Chapter 453

〈 Chapter 453 〉 Part 1, Chapter 19, Section 9

I pulled my knee away from Penril’s face and returned it to its proper place. Penril was still looking at me with an incomprehensible expression.

“This, this is-”

First lapse of attention. I kicked TAT into the air and grabbed it mid-air. With the gun barrel aimed precisely at Penril’s forehead, I pulled the trigger.

Whoosh!

Unlike a magic bullet, this time the magic power flowing through the barrel radiated as flames. The flames swept down from Penril’s face to her chin, and after showering her in fire, I immediately leaped backward.

Gogogo!!

A massive vortex erupted on the ground. Razor-sharp winds hurled gravel piles into the sky, and beneath the swirling vortex lay a deep crater.

Gravel, sand. Smaller particles than rocks were spun by the Wind Attribute combined with Durability. I picked up a rock from the ground and threw it into the vortex spinning dozens, even hundreds of times per second.

Pssshh!

The rock was instantly riddled with holes as soon as it entered the vortex. I reclaimed the TAT that had exploded on the ground using magic power.

“……”

Penril frowned deeply at the failure of my decisive blow. Even though our sync wasn’t perfect, thanks to Chang-yeom’s flames, the attack didn’t have its full effect.

“You, say something.”

Penril urged me to speak.

“How did you attack me?”

It must be baffling even to herself. Penril’s speed is nearly unmatched, and no matter how fast I am, I can’t catch up to her top speed. Yet the reason I managed to hit Penril multiple times boils down to one thing.

“I guessed.”

“Huh?”

“Just guessing.”

Based on pattern analysis, countless statistics, brain simulations, gameplay experience, and combat experience, I predicted Penril’s actions and deduced the most likely correct move.

“Guessing? Does that even make sense?”

“It makes sense because you’re getting hit by me right now, doesn’t it? Though your protective barrier prevented me from breaking your nose…you’re pretty much paper-thin gloves anyway.”

Most wind attribute users are like this. And even with Aruel’s Durability sync, that won’t change. Even if their defense gets slightly adjusted, ultimately, wind attribute users prioritize ‘speed,’ so their physical strength and defense are weak.

“Syncing or achieving myth-level power does indeed make you godlike. But just syncing alone isn’t enough to beat me.”

I discharged the remaining magic power from the single round of TAT in my hand. As blue flames erupted, the wind spikes Penril secretly launched while conversing burned away in Chang-yeom’s flames.

“Can you beat me when synced? If that were true, I wouldn’t have been able to come out here since all the girls chasing me would’ve flattened me.”

“…Is that boasting?”

“It’s the truth. What can I do? I’m that strong.”

I aimed the gun barrel at Penril again. Penril had already disappeared into thin air, and I needed to predict where to shoot. Watching her movements would be too slow. Even trying to anticipate them visually wouldn’t work because Penril moved faster than that.

So without even sensing the flow of magic power, I purely relied on predicting Penril’s actions in my mind to counter directly. Attacks came every split second, and she deliberately threw irregular ones my way.

Kaaang!!

Claws aiming for my shoulder were blocked by the raised TAT. As soon as the attack failed, Penril grabbed my gun with her hand and swung her leg.

Whoosh–!!

A sharp kick aimed for my side. But from the moment I blocked her claws, I had already spun my body sideways and narrowly avoided Penril’s attack. At the same time, I infused my coat with magic power to boost its defense.

Kagang!!

The condensed blade of wind contained in Penril’s kick exploded in all directions. I turned my head the other way and trusted the magic power wrapped around my coat to absorb the impact. The blade of wind struck the entire coat but stopped at cutting a few threads off the surface before the attack ended.

“This!!”

Penril rolled across the ground, her face red with frustration. Thanks to Aruel’s power, Penril could not only move through the air but also freely enter the ground to some extent. It seemed she was trying to ambush me through the numerous holes in the earth, but that was clearly a mistake.

“What happens if you do that?”

I surged magic power and rolled across the ground. The magic power spreading in all directions began to flutter like sparks lighting a fuse, stretching out densely like spiderwebs and covering the craters with a wall of flames.

Whoosh!!

The ground was burning in Chang-yeom’s flames. Unless Penril wanted to dive into the flames herself, she had two options. And given her current annoyance, there was only one action she’d choose.

Whoosh.

I unfurled fiery wings behind my back and lightly jumped off the ground. As soon as I ascended, Penril’s hand burst out from where I had been standing. Penril looked up at me with a bewildered expression.

“Sorry, but you’ve already used that attack on me.”

Penril might not know, but I’ve fought her so many times that I’ve lost count. Not just Penril, but all the officers, especially her, to the extreme.

“Was it the seventh round…? Anyway, something like that.”

With too much data, I can’t even remember which round she used which technique. To obtain Chang-yeom, I had to endure countless game overs, and naturally, Penril’s techniques and tactics were ingrained in my memory as patterns.

“Sorry, I’ve seen all your techniques already.”

I pulled the trigger toward the ground.

* * *

Phoenix’s response had vanished three hours ago.

The appointed November 11th had long passed midnight, and the Blue Wind Sect officers gathered in Seoul were on high alert.

“Solo battle with an S-Rank Core.”

At Leader Kim Ji-hwa’s words, everyone fell silent. As always, he was the last to bet in these situations, but this time he made a big gamble. And his prediction was about 99% certain to win.

“Maybe she went somewhere to prepare?”

“If so, I’ll bet on that.”

“Ugh… Alright, I’ll bet all five A-Rank cores I received recently on being in closed meditation.”

Architect pushed the five cores onto the table. On the table were already piled up luminous cores.

“Hehe, you guys are still young.”

Ryu Cheonseong pulled out cores from his inner pocket with a cunning look. He placed one S-Rank core and three A-Rank cores on the table with a confident smile.

“History is always made on the night before the final battle. Haven’t you seen those movies? Leaving for the battlefield after spending a night with your beloved lover.”

“…Do you want to die?”

Cheon Gaeul bit her lips in anger. Ryu Cheonseong’s words implied that she was an ‘unselected existence,’ causing even him to give an awkward smile.

“Sorry. That’s just how things go.”

“I’ll bet on spending a night with Seoyea.”

“Hey!!”

Yoo I-shin’s bet caused Cheon Gaeul to shout loudly. Although somewhat rude, Yoo I-shin was an S-Rank like Cheon Gaeul, and they had seen each other naked many times.

“Isn’t it natural that opposites attract? Speaking in terms of attributes.”

“True, there’s a possibility. But shouldn’t we bet first before talking? Tsk tsk.”

“…Sky Castle, are you aware of what you’re saying?”

Yoo I-shin frowned while hugging the cores in his arms. Among the monsters, Yoo I-shin was the greediest for cores and was almost ready to gobble them up.

“I’m already struggling to secure cores lately. If I bet this, I’ll starve.”

“Well, you’re eating something else instead, aren’t you?”

“……Ahem.”

Kim Ji-hwa adjusted his sunglasses to avoid the gazes of others. Although everyone’s gaze was uncomfortable, Yoo I-shin’s was the sharpest. The S-Rank core on the table was supposed to be a gift for him.

“T, that, what is Sky Castle talking about? Of course, Director is capable of such actions. But this time will be different. I’m betting everything on fighting outside our personal range like during the Nuclearian battle.”

“What kind of confidence makes you say that?”

“Jo Deokbae.”

Kim Ji-hwa tapped his finger on his eye and smirked. Beneath his sunglasses, his irises were completely black.

“Right now, Jo Deokbae is not in Seoul.”

“……This is cheating!!”

Ryu Cheonseong’s scream filled the meeting room. Yoo I-shin blushed and smiled awkwardly at Kim Ji-hwa’s gesture, while Architect scratched his head in irritation.

“Damn it. I thought he was just sleeping somewhere.”

“Even if he dies, he’ll disappear too. ……Cheon Gaeul?”

“……”

Cheon Gaeul remained silent. She quietly sipped her caramel macchiato, maintaining silence. Ryu Cheonseong swallowed hard with a betrayed expression.

“You, by any chance…did you know?”

“…Hmph.”

Given Phoenix’s character, if her death would affect others, she surely left a message. And if that person was Cheon Gaeul, even more so. Cheon Gaeul yawned and mocked Ryu Cheonseong.

“It’s your punishment for teasing people. Enjoy your cores.”

“What…did you say?”

“Kim Ji-hwa asked if Jo Deokbae was in Seoul now. Since you guys were going to bet anyway, I told him under the condition that I’d get half the winnings. Jo Deokbae isn’t in Seoul right now.”

“Hohoho.”

Ryu Cheonseong, who was about to stand up, mumbled dejectedly.

“So we have to wait here until the battle ends again…?”

“There’s nothing we can do. He mentioned it before leaving.”

Cheon Gaeul shrugged and took a bite out of an apple on the table.

“Penril and Protagonist will probably wipe out half the Earth.”

“……”

“So we just have to wait for them to win and come back.”

The officers were terrified by how calm Gaeul was. Gaeul moved her gaze to the window with unwavering composure.

“Do you really think they’ll lose?”

* * *

Penril is a specialist assassin who has never failed.

She walks through the air, hides her body within natural winds, and cannot be detected by anyone’s scans. In environments that aren’t windless or vacuum-sealed, unless someone reaches Penril’s level, no one can notice her presence.

And ironically, because of these traits, Penril’s weakness lies in “one-on-one combat.”

She rarely fights equals or stronger opponents. Even if the assassination target is slightly weaker than her, Penril, possessing Jieolpung’s ability to stun enemies for one second upon hitting them, can easily knock them down without much difficulty.

Thus, Penril represents the typical “weak-strong-strong-weak” archetype, which is why she was assigned as the first opponent among the officers.

Someone who doesn’t know how to fight weaker opponents.

Someone who doesn’t know how to use wisdom to defeat stronger foes.

Since encountering someone stronger than herself is extremely rare, once she judges someone as an enemy, she kills them without hesitation or play.

That’s why she surrendered to the protagonist’s group, having grown fond of them despite their initial weakness. After all, she figured she could always kill them later if her feelings changed.

But by the time later came, the protagonist’s group had become far stronger than Penril. During the battle where Penril awakened Jieolpung, without separate personal training, they could resolve matters at the S+ Rank level.

An assassin with a 99.9% success rate.

Combined with her inherent arrogance, obtaining a human body capable of partially wielding Jieolpung’s power—Aruel—only fueled her overconfidence.

Had Penril paid even a little attention to our battle, the situation could have been different.

Had Penril trained against me even a little, the battle might have reached a stalemate.

If…

Had Penril not let her guard down and fought with the intention to truly crush me, she might not have been able to confidently claim victory over a duo like Karna and Yun Yuhwa.

That’s what determined the outcome.

I didn’t let my guard down, but Penril trusted in her own power and became complacent.

“My victory.”