Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Giant Slayer
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It was the fist of a five-meter-tall humanoid mobile weapon. Faced with a fist carrying the weight of at least several tons, even the seven-meter-tall Abomination couldn't help but stagger.
CRASH!
A deafening roar erupted, unimaginable for a mere punch.
Struck in the chest, the Abomination stumbled back, but Kang-seok didn't stop there.
Having poured all his strength into the blow, the Gigantes's right arm screamed with a harsh mechanical sound, but instead of slowing down, he stomped forward for a second advance. This time, he threw his left fist.
Perhaps because his stance was unstable, it didn't produce the same deafening roar as before. But it was effective enough; the Abomination finally fell backward.
Instead of climbing on top of it and taking a mounted position, Kang-seok retreated a good distance. The Abomination wasn't the only enemy he had to face.
“Armament status!”
[Right Hand: Pile Bunker]
[Left Hand: Heavy Flamethrower]
[Main Armament: -]
[Sub Armament: -]
The armament status displayed by the letters of light was truly pathetic. Even the basic loadout was incomplete.
Kang-seok quickly darted his eyes around. The rear camera caught Seong Yu-jin moving toward the church ruins with Choi Yu-ra on her back, and Kang-seok's eyes saw the zombies gathering around her.
Naturally, the Gigantes's left arm turned toward the zombies. When Kang-seok pressed a button on the control stick, a torrent of flames erupted from the heavy flamethrower attached to its left arm.
It was truly a wave of fire.
Although they were clustered together, a dozen or so zombies were instantly engulfed in flames.
“Wow!”
Just as Kang-seok let out an involuntary exclamation of awe, the Abomination pushed itself back up. Kang-seok quickly turned his left arm and unleashed a torrent of fire on the Abomination.
But it was useless. Despite the firepower of the heavy flamethrower that had incinerated the zombies in an instant, the Abomination contemptuously parted the flames and swung its right arm at the Gigantes.
It felt like an absurdly large and powerful flyswatter coming down from above. The Gigantes's left arm was torn off in a single blow.
“Kuaaah!”
As if riding the momentum, the Abomination roared. Amidst the chaos, Kang-seok quickly lowered his stance.
Although it had suffered a major injury with its left arm broken, it was just a mechanical arm. There was no pain whatsoever.
The wreckage of the left arm scattered. As the immensely heavy Abomination thrashed about, the very ground shook.
Kang-seok kept his eyes on the Abomination. The Gigantes lowered its upper body and drove into the Abomination's right side, swinging its fist at its waist. He didn't stop there, activating the pile bunker attached to his right arm.
“Khaaaaaaaah!”
As the massive iron spike dug into its waist, the Abomination screamed. Kang-seok detached the single-use pile bunker from his right arm and stepped back. Knowing it was a somewhat reckless move, he pivoted on his right foot and launched a roundhouse kick.
The heavy roundhouse kick slammed into the Abomination's abdomen. It felt more like a push kick, so the Abomination stumbled backward before falling over. Having performed such a strenuous move, the Gigantes also collapsed as if exhausted.
He was clearly winning. He'd lost his left arm, but he had landed far more effective hits. Still, Kang-seok couldn't relax. Didn't even the Flesh Golems have regenerative abilities?
[The Abomination is attempting to regenerate its wounds! Launch an additional attack!]
As if reading Kang-seok's mind, letters of light appeared. Hearing the urgent woman's voice in his ear, Kang-seok shouted.
“Tell me its weakness! This situation is unfair!”
The time limit was shortened midway through, and even though I completed the mission within that time, the Abomination was still born.
If this were a game, it was a situation where he'd want to grab the developers or GMs by the throat and scream his head off.
The letters of light were the system. In game terms, they were nothing more than one-sided NPC messages.
But Kang-seok wasn't shouting just because he was desperate. That woman's voice ringing in his ears. That voice, laced with emotion!
This unfair situation, that woman's voice—none of it was a game. It was reality!
[The Abomination is powered by a magic stone inside its body. Destroy the magic stone.]
The woman's voice, calmer than before, came through. Kang-seok got the Gigantes back on its feet and shouted again.
“How am I supposed to know where the magic stone is in that huge body! If you're going to tell me, be specific!”
[Ugh, it's most likely in the center of its chest. Unfortunately, my intervention ends here. I wish you the best of luck, Mr. Choi Kang-seok.]
The business-like voice, mixed with a hint of bewilderment, fell silent. After clearing all the letters of light from his vision, Kang-seok raised his one remaining arm and took a fighting stance.
‘I have to destroy the magic stone in its chest.’
A simple punch wouldn't be enough to do the job. It was a grotesque thought, but the blow had to be powerful enough to pierce through its chest.
Since he was in the Gigantes, he couldn't use Durandal or Laevateinn. Naturally, Knight of Knights was also unusable.
So, was there no way?
No. There was still one more skill left.
A skill he learned while grinding with Seong Yu-jin in the Labyrinthos after defeating Aden, the king of the gnolls.
He had tried applying a command he used back in his *Asura Online* days, wondering if it would work here too.
“Kuaang!”
The Abomination roared. It charged at the Gigantes, its mouth wide open, revealing hideous teeth. It had the overwhelming presence and speed of a beast that had tasted blood.
Kang-seok gritted his teeth. Instead of closing his eyes, he focused on the Abomination. He timed his move perfectly, shifting sideways to dodge the creature's straight-on charge.
The Abomination and the Gigantes crossed paths. In an instant, as if on cue, they turned to face each other. Point-blank range.
That's when a variable came into play.
A gunshot tore through the air, piercing the mechanical whir of the Gigantes and the monster's roars.
Choi Yu-ra, resting the gun barrel on Seong Yu-jin's shoulder, pulled the trigger. The last remaining bullet pierced the Abomination's eye.
And that created an opening.
Kang-seok didn't miss it. He pulled back his right fist and recalled the command.
*Asura Online* was a fighting game, so it actively used fists and feet, not just weapons like swords. One of the Dark Destiny Lord's signature moves.
↓↙←↓↙←+P
Gigantic Piston
The Gigantes's fist shot through the air. The twisting punch generated an explosive impact, instantly shattering the Abomination's chest. It tore through skin and flesh, splintered bone, and plunged inside.
“Uwoooooh!”
The moment he unleashed that twisting punch, part of the Gigantes's joints had already been destroyed.
But its fingers could still move. On Kang-seok's command, it opened its hand with all its might, then clenched it into a fist. In the process, it crushed whatever it had caught within its grasp.
The Abomination couldn't even let out a single scream.
With a final pillar of purple light shooting high into the sky, its massive size and intimidating presence crumbled away as if they had been a lie. Now that its magical core, the magic stone, was gone, the Abomination was nothing more than a pile of flesh that couldn't even maintain its shape.
“Hah, hah, ha….”
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Kang-seok gasped for breath. Having lost the Abomination as a support, the Gigantes slumped to the ground. As if its job was done, the front armor opened up.
[Quest Cleared]
[Quest MVP: Choi Kang-seok (Male)]
[Abomination Defeated]
[Title Acquired: Giant Slayer]
[Special Quest Reward: Partial item supply for Choi Yu-ra (Female).]
[You have been promoted from ‘Fighter’ to ‘Intermediate Fighter’.]
A series of light-based messages appeared, confirming his victory. At the same time, the dark clouds that had covered the sky scattered. Intense sunlight poured down, and the zombies roaming the ground let out bizarre shrieks before collapsing where they stood.
[Party Member Seong Yu-jin (Female)'s Sub-Quest Cleared]
[Defeat 50 Zombies: 50/50]
Letting out a brief, wry laugh, Kang-seok pulled himself up from the Gigantes's cockpit. He climbed onto the head of the mecha—which, with both arms mangled, could easily be described as half-destroyed—and saw Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra standing on the church ruins.
Seong Yu-jin beamed and waved enthusiastically, and Choi Yu-ra, despite her exhausted face, also waved at Kang-seok.
[MVP: 4,000 Kron Acquired]
[We 'sincerely' congratulate you on clearing the quest.]
Hearing the woman's business-like yet strangely excited voice again, Kang-seok let out another wry laugh. As if to show both Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra, he thrust his fist toward the sky.