An Old Grudge

This was back when Kim Tae-hyun had borrowed the power of the dark mages from the Erangs Kingdom Magic Tower, leading an army of the undead to sweep through the Guild Alliance's territory! At the time, Tae-hyun and Cain had captured a castle and employed a "come-at-me" strategy against the Guild Alliance.

The "come-and-get-me" tactic—always highly effective against those who were desperate!

The Guild Alliance had attempted a siege, and in the midst of it, Mike had faced Cain in a one-on-one duel. Mike had charged in, underestimating Cain, but a critical mistake mid-fight had pushed him to the brink of defeat, forcing him to make a pathetic escape. Such humiliation was not easily forgotten. In fact, the sole reason he had joined this raid was to reclaim his lost honor!

"Cain, don't pretend you don't know me! There's no way you've forgotten!"

"Uh, no. Seriously, I don't remember..."

Unlike Tae-hyun, who simply chose not to remember anyone deemed unworthy of his attention, Cain had a genuine reason for his memory lapse. He had simply been through too much! Following Tae-hyun around and desperately trying to keep himself alive had consumed all his mental capacity. There was simply no room left to remember a face like Mike's.

"The siege war!!"

"I've done more than a few siege wars, so..."

"The one-on-one!"

"I've also had more than a few one-on-ones..."

"..."

By this point, Mike was the one growing weary. How does this guy have so much experience? Cain looked like a man who had survived every kind of battle imaginable—on land, sea, and air!

"Chains of Binding! Does that still not ring a bell?!"

"Ah, that! You're the idiot who fell for it when I bluffed the skill name!"

"You son of a bitch! Die!"

"Why are you getting mad when I finally remembered you, bastard!"

Cain snapped back, swinging his weapon. Now that he thought about it, he had no reason to feel sorry or inferior to Mike. Let's see what you've got!

Whoosh!

"?!"

I'm being pushed back?!

Mike was horrified. For a system message like this to appear, the stat disparity ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to be massive. How on earth?!

"—Demon's Blood Explosion!"

The moment Cain activated the skill, his stats inflated exponentially. His appearance warping into that of a demon was a bonus!

"Y-You!"

"Heh. Do I look cool?"

"Y-You look incredibly gross!"

"...Where do you get off being jealous, you bastard!"

"No, seriously, you're gro—urk!"

Thud!

Mike realized his mistake too late. Against such brute force, he should have maintained his distance and fought with hit-and-run tactics, but he had mindlessly engaged in a head-on clash. Strangely, whenever he faced Cain, he found himself letting his guard down or making foolish mistakes.

Ugh! No!

He needed to retreat for now! Mike quickly unleashed a barrage of skills to force Cain back, then kicked off the wall and leaped into the air.

"Ah! Master Mike?!"

"Master Mike!!"

The guild members who were with him cried out in surprise. Mike pretended not to hear them. Sorry, guys!

"Where do you think you're going, bastard?! Chains of Binding!"

I have to dodge... Wait, no.

Mike had a sudden realization. It wasn't the actual skill, but just Cain shouting the name! Cain was trying to trick him again, just like last time. Cain's goal was to make him hesitate for a split second and halt his escape.

What does this son of a bitch take me for...!

Mike didn't stop and kept moving. At that exact moment...

Whoosh!

"?!"

Mike shrieked in horror as heavy chains wrapped around his body, dragging him backward. What?!

"H-How?!"

"You idiot! Do you know how long I've been rolling in the dirt with Kim Tae-hyun?!"

Mike was utterly dumbfounded. Standing right next to Cain was a member of the Power Warrior guild, wearing a smug sneer. In other words, the one who had shouted "Chains of Binding!" was the Power Warrior guild member, while Cain had quietly cast the actual skill in the meantime!

"Y-You..."

"You got away last time, but you're not escaping today!"

"There's the Guild Alliance! Attack!"

Relentless attacks rained down on the retreating Guild Alliance as they fell into trap after trap. Players who had caught wind of the situation were swarming in droves. Since many of them would be overwhelmed in a direct clash, they opted for ranged attacks instead. Players climbed onto rooftops and walls, raining down arrows and pelting them with stones!

Ugh... These weaklings aren't even worth a single punch!

Even though the Guild Alliance desperately wanted to fight back, the demon soldiers snapping at their heels forced them to grit their teeth and endure the beating.

"I'm remembering all of your faces!"

"Do you want to face the wrath of the Guild Alliance when this is over?!"

A few guild members shouted empty threats as they fled, but it had absolutely no effect. The players only scoffed. This was the Atali Kingdom, and with so many players participating, how could the guild possibly track down and retaliate against every single one of them?

"Hey! There go some walking contribution points! Get them!"

"If I take that one down, I might actually land a title!"

BOOM!

"?!"

"What the hell?! Are they crazy?!"

"Th-They brought bombs!"

Some players had actually gone out of their way to purchase and bring bombs! Even the other players began to criticize those who used them.

"Do you have no business ethics?!"

"Yeah! Let's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠play fair here!"

"Throwing bombs is totally cheating!"

While they were somewhat wary of potential malfunctions, their greater fear was having all the contribution points swept away. Unlike other weapons, a single well-placed bomb could wipe out entire groups in an instant. Of course, such complaints were a luxury the Guild Alliance members, who were currently on the receiving end of those bombs, could not afford.

Several guild members attempted to break away from the main party and flee on their own. Sticking together was practically advertising, "Hey, I'm with the Guild Alliance!" However, only a tiny fraction succeeded in doing so. There were simply too many eyes watching for anyone to slip away unnoticed.

"Ah! That guy over there is trying to disguise himself! Everyone! Over here, over here!"

"The guy in the red cloak is a Guild Alliance bastard!"

"Grrr!"

And if the guild member quickly shed the red cloak upon hearing that?

"The guy wearing the helmet with two horns is the Guild Alliance bastard!"

"Argh!"

No matter what they did, the players relentlessly pursued them, shouting out their every move. Players active in the Auston Kingdom generally feared the Guild Alliance and avoided crossing them, knowing that getting on their bad side would lead to endless headaches. But the players here were a completely different breed. As a result, the Guild Alliance members found themselves forced to deal with an onslaught of unexpected enemies.

"We're out! We finally made it out!"

The guild members who had barely managed to squeeze through the narrow alleyways let out cheers of relief.

"Group 3 made it out too! Let's regroup and break through the castle gates together!"

"—All remaining parties, get out of there and regroup! We need to stick together!"

The plan had already gone completely awry. At this point, waiting around in scattered locations to fight was suicide. If they didn't want to be defeated piece by piece, they had to unite. Only then would they stand a chance of breaking through the gates and escaping.

"—What about the ritual?!"

"—Do you think we have time to worry about the ritual right now?! Screw the ritual, we need to get out of here alive!"

Despite taking a severe beating from all sides, a significant number of guild members had survived. As they all converged on the central square, they formed a massive, formidable force.

"Follow me!"

Kawahara, the Battle Shaman, took command.

Where the hell is that bastard Mike?!

Surely he couldn't have been taken down on his way here... Though deeply irritated, Kawahara had no choice. He would just have to fight without him. Kawahara swung his skull staff, unleashing skills left and right.

"—Shaman's Howl! War-Summoning Drumbeats! Ancestors' Requiem!"

A Battle Shaman was a class specialized in granting aggressive buffs to both themselves and their party. There was a clear reason why Kawahara had been chosen for this operation.

"Rankers, high-levels, and squad leaders, over here! We will form the vanguard and break through. The rest of you, stay close! If you scatter, you die!"

"K-Kawahara-nim."

"What?!"

"Right now... something feels very strange about this place."

"?"

Now that he mentioned it, the central square was eerily quiet. It was a silence akin to the calm before a storm. Even the other players who should have been here were nowhere to be seen.

"Wait—"

At that exact moment, a colossal explosion erupted.

In truth, Tae-hyun's engineering skills were something the Guild Alliance had carefully considered beforehand.

"—Kim Tae-hyun's engineering skills deal far too much damage. On top of that, it's his home turf. He can replenish his items indefinitely."

"—But I don't think we need to worry. First of all, Kim Tae-hyun needs to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be present to conduct the ritual, and more importantly, isn't that his own territory? He wouldn't dare use bombs recklessly on his own land."

The Guild Alliance had a solid reason for their confidence when they invaded. However, Tae-hyun had abandoned the central square without a single shred of hesitation.

It's going to get destroyed anyway once we start fighting the demon, so what difference does it make if I blow it up first?

I can just rebuild it later!

BOOOOOOM!

A collaborative masterpiece of destruction crafted by Tae-hyun, Gabriel, and the Mechanical Engineering Blacksmiths—the Great Central Square Detonation!

"Y-You crazy bastard..."

"You actually used real bombs?! Are you out of your mind?! This is your own land!!"

Completely ignoring the desperate screams of the surviving guild members, Tae-hyun pulled out the Demon's Mark and set it ablaze.

"Kim Tae-hyun! We won't go down without a fight. Let's see what you've got!"

Gulp, gulp—

The guild members immediately began chugging potions and tearing open scrolls to restore their health. Led by Kawahara, the survivors were all elite rankers or high-level players. Anyone who didn't fit that description had already been forcefully logged out by the sheer force of the blast. As these formidable players banded together, bracing themselves for a final stand, the surrounding players grew tense. This was going to be a completely different beast compared to the one-sided bullying of scattered, fleeing targets.

"Why aren't you coming at us, Kim Tae-hyun?! Are you scared?!"

"..."

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

Tae-hyun's absolute silence only amplified their dread. The guild members shrieked at the top of their lungs, desperately trying to draw a reaction from him.

"If you leave us be, we'll walk away peacefully! But if you touch us, you won't get away unscathed either. We have a trump card!"

They didn't actually possess any such thing, but swept up in the desperate atmosphere, they bluffed anyway.

"A trump card?"

"Yes! A trump card!"

"You mean something like that?"

Tae-hyun pointed behind them. In the empty air, a massive gate to the Demon Realm was slowly grinding open.

"What kind of pathetic trick is—holy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crap. What is that?"

"W-What is that?"

"I don't know what it is, but it's terrifying..."

Even the Guild Alliance members were stunned by the sudden appearance of the gate. However, the gathered crowd of players only showered them with boos.

"Boo! You guys summoned it yourself, and now you're pretending you didn't?!"

"How shameless! At least have some decency!"

"No, you idiots, we seriously have nothing to do with this!"

A gate to the Demon Realm? Why on earth was something like this suddenly appearing?

Rumble, crash, crash!!

The sky abruptly darkened as bolts of lightning, bearing the ominous hues of the underworld, began to strike the earth in rapid succession.

Flash!

A cunning, goat-like demon materialized, wielding a whip that crackled with black flames. Though he lacked the colossal stature of Edaor or Galgral, the sheer pressure radiating from his presence was overwhelming.

"—Are you Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Yes, Duke."

"—Excellent work. Come closer."

Tae-hyun slowly walked forward.

Should I shoot now?

He only had one Orichalcum Arrow. A Demon Duke of Mosrak's caliber wouldn't die instantly from a single shot. He had to ensure a guaranteed hit to start the battle.

What about his defenses? Does he have no magic active? Is he letting his guard down?

Tae-hyun's mind raced. His hand subtly drifted down toward his crossbow. The moment an opening presented itself, he would fire!

Mosrak raised a hand as if to offer praise. At that exact moment, Tae-hyun's instincts screamed in warning.

Swoosh!

A viscous, dark mana poured from Mosrak's hand like a thick fog, lashing out violently toward Tae-hyun.

"—Circle of Counterattack!"

But Tae-hyun was already prepared. The deflected curse flew straight back toward Mosrak.

"Duke! What is the meaning of this?!"

"—Master! Why?!"

Tae-hyun and Dervene's voices rang out simultaneously.

"—This fellow is the Avatar of Archisus. I had my suspicions, but as expected, he is far too dangerous. Now that Freid has been captured, his usefulness is at an end! He must be eliminated!"

Mosrak had read Tae-hyun perfectly.

He is far too dangerous to keep alive and exploit!

Yet, for all his caution, there was one crucial detail Mosrak had failed to foresee. Tae-hyun had summoned him for the sole purpose of hunting him down.