Chapter 80: Pendariel, Mother of the Dead (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 80: Pendariel, Mother of the Dead (2)
A world where everything was frozen.
A demonic mirror realm reflecting endless copies of itself.
This was the final prison created by Glacial Shaping.
"What... is this...?"
Pendariel's pupils shook with shock.
She couldn't help but be bewildered by the sight of herself and her zombies, multiplied infinitely by the chaotic reflections.
Boom!
She reached out and shattered a wall, but another wall only stood blocking her path behind it.
But right then—
[Due to the effect of 'Glacier Kaleidoscope', 'AoE Confusion' has been triggered!]
The second ability of the kaleidoscope bloomed, triggered by the dizzying optical illusion that felt as if it were sucking them in.
"Kieeeeh!"
"Keeeeeck!"
The zombies shrieked in unison.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Crunch!
They began slamming their heads against the walls and tearing into each other.
A few who had completely lost their minds even bared their fangs at Pendariel.
They had completely broken free of her control.
In an instant, crimson blood painted over the white ice.
"Human! How dare you do this!"
Pendariel, forced to tear apart her own children with her own hands, gnashed her teeth.
At the same time, an ominous energy, incomparable to anything before, surged from her entire body.
[Pendariel activates Lv.?? 'Black Death'!]
The very skill that had annihilated the raid team led by Ian Smith.
This was 'Black Death', known as the most lethal of all corpse poisons.
The spreading black energy seeped into the ice walls.
Rumble, rumble!
Instantly, everything composing the barrier turned black and began to crumble.
The layered walls collapsed.
The fundamental structure of the kaleidoscope, the very foundation of the ice labyrinth, was shattered.
It was truly overwhelming power.
Unleashed at full power by her rage, Pendariel's innate ability was on an entirely different level.
There was a reason why even the Murim factions residing in the middle floors of the Tower avoided fighting the Queen.
Against such an absurd ability, even protective Qi would have been useless.
"Where... are you... hiding? Come out!"
But.
Even though she had completely obliterated the ice prison, her opponent was nowhere to be seen.
"...?"
Pendariel's eyes narrowed.
She looked around, but all she could see were shattered shards of ice.
Right then.
Her gaze turned toward the center of the barrier.
There was something there.
Something small and sparkling, leaving behind a faint residue of mana.
"This is..."
There was no mistake.
It was a magic stone set to trigger the barrier on a time delay.
Don't tell me... this was a decoy too? Even this?
He had used his own base and allies as bait.
After locking her attention with flashy skills and provocations...
...he himself had vanished.
There was only one reason.
When her thoughts reached that conclusion, her heart—which had long since dried up and lost its function—began to beat rapidly.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
This is dangerous.
For the first time in her life, Pendariel felt fear.
...That human is truly...
Because she realized what he was trying to do.
...He might destroy everything I cherish and desire.
Her instincts screamed a warning at the highest level.
That a single human was far more threatening than tens of thousands of players.
* * *
The 4th floor was a base defense battle.
This applied to the players, but it also applied to the zombies.
The Queen had left her colony to kill Jinhyuk.
In other words:
Their main base is completely empty.
Jinhyuk accelerated.
Since he was using 'Sword Demon Emperor Stepss' along with 'Shallow Breathing', he could maintain both high speed and endurance simultaneously.
Just then—
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
He felt a powerful surge of mana from far away.
The Queen had also begun rushing back at full speed.
She's not a complete idiot.
If Pendariel had attacked Sangam Stadium, the base would have fallen in no time.
However, that wouldn't have won her the battle.
Because the zombies' victory would only be secured once every single player base on the 4th floor was destroyed.
There were still hundreds of bases left.
Since her own base would be destroyed before she could tear down all of theirs, she had no choice but to turn back.
But realizing it now is far too late.
Level and skills.
Strength and speed.
He was inferior to Pendariel in every single aspect.
That was only natural.
She was a boss monster who shouldn't even have appeared on the 4th floor in the first place.
I would lose in a straight fight.
However, overcoming an overwhelming gap in power and using the floor's rules to win the war...
...that was exactly...
...how a veteran climbed the Tower of Trials.
"Whew."
Jinhyuk took a deep breath to steady himself.
Before he knew it, he had reached the Queen's colony.
The forces left behind as sentries came into view.
About forty of them.
Of course, this amount wouldn't even buy them any time.
Sring!
His pair of swords gleamed with a sharp edge.
[‘Grave of Swords’ has been activated!]
A dark energy enveloped the sword in his left hand.
Crackle!
A chillingly dark-red sword aura flared up fiercely.
[‘Blessing of the Stars’ has been activated!]
The energy of the stars infused the sword in his right hand.
Hummmmm!
The light that guarded the constellations answered the caster's call.
Thus, a lost relic of history and a miracle born from the appearance of the Tower manifested together in one place.
"Graaaah!"
"Keeeck!"
The lunging zombies were swept away in a single strike.
Blood rained down from severed limbs.
Mass-produced zombies were no match for him.
Jinhyuk broke through the entrance of the colony and penetrated deeper inside.
His surroundings shifted.
The air changed as well.
The stench of blood grew thick, and the distinct odor of rotting corpses invaded his nostrils.
No matter how many times I see this place, it's disgusting.
Jinhyuk frowned.
If hell existed, would it look like this?
The massive tomb, built from piles upon piles of corpses and skeletons, looked downright grotesque.
Rumble, crash!
"Keeeck!"
"Kek!"
The deeper he went, the more zombies appeared, but not a single one could withstand even one of Jinhyuk's attacks.
Jinhyuk swung his swords mechanically, slicing through individual targets.
Where the enemies clustered, he used the holy-attribute 'Daylight' to wipe them out all at once.
He was close now.
The Queen's flag, located in the deepest part of the colony, was less than a hundred meters away.
It should be about time for him to show up...
Jinhyuk looked down at the slightly discolored ground.
He spotted a spot that felt out of place.
I used to get startled by this guy's entrance scene all the time back then.
The moment that thought crossed his mind—
Crash!
A long blade erupted from the ground.
But Jinhyuk had already leaped far back.
Just as I thought.
"F... Food... eat... you!"
"Tasty... look tasty! Blood! Guts! Meat!"
A massive zombie with two heads and a grotesquely hunched back crawled out from beneath the earth.
The sentinel guarding the Queen's flag, also known as 'The Butcher'.
He was the most annoying of all the special-type zombies.
You know how it is.
In any game, aren't there always those annoying named monsters you never want to face again?
If he had to pick one from the 4th floor, this guy would easily top the list.
He wielded a two-meter-long pair of shears with ease, and since he had no vital points, he would keep moving even if he lost his heads.
To finish him off completely, one had to either disintegrate him at the atomic level or neutralize him by severing all his limbs.
The reason Jinhyuk had rushed despite being a safe distance away from Pendariel was that he had factored in the time needed to deal with this guy.
He had about three minutes left.
"Take your pick. How do you want it this time? Spicy and burned? Or clean and sliced?"
Jinhyuk offered him the choice.
"What... does... that mean?"
"This is... our... first time... seeing you..."
The Butcher tilted his heads.
As he did, his two heads swayed left and right to avoid bumping into each other.
"I'm sure it is. But for me, this is about the thirtieth time fighting you guys."
Climbing up from the lower floors again brought back vivid, terrible memories.
He had slashed him with swords.
He had burned him with fire.
Later, he had even tested how many times he had to hit him with chopsticks to kill him.
It took about 180,000 hits just to smash one head.
Damn. I am never doing that again.
He had suffered all kinds of hardships just for the sake of his damn challenging spirit.
"Just... prey... talking... nonsense."
"Just... let us... eat you. I'll start... with your head... crunch, crunch!"
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The Butcher snapped his shears menacingly.
It was a torture weapon capable of slicing through thick steel plates like paper.
Having claimed countless lives, its power was undoubtedly proven.
But.
This prey was different.
The moment the shears lunged for Jinhyuk's legs—
Jinhyuk drove his Twin Dragon Swords deep into the ground.
Clang!
The shears were blocked by the two swords.
"It won't... move?"
"Grrr...!"
For some reason, the heavy blades of the shears couldn't snap a single thin sword.
Thinking they were just ordinary swords was The Butcher's first mistake.
And the second was...
[Lv.6 'Fire Element' has been activated!]
...underestimating the abilities of the human he dismissed as mere prey.
Having leaped onto The Butcher's head before anyone noticed, Jinhyuk smiled brightly.
Whoosh!
A stream of fire gouged into his eyes.
The flames incinerated his retinas and bored straight into his brain.
"Aaaaargh!"
"My eyes... my eyes!"
He had learned how to inflict long, slow pain using chopsticks.
Naturally, he had also mastered the fastest and most efficient way to kill.
Blinding them temporarily is the foundation.
Next, he would exploit the opening to target the enemy's weakest defense.
Jinhyuk gathered flames at his fingertips.
Then, he drew a runic spell beneath The Butcher's feet.
From below—
Boom, boom, boom!
—to above.
Calamity Fire scorched The Butcher's flesh and melted his bones.
But Jinhyuk didn't stop there.
If given even a moment's respite, a named zombie would regenerate.
Now, while he was at his weakest, was the perfect opportunity to obliterate him.
Jinhyuk slashed his aura-infused swords left and right.
Crimson lines were carved into the gray flesh.
"Aaaaargh!"
"It hurts... hurts!"
The Butcher shrieked, swinging his shears wildly.
Rather than a calculated attack, it was a desperate struggle driven by pure instinct.
Naturally, the trajectory was simple, and the attacks were fueled by raw emotion.
"Thanks. If I finish in under a minute, it's a new personal best."
Thanks to him, Jinhyuk was about to set a new record on his thirty-first attempt.
Thud!
Crack!
The Twin Dragon Swords pierced into both sides of The Butcher's spinal cord.
In an instant that was practically simultaneous—
—Jinhyuk converted all of his gathered mana into 'Mandala'.
His vision was dyed in brilliant gold.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have acquired 'Shears of the Grudging Spirits'.]
Nothing remained where the light had swept through.
The Butcher, returned to nothingness, left behind only a single blade as proof of his existence.
A level-up and a reward.
This is why I put up with all the trouble.
Running all this way and fighting fiercely had truly paid off.
He could distribute his stats and check his items later.
Now, all that was left was to pull out the flag.
There were no more enemies blocking his path.
This battle was over.
But right then—
Ring!
An unexpected status window popped up.
"Well, look at this."
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled up into a subtle smirk.