Experience Point Event (2)
Kang Hae-il’s body had frozen solid.
He couldn’t move an inch.
What is this? Why…
He was completely bewildered.
It had happened the moment Skra flew at him—though Kang Hae-il didn’t even know the creature’s name, or that it was a living being at all.
He had let his guard down because of his injuries and noticed the attack far too late. It was going to hit him dead on.
But Sagosul had blocked it for him.
Why would he do that?
His gaze shifted to the collapsed building beside them.
Even if I’ve received the Blessing of the Flame of Conviction…
He might possess the greatest endurance and recovery of anyone alive, but could even he have withstood something that sliced through a reinforced concrete building like it was a pizza?
Probably not.
He might have died.
Sagosul had saved him.
Why?
Didn’t Sagosul want him dead?
Especially now, when their ideals clashed so sharply.
A bastard like you… why save me?
To anyone else, the idea of letting someone die just because their beliefs differed might have seemed inhumane. But the Sagosul that Kang Hae-il knew wasn’t like that.
He was the kind of person who could drive dozens of innocents to their deaths under the excuse of “efficient judgment.”
Then why!
Crack—
He ground his teeth.
In truth, this wasn’t the first time.
Sagosul had been saving him constantly.
During the Gangnam Station Gate. In the graveyard, too…
He could have killed him so easily.
Yet he kept saving him.
Is he just taunting me?
The memory of losing his father could never be beautified, and the memory of that crushing defeat refused to fade.
He wanted to charge over right now and rip the man to shreds.
But he couldn’t.
His body hadn’t budged once since the old man appeared.
He’s too strong.
An instinctive terror etched into his very genes.
The relationship between predator and prey.
That was what the demon race was.
And now, standing before him, was one of the highest-ranking demons—a commander of the Demon King’s army.
There was no way his body could move properly.
In the end, all he could do was watch in silence.
The battle between Sagosul and the unidentified old man.
Even that was agony for Kang Hae-il.
Too… strong.
Because it was painfully obvious.
Not just the old man—Sagosul was overwhelmingly strong too.
Clang!
He closed the distance in an instant, unleashing a flurry of slashes accompanied by expert feints, even landing real damage.
Mana Pop
Boom!
Psychological warfare, judgment, speed…
Aside from raw destructive power, Sagosul surpassed Kang Hae-il in every category.
Perhaps that was why the old man faltered and retreated.
“...This is impossible.”
Beside him, Yu Jihun frowned and muttered the same.
His expression carried a clear sense of defeat.
Kwaaaaang!
When Sagosul hurled his daggers at the very end, driving the old man to the brink, Yu Jihun let out a sigh that could have been either admiration or despair.
“Hah? The gap in class was there from the start. That kind of thing.”
The old man that Kang Hae-il’s party couldn’t even touch with a fingertip was being relentlessly cornered by Sagosul.
And he hadn’t even used any particularly impressive skills.
“Hey, Kang Hae-il. But… you too?”
“?”
“Your body isn’t moving either.”
“...”
Kang Hae-il offered no reply. The two simply stared at each other blankly.
“You too, huh.”
“No. I’m just resting.”
Kang Hae-il refused to admit that fear had paralyzed him.
“Even an S-rank can’t move… Just what the hell is that guy?”
“I told you, I’m resting.”
It was then.
“Huh?”
Sssssss…!
A black figure rose before them as well.
* * *
Tudududududu…!
Inside the helicopter.
The casters were shouting in extremely excited voices.
“L-look at that! It looks like that really is the World Boss! But! In reality, Sagosul is fighting it all by himself right now!?”
“Yes… that appears to be the case. The other Awakeners… seem relatively powerless.”
“No! Isn’t a World Boss supposed to be something all the Awakeners fight together!? Where did all those people from the Awakener Union go!?”
The caster shouted as if frustrated.
“Is Sagosul really fighting it one-on-one!?”
The concept of a World Boss was originally meant to be defeated by everyone working together.
In fact, that had been the premise of every discussion among Awakeners.
But imagination and reality were always different.
“There’s no room for them to jump into a fight between masters…”
Even if they wanted to help, they had no idea what they could even do.
The speed alone was already beyond what the naked eye or cameras could follow.
And then the situation grew even worse.
Kwoooooooo…!
The black knights had appeared.
“Wh-what the—!?”
“No way! What are those black knights!?”
One of the broadcast writers next to them hurriedly counted on their fingers.
“T-twenty of them… and every single one is over level 40! They’re actually stronger than Grozya!?”
Out of the twenty Death Knights, all but two charged straight at Sagosul.
“Th-they’re all rushing him!”
“This is…”
The two that broke off headed toward Kang Hae-il’s party, but none of the broadcast cameras paid them any attention.
It was only natural.
Eighteen-on-one was far more eye-catching than four-on-two.
The Constellations felt the same.
[Current Viewing Constellations: 3,353]
Junil’s audience was exploding.
Many of them had come not to cheer for his performance, but to watch his final moments.
Death Knights.
Their strength varied wildly depending on who the necromancer resurrected, but they generally ranked among the strongest summons.
With twenty of them descending on him, even Sagosul was finished.
Many Constellations seemed to think so.
Which meant they were the type who only skimmed the explanations.
Whiff.
Once again, an unbelievably seductive and dangerous scent burst forth.
Tang!
The moment the black whip rose and began striking the Death Knights’ heads, they must have realized something was wrong.
Belzerak’s black whip could change shape to a certain degree depending on how magic power was infused into it.
Tadadadadang——
It struck every single Death Knight in an instant.
Master’s Wound
Belzerak’s whip exerts a stronger effect on those who wield magi. It is especially effective at subjugating demon-type creatures that are 10 levels or more below Belzerak.
The Death Knights were demon-types as well.
Kiiiiik…!?
Every Death Knight that had charged in with such vigor suddenly creaked to a halt.
Of course, Death Knights were already dead and highly resistant to fear.
That was why the fear-based whip wasn’t as effective as it had been on Grozya.
So it only stopped their movements for a moment.
He would have loved to order them to turn around and attack the old man, but he couldn’t exert that level of control.
The original summoner’s domination was simply too strong.
But—
This is enough.
The enemy had been neutralized. What more could he ask for?
“All the Death Knights have stopped!? How is this possible!?”
“We have to do something now!”
As if he had heard the casters, Junil drew his sword in an instant and dashed forward.
Here…
His eyes gleamed sharply.
I pour everything out.
Whether he could kill the old man would be decided by how he fought here.
He had to gather as many Constellations as possible right now.
Action BGM
Music Bank Camera Effect
He even added the camera effects he had previously avoided.
Whoosh!
The Constellations’ viewpoint instantly zoomed in on his blade.
Mana Blade
Junil shot like an arrow between the Death Knights, and blue sword strikes flashed in every direction.
The lights flashed with him. The scene of him leaping into the air was even rendered in stop-motion.
Shwaaaaaak!
Shwaaak!
The sight of the Death Knights being sliced apart flowed from multiple angles in succession.
The real-world cameras on the ground were just as frantic.
“Th-they’re getting shredded!? It’s so fast we can’t even keep up!”
The Death Knights’ bodies began to be butchered at blinding speed.
Inside the Arkidia Gate, Junil had been unable to slice through Death Knights and could only rely on causing internal injuries.
Not anymore.
Shwaaaaaak!
Shwaak!
Junil had grown far stronger than he was during the Arkidia Gate.
Not only was his level incomparable, the number of viewing Constellations was vastly higher.
The total amount of mana he possessed had multiplied several times over, so the density of his mana blades was completely different with every swing.
Shwaaaak!
A Death Knight’s head flew off cleanly, soaring into the air.
[EXP 99.8%]
His experience points were rising significantly.
It’s working.
The Death Knights were giving proper EXP.
However, only the three knights whose heads had flown off were judged as dead.
The rest regenerated no matter which body part was severed.
“Whoa! S-some of the Death Knights! They’re moving again!”
Belzerak’s whip lost effectiveness when used against multiple targets. A significant number had shaken off the domination and were beginning to move once more.
Creak…
A horrifying sound of corpses twisting echoed as they drew their swords.
Sleeeeung!
Countless Death Knights charged at once.
“W-wait, what!?”
Even one Death Knight was difficult to handle.
From the helicopter’s vantage point, it looked like Sagosul had nowhere to dodge.
Five or six of them were swarming him at once.
“This is dangerous!?”
The pendant flashed.
Spirit of the Wind
Kwaaaaang!
A powerful gust exploded near Junil.
It was so strong that even the heavily armored knights staggered backward.
That was enough.
Junil simply raised his sword like a gun and took aim.
Mana Blade - Extension
The sword’s mana shot forward like a spike.
Stab!
A hole was punched straight through one Death Knight’s chest.
Then came the fatal internal injury skill that followed.
Mana Pop
Bright blue veins burned across its body as the Death Knight opened its mouth slightly.
Blue flames erupted from within.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
It literally exploded into pieces.
Overwhelming destructive power.
He had really leveled up.
Wooooong…!
Mana spread throughout his body, and he felt some of his stamina recover.
Nice.
Using Julian’s power drained his stamina quickly, but leveling up let him extend the duration.
Just one more time.
Only one level remained until 30.
Ten Death Knights were left.
Ten won’t be enough.
This was nowhere near sufficient for another level-up.
He tried to provoke more summons.
“Hey, old man. Is that all you’ve got?”
Despite his age, the old man seemed surprisingly weak to provocation.
Kwoooooooo…!
A few more Death Knights rose.
The Constellations were loving it.
But there was a small problem.
There were only three of them.
But they were all in the 50s.