In the heart of Gangnam, Seoul.
The streets, which would usually be teeming with people, were eerily empty.
And for good reason.
Boom! Boom!
Explosions roared above, with bright flashes lighting up the sky incessantly.
“Have all the people been evacuated?”
“Many have left the streets, but there are still quite a few who haven’t made it out of the buildings. However…”
The police officer glanced nervously upward as he continued.
“Are you saying that Seong Jihan and a Constellation are really fighting up there?”
“Hmm… The Sword King said so. Isn’t that why he’s still busy evacuating people?”
“To think this wasn’t just a BattleNet affair but happening for real…”
“What’s so surprising about that? It’s a world where dungeon portals appear.”
Since Seong Jihan had left his home, a huge explosion had occurred in the sky.
Yoon Sejin and Yoon Seah had already sought cooperation from the government, explaining the situation and aiming to aid in evacuations.
Together with those efforts, the father-daughter duo were actively helping people escape.
“Oh, oh…! Flying by sword! I can’t believe I’m actually riding one!”
“Hold onto the sword tight, and don’t try to take selfies. You might fall.”
“Yes, yes!”
Police officers watched enviously as ordinary citizens descended from tall buildings on swords.
Sword King Yoon Sejin’s flying technique.
Something they had only seen in BattleNet matches was now unfolding before their eyes.
“I’d like to try riding one myself.”
“Stop talking nonsense and finish evacuating the citizens. We never know when something might fall from the sky.”
“Understood! But… uh…”
The subordinate officer, following the command, pointed shakily at the sky.
“Look, up there! A massive object is falling!”
“What? What?!”
Whoosh!
A giant red boulder plummeted down at great speed, heading straight for the heart of the city.
If that massive object were to collide with the ground, extensive damage was inevitable.
Just then.
“Excuse me for a moment. Could you please take care of these people?”
Swoosh.
Having landed amidst dozens of people on swords, Sword King descended to the ground.
“I’ll try to stop it.”
“Yes… Yes!”
Sssssss…
His dozens of swords joined into two, returning to the original twin blades Ganjang and Makya.
Yoon Sejin soared upward with them in hand.
“Wow… Getting to ride a sword in my lifetime.”
“Being unable to evacuate turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”
“Oh, I got it on video!”
“This isn’t the time for leisure. Please, evacuate immediately!”
While police officers quickly managed to evacuate those who had descended from the swords, Yoon Sejin found himself thinking strangely.
‘Why does my body feel like this all of a sudden? I’ve become stronger.’
Swoosh!
He flew towards the red boulder faster than usual.
‘Is it because I accepted my brother-in-law as my sponsor Constellation? But, I didn’t feel any different until just now…’
Sword King, having his sponsor as the Constellation Seong Jihan.
However, as his powers as a Constellation were limited, the practical benefits for Sword King were negligible.
Hence, Yoon Sejin didn’t so much expect sponsorship benefits from Seong Jihan as he welcomed it as a gesture to avoid falling under another’s influence again.
‘I’ve become significantly stronger, beyond just support buffs. If I add buffs on top of this…!’
Yoon Sejin’s eyes sparkled.
With this newfound strength, he felt he could fight on equal footing with the World Tree Elves that had overwhelmed him.
As he recalled his fights with the Elves, the meteor came into his view.
“First, I’ll deal with that…!”
Intense sword energy surged from Yoon Sejin’s twin blades.
It forcefully stretched forth, striking the red meteor.
However,
Clang!
‘It’s tough…!’
Despite feeling stronger, the meteor’s descent speed only decreased slightly without any visible damage.
Just as Yoon Sejin prepared for another strike.
“Brother-in-law?”
Flash!
A bolt of red lightning passed the meteor, revealing Seong Jihan’s figure.
* * *
“Brother-in-law! How was the fight…”
“I won, but then that Constellation suddenly spewed out this rock.”
“Really?”
“Have you gotten stronger, brother-in-law?”
Seong Jihan glanced at the sword energy radiating from the twin blades.
Yoon Sejin’s sword energy.
It was noticeably different from the last time he saw it.
“After you left, I suddenly felt a surge of energy and realized I’ve become more powerful. It feels like I’m not even utilizing my full strength.”
“Aha. It seems like I amplified the power as a Constellation. That might be the cause.”
“Oh…! To amplify the power of a Constellation! Is that even possible?”
“Yes. But the effect won’t last long since I won’t be an official Constellation until later. So, until then, these effects will be more short-term.”
“Well, if it’s my brother-in-law, you’ll become a Constellation in no time. It’s an honor to be your first sponsored player.”
Clang!
As he spoke, Yoon Sejin swung his blades again, but the meteor remained unscathed.
“I’ll also try to stop it.”
Crackle…!
Next to him, Seong Jihan wielded the Phoenix Flag, and a sparkling red current formed.
The spear, charged with red lightning, flew straight for the meteor.
Then.
Thunk!
Unlike Yoon Sejin’s attempt, the spear deeply penetrated the meteor.
And
Crackle…!
Wrapped in electrical currents, the red meteor’s descent halted.
“Sure enough, Brother-in-law. You managed to stop it!”
Yoon Sejin watched the now-stationary meteor in the sky with relief.
Sssssss…
However, as blood-red smoke began to emanate from within, his relief turned to alarm.
“This is…!”
“Longinus’s blood energy.”
The system had confirmed its death, yet it struggled vehemently in its final moments.
Seong Jihan frowned, attempting to contain the spreading blood energy.
However,
[Execution Ground Damaged]
[Currently Installing]
As blue flames sparked among the blood energy, creating words.
Whoosh!
The spread of the blood energy accelerated tremendously, attempting to form a cross.
And
“Ugh. Hmm… This isn’t good. I feel like my strength is being drained.”
Yoon Sejin, who had just been brimming with energy, suddenly staggered.
Moreover, the sweat streaming down his forehead quickly turned to blood, drawn toward the cross shaped by the blood smoke.
“Brother-in-law, please step back.”
“…Better not to hinder you than to be a burden. Understood.”
With that, Yoon Sejin hastily retreated downward, blood continuing to rise towards the sky from where he stood.
Seong Jihan observed this, his brows furrowed.
‘Even my enhanced brother-in-law is having his blood drawn.’
Yoon Sejin, arguably the strongest human besides Seong Jihan, was effortlessly overcome by the meteor’s blood energy.
If left unchecked, it might soon begin to draw blood from humans on the ground.
‘No choice then.’
Seong Jihan drew the half-mask once again, amplifying the power of the void.
Then, a massive swirling shadow sword formed.
Fundamental Divine Arts, Dark Shadow Technique – Dark Soul Vortex
Whiiiiii!
A giant whirlpool filled the sky, obscuring even the light, plunging one side of Gangnam’s cityscape into darkness.
“What…! Why has the sky…”
“Isn’t that the whirlpool used by Seong Jihan? What’s happening up there…”
As people witnessed Seong Jihan’s martial prowess unfolding with great intensity, some still gazed curiously at the spectacle.
“People, this is not the time to watch! Evacuate quickly!”
Police and firemen hustled to evacuate those bystanders.
Thanks to Dark Soul Vortex absorbing all the blood energy, people not afflicted like Yoon Sejin could evacuate more easily.
And
‘I’ll have to eliminate that with a Destruction Code.’
Seong Jihan moved towards the meteor to inscribe it, while the Dark Soul Vortex eagerly consumed any emerging blood energy.
Leaving the meteor unchecked might encourage it to draw blood again, forming another cross.
‘Although I’m curious about the Execution Ground, I can’t allow such danger to hover over the city.’
Approaching the red boulder, Seong Jihan quickly began to inscribe the Destruction Code.
As he drew near, though the meteor expelled blood energy more vigorously, it lacked the means to employ a Divine Spear like Longinus.
[Destroy]
Scriiiiiic!
Easily, Seong Jihan inscribed the code atop it.
Then,
Whoosh…
Starting from the center where the letters were written, the rock rapidly disintegrated into dust.
Despite the inconvenience of having to approach the target to write the letters, the Destruction Code boasted absolute destructive power.
However, Seong Jihan’s face wasn’t particularly bright, despite wielding such a potent weapon.
‘I might manage once more at best… The power consumption is enormous.’
Previously, he could barely inscribe the Destruction Code once before amplification.
Even now, amplified twofold, he could only manage three inscriptions at most.
The meteor might have been eradicated, but if something similar emerged…
He’d be without means to stop it.
Meanwhile,
[Is it over? The blood energy is no longer emerging.]
“Yeah. Come back.”
Responding to the inquiry from the Shadow Queen, who had been manipulating the massive Dark Soul Vortex, Seong Jihan affirmed.
Whoosh!
The black whirlwind reverted to a sword form and flew towards Seong Jihan on its own.
[This blood energy… It’s a highly sophisticated force.]
“Really?”
[Yes. Several beings convert others’ life force into their own, but I’ve not seen such a favorable exchange rate. If the Constellation we just faced had exploited its own kind to this extent, it could’ve quickly ascended to a higher tier.]
“Higher than Sole Sovereignty level 4?”
[4? Even with a generous absorption, it’d be above 5. With severe exploitation, it might have reached 7.]
So that was the power of Longinus’s blood energy.
Although Longinus had both the Divine Spear and blood energy, and possessed many other skills, he was relatively easy to suppress.
Thinking this, Seong Jihan closely watched the shattered meteor site.
The Destruction Code had definitely taken effect, but just in case something else emerged…
Thus, he stood by, mask removed and Constellation mode ON.
[Constellation attainment Level reduced to 770.]
He noted another drop in the limit level due to the battle.
‘I should turn it OFF.’
The battle had reduced his limit level by seven.
Though there was still plenty of room for growth, overly activating this Constellation trait was akin to mortgaging the future for present strength.
He needed to conserve as much leveling potential as possible.
As Seong Jihan was about to deactivate the trait.
Whoosh!
Above, where Longinus had disappeared, a feeble blue flame flickered anew.
‘Again?’
That flame itself spelled trouble.
Deciding not to wait for another meteor to form, Seong Jihan resolved to eliminate it and flew towards the source.
Whoosh…
The blue flames, which had spread widely then disappeared due to the Destruction Code, rekindled.
[Execution Ground…]
As words began to form again within the flames.
“Just disappear, will you?”
Seong Jihan overlaid the last of his usable Destruction Codes onto it.
Then,
Fizz!
Fizz!
Fizzzzz!!!
[Preservation Data overwrites with Destruction Code.]
[Data is being deleted…]
[This is permanently preserved data. Deletion is restricted.]
[To fully delete, please unlock.]
Several lines of text unfolded before Seong Jihan’s eyes.
‘Permanently preserved data… Does this take precedence over the Destruction Code?’
Though the text kindly noted that unlocking could facilitate deletion, Seong Jihan had no idea how.
[Please unlock.]
As the flames, which had widened then vanished because of the Destruction Code, reignited, words demanding unlocking instead of reconstructing the Execution Ground appeared above.
‘…Might as well try.’
Unsure of the method, Seong Jihan reached out to touch the blue flames, a gesture made without much expectation, like clutching at straws.
“…Huh?”
Upon touching the flames, Seong Jihan’s expression subtly shifted.
“…I remember now.”
[What do you mean?]
Prompted by the Shadow Queen, Seong Jihan blinked several times, murmuring to himself.
“The name of the third Annihilation Technique…”
