Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 110
>Chapter Title: Now It's Fair
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[……The aura I'm sensing now is completely different from before. What trick did you pull?]
For the first time, the Destroyer showed signs of tension at the clearly dangerous figure before him.
He could sense it instinctively.
That human was dangerous now. He was no longer the pathetic insect from moments ago.
'Is this even possible?'
Unless he'd made a contract with the Abyss like I had……
Or had he been hiding his power? If so, why?
Unable to comprehend the inexplicable change, the Destroyer held back from charging recklessly and stayed on guard.
There was only one reason Do-hyun could pull off such a sudden transformation.
[Using Madness.]
[For 90 seconds, HP decreases by 1% per second, and stats and all speeds increase proportionally to current HP percentage.]
Madness, the buff skill he'd just acquired.
Depending on how it was used, it could become a suicide skill or a transcendent unique skill with godlike performance—a devilish ability.
The guy called Kkukku, the God of Berserkers, had a simple timing for activating 'Madness.'
'He said activating it at this moment is the most efficient.'
When HP reached 20%.
The optimal threshold for maximizing those 90 seconds to the limit.
After activating Madness, Kkukku had shown a completely different persona.
His comrades even joked that before Madness, he was a scrawny native chicken, but after, he became a fighting cock.
'Yeah, now I get why you did it that way.'
Back then, Do-hyun had just smirked it off, but now he understood.
The moment Madness activated, he felt power surging through his entire body.
[HP decreases by 1% per second.]
And it only amplified more as time passed.
Watching his steadily dropping HP, Do-hyun shouted curtly.
"Ji-had!"
-Raj!
At that, Ji-had, who had been hiding and spectating all this time, sprang out like a coiled spring and activated his skill.
[Guardian 'Ji-had Black' summons undead.]
[Summons 2 Forest Red Goblin Undead, 1 Forest Blue Goblin Undead, 3 Orc Undead.]
Grraaah— Grra—.
Darkness writhed from the ground, revealing the undead.
Ji-had didn't stop there.
[Guardian 'Ji-had Black' uses Legion Control.]
[Maximum of seven in one legion.]
[Form a legion.]
[3 Orc Undead, 2 Forest Red Goblin Undead, 1 Forest Blue Goblin Undead designated as Legion 1.]
[The legion's undead are judged as a single entity.]
[Over 50% of the legion's undead are judged as lower city monsters. Mana consumption reduced.]
The ultimate skill that allowed mana-starved Ji-had to command all six at once.
Grraaah—.
With Legion Control activated, they moved in perfect unison, taking formation.
It was reassuring enough now to truly call it a legion.
'I held back for this moment.'
It had been worth luring the enemy's complacency, managing his HP appropriately to pour everything into using Madness under optimal conditions while expending all mana.
[Destroyer Geymon's HP is below 20%.]
[Trait 'Fallen Paladin' activates.]
[From now on, Destroyer Geymon will consume HP to use Fallen Paladin techniques.]
Now they could fight on equal footing.
No, Do-hyun actually held the advantage. With a sly curl of his lips, he swung Cheonbyeon.
[Using 'Shroud of Darkness' on Cheonbyeon.]
[Using 'Shroud of Darkness' on self.]
[Using 'Shroud of Darkness' on Orc Undead.]
[The effect applies to all legion-designated undead.]
Grraaaah!
The darkness-infused undead let out roars.
Their appearance alone was intimidating.
Amid them, Do-hyun stepped forward, black and red energies intertwining perilously around him.
-Riza!
Even Eliza, peeking her head out from Do-hyun's pocket.
Do-hyun patted the boldly glaring Eliza's head and grinned.
"Now it's fair."
[Insolent……!]
1 versus 9.
It didn't look fair no matter how you sliced it, but who cared.
Heroes slaying demon lords had always upheld the culture of ganging up.
With that cheat-like spec dominating Brion, the bastard ought to handle this level of balance.
[Fine…… I'll make you regret mocking me.]
Grinding his teeth, the Destroyer reached out.
Darkness gradually took form—not the Abyss claws from before.
It was a single sword.
The exact shape of the cherished blade Taksinel favored.
At last, Destroyer Geymon was at full power.
It wouldn't be easy. Yet amid the tension, Do-hyun smiled.
"Alright, round two."
The moment of the final showdown had arrived.
* * *
How should this even be described?
Grraaah!
Boom! Crash!
Six darkness-shrouded undead threw themselves from all sides to harass, while the sword-wielding Destroyer clashed with Do-hyun.
Each collision sent shockwaves cracking the floor.
Grra!
If the clash dragged on even slightly, the undead inevitably intervened.
[Graaaah! You filthy bugs!!]
Enraged, the Destroyer tried to drive off the undead—only for Do-hyun to interfere this time.
A speed worlds apart from before.
Now matching Destroyer Geymon's movements almost perfectly, even he couldn't afford carelessness.
And that was just the start.
Stab! Slash—.
Stabbed by that bizarre darkness-wrapped sword, and for some reason, it pierced the sturdy Abyss armor, dealing damage.
Not just to Do-hyun—all the undead attacks too!
Not as threatening as Do-hyun's, but the undead's stinging hits were no small annoyance.
Rustle—.
Take out the undead first? Do-hyun got in the way.
Ignore them and go for Do-hyun? Then he'd ghost behind a pillar whenever it felt disadvantageous.
Like they'd rehearsed it, the undead grabbed at his legs.
Stab!
[Mark disappears.]
[Graaak!]
That was the backstab window.
A brief free-deal moment to land a powerful blow.
"Ahh……."
"My god. That party's got a Necromancer?"
"Unbelievable. He hid it until the very end……."
The priests clicked their tongues at the brutal battle unfolding before them.
They'd thought it was surely over.
Who could've imagined he'd concealed this much power right when everyone had given up.
And those undead were no ordinary ones.
"Undead retaining their living forms……."
"And what's with that darkness?"
Orcs and goblins packing that kind of punch? Unbelievable.
Probably tied to that darkness.
It even felt like the Abyss for a moment, but the aura was distinctly different.
It was closer to a dark-attribute mage's power.
"I've heard some apostles wield powers from various paths…… but this guy's completely inscrutable."
"Feels like a mage, assassin, madman, and calm swordsman all at once."
"What kind of magic trick is this……."
"Doesn't matter right now."
It was a baffling phenomenon they couldn't grasp, but Do-hyun's identity wasn't the point.
What mattered was his unyielding spirit.
Their sole hope was truly becoming one.
"May the Blessing of Valor be with you……."
"May the Blessing of Protection……."
"May the Blessing of Swiftness……."
They reapplied their heartfelt buffs to that hope.
The initial ones were about to expire.
Sure enough, some had ended—reapplying made his movements visibly quicker.
'No mercy from either side. Was he always this strong?'
Gamillion swallowed hard.
Gone was the ragged heir getting pushed around; now he pressed the attack relentlessly.
Far more effective hits too—on the surface, Do-hyun looked advantaged.
But Gamillion knew.
'……Dangerous. He's courting self-destruction.'
Do-hyun wasn't picking his shots anymore.
No fatal blows landed, but he was dying by his own hand. That buff making him strong was killing him.
He clung to life by a thread, but precariously.
'One graze and it's over.'
It wasn't that Do-hyun was winning so he avoided clean hits. He dodged desperately because one hit would kill him.
Using the undead, hiding behind pillars—whatever it took.
Meanwhile, the Destroyer?
He was burning HP too, but had plenty of leeway compared to Do-hyun.
A do-or-die bloodbath with no retreat.
'……No clue who'll win.'
Gamillion gave up predicting.
It was pure, unrelenting deadlock.
So he simply prayed.
May he win this nail-biting fight. And Gamillion wasn't alone.
"To think Brion's fate would rest on one outsider……."
"He's no outsider anymore. He's Brion's hero. What outsider would sacrifice like this? Let us all pray for our hero."
"May…… may the Goddess of Victory raise our hero's hand……."
Now fully acknowledging Do-hyun, they closed their eyes.
All they could do was pray with all their hearts.
* * *
Kill him. Must kill him.
No matter what, he has to die.
Enduring the whirlwind of attacks, Destroyer Geymon nurtured boiling killing intent deep in his chest.
'To think that lowly outsider dares match me?'
He couldn't tolerate it.
Who was he?
Vice-leader of the Lyre Holy Knight Order, reaching even the Empire—a contractor with the Abyss's power.
Without Rved, no one here could oppose him.
Yet what was this guy?
A worm moments ago, now blood-soaked like a maniac and wrapped in darkness—everything changed.
He kept pace with his speed, wounds appeared.
And as time passed, the bastard grew stronger.
Threateningly so now.
If it were just him, fine. But with those freakish undead piling on, he felt himself slowly giving ground.
'Damn it……!'
Impatience set in.
Not because of him.
Instinct told him he'd win if the fight dragged on. Just land one hit, and the guy dies.
That prediction was spot-on.
[Warning! HP at 1%.]
[HP no longer decreases due to Madness.]
Do-hyun, who'd maxed out Madness, was one graze from doom—not even a clean hit.
Balancing on a knife-edge cliff, performing extreme acrobatics.
Pushing him off was easy.
'If that monster shows up meanwhile…….'
The issue was time.
Time favored them, not him.
Kill him quick? The bastard dodged like a ghost.
Take time for a sure kill? Rved would arrive.
'Damn, if my power were intact, this humiliation…….'
The thought flashed, and he halted abruptly.
Head bowed, motionless—not even defending.
Not despair or panic.
Pure rage.
The mere fact that such a thought crossed his mind while facing one outsider wounded his pride unbearably.
Crunch!
Grraa!?
He grabbed and snapped an incoming Orc undead's wrist, grinding his teeth.
His gaze fixed neither on Do-hyun nor the undead.
Thump, thump.
His own heart.
More precisely, the half-shattered hourglass embedded in it.
Staring at it, he unleashed a roar—silent dark waves swept the entire hall.
[Destroyer Geymon's HP is below 10%.]
[Entering Phase 3.]
Ten years ago, the hourglass he'd chanced upon by luck.
It was the demonic clock that made him the Destroyer he was now.