Chapter 181
As soon as he confirmed that the True Spirit Seed had exploded inside the Thought World, Lao Chen led his subordinates into the Thought World.
Originally, five of them should have entered, but this time the situation was different.
Ling Yan, who controlled the puppets, suddenly fainted with blood on her lips, so they had no choice but to enter with only four.𝗻𝗼𝘷𝑒𝘭𝗯𝓲𝒏.𝓃𝑒𝒕
‘Even though she used puppetry to indirectly open it, Ling Yan still got hurt.’
Even if a puppeteer was connected to their puppet, there was never a case where the damage would fully return to them.
Lao Chen could only think that the necklace that Shamath gave him was not an ordinary item.
It was a pity that Ling Yan was absent, but it was not a big problem. She was more specialized in other areas than in actual combat ability, so the difference in power was not significant.
Lao Chen moved in the direction that Shamath had told him, leading his subordinates.
5km west from the entrance.
5km was not a long distance for them.
When they were about 2km away from their destination, Lao Chen gave an order.
“Wang Xian. Support us from the rear as always.”
“Of course.”
The giant man Wang Xian nodded and took out his huge bow that was much bigger than his height.
Behind his back, there were thick iron arrows with a dark color.
“Shoot when I signal.”
Lao Chen left those words and moved quickly.
A skinny man and an old man with a small stature followed him closely.
Lao Chen’s subordinate Wang Xian was what they called a famous archer.
His arrows were more accurate than a sniper rifle with a high-precision scope, and their power was even greater.
Among the awakened collectors, those who specialized in long-range were called shooters.
When Wang Xian put an iron arrow on the bowstring, he received an order from his leader through the talisman.
“Wang Xian. Shoot.”
Thwoong!
His [Eagle Eye] skill allowed him to see very far away.
He captured Yu-hyun who was more than 2km away.
The arrow flew like an eel cutting through water, shaking its tail left and right as it sprinted through space.
The arrow aimed at Yu-hyun’s neck.
Clang!
“Hooh.”
At the same time, Yu-hyun blocked it.
Wang Xian reported to Lao Chen through the long-range communication talisman.
“Captain. He blocked my arrow. He’s not an ordinary guy.”
“Is that so? I got it.”
Lao Chen didn’t seem too surprised either.
Among the enemies they had faced so far, there were several times when someone blocked Wang Xian’s surprise arrow.
But their end was always the same.
No matter how great a collector they were, they couldn’t avoid the death that slowly closed in on them.
Lao Chen was sure that it would be the same this time.
***
Yu-hyun looked at Lao Chen who stood still in his place and bit his tongue inwardly.
He didn’t need to read his book to know. Lao Chen and his subordinates were pros at killing someone.
They didn’t rush in recklessly even though they had secured a favorable high ground.
‘This is the worst situation.’
Yu-hyun looked around.
Kang Yura had fainted and Seo Sumin was mentally shaken by the light swarm just before.
The Blood Shadows were all lying on the ground, and Cheonma, who was the only one who had his mind left, was a time bomb that could explode at any time.
More than anything, Yu-hyun himself had also lost a lot of mental power due to being briefly affected by the True Spirit Seed’s delirium.
‘If I drag this out, I’ll be at a disadvantage.’
Kang Hye-rim and Kwon Jia were also gone.
He was the only one who could do something here.
Yu-hyun realized that he would definitely lose if he dragged this out and tried to move first.
“That won’t do.”
Lao Chen also read Yu-hyun’s intention.
He immediately signaled Wang Xian.
Right after that, three iron arrows flew across the forest at the same time.
“…!”
Yu-hyun widened his eyes.
One of them clearly shot at him.
The problem was the other two.
They precisely aimed at Seo Sumin who was sitting down and Kang Yura who had fainted.
Yu-hyun gave up on stepping forward and quickly made Baekryeon into a shield.
Clang clang clang!
The three arrows were blocked by the shield almost simultaneously.
Behind the shield, Yu-hyun frowned.
The other side had no intention of fighting fair with him.
They thoroughly targeted Yu-hyun’s weakness and wanted to kill him perfectly.
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They were qualitatively different from the riffraffs he had fought so far. It was not a matter of power.
Lao Chen did not let his guard down at all.
‘Damn it. You could at least be careless once.’
Yu-hyun grumbled inwardly, but he knew very well how vain his wish was.
This was not a fair duel.
It was not a fight to compare each other’s skills, but to kill each other.
Lao Chen was a pro in that regard.
He didn’t compete with his opponent or brag about his abilities. He just tried his best to kill them in the most certain and safe way.
Baekryeon asked anxiously.
[…Hey, what do we do? Do you have a way?]
“I’m thinking.”
Whoosh!
Another arrow flew at me.
This time, unlike before, the arrow curved in the air.
One from the front, one from each side.
I clenched my teeth and quickly parried the incoming arrows.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
But I was too focused on deflecting the arrows that I didn’t pay attention to Lao Chen.
The old man with a small stature next to Lao Chen spat at me.
I barely dodged it, but one of them hit my arm.
I pulled out the spit.
The spot where it hit me throbbed with pain.
‘They even use poison.’
I felt annoyed, as if I was being treated as a dangerous beast.
The old man who spat at me raised his eyebrows and looked at me.
“Lao Chen, sir. It seems that he is resistant to poison.”
“Really?”
“It’s powerful enough to knock out an elephant in one shot. But look at him. He’s not reacting much, is he? He must have some skill that neutralizes poison.”
The old man’s analysis was accurate.
I had the power of cyan life force.
Thanks to that, I was not easily affected by most poisons.
I wasn’t immune to all poisons, but I could nullify or neutralize most of them.
Still, it wasn’t completely ineffective, so my arm felt weak.
‘This is crazy.’
I wondered how I ended up in this situation.
‘Everything went wrong after that light. That pure white light that exploded and engulfed even the transcenders in delusion.’
It was the first time I saw it myself, but I remembered hearing something similar a long time ago.
‘Wasn’t it called the sarira of Nirvana?’
Sarira was a crystallization of delusion that remained after suffering.
The stories of pain and delusion accumulated and compressed over a long time, and crystallized into a substance that was nothing less than a mental weapon.
And there was only one sarira that had enough power to sweep over the entire world of thought.
‘The true sarira. They used that precious true sarira just to kill Seo Sumin.’
I didn’t think ‘is this really necessary to kill one transcender’. The spirits of Nirvana wanted something thorough and certain.
‘Is this… the power that Great Sage Army possesses?’
A bitter smile crept over my lips.
They had different discretion to use.
They used that precious true sarira to get rid of a mere being of the lower world, while we couldn’t even dream of it.
I knew that Nirvana couldn’t directly interfere with the lower world.
They didn’t stop because they had a way to make it possible.
Maybe I had been involved in a hopeless fight from the beginning.
‘Don’t give me that crap.’
I glared at them.
They didn’t know what drove me to come this far.
They didn’t know why I faced this fight that everyone else thought was impossible.
‘There is always a possibility in every fight.’
There is no fight that you must lose or win.
There is no perfect 100% in this world. There is a very small, extremely slim chance of turning things around.
‘Laplace.’
I based on that information, and planned to find the best possible future for me.
‘You have all the information. Calculate the probability of me winning.’
[Information collection rate 100% achieved. Analysis begins.]
[Current win rate is about 0.0032%]
If I simply fought, my defeat was almost certain. I didn’t lose my spirit even after seeing that.
‘Find a way to maximize that 0.0032% chance.’
While I was thinking, another arrow flew at me.
Clang!
I blocked the arrow.
At the same time, I also deflected the poison spit from Lao Chen’s subordinate.
My body was covered with the armor of [Peerless Knight].
‘I can block the poison spit, but they will use other means. I can’t hold on for long.’
This time, a huge flame spear aimed at my forehead.
It was a spell used by a skinny man.
I tilted my head back.
Taking advantage of that, another arrow flew at me.
I spun my body and hit the arrow with my shield.
I failed to deflect one arrow properly and it grazed my thigh.
The coordinated attacks slowly choked me.
‘Find a way.’
A poison spit hit my knee.
‘Open up a possibility.’
An arrow stuck in my left shoulder.
‘Don’t lose hope.’
A flame spear burned my right arm.
I had to find a way out of this situation.
A way to change the future that Laplace had predicted, the future that would unfold with a terrible probability.
I had to create my own destiny with these hands.
But as I did so, my body was gradually becoming a wreck.
As time passed, I accumulated more and more wounds.
If I had only protected myself, it wouldn’t have been this bad. But the assassins of the White Night Society relentlessly targeted Kang Yura and Seo Sumin.
All of my injuries were from shielding them with my body.
Whoosh!
An arrow pierced through my right hand.
I clenched my teeth and pulled it out.
Red blood flowed from the wound, and then turned into white text that scattered away.
My whole body was covered in blood, and it was a strange sight to see those bloodstains disappear into letters.
“What a persistent bastard.”
Lao Chen exclaimed with pure admiration as he looked at me.
He had decided not to have any personal feelings when killing someone, but he couldn’t help it with me.
Even the most amazing people reveal their true nature when they face extreme situations.
At first, they were arrogant and laughing, but then they knelt down and begged for their lives, spilling tears and snot.
They became pathetic creatures who only had a vile desire for life, losing all their dignity and pride.
That was what Lao Chen had seen from people so far, and that was his prey.
He thought I would be the same.
He was a teller, a living being.
Anyone would crumble when they faced death in their lives.
‘But his eyes are still alive.’
I didn’t show any signs of pain even as I got more injured.
Even though I was almost half-dead, I didn’t lose any of my spirit.
At this point, not only the mid-level ones, but even those who had just stepped into the upper level would crumble.
‘Just what is that guy?’
Lao Chen felt a chill run down his spine.
What if he had mistaken him for a weak enemy and foolishly attacked him?
‘He would have seized that opportunity and ripped my throat out.’
Lao Chen calmed his mind even more.
The man in front of him, Kang Yu-hyun, was more dangerous than anyone he had ever hunted. That’s why he had to kill him more thoroughly, more surely.
He could not afford to be careless.
“Everyone, get ready to finish this. It’s the final blow.”
“Tsk. Already? Why… Never mind. I’ll follow you.”
“If it’s Lao Chen’s command, we have to obey.”
Yu-hyun was at his limit. He had cornered him perfectly here. He would cut off his breath for good.
The assassins of the White Night Society moved at the same time.
Yu-hyun had no strength left to hold up his shield.
That’s why they unleashed their attacks to kill him for sure.
Poison needles flew at him and a bird of fire spread its wings to swallow Yu-hyun.
In the gap, an iron wire aimed for Yu-hyun’s vital points.
Yu-hyun blocked the attacks with difficulty.
Lao Chen moved himself, quietly and directly.
He took off his coat.
He was bare-chested underneath, and his body was full of tattoos.
Woosh!
The tattoo on his arm came alive and pierced through his skin.
His right arm twisted strangely and turned into a huge spiral-shaped spear.
His target was Yu-hyun’s heart, who was busy blocking arrows, poison needles, and spells.
Lao Chen dashed forward.
His movement was very stealthy and swift.
His footsteps made no sound, and his movement across the space was very natural.
The distance between them narrowed.
And right before Lao Chen attacked, Yu-hyun looked him in the eye.
‘He noticed me in that situation?’
Lao Chen widened his eyes.
He was surprised that he was aware of this side even while struggling to block the attacks.
It was a wise choice not to confront him head-on if he could detect this side’s surprise attack.
‘But it’s too late.’
His spear was already piercing Yu-hyun’s chest.
It was too late to realize it.
No one could avoid this attack once it came this far.
Even if they were upper-level collectors, even if they were called one in a thousand.
Lao Chen was sure of his victory.
This attack would hit for sure.
And at that moment, Lao Chen saw it.
Yu-hyun’s face smiling at him.
‘Smiling?’
Thud!
At the same time, his spear pierced Yu-hyun’s heart.
Red blood splashed.
It splashed on Seo Su-min’s cheek, who was sitting blankly on the ground.
“Ah…?”
Feeling the hot sensation on her cheek, Seo Su-min’s mind returned to reality.
She slowly turned her head and found Yu-hyun.
The back of the man who tried to protect her desperately while being wounded.
“You, you…”
“Don’t forget.”
Yu-hyun smiled with blood dripping from his lips, turning his head halfway.
“You can’t run away forever.”
Chwak!
Lao Chen pulled out his hand.
Blood spurted out like a fountain.
Yu-hyun’s body slowly tilted forward and then fell to the ground.
Lao Chen returned his hand to its original position and clenched and unclenched his right hand, looking at Yu-hyun.
He looked down at Yu-hyun, who had fallen to the floor, with an expression of incomprehension.
‘He smiled until the end. What a strange guy.’
The moment their eyes met, he was worried that Yu-hyun might use some hidden trump card that he had been hiding until now. But in the end, nothing like that happened.
Lao Chen felt the sensation of piercing his heart clearly.
No one could survive with a burst heart.
Even if he didn’t die instantly, he would die within 3 seconds at most.
It was the same even if the other party was a Tellerah.
“Why…”
Seo sumin trembled her lips, looking at Yu-hyun.
“Why did you try to protect someone like me…”
Seo sumin’s voice was filled with self-hatred.
Yu-hyun’s blood that touched her cheek turned into letters and scattered.
The traces disappeared, but the warmth and weight of life in the blood remained more intensely and tormented her.
“Why, what are you guys. Why are you dying because of me.”
Was it so wrong to try to live after losing everything? Was it such a sin worthy of death?
She hated this world that couldn’t tolerate even a small happiness.
And she despised herself who couldn’t resist it.
“Is this the woman?”
“You’re pretty cute. Too cute to just kill.”
The old man and the skinny man who had been far away approached.
Lao Chen put on his jumper again.
“Stop talking nonsense and finish it quickly.”
They didn’t care if their target was an ordinary female student.
They had come too far to be picky about such things.
The skinny man said.
“Ah. If you don’t mind, I’ll do it.”
“…Do as you please. As long as you kill her, it doesn’t matter how.”
He nodded his head with a wicked smile at Lao Chen’s answer.
He walked towards Seo Sumin.
He was already looking forward to hearing her beautiful voice scream as he tortured and killed her.
‘Her friend lying next to her also looks like a high-quality product.’
He was overjoyed to have two such good materials.
“Should I peel off your skin raw? Or, should I slowly cut off the ends of your body? Or, it would be fun to kill your precious friend first. It’s too painful to die first, right? I’ll send your friend first. How about that?”
Seo Sumin did not answer.
She just wished this painful life would end quickly.
She did not want to endure this agony any longer.
“…Tsk. Boring.”
The man, seeing that Seo Sumin had no reaction, seemed to lose interest and pulled out a knife from his wide sleeve.
“I’ve decided. But your pretty face is a pity, so I’ll peel off your skin first.”
The knife in his hand slowly approached Seo Sumin’s face.
“Ah.”
Seo Sumin saw it.
The blood that Yu-hyun spilled scattered like letters, and then slowly moved with the wind.
It did not disappear, as if it melted into thin air.
Rather, it was slowly returning to Yu-hyun, who had been its master.
Lao Chen also noticed something strange.
Thump!
“Hmm?”
The sound of a heartbeat, from a being that should have been dead, was clearly heard in his ears.
The next thing he noticed was the old man standing next to him.
Their eyes simultaneously turned to Yu-hyun’s corpse.
And then, they widened as if they were about to tear.
Yu-hyun, who had fallen on the spot, slowly lifted his body.
“Wha, what…!”
“He’s alive?”
While emitting an unidentified energy that he had never felt before.
The scattered letters swirled around him as if he was the center.
Sssss!
The white letters turned black.
And then, they were completely absorbed into Yu-hyun’s body.
His blood disappeared, and the wounds on his body healed completely.
Some of the black letters gathered near Yu-hyun’s face.
Chrrrr!
Like tiny bricks stacking up.
Like countless bugs flocking to a light.
The black letters covered Yu-hyun’s face and gradually formed a shape.
It was a mask.
A black mask that shaped like a demon.
Red glints burst out from the holes in the mask.
Everyone froze and stared at the sight.
