Ranker’s Return

‘I don’t think I need to use the giant skills...?’

Hyeonu saw blood flowing from Ergal’s abdomen and felt it was a pity to use the giant skills. The win was already perfectly caught, so he didn’t feel the need to use them. Hyeonu couldn’t let go of such a favorable situation.

‘Yes, just kill him roughly with Tang-E.’

It was a waste. He defined it this way. Then instead of attacking Viscount Ergal, Hyeonu praised Tang-E: “Tang-E, this attack was very good. I commend you.”

Tang-E laughed, “Hehe, Tang-E did well...”

Just then, the spear that was stuck in Viscount Ergal’s abdomen disappeared. It vanished in an instant. This was the same for Viscount Ergal’s wounds. The hole that was caused by the spear was quickly filled.

‘This...’ Hyeonu had a flustered expression. He didn’t think Viscount Ergal would show a recovery pattern.

‘No... I should have expected this.’

Hyeonu blamed himself for not remembering his past experience with demons. Dark attribute magic power could also be called black magic power. They were the same thing, just called by different names. Moreover, Hyeonu had once fought against a boss monster who used the dark attribute magic power.

‘Edward!’

Edward, the final boss of one of the main scenarios, was the leader of Alkyl and the second prince of the Yusma Empire. He was an NPC who used dark attribute magic. Nevertheless, that wasn’t all. Most of the boss monsters that Hyeonu encountered in the past had recovery patterns by default. Due to being preoccupied with getting the ring to improve his magic power, Hyeonu had forgotten about this.

‘Damn. I was too excited.’

Hyeonu slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had to come to his senses. The ring was loot. He had to kill Viscount Ergal and get the loot. If Hyeonu didn’t kill Viscount Ergal, he wouldn’t get the ring. He had to focus on defeating the enemy in front of him instead of the rewards.

“Tang-E, focus. Just do it as usual,” Hyeonu told Tang-E what he should say to himself.

“I understand, Master dude. I will readjust.” Tang-E didn’t know this and once again became enthusiastic about Hyeonu’s words.

“I don’t know who you are, but you will regret visiting me today,” Viscount Ergal said, gritting his teeth at Hyeonu.

It was a natural reaction. From Ergal’s point of view, Hyeonu was an assassin aiming for his life, so this reaction wasn’t excessive.

“Regret? I only felt it that one time.”

There was only one regretful moment in Hyeonu’s life. It was when he went out for his last vacation during his time in the army. He regretted not spending money wisely in the past. If he had saved his money well, he would’ve been able to cope better the moment his father collapsed. Hyeonu pulled the Mysterious Sky Sword out of his sheath and simultaneously started using buffs.

‘Giant’s Power, Giant’s Nature, Giant’s Origin, and One Who Yearns.’

[Giant’s Power has been used.]

[Your strength stat has increased.]

[Giant’s Nature has been used.]

[Your strength stat has increased.]

[Giant’s Origin has been used.]

[Your strength stat has increased.]

[One Who Yearns has been used.]

[All stats have increased.]

He used every one of them. This was the moment when Hyeonu’s real fighting power was revealed. Nevertheless, it wasn’t just these. He also had debuffs.

‘Tyrant’s Eyes, Twilight Reproduction.’

Tyrant’s Eyes took away the stats of a person who met his eyes and gave them an abnormal status, while Twilight Reproduction reduced the stats of the opponent. This wasn’t the end. There was still one more thing. He took out the mask he used to hide his identity and put it on.

“You?!” Viscount Ergal’s expression changed when he saw it. It was only now that he realized Hyeonu’s identity.

“Baron Argon!!! How dare you?!!!” He narrowed the distance and rushed at Hyeonu. Suddenly, Viscount Ergal returned to his original position. He didn’t return to it because he wanted to. The moment Viscount Ergal rushed in, Hyeonu pulled out his sword and swung it. When Viscount Ergal saw the Mysterious Sky Sword, he retreated with the use of quick footwork.

‘He isn’t of the baron level? Viscount Ergal’s eyes widened. Hyeonu’s level of power had completely changed from before. It wasn’t that Viscount Ergal couldn’t block such an attack. He was just shocked because it was simply impossible to launch such a powerful attack with a light swing. Powerful attacks required time to gather that much magic power.

‘No, he must’ve been originally collecting magic power.’

Viscount Ergal tried to rationalize it. Baron Argon was originally gathering magic power for this attack. Thus, he was able to use such a powerful attack. Viscount Ergal just overlooked one thing. The fact that he didn’t notice his opponent gather magic power meant the difference in skill alone was significant.

***

Hyeonu gradually cornered Viscount Ergal step by step. Hyeonu’s attacks limited Viscount Ergal’s movements, but the real blow was Tang-E’s magic. A scorching fireball burned Viscount Ergal’s back. It had already burned half his clothes to ashes in an instant.

“Kuaaaak!” Viscount Ergal let out a pained scream. He was now filled with regret. Normally, he didn’t allow anyone near this room, so there wasn’t a single demon who could enter here to save him.

‘I will die if it continues like this,’ Viscount Ergal realized this fact and calmed his mind. He started to look for ways to win. The person in front of him wasn’t a baron. His status might be a baron, but his strength was different.

‘Maybe he concealed his identity.’

Or perhaps he tricked Viscount Ergal. What could Viscount Ergal do to survive? No, how could he beat such a strong man?

‘There is only one way.’

It was usually a method he wouldn’t use under normal circumstances. However, he didn’t hesitate to use it when faced with a crisis of death. What was the use of saving it when his life was going to fly away?

‘My magic power is bound to run wild.’

In any case, his magic power could be replenished again through the magic power stone. It would take time to recover, but it was worth it if he could survive. Viscount Ergal quickly gathered the magic power in his body and then relinquished control of it. The powerful magic power ran frantically through Viscount Ergal’s body like it was the Autobahn. The rampant magic power grew like a snowball. The amount of magic power being generated in Ergal’s body now went way beyond what he had originally. This was disposable magic power that he could use temporarily.

Viscount Ergal was convinced it would kill Baron Argon.

[Ergal, a viscount of the demon world, is suffering from the ‘magic rampage’ abnormal state.]

“Pushing me up to here... is commendable, but it ends here.” Viscount Ergal burst out laughing.

[The fear of a viscount of the demon world, Ergal, has been heard.]

[The influence of fighting energy and killing intent has allowed you to ignore Viscount Ergal’s fear.]

Viscount Ergal’s laughter had the same influence as Fear, but Hyeonu was unaffected. The only monsters who succeeded in using Fear against Hyeonu were dragons and those like Lebron. It was meaningless for boss monsters and just a waste of their magic power.

“It ends here for you, Viscount Ergal, not me. Starting from today, the owner of this city is me. I will use the magic power stone well,” Hyeonu countered.

His level of provocation was different. The words he uttered were even worse than the viscount’s. Hyeonu was an expert after all. He was better than anyone else at provoking the opponent. In some ways, it was a more unique skill than his combat skills.

“No one will remember the name Viscount Ergal. Damanos won’t care about you. It is because I won’t pretend to be you. I will be alive, and you will be dead. Who will be worth more?”

The moment Hyeonu’s words were over, the amount of magic power flowing through Viscount Ergal’s body increased. Ergal yelled, “You! I will start with tearing apart that mouth!”

No one could bear to hear the kind of words Hyeonu said. It was like that with humans. Then what about demons? Of course, it was natural that they wouldn’t be able to stand it. The furious Viscount Ergal kicked off from the ground. He disappeared instantly and reappeared before Hyeonu’s eyes like he’d made an instantaneous move.

Viscount Ergal swung his fist right away, but Hyeonu stretched out his left hand and caught it. Then with the power in his left hand, Hyeonu pushed Viscount Ergal away. Helplessly forced back, Viscount Ergal retreated a few steps. Hyeonu secured some distance and immediately swung down the Mysterious Sky Sword, going from top to bottom.

A thin black-red pure energy shot from the quick-moving Mysterious Sky Sword and left a red line on Viscount Ergal’s left shoulder. The pure energy didn’t stop there and kept firing. It only stopped after penetrating the wall behind Viscount Ergal. Viscount Ergal’s left arm fell to the ground, and blood gushed like a fountain from the neatly made wound.

“Uwaaaah!” A scream emerged from Viscount Ergal’s mouth.

Hyeonu’s attack had occurred too naturally. He blocked Viscount Ergal’s attack and used his power to push Viscount Ergal away. Then Hyeonu did what he had to do. This series of processes happened so quickly and naturally that Viscount Ergal could do nothing to stop it. There was only one thing he could do now—regenerate his body using his rampant magic power.

“Ohhh!” Viscount Ergal let out a strange groan. Then the place where his arm had been sliced off started to regrow an arm at a fast speed. When the new arm had grown to about halfway, a fireball appeared and exploded against Viscount Ergal’s arm.

However, the flames didn’t go out. They started burning at his elbow and quickly swallowed up his entire arm. This time, Viscount Ergal cut off his arm himself. If he had not done anything about it, his entire body would face a crisis. He sacrificed a small thing for a big thing. In any case, he could regrow his arm. It was an act that came from deep thought.

Nevertheless, Hyeonu wouldn’t just stand still and watch.

“This is great to see. A viscount cutting off a body part because he can’t put out the fire... Why don’t you cut your own neck before something more serious happens?” Hyeonu’s tongue moved like a serpent as he started mocking Viscount Ergal again.

The provocation worked on Viscount Ergal whose mind was already disturbed by the magic power rampage. He chose an option rather than rushing at Hyeonu. “Uwaaah!”

The black flames around Viscount Ergal’s body became even more intense.

[A viscount of the demon world, Ergal, is suffering from the ‘magic rampage’ abnormal state.]

It was Ergal’s second magic power rampage.