Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Floating Island Siege
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Kang Geom-il had been defeated.
The community fell silent.
With this, there was no longer any room for users to intervene.
💬 Comments — Anonymous [Ah...] — Anonymous [......] — Anonymous [......]
No one could bring themselves to speak carelessly.
The realm Kang Geom-il had displayed was one even top-tier users could only dream of, yet the Outsider Killer had overwhelmed him from start to finish—no, toyed with him relentlessly.
The moment he activated his special privilege seal, Kang Geom-il was subdued so pathetically that it could only be seen that way.
Yoon Hye-mi sat there dumbfounded, her mouth agape. The other staff weren't much different.
Yoon Seok-il scowled, while Shin Jin-pae let out a groan of "Mm..." with a hint of unease.
Because of that, no one noticed a certain post in the community.
— Anonymous [Hey. It says there's still one user left on the floating island, so make contact? Anyone get this quest or hear about it?]
That post was quickly buried under the ensuing stream of [......] chats.
Only a handful of top rankers noticed the odd chat, and even they brushed it off indifferently or were too stunned by Kang Geom-il's utterly powerless defeat to follow up.
The few who happened to glimpse it dismissed it as a prank from some bored user.
Thus, no one knew—except for the little witch, the girl in the form of a young woman.
That a certain man had meticulously reviewed every single one of Almiraz's battle videos and had only just woken up.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Kuuaaaa.
Before the light even faded, Kaiz unleashed a second and third barrage of light blasts.
Not stopping there, the hero drew his sword.
A blade radiating brilliant light, one that stirred the heart and welled up overwhelming emotions just by looking at it.
Kaiz drew the holy sword and began a savage slaughter unworthy of its name.
Ku-ku-ku-ku-kwa.
He inflicted destruction no different from what Kang Geom-il had wrought, but far faster and more precise.
An assault that made even Almiraz think, No matter how resilient you are, this should be enough...
Yet Kaiz showed no sign of letting up.
On the contrary, as if it weren't enough, he accelerated further, unleashing even greater power and conjuring a storm of light.
Not just light—droplets formed on his shoulders, turning into blades of water that sought to cleave Almiraz.
The earth spiked upward to skewer him like a rabbit on a spit; a typhoon descended from the sky to crush the Outsider Killer.
A being that embodied sheer irrationality.
Even the people of Elryunar and the users watching via the community were left speechless at Kaiz's overwhelming might.
And then.
Pa-pop. Pa-pa-pop.
With bizarre sounds, the trajectories of all those attacks veered off, and Almiraz burst out from within the storm of light.
Kaiz pursued relentlessly, refusing to let him escape.
Almiraz fired off several black orbs, but Kaiz dismissed them with an annoyed wave of his hand.
Overwhelming. Powerful. Supreme.
The hero Kaiz lived up to those titles.
The scene, filled with despair just moments ago, now brimmed with hope thanks to his arrival and exploits.
"Foam."
One word.
With just that, foam seemed to rise from the water—then it surged into a tidal wave crashing toward Almiraz.
And Almiraz extended his hand.
Kwa-chang!
With a sound like freezing ice, the tidal wave, earthen spikes, heavenly typhoon, and water blades all vanished, leaving only the light.
But Kaiz showed no sign of panic and pressed his assault...
[Half.]
"?"
[I was saving it for you.]
Kuuaaaaa!
No sooner had the words ended than immense Ryunar crushed down on Kaiz.
This overwhelming violence, equivalent to half of the floating island, was something even Kaiz couldn't ignore.
His movements grew unnatural, as if crushed by gravity.
"......"
But this was anticipated.
As planned, when this phenomenon occurred, she—the supreme thief and master assassin Raeband—would move.
And as per the plan, Raeband appeared behind Almiraz...
Peng!
"Kuk?!"
She suddenly revealed herself to stab Almiraz in the back but was blasted away by some explosion.
Almiraz didn't pursue the flying Raeband, who looked like a cut puppet string, and instead shielded his head with his arm—right before a pillar of light engulfed him.
A short distance away, Maria dropped her invisibility spell and chanted a holy prayer, her face shocked that the ambush had failed.
[Kneel.]
With just a fraction of the floating island's power, Almiraz slammed her into the ground.
It wasn't that she was weak.
The mere fact that she maintained form and resisted the massive flow of nature proved she was a monster too.
But it was undeniable that all those monsters had been subdued.
[Hero Kaiz.]
"Almiraz."
[Just as I heard.]
He strode forward, but Almiraz showed no sign of attacking Kaiz.
Attacking recklessly here might free him from the pressure and make things more troublesome.
Up close, the Outsider Killer carefully examined the hero once more.
Kaiz was undoubtedly strong.
But what use was that strength after the descent ended?
Thinking that, Almiraz let out a clear sneer.
[I've never met you in person.]
"......"
[Yet you seem to know me. My power. My habits.]
"And you know all about me and my comrades in intimate detail."
Their conversation was private, inaudible to others.
Almiraz smiled in delight as they exchanged whispers.
[I heard.]
"......"
[Just as the prophecy foretold.]
Prophecy.
A word that had become one of his most hated due to a certain human—and another he'd recently met.
As Kaiz furrowed his brow, Almiraz continued.
[Did you think that hooded man was my true body? Did you not expect me to acquire Nerenea's Rosario at this time?]
Kaiz's expression hardened as he recalled the hooded man thought to be Almiraz's body and the item the great mage had created for unknown reasons.
"...How did you know about the Rosario?"
[Didn't I just say? Prophecy. Precisely, the prophecy book inscribed with it. I read that book and was cautious, oh so cautious. No matter the opportunity, unless everything was perfectly aligned, I wouldn't reveal my true self.]
This tone. This confident speech... It was unbelievable, but he had to accept it.
Horror dawned in Kaiz's eyes.
[You've endured countless loops, yet you don't know everything about me? Time-defier.]
"......!!"
It was as he thought.
This guy—Almiraz—knew that Kaiz was a regressor, a reincarnator.
[You were my greatest obstacle. Even if I subdued everyone else, your presence would ruin all my plans.]
"......"
[So I had to lower your guard. Make you think you'd figured me out completely. Convince you that the human-like golem was my true body, reveal my special privilege seal without reservation so you'd think you'd grasped me—turn you into a pitiful madman raging at an irrational reality...]
Nothing was easier to strike than the back of an enemy's head when they thought they knew everything.
Kaiz took a deep breath at Almiraz's words.
As resolve settled on his face, Almiraz's skeletal visage curved into a satisfied smile.
[Planning suicide? Fine by me. Futile, though.]
"?"
[Under this blue moon, regression doesn't work. You might resurrect, though.]
"......!!"
Astounding information.
Regression was something he couldn't overcome even with his full will—yet it was blocked?
[The god governing your power is supreme, but it can't handle an equal divinity descended into this world. That's an unbreakable rule.]
"...Is this power Zeus? Azathoth? Or Odin?"
[None of them. But an equal divinity. Doesn't that make it obvious why your regression is blocked?]
A checkmate.
His power sealed by the floating island's might, and suicide couldn't even trigger regression.
Staying like this would overturn the board.
Had Almiraz endured all this for this one moment?
[But you made one miscalculation. I guarded against you and prepared, but I didn't expect you'd come here at this exact moment.]
"......"
[Who would've thought you'd leave Gorgas be? Don't you care about the secondary damage?]
"......"
[Well, suicide would erase it all anyway, so your mind must be at ease, hero. No— you who wear the hero's shell, the most selfish being in the world.]
Kaiz didn't respond. Interpreting it as affirmation, Almiraz scoffed.
[The original plan was to use the island's attack privileges to eliminate you... But I was stopped while seizing them, so that fell through.]
"......"
Sensing something off in the still-silent hero, Almiraz asked what had been bothering him.
[What did you do?]
"Do what?"
[This power crushing you now. Originally, half this island's Ryunar was used to suppress the core. I planned to unseal it only after dealing with you and use it then—but the seal suddenly broke. The timing suggests it was you, no?]
"Of course, coming here without knowing I'd use that half on you was foolish." Hearing Almiraz's addendum, Kaiz smiled.
That irked Almiraz, narrowing his blue-flamed eyes.
[What's so funny?]
"Wasn't that guy in your prophecy book?"
[What?]
"...Then maybe this resolves itself without me lifting a finger."
Almiraz let out a hollow chuckle after a silence.
[Resolves? 'Maybe'?]
"He seemed inconsistent."
[Who?]
"......"
Kaiz didn't answer.
[Hm.]
Almiraz lost interest.
Summoning a forgotten god would end everything anyway.
At that moment, the instructors, now accustomed to the Ryunar pressure, began to move slightly. And...
Paaat.
The blue moon illuminated them.
The instructors now knelt outright, with Gijaier nearly flattened on the ground.
Even Kaiz staggered.
Not stopping there, the blue moonlight turned to flames, sweeping everything below the topmost altar—called the "altar"—in blue fire.
Not even Pryunar Academy's instructors, who had been waiting for a chance to climb, dared imagine facing this otherworldly, ominous blaze-like entity.
With this, no reinforcements possible, Almiraz let out a groan that was both delighted and hollow.
'No. That guy might...'
Kaiz exhaled and said,
"...You've used divine power."
[I didn't. The forgotten god is regaining strength and exerting influence. This ends you.]
"......"
[With just the Ryunar crushing you now, you might've barely moved. But this—the forgotten god's power—you can't withstand. You were my greatest obstacle, but never my greatest enemy.]
From the moment he seized the floating island's privileges and raised the blue moon, Kaiz was already done for.
All that remained was the medium.
Realizing where Almiraz's gaze turned, Kaiz spoke in a displeased tone.
"You plan to sacrifice her? Then how are you different from those you despise?"
[Knows nothing, yet the one who's sacrificed her countless times dares speak?]
Kaiz was at a loss for words.
[Only a saint who knew her constitution yet tried to save her could comment on her fate. No such person exists in this world.]
"...Maybe one does."
Almiraz scoffed at Kaiz's words.
[Refusing to lose in words? An unexpected side.]
Scoffing, Almiraz turned from Kaiz and walked straight toward the students.
The students, tense at the strange turn, instantly assumed combat stances.
"Ah, fuck. We're screwed."
"Watch your language, Rius."
Rius and Dia took the front once more, with the burly boy Ralz standing like an unyielding mountain behind them.
Meiyal and El flanked Asita, while Clarier... couldn't move.
It wasn't fear of Almiraz.
Dre was dead.
She was shocked beyond comprehension by that fact.
"Get up, Clarit!"
Meiyal said, voice trembling with tears.
She too grieved for Dre, but this wasn't the time to wallow.
She had to protect the remaining friends.
"It's just us now!"
"......"
[Indeed, just you children.]
The students tensed at Almiraz's words.
[Futile, though.]
The moment he finished speaking, Almiraz closed the distance at blinding speed.
[...Hoh.]
His eyes gleamed.
Rius and Dia matched Almiraz's speed, reacting and swinging their swords.
Ralz, though immobile, hardened his massive, sturdy body even further to shield his friends.
[Such terrifying talents.]
Peruk!
The next instant, the two slammed into the ground, and Ralz—who had endured several of Almiraz's blows—was sent flying far away by a swirling black fist.
Immediately after, a orb of light struck Almiraz.
Staggering from the unexpected impact, Almiraz groaned.
[Mm.]
"You bastard!!"
Almiraz admired El's eyes, burning not with despair but pure rage.
The outburst of fury from Dre's fall to the ground.
The machine-gun-like barrage of light orbs was a powerful assault that even made Almiraz hesitate.
[As expected of the pinnacle of nobility. Descendants of the Ten Heroes, the Ten Great Families.]
Almiraz countered El's light orbs with dark spheres while closing in.
"Iyaaap!"
He snatched Meiyal charging from the side and hurled her at El.
As the two tumbled, he glanced at Clarier, still kneeling immobile.
"Got careless?!"
While Almiraz's gaze was on Clarier, Inses suddenly emerged from the shadows onto his head—only to be blasted away with a shriek.
[As if. King of dream demons.]
He looked at the man who'd fallen on his butt. Medeus.
[You're that girl's lover, aren't you?]
"Ha, haha..."
Medeus averted his eyes from the blazing blue gaze, trembling.
He didn't even glance at Asita, who showed no interest in such a lover anyway.
Her focus—her immense hostility—was solely on the enemy before her. Almiraz.
The venomous glare of the goddess-like beauty sent chills down the spine.
[......]
Averting his gaze with effort, Almiraz surveyed the surroundings.
One half-dead instructor hugging his knees and trembling worthless Medeus, and a similar boy, Hamart. Turning from them, he advanced...
At that moment, the half-dead instructor Yapuno rose.
"I-Instructor...!"
Under Asita's call and Almiraz's gaze, Yapuno gripped his one relatively intact left arm.
[Stop.]
That battered body and unsteady stance couldn't produce proper power.
The fight wouldn't even stand.
But Yapuno gritted his teeth.
"Stupid shit... Don't wanna leave the kids in crisis... Or I'd be a real idiot."
[...I see.]
Almiraz extended a hand in respect to the blocker.
Then Yapuno's breath hitched, and he thrust his fist.
A punch channeling all his blood and qi into one point.
"Sky-Shattering Fist..."
Tuk.
[......]
The fist met his hand weakly. Staring at it blankly, Almiraz tried to crush it.
Kwaruruk.
[?!]
Rotation surged from the hand; he urgently kicked off the ground, spinning with the destructive force of the Sky-Shattering Fist.
After whirling and landing, Yapuno was already kneeling, his energy spent.
[...I reflect on my arrogance. Impressive.]
The being before him was a Pryunar Academy instructor.
How could he have been arrogant?
But it seemed he'd truly poured everything out—Yapuno collapsed.
"Eee...!"
Asita's body faded into transparency.
Her style was ambush.
The invisibility even Dre hadn't detected was flawless, hard for Almiraz to track.
But Almiraz glanced upward annoyedly; as blue light bathed the ground, Asita's form appeared as if by magic.
Immediately, Almiraz's massive arm seized her.
"Ack... Urk!"
Tucking her under one arm, he said,
[Sorry, but time's up.]
"Don't... make me laugh!"
Better death by her own hand than used by this monster.
Her dear father's face flashed by, but she gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.
And then.
Kwaaa!!
Suddenly, a swarm of white stars engulfed Almiraz.
Blocking with his other arm, Almiraz sighed in annoyance.
"White Horse Lord..."
One of the magic tower lords, as troublesome as the instructors.
He'd wondered why the one who traveled with Kang Geom-il hadn't appeared.
But it seemed he'd come prepared.
The floating island's Ryunar tried to crush him, but he slipped away intangible.
[......]
"Even the island's Ryunar or that blue light won't catch me for a bit. You seem to know the hero well, so you've investigated thoroughly—but I hid this technique even from Geom-il."
[I see.]
Troublesome.
Thinking this smug type grated on him, Almiraz scowled.
"One question. What did you and the hero discuss? Noise started interfering after that strange dark cloud formed."
As the White Horse Lord said, odd weather around the island caused static or fuzziness in certain words.
But Almiraz had no intention of answering.
He merely swatted like at an annoying fly.
Blue energy whipped lethally toward the White Horse Lord along his arm's path.
Pereng! Peng!
The White Horse Lord scattered white stars, appearing and vanishing everywhere, extending a hand to fire beams from the star swarm at Almiraz.
"Arrogant, despite feasting on the island's privileges. Very well."
The White Horse Lord took a deep breath and looked at Asita.
"Asita Leisia."
"......?"
"I'm about to send a certain wavelength. Respond to it, and you'll meet a peaceful death."
Asita's mouth fell open in a groan.
"What..."
Not saving her—but killing her?
Asita, and even Almiraz's face twisted.
"Truly sorry, but this is the best I can do now. If not, you'll die to this Outsider Killer you hate, something will happen, and the whole world will fall into chaos. Better to sacrifice and become a hero, no?"
[You.]
Almiraz pushed through the star swarm, advancing.
The White Horse Lord gave a hollow laugh.
Even he couldn't withstand a frontal assault, yet that blue moon seemed to empower him.
"No time. Your choice."
"......"
Asita remembered.
The man she'd quarreled with over something trivial.
Yes, it was trivial.
And she realized she'd deliberately ignored that.
It wasn't betrayal—she was hurt that he was closer to another woman than her, and afterward, she just needed an excuse.
A selfish desire to hurt the one who'd hurt her.
She faced the emotion she'd refused to acknowledge.
A certain word came to mind, then a certain man.
The one who'd saved her life, one that would've likely ended to Red Rat that day.
Asita closed her eyes.
Ryunar like tears scattered from them.
The White Horse Lord smiled the moment.
Ooooo!
Her body resonated with the wavelength, emitting fierce light.
Paaaaat.
[......]
"Excellent choice, Lady Asita."
A smile formed on the White Horse Lord's lips.
This would bring him much closer to his goal.
Block Almiraz, block whatever even the celestials feared, surely...
But something was off.
Almiraz, who should be desperate, seemed displeased but didn't actively block.
One step, one step, pushing the star swarm.
Intimidating, but that was it.
Though puzzled, urgency and personal greed kept the White Horse Lord's spell going.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Ding! "......!"
Kang Geom-il, collapsed, saw some message and called out in his raspy voice.
"Stop...! She's right now...!"
His voice was drowned in the roar.
From somewhere in the sky, Asita's body emitted multicolored brilliance everywhere.
Gazes of despair and regret focused on her.
Asita's body glowed ever fiercer, and Almiraz sighed.
[Is this the end? A conclusion befitting... this filthy world.]
"Yes. The pathetic end to what you wrought."
The White Horse Lord grinned.
Almiraz didn't reply, extinguishing the blue flame in his skull sockets.
Now, the end.
He would revive.
Time to retreat.
Almiraz summoned one floating warp gate.
"Something about you never sat right with me."
[...?]
Where was this voice coming from?
His thoughts didn't linger.
A flying sword strike cleaved the white stars, piercing the horrified White Horse Lord's shoulder.
Shuk!
"Kyaak?!"
Kwathud!
The White Horse Lord rolled across the ground. Almiraz stared dumbfounded.
How had he attacked?
His magic—the white star shroud—blocked mana and skills, impervious to attacks, and mere sight imposed movement restrictions. Impossible to approach easily.
Even stranger: the White Horse Lord's monster-like vitality wasn't regenerating his body.
The White Horse Lord gaped blankly.
This phenomenon could only mean...
"Destruction attribute...? Who... Gah!"
Realizing it wasn't the Outsider Killer, Almiraz—who had closed in—kicked him far away, scanning for the voice's owner.
"Where'd you send him? Here. And here."
[......]
Impossible.
The voice came from the warp gate he'd just summoned.
Couldn't be.
He hadn't overlooked it or excluded it from suspicion idly.
He'd seized all warp privileges of the floating island.
No ordinary person—no, not even a great mage—could use a privileged warp gate.
Destruction maybe, but usage was a whole different league.
He looked up.
And slowly opened his mouth at the impossible face.
[You.]
"Hey."
The man greeted amiably and hopped down from the warp gate.
Seeing him, Asita's eyes shook.
Tears welled in her glistening eyes; in a trembling voice, she called as if confirming.
"Dre...?"
"...?"
The man—Dre—tilted his head and asked,
"Why not 'Yeodre'?"
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💬 Comments — Anonymous [Crazy! Stop that bastard!] — Anonymous [Yeah we're fucked lololol] — Anonymous [We're done for.] — Anonymous [We're no match.] — Anonymous [Oh god! It's all over!] — Anonymous [Fuck what happens now?]
The community was in chaos.
And rightly so, given the information from the gods.
That girl, Asita, could summon Almiraz's forgotten god—but she didn't need to be alive.
Destroying her body would actually make the summoning easier.
In other words, Almiraz hadn't mindlessly told Kang Geom-il she was the medium; no matter what happened to her, his goal was achieved, so he didn't care.
As the mood sank into mourning with Kang Geom-il down, even Shin Jin-pae broke into a cold sweat.
'Is this really okay...?'
Then.
Someone slashed the White Horse Lord on screen and appeared.
— Anonymous [Huh? Where'd that guy come from?] — Anonymous [From Almiraz's escape warp gate, looks like.] — Anonymous [Wasn't the warp gate hijacked?] ⭐ Top Comment — Adel [Ah.]
The top ranker Adel reacted.
⭐ Top Comment — Adel [That guy's the one who took down the murderers in the great mage's sanctuary earlier] — Anonymous [Who's that?] — Kobski [The guy I mentioned earlier?] — Anonymous [Don't just rankers know, tell us too.] — Anonymous [Who the hell is that you weeb fucks?] The office was the same.
Sudden appearance of an unknown man.
User, judging by the outsider mark engraved on his sword hilt.
And since top ranker Adel acted like he knew, curiosity exploded; the already volatile chat went wilder.
Amid it all, only Yoon Seok-il trembled.
From disbelief to awe.
He knew that man.
In every genre—all games, really—he'd given him dreams and hope...
'Not a namesake...!'
As he excitedly tried to shout the name, someone beat him to it.
"......Yeodre......?"
Someone uttered the name—with utter reluctance, disbelief, but unavoidable since he was right there.
It was Shin Jin-pae.
"Director...?"
He'd sweated a bit earlier, but now he was utterly changed.
Face drenched, eyes trembling in terror, body shaking like a leaf.
The man who'd risen to top ranks fastest, already a ranker candidate, supreme talent.
"Dre...... That bastard... Why the hell is he here...?!"
The Dre on screen smiled, oblivious or not to the situation.
With the innocent cheer of a kid enjoying a game.