Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 145
>Chapter Title: Checkmate
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The battle was fierce.
---
Those trying to widen the distance and those trying to close it.
In that process, countless clashes and exchanges erupted, splattering blood everywhere.
Before long, Do-hyun, cloaked in black sword aura, unleashed a strike.
Kwaang!
But the King of the Lawless didn't just take it lying down. He extended his hand, causing multiple pillars of darkness to erupt from the ground.
[Touching the Requiem results in instant death.]
[You will not die if your stats exceed the caster's.]
“……Tch.”
Each one was a lethal attack that could kill on a mere graze.
No, beyond lethal—it was an overpowered instant-death attack. Do-hyun clicked his tongue and dodged.
In the meantime, the King of the Lawless widened the distance again.
“Wow……. Look at him dodging all those instant-death attacks. How does he do it? It’s like he knows they’re coming ahead of time.”
“Is this really the fight at this stage? Kaiser is a legend for real.”
“Quiet. This is important right now.”
A high-speed battle so intense it was hard to follow with the naked eye.
Users who couldn't help but marvel whispered among themselves, only to be silenced by a sharp remark.
That was the level of the fight unfolding before their eyes.
It was a historic scene in Sargis that you wouldn't see again if you missed even a second.
In other words, it was that evenly matched—but for Do-hyun, it was a fight for survival.
‘This is way too overpowered, isn’t it?’
What good was closing the distance if the enemy just used that bullshit AoE instant-death skill to easily pull away?
The moment Phase 2 activated, the bastard stopped trading blows properly.
Hwiik-!
[Putting in…… the…… effort…… are…… you……?]
He easily dodged the sky blade Do-hyun threw right after the distance opened, laughing mockingly.
Ignoring him, Do-hyun reached out again.
Hwick-
[Ho…… oh……?]
Did it not expect the blade to boomerang back?
It sounded impressed, but that was it.
At that level, such tricks couldn't inflict damage.
Flick- Hwiik-!
[Kuh…… ugh…… Now…… you…… can’t…… even…… land…… a…… proper…… hit…….]
No matter how many times he threw the sky blade, it was the same.
In the end, he had no choice but to close the distance himself.
-Euum!
-Hueeyaak!
Grrraaah!?
The silver lining—if you could call it that—was that the Requiem didn't distinguish between friend and foe.
[Dodge……!]
[The King…… is…… using…… Requiem…….]
Thanks to that, whenever the pattern triggered, Jihad, Charlie, and even the Lawless scattered in panic.
They weren't even fighting properly anymore.
They'd exchange a few half-hearted blows, then ghost away the moment a pattern activated. Rinse and repeat.
Because of that, the Lawless weren't daring to press Do-hyun either.
[HP is below 20%. Be careful.]
[Guardian Charlie's HP is below 20%.]
[Guardian Jihad Black's HP is below 20%.]
But that didn't change the dire situation.
Do-hyun's HP and theirs were all scraping bottom.
‘I invested 30 stats and it’s still this bad? Is this even possible?’
He'd held back 40 unspent stat points from leveling up.
Even after dumping 30 into combat prep, he could barely hold his own. It was mind-boggling.
No wonder that Arthur guy couldn't make a dent.
‘No choice.’
Do-hyun clicked his tongue and subtly moved his fingers.
[……Why…… not…… give…… up……? You…… look…… so…… pitiful…….]
What he lacked now wasn't more HP to last longer or raw power for bigger hits.
Just a brief moment.
One second of speed that the enemy might miss.
A timing to screw over the bastard who'd adapted to the rhythm and let its guard down.
Swoosh.
As Do-hyun closed in, the arrogant foe straightened its back and twitched its fingers again.
‘……Now!’
[Investing 10 stats into Agility.]
[Using Madness.]
[For 90 seconds, lose 1% HP per second. Stats and all speeds increase proportional to current HP percentage.]
Do-hyun, who'd been waiting for this exact moment, invested the stats and activated Madness in one go.
Then, powering his thighs, his form vanished in an instant.
Taat!
[……!?]
The Lawless leader panicked and stumbled back.
It had adapted to Do-hyun's movements, but the sudden burst of unexpected speed threw it off.
----
[Graaaaaah……!!!]
The result was devastating.
It took the biggest critical hit since Phase 2 began.
[Using Sword Aura - Slash.]
[Hidden Field Boss, Lawless Leader '???''s HP is below 30%.]
It got properly nailed by the darkness-clad slash.
Do-hyun's gambit had paid off!
“Ooooh!?”
“Whoa, what’s that black slash? So badass…….”
“Huh? Isn’t that Madness?”
“Who cares? Is this the turnaround!?”
Cheers erupted from behind at the flashy blow.
They'd been on edge watching Kaiser get pushed back, but this was the first solid hit.
‘Nice!’
This was why he'd held back on spending the remaining points.
Saving points to shore up weak stats mid-fight was basic strategy for users with the Latent Dragon trait.
Kwaak-
He was certain he'd executed it perfectly.
Do-hyun clenched his fist in thrill, but this wasn't the time.
‘Got the momentum—press it now while I have it.’
How often did an opportunity like this come?
He could last maybe five minutes at most.
He had to go all-out now.
And that was Do-hyun's specialty.
No one was better at seizing a chance and sinking their teeth in relentlessly.
“Jihad, Charlie.”
-Yes, my lord!
-Got it!
-Liza!
They got the signal, tossed aside their Lawless opponents, and charged at full speed.
Remembering the fight against Destroyer Gaimon.
Graaaaaah-!
-Hah!
He wished he still had Light Sword and more than four undead left, but it didn't matter.
If they could pin it down for even one more second, that was enough.
[Come…… at…… me…….]
[Don’t…… let…… go…….]
Did it sense the crisis?
The Lawless pursued right behind them, but Do-hyun grinned.
Chin.
[……?]
[Some…… thing…… on…… my…… foot…….]
[……A…… thread……?]
The moment it confirmed the thing snagging its ankle was a black thread.
[Using Fuse - Explosion.]
----
A single message, followed by a silent explosion.
It was the fuses Do-hyun had dotted around mid-fight, throwing sky blades in between.
And the end of those threads...
[……This…… is……?]
The King of the Lawless looked down at the hem of his robe.
More precisely, he'd felt something off while backpedaling after kicking a small rock.
It was a thread.
A black-glowing thread exploding silently.
“That was a pain in the ass.”
Throwing sky blades even when they wouldn't connect.
Holding back on Agility despite the risks.
Hiding the fuses so it wouldn't notice if used, and herding it here with everything he had.
“Checkmate, you bastard.”
It was all setup for this moment.
Sssk.
Seeing Do-hyun's sly smirk, the blackened King of the Lawless erupted in uncontrollable rage.
But that rage couldn't fully manifest.
[Block…… ing……!]
-----!!
The simultaneous explosions engulfed it.
‘Now—hit it fast!’
‘Yes, my lord!’
‘Leave it to us!’
‘Liza liza!’
His allies wouldn't miss the opening. They dove into the smoke with Do-hyun.
No matter how much of a battle mage it was, with strong melee—mages were ultimately mages.
They were most vulnerable when swarmed.
Especially in a frenzied onslaught like this.
Ppak! Bbak!
Pueok! Puk-
Graaaah! Grraaah!
Jihad's undead horde unleashed a one-sided beatdown, Charlie delivered elegant pummeling.
Add Do-hyun's Madness-fueled vital strikes.
The red-eyed madman, darkness-infused undead, and former Knight Commander ganged up on one target.
……A bit unsightly, sure. But ganging up always is.
“What’s going on? Can’t see through the smoke.”
“The sounds are brutal…… Don’t know who’s getting hit, but it reminds me of school bullying.”
The silver lining: the massive explosion's smoke hid it from the users.
That was when they were pouring everything into the beating.
[……Kuh…… Aaaah…… Aaah!!]
Choppy screams.
The gruesome noise, all the more chilling for its intermittence, had users covering their ears.
It was a gut-wrenching roar.
But Do-hyun was the opposite.
“……!”
A message floated before his wide eyes.
[Hidden Field Boss, Lawless Leader '???''s HP is below 20%.]
[Phase 3 activates.]
[Lawless Leader 'Pain' opens its eyes.]
And at the same time, he saw it.
Red eyes gleaming through the smoke.
The moment the veiled Phase 3 triggered for the first time.
* * *
Originally, they were outsiders.
Ghost soldiers dwelling in the underworld ruled by the Underworld God Hades.
In an underworld with fixed territories, they wandered on horseback without a home, belonging nowhere.
They had no names.
Born without parents, homes, or flesh, no one gave them names.
-Ghost soldier scum appeared! Run!
-How dare uncivilized trash invade this place……!
-I’ll drag you to the hell of karmic fire……
Some feared them, some scorned them, some were hostile.
They had no place anywhere.
It was natural.
They were the underworld's impurities. Beings that shouldn't have been born.
No one welcomes impurities.
-Filthy outsiders. Today, I’ll exterminate your kind!
-Invading my domain without knowing your place…… Bold, I’ll give you that.
-Outsiders? Filthy impurities acting up?
-There’s no place for you here. Out of mercy, begone.
In the vast underworld, no one welcomed them.
Kraaak! Keheok!
They wandered for a thousand years.
Sacrificing countless kin in the process.
Born in the underworld, but to its territory-obsessed denizens, they were mere outsiders.
Beings that belonged nowhere.
Destined for universal rejection.
Filthy impurities.
Nuisances just for existing.
Those labels stuck like tails, forcing fights with countless others.
They often got wiped out after crossing the wrong ‘Lords.’
-Why…… kill…… us? Why…… are we…… rejected……?
To those cries, he replied.
-Dunno. My mood was just bad.
-Ah, if I had to pick one—hate seeing nameless savages strut around.
……Just that.
All our pain, for reasons like that?
If we were rejected for lacking names.
If we were doomed to suffer eternally as uncivilized trash.
-Fine…… Good…… If that’s…… the world’s…… law……
That name. I’ll take it.
-I shall call myself ‘Pain.’
But I won’t just take it.
In the underworld, names hold power.
[The Underworld's Gate peers into your life.]
[Your name is acknowledged.]
[You will live a life worthy of your name.]
The pain of lost kin.
The pain of universal rejection.
The pain of a life as filthy impurities, stoned and stabbed by all.
-All…… that…… pain…… I…… shall…… bear……
One bearer of pain is enough.
His rage, bearing all pain—they would endure it.
And that day, a Lawless was born.