Chapter 69

Chapter 69

 

As if reading Ha-kyung’s uneasy heart.

Veil Lancer bared its teeth and smiled.

“Today, I’ll make sure to taste you properly.”

“You’re insane. I’m not into hairy things.”

“…….”

At Ha-kyung’s answer, Veil Lancer’s brow twisted.

Its expression seemed to say it could not understand him at all.

Then Ha-kyung shrugged and said.

“You said you’d taste me, didn’t you? So I just answered like that.”

“I meant I’m going to steal your talent, you damned human bastard.”

“Come on, you should’ve said that from the beginning, you scrawny little fly.”

“You little……. Fine. We never needed conversation between us in the first place.”

“What kind of relationship do we have?”

“Shut up!”

Veil Lancer glared at him with eyes blazing like fire.

It was only natural that ill will had built up.

Wasn’t this the bastard who had fled after losing both legs to Ha-kyung?

‘It must have come here determined, but will this be all right?’

Veil Lancer was an opponent difficult to beat alone.

Support from his team members was essential.

But weren’t they in the middle of a boss raid right now?

One wrong move could throw everything into ruin.

Ha-kyung stared at Veil Lancer.

‘I can do this. I know a lot more about that bastard than I did back then.’

Of course, not much had changed about him.

Just one thing.

His weapon had changed.

The conditions were not greatly different from their last clash.

Ha-kyung immediately picked up the Whisperer.

—It’s a bastard that uses a spatial-severance barrier. I’d like one or two people to support me.

—We can afford to spare one person from each position. I will send them right away.

—Please select them, Yu Se-ha.

—Understood.

Soon, three people ran over near Ha-kyung.

They were John, Jeong Sang-hoon, and Nam Gi-heon.

Ha-kyung gave a faint smile.

‘They sent people I’ve already worked with a few times.’

Yu Se-ha’s delicate consideration seemed to warm his heart.

Soon, Ha-kyung looked back at his team members and spoke.

“Think of it as fighting a small dungeon boss raid. Though it is a very strong one.”

“It’s that scrawny bastard we saw last time. The one whose legs you cut off, Bro.”

“That’s right.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about. This time, let’s not get separated and fuck him up together.”

“Yes, let’s do our best.”

But there was one somewhat puzzling point.

Veil Lancer’s attitude was far too relaxed.

Its specialty was dividing space with a skill called Shadow Chamber.

And yet it had waited until the team members gathered.

Suspicion bloomed inside Ha-kyung’s heart.

‘It definitely has some kind of scheme. I need to be careful.’

Soon, John stepped forward, spinning his flail.

“All right, initiating the pull.”

The elongated chain struck Veil Lancer’s lower body.

Originally, Taunt usually did not work well on highly intelligent monsters.

And yet, amazingly, John landed an effective hit right from the start.

He had properly pulled Veil Lancer.

The fact that a normal raid was possible was pleasant.

But Ha-kyung could not simply be happy.

He raised his tension and joined the attack.

‘Can a bastard that came fully prepared be this easy? Absolutely not.’

But even as the raid passed its midpoint, there were no signs of anything.

Veil Lancer was happily battering John’s shield.

And getting hit just as much in return.

At this rate, it seemed the fight would end before it even used its Ultimate.

But at that moment, a question occurred to Ha-kyung.

‘Wait, what was its Ultimate again?’

After casting its barrier, hadn’t it only exchanged blows like mad?

Of course, Veil Lancer had launched sudden high-energy attacks.

Attacks powerful enough to create a crater fifty meters in diameter, no less.

But that had not been its Ultimate.

As that strange feeling chained itself from one thought to the next.

Ha-kyung suddenly stopped moving.

“……What if that thing was never the real one to begin with?”

Wasn’t this too easy for something called a close aide of the Emperor of The Void?

If they had been fighting something like a clone all this time, that would roughly make sense.

Ha-kyung greatly heightened the senses of Soul Brand.

In that state, he slowly examined his surroundings.

Then he detected a faint presence.

The shattered ceiling of the church.

A small dot visible through the wide-open hole.

A scrawny, demon-shaped monster was looking down into the dungeon.

Ha-kyung frowned and slowly grabbed the Whisperer.

“Stop attacking.”

—Eh? It’s going well, so why? Bro.

“That one is a fake.”

—Then where’s the real one?

Ha-kyung silently pointed at the hole in the ceiling.

Then Veil Lancer sharply lowered its altitude.

—I wondered how long you would keep doing something stupid, but it did not last as long as I expected.

Soon, Veil Lancer’s clone shot up into the air.

Then it followed behind the main body like a servant.

If it had ended there, Ha-kyung might have thought they had simply been played with.

But then two more Veil Lancers appeared.

Including the clone, there were four in total.

The same number as Ha-kyung’s separate unit.

‘Did it match us on purpose? To defeat us individually?’

Sure enough.

Veil Lancer moved exactly as Ha-kyung expected.

The four scattered toward the four team members.

At this rate, Jeong Sang-hoon and Nam Gi-heon would be in danger.

Ha-kyung immediately called John back.

“Protect the rear line. I’ll take the main body!”

“Bro! Are you really going to be okay?”

“If you’re worried, hurry up and take down the clones, then come help me.”

“Who do you think I am? Just leave it to me.”

John showed excessive confidence.

For some reason, that made him even less reliable.

In any case, the rear line would hold out for a while.

Unlike his light words and actions, John’s skill was real.

Ha-kyung stared at Veil Lancer.

‘I just have to do well. I can win.’

The bastard seemed to realize that the decisive battle against him was imminent too.

Soon, Veil Lancer began flying in at tremendous speed.

[Veil Lancer deploys Plasma Bolt]

SHRIIIIEK—! VWOOOOOM!

A moment later, that distinctive sound rang out.

An invisible high-energy attack had begun.

BOOOOOM!

The shockwave tore through the ground in an instant.

Ha-kyung quickly launched himself into the air.

‘If I’d been even a little late, all my limbs would’ve been blown off like last time.’

That was how outrageous Veil Lancer’s Plasma Bolt was.

Since he was already in the air, Ha-kyung tried to close the distance with his opponent.

[Crosswind activated]

[Two-Stage Midair Leap enabled]

Pa-bat! Swoosh!

When he kicked off the air and flew in, Veil Lancer’s gaze changed.

It seemed it had never dreamed Ha-kyung would move like this.

But despite being surprised, its response was fast.

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

A dozen or more exchanges passed in a brief instant.

With a heavy metallic sound, Ha-kyung’s body was flung downward.

It could not be helped.

His opponent had the ability to fly.

And Ha-kyung had merely floated in the air for a moment.

Veil Lancer wore a fishy smile.

—An impressive attack ability. But a cat crawling on the ground is easy prey for a bird of prey.

Veil Lancer, which had soared into the air, spread its wings wide.

Then tremendous pressure bound Ha-kyung’s entire body.

A maddening killing intent seemed to tear his soul apart.

Ha-kyung threw himself aside with all his might.

[Veil Lancer deploys Plasma Bolt]

VWOOOOOM! BOOOOOM!

A crater about ten meters in diameter was carved into the floor.

Perhaps because it had fired in such haste.

The range was surprisingly narrow.

Thanks to that, Ha-kyung barely managed to preserve his life.

‘Of course, one hit from that wouldn’t have killed me, but saving a recovery chance is a benefit too.’

The problem was that Ha-kyung did not have many ways to attack Veil Lancer.

No matter what, he had to break the bastard’s wings.

He immediately took out the Resonance Pillar.

Then Veil Lancer snorted.

—How laughable. Do you think I will fall for the same trick twice?

The bastard soared even higher.

Then began pouring out skills continuously.

[Veil Lancer deploys Plasma Bolt]

VWOOOM—! BOOM! VWOOOM—! BOOM!

The attack range was roughly twenty meters or so.

Several shots poured down, but they were still manageable to dodge.

Because it was so far away, there was a slight delay.

For now, he could respond.

But he could not pull the bastard in with the Resonance Pillar.

Ha-kyung threw himself around like mad and watched for an opening.

‘There will definitely be a gap at least once.’

Talent Predator, Veil Lancer.

A monster who served the Emperor of The Void.

Though it was strong enough to make most dungeon bosses look like nothing, it was not perfect.

Hadn’t it lost both legs last time because it let its guard down?

Ha-kyung stubbornly held out and waited for his moment.

‘But……. It stops when it uses skills, doesn’t it?’

Veil Lancer was pouring out attacks while stopped in midair.

In truth, there was probably no need for it to move.

It was at such a high altitude that no one could approach.

But Ha-kyung saw a path.

‘There’s only one chance.’

His thoughts were long, but putting them into action was brief.

Ha-kyung reached out toward the falling Plasma Bolt.

[The Abyss Challenger’s ‘Distortion’ Authority flips space]

ZWIIING—!

The beam of light heading toward him vanished in an instant.

Then appeared behind Veil Lancer.

—What? What is this?!

Of course it had to be flustered.

A situation no different from self-harm had occurred.

Of course, Ha-kyung could not gain any great advantage from that alone.

The Distortion Authority was merely to draw its attention.

The real thing began now.

Ha-kyung immediately struck the Resonance Pillar with Crimson Edge.

CLANG!

[Resonance Pillar activated]

[Absorbs all nearby energy]

Then, before the Resonance Pillar could activate in earnest, he threw it with all his might.

Toward Veil Lancer.

SHWOOOOOSH—! VMMMMMMM!

The long metal rod flew like a missile.

Soon, a strong drawing force pulled Veil Lancer in.

—Y-you insane……!

While the opponent floundered.

Ha-kyung immediately moved into his next action.

“With this, I’m taking at least one wing.”

[Kin-Eater Skill Target Setting]

[Target: Veil Lancer]

PIIING—!

The ringing of Kin-Eater sounded, but Ha-kyung did not perceive it.

Because he had to control a thirty-meter disc of Abyss Energy.

This was the act of striking a tiny object a full kilometer away.

Ha-kyung focused his entire mind on the tip of his blade.

“Haaah!” 

With a shout, he swung Crimson Edge.

Then the pressure bearing down on his entire body vanished in an instant.

[Soul-Sever is affected by Projectile Enhancement]

SHWAAAAAAK—!

Now, Transformed Soul-Sever had left Ha-kyung’s hand.

A blow filled with everything he had shot upward at tremendous speed.

Much faster than the Resonance Pillar.

Veil Lancer, which had been resisting the drawing force, belatedly raised its head.

It seemed to have only now discovered Transformed Soul-Sever.

But it was already too late to respond.

Veil Lancer’s curse scattered like mist.

—Y-you damn…….

However, the bastard could not continue to the end.

Because Transformed Soul-Sever had come in aimed precisely at its neck.

With a chilling sound, Veil Lancer’s form bent like a bow.

CRASH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH—!

Soon, the bastard began falling helplessly.

Ha-kyung gradually increased his speed while predicting the landing point.

‘I need to follow it to the end and finish it off.’

Hadn’t its severed legs from last time been perfectly attached again?

Even though it had abandoned them somewhere in the Abyssal Pit of The Void.

In other words, that meant Veil Lancer also had recovery ability.

Then he had to finish it off completely before it restored its body.

WHOOOOOSH! BOOOOM!

With a tremendous roar, dust rose into the air.

Unfortunately, Ha-kyung could not catch up to Veil Lancer.

‘The distance was too far.’

Still, a few seconds later.

He was able to arrive at the place where the bastard had fallen.

But there, Ha-kyung encountered an unexpected sight.

Veil Lancer was rapidly increasing in size.

While chewing up and eating its severed wing.

—Did you think you could finish me with something like that, damned human?

A ferocious aura seemed to tear the space apart.

Honestly, Ha-kyung felt as if his heart were being squeezed.

Still, he could not show weakness.

Ha-kyung looked his opponent up and down as calmly as possible.

“But without wings, you’re just a punching bag.”

—Puhuhu! Then check it for yourself.

[Veil Lancer Ultimate Deployed: Limit Break]

[Unstoppable wave of Abyss Energy detected]

Before he knew it, Veil Lancer’s body had doubled in size.

And it was spewing an ominous purple current.

Soon, the moment the bastard took one step forward.

Ha-kyung abruptly realized it.

‘There wasn’t even a sign of it approaching……. but I’ve already been hit?’