novelraw Chapter 239 : Life-or-Death Struggle (6)
Chapter 239 : Life-or-Death Struggle (6)
Chapter 239: Life-or-Death Struggle (6)
The words of the God of Storms and the message relayed by Luca from the scene stirred up more of a reaction than expected.
It wasn’t because he was spouting a baseless conspiracy or making an unreasonable argument.
There was clear evidence.
Luca, who had no idea he was being observed by someone, had no reason to lie.
Of course, there was one being who realized how serious the situation was—Disaster’s Eye.
He too was a Divine Seat of the Dimensional Faction, and thus could see the video shared by the God of Storms.
“Shit.”
Disaster’s Eye frowned with a curse that a human might utter, fully grasping the situation.
He hadn’t expected the board to be set up like this.
It was as if everything had been known from the start—too much had been exposed.
Just what the hell had happened?
Everything had proceeded in secret, and even the mediator had been taken care of before he could reveal anything.
That’s why he had been able to control the Black Guards as he wished, and he was also about to capture the Model Student Constellation.
There was no way the secret could have leaked, yet the plan had been laid bare for the world to see.
Luca wasn’t the problem.
Luca had only confirmed what had already been revealed; he wasn’t the root cause of the leak.
Cognitive dissonance.
Disaster’s Eye felt it for the first time. A secret he couldn't possibly know had become known to all the Constellations.
It was an absurd idea, but had someone regressed and told them about the future?
Unless there was some calculation like that, no matter how much he thought about it, the current situation made no sense.
“If that’s the case...”
Disaster’s Eye’s mind grew complicated. Now that the Constellations and Divine Seats had caught on to his plan—
He had no choice but to pray that Luca would kill Sanghyun and break the balance of the Scales of Good and Evil.
Only then could he grant status to the evil spirits and demonic spirits desperate to become Constellations.
If he could just elevate them to the Dimensional Faction, it was still possible to turn things around.
There was still a clever move for counterattack.
But if there was one thing that had changed, it was that the time limit was now on him—not on them.
“Contractor, kill him quickly. There’s no time.”
Disaster’s Eye urged Luca.
The picture had changed.
Everything had become urgent.
Meanwhile, after checking the atmosphere of the Dimensional Faction through the Goddess of Luck, Sanghyun finally realized that the time had come.
[We’ve done everything we can now. I’ll gather all my strength and pray that you remain safe.]
The words passed on by the Goddess of Luck etched themselves into Sanghyun’s mind.
He felt her earnest wishes—and her guilt. She believed she owed him a great deal.
And rightfully so.
The fate of the Dimensional Faction could change not through a Constellation or a Divine Seat, but through the life and death of a single human.
For the sake of the Dimensional Faction, Sanghyun had to survive—and at the same time, Luca had to die.
‘If I don’t want to die, I have to kill. I’ll keep it simple. It’s time to throw the winning move.’
Sanghyun spoke to her calmly. There was no need to overthink it.
If he succeeded in throwing his winning move, he would live. If he failed, he would die. There was no third option.
Since the message had reached him, Luca must also have realized that something was off with the Dimensional Faction.
If he approached Luca again, then this time, the result had to be decided. There would be no next time, no alternatives.
Kill or be killed. That was the only choice left for both of them.
Sanghyun had already set up the finishing combo in his head. All that was left was for Luca to fall into the rhythm of the picture.
『Illusion Arbitration』
He sent an illusion to Luca.
But Luca, who sensed it was an illusion from the very beginning, gave it no attention at all.
It was a quick, rational, and proper decision.
The problem was that Illusion Arbitration was unlike typical skills.
『Arbitration Activated』
Fwoosh!
The caster could move directly to the location of the illusion. In an instant, Sanghyun appeared in front of Luca.
“...!”
A startled Luca.
However, since he had already been preparing for the next attack, he naturally reacted.
The fact that he was already aiming at Sanghyun allowed him to respond immediately.
So without any hesitation, Luca unleashed a skill at the Sanghyun who appeared before him. Flames.
Whoooosh!
『Another World』
“...Huh?”
The flames were strong enough to melt steel, but Sanghyun’s response rendered them meaningless.
Because he had used Another World to isolate himself in a subspace, the flames couldn’t touch him at all.
Now it was Sanghyun’s turn.
『Undying One』
■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (10.0%)
■ Skill Description: When this skill is used, you will not die by any means. Ten seconds of complete invincibility will activate.
Although there was no cooldown, once the two total uses were consumed, the skill would disappear immediately.
The skill Undying One, which had once been used during the Seyze raid, was a 10-second complete invincibility skill.
Out of the three uses, two remained, and now he had used his second chance.
『Sword of Ruin』
Sanghyun’s choice was a finishing move he had longed to use for a while but had been patiently holding back.
Each strike from the destructive Sword of Ruin was also the skill Sanghyun trusted the most.
Of course, if he had only used Sword of Ruin here, Luca could have handled it. He could have just dodged.
That was why Sanghyun threw in a decisive winning move he had been waiting even longer to use than the Sword of Ruin.
『Control』
That move was Control.
■ Skill Description: Consumes 10 mana per second to block all skill usage of a designated target.
The designated target will be permanently afflicted with the “Control” debuff, which cannot be lifted by any means.
It can only be broken by interrupting or distracting the caster's concentration.
To escape from the control state, one must disrupt the concentration of the caster who is using the skill.
However, Sanghyun, who was in an Over-Psychedelic state, had stronger focus than ever. It was at its peak.
Thus, Control took effect almost instantly, and disaster struck Luca.
“Wha...?”
Even though Sanghyun’s cold, sharp Nameless Sword was flying straight at him, Luca couldn’t use a single defensive skill.
Luca didn’t even know a debuff like Control existed in the Player world.
That meant he didn’t even realize he was in a state where he couldn’t use skills properly.
If he had realized that much, he might have at least dodged by throwing his body aside—but he couldn’t.
Stab!
“Gah!”
Fortunately, his equipped Artifact absorbed one strike from the Nameless Sword.
Just like Sanghyun had a skill like Undying One, Luca had an Artifact that could nullify a single attack.
If he had understood the situation, he would have wisely withdrawn after the attack was nullified.
But unaware of the Control debuff, Luca saw this moment as a golden chance to counterattack Sanghyun.
So he pulled out a finishing flame skill with the intent to burn Sanghyun alive.
It was Ignition of Death—a skill that cloaked the target in flames of mana that wouldn’t extinguish until death.
“Wha...?”
The moment the skill was blocked during the casting phase, Luca realized he was seriously screwed.
And then—
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
Sanghyun’s Sword of Ruin pierced him repeatedly without pause.
His Artifact had already used its one-time nullification, so these strikes had to be endured with his own body.
“Ugh! Ugh! Cough! Ugh!”
Groans spilled from him.
Even so, he showed remarkable mental strength and tried to distance himself from Sanghyun.
『Death Touch』
Due to the full summon option of Death Touch, he was dragged hideously back in front of Sanghyun.
Stab!
Another thrust of the Sword of Ruin followed.
“Guaaaah!”
Luca screamed.
His chest looked like a beehive, pierced through by the Sword of Ruin and left in an abnormal state.
Only then did Luca realize he had been afflicted by the Control debuff.
It was a ludicrous debuff.
Even if it had conditions, how could a debuff make him completely unable to use any skills while under intense focus?
He had a considerable number of skills, but none that could imitate or counter something like this.
He needed to buy time somehow.
While still in pain, Luca hurled a ring from his finger at Sanghyun, aiming for a reversal.
The Artifact’s “Self-Destruct”.
It was a type of Artifact bomb, based on the fact that all Artifacts stored mana.
He thought this could push Sanghyun back and maybe shake off this damned debuff.
However—
『Undying One』
Just as the initial 10 seconds of Undying One ended, Sanghyun used his final chance without hesitation.
Another 10 seconds of total invincibility were granted.
Boom! Boom-boom! Boom!
The rings Luca had thrown exploded in succession right in front of Sanghyun, but didn’t leave a single scratch.
For a very brief moment, the Control state was lifted, and Luca desperately unleashed Ignition and Combustion.
Whoooosh! Sizzle!
But the invincible aura surrounding Sanghyun nullified everything, rendering all of it meaningless.
All those skills burned nothing but empty air, unable to touch even a strand of Sanghyun’s hair.
Control reactivated.
At that moment, Luca realized things had gone terribly wrong.
He had kept going back and forth on whether to use it—his ultimate skill, Awakening.
With it, he could have fought Sanghyun with far stronger firepower and movement than now.
The problem was that this too was a skill—and thus blocked by Control. He couldn’t use it at all right now.
Sanghyun charged in again.
Luca, a mage-type Player unable to use any skills, was now facing the worst situation imaginable. His mind went blank.
The distance was too short.
Even if he ran, he would just get pulled back. And any attack was useless against that invincible shield.
“Shit...”
All he could do now was mutter a half-defeated curse. There was nothing else he could do.
Stab!
“Ghk!”
Sanghyun’s Nameless Sword pierced straight through Luca’s heart.
Neither his proud level, nor his Artifacts, nor the power of his Constellation, nor his skills could protect him now.
“......”
Luca looked at Sanghyun with a dazed expression.
Meanwhile, Sanghyun knew the moment his sword pierced Luca—it was his death.
So with his sword still lodged in Luca’s chest, Sanghyun stared as the man’s breath slowly faded.
[Hidden Quest Completed!]
[You have successfully eliminated the Player contracted with the Divine Seat ‘Disaster’s Eye’ and nullified the contract!]
The end.
It was the happiest ending Sanghyun could have hoped to create.