Chapter 165

Boom! Boom!

Looking at the BattleNet connector that seemed like it could explode at any moment, Shizuru gritted her teeth.

'It can't hold out for long.'

If only she had added more devices to the BattleNet connector in case the Sword kings' status abnormality was lifted during the game.

She did add the function to forcibly log out if the Sword kings' condition improved during the game, but that was all.

Since she thought the Sword King was completely under control, she decided to save the power of the Gift on the BattleNet connector.

But now, it seemed like that decision might backfire.

'If I want to use Enchantment again in this situation, there's only one way.'

She has to release the enchantment and subjugation on the key figures of the Japanese government and concentrate the power of the Gift on the Sword King.

Ito Shizuru quickly thought it over.

Whose enchantment to release, and who to leave behind.

'I'll keep the prime minister and chairman under it...'

Except for the core figures in business and politics, she released all the enchantments and took a deep breath.

She could do this.

Anyway, the Sword King who had fallen for her once already...

With this level of power, she could definitely enchant him again.

Boom!

The BattleNet connector finally exploded.

The Sword King slowly stood up from within.

Exuding a refreshed aura, he gently asked Shizuru standing there.

"Hmm... Who are you?"

Unlike when he was enchanted by Shizuru, the Sword King now spoke in Korean.

Shizuru, who had learned fluent Korean when enchanting the Sword King, replied in a smooth Korean.

"Don't you... remember me?"

"Who are you?"

'Fortunately it seems he doesn't remember the current situation.'

If he had recalled the strange tricks Seong Jihan pulled in the game, he would have cut off her head immediately.

Since he didn't, there was ample opportunity to enchant him again.

Ito Shizuru approached the bewildered Sword King with a sad look, taking out a handkerchief from her pocket.

"I'm... someone Jihan sent."

"Jihan did...?"

While mentioning Seong Jihan's name to lower Sword King's wariness, she continued speaking casually.

"Why am I... in Japan...?"

"That's a long story."

To the confused Sword King, Shizuru, who could now get close, embraced him.

"Simply put, many people, including the National Intelligence Service, are making efforts to rescue you from the hands of Japan."

And as she spoke, she approached the Sword King.

"Why am I..."

"It's simple. Because you love me so much."

Shizuru, who could enchant, captivate and obsess him, activated every possible status condition on him.

"Ugh... It was you...!"

At first his face was full of rage, but...

But as he looked at Shizuru's transcendent beauty, his expression gradually softened.

She gave a triumphant smile.

'Success.'

With things having gone this far, it was over.

He might resist at first, but...

What man could defy her?

"Ugh... This bitch...! Ganjang! Makya!"

As the twin swords were summoned and powerful sword energy released towards Shizuru...

She didn't waver one bit in the face of the Sword King's attack.

"Aegis."

Whoosh!

A massive barrier manifested, seemingly to protect Shizuru's body.

The rainbow-colored barrier floated another pristine white shield to the front, bouncing away all the sword energy.

Seeing this, the Sword King's eyes widened.

"Ah, The Aegis Ring.... Why do you have it?"

The Aegis Ring.

It was a ring Sword King had obtained in BattleNet, capable of summoning the absolute barrier Aegis for 5 minutes.

Originally, this ring belonged to the Sword King's wife Seong Jiah, but...

"Oh, did I say it was your wife's? But you gave it to me as a proposal gift. Hehe, don't you remember?"

"Sh-Shizuru...!!"

"You gave it to me, and now you're angry. How amusing."

Ito Shizuru was thoroughly enjoying herself.

"Hurry up and come back to me, Ryuhei."

Ryuhei.

Upon hearing that name, the Sword Kings' face completely stiffened.

Remembering how many times Shizuru whispered that name to him.

The memories of sharing love with her and willingly playing the role of her servant flashed through his mind like a mirage.

"Ha, hahaha...."

Strength left the hands gripping the twin swords.

No man could defy Shizuru.

That was... the kind of being she was.

The anger welling up in his chest disappeared, replaced by a yearning for her.

He now wished to remain by her side.

As his emotions rapidly shifted, Sword King was about to give up his resistance when...

Swish!

'This is...!'

An unfamiliar energy he had never felt before began swirling within his body.

As his mind, which had been clouding in front of Shizuru, cleared once more...

-I'll raise Seah like my own daughter.

Suddenly, he recalled what Shizuru had said before.

-In Japan.

'She... even has her eyes on Seah.'

Although she said she would raise her like her own daughter, it was clear that Yoon Seah was merely a means to bring Seong Jihan to her.

And after capturing Seong Jihan...

What would happen to Yoon Seah?

If she was useless, she would be disposed of.

If useful, she would be made to serve her like himself.

"Kuk... Kuk kuk...!"

He couldn't allow that.

He couldn't let it happen.

He couldn't let his daughter fall into such a swamp.

He could not drag his daughter into this quagmire as well.

Yoon Sejin looked at Shizuru.

An incredibly charming woman.

Despite the anger that swelled up from the stunning beauty that shook the world, his mind was captivated.

'Yes... the problem is that I can see it.'

The 'eyes' that kept making him look at that transcendent beauty.

Swish!

As the Sword King raised his sword...

"Rebelling quite a bit, aren't you? I'll have to punish you later."

Shizuru spoke leisurely, trusting in the Aegis shield, but...

Seeing the sword tip directed not at her but at Sword King himself, her face stiffened.

No, more precisely, the tip was aimed at his eyes.

"W-Wait a moment...!"

Stab!

Without any hesitation, The Sword king pierced his own eyes with twin swords.

* * *

Drip! Drip!

Blood flowed from Ganjang and Makya's blades, dropping to the floor.

"Refreshing."

As the brisk energy dominated the space once again, Ito Shizuru asked with a trembling voice, "Are you... Are you crazy?"

Hearing that, the Sword King bared his teeth and laughed.

"Yes, I've gone crazy."

[The 'Enchantment' status has failed to activate.]

[The 'Dependency' status has failed to activate.]

[The 'Obsession' status has been activated.]

Seeing the system messages, Shizuru's eyes widened.

Enchantment and dependency failed, but only obsession succeeded?

'This is the worst...!'

"Jihan told me to bring your head if I wanted to be acknowledged as Seah's father. However, I think differently. I don't deserve to be forgiven. And I don't plan on leaving any trace of you in this world either."

Swish!

As Ganjang traced a horizontal line...

Boom!

An intense explosion rang out.

Power even greater than before.

Perhaps because he had pierced his own eyes, sealing his vision, The Sword King could now unleash his power towards Shizuru much more sincerely.

"Yes. I simply want to shred all your flesh to pieces and grind even your bones into dust... That's all I desire."

As he spoke of shredding Shizuru, Sword King's murderous aura steadily intensified.

Shizuru had no choice but to admit that her plan had failed.

Instead now...

Creak!

'If it goes like this, even the Aegis might shatter...!'

Rather than re-enchanting Sword King, her own life took priority.

'If I knew it would be like this, I should have released the charm of the Prime Minister and Chairman and focused only on securing the Sword King...!'

Because she had pointlessly left the prime minister and chairman under enchantment, the Sword King brainwashing procedure didn't utilise her full power.

She deeply regretted her decision earlier.

Seeing the situation, she had to flee immediately but...

'Is there still some way... If I lose Sword King here, it's over but... Should I free the prime minister's enchantment and try again?'

Because of her lingering attachment to Sword King, she had hesitated for a moment, but...

Bang!

"Aack...!"

The Aegis shield exploded.

As the barrier collapsed, and the energy sword grazed her face, Shizuru finally regained her senses.

Crack! Crack!

Unlike normal where a light touch of sword energy would just leave a cut, cracks spread across her entire face.

Feeling her face shatter, Shizuru clenched her teeth.

"My face...!"

"Don't worry. I'll tear that apart for you."

Whoosh!

As the energy sword pierced the Aegis shield once again, Shizuru hastily clasped her necklace.

Flash!

Her body disappeared, wrapped in light.

Having given up any lingering attachment after her face cracked, she used the teleport magic imbued in the necklace.

Unable to see with his lost vision, the Sword King clicked his tongue after sensing Shizuru's presence disappear.

"Ha, she ran away. She really values her own life..."

How many defensive items did she keep equipped just in case?

She really took every precaution.

Just then...

"Um... Are you okay?"

Perhaps alarmed by the continuous explosions, a Japanese staff member had entered from outside to check the situation.

"Hee, hehehe!"

And upon entering the room and seeing the Sword King with blood flowing from his eyes, he freaked out and sat on the floor.

No, more than the bloodied appearance...

He was frightened by the murderous aura Sword King emitted.

And then...

"Hoo..."

Sensing his presence after losing his eyes, the Sword King made a wicked smile.

"Good. Luckily there are plenty of hostages here."

* * *

=Games 1 and 2. Korea wins them both...!

=With the Sword King absent, the Japanese team could not stop Seong Jihan!

=But really, what could have happened to the Sword King...?

The dynamics of the games between Korea and Japan deviated completely from the general expectations. When the Sword King logged out, Japan, without a player to stop Seong Jihan, crumbled disappointingly.

'Ha, unbelievable.'

However, despite consecutive wins in games 1 and 2, Seong Jihan's expression was grim.

And for good reason.

He just had to explode the Dark Soul Vortex and feed the leaf, then it would've been over.

But with the sudden logout of the Shadow King, it was perplexing.

'Editing abilities... How far can they go? Controlling the BattleNet Connector, seriously, it's a headache.'

At this point, shouldn't it be rated as EX rather than SSS? Seong Jihan blamed himself for not simply opening his mouth, stuffing the leaf without talking to the Sword King.

'Has brother-in-law become enchanted again...?'

He probably had to hurry up and get stronger, then personally go to Japan.

Seeing the Sword King's skill, if he reached Diamond and got his Martial Soul to around 200, he could suppress him without issues.

Once he grew that much and force-fed the leaves to his brother-in-law, he had to grind Ito Shizuru into dust.

As Seong Jihan thought of Shizuru and clenched his teeth...

"Jihan, are you okay?"

Coach Noh carefully asked with a concerned expression.

Despite easily winning 2-0 against their tough opponent Japan, Seong Jihan seemed irritated.

The coach roughly guessed the reason.

'It must be because of the Sword King. It seems like Jihan did something...?'

From the coach's perspective, thanks to this, they obtained an easy victory in the Korea-Japan match. That alone was a big gain for them.

But Jihan's perspective would obviously differ.

"If you're not feeling well, you can rest for the next matches."

Considering Seong Jihan's mood, Coach Noh cautiously suggested this, but...

"No. I have to crush those bastards."

Seong Jihan stood up, gritting his teeth.

There's no time to rest.

They need to be trampled.

"Well, alright."

Although Coach Noh tried to maintain a casual expression at that response.

He couldn't hide the joy.

Honestly, with Sword King and Seong Jihan both gone,

He was worried whether Korea could win against Japan or not.

But with Seong Jihan participating, no need to worry.

'You really are a blessing.'

And so, the 3rd game...

=The third match seems to be a training map.

=In fact, now everyone's attention is not on the game map, but on whether the Sword King will participate or not. Oh... Sword King didn't participate again!

=Yes. If you watch the replay of game 1, you'll see the conversation between Seong Jihan and Sword King was quite meaningful. It seemed like the Sword King didn't recall anything that happened!

=Um... Could it be... some kind of brainwashing has been lifted...?

=It's still too early to say, but... Seong Jihan. Whatever tactics he used are impressive. In the first match, it seemed like he was ultimately at a disadvantage against the Sword King!

= The explosion of the sword, now thinking about it, seems intentional!

=Anyway, if the Sword King doesn't participate in the third match... We can look forward to the game result!

The voices of the commentators were brimming with enthusiasm.

Though they had sensed defeat when Seong Jihan was losing to Sword King earlier, However, the unexpected 3:0 victory in the Korea-Japan match was becoming a reality, and they couldn't contain their excitement.

-Wait, what the hell is going on??

-Is the Sword King really coming to his senses? Wow.

-The Japanese players all seemed quite intimidated too. They were so lively when the Sword King was around, but look at them now Lol.

-If by some chance the Sword King returns and we get Seong Jihan and the Sword King duo leading Korea, we'll sweep everything. Please, get yourself together, old man.

In the chat window, instead of showing interest in Korea's 2:0 lead, there was a complete focus on the Sword King.

-Seong Jihan! We thought you would somehow save our Sword King!

-Were those guys from the Sword King fanclub still alive? Wow.

-These guys used to curse Seong Jihan the most, but now they are supporting him. They really have no shame.

Especially the Sword King fans who had been quiet recently were now actively cheering Seong Jihan after becoming active again.

Until now, they had secretly cheered for the Sword King in the shadows.

But thanks to Seong Jihan's attempt, if the Sword King would just regain his sanity, they could cheer for him openly again.

-Seong Jihan! Seong Jihan!

-Please save Sword King!!

They actively cheered for Seong Jihan, who they had cursed the most in the past.

And then, not even 5 minutes into the training map...

=Oh? This is strange. Seong Jihan hasn't attacked yet but...

=The Japanese players are starting to log out...!

Following Sword King's logout in game 1...

The Japanese national team players in game 3

"What? What's going on?"

"Why are they logging out...!"

One by one, an unprecedented situation of forced logouts unfolded.

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