Whoosh!
Crimson energy surged from Longinus’ body and the sky quickly turned blood red.
Seong Jihan felt the intense power contained within and furrowed his brow.
‘As expected of a Constellation-class.’
He had fought Longinus a few times before, but those were just avatars that had manifested in Vladimir.
Now that the main body had manifested, the difference in power was clearly felt.
‘I’ve gotten a lot stronger, but… it’s still tough.’
Seong Jihan calmly assessed the current situation.
No matter how transcendent his stats were, he was definitely being pushed back by Longinus, the opponent before him.
If he continued to fight like this, he would definitely lose to Longinus in a few minutes.
But
‘There’s a way.’
There were two ways to boost his power.
One was to activate his Constellation trait to enhance all his abilities.
The second was the half-mask that the branch manager had given him.
‘I got both of these thanks to the World Tree Elf.’
They were truly hateful opponents in his previous life but they’ve been really helpful this time.
Seong Jihan smiled faintly and opened his mouth.
“Inventory.”
Swoosh!
The half-mask materialized in his hand.
Seong Jihan put it on his face.
And at the same time, he activated his Constellation trait.
[Error detected in Battle Net.]
[The constellation attainment level has been lowered to 774.]
Shwooooooooo…
From Seong Jihan’s entire body, the power of the void erupted like an explosion.
In a state where all his abilities were amplified, the void devoured Seong Jihan’s body even more strongly.
‘This is an incredible amount. If there hadn’t been an increase in the Void Tolerance Limit with the ability amplification, I would have already been consumed by the will of the Void.’
Seong Jihan quietly observed the energy coursing through his body, which was several times stronger than before.
Energy that had been amplified upon amplification.
However, this was a power with a limited time limit.
The longer he dragged it out, the more disadvantageous it was for him.
He had to use his amplified power sharply and subdue his opponent in one fell swoop.
“You bastard. So you’ve given your body to the Void? It’s a futile effort.”
Meanwhile,
Longinus extended his finger, his eyes fixed on the void energy radiating from the masked Seong Jihan.
Clack clack clack…!
Countless crosses shot out from the bloody cross behind him.
“Cross Sword Cranion. Kill him.”
Whoosh!
Hundreds, thousands of blood swords simultaneously charged towards Seong Jihan.
Each one was at a speed far different from anything he had experienced before.
The attacks unleashed by the Constellation were that deadly.
But
Fundamental Divine Art, Triad of Martial Mastery – Total Annihilation Horizontal Sweep
Crackle!
A massive dragon lightning bolt shot out from the Phoenix Flag.
It contained far more intense power than the one Seong Jihan had used before.
Several crimson lightning bolts that were not pushed back even by the countless blood swords.
The sword and the lightning clashed fiercely in the sky.
And
‘I still have strength left. Especially the Void.’
The super-reinforced Seong Jihan was able to fight the Constellation with a relaxed expression.
Swoosh!
Shadow energy surged from his empty left hand.
It took the form of the Eclipse, the shadow sword, with the Void contained within it.
Previously, it was a black sword with chains hanging all over the surface of the black sword when the Shadow Queen was inside.
However,
[What kind of power is this… The roots of Yggdrasil, I tried to overcome it myself. It’s disappearing on its own…]
Whoosh!
About half of the dozens of broken chains.
As soon as the sword took shape, it was engulfed in purple flames and disappeared.
The Eclipse, which contained a massive amount of Void.
Fundamental Divine Art, Triad of Martial Mastery – Total Annihilation Horizontal Sweep
As the sword slashed across, the Void sword energy cut through the sky.
The horde of cross swords that had been fiercely clashing with the dragon lightning were quickly pushed back.
“Hmm…! Is this not enough?”
Seeing this, Longinus reached for the massive cross behind him.
Whoosh…
The giant blood cross swallowed his hand and merged.
“I will wield my sword myself.”
Swoosh…
It immediately shrank to the size of Longinus’ body and transformed into a giant sword in the form of a cross.
Whoosh!
As the giant sword moved, a wave of blood energy surged.
At the same time, Longinus’ figure disappeared.
[He’s on the left!]
With the Shadow Queen’s warning, his figure appeared next to Seong Jihan in an instant.
Boom!
As the two swords collided, Seong Jihan’s body was pushed back from the sky.
“Hmm. You’re holding up quite well.”
Whoosh!
A cross-shaped blood sword shot towards Seong Jihan in an instant.
The sword was divided into dozens of branches, covering all directions – up, down, left, and right – and aimed at Seong Jihan.
All of these attacks were imbued with deadly power.
[He’s at the top.]
The Shadow Queen spotted the real one among them.
Pow!
Blood splattered above Seong Jihan’s head.
And beyond that, Longinus’ helmet.
Crackle!
A part of it was cut off by Seong Jihan’s counterattack in that brief moment.
“Huh…”
Longinus’ red skin was briefly exposed between the blood-red armor, but it was quickly covered up by the helmet that was raised and restored.
“You’re quite annoying.”
Longinus was burning with anger.
“I’ll kill you.”
A blood sword shot out in an instant.
[Below.]
With the Shadow Queen’s warning, the clash began again.
* * *
[The constellation attainment level has been lowered to 773.]
‘Five minutes have passed.’
Seong Jihan could guess the passage of time by looking at the message that popped up in front of him.
The battle had been uphill so far.
Especially in the early stages, he was almost on the verge of allowing Longinus’ attacks to land if it weren’t for the Shadow Queen.
‘I’m getting used to it now, but I’m still being outmatched in terms of overall power.’
No matter how much Seong Jihan amplified his power twice, it was still not enough against the directly descended Constellation.
The only reason he was able to hold on was thanks to his transcendent stats and.
[They’re coming in from both above and below.]
It was also thanks to the Shadow Queen’s timely advice.
Pow! Pow!
Blood swords exploded in the air, blocked by swords and spears.
“……I’m glad I descended quickly.”
Swoosh!
After fiercely fighting with Seong Jihan for five minutes, Longinus stepped back after this attack was also blocked.
“I didn’t want to use the spear.”
The shape of the blood sword Longinus was holding collapsed.
Whoosh!
Blood energy began to swirl.
And then, Longinus’ armor was sucked into it.
The armor made of blood energy was dismantled one by one, revealing Longinus’ body.
[Why does his body look like that? Is he one of your kind?]
Longinus’ body was riddled with holes and bleeding profusely.
In particular, from the center of his chest, blood was gushing out like a fountain, replenishing his blood energy.
With that much bleeding, one would expect his body to be drained of blood quickly, but Longinus continued to spew blood.
His body was soaked in blood, crimson all over.
“The power of the Divine Spear. I will use it here.”
Whoosh!
The vortex spun even more strongly, and then it transformed into an elongated shape.
And what was revealed inside was a spear made of blood.
Swoosh!
Longinus raised it and aimed it at Seong Jihan.
“Die.”
Whoosh!
The blood spear flew away from Longinus’ hand and slowly approached.
Even a child could have avoided it at this speed.
However, the target, Seong Jihan’s body, was in a completely rigid state.
[…What are you doing?]
The Shadow Queen’s voice, about to say something after seeing Seong Jihan standing still, was cut off in mid-sentence.
Seong Jihan’s world had come to a complete halt.
The only thing that moved was the blood spear, slowly flying towards him.
‘……Did the target freeze code activate?’
The Divine Spear that Longinus had shown as an avatar.
When he was targeted then, his internal energy was still faintly moving.
But the Divine Spear of Longinus, the Constellation himself, completely sealed Seong Jihan, making it impossible for his internal power to even twitch.
If this continued, he would definitely be pierced.
Then,
Sizzle…
A faint crimson smoke rose from the tip of the blood spear.
And above it, purple letters appeared.
[Target conditions, partially matched]
[Destruction Code activated]
This pattern had appeared before.
But
Underneath it, the sun mark soon appeared and red letters began to form.
[Target freeze code in progress]
The letters hidden under the sun mark until he acquired the Red’s stats.
This was a hidden command that had put Seong Jihan in a time stop state.
And
[Do you want to retrieve the command?]
Even though his internal energy was not moving at all.
As soon as he could read the words, a red-backgrounded system window popped up asking if he wanted to retrieve the command.
‘Yes.’
As Seong Jihan, whose body was frozen, mentally agreed to the retrieval.
[Command retrieved.]
Whoosh!
The words [Target Freeze Code in Progress] from the third line flew towards Seong Jihan.
They entered the Red’s energy pattern, which was gathered on his chest.
[Command retrieved.]
[Enemy intake limit is more than half full. You can retrieve the command one more time.]
In the past, he had not been able to absorb them all.
However, perhaps because his Red’s stats had increased and been amplified, he seemed to be able to retrieve the command one more time, even though it was the Divine Spear of Constellation Longinus himself.
And, his body moved.
[…what is it? Stay still! Ah?]
The Shadow Queen’s voice also came to him.
‘Due to my stats, time stop can certainly be broken. But.’
Ziiiiing…
From the flying Divine Spear, the sun mark rose again.
The words [Target Freeze Code in Progress] were being written again.
If the sentence was completed, he would go back into time stop mode like before.
‘I only have one more chance to absorb it. I have to eliminate the power of the spear itself.’
To eliminate the power of the spear, he would have to wear it out.
“Enkidu, summon.”
Swoosh!
Strong iron chains stretched out from behind Seong Jihan.
Clang! Clang!
They came together and transformed into an iron-armored being.
Enkidu, the iron giant, who looked four or five times larger than a human.
It was a doll that would be consumed as a target for the Divine Spear, as Gilgamesh had taught him.
“Enkidu… Gilgamesh. What are you thinking?!”
Longinus, who saw it, opened his eyes wide.
[Target conditions, fully matched]
[Change target]
[Destruction Code activated]
The Divine Spear that Longinus extended changed its target to the iron giant.
Poof!
Pierced by the spear, the giant was consumed.
And Seong Jihan, behind him as he disappeared.
He unleashed one of the most powerful martial arts he could use.
Fundamental Divine Arts, Heavenly Dragon Thunder Fire – Dragon Thunder
The Heavenly Dragon Thunder Fire, which pierces a hole in the sky and pours out a huge stream of fire.
However, the Heavenly Dragon Thunder Fire that Seong Jihan showed, with his increased power.
Whoosh!
Unexpectedly, it was just an ordinary spear.
The Phoenix Flag, leaving Seong Jihan’s hand, flew away.
In the blink of an eye, it flew towards Longinus.
“Damn it…!
With a hastily gathered blood shield, Longinus tried to block the attack, but the Phoenix Flag pierced right through it.
The Phoenix Flag flashed white.
It soon set Longinus’ shield on fire.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the white flames exploded, engulfing everything in their path.
Originally, it was a martial art so powerful that it could be mistaken for a dragon’s breath, sweeping across the entire earth.
But now, the Heavenly Dragon Thunder Fire, which had been condensed due to Seong Jihan’s increased strength, was even more powerful.
“Wh… what… kind… of… power… is this…”
Longinus’ voice faintly echoed from within the white flames, which were a concentrated force of fire and lightning.
If it had been before he used the Divine Spear, he might have been able to defend himself, but Longinus had used up a lot of his blood energy summoning the spear.
All he could do was barely regenerate in the face of the Heavenly Dragon Thunder Fire’s power.
“You’re tenacious.”
Swoosh!
Seong Jihan sucked in the void energy inside his mask and quickly approached Longinus.
Even though the Divine Spear had been blocked and Longinus was in a groggy state from the Heavenly Dragon Thunder Fire, Longinus was still the stronger one in terms of total power.
He had to finish Longinus off now, before he had a chance to recover.
‘Let’s use the Destruction Code.’
Destruction Code.
It was the most powerful of all the powers Seong Jihan possessed when it came to eliminating an opponent.
However, it required him to write the word directly on top of the target, making it difficult to use against strong enemies.
Like Longinus in his current state.
He had to finish him off when he was caught off guard and in a state of recovery.
Whoosh!
Seong Jihan jumped into the pit of fire he had created.
