Chapter 47
Chapter 47
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Resolve
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The sky flickered red.
The ground groaned as it burned away.
In the midst of it all, two figures raced through the endless blaze like the last shadows left in the world.
A boy gracefully weaving between the branches with hawk-like movements, carrying a limp girl over his shoulder like baggage.
Chasing after him a step behind was a winged tiger with ink-black fur.
In this utterly unexpected situation, the girl clung tightly to the boy carrying her, shouting into his ear in a bewildered voice.
"What the hell! Weren't you going to use your special perk!?"
"If it was an opponent I could handle with my perk, of course I'd use it!!"
Baek Hyun, the boy charging desperately through the dense forest with all his might without looking back, was utterly focused on what lay ahead.
Yet the overwhelming presence bearing down from behind still made cold sweat trickle down the nape of his neck.
"But... that thing is impossible for me alone, no matter what I do!!"
________!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The fresh forest air was instantly overtaken by the thick stench of soot.
Every leaf withered like embers, sap turning to steam and bursting like screams.
At the center of this horrific calamity, a transcendent being chased after him like a mere insect.
With every step of its three legs on the empty air, brutal flames and radiance exploded outward, while flames like the sun's surface erupted from its body like a fountain.
The boom from each flap of its wings sounded like the footsteps of a giant larger than the world itself.
Every ear-shattering explosion made the surrounding air detonate, incinerating everything in its path to ash.
Even a peak martial artist would teeter on the brink of death just from touching the trail it left behind.
A natural disaster incarnate.
No matter the Red Bow White Arrow, no matter his resistance to heat from the Solar Body.
With his current power, victory was absolutely impossible.
"Even with your perk... it won't work?"
Maeng Yeon's expression darkened sharply at Baek Hyun's firm declaration.
She knew the being pursuing them was far beyond normal limits.
Still, she had held onto baseless hope that Baek Hyun—'Shoot Towards the Sun'—might somehow manage.
He was the rank 1 player who always overwhelmed foes, no matter the opponent.
If even he declared certain defeat, there was no way left to stop the Three-Legged Crow...!
"Well, yeah. But it's not like there's no way to stop it."
Unlike Maeng Yeon, who began showing signs of despair, Baek Hyun's eyes remained calmly fixed on a sliver of hope.
Defeating the Three-Legged Crow now was impossible even if the heavens fell.
But that very impossibility revealed an opening.
No matter the highest difficulty, the Three-Legged Crow's strength was absurd.
Even in the first playthrough, with two veterans loaded with cheat-level perks partying up, zero chance of victory was unacceptable.
A forced-loss event where you had to prevent the summon?
Possible, but the Demon Subduing Hall's seal breaking didn't stray too far from the story line.
In Dominating the World, forced-loss events prevented story breaks from needless actions like killing key NPCs or derailing the plot.
The remake wouldn't change that principle.
In other words, the Three-Legged Crow could be prevented somehow, but not impossible to defeat.
A classic raid boss.
'If it followed the main story, that ridiculous monster would appear regardless, so there has to be a strategy.'
Even outside highest difficulty, most main bosses were existences players couldn't beat normally due to lore.
Yet players always won.
The mechanisms enabling this nonsense were mainly two.
Exploiting boss gimmicks to weaken them.
Or...
...a 'helper' to aid the player.
-쩌저저저정-!!!
The instant the massive flames from the Three-Legged Crow tried to engulf the belatedly fleeing Haru...
Six flashes from somewhere pierced it at unrecognizable speed.
Unmatched power, incomparable to previous attacks that hadn't even grazed it.
____!!!!__!!!___!!!!!!!!!!!
The Three-Legged Crow could only stagger momentarily, letting out a pained screech.
Only then could Baek Hyun turn back, and seeing the stumbling form, he grinned wider than ever in joy.
In all of Starpoint Mountain—no, Yunam Province—only one person could land an effective hit on the Three-Legged Crow.
"Hyun-ah, are you hurt anywhere!?"
"Master—!! Damn it, I believed in you!!"
One of the Ten Great Masters of the world, Starpoint Sect's supreme expert.
Radiant Sword, Mok Heon.
His master had just arrived.
"Good, no injuries. That girl you're carrying... could she be?"
"Yes, the girl who gave us the information. A strong, upright friend who fought alone to clean up after noticing the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace's filthy reach."
"I see... you said some suspicious force was behind this. Looks like we have much to discuss later. You've done well too."
"N-no, Sect Leader."
Facing a Transcendent Realm expert for the first time, Maeng Yeon unconsciously avoided Mok Heon's gaze and hugged Baek Hyun tighter.
Realizing their bond was thicker than expected, Mok Heon smiled warmly for a moment before hardening his expression.
"I'd love to have a frank talk with the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace right now, but..."
First, he had to deal with that thing.
________!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the blink of an eye, the Three-Legged Crow recovered from the Sword of Will damage and resumed spewing overwhelming heat, forcing even Mok Heon to tense up after ages.
"What an absurd existence. That was my full-power strike, yet it shrugs it off so easily."
"But it's no longer pursuing us. It must be wary of you, Master, so it worked quite well, no?"
"No, it won't be. My attack just now posed no threat to it."
"What? What do you...?"
To his questioning disciple, Mok Heon simply pointed in one direction.
There lay molten metal from the swords Mok Heon had just unleashed, now melted.
"The moment the blades pierced the flames and touched its feathers, two of the six melted."
'!!'
Baek Hyun was stunned by Mok Heon's shocking words.
A Sword of Will was a supreme expert's ultimate attack, compressing a lifetime of intent, enlightenment, and inner energy to its limit.
And it melted upon touching feathers?
"The remaining four reached its flesh, but not deep wounds. The Three-Legged Crow has life force like the sun itself. That's barely a scratch. It's not approaching us out of wariness."
"Then... why isn't it coming after us?"
"Not 'can't approach'... 'can't escape' is more accurate. It hasn't fully broken free of the Demon Subduing Hall's seal yet."
But given more time, it would.
Only then did Baek Hyun grasp the boss fight's mechanic.
"...We have to reseal it in the Demon Subduing Hall before that."
A raid focused on 'sealing' rather than subjugation, with helper and gimmick in play.
The minimum plausibility for weak players to 'beat' the Three-Legged Crow.
"How do we reseal the Three-Legged Crow?"
"Retrieve the sacred relic from the Demon Subduing Hall and embed it in the beast. No other way. Even I can't sever its lifeline."
The sacred relic must be that bloodstained demon-subduing club.
Embed it in the thing... far easier than killing it, comparatively.
"As Starpoint Sect's leader, I'll handle this alone. You two get as far from here as possible and order all disciples to evacuate for any contingencies."
His master couldn't do it alone.
"Master, I'll join you."
"I won't allow it. You'd just be a hindrance in a fight this level."
"No, I'm essential for this battle."
Three-Legged Crow raid required two people.
One to draw its attention, one to fetch the relic from the Demon Subduing Hall.
As its sole means of disablement, the Three-Legged Crow would guard the relic desperately.
Normally, you'd break through its desperate resistance head-on.
But luckily, chasing them had distanced it from the sealed Demon Subduing Hall.
One draws aggro, the other sneaks the relic—easy acquisition.
Including the helper was designed for this.
"...No, even so, I can't. I won't let you join such a dangerous fight. You're just a child under twenty, even as a sect heir!"
No matter Baek Hyun's explanation, Mok Heon refused.
Duty to protect the sect.
Fear of losing his late-in-life disciple.
Understanding a bit, Baek Hyun spoke calmly, without agitation.
"Master, I always choose the most efficient, safe path in battle. Shameful for a Nine Great Righteous Sects heir, but my mindset leans demonic.
So I don't shame in retreating from the field."
Run thousands of times if needed.
Detour if it leads easier, safer to the goal—what couldn't he do?
But.
"But... sometimes, you can't retreat."
If it means abandoning something vital.
If evasion ceases to be 'efficient'.
No reason left to run.
"I think now is that moment. In the entrance exam, you asked if I was prepared to bear Starpoint's future."
I am.
That resolute word left Mok Heon unable to stop his disciple.
Instead, Maeng Yeon began protesting.
"W-wait! Fight again now!? You just said it's absolutely unwinnable!!"
"That was without info or Master. Now with my perk, we have a shot. This is why I love running—Strategy 36, make a getaway."
"Nooo...! If you love running so much...!!"
Maeng Yeon trembled, head bowed, unable to continue.
In this harsh, unfamiliar world, her first comrade—sharing dozens of life-death lines, forging deep bonds—Baek Hyun meant more than she imagined.
Sending him alone to the deadliest field filled her with helplessness and guilt crushing her shoulders.
Baek Hyun patted her shoulder and whispered softly in her ear.
"Don't worry. Forgot who I am?"
Rank 1.
With that, Baek Hyun stepped toward the Three-Legged Crow alongside Mok Heon.
"I spoke carelessly in the entrance exam. Planted resolve in you too soon."
"So, displeased with this disciple?"
"...No."
Proud.
More than anyone.
The comrade whose life was entrusted has reached their limit.
Yet he was not alone.
Begins