Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: The Fall of the Death King
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—Leader of Mad Castle. Facing the Death King Alone.
—The Reckless Challenge of the Man Called the Super Tanker.
—Is There Hope for New Zealand?
The situation in New Zealand was being updated in real-time through news outlets worldwide.
Short videos and photos of Wang-sik confronting the Death King were broadcast, and the news of two acute gates being destroyed was delivered as a breaking story.
—Mad Castle, Risking Their Lives for New Zealand.
—What Are Earth's Other Heroes Doing?
Was it because Mad Castle had stepped up?
Hesitant nations began announcing the dispatch of support troops all at once.
—The Heroes Gather in One Place.
—Support Comes Too Late. Why Did They Hesitate?
A flood of articles, divided between objective and subjective viewpoints, appeared.
Though their leanings and arguments differed, there was one thing they all mentioned.
—Can He Last for 12 Hours?
That was the time it would take for Earth's S-rankers to assemble.
—It Will Be a Cruel Time for New Zealand.
Everyone knew.
For the man facing the Death King, 12 hours was synonymous with death.
And if he fell, New Zealand would not be safe either.
Sssshhh!
A green rain was falling from the sky.
Whatever the world's media was saying, it meant nothing on the battlefield.
Blocking the acid rain with his protective shield, Wang-sik slammed into the Death King's knee.
It was a reckless attack, but a necessary one.
The Death King watched Wang-sik move behind it and turned its body.
'Slow.'
Wang-sik attacked from various angles to grasp the Death King's movements.
'Its vision is limited to its eyes. It's slow to turn, has a habit of turning to the left, and is sensitive to attacks on its head.'
He had learned a great deal by clashing with it head-on, but the price was not small.
Clang!
The massive scythe fell from close range, as if chopping with an axe.
As he raised his shield overhead, the impact drove his body halfway into the ground.
He was immobilized.
Seizing the opportunity, the Death King lifted one foot.
Its intention to crush him was clear.
Shhrrrk!
Instead of blocking the foot, Wang-sik shot a chain toward the other foot, the one supporting its weight.
Pulling the chain wrapped around its ankle, he made the Death King's center of balance waver slightly, halting its attack. In that moment, Wang-sik used the chain's tension to pull himself out of the pit.
However, the Death King still held the offensive.
The horizontally swinging scythe was now thickly imbued with black demonic energy.
A strike unlike any before.
The Death King, sensing an opportunity, had put its power into it.
Sparks that tore through the air erupted, and a dense wave of demonic energy washed over Wang-sik.
Craaaash!
Wang-sik was pushed back once more, carving a long furrow in the ground.
This time, at the last moment, his knee buckled violently.
The accumulated impact had taken its toll.
In truth, though he didn't show it, every muscle in his body was screaming.
The problem was that the Death King had noticed it too.
As Wang-sik endured the pain where he stood, the Death King, unlike before, charged forward to attack.
The green rain from the sky vanished, replaced by a bombardment of spears filled with demonic energy, and the scythe, heavily charged with the same energy, aimed for his waist.
"Damn it!"
He barely managed to block the scythe, but it wasn't a perfect defense.
Losing his balance, Wang-sik's body tilted to the right.
In that instant, the Death King opened its jaw wide and shrieked.
Dark Breath.
A powerful, concentrated energy, the kind a dragon might use, engulfed Wang-sik.
"Kuh!"
Wang-sik lowered his stance as much as possible and raised his shield.
The hand gripping the shield tore, and blood began to flow. He gritted his teeth and held on, but he couldn't stop himself from being pushed back.
With each inch he was pushed back, his center of gravity shifted, and the shield threatened to lose its balance.
If the shield were to fold, he would have to take the Dark Breath with his body.
Sensing the danger, Wang-sik clenched his jaw.
"A mere skeleton!"
Wang-sik braced his legs, putting strength into them. And then, facing the breath head-on, he began to advance.
Seeing the surprised glint in the Death King's red eyes, Wang-sik smirked.
"Go on, try harder. I'm just getting started."
Just as he finished speaking.
BOOM!
An explosion erupted on the Death King's head.
"Lay off my friend, or you're dead."
Following Min Ha-na's attack, someone else approached Wang-sik's side.
"I'll heal you."
"Just cast the buffs and fall back."
Gong Yeong-ji didn't argue. She cast buffs to increase his strength and agility, then retreated.
"You all heard about its weak points, right?"
There was no time to rejoice that his friends had arrived.
"It's disadvantageous if we drag this out. That bastard has a lot of tricks up its sleeve."
The team's arrival was a huge help, but it also meant he had more people to protect.
"Get behind me."
Even Sa Seon-gi, who had been hidden, appeared behind Wang-sik.
Rumble!
Just then, a spell cast by the Death King turned the surroundings into ruins.
Fragments scattered chaotically from the explosion of concentrated demonic energy.
It was a familiar sight to Wang-sik, but Min Ha-na couldn't help but be shocked.
'If that hits you, you're dead.'
Could anyone normally withstand this?
Even though it was an area-of-effect spell, it had enough power to tear most tankers to shreds.
'If it wasn't for Wang-sik, we'd already be dead.'
The thought crossed her mind, but there was no time for praise.
"Seon-gi has to do it. The crack on the crown of its head. If we don't finish it in one blow, we won't get a second chance."
"I can do it."
Sa Seon-gi's emotionless reply was a great source of strength at that moment.
Saying there wouldn't be a second chance was a judgment Wang-sik made based on his own condition.
The accumulated damage was significant. In fact, it wouldn't be strange if he collapsed right then and there.
"Seon-gi, get out of the combat zone. Don't show yourself until I create an opening."
As soon as the order was given, Sa Seon-gi slipped out from behind Wang-sik's shield.
"Yeong-ji, stay behind me no matter what, just focus on healing and buffs. Ha-na, focus your attacks on its legs. The left ankle."
"Got it."
Wang-sik drew up a plan based on the fight so far.
From then on, he showed them with actions rather than words.
First, he closed in to make it turn, then wrapped a chain around its left ankle to give Min Ha-na an opening.
Min Ha-na, who had worked with him for a long time, unleashed a burst of flames at the exact moment Wang-sik intended.
BOOM!
The Death King's body staggered.
The force was on a completely different level from the impacts Wang-sik had been delivering.
Naturally, the Death King's gaze turned to Min Ha-na, but Wang-sik didn't let it.
He wrapped two chains, one around its scythe and the other around its neck, and pulled with all his might, as if dragging a slave.
While Min Ha-na continued to strike the same spot, the Death King couldn't stand it any longer and unleashed an area-of-effect spell.
A roar directed at the sky.
Seeing the telltale action that preceded all its AoE spells, Wang-sik cast a protective shield over the area where Min Ha-na and Gong Yeong-ji were. He, on the other hand, blocked the green rain falling from the sky with just his shield.
"An opening."
Wang-sik moved his shield and unleashed a Holy Strike on the knee of the towering Death King.
Its power was nothing compared to Min Ha-na's, but it was a fatal skill for the undead, and a blow he had deliberately kept hidden.
As the Death King's knee buckled violently, Min Ha-na reacted.
A giant spear of flame fell from the sky, piercing straight through the Death King's knee.
As the successive attacks landed perfectly, the Death King finally fell to its knees.
'We have to end it here.'
Their first coordinated attack had landed without a single error.
The Death King wasn't an idiot; it would be prepared for this next time.
"Holy Strike!"
Wang-sik showed his resolve through his actions.
Another Holy Strike exploded in front of the Death King's lowered face.
The Death King, sensitive to attacks on its face, quickly straightened up and raised its head.
'Now!'
Thinking the same thing, Min Ha-na used Fire Burst on the Death King's torso, drawing its attention.
And at some point, Sa Seon-gi had leaped up from behind the Death King.
The decisive blow.
But not everything went according to plan.
The Death King's head bent completely backward until the back of its skull touched its spine.
Its upturned red eyes met Sa Seon-gi's as he leaped.
'It knew.'
Black breath gathered in the Death King's open mouth.
"Stop!"
Wang-sik knew something had gone wrong.
He hastily shot out his chains, but it only made him realize more clearly that he was too late.
'No...'
Just as everyone froze in shock.
A sharp cry rang out.
"Cure Light!"
A mysterious light exploded before the Death King's eyes.
It was a skill unleashed by Gong Yeong-ji.
Though small, the power of the holy energy exploding right in front of it briefly blurred the Death King's vision.
What they gained was a fleeting moment.
For Sa Seon-gi, that was enough.
Sa Seon-gi, who had been falling, kicked off the ground and leaped up again.
As the upturned crown of its head rapidly approached, he clenched his right hand.
CRACK!
A thick, meter-long awl bored into the Death King's skull.
Kuaaaah!
The Death King shrieked and writhed, and the condensed breath sprayed out erratically in all directions.
"Get behind me."
Wang-sik raised his shield five paces away from the Death King. Behind him, his three comrades took their positions and held their breath.
"It's not over yet. We have to go one more time."
"I'll do it this time," Min Ha-na said, glaring at the Death King.
The moment the breath spraying in all directions stopped, Sa Seon-gi moved first.
The Death King showed instinctive fury toward Sa Seon-gi, who had attacked the crown of its head, and immediately swung its scythe. But Sa Seon-gi moved swiftly and dodged it.
The wildly swinging scythe was suddenly blocked by a golden shield.
As all movement ceased, Wang-sik looked at the Death King and smiled.
"This is the end, skeleton."
A spear of lava fell from the sky.
CRACK!
The lava spear pierced through its skull and hit the ground.
For a moment, it was as if time had stopped.
Psssss.
On the gentle breeze, the Death King's body began to scatter, and soon it vanished without a trace.
"Battle over. Good work."
Hearing Wang-sik's words, the members' legs gave out, and they collapsed to the ground.
They didn't even have the strength left to cheer.
"Ugh, every bone in my body aches. I'm never fighting a skeleton again."
Min Ha-na clutched her back as she sat down, and Sa Seon-gi let out a long breath.
"Sob. Sob."
Finally, Gong Yeong-ji burst into the tears she had been holding back.
"I was so scared, waah!"
Once the tears started, Gong Yeong-ji began to cry out loud.
Meanwhile, Wang-sik walked over to where the Death King had disappeared.
There, a mithril staff emitting a sky-blue light lay on the ground.
Even lying on the ground, the staff didn't lose its mystical aura, radiating a holy power that soothed the heart just by being near it.
Wang-sik could tell that this was the power that had sealed the Death King.
A mythic-grade item that had infused the gate with its magical power.
On Earth, it would be considered unrankable.
—Staff of the White Cloud's Seal.
After checking its stats, Wang-sik went over to the crying Gong Yeong-ji.
"You did well. Our mascot."
"Mister, waah."
Gong Yeong-ji threw herself into Wang-sik's arms and cried even harder.
In truth, she had been so terrified that she'd wanted to give up several times.
A heart dedicated to her comrades?
A spirit of sacrifice for the whole world?
She had none of that.
The deep fear had overshadowed everything.
All she could do was struggle to escape the fear.
This was how terrifying real combat was.
"Take it."
Wang-sik offered the staff to the crying Gong Yeong-ji.
"A gift for your debut battle."
"Congratulations, rookie."
"You were excellent."
Receiving congratulations from the three of them, Gong Yeong-ji collapsed to the ground and started crying all over again.
"Thank you. Waah!"
Even she didn't know what she was thankful for.
The news of the Death King's demise instantly changed the atmosphere in New Zealand.
The exodus came to a halt, and the reporters who had been speaking of despair fell silent.
Mad Castle.
In an instant, that name became a symbol of hope, spreading across the globe.