Chapter 165: Nightmare
Chapter 165: Nightmare
“Don’t stop. Keep pushing forward.”
The owner of that gentle voice was undoubtedly Ko Yeonju. After playing the role of keeper until now, she had finally decided to step in. I knew I could trust her with my back. So, at her word, I accelerated, pushing forward even faster. Less than three seconds after I heard her voice, I felt the stinging killing intent that had been aimed at the back of my head vanish.
Horrence once again raised the darkness, taking a defensive stance against my sword. The foundation of my swordsmanship was defense-first. As such, it was difficult to turn an opponent’s strength against them unless they attacked, but unlike in my first run, I now possessed a Strength stat of 94 points.
The sword, which had been flowing as smoothly as a swimmer, suddenly turned tyrannical, its momentum shifting as it enveloped the darkness and drove inward. The creature hastily tried to cut off my attack by bringing its sword down at a right angle, but with a slight twist of my own blade, its sword was deflected without resistance.
The darkness rose again, but a small opening had already been created. Through that gap, my sword once again ravaged the creature’s chest. A sensation like hacking at a steel tree with an axe traveled up the blade. But the Doom Knight did not retreat.
It grabbed the sword embedded in its chest with its left hand, and with its right, it thrust its shimmering black sword at me in a counterattack. I quickly let go of my sword, kicked off the ground, and flipped backward into the air. In that instant, I saw a silver line below me, carving a half-moon through the darkness. Horrence, seemingly unwilling to face even that, immediately backpedaled.
But Ko Yeonju was relentless. A place completely shrouded in darkness was her home ground. She suddenly materialized in front of the retreating knight, lifted her foot, and viciously kicked the hilt of my sword.
Clang! Krrrk!
The sword, which had been halfway in, was driven completely into the knight’s body, leaving only the hilt visible. The creature let out a violent scream and swung its furious black sword, but the Shadow Queen simply taunted it before melting back into the darkness.
Just as I landed on the ground, she rose up from beside me and pointed at the sword in the knight’s chest. Without a word, I extended my hand and activated Telekinesis. The sword pulled itself free and returned obediently to my grasp. I had a feeling that if Horrence had a face, it would be staring blankly at my sword right now.
“Oh my. I kicked it pretty hard, but it doesn’t seem to have taken much damage.”
“It took damage. But I think the mental shock will be greater.”
“Hoho.”
It must have been struggling to deal with me alone, and just when it seemed to have weathered the mages’ attacks, another nuisance had appeared. And a User on a similar level to me, at that. Ko Yeonju soon said, “I’ll provide support, so don’t worry and have fun,” and faded away once more. I slowly began to close the distance.
As the knight and I clashed again, its black sword slashed and hacked relentlessly. Although she had said she would provide support, I couldn’t find any good timing ever since the creature had awakened. I deflected one blow and parried another, constantly trying to create an opening.
As long as it had a physical body, I could inflict damage by stabbing and slashing. The problem was that its spiritual body also coexisted. In terms of pure swordsmanship, I was overwhelmingly dominant. But what I wanted was a gap—an opening to land a single, powerful blow that could explode in all directions across its body. To do that, I needed to aim for a moment when it was incapacitated, when the shock was so great that the darkness surrounding it couldn't react, just like with the magic combo from before. But with Jung Hayeon retired, I couldn't expect another magic combo.
No matter how many openings I created by deflecting its attacks, they were only large enough for a single stab or slash. If I tried to push harder, a situation like before could occur. Furthermore, advancing while fending off the darkness that swarmed me from all sides shortened the timing I managed to create, making it difficult to aim properly.
I felt I could create an opportunity if I pushed myself a little more. But we had managed to keep this raid safe all the way here, and I didn't want to disrupt the atmosphere with a reckless move. Believing that a chance would surely come if I waited, I continued to land steady blows, accumulating damage.
During a brief exchange of blows, the moment the surging tide of darkness missed its mark, I shot forward. As the dark sword came slashing at my waist with enough force to sever it, I moved my own sword to the left. Then, using the momentum of the force coming through my blade, I spun my body in a wide arc and counterattacked.
Boom!
As I slammed my sword into it with the rotational force from the rebound, I saw the creature’s body tilt to the side. And just then, from the floor beneath the direction it was tilting, a dark shadow erupted. As the shadow swept past Horrence, a silver line left a long afterimage on its body. I didn't need to see to know the shadow was Ko Yeonju. It seemed she, too, had judged this to be the right moment. But she wasn't the only one.
“Come! Queritatus! The Screaming Fatality who rules the 14th Legion! Sweep them away!”
Vivian’s voice rang out. She seemed quite furious that Imprison had been defeated so easily, adding a flourish to her chant that she normally wouldn't. She had summoned the highest-ranking legion she had shown thus far. I hadn't seen a legion in the teens since we fought the hordes of the dead in the Ruined Laboratory, so it was a somewhat welcome sight.
A beast with the head of a lion charged the knight at incredible speed, its jaws opening wide as it went for the creature’s head. However, because the knight was already tilting, the beast missed its head and instead tore off a large chunk of its left shoulder as it passed.
A moment later, I could see that Horrence’s left arm had been completely ripped off. Of course, the darkness would swarm in to regenerate it, but judging by the current situation, it was an excellent attack.
From the unexpected attacks by Ko Yeonju and Vivian, the creature’s body stumbled even more violently, and I felt that the time had finally come. It was the signal for the finale I had been so desperately waiting for. I readjusted my grip on my sword, intending to end it right here and now.
“Hah!”
“Hyaat!”
Right, it wasn't just Ko Yeonju and me. There were two others. It seemed Ahn Hyun and Yoojung had also been watching my exchange with the knight, waiting for the right time to enter. Moreover, when Ko Yeonju landed another blow, they must have thought it was the perfect opportunity, as they both raised their weapons and charged in like arrows. Their katana and spear were bathed in white light, and the translucent shields around their bodies suggested they had received support from the priests and mages.
Ahn Hyun, intending to strike first, lunged forward to take the lead. His spear stabbed the knight’s torso once and immediately pulled back. Just as a slightly slower Yoojung closed the distance, swinging her dagger, the darkness around the knight’s severed left arm erupted in a massive explosion. Like a fountain, the darkness stained the surroundings without leaving a single gap, and then I heard a soft sound—squelch—the sound of something piercing through soft flesh.
It happened in the blink of an eye. It couldn't have been more than a second, but suddenly, Yoojung’s body was dangling in the air. A sharp spike of darkness had pierced through her abdomen and was now protruding from her back.
“Aargh… Cough!”
A moment of silence fell. In that time, the knight, having regained its composure, slowly straightened its posture and lifted the darkness that impaled her, as if showing off its prize. Like laundry hanging on a line, Yoojung’s body bent further, her long hair spilling down toward the floor.
“Grrrr!”
I couldn't see Horrence’s expression, but for some reason, I felt like it was grinning. Had it not been aiming for me from the start? Had it anticipated my attack and targeted another User instead? I didn't know what the Doom Knight was thinking, but I had a strong feeling that it had deliberately targeted another User to provoke me. Because, as if to return everything it had suffered until now, the creature then flung its sword—and her—violently in my direction.
Clatter, thud.
Yoojung, who had been impaled on the black sword, was flung free, flying through the air before tumbling powerlessly onto the ground. Thrown precisely in front of me, she curled her body, clutching her abdomen with her hands. But the amount of blood seeping through her fingers was too much; it was already beginning to stain the floor.
“It… hurts… Cough!”
A voice drenched in pain escaped her lips, along with a stream of bright red blood. The moment I saw her curled up like that, the image of Yoojung now and the memory of Han Soyoung from the past overlapped.
Belphegor, laughing madly as he held her aloft.
The Clan Lord of Istantel Low Clan, thrown before us with a gaping hole in her abdomen.
And the few trickles of blood that ran down the corner of her mouth.
In that instant, I felt my heart begin to pound furiously. Blood rushed to my head, and my vision spun. A searing rage filled my chest, and hot breath hissed from my nose.
I dropped to one knee and supported Yoojung. Lifting her arm to show her the bracelet, I whispered in her ear, “Heal.” Yoojung struggled to open her eyes and barely managed to part her lips to repeat my word. As she did, the bracelet she wore flashed with a brief light.
The healing stored in the bracelet activated, and her trembling subsided slightly. But the wound was far too severe to be treated by something like this. I called over to Ahn Hyun, who had fallen back, and entrusted Yoojung to him.
“You and Yoojung should pull out now. Take her to Ahn Sol and get her treated.”
“H-Hyung.”
“I’m counting on you.”
The moment he heard me say I was counting on him, Ahn Hyun’s eyes widened. He hastily took Yoojung and, without another word, began running toward the rest of the party. And I, I once again raised my sword at an angle and stared at Horrence before me. Then, in a cold voice, I spoke.
“User Ko Yeonju.”
“Yes.”
She, who had been hiding silently in the darkness, appeared at once at my call. Without taking my eyes off Horrence, I continued quietly.
“You don’t need to provide support anymore.”
“What…”
“Please take care of the party behind me.”
“…I understand.”
I cut her off mid-sentence, and she retreated without another word. However, the slight delay in her response told me she had likely understood my intent.
The words themselves weren't strange, but my tone was essentially telling her to stay back so she wouldn't get in the way. It was undoubtedly rude to a User of the Ten Strong, but when provoked, it’s only human nature to respond. Having made up my mind, I began to violently draw out the magic power circulating within my body.
During my first run, the clan I belonged to—Istantel Low Clan—had a User known as the Phantasm Swordsman. Positional Exchange was his unique ability, and he was one of the few Users with whom I was relatively close. He taught the skill to me and added one further piece of advice.
Kim Soohyun. I’m only telling you this because it’s you, but my Magic Power stat is barely over 70. When I use this ability, even if I push myself, I can’t use it more than ten times. I don’t know what your Magic Power is, but if it’s not higher than mine, never use it too much. The reason I’m teaching you this is because of her request, but also because I don’t want you to die. So remember this. I’m teaching you this to be used as a life-saving last resort, not to be abused.
Right now, my Magic Power stat is 96. So, I wonder, how many times can I use it against Horrence?
I lifted my head and stared at the creature before me with frigid eyes. I fully intended to make it pay for reminding me of such an unpleasant memory.