Chapter 255
Chapter 255
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 256
Chapter Title: Berserk Rampage
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Whiiiirrr—
As Jin-gun's berserk transformation began, sharp black demonic energy swept through the interior of the stage.
At the same time, vibrations rang out from the mana waves, causing everything around to crumble.
Crack. Craaack....
Jin-gun's body swelled up, growing larger and larger.
The suffocating pressure made it hard to breathe.
I gritted my teeth.
This wasn't good.
Starting the berserk transformation meant he was gaining nearly twice the power he had before.
That made dealing with him far more troublesome.
Because once berserk mode kicked in, he could output the strength of two S-Rank wizards.
I should have taken him out quickly before it started.
"...Ha."
In hindsight, using Rune Binding first was a regret.
Rune Binding had a three-day cooldown.
On top of that, I'd already used [Heart of Great Nature] to supply the mana it required.
The only skills left to me now were 'Counterstrike' and 'Gretel Summon'....
If I used those two, we might be able to take down Jin-gun without much issue by combining our strength.
But the problem was that using them would greatly increase the chance of my identity being exposed.
Counterstrike was Kim Sun-woo's signature move, and Gretel was Kim Jin-woo's.
"Die!"
In that moment, Jin-gun shattered the ground and charged.
I had no choice—for now, survival came first—so I activated [Instant Acceleration] to dodge his attack.
Whoosh!
Jin-gun looked stunned as his strike missed. Instant Acceleration lasted three seconds.
Before he could make his next move, I shoved a pre-compressed orb of light right into his gut.
KABOOOM—
"Graaaah!"
The impact sent Jin-gun crashing into the wall. At the same time, everyone stared at me in shock.
Lee Seo-jun's expression stood out the most.
"That fighting style..."
Lee Seo-jun's quiet mutter.
But in this life-or-death crisis, there was no time to worry about trivial details like that.
"Don't just stand there—attack!"
Snapping to his senses at my shout, Lee Seo-jun charged at Jin-gun again.
Blazing sword energy spread out like flames, slicing into the demon's body.
Followed by fifteen consecutive strikes.
Black blood sprayed from Jin-gun's body. But the demon's tenacious vitality rapidly healed his wounds.
For now, Lee Seo-jun had the overwhelming advantage, but it wouldn't last.
"...Tch!"
In the end, there was only one way to put him down.
I turned my gaze to Yoon Ha-young. Sensing it, she looked back at me.
Our eyes met for a brief moment.
With her expression, Yoon Ha-young asked if she should use 'that,' and I nodded.
What we lacked right now was the firepower to finish him off.
And that would provide it.
Of course, using Demon-Slaying Power in front of everyone was a bit concerning, but it was a fact that would be revealed to my allies in the original story anyway.
It was just happening a little sooner—no real change.
The one worry was that the Demon King might notice....
But that would come to light eventually too, so no need to fret over it.
"Haat!"
With a shout, Yoon Ha-young drew up her mana. At the same time, a mass of magic infused with Demon-Slaying Power began to form above her head.
The first to sense that energy was Jin-gun.
He had been defending against Lee Seo-jun's attacks, but now he raised his head.
"That power...?"
Regaining a sliver of reason, Jin-gun smashed his fist into Lee Seo-jun's side.
Lee Seo-jun's body flew back, slamming into the wall.
"Ugh!"
Blood trickled from Lee Seo-jun's mouth. He glared at Jin-gun, curling up in pain.
That's when Elin activated another magic circle from behind.
Light mana pressed down on Jin-gun's body, but he stomped the floor hard, shattering the pressure.
Choi Seo-yoon followed with ice spears. But he casually swung his arm to block them.
Ignoring everyone's attacks like that, Jin-gun fixed his gaze on Yoon Ha-young.
"...I never thought I'd run into you here."
With those words, Jin-gun kicked off the ground and lunged at Yoon Ha-young.
Flash!
Her face flashed with panic at the sudden charge.
She was defenseless while manifesting Demon-Slaying Power.
In the end, I was the only one who could buy time.
[Activating effect: 'Fighting Spirit.']
[For 3 minutes, all stats increase by 20%.]
I then drew out all the mana stored in the [Mana Crystal Pendant] and compressed it into both legs.
In that brief instant, explosive power filled my legs—not inferior to his.
Using that, I charged at him.
But he was closer to Yoon Ha-young than I was.
At this rate, she'd be done for.
Before it was too late, I focused and used [Touch of Great Nature].
Using nature's mana, I gripped his ankle tight, making him lose balance for a moment.
"...Huh?!"
I didn't miss the opening. I closed in right to his face and slammed the pre-formed orb of light into his temple.
"Gaaaah—"
Jin-gun's scream pierced my ears.
It inflicted brief pain, but it wasn't a decisive blow to turn the tide.
But my goal was just to buy time for Yoon Ha-young to unleash Demon-Slaying Power.
Even one second was enough.
"You bastard! What trick is this now?!"
Sensing the danger from the forming Demon-Slaying Power, Jin-gun desperately swung his fist at me.
Thud!
"...Ugh!"
His fist struck my right forearm dead-on.
My arm bent backward, muscles and bones tearing apart.
Agonizing pain followed. For an ordinary person, it would have been a lifelong crippling blow.
[Achievement unlocked: 'Pain Transcendence.']
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
[Your body adapts to excruciating pain!]
[Adaptive trait 'Pain Resistance (F)' greatly increases in rank!]
['Pain Resistance' rank rises to (C)!]
[Your body adapts to physical attacks.]
[Adaptive trait 'Physical Resistance (C)' acquired.]
A flurry of messages appeared.
Pain Resistance rank up and Physical Resistance acquisition.
Thanks to that, the excruciating pain quickly subsided. I even had room to dodge his next attack.
Whoosh!
His fist barely grazed my cheek.
"Now!"
I turned back and shouted to Yoon Ha-young. By then, a perfectly formed Demon-Slaying Arrow floated above her head.
"Haaat—!"
Mana waves shook the surroundings.
The pure white arrow shot toward him. I kicked off the ground, pulling away from him.
In that split second.
The arrow streaked through the darkness as a afterimage, piercing Jin-gun's chest dead-center.
Vrrr—
KABOOOOOM—
[S-Rank villain 'Jin-gun' successfully subjugated.]
[Karma increases by 1.5.]
[Victory achieved in battle with target.]
[Victory Report effect: Acquired 'Berserk Transformation Stage 1 (B)'.]
Seeing the messages, I realized we'd won the fight.
Bonus was getting a trait from Victory Report.
I blankly checked the name of my new trait.
"...What?"
Berserk Transformation?
That was when.
"Are you okay?! ...Sir?"
Yoon Ha-young ran over to me, shouting. She seemed to glance around before switching to polite speech late, leaving me momentarily baffled.
"Team leader!"
This time, Elin rushed over and inspected my arm from all sides.
Honestly, with it completely shattered, I felt no sensation beyond the pain.
It felt like my arm had been severed.
"You... this is serious... Won't you lose the use of your arm forever...?"
Elin muttered with a panicked face.
It could happen, I thought.
Even with treatment, I'd need to preserve the arm's shape somehow, but this was total destruction—no fixing it.
"Hold on. I have medicine."
Elin started rummaging in her pocket for a potion.
I waved my good left arm, saying it was fine.
Lee Seo-jun also got to his feet and slowly walked over.
He looked at my arm with pity in his eyes, then shifted to a subtle expression as he met my face.
He looked like he had something to say but was holding back.
He might have vaguely realized I was Kim Sun-woo....
—Move in!
Noisy voices came from outside the stage.
The Association's wizards had arrived. Getting caught and interrogated by them would only make things worse.
"...Well, I'm busy, so I'll head out."
"No way! You need treatment!"
Yoon Ha-young shouted loudly, then added,
"...Sir."
Was she doing that on purpose?
I let out a deep sigh. No time for this.
"See you later."
"Huh?! Wait!"
"Team leader!"
Voices called from behind, but I ignored them and ran forward.
...How far did I run?
I reached an empty hallway. Commotion echoed from outside, but here, I wouldn't run into anyone.
I slumped to the floor for a moment and pulled a mana elixir from my subspace, downing it.
"Ugh..."
My body's mana began filling up rapidly. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall.
After about three minutes, my mana had recovered somewhat.
I looked at my wrecked right arm.
"...I wondered when I'd use this ability. Guess it's time."
[Using 'Super Regeneration Ability.']
[Consumes all mana to rapidly regenerate a body part.]
"Kuooooh...."
At the same time, my twisted arm began slowly returning to its original shape.
Meanwhile, somewhere far from the stage, the battle between the Sword Demon and the King raged on.
The Sword Demon swung a sword woven from 3-meter sword energy. Mana swirled like a vortex, surging toward the King.
But the black demonic energy floating around the King blocked the mana vortex one by one, like living creatures with wills of their own.
In the process, wounds accumulated on the Sword Demon's body one by one.
"...Kuh!"
The Sword Demon retreated momentarily and glared at the King. Even while hiding his form with black demonic energy, he displayed impressive combat prowess.
To conceal himself with that level of demonic energy would normally hinder fighting greatly, but his mana control was astounding.
If he unleashed his true power...
A chill ran down the Sword Demon's spine.
The King stood still, gazing at the Sword Demon, then spoke.
"...Things are getting interesting."
The King recalled the Demon-Slaying Power he'd sensed from afar.
A foreign mana he'd never felt before. And that power, instinctively evoking fear, was undoubtedly the demons' nemesis, 'Demon-Slaying Power.'
That meant the 'Child of Prophecy' was hiding somewhere here.
He wanted to find and kill them right away, but the Sword Demon in front was annoyingly in the way.
But it didn't matter much.
He could easily find them by checking the list of 'Wizard Academy students' attending today's expo....
—Move in!
That's when the King detected numerous voices from afar.
The thudding footsteps.
Probably the Association's wizards storming in.
"...Pity, but the duel ends here."
Failing to secure the sacrifice needed for the Prophecy's Mystery was a flaw, but there were clear gains.
"...Running away?"
Determined not to let the King escape, the Sword Demon taunted him.
"It's a strategic retreat."
"...Tch."
At that moment, black smoke rose around the King's body.
'Darkening,' a special ability possessed by only a handful of demons.
"Oh, right. You said you clashed with Chairman Kim Jin-cheol earlier?"
The Sword Demon frowned at the King's out-of-left-field question.
"And?"
"...I will dominate the human world. Someday, I'll face him too."
The black smoke filling the hallway grew thicker.
"Between me and Kim Jin-cheol, who do you think is stronger?"
The Sword Demon answered without hesitation.
"Hmph. That old man is twice—no, three times stronger than you."
He continued.
"If you went all out without hiding your identity, maybe. But still, stronger than you."
"Is that so?"
The King chuckled quietly.
At the same time, darkness enveloped the hallway, concealing the King's form.