Chapter 297: What is More Important Than Pride (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 297: What is More Important Than Pride (1)
The only one among the vampire lords to possess black hair.
Abigail von Revisita.
That was the name of the head of the Revisita family who stood before her.
Grit...
Alice ground her teeth so hard they creaked.
"Showing your face before me means you're prepared to die."
Her eyes gleamed with murderous intent, and the flush on her face deepened to a blood-red hue.
"Fufu. It's been so long since I've seen my sister's face, yet you speak so harshly. I, for one, am absolutely delighted to see you."
"Cut the... bullshit! Not a single day passed in that hellish pit without me thinking of it—of the day I would slaughter every last one of you!"
Rumble!
Crimson droplets of blood rose around Alice's body.
['Vladimir's Harpoon' is activated!]
Harpoons and countless skewers made of blood filled the air.
An ominous energy, entirely different from when she fought the Black Goat, rippled outward.
"I'm all for a fight, but why don't you hear me out first? I'm sure it's a topic that will interest you."
"No need."
Alice flicked her finger.
The harpoons in the sky pivoted in unison toward Abigail.
At a single command, the tragedy of Romania would repeat itself instantly.
However.
At the words that followed...
"Your contractor, who entered that strange gate. At this rate, he's going to lose his life."
"……What?"
For the first time, Alice flinched.
A strange gate... that must be the 'Boundary-Breaking Mirror' Jinhyuk had mentioned before leaving.
And the fact that she knew about it meant Abigail's words were no mere bluff.
If it concerned Jinhyuk, she couldn't simply brush it aside.
The momentum of the harpoons softened.
"……Speak."
"According to reports, your contractor commands a multitude of summons besides you. Ancient species, spirit beasts, and even undead monsters... Quite a collection. Even family heads would struggle to control so many powerful summons at once. If they all fight with everything they've got, it will become highly problematic."
Hearing this, Alice realized exactly what Abigail was getting at.
The fatal weakness of relying on a single individual's mana supply.
"Mana overload... Don't tell me...!"
"Exactly. Until now, he only fought battles suited to his level, so he probably didn't face any real danger. Well, knowing your contractor's personality, he likely calculated even that."
But.
Could he still do that now?
With Samaja of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the vampire families, and even the thoughtforms of the 50th floor.
The enemy forces were not just overwhelming; they were overflowing.
If they forced his summons to unleash all their power, no matter how efficiently Jinhyuk distributed his mana or how much they tried to avoid overexerting themselves...
Eventually, they would hit a limit.
"Furthermore, Exencion went to your contractor himself. You, of all people, must know how strong that man is."
Abigail smiled brightly.
The new head leading the Ataraxia family.
Exencion of Ataraxia.
He was regarded as the strongest among the current family heads, and it was because of that monster's ability that Alice had been imprisoned in the Corridor.
'No matter how strong... my contractor is, this is too much.'
To think they had prepared such a meticulous plan.
Facing a family head who was formidable even in a 1v1, and being ambushed on top of that... the risk was far too high.
'……I can't lose him. I will never let him die.'
Revenge was important, but it was not more important than the life of someone precious to her.
Ultimately, Alice lowered her head powerlessly.
"What do you want?"
"Fufu. I love it when things go quickly. The condition is very simple. Place a restriction on yourself and seal your Unique Sacred Chant."
"My... Unique Sacred Chant?"
"Yes. The Revelation of Genesis. That ability is truly troublesome to deal with."
In a battle between family heads, a Unique Sacred Chant was their lifeline.
It was the ultimate, lethal means to end each other's lives.
Asking her to give that up... was practically asking her to die.
"If I do that... will you guarantee my contractor's life?"
"Of course. Our target is only you, after all. A promise made of blood and blood will be guaranteed by our clan's forbidden art."
Her own life, or Jinhyuk's life.
If she could only choose one...
"……Fine. I'll do it."
Alice nodded.
At that exact moment.
Hummmmm!
A grim reaper clad in a black robe materialized around the two vampires.
On one side of the scales rested Alice's crimson soul.
On the other side sat Abigail's black soul.
[A Blood Restriction has been established.]
[Alice von Ataraxia's Unique Sacred Chant is sealed for the next 24 hours. In exchange, the vampire lords, including Abigail von Revisita, must immediately cease all attacks against Player Kang Jinhyuk and cannot threaten his life unless provoked by a preemptive attack.]
The covenant bound by blood would be upheld on pain of death.
'……This is enough.'
Alice smiled faintly.
At the same time.
Rustle...
Well over dozens of vampires began to rise from the shadows.
Crimson eyes gleamed from all directions.
The kinsmen of the Revisita family drew their weapons, each wearing a sickening smirk.
"Hehehe!"
"Hunting a former family head. What an honor."
"I'm going to tear her to shreds."
"We can finally repay the humiliation from before."
Rapiers, daggers, and Blood-Realm Magic gathered in one place.
"I had my doubts, but to think you would actually throw away your life for a mere human. Who could have predicted that the great Alice would do something so foolish?"
Abigail also drew a scythe that towered far over her own height.
The scythe, embedded with a giant eyeball, vibrated faintly.
'Scythe of the Ghost Tree'.
The scythe, possessing the 'Absolute Judgment' effect, was Abigail's weapon and her 'Unique Sacred Chant' itself.
Unless one possessed a similar Unique Sacred Chant or a top-tier holy relic, they stood no chance against it.
Yet, even with all of this before her...
Alice stood tall and straight.
She had no regrets about her choice.
Even with the restriction, it didn't mean she couldn't fight for her pride.
Besides, if she was to fall for the sake of the one who had shown her hope...
...then that was not a bad end in its own right.
Of course, she had no intention of going down easily as they wished.
[Alice unleashes her unique ability, 'Blood Lord'!]
The air shifted abruptly.
Like a dying flame burning its brightest before going out.
Alice began to draw in her mana.
"My name is Alice von Ataraxia..."
Standing loftily, the True Ancestor looked down upon and despised everything.
"I am Ataraxia itself, and all things of Ataraxia exist for my sake."
Even without her Unique Sacred Chant, her words carried the undeniable weight of an absolute ruler.
"Come. If any among you dare to challenge that grand feat, now is your chance."
Alice took her stance.
That was all she did.
And yet.
"...Ugh!"
Gasp.
The once-confident kinsmen instinctively took a step back.
The nightmare of the past triggered memories they had long tried to forget.
The horrific trauma of the vampires of the great families being swept away by a single True Ancestor.
Just then.
Slash!
The head of the vampire at the very back flew off.
Blood dripped from the horizontally swung scythe.
"I have no need for cowards in my clan."
Fleeing meant only death.
Abigail spoke coldly.
"With her Unique Sacred Chant sealed, even Alice is nothing more than a toothless tiger. We can easily hunt her down, so surround her and bleed her dry. Do you all understand?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am."
"Right. I was momentarily fooled by her intimidation."
"Kill her!"
"Aaaaargh!"
The kinsmen leaped forward in unison.
'……Never come here. It's a trap.'
Alice muttered softly, for the first and last time.
* * *
Hummmmm!
Pure white runes appeared above Beltor's head.
It was a multi-layered spell consisting of seven layers.
'My goodness...'
Beltor swallowed hard.
At first, he thought some lunatic idiot had just wandered in.
After all, the Barrierist class was a path chosen only by such eccentrics and fools.
Furthermore, when the boy claimed he had to complete his class advancement within three hours, Beltor had completely discarded what little expectation he had left.
But.
How on earth...?
"Heh... Hahaha! This guy is absolutely out of his mind."
Beltor burst into wild laughter.
In life, even his top disciple had barely managed to grasp a mere glimpse of a six-layered barrier.
Yet in death, to think he would witness a Player from outside the Tower deploy a seven-layered barrier.
He could do nothing but laugh.
"I'm not done yet."
Jinhyuk activated another skill.
Due to 'Battlefield Selection', the surrounding area began to transform.
The scenery changed completely.
This place was a library.
To be precise, it was the very place where Beltor had studied barrier arts in the past.
Beyond the wide-open ceiling, the pitch-black night sky and stars brighter than the darkness came into view.
As if showing the beginning and the end of a Barrierist.
"Ah..."
A sigh laden with complex emotions escaped Beltor's lips.
Finally.
[Due to the trait effect of 'Blessing of the Stars', all stats increase by 5%!]
All of his stats surged in an instant.
Crackle...!
The barriers activated so far merged into one, constructing a single Great Barrier.
Since he was self-taught, it was far from perfect, but he had succeeded in giving it a plausible form.
[The 11-Star Great Barrier 'Twilight Swamp' is activated!]
Amidst the undulating golden waves.
Beltor stood frozen in place, as if nailed to the spot.
Instead, he honestly voiced his thoughts.
"You... are an interesting fellow."
That was his own way of giving a compliment.
"Thank you for saying so, but didn't you say at first that you would break any barrier I made?"
"Damn it. How is anyone supposed to break this with a simple counter-method? Of course you passed the test. If a talent like you doesn't pass, not a single Barrierist would ever achieve their second class advancement."
To break an 11-Star Great Barrier, even Beltor would have to exert his true power.
In other words.
The test was over.
"Wait, wait a minute. Where are you going in such a hurry? Don't you know that a rough diamond like you needs to be polished with plenty of time and effort to show its true value? Ah, of course, I know the situation outside is crazy right now. That's why I'm saying this. Rather than going out there and dying in vain, wouldn't it be better to train step-by-step here? If it's you, the dimensional barrier I recently developed...!"
The grumpy, complaining adult was gone, replaced by an excited, thrilled child.
Yes.
In truth, he had known.
Though the man kept denying it, he loved the field of barrier arts more than anyone else.
Because he possessed a deeper attachment to it than anyone, he had earned the right to hate and resent it.
"Unfortunately, I must decline that offer."
Alice, Cheon Yu-seong, Teresa, Wolyeong, and his master...
Yu Yeon-hwa, Lee Tae-min, Goguma, and all the other guilds and people around the world.
For humanity.
They were fighting to survive.
The situation outside was transmitted through his status window.
– Hold on! Just a little... just a little longer!
– He will definitely come. Don't give up and fight back!
– The Samurai Guild has also landed in Korea. We will join the fight immediately.
Even at this very moment, they were risking their lives, waiting only for him to arrive.
"The place I must go has already been decided."
Now that he had achieved his goal, he had to return.
"It was brief, but thank you. Thanks to you... I think I've grown more attached to this class."
Smiling warmly, Jinhyuk bid his final farewell.
[You have acquired the Lost Language.]
[The Barrierist's second class advancement is complete.]
[Your role has shifted from 'One Who Deciphers Runes' to 'One Who Creates Runes'.]
Along his footsteps...
...hieroglyphs he had never seen before began to manifest.
One who explores the lost language and creates its world.
"Sigh. Why is it that the thing I want most is always the one I can never have?"
Beltor ruffled his hair roughly in disappointment.
Yet, contrary to his words, a satisfied smile played on his lips.
"Give 'em hell, young Barrierist."