Chapter 112 …
Just before entering combat with him, Dohyun thought to himself:
“Madness alone isn’t enough.”
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t defeat him with sheer madness.
He was a boss set up so that defeating him was practically impossible, even though he had taken every possible debuff.
Using just this level of cunning wouldn’t be sufficient. Even the quest only told him to survive until Rebed arrived. A fight to survive and a fight to kill are completely different things.
“If I use madness… one hit could kill me.”
The battle could be tense, but could he really avoid that one hit? Dohyun shook his head.
No matter how confident he was in his control, it was impossible to not get hit even once against an opponent superior to him. Both physically and realistically, it was an unreachable zone.
“I have to use madness to seize the flow when he’s off guard.”
That was the only timing.
Luckily, the plan worked perfectly. The enemy, who had been wary, finally let his guard down as he saw Dohyun continually being pushed back.
He couldn’t target a weak spot, but still, he was able to deal significant damage at the start.
“No, this alone isn’t enough.”
Even so, it wasn’t enough. If something was designed not to be defeated, trying to defeat it required countless strategies. One trump card wouldn’t be sufficient.
“What else do I have? Anything I can use… huh? Wait a second.”
At that moment, the rings came to mind.
He’d been wearing them since defeating Karuk but had never actually used them.
“With this…?”
Remembering the effect of that ring, a plan formed. If he used madness as if unleashing a trump card and staged a dramatic death, could the enemy resist falling for it?
“He’ll definitely take the bait.”
For some reason, this enemy, who felt extreme anger toward him, would surely try to kill Dohyun with his own hands. A psychological tactic possible only because the boss was humanoid, not a monster-type.
[What the…!]
As expected, the enemy took the bait—completely.
“Peek-a-boo.”
Dohyun, like a fisherman hauling in a big catch, reached out and summoned Cheonbyeon. Behind him, a deadly assassin’s dagger whistled through the air.
Whoosh—
He could dodge it by instinct as if he had eyes on his back, but Dohyun’s goal wasn’t to attack.
Chak.
[Cheonbyeon (千變) transforms into ‘Bastard’s Training Sword’.]
[Damage bonus from Swordsmanship LV14 applies.]
Dohyun grabbed his weapon that could deal the greatest damage: a sword. Darkness enveloped the blade.
[Cheonbyeon (千變) uses ‘Shroud of Darkness’.]
That wasn’t all.
[Gamillion’s Ring activates.]
[Temporarily increases stats proportional to absorbed blood.]
[Gamillion’s Ring has absorbed the maximum blood.]
[Maximum effect applied.]
The newly acquired Gamillion’s Ring. Activating its effect, which had accumulated stacks during the battle, Dohyun felt power surge through his entire body.
[The life of Destroyer Gaimon is below 5%.]
Not only Dohyun using madness, but the enemy also consumed his health when using Corrupted Paladin skills. Thus, the enemy’s remaining HP was just 5%. Dohyun had no doubt that a single strike would kill him.
“This ends it.”
Yet the enemy was truly persistent.
[Do you think you can control me—!!]
Even a final critical strike using all remaining mana was dodged. Perhaps he instinctively reacted, creating a physically impossible evasion angle at close range. But that was okay—it was within Dohyun’s expectations.
-Liza!
[…Liza?]
From Dohyun’s pocket, the beastly Eliya popped her head up.
Whoosh!
Then fired a web. The web flew at incredible speed and stuck to the Destroyer’s ankle and the ground.
[What the…!?]
Gaimon, never expecting a spider to come out of a pocket in such a dire moment, lost his balance and fell.
Gwooooh! Gwo!
Then, as if on cue, the undead leapt to bind his arms and legs. They had originally come to save Dohyun’s life, but somehow ended up assisting in restraining him. It was an irresistible force.
[No, this can’t be…! I can’t die so meaningless…]
“No! Yes! Now die already.”
Emotions clashed, and finally Cheonbyeon pierced his chest. Cracks appeared in his chest, splitting like glass.
[You have defeated the Abyssal Contractor who broke the taboo, ‘Destroyer Gaimon’.]
[Level up achieved.]
[Graduation level reached, creating graduation quest.]
…
Finally, his body shattered, and the message appeared. Dohyun let out a roar.
“Uwaaaah!”
At last, he had truly defeated him. What might have been under ten minutes for someone else felt like ten hours to Dohyun. Without a doubt, this was the hardest challenge he had faced in the game. Harder in some ways than even the tutorial.
-Krr… Master! I knew you could do it!
-Liza! Liza!
-Yes, Eliya. You did well! I’m proud of you!
-Liza!
But he had won. Overcoming countless crises, he had finally defeated the boss. Timing was perfect, and he even leveled up. Now all that remained was to acquire the Piece of Fate and complete the quest…
“…Wait.”
Dohyun’s expression hardened as a chilling sensation ran down his spine.
“The Piece of Fate?”
He had pierced the enemy’s heart. The Piece of Fate should have been released as the enemy died. Even if it wasn’t the Piece of Fate, the boss should have dropped something. It was only natural for bosses to drop essences upon death.
And this wasn’t just any boss—an impossible-to-defeat legacy-level boss.
“No message saying the quest was completed either.”
Dohyun’s gaze shifted to the priests. Why he looked at them at this moment, he couldn’t explain—it was instinct. Sometimes instinct proved more accurate than reason.
“Th-This can’t be….”
“What… what is that…?”
They were shocked. The problem was that it wasn’t shock in a good way; their pale faces radiated urgent tension.
“Could it be…?”
…In the blink of an impossible thought.
Ssshh—
-Master! Watch your back!
A chilling sensation struck, and Jihad’s urgent voice echoed. Dohyun didn’t even need to look back to know what had happened.
[The Abyssal Contractor who broke the taboo, ‘Destroyer Gaimon’, has revived!]
[Maximum HP fixed below 10%.]
[All stats reduced by 70%.]
[Entering hidden phase.]
“This insane… hidden phase?”
The message explained the situation. Ridiculous. Normally bosses had 2-3 phases. Occasionally, a boss might have a hidden phase… but really?
“Damn it! This is unbelievable!”
Of all enemies, it had to be him. And who could have imagined he would revive twice? A boss set to be impossible to defeat, revived twice? Dohyun felt an uncontrollable urge to find the developer and tear apart their mind. The game clearly didn’t want him to succeed.
[Die… huh…!]
The enemy looked pitiful. The once-muscular body was now emaciated and flickering like a mirage. Yet this made him more terrifying.
Shaaak—!
A final strike with all remaining strength.
[Cheonbyeon (千變) transforms into ‘Special Silver Shield made in the Special Workshop’.]
Instinctively, Dohyun raised Cheonbyeon as a shield, but…
Kbang! Whoosh—
It flew uselessly. Without proper posture, it was impossible to block the enemy’s all-out strike.
—-!
The enemy’s strike loomed larger in Dohyun’s eyes, and his mental alert flashed.
[Using back grab.]
[MP insufficient.]
“Damn it!”
He had used all his mana when defeating the enemy earlier. Cheonbyeon was far away. Even if he summoned it, the shield wouldn’t arrive before Gaimon’s sword struck him.
-No!
Jihad rushed in, but he too had depleted his mana.
[Guardian Jihad Black lacks mana.]
[Cannot summon undead.]
Eliya?
Whoosh! Whizz!
She fired webs diligently, but it only worked during ambushes; fully alert, it was useless. The webs broke upon hitting the enemy’s sword.
[Danger!]
[Current HP 1%. Be careful.]
Even fleeing, any attack of that magnitude would hit. At 1% HP, even a scratch would kill him.
Whoooom—
The enemy swung his sword in slow motion. Mere 0.1 seconds, yet thousands of thoughts flashed through Dohyun’s mind before collapsing like receding tide. His vision went blank.
“…No way out.”
He couldn’t think of any way to overcome this crisis.
“Am I going to die like this? Really?”
After all that struggle, to fail so meaninglessly? Rage surged from his core to his throat, then vanished into utter emptiness.
“Ah.”
It was over. Just as he thought while staring at the flashing sword.
A cheerful notification rang in his ears.
[Level 35 achieved. Requirements fulfilled.]
[Second special option of Blood Pact Necklace unlocked.]
[Special option ‘Knight of the Pact’ can be used.]
[Do you wish to use it?]
“…What?”
The unexpected message stunned him for a moment. But like someone grabbing him by the hair and pulling him out of the water, Dohyun snapped back to focus and quickly accepted. Whatever this Knight of the Pact was, now was not the time to question it.
“Please, please, let it help me now…!”
If it could block just one strike, anything would do. His desperate wish must have been heard.
[Activating Knight of the Pact.]
[By the pact, your sword and your heart guard you.]
A message appeared with a flash of light. Through the dazzling glow, the shadow of a man appeared, and the sound of a sword being drawn echoed.
Chaaang—!
It was a knight. Clad in silver armor, wielding a longsword. He effortlessly parried Gaimon’s strike.
[Krrr! What are you now! Why can’t I kill you!?]
The prey was finally within reach, yet this knight, appearing at the perfect moment, intervened. Gaimon was genuinely enraged.
-You shall have no name revealed. For daring to endanger your master, death is your punishment.
A deep voice resonated.
Taaat!
The knight leapt at the enemy, swinging his longsword. The dazzling blade, as if imbued with light, vanished with the knight’s form.
Swerk—
A clean horizontal slash—the word ‘one slash’ suited it perfectly. He sheathed his longsword, the light illuminating the surrounding darkness.
Amid the brightness, a knight approached and knelt on one knee.
“You have sworn the Knight’s Pact and become your master’s sword. After an eternity, I manifest to uphold the pact.”
“Your first sword greets its master.”
Dohyun wasn’t looking at him. Instead, his eyes were drawn slightly above, to countless messages appearing above the bowed figure.
[Knight of the Pact, ‘Kaiser’s First Sword, Charlie’, manifests.]
[‘Kaiser’s First Sword, Charlie’ becomes your guardian.]
[Charlie’s affinity is at maximum.]
[Title ‘Max Affinity Immediately upon Gaining Guardian’ acquired.]
[Title ‘Veteran Tamer’ acquired.]
“…?”
The former captain of Arren Castle’s knights, the man who had given him a necklace during the tutorial. Charlie had manifested across an eternity.
