A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 156

The Paladin received the Priest’s ‘Bless’ and charged forward.

All his companions, except for the Priest, had already fallen. This was their last chance.

In other words, if the two of them collapsed here, it would all be over.

“Haah…!!!”

With a battle cry, the Paladin’s double-handed sword began to shine brightly in golden light.

It was a radiance so splendid that even the sun would pale in comparison.

Empowered by Divine Grace, the Paladin unleashed his ultimate strike to annihilate his foes.

“This will be the end…!”

The moment he spoke those words, the Paladin swung his sword with all his strength.

Suddenly, the light condensed to its utmost limit erupted like an explosion, striking his enemies with ferocity.

Kwaaaaang──!!!

Trees were swept away, and even rocks crumbled under the might of that attack.

Having received the Blessing from the Priest, it possessed absolute power.

‘If it’s this, surely…!’

The Paladin thought, exhaling heavily, that it could be the turning point.

No.

He had to think that way.

Because if not, there would be no hope left for them.

“Huuh…”

The dust storm raised by the Paladin’s strike began to settle slowly.

And still.

“Gen, jang…”

Despair lingered there.

The Paladin’s full-powered strike could not be the hope that shattered overwhelming despair. It could not serve as a candle to illuminate the darkness.

Puhak!

An unpleasant sound piercing something rang in the Paladin’s ears.

The source of the sound was an arrow, which had precisely pierced through the Paladin’s left shoulder.

Overwhelmed by the sudden pain, the Paladin crumpled to the ground on his knees.

Under normal circumstances, it should have been unthinkable for him to kneel from such a minor attack.

Yet, after pouring everything into that last strike, the Paladin had no strength left to fend off merely one arrow.

“Ugh, ah…”

The Paladin slowly turned his head around.

The Priest, who had been cut down, showed no focus in his eyes anymore.

They didn’t even cast a glance at the fallen corpses around them, quietly moving forward instead.

He had to get up and stop them.

He needed to buy time until reinforcements arrived before they ended everything.

But the Paladin had no strength left to even move a finger.

“Damn it…”

With that final thought, the Paladin quietly closed his eyes.

★

Cheers erupted from all around.

A massive monitor in the center of the hall served as the audience’s focus.

It displayed a battlefield, and three men were broadcasting the developments.

“Ah, Loki! After receiving the Bless, he unleashed his ultimate skill, Judgment, but none of the Sirius Team members died! None of them!”

“The Safer player behind was caught by Rex, and the only remaining member is Loki!”

“But he can’t do anything! There’s nothing left for him! The fastest resurrection timer is the Pyan player at 32 seconds!”

Theo’s commentary rang true.

No one could support Loki of A7.

The harsh reality was that only five healthy opponents were confronting him now.

“Eventually, Loki will fall! Rex’s arrow pierces Loki!!!”

“This is the end, right?! The line management failed, and the positioning for the fight is far too terrible!”

“Indeed! There isn’t a single player left in A7 to stop Sirius! There aren’t even towers to hold them back! The heavens are not on their side! A miracle won’t happen!!!”

Thus, Sirius, never resting until the end, thoroughly and perfectly dismantled A7’s base.

“This time around, we’ll definitely take down Sirius no matter what! They have weaknesses due to their defeat to Oz, and we’ve thoroughly analyzed those! We can absolutely win. No, we will win! A7 came forward with such ambitious aspirations! But that earlier defeat was not a weakness but purely their own mistake! Sirius crushes A7 with overwhelming performance!”

“A late-coming Pyan player tries to stop them, but he can’t! 24 minutes and 32 seconds! Set two ends here! GG!!!”

Along with the caster’s words, the banner below the monitor flashed “Sirius Win,” and a great cheer filled the arena.

Afterwards, the five players of the Sirius Team emerged from the Reverse Capsule, walking over to shake hands with the A7 team, finally bowing to the fans as they stood in the center of the arena.

It was only natural for another cheer to resound.

“Today, the Sirius Team closes the NAK Spring regular season with a perfect match victory! They write another legend!”

“Perfect match victory! Just a single set defeat! There’s no way to express the Sirius Team other than overwhelming!”

“And as Ga-eun said, the truly frightening part is that there are still cards prepared for the playoffs, right?”

“Yes! The challenge towards a perfect championship by Sirius! Just how far will they write that legend? Fans’ attention will surely be on them!”

“Well then, it seems the Sirius Team is preparing for a group interview, so we will step back for a moment!”

★

“Troubling, huh…”

Since yesterday, all the New Dimension-related communities have been bustling with talk about NAK, specifically about the Sirius Team.

No losses during the regular season, with only one single set defeat.

As a result, they were advancing towards the legend of perfect victory.

After doing some research, I learned that even the two teams currently tied for second place are at a completely different level, so it seems.

The average match time in NAK is 31 minutes and 28 seconds, while the Sirius Team’s average time is 25 minutes and 11 seconds, signaling a different dimension altogether…

Well, to be honest, I didn’t have that much interest in NAK itself.

I just got to know bits and pieces while hanging around the New Dimension Gallery.

However, I did watch yesterday’s match of the Sirius Team live because the next day would be the last battle with the Heretics.

Currently, we had 2 wins, and the Heretics each had 1 win.

If we lost tomorrow, one of the Heretics would draw even with us.

In the case of a tie, points accumulated up to that time would be calculated to determine the final winner, but since the method for calculating those points hasn’t been disclosed, it would be best for us to secure a definite 3rd win.

In other words, the participation of the Sirius Team was absolutely necessary for us to secure that 3rd win.

Of course, I had received responses assuring that they’d generally join in, but if they lost yesterday’s match, it’d be said it might be difficult.

Therefore, while watching NAK in real-time yesterday, I cheered for the Sirius Team with all my might, and fortunately, the match concluded with a victory for them.

So I thought the participation of the Sirius Team in tomorrow’s last battle was guaranteed…

[Ga-eun: I’m really sorry]

[Ga-eun: A schedule was set that absolutely cannot be cancelled, and it overlaps exactly with tomorrow’s battle start time…]

[Ga-eun: I’ll check if it’s possible to move the schedule, but I think it’s going to be impossible]

What should I do now…

Even so, I can’t just demand that they participate somehow.

Of course, even if we lose tomorrow, I’m confident we can stay ahead with points, but I still wanted to win the last battle.

It would feel much cleaner that way.

But with the core of that victory method missing, I was wondering what I should do.

I had to come up with a plan.

★

[Rene]

[It’s time for the final judgment]

[New Dimension | 8112 viewers online | 00:00:12]

─Is the Sirius Team finally showing up today?

─For real, if they come today, the broadcast and gallery will explode, haha

─It all started with Ga-eun’s recruitment proposal…

─Back then, the leader was a total jerk

─For real, haha

─The old folks are starting to reminisce again

Today is finally the last battle against the Heretics.

[Ga-eun: It doesn’t look good]

[Ga-eun: I’m really sorry]

[Ga-eun: If you need help later, please let me know]

[Ga-eun: We’ll assist you no matter what happens]

Regrettably, I received a definite answer this morning that the Sirius Team could not participate.

In the end, we had to engage in battle with our maximum power missing.

What should I do? How can we win?

Should I really try something…?

“Haah… Hello everyone…”

─Leha

─Is the Sirius Team coming? Is the Sirius Team coming? Is the Sirius Team coming? Is the Sirius Team coming? Is the Sirius Team coming? Is the Sirius Team coming? [deleted message]

─Why are you sighing as soon as you arrive???

─You said you liked drinking, was it all a lie…?

─Playing with the Rebongi… typical…

“Ah, um… It’s not that… Please calm down first… I’ll explain everything… Unfortunately, the members of the Sirius Team said they can’t come due to a schedule, so I was thinking about how we can win the war today… I don’t think it will be easy…”

─Wha?!

─What do you mean?

─Not fighting?

─War (not fighting)

─You’ve given up, huh, haha

─Well, how can we win without Sirius, haha

“…Huh? Of course, I plan to win, you know…?”