Chapter 259 – Final Boss (1)

“Hope the fish are biting today.”

The fishermen lamented as they prepared their boat to set sail.

The world was in an uproar over talks of an imminent apocalypse, and a lone hunter was fighting to prevent that destruction.

They knew it was dangerous. They knew something tremendous was happening.

But to make a living, they couldn’t just stop working.

“Wait a minute, something’s not right.”

“What’s not right?”

One fisherman clicked his tongue, thinking his companion was talking nonsense just before they were about to depart.

“That, look at that. Over there!”

“What? Wh-what in the world is that!”

It was red.

It didn’t seem like the sea was red because of the dawn’s glow.

“…!”

The sea, stained as red as blood, churned.

The fisherman felt a chill run down his spine.

He had been a sailor for decades, but he had never seen a sight like this.

The ominous red sea began to swell more violently, and a tidal wave started to rise.

The sun, meant to brighten the morning, was certainly rising. Yet, as if a switch had been flipped, the entire world went dark.

An atmospheric anomaly had begun.

A sea stained red, a sky darkened like a total solar eclipse.

No birds sang, no beasts cried out.

It was as if the entire world had been turned off.

This wasn’t just happening in Korea.

-We are being inundated with reports regarding a sudden red tide phenomenon.

-Things that defy common sense are happening overnight. Due to a swarm of toads that filled the roads today…

-The meteorological agency has advised residents near the coast to evacuate in preparation for a tsunami…

Bizarre phenomena were occurring all over the globe.

In some places, deer and boars with human faces were sighted; in others, children resembling demons were born.

Soon, a tsunami struck Busan. As the furniture and economy built by human hands crumbled, crows cawed as if they were laughing.

-Doom Countdown: 62.1 / 100%

As the Asian man battled in the Demon World, the countdown, which had been slowly decreasing, started up again.

People believed the hero would take care of everything.

And so, they felt relieved, denied reality, and remained faithful to their daily routines.

Even though a massive tsunami had caused immense damage within the country, the Hunter Academy in Gyeonggi Province, far from the disaster, was still holding in-person classes.

“Uh, so, a verb phrase is composed of two or more words, and a phrasal verb is…”

“Aaargh!”

A male student suddenly screamed during class.

The teacher’s face, naturally, showed a moment of bewilderment, and the surprised faces of the other students slowly gave way to stifled giggles that replaced the lesson.

“What’s with you? Kim Heung-soo, don’t tell me you were sleeping. Were you?”

“…”

The male student’s eyes were still unfocused, as if he couldn’t distinguish reality from his dream.

Seeing this, the teacher let out a sigh.

“The era when all a hunter needed was to be good at fighting is over. You need a basic education for a guild to even consider you. But Kim Heung-soo, weren’t your hunter abilities subpar to begin with?”

The students laughed at the teacher’s chiding.

It was an acceptable jab because the friend who had just woken up was at the bottom of the class.

“S-Sir. I don’t think this is the time for class.”

“If it’s not time for class, then is it time for you to sleep?”

Laughter once again filled the classroom.

“The Deliveryman… I-I think he’s going to die.”

A brief silence fell over the classroom at the student’s words. The teacher scratched his head and sighed.

“Look, I know you’re all watching that hunter clear gates because of this damn system or whatever. But pros handle those missions. The gate clear will start soon, so stop worrying about it and mind your own business. If you’re so concerned, why don’t you grab a pencil and go hunt the Demon King yourself? Class president.”

Just then, the bell rang.

Despite the teacher’s reprimand, the male student didn’t seem to be listening.

If anything, his face was pale.

“Something is really, really wrong right now…”

The student muttered to himself. The other kids in the class, their interest piqued by their friend who was still lost in a dream, gathered around him, asking for a play-by-play.

“Hey, you dozed off in that short time?”

“The Deliveryman was on a rampage by himself. What do you mean he’s going to die?”

At his friends’ words, the male student opened his mouth, his voice filled with fear.

“N-No. He was fighting some kind of incredible monster, and the Deliveryman was badly…”

The student felt like he would never be able to sleep again.

The situation had been that horrific.

***

*KABOOOOM!*

“What the, what is that sound…!”

Demonic soldiers who had rushed to the commotion were struck by a sudden blast of sword energy and sliced to pieces.

“Hahaha, yes. This is more like it!”

Damn, this old guy is strong.

We must have exchanged dozens of blows already. He swings that glaive around like he thinks he’s some legendary warrior, and every single attack is heavy.

I twist my sword to block his horizontal slash, then slide in to cut across his stomach.

But it’s blocked by a solid HP Shield.

Crazy. I poured a ton of my magic into that, and it didn’t even take damage?

No. That can’t be right. It must have done some damage. It’s just that his health pool is so ridiculously large that there’s barely any reaction.

“This is fun, so much fun.”

“Glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

I charged forward again and swung my sword.

*Clang! Fzzt-!*

His glaive moves as if it’s reading my attack trajectory and blocks it.

At the same time, I feel a blow to my abdomen and I’m thrown backward.

I can feel my HP Shield depleting again.

I lift my head and see the glaive, now stained an inky black, flying toward me to split me in two.

I do a half-turn, dodging the glaive and simultaneously striking the old man in the back of the head with an elbow blow.

It’s hard.

I throw a low kick, create an opening, and thrust the Holy Sword forward.

*Chzzzt-!*

Thanks to the opening, I managed to get through his HP Shield a little.

He definitely took damage. He’s just like some masochist who doesn’t show any expression even when in pain.

*KABOOOOM!*

Every time the old man swings his spear, buildings are sliced apart like paper.

It’s a bit sad watching him trash his own house like some dementia patient, but he’s so stubborn it’s hard to stop him.

“Is running away your style?”

The old man’s got plenty of energy to run his mouth, too.

“Got cataracts, old man? You’ll never hit anything if you don’t swing properly.”

“Heheheh.”

I readjusted my grip on the Holy Sword.

*Woooong-!*

The Holy Sword, its blade of light shining brightly. And the magic enveloping my entire body.

I’m not weak right now. I’m definitely strong. It’s Phase 2, after all.

Have I ever been pushed back this much in my Phase 2 state?

“Are you flustered?”

The old man laughs.

“You’ve likely never lost to anyone until now, always been the strongest. You’ve never seen the sky above you, so this first taste of a power gap… I’m speaking right now.”

He blocks the Holy Sword I swung in a surprise attack with his glaive.

The cursed magic flowing from his weapon is in a tense standoff with my Holy Sword.

“I get it now.”

I cut off the flow of magic I was injecting into the Holy Sword.

The light faded, and soon only the hilt of the Holy Sword remained.

I put it into my inventory and pulled out a two-handed sword.

“Are you trying to blame your weapon?”

“No, I just feel bad fighting with a shiny weapon when your cataracts are so bad.”

Right now, my Holy Sword is a half-assed weapon. No, less than half.

I can feel the Holy Sword trembling as if in protest, but facts are facts.

Against ordinary enemies, I could just slaughter them with overwhelming magic. But this guy is my equal, no, perhaps even stronger.

I’m already at a disadvantage fighting such an opponent with my full strength, so pouring power into the Holy Sword is just causing me to fall behind.

“As you wish.”

I coated the two-handed sword with a layer of magic.

The old man let out a grim laugh and charged at me. Seeing this, I immediately bolted.

“…?”

The old man has a dumbfounded look on his face as he watches me start to run away.

My goal in the first place was to hunt the beast that was opening dimensions. The objective has been achieved.

“Hero…!”

Demonic knights blocked my path.

I gave my two-handed sword a hearty swing.

The knights couldn’t even counter properly before they spewed blood and scattered chunks of flesh across the floor.

“How disappointing.”

The old man is chasing me.

Seeing his beard, half of which I’d cut off, fluttering in the wind, I feel a little sorry.

But things are about to get a lot sorrier for him.

Soldiers pop out from everywhere like rats, blocking my way like obstacles. I cut them down as I moved.

Thanks to them, the distance between me and the old man closed.

“There’s no use running, Hero…!”

The old man closed the distance and swung his glaive wide at my back.

*Twang!*

“…!”

Agares flinches as he feels his body get caught on something.

I had poured magic into the Rapid Wire I’d scattered while running.

Suddenly blocked, the old man strikes down on the wire with his glaive, annoyed.

*Snap!*

The wire is tough, but it’s sliced apart effortlessly by the glaive.

The old man tries to pursue me again, but his eyes widen.

I ran away to gain momentum!

I imbue the two-handed sword with the Sword Breaker skill and bring it down.

Agares hastily blocks the attack with his glaive.

*Crack-!*

I hear the sound of the two-handed sword cracking.

It doesn’t matter. Weapons are consumables, after all.

I quickly draw a longsword and plunge it into the old man’s aching knee.

The old man’s brow furrows, as if it’s been a while since he’s been stabbed.

The HP Shield isn’t omnipotent.

It’s only effective within the range of his awareness.

The old man carelessly swings his glaive to take my head off while pulling out the embedded longsword.

I blocked the attack with my two-handed sword.

*Fzzt-chak.*

Shards of the shattering two-handed sword fly.

I snatch a broken piece of the blade from the air and aim for the old man’s eye.

*Tink.*

It was blocked by the HP Shield at the last second.

He swings the glaive wide, aiming to cut my waist in half.

I duck under the attack and simultaneously draw my third sword, the Dragon Slayer.

Dodge the glaive, then slash.

Dodge again, and slash again.

I whittled him down, circling his body as if peeling an apple.

I can hear the continuous scraping sound as his HP Shield is scratched away. At the same time, my third sword also shatters.

*Whoosh!*

I narrowly avoided the glaive as it whipped toward me, stirring up a gale.

No, I didn’t dodge it completely; I feel a searing pain as my abdomen is torn open.

There was no time to appreciate the pain.

I rushed the old man and grabbed the Rapid Wire with both hands.

“Ghk…!”

I wrapped the wire, pulsing with magic, around the old man’s neck.

He raises his hand to break the wire. But it doesn’t break.

The old man’s hand reaches out to crush my body.

I leaped into the air.

Unwinding the wire from his neck, I kicked the old man in the back.

The man, about to drop his weapon and fall, extends his hand, and the glaive flies back to its master’s grip.

He spins around and swings the glaive at me, demonic energy crackling around it like lightning.

His eyes were furious.

I poured a massive amount of magic into the Holy Sword I had already drawn and opened my mouth.

“Grand Cross.”

The ground where he stood was engulfed in a cross-shaped golden light.

For a moment, light flashed, and the ground and walls began to melt and crumble.

*KRA-KABOOOOOOOOOM!*

With a deafening roar that shook the very earth, everything in the vicinity was obliterated.

What was once a quiet retirement home for an old man was now collapsing as if meeting its doom.

Agares, he’s definitely strong.

What would have happened if he had his other subordinates with him?

Agares, hit unexpectedly by the cross-shaped bombardment, didn’t move.

“Did I get him?”

I said it on purpose, like a resurrection chant.

Still, he doesn’t get up.

I used up a ton of magic, and I feel like death.

I started to move to escape the crumbling castle.

I couldn’t let myself get buried here with the old man.

Even if Agares hadn’t said anything, I already knew.

Thanks to my inventory ability being greatly enhanced, I could sense everything around me.

The Hanul Guild, no, hunters from all over the world had crossed dimensions and arrived here.

This is the Demon World.

This isn’t a typical gate clear; it’s a place filled with nothing but monsters.

It couldn’t have been easy to come to a place like this, but a considerable number of hunters came as reinforcements.

War takes many lives. Because I had experienced countless wars, because I had suffered from terrible trauma, I had tried to fight alone.

But the people I was trying to protect came to protect me.

A bitter smile escaped my lips.

Suddenly, something hot grazed past me.

*Pshk!*

A red beam of light pierced through the back of my head.

Along with excruciating pain, I felt the vision in one eye go dark.

“Guaaargh!”

Pain, as if my eye was being seared with a hot iron, washed over me in waves.

“It’s been a very long time.”

A bare-chested young man is walking toward me, cracking his neck.

“Since I’ve shed this old skin.”

Demonic energy was overflowing from Agares’s entire body.