Chapter 394: Three-Way War (3)

Cha Si-Eun was stupefied. A part of it was because of the old man who suddenly appeared, but most of it was because of how Skaya Killiland was acting.

'I've always thought she was over-expressive.'

However, Skaya didn't let out a single cry even after her arm was cut off. In fact, she picked her own severed arm up and calmly asked Cha Si-Eun to reattach it.

Cha Si-Eun felt strange. This was the first time she saw Skaya acting like this.

"I-It may hurt a little," she warned.

"Doesn't matter. Just do it as fast as you can."

Skaya's cold eyes were fixed on Namgung Jincheon, who was attacking the Players. She had already come up with dozens of spells, and she discarded each and every one of them after running simulations in her head.

'How do you kill something like that?'

Actually, it hurt.

Her shoulder hurt so much that she wanted to cry.

However, she did not wail—rather—she couldn't do that.

It was a burden she had to endure as a Hero.

'We can't cry.'

If they were to show weakness in front of the Players, the Players' morale would drop.

That was why they always had to be calm. No matter how hurt or sad they were, they had to act dignified as if nothing was going on.

'But it hurts...'

That was why she would make him pay—a hundredfold.

"Si-Eun, hurry."

"I will heal you as fast as I can." As Cha Si-Eun unleashed her magic, Skaya's arm quickly started to reattach to the stump.

Meanwhile, Skaya took in every piece of information from the battlefield and carved it into her head.

"There are so many interesting abilities," Namgung Jincheon remarked. Ever since the battle started, he had only been using his left hand. Everyone else thought he was arrogant, but that one hand managed to stand head-to-head with 8,722 Players.

'How does such a monster exist?'

'It feels like we'll never defeat him.'

'I'd never thought I'd see someone like Erebo again...'

The Players used their own skills to trap Namgung Jincheon. They were so coordinated that none of the Nine Heavens, or even Specter, would be able to escape the attacks.

However, Namgung Jincheon took the brunt of each skill. He didn't even use any tricks or techniques—all he used was his own brute strength.

"Seeing so many varieties of skills makes me feel like I have come to a marketplace."

He had such an immense amount of magic power that it was impossible to even measure it. The Players were trembling under his presence. However, the Players pushed their fear aside and fought with all they had.

"Torsion."

Fwooosh!

Shin Sung-Hyun swung his baton hard, and space itself collapsed. It consumed a ton of magic power, but it was a ghastly attack that created a cage of distorted space.

"Hm?" Leaving only that single word behind, Namgung Jincheon was pulled into the rift in space.

At the same moment, blood started to drip from Shin Sung-Hyun's eyes, nose, and ears. He still hadn't mastered this technique, so the trade-off was high.

"I-It's over."

"I knew the Nine Heavens could do it! The Conductor of Space, everyone!"

"Healers! Help the Guild Master!"

"No matter how strong he is, no one can come back after being sucked into a rift in space—"

Rrriiip!

The Players were stupefied.

The space ripped open like the jaws of a monster, and an old man quietly stepped out of it. It was a surreal sight.

"There was nothing in that space even though I was invited as a guest. It was drab, so I came out."

"What? I-Impossible." Shin Sung-Hyun shook violently. He thought that the technique would be invincible once he mastered it, but it had been ripped apart merely with magic power.

"Hm... Is it something like this?"

All Namgung Jincheon did was release his magic, but the immense power made even the Rankers choke on their breath. His magic tore through space, and tens of Players were sucked into the resulting rift.

"Hm. You have taught me something quite interesting." Namgung Jincheon revealed a smooth smile. He then cut the flow of magic, and the rift closed.

The Players who managed to stand their ground stared at him hopelessly.

'We... Have to beat this guy? How?'

'This is absolute madness.'

'How are we supposed to kill a monster not even one of the Nine Heavens can hurt?'

The thought of losing filled the heads of the eight thousand Players here.

"It's done!" Cha Si-Eun shouted.

Skaya squeezed both hands into fists. It hurt a little, but it was bearable.

"Thanks."

She tossed her robes aside. They were getting in the way. She strode toward the battlefield, which had come to a lull. Every time she took a step, a magic circle would appear in each hand.

"Reverse Gravity, eight layers."

Namgung Jincheon flew into the air as if someone had snatched him up.

'Hm? She moved me?'

Currently, neigong was covering his entire body, so every kind of attack should bounce off of him. As such, his eyes widened just a bit in surprise. This was unprecedented.

Skaya pointed her index finger precisely at him. "Magic Missile."

"Oh..."

The people around her groaned. None of these powerful magic techniques worked on their enemy, so why was she using something like Magic Missle? It was a basic spell even mages on the 1st Floor could learn.

However, her resolute eyes remained fixed on Namgung Jincheon as she uttered, "A hundred and twenty-eight layers."

The spell quietly drew a straight line through the air as it flew through the space between Neo City's ground and its sky.

"...!" Namgung Jincheon's eyes widened. In spite of himself, he used both hands for the first time throughout the battle to block the attack.

Boooom!

Even though he managed to block it, the shock of it made all the clouds in the sky dissipate.

"Use your hands, you cocky bastard."

"..."

Namgung Jincheon's eyes darkened at Skaya's provocation. He looked down at his arm. The artificial skin he was wearing had vanished, and the metal underneath gave off a cold sheen.

"...It has been a long time since I saw what lies beneath my skin."

"I'll show you everything that's inside you. Just wait."

"I shall respectfully decline." Namgung Jincheon steadied himself and slowly 'walked down' from the air. It was a curious sight, appearing as if he were walking down a flight of stairs.

"I have lost interest," he said, looking bored. However, there was a cold fury in his voice.

"Hey, don't you think you provoked him a little too much?" Rahmadat asked reproachfully, scratching his head. "You always act all smart, but you always cause trouble at the important moments."

"...But he ripped my arm off," Skaya complained, pouting. She started to layer her magic circles once more. "Plus, if we want to win, we have no other choice but to hit him with everything we've got while we're in good condition."

"That, I agree with..."

With just one attack from Skaya, the doubt in the Players' minds disappeared.

'Wait, I think we can actually win.'

'If the Archmage is that strong, well, I bet the other Heroes and the Nine Heavens have some tricks up their sleeves.'

'And...'

'There are more than eight thousand of us.'

Shin Sung-Hyun's quick wit allowed him to catch wind of the sudden shift. "He's not invincible! He's human, just like us!"

"Get into position! Attack with precision, and don't stop!"

"He'll get exhausted at some point!"

"The Nine Heavens and the 5 Heroes are with us!"

"Hooahhhh!"

Namgung Jincheon clicked his tongue. He was so close, but now, he had to start all over again just because of a crazy woman.

'How irritating.' He felt exhausted.

However, the neigong surged around him, and each strand had its own target.

"Death shall be the price you people will have to pay for disrupting a god."

Without saying anything, he lowered his hand.

The condensed neigong started falling from the sky like shooting stars.

***

Gong Ju-Ha's eyes were round as she stared at Specter.

"What's going on? Why am I still hallucinating?" Seo Jun-Ho tilted his head before reaching out to grab her cheeks. "Her cheeks feel squishy. She really does seem like a real person."

"I ahm a reaw pershon," Gong Ju-Ha said.

Specter—no, Seo Jun-Ho was surprised. "W-Why are you here?"

"I cay here to shave you."

"Wow! You guys made a rescue party?"

"Yesh."

Seo Jun-Sik finally pulled himself together and let go of her mochi-soft cheeks. "That was my bad. Sorry."[1]

"Ahem. It's all right." She cleared her throat. Unable to hide her embarrassment, she turned to the martial artists instead. "Are they bothering you? Should I get rid of them all?"

"Oh, no. Original told me to save them."

"...Original?"

"We're busy right now, so I'll explain later. Anyway, you can't kill them, so just make it so that they can't fight."

Gong Ju-Ha wasn't quite sure what was going on, but Specter's words were enough.

She nodded and said, "That won't be difficult."

She stared straight at the incoming martial artists.

Bang! Ba-bang! Bang!

Their machine arms and legs flew into the air on their own.

"Woah! What is that sorcery? How the hell did you do that?" Seo Jun-Sik asked, shocked.

"It's a technique I developed while fighting Erebo. I concentrate my elemental skill on my eyes, and I inflict heat on the target with them. I call it, Fiery Eyes!"[2]

"It's a good technique, but the name sucks."

"R-Really?" Gong Ju-Ha's cheeks grew red, and she hastily retorted, "It's just a temporary name, so I can just change it later."

"You really should. It really, really sucks. I bet the technique would get mad if it heard that name."

"..."

It was the name she had settled on after two whole months on the 4th floor. She pursed her lips and grabbed Specter's sleeve. "Anyway, we don't have time for this. The Players are holding back a monster in the city."

"A monster?"

"He's an old man, but he's really strong. We have to hurry."

"...What?" Seo Jun-Sik's face fell. "There are Players in the city? How many of them?! And does that guy have a beard that goes down to his chest and black and white robes?"

"Y-Yes..." The sudden vigor intimidated her, and she started fumbling over her words as she said, "W-Well, there are more than eight thousand Players there..."

"That crazy bastard." Seo Jun-Sik's face crumpled like paper.

It seemed that the Players were currently fighting Namgung Jincheon—an old monster with an immense amount of neigong and mastery over every martial art.

'That's scary enough, but that's not even all of it.'

He had partially broken through the seal on the System Chip. In other words, he could use every banned weapon of Neo City.

'If that son of a bitch unleashed another bomb next to the eight thousand Players...'

Seo Jun-Sik's face grew pale.

"Move! We're moving out now!"

"Yes, sir! The city's this way!"

"No, not there." He turned his head to where his original body was located and said, "We can't go without that guy."

1. He uses a slang-y version of 'sorry' and speaks to Ju-Ha casually the whole time. ☜

2. The phrase translates literally into "hot eyes", and it means to look at something intensely or with passion. It's often used as a term similar to "bedroom eyes". ☜