Novel Full 149 Fatal Misstep
He adjusted his glasses once more as his white-and-gold uniform had been dyed in his own crimson overflow, huffing out as he weakly raised his greatsword.
“…Come on, then…”
As he let his inviting words leave his lips, he watched one of the demonified man’s unholy hands raise towards him.
“–?”
Before he could properly gauge what was happening, a sweeping blast of pure, unrefined darkness exploded outwards towards him.
“Ghh–!”
It was only at the last moment before complete impact that he managed to manifest a radiant shield, though all it did was mitigate the complete damage–causing him to be blasted back by the volatile darkness.
“Come on, Dae-Seong! Don’t tell me you can’t keep up now!” The demonified Jun-Seo taunted him with a laughter-laced yell.
Just from the simple, quickly-released blast of darkness, most of his armor was desecrated, and further wounds laid on his flesh, but he straightened himself out in time to guard against the devil man’s incoming strike.
Each strike that came from Jun-Seo’s demon-altered fists carried with it a heavy blow, knocking against the greatsword he used as a shield repeatedly.
Jun-Seo smiled wide while unleashing the barrage of blows, hardly exuding much effort as he marched forward while pushing him back with the flurry of straight fists.
“Grgh–!”
With the wounds he had, just holding a guard was enough to push him to the limits of his failing body; each vibration that emitted from the devil-made man’s knuckles traveled through his bones, sapping his strength.
“Come on! Is this really it?! How disappointing–!” Jun-Seo taunted him with a newfound, twisted smile..
Just as the next strike was coming, nearing his bloodied face–he evolved when death itself looked him right in the face, and he looked back.
[Warp Step]
It was derived from his sub-conscious in that moment, remembering for some reason the main skill used by Jeong-Hui as a means of last-moment defense. This prompted his Evolution Skill to create something of its own, similar to [Blink Step] itself.
In an instant, he vanished from the malice of Jun-Seo’s knuckles, reappearing several meters to the side.
“Hoh,” Jun-Seo looked to the side, “–That unique System of yours really is something.”
“–“
As he stayed silent, catching his breath–his enemy didn’t let up. With the massive speed that Jun-Seo now touted, the horned entity appeared in front of him with a malice-bearing grin, preparing to swipe another layer of volatile darkness his way.
Once more, he broke in his newly-acquired ability, warping away as he avoided the jaws of the explosive shadows, using another [Warp Step] to take to the offense this time.
“–!”
He drew in a breath, bolstering his strength before he went for a downward strike aimed to split the demon’s head wide open.
Though just as his massive weapon of steel came downward, Jun-Seo deflected the strike with a backhanded strike, countering with a swift punch to the man’s already-injured gut.
“Grgh-!”
He spat out blood as his internal organs were devastated by the simple strike that carried inhuman strength behind it, being knocked back several meters as he tumbled against the bone-built ground.
“No matter how much you evolve, it seems like the inevitable death you’re crawling towards is something you can’t adapt to,” Jun-Seo said to him, walking over to the keeled over man.
He continued hacking up blood, holding his abdomen as just sitting in one spot but for a moment resulted in a puddle of crimson forming beneath him.
“Stand.”
As Jun-Seo demanded as such, the silver-haired leader of Gangcheori didn’t comply, attempting to regain his unattainable breath as crimson trickled from his lips, down onto the chalky ivory below.
“Huff…”
He knew it.
There wasn’t an outcome where he walked out of here alive. As somebody that had strolled the fine line between life and death many times, he could feel it–this was the end.
…Forego living. Prioritize defeating the enemy in front of you, he thought.
It was a strategy he developed that lacked one of the foundational aspects of tactics in the first place: “defense.”
As he felt the devil’s foot press down on his back, the natural cling to life that all had vanished as he accepted it fully–deciding to let go of caution and completely prioritize offense.
“In the end, you were–”
Before Jun-Seo could finish his words, the monstrous left arm made up of intertwined, phantasmal limbs was amputated in an instant.
“–What?” Jun-Seo let out.
There wasn’t any sort of blow he saw. Simply a slice manifested itself, bypassing the entity’s devilish reflexes in their entirety.
“God’s Silent Damnation.”
Though the loss of a limb was hardly a problem for the one who stepped into devilhood as the black tendrils of malice stretched out, reconnecting his blood-spewing, abhorrent limb back–permanent harm was not the intention with that blow.
Before Jun-Seo could realize, the silver-haired man who was drenched in blood of his own, somehow was on his feet again.
What is this? This man should’ve been dead long ago. How is it he’s on his feet again? How is it he still wields that blade with such intent?! Jun-Seo questioned.
He drew a sharp breath through his parsed lips, bolstering his body as he summoned all of his strength. Doing so resulted in him forcing even more blood to pour from the dozens of gashes left on his body, but he did so anyway.
“Did you evolve again?! How is this possible–?! Even with a System, humans have limits!” The Artificial Devil lashed out, bringing himself into a counterattack.
But, Dae-Seong presented unprecedented speed–
Again, the Artificial Devil had his limb lobbed off, but this time–both arms were cut away in an instant.
It was a combination, though not instantaneous, they were used in such quick succession that it mimicked a combined skill: [Warp Step] and [God’s Silent Damnation].
“Don’t lump me in with you,” he finally spoke to the devilish man.
“Ngh–?!”
Jun-Seo turned around in anger as his limbs were reattaching, faced again with a swift, unhesitant assault as the silver-haired human was already directly in front of him, rearing his black back.
The greatsword was engulfed in heavenly light, burning with such intense heat that the particles of darkness inhabiting the ground ruptured into flames, being burnt away by the divinity that should not exist in the hellish domain.
Just as Jun-Seo raised his hands, manifesting a swirl of darkness that hissed like the cry of a banshee, the malignant energy was cast away by the first swing of the silver-haired man’s greatsword–dispersing it with the holy flames.
“What–?!” Jun-Seo let out in surprise.
Those golden flames–no, they’re turning white! Is this a new evolution?! Did he adapt to my darkness?! Jun-Seo questioned.
He planted his boot down firmly against the ground, cracking the bone-made floor beneath as he reared his weapon back as a dense gathering of holy heat engulfed its steel.
“I’ll tell you where you went wrong; I am not standing here now because of my System, but my System is evolving because I’m standing here now,” he said, lifting his blade as the Artificial Devil was left stunned by the holy shock wave, “–You, who abandoned humanity in its most vulnerable state, would not understand this conviction–my conviction to stand by humanity and strive for a tomorrow.”
Continuously, the man evolved; his physicality increasing, the heat of his flames amplifying, and the aura he exuded thickening.
The Artificial Devil looked on in surprise as the golden flame-engulfed sword was hung over his head, casting a ceiling of a seraphic sea of fire that roared out with unreachable judgment.
Not another word was spoken as the man, on the verge of death, swung his blade downward with full intent of squashing the devilish fiend before him.
–
Just then, the black-haired vice leader of Gangcheori blinked, slowly parting her eyelids before coughing out.
“–“
Ma-Ri sat up, completely perplexed by the foreign environment around her as she held her sore stomach.
“Ngh…” She winced.
It felt as if her organs themselves were sore, having been battered by some merciless force before she looked up, seeing the burly, unconscious Korain just a meter or so in front of her, laid out on the bone grave.
“Korain…!” She called out.
As she knelt by the man’s side, he winced, beginning to slowly come to consciousness–but just then, her attention was grabbed by the massive tremor that traversed the enigmatic domain.
“–!”
Looking to the right, she could see a familiar figure in the near distance, though obscured by billowing, holy smoke.
“Dae-Seong…!” She called out.
In such a peculiar situation, her icy demeanor was shifted as she let out in worry for her trusted superior.
But, what she saw as the smoke dissipated was now a sight that met her eyes kindly.
“…”
Dae-Seong coughed out blood, spewing it directly onto the gray-skinned chest of the black-veined devil in front of him.
A miss.
Through a swift evasion and counterattack, the Artificial Devil had evaded the purging flames, sinking his fist through the torso of the silver-haired man in the process.
“…So close, Dae-Seong,” Jun-Seo said through his accursed lips quietly, looking at the man with disappointment in his black eyes.
“–“
The man hacked up more blood as it dripped from his lips, trailing down his chin as the greatsword he wielded dropped from his grip, falling to the chalky floor with a small cloud of dust kicking up.