Chapter 141 – Celestial Castle (２)

At Hera’s cry, Saint Guild’s main raid team began pushing into the castle interior.

Martin and the Crusader Guild did the same.

The two guilds split left and right, holding their pre-assigned positions as they advanced — fast, but cautious.

[Let us go.]

Libre’s voice reached him, and Gijun moved into the castle as well.

Needless to say, Gijun had no fixed position.

He’d taken on the role of a free roller — free to move however he wanted.

A choice only possible because they trusted him.

‘Just like that Level-9 Dungeon raid last time.’

The scale and location were different, but the basics were almost identical.

‘Huge.’

That was his first thought the moment he entered the Celestial Castle.

Inside, it dwarfed even its imposing exterior.

The ceiling stretched so high it seemed endless, and the width defied easy estimation.

‘And this is just the first floor.’

Naturally, no one here knew how many floors the Celestial Castle had.

Or what waited at its peak.

But one thing was certain: this castle was clearly another starting point.

[This place is a passage linking the Celestial Realm to the human world.]

Libre’s voice came again.

She seemed to know about the Celestial Castle.

[Of course, the passage is now completely blocked — ascending to the Celestial Realm is impossible for now.]

‘Right.’

Gijun listened to Libre’s explanation as he silently gazed up at the castle’s highest point.

Even though he’d entered a building, the ceiling above was filled with countless luminous bodies that glittered like a night sky.

[This is no ordinary castle. As I said, it is a passage between Heaven and Earth — and at the same time, another world.]

‘Another world….’

[Even I do not know much. Only two beings have ever fully built and traversed this great castle since the world was created.]

He didn’t need her to name them to guess who.

God and the Devil.

It had to be those two.

[Now, prepare yourself.]

“…Yeah.”

Gijun adjusted his grip on his staff and stared ahead at Libre’s words.

[Krrr….]

There it was — the creature that faced the countless Players with a low, rumbling growl.

‘Looks like a dragon.’

Going purely by appearance, it resembled the dragon I’d encountered before.

Of course, it might not actually be a dragon.

In truth, it’d be more accurate to say I didn’t even know what it really was.

After all, this was a monster that had never once appeared in the game before.

[I’ve never seen something like that either.]

If even Libre didn’t recognize it, there was no way any player here would.

Gijun quickly moved toward Hera.

“Hera.”

“Yes.”

The moment he called her name, Hera’s gaze locked onto him.

Closing the distance, he leaned in and murmured something in her ear.

“…Are you serious?”

Hera’s eyes went wide.

She stared at Gijun, shock plain on her face.

“Yes.”

“…Hah.”

A breath of wonder escaped her lips before she finally answered.

“Understood. If Master Jun says so, then it must be true.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Yes.”

After that brief exchange, Gijun returned to his position.

Hera called over a few of her guild members and spoke with them in hushed tones.

All of them wore the same stunned expression she had just moments ago, but soon nodded in understanding and went back to their posts.

‘Ha….’

Gijun let out a short breath.

‘It’ll start soon.’

And he readied himself.

For the battle that was about to erupt.

And then it happened.

A low, grinding rumble.

The colossal boss monster began to move.

The instant its presence was felt, the hundreds of assembled players all tensed into fighting stances as one.

At the same time—

[Kraaaaaah!]

The boss monster’s roar boomed across the entire Celestial Castle.

“Everyone, ready!”

“Assume battle formation!”

Hera and Martin’s shouts once again filled the interior of the Celestial Castle.

Gijun prepared for the fight too.

‘Its first pattern is fear.’

Just as Martin had warned, the beast bellowed, trying to overwhelm the humans before it with sheer terror.

But it was meaningless.

The priests here naturally had skills to purge status ailments.

A shimmering wave spread out.

The priests’ skills erupted in unison, and the fear gripping the players vanished in an instant.

“Fire!”

The moment the fear was lifted, the rear line of archers and mages unleashed their bombardment.

Whizz— BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!

A torrent of fire rained down on the boss monster all at once.

[Kraaaaaah!]

The blows landed true.

Even Martin looked surprised.

The Crusader guild simply couldn’t match the Saint guild’s firepower.

[Truly impressive.]

Libre’s admiration followed close behind.

‘Now I see why that bastard went to all this trouble.’

As far as Gijun could tell, the top-tier players of Real Spirit right now were, without a doubt, no less capable than the Rankers in the real world.

Not a step behind in combat prowess, either.

The implication was clear: the day game and reality became one, the Superhumans’ combat power could double — or more.

‘If that bastard can’t stop this… things could get very ugly.’

So for Gijun, winning this fight wasn’t optional. It was the only path.

‘And the real test starts now.’

He’d casually parried the first pattern, even managed a counterattack.

But if that was all there was to it, the Crusader guild wouldn’t have had to retreat with their tails between their legs.

The truly tricky part was just beginning.

Gijun started moving.

*

[So far so good, right?]

[Of course it is — we’ve seen this before.]

By then, the raid was naturally being broadcast live.

True to the chatter, the first pattern had been a clean pass, thanks to last time’s experience.

[But here it comes.]

[This is where the real bullshit patterns start, isn’t it?]

The viewers knew it too.

They knew what made that thing terrifying.

Basic info had already been fed to the clueless audience.

And now they too understood: the pattern that had pinned the Crusader guild down was about to kick off.

[They said the Crusaders lost a fifth of their force?]

[Wonder if they’ll get through it this time.]

Last time, the fear effect that erupted from the start had set the stage for a nightmare.

They’d scraped through thanks to the Priests’ resistance Skills, but even so — they lost combat power right from the opening bell.

About a fifth of their total force, gone in an instant.

And here’s why that fear pattern had cost them so dearly.

[Even with sudden fear, losing that much at once is insane for the Crusader guild.]

Exactly.

Even under fear, a main force like the Crusaders shouldn’t lose a fifth of their strength in a blink.

The real disaster came from his second pattern.

[They said his second pattern is Stealth, right?]

Stealth.

He drowned the vermin before him in fear — and then, in the same instant, vanished.

[They say even high-tier detection Skills can’t find him.]

[Fuck, that’s brutal.]

And that was what made him so damn tricky.

The Crusader players panicked and triggered every detection Skill they had, but they couldn’t locate him.

All they could do was brace for his attack.

And his most troublesome weapon was still in play.

[But they said the Boss isn’t alone, right?]

[Yeah.]

Exactly.

He wasn’t alone.

He’d hidden himself, slipped away to somewhere unseen.

Then he summoned his minions into the arena.

His minions — the Magin.

Endless waves of Magin crashing down on them, plus attacks from a Boss they couldn’t even see — it only took the second pattern to shred a fifth of their total force. Humiliating.

And then —

Sssssss!

The creature vanished from sight.

“Stealth!”

Martin had already relayed everything he knew about the boss’s Stealth to both Saint and Jun. They were prepared.

And so, the moment the boss’s Stealth activated and its form dissolved, every player from both guilds immediately braced for what came next.

“Casting Detection magic!”

Hera’s voice rang through the interior of Celestial Castle.

They knew it might not work, but they had to try.

A Priest’s Detection spell and a Mage’s Detection spell were fundamentally different tools—different arcane signatures, different penetrative power.

But.

“It failed!”

“Can’t detect it!”

Of course.

The Mages’ Detection magic proved just as useless.

“…Moving straight to Plan B!”

Yet Hera didn’t flinch.

She’d already prepared for this exact scenario—total detection failure.

The Crusader guild’s Holy Knight Order, clad in the heaviest armor, formed an interlocking shell around the outside. Saint’s 3rd Knight Order flanked them, shields raised.

Above their heads, Mages and Priests layered defensive Skills into a shimmering canopy.

“Brace for attack! 1st and 2nd Knight Orders, move outside the defensive circle!”

Not everyone was huddling behind the shield wall, of course.

Saint’s 1st and 2nd Knight Orders—the guild’s elite striking force—surged outward past the defensive perimeter.

They were the guild’s blitz line: overwhelming offense married to speed. Their job was to meet the endless flood of Magin head-on before it could crash against the outer shell.

And just as they’d predicted, the Magin began to pour out of the darkness.

“1st and 2nd Knight Orders, engage by squad! Archers and Mages, open fire on distant targets!”

Hera was a whirlwind of commands, her voice driving her Guild Members like clockwork.

[Hera is Hera]

[Saint is the real deal]

[Undisputed #1 in Real Spirit lol fr]

Watching Saint’s Guild Members move with machine-like precision the instant Hera’s orders left her lips, the stream of viewers had no choice but to marvel.

It wasn’t easy keeping up with a guild that lived and breathed raids and combat. That kind of synchronization took thousands of hours of trust.

Then again.

[So what’s Jun doing?]

[Probably hiding, riding the bus¹.]

The viewers started looking for Jun.

[Wait, he’s actually moving?]

Jun was moving.

Frantically.

But his direction was… wrong.

He wasn’t running toward the surging tide of Magin. He was running in the exact opposite direction.

[What the hell is he doing?]

[What is this guy doing]

[Don’t troll bro]

Criticism rained down on Jun.

Not many viewers were willing to just watch a low-level Player run off on his own like some rogue agent.

Then, in that instant.

Whoosh!

Jun’s magic finished casting.

It was a Fireball—a spell everyone there knew by heart.

[What?]

[Out of nowhere?]

But then.

BOOOOOM!

Jun’s Fireball streaked across the open air.

Every single eye tracked its course.

And finally.

KABOOM! BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Jun’s Fireball detonated in midair—against what looked like empty space.

No. It looked empty, but it was anything but.

The Fireball must have collided with something to trigger that explosion.

Then, in a flash—

Steam hissed as a shape tore through the spell’s fading light.

For just a moment, the Boss Monster’s form flickered into view.

[??????]

[What the hell?]

[What just happened?]

A torrent of chat messages flooded the screen in an instant.

Not a single viewer in the audience had any idea what was unfolding right now.

1. Bus — Korean gaming slang: a stronger player “drives the bus,” carrying weaker players through content for easy rewards. “Riding the bus” means being carried.