𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖𝟔
━Good judgment.
Seeing that most of the guild members had disappeared, the Apostle left those words and immediately rushed towards the remaining members.
Perhaps because there was no one who could keep up with the Apostle’s speed, the guild members were responding mainly with skills that hindered movement.
“Bind his feet! Earth Barrier!”
“Heavy Shackles!”
Certainly, the response itself wasn’t bad.
It was much more helpful to restrain his movement than to fight against that kind of speed.
However, as if mocking the guild members, the Apostle quickly escaped from his position and dodged all the skills used.
……But are those skills that can be dodged?
Even though I clearly saw shackles attached to his ankles with skills, the Apostle moved quickly and shook them off.
If that wasn’t a coincidence, it might be better to retreat now.
Chaeng!-
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, with a sharp metallic sound, I could see Dayin clashing with the Apostle.
Perhaps she used an S-rank skill, as she swung her dagger at a speed that didn’t lose to the Apostle’s, and the Apostle also moved at a similar speed, exchanging attacks and defenses.
‘I can’t believe Dayin is the one to shine.’
Whether I knew it or not, this seemed to be the first time Dayin had stepped up and performed like this.
It seemed to be a result of a favorable matchup, but even Dayin couldn’t hold the Apostle back for long.
“Aah!”
Perhaps due to the significant difference in strength, the Apostle knocked away Dayin’s weapon and plunged his dagger into her exposed upper body.
Fortunately, other guild members rushed in, preventing further attacks, but she was clearly overwhelmed in a direct confrontation.
‘Sigh, it can’t be helped.’
If left alone, the remaining guild members seemed likely to be annihilated.
To prevent that, I ran towards the Apostle, and after confirming that he was within a certain range, I activated the skill I had in mind.
“Soul Shackles!”
Clank!-
The chains that appeared from Soul Shackles flew towards the Apostle.
Of course, I didn’t think those chains would catch the Apostle.
Nevertheless, I used this skill because I was certain the Apostle would dodge.
And as expected, the Apostle broke through the blocking guild members and dodged the chains.
‘Got it!’
“Jayer’s Guardian Shield, Giant’s Sprint!”
[S-rank skill. Jayer’s Guardian Shield is activated.]
I grasped the Apostle’s movement path and ran with all my might.
No matter how fast the Apostle’s speed was, it was slower than my Giant’s Sprint, and since I ran while predicting his path, the Apostle and I were able to collide head-on.
Kwaaaang!!-
━Keuhk!
[Skill Damage! 13,864.]
‘Huh? He flew away?’
In addition, the Apostle’s body, which collided with me, flew far away.
This meant that the Apostle’s strength was lower than mine.
However, that wasn’t important in the current situation, so I quickly erased it from my mind and chased after the flying Apostle.
“Elsyke’s Phantom Shift.”
Pat!-
━……That was a decent surprise attack.
At that moment, the Apostle spoke as if evaluating, and threw his dagger towards the approaching phantom.
Perhaps because the dagger was also quite fast, the phantom was approaching while blocking it with its shield, but it didn’t matter since I had already moved to the Apostle’s side.
“Thunder Strike!”
Kwaaaang!-
[Skill Damage! 14,658.]
“Is this a decent surprise attack too?!”
After landing the first attack, I swung my shield again, but the Apostle dodged it simply by bending his upper body.
‘Damn it.’
Once he started dodging, all subsequent attacks missed. As expected, it was difficult to land an attack using normal methods.
Then……
“Phantom Explosion.”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 8,069.]
Since I couldn’t hit the Apostle with normal attacks anyway, I detonated the nearby phantom.
The Apostle couldn’t avoid the sudden explosion attack and received some damage, but it wasn’t satisfactory.
“Now! Attack!”
At that moment, someone’s shout came from behind, and various magic spells fell on the spot where the Apostle and I were.
Kwakwang!- Kwakwakwang!!-
‘Area magic?’
Most of the magic was area-of-effect, causing a significant explosion that swept the surroundings.
However, I, being a member of the same guild, didn’t receive any damage. Perhaps this was the intention behind using this magic.
But.
Pook!-
[You have received damage! -3,370.]
The Apostle, unfazed by the pouring area magic, stabbed my abdomen with his dagger.
The number was terrifying, perhaps because it was registered as piercing damage.
“You, crazy!”
Still, seeing the Apostle close in to stab me, I thought this was my chance and immediately swung the Roar of the Thunder Dragon.
Since he was blown away by Giant’s Sprint earlier, his strength must be lower than mine, which meant the Roar of the Thunder Dragon would deal double damage.
Whiff!-
However, double damage only applies if it hits.
As expected, the Apostle dodged my attack and tried to stab me with his dagger again, but this time, I wouldn’t be defeated so easily.
“Dynamics!”
Kwaaaang!-
After pushing him back with Earth’s Dynamics, I shouted Thunder Strike and waited for him to approach.
If we were to exchange blows, there was no need to say who would benefit.
‘Come on.’
Anyway, since I was ready, the Apostle, who had briefly retreated after dodging Earth’s Dynamics, immediately rushed in, and I attacked the approaching Apostle with the prepared Thunder Strike.
━Shadow Leap.
“……!?”
I thought I could land at least one hit if I swung my shield at the timing of his attack. However, the Apostle’s body disappeared in an instant, and my shield only cut through the empty air.
━Over here.
Pook!-
[You have received damage! -3,370.]
[You have received damage……]
Consecutive damage along with a voice from behind.
Almost every attack was registered as piercing damage, indicating an incredibly high piercing rate.
‘Crazy, what’s his piercing rate?’
Considering my current piercing defense rate, the current attacks didn’t make sense.
First, the piercing defense rate provided by Jayer’s Guardian Shield was 80p.
Adding the options attached to my full body armor and shield, the total piercing defense rate reached 130p. Yet, the Apostle pierced through that rate and inflicted piercing damage too easily.
“Dynamics! Elsyke’s Phantom……”
I had no choice but to push him back with Earth’s Dynamics and try to find an opportunity to attack with Phantom Shift, but the retreating Apostle left me alone and ran towards where the guild members were.
Where is that guy going?
While I was dealing with the Apostle, the guild members provided support attacks with area magic. Perhaps that’s why his target changed, I thought, and used Phantom Shift to move near the Apostle.
The problem was that one guild member was defeated in the meantime.
“Damn it, he suddenly rushed in……”
[Beluin’s 26th Apostle absorbs life force.]
[All stats of Beluin’s 26th Apostle slightly increase.]
Perhaps because they didn’t expect him to charge towards them, they couldn’t react properly and allowed the surprise attack.
Or maybe the Apostle’s speed was too fast for them to react.
“Thunder Strike!”
Anyway, I approached using Phantom Shift and attacked the Apostle with Thunder Strike, but the Apostle ignored me and continued hunting the remaining guild members.
‘He’s ignoring me until the very end.’
However, he wasn’t completely ignoring me, as he was meticulously dodging only my attacks.
‘But is he killing guild members to increase his stats?’
Every time he killed a guild member, a message popped up saying he absorbed life force and all his stats increased.
‘His stats don’t seem to increase much though.’
Even when he killed dozens of guild members initially, there wasn’t a significant difference.
In other words, killing the remaining guild members was pointless.
Nevertheless, the Apostle persistently attacked the guild members, boasting the feat of killing a total of four.
━It’s over now.
‘Hmm?’
[Beluin’s 26th Apostle has absorbed a certain amount of life force.]
[Based on the absorbed life force, he can use one of Beluin’s powers.]
An ominous message appeared along with the Apostle’s declaration that it was over. And without even having time to think about the message, the Apostle’s next action followed.
━I shall bestow upon you an equal death.
[Beluin’s 26th Apostle uses Death Mark.]
I didn’t know what Death Mark was, but a dark red symbol was drawn on my chest along with the message.
I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like an unavoidable skill, and the problem was that the symbol was drawn on all the remaining guild members.
[Death Mark has been engraved.]
[Receive 3 times the damage from all attacks by Beluin’s 26th Apostle.]
‘3 times the damage?’
“Kuagh!”
Before I could even be surprised by the absurd message, the Apostle’s massacre began.
Perhaps due to the tripled damage, the guild members fell helplessly, and I tried to block it somehow by using Phantom Shift and attacking again, but this time, my attacks didn’t connect.
━Those marked cannot escape my sight.
“What?”
Did the mark have that effect too?
The Apostle, dodging my surprise attack, attempted to attack by thrusting his dagger before even finishing his sentence. I wanted to dodge, but his attack speed was so fast that I couldn’t.
Pook!-
[You have received damage! -10,370.]
‘Damn it.’
Perhaps due to the mark, the damage was impossible to ignore.
With this kind of damage, even I would die within 2-3 seconds, wouldn’t I?
In the end, I gave up on attacking and retreated, but the Apostle chased me, trying to kill me by swinging his dagger.
“Elsyke’s Phantom Shift.”
Pat!-
Move as far away as possible.
At close range, I was overwhelmingly disadvantaged, so I tried to create distance and think of another method, but as soon as I turned my head, I saw the Apostle who had approached right in front of me.
He had caught up to me after I used Phantom Shift.
[You have received damage……]
“Ugh, Dynamics!”
Kwaaaang!-
‘Alright, come at me.’
Due to a previous patch, Return Scrolls couldn’t be used during combat.
The guild member who escaped using the scroll earlier wasn’t in combat, so it was a different situation, but at least I wasn’t.
Moreover, even the approaching phantoms died with a single attack, not providing much help.
I had no choice but to fight to the death, whether I died or he died.
“Armor of Protection! Thunder Strike!”
I even used Armor of Protection to hold on a little longer, but it wasn’t very reassuring. The Armor of Protection would break after being pierced twice.
However, in other words, it meant I could endure two attacks.
Trusting in the durability of the Armor of Protection, I swung my shield, but the Apostle dodged it easily and stabbed with his dagger. I anticipated this and tried to block it with the Roar of the Thunder Dragon, but before I could even swing it, the Apostle’s dagger pierced my body first.
The difference in speed was too great, so I couldn’t react.
[Armor of Protection takes the damage instead……]
━Die now.
And with those words, my Armor of Protection shattered, and as my remaining health reached zero, I collapsed to the ground, losing all strength in my body.
[You have died.]
[Due to death, the demonic power within your body awakens.]
‘Sigh, what should I do?’
I wasn’t afraid of this death because I had the newly acquired Corrupted Body.
However, even if I resurrected as a demon, I didn’t think I could defeat him.
I couldn’t handle him with my existing skills, so how much help would a level 1 power be?
‘Should I enhance my weapon and cloak when I return?’
While I was thinking this, the Apostle began to finish off the remaining members.
Dayin seemed to be holding him off for a while, but after a few seconds, she died as well. The remaining guild members shouted towards Aizen.
“Guild Master! Run away!”
“Hurry!”
And upon hearing those words, Aizen immediately used a Return Scroll.
Come to think of it, he wasn’t participating in the battle, so he could use the scroll immediately. Seeing that, I wondered if he intentionally didn’t participate.
‘No wonder he was just watching from the sidelines.’
Only two guild members were left now.
Thinking it was hopeless, they ran towards the entrance, but the Apostle didn’t let them go, chasing and killing them before slowly returning to his original position.
‘Huh?’
Does he not know I’m alive?
If so, this could be an opportunity. I decided to quietly hold on until I could use the Return Scroll.
‘Anyway, I messed up at the end.’
If it weren’t for that Death Mark or whatever it was, I think I could have won somehow, but I wasn’t sure.
Perhaps I needed to come with the minimum number of people to face him?
Coming with the minimum number of people might mean struggling with the monsters encountered along the way, but considering the boss, it was a minor issue.
‘The problem is finding a way to win for sure……’
Before I could reach a conclusion, I realized that time had passed and quickly searched for the Return Scroll in my inventory.
“Item Storage.”
━Hmm?
Even though I muttered softly, the Apostle seemed to have heard my voice and turned his head.
However, it was too late since I already had the Return Scroll in my hand.
And I used the Return Scroll before the Apostle could approach.
[Using Return Scroll.]
Pabat!-
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