novelraw Chapter 262 : Chapter 262
Chapter 262 : Chapter 262
Chapter 262. The Decisive Battle (2)
Ho-cheol instantly threw his body forward, closing the distance with the monster.
He swung his sword, aiming for its neck.
However, right before the sword could cut the neck, a jet-black pillar shot up between the monster's neck and the sword.
Kaang—!
The cubical pillar was so incredibly hard that even Ho-cheol's sword was only half-stuck in it.
Simultaneously, several identical pillars shot up from beneath Ho-cheol.
Kwakwagagang—!
Ho-cheol retreated and kicked the pillars.
Although they were nearly invincible against cutting attacks, they were vulnerable to shattering-type attacks.
Fragments of the shattered pillar flew toward the monster with fierce momentum, but a hard carapace covered the monster's entire body, blocking them easily.
“Seriously. Again.”
Ho-cheol clicked his tongue in irritation.
What Trait is that now?
Is it simply focused on defense?
For Ho-cheol, who had killed the monster countless times over the past few days, the monster still pulling out new Traits was utterly astonishing.
The monster, through dozens and hundreds of deaths, constantly found the optimal Trait to counter Ho-cheol.
Although it could only use one Trait at a time, this was a trivial issue compared to a human possessing only a single Trait.
The tips of the monster's fingers sharpened, taking the shape of a blade.
It swung its fingertips, aiming for Ho-cheol.
Ho-cheol swung his sword vertically to block the attack.
However, the monster instantly summoned a pillar beneath its foot, diverting the trajectory.
Just as the monster's fingertip was about to bite into Ho-cheol's neck, Ho-cheol lowered his body and grabbed the monster's wrist.
He twisted his body and launched a tackle.
Tteong—!
The monster’s body was pushed back, but Ho-cheol, who was already holding its wrist, didn't allow it to increase the distance.
He swung Peacemaker and struck the ground.
Using the recoil, he launched his body upward and fired Peacemaker, which he had pulled back as far as possible.
Pishoot—
It was originally an attack intended to pierce the top of its head in a straight line, but the monster narrowly managed to twist its body and take the hit on its shoulder.
The monster swung its remaining arm, flinging Ho-cheol far away.
“Tch.”
Ho-cheol clicked his tongue, clearly sounding disappointed.
He should have properly punched a hole in its head this time.
“You can do that too, huh.”
The monster turned its head and looked at the hole in its shoulder.
Although it was a critical wound just moments ago, it had fully recovered while he muttered.
“That attack just now also…”
It turned its head again and shifted its gaze to Ho-cheol.
The monster declared confidently.
“I remembered it.”
“Bullshit. You have quite the memory.”
Ho-cheol let out an empty laugh, as if dumbfounded.
He knew well that those words were not merely an exaggeration.
That monster, despite having all sorts of cheating points like its basic physical size, regeneration, and various Traits.
The most troublesome aspect, from the perspective of the one fighting it directly, was something else.
Memory and Adaptation.
The same pattern of attack does not work.
Furthermore, it replicates his techniques and movements in the opposite direction in a single exchange, performing the exact same attack with its superior physique and various Traits.
The reason Ho-cheol was able to continuously kill the monster without a single major injury was that the forms and methods of all his attacks were not even similar to each other.
If it hadn't been for that, he would have been divided into Jeong/Ho/cheol and rolling on the floor ages ago.
“I can finally see all your attacks.”
“Cut the crap. I have about a hundred more stronger than this.”
Ho-cheol switched the sword he held in his right hand to his left, and the staff to his right.
Unfortunately, the last attack truly revealed the bottom of his attack patterns.
Who would have guessed that he would end up having to use hundreds of attack patterns?
Now, it was no longer merely a fight of power versus power, or Trait versus Trait.
Either the monster adapts, or he evolves.
The one who is first left behind will die.
This was clearly neither a hunt nor a fight, but a struggle for survival.
***
How many hours had passed?
Perhaps it had been a few days.
Or perhaps not even an hour had gone by.
It was such an intense battle that the passage of time could not be guessed.
Ttaenggeurang—
The sword and staff that Ho-cheol held in his hands fell and rolled on the floor.
He no longer had the strength left to hold and swing them.
His mental and physical strength had completely reached their limits.
No, he had passed the limit a long time ago.
He only endured with the resolve that he would be fine with dying immediately, burning his remaining life force.
“Sssheup… Haah…”
Ho-cheol let out a long sigh.
Just one more time.
Just one more kill would be the end, but that one time was far more difficult than the hundreds of times he had killed it so far.
In every moment, Ho-cheol surpassed his immediate past self.
But the monster perfectly adapted to that evolved Ho-cheol, continually evolving itself.
And that contest of evolution and adaptation concluded with evolution taking half a step ahead.
Ho-cheol stumbled but moved his steps.
He stood next to the fallen monster.
It was still recovering, albeit slowly, but the speed was now distinctly sluggish.
Even with Ho-cheol approaching so close, the monster seemed to have no more strength to move and was just lying limp on the floor.
It writhed its body, trying to get up a few times, but collapsed again weakly.
As if it had finally given up, the monster only turned its head to look at Ho-cheol.
For the first time, fear was lodged in the monster's eyes.
A monster that had lived for an eternally long time, and the existence of a human who so easily overwhelmed its own being, which was once called a god.
Humanity had not undergone absurd evolution and development.
It was just that thing that was an anomaly all by itself.
No, not an anomaly, it should not exist.
The monster asked.
“What the hell are you? What are you trying to become?”
Ho-cheol paused and contemplated for a moment, as he hadn't expected such a question.
But he quickly shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and answered.
“I don’t really know what I’m trying to become. But I do have things I want to do.”
He counted his fingers, listing the things he would do next.
“First, go out and have dinner with Se-ah, and get the walnut cookies So-hee likes from the rest stop. On the weekend, the two of us have to go to the Botanical Garden too. After all that, I’ll start preparing the next semester's lectures.”
The monster couldn't understand.
Over the long years it waited for its time here, a few humans broke through the fog and stood before it.
Every one of them was a talented individual whose name would surely be remembered in history, an exceptional human on the verge of Transcendence.
But Ho-cheol was different.
He was stronger than them, yet he had no great mission, no glorious purpose, and no shining dream.
Could one become strong just by existing, even without such things?
Humans called it a monster, feared it, and considered it an incomprehensible entity, but that was wrong.
What humans should truly fear and ostracize was the human standing before it now.
“Anyway, how exactly should I kill you?”
Ho-cheol tapped the monster lightly with his foot, as if troubled.
He had clearly killed it properly.
It was completely incapacitated, yet it still had a pulse and was recovering, albeit very slowly.
“You fool. I told you I am an immortal being.”
Although the accumulated damage this time would require an impossibly long time for a human to recover, for the monster, it was just a slightly long nap.
And most importantly.
“The Gate’s core is me itself. You will be trapped in this place forever.”
“Oh, really?”
Despite the brutal declaration, Ho-cheol never lost his composure.
He squatted down and held out his palm.
“Then I guess there’s no choice.”
Ho-cheol’s Time Acceleration Trait.
That Trait, which had surpassed its limits, now reached a state where it didn't just infinitely stretch the gap in time but completely skipped the series of intermediate processes.
Of course, considering the recoil and the risk of activation, it was virtually impossible to use during combat.
But if the opponent was completely incapacitated like this, he could fully unleash his power.
“Of course, if you had a Trait related to this and could neutralize it, it would be your victory. But seeing as you haven't used it even once until now, you're not choosing not to, but rather you can't, right?”
Kiiririik—
The monster's expression turned serious.
It instinctively felt it.
This was something different.
Until now, it had been confident that no matter what tremendous attack it took, it could always recover and revive.
But not this.
Something endless, that even it couldn't comprehend.
Transcendence can only be killed by Transcendence.
Something that had reached Transcendence, conforming to that law.
“H-how…”
The voice, heard for the first time, showed perplexity, and beyond that, despair.
Kiiiing—!
A powerful light exploded, centered on Ho-cheol.
And where the light faded again, Ho-cheol and something that was once the monster were left behind.
“Did it really die?”
Ho-cheol muttered that and poked the monster.
Even he couldn't be 100% sure while using the Trait.
And fortunately, as he expected, the monster no longer showed any movement.
Complete death, with no sign of revival or recovery.
“It’s finally over.”
Hoo— Ho-cheol let out a long sigh and slumped down, as if collapsing onto the spot.
He wiped his nose and mouth with the back of his hand.
Clumps of jet-black clotted blood smeared onto it.
“I really almost died.”
On the surface, he maintained his composure and boasted of his confidence until the end, but in reality, he was also on a tightrope.
Even one tiny mistake wouldn't have been strange for him to die instead of the monster.
But ultimately, he was the one who survived.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he slowly got up.
“Let's go home.”
If the monster and the core had fused, now that the monster’s life was severed, the core would have also disappeared.
Naturally, the gate would have twisted and its exit would have opened.
As he took a few steps, he suddenly paused.
With an utterly bewildered look, he quickly scanned his surroundings, then bit his lip and tucked it into his mouth.
Which way is the exit?
***
Ho-cheol ended up wandering for another full day before he finally found the exit and could come out of the gate.
He never thought he would wander this much for a distance that would normally take less than an hour.
Without a map or a compass, and with the intensity of the battle with the monster having completely leveled the surrounding terrain, there was nothing he could do.
And so, Ho-cheol passed through the gate shimmering with violet light.
The moment he came out, he felt a terrible dizziness and collapsed onto the floor.
The accumulated fatigue and stress all rushed in at once, and even he couldn't bear it.
But just before his face hit the floor.
Pulsseok—
Se-ah caught him before he did.
Ho-cheol, his eyes half-closed, asked in surprise.
“What, you were still waiting?”
Normally, no matter how much time flowed inside, not even a second should have passed outside.
However, once the Gate's core is destroyed, that phenomenon completely disappears.
Naturally, another full day passed outside while Ho-cheol was searching for the exit.
It was a fortunate phenomenon for Ho-cheol.
If it hadn't been for that neutralization process, Ho-cheol would have suffered considerable aftereffects from the time distortion the moment he came out.
“Of course, I had to wait.”
Se-ah replied curtly.
“We were supposed to have dinner.”
“Ah, right. Was I too late?”
“You can say that again. Sigh.”
Her tone was utterly curt and seemed to be blaming Ho-cheol, but the hand wrapped around his back revealed a deep sense of relief.
Ho-cheol put his hand on her shoulder and finally stood up, barely maintaining his balance.
“But dinner is hard right now. I just want to wash up first.”
Ho-cheol was not in a state that could be called intact, even as a formality.
Not only was he covered in blood and dust, but his complexion was also haggard from fighting non-stop for days without a break.
Seeing his state, Se-ah shook her head.
“You’ll just get kicked out if you go to a restaurant looking like that, so what dinner are you talking about?”
In his current condition, the limit of where he could eat was a free soup kitchen, not a restaurant.
Se-ah’s gaze instantly moved, not to Ho-cheol, but to his hand.
Specifically, to the human-shaped object he was clutching in one hand and dragging along.
“What is that?”
“Ah, this?”
Feeling her gaze, Ho-cheol lightly raised his hand.
The monster's corpse naturally dangled and followed.
Ho-cheol pondered a word for a moment and then found the most appropriate one.
“My retirement fund.”