Chapter 144 – Celestial Castle (５)

[A thick-headed, foolish wretch indeed.]

Libre said.

‘That’s right.’

Everything up to now had been psychological warfare.

Gijun was signaling what cards he held.

Even the fact that he’d deliberately pulled all the Players back spoke volumes.

By all logic, it made no sense.

Gijun, taking down this colossal Boss Monster all alone—

“They must have thought I was holding some kind of trump card.”

A natural line of reasoning.

“The Lord would’ve been sure that trump card was this Sword.”

The reason he’d deliberately drawn the blade in advance,

holding this uncommon Sword—radiating a faint luster—in plain sight, was no accident. Every motion was deliberate.

Look at this.

This is the weapon that will destroy you.

He kept hammering that message home.

“Slower to react than I expected.”

But the Lord seemed to clock the Sword’s existence even slower than Gijun had predicted.

“Anyway—the moment it saw this, I figured it would open its chest and lure me right in.”

Gijun had bet on that.

That the Lord would pull Gijun close to finish him fast.

Of course, there was still a chance it wouldn’t.

The option of keeping its distance, refusing to take the risk, and just hammering him from afar.

“That would’ve taken longer.”

Even so, Gijun was certain.

He was certain it would force the creature to press into his embrace.

The reason for that certainty lay with the players behind him.

If it wanted to finish off the players as quickly as possible, it would have to deal with Gijun first.

‘And there are twice as many as last time.’

A greater number of players—all of similar or possibly even higher strength—stared him down with wide, bloodshot eyes.

Even a monster like that had to feel the pressure.

And so Gijun’s plan executed itself without a single misstep.

Now, his Sain-geom had pierced the back of the Boss Monster’s neck.

At that moment, a message flashed before his eyes.

[The special effect of the Sain-geom has been activated.]

[Special Effect: ‘Soul-Severing Sword’]

[It deals massive Damage to the soul of the current target!]

The Soul-Severing Sword’s effect struck the soul directly.

Gijun let out a laugh the moment he saw the message.

‘Better than I expected.’

The effect surpassed even what he had hoped for.

‘Dealing direct Damage to the soul.’

He had only anticipated it would purge the possessing spirit.

‘Does this mean I’m attacking the Lord itself?’

It wasn’t his intention, but it meant the Lord was taking Damage.

And not just physical Damage—but direct harm to its soul.

‘I don’t know what changes this will bring.’

But it certainly gave him the upper hand in the fight ahead.

[Krrrroooaaarrr!]

The Lord’s furious roar echoed out, and Gijun smiled once more.

[You—you monsteeer!]

The creature bellowed its rage at Gijun.

And then it was over.

[The forced possession has been released.]

As that message appeared—

Pop!

‘Got it.’

The Boss Monster’s crimson glare faded, and its original eyes returned.

At that moment, a loud shout came from behind.

“Now!”

It was Hera and Martin’s voices.

With their call, the combined assault of both giant guilds began.

*

[He’s insane!]

[This is huge!]

The players watching it all went wild, showering Gijun with praise.

[Do you still need proof after this?]

[How much more proof do you need to believe?]

That was exactly the point.

Gijun had proven his skill time and time again.

Yet every time a major event appeared, the distrust toward him resurfaced.

But this time, he proved it once more.

In front of everyone’s eyes.

He even accomplished what the giant guild Crusader could not.

And entirely without anyone’s help.

[Anyone still doubting needs a brain check.]

[If you still doubt, go get your intelligence tested.]

Of course, there would still be those who doubted and criticized him going forward.

For this moment, at least, no one could doubt Gijun.

[Let’s go again!]

[Kill it!]

And so it began again.

The combined assault of the Crusader and Saint guilds.

[This is it!]

[Now that’s hot!]

[See, this is how you raid—just beat the hell out of it together!]

Even with Gijun’s earlier feat igniting the crowd, the heat burned fiercer now.

The unbridled barrage from the Rankers was so dazzling you couldn’t tear your eyes away.

[What the hell is that Skill?]

[What’s that weapon?]

[When did he get that Armor?]

The Rankers they knew were throwing everything they had at the colossal Boss Monster.

As if showing off, the famous Players flaunted their new Equipment and Skills without restraint.

[Viewers are exploding!]

[Ad revenue must be sweet.]

[Is this gonna break the all-time view record?]

Word of mouth spread like wildfire—this was firepower on an unprecedented scale—and before anyone knew it, the viewer count had shattered even the Saint guild’s all-time record.

[How could anyone NOT watch this?]

[My account’s literally on the line here, dammit.]

[They said if this fails, my account gets suspended!]

[I just wanna play the game!]

And how could it be otherwise?

The stakes for failing this raid? A full-on game-access ban—nothing less.

So everyone truly invested in the game had no choice but to tune in, praying with all they had that this fight would end in victory.

And so, time wore on.

KRAKOOM!

“Got him!” shouted one.

“He’s down!” cried another.

“We did it!”

“WHOOOOOA!”

At last, the colossal Boss Monster collapsed.

Players erupted into cheers.

Even the two Guild Masters clenched their fists in triumph.

Martin, in particular, looked like he’d just inherited the whole world.

[Look at Martin go, lollll]

[Guy probably aged ten years from the stress.]

[If this quest had failed, we’d be branded traitors, lol lol lol lol]

Of course, no one was happier about that than Martin.

He’d just barely escaped the brink of becoming a traitor.

But the situation had completely reversed.

[But wasn’t that brave of him?]

[Right, having the guts to say it straight like that takes real courage.]

[Me? I’d have just pretended nothing happened, lol lol]

Instead, Martin’s honest attitude only deepened trust in him and the Crusader guild.

[Just what you’d expect from the Crusader, huh.]

[If you had to pick the most trustworthy guild, it’d be the Crusader, hands down.]

[No argument there.]

The reward for having the courage to make a choice others couldn’t easily make was immense.

The trust and support of countless Players.

That was what every guild craved.

After all, trust was a value you couldn’t buy with money.

[From now on, I’ll follow the Crusader guild without question.]

[If Real Spirit had a president, it’d be Martin.]

“Saint’s impressive, sure, but isn’t Crusader the real best?”

Some even began to trust and believe in Crusader more than they did in Saint.

But all of them knew the truth.

“So who’s the real star of this raid?”

“Jun.”

“You even need to ask?”

“The Mage!”

“Jun!”

“Jun’s the carry!”

And in that moment, everyone there remembered his name once more.

Who the hero was that saved their accounts.

Neither Crusader nor Saint.

Both were incredible, yes, but none of this would have been possible without the presence of that one Mage named Jun.

*

“Thank you so much.”

After the fight ended, Martin rushed over to Gijun to express his gratitude.

“It was a good experience for me, too.”

Gijun replied.

And he meant it.

‘Though I didn’t gain much in terms of rewards.’

Unfortunately, Gijun hadn’t managed to snag the rewards for the boss raid.

His level hadn’t risen much either.

That was because, in terms of total damage dealt, Gijun hadn’t held a large share.

But to say he’d gained nothing at all? That was far from the truth.

‘First off, I actually got to attack a Monarch.’

Through the Sain-geom, he had struck the Monarch.

When the raid ended, a new message appeared before Gijun’s eyes.

[The effect of the Soul-Severing Sword has been applied to your target.]

[For the next 30 days, all Stats of the Monarch of the Underworld, the Most Cunning Darkness, are reduced by 30%.]

Every single stat of the Monarch he’d soon have to face had been slashed by a full 30%.

‘This might be worth more than any reward.’

Getting a level-up right away or a good item was important, but what he’d gained now was just as crucial.

‘And there’s this, too.’

Of course, he hadn’t walked away empty-handed in other regards.

[The Sain-geom has absorbed a portion of the Monarch’s soul.]

[The blade of the Sain-geom has grown even sharper.]

The Sain-geom had been further strengthened.

[Sain-geom]

– Grade : Mythic

– A demonic sword capable of sealing a Monarch’s soul.

– Attack Power : 2000 (+1000)

– Magic Attack Power : 2000 (+1000)

– Special Effect : Transcendence

– Special Effect : Soul-Severing Sword

– Special Effect : Blaze Sword

[Blaze Sword]

– When the caster infuses their Mana into it, the aura of flames envelops the blade of the Sain-geom.

– Fire Attack Power +50%

– Attack Speed +50%

‘Blaze Sword.’

Gijun knew what this was.

‘It’s that thing I used in the last dungeon.’

The Aura Blade of the knights.

A technique similar, but slightly different.

He had acquired a literal Blaze Sword — one sheathed not in Mana, but in flames.

‘So now I’m a spellsword, huh.’

From Battle Mage to spellsword.

It was a moment he’d taken one more step closer to becoming a true all-around Superhuman.

‘I’ve gotten my hands on another insane weapon.’

Gijun’s fight with the Monarch was now imminent.

And with that situation looming, he had both weakened the Monarch and gained another incredible weapon.

‘I’m glad I came.’

Gijun thought as much, his gaze fixed on Martin.

“Is it over, then?”

“…Eliminating that thing was indeed the quest completion condition. If we hadn’t killed it, the curse would have erupted alongside a flood of Magin… but it seems we’ve doused the fire for now. Of course, the quest isn’t fully finished yet.”

“I see.”

Gijun nodded.

At least they’d cleared one hurdle.

He had no idea what quests lay ahead, but one thing was certain: they’d landed another meaningful blow against the ‘Evil.’

‘Maybe that’s the real prize.’

The strike against the Monarch, and the new Skill—Blaze Sword—mattered too, but…

Ultimately, Gijun’s greatest enemy was the Ancient Evil.

A foe that threatened not just the world of Real Spirit, but the reality Gijun lived in.

He’d dealt it another blow, and at the same time, thwarted its plans.

[We should return.]

Libre spoke then.

[The others look like they’re struggling.]

‘Ah…!’

Only then did Gijun remember the other Monarchs holding back the Deeper Darkness.

He’d left them to suppress it, and had been away far too long.

‘Then I need to move too.’

He’d returned briefly, but his real work lay elsewhere.

Tartaros.

And beyond that, toward the Deeper Darkness itself.