Chapter 50
[Survive.]
…….
[Hostile intent detected.]
Hero's Super-sensory has been activated.
So, it was a hostile presence.
Still...
...what is this?
Every hair on my arms stood on end. Not just my arms—every hair on my body seemed to bristle with cold dread.
This was different.
Different from the Blade Saint I’d met before. Back then, it had been...
Only instinctive killing intent.
If that had been wild, destructive, the kind of crude killing intent a berserker splashed around at random, then this was something else entirely.
This is... concentrated.
Compressed. Refined down to its purest, most brutal essence. Just feeling it made my throat go dry.
My fingertips trembled.
[He was slow. So slow. I never thought it would take this long.]
Doseong.
The name rose up with the boss. A human figure—unlike every other boss I’d seen so far, he was a complete human being.
Not even a figure, really. Just a real human.
He looked to be well over six feet tall, a middle-aged man with black hair tied tightly back and streaked with gray.
He was gaunt enough that his cheeks seemed carved in, yet somehow he didn’t look as if he’d collapse easily.
It was unsettling.
He definitely looked human.
And yet...
...he doesn’t feel human.
Only the surface was human. The atmosphere around him was nothing like a person’s.
[...Yes.]
Then Doseong turned his gaze toward us.
Those bead-black eyes were devoid of life.
[Children.]
Even his rasping voice sent a shiver down my spine.
[If you are the ones, can you endure this slowness and, in the end, free me?]
Hoo.
My breathing turned rough without my permission. I tightened my grip on my sword.
Then Jin Yeonhui moved first.
RUMBLE—!!!! Thunder cracked the moment she moved.
KA-KAK—!
She swung her sword. Light burst from the blade’s tip, and a flash split the air. Thin lines of brilliance crackled wildly through the air.
Lightning poured toward Doseong as if it meant to evaporate the entire lake.
FZZZZZZT—!!!!
The current was monstrous. A blinding explosion of electricity spread across the lake’s surface—but—
[...No.]
A low voice spoke, and a heavy sound followed.
Whoosh.
The sound wasn’t fast at all. And the instant I heard it—
KWAAAH—!!!
A storm detonated. A tremendous wind burst outward, scattering Jin Yeonhui’s lightning in every direction. Everything around the impact zone vanished beneath that single gust.
“Tch.”
Jin Yeonhui clicked her tongue.
[That isn’t enough.]
Doseong stood in the middle of the lake and spoke.
[This much... isn’t enough. Then—]
Shhhhhh—! The clothes he wore fluttered in the wind. The strange thing was—
There isn’t any wind.
I couldn’t feel a thing. Only Doseong’s clothes were moving.
[So even you have failed.]
The instant he said that—
Hero's Super-sensory has been activated.
My body moved with the alert. I poured strength into the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword I was gripping.
CKAKAK—!
“Hng...!”
Doseong had appeared in front of me. He was bringing his sword down on me, and I barely managed to block it.
[...This sword...?]
Doseong’s eyes shifted to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword. What? Did he know this sword? How could he possibly know?
Before I could even think it through, his eyes took on a spark of life.
[You...]
And not in a good way.
[What do you have to do with the Heavenly Demon—!]
KWAKAGANG—!!!
“Ghk!?”
The force behind his blade grew stronger and stronger. He was supposed to be an S-class boss like the Blade Saint, but the power was on an entirely different level.
This...
Was it because the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword was reinforced? My own power had definitely risen compared to before, but Doseong’s force was greater still.
[Demon. Yes, you’re a demon. Filthy, disgusting bastards of the Demonic Cult.]
“...Demon...?”
[I’ll cut you all down.]
[Hostile intent detected.]
Shit.
I grimaced. I tried to shove him back with my sword, but—
Whoosh—!
“...!”
Suddenly, the force on Doseong’s blade vanished. It looked as if he’d intentionally eased off. Because of that, my body, which had been braced against him, pitched forward off balance. I lost my center of gravity. I saw Doseong moving his hand toward me.
Once balance is lost, it becomes poison. There was no way to block it. At this rate, his sword would sweep through my body cleanly.
RUMBLE—!!!
Then lightning erupted upward. Jin Yeonhui had surged in.
“Move.”
CLANG—!! Her lightning sword intercepted Doseong’s blade. Not only that, but a numbing shockwave exploded between them.
“Huu.”
Drawing in a steadying breath, Jin Yeonhui snapped her fingers.
Crackle—! A tiny spark burst right in front of Doseong’s eyes.
FWAK—!!!
The flash was so fierce it made my eyes close on their own. A blinding technique to obscure his sight?
Frowning, I forced my way through the light. I quickly checked on Jin Yeonhui and—
“...!”
Something flew into my view. It was Jin Yeonhui’s small back. I hurriedly reached out and caught her.
She fell into my arms. My own body was pushed back with her weight.
SHAAA—!
We skidded across the water and finally came to a stop. I looked at Jin Yeonhui and asked if she was all right, but—
“...Fine—!”
There was no need to ask.
Drip.
“Huu... Ha...”
Jin Yeonhui grimaced, clutching at her chest. Blood was flowing. She was hurt.
“You—!”
“Focus.”
She pulled herself out of my arms and spoke. Despite the pain twisting her face, her voice never wavered.
“Get your head straight. You planning to die here?”
“...!”
“Focus on what’s in front of you.”
At her cool, iron-hard words, I swallowed dryly. She was the one injured, and yet she was steadier than I was.
“Sorry.”
I stood beside Jin Yeonhui and lifted my sword again.
Doseong was walking toward us.
[Demonic Cult. Demons. I have to cut you all apart.]
The moment he saw that sword, something about him changed. Damn it. Why was he so enraged?
“...Yeonhui.”
“What.”
“Give up and go get someone else besides me. Wouldn’t that be better?”
Rifts could be abandoned partway through. If the maximum allowed was one A-class and one S-class, then it would be better to bring two S-classes instead.
This was...
Not even comparable to the Blade Saint.
The gap was so huge I couldn’t even call them the same grade.
I told Jin Yeonhui that because I thought it was too dangerous to continue as we were—but—
“...I can do it.”
“What?”
“I have to.”
“What do you mean, you have to—”
Jin Yeonhui, wounded as she was, charged Doseong again. Rumble! Along with thunder, something gathered in the sky. Dark clouds.
Apparently deciding that close combat was dangerous, she halted her advance and brought down her blade.
KWAGAGAGAGANG—!!!
Lightning struck from the dark clouds. It was far larger and stronger than before.
KUGUGUNG—!! There was no room to breathe. I could tell just how strong Jin Yeonhui was.
...She was holding back when she fought me, wasn’t she?
I’d never seen anything like this. Irene had said she’d taken it easy on me, but I hadn’t imagined it was this much.
So this is what an S-class is like.
Ye Jiram, who was only A-class, had been strong too. But S-class power was on display from the very start. Then—
What the hell is that guy?
What was Doseong, walking silently through all this lightning?
[...Slow. So slow.]
“What keeps going slow?”
I tightened my grip on my sword.
Heavenly Demon Divine Sword has been activated.
Remaining duration: 19 seconds.
The remaining duration from earlier was visible. Nineteen seconds. It was nowhere near enough.
Jin Yeonhui kept blasting lightning to hold Doseong back for a moment. I seized that opening.
Now.
Heavenly Demon’s Night Flare
Indigo flames burst out in a wide torrent. The momentum I hurled at Doseong crashed over him in one sweeping wave.
KWAGAGAGAGAK---!!!!!
The water evaporated where it struck and exploded across the front. Was it because of the enhancement? It felt even more powerful than before.
At this level...
I’ve got him, right?
That power would have killed the Blade Saint without question. Expecting the same, I looked at him—but—
[...Ah... ahhh.]
He walked out of the flames.
Are you insane?
He didn’t die?
Something was clearly wrong with his body. His flesh had melted away, bone was visible, and I could see organs spilling—but—
Swish, swish.
He’s regenerating...
The skin on his body was restoring itself.
And then—
[...You won’t do.]
Doseong moved at a speed entirely unlike before.
[You won’t do.]
A dark blade of sword intent attacked Jin Yeonhui.
[Bring the next one. Someone who can end my slowness...!]
Jin Yeonhui wrapped herself in lightning. Her shimmering body slipped past the blade, but—
Whoosh.
The energy gathered in Doseong’s hand moved closer to Jin Yeonhui as she bent forward.
[Dora Wind.]
KWAH—!!
“Ugh!!”
The wave bursting from his hand shoved Jin Yeonhui away. She coughed blood as she was flung backward.
“Jin Yeonhui!”
I shouted her name and tried to run to her, but—
“...!?”
Something appeared in front of my face.
What was it? Ah, a fist. Doseong’s fist. The moment I recognized it, pain exploded across my face.
PAK—!!!
My head was knocked back, and my body was sent flying.
“Khk...”
I spat blood. My vision swam. I couldn’t see anything in front of me. I think my nose was broken.
[...Slow... so slow...]
Doseong’s voice drifted farther and farther away. He seemed to be targeting Jin Yeonhui now, not me.
Damn it.
If I died here, I’d really die.
That was different from when I fought Ye Jiram.
Move.
This wasn’t the time to writhe in pain. I had to save Jin Yeonhui. The instant I thought that and forced my body to move—
Escape.
Leave this place immediately.
Run away from Doseong.
That notification appeared.
Ha.
It was just like that time. Months ago now, though it hadn’t really been that long.
Back when I’d awakened only days earlier, those were the words I’d heard when I faced a terrorist.
Run.
Run again?
I stared ahead through blurred eyes. Doseong was approaching Jin Yeonhui, while she, bleeding, was pushing herself back up.
...Run.
If I ran, would I survive?
Would you like to escape the Rift? (Y/N)
A button appeared.
The result of your choice will apply to you individually, not to your party.
It didn’t mean everyone would leave together if I pressed it. It meant I’d leave Jin Yeonhui behind.
Run.
Survive.
“...”
Run right now.
I couldn’t beat Doseong. That was what the system seemed to be telling me.
Even after seeing all of that—
“Ptui.”
I staggered to my feet. I cleared the system window in front of me.
I’m not running.
I couldn’t leave like this. How was I supposed to walk out and leave someone standing in front of me?
I couldn’t do that. At the very least, I couldn’t.
4 seconds remain on the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.
Misfortune repeated itself, swelling larger each time.
I raised my sword.
Still...
I’d do something more.
With that resolve steadying my heart, I shifted my feet—
TZZZZZZT—!!!
My body froze, and an unpleasant noise scraped at my ears.
No. It wasn’t that my body had frozen.
This was...
...time.
Had it stopped?
The scene before my fixed eyes said yes.
A droplet hanging in midair. Doseong walking forward. Jin Yeonhui bleeding.
Everything had stopped.
-An option unfit for the subject.
Through the crackle, another voice spoke.
-Pride without power is nothing but recklessness. Reincarnated one. How thoroughly that describes you.
I knew that voice.
...Musin.
Musin.
The voice of my past life. There were so many things I wanted to ask, but somehow my mind was growing hazier by the second.
-Your recklessness was trivial.
Was he blaming me? He seemed displeased that I’d created danger this way.
Then what do you want me to do?
You sealed away the power so I couldn’t use it, and now you call it trivial?
What nonsense.
Then—
-And yet, I praise you for not retreating.
Musin said something I hadn’t expected.
-Live like that from now on. Whatever you become, there is no retreat in your life.
-That is...
Just as my consciousness threatened to snap altogether—
-the path you are meant to walk.
Musin has faintly acknowledged Lee Jinwoo.
Synchronization Rate has increased by 2%.
Synchronization Rate has reached 10%.
As synchronization surpassed 10%, the ability has been unlocked.
Authority acquired.
Authority: Musin Descent
This is a cursed Rift.
Authority cannot be used—
TZZZZZZT—!
The system is analyzing.
Because the Rift’s rank is low, the will of a higher existence cannot be forced back.
Lee Jinwoo's Authority is being used.
Under heaven and earth, Musin descends.