisha. I've come to complete the mission of slaying you in your rampage and rescuing the people in danger.”
Quest, technically speaking.
Ever since Midgard, I'd been overly immersed in this, always mindful of it—psychological warfare like this was crucial when dealing with locals.
Lenox's eyes widened at my words.
“...So this world has abandoned me and called upon you?”
See?
It works like a charm.
I seized that moment, exploiting the opening Lenox had revealed.
“That's right. This channel—no, this world—wants to save its people from your madness!”
“!”
Stunned, Lenox's eyes dropped with a thud, the red glow fading briefly. In that instant, Abyss, with whom I'd exchanged a glance, charged at Lenox.
Queen and the other hunters moved in too.
The oppressive weight of the field under Lenox's control weakened.
With his output somewhat restored, Abyss and Queen's empowered ultimate skills hammered Lenox in a relentless triple combo.
Boom! Boom!
KABOOM—!!
Followed by a barrage of long-range skills from the European hunters in the rear.
KABOOM-KABOOM-KABOOM-KABOOM—!!
It landed.
Hellcannon rushed toward Lenox as he flew our way, like he'd been waiting for this.
I had no idea how to seize control of the field, but I recalled the sensation from Midgard—clashing minds with the rankers and amplifying my heroes' skills.
I'd just panicked because it was my first time.
The moment Lenox faltered, my mental power slipped into the gap, blooming like a flower and dominating the area.
Skill amplification.
Hellcannon's sword glowed red, and my gauntlets blazed with fire.
[Guardian of Midgard]
[Flame Strike]
This ends it.
Just as my fist and Hellcannon's sword were about to connect with Lenox's incoming body—
Whoosh.
“!”
Lenox vanished abruptly, reappearing in the midst of the European hunters.
I gritted my teeth, feeling his spatial dominance explode outward with explosive density beyond the area I'd claimed.
I yanked Hellcannon back desperately and threw up a shield with all my strength.
KABOOM!!!
“!!!”
I sensed a few hunters flying our way, but their presence vanished soon after.
Death logout.
Smoke and chemical reactions obscured the view momentarily after the area was wrecked, but the sudden rush of cool outside air suggested the building had been completely blown open by Lenox's explosion.
Whoooosh—
The smoke cleared soon enough, revealing a shocking scene.
“...Insane.”
He was right.
In this domain where Lenox reigned as a 'god,' he wielded true divine power.
About three meters ahead of me.
Just beyond the area I'd seized, the central corridor where Lenox had appeared had evaporated, exposing the building's grotesquely melted skeleton.
Part of the structure had been blasted away like it hit a bomb.
Beside me, Hellcannon swallowed hard in intense tension, his heartbeat pounding loud enough to reach my ears.
Thump. Thump.
“......”
His silver-white hair soaked in darkness, fluttering in the wind.
High in the night sky of the world where he ruled as a god, Lenox looked down at me with red eyes.
* * *
The mechanical soldiers that had breached Central City weren't that numerous.
With the central barrier down, security suddenly gone, it was more like a handful had wandered in by mistake.
But that alone was enough to terrify the residents of Central City into trembling fear.
Mino muttered,
“Lost soldiers, huh. Even machines aren't perfect.”
“Of course not. Factories churn out defects all the time—imagine command errors. Plus, they probably didn't program for no barrier.”
Ten each.
Kali led clockwise, Hyun-woo counterclockwise.
Fullminak guild members split into two groups, racing along the barrier in opposite directions, hunting down and smashing the stray android soldiers.
Some locals—presumably soldiers or police—occasionally questioned the guild members' identities, but they ignored them, focusing on the quest.
[You have defeated an Android Soldier.]
[Experience +182,930]
And rightly so—the EXP from these mechanical soldiers was pretty sweet.
“EXP is lit.”
“Guns hit nice too.”
“Everyone who's survived this long is definitely max level now.”
“Woo-hoo! Max level at last.”
“Gotta keep farming EXP to master skills and stack extra stats. Still a long way to full recovery.”
The Fullminak members chattered.
Kali, having just wiped out a small pack of mechanical soldiers patrolling the streets with his group, checked the time limit.
『0:25:11』
He glanced at the chat window.
Should he reach out? But he held off, not wanting to distract during combat.
Kali said,
“Wonder how Kaisha's doing. Hard to imagine anyone stronger than that guy in this world or ours.”
“Why worry about the guild master?”
“Something feels off. You wouldn't get it without much experience, but after tons of wars, you develop this inexplicable gut feeling—”
“I ran plenty of sieges before joining Fullminak too, you know?”
Mino bristled at the 'no experience' jab, but Kali's eyes were elsewhere.
“Hang on.”
Giant TVs, like massive billboards, hung from high spots throughout the city—now broadcasting urgent news to the people.
Streets in cities near the barrier were practically deserted. Residents had hunkered down at home or in hiding.
With Lenox, who controlled everything in this nation, marked as the 'enemy,' they couldn't even head to shelters in government buildings swarming with his forces.
Kali stared somewhere, and the guild members followed his gaze one by one.
“Whoa?”
“What the— Is that our guild master getting pushed by some red-eyed freak right now?”
On a massive screen atop a building, Kaisha was locked in a fierce battle with some man.
Subtitles rolled.
[(Translated) Clash between Lenox Chancellor and mysterious assailant in front of Lenoxita Building]
[(Translated) Lenox Clan, victims of Lenox's rampage, announces 'Final Rest' activated in Central Control Room]
The announcer's voice echoed too.
[“Lenoxita officials who escaped injury report that Chancellor Lenox has activated the Central Republic's self-destruct program 'Final Rest.' In this emergency, authorities are seeking ways to—"]
The announcer's voice reverberating through empty streets felt eerily surreal.
Residential buildings dotting the city—apartment-like structures—glowed with lights from sleepless residents.
Kali muttered,
“...Trouble.”
Kali, who had been gaping slack-jawed, pulled up the chat window to contact someone but froze.
“!”
Abyss had vanished from Fullminak's login list.
Dead.
Snapping out of his shock, Kali tapped the chat.
* * *
Dart scowled at the incessantly beeping voice chat alert.
It was Gilgamesh.
He'd just provided backup, and now what?
Irritated, Dart ignored it, but Gilgamesh rang a couple more times before forcing through on emergency comms.
[“This fucker's got urgent shit and won't pick up!”]
Emergency contact.
A party-only feature that blasts voice regardless of the recipient's settings.
Since it was urgent, Dart furrowed his brow and grudgingly asked,
“What.”
[“Looks like Kaisha's getting pushed.”]
“!”
Stunned by the unimaginable news, Dart's eyes widened as he demanded,
“Him? By who?”
[“Final boss. He's soloing, but seems too tough even for that. Abyss is dead too, so it's serious.”]
“......”
Dart's eyes wavered.
He quickly checked the battlefield: the three-way clash between Central, America, and SpaceKing.
No clear victor—just endless fierce combat. He'd been holding steady, biding for an opening, fully focused.
Gilgamesh said,
[“If the guy who beat Error Code Set is struggling, we gotta go ourselves. Word from Fullminak's vice-master Kali—come support ASAP if possible.”]
“...Contacted Kaisha?”
[“No answer. Probably mid-fight.”]
“Where are you?”
[“Obviously en route to help our Kaisha-nim. I'm a devout Kaisha cultist, you know.”]
Asshole.
Why'd Kali contact Gilgamesh but not me...?
Cursing inwardly at Gilgamesh already heading out, Dart used an item and spun around, sprinting off.
Dart's form vanished in a whoosh.
'Fugitive's Cloak'—an item that hides you from sight briefly. Three minutes of stealth, but no skills for four minutes. Pure escape tool.
Dart hit emergency contact to Binu and Nix.
“Heading to Fullminak support. Don't let enemies notice I'm gone—hold the line till I return.”
Relayed to the vice-masters, then straight to Gilgamesh.
“Coords.”
[“Here. Kali said you'd never come anyway, but I figured you'd go. Guy who buys every Kaisha bromance poster.”]
“Shut it.”
Dart spat irritably, but it was common knowledge—not just to Gilgamesh, but most SpaceKing members.
Still, Dart always picked fights with Kaisha in Midgard, brawling viciously, so SpaceKing folks had tactfully pretended not to notice the disconnect.
But no one knew what Dart truly thought of Kaisha, or the feelings he harbored.
Gilgamesh prodded,
[“Kaisha-otaku. You love him so damn much. If he were a guy, you'd be gay, huh?”]
Dart's heart sank.
“Bullshit. Just into the character. And among non-FP users, fans of Kaisha are the majority.”
[“Hm, true.”]
“Shut up and run.”
[“Yeah, yeah.”]
The interrogation-like chat with Gilgamesh cut off abruptly.
Tadak-tadak—
'Fucking prick, poking like he's testing...'
Running at top speed.
“......”
Dart couldn't distinguish his relentless footfalls from his pounding heart, rattled by the surprise grilling.