Note:- Eastantel Law Changes to IstanTel Law [Because it is written in raw in English.]
"Don't stop—keep pushing forward."
The soft voice undoubtedly belonged to Go Yeon-Joo. The keeper who had been holding back finally stepped into the fray. I could trust her to have my back. Following her words, I accelerated my advance. Less than three seconds after her voice reached me, the prickling killing intent targeting the back of my head vanished.
Horrence raised its darkness again, assuming a defensive stance against my sword. My swordsmanship was fundamentally rooted in preemptive defense. As such, it was difficult to turn the opponent's strength against them unless they attacked first. But unlike in the first life, I now possessed a strength stat of 94 points.
My sword, which had been flowing smoothly like a swimmer, shifted into a domineering force, slicing through the darkness like a tidal wave. Horrence hurriedly swung its blade downward at a right angle to interrupt my attack, but with a slight twist, I sent its sword rebounding without resistance.
The darkness stirred, but a small opening had already formed. Seizing it, my sword ravaged Horrence's chest once more. The sensation was like hacking at a steel tree with an axe, reverberating through the blade. Yet the Doom Knight didn't falter.
Gripping the sword lodged in its chest with its left hand, it thrust its dark, wavering blade at me with its right. I swiftly released my sword, launched off the ground, and somersaulted through the air. At that moment, a silver arc sliced through the darkness below, drawing a crescent moon. Horrence, seemingly unable to handle it, immediately staggered back.
But Go Yeon-Joo was relentless. In a realm of pure darkness, this was her domain. She abruptly materialized in front of the retreating knight, raised her leg, and struck the hilt of my sword with force.
Clang! Screech!
The sword, half-buried in Horrence's chest, was driven in completely by Go Yeon-Joo's blow, leaving only the hilt exposed. Horrence let out a ferocious scream, swinging its enraged dark blade, but the Shadow Queen taunted it, melting back into the darkness.
As I landed on the ground, Go Yeon-Joo rose beside me, pointing at the sword embedded in its chest. Without a word, I extended my hand, invoking Void Grasp. The sword slid out smoothly and returned to my hand. If Horrence had a face, I imagined it would be staring at my sword in stunned silence.
"Oh my. I kicked it pretty hard, but it doesn't seem to have taken much damage."
"There's damage. Though I think the mental shock is probably greater."
"Ho ho."
Horrence was already struggling to handle me alone, barely enduring the mages' attacks, and now another interloper had appeared—a player on par with me. Go Yeon-Joo soon vanished again, saying, "I'll handle support, so don't worry and have fun." I began closing the distance once more.
As we clashed again, Horrence's dark blade slashed and hacked relentlessly. Though Go Yeon-Joo promised support, the timing wasn't quite right since Horrence's awakening. I kept deflecting one strike and parrying another, constantly trying to create an opening.
As long as it had a physical body, stabbing and slashing could deal damage. The problem was its ethereal nature coexisting alongside it. Purely in terms of swordsmanship, I was overwhelmingly dominating Horrence. But what I wanted was an opening to deliver a powerful, all-encompassing blow—one that could shatter its form. That meant striking when the darkness surrounding it couldn't react, when it was fully incapacitated, as it had been during the earlier magical chains. But with Ha-Yeong out of the equation, expecting another magical combo was unrealistic.
No matter how many openings I created by deflecting its attacks, they were only enough for a single stab or slash. Pushing harder risked a repeat of the earlier situation. Advancing while fending off the relentless waves of darkness from all directions shortened the timing I'd worked to create, making it harder to capitalize. It was a frustrating reality.
I felt that if I pushed a bit harder, I could create a real opportunity. But having maintained such a safe raid up to this point, I didn't want to disrupt the flow with reckless actions. Believing that an opportunity would come if I waited, I steadily dealt damage, building up the toll on Horrence.
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During our exchange of blows, as a wave of darkness missed me, I surged forward. As its dark blade slashed viciously at my waist, I shifted my sword to the left. Using the force of its attack, I spun my body in a wide rotation, countering.
Boom!
With the rotational force, I struck, tilting Horrence's body diagonally. At that moment, a dark shadow erupted from the floor beneath the direction it was leaning. A silver streak left a long afterimage across Horrence's body as the shadow passed. It was unmistakably Go Yeon-Joo. She must have judged this a prime moment to strike. But she wasn't alone.
"Aura! Queritatus! O Screaming Slayer, Ruler of the 14th Legion! Sweep it away!"
Vivienne's voice rang out, laced with frustration from Imprison's earlier failure, adding an uncharacteristic flourish to her chant. She summoned one of her highest-ranking legions. I hadn't seen a 10th-tier legion since facing the horde of undead in the Ruined Laboratory, so it felt oddly nostalgic.
A lion-headed beast charged at Horrence with incredible speed, jaws wide, aiming for its head. But due to its tilted posture, it bit deeply into its left shoulder instead, tearing past.
Horrence's left arm was completely ripped off. Though the darkness would regenerate it, it was an excellent attack given the situation.
Caught off-guard by Go Yeon-Joo and Vivienne's strikes, Horrence's body collapsed further, and I sensed the moment had arrived—the signal for the finishing blow I'd been waiting for. Gripping my sword to end it, I was about to charge when—
"Hat!"
"Ha!"
I'd forgotten there were two others besides me and Go Yeon-Joo. Hyun and Yun-Jung, having watched our exchanges, had been timing their entry. Seeing Go Yeon-Joo's additional strike, they deemed it the perfect opportunity, raising their weapons and charging in. Their dagger and spear glowed white, and translucent shields around them suggested support from priests and mages.
Hyun, aiming to strike first, launched forward, thrusting his spear into Horrence's torso and quickly retreating. As Yun-Jung, slightly behind, closed in swinging her daggers, the darkness around Horrence's severed left arm erupted in a massive explosion, like a fountain, enveloping the area. A soft squish followed, the sound of flesh being pierced.
It happened in the blink of an eye, less than a second. Yun-Jung's body was now dangling in the air, a spike of darkness piercing her abdomen.
"Agh… cough!"
A brief silence fell. Horrence, regaining its posture, slowly raised the darkness skewering her, as if displaying a trophy. Like laundry hung on a line, Yun-Jung's waist bent further, her long hair cascading downward.
"Grrrowl!"
I couldn't see Horrence's expression, but it felt like it was smirking. Had it not been targeting me from the start? Did it anticipate my dominance and aim for another player instead? I couldn't know the Doom Knight's thoughts, but I strongly suspected it targeted another player to provoke me. It swung its dark blade toward me, as if repaying all the damage it had taken.
Thud, flop.
Yun-Jung, impaled by the dark blade, was flung through the air and crashed powerlessly to the ground. Thrown right in front of me, she curled up, clutching her abdomen. But the blood seeping through her hands was already pooling on the floor.
"It… hurts… cough!"
Blood streamed from Yun-Jung's lips, mingling with her pained voice. The moment I saw her curled up, her current state overlapped with memories of Han So-Young from the past.
Belphegor, cackling maniacally as he hoisted her up.
The Clan Lord of IstanTel Law, thrown before us with a gaping hole in her abdomen.
And the few trickles of blood running from her mouth.
In that instant, my heart pounded rapidly. Blood rushed to my head, and my vision spun. Rage surged in my chest, and hot breaths escaped my nose.
I dropped to one knee, cradling Yun-Jung. Lifting her arm to show her bracelet, I whispered "Recover" into her ear. She struggled to open her eyes, barely managing to repeat my words. A faint glow flickered from the bracelet.
The bracelet's recovery function activated, and her trembling eased slightly. But the wound was far too severe for this to be enough. I called out to Hyun, who had already pulled back, and entrusted Yun-Jung to him.
"You and Yun-Jung should withdraw. Take her to Sol for healing."
"Hyung—"
"Please."
At the word "please," Hyun's eyes widened. Without another word, he hurriedly took Yun-Jung and ran toward the group. I stood, angling my sword diagonally, and fixed my gaze on Horrence. In a cold voice, I spoke.
"Player Go Yeon-Joo."
"Yes."
She emerged instantly from the shadows at my call. Without taking my eyes off Horrence, I continued quietly.
"You don't need to provide support anymore."
"What—"
"Take care of the group behind us."
"…Understood."
Cutting her off mid-sentence, she retreated without further words. Her slightly delayed response suggested she'd caught the intent behind my words.
The words themselves weren't strange, but my tone implied that anyone in my way should stay back. It was undoubtedly rude to a player of the
In the first life, while I was with the IstanTel Law clan, there was a player known as the Phantasm Sword player. It was his unique ability, and he was one of the few players I was close to. He taught me the technique of Spatial Displacement. When he passed it on, he added one piece of advice:
My current mana stat is 96 points. How many times could I use it against Horrence?
I raised my head, glaring at the creature with icy eyes. It would pay dearly for stirring up those unpleasant memories.
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