Chapter 57 : I Descend (7)
Chapter 57: I Descend (7)
He barely managed to cling to consciousness, but honestly speaking, it was hanging by a thread.
The stacking of Buffs and Nerfs.
On top of that, he'd dumped every Restriction he had, driving his very soul to the edge of a cliff.
'How many abilities did I just cast at once?'
The pressure inside his skull rose.
Blood trickled from his nose, staining the groove beneath it crimson.
His consciousness plunged into the abyss, while his unconsciousness rose to fill the void.
A faint glimmer of emotion flashed through Dojon's pupils.
His face, colored by surprise, blurred.
Even so, Dojon looked ready to continue his swordsmanship.
He was simply...
Slow.
His movements were chopped into individual frames, as though cut apart and pasted together with scissors.
Because Lee Taebaek had divided time almost infinitely with Bullet Time ×60.
He intended to use this fleeting moment to restore his tattered mind.
Just then—
—Assistant Manager Lee.
A voice echoed.
Even in this situation, he recognized its owner instantly.
Because there was only one person who called him Assistant Manager.
'What is this, Team Leader Seo? Why am I hearing your voice at a time like this?'
He tried to answer, but his lips refused his will and moved on their own.
'If this is another assignment, I'm handing in my resignation.'
—Ah, it's not that!
Anyone hearing you would think I'm some evil team leader who makes her subordinates work overtime every day!
'That's... not exactly wrong....'
He paused to reflect.
It was a fragment of memory.
He couldn't remember exactly when it had happened, but he was certain it had been a conversation they once shared.
Damn it.
Am I seeing my life flash before my eyes?
No, this isn't the time for that.
The real game has only just begun.
I finally feel like I've found something to lean on!
—That's so like you, Assistant Manager Lee.
Even when you're joking, you're expressionless, so people misunderstand you all the time.
I've always wondered.
Why is your expression always like that?
'That sounds like workplace harassment. I'll report you to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.'
—Since we're at it, why not work some stylish overtime and build up a case?
I'm sure the Ministry would love that.
'I'm sorry.'
Team Leader Seo laughed softly.
For a moment, she overlapped with Satan.
Faced with the unavoidable ultimate technique known as overtime, he pondered briefly before speaking.
'Well... I've always been like this.
But after joining this company...
More precisely, after I joined the Character and Boss Design Team...
I think it got even worse.'
—And what does Boss Design have to do with you always looking like a plant?
'Being in that position naturally makes you think a lot.
It's like playing Go against an invisible opponent inside your head.
Something like that.'
Inside the office.
The Lee Taebaek of the past lightly tapped the armrest with the underside of his fist as he elaborated.
'The most important part of boss design is planning the battle of wits.
When players first challenge a boss, they need to feel helpless.
But at the same time, they also need to see a clue that the boss can be beaten.
That way, you constantly stimulate their desire to keep challenging it.
And in the end...
The boss has to lose to the player.'
—So...
The thing that draws out that desire to challenge...
Is the battle of wits?
She rested a finger lightly against her chin.
'Exactly.
If beating the boss depends only on mechanical skill, most players quit.
They ask for refunds.
But if farming more gear and learning the boss's patterns gradually shifts the odds in their favor...
Then they'll stay up all night in front of their computers.'
—Then I suppose the battle of wits is your specialty, Assistant Manager Lee.
'I guess so.
Though thanks to that, you and everyone else on the team treat me like some game-designing machine with no personality.'
—Then use that specialty...
Team Leader Seo smiled.
A smile so vivid that dimples formed in her cheeks.
“This time as well.”
Those final words were an actual voice.
Wait... that wasn't a hallucination?
His pupils shook like the needle of a seismograph.
But the question was quickly swept away.
The memories of the past flowed into reality.
His unconsciousness was carried away by the current, and reality's outline became clear once more.
His conscious mind surfaced back above the water.
Time regained its speed.
The frozen world began flowing once again.
[The Favor of the Chaos Goddess takes effect.]
['I Never Lose' activates.]
〉〉 Auto Saving…….
〉〉 Applying Patch.
The coldness of the clouds wrapped around his entire body.
Lee Taebaek flew through the endless sky.
Together with Dojon.
Well...
To be accurate, his body was plummeting downward.
Even so.
Dojon, who had briefly shown signs of surprise, immediately composed himself.
He was a man who had survived countless battlefields.
And above all...
Wasn't he Muyachi, acknowledged as the pinnacle of the mercenary world?
The title of Mercenary King was no empty boast.
Muyachi's mental fortitude stood at an entirely different level.
Even this bizarre phenomenon—something that would make most people faint—could not throw him into panic.
At the same time, however...
A subtle change appeared on Dojon's face.
His lips, which had always remained in a perfectly straight line, curved into a smile.
His heart pounded.
A heart that had long forgotten how to race now beat faintly—
Yet unmistakably.
How long had it been?
“You are undoubtedly weaker than I am.”
Dojon spoke without warning.
His voice wasn't scattered by the wind.
It pierced directly into Lee Taebaek's ears.
“I don't know what trick you've used, but you've slowed my movements.
Roughly a hundredfold.”
This lunatic.
How did he notice that immediately?
And even estimate the exact number?
He's even smiling now.
I'm the one getting terrified.
“I thought you were merely a fellow swordsman.
To think you can use magic as well.
You're the sort of talent the Heavenly Demon would appreciate.”
“……”
Lee Taebaek didn't answer.
The pressure difference in the air forced him to hold his breath.
“In only three exchanges...
You've managed to entertain me.”
As they continued falling, Dojon drew his shoulder back about three hand spans.
Lee Taebaek caught that moment.
'Normally I'd only react after getting hit.'
But now...
I can do it.
Dojon's movements had become comparatively slower.
Meanwhile, Lee Taebaek's perception had been sharpened to an unbearable degree.
To the point where every one of his senses felt nauseating.
The next attack would be a wide horizontal slash.
It would come the instant Dojon finished speaking.
Lee Taebaek spread his body, increasing air resistance.
The posture was identical to skydiving—
Except without a parachute.
The entire sequence unfolded at nearly subsonic speed.
“Even if you die by my blade today.”
Dojon spoke.
“I'll remember your name...
Lee Taebaek.”
Dojon explosively kicked off with his rear foot.
At the same instant, his shoulder twitched.
The Zanbatō transformed into an elongated streak of light, carving a scar across the night sky.
BAANG—!
With the explosive burst of air, the umbrella canopy snapped open.
Gripping its shaft with both hands, Lee Taebaek Buffed the Para Blade's defensive power.
'Fourth exchange. A slashing attack.'
The Para Blade met the slash.
Once again, Lee Taebaek's body was sent flying.
With the wind against his back, he tore through the vapor trail.
Wooooong—
Wooooong—
Wooooong—
Wooooong……
His head spun violently.
He had already endured four exchanges—
Not on the ground—
But in the sky.
There was no way his body remained unharmed.
It had to be in terrible condition.
At least three finger bones had probably shattered.
His nerves responsible for pain seemed to have stopped functioning altogether.
Even so...
Lee Taebaek closed the umbrella.
Simply blocking wouldn't win.
Don't look away from the obstacle.
Face it.
That's what a challenge is.
Pababak!
Dojon burst through the clouds and charged straight toward him.
So that's what a hundred-times slower looks like...?
Biting his lip, Lee Taebaek assumed a counterattacking stance.
He would exploit his speed advantage.
Just as Dojon kicked through the air and entered point-blank range—
Lee Taebaek stored the umbrella behind his waist.
Then—
Snap.
He flicked his fingers.
[Ice Wall]
The clouds before Lee Taebaek writhed like exposed organs before layering themselves into countless mandala patterns.
A series of glass-shattering sounds echoed across the clear sky.
Dojon Muyachi rammed shoulder-first into the barrier as he continued advancing toward Lee Taebaek.
But the instant the Zanbatō flashed—
Another mandala formed, tripping up his advance.
Lee Taebaek snapped his thumb and index finger with enough force to nearly tear them off.
Layer upon layer of mandala barriers stacked beneath Dojon's feet, stretching all the way to the ground.
While Dojon was momentarily stopped by the Ice Wall, Lee Taebaek hung upside down in midair before kicking off.
[Buffing Gravity.]
His body, which had floated as lightly as a feather, suddenly plunged as though it had gained tremendous weight.
Not missing the opportunity, Dojon swung the Zanbatō.
But by then—
The angle had already widened.
Curling himself into a ball, Lee Taebaek plummeted toward the ground.
At this rate, he'd explode the instant he hit.
The web of ice had been prepared precisely for this.
As each barrier shattered in sequence, it cushioned his fall.
Only after roughly fifty thin ice layers had broken—
Did Lee Taebaek's feet finally touch the ground.
BOOOOOOM!
Dojon Muyachi descended as well, crushing the concrete beneath him.
Through the settling dust, his dangling earlobes swayed gently.
He remained perfectly unharmed.
Without any cushioning whatsoever.
He pinched one nostril shut and snorted blood from the other.
That was all.
Even after Lee Taebaek had Buffed gravity roughly threefold to amplify the impact...
The only result was a nosebleed.
That monster.
Dojon Muyachi bared his teeth in a grin.
Blood stained his front teeth crimson.
He casually wiped beneath his nose with his necktie.
KWAAAAAANG!
Then he charged once again.
Just as Lee Taebaek was about to cast another spell to stop him—
Dojon extended the Zanbatō to the side.
Then slashed downward.
Riiiiiip—
Suddenly, the sound of fabric tearing rang out.
The tip of his blade had literally sliced open space itself.
Beyond the wound lay pitch-black darkness, deeper than the night.
He thrust the Zanbatō into it as though stabbing something.
Half the blade disappeared inside the opened dimension.
'Here it comes!'
That...
Was exactly why Dojon was called Dojon.
His Zanbatō tore through dimensions, unleashing slashes from completely unpredictable directions.
In other words—
Dojon had finally gotten serious.
Damn it.
They say a lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit, but isn't this a bit much?
There was no time to complain.
Darkness rippled.
Then—
The Zanbatō suddenly thrust out from empty space.
Lee Taebaek adjusted the intensity of his Mental Strength with a Buff and responded.
He met the blade with his own and twisted the sword path.
The two metals tangled together, producing a spine-chilling screech.
Veins bulged vividly across Lee Taebaek's forearms.
Dimensional slashes followed one after another.
Thanks to his Buffed Agility, Lee Taebaek reacted just a step ahead each time, narrowly evading the ever-changing assault.
Four times in succession.
Every strike threatened his life.
Each slash was powerful enough to reshape the surrounding terrain.
The flickering old streetlights of the decaying old city collapsed like reeds.
Severed electrical wires drooped across the ground, scattering showers of sparks.
Swaaaaaash!
Passing beneath the Zanbatō, Lee Taebaek stomped firmly.
His shadow painted a five-colored gradient as it lunged toward Dojon.
'Only one exchange remains!'
Dojon's reaction came two beats too late.
He sluggishly tried pulling back the Zanbatō's hilt.
Apparently realizing he wouldn't make it, he instead threw a punch.
A restrained movement.
Not a desperate one.
The force of his fist generated a violent gale.
Feeling the ferocious wind, Lee Taebaek drew the Colt MK5 Python.
Even Dojon looked slightly dumbfounded this time.
His expression plainly asked—
"You use guns too?"
Moments like this always felt exhilarating.
But against someone as powerful as one of The 10 Wings, firearms had virtually no value.
If anything, they could easily become a fatal mistake.
Then what was its purpose?
For exactly this.
He tilted the muzzle upward.
Then pulled the trigger.
The ice mandalas remaining in the sky shattered.
Their countless fragments rained down upon the ground.
Dojon himself momentarily froze.
Feeling the cold against his cheek, he looked upward.
Even the Zanbatō slipped from his grasp and struck the concrete.
As the translucent barrier shattered—
A group of figures appeared, suspended before the crescent moon.
Their wings fluttered.
Bathed in moonlight, they truly resembled angels.
The Lilith Order.
The metal adorning them wasn't limited to their wing suits.
Each held a drainage pipe in both hands.
It looked as though ropes connected heaven and earth.
The pipes originated near the greenhouses.
Drainage facilities were essential for cultivating plants.
The Lilith Order had pulled the pumps from the ground beforehand and brought them with them.
At the center of the formation stood one of the Order's executives—
Kim Changsik.
Lee Taebaek shouted toward him.
“Now—!!”
Receiving the signal, Kim Changsik glanced at his subordinates.
They turned the valves in perfect unison.
Dozens of drainage pipes simultaneously unleashed torrents of water.
Shhhhhhhhhhh……!
Only then did Dojon slowly turn his creaking neck.
About twenty paces away—
Lee Taebaek stood breathing heavily.
At some point, he had already opened his umbrella.
The events leading to this flashed through his mind.
Lee Taebaek had Nerfed Dojon.
Because of that, even while being driven onto the defensive...
He had successfully avoided Dojon's attacks.
He survived.
Lee Taebaek had strengthened gravity.
As a result, Dojon's movements had been pinned down, forcing him to stand there and watch the Lilith Order's preparations unfold.
Lee Taebaek had deployed the barriers.
And in doing so—
He had completely erased the Lilith Order's presence from Dojon's sight.
—The battle of wits is your specialty, Assistant Manager Lee.
The words Team Leader Seo had spoken with a smile.
—Then use that specialty...
This time as well.
He had.
[Glácĭes]
Pale-white concentric circles spread outward from Dojon.
Like an eraser scrubbing away the world, waves of freezing cold greedily devoured the petroleum-gray color of the concrete.
An icicle formed at the tip of Dojon's nose immediately afterward.
Transparent ice clung to the corners of his eyes like frozen tears.