Chapter 65

Chapter 65

 

John’s absurdity was nothing new.

Ha-kyung quickly regained his composure.

He had the clam trap bite the end of the Refinement Rope.

Then he tried to circle around behind Black Leviathan, but Ha-kyung realized an important fact.

‘Since I made the thickness the maximum, the length is considerably lacking.’

On top of that, Black Leviathan was a monster far larger than Dread Reaver.

It did not seem possible to wrap it up again and again like before.

But he could not make it thinner either.

It would snap after just a few thrashes.

Just as his worries were piling up in one way and another, something fluttered past before Ha-kyung’s eyes.

‘Huh? This is…….’

It was the seaweed that had wrapped around John and tried to stuff him into the toothed clam.

It felt as if an explosion had gone off inside his head.

Ha-kyung immediately gathered a huge amount of seaweed near the coral zone.

Enough to make a net with it.

When he roughly wove it together and pulled it out long, a fairly convincing rope was complete.

This stuff was ridiculously tough, so it would not snap easily.

Ha-kyung began advancing carefully.

‘If I’m discovered, it’s over.’

Black Leviathan’s body was extremely similar to a centipede’s.

The rearmost legs near its tail had countless spikes growing from them.

If he could only hook it there, it would not be able to shake it off easily.

Fortunately, the aggro had been properly secured.

Ha-kyung kept his body as low as possible and waited quietly.

Until Black Leviathan’s body came close to the floor.

Then, suddenly, a high-pitched frequency covered the dungeon.

“KIIIIIIIT!”

[Black Leviathan Ultimate Deployed: Great Gelhammer]

[Unstoppable wave of Abyss Energy detected]

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

Something pitch-black spewed from Black Leviathan’s maws(?).

Then the water instantly hardened like jelly.

The team members who had been continuing the raid could not help panicking.

“U-uh? W-what is this?”

“I can’t move my body!”

“Please purify this quickly!”

“I’m already doing it, but it won’t come undone!”

The healers poured out skills, but the gelation remained.

Rather, it only continued expanding its range.

No matter how much they struggled, it was useless.

Soon, Black Leviathan began gathering its heads in one place.

VWOOOOOOM!

A purple flash that gradually grew in size.

Ha-kyung knew very well what that sphere of energy meant.

‘Ravager Impaler? If they get hit by that while they’re bound solid…….’

A catastrophe like before would happen again.

Ha-kyung kicked off the floor.

There was no more room to creep closer or not.

Right now, speed was life.

He hooked the rope onto Black Leviathan’s tail spikes.

Then he immediately gestured to John.

“Pull!”

At the same time, he braced his foot against a protruding rock.

Then he leaned his body back to an extreme degree.

Like when playing tug-of-war.

Amazingly, Black Leviathan began being dragged over little by little.

Hadn’t its body been described as resembling a centipede’s?

Perhaps because of that, its swimming ability itself was not very good.

Probably because it had few broad parts capable of pushing away water.

At the exact moment Ha-kyung pulled Black Leviathan down.

[Black Leviathan deploys Ravager Impaler]

WHOOOOOOOM—!

As expected, Black Leviathan’s skill erupted.

But the direction it fired in was completely off.

Because Ha-kyung and John’s efforts had thrown off its aim.

‘That’s it!’

Ha-kyung exulted inwardly and checked Black Leviathan’s position.

The bastard had been dragged right above the hydrothermal vent.

Because of the high pressure and salinity, the temperature was probably several hundred degrees.

But Black Leviathan did not seem to have suffered any particular damage.

Because its outer shell was so sturdy.

Ha-kyung drew Crimson Edge.

‘Should I try to punch even a hole in that bastard’s body?’

The Core Guardian’s will.

With Dead Zone, he should be able to erase part of its outer shell.

But Ha-kyung shook his head.

Even if he did that, only the tail would be roughly cooked.

It would be difficult to inflict a major blow.

The longer he worried, the greater the crisis became.

“KIIIIIIEK!”

Because Black Leviathan had recognized Ha-kyung’s presence.

If that bastard turned around and unleashed its attacks.

Bondage-play operation or whatever else.

He would be torn to shreds.

Sure enough.

One of Black Leviathan’s heads turned toward Ha-kyung.

It seemed to have recognized him as the most threatening presence.

“Let’s smash at least one of those heads. Come on, you bastard.”

Then, suddenly, the hydrothermal vent entered Ha-kyung’s eyes.

Dark-red fissures branching like veins.

It felt as if magma were lurking just beneath the sediment.

At that very moment.

Ha-kyung changed his mind.

‘To hell with it!’

[The Core Guardian’s will creates an Extreme Annihilation Zone]

Slide. Stab!

The mass of black sediment vanished in an instant.

And from within it, something bright yellow began surging up.

RUMBLE—! SPURT—!

“KIIIIIIIT?”

Black Leviathan’s body was engulfed by the erupted magma.

Ha-kyung let go of the seaweed rope and hastily retreated.

Because the scalding heat reached him.

It felt as if his whole body would be cooked, but he was smiling brightly.

‘This was the answer. I solved the gimmick.’

By common sense, Black Leviathan was far too strong.

Even if this was an Unfathomable-grade dungeon of The Void.

In the first place, this dungeon had been designed so it could only be cleared by solving the gimmick.

Black Leviathan thrashed inside the magma, then hardened black.

Soon, the system message he had been happier to see than any other appeared.

[Defeated Black Leviathan, Dungeon Boss]

[Reward granted: ‘Web Caster’]

A plain ring fell into Ha-kyung’s hand.

Reflexively, he was about to slip it onto his finger, then abruptly stopped.

‘Ah, I shouldn’t do this.’

He had only been curious about its effect.

But it would have been a truly serious mistake.

The owner of this artifact had not been decided yet.

Ha-kyung trudged away.

‘I feel especially tired today.’

It seemed to be because he had fought such a tremendous enemy.

And because the Raid Team’s casualties had been heavy.

A full fifteen people had lost their lives.

For a team composed only of the finest talent, there were quite a few dead.

Ha-kyung silently bowed his head toward the team members’ bodies.

‘May you rest in peace.’

A lump in his chest seemed to squeeze his heart.

Because he suddenly remembered the guild members of Axis Prime.

***

After returning to reality, Ha-kyung first stopped by an office at Association Headquarters.

It was to report the information he had obtained in the Abyss of the Deep Sea.

Now that he knew the Emperor was threatening Earth.

Shouldn’t he quickly inform everyone?

Of course, Ha-kyung did not have to write it himself.

“Committee Member. I have completed the report.”

“Let me see.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ha-kyung accepted the tablet Assistant Manager Jeong Tae-won handed him.

Fitting of a capable talent, the report was spotless.

To the point that there was nothing to correct at all.

Soon, Ha-kyung nodded with a satisfied expression.

“Submit it as is. How far up will it go?”

“It will go through Deputy Chairman Jang Myeong-cheol, then be delivered to the Chairman of the Association.”

“It will be useful, won’t it?”

“Of course. That is why the Special Advisory Committee Member position exists.”

They probably would not treat Ha-kyung’s report lightly.

Deputy Chairman Jang Myeong-cheol was not an incompetent superior.

He had informed them about the Emperor’s existence and ambitions.

At this point, he had done all the necessary measures.

Ha-kyung was not the leader guiding all of Earth.

And the Emperor’s threat had not yet materialized either.

Ha-kyung tried to head to the conference room assigned to him.

It was to hold the Internal Auction.

But Assistant Manager Jeong Tae-won held out the tablet again.

“Committee Member. I think you should see this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s an AI Raid Video, but public opinion is not very good.”

“Has it already been uploaded? I’ll take a look first.”

Ha-kyung watched the AI Raid Video carefully.

Soon, his brow twisted sharply.

“This is heavily distorted.”

“Right. Bro, the scenes where you and I were active are barely included at all.”

John seemed to sense something was wrong too.

He added his uncomfortable opinion.

Because the video content was like that.

The comments were even more of a spectacle.

[AI Raid] The Void’s Unfathomable-Grade Dungeon, the Abyss of the Deep Sea Raid. Lee Ha-kyung the Undying One’s Boneheaded Play?

―He would have known first that the boss was using a skill, so why did he not brief them?

└That tank named John and Lee Ha-kyung at the very front ruined the whole raid.

└Exactly. He left the coral zone to scout in the first place. Then he should have done his job.

└People kept hyping him up as the Immortal Tyrant and the Undying One, and it went to his head.

└How long do his team members have to sacrifice themselves to make that bastard into a hero?

└But doesn’t everyone get a system message when the boss uses a skill?

└It doesn’t show up if the distance is too far.

└You can’t call that far.

└Is being in the air the same as being underwater? The problem is bastards like you who blindly defend him.

Ha-kyung snorted inwardly.

‘Huh? Look at these bastards.’

There was no reason the system message would not have gone to the team members just because they were underwater.

On top of that, the team leader, Ryu Jeong-hwan, had also admitted it was his own mistake.

Though in Ha-kyung’s view, it had simply been bad luck.

As his expression hardened, Assistant Manager Jeong Tae-won immediately spoke.

“The Association can also take legal action. Malicious commenters only stop when you bring the hammer down on them.”

“That would be best.”

“Ah, for reference, it is highly likely the person interviewed expressed it in a distorted manner.”

“That’s probably the case.”

Wasn’t that how AI Raid Videos usually were?

Since they relied heavily on testimony, there was a slight gap between them and reality.

Though this case was quite a large gap.

In any case, the Association would take legal action as well.

It did not seem necessary to pay it much mind.

Just as he was about to brush it off as nothing serious.

John suddenly patted Ha-kyung on the back and said.

“Hey, Bro. Don’t be too heartbroken.”

“I’m fine.”

“Fans and haters are bound to coexist.”

Of course, Ha-kyung agreed with that.

Everyone’s opinions were bound to differ.

And there was no way to be loved by everyone in the world.

But John was not listening at all.

“A proper AI Raid Video will be uploaded sooner or later. So you really don’t need to worry.”

“I said I know.”

“Now, now. No matter how angry you are, is it right to snap at someone much older than you?”

“No, John, you’re the one who keeps distorting how I feel.”

“If it’s that hard for you, you may hit me once.”

“Really?”

“No.”

“You told me to hit you.”

“I only said it. But if it’s you, Bro, I think you’d really hit me, so no.”

“As expected, there’s no one like you when it comes to getting under people’s skin.”

“Huh? Are you insulting me right now?”

“Think whatever you want.”

Honestly, a little sincerity had been mixed into those words.

Because Ha-kyung wanted him to stop now.

But while he was talking with John.

His thoughts about the malicious comments vanished completely.

Ha-kyung gave a faint smile.

‘He may be poor at expressing it, but he’s a considerate person.’

It seemed John had been needling him endlessly for that reason.

But unlike Ha-kyung’s warmed heart.

John seemed to have no intention of stopping.

“But Bro. Can I write just one comment?”

“What?”

“I’ll say that the Undying One’s personality is completely busted, so all of you better watch out.”

“John, Korea has a saying. For a madman, a beating is the best medicine.”

“That’s true. It’s the same in America.”

“Actually, it’s a rule that applies the same way to parrots that won’t listen.”

“Who is that?”

“You.”

Ha-kyung quietly raised his fist.

It seemed he would have to scuffle a bit today after all.

The moment his anger was about to take physical form.

John was already running for his life.

“Run awaaay!”