Deus ex Machina

We stood with the final stage right before our eyes, and out of nowhere, Wisdom decided to strike up a conversation.

"…Giving up? Excuse me?"

Seriously?

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the Hall's system would say something like that—and to me of all people.

The system was, by nature, the kind of cold bastard that would keep shouting its own announcements ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even as I lay dying with a greatsword through my heart.

"Why bring this up all of a sudden?"

"'It'?"

Wisdom produced a rather fascinating set of results.

To be fair, my current state couldn't be called fine even as a figure of speech.

The battle had come at me without a single pause, piling fatigue atop wounds, and a whole catalogue of debuffs was crushing down on my body.

I let out a light laugh. "You actually worry about that sort of thing?"

…Why is this happening to me, of all people?

"Hard to say."

Honestly, I couldn't blame the other Champions if I put myself in their shoes.

This trial's structure demanded sacrifice from the Champion to a nearly cruel degree.

In practice, only one person stood on the front line—piecing together information, fighting the enemy, throwing their body into the breach.

What an absurd reason.

So I've earned the right to be "worth keeping alive" simply because I didn't blame and resent anyone?

For a system, it was surprisingly sentimental.

"I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine."

There was no retreating now.

For Cheonseong. For Korea. And beyond that, to prepare for the coming annihilation.

The Magic Crafting waiting in this place was absolutely essential.

"The treasure of the Hall... I must make the End of Sorcery mine, no matter what."

Wisdom left behind a burst of encouragement and vanished.

And before long—

* * *

Space twisted violently, and a black void tore itself into being.

From within it, a single human leg stretched out.

Clank!

Then came an arm, a head, a torso.

Every piece of it pushed through the darkness to reveal its form.

The shape of a human sheathed in powered armor.

Vuuuum—!

Mana circuits etched far more densely than any of the previous foes lit up in a blaze.

So that's the one.

The strongest existence in this entire Hall.

Deus ex Machina.

And the name was no bluster—an extraordinary presence rolled off the machine in waves.

"You're telling me that's really the killing intent of a mere machine?"

A pressure clamped over my whole body, a crushing weight bearing down on me.

It felt as though some primal instinct were screaming at me to run.

This is like...

The kind of aura I'd only ever sensed from the Monarch of Fist.

For something that wasn't even alive to reach a realm like this—what the hell had the sages of this dimension been doing with themselves?

I smiled grimly and forced mana into my leaden body.

"You tried to pressure me with atmosphere, huh?"

Sorry, but that doesn't work on me.

KUOOOM!

My mind, frozen rigid a moment ago, eased back into its proper state.

"Whew."

I wiped away the cold sweat roughly.

"Cut the mind games and just come at me directly, why don't you?"

"……"

"Or are you scared—"

Before the words even left my mouth, flames roared up from its back like boosters, scorching the air.

Tzzzzzzz—!

At the same time, mana coalesced around both of its hands, taking the shape of gauntlets.

Of course.

These things never think about anyone but themselves.

Thud—KWAAM!

It kicked off the floor and closed the distance at a horrifying speed.

A relentless barrage hammered in without a moment's breath.

"…!"

Wind God Step

I barely, barely slipped through the gaps of its fists on legs that carried a divine authority.

BOOM! CRASH! KRAKA-BOOM!

Every time its fist extended, a violent sonic boom ripped the air.

A single clean hit wouldn't end with broken bones—this thing hit far harder than that.

Against a body weakened by Weakened, it would be all the more lethal.

"Rir!"

At my call, the shadow rippled, and a luxuriant tail whipped the wind as it charged straight at Deus ex Machina.

"Arrrrrrr!"

A crimson storm of blades, Storm Slash fused with Bleeding Strike.

Any ordinary enemy would be shredded head to toe and hurled away by that.

Pakang!

But the instant Rir's wind touched it, it shattered.

So that's its defensive system—!

The thing turned its gaze toward Rir and spread its palm open.

With a sharp whine, blue energy gathered into its hand.

"Rir! Get back!"

Sensing something foul, I tried to call Rir into my shadow—but it was already too late.

KWAAAAAH!

A beam of mana erupted from its palm and struck Rir dead-on.

"Kyeeng!"

Rir went hurtling in the direction the beam had lanced.

Damn it all!

Nothing like the things I'd fought until now.

The power of its attacks, the speed, the polish.

Everything about it conjured the image of a top-tier hunter.

"Buy me some time, Moss!"

"—KRAAAAAAAH!"

A pair of wings unfurled from within my shadow.

The great dragon spread its jaws wide, clamped them around the machine, and soared skyward.

Slipping through the opening Moss tore open, I raced toward where Rir had been flung.

"You okay?"

"Nnnh... Woof!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Thankfully, nothing serious.

Spirit bodies take relatively little damage from physical attacks.

That's why I'd never worried much about it until now.

And yet even Rir took a wound like this.

It was confirmed.

Deus ex Machina.

That thing existed on a completely different plane from every other enemy in the Hall.

"KRAAAAAH!"

Moss slammed the thing into the wall.

But its body came away without so much as a scratch, perfectly intact.

"Grrrh...!"

Moss gathered its draconic mana, readying a breath against the machine embedded in the wall.

A violet charge locked into place at its jaws, loading.

One breath, and it would be swept away.

And in that sliver of an instant—

PWA-POOK!

Something shot up from above Moss and ran it through.

"KARAAAAAH!"

Dozens upon dozens of lances wrought of golden lightning.

Forged in an instant by Deus ex Machina—the thunder of Dragonslayer.

KRAKAKAKAKAK!

"KAAAAAAK—! KRAAAAAH!"

The lances swarmed Moss all at once.

Little by little, its body broke apart and guttered out.

"A spirit... destroyed?"

I'd never seen anything like it.

Thankfully I hadn't lost Moss entirely, but—

Summon disabled!

That was a painfully steep penalty.

In a situation like this, every ounce of firepower counted.

Grrrrnd—clank!

Having finished with Moss, the thing's gaze swung back toward me.

Golden current crackled and spat, weaving a threatening tableau.

That faint despair had barely begun to settle over me when—

"Done! I've completed the counter-formula!"

The voice I'd been longing to hear.

"Been waiting on you."

Ji Yeon-ha's magic formula settled over the machine like a shackle.

The shimmering glow of the mana circuits went dark.

Proof that its defensive system had been neutralized.

I have to end this now!

Dragging the fight out in this body would do me no good at all.

While the attacks could still land—

"Come, Dantalion!"

—I had to settle this.

My weakened body clawed its way back toward its true state.

The Demon Duke's strength breathed life back into me.

KWAHAK!

I gripped the lance tight and mounted Rir.

With Slowed still dragging at me, dodging that barrage outright was out of the question.

"I'm counting on you, Rir."

"Woof!"

Rir wreathed itself in storm winds, readying to leap.

The next moment—

TADADADADA—!

It broke into a charge at blistering speed.

PAZZZK! BOOM!

Weaving between the bolts of lightning Deus ex Machina hurled down, we closed to within a single bound of its attack range.

"Nice work, Rir! Get us home and I'll buy you the most expensive bones money can find!"

"Woof woof!"

Rir bounded high, carrying us even closer to the thing.

The high-output currents still hunted us hunibly—

But this much—!

—the Demon Spear's power could offset them well enough.

Hell Three Spears

The first thrust.

First Spear: Demon Mountain

The lance drove in, a violent shockwave burst outward, and for an instant the currents scattered.

Proof the attack had landed—with the added bonus of a thin crack spidering across its frame.

Without pause, I chained into the next strike.

The second thrust.

Second Spear: Demon Sea

A surging black miasma bored into Deus ex Machina's chest.

"Krrgh...!"

For the first time, a violent reaction spat out of it.

Bits of component scattering, the crack widening its reach.

If this lands—

—I can win it.

I wrung out every ounce of strength I had left and loosed the final thrust.

Third Spear: Demon Heaven

The power to stain the very heavens with demon-might.

That overwhelming thrust came hurtling in to shatter the thing.

And then—

...Tink!Demon Heaven splintered and broke apart.

Restoring its defensive system wasn't enough—it had swapped to a method entirely different from the original one.

In other words, I'd have to unravel the counter-formula from absolute scratch.

"What kind of bullshit—"

Unfortunately, the thing didn't even have the courtesy to let me finish cursing.

The mana-wreathed gauntlets crackling with current came charging in, fully intending to pulp my body.

That, it seemed, was its devastating finishing blow.

One clean hit, and I would die—no doubt about it.

"No!"

Ji Yeon-ha's voice, thick with despair.

Before that despair could deepen, I hurriedly triggered my bracer.

The barrier bloomed open just in time to spare me from being flattened into paste.

Of course, it could only stop the very first blow.

PUH-VUH-VUH-VUH-VUCK!

The rest of the fist-storm I could only take head-on, helpless.

"Kehuk!"

Each impact sent my consciousness reeling.

Pain like my entire body shattering into glass shards gnawed messily at the edges of my mind.

If not for Demonification's stat augmentation, something would have burst long before now.

FWAANG!

The last fist buried itself in me and I plummeted straight down.

"Kyaaaah! Lee Tae-hyun! Snap out of it! Lee Tae-hyun! You mustn't die!"

"Ggghhhh...."

A red smear of blood traced the arc of my fall.

And standing at its origin point was Deus ex Machina, looking down at me.

Truly, this was the strength befitting the Hall's final weapon.

For a moment, a flicker of resentment rose in my chest.

If it didn't have that defensive system. If I were fighting at full condition.

I wouldn't be getting one-sidedly dismantled like this.

If the debuffs weren't crushing me...

I could have beaten it so much more easily.

...FWAANG!

At the thought, I bit down hard on my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lip.

Enough of that nonsense.

I had survived worse than this—overcome far more hopeless states than this—time and time again.

Even half-blind from the elixir's side effects. Even back when my stats were so low my body was slower and heavier than it is now.

Somehow, stubbornly, I'd always picked the spear back up.

So was this really the point where I started whining?

After I'd finally grasped the powers I'd craved so desperately before my regression?

"My stomach's full, apparently...."

Truly, I was a pathetic creature.

The moment things got even a little easier, look—these complacent thoughts came crawling out first.

Don't dwell on what you've already lost.

What I needed to think about was what I still had.

The power of Demonification still remained.

On top of that, I had a lance that could pierce anything.

And what was left was—

"...That's it!"

Something I'd never attempted before.

Using both transformation-type skills simultaneously.

Granted, there was a reason I'd never tried it.

The skills could collide.

Transformation skills had starkly distinct natures, and if things went wrong, the two could repel each other and inflict internal injuries.

But if they didn't collide—if they instead entered symbiosis—

I could gain power greater than the two skills combined.

Until now, I'd hesitated out of fear of the backlash.

Now is the time.

The situation was the absolute worst—but I'm the cursed bastard whose potential explodes precisely in moments like these.

I squeezed my eyes shut and triggered the second transformation skill.

KUGUNG!

My insides shook violently as a tingling sensation spread through me.

The power of the Demon Duke. The power of the Dragonkin.

The compatibility of those two forces—

—it was perfect.