Chapter 56 : I, Descend (6)
Chapter 56: I Descend (6)
“I'm here to make a deal, Dojon.”
Lee Taebaek spoke once again. The sound of people swallowing hard echoed one after another.
“The head of the Ten Gang Alliance was planning to stab you in the back. Telling you that is the down payment. After that, I'd like to discuss the rest.”
He pretended to remain calm, but inside, his heart was burning with anxiety. This was a gamble with his life on the line. An ordinary person wouldn't even dare meet the eyes of one of The 10 Wings.
But now that he was standing face-to-face with him, it wasn't just ordinary people. Keeping his head fixed toward Dojon, Lee Taebaek shifted only his eyes slightly.
Two members of the Resistance's elite 0th Battalion had rolled their eyes back and fainted.
Using that as a reference, he indirectly experienced the overwhelming gap between himself and Dojon.
'I still can't beat him.'
Hadn't he reminded himself over and over, Lee Taebaek?
Courage and recklessness were two different things.
Coming this far even in this situation—that was courage.
Swinging his sword without thinking—that was recklessness.
Objectively assess yourself.
Then, even if victory was impossible, at least survival would still be within reach.
“……”
Dojon Muyachi tilted his head slightly while staring at Lee Taebaek.
It would have been nice if he'd lowered the Zanbatō while he was at it.
'I think one of my teammates designed Dojon.'
They really made him terrifying.
A man in a suit carrying a Zanbatō.
That bizarre combination alone sent chills down his spine.
And now he simply tilted his head in silence.
He looked exactly like a psychopath straight out of a drawing.
“So you're Lee Taebaek.”
Dojon finally spoke.
For some reason, a faint, unsettling smile rested on his lips.
“You're different from what I imagined.”
“Sorry for failing to meet your expectations.”
Lee Taebaek fired back without backing down.
He had just buffed his Mental Strength.
Whatever else happened, he was confident in a battle of momentum.
“I thought you'd look more manly. When I first saw you, I thought you were a flat-chested woman.”
“I'd really like people to stop saying I look like a woman.”
Apparently, Dojon liked Lee Taebaek's fearless attitude.
To him, it must have felt refreshing.
Well, of course.
How many people had ever dared answer back to one of the exalted The 10 Wings like this?
Normally, people either bowed their heads or kept their distance.
Such was the fate of the strong.
Since almost everyone was weaker than them, isolation came naturally.
Natural selection ensured survival favored the powerful, but society rejected them.
Even among The 10 Wings, conflicting interests made genuine friendships difficult.
In short—
He was lonely.
'According to his settings, Dojon likes people with fighting spirit.'
Public perception labeled Dojon as "a man of few words."
His actual personality, however, was different.
He actually enjoyed talking.
Of course, only with someone he considered “worthy of conversation.”
This gamble was only possible because Lee Taebaek, as one of the developers, knew Dojon's personality.
After all, if someone had transmigrated into the game, shouldn't they make full use of their prior knowledge?
“I heard a snake infiltrated the Resistance, but you're no snake. You're more like the tail of a dragon.”
Dojon Muyachi withdrew his killing intent and smirked.
He also lowered the Zanbatō he had raised.
The crushing pressure weighing on everyone's shoulders instantly became much lighter.
'Half the plan succeeded.'
There wasn't time to celebrate.
Dojon had already shifted the conversation.
He turned his gaze away from the Supreme Commander and the 0th Battalion members before speaking.
“Do you know what happens most often in this line of work?”
He suddenly threw out the question.
Jumping down from Red Hare, Lee Taebaek answered.
“What else? Killing people.”
“No.”
The man known as the Mercenary King slowly approached.
The Supreme Commander and the 0th Battalion members stood frozen stiff.
That was because Lee Taebaek had silently signaled them not to move.
A mere member issuing orders to the Resistance leader and her直属 battalion.
If that wasn't insubordination, what was?
'I need to eliminate every variable.'
If the carefully crafted plan fell apart, disciplinary action would be the better outcome.
Fortunately, the Supreme Commander obediently followed his instructions.
She nodded and stepped back.
Her subordinates awkwardly widened the distance as well.
Dojon had apparently already lost interest in them.
“They stab their employer in the back.”
He continued.
“When I first started this business, eight out of ten clients tried to deceive me.
After some time, that number dropped to around six.
Then three.
Eventually... almost none.
Do you know what that means?”
“As a mercenary's reputation rises, it's harder for clients to betray them.”
He removed his mask while gripping the Para Blade.
“It also means you turned every client who tried to stab you in the back into someone who never returned.”
“Correct.”
Dojon burst into hearty laughter.
Then he swung the Zanbatō horizontally.
■■■■■■■■■■■!
Space itself was sliced diagonally.
A savage sword wind rushed toward his face.
Before his disheveled bangs had even settled, every densely packed greenhouse collapsed at once.
Immediately afterward, Dojon unleashed his aura.
The exposed steel framework crumpled flat.
In an instant, the entire view before them became perfectly clear.
As though this district had always been an open plain.
'What the hell.'
Lee Taebaek's pupils shrank.
Pools of blood slowly began spreading everywhere.
The low-growing plants almost looked as if they were drinking the blood flowing from the bodies crushed beneath torn plastic sheeting and debris.
There had to be over a hundred corpses.
'Magno-Strom had been hiding inside the greenhouses, waiting for the right moment.'
Just as Levi had said, they'd sent their elites.
With this many people hidden away, yet no one noticed.
Those elite troops...
Had all been annihilated.
...It took only a single slash for Dojon to erase an entire gang.
That wasn't even the most astonishing part.
Lee Taebaek, the Supreme Commander, and the 0th Battalion members had somehow survived.
Even while Dojon literally turned the entire area into a wasteland, he had spared only their necks.
Reflexively rubbing the back of his neck, Lee Taebaek felt one overwhelming emotion.
Awe.
How could a human being, with blood flowing beneath his skin, become this powerful?
The evaluation that he had reached the pinnacle of the blade was no exaggeration whatsoever.
A man who had mastered the sword.
“I'll accept your down payment.”
He looked deeply at Lee Taebaek.
“But Levi already paid me an advance.
Five billion.”
“…Wasn't that contract already voided because of this…?”
“That's not how the math works.
Every mercenary has their own creed, but I always fulfill exactly what I've been paid for.
Of course, I won't be able to collect any additional payment.
So I'll make you another offer.
I, Muyachi, charge five hundred million per slash.
I was paid five billion in advance.
The price of ten slashes.”
Dojon pointed the Zanbatō toward him.
“Endure ten of my slashes, Lee Taebaek.
If you do, I'll gladly hear the contents of that contract you mentioned.
Free of charge.”
When the Supreme Commander tried to intervene, Dojon warned her.
“In a mercenary contract, third-party interference means immediate termination.
Knowing that... are you still going to interfere?”
“…Understood.”
Lee Taebaek met Dojon's icy gaze head-on.
“I'll endure all ten exchanges.”
“I like that confidence.”
Dojon swung the Zanbatō through empty air.
A massive boundary line was carved into the ground.
It was as deep as the height of a grown man.
“If those bastards interfere before all ten exchanges are over, I'll kill every last one of them.
Especially the Supreme Commander of the Resistance.
If you try any tricks, I'll hunt down every Battalion Commander and slaughter them all.”
“Enough with the threats.”
Lee Taebaek pressed the opening mechanism.
“Let's begin.”
Dojon stood with the Zanbatō hanging loosely at his side.
His stance was far removed from any formal swordsmanship manual.
One foot stepped forward with a narrow stance, his center of gravity leaning forward.
Lee Taebaek suppressed the urge to run.
If heartbeats had melodies, his would have become a funeral march.
Dojon's body wavered like a ghost before lightly charging forward.
As he ran, he swung the sword upward.
Lee Taebaek caught the motion in his vision.
Dojon intended to split him from bottom to top.
The charge itself was almost impossible to see.
A single leap shook the earth.
Lee Taebaek laid his blade flat and pressed the side of it with his free hand.
The upward slash erupted from the ground toward the sky, crashing into his blade.
It was faster than sound.
BOOM—!
His vision went completely black.
Not sparks.
Just total darkness.
What?
Did I die in one hit?
Just as panic surged—
Agonizing pain exploded through his hands, as if they had burst apart.
'I'm alive.'
But it was far too early to feel relieved.
The true despair had only just begun.
Lee Taebaek blinked repeatedly, trying to regain his vision.
The next instant, his eyes widened in shock.
The entire city lay beneath him.
The lights born from humanity's tangled desires illuminated the night.
Only—
The scenery was upside down.
His gaze naturally lowered.
Clouds drifted beneath his feet.
He was closer to the sky than the ground.
Gravity seized him.
Stomach acid surged upward.
The urge to vomit burned the back of his throat, but he quickly flipped through the air and landed upright.
At that exact moment—
A presence suddenly appeared before him.
It was Dojon.
The ground where he had stood had already collapsed, and even his leap had created an earthquake.
Is this bastard even human?
This was something that had surpassed the very limits of the human species.
“The first exchange was merely a warm-up.”
A slash flew toward his side.
Lee Taebaek expertly crossed the umbrella and sword to block it.
The instant their blades met, he was blasted backward.
Dojon's offensive never stopped.
Stepping through the air itself, he closed the distance in an instant.
The Zanbatō, which had seemed like a mere point, suddenly stretched across his vision.
Lee Taebaek bent backward far more than normally possible.
The Zanbatō barely grazed the bridge of his nose.
A sharp sting filled his nose.
Then a mirror appeared before him.
The meticulously maintained surface of the Zanbatō reflected Lee Taebaek's face.
The instant he met his own reflection—
He closed his eyes.
[The Administrator's Life stat has been nerfed.]
He reduced everything except 10,000 HP into restrictions.
It didn't matter.
He was a mayfly that would die from a single hit anyway.
[The Administrator's Faith stat has been nerfed.]
He also reduced his recovery.
That was fine too.
No matter how high his Faith was, decapitation meant instant death.
[The Administrator buffs Agility.]
Instead of sacrificing two stats—
Increase his airtime.
If he couldn't overcome the difference in raw strength, he'd overwhelm it with speed.
Time to open your eyes, Lee Taebaek.
His brain felt as though it had shrunk to the size of a baseball.
Although multiple abilities had activated, only an instant had passed.
Lee Taebaek flipped over in midair.
The tip of his foot brushed past Dojon's wrist like the wind.
[The opponent's Life stat has been buffed.]
[The opponent's Faith stat has been buffed.]
[The opponent's Mental Strength stat has been buffed.]
[The opponent's Mana stat has been buffed.]
Dojon's eyebrows twitched.
He clearly hadn't expected that.
Lee Taebaek smiled triumphantly.
There had never been any chance of defeating Dojon.
No matter how desperately he struggled, the overwhelming gap in skill couldn't be overcome overnight.
But Dojon's condition had never been “defeat me.”
The condition was simply—
Survive exactly ten exchanges.
Lee Taebaek's mind immediately produced the strategy for defeating the challenge.
Drawing out the absolute best from an inferior position—
That was the true essence of a boss raid.
He repeated countless deductions before arriving at the answer.
And that answer was...
[Due to Restriction Activation, Bullet Time's effect has increased sixtyfold.]
I become faster.
[The opponent's Agility stat has been nerfed.]
[Due to buff backlash, the nerf's effectiveness has increased.]
[The opponent's Agility becomes 100 times slower.]
You become slower.