Chapter 126…
The forces of the Reverse Heaven Cult were still numerous.
Although their morale had broken and many were fleeing, the number initially mobilized had been considerable.
Out of nearly two hundred, close to a hundred were still holding their ground.
Persistent bastards…
I drew my bowstring and watched the enemies’ movements.
Some were pretending to flee, only to subtly circle around toward the students.
They were aiming to take hostages.
“Red Spear, left!”
“Understood, my lord!”
Hiiiiiing—
The roar of the Red Spear shifted direction.
Two cultists who had been approaching the students instantly widened the distance, but my arrows were faster.
Two arrows that sliced through the wind struck squarely between the followers’ brows.
“Ghk!”
“Kuh…!”
Both collapsed at the same time.
That was when it happened.
[Frost Corridor]
Shraaaa—
Along with a beautifully woven mana logic, snowflakes began to scatter.
No—those weren’t snowflakes. They were shards of ice.
Crack—crack—
Part of the battlefield froze over in an instant.
The enemies’ feet were frozen to the ground, their movements slowed.
Looks like she finally arrived.
I turned my head.
From far away, a woman was running toward us at full speed.
A black suit, pure white gloves.
Seo Gyeoul.
“Sorry I’m late!”
Her voice rang out across the battlefield.
At the same time, she swung her hand and wove mana, forming sharp ice spears in the air.
“Ice Spear.”
Screeeee—
Dozens of ice spears shot forward at once.
They pierced straight through the enemies who were frozen in place.
“Gaaah!”
“T-this…!”
Five more fell in an instant.
With her arrival, the tide completely turned in our favor.
With a single wide-area spell, she had perfectly locked down the flow of the battlefield.
Me, Seo Gyeoul, and the roar of the Red Spear.
With this much strength, subduing the remaining enemies was only a matter of time.
The followers seemed to realize that too, plunging into total panic.
“H-how could this…?”
“We were sure the next Apostle would lead us…!”
Any semblance of organized attacks vanished.
Only routed remnants remained, moving according to their own selfish desires.
I kept firing arrows, while Seo Gyeoul bound fleeing enemies with ice.
[You have slain Warlock, Belmon—15 (Lv. 91).]
[You have slain Tamer, Kron—08 (Lv. 77).]
[Skill ‘Talent Devour’ consumes talents. (331/500)]
[You have obtained an E-rank talent.]
[D-rank…]
System messages continued to pop up.
Talents and Madness stacks piled up rapidly.
Shoo—shoo—
Even as I fired arrows, I kept my eyes on one corner of the minimap.
Thanks to the title [Lonely Voyager], my detection range was doubled, letting me track even the students’ positions.
And then—
She’s finally moving!
The small dot representing Lina Angelova shifted slightly.
Unlike the other students, she was slowly—very slowly—closing the distance to the tower.
Just as expected.
She’s planning something…
I immediately gave an order to the Red Spear.
“Red Spear, toward the students!”
“What? Why all of a sudden?”
“Hurry!”
At my command, the Red Spear sharply changed direction.
At that moment, Lina Angelova raised her hand and began drawing something in the air.
More precisely, she was intervening.
Don’t you dare—!
I instantly loosed a rapid volley of arrows.
Head, chest, leg.
Lethal, critical, and immobilizing—targets that would disrupt her focus no matter which she chose.
To block them all, she’d have to stop what she was doing.
But Lina was tougher than I’d expected.
“Grrrk!”
She pulled one hand free and barely blocked the two arrows flying toward her vital points.
But the remaining one lodged itself in her thigh, drawing a shrill scream.
“Aaaah!”
“Tsk… Ms. Gyeoul, please handle the remaining followers!”
“Leave it to me!”
What she had been forming manifested in an incomplete state—but it still activated.
Craaaack—!
Something in midair began to warp.
Like cracks spreading across transparent glass, space itself twisted.
“…Lina got hit by Professor Kang’s arrow!”
“Professor Kang, what is she—”
“Everyone, fall back—!!”
The students and the supervising professor surrounding Lina froze at my shout.
In that brief moment, the Red Spear surged toward the students even faster.
Damn it…
I recognized it the moment I saw space twisting.
What she was aiming for was a passage connected to the inside of the tower.
Not the main gate.
She was forcibly opening a side door of the tower—one that could never be opened through normal means.
If I let this continue…
The students, without any protection, would be sucked into the tower.
There was a high chance many would die.
It would be a catastrophe.
[The user activates the skill ‘Incarnation Lv.4 (A+)’.]
[‘Frekki’ descends upon the user’s body.]
I drew the bowstring once more.
Flaming mana condensed at the arrowhead, the surrounding air shimmering with heat.
An arrow of flame, meant to burn everything away, flew toward Lina.
But—
“…!?”
Sliiiide—
The arrow suddenly vanished midair.
More precisely, the space between the arrow and Lina twisted and swallowed it whole.
“Kang Si-woo…!”
Lina Angelova slowly raised her head.
On her pale, blood-stained face, distorted rage began to settle.
“Grit… How dare you wound this body?”
Grinding her teeth, she swung her hand.
Bzzzt—
Smoke began to rise from my coat, ring, and other relics and items.
[Warning!]
[External interference detected!]
[Your relics and items are beginning to corrode!]
Though limited to objects, it was still terrifying.
It felt similar to Julie Pearson’s talent, Injection.
And soon, I realized it was even worse.
[It□em ‘Ring That Se&ks the Light’ surf□ce begin□ to rust (#$@! Durability −4%)]
[Relic ‘Sca□red Halo’#$ remn□nts det@^*ing (Durability −2%)]
[Relic ‘C□oaked Time Mantle’ begin□ to decay (Durability −1%)]
She’s manipulating the system…?
System messages appeared, but I couldn’t read them properly.
The letters were completely scrambled.
Without hesitation, I threw every equipped item into my subspace.
For now, this was the best option.
“Hahaha! This is the authority that Falsepera granted to me alone!”
Lina’s left hand, which had been firm moments ago, shriveled like that of an old woman.
Seeing that, I actually felt calmer.
It was clear proof her power wasn’t absolute.
Just like Sybil back then…
She wasn’t losing her sense of self like Sybil had, but the rebound from using such power was clearly severe.
The wrinkles had already climbed from her hand up to her elbow.
“Do you know what it means to be able to manipulate the system?!”
Bzzzt—
But Lina paid it no mind and continued to use her power recklessly.
Each time she waved her hand, the surrounding space warped.
Parts of the ground collapsed into bottomless pits, and gentle breezes turned into razor-sharp blades.
At this rate…
When I fired arrows, space distorted and sent them flying in random directions.
Even summoning other beasts failed, as the coordinates themselves were twisted.
With space distorted, even securing proper vision was difficult.
That power…
An ability to forcibly open the backside of the system and intervene.
Which meant she could partially manipulate the very rules of the world.
Normal methods won’t work.
I made a quick decision.
And what came to mind was a skill I had acquired not long ago.
[Beast Brand]
The second skill obtained through my second job advancement.
A power that engraved a beast’s strength directly onto my body.
Leviathan…
Without hesitation, I sank inward.
Then, in my mental space, I spoke toward the door at the end of the gray corridor.
As promised, I’ll borrow your power.
Silence followed.
Then—
—…Very well. Take it.
Leviathan’s voice echoed.
That voice, deeper than the abyss itself.
—But use it in moderation. It would be troublesome if you died before keeping your promise.
I know.
In an instant, overwhelming power surged in.
Rooooar—
My arms burned.
No—so cold it felt like burning.
As if I’d been thrown bare-bodied into the deep sea thousands of meters below.
At the same time, massive tattoos began forming around both arms.
A sea dragon.
The form of Leviathan.
Each scale writhed as if alive, its eyes glowing blue.
Ding!
[Skill ‘Beast Brand (A)’ has been activated!]
[The power of the beast ‘Leviathan’ has been engraved!]
[Brand Effect: Power of the Abyss]
[Power of the Abyss]
—Info: The first chaos born in the depths of the sea. You have engraved the power of a beast that bears endless waves.
· Strength +55, Agility +44, Vitality +77, Mana +99
· Pulls enemies into the endless abyss
· Never loses sight, even within veils
In an instant, my distorted vision cleared.
Not only that—
I began to see the gaps in the space Lina was manipulating.
Like reading currents underwater, I could tell exactly how and where she was warping space.
The crude lines she used to twist the world appeared to me like a perfectly clear blueprint.
“W-what is this…?!”
Lina cried out in panic.
I curled my lips into a smile.
“Now I can see.”
Boom!
I kicked off the ground.
Avoiding warped space, I moved along the gaps.
Using the boundaries of her distortions as footholds, I slid forward smoothly, closing the distance.
Lina hastily waved her hand again.
Space warped—but this time, it didn’t work.
Because I could see it all.
“Y-you…!”
She staggered backward.
But the distance was already right in front of her.
I put away the bow and clenched my fist instead.
“H-how can you…?”
“You think only your ability is special?”
I spoke coldly and swung my arm.
A fist condensed with the chill of the abyss.
Lina tried to vitrify the space between us to block it—
—BOOOOM!!
“Khgh…!”
She couldn’t stop the resulting impact.
It wasn’t mere physical force.
The chaos that forced its way through warped space churned violently inside her.
She stumbled.
I seized that opening and struck again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A barrage of blows rained down atop the distorted space.
She blocked desperately, but was steadily pushed back.
“How… how is this possible…?”
Panic was clear on Lina’s face.
I kept pressing forward, driving her into a corner.
And in the process—
The side door…
The side door of the tower she had forcibly opened was slowly closing.
It seemed she could no longer focus on keeping it open while fighting.
Good.
I’d drive her back until it shut completely.
That was the best I could do here and now.
I increased the pressure even further, forcing her on the defensive.
Crunch—
Thanks to that, the side door continued to close, little by little.
