Chapter 34: An Unassailable Gap

The first thing that caught the eye.  

“You…”  

It was Ha Yeon Lee, her eyes wide like a startled rabbit.  

No wonder.  

Kim Si-won had barged into the isolated space on the 65th floor, without the permission of Lu Hong, the master of this domain.  

A situation like this was a clear violation of the Tower’s existing rules.  

If it weren’t for the variable of the ticket, there was absolutely no way this could have happened.  

Impossible for them, but common sense for me.  

Because I alone could clear the extremely difficult challenge here.  

Because I was able to obtain an unknown ticket no one in the world had ever acquired.  

“…So you’re Kim Si-won.”  Lu Hong muttered in Chinese.  

Of course, the meaning was conveyed exactly through the translation item.  

Turning his gaze away from Ha Yeon Lee, he fixed his eyes on Lu Hong.  

Li Hong: “Arrogant bastard. How dare you climb up here.”  

Through my third eye, things invisible before suddenly became visible.  

What people commonly call presence or aura.  

What he exuded was unmistakable hostility.  

Though it was our first confrontation, it was not difficult to identify the source of that hostility.  

There was only one reason.  

I was from the Republic of Korea.  

China had always considered the Republic of Korea a minor country.  

Unlike Japan, they had never directly ruled it, but regarded it as just one of the many ethnic minorities under their domain.  

And Lu Hong was a person steeped in such Sino-centrism.  

Of course, even without the rotten ideology of Sino-centrism, there were plenty of reasons for him to be confident.  

No matter how exhausted he might be, he still had party members here, including Ikeda Kaito.  

Storming into a place where the top Awakener from China and Japan stood?  

That was tantamount to suicide.  

He must have been certain of that.  

“Die!”  

No need for words!  

He charged forward without hesitation.  

And in that split second, I scanned the surroundings.  

If the tide of battle was against me, I would have used the Return Stone.  

Even if it meant losing immediate rewards, nothing was more precious than life.  

But instead of using the Return Stone, they chose to attack to claim the rewards.  

A twitch.  

The corner of my mouth moved.  

That was exactly what I had been aiming for.  

There were no Knights here.  

The absence of powerful Knights was intended to lull them into complacency.  

To create a situation where they had no choice but to attack instead of fleeing.  

And then, the moment I had long awaited arrived.  

“Crack!”  

The power of lightning surged through Ure and into my body.  

“Pazzzz!”  

That power activated every nerve cell in my body, unlocking physical limits I had never been able to surpass before.  

Of course, the lightning attribute was not something humans could control.  

The electric shock coursing through my body brought unbearable pain.  

But I paid it no mind.  

Over hundreds of years, I had endured pain far worse than this.  

The electric shock was the mildest of all.  

Feeling the surge of strength accompanying the electric shock, I faced forward.  

“Shiiiik— ” 

Lu Hong approached with a fierce aura.  

And behind him, a faint figure emerged.  

Having awakened my third eye, I could tell what it was.  

A man of great height and strength.  

Clad in armor and wielding a massive guandao, he was a Spirit Manifestation forcibly bound to a physical body through the trait of “Gangshin.”  

I didn’t know his name, but it was clear he was an exceptionally skilled martial artist.  

However, like giving a knife to a three-year-old child Lu Hong’s level in handling this mighty warrior was utterly pathetic.  

He might think he had trained hard.  

But compared to my own grueling battles spanning hundreds of years, his efforts were laughably insufficient.  

No matter how powerful a warrior he manifested, if the vessel was poor, he could never draw out the true power.  

Hence, the Spirit Manifestation was frustrated.  

At being bound to Lu Hong, who couldn’t properly wield his strength.  

At being confined in such a restricted environment, unable to unleash his full power.  

“Uwaaah!”  

Unaware of this fact, Lu Hong screamed loudly, his ears ringing.  

It was not an ordinary shout.  

I could feel the power that had been full just moments ago weakening slightly.  

‘Similar to howling.’  

He put power into the sound waves to create a special effect.  

But similar yet different.  

This time, Lu Hong’s scream was a type of ability weakening, impossible to achieve with just howling.  

The power of traits was incredible.  

Just a single click could unleash such tremendous effects and abilities.  

“Uuuu!”  

But it was meaningless.  

I countered the power his scream generated with sound itself.  

Hundreds of years had passed.  

Had I never learned a technique to nullify howling?  

I could feel the waves that had gripped my body dissipate.  

But I had to be cautious—not only him.  

Behind me.  

A tight grip.  

Ikeda Kaito grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist.  

“Kukukuku!”  

He began to emanate an overwhelming aura, as if he could cut through even Mount Tai itself.  

Battery.  

And Ha Yeon Lee added to that power.  

Two healers standing ready at any moment to restore Lu Hong.  

A perfectly coordinated party.  

Moreover, the source of the energy enveloping Lu Hong at the front was—  

Damage Distribution.  

A special ability that disperses damage.  

Even if the damage was fatal, it would be divided and received bit by bit.  

Of course, if left unchecked, death was inevitable.  

But if two healers concentrated on managing the distributed damage, death could be avoided.  

“Heh.”  

I couldn’t help but chuckle.  

I always thought traits were absurdly broken.  

Like in a game, just one click could cheat death or unleash power that took others decades to cultivate.  

Yet.  

‘How ridiculous!’  

All this was nothing but a joke.  

Damage distribution?  

Even if the damage was divided, what if each fraction was enough to kill?  

If 100 damage was divided into 10, but even that 10 was an absolute power capable of ending life, then everything was meaningless.  

Tightening my grip on Ure.  

“Crack, pazzzz!” 

White sparks began to wildly pour forth in response.  

“Woooooong!”  

Sparks gathered around Ure, which roared with a fierce sword light.  

“Die!”  

Lu Hong, trusting in damage distribution, rushed in violently.  

“Whoosh!”  

He swung the milky-white guandao with force.  

Just as his strike imbued with an enemy-provoking trait descended.  

“Flash!”  

A blinding light exploded.  

Ure channeled the lightning energy within, concentrating it into a single point and slashing.  

“Lightning God’s Flash”  

Lu Hong had made a swift move.  

But the Lightning God’s Flash, imbued with my true intent moved much faster than his guandao, as if time itself had twisted, and sliced through his body.  

‘Healing Talisman.’  

‘Wave of Regeneration.’  

The healers in the rear used their prepared skills.  

“Flash, flash!”  

The dazzling light permeated his body, but it was futile.  

“Screeeech! ” 

Lu Hong’s body, cut precisely in half from crown to groin and thudded heavily to the ground.  

“Lu, Lu Hong!”  

“Good grief!”  

They were shocked at his death.  

Lu Hong—the top Awakener in the world—had not even withstood a single blow.  

And at that moment.  

“Swish.”  

I caught sight of Ikeda Kaito and Ha Yeon Lee pulling out their Return Stones.  

But it was too late.  

This space was already under my control.  

Accelerating thoughts through focus.  

In twisted time, where the flow of the air was clearly felt, I stared straight ahead.  

The moment I shattered the Return Stone in my hand, they would be forced to leave the Tower and return to their original locations.  

But I had no intention of allowing that.    

“Become light.”  

At the moment my will moved and my body became a streak of light, no, simply light itself, rushing forward with Ure in my hand.  

“Swish.” 

I swung it.  

Unbound by any form, just struggling to reach the fastest speed.  

And that struggle was the crystallization of long training and enlightenment.  

“Serrate, serrate!”  

The streak of light brushed past Ikeda Kaito’s and Ha Yeon Lee’s arms and legs nearby.  

The two, caught at the very moment they tried to use their Return Stones but collapsed and their limbs were severed like straws and they screamed in pain.  

“Argh!”  

“Aaaah!”  

With this, I destroyed their chance to escape by using the Return Stones.  

But.  

“Ugh!”  

“E-Escape…”  

The two healers a bit farther away.  

No matter how fast I was, the distance was a bit too far to reach in time.  

Should I just let them go after destroying the Return Stones?  

“Die!”  

As I always say, I’m no pushover who lets anyone who dares bare their teeth at me walk away alive.  

My body couldn’t reach them, but—  

[Lightning God’s Spear]  

“Pazzzzz!” 

The fundamental attribute of lightning is speed.  

Ure, transformed into a blue lightning bolt, left my hand. 

“Crack!” 

Piercing the Return Stone, the healer was engulfed in light.  

But before that faster than light, the Lightning God’s Spear pierced the temples of the two and spun once around.  

“Thud, thud!”  

“Flash!”

The Return Stones had been activated.  

But all that would return were their corpses.  

I watched them emotionlessly, then turned my gaze away.  

“Ugh…”  

“Aaahhh…”  

I looked down at the two pathetic wretches struggling like bugs.  

“Ugh, you…” Ikeda Kaito tried to open his mouth.  

“Swishhh”  

I separated his head from his body.  

Anything to say?  

No.  

He went hostile over a woman—and the price was death.  

Fear and despair filled Ha Yeon Lee’s eyes as she witnessed Ikeda Kaito’s death.  

“…Would you stop pretending.”  

But it was all an act.  

A trap to lure me closer.  

“W-What…?”  

“How did you get that power?”  

Last time, I hadn’t noticed.  

Not because her ability was strong.  

But because the energy within was faint.  

Now, I could clearly see it.  

A violet, sinister aura.  

It was not energy a human could possess.  

“Succubus.”  

The moment I spoke the word, Ha Yeon Lee shuddered as if electrocuted.  

Brrr—  

Succubus.  

The demonic race called Dream Demons.  

A wicked evil species once seen only on the Gritia Continent had appeared in modern times.  

And it was none other than my ex-wife—and enemy—Ha Yeon Lee.  

“Hah!”  

The weak woman who was just trembling in fear disappeared.  

She snorted disdainfully.  

Suuu—  

She stood up.  

But her legs were severed—how?  

Tsutsutsu!  

Surprisingly, the missing legs were restored.  

Not the original ones, but ones dyed with a violet, eerie glow.  

“How did you notice?”  

“Does that matter?”  

“Well, it’s not important. But wow, this is amazing. That idiot husband of mine turned into such a great man. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have switched allegiances. I’d have just stayed with him.”  

Hmm.  

She twisted her body, speaking in a voice laced with a strange breathy tone.  

Pinkish currents seemed to emanate from around her mouth.  

A natural, irresistible allure.  

She was definitely no different from the succubi I knew.  

It seemed that—  

‘His Awakening was not a Supporter power but the power of a specific demonic race, the Succubus.’  

Demonic power.  

It was undoubtedly a powerful trait capable of producing strength beyond what I had assumed.  

“But now, there’s no turning back, is there?”  

“Hmph! A man who sulks over just this much? Fine. I don’t care anymore.”  

A casualness out of place with the situation.  

And the source of that calm was revealed.  

“Sssssss.”  

A violet mist spread around her.  

Amazingly, her body began to dissolve into mist.  

“Just wait a little longer. I’ll make a man stronger than my husband and get my revenge.”  

Succubi were not known for powerful combat abilities.  

They specialized in espionage tasks like stealth, disguise, confusion, and escape.  

Her most powerful skill was the one she just used—the “Dream Mist.”  

It liquefied her body.  

But this form was immune to any physical attack or magic.  

She was about to use the fallen Return Stone to escape the Tower.  

But.  

“Done talking?”  

I would not allow her escape.  

“Give up, husband. This is something humans cannot touch…”  

The moment she was about to use the Return Stone,  

‘…Kehuk!’  

“Ssss.” 

The mist dispersed.  

“Why?”  

Simple.  

Because I was gripping her throat.  

My brutal hand clutching the back of her neck left her hanging in midair, writhing in pain.  

Yes.  

As she said, Dream Mist was an absolute escape ability impervious to all physical and magical attacks.  

But.  

“Wooooong!”  

The pitch-black, demonic energy—Magi—that wrapped my hand changed the game.  

Magi was the fundamental energy of demonic races, one of the few energies that could detect the real form within Dream Mist.  

That was how I grasped her dispersed, liquefied form.  

“W-What is this… Keuhk!”  

Ha Yeon Lee shrieked in horror.  

But from my perspective, it was only natural.  

“Succubus? You thought you could escape me with such pathetic abilities? What a disappointment, Ha Yeon Lee.”  

The Magi I wielded was no ordinary Magi.  

Lower-ranked demons like Ha Yeon Lee’s Succubus trait didn’t even dare look at it.  

[Undying Legion Commander Valdevron Brocia.]

The will of the commander who once led the Undying Legion, a faction of the Demon King’s army.