Chapter 128

“82, you focus on your task.”

Chiwoo, standing in front of me, spoke.

His entire body was scorched and burning from the Flame Emperor’s fire.

Like a demon.

After such a brutal battle, his body was far from normal.

“Chiwoo hyung… your body—”

“I’m fine. As long as we can win this war.”

“……”

I was too shocked to speak.

One of Chiwoo’s arms… was gone.

Looking out at the battlefield, I saw the Emperor’s army holding his severed arm and cheering.

He probably sacrificed it to protect me.

My heart grew heavy.

‘It’s just an illusion from the past…’

Chiwoo was also a figure from the tower.

Someone from the myths long past, replicated or existing only in a vision.

Yet, I felt brotherhood toward him.

Foolishly so.

And perhaps it was the same for Chiwoo.

Even though he had known me for barely three or four days, he recognized me as a true brother.

He even sacrificed his arm, letting his body burn to protect me.

He was as much a fool as I was.

They say brothers grow alike.

Before I knew it, Chiwoo and I had become family, became brothers.

And I began to mirror his foolish side.

“There’s no time. Aim quickly while I hold off the Flame Emperor!”

Chiwoo shouted to me.

As he said, the battlefield was slipping away rapidly.

Without Chiwoo, the battlefield was quickly being overrun by the Emperor’s army, which, spurred by the morale boost from cutting off Chiwoo’s arm, surged forward without pause.

Defeat was looming.

The only hope left… was me.

“Yes!”

I quickly returned to my position—at Black Death.

I had to aim at the sun, so I almost hung against gravity, suspended.

I had roughly set my aim, but as time passed, the sun shifted slightly, and I had to adjust.

Crackle—!

“Ugh!”

Zeus’ lightning, already drawn, tormented my body.

But I couldn’t fire it at the enemy.

More precisely, I didn’t have the time.

The time Chiwoo had bought was far too precious.

[Ultra-Precision Aiming Mode activated. All adjustments will be reported to the user.]

[Considering the user’s ammunition, the bullet’s trajectory is predicted. If using Keraunostra, wind speed, humidity, and drop do not need to be accounted for.]

[Distance: 149,600,000 km. Adjusting the click based on Earth’s rotation and orbit.]

[Earth’s orbital speed: ~29.8 km/s. Current rotational speed at latitude: ~460 m/s. Real-time adjustments for relative solar position made.]

[Adjusting ultra-precision windy turret.]

Click, click, click.

With faint but clear sounds, the turret rotated three notches.

A subtle vibration ran through it as it turned.

[Adjusting ultra-precision elevation turret.]

Click, click, click, click.

Chris’s device calculated all adjustments, including the target’s distance, Earth’s rotation, and orbit.

Four precise adjustments. The crosshair in the scope appeared unchanged, but I knew better.

That crosshair was no longer a simple aiming point. It was the path of destiny, overcoming countless variables to reach the target exactly.

Aiming was complete.

Now all that remained was to fire accurately.

Snap—

Astrape flowed into the gun.

Black Death, fueled by Gandiva, resonated.

The lightning that had numbed my body was absorbed into the gun, leaving me calm.

My semi-paralyzed body actually steadied my movements, minimizing motion.

Hoo—

I exhaled fully.

The enemy’s shouts, the brothers’ screams, faded; only my heartbeat thundered in my chest.

Finally, even my heartbeat subsided, and when the gun and I became one…

Bang—!

I pulled the trigger. The sound that followed was more explosion than gunfire.

From the muzzle, fire—or rather, lightning—sprouted, tracing a line in the sky.

149,600,000 km.

A distance almost incomprehensible to human imagination.

Yet, the bullet imbued with Zeus’ divine power flew straight at the sun without error.

The recoil was formidable.

Keraunostra.

Astra imbued with Zeus’ Astrape power.

Its destructive power was unquestionable.

“Graaah!”

“My ears!”

“Ugh…”

The shockwave affected allies and enemies alike.

Higher deities, including Chiwoo, were unharmed, but most covered their ears, complaining of headaches.

The waves likely rattled their heads.

Luckily, Chiwoo’s elite side suffered less damage, while the Emperor’s army took heavier losses.

Minutes—or what felt like eons—passed.

Finally, the golden flash reached the blazing surface of the sun.

No massive explosion, no roaring sound.

Just a small ripple at the sun’s center… and then an unbelievable sight began to unfold.

Whish.

As if a giant switch had been flipped, the sunlight that had illuminated the world began to fade.

The black shadow slowly devoured the fiercely burning sunlight.

“What… what is this?”

“The… the sun is disappearing!!”

The battlefield erupted into stunned silence.

Chiwoo’s brothers, the Emperor’s soldiers—everyone froze, staring at the sky in shock.

They watched the sun gradually lose its light.

The world’s daytime vitality vanished in an instant, replaced by the eerie glow of dusk.

The air grew cold, and an ominous atmosphere settled over the once-warm plains.

[Objective: “Battle of Takrok”—a solar eclipse occurs.]

[The sun loses its light temporarily.]

The system message appeared.

Finally, as the sun lost all its light, the world was plunged into darkness.

The stage for reversal had begun.

The bright midday sun faded, leaving only the stars illuminating the black sky.

But this was not the end.

“Wind Back! Rain Back!!”

Chiwoo’s voice shook the world.

“Cover the sky with clouds!!”

Whooo—

At his command, clouds began spreading across the sky.

Even the faintly visible stars were hidden.

Pitch-black darkness descended upon the Takrok plains.

“Damn it! I can’t see a thing!”

“Someone, light a fire! We can’t see a thing ahead!”

In the Emperor’s camp, panic and fear erupted into shouts.

In the sudden complete darkness, they lost all sense of direction, stumbling blindly.

They couldn’t even locate each other properly; the sounds of clashing swords and spears filled the air, followed by screams everywhere.

Unable to distinguish friend from foe, they slashed and stabbed one another—a living hell.

“Gah! Enemy? An enemy has infiltrated on the left!”

“What? Enemy? Kill them!”

“Ugh… what is—”

“Everyone calm down! Stay still and wait! I’ll light a torch to guide the way!”

Amid the chaos, the Flame Emperor’s urgent voice rang out.

But just as he tried to light a fire…

Clang!

A hand axe flew at his neck.

A warrior who fought even with one arm missing.

Chiwoo.

His face melted from flames, resembling a demon from hell.

“Hahaha! Where do you think you’re going!”

“Ugh! You barbarian!”

The Flame Emperor shouted desperately.

Though a god of fire, in this perfect darkness and with Chiwoo’s interference, he could not unleash his full power.

“You worked so hard to catch me? Haha, you should have targeted my brothers, not me.”

Chiwoo’s boisterous laughter echoed through the darkness.

His words were no bluff.

While the Emperor’s forces stumbled blindly, attacking each other in the darkness, the only ones moving in orderly fashion were Chiwoo’s brothers and my allies.

Swish.

Shing—

Thud—

As if accustomed to the darkness from the start, they silently and precisely slaughtered the Emperor’s soldiers.

Thanks to Rita’s mapping ability.

Even in darkness, she could sense the entire battlefield as if holding it in her hand, relaying enemy positions to Chiwoo and his brothers in real time—like an AR overlay before their eyes.

The others followed suit.

Lee Woojae moved with Chiwoo’s brothers, cutting down enemies. Kim Yuyeon and MyangMyang pierced enemy foreheads with projectiles.

And Rita, showing night vision and mapping simultaneously, relayed enemy positions in real time.

“Aaah!”

“From behind! Behind! The enemy infiltrated from behind!”

“I- I’m an ally! Don’t stab—ugh!”

Suddenly, Chiwoo’s brothers appeared from behind or the side, cutting throats and disappearing without warning.

The Emperor’s army thought enemies had infiltrated from within, and attacked each other even more fiercely.

“Everyone stay calm and hold your positions! It’s a trap by the enemy!”

The Emperor shouted frantically, but his orders could not reach through the uncontrollable chaos and fear.

Even if they did, standing still in total darkness would be suicide.

Stand still, and warriors’ throats are cut. Move, and you impale your allies.

It was a hellish situation.

“Damn it! Hanbal! Where are you?! Clear these damn clouds!”

Finally, the Emperor called out to the drought goddess, Hanbal.

She could clear the clouds.

At least then, his allies could distinguish friend from foe by starlight.

Responding to his call, the clouds covering the sky began to thin, faint starlight seeping through.

But by then, it was already too late.

“Damn—!”

When starlight finally faintly illuminated the Takrok plains, what stood there were the horribly mangled corpses of the Emperor’s soldiers.

Tragically, the number killed by the Emperor’s own forces far exceeded those slain by Chiwoo’s brothers.

The Emperor gritted his teeth in frustration.

But the battle was not over.

Chiwoo’s brothers were exhausted from the long fight, and Chiwoo had lost an arm and had his face burned.

Chiwoo’s side held the advantage, but the Emperor could still fight.

The Emperor spoke.

“F-Full force! Now that we can see ahead, charge with the will to die!!!”

Accustomed to darkness, the Emperor and the Flame Emperor powered up.

Lightning struck from the sky, and fire erupted from the Flame Emperor’s hands toward Chiwoo.

They likely aimed to kill Chiwoo first.

But my plan was far from over.

I had given the enemy darkness at midday; now it was time to gift them light.

“Brothers!!!”

“Understood!”

At my cry, all my brothers and allies closed their eyes.

At the same time, I drew every ounce of mana I had, casting Horte’s basic skill: Radiance.

Fwaaah—!

Light exploded silently but powerfully.

Enemies, adapted to the darkness, were exposed to the intense white light, screaming in pain.

“Let there be light.”

Eye-burning brilliance, you bastards.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Squinting, I controlled Black Death, still standing.

There was still one shot left.