Chapter 103
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: How to Survive in Fusion Punk
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A swarm of bats blanketed the sky above the cathedral.
It was a vortex.
A black whirlpool swirling around the central spire, draping a pall of gloom over the ground.
Chichichit!
Thousands of wings beat out a razor-sharp cacophony, while thousands of crimson eyes glimmered like eerie stars.
The final pureblood of the 'surface' that Solard had ultimately failed to incinerate—its sole heir.
The Ninth Apostle.
In that moment, eyes as compound as her fractured self captured the woman unfurling black wings.
She wore a glossy black longcoat, lightly pressing down the fedora on her head with a gloved hand to keep it from flying off in the wind.
A face so beautiful that nothing else would suffice drew a red smile. An expression that should have been hidden behind a bizarre mask.
[You're insane]
"Hello. Blood Ghost."
She greeted him quite politely.
But the Apostle knew.
That thing was a cursed heretic.
One who had abandoned the great cause and pledged allegiance to the river of the underworld.
"Long time no see."
Her obsidian eyes curved into crescents.
A sleek madness brushed over them, and in an instant, the bats' faces twisted in fury. Things that were once one now shared emotions as if of a single mind—
[Why are you here?]
The next instant, thousands of overlapping voices rained down upon the earth.
[Crow]
Crow Madeye.
The Black Mage of Styx, known as 'that madwoman,' lowered her gaze. The hand that had been holding her fedora brushed across her face, and as she slowly raised her head, a dull silver mask came into view.
A beak sharp and sinister in shape.
The two round eyeholes were pitch-black voids like the abyss.
Jin, drawing on knowledge from his homeland, called it the mask of a Plague Doctor.
A neutral voice buzzed from within.
"Because you're trying to ruin my treasure. You dare."
[Treasure?]
Some of the bats' eyes captured the two fallen men.
The gaze passed over the bloodied, limp Cerebellum King and settled on the man with far graver injuries.
But his condition was a bit off.
Lying there staring at his navel, forcing his head up with veins bulging as he screamed nonstop.
And the shape of his mouth was...
What?! You crazy bastard, cough! It was you?! Plague Crow! You're totally nuts... cough! Hey! Fenrir's enemy! You didn't die? Anyway! Hey! Cough!
[That's your treasure? His hatred for you burns like wildfire]
"He's just hurting right now. Because of you."
Crow replied nonchalantly. Her tall frame, larger than most men, made the leather longcoat flapping in the wind look quite imposing.
But even more eye-catching were the massive black wings sprouting from her shoulder blades. Reading her true intent, the Apostle spoke.
[You're really going to interfere? Madwoman, as stubborn and selfish as ever]
"Guess you didn't know. I move how I want."
It was a futile conversation.
So it ended there.
Pfufufung!
The bats dissolved into pools of blood.
Over a hundred of them, at least.
With a blood scent that stung the nose, they transformed into spells.
In an instant.
They rained down from the sky like meteors.
This time, without half their power diminished.
At the same time, a low chuckle escaped.
"Will this let you grasp a bit of my sincerity?"
Mana swirled around Crow's body.
Chantless incantation, just like her.
A realm where one freely wielded imagery without uttering words. Right after, the mana bubbling like foam surged skyward in reflux.
Crow and the Apostle.
Their powers clashed in midair.
"Urk." "Agh." "Guh."
Today, too, Jin rolled.
Left, tumble. Right, tumble.
Not content with just side to side.
Sometimes forward and back, degururu.
Merely curling into a ball from irresistible external force. Unable to move by his own will—like a pillbug.
A Hierarchy 2 pillbug, no less.
What rare specimen is this?
Put him on display, and young and old alike would flock, whispering, "Is this for real?"
Honestly, at Hierarchy 2, you could claim a spot anywhere—a realm promised and guaranteed since ancient times, acknowledged by all.
In wuxia terms, peak mastery, right?
Of course, in new wuxia—fourth-gen webnovels, that is—peak was so devalued it was more common than pebbles underfoot in the marketplace. Now even third-rate villains groping noble daughters or bullying innocent errand boys came pre-loaded with peak as an urban legend...
"Hup!"
Jin snapped to his senses.
He'd smacked his head hard on the ground; his vision had spun for a moment.
Like wandering in a dream, spouting nonsense— he reined in his consciousness and assessed the situation first.
How to even describe this.
Bats versus crow showdown?
Bad guy vs. bad guy?
Was Michelle—or Mongshell or whatever—from the start actually Crow?
What the hell was going on?
In his utter mental haze, Jin's eyes turned to the cathedral's facade.
The building constantly exposed to shockwaves from clashing spells felt like such a waste—proving Jin was unmistakably Korean.
Damn, those lunatics are gonna wreck it all!
But it's fine.
Grang Tournel Cathedral.
Once a cradle for sun god worshippers. Built from blessed materials, its durability was unmatched. Jin's worries were premature, for now.
Yeah, for now.
Kwaang—!
A deafening roar erupted.
The shockwave from the epicenter slammed into Jin.
This time, he didn't roll limply. His legs, which had gone on strike, were back online. He planted his feet firmly, enduring the impact. Then, spitting blood-mixed saliva to the side, he dashed over, snatched Kendrick's collar with an outstretched hand.
Blink!
Having laid Kendrick in a safe spot he'd eyed beforehand, Jin patted his cheek.
"Hey, hey! Hey! You ain't dead, right?"
His torn lips parted slightly.
"......, ..., ......"
The sound too faint to catch clearly, Jin reluctantly pressed his ear to Kendrick's face.
Finally, a hazy voice drifted in.
"...The sky..., so pretty..., just... watching..."
"You think that's pretty? Those bat bastards are dangerous as hell. You don't know about COVID?"
Jin chided, but chuckled despite himself.
If he had breath left for bravado, that was reassuring.
Not his level of recovery, sure, but this was a body bathed(?), brushed, and bathed again in spirit elixirs. Yeah, he could hold out this much.
"Just lie there for now."
Leaving those words, as Jin rose swiftly, Kendrick grabbed his wrist tight.
"What?"
No choice, Jin brought his ear back to Kendrick's mouth.
The Cerebellum King's voice continued.
"...The third..., treading..., the world..., monsters.... Not... your place... to butt in."
"I know. I'll handle it, so keep enjoying the view."
He lightly slapped Kendrick's trembling shoulder and stood.
Passing the chapel's outer wall that had stood like a shield, Jin returned to the entrance.
The battle still raged.
Spells flew thick and fast, aiming for each other's throats.
They shattered and dispelled them.
Spells scattered, reconverged, counterattacks chained.
In just over a minute—the second hand ticking 60 steps—they'd exchanged dozens of times that in blows. Their lives were denser. Kendrick was right. No room for him there. Not yet, anyway.
So Jin turned his head.
His eyes took in the relic inside the chapel.
There lay the result of the Sword Saint's request and the status window's demand aligning as one.
Protect that first.
No sooner had the thought formed than Jin kicked off the ground.
Pajijik!!
This time, Lightning Cry screamed.
He held back the mana-hungry Blazing Flame for now.
It had more than earned its keep countering those damn vampire bats. In this situation, only self-rotation was smooth and natural for him still—
Kung!
Accelerating off his pivot foot, Jin sucked back his fist and thrust it forward with all his might.
At the end of that straight trajectory, the first wedge.
Teoreung!!
A translucent barrier blocked it.
Had it sensed the danger? Cracks spiderwebbed across the wedge's rough surface, eyes flashing through the fissures!
From those vicious glares, red beams shot straight out.
Jin dodged with a monstrous midair spin that would make Yang Hak-seon weep, grinding his teeth.
What the hell is this!
Jin didn't know, but this too was an artifact. A genuine one crafted by the now-extinct dwarf race.
Equipment for relic theft. As if shouting it naturally had this capability.
Jiiwoong!
Beams incoming from different angles.
Barely evading, Jin closed in and threw another punch. Short-arc combos rocked the barrier hard.
Impact points uniform as if measured with a ruler.
In shooting terms, perfect shot grouping.
Over ten triggers pulled, yet only one hole in the target, its edges shifting ever so slightly.
And finally.
Jjang!
The barrier shattered.
His hand plunged through flying shards, seizing the wedge.
Wak, hot!!
Pain as his palm burned and stuck—Jin flinched. But only for a moment. Countless pains endured, the tenacious spirit forged surviving this world overcame it.
"Hup!!"
He yanked it free and hurled it with all his strength.
As the wedge flew far, the ominous aura cloaking the relic visibly thinned.
In trade, Jin's eyes lit up.
Got it! It works!
As he lunged for the second—
Flash, eyes ignited.
But too many this time.
All three remaining wedges opened wide simultaneously.
Laser show ensued.
Whoa!
A chaotic light frenzy evoking a spinning mirror ball—Jin's eyes bulged. Instinctive evasion dodged most, but one grazed his shoulder.
Chijijijik—!
Confirming the acrid smell and sizzling cloth. Body already a wreck. Plenty lethal potential verified.
Hiding from follow-ups behind the relic—precisely, sheltering against its golden protective barrier.
But no such luck. The already faltering barrier melted gooily before the focused physical force—
The next moment.
Jin's action was pure impulse.
Jjanggrang—!
Hand smashing the glass case gripped the sword hilt.
And swung wildly.
Bwoong!
Anarion's swordmasters would clutch their necks at the brutish motion.
No sword path whatsoever, even if you scrubbed your eyes.
Others stripped away flourishes;
He stripped technique entirely.
Thus, a purely power-driven arc.
That arc cleaved the swirling beams.
Most shocked by the result? Jin himself.
"Whoa!"
Result achieved—good enough.
Pressing the momentum, he advanced.
Recalling Ryu Card's silver tresses flying in a single stroke, he swung his arm down wide.
The actual move closer to full-swinging a mallet at a mortar.
Kwang!!
Second barrier shattered in one go. Learning from before, Jin kicked the wedge away with his foot instead of hand.
Two wedges left.
Now holding the relic. Did he need to smash them all?
Obviously.
These things? Vampire bastard brought 'em.
Smash 'em all!
Thus, Jin wildly swung the ill-suited sword, butchering the rest.
"Heuk, haauk, heuk—"
Finally calming the breath rising to his throat, Jin staggered toward the chapel entrance.
What he saw then.
The Apostle back in bald human form, facing off against Michelle—no, Crow.
From the Plague Doctor's mask came the usual neutral voice.
"Shouldn't we run? You and me both."
The modulated tone hid emotions, but Jin imagined her grinning red. Just a hunch.
"He's coming."
"......"
The Apostle wrinkled his nose bridge. Fangs like blades gleamed sharp beneath curled gums.
"Don't forget—"
His words cut short. Jin had blinked right in his face, launching a flame-wreathed fist.
Mid-clash, the Apostle countered downward, but Jin slipped past by a paper's width, successfully smashing his face.
Peureok!!
Counter disrupting opponent's flow.
Flame counter again.
Blood Ghost consumer effect for triple counter.
The triple-layered counter punch leveled their gazes for a moment, sending the Apostle staggering back with a gush of blood.
"You bastard...!"
Wiping his jaw with his hand, fury boiled over his head. But he couldn't attack. The crow beside him prodded her own back with a thumb.
The Apostle gnashed his teeth.
"Soon, I'll rip every one of you bird scum apart. Definitely."
Instantly dissolving into blood mist, his presence vanished. Naturally, Crow placed a hand on Jin's shoulder.
"I'm off too. Scary uncle's coming."
"Hey, wait...!"
Before Jin could finish, Crow vanished clean.
As if an echoing "See you later."
"Like hell we'll meet again."
Jin muttered softly, standing dazed in place.
Tap.
Light footsteps at his ear.
His gaze naturally turned to capture a graying middle-aged man. Sword in hand, walking as if surveying the world...
So what.
Is that important now?
"No, why show up now! Do you know how many times we nearly died! Kendrick's half-corpse, waxing poetic about the weather amid bat swarms!"
Jin bellowed regardless of Sword Saint or whatever, even pointing with the blade unwittingly.
"Hm."
The Sword Saint blinked.
As his mouth opened—
Drip.
Suddenly, the relic's blade snapped clean in half, clattering to the floor.
Eh?
Jin's mind blanked, jaw slowly dropping—
The status window's celebratory message blanked his vision.
And an unstoppable dopamine rush named experience points slammed his brain! Wham!
"Euhek!"
Jin's body shuddered violently, eyes rolling back.
Too ragdoll to pretend otherwise.
He collapsed flat, nose-planting at the Sword Saint's feet.
Clutching tight the broken relic's hilt.