126. G1 vs Rin - Night Parade of a Hundred Demons (百鬼夜行) (7)
126. G1 vs Rin - Night Parade of a Hundred Demons (百鬼夜行) (7)
***
—Cut Flesh, Sever Bone.
There is a saying: give up flesh to take bone.
A strategy used when an attack is difficult to land without taking a risk, or when you deliberately accept a certain level of risk to inflict greater damage on your opponent.
Clang!!
But when that all-or-nothing strike was blocked, Minseong used the skill again without hesitation and quickly concealed himself.
—Secret Shadow.
I felt Minseong's form turn transparent, as if melting into the shadows, and hastily broke away from the area.
Even as Minseong moved without a sound, his chipped-away HP gauge was conspicuous.
He hadn't even allowed an attack to a vital point...
Yet after taking that blood-tinged kick to the shoulder, a single attack had shaved off roughly 20% of his HP.
Continuing to circle Rin's vicinity, Minseong collected his thoughts.
He had intended to counter whenever she used a major skill or one of her core techniques... but the timing simply never came.
It felt as though Rin was deliberately refraining from using her skills, as if she could read his mind.
'Is she prepared for the counter?'
After winning the first and second matches in a row, she surely should have let her guard down at least a little.
Rin showed no such sign whatsoever.
If anything, she had reacted as if momentarily startled by his surprise attack—the one meant to take bone—and immediately after, she was visibly on edge, scanning her surroundings with a sharp expression.
It didn't seem like she had predicted and blocked it.
The fact that she had blocked the attack through sheer instantaneous reaction was absurd.
In the first place, this was a strategy he deliberately avoided using for a certain period even within the league.
Even most pro players couldn't respond in the moment and ended up taking the hit...
Now that he had faced Rin directly, she was indeed beyond his expectations.
From the previous match, where she had shown an insane barrage against Jinhyeok in Attack Stance without giving an inch,
to parrying Minha's sniper shots and then swatting away every subsequent shot with insane reaction speed.
The more he recalled, the clearer it became that he could never choose a head-on fight.
After just that single exchange, Minseong's conviction hardened into certainty.
'In the end, there's no chance of winning unless I cut her throat.'
He calmly analyzed the situation and quickly reached a conclusion.
He had to settle the match within one more skill.
Ultimately, he had no choice but to gamble. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't see any other way to beat Rin.
While his thoughts endlessly chained one after another,
Minseong kept expending his stamina gauge, channeling energy into his dagger, and repeating a single action.
Flash!
He kept generating light in the empty air.
Not an attack—literally just creating light.
It was a move to scatter Rin's focus.
So the instant he created the light, he immediately threw himself toward another location.
Against other melee classes, an Assassin Class had no choice but to wage a meticulous battle of wits.
Even if the Dancer Class's defense and HP weren't high, this was a situation where both sides were trading knife-edge blows.
—5. 4. 3...
Sensing that Secret Shadow's duration was gradually running out, Minseong timed his move and considered which skill fit the situation.
In a few seconds, Secret Shadow's cooldown would leave him unable to hide for a while, so he had to settle this in one decisive exchange.
Flash!
As if by habit, he generated light in the air once more.
Whoooosh!
The Crescent-Moon Weight came hurtling toward him, stitching a line of blood-red through the air.
'...?'
The trajectory of the incoming Crescent-Moon Weight.
The moment he confirmed that the trajectory was veering off course, Minseong judged that he had to make his gamble now.
Simultaneously with the thought, his body was already unfolding the skill on pure instinct.
—Shadow Slaying.
Swish!
As the dagger, wreathed in dense black haze, tore through the air and shot forward, Minseong's form also became a bizarre shadow, accelerating endlessly as it launched ahead.
Immediately after, Minseong's figure became clearly visible as his dagger began slashing rapidly toward Serin.
Right now, she had thrown her Crescent-Moon Weight into empty air with nothing around it.
Even if Rin had deliberately drawn out this situation, he believed she wouldn't be able to block the attack that followed.
Having closed in on Serin at speed, Minseong immediately unleashed his killing technique.
—Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
Countless black shadows erupted from Minseong's form and began covering his body.
And soon, Minseong's entire body was dyed black by the innumerable shadows.
—Swish!
As Minseong, his whole form dyed black, slashed through the air once, countless shadows burst from his blackened body and began carving through the air in accordance with his hand movements.
—Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!
The shadows moved as if each had a life of its own, eerily mirroring Minseong's movements.
Then, as Minseong slashed through the air at a speed so fast his arms became invisible, it soon
created a spectacle of countless black waves filling the empty air.
—Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish!!!!
The moment Minseong, certain of victory as he unleashed his skill, looked at Rin.
'......'
He suddenly found himself staring into utterly indifferent blue eyes looking back at him.
The instant their gazes met.
Something...
...This was wrong.
That single thought filled Minseong's mind.
***
- He cannot remain hidden indefinitely.
- The opponent is more cautious than expected.
- He has the boldness to choose a give-flesh-to-take-bone tactic.
As those and several other traits entered my mind,
Serin had drawn a rough outline of the opposing player's behavior.
Because he is cautious, he overthinks.
That meant he was objectively assessing the balance of power.
Minseong clearly had no intention of fighting head-on, yet he also wasn't coming at me with surprise attacks.
'He's so... cautious that, paradoxically, he'll end up making a gamble.'
Weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the situation, I could predict with near certainty that he would eventually make a big gamble.
Right now, with the standoff continuing like a psychological battle, even if this turned into a drawn-out fight, the outcome wouldn't be unfavorable for me.
Because the cooldown on the Assassin Class's 'Secret Shadow,' which replaced the mobility skills of other classes, was clearly much longer.
He would probably reveal himself after just a little more time, and then a gap would naturally appear.
However.
The mental fatigue I was feeling in this match was by no means small.
Because the level of concentration required relative to the time was on a completely different dimension.
Having barely blocked that initial surprise attack, even now, at this very moment... I couldn't let go of the tension.
Thinking about the remaining matches, I wanted to end this as quickly as possible.
And so, in the end, I settled on one idea.
Throwing out bait.
Tap!
Right on cue, at the flashing light, I swung my arm wide without hesitation.
Screeeech!
As the cord bound to my right arm pulled taut, the Crescent-Moon Weight shot out like light, wreathed in blood-red energy.
Whoooosh!
Would he take the bait? Or would he think it over more?
That thought of mine didn't even last a few seconds.
Swish!
Because the opponent immediately revealed himself and came rushing in at speed.
Watching the dagger wreathed in black haze, I quickly shifted my gaze and took in the opponent's face.
In a split-second situation, no matter how skilled someone is, they cannot hide the expression on their face at the moment they attack.
So now, looking at the opponent's expression in this moment,
I could see the resolute will to end this here.
—Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
In an instant, countless black shadows burst forth explosively, following the dagger's trajectory to create dozens, hundreds of black lines as they surged toward me.
Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish-Swish!!!!
Watching it, I too unfolded the skill I had prepared in advance.
The Crescent-Moon Weight was already far away.
But there was one dance movement I could perform entirely independent of it.
—Dance of Requiem.
At the same moment I released the Crescent-Moon Weight, I seized the cord wrapped around my arm.
Gazing at the countless black lines, I began to gesture slowly.
The cord gripped in both hands instantly dyed a vivid blood-red, and I spread it wide into the empty air as if unfurling it.
Ssswish...
Ssswish...
The blood-red cord, following both hands, wove softly through the air in wide sweeps.
Against the countless black lines, the unfurled cord looked at a glance as though it would be pierced through futilely. But that was precisely why this skill had meaning.
The more attacks the opponent launched...
The blood-red cord, which would never snap, could expand infinitely and absorb tremendous force.
SSSSWISH!
The blood-red cord that received the black lines began spreading wider and wider, as if unfolding without limit.
The blood-red cord, spreading wide as though it knew no bounds, seized control of the entire area in literally an instant.
Whirrrrrrrrrrr!
The cord began gathering back in from its ends in an instant.
Minseong belatedly tried to escape the space, but the entire area in every direction was already covered in blood-red cord.
————!!!
The blood-red cord wrapped around Minseong, enveloping him completely as if forming a cocoon.
Serin, watching the scene, slowly lowered her hand.
Slip.
There was no need to do anything more.
"...Hoo."
A sigh escaped blankly.
Even though she had clearly won, the mental fatigue gripped her more heavily than the first and second matches combined.