The Most Effective Way to Shatter a Coordinated Attack

The most effective way to shatter a coordinated attack.

It was…

“To turn the opponent’s own power against them.”

I coughed up a mouthful of blood, yet still flashed a wide grin.

Reckless? Nonsense. It was simply more efficient.

Using Ellen’s strike as propulsion, I shot left and lashed out with a brutal kick.

In this position, I couldn’t deploy proper martial techniques. My physical skills couldn’t exert their full power either, but they were still better than arts that demanded perfect qi circulation and set forms.

I cloaked my foot in dark energy and slammed it into the spear with everything I had.

The violent collision between aura and dark fighting spirit rang out. The razor-sharp spearhead began carving cracks across my Metal Reflection Gauntlet. Even with the penalty, my stats still outclassed theirs, but a spear that focused all its power into a single point was naturally sharper than a simple kick.

Perfect. That was exactly what I wanted.

Jet-black demonic energy crawled along the contact surface and latched onto the spear blade. Baal’s power crept across the twins’ weapon like slow poison.

Even though it was only Level 1, a blessing from a divine-king-rank constellation was nothing to scoff at. Corrupting a weapon infused with a Diamond-rank player’s will should have been difficult, yet the dark energy I’d used to neutralize their power let me stain it without resistance.

“Mind if I borrow your spear for a second?”

“What the hell are you doing to my spear!”

The Blessing of Greed was a power that devoured everything it touched. Anything except the pure night energy of Polar Night could be eroded.

I poured dark energy into the corrupted spear. The shaft became a battlefield as aura and dark energy wrestled for dominance. The consequences, of course, transferred straight to John, the twin holding it.

“Just let go of the weapon. Problem solved.”

“Stop provoking me!”

I was giving him genuine advice. Ignoring such pearl-of-wisdom-level counsel? What a waste.

While we fought over the spear, Ellen and the other twin moved. The swordsman took a long arc to strike at my back. Ellen drew back the fist she had just thrown and drove it forward again—a straight, honest punch. Its path was obvious, but its speed and power were no joke.

I kept the spear pinned against my leg and kicked it upward.

Clang!

The spear’s trajectory twisted violently. Its tip now pointed straight at Ellen’s incoming fist.

“This is what we call ‘using the enemy’s spear to strike the enemy.’ Korean proverb. Ever heard it?”

My lazy grin made Ellen’s eyebrows shoot up.

Oops. Looks like I pissed her off a little.

The spear-wielding twin tried to regain control, but the weapon no longer obeyed. The Blessing of Greed I’d left behind, now mixed with dark energy, had completely stained the tip and slipped from his command.

In that instant, Ellen opened her clenched fist, slipped past the blade, and seized the shaft.

Crack!

The thrust carried both aura and dark energy. Even with her Incredible enhancement, stopping it was no easy feat. Acrid smoke rose from the friction.

Ellen barely managed to halt the empowered strike. A wide opening appeared. Both of them were defenseless—an ideal chance to press the attack.

But then—

A chilling surge of lightning poured toward my back. The swordsman twin’s strike after circling behind. Too dangerous to take head-on.

I instantly generated Thorn Missiles behind me and fired them all at once.

“Cheap tricks!”

The barrage of thorns disrupted his sword path.

The output of my Polar Night stat surged fivefold. A thick darkness reminiscent of the deepest hour before dawn swallowed the entire area.

Ellen and the spear twin froze mid-motion. Perfect timing for a finishing blow.

Sparks of fury ignited in Ellen’s eyes at Nyx’s murmur.

All stats reduced by forty percent? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠That was exactly the kind of handicap I needed. Once Absolute Power Frame ended, I wouldn’t be able to keep up.

I reshaped my Polar Night into a blade. Infusing it with internal energy made black currents swirl around the edge.

Clang!

The swordsman’s lightning-clad blade couldn’t withstand the edge of my Dark Shadow Soul-Chasing Sword and bounced away helplessly.

“Jade!”

“I’ve been waiting for the signal.”

Taking Ellen’s shout as the cue, a blinding pillar of light slammed down from above.

Light-speed casting.

By the time my Sixth Sense registered the threat, I was already bathed in the spell.

Holy attribute magic that ordinary mages could never wield. She had layered a property grant onto a light-based destruction spell, amplifying its power even further.

Originally an area-of-effect annihilation spell, the property assignment had transformed it into something harmless to living beings.

I gave a bitter smile.

Anti-Polar Night magic. Ellen had come fully prepared. Since this spar hadn’t been scheduled in advance, she must have been setting this up for a long time.

Light-attribute magic that couldn’t be dodged. In my current state of perfect fusion with Polar Night through Body of Darkness, taking it head-on was far too dangerous.

Instead of targeting the swordsman, I expanded my Polar Night massively to block the descending radiance. Without the amplified output from my assimilation, I would have been overwhelmed.

How ironic.

By the time the light faded, the Golden Circle team had regrouped and was staring me down.

Now this was getting fun.

“We’ve traded blows. My turn now.”

Four minutes and thirty seconds remained on Absolute Power Frame. Could I finish it before then?

Nyx’s lament only fueled me more.

* * *

Clang! Clang-clang!

Sharp metallic cries continuously tore through the training hall’s air.

Exchanges came every tenth of a second. Dozens of attacks flew back and forth in the space of a single breath.

“How are you reading our timing?!”

“That’s something only we siblings should know!”

The twins couldn’t hide their shock.

I’ve fought you people several times already. How could I not know?

I lightly dismantled the linkage between their sword and spear and kept up the pressure without pause.

The supporter who should have been applying debuffs could only sit on his hands thanks to Absolute Power Frame’s penalty. The mage Jade, responsible for creating variables, couldn’t risk large-scale spells in this relentless melee.

The idea of adding a holy attribute to Brilliant Radiance had been fairly creative, but it was useless if I simply didn’t activate Body of Darkness. Minor spells were easily neutralized by my Metal Reflection Gauntlet and dark energy. The property assignment was annoying, yet not enough to flip the board.

“Haaahp!”

A thunderous roar reminiscent of a lion’s bellow. I couldn’t use Ars Goetia in the middle of this brawl, but I still had plenty of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other useful debuff skills.

The only real threat was—

BOOM!

A fist several times larger than normal smashed into the ground. If I had been even a fraction slower with Cloud Flow Steps, I would have been pulverized.

“Looks like you still have time to look away, Mr. Yu.”

“No way.”

“When did I ever say that?”

She hit the nail on the head again.

Void Mirror. Or even Void Encounter. Either one would let me end this fight instantly.

“But that would be boring,” I muttered quietly enough for Nyx to hear, then returned to the offensive.

Even with every stat reduced, the reason I could maintain dominance over the Golden Circle team was simple. They were America’s strongest squad. In my previous life, I had clashed with them so many times I grew sick of it. Compared to then, their coordination was still incomplete, making their openings easy to exploit.

Even with the answer sheet right in front of me, solving the problem still took this much time. I still had a long road ahead.

The instant the fourth minute since Absolute Power Frame activated passed—

“Aaaah!”

A scream rang out as a sword spun through the air. The twin holding it had blood pouring from his hand. His palm had torn apart from pushing beyond his limits.

“How dare you do that to Jane!”

The spear twin charged in a frenzy.

It was only a spar, yet he was getting this worked up. Thinking about what they would become in the future, these two still had a long way to go.

“John, calm down!”

Ellen’s shout echoed uselessly through the air. The delicate balance that had been barely maintained collapsed with that last exchange. Once they bared their fangs first, they charged blindly despite the disadvantage.

Which I was more than happy to accept.

I unleashed the sacred power I had secretly gathered. A net of lightning caught Ellen just as she tried to match the spearman’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠charge.

The spear shot forward like a released arrow, leaving afterimages in its wake. Its momentum was ferocious.

But—

“I can see exactly where you’re aiming.”

No matter how fast you go, it doesn’t matter if I already know the destination.

I unfolded the Black Tortoise Rock Wall in the direction of the killing intent. The spear tip bent sharply as though it had struck an invisible wall.

“Guhk!”

The spear twin vomited blood and flew backward.

“Next time, try mixing some fakes in with that killing intent.”

All that remained were Ellen, the long-range damage dealer, and the now-useless supporter. The ranged fighter would be finished the moment I used Shrink.

“You lost beautifully,” Ellen muttered with a refreshed expression.

“Already admitting defeat?”

Unlike before, I spoke to her casually. Trading fists had brought back memories of the time we fought as comrades before the regression. There was no need to keep using formal speech, and I saw no reason to suppress what my heart wanted just to mind others’ opinions.

“The Ellen I know doesn’t give up that easily.”

“You speak as if you know me well, Mr. Yu.”

“I’ve seen quite a lot of you.”

“Fine. Getting beaten one-sidedly and surrendering doesn’t sit right with me either.”

Exactly.

One of the six future Monarchs who stood at the peak of humanity. Ellen Taylor should respond exactly like this.

With twenty seconds left on Absolute Power Frame, every member of the Golden Circle team had been subdued.