Chapter 120: Awakened Gate

The King of Estia, Abaddon.

A rusted crown, tattered clothes, and a torn cape.

A face as pale as a corpse.

At a glance, his shabby appearance might seem pitiful, but the pressure radiating from him was overwhelming.

The oppressive killing intent filled the throne hall.

The chill that seeped in when meeting his white glowing eyes was indescribable.

“……A corpse.”

Under Abaddon’s oppressive presence, Alan swallowed dryly.

Reynold tensed up, determined not to be overwhelmed by the aura.

‘The King of Estia, huh……’

Evan did not avoid the man’s gaze, meeting it head-on.

For some reason, he felt there was a crucial clue to be found in him.

Perhaps the connection to the Aestia Guild could also be uncovered here.

But what was more puzzling was that the level of this Gate was relatively low.

Considering that, this guy didn’t fit at all with such a difficulty.

‘At the very least, he’s someone who should appear in an A-rank or higher Gate.’

As Evan was lost in thought—

-Intruders detected.

-The Gate’s upheaval has begun.

-All monsters’ stats have increased by 150%.

‘So it wasn’t just a persistent Gate, but an awakened type?’

Evan’s eyes narrowed.

An awakened Gate.

One of the Gate types with frequent changes.

It’s a Gate that awakens when a Hidden Piece is found.

Early on, he’d nearly died several times in these unpredictable Gates.

‘It’s hard to tell with the naked eye. Most of the time, unless you discover the Hidden Piece, it ends quietly.’

In this case, it meant the boss monster itself was the Hidden Piece.

“Peo…ple… of the… New World……”

At that moment, Abaddon forced open his mouth, and a hoarse voice slipped out.

But even more striking to Evan was that an Undead monster was speaking at all.

Usually, Undead monsters were mindless.

Unless it was a high-ranking Lich-class monster, they didn’t speak.

Of course, Death Knight Abaddon was classified as mid-tier or above, but he’d never seen one talk.

“What are you supposed to be?”

When Evan asked, Abaddon looked at him and slowly opened his mouth.

“……Old…….World. You……New World……Ours……”

Abaddon muttered incomprehensible words and raised his greatsword.

From his blade, a piercing scream rang out.

It was a scream layered with countless voices, as if from many different people.

Then, the skeletal horse unique to Death Knights was summoned.

Like Abaddon, the summoned skeletal horse emitted white glowing eyes.

Mounting the horse immediately, Abaddon raised his greatsword and glared at Evan’s party.

“He’s attacking. Alan, Reynold. From now on, stay in sync.”

With Evan’s shout, Alan and Reynold took their stances and prepared to attack.

Clatter! Clatter!

With the crisp sound of hooves, Abaddon charged at Evan’s party.

“I’ll stop him! Go for it then!”

Reynold, drawing out his aura to the limit, reinforced his body and hurled himself at the oncoming Abaddon.

With Reynold’s brute strength, he seemed capable of stopping the monster.

“If it gets too much, fall back.”

Alan kept his eye on the opportunity, ready to strike.

Evan also channeled the power of the Elemental Sword.

‘He’s on horseback, so instead of raw damage, focus on slows and debuffs.’

He combined the ice and water elements.

A surge of water burst from the Elemental Sword, freezing instantly.

-Ice Blade has activated.

-Cold Snap buff applied.

-Frost resistance increased by 300%.

-Attacks inflict 30% Slow and Freezing status on the target.

Once preparations were complete, Evan monitored the situation.

Thud!

“Kh-ugh!”

The charging skeletal horse collided head-on with Reynold.

Reynold held his ground, unmoved.

Even though it was a skeletal horse, taking the full impact head-on was a feat of strength.

“Haaah! Now’s the time!”

Roaring, Reynold pinned the beast, preventing any movement.

Alan couldn’t help but be impressed at the sight.

“Got it! Hold on just a bit longer!”

Forming his sword aura, Alan instantly closed the distance to Abaddon.

He aimed for the legs of the skeletal horse.

His strategy was to separate the monster from its steed.

Alan’s sword traced an arc, striking precisely at the horse’s leg.

But the attack was easily blocked.

Clang!

Abaddon’s massive greatsword intercepted Alan’s blade.

“Not strong enough!”

Gritting his teeth, Alan pressed forward.

At that moment, with their movements locked—

Evan appeared from behind, swinging his Ice Blade–coated sword at the monster.

Slice!

The chilling ice on the blade touched its body.

Crack!

That spot instantly froze solid.

The Slow effect made the monster’s movements even slower.

“Fut…ile……resistance……”

Abaddon gripped his greatsword and flexed his arm.

Crash!

“Wha—!”

A sudden surge of power sent Alan flying backward.

At the same time, the greatsword shifted, aiming straight for Evan’s neck.

A bizarre and erratic motion that no normal human could ever produce.

Evan adjusted his grip, raising his sword with both hands to block the oncoming blade.

Whoosh!

Clang!

With a heavy metallic ring, Evan was sent flying.

“Kh!”

Rolling across the floor, Evan landed face-down.

“I can’t hold out any longer!”

Reynold, too, was pushed away as the skeletal horse surged forward.

“As expected, he’s not easy to deal with.”

Brushing off the dust, Evan’s eyes sharpened.

‘Still not time to use Conqueror’s Power.’

The Conqueror’s Power was too explosive to use carelessly. He decided to save it for emergencies.

‘Even without that, I still have Mythic Power left.’

Evan gripped his sword with both hands and began channeling Mythic Power.

The Myth of the Basilisk Slayer.

Third Form of Lee Han.

Lee Han’s tremendous power surged into Evan’s body.

A faint golden glow began to envelop him.

-Resonance Rate has increased greatly.

The memories of fighting Death Knights in the previous world began to apply to Evan’s body.

As his Resonance Rate increased, the oppressive weight on his body gradually faded.

Originally, using Mythic Power left him with severe aftereffects.

But now, there was no such side effect.

Instead, his body felt lighter and changed.

‘Strange. Something’s different all of a sudden.’

He’d always felt a sense of disparity due to level gaps and physical ability.

But now, that gap felt a little smaller.

Just then—

-Resonance Rate has reached over 30%.

-The body is beginning to adapt to the soul of Lee Han.

-Mythic Power usage penalty decreased by 20%.

Good news appeared for Evan.

With the increased Resonance Rate, body and soul were gradually becoming one.

Evan marveled at the sensation.

Now, using Lee Han’s power was no longer a burden.

Kuaaaah!

Soon, his sword began to resonate.

Veins popped along the hand and arm gripping the blade, and a slight tremor passed through, but there was no problem.

A slight smile crossed Evan’s lips.

“Let’s give it a test run, shall we?”

The Third Form of Lee Han, infused with Mythic Power.

Unlike before, his movements were now unhindered.

The moment Evan stepped forward—

In an instant, his figure vanished.

Abaddon craned his neck, searching for Evan.

But it was already too late.

Evan reached Abaddon’s front and unleashed Mythic Power upon him.

BOOM!

A golden explosion erupted from his sword, blasting out a powerful shockwave.

Death Knight Abaddon tried to block it with his greatsword, but could not withstand the force of Mythic Power.

He and his skeletal horse flew in a straight line and crashed into the wall.

Evan stood still, gazing at the spot where Abaddon had been flung.

‘If I can use hero-grade Mythic Power so freely……’

The style of battle would change greatly depending on the Resonance Rate.

Abaddon, embedded in the wall, staggered to his feet.

‘He’s still standing after taking the Third Form head-on?’

As Evan clicked his tongue, Alan and Reynold hurried over.

“Sir! How did you do that? That was incredible!”

Reynold’s eyes shone.

Evan’s powerful blow had left him in awe.

“Master. Just what level have you reached?”

Alan, too, looked at Evan with admiration.

Evan gave a wry smile.

“No time for chatter. He’s coming to his senses again.”

At his words, the two turned their attention back to Abaddon.

“What a tough one.”

“I’ll restrain him again!”

Reynold rolled his shoulders, ready to charge once more.

But at that moment—

A glowing chain inscribed with runes shot up from the ground, coiling around Abaddon’s entire body.

The chains tightened around him.

Moments later, cracks began to appear on his body as if glass were shattering.

“……Ah, urgh……………A…ra..”

He began to struggle in agony.

Despite not being alive, Abaddon’s pain was evident.

Evan frowned.

‘What’s this, all of a sudden?’

If Abaddon was writhing in such pain, those chains were no ordinary restraint.

They subdued him with ease, bringing him down instantly.

‘And if runes are involved……’

This wasn’t something to ignore.

Those who wielded the power of runes were always dangerous.

Evan hurried over to Abaddon.

At this rate, with Abaddon vanishing, he’d get nothing out of this.

At the very least, he had to extract some kind of clue.

Just as Evan reached Abaddon—

-Pioneer’s Power has activated.

-The Wraith of the Past, Abaddon, is beginning to dissipate.

Suddenly, a message appeared before Evan’s eyes.

‘Damn it. He shows up as he pleases and disappears the same way.’

He realized that some external force was interfering.

It seemed intent on erasing any clues Evan might get from Abaddon.

“Hey! Anything you know, just say it, quickly!”

Evan called to the fading Abaddon.

Abaddon, in pain, reached out toward Evan.

“New……World…… Peo…ple……”

Abaddon seemed desperate to say something, but it wasn’t easy.

Soon, his arm fell, his leg crumbled, and the collapse began.

Evan stared at Abaddon and came up with an idea.

“I need to see what memories you have.”

He used his spiritual eye to access Abaddon’s memories.

As Evan viewed the memories, a system window appeared before him.

-The chosen one’s memory is damaged. (Access denied)

-Harmageddon, Warfield of the Kings of the World. (Damage Rate: 92%)

-The fall of the Estia Kingdom’s memory is damaged. (Access denied)

Evan scowled.

Almost all memories were inaccessible, and even the one he could check was only about 8% intact.

‘Guess I should be glad I can get even this much.’

But even that percentage was ticking upward as the damage increased.

Evan quickly chose to access the soul’s memory.

-Harmageddon, Warfield of the Kings of the World memory is damaged.

-Only partial memories can be accessed.

The scenery began to change.

Evan was left speechless at the hellscape unfolding before his eyes.