198th Round: The Contenders for Best Performance
I stared at the jawbone I had just ripped out.
Altear’s bloody saliva-filled mouth was laid bare before me. Her tongue, torn in half, dangled grotesquely.
“Tch.”
I furrowed my brows, pushing away Altear’s hand as she writhed in pain.
I fit the jaw back into her face like a puzzle piece.
“If you utter another word, there won’t be a next time.”
I flowed Water Ether into Altear’s severed mouth.
Poof! A radiant blue light flashed as the flesh of her torn jaw seamlessly reattached itself. The blood that had been flowing stopped instantly, and the severed joints and flesh healed as if by magic.
“Ahhh… Ugh…”
Altear touched her newly healed jaw with trembling hands and began to cry uncontrollably.
I opened my eyes in genuine surprise at her unexpected reaction.
“I-I’m sorry… please… I’ll do anything you ask… it hurts too much. Waaah…”
“Huh?”
I couldn’t help but emit a bitter laugh; after living for 500 years, what was this nonsense about squeezing out tears?
Even Hector Cassas demonstrated a calculated and sophisticated battle strategy. It was rather pitiful compared to the grandiose proclamations he made when he said he would stop me.
‘Well, suits me if that’s what it comes to.’
Indeed, this compliance was preferable to having her stoke her fighting spirit unnecessarily.
I nodded and was about to pull out the Shadow Chains to restrain her from running away or causing trouble upon returning to the Amusement Park.
“Miss Goddess…”
Then it dawned on me.
Altear’s mischief began long before.
“Don’t… cry, Miss Goddess.”
From behind me, a voice spoke. I turned my head sharply.
The Gloom Moskden. His massive dark-blood-infected figure in the overturned tin armor stood silently in the shadows of the Amusement Park.
“Miss Goddess. I’ll… get rid of the one… who’s tormenting you.”
Moskden’s gaze was set upon Altear, whose blood-soaked body lay pitifully crying.
Zzzztt. The laser sight embedded in place of his left eye was locked onto my forehead. The red beam flickered continuously in a display of rage.
Besides that, the voice didn’t belong to just one person.
“… The monster persecuting the Goddess.”
I looked toward the source of the voice, which came from much higher up.
Thump. A dark form from the gyrodrop perched above descended beside Moskden.
A man wearing a black hat, black goggles, and a black crow mask.
Sshh. From within his black coat, he drew a curved blade shaped like the letter “J” in each of his hands, aiming them at me.
“Kill the monsters. Every last one. Monsters must die.”
The voice of the human hunter Dyrus reverberated from within the crow mask, filled with murderous intent.
The distinct curved blades gleamed sharply in the moonlight. His posture, where one hand was raised over his shoulder and the other extended forward, was especially striking.
“What the…!”
I immediately cursed under my breath, having understood why Altear suddenly began to cry.
Women, after all, use their tears to soften the hearts of men. She had correctly anticipated her allies from different paths being drawn into the pursuit and staged a self-harm hostage show.
“Hmm.”
Then Altear, as if it hadn’t been her shedding tears just moments ago, let out a quiet sigh and rose to her feet.
She whispered to me silently, without the two would-be escapees noticing.
—Your decision to spare me. Do you regret it now?
She said it.
A faint smile played on the corners of Altear’s eyes, mocking my reversed position, now surrounded and under siege.
What a frustrating woman. From start to finish, she was truly the ultimate pain in the neck. I chuckled in resignation, growling out every syllable with disdain.
“Whether I live or die, you’re definitely going to die, you cheeky girl.”
I dislike tricks played using numbers. It always reminds me of Hector Cassas.
So, were all heroes from 500 years ago this crazy? Biting my teeth together, I added another note to the Box of the Dead.
[Eliminate Altea Bathory at all costs. Torture her as much as possible.]
When my residual memory returns, I’ll definitely come to the amusement park from the hatred alone.
Even if I don’t recover my memory, seeing this note will lead anyone to believe Altear holds something important, causing them to definitely come.
‘No matter how many times I die, I’ll kill you eventually.’
Any lingering shred of mercy had vanished.
I will show the merciless 40-hit combo of Jung-yong Park. You’ll have a whole garden of troubles trying to survive.
‘Frankly, this life is already over.’
Even as I prepared for battle, I braced myself for death.
In the previous life, every different choice I made always ended with my death. This meant even the deserters joining me were challenging opponents in a 2 on 1.
Now, with Altear added, it turned to 3 on 1, making a safe escape impossible.
“Dyrus. Moskden. Give me a moment. I will go find Gungnir and join you.”
Behind me, Altear calmly announced this, leisurely walking away from the battlefield.
I clenched my teeth helplessly, unable to stop her strutting around as if it were her backyard.
“Of course, Miss Goddess.”
Just as my gaze flicked to Altear, Dyrus swiftly approached me, swinging his curved blades.
“Ugh!”
Ting Ting Ting! My palms buzzed as Vestark clashed with the curved blades, echoing loudly.
I could see the fiery crimson of Dyrus’ pupils through his black goggles, emanating an obsessive and manic glare. At that moment, I realized:
‘If I lose focus… I die!’
Now, I deeply regret the two Water Ethers I wasted on Altear earlier. I injected my hatred into the Sword of Dooms and unleashed all the Ether I had.
Oooommm. The resonating sword of dooms slowly lifted into the sky.
“Let’s make this quick!”
I drew Espada as well, charging Dyrus with three swords.
Ting Ting Ting! At first, Dyrus managed to defend against my attacks quite skillfully, to which I inwardly marveled. Then, I began to overwhelm him with a barrage of lightning-fast strikes.
“Hmm, hmm! Fantastic!!”
Each of my attacks served a specific function:
The weighty Sword of Dooms.
The traditional approach of Vestark.
The unpredictable strikes from the side with Espada.
I relentlessly assaulted Dyrus under a whirlwind of attacks.
“Rraaagh…!”
Especially the Sword of Dooms gave him the most trouble.
Bang, Boom! Every time it hit, Dyrus’ weapon bent as if under extreme pressure, and inevitably his body suffered cuts from my dual blades’ follow-up attacks.
‘Seven Sword Pierce!’
At one moment, I violently swung all three swords, unleashing streams of magical energy.
Ting Ting Ting! Dyrus wildly drew out numerous curved blades from his coat, deflecting my energy attacks. It was like watching a dance.
The peculiar shape made them look like boomerangs as they flew. In terms of speed and trajectory, they appeared even faster and more unpredictable than magical energy strikes.
“Uh!”
Suddenly, he threw several stones at me.
Glinting blue characters were etched on the rocks, their light becoming dangerously bright in an instant. My Hero Sense extended my sensory perception to its limit.
I drew in a deep breath, stepping back rapidly.
“Trigger.”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The stones exploded simultaneously, flinging me into the ground.
“Khh!”
I immediately rose to my feet despite the dizziness, only to find Dyrus’ presence had disappeared in the explosion’s aftermath.
Using the sharp perception from Hero Sense, I scanned the surroundings before swiftly swinging the Sword of Dooms to my left.
Whoosh! With a powerful air-slicing sound, the Sword of Dooms cut through the vacated space, causing a brief moment of panic.
‘Damn!’
Under the red trajectory of the Sword of Dooms, Dyrus slithered forward with snake-like grace, preparing for a charge.
Whoosh! A cascade of curved blades aimed for my throat.
“Fat… Fatal Thrones!!”
In desperation, the skill command came out as a scream.
Tssss! Vicious thorn tentacles erupted, deflecting all the blades heading towards me.
‘Crazy… the movement is too fluid!’
In frustration, I bit my lips until they bled.
Dyrus and I belonged to the same category – technicians adept at controlling battles with flashier maneuvering.
This type of fighter is tricky to handle initially, but if you’re in the same category, once you grasp the pattern, they become quite easy to combat.
‘The problem is the fight ends before you can grasp the pattern!’
I spun around in irritation while wildly swinging my blade.
Tssss! The precise and stealthy trajectory blades were smashed mid-air.
“Ah… gah, done.”
Moskden, hiding behind the carousel, stuttered out his words.
Zzzzzt! The solution dripped from the shattered syringes emitted a chilling sound. It corroded everything it touched.
It was a corrosive agent, a highly potent one at that. I unconsciously swallowed a dry lump.
“Too many tricks already!”
Combat experience.
Indeed, lack of it was lethal.
‘One on one, and I could maybe try…!!’
Their raw specs were slightly below mine. With it being nighttime, my Qi Skills could amplify an advantage of about 1.7 times.
Dyrus’ erratic movements aside, even now, the one-on-one fight was heavily in my favor.
‘But there’s no solution against coordinated attacks!’
No matter how superior my specs became, reacting to attacks from all angles had its limits.
You can’t just slap extra eyes on the back of your skull. Not even a car rearview camera can do that stuff.
Having to watch out for Moskden’s surprise attacks also diluted the focus on dueling with Dyrus.
‘The automatic defense of sword skills fails.’
Projectile weapons themselves are not “hostile.”
That’s why neither the hostile detection skills like sword skills worked on Moskden’s syringe sniper shots.
It’s so critical and so annoying that there’s no countermeasure other than Hero Sense. I am on the verge of going mad.
‘I definitely have to preserve this residual memory this time!’
Establish dominance early on in combat experience. Then, overwhelm them instantly with lethal force.
So, my immediate priority isn’t just winning right now.
The priority is to maximize the analysis of their power and their combat and coordination styles.
Then I find a good spot near the regression point to die!
‘Ah, whatever! The me of the next life will figure out the rest!’
I decided to think like a college student pushing today’s assignment to tomorrow.
I reached a conclusion in about three seconds and quickly brought an end to the temporary calm.
Kaboom! Pushing off the ground, I charged at Dyrus again.
“Suck!”
Whoosh! In the blink of an eye, I dove into Dyrus’ embrace and swung Espada high into the sky.
His panicked movements became frantic, his stance wildly shaken.
‘Now!’
I spotted a golden opportunity.
I lunged at him with all my might, thrusting Vestark into his chest.
But.
“Shrapnel.”
Damn it! A short command from Altear’s voice came from the side.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I planted my feet firmly and engaged emergency braking, frantically turning my body to divert from the charging path.
“Eternal Sunrise.”
BOOM!
A blazing pillar of white light erupted immediately after.
Blinding light like the sun, engulfing my vision. An overwhelming pillar of light that erased everything in its path.
I lost myself in the insane power without realizing it.
“… Hah.”
I drew in a futile breath at the scene of devastation revealed before me.
The massive pillar supporting the gyro drop, hit by the light, crumbled helplessly. The ground resonated with a prolonged rumble, my ears ringing.
Phwoosh! An enormous dust cloud rose. Mixed with thick fog, visibility shrank further.
“The experience of pulling your jaw out by force is one I’ve not had in 500 years. You’ve taken my first and rare experience, Crow.”
Through the dust cloud, Altear was walking towards me.
Hrummm. The Gungnir that had unleashed the light beam emitted oppressive heat waves.
Clang. The beam glowed crimson. Altear aimed it straight at me.
“Your decisive actions remind me so much of the Knight of the Witch… Mr. Sooho. It makes me nostalgic and also terribly hateful.”
Wheeeeee…
The beam of Gungnir gathered overwhelming light energy once more. In the dazzling light, Altear’s red eyes stared at me intensely.
— Hmm. So she thought of me like that. It’s a complicated feeling.
At that moment, Mr. Sooho chimed in, regardless of place or timing.
I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh, tinged with resignation.
‘That’s it.’
Winning against two was already improbable. Against three? It was a joke.
Especially considering the well-structured balance of close, buffer, and ranged attackers, only a future where I get bound and beaten remains, just as noted on a torn piece of paper.
‘So…!’
There was only one method.
I rapidly rushed towards the three of them. They tensed up immediately, each leveling their weapons at me.
‘Right now!’
At that moment, I narrowed my eyes and hurled my weapon skyward.
And with that, I collapsed to the ground.
“Miss! I surrender! I absolutely surrender!”
Kneeling, I prostrated myself on the ground.
Whoosh! In a manner that even I was surprised by, I violently smashed my head against the ground in successive bows.
The 108 bows of apology in Jung-yong Park style began.
“Hm?”
“Oh?”
“Eh?”
The hair-trigger tension dissipated instantly due to my unexpected actions.
Instead, only the bewildered exclamations from Dyrus, Moskden, and Altear remained.
