Chapter 153 – The Fortress (１)

A groan thick with panic escaped Dos’s lips.

‘Impossible….’

The chaos in his head was threatening to pound louder than even the pain in his chest—

—when the opponent’s sword moved again.

‘A mistake. This is my mistake.’

He told himself.

He had only slipped up because he’d underestimated the opponent.

Dos moved his blade again, following the image of the opponent’s movements drawn in his mind.

But this time, too—

Shwiiiiick!

“…!”

—a scorching pain shot through his thigh, and—

“Gaaah! AAAARGH!”

—Dos finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and let out a raw, ragged scream.

‘What’s going on?’

Dos couldn’t make sense of this situation at all.

‘How… how is this…’

The same words kept looping in his head.

‘I wasn’t wrong.’

He was certain.

He had perfectly predicted the opponent’s path.

And the Illusion-Sword could never work on him.

He wasn’t watching his opponent’s movements with his eyes.

The Illusion-Sword was a technique that fooled the eyes.

So for him, who couldn’t see in front of him, to be tricked by the Illusion-Sword — that was utterly impossible.

So why the hell was this happening?

Confusion piled upon confusion.

And in that moment—

Whiiiiip!

The sword flew in again.

But he could feel it.

Where that blade was heading.

He felt it clearly — and yet it threw him into chaos.

Dos could no longer trust his own senses.

And then—

A wet, tearing sound.

“Khk…!”

The sword pierced straight through his heart.

A dazed, despairing groan escaped his lips.

‘Got me.’

This time, it hit.

‘…No way.’

A hollow laugh slipped from his mouth.

‘A perfect defeat.’

In that moment, he understood why he had lost.

‘You… you were playing a move — no, literally — you were a step ahead of me the whole time.’

With a bitter smile, he felt his consciousness fade.

*

Thud!

The Nuia in front of him crumpled to the ground.

Jun watched the fallen Nuia and let out a breath.

‘What a monster.’

A moment ago, Jun had been far from calm.

The Nuia he was facing had perfectly predicted even the path of the Illusion Sword.

It was stunning — almost terrifying.

As if his blindness meant nothing, the moment Jun’s Illusion Sword moved, the Nuia reacted flawlessly.

What’s more, he had even prepared a counterattack aimed straight at Jun in that same instant.

In that moment, Jun understood.

If his Illusion Sword headed for that guy, it would be Jun who ended up on the losing side.

‘But that’s exactly why an opening appeared.’

Naturally, Jun didn’t recklessly use the Illusion Sword against him.

Instead, he deactivated the Illusion Sword right then.

In the end, what struck him wasn’t an Illusion Sword — just Jun’s wild, arcing blade.

He repeated that same pattern twice.

And landed two hits.

‘The last one was a gamble.’

For the final blow, he attacked with the Illusion Sword still active.

Right then, Dos showed signs of confusion.

Jun read that turbulent uncertainty clearly — as if Dos himself couldn’t trust his own senses.

And in the end, Jun’s sword drove straight through the guy’s heart.

‘He really was a monster.’

But no matter — Jun had won.

Sure, he hadn’t really used the Illusion Sword properly, but without it, taking that guy down would have been far harder.

Against an opponent who could read even an Illusion Sword and prepare retaliation, Jun couldn’t have guaranteed his magic would land either.

‘Still, I got a lot out of this fight too.’

The Nuia’s Illusion Sword.

And two whole Levels gained on top of it.

Before he knew it, Jun was standing on the brink of Level 300.

‘They said I can change classes at Level 300.’

A class change.

What kind of profession would he get?

What new abilities would come with it? He still couldn’t begin to guess.

And then—

“You’re late.”

Amalta’s voice reached him.

“We finished our fight ages ago and were watching yours.”

He wasn’t lying.

The two of them had already ended their bout some time ago and were watching Jun’s fight.

And the three Nuia warriors’ underlings, who had followed them into the fray, were already nothing but corpses collapsed on the ground.

“Was I taking it too easy?”

Of course, if Gijun had fought at full strength from the start, he could have laid his opponent out long ago.

But if he’d given up on the Illusion Sword, the sight of it would have haunted the edges of his vision every time he closed his eyes — maybe forever.

“In the end, a win’s a win.”

Right.

He’d won the fight, and he’d walked away with the Illusion Sword in his grasp.

“Next time, I’ll speed things up a bit. Anyway — how was the show?”

Gijun asked, a casual, self-deprecating lilt in his voice.

At his question, Amalta shook his head slowly.

“You’re a monster.”

Amalta said it like he couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed.

“What in the hell was that sword technique? That’s not something you pick up in a day or two of practice. No…, it looked almost exactly like the swordsmanship that bastard you fought was using.”

“….”

A strange smile played on Gijun’s lips as he looked at Amalta.

“Don’t tell me…”

In that instant, Amalta’s face went rigid.

“That bastard’s sword technique…?”

“You got it.”

“This is absurd.”

Amalta turned on his heel, as if he had nothing left to say.

“If I keep talking to you, my gut is going to burst.”

Then he looked at the Nuia youth.

“You can go back now.”

“Ah, y-yes, sir. From here, you just keep heading in this direction.”

“Right. You saw clearly what happened, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“When you get back, tell the village chief not to worry — just to wait.”

“Understood.”

With that, the Nuia youth hurried his steps and headed back to the village.

The three who remained turned their gazes toward the direction the youth had pointed.

“Let’s get moving. Toward wherever this bastard ‘Bodge’ is.”

*

“Is what you’re saying true?”

“Yes.”

Around that time, the youth who had arrived at the village ran straight to Hadon and recounted everything he had seen, just as it had happened.

“Polka, Hak, and Dos…, those are Bodge’s prized men, no doubt about it.”

Hadon knew those three names all too well.

They were Nuia who had followed Bodge since childhood, soldiers handpicked and trained by Bodge himself because he had seen their potential early on.

Put their strength on a scale, and they were among the most formidable fighters the Nuia had to offer.

“And you’re telling me they fell without putting up any resistance?”

Hadon found it almost impossible to believe.

But the youth was telling him this with his own mouth.

The same youth whose eyes had been full of terror before he left — now they brimmed with conviction.

Certainty that those three would surely bring down Bodge and return.

‘Maybe it would be better to just entrust the treasure to them after all.’

And in that moment, the thought struck Hadon.

‘If I keep holding onto it, I’ll be endlessly threatened by the Lords.’

The Lords all covet the heart left behind by the Ancient God.

But he lacked the strength to protect it from the Ancient God.

Yet if those three really did bring down Bodge and return with the heart….

He still couldn’t bring himself to certainty.

He couldn’t be sure it was right to hand over the treasure his ancestors had guarded for so long.

But wasn’t there a saying that a lesser evil was better than the worst?

‘I need to think this through too.’

Hadon’s face turned somewhat grave.

It struck him that this might become the most difficult decision of his life.

*

“That must be it.”

Gijun’s Fireball flared ahead, illuminating the darkness, and now before the three of them lay a massive fortress.

“These bastards sure know how to dress things up.”

The Nuia stronghold was far larger than they had imagined.

A stark contrast to the small, shabby village they had first seen—almost alien in its grandeur.

“They said these guys have lived here for ages. Maybe they’re not pushovers after all.”

“Indeed.”

Klaim nodded at Amalta’s words.

They had boldly picked this fight, but a flicker of doubt crossed his mind—maybe this battle wouldn’t be so easy.

“Still, we can’t just turn back now, can we?”

“Right.”

“That goes without saying.”

At Gijun’s words, Amalta and Klaim gave a firm nod.

After all that bravado, how could they possibly back down now?

And for Gijun, this was something he could never give up on.

At the end of this mission, a fragment of the Ancient God’s heart awaited him.

Only by seizing it could he reach the conclusion of this battle.

The Ancient Evil.

To fight that bastard, he had to gather every last heart fragment.

If even one fragment fell into a Monarch’s hands, things would get far more complicated.

‘And besides, I started this fight.’

All of this was the result of his choice.

If he was afraid of the battle, he could have simply run away long ago.

But he didn’t want that.

[Am I not here with you? As long as I am by your side, you are invincible. Am I not the Flame Monarch herself?]

Libre’s voice cut through his thoughts.

‘Yeah. She’s right.’

Libre.

She had been an immense help to Gijun.

Without her aid, making it this far would have been several times harder.

He felt reassured.

Libre, Amalta, and Klaim had all leaped into this insane fight alongside him.

What was there to be afraid of, really?

“Let’s move.”

It was time to charge into the heart of the enemy.

“Good.”

“I’m itching for action.”

And so the three began to walk forward.

At that moment.

Booooooom!

A massive horn blast rang out.

*

Booooooom!

At the sound of the horn echoing from outside the fortress, Bodge’s brow furrowed.

“Ha….”

“No way….”

The gasps rising from the surrounding crowd were more than enough to prick at Bodge’s temper.

A horn call meant someone was approaching the fortress.

And at this hour, who else could it be but the Seeker?

So they fell after all.

Bodge stroked his own chin.

The Seeker’s arrival here meant one thing: they had been defeated.

The three warriors he had sent.

Disappointing.

Of course, Bodge wasn’t grieving.

If anything, his expression curdled with contempt.

This is how you repay my trust?

He had given them a chance to fight in his name.

But instead of gratitude, all they delivered was this outcome — and that stoked his wrath.

He swept his gaze across the assembled Nuia and spoke.

“Who here can soothe this displeasure in my heart?”

A flat, flavorless sentence, empty of any emotion.

“I will go.”

“Send me.”

Nuia hands shot up without a moment’s hesitation.

Bodge watched them with a satisfied face.

“Good. All of you are my excellent warriors. But for now…”

Bodge’s gaze locked onto one figure.

“I’ll give you a chance to repay my faith.”

A Nuia standing about one-ninety, with a compact, solid build.

“Gast.”

Bodge looked at the Nuia named Gast with a pleased expression.

A bright smile immediately flickered at the corner of Gast’s lips.

“I will never let that faith turn to disappointment.”

Through Bodge’s sight flickered the joy plastered across Gast’s face, and the fleeting regret that passed over the other Nuia.

“I will return.”