The Witch of Binding (2)
Witches who have reached a certain level or realm of mastery each have their own unique way of combining curses.
For instance, the Poison Witch, Dang So-wol, combined actual 'poison' with all kinds of status ailments.
That was how she carved out her own unique position.
Unlike other witches, she could inflict curses without even needing to cast a skill or expand her domain.
Majuron, who possessed the power of fall or ruin, stood at the absolute peak of all witches with curses that could erase or degrade the target's very existence.
Thus, even though they were all grouped under the category of 'curses,' the power and direction each witch possessed were entirely different.
'In Chardis's case...'
Looking up at the Blood-red Moon, which had now fully opened its eye, Lee Jin-hyuk let his sword hang low.
'It can be considered a multiplicative curse.'
Compared to other witches, Chardis took much longer to cast her curses.
Furthermore, she could only use them in areas she had prepared in advance.
However, they were correspondingly powerful.
'Chardis's curse. Especially the effect that manifests when the Blood-red Moon, created by the power of high-ranking witches, fully reveals itself...'
Swoosh.
“Infinite stacking.”
“Oh? You know it well.”
“It seems you've done your research? Seeing how well you know me.”
Giggle, giggle.
“Did you perhaps rummage through the Library?”
There was no need to tell her that he knew simply because he had fought her directly in his past life.
Jin-hyuk merely stared at Chardis in silence.
“Go ahead.”
“...?”
“Cast it. Your curse. Ah, don't tell me...”
He smirked.
“Are you already casting it?”
“...!”
An open provocation, paired with a smug, irritating smirk.
Unable to contain herself at the sight, Chardis unleashed the blood-stained moonlight with all her might.
“You will wish...”
Creak!
“...that you were dead instead.”
Soon, the curse rising from her body and the moon surged forward like a tidal wave.
A crimson wave made of pure light.
The torrent completely swallowed Jin-hyuk.
A powerful blood-red curse has been applied.
You have been afflicted with a status ailment.
You have been afflicted with a status ailment.
You have been afflicted with a status ailment.
A storm of status ailments raged.
What set Chardis's curses apart from other witches was 'stacking.'
Other witches could usually stack only two, or at most three, even if they were exceptionally skilled.
But Chardis was different.
The most powerful aspect of her curse was that it usually stacked seven times.
And when the Blood-red Moon fully opened its eye like now, she could stack them up to double digits.
What made it truly terrifying was that all ten status ailments could create synergistic effects with one another.
While she didn't produce unique synergies like Dang So-wol, nor did she possess a single, overwhelmingly powerful curse like Majuron...
...the countless effects generated by the intertwining of numerous curses applied multiplicatively rather than additively, which was an immense advantage.
As mentioned before, it required preparation to use, but once the conditions were met, it could bring down even a High Ranker.
The Blood-Red Moon gazes upon you.
Like a Constellation, the Blood-red Moon stared down at Jin-hyuk relentlessly.
“Hehehe... As expected.”
Seeing Jin-hyuk stagger with a pale complexion, Chardis slowly approached him.
“No one can remain fine after receiving this curse.”
Chardis was absolutely certain.
With her fully prepared curse, any player would have no choice but to die.
Plague, poison, burn, freeze—every status ailment that existed in the Tower.
She was the only one who could wield them all at once.
Although he seemed more intact than expected, seeing Jin-hyuk collapse and fall to the ground suggested he had taken a significant hit.
“Fufufufufufu...”
Perhaps out of satisfaction that her curse had worked, Chardis made a decision contrary to her usual caution.
Instead of sending her subordinate witches, the failures resurrected by tentacles, or the tentacles themselves...
...she glided directly toward Jin-hyuk.
“Your face is quite my type. Your body is large and sturdy, too.”
She grinned.
“Even a body riddled with disease will eventually be purified. I will strip you of that Myth-grade armor and make you swear allegiance to me...”
Chardis approached Jin-hyuk and stroked his chin.
Then, she licked her lips.
“Do not be too displeased. Most men find this seductive body and my tentacles to be...”
Just as she thought she had Jin-hyuk completely in her grasp...
...an unexpected strike flew at her.
“You crazy bastard!”
Never imagining he would dare to move, Chardis spat out a curse.
However, she was also a top-tier witch who had survived countless battles.
Possessing excellent reflexes, she managed to dodge Jin-hyuk's surprise attack.
“Damn it!”
Of course, because Jin-hyuk had thrust his sword so suddenly, she couldn't dodge the entire strike.
She merely avoided a direct hit to her torso at the cost of her left arm.
“You piece of trash! Prepare yourself!”
Grind.
“I will completely break you, not just with simple pleasure, but with the pleasure that comes from pain...”
“Think you can do it?”
Chardis thought.
She believed that this surprise attack, pretending the curse hadn't worked, was Jin-hyuk's only chance.
Now that his thrust had missed, she would not let her guard down again. And without the element of surprise, there was no way Jin-hyuk could defeat her.
“Your composure ends here...”
“Ends?”
But Jin-hyuk cut her off, chuckling as he continued to thrust his sword.
“Does it?”
Rumble!
“...!”
Chardis didn't know.
She didn't realize that Jin-hyuk's target from the very beginning hadn't been her.
What he targeted was not Chardis, but the Blood-red Moon glaring from behind her.
A satellite, treated as a 'star' within the Tower.
That was his target.
Shatter!
The sound of shattering glass assaulted her eardrums as cracks began to spiderweb across the Blood-red Moon.
“T-this is impossible! How?!”
Chardis's jaw dropped as she watched the Blood-red Moon fracture in an instant.
However, now was not the time to stand dazed like an idiot.
The only saving grace was that it was merely cracked on the surface.
It hadn't completely collapsed yet, nor had the high-ranking witches died or lost consciousness from the shock.
The Blood-red Moon hadn't even closed its eye completely.
The curse and the blood-red moonlight capable of killing Jin-hyuk were still active.
“Subdue him! No... kill him!”
Chardis realized too late.
Jin-hyuk was not an opponent she could subdue while taking her time.
Thus, she retreated, sending her failures and tentacles forward.
Overwhelming the opponent with maximum firepower from the safest possible distance.
This was what Chardis did best.
'I took a hit because I let my guard down... but I still have the upper hand.'
Chardis bit her lip.
Indigo blood seeped out.
'Because... because the Blood-red Moon hasn't disappeared yet... wait?'
Something was strange.
Jin-hyuk's expression, and his movements.
His face should have been painted with panic at failing to finish it in one blow.
His movements should have been unable to keep up with her rapid retreat.
Yet, what was this?
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, he closed the distance, sticking close to the fleeing Chardis.
Blood-Red Mandala
All stats are amplified by 5x.
Strength is amplified by 10x.
His grip was strong enough to crush the hilt of the sword in his hand.
Now, a single swing from Jin-hyuk carried five times his previous speed and ten times his strength.
“Where do you think...”
Truth-Seeking Eye
The Truth-Seeking Eye clearly projected the pattern of the cracks in Jin-hyuk's vision.
“...you're running?”
*Shatter! Slash! Crack! Shatter! Slice!*
Jin-hyuk's sword, held in both hands, began to swing like mad.
It wasn't just a single thrust.
It was dozens, hundreds of slashes.
The slashes, delivered in tandem with the wings sprouting from his back, struck the Blood-red Moon with absolute precision.
“...!”
With Chardis's current abilities, simply avoiding getting caught in the slashes was the best she could do.
In truth, even this was only possible because she was a high-ranking witch.
Anyone of lesser skill would have been turned into mincemeat without even being able to react to the barrage of sword strikes.
“N-no!”
Though she had barely managed to save her own skin, Chardis's situation was desperate.
The Blood-red Moon, already cracked from the surprise attack.
Jin-hyuk's sword was slicing precisely along those very cracks.
“H-how is this possible?!”
To pinpoint the random weak spots on the massive Blood-red Moon and slash them with such speed.
She had never imagined a player existed who could do such a thing in such a brief window of time.
“How... how can someone who entered the Tower less than ten years ago...”
Chardis was so dumbfounded she felt a sense of sheer injustice.
No matter how talented he was, wasn't this just too absurd?
“How?”
Reading Chardis's expression and emotions with his Truth-Seeking Eye, Jin-hyuk smirked and continued to swing his sword.
“Just like this.”
*CRACK!*
The sword strikes, packed with overwhelming power, finally destroyed everything.
The Blood-Red Moon has been destroyed.
Ultimately, the Blood-red Moon that Chardis had poured her heart and soul into creating shattered into pieces.
“...”
As if she had nothing left to say, Chardis's expression simply hardened.
'I was mistaken. That bastard is no longer at the level of a mere player.'
Gulp.
'I must view him as a high-ranking ranker like myself.'
The moment the Blood-red Moon shattered, Chardis made a swift decision.
The high-ranking witches maintaining the magic circle were dead or crippled, but that didn't matter.
Her own survival came first.
Only then could she completely eliminate Jin-hyuk.
“Go.”
*Screeech!*
*Aaaah! Aaaaaah!*
At Chardis's command, countless specters and Wailing Ghosts swarmed Jin-hyuk's body.
Though they were formless, they were more than capable of inflicting physical and mental damage.
*Squellch!*
At the same time, tentacles rising from the ground and the failures connected to them lashed their claws at Jin-hyuk.
Considering their physical abilities had been greatly enhanced by the Blood-red Mandala, each of them would be a significant help.
Of course, Chardis knew.
Though they were by no means weak, pushing with sheer numbers alone wouldn't be enough to stop Jin-hyuk.
'This is nothing more than a stall.'
The information she had gathered from other players placed Jin-hyuk's level at that of a low-tier ranker.
She had thought he was excessively strong for a player who hadn't even cleared the 10th floor.
But even that assessment of him being 'excessively strong' had now crumbled.
He was an anomaly.
Jin-hyuk was an existence that could not be measured by simple rankings or rumors.
Therefore, she completely revised her evaluation of him.
Casting aside all complacency, she began to pour out all her power as if facing a High Ranker.
*Squirm!*
Tentacles instantly sprouted to replace her missing left arm, and magic circles formed of tentacles fired spells.
*Boom!*
Beams of magic containing various attributes, mixed with a crimson hue, struck Jin-hyuk.
'The curse is gone.'
Even when the Blood-red Moon had fully opened its eye, and even when dozens of curses were stacked, Jin-hyuk had remained unfazed.
If that was the case, it meant he possessed a special method to make himself completely immune to curses.
“You're finally using your head.”
Having completely read her intentions, Jin-hyuk casually swung his sword.
Unlike before, a somewhat smaller Tiger-Dragon coiled around Jin-hyuk.
Instead of covering a wide area, it protected Jin-hyuk perfectly, forming a much denser barrier.
Since he already wore armor that blocked 90% of all light-attribute damage, Chardis's blood-red magic was simply deflected away.
“Ugh... Grr...”
Watching Jin-hyuk block all of her attacks, Chardis felt a creeping dread.
“T-this won't do.”
It had come to this. She had no choice.
Obeying her mother Majuron's orders was only possible if she was alive.
Dying here would be the worst outcome for both her mother and herself.
'I never thought I'd have to use this here...!'
Chardis quietly drew a dagger from her waist.
It was time to activate the secret art bestowed upon her by Majuron herself, one that she, as the Witch of Binding, could only use once.
It was time to initiate the Ritual of Binding.
“O imprisoned god of the rack... grant me strength...!”
*Slash.*
With a self-inflicted wound, black blood poured from Chardis's abdomen.
*Thump.*
*Thump.*
*Thud!*
Blood dropped down from her split abdomen.
Beneath the pool of blood, a new set of tentacles began to writhe.
An unauthorized entity is intervening in the Tower.