Chapter 481: The Gates of Hell and the Gatekeeper (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 481: The Gates of Hell and the Gatekeeper (3)
He stepped into a world warped by heat.
It felt like his breath was catching in his throat.
It wasn't just a feeling.
Even when he breathed normally, the amount of oxygen his lungs took in was incredibly thin.
This was because the intense heat radiating from the beast's entire body was burning away the very oxygen in the air.
Angela, about three steps ahead of Kim Do-jin, wiped away her sweat and spoke.
“We can't let this fight drag on.”
“You’re probably right.”
Sweat poured down like rain, piercing through even the ‘Clean’ magic embedded in their armor.
Their breath grew ragged even when standing still.
Two debilitating conditions were stacked against them, rapidly draining their stamina.
“You saw earlier, right? Unfortunately, my attack power isn't enough to completely pierce its hide.”
Her attacks had certainly landed.
Of course they did. How could a mace infused with an Aura of Strength, swung with all her might, not have an effect?
The problem was that her mace was too small compared to the beast's massive body.
“I'll run out of strength and die before I can kill it with my mace.”
A bigger, stronger attack was needed.
An attack that could reliably tear through its hide, open a massive wound, and bring about its death.
And the one specialized in such attacks was none other than a mage.
Beings who could cause natural disasters, if only they had enough mana and time.
“A big one. How long do you need?”
To her question, Kim Do-jin replied, “About… one minute?”
It was an unusually long time.
With his Domain of the Ruler active, he could cast even large-scale spells in under ten seconds.
For someone like him, a minute was an eternity.
“I have a spell in mind.”
It was still only in the conceptual stage in his head, so he needed some time to bring it forth.
Exactly one minute.
He calculated that even with some trial and error, he could just barely manage it in that time.
“I see.”
One minute.
In the heat of battle, it was enough time for anything to happen.
And their opponent was the boss monster of an EX-rank dungeon.
Even the greatest tanker might have hesitated.
“Alright. I'll definitely buy you the time, so you just focus on your magic.”
She accepted without hesitation.
It was a display of confidence. The kind only one chosen by a god could show.
“Hup…!”
She gathered her energy.
The Divine Authority of Patience, bestowed upon her by the goddess, combined with her mana and descended upon the world.
A deep brown light swelled into the shape of the shield she held, blocking the beast's path.
A defensive barrier that was visibly dense.
Seeing this, Kim Do-jin closed his eyes, reassured.
He had to pierce two walls.
One was the hide.
The other was the superheated flame that cloaked it.
The material Kim Do-jin chose for this task was none other than earth-attribute magic.
He knew that even rock couldn't remain intact against the heat the beast emitted.
No matter how magically crafted, a rock would inevitably meet the same fate.
‘Of course, that would be true for ordinary earth magic.’
But what he was about to manifest was no ordinary spell.
It was a magic, a technique, that only he in this world could perform.
He began to carve the massive rock that had shot up from his mana.
Scrape! Crunch!
Blades of wind sliced through the rock, carving off huge chunks with every pass.
The shape that soon emerged was a sword of gigantic proportions.
「Gigantic Sword.」
True to its name, it was of a size and weight that only a giant could hope to wield.
Its form was crude, but the edge was perfectly honed, constantly radiating a chilling sharpness.
To pierce the hide, overwhelming physical force was necessary.
But a sword that a human could hold would not be enough to inflict a major wound.
‘With this, I can definitely cut it.’
The blade alone was a staggering five meters long. The hilt attached to it added another meter, making it monstrously large.
If a sword of this size were to cut the beast, the resulting wound would be immense.
But of course, in its current state, it wouldn't work.
Far from piercing the hide, it would melt in the high-temperature flames and vanish before even making contact.
The sword of rock had to become harder, stronger.
‘To make that possible….’
He had always pondered it.
How could he make the neglected earth-attribute magic viable?
And at last, he had found the answer.
“Hup…!”
A distinct energy began to form on the giant sword before him.
It wasn't mana. It was an energy born from compressing mana over and over until it achieved an incredible density.
‘Aura of Strength.’
The answer Kim Do-jin had found was the Aura of Strength.
The secret art of melee dealers, which simultaneously pushed the durability and cutting power of an object to their absolute limits.
This was a skill that only he could perform.
A unique ability belonging only to him, one who had reached the pinnacle as both a mage and a swordsman.
A power that would have been impossible without the overwhelming control granted by the Domain of the Ruler.
“W-woah…”
“……!”
The eyes of Angela and Han Ju-hee, who were watching this, widened in astonishment.
One was amazed by the perfect form of the Aura of Strength enveloping the giant sword.
The other, by the unbelievable fusion of magic and swordsmanship.
“Hoo.”
There wasn't much time.
Completely coating a sword of this size with the Aura of Strength was a taxing task, even for him.
Without delay, he moved on to the next step.
‘I need an arm.’
Swordsmanship isn't just about swinging and striking with a blade.
It varies immensely depending on one's stance, grip, and where one aims.
It was a skill easier to begin than magic, but achieving mastery required a depth no less profound.
The same applied to wielding the giant sword before him.
He needed an arm to wield this sword properly.
A massive arm befitting its size.
「Gigantic Arm.」
He carved another rock to create an arm.
It was a perfect replica of Kim Do-jin's own arm.
Not just the outside, but the inside as well. The shape and length of the bones, the joints…
He projected everything perfectly and then, using his mana, connected his consciousness to the arm.
As a test, he raised his middle finger, and the giant's arm mirrored the gesture perfectly.
“Oh.”
The movement was as if it had copied his own hand. Perfect.
“Good.”
He extended his arm. As he made a grasping motion in the air, the giant's arm clenched its hand around the hilt of the massive sword.
At last, the arm and sword were one.
Simultaneously, a heavy sensation, as if he were truly holding the sword, traveled up his own arm.
This made the connection even more vivid.
“Hoo.”
A sense of exhilaration surged from deep within.
He lightly suppressed his rising excitement and swung his arm.
The giant sword collided with the forepaw that had been charging fiercely toward Angela.
K-g-geung!
The clash of the two colossal objects shook the heavens and the earth.
Grrrrr…!
A furious roar erupted from Cerberus.
It seemed displeased that the sword stood firm against its full-powered attack.
Kim Do-jin, on the other hand, was relieved.
‘My prediction was correct.’
The rock sword, infused with the Aura of Strength, now possessed durability and sharpness rivaling a masterwork blade.
With this, he should be able to pierce its hide.
A smile formed on Kim Do-jin's lips.
“Alright, puppy, you ready to have some fun with Daddy?”
Grrrowl! Bark!
He extended his arm toward the fiercely resisting Cerberus.
The giant's arm, connected to his consciousness, mirrored the motion, swinging the massive sword.
Fwoooosh!
A grand dance began.
Each time he swung his arm, feeling the weight, the giant sword followed, moving as if in a dance.
Its immense size and weight, combined with its surprisingly nimble movements, captivated the eyes of all who watched.
Han Ju-hee, watching from nearby, was astonished.
“That's…”
She had no deep knowledge of swordsmanship. And even less interest.
Therefore, there was only one style of swordsmanship memorable enough to be etched in her mind.
The swordsmanship of her husband, who had been with her since their foolish younger days.
“How… how is he doing that…?”
Many people tried to imitate him.
After he had gained so much, he always enjoyed giving back, so he had often corrected the stances of other sword-wielding Hunters.
But that was only ever superficial, just the basics.
He had never taught his true, advanced sword style to anyone. Not even his own daughter.
That's why she was so bewildered.
‘How does that man… know his movements…?’
How could he execute her husband's movements so perfectly?
Just as her confusion reached its peak,
Kim Do-jin's grand dance, fueled by the excitement of reaching a new level, finally came to its climax.
Kaaang! Thud! R-rumble…!
The massive sword displayed delicate yet brilliant movements, pushing Cerberus back.
Kim Do-jin spun once, using the centrifugal force to swing his arm, and the giant's sword matched the movement, whipping its heavy blade around.
Keeeeeng!
Unable to withstand the blow, the beast was sent flying.
Kim Do-jin did not miss this opportunity.
His target was the wide-open flank.
The giant's sword began to hack and slash at it.
Sh-sh-sh-shuk! Pssshk!
A thrilling series of strikes that cut through the tangled threads of a complex battle, ending it in a single breath.
「Giant Sword, Unraveling Chaos」
The hide was brutally torn apart.
He indiscriminately slashed again and again at the red flesh revealed beneath.
With every strike of the giant sword, crimson blood gushed forth.
K-heo-heo-heong!
Cerberus, its flank completely torn open, howled.
Its cry was filled with pain, rage, and shame.
For it, this was no different than a human being grievously wounded by a mere fly.
Its fury reached its zenith.
Awooooooo-!
It was the guardian of hell.
A being that judged the living who ventured toward hell and the dead who tried to escape the underworld.
The balance of such a being was now collapsing.
The killing intent that filled its heart incited it to do what a guardian must not.
Grrrr!
It roared. Toward the gates of hell.
In response, those who had been cautiously watching it, waiting for a chance to get out, reacted.
K-geugeung…!
The massive gate opened, and unfamiliar beings stepped through.
Corpses with rotting flesh dangling from their bones.
Skeleton knights clad in black armor.
Translucent female ghosts in ornate dresses.
Having set foot in a world full of the living, they let out cheers of joy.
Kyaaaa-!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Kyahahahat!
The denizens of hell, who had longed for the blood of the living for an eternity, targeted those nearby and spread out in all directions.
They would chew on tender flesh and drink the gushing blood.
The steps of those who had emerged first and were rushing toward the living came to a halt.
Thud!
To be precise, they were stopped.
Their path was blocked by an invisible wall created by someone.
It was then.
“How dare the dead try to invade the world of the living.”
Hearing the elderly voice from behind, Kim Do-jin turned his head to see who had spoken.
There stood a middle-aged gentleman dressed in a dark gray suit, and a woman holding a long spear and a round shield.
Looking at the monsters blocked by the invisible wall, the old gentleman clicked his tongue and said,
“After all that trouble, it seems we were late.”
But the woman stepped forward and shook her head.
“We're not too late.”
Dazzlingly white skin. Strong eyes. Firmly set lips that showed a resolute will.
As she approached, her grayish-white hair fluttering, her body was enveloped in a golden light. A moment later, a golden helmet and armor appeared, encasing her.
Having switched to her battle stance, she gave Kim Do-jin a passing glance and walked right by him.
It wasn't a snub. She had simply distinguished clearly between what needed to be done now and what could wait.
Kraaaaa-!
Kyaaaaak!
Standing before the wailing dead, who were blocked by the transparent wall, she raised her shield.
In the center of the round, platinum-colored shield was embedded the head of a woman whose hair was made entirely of snakes.
The shield's name was Aegis.
The eyes of the head embedded in the shield snapped open.
Crack! Snap!
In an instant, the dead from hell turned to stone.
The woman who had created this jaw-dropping spectacle turned around.
“First, let's close the gate.”
Her name was Athena.
Like Son Si-woo, she was a hero who had saved Greece from threats time and time again.