Chapter 81

Chapter 80. The Womb of the Dead 'Pendariel' (2)

A world frozen in ice.

A magical realm where each reflection mirrors the other.

This is the final prison created by the glacial formation.

"What is this...?"

Pendariel's pupils dilated in shock.

The endless reflections of herself and the zombies, caused by the light scattering, were bewildering.

Kwaang!

She reached out to break the wall, but behind it was just another wall.

Right at that moment,

[The 'Ice Prison Kaleidoscope' effect triggers 'Area Confusion'!]

The second ability of the kaleidoscope, which made everything seem like it was being sucked in, activated.

"Kieeee!"

"Keeeek!"

The zombies let out a chorus of screams.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crack!

They began to bash their heads against the walls and tear at each other.

Some of them, having lost their minds, even bared their teeth at Pendariel.

A situation completely out of her control.

In an instant, red blood splattered over the white ice.

"Human! How dare you do this!"

Pendariel, who had just torn her own children to pieces with her own hands, gritted her teeth.

At the same time, a menacing aura, far more intense than anything before, rose from her entire body.

[Pendariel activates Lv?? 'Black Death'!]

The skill that had wiped out Ian Smith's attack team.

This is the 'Black Death,' the most virulent of all poisons.

The black aura that spread out seeped into the ice walls.

Kukukukukuk!

Everything that made up the barrier began to turn black and crumble.

The layered walls collapsed.

The basic structure of the ice maze, the foundation of the kaleidoscope, was destroyed.

Truly an overwhelming power.

Pendariel, fueled by rage, unleashed her unique ability, which was on a completely different level.

It wasn't for nothing that even the powerful factions residing in the upper levels of the tower were wary of fighting the queen.

In the face of such absurd power, even defensive skills would be useless.

"Where are you hiding? Come out!"

But.

Even after destroying the ice prison, the opponent was nowhere to be seen.

"......?"

Pendariel's eyes narrowed.

She looked around, but all she saw were shattered ice fragments.

Right at that moment,

Her gaze turned to the center of the barrier.

There was something there.

Something small and shiny, with a faint trace of residual magic.

"This is...?"

No doubt.

It was a magic crystal used to activate the barrier with a time delay.

'Could it be, a decoy? Even this?'

Using her base and comrades as bait.

Drawing attention with flashy skills and provocations.

While hiding herself.

There was only one reason.

As soon as she realized this, her long-dormant heart, which had lost its function, began to beat rapidly.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

'Dangerous.'

Pendariel felt fear for the first time in her life.

'...That human is really...'

She understood what the opponent was trying to do.

'They might destroy everything I cherish and desire.'

Her instincts sent the highest level of warning.

One human was more threatening than ten thousand players.

***

The 4th floor was a base defense battle.

This applied to both the players and the zombies.

The queen had left her colony to kill Jinhyuk.

In other words,

'Their main base is completely empty.'

Jinhyuk increased his speed.

Using 'Sword Demon Emperor Step' and 'Shallow Breathing,' he could maintain both speed and stamina.

At that moment,

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

A strong magical aura was felt from a distance.

The queen had also begun to return with all her might.

'She's not completely stupid.'

If Pendariel had attacked the Sangam Stadium, the base would have fallen quickly.

However, that wouldn't guarantee victory in this battle.

All the player bases on the 4th floor had to be destroyed for the zombies to win.

There were still hundreds of bases left.

Before destroying all of them, her own base would be destroyed first, so she had no choice but to retreat.

'It's too late to realize this now.'

Level and skills.

Strength and speed.

Everything was inferior to Pendariel.

Of course.

The opponent was originally a boss monster that shouldn't have come out of the 4th floor.

'I will lose in combat.'

However, overcoming the overwhelming power difference and using the rule to force a floor change to win the war.

That was exactly

the method for the old player to climb the Tower of Trials.

"Huff."

Jinhyuk took a deep breath.

He had already reached the queen's colony.

The troops left as sentries came into view.

'About forty of them.'

Of course, this number wouldn't even buy him time.

Swish!

A pair of swords emitted a sharp aura.

['Tomb of Swords' activated!]

A black aura enveloped the sword in his left hand.

Pats! Pats! Pats!

A blood-red sword beam burned fiercely.

['Blessing of the Stars' activated!]

A starry aura enveloped the sword in his right hand.

Whoosh!

The light of the stars, protecting the constellations, responded to the caster's call.

Thus,

The miracle that appeared with the lost historical artifacts and the tower's emergence manifested in one place.

"Kraaaah!"

"Keek!"

The zombies that charged were swept away in one strike.

Streams of blood gushed from severed arms and legs.

Mass-produced zombies were no match for him.

Jinhyuk broke through the entrance of the colony and delved deeper inside.

The scenery changed.

The air changed.

The smell of blood grew stronger, and the unique scent of decaying corpses deeply penetrated his nostrils.

'This place is disgusting no matter how many times I see it.'

Jinhyuk frowned.

If there was a hell, it would look like this.

A grotesque, massive tomb made of piled bodies and skeletons.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

"Keek!"

"Keek!"

The deeper he went, the more numerous the zombies became, but none of them could withstand Jinhyuk's attacks.

Jinhyuk swung his sword mechanically, slicing through individual entities.

In areas where enemies were densely packed, he used the holy skill 'Daylight' to sweep them away in one go.

It wasn't far now.

The queen's flag, located in the deepest part, was less than 100 meters away.

'About time for this guy to show up...'

Jinhyuk glanced at the floor, which had changed color.

A spot that felt out of place.

He had been surprised many times by this guy's appearance in the past.

At that moment,

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

A long blade sprang from the ground.

But Jinhyuk had already leaped backward.

Sure enough, it appeared.

"Food...!"

"Tasty! Blood! Organs! Meat!"

A giant zombie with two heads and a deformed back crawled out of the ground.

The guardian of the queen's flag, known as the 'Butcher.'

The most troublesome of the special-form zombies.

Why?

In the game, there were annoying named monsters that you didn't want to face again.

If he had to pick one from the 4th floor, this guy would definitely be at the top of the list.

He could freely use 2-meter-long pincers and had no vital points, so he could continue moving even if his head was cut off.

To completely neutralize him, you had to either disintegrate him at the atomic level or cut off all his limbs.

Jinhyuk had calculated the time to deal with this guy, even though he was far from Pendariel.

The remaining time was about 3 minutes.

"Choose. What do you want this time? Should I burn you spicy? Or cut you cleanly?"

The Butcher tilted its head.

Meanwhile, the two heads moved alternately to avoid colliding.

"Probably... what... are you talking about?"

"We... haven't... seen you... before?"

"Right. But this is my 30th time fighting you."

Climbing from the lower floors, the terrifying memories of the past resurfaced.

He had tried cutting with a sword.

Burning with fire.

Even testing how many times he needed to hit with chopsticks to kill him.

It took about 180,000 hits to destroy one head.

'Damn. I shouldn't do that again.'

Thanks to his challenge spirit, he had experienced all kinds of hardships.

"Eat... prey... making... nonsense."

"Completely... edible. I'll... crush... your head... and eat it!"

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The Butcher moved its pincers threateningly.

A torture weapon that could slice through thick metal plates like paper.

It had proven its power by taking countless lives.

But.

This prey was different.

As the pincers aimed for Jinhyuk's legs,

Jinhyuk plunged the Twin Dragon Swords deep into the ground.

Kaa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

The pincers were blocked by the two swords.

"Not... moving?"

"Argh...!"

Somehow, the pincers couldn't cut through the thin blades.

Thinking they were ordinary swords was the Butcher's first mistake.

And the second was,

[Lv6 'Fire Element' activated!]

Underestimating the abilities of a mere human prey.

Jinhyuk, now atop the Butcher's head, smiled.

Whoosh!

A stream of flames shot into the two eyes.

The flames burned the retinas and penetrated into the brain.

"Kraaaah!"

"Eye... eye!"

He had learned the method of inflicting long, slow pain with chopsticks.

Naturally, he had also learned the fastest and most effective way to kill.

'Temporarily blinding the prey is the foundation.'

Next, he exploited the opening to target the weakest point in the enemy's defenses.

Jinhyuk gathered flames on his fingertips.

He drew a spell in Runes on the Butcher's feet.

Below.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

Above.

The Cataclysmic Fire burned the Butcher's flesh and melted its bones.

But Jinhyuk didn't stop there.

The characteristic of named zombies was that they could recover if given any chance.

This was the perfect opportunity to destroy the Butcher while he was vulnerable.

Jinhyuk moved the sword with the activated sword beam from side to side.

Red lines appeared on the gray flesh.

"Kraaaah...!"

"Pain...! It hurts!"

The Butcher screamed and swung its pincers wildly.

More out of instinct than a real attack.

Naturally, the trajectory was simple, and the attacks were filled with emotion.

"Thanks. I can set a new record in 1 minute."

Thanks to this, he achieved a new record in the 31st attempt.

Thud!

Thud!

The Twin Dragon Swords pierced the Butcher's spinal cords on both sides.

Almost simultaneously.

Jinhyuk converted all the mana he had gathered into 'Mandala.'

His vision turned golden.

[Level up.]

[You have obtained 'Scissors Containing Souls'.]

There was nothing left where the light had swept.

The Butcher, reduced to nothing, left only a single nail as evidence of its existence.

Level up and reward.

'This is why I endure the hardships.'

The effort of running a long distance and fighting fiercely paid off.

He could check the stats and items later.

Now, all that was left was to pull the flag.

There were no more enemies blocking his way.

This battle was over.

But right at that moment,

Ding!

An unexpected status window appeared.

"Look at this."

Jinhyuk's lips twisted subtly.