Part 11
*Shhk-*
'As expected, he was no ordinary man.'
If Jonghyeon had turned his head even one second later, it would not have been his mask but his face that was peeled away.
When the mask shattered against Black Dave's blade, Stinger finally recognized Jonghyeon.
And he spoke, as if bewildered.
"You bastard! Did you already figure out it was fake money?"
'Fake... money?'
Jonghyeon stared at Stinger with a blank expression.
"Hah..."
In that moment, Jonghyeon had gained one more reason to want to destroy this guild.
But Jonghyeon felt no need to bother replying to such useless words.
Instead, he began endlessly repeating combat simulations of this situation in his head.
A brief silence.
Black Dave, who should have been more frenzied than anyone regarding this situation, unexpectedly remained still, simply glaring at Jonghyeon.
In the end, Jonghyeon was the one to speak first.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
At Jonghyeon's question, Black Dave opened his mouth in a low voice.
"You came looking for the envelope."
Black Dave's judgment was quite accurate and swift.
"Isn't that obvious? Since you put fake money in it."
A justification improvised on the spot, thanks to Stinger's stupidity.
In truth, Jonghyeon's plan had been to take both the money and the envelope.
But saying something like that in the current situation would amount to nothing more than a challenge to fight.
Above all, Black Dave's martial prowess was considerable.
Though he had swung his blade only once, he had shattered Jonghyeon's mask.
That alone was enough to guess the extent of his martial prowess.
Because the mask had broken even though Jonghyeon had properly dodged.
In a situation where he couldn't even guarantee victory one-on-one against Black Dave, a 3:1 fight was far too disadvantageous.
"Even so, coming to the guild like this is quite rude. Turn back now, and I'll let you live."
Black Dave's words were actually correct.
It was Jonghyeon who had come in after killing everyone.
Letting him live in this situation was surely something to be grateful for.
Truthfully, he had never imagined Black Dave would possess such dignity.
Jonghyeon was no frog in a well, but guilds that usually operated in this manner were nothing much when it came down to it.
In the end, Jonghyeon himself had committed a slight 'error of generalization.'
To be exact, it wasn't that he had underestimated Black Dave's skill, but rather that he had been overflowing with confidence.
'I'd like to run away, but it doesn't seem like he'll let me go.'
He would rather fail the commission if it meant he could get out of here.
But the moment he went back, even if Black Dave let him go, he would either go into hiding or prepare and come to kill him again.
In the end, it was do or die.
"Anyway, I must take either the envelope or the money. If not, then perhaps make me an offer."
Words that made the opponent think even more.
This was Jonghyeon's aim.
He, too, needed to think of a way out of this situation, and that required time.
But—
"It's still incomplete. I wanted to train through the night. If that is your thinking, then further conversation is a waste of time."
Black Dave was no longer interested in whatever this young man had to say.
"It's worth trying even if it's incomplete."
With these words, Black Dave slashed with his sword.
*Swish-*
Jonghyeon reflexively dodged the blade.
But this time, he couldn't avoid being grazed.
Jonghyeon's shoulder stung.
It was an attack he would normally have blocked, yet Jonghyeon only dodged.
The reason was—
"Flame Shot!"
'This is exactly what I was waiting for!'
A red ray flying toward Jonghyeon.
At the same time as the blazing ray flew toward him, Stinger also charged at Jonghyeon holding a dagger in a reverse grip.
But Jonghyeon had calculated even that far in advance, so at the precise timing, he deflected the magic with his Sotaedo.
The target was Stinger.
*Fwoosh!*
Stinger was hit by the magic Jonghyeon deflected and began to burn away.
The Sotaedo's other ability.
It was none other than Magic Reflection.
In dungeons, among all sorts of monsters, the most frightening are those that can use magic.
Jonghyeon had also once nearly died from failing to properly deal with magic, and that was the biggest reason he had purchased this Sotaedo.
Added to that, the timing calculations he had trained in stage 2 dungeons.
Perfectly trained, Jonghyeon was able to deflect the magic at the appropriate timing and kill Stinger despite the urgent situation.
When Stinger died from his own magic being reflected, Mitchell made a blank expression.
"Stinger!"
But Black Dave attacked Jonghyeon calmly, as if he didn't care one bit about Stinger's death.
While arduously blocking Black Dave's blade, Jonghyeon thought he should destroy the ceiling lights first.
On the ceiling were three lights in total: one large lamp and two very small auxiliary lamps.
Jonghyeon rolled, picked up Stinger's dagger, and threw it toward the ceiling.
'Good! A hit.'
The large light in the center was shattered into pieces by the dagger Jonghyeon threw.
With the large light broken, it was like a scene from a moody movie where only each other's outlines could be seen by the auxiliary lights.
Jonghyeon thought he had created a somewhat advantageous position.
Because he had skills.
But unfortunately, this was no problem at all for Black Dave.
He, too, was a martial artist.
And at a considerable level. If he could see outlines to this extent, he could sufficiently fight by concentrating qi in his eyes.
*Ting! Tang-*
As if to prove this, Black Dave charged at Jonghyeon.
His bladework was above Jonghyeon's.
"Kuk!"
*Ting-*
'I barely deflected the second strike, but...'
Grazes began to appear on Jonghyeon's body bit by bit.
Jonghyeon's clothes were gradually stained with blood from shallow cuts.
His black clothes were soaked with blood, and through the torn fabric, blood and flesh could be faintly seen.
'Damn it.'
Jonghyeon was growing quite tired from the continuous exchanges. Of course, he could immediately see the problems in this situation.
First, Black Dave's strength was about twice his own, and his swordsmanship was incredibly refined.
'Second, that glowing streak from his sword. It's a martial artist's Sword Qi!'
The reason Jonghyeon was being wounded even while blocking was because he couldn't fight while calculating the distance of the Sword Qi.
He had never fought a martial artist before.
Jonghyeon could use qi too, but since he hadn't formally learned martial arts, he couldn't draw forth Sword Qi.
'And that damn mage.'
Mitchell was just as much of a threat.
"Flash Shower!"
As expected, the moment he was given a little time, Mitchell poured magic onto Jonghyeon.
Sixteen streaks of light ruthlessly rained down on Jonghyeon.
*Ting-ting-ting-ting-!*
While reflexively deflecting the magic flying from all directions, he deliberately shot the deflected magic toward Black Dave.
But there was no way Black Dave would fall for such an obvious trick.
Stinger's death was the last help he had ever provided Black Dave.
*Swish-*
Avoiding even the magic Jonghyeon had arduously deflected and fired back, he inflicted wounds on Jonghyeon bit by bit.
As if trying to let him die from exhaustion, he attacked Jonghyeon without the slightest overexertion.
He was barely blocking the whirling blade, but his vision had already grown quite hazy from blood loss.
There was no countermeasure.
"Lightning Storm!"
Lightning flew toward Jonghyeon.
This time, without even finding the time to deflect it, he twisted his body and barely dodged.
*Shhk-!*
"Keuk!"
*Thud-thud-thud.*
He dodged the magic, but not Black Dave's slash.
It was the decisive blow.
Jonghyeon, who had received a large wound on his chest, began to have streams of blood pour down at his feet.
'I'm killing that bastard even if I die!'
Mitchell was wearing a rotten smile from behind.
Even though his magic hadn't hit directly, Jonghyeon had suffered a fatal wound trying to avoid it, and Mitchell's sneering expression as if he had succeeded made Jonghyeon's anger flare to the top of his head.
But Jonghyeon was also in a state of having no more countermeasures.
'It seems the cause of my defeat was my failure to properly gauge Black Dave's martial prowess.'
And it was the result of slight arrogance, of believing only in his own strength.
Right now, it was a situation where he couldn't even escape through the training portal.
Because if he came out three days later, he would reappear right here in front of Black Dave, who would have set up countermeasures.
Jonghyeon, who even had the thought that he was simply asking to be devoured, loosened his grip on his sword slightly.
"Heh-heh..."
Why did he feel like laughing when he thought he was going to die?
It had been a meaningless life anyway.
Born an orphan, he figured he had lived a fairly interesting life having made it this far.
Because he was someone who never knew when he might die, he had even written a will years ago stating his assets would be donated to the orphanage.
Like a revolving lantern, thoughts flashed by.
When Mitchell saw that his opponent seemed to have given up, he smiled even more broadly.
"Hahaha! You look great!"
Black Dave seemed to be giving Jonghyeon time to sort out his final thoughts as a fellow martial artist.
'But I'm angry, damn it.'
Jonghyeon thought he definitely had to kill that bastard who stood behind him pouring out magic while taunting him.
Jonghyeon concentrated his last remaining strength, gripped his Sotaedo tight, and charged at the mage.
But in a fight between experts, the moment your posture breaks, it's over.
"I should finish this."
Before he could reach Mitchell, Black Dave's blade appeared before Jonghyeon and pierced his stomach.
Reflexively, he knocked the blade aimed at his heart downward, guiding it toward his stomach, but that was all.
He was a bit surprised at himself for reflexively knocking the blade aside even in this situation.
'Am I still scheming to survive even now? Haha.'
With the blade piercing his stomach, Jonghyeon opened his eyes wide and threw his Sotaedo aimed at Mitchell's neck.
*Swish-*
But Jonghyeon had already exhausted all his strength.
*Tok.*
The thrown Sotaedo was kicked away by Black Dave's foot before it could pierce Mitchell's neck.
The Sotaedo flew straight and embedded itself in the wall.
Seeing that, Jonghyeon began to lose even his remaining consciousness.
'It's over.'
Jonghyeon prepared to meet his death.
At that moment.
A familiar voice rang in Jonghyeon's ears!
*Ding!*
-The skill [One Accustomed to Darkness] has awakened and evolved into [One Who Wields Darkness].
-As the darkness attribute evolves, the unique skill [Rampage] has been created.
While the explanation echoed in Jonghyeon's head, he felt his consciousness fading.
'It's growing faint.'
But his body moved.
'No, to be exact, my body is moving on its own...'
Jonghyeon's head pounded as if he had clearly lost consciousness, but his body moved regardless of his will.
The shadows in the room.
They began to move at the command of his body.
'What...'
Jonghyeon couldn't freely control his body, but he still felt his body's sensations.
His consciousness was slowly returning as well.
The shadows felt like tools he could move freely, like his own hands and feet.
There was no sense of discomfort at all, as if he had been able to wield them since long ago.
Jonghyeon found this situation very strange, still feeling his body's sensations even though he couldn't control it.
"What!"
Black Dave wore an uncharacteristically flustered expression.
The opponent he had clearly stabbed with his blade should have been dead.
But Jonghyeon wasn't dead; rather, for some reason, Black Dave's own shadow began creeping up as if trying to strangle him.
Reflexively retrieving his blade, he put distance between them.
'What trick did that dying bastard pull?'
But the shadow restraining him showed no sign of stopping.
The shadow gradually approached his neck. Even the composed Black Dave had no time to think deeply.
And the same was true for Mitchell.
"What the hell kind of magic is this, Mitchell!"
To Black Dave's urgent question, Mitchell—who had already lost half his sanity—answered.
The terror of the situation seemed to dominate Mitchell.
A situation where all the surrounding shadows were trying to overwhelm him.
Naturally, it would be difficult for a normal person to maintain their composure.
"I don't know! I've never heard of or seen magic like this! Why do I have to die when I did exactly what you told me!"
Mitchell soon began to scream.
Without understanding what was happening, Black Dave was doing his utmost to fend off the obstructing shadows with his blade.
Mitchell couldn't even think of using magic as his neck was gradually being strangled by the shadows.
"Kuk! Black Dave, save me..."
Mitchell even shed tears, perhaps from the considerable pain.
But Black Dave left the dying Mitchell behind, gripped his blade once more, and charged at Jonghyeon.
'That guy is the source. If I just kill that guy!'
But the shadows that had already strangled Mitchell to death soon began flying toward Black Dave.
"Damn it!"
With nearly double the shadows from before attacking Black Dave again, he could no longer resist.
From all directions, from below to above.
Cutting down shadows charging from every direction was impossible even for Black Dave, whose martial prowess had reached its peak.
"What trick did you pull, you Eastern bastard!"
Black Dave's feet no longer budged.
Shadows coiled around him as if ropes were wrapping around his whole body.
In contrast, Jonghyeon gradually regained sensation in his body.
And he could tell without anyone explaining.
'This is Rampage...'
The more he regained sensation in his body, the weaker the shadows squeezing Black Dave felt.
To be exact, it seemed the shadows were struggling to break free from Jonghyeon's control.
The more that happened, the more Jonghyeon held his mind tight and concentrated power on the shadows that had become usable like his own arms and legs.
'I have to finish this now!'
Jonghyeon couldn't miss this opportunity.
If the shadows dispersed, his chances of winning would drastically decrease.
Especially the wounds on his body, the stab to his stomach, and the wound on his chest were all conveyed to him as great pain.
Jonghyeon used the shadows to pull his Sotaedo embedded in the wall and threw it with his hand.
*Swish-*
The Sotaedo wrapped precisely in Jonghyeon's hand.
He approached Black Dave, who was struggling to break free from the shadows.
"Too bad. Black Dave."
---------= Author's Note ---------=
Too bad, Black Dave. I'm the protagonist.