Like Teleport, Shadow Step consumed a lot of magic because it allowed him to cross through space.
‘There is a correlation between Shadow Step and surprise attacks.’
As with other surprise attacks, it couldn’t be used twice. But on the other hand, that meant that it was extremely effective the first time.
‘This is my stage.’
Seo Jun-Ho and Kal Signer were currently fighting inside the Curtain of Darkness—the darkness around him gave him plenty of places to go.
‘Like right now.’
As Curtain of Darkness started to unravel, Seo Jun-Ho moved and reappeared right behind Kal Signer. He thrust Black Dragon Fang toward his unguarded heart.
But Kal Signer sensed his presence and turned around, blocking the attack with his hand.
“…!”
It didn’t pierce through Kal Signer’s heart but cut through his wrist. However, he didn’t scream. In fact, he held out his injured arm toward Seo Jun-Ho.
‘Does he not know that he was hit?’
Seo Jun-Ho’s reaction was slow. He didn’t expect that there would be any danger because he had already cut off the latter’s hand.
“…!” But shockingly, a red hand emerged from the stump of the severed arm.
“The fucking demon clan techniques!”
A large, sharp fingertip shredded through the space where Seo Jun-Ho had just been standing. He barely managed to dodge by rolling on the ground.
“I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you’d be able to make this kind of ambush.” Kal Signer stepped away from Curtain of Darkness. He studied his hand on the floor and made a face. “Tsk.?It’ll take at least a month for my hand to be completely restored.”
In order to become a fiend, you had to drink the blood of a demon. Most fiends drank the demon clans’ blood by diluting it with water. There would be less chance of dying that way, but the amount of power they could acquire was also limited.
But occasionally, there were those that had nothing to lose and would do anything for power. They would gulp down the pure, undiluted blood of the demons.
‘And of course, only about two in ten survives.’
Of the few that survived, there was an even smaller amount who were compatible with the blood and wouldn’t experience any side effects. Moreover, those who were chosen could use special skills and techniques from the owner of the blood they drank.
“Did you drink the blood of a High Vampire or something?” Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t help but ask.
“Nope. I like sunlight, you see,” Kal Signer lightly replied. His weapons aimed at Seo Jun-Ho once more. “Seeing as you didn’t use that teleporting skill from the beginning, I assume that it comes with a heavy price.”
‘Clever bastard.’
Kal Signer had skillfully grasped the weakness of Seo Jun-Ho’s skill.
“Ah, and of course, I can’t get closer to that wall of darkness either.” Kal Signer took another step back and prepared his demonic energy. “This time, you’ll die for real.”
“I feel like your attitude has changed a bit? I thought that you were just going to kidnap me.”
“Of course. If you’ll let me put you in these handcuffs, I’ll spare you.”
Seo Jun-Ho gave him the middle finger.
“Kekeke.” Kal Signer laughed as he loaded his weapons. “That’s why you should’ve hit me here,” he said, tapping on his chest and neck. “Not my wrist.”
“Hup!” Seo Jun-Ho sprinted toward him. Now that his ambush had failed, there was no other option but to face him directly.
“Haaa… It seems that you don’t value your life.”
Ffft!
Woosh!
Bang!
Arrows, bolts, and other projectiles rained down on Seo Jun-Ho.
‘Focus.’
He had to focus, but it was getting harder to do so as Booster’s time limit approached.
‘Focus…!’
His head felt like it was on fire. If possible, he wanted to cut open his head and pour in coolant.
“Die!” Kal Signer’s scream pierced through his ears.
Seo Jun-Ho sliced through an arrow with his sword, but he had already been hit on his left shoulder and twice in his right thigh.
Swish! Swish!
He sliced through three more arrows and two ballistas, but he was forcibly slowed down as an arrow pierced through his right forearm.
“Ugh…!” He gnashed his teeth and ran harder as the two started to get closer.
“Die, die, die! I said die!” Kal Signer’s voice grew louder as Seo Jun-Ho approached.
Why wasn’t he dying? How was he running even after being hit with this downpour of arrows? Even if he was wearing armor, how could he keep moving after getting hit so much? A part of Kal Signer’s mind began to feel unease.
‘Is he…going to break through?’
It was impossible but Kal Signer trembled. He sensed the danger and created a more powerful arrow by condensing his demonic energy.
With that, Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t get any closer. He could only stand and swing his Black Dragon Fang?like a baseball bat.
“Huff… huff…” He was out of breath. His breath felt cold against the roof of his mouth as pain shot through his entire body, but he didn’t let go of his sword. The attacks were still coming, after all.
Bang!
He swung his weapon like a bat to hit a ballista. It flew far away, only to explode as it hit the ground.
Swish!
He cut through an arrow, and the electricity coursing through it electrocuted him.
Puk!
An arrow pierced through his stomach. It must have had the ability to ignore defenses because it penetrated Black Armor like butter.
“Ha…?Hahaha, that’s right.” Kal Signer’s lips twitched into an awkward smile as he felt relieved. Three meters. Seo Jun-Ho fell to his knees, only three meters away from him. “…Are you finally done?”
Seo Jun-Ho’s breath was shallow as he replied, “That’s…a death flag…bitch.”
Seo Jun-Ho sprung forward. With his sword raised, he crossed the distance in an instant.
“Kugh!”
Kal Signer grunted as he held out his left hand, but he used the other to grab Seo Jun-Ho’s throat. There was a loud crack as he broke the latter’s neck.
‘Finally…!’
Seo Jun-Ho was dead. He had killed him. Kal Signer grinned, full of relief.
“That was your wrist, you dumbass.” Seo Jun-Ho’s cold voice echoed in his ear.
“Wha—”
Before he could finish his sentence, a sharp ice sword pierced through his heart.
“Gah!” Black blood spilled from his lips. His hand trembled as he brought his hand to his chest. The blood was warm in his hand, hot enough for it to turn into steam, but all he felt in his body was coldness. He staggered as he grabbed Seo Jun-Ho’s collar and vomited blood all over him. His eyes were bloodshot with resentment.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
An automatic ballista fired at Seo Jun-Ho, but he didn’t look away. “Clean it up, Watchguard.”
The darkness seemed to burn as it formed the shape of wolves. They growled as they bared their teeth and crunched through the weapons.
Signer’s eyes widened. “Watchguard…of Darkness?”
Why was it that he hadn’t noticed? How could he not know about the man who had dominated an era and was still recognized as a legend—Specter?
Even with a bloody mouth, he started to laugh uncontrollably. “Hahaha! Ha! Cough!” Even as blood spurted from his lips, he didn’t stop. “Ahahaha! You have the whole world fooled!” They had been completely fooled. Who would have thought that Seo Jun-Ho and Specter were the same person?
“I’m…satisfied…” He had finally discovered Seo Jun-Ho’s true identity. As his curiosity was satisfied, life quickly started to fade from his eyes, but he needed to know one last thing before he died. “You… What are you planning?”
“Me?” Seo Jun-Ho crouched down and whispered in his ear. “You don’t need to know. You’re gonna die soon anyway.”
Crack!
He twisted his hand, and the ice sword shattered inside him, filling Kal Signer with unfathomable pain as his heart was shattered into pieces. His body bent backward like a bow as he started to convulse. His eyes stared at the sky.
‘My dream…’
He wanted to become one of the Heaven, no matter what he took, but he quickly realized that he didn’t have the potential.
‘I just want to see it one last time…’
He wanted to see the star-studded night sky one last time but all he saw was the jet-black Curtain of Darkness.
‘There’s… nothing…’
Kal Signer closed his eyes. Perhaps this scene was one that best expressed his last moments. Once upon a time, he wanted to become the Tenth Heaven, and he had done everything possible to achieve his fleeting dream.
But it had all been for naught. This was how he met his end.
Thud.
Kal Signer’s arms went limp, and his head drooped. Seo Jun-Ho held him up, but once he felt Kal Signer growing limp and heavy, he dropped him to the ground. The Demon Bow rolled on the ground of this nameless mountain.
Seo Jun-Ho finally released Curtain of Darkness and looked around. “What a mess.”
Forget a landslide, it seemed like a natural disaster had occurred. The area around them had been completely devastated, enough to change the terrain of the land. He didn’t know if he would be able to erase their traces completely.
“His memories first.” He didn’t even have the strength to lift his finger, but Seo Jun-Ho sat down and activated Confession of the Dead. “Shit, it’s doing it again.”
Most of the memories were locked because the skill rank was too low. He swallowed down his frustration and quickly looked for something useful.
— You’re the Demon Bow? Your skills are commendable.
— From now on, you’ll be in charge of a unit. Kill the hypocrites.
— Mission? I have none. I steal if I want to steal, I kill if I want to kill.
— I will follow you to the depths of hell.
— Bring Seo Jun-Ho to me.
After using it a few times, he had been able to look at the highlights and the projections quickly ended.
“I got it,” Seo Jun-Ho muttered. He had found two useful things in Kal Signer’s memories. First, he had verified the extent and the validity of Goblin’s information since there were quite a few fiends in Kal Signer’s memories.
‘There aren’t a lot of major fiends in Kal Signer’s memories… but there were many that were in Goblin’s files.’
They better stay quiet. If he ever met one of them, he would kill those scumbags without hesitation.
“And I’ve got the location of the Fiend Association.”
Kal Signer definitely knew where it was since he had been there multiple times.
“Tsk,?if only the information wasn’t locked…”
Naturally, the information about the exact location was locked, but he was able to deduce the region by looking at the other memories.
‘Schumern… It’s not a big city.’
It was a small and cheerful city where many people lived, and Kal Signer had gone there whenever he had business with the Fiend Association. Seo Jun-Ho would be able to verify this once he went up to the 2nd floor.
Other than that, there wasn’t much else besides tidbits. The only thing that caught Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes was the fact that Kim Woo-Joong had been chasing him for months.
‘That guy’s really stubborn.’
How could someone who was one of the Nine Heavens spend months chasing one person?
“It would be unwise to turn him into an enemy.” When he smiled, a message appeared in front of him.
[Skill rank has increased from repeated use.]
[Confession of the Dead (C) has evolved to Confession of the Dead (B).]
“Huh?!” He grinned. This meant that he would be able to get more information in the future. He tried to use it on Kal Signer again.
[You have already read the target’s memories.]
However, he couldn’t use it on the latter anymore.
“Can I not use it twice on the same target?” He sighed regretfully at this newfound information and turned his attention elsewhere. It was ridiculous, but he leveled up because of the skill rank increase.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[All stats has increased by 2.]
[You have recovered 4 speed stats.]
[Stamina has increased by 2 due to Limit Breaker’s effect.]
Seo Jun-Ho looked up at the sky, tired. His body was heavy, but he felt exhilarated.
“…I avenged you, Tushar Vishi.” He had finally carried out his promise. Now, he could rest. “As for the cleanup…”
It was impossible to do it alone, so he would probably have to ask Shim Deok-Gu for help. He moved his finger.
“Clean up the corpse.”
Crunch crunch.
Fang of Darkness consumed Kal Signer’s body. Not a single drop of blood was left behind.
“This is the only spoil…”
Seo Jun-Ho picked up a large bow off the ground. It was the only thing that remained. The other weapons were destroyed when Fang of Darkness consumed the automatic weapons.
“If I knew this would happen, I would’ve controlled it a little better. Oh, well.”
He studied the crimson bow.
[Final Horizon]
Grade: Unique
Force of arrow increased by 500%
Arrow speed increased by 1000%
When the bowstring is pulled all the way, the arrow can be shot to the end of the horizon.
Use requirements: Level 40, 130 strength, 130 speed
“It’s sturdy. That’s why it didn’t break.” He gave a dim smile and slowly stood up. He made his way here by running, but he definitely had to take a taxi back.
“Then shall I…”
Just as he started to stagger up, all the hair on his body stood up.
“…!” His body moved on its own and crouched down. Alarms went off in his head, sensing something dangerous. He was jittery from the aftermath of the battle, but a powerful force froze him in place.
“Certain scents can’t be concealed no matter how you try.” A voice came from beneath the trees. It was that man. Seo Jun-Ho knew that the man was holding him in place. “Like the stench of fiends, or the Trace Incense.” It was a Unique-grade item that could let you find the target it was attached to no matter how far they went.
“I didn’t think you’d come down to Earth. I had to wander for a while because the scent disappeared.”
As the man placed his hand on the sheath of his sword, his magic pressed harder on Seo Jun-Ho. At that very moment, Seo Jun-Ho felt an immense pressure boring down on him. At the same time, it felt like there was a knife being held to his neck.
“…!”
A figure stepped out from the shadow of the trees. “Is that a disguise? Or an artifact? Well, it doesn’t matter.” His eyes were emotionless. “You can’t run away this time, Kal Signer.”
“…What?” Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect the man to mistake him for Kal Signer. After all, that man was very famous.
‘Am I dreaming?’
The man before him had many names. He was a swordmaster, the Vice Master of Silent Moon, and one of three Players who were Counts in the Ruben Empire.
“…The Seventh Heaven.”
He was one of the Nine Heavens, the Sword Saint, Kim Woo-Joong.