Chapter 391
Chapter 391
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 391
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Chapter 391
Whip-!
Karuna didn’t use excessive force.
He applied just the right amount of power, exactly where it was needed.
Even in Kang Seol’s eyes, now transformed into a Yaksha, the movements were flawlessly precise, without any waste.
Thwack-!
He blocked Karuna’s kick with his elbow.
Even partially coated in shadow, the impact was considerable.
Whoosh…
Karuna targeted the lower body like a machine.
Whip-!
At that moment, a dark thorn appeared from the side and struck down at Karuna.
Kwaaaaaang-!
Rock fragments obscured the view.
Gooooo…
Karuna leaped onto the back of the dark thorn.
An attack slashing down from above.
Zzaaack-!
[Using the Black Flower.]
[Shadow Hand unleashes a combo attack. Damage per hit equals that of Shadow Hand, and striking the same target applies 20% additional damage per consecutive hit.]
Whiriririk-!
Fists surged into the sky one after another.
Hooooung…
A black aura flowed from Karuna’s sword.
Thooooung…
Thoong…
Black waves.
The black hands caught in the waves lost direction and scattered everywhere.
There was no authority better for controlling distance.
Kwajiiik-!
Breath slammed into the ground.
However, Kang Seol was no longer there.
From within the gaps of the layered dark thorns, he glared at Karuna.
‘The Labyrinth Master is merely mimicking the me from when I entered the Black. Everything I remember is all there is. In other words… Karuna hasn’t reached Zenith.’
By now, the real Karuna must have attained Zenith. Through the soul trait connected to Karen, they shared enlightenment.
But the Karuna Kang Seol faced now hadn’t reached Zenith. That made it somewhat easier to handle.
‘The Labyrinth Master lacks imagination.’
Karuna’s growth had halted exactly at the form Kang Seol remembered.
Much time had passed since Karuna entered the Void, and even more after entering the Black.
What he faced now wasn’t Karuna’s true form. The Karuna crafted from stolen memories was far from the realm of Zenith.
‘…Still, he’s strong.’
But right then.
Karuna assumed a stance and muttered.
“Your movements pass.”
“…What?”
“No need to see more. Next is…”
Karuna’s reaction was off.
Kang Seol noticed it, and even the Labyrinth Master listening in sensed something strange.
“…What the hell are you doing?”
Karuna ignored him.
“Power.”
Hooooooo…
Karuna’s body blazed blue.
[Karuna enters Moonlight Ascension Stage 4: Azure Moon.]
[All stats increase by an additional 20%, and elemental damage dealt to the opponent rises by 30%.]
……
Overwhelmingly blazing power.
Yet it merely burned without pouring out.
‘…Not hostile?’
This was just inference.
Still mere suspicion; he needed more confirmation.
Hooooooong…
The black waves rippled.
Preparing something.
Kang Seol noticed and used the dark thorns to block the front.
‘This is…!’
An immense energy surged in without warning.
[Karuna uses ultimate: Night Sea.]
……
Dark waves crashed over him.
Kwaaaaaaaa-!
‘…I can endure it!’
It was the body of the dark thorn that had even blocked the Storm Sword of Dream God Yu in the end.
He could block power stuck in the past as much as needed.
Kikikik…
[Karuna uses ultimate: Chain: Dark Thorn.]
……
Chwaaaaaaaaak-!
“Krgh…”
The dark thorn staggered back.
Another dark thorn behind it supported it, and the next one supported that one.
Crackcraaaack…
The first dark thorn split open.
However, the second was sliced but not fully shattered.
Clank…
Suddenly, Karuna sheathed his sword.
“You’ve grown, Master.”
“…What?”
He could feel Karuna smiling.
Why?
The Labyrinth Master shouted.
“I am your master! What nonsense are you spouting!”
Karuna scowled and turned to him.
“Annoying drivel. There is only one I serve after rebirth. It is not you.”
“…What?”
“I’ll take my leave.”
Whiriririk-!
Karuna defied orders and vanished on his own.
The Labyrinth Master gritted his teeth and connected to the fake Void.
“Karen, I need assistance.”
Soon, a familiar voice echoed from the Void.
Fake, but good enough to stir longing.
Karen was a knight who had stepped to the threshold of Zenith. She’d be far harder to face than Karuna.
‘Even just as I remember her…’
Even if memories poured out fully, victory was uncertain.
But an unexpected event unfolded.
- No.
“…What?”
- Don’t call me. Ugh, I’m busy anyway, so I wouldn’t pay attention…
“I am your master! Why defy my command?”
For some reason, all the summons possessed free will.
‘No way…’
They knew he and the Labyrinth Master were fakes.
‘I get it! I already lost control back then!’
The shock from the summons’ independent actions wasn’t limited to the Labyrinth Master. Kang Seol was stunned too.
This situation had long been foreseen.
Defying orders wasn’t because the summons had grown that strong.
It was because the master’s stature had plummeted.
- Because… you’re weak?
“…I’m weak? I, your master?”
Fakes or not, they acted on their own will. But Kang Seol’s expression was too grim to cheer.
‘That’s… my fear.’
The embodiment of fear.
Summon refusal could happen anytime in a state where one obsessed over summon growth, breaking balance.
That form was one branch of his future before entering the Black.
“If I’m weak… then you’ve been toyed with by such a guy all this time?”
The Labyrinth Master dragged Kang Seol in to persuade.
- …Our master is different from you.
“What’s different!”
- Our master is noble. You’re vulgar.
The Labyrinth Master laughed.
“Khuk… So that’s it. That’s how it is…”
He realized this was all Kang Seol’s essence.
“You must be terrified.”
“……”
“Know this? My power mimics the target’s memories and traits exactly. Meaning… your real summons think the same deep down.”
It rang true.
No, highly likely.
“You’re a pitiful existence… Heh… Ah, so that’s it.”
That was when it happened.
Whooooooo…
Darkness swirled around, and a massive presence appeared behind the Labyrinth Master.
Sensing it, the Labyrinth Master spread his arms wide to welcome it.
“As expected! You came, Jamad! At least you!”
Immense pressure.
‘What the hell…’
He’d never felt its hostility before.
Its enmity always faced the opposite direction.
Yet standing before it now, he felt pressure on another level.
“Come, become one wi…”
Paaaak-!
Jamad’s hand seized the Labyrinth Master’s head.
“th… Huh?”
“Blabber blabber… So noisy. What right do you have to command me?”
“Wai… Wait… I’m your bro…”
“Yeah, brother… Know that?”
Jamad brought his face close to the master’s.
“I’m the being reborn after killing all my brothers.”
“Ah, no…”
Swipe…
Jamad briefly turned to look at Kang Seol.
“Yeah, this might be what you imagined.”
Kwajijijijik-!
The master’s head shattered.
Whoooooo…
Jamad cloaked himself in that darkness.
Entering Night Raven state on his own.
The master slumped limply.
But all that was the Labyrinth Master, the will of the labyrinth.
Now, the Labyrinth Master had merely become the Jamad stolen from Kang Seol.
“How much time has passed?”
“…Two years.”
“Heh… You sure yap a lot. Damn bastard.”
Jamad bellowed a laugh, then erased his expression.
“I thought of you as a brother.”
“……”
“Someone I could share my life’s goal with.”
Kang Seol had thought the same.
He’d merely hoped to stand side by side.
“Your choices were always right. But… this time, I have doubts.”
He was angry.
“You must prove your choice right, as always. I’m fake, but… the me inside you feels the same as this fake.”
Zzaaaaaak-!
Drdrdrdrdr…
The surrounding terrain shifted.
A familiar landscape etched in memory.
A night sky spread with stars, and a lonely mountain nest.
One who had firmly reached Zenith.
The first shadow to reclaim its true color.
The Walking Mountain, Jamad.
The weight of Zenith transmitted over.
This was the sensation his enemies had felt. A massive mountain stood before their eyes.
“Do you remember this place?”
“…Where we first met.”
Heh…
Jamad seemed pleased with the answer.
This was Pointy Rock Mountain.
A bond forged in enmity.
The bond piled up stories, leading them to face as enemies once more in the star-strewn Black Labyrinth.
Kang Seol stood at the proving ground.
It could become a guillotine or a runway to kick off the cage and soar.
Jamad spoke the words he’d once said.
“Demon, do you desire the mountain?”
- Demon, do you desire the mountain?
Even more massive and fearsome than back then.
Now, he stood before the being who had become the mountain itself.
“Let’s see…”
Tszzzzz…
Kang Seol cloaked his body in shadow.
Both painted in black, divining each other’s futures.
Now, they had grown.
They must not linger in the past.
Too much had changed.
That they had been weak.
Now, that they were strong.
That they had wandered.
Now, that they advanced.
That they had been enemies.
Now, that they were brothers.
[‘The Darkest Light’ content changes.]
[The Labyrinth Master changes to ‘Walking Mountain Jamad.’]
[Adventure difficulty rises sharply.]
[Legend rewards increase.]
……
“Take it….”
Opposites though they stood, the battle’s desired outcome was one.