Chapter 37

Chapter 37.

 

An enormous amount of abyss energy was sucked in all at once.

It was the majesty befitting an Unfathomable-Grade boss of The Void.

However, Ha-kyung merely frowned slightly.

His reaction was quite different from before.

In fact, he did not feel much strain.

‘Perhaps because I found another Ultimate Abyss Fragment, the pressure from Kin-Eater has lessened.’

This was proof that Ha-kyung had grown by another level.

He materialized the abyss energy through the karambit.

Even though he had used the Compression Authority, the blade burned fiercely.

A freezing killing intent poured toward the target point.

But the Frost Bishop did not simply allow itself to be struck.

THOOOOM―!

[The Frost Bishop deploys Frozen Repentance]

[The curse is infesting your entire body]

[Mana Freeze effect: 50%]

[Skill deployment is becoming difficult]

Along with a powerful shock wave, Ha-kyung felt an energy tightening around his entire body.

If his skill was blocked, he would merely end up swinging uselessly in midair.

However, he was not shaken in the slightest.

‘There is no need to worry. I have Curse Breaker.’

[Curse Breaker activated]

[The effect of the curse is reduced by half]

Curse Breaker was quite different from an ordinary artifact.

Since it applied constantly like a passive skill, he did not have to worry about a cooldown.

Instead, it also repelled every curse that granted a beneficial effect.

Of course, such things were not common.

In any case, Ha-kyung focused only on deploying Soul-Sever.

‘Although I mainly use abyss energy, mana is the key to controlling my power.’

It was not as though the curse had no effect at all.

Because of that, deploying the skill was harder than usual.

However, Ha-kyung skillfully kept his balance.

It was thanks to Soul Brand sharpening his senses.

SSSSSSS!

A fifteen-meter blade formed from Ha-kyung’s weapon.

The Fusion Abyss.

When he had used Kin-Eater against the final boss’s ultimate,

it had been similar to the situation where he fought the Abyss Ruler’s Remnant.

Soon, when Ha-kyung swung the karambit, a rotating disc shot out.

KYOOOOOOM―!

The air rippled greatly with a tremendous roar.

Its power was beyond imagination, as though space-time itself were distorting.

Ha-kyung’s body was flung backward by the immense recoil.

Even as he flew far away, he fixed his gaze on the Frost Bishop.

‘Hit it. Please!’

Was this not a Field Boss that had been using all sorts of bizarre skills?

That was why he could not relax until the very end.

Sure enough, the Frost Bishop extended its right hand forward.

SHAAAK! THUD!

Then the staff Ha-kyung had sent flying far away returned in an instant.

Soon, the monster corpses dangling from it opened their eyes all at once.

A red glow spread in an instant.

[Frost Bishop ultimate deployed: Frozen Requiem]

[An unstoppable wave of abyss energy has been detected]

CRAAACK!

Along with a sharp noise, everything around them froze.

There had been no sign whatsoever.

The phenomenon occurred as soon as the Frost Bishop pointed with its staff.

The transformed Soul-Sever Ha-kyung had fired

and the fifteen-meter gray-white disc were no exceptions.

CRACKLE!

Ha-kyung could only wear a hollow expression.

It had truly been a blow into which he had poured all his strength.

Yet it had been blocked so futilely.

His vision went faint.

He would not be able to launch another attack like that in this fight.

It felt as though his odds of defeating the Frost Bishop were falling endlessly.

The team members’ reactions were the same.

“Ah! How could that happen?”

“That was easily the greatest performance I have ever seen from a Melee Damage Dealer... What a shame.”

“It is because the opponent is too strong.”

“Shouldn’t we save him first?”

“The situation is not good enough for that.”

In reality, the Raid Team’s rear line was moving frantically.

Of course, the Ranged Damage Dealers would rest for a moment whenever their mana ran low.

But the Healers were different.

They had to keep providing care without ever reaching mana exhaustion.

It was a position that required skill distribution to an extreme degree.

Because of that, everyone could only watch Ha-kyung’s fall with regret.

‘Let us try to land as well as possible. As long as I do not die, I should be able to survive somehow.’

After all, he had Restoration Veil and Tyrant’s Bracelet.

But just as Ha-kyung’s body almost reached the ground,

TATATAT! THUD! SWISH!

Someone came running at incredible speed.

He leaped lightly, caught Ha-kyung’s body, and landed softly.

At the moment of crisis, the person who had saved Ha-kyung was John.

“The front line must be in chaos. How did you get all the way here?”

“Yoon Chang... something told me to go?”

“Not something. Yoon Chang-ho. The master of Black Water.”

“Not my problem where he is the master of. Anyway, a Tank with some experience told me to go, so I just ran.”

“Sigh.”

“Of course, I did not save you because that old man said so. I would have come even if he had not.”

“Why?”

“Because we are partner.”

“You decided that on your own, John.”

“What does that matter? If we are partner, then we are partner.”

John, equipped with a bootleg Korean patch, was impossible to reason with as usual.

Ha-kyung shook his head.

Still, there was something he had to say.

“Anyway, thank you for saving me.”

“But I feel like I came for nothing.”

“No, you saved me well, so why are you saying that again?”

“I think you think I saved you for nothing, just like last time. John! I am good at reading expressions. John! I am angry!”

“...Please calm down.”

“Fine. John calms down.”

Ha-kyung clicked his tongue at John’s keen eye.

In any case, thanks to him, Ha-kyung had saved his artifact.

It would surely be useful later.

Ha-kyung looked at the Frost Bishop and the frozen Soul-Sever.

But something seemed strange.

He tried asking John a question.

“John.”

“What? Why?”

“The skill I used. If it has become a lump of ice like that, shouldn’t it normally fall down?”

“Huh? You are right. Why is it floating in midair? That is damn strange.”

The two of them stared blankly at the lump of ice.

And then, at that very moment—

Kiiiiii...!

A faint noise suddenly reached them.

Ha-kyung looked around.

It felt like something was being ground down.

But no matter how much he looked, there was nothing of the sort.

Just as he tilted his head,

“Ah!”

Ha-kyung snapped his fingers.

He had realized something.

There was only one thing here that was rotating madly.

The transformed Soul-Sever he had fired.

Ha-kyung smiled meaningfully and muttered to himself.

“That is right. Go.”

“Huh? Go where... Uwaaaaah?”

John’s bewildered expression turned into shock.

CRAAAAASH! THOOOOM!

The lump of ice floating in the air exploded,

and the transformed Soul-Sever, still rotating fiercely, began to accelerate again.

Soon, the disc slammed into the Frost Bishop’s left shoulder.

Gray-white energy wildly tore between its ragged hide and bones.

KWAKWAKWAKWA! SHAAAH!

Then silence descended in an instant.

Amid the maddening quiet, the Frost Bishop’s scream flowed out.

―Grrrrrrr!

It was as though it had sensed its own death.

The sound was unbearably mournful.

Immediately afterward, the Frost Bishop’s body exploded.

KWAAAAAANG!

Bone fragments carried by a powerful wind scattered violently through the air.

John quickly blocked the front with his shield.

TINGTINGTINGTING!

Thanks to that, Ha-kyung did not even need to move.

After the aftermath passed, he struggled to rise.

It was to check the situation beyond the barrier John had erected.

Because of the piled-up bone fragments, he could not see anything while sitting down.

A moment later, an unexpected scene unfolded before Ha-kyung’s eyes.

“Huh? Why hasn’t it fallen?”

“It is definitely strange. With an attack like that, ‘you are already dead’ should be the normal outcome.”

Even while John answered, Ha-kyung did not let go of his tension.

Right now, his mana and abyss energy were almost at rock bottom.

It would be difficult to fight again.

If things went wrong, he had to at least keep enough stamina to escape.

And then, at that very moment,

a welcome System message appeared.

[You have defeated the Field Boss, Frost Bishop]

[You have received ‘Cadaveric Staff’ as a reward]

Ha-kyung let out a sigh of relief.

‘Whew! I somehow managed to overcome it.’

It truly had been a dramatic victory.

What if his final strike had been blocked by the Frost Bishop?

It would have been a situation where he had no choice but to admit defeat and retreat as he was.

It seemed the Obsidian Titan had had a major influence after all.

Because the creature’s intrusion had turned a smoothly progressing raid into a complete mess.

John jumped up and down, cheering.

“Yeahhhh! We won. We won! Unkillable Bad King bro! You really are the best!”

With such a huge man making a commotion beside him, Ha-kyung felt dizzy.

On top of that, his chest suddenly felt heavy.

He had won through an incredible performance.

So why was such sorrow sweeping over him?

Ha-kyung suddenly looked down at his left hand.

‘It feels as though... I met Father again.’

It was probably because of Heaven-Shattering Fist.

Obtaining his father’s keepsake was a joyful thing.

But it came with bitterness as well.

A wound did not vanish completely just because a long time had passed.

Even if it was painful and his heart felt as though it would burst, he could only endure it and continue forward.

Ha-kyung slowly curled his fingers into a fist one by one, starting with his little finger.

‘Father may not have wished for revenge, but even so, I must walk this path.’

Because otherwise, he would not be able to endure even a single moment.

Ha-kyung forcibly swallowed the final words even inside his mind and secretly dried the tears gathered in his eyes.

Soon, the team members gathered around him.

“Mr. Ha-kyung, you truly worked hard. We were able to win thanks to you.”

The first person to speak was the Great Sage.

Since their faces changed every time they met, it was difficult to get used to them.

Even so, there were things that did not change.

Their eyes and voice.

And their warm emotions.

At the familiarity he found within the strangeness, Ha-kyung smiled softly.

“Once a raid begins, I have to do my best.”

“Even so, did you not perform beyond expectations? You practically took down the Obsidian Titan alone as well. This somehow reminds me of the past.”

Ha-kyung recalled the past.

The day he had entered The Void with the confident Great Sage.

They had been ambushed by the Obsidian Titan and pushed into danger.

Back then, too, Ha-kyung had practically finished the Boss Raid by himself.

Just as he had now.

Of course, today’s situation had been a little different.

The team members’ efforts in tying down the Frost Bishop had also stood out.

Soon afterward, Yoon Chang-ho and several others expressed their gratitude to Ha-kyung.

“Thanks to you, we were able to finish the raid properly. As expected, you were incredible.”

“It was truly an honor to witness the Immortal Tyrant’s performance up close.”

“Please be sure to join us again next time.”

The team members approached him one by one with words of praise and outstretched hands.

Ha-kyung shook each of their hands and bowed his head.

‘Perhaps because they are all somewhat older, even their cheers are dignified.’

He thought of the Raid Party Kang Woo-jin had formed.

In particular, he thought of the Awakened from Death Hound.

Had they not charged toward him like madmen, tossed him into the air,

and roared like beasts?

Compared to that time, these people were perfect gentlemen.

Except for two people, that was.

“I could have boosted him, so why did you step in? The front line could have been in danger.”

“The Tank old man with lots of experience told me to go.”

Ma Do-hyuk growled at John.

The point of contention was that John had left his position for a long time, claiming he was going to give Ha-kyung a boost.

When John answered as though it was no big deal, Ma Do-hyuk’s gaze turned fierce.

“Then you should have come back quickly and helped. Don’t you know it’s over if the front line collapses?”

“The result was good anyway. I saved Bad King too. So why are you giving John shit?”

“Isn’t this feedback? Feedback. Healthy feedback.”

“How is this healthy feedback? Do you know me?”

“I do. John Nager.”

“My age too?”

“I do not know that much.”

“You little bastard. You think I should have to listen to this nonsense from some snot-nosed kid?”

“Huh?”

“Whatever Abyss Beast or something you are. How long have you been eating rice?”

“...”

Ma Do-hyuk was left speechless.

There was more than a ten-year age gap between them.

John raised his chin and said,

“Is this really acceptable in the Eastern Nation of Courtesy?”

“No, that sort of thing does not apply to foreigners... does it?”

“I naturalized and spent eighteen years eating Abyss experience in Korea. Are you kidding me?”

“Oh, is that so? Is that really true?”

At the far greater experience than he had expected, Ma Do-hyuk lowered his tail.

That made John practically a 1.5-generation Awakened.

No matter how weak the senior-junior culture was in the Awakened industry,

a difference in age and experience of that degree could not be ignored.

However, at John’s next words, Ma Do-hyuk’s eyes rolled back.

“Of course it is a lie.”

“Hey, you son of a bitch!”