Chapter 258: Floor 15, The Wailing Witch (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 258: Floor 15, The Wailing Witch (2)
Clang!
The thrown fang spun through the air before embedding itself in the ground.
"Kreee..."
The Gate Guardians protecting the Wailing Witch.
Among them, the Reaper, who blocked the shortest route, was a named monster that best suited the nickname "Grim Reaper."
In an instant, the air shifted rapidly.
Its arm seemed to rise over its shoulder, and then—
[Gate Guardian 'Reaper' activates the skill 'Grim Reaper's Scythe'!]
Whoosh!
Soon, the scythe swept horizontally.
No, saying it "swept" was merely a limitation of language.
Leaving not even an afterimage, it was impossible to read the trajectory of the scythe.
This was the very attack that had bisected countless raid teams.
But.
A massive greatsword was already gripped in Jinhyuk's hand.
The Berserker's Greatsword.
A greatsword as heavy as its name suggested had appeared.
Crash!
A heavy impact resonated as the scythe and the greatsword collided.
"Kree...?"
A completely different sound escaped the Reaper's mouth.
It was only natural.
Grim Reaper's Scythe was a skill designed to sever the target's breath in a single blow.
Yet, the scythe that had freely reaped lives had failed to fulfill its purpose for the first time.
"Too slow."
Jinhyuk swung the Berserker's Greatsword, parrying the scythe away.
Clang!
This was not a reaction to what he saw, but the result of learning.
The slight vibration of the air, the amount of mana leaking from its blindfold, and even the minute movements of the finger muscles gripping the scythe.
There were countless ways to map out and standardize its patterns.
"Kraaaaa!"
Immediately, a torrential rage erupted.
This time, the scythe began to lash out like a tempest.
[Reaper activates the unique ability 'Reaper's Dance'!]
Head, shoulders, arms, abdomen, legs.
A barrage of consecutive strikes, akin to indiscriminate rapid fire, sought to shred Jinhyuk's entire body.
The sheer wind pressure generated by the passing scythe sliced the stones on the ground like sheets of paper.
Crash!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Yet, Jinhyuk was swinging his greatsword half a beat faster than the Reaper, parrying every single attack.
As if he knew exactly where every strike would land.
"I told you."
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
"You're slow."
At that, exclamations of admiration escaped the mouths of Lee Tae-min and Yu Yeon-hwa, who were watching.
Of course, it was a slightly different kind of admiration than what might have been expected.
"Wow. Hyung, that's the first time I've ever seen someone actually say that out loud."
"Oppa, this isn't a game. Besides, aren't the viewers watching right now?"
For someone who was an arsonist and used the nickname "Bulgwang-dong Nuclear Fist," did she really have the right to say that?
Anyone else could talk, but not you two.
-Special1: Ah. 'How slow,' even the swinging of your scythe.
-kdb: Is this the gap between the edited video and the live stream? Whew, the cringe is real! My hands and feet are curling!
-sod: Cringe tolerance depleted! Cringe tolerance depleted! This is the vanguard, we can't hold out any longer...
-Kim Kyung-soo: Static! This is the rearguard. I advise only those with extremely high cringe tolerance to climb.
-Jelly: Hoeeee. Even baby-beubbi-chan can't take this and is leaving-yooo.
-Lee Seung-jun: Now I know why he only uploads edited videos. He deletes all of this stuff before uploading, right?
-Sae Yeong Eon Hwan: Don't be too hard on him. I'm sure there's a reason behind everything he does.
-Jin-wook: ---------Well, uh. He absolutely crushed it.
-Park Young-bae: Info) This corresponds to the Grim Reaper, who takes the soul of a deceased person to the afterlife. 'When a person in the living world dies, the messenger from the underworld visits the house of the deceased (亡者) and snatches their soul... (omitted).'
It felt as though the snickers of the viewers were piercing his ears.
But it couldn't be helped.
To defeat the Gate Guardian... no, to clear this ruin, one had to understand the characteristics they possessed.
[Excessive confidence is a poison, but at least not to the master of this ruin. The ruin 'Tomb of the Antichrist' where the Wailing Witch resides is a massive temple modeled after those sins. 'Reaper', one of the Gate Guardians guarding the entrance, is responsible for the deadly sin of 'Pride'.]
Perhaps because she was so deeply moved by the evil deeds and despair wrought by the Seven Deadly Sins, known as the plagues of the Tower, she wanted to create apostles in their likeness.
The Gate Guardians here were imitations created by the Wailing Witch to worship the Seven Deadly Sins after she encountered them in the past.
And.
The Reaper before him was that very first apostle.
Pride.
One who deceives the opponent and loftily remains certain of victory under any circumstance.
The reason the raid teams had failed to break through the Reaper until now was that they were completely overwhelmed in their first battle with it.
Its eerie appearance and long scythe are all just props to achieve that effect.
If one's spirit faltered even once, all of their stats and abilities would drop by 30% due to its area-of-effect (AoE) debuff skill.
However.
Conversely, if one knew all of this and could prepare for it, they could remain unaffected by the AoE debuff.
Of course, the prerequisite was that one had to have the skills to back it up.
[The Reaper's AoE debuff skill 'Contempt for the Weak' is dispelled.]
Good.
The passive of the AoE debuff skill, 'Contempt for the Weak,' had vanished.
It was thanks to not succumbing to the opponent's momentum for a full three minutes.
The viewers' reactions are great, too...
Now, it was time to truly crush it.
So that everyone would go wild for this raid.
* * *
A short while later, the rankers of the three major guilds who entered the ruins had to watch every single scenario they had imagined get utterly shattered.
"T-This can't be..."
"My goodness."
"How is he doing that alone..."
Everyone's eyes shook with shock.
It was only natural.
The Grim Reaper they had struggled so hard against...
...was being single-handedly demolished by a monster of a man.
-mzs: Are those really human movements? No matter how I look at it, it looks like he's using hacks.
-AnKim: Who said Jinhyuk was human?
-Won Jun-ho: I asked an acquaintance in one of the three major guilds, and they said everyone got wiped out by that Reaper guy.
-NoName: Wow. So even if you combine all the rankers from the giant guilds, they can't match Jinhyuk alone?
-hyu: Nirasha, Maria, and Park Jung-jin are all big names, but they can't even compare to Jinhyuk, right?
-Hwang Jae-won: Let's empty our pockets and donate our coins quickly.
[RegressorIsATotalSucker has sponsored 1,000 coins. - Hmph. Go buy yourself some bread on the way.]
[indolence has sponsored 800 coins. - Drink some milk with it.]
-Choi Seung-ri: Ah. T_T. If I knew he was going live, I would've saved some. I already donated somewhere else.
-hal: Me too. Please leave an announcement in advance next time!
-uau: His skills are truly breathtaking. He's literally playing with it at this point.
-ILoveKids: At this rate, I'm starting to feel bad for the Grim Reaper.
-Aaak: This is exactly why I only watch Jinhyuk's videos. Lmao.
The viewers' comments were flooding in.
Jinhyuk's live stream was already climbing the real-time rankings on various online communities and ViewTube.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
...He was fast.
No sense of mass could be felt from the large, heavy greatsword.
What was most surprising was that he wasn't being dragged around by his own speed; rather, he was using that speed to forge entirely new paths for his sword.
The Reaper was also fighting back with all its might, but the scales had tipped long ago.
Clash after clash.
Every time the sword and scythe crossed, the Reaper's posture crumbled significantly.
It wouldn't be long now.
The battle would soon be decided.
And as if to prove that prediction,
Crunch!
the subsequent third strike tore a gaping hole right through the Reaper's body.
"Kreaaaa!!!"
The ear-splitting roar was the Reaper's final death rattle.
With a loud pop,
the Reaper's body dispersed into a handful of smoke.
It was an incredibly anticlimactic end for the Grim Reaper that had tormented the players so much.
To think such a thing is possible.
Nirasha bit her lower lip as she stared at Jinhyuk.
She had felt firsthand how strong he was in the Empire's underground tomb, but she had believed that if they fought again now that she had completed her Second Awakening, she would surely win.
However.
Is it really possible?
She lacked confidence. She wasn't confident she could secure a definitive victory if she fought that man right now.
The new Mandala obtained through her Second Awakening. If she used that... Nirasha could also surpass her limits, but...
Does it mean I can only barely stand a chance if I put my life on the line?
The reality that she had to go that far just to match him was incredibly hard to accept.
Right then,
Jinhyuk brushed the dust off his greatsword.
"Hmm."
Nodding as if it was decent enough, he turned around and walked toward the players gathered nearby.
The players, who had been lost in awe, only snapped out of it when Jinhyuk stood right in front of them.
"Player... Kang Jinhyuk. It's been a while."
Maria was the first to speak.
Having met him at the masquerade ball, she was the most familiar face among them.
Come to think of it, she should have completed her Second Awakening by now...
He wondered if she had Hellfire, known as the highest tier of fire magic, so he could copy it.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Park Jung-jin of Dangun."
Park Jung-jin also introduced himself.
These two were relatively friendly.
"I'm not usually the type to stick my spoon into someone else's bowl, but hearing that the number of casualties is rising, I felt compelled to intervene."
"You speak so smoothly for someone who has already shoved his spoon into the deepest part of the dish. This is a ruin we claimed first. If you want a raid, look elsewhere."
Murderous intent flared in Nirasha's eyes.
Well, it's not like we're in a position to exchange pleasantries.
After all, they had drawn weapons to take each other's lives not too long ago.
But did Nirasha know?
That no matter what she said, it was already too late.
-Noname: What did she just say to Jinhyuk?
-AnnyongAnnyong: Wow. The Gandhara Guild. I thought highly of them because they've been growing so fast lately, but this is disappointing.
-AEng: I need to screenshot this and post it on the community boards. They're trying to throw away the future of humanity just because of their pride.
-Kang Han-sung: There are only about two months left. If this fails, are the three major guilds going to take responsibility?
-qpq: Let's go unsubscribe.
-peter: I'm not even eating curry anymore. Ptooey.
-AnEnBri: Monopolizing is seriously crossing the line.
-108: It'd be one thing if they had a chance. Didn't they keep failing anyway?
-ISee: I came back after a long time since my exams ended, only to see this eyesore.
Do you know what the most important thing in playing politics is?
It's making people take your side.
No matter how unreasonable you are or what nonsense you spout, if you have allies who applaud you, your words carry weight.
Public opinion is the very power that can package even a lie as a plausible truth.
"Let me ask you once more."
Jinhyuk smiled brightly.
"Do you really want me to back off?"
He was willing to let them make the decision.
Of course, there was only one viable option.
* * *
In the end, Nirasha had no choice but to reluctantly accept Jinhyuk's joining.
If she objected while hundreds of thousands of viewers were watching, she wouldn't be able to handle the backlash.
Once the situation was settled, Jinhyuk found a quiet spot and gave his final greetings to the viewers.
"Well, I'll end the stream here. I don't know when the next live stream will be, but I hope the day comes when I can see you all again."
-Hyun: Ah, why? Keep streaming until you defeat the boss. There would be so many people donating.
-Squirrel: Let's be understanding since he needs to focus on the battle. Don't pressure him too much.
-Nagajamen: Jin-ba Jin-ba. It means "Jinhyuk Bye."
-Chunli: The timing of his stream ending is so perfect that I can't even hold him back. Seriously.
-gur: Hyung. Please upload one video a day. The upload cycle is so long that my neck is about to break from waiting.
-Quack: Can't be helped. But make sure to upload the video on ViewTube.
-Lee Eun-seob: Yeah. Subscribed and waiting 24/7.
-plo: Bye. See you next time, Jinhyuk Oppa.
-app: Sure, next dork.
-ild: I'm always rooting for you, so hang in there!
-Ko Young-jun: I'm going to hold my breath until you come back. Inhale!
Expressing their regrets, the viewers left one by one.
[The broadcasting system has been shut down.]
The status window turned pitch black as everyone left.
However, Jinhyuk did not budge from his spot.
Instead...
...he muttered toward the empty air.
"I have a question. It's something I really need to ask, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't play dumb... It would be exhausting for both of us to keep acting at this point."
It was a question that shouldn't have received an answer.
And yet.
-Sae Yeong Eon Hwan: Huh? Were you calling me by any chance? Ah. I guess I am the only one left in the chat.
A single viewer responded.
It was bizarre.
The broadcasting system had been shut down for a while now.
Doubt turned into certainty.
No, perhaps he had suspected it for a long time. He had simply thought he needed a little more time to face that reality.
Sae Yeong Eon Hwan.
When he first entered the stream, someone had asked why he chose that username.
To that question, he had replied, "Because a new hero is always welcome."
"But do you know something? Back then, I was wearing a mask and pretending to be Unknown."
The very first stream he activated during the raid on the Thousand-Hand Thousand-Eye Avalokiteshvara.
He had clearly started and ended the stream wearing a mask.
Yet, from then until now,
Sae Yeong Eon Hwan had always left comments that seemed to equate him with Unknown.
Besides that, with every video, he would leave heavy, sharp comments that got straight to the point, unlike other viewers.
Instead of simply laughing, chatting, and enjoying every single action of the player...
Yes.
It was as if he left words that pierced right through to my essence.
A deity?
No way.
This wasn't something a mere deity could do.
Even they were merely high-ranking beings bound by the laws of the Tower, unable to see its summit.
Above all, there was no reason for deities to show interest in greenhorns who had only just entered the Tower back then.
If so...
...there was only one answer.
"Are you the one who..."
Jinhyuk trailed off mid-sentence.
"Let me rephrase. Are you the creator of this world?"