The Last Knight
BOOM—!
"Ghk…! You had something like that and you just sat on it this whole time?!"
"When you get back, you're dead, Hayeon!"
The knight's assault was ferocious.
A body forged from nothing but the obsession to shatter the waves and kill the sea regenerated without end no matter how many times they cut it down. The techniques and raw power devoted to realizing that ideal of slaying the ocean itself transcended all common sense.
WHOOSH—!
A single sweep of the lance brought down a pillar supporting the subway station and whipped up a storm that tore through the surroundings.
CRASH—!
The knight's steed kicked off the ground and charged.
"Hyunsung!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Incarnation Lee Hyunsung has activated the special skill Wide-Area Defense!
SCREECH—!
The broad defensive barrier caught the knight's charge — but only for a fleeting instant.
CLANG—!
The knight punched straight through the barrier and drove his lance into Lee Hyunsung's shield as well.
"Guh…!"
Hyunsung went flying, slamming hard into the far wall.
"Hyunsung…!"
THUD—!
Even Jung Heewon, mid-shout toward Hyunsung, was struck by Rocinante's charge and sent tumbling into the air.
And toward Heewon, floating defenseless, the knight's lance lunged.
CLANG—!
CRACK—
"What the hell is this…!"
Heewon barely managed to block the thrust — but her blade began to freeze over from the point of contact.
Tap—
"Dokja! That thing freezes you too?!"
"Don't try to block the attacks — dodge them! One clean hit and you're dead on the spot!"
Kim Dokja's judgment was correct. The moment any of them took a direct hit from the knight, their bodies would rupture under the impact, unable to withstand it.
And in that instant, a message window rose before Dokja's eyes.
Exclusive skill Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 3 reward is now available.
You have experienced First-Person Protagonist's Viewpoint.
You may inherit one skill from the protagonist you immersed yourself in.
…What?
Dokja froze for a split second — and the knight charged straight at her.
Grab—
"What are you standing there gawking for?! You trying to die again?!"
Heewon snagged the motionless Dokja and yanked her clear of the knight's rush.
Presenting available skill options.
Please select a skill to acquire.
1. Cold Resistance
2. Fire Resistance
3. Falsehood Detection
Skills so meager they were laughable against a knight like this.
"Damn it…"
An enemy that had never appeared in the novel she'd read, and a reward that offered no real help. But Dokja had her own way of doing things.
"I acquire Cold Resistance."
You can now use the skill Cold Resistance.
Flash—
"Dokja?!"
Kim Dokja charged the knight head-on.
CLANG—!
Her blade met the knight's lance. From the point of impact, frost began to creep along Unbreakable Conviction. The longer sword and lance remained locked, the more the blade froze — until the ice crawled up Dokja's hands themselves.
"Dokja! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Boss!"
From her hands to her arms, from her arms to her entire body — Kim Dokja froze solid, locked in that stance inside a prison of ice.
"Boss…"
Lee Seongguk and Jung Minseop stared at the frozen Dokja in blank despair. And as the knight slowly advanced on them—
Blade of Conviction activates!
Special option of Unbreakable Conviction activates!
Ether attribute converts to Flame.
"…!"
CRASH—!
Flames bloomed from within the ice prison, shattering it apart as Kim Dokja burst free.
Stigma Song of the Sword has been activated.
A verse left by Chungmugong randomly imbues your blade.
In the dead of night a divine being appeared in a dream and spoke,
"Do this, and you shall win a great victory; do that, and you shall fall."
SLASH—!
Following the marks that appeared across the knight's body, Dokja's blade carved through his armor and cut deep.
"Gahk…!"
Blood sprayed along the line of the cut. The knight toppled from his steed and crumpled to the ground.
"Hah… hah… Thought I was going to freeze to death…"
"Dokja…!"
Dokja started toward her companions. But then—
The item is activating.
With a ticking sound, the knight's body began to restore itself.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
In moments, the knight stood whole again. He drove his lance into the earth and rose once more — and in that instant—
CLINK-CLINK—!
Golden chains wrapped around the knight's body once more. This time, unlike before, they cinched tight as if determined to drag him under, binding him with crushing force.
Yet even under that pressure, the knight offered no resistance. He simply surrendered himself to the chains.
"Isha… mla…"
"It wasn't the waves…"
"Let's go, Rocinante… back… to shatter the waves…"
At his words, his steed approached without a sound and stood at his side.
Gurgle—
Then, as if being washed away, the knight's armor and Rocinante melted into black liquid and poured off him.
"…! Hayeon!"
When the black liquid had drained away completely, what remained was Park Hayeon, collapsed face-down on the floor, unconscious.
Consciousness, sunk deep in darkness, slowly rose toward the surface.
Sensation returned to his body. Voices reached his ears.
"……you……okay?"
"almost……died…"
But… why did all the voices sound the same?
"Oh, his eyes are open."
When he opened his eyes, what he saw was… himself. Multiple versions of himself, all wearing the same face, differing only in their clothes.
"AAAAAAHHH!!"
"What? Why's he having a seizure?"
"Haa… I told you gathering everyone at once was a bad idea…"
What the hell is this.
Why are there so many of me.
Cold sweat broke out at a situation that looked straight out of a movie about a spider-man protagonist.
"Hey, hey, calm down first. Whatever you're thinking, it might be even weirder than that, but still."
"Wh-what is this…"
"Mm… put simply, I — the Last Knight — hijacked your body, and your consciousness got dumped here. Got it?"
"What does that even…"
The heavily abbreviated explanation made his head spin all over again.
"Haa… this really isn't my thing… Hey! Blade Lineage! Get over here."
"If you'd listened to me in the first place, none of this would have happened…"
The version of him in the red coat stepped back, and a version wearing a formal suit beneath a traditional Korean overcoat stepped forward.
"Ahem… First, calm yourself. Draw a deep breath, then let it out."
"In… out… in…"
After a few steady breaths, his head did settle somewhat.
"Have you composed yourself a little?"
"Haa… yeah. So what is this place? And you guys… you're all me?"
"First of all — every person you see here is, indeed, 'me.'"
"And what you must be most curious about is why you are here at all. Is that not so?"
Whether calling him an opponent was the right word or not, the calm way the version of himself before him spoke seemed to settle Hayeon as well.
"…Yeah. You said earlier that the Last Knight version of me took over my body?"
"Correct. It was a situation even we failed to anticipate. That something would break through the 'Firewall' like that…"
"'Firewall?' What's that supposed to—"
"Allow me to explain this place first. Can you stand?"
The version of himself still sitting on the floor reached out a hand. Hayeon took it and pulled himself up.
And once more, the many "hims" turned to look at him.
"Welcome to our assembly hall."