Death sentence.
Death sentence. 'That wasn't your real strength...?'
Jang Jin-cheol bit his lip hard. Sertina. End of Life. He recalled her fierce battle with Lee Han-yul. Could she possibly be weakened somehow?
......He entertained the vain hope for a moment.
'No way—she was just toying with us!'
Not content with her overwhelming power and combat prowess, she even possessed considerable intelligence—far beyond what the game had shown. And of all things, it had to be the greatest world boss in history, Sertina.
The moment he realized this, it hit him.
She had descended upon this world in her absolute worst form.
A divine punishment meant to exterminate all life.
And that punishment was now heading straight...
......Toward them.
'Pathetic.'
I regarded them with contempt. Hyeonwol Guild. Korea's strongest, packed with top players.
I'd been curious about their skills, so I'd accepted the duel using the sword Lee Min-ho had given me.
'......Utterly worthless.'
Even after matching my physical specs almost perfectly to theirs, that Lee Han-yul guy's movements were so predictable.
Well, no one in Pandela could match me either, so maybe it was inevitable.
This only confirmed it further.
My existence was nothing less than a catastrophe on Earth.
The air was thick with impending doom long before it arrived.
Once the swordsman fell, they all started edging back, angling for escape. Their eyes, heavy with defeat, showed no fight left.
I fixed a sharp glare on the holy knight among them—the one who'd attacked Cha Eun-joo.
[Hyeonwol] Jang Jin-cheol's entire body shuddered.
He knew he was the target. Grimacing, he slammed his shield up with all his might.
"I'll hold her off—everyone, run!"
"B-but...!"
"We can't all die here!"
At Jang Jin-cheol's shout, the Hyeonwol guild members hesitated, glancing around.
I felt my grip tighten on the sword. Filthy hypocrite. Dragging the nation down the path to ruin by clinging to his twisted sense of justice to the end.
I scowled deeply.
"Go back and tell your guild—Sertina has appeared!"
"Urgh...... Understood!"
Wiping away tears, the Hyeonwol members bolted without looking back.
I watched Jang Jin-cheol with calm eyes.
"That pointless heroism of yours would've been better spent exposing the government coalition's schemes ages ago."
With those words, I reached out my hand.
"No one...escapes."
The moment I declared it into the air, the fleeing guild members' bodies stiffened rigidly.
"Grrraaah!"
Pained groans echoed through the silence.
Blood Coagulation
Temporarily seals all movement and skill use for up to 100 targets. Cannot be released without an active healer's 'Purification'-series skill.
And right away, I activated another skill.
Blood Reversion
Veins bulged across the Hyeonwol guild members' bodies like twisting branches, vivid and swollen like overripe fruit. They grew, then burst through their skin.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Agh! Aaagh!"
Sounds like grapes popping. Blood sprayed from every inch of their bodies like an endless fountain—arms, legs, torsos, nothing spared.
The road was drenched in gore in seconds.
The blood rose into the air, coalescing into faces—the exact faces of the Hyeonwol guild members.
"Feel what it's like to be devoured by your own blood."
I quietly pronounced their deaths.
At once, the bloody visages' mouths split into jagged grins, revealing razor fangs. They lunged at the immobilized guild members' faces.
-Mmph! Mmmph!
Crunch! Crack!
Flesh and skulls pulverized. Their twitching limbs went limp soon after, vanishing entirely into the horrors.
All that remained was blood splattered everywhere. No flesh, no bones.
I manipulated the blood, gathering and compressing it completely—not a single drop left behind.
A small blood orb formed in my palm.
"Gotta erase the evidence."
I clenched my fist, crushing it. The blood's energy absorbed into me, faintly restoring my HP—damage from that direct hit by Apocalypse Meteor earlier.
"Now, only one left..."
I turned to the survivor.
[Hyeonwol] Kim Jin-woo.
"H-hic!"
He met my eyes and collapsed in terror.
'He's the one the pro-government faction targeted, right? Poor guy. From his reaction, he has no idea.'
I approached Kim Jin-woo slowly.
Step... step...
With each one, his trembling worsened, breaths ragged, face ashen.
"P-please... spare me! Mercy!"
He propped himself up on his hands, kicking at the asphalt. But he soon hit a metal fence.
I crouched right in front of him, hands on knees, leaning in. Reaching toward his face, I murmured,
"You're coming with me."
"Guh..."
With a final gasp, Kim Jin-woo passed out.
Cha Eun-joo walked slowly through Sertina's house, hand in hand with Tier. Her wounds were already healing, and the pain faded quickly as time passed.
"How's it feel? Can you walk okay?"
"Yeah. Way better than before. Thanks."
"Heehee, no biggie."
Tier beamed, scratching her head cheerfully.
Cha Eun-joo smiled back at her. As they kept walking, she spotted the ominously tattered clothes piled by the entrance and pointed.
"Huh? What's wrong with those clothes?"
A black hoodie and short denim shorts, riddled with holes—unwearable.
"Oh, those? Sertina wore them to save you, Unnie, and they got wrecked."
"She... saved me wearing those?"
Cha Eun-joo's eyes widened.
"Yeah. She said they were her favorites... but oh well, nothing to be done. We'll get new ones."
"Ugh..."
Cha Eun-joo bowed her head, rubbing her neck apologetically.
'That warm embrace in the Han River... She was shielding me with her body.'
Her gratitude toward Sertina swelled even more.
"Don't feel too bad. She wore them to hide her face anyway... and now we've got a perfect replacement!"
"Wait, you mean that doll mask...?"
Cha Eun-joo's voice pitched up in panic.
"She seems pretty satisfied with it. That's what matters."
Uh... does it?
Just as Cha Eun-joo opened her mouth to protest—
Beep beep beep—ding!
The door slid open smoothly after the passcode.
"Ah, Sertina!"
Tier waved with a bright smile.
Sertina appeared through the open door.
"You're all out here."
"Yeah! But... what's that on your shoulder?"
It felt like déjà vu.
Sertina shrugged nonchalantly.
"This? A person."
"I-I know it's a person, but..."
Cha Eun-joo, peering closely with narrowed eyes, suddenly gaped.
"Huh? Jin-woo? Jin-woo?!"
Soft lamplight cast a cozy glow over the master bedroom. Cha Eun-joo and I sat side by side, examining the man laid out on the bed.
I spoke first.
"You know him?"
"Yeah, Kim Jin-woo. Hyeonwol Guild's top gunner."
Gunner... right, the firearm specialist class.
Truth be told, I wasn't all that familiar with modern guns. Sure, Pandela had them, but why pick them off one by one when I could charge the enemy lines and swing my sword wide...
......That was always faster.
"He was a comrade opposing the government's power grab... and it ended like this."
Cha Eun-joo grimaced bitterly.
I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them.
"But we saved him."
"Yeah, he's safe now. Thanks to you."
A small smile bloomed on Cha Eun-joo's lips—directed at me.
Her gaze made me oddly shy; I looked away and murmured,
"You aren't tired? It's late—go rest."
"Pfft, that's my line to you. You had the roughest day."
"Physical exertion doesn't tire me much."
I shook my head.
"I'm fine, don't worry. Besides, your pain isn't fully gone yet."
"Well, if you insist... Guess I have no choice. You rest well too, Sertina."
Cha Eun-joo rose quietly. At the door, she paused and glanced back.
"What?"
"Hm... no, nothing. Just... if anything happens, call me."
"......Sure."
I tilted my head slightly.
'Hard to imagine any problems.'
Kim Jin-woo. Hyeonwol's top gunner or not, no sane person would cause a scene in front of me, right?
I'm the strongest in the world, after all.
"Hm..."
I scratched my head quietly.
Still, just in case. If he freaked out and trashed the place...
That might be a slight issue.