Chapter 143: All-Out War (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 143: All-Out War (1)
[Alice has activated Lv.?? 'Blood Domain'!]
Krrrck!
Screeech!
Spears of crimson blood twisted together like pretzels.
It was a move designed to maximize piercing power by adding rotational force.
"Even if a million mere insects swarm me, it is useless."
Alice lightly flicked her wrist.
At that exact moment—
Ruuuumble!
The spears flew toward the Hungry Ghosts all at once.
An overwhelming torrent of blood swept away everything in sight.
Splack-splack-splack!
Boom!
"Kieee!"
"Keeeeeek!"
What followed was the sound of tearing flesh as bone and meat blended together, accompanied by agonized screams.
She showed absolutely no mercy.
As a result, a scene reminiscent of a living hell unfolded.
The crimson rain, which felt like it would last forever, finally stopped after a few minutes.
Naturally, not a single Hungry Ghost was left breathing.
With just a single attack, every Hungry Ghost that had emerged from the Gate was reduced to a handful of bloody water.
Though more Hungry Ghosts would emerge from the Gate in a moment, there was at least a brief lull for now.
"Ugh..."
"Damn it. How can an attack be so absurdly brute-force..."
Deep groans escaped the mouths of Bertion and Ophelia.
They had deployed the strongest shields they could muster to defend themselves, but they had barely managed to cling to life.
"..."
At least Michael was the only one who hadn't taken significant damage from the previous attack.
To withstand that. Indeed, he was worthy of the title 'Black Wing.'
After all, that attack possessed a destructive power on par with a Hatchling's Breath.
"Alice."
"What?"
"No, never mind. I'll tell you later. Once this fight is completely over."
Jinhyuk, who looked like he was about to say something, shook his head.
The key here was to act like he was about to speak, but then stop.
Plaintively. Leaving a lingering impression was the most important part.
"How anticlimactic."
Alice turned her head away without thinking much of it.
Damn it. I know it's anticlimactic.
But I have no choice.
I haven't cleared all the copying conditions yet.
Still, that makes three.
The "starting to say something but stopping" flag was one of the classic death flags that always made people click their tongues.
As if to prove that expectation.
Tring!
A status window appeared, announcing that the condition had been cleared.
[The third line of the copying condition 'Death Flag Dialogue' has been counted.]
[One of your unique abilities or skills will be randomly sealed.]
[The unique ability '1-Second Invincibility' has been sealed.]
Ah...
That hurts a bit.
Jinhyuk frowned slightly.
'1-Second Invincibility' was a reliable insurance policy that allowed him to make reckless or bold moves.
This skill, in particular, shone brighter the stronger the opponent was.
Of all things, to think this would be the one sealed.
It's a bit of a waste, but it can't be helped.
Since it was a random seal, there was no point in grumbling.
The important thing was how well he could utilize what he had left.
Besides, he was now only one step away from copying his opponent's skill.
If I can copy 'that ability,' I can turn the situation to my advantage as much as I want.
Jinhyuk spoke.
"You take Michael. I'll join you after I clean up the rest of the small fry."
"What? Join me? Don't tell me you think I can't handle a single guy like him?"
At Jinhyuk's words, Alice's fair brow furrowed.
For some reason, the atmosphere felt like all the blood in his veins would be drained if he said the wrong thing here.
This is why you shouldn't mess with her when she's prickly.
Seriously, it was like looking at a hedgehog that had its mealworm snatched away right in front of its eyes.
Jinhyuk hastily added another word.
"I'm not doubting your skills. I just don't want you to shoulder all the risk alone."
"You don't want me... to shoulder all the risk alone?"
"Yeah. We're comrades, aren't we? Comrades who can rely on each other and fight together when things get tough."
"Comrades..."
Alice slowly chewed on the word.
Her pupils trembled slightly.
It seemed his sweet-talking had worked to some extent.
I was so nervous she'd say she'd handle everything by herself.
No matter how strong Alice was, she couldn't wage an all-out war against Michael while only able to use a fraction of her power.
The mana he could provide to support her was limited, too. Above all, Alice's treasures had all been seized by the other families when she was ousted from her position as the head.
Michael probably knew that, which was why he hadn't given up the fight yet.
If they fought under perfect conditions, Michael wouldn't have lasted even a minute, but at least that wasn't the case right now.
Aside from all that, I can't let her hog that massive chunk of experience points all to herself.
Yes, this was the biggest reason.
Lately, his level-up progress had stalled because he'd only been dealing with low-value targets.
If he lost such a juicy prey that had practically walked right in, he wouldn't be able to sleep a wink tonight.
Of course.
"Thank you. For saying that."
Alice had completely misunderstood his intentions.
A contractor who willingly joined the fight for her and her clan's revenge, and to reclaim her position as the head.
A partner who was always by her side, even if his life might be in danger.
Well, she seemed to be expecting something like that.
Hmm.
She's seriously misunderstanding this...
He felt a slight pang of guilt, but it was better not to reveal the truth here.
"Let's grab some of that chicken and beer you like when this is all over. My treat this time."
"I like the sound of that."
The conversation ended there.
Tap.
Swoosh.
They moved toward their respective targets.
* * *
Alice and Michael clashed head-on.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, crimson sparks flew in all directions.
And while the terrain and surroundings were completely reshaped by the clash of the two monsters, Jinhyuk faced the remaining two vampires.
"I have waited for this moment. The very moment I put a wind tunnel through your neck!"
Bertion burst into mad laughter, his face filled with ecstasy.
"You won't be able to run away this time. Well, not that you could even if you wanted to."
Ophelia chimed in.
"That's strange. As far as I know, you guys were the ones who ran away with your tails between your legs last time. Why are you so happy?"
It's not like they're rewriting memories.
They're just casually swapping the winner and the loser.
At this point, I'm starting to wonder if 'Gluttony's Eye' missed a self-rationalization skill on them.
"You are the one who is mistaken. We were never specialized in fighting individually."
"There's a reason we travel in pairs. Before, Bertion faced you alone just to test your skills."
Hmm...
So basically...
"Doesn't that just mean you can't handle me alone, so you have to gang up on me?"
Why dress it up with so much useless talk?
You could've just said you're scared to do it alone.
Even without such a long-winded explanation, I had no intention of demanding a one-on-one anyway.
Whether they came at him alone or together, the outcome wouldn't change anyway.
As Jinhyuk shrugged, thick bloodlust flared on the faces of the two vampires.
"Y-You arrogant human!"
"Fine. Let's see how long you can keep running your mouth like that. We're going all out from now on."
Shring! Clang!
Two rapiers were drawn simultaneously.
'Dark Aura' completely enveloped the surfaces of the blades.
Just as they said, they didn't hold back or test the waters; they unleashed their full power from the very start.
...Finally, the time has come.
Jinhyuk swallowed hard.
The final flag for the copying condition.
The moment had finally arrived to deliver the perfect line suited for this situation and condition.
"I, too, shall stop playing around."
Keep in mind.
The embarrassment is only temporary.
And.
"This..."
The copied skill is forever.
"...is 100% of my power."
Not 10%, not 50%, not 75%, but 100%.
The final flag that had sent countless villains to the afterlife now escaped Jinhyuk's mouth into the world.
At that exact moment.
[The fourth line of the copying condition 'Death Flag Dialogue' has been counted.]
[One of your unique abilities or skills will be randomly sealed.]
[The skill 'Isekai Restaurant' has been sealed.]
A series of status windows lined up.
The sealed skill was 'Isekai Restaurant.'
Since it wasn't a combat-related ability, it didn't matter.
What was more important was the text that followed.
[The conditions have been met.]
A golden status window appeared, announcing his success.
Success!
Jinhyuk clenched his fist tightly.
[Please select the skill to copy...]
There was no need to read any further.
Because he had decided what to copy from the very beginning.
"I'll copy 'Mana Vampirism'."
Jinhyuk named the skill without a moment's hesitation.
[You have successfully copied the skill 'Mana Vampirism (A)'!]
[Mana Vampirism]
Acquisition Difficulty: A
Description: Upon a successful attack, you can steal a portion of the opponent's mana. (0.3 mana per hit / 1 mana per clean hit)
Mana Vampirism.
He had struggled so hard just to obtain this.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Jinhyuk's heart beat rapidly.
It felt as if all the hardships he had endured so far were melting away like snow.
The excitement and sense of achievement from acquiring a new skill were incomparable to anything else.
However.
This isn't the end.
Not simply copying, but fusing it to create a higher-tier version of the skill.
That was something other players couldn't even dare to imagine.
A privilege reserved solely for a veteran.
"I will fuse 'Mana Vampirism' and 'Blessing of the Stars'."
* * *
"What... is that?"
Ophelia's pupils trembled violently.
Even when they faced each other again, she had never dreamed things would turn out like this.
It was different from last time.
Because she was fighting alongside him this time.
Since the prideful Bertion had agreed, they could easily suppress him, no matter how extraordinary of a human he was.
Yes.
That was how it was supposed to go.
But the moment she saw the light erupting from the dagger.
Ophelia felt all the common sense she knew crumbling to pieces.
Mana Vampirism!
No, that energy was different from the Mana Vampirism that the vampires practiced.
While Mana Vampirism was a dark-attribute ability, that energy coexisted with both the dark attribute and a detestable holy-attribute energy.
"What... what on earth are you? Are you even human?! How in the world...!"
Ophelia realized her voice was trembling without her consent.
"Don't panic, Ophelia! It's just a single skill!"
Bertion hastily shouted.
He was clearly trying to stabilize his comrade's mental state.
However.
"I don't know. For someone saying that, you look pretty shocked yourself."
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
A pretense of composure.
The false mask Bertion wore looked as if it would slip off at any moment.
He must be flustered.
After all, he had probably never heard of their ability being altered in such a way.
Furthermore, even the base Mana Vampirism of the fused skill was of a far higher level than what they possessed...
The sense of shame and futility the two vampires felt was beyond words.
But what could they do?
Just like how when eating chicken, the drumsticks and wings are mine while the ribs and neck are yours, this outcome was all too obvious.
"Sorry, but I have to wrap this up quickly. That True Ancestor lady over there—she might not look it, but she's still in a weakened state."
So don't feel too aggrieved even if you die too quickly.
Now that he had obtained this skill, there was no longer any reason to drag things out.
[You have used Lv.1 'Soul Vampirism'.]
The dagger, faintly shrouded in a green light.
From its tip.
Crackle...
The newly acquired skill from the fusion manifested.