Chapter 115
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Alliance, My Foot (4)
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I didn’t know the exact situation, but I could tell they had no mind to spare for us.
It seemed I couldn’t expect anything from Choi Soo-hyun.
My eyes met Choi Jae-hyung’s as he put away his shield and gripped his sword.
Various expressions flickered across Choi Jae-hyung’s face.
His eyes told me he had a lot to ask but would feign ignorance for the time being.
Choi Jae-hyung was the first to charge Jeong Hyun-seong.
An afterimage of light trailed where his sword passed.
This was a completely different man from the one who’d been complaining about his wrist.
Jeong Hyun-seong's arm writhed, and some of his blood vessels tore free.
The sharpened veins shot toward Choi Jae-hyung.
Choi Jae-hyung threw himself backward.
*Swish.*
I attacked, slicing through the veins that targeted Choi Jae-hyung.
Jeong Hyun-seong’s monstrous arm and my Sky Sword clashed relentlessly in mid-air.
Gaining power by accepting the god Veritas was one thing, but Jeong Hyun-seong was not a Hunter with much combat experience.
“Damn it!”
Gradually pushed back, Jeong Hyun-seong stomped his foot on the ground.
He twisted his body and swung his sword in a wide arc.
My blade passed near his neck.
I had intended to slice his head clean off.
A jet-black scab had already formed over the wound.
Hands rose from the black shadow that formed at his feet.
Behind me, Choi Jae-hyung slightly twisted his sword before plunging it into the ground.
Red magic circles materialized on the floor, instantly neutralizing the black hands.
The sword in Jeong Hyun-seong’s hand split in two.
That thing could hardly be called a sword anymore.
I kicked the blade flying straight at me and pulled back.
Simultaneously, the sword strike I’d launched forward collided with Jeong Hyun-seong’s sword again.
Before he had a chance to regain his posture, Choi Jae-hyung’s shield batted his sword away.
“What the…”
The shield vanished before his eyes, and Choi Jae-hyung's sword slashed across Jeong Hyun-seong's shoulder.
Wounded, Jeong Hyun-seong took a step back.
“You people know nothing! Absolutely nothing!”
Jeong Hyun-seong gritted his teeth.
In contrast to Jeong Hyun-seong, who was weeping tears of blood, Choi Jae-hyung wore an impassive expression.
He didn't seem to care what Jeong Hyun-seong was saying.
“Kill, die… Die. I’ll kill you! As many as I can!”
His bones twisted grotesquely as his body began to grow larger.
“You’re insane!”
Jeong Hyun-seong attacked Choi Jae-hyung with all his might.
*Craaaash.*
The force of Choi Jae-hyung’s swing sent the surrounding trees swaying.
At the same time, Choi Jae-hyung was sent flying, crashing into a tree.
“Keuk…!”
Choi Jae-hyung managed to get to his feet, spitting blood and catching his breath.
Jeong Hyun-seong now had black skin, red eyes, and things that could hardly be called swords attached to both arms.
An unsettling aura emanated from him, making Choi Jae-hyung’s hand tremble.
Hesitantly, Choi Jae-hyung took a step back.
“Hey! What are you doing!”
“What do you think I’m doing? I’m getting out of here.”
“What?”
As I stared at him in disbelief, Choi Jae-hyung shook his head.
This was the problem with this guy.
He fought well when he thought his opponent was an easy mark or at least manageable, but he had a habit of backing down the moment things went awry or he deemed it too dangerous.
Choi Jae-hyung pointed a finger at the forest, where explosions were erupting nonstop.
“I-It’s not common sense! It’s not! They have three Transcendents over there!”
“So?”
“Shouldn’t one of them come and help us?”
What a shameless bastard.
“Still, there are two of us.”
“Can you even beat that thing?”
I glanced at Jeong Hyun-seong.
The pressure radiating from Jeong Hyun-seong, who had achieved a complete demigod form, was certainly overwhelming.
But that was all it was.
Beyond that, I felt nothing.
“You don’t know until you try.”
“Before.”
“Before?”
“If the Vice Guild Master hadn’t backed down, were you really going to fight him? Our Vice Guild Master is a Transcendent, you know.”
“Being a Transcendent isn’t that big of a deal.”
“You’re probably the only one who’d say that.”
“So you’re giving up?”
Choi Jae-hyung sighed at my question.
It wasn't that I didn't understand his intention—to fall back and bring Hunters who could actually be of use.
“Do you have to be so extreme? How are we supposed to beat something like that?!”
“All you did was clash with Jeong Hyun-seong once.”
“Once is enough to know!”
The hand holding Jeong Hyun-seong’s sword was trembling.
It seemed best to end this argument here.
If Choi Jae-hyung wasn’t willing, I had no intention of forcing him.
Now a complete monster, Jeong Hyun-seong swung the swords on his arms and charged.
I could feel the weight in our crossed blades.
From what I could see, Jeong Hyun-seong had already lost his mind.
Every time he swung his sword, his entire body screamed in agony.
[The 7th Stage Blessing has been activated.]
Gritting my teeth, I parried the brute’s reckless swings.
More attacks flew from the sundered space.
I used the Falling Blossom Sword Dance to parry the attacks coming from all directions.
I used the Ring of Haeju to deflect the remaining attacks.
Wounds began to accumulate on my body. With each one, the blood in my veins boiled hotter.
Whether I could win or not wasn't the point.
I will win!
I had to.
I couldn't stop here.
I gritted my teeth and swung the Sky Sword down. There was almost no difference in our strength now.
My body staggered with every one of his attacks.
I pushed myself off the ground and attacked again.
“Hey! Choi Jae-hyung!”
Jeong Hyun-seong’s arm grazed my neck.
I twisted my waist to parry the sword, then used a Line to wound his arm.
The gash writhed and healed almost instantly.
“How long are you going to fight only when you have the advantage!”
I spun in mid-air and plunged my sword into Jeong Hyun-seong’s eye.
He staggered back, screaming in pain.
As he touched the ground, the earth began to churn violently.
Choi Jae-hyung’s fights had always been like that.
Being an A-rank Hunter favored by Kang Moon-guk, the master of the Raon Guild, came with many unwitting privileges.
What kind of fight is one where you have an overwhelming advantage? It might count as experience, but it wasn't a fight—it was just one-sided violence.
To my question of what he'd wish for if the Dragon Orb was real, Choi Jae-hyung had said:
—My wish isn't something that can be granted by an object like that.
I didn’t know what his wish was.
A wish is an incredibly abstract and personal thing.
What was clear was that Choi Jae-hyung's wish wasn't the kind he wanted to achieve with an item or through someone else's help.
I thought I finally understood why that old man, Kang Moon-guk, had thrown this guy in here.
“Fight!”
“But that… that thing is…”
I gripped the Sky Sword with both hands, blocking a downward strike.
Jeong Hyun-seong and I were locked in a struggle of strength.
The crushing pressure cracked the ground beneath me.
But I would not yield my ground.
“I’m disappointed.”
“……”
“Is that all you amount to? Ugh!”
Jeong Hyun-seong pulled his sword back and kicked me.
“Keuk!”
I coughed up blood as my body was launched into the air.
You think I can’t attack just because I’m airborne?
I twisted my wrist and thrust my sword into Jeong Hyun-seong’s chest.
He struck the Sky Sword embedded in his chest with the blade on his own arm.
*Clang.*
An immense vibration rattled the sword.
Any ordinary blade would have shattered from that blow.
As I tried to pull it out, the mouth-shaped gash on his sword swallowed my Sky Sword whole.
“You bastard!”
Jeong Hyun-seong spun, and my body, still gripping the sword, was whipped around with him.
I drew Angurvadal from my waist and swung it as well.
Space tore open, and black thorns shot out from the rift.
Every single one was aimed at my vitals.
I could probably nullify a few with the Ring of Haeju, but the rest were beyond me.
‘I have no choice.’
I used the Ring of Haeju.
Light erupted from the ring, vaporizing a few of the incoming thorns.
Just as I braced myself to sacrifice an arm and a leg, Choi Jae-hyung moved.
*Paaang.*
Two shields materialized around me.
As I landed on the ground, Choi Jae-hyung clenched his fists.
I thought all he could do was summon simple shields; I never knew they could be used like this.
Choi Jae-hyung gripped his sword tightly.
“I… I promised to survive, even if it meant running away, even if I was called a coward. So I can't act like I have a spare life, like you do. I won't!”
“Do what you want.”
Everyone has their own path.
Choi Jae-hyung simply had a reason to survive, no matter what it took.
I had no intention of judging him for that.
“But I know I can’t stay like this forever! I know I’m a man who isn’t growing! But still!”
“……”
“I don’t want to hear you say that’s all I amount to! And I sure as hell don’t want to see you charge ahead of me!”
Choi Jae-hyung plunged his sword into the ground, and the churning earth instantly settled.
I blocked Jeong Hyun-seong’s attack.
A white light shone from behind me, and orbs of light began to circle my body.
My body felt much lighter than before.
The grotesque form of Jeong Hyun-seong opened its mouth.
“You can’t understand us, or me!”
Choi Jae-hyung used another buff skill.
Red and blue orbs, in turn, enveloped my body.
I gritted my teeth and parried the relentless storm of blades.
“So what! What about it!”
I raised my sword high.
The Hundred Birds Sword Strike sliced through Jeong Hyun-seong’s arm and body.
I kicked his approaching form away.
Jeong Hyun-seong was an unaffiliated Hunter.
Anyone who knew they were fated to disappear would despair and suffer, not just him.
It wasn't just understandable that Jeong Hyun-seong had taken the god Veritas's hand; it was the natural choice.
“I don’t understand you, but you don’t understand me either!”
I never asked for understanding.
Joo Seo-hye sought revenge for her friend; Han Jong-ho aimed to climb the ladder using his family's wealth.
Liz felt lonely with her power over death, and the head butler, Izeph, believed his sole purpose in life was loyalty to the ducal house of Peillia.
There was no way I could understand all of them.
As my body was sent flying, Choi Jae-hyung rushed in to block the attack.
His hands trembled, but he swung his sword desperately.
Arbelicia was a dimension managed by Lachesis, the one who had summoned me.
The longer I stayed in this world, the more certain I became.
Her fear of me ascending to godhood was likely because I might have participated in this damn game.
The eradication of unaffiliated Awakened Ones is no simple matter. It's something that requires the tacit agreement of all the gods.
They're eliminating beings who haven't even ascended to godhood, simply because of the *possibility*.
As the hidden pieces fell into place, the blurry picture became clear.
Unable to withstand Jeong Hyun-seong’s power, Choi Jae-hyung was thrown back.
As I moved to intervene, he got up again.
I made a proposal to Choi Jae-hyung.
“Can you hold out for just a moment?”
Gritting his teeth, Choi Jae-hyung silently nodded and charged forward.
Every time he swung his sword, a great flash of light would sweep away the nearby trees.
Using that opening, I opened the god Soter’s status window.
[Soter]
Divine Name: *****
Level: 2
Attribute: Darkness
Ranking: 13,421st
Dimension: Tower of Trials
Accumulated Contribution Points: 6,992,540P
Followers: 3
Traits: [Blessing of Soter] [Executor’s Sword]
Including the Contribution Points sponsored by Choi Soo-hyun and what I already had, the total was close to seven million.
[You have acquired the ability ‘Possession’.]
[You have acquired the ability ‘Advent’.]
[You have acquired the trait ‘Fury Rush’.]
*Craaaaaash.*
Choi Jae-hyung, who had tried his best, was sent flying.
He landed on a slope, barely avoiding a fall by stabbing his sword into the ground.
Covered in blood, Jeong Hyun-seong approached.
I took Angurvadal and cut myself.
I avoided any vital spots, but blood poured from the open wounds all at once.
Choi Jae-hyung ran over and yelled at the sight.
“You crazy bastard, what are you doing!”
“Are you in your right mind?”
“What do you mean? Of course I am!”
[Usage conditions for ‘Fury Rush’ have been met.]