Chapter 489: Full Power
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 489: Full Power
The moment she first came face to face with Commander Rusleck, Yoo Ah-rin was quite taken aback.
Even if the Twilight Holy Society was one of the major clans that dominated the Tower, she wondered if the commander of a holy knight order stationed on the mere 8th floor was allowed to be this powerful.
In Yoo Ah-rin's eyes, Rusleck was an undeniable powerhouse. While not on Kang Hyun-woo's level, he was a wall she could never hope to overcome, no matter how hard she tried.
And yet, that very man was now nothing but a severed head, held in someone's hand.
Yoo Ah-rin was speechless at the shocking sight, and even Kang Hyun-woo was, for once, surprised.
‘…Were those the bastards I saw last night?’
While enjoying a leisurely moment drinking beer on his hotel balcony, Kang Hyun-woo had seen a suspicious group moving under the cover of darkness in Sanctelium.
At the time, he had assumed they were players from an Under Clan, moving stealthily to avoid patrols.
But seeing them here, right before his eyes, there was no mistaking it.
He now knew who had broken through the tight security to infiltrate Sanctelium.
“Do demon worshipers moonlight as petty thieves these days?”
“Don't you dare run your mouth, you filthy hound of a god.”
The man’s expression turned icy at the mocking tone.
But Kang Hyun-woo’s did as well.
He was wary of the man’s ability to have slipped past his senses, and the atmosphere around him naturally grew murderous.
A killing intent of a completely different caliber than what he'd shown against Kiriel overflowed from him.
It was enough to make Yoo Ah-rin, standing beside him, flinch and tremble.
Tring—
「Activating ‘Incomplete Moon's Eye (B-)’.」
「Name: Malzark Cardies
Age: 61
Contracted Constellation: Duke of Thieves
Affiliation: Gehenna
Authorities: Great Thief (A), Demonic Energy (A)
Exclusive Traits: Corrupted Faith (A), Hell Swordplay (A-), Honorary Noble of Hell (B), Fanaticism (C)
Exclusive Skills: Scandal of Hell (B+), Demon God's Consecration (C)
Traits: Demon Worship (B+), Human Sacrifice (B), Thousand-Man Kill (C+), Penitent (C), Demon Language Interpretation (C)…
Skills: Stealth Movement (B), Brainwashing (B-), Blood Oath (C+), Devil's Brand (C+), Blasphemy (C)…」
「Name: Kiriel Belsazer
Age: 24
Contracted Constellation: Wings of the Black Sword
Affiliation: Gehenna
Authorities: Strike of Ruin (B-), War of Death (C)
Exclusive Traits: Lonely One (A), Fanaticism (D)
Exclusive Skills: Soul Tear (C-), Soul Devour (C-), Darkness Consumption (D+)
Traits: Melee Combat (C+), Demon Worship (C), Human Sacrifice (C), Hundred-Man Kill (D+)…
Skills: Berserk (C), Spearmanship (C-), High-Speed Movement (D)」
Kang Hyun-woo clicked his tongue after checking their status windows.
As expected, they were players from Gehenna, a major clan hostile to the Twilight Holy Society.
“…This was supposed to be a special class, so I was planning on taking it easy.”
Shing—
With a hardened expression, Kang Hyun-woo drew the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword.
If he were alone, it might have been different. But with the heavily injured Yoo Ah-rin by his side, he had no intention of underestimating his opponents.
He drew upon his internal energy, planning to go all out from the very beginning.
Sensing Kang Hyun-woo’s formidable aura, Malzark spoke with a heavy voice.
“…On my way here, I found the lay believers assigned to this operation murdered everywhere.”
Even if they were just lay believers, they were skilled enough that a group of three could easily handle a holy knight.
Although they had scattered after entering the dungeon, they had quickly regrouped thanks to pre-arranged items and were operating in their planned teams of five.
And yet, by the time Malzark had reached this point, six of those teams lay brutally murdered throughout the labyrinth.
“Was that your doing?”
“What if it was?”
Grit—
Malzark’s face twisted into a vicious scowl.
“What? You got a problem with that?”
Kang Hyun-woo openly sneered at him.
“If you've got a problem, then come at me.”
“…”
But Malzark couldn't recklessly charge in.
He wasn't foolish enough to be unaware of the gap in power between himself and Kang Hyun-woo.
More importantly, he was already considerably injured from his fight with Rusleck. He had to avoid a battle where victory wasn't guaranteed.
“…I'll remember you.”
Grit—
Malzark swallowed his humiliation and drew a magic circle on Kiriel's forehead with blood.
“The primary objective is complete. We are retreating.”
“B-But…!”
“Shut up. Do you think you have the right to speak?”
“…”
Kang Hyun-woo let out a short, derisive laugh at the tense exchange between the two.
“How absurd.”
But his eyes weren't smiling at all.
Only a calm, simmering killing intent flickered within them.
“Who said I'd let you leave?”
As much as he disliked Rusleck, the man was still the official leader and commander of this dungeon raid.
And he was murdered by some villain who just barged in?
“If I don't take your heads with me, my reputation will be shot.”
Kiiiiiiing—!!!!!!
At that moment, the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword began to emit an immense aura.
““?!!!””
As the absurd release of energy shook the entire area as if an earthquake had struck, the expressions of Malzark and Kiriel instantly filled with horror.
The wave of intense energy, far exceeding their expectations, was more than enough to make them feel a mortal threat to their survival.
“Dammit! Oh, Great One!”
Tring—
「Activating Authority, Great Thief (A).」
「Activating Exclusive Trait, Corrupted Faith (A).」
「Activating Trait, Demon Worship (B+).」
「A Constellation responds to your sincere prayer.」
「The Constellation, ‘Duke of Thieves,’ gazes at you with a languid expression.」
「“What is it? To call me for such a tri-”」
“Please, protect your servant!”
“What's this little songbird chirping about?”
Formless (無相), Asura (修羅), Crimson Cloud (赤雲).
The three distinct energies gathered in the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword, achieving a singular harmony under Kang Hyun-woo's control and finally unleashing their true radiance.
Soon, the Gate of Emptiness (空門) opened, and the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword was bathed in pure white light.
「The Constellation, ‘Duke of Thieves,’ is horrified.」
「The Constellation, ‘Duke of Thieves,’ consumes a massive amount of WP to—」
The moment he spread his mana detection and confirmed no one was within a five-kilometer radius, Kang Hyun-woo swung his sword at Malzark.
Immediately after, Malzark's vision was flooded with white.
Formless Sword Art (無相劍訣) · Genesis (開闢)
Those who answer the Tower's call are known as Players.
In the past, their numbers were few, but in the present day, they exceed one hundred million.
Of course, compared to the residents born and raised in the Tower, this was by no means a large number.
Players were still a minority.
But nevertheless, from within this small population, one occasionally appears.
「The Constellation, ‘Dancing Destroyer,’ stares with its jaw agape.」
「The Constellation, ‘Saintess of Uruk,’ stares with her jaw agape.」
「The Constellation, ‘Dweller of the Swamp,’ stares with its jaw agape.」
「The Constellation, ‘Herald of the Pure Lily,’ stares with its jaw agape.」
「The Constellation, ‘Rider of the Red Cross,’ stares with its jaw agape.」
「The Constellation, ‘Saintess of the Palm Tree,’ stares with her jaw agape.」
A monster that would send the entire Tower into shock.
Yoo Ah-rin, who had been inside the barrier, couldn't close her mouth at the scene unfolding before her.
‘The, the dungeon…’
The labyrinth walls, which had seemed indestructible, were blown to smithereens, their original forms unrecognizable, creating a brand-new passage.
It was as if a tunnel had been bored straight through a mountain.
The moment she witnessed that sight, Yoo Ah-rin felt as if all the common sense she had built up until now was being utterly shattered.
Was something like this possible with just a single sword?
People often say that Aura (罡氣) is the king of all energies, but even her father, a Transcendent master, had never accomplished such a feat.
In other words, Kang Hyun-woo was an absolute master who had reached the Flower Realm.
But how could someone only a year older than her possibly reach such a level?
Yoo Ah-rin's mind went blank with incomprehensible questions.
However, the person responsible for leaving the dungeon in this state didn't look pleased at all.
“Tsk.”
Kang Hyun-woo clicked his tongue and stared beyond the gaping hole in the labyrinth.
No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see the bodies of Malzark and Kiriel.
Of course, there was a chance they had been caught in the blast and vaporized without a trace, but Kang Hyun-woo didn't think so.
‘…I let them get away.’
Still, the feel of the strike had been satisfying.
There was no way either of them was unscathed.
Taking comfort in that, Kang Hyun-woo started to turn back to Yoo Ah-rin.
Crack—!
“Ugh?!”
But at that moment, an unbearable pain washed over him.
It was the price—the backlash—of opening the Gate of Emancipation through Emptiness with a human body.
Emptiness (空), Formlessness (無相), and Wishlessness (無願).
It had been quite some time since he had reached the Gate of Emancipation through Emptiness, the first stage of the Three Gates of Liberation (三解脫門), but it still took a heavy toll on his body.
He suspected it might get better once he fully reached the Flower Realm, but he couldn't be certain.
As it stood, his limit was once a day. If he pushed himself and was prepared to rest for several days, he could manage twice at most.
Thud—
In the end, Kang Hyun-woo collapsed to the ground, grimacing as he quickly pressed his paralysis points.
“M-Master!”
Seeing Kang Hyun-woo suddenly collapse, Yoo Ah-rin urgently tried to stand up.
But she, too, ended up collapsing shortly after.
“…What are you doing?”
“…”
Heh.
Kang Hyun-woo looked at the back of Yoo Ah-rin's head as she lay sprawled on the floor and let out a small laugh.
Forcing himself up, he staggered over to her, carefully gathered her into his arms, and sat down, leaning his back against the wall.
Yoo Ah-rin's face turned beet red at the posture, one more suited for lovers.
“A moment ago you were calling me Clan Leader. I guess you've decided to go back to calling me Master?”
“…C-Calling you Oppa felt a little too informal.”
“Call me whatever you're comfortable with. I don't mind.”
With Kang Hyun-woo's permission, Yoo Ah-rin slowly nodded.
Tring—
「The Constellation, ‘Dancing Destroyer,’ is staring at you intently.」
「“...What did I just see?”」
“What is it?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, I wasn't talking to you. A Constellation just spoke to me.”
“Oh…”
「The Constellation, ‘Dancing Destroyer,’ makes a meaningful expression.」
「“The Tower is about to get noisy.”」
Ignoring the indirect message from the Dancing Destroyer, Kang Hyun-woo focused on the screen that remained in the corner of his vision.
[The Pure Love Knight informs you that your lover is in danger.]
[The Pure Love Knight briefs you on your lover's location.]
Pure Love Knight.
It was a title he had obtained when he registered Amelia as a match.
At first, he hadn't understood what ‘You can sense when a loved one is in danger’ meant, but after experiencing it once, he knew exactly.
‘I didn't expect it to detect danger for someone who isn't even registered on the app, though.’
They say love is a two-way street.
He thought it would only apply to women he had a mutual connection with, but it seemed the criteria were more lenient than he expected.
Thanks to that, he'd been able to protect Yoo Ah-rin in time, and for that, Kang Hyun-woo was inwardly grateful.
However.
Tring—
「The Constellation, ‘Saintess of Uruk,’ licks her lips.」
「“You really are mine.”」
“…”
The moment he saw the indirect message pop up, Kang Hyun-woo had to force back the sigh that rose to the tip of his tongue.
As the day of his visit to Ishtar's temple drew closer, his thoughts grew more and more complicated.