Greed's Unyielding Revival

"It never ends," Arthur muttered, his handsome face twisting slightly as he cleaved through three Corruptors' necks in one stroke. Beside him, Noah laughed heartily while shattering skulls with fists wreathed in holy flames. "Trials and tribulations are meant to be endless, after all."

"Hmph. Endless trials and tribulations, is it?" Arthur surveyed the endless tide of Corruptors surging forward no matter how many he cut down. They resembled swarms of repulsive cockroaches, a veritable black wave crashing against them. "Seems accurate enough."

Agreeing with Noah, Arthur flicked the foul ash from his blade. "Heehee, heeheehee! That girlish-looking one is mine!" "Then the white-haired one spewing that disgusting holy power is mine!" "Aaah! Me too, me too! Let's eat him together!"

Disgusting wretches. You lot truly don't belong in this world. Arthur raised his sword, pouring mana into Excalibur. WHOOSH! Golden mana erupted in a brilliant radiance. The gathered energy solidified into sword aura, and Excalibur resonated with a deep hum, infusing the aura with divinity. Corruptors near Arthur and Noah recoiled as if burned by searing flames. "Kyaa, kyaaak!" "Graaah! H-hot! It's hot!"

The holy flames of Excalibur scorched their demonic energy. "Th-this isn't even real holy power, so how—!" one Corruptor shrieked in agony. Arthur glanced at the sword in his hand. A woman's voice from a lake echoed in his mind.

'How did you enter this lake? More importantly, your wounds need treating first.' '...You're covered in injuries again today. Did you fight once more?' 'You said you have no name, right? Then I'll give you one.' 'Arthur... Arthur Pendragon. A name to share your fate with from now on.'

The woman who had given a name, eyes, and the holy sword to the nameless, ever-wounded vagrant he once was. Her blue hair, eyes, and smile lingered in his vision amid the suffering Corruptors. 'Vivian, why did you grant me the holy sword and the right to kingship?'

Many others could have wielded the holy sword. The Round Table, which revered the legend of the Knight King, had countless candidates with talent, character, and noble bloodlines. In contrast, he had possessed nothing—no parents, no family, no talent, not even a name. A mere drifter scraping by in the gutters. That had been him. Yet Vivian had healed his wounds, saying such things meant nothing to her. She gave him a name. She gave him eyes. She gave him the holy sword. And after bestowing the right to kingship, she vanished.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

'Vivian, perhaps I lack the qualifications of a king.' He had grown stronger to repay her kindness, defeating every candidate at the Round Table. Recognized by the guardian knights, he was chosen as the next heir and earned the title of Heir to the Knight King. Yet he still could not unleash the holy sword's true power.

'Even so, I intend to see it through.' Vivian, do you know? 'Until I entered Arena Academy, I was pessimistic. Someone like me, unable to release the holy sword's power, had no right to be king. So I resolved that if I couldn't unleash it by graduation, I would cast the sword into the lake where you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once dwelt.' 'But then one person caught my eye.' Lee Yoo-jin. The man who seized first place from him and Lee Seo-yeon, the top contenders, and claimed it outright. A man possessing greater strength than anyone, yet with a kind and gentle heart. A man who never fled even the most perilous situations, confronting evil to the very end.

'That man awakened my frail spirit.' So watch me, Vivian. Watch the journey of the coward you named as he ascends to the throne of kings. "As the Heir to the Knight King, I declare."

"From this moment, this place shall be my paradise and the holy land of knights." Arthur gripped Excalibur with both hands and reversed the blade, pointing its tip toward the ground. "All evil here shall be banished from paradise."

Immense mana erupted from Arthur's body. The earth trembled as if struck by an earthquake. Excalibur resonated with a deep hum, sending out golden waves. The resonance accelerated, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spreading the waves wider. "What is this—graaah!" Golden flames ignited on the Corruptors touched by the waves. "Fire! Put out the fire! Put it ouuuut—!" Holy flames, akin to yet far stronger than the white blaze of holy power, consumed them.

"...Power is surging?" "My depleted mana is recovering..." "What is this feeling? Exhilaration?" In contrast, the punitive force members felt strength welling up as if blessed, their bodies enveloped in golden mana. Arthur watched them and thought of Lee Yoo-jin, fighting alone at the 1st punitive force's forward outpost. 'Lee Yoo-jin, just hold on a little longer. Soon I... no, we will come to your aid.'

With that thought, Arthur raised Excalibur high. When the waves reached every living being standing on the ground, he drove the blade deep into the earth and activated his ultimate skill. "Avalon."

A massive golden apple tree bloomed upon the land stained with Corruptor ash and punitive force blood.

& & &

"...What is this?" Greed stared at me in disbelief, his voice hollow. Then his head, having lost its entire body, dropped to the ground with a thud and rolled away. His lifeless pupils were dilated wide, as if confirming his death. I exhaled in relief... or rather, I didn't. Instead, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I discarded the destroyed equipment from using Speed Limit Release and equipped new gear. Donning ten Aegis units, Atlas Armor, and Thunderbolt, I quickly teleported grenade boxes to where Greed's head lay.

Terra asked, puzzled. "Master, isn't Greed dead?" 'No, he isn't.'

After all, Greed possessed...

"...Oh?" ...death-avoidance items. "Hmm. Even Kali let her guard down once, yet you don't relax at all." Greed's dilated pupils contracted once more. Black flames erupted from his head. "You know, the sensation of your body regenerating never really becomes familiar, no matter how many times it happens." In an instant, his body fully restored. Witnessing it, I recalled an item. '...Phoenix Feather, huh.'

One of the rarest death-avoidance items, Phoenix Feather (S). It revives the user seconds after a fatal or near-fatal blow. 'Since he used one, that leaves five.'

Of course, fitting for a named demon like Greed, he carried not only death-avoidance items but various rare treasures. Players in the game community called him the "Treasure Corruptor" for a reason—you could claim every item he possessed upon defeating him. However, killing him was extremely difficult. Six death-avoidance items, countless rare artifacts, an absurd inventory, and physical prowess ranking him sixth among the twelve named demons. Thus, he bore another moniker besides "Treasure Corruptor."

'Newbie Slayer.' It was inevitable. Overwhelming physical strength, cockroach-like survivability that let him revive six times, plus item advantages. Even veterans shuddered at that trinity. For newbies, it was truly a death zone. And now... that newbie death zone had found me. 'This is insane.'

I'd burned one revival with my ambush, but five remained. Not merely five—five revivals still left. '...What now? He won't let his guard down anymore.' I was in a severely disadvantageous position. Most Corruptors grew arrogant with power, their emotions easily inflamed. Yet Greed acted with such caution that he hardly seemed like a Corruptor. Even with death-avoidance items, he evaded rather than tanking hits when his opponent held a trump card. "That gun looks promising."

...And now he was stealing my items. The silver lining was the restriction tied to my Infinite Items ability. Click. "An A-rank firearm item... quite the rare find." Greed examined the Thunderbolt he'd stolen with his Steal skill, turning it over curiously. But only for a moment. "...Hm? The item is disappearing?" He stared at his empty hands in surprise, then tilted his head and looked at me. "Oh... an ability that prevents me from taking items. How intriguing."

Greed's eyes gleamed with avarice as he gazed at me. "Lee Yoo-jin, I've decided I want that ability of yours." At that moment, a system alert chimed in my mind, and a minimized window appeared in the corner of my vision.

Terra's voice followed. "Master, an event quest has triggered. Survive for 5 minutes. Reinforcements will arrive if you hold out that long." ...Five minutes? "Lee Yoo-jin..." Various weapons materialized around Greed—swords, spears, axes, hammers, guns, cannons, and more—countless armaments aimed at me. 'Five minutes is cutting it way too close.'

I lifted nearby rocks with telekinesis. "Die for me! And hand over that ability!" As Greed kicked off the ground and charged, I activated the cheat.

I hurled the telekinetically lifted rocks straight at Greed.