Chapter 157 – Bodge (２)

Bodge’s Dagger was arcing toward Jun.

Too close to dodge.

No — even if he’d had more distance, he doubted he could’ve avoided that strike.

It was that precise, that perfect.

Maybe Bodge’s first miss had been a setup after all.

A feint to force Jun into a position he couldn’t escape from.

Absolute, life-or-death crisis.

…Perfect.

But Jun didn’t panic.

It was undeniably a dangerous situation.

One that Bodge himself had orchestrated.

Yet Gijun didn’t panic, because he held a trump card to break through this crisis.

‘Nuia’s Illusion Sword.’

The trump card he’d saved for this fight with Bodge.

It was time to use it.

The moment Gijun repeated that name in his mind, his body began to move.

Before any thought could surface in his head, he moved on pure reflex.

Flash!

Gijun’s sword blazed with light, cutting across empty air.

Clang!

The Sain-geom perfectly blocked Bodge’s strike.

“…!!”

Bodge’s eyes went wide.

He clearly hadn’t expected this attack to be blocked.

Now it was Gijun’s turn.

In the same instant, Gijun’s sword moved.

It traced a bizarre arc as it rained down toward Bodge.

Swoosh!

“!!!”

At that moment, Bodge’s eyes widened again.

It was the first time Bodge, who’d shown no emotion until now, revealed his feelings in front of Gijun.

Ssshhhk!

“…!”

Gijun’s sword carved through Bodge’s forearm.

A trickle of blood ran down Bodge’s arm.

Even then, Bodge couldn’t hide his shock.

“How could you…”

Because what Gijun had just unleashed in his hands was something Bodge knew all too well.

“Are you saying you use Nuia’s Illusion Sword?”

It was Nuia’s Illusion Sword that had blocked Bodge’s attack and followed through with a successful counter.

And a masterfully executed Illusion Sword technique, at that.

Gijun put some distance between them and let out a quiet internal sigh.

‘Thank goodness.’

Nuia’s Illusion Sword.

Thanks to this newly equipped Skill, Gijun had saved his own life.

At that critical, life-or-death moment, Gijun had frantically activated the Skill.

His body moved on its own, blocking Bodge’s attack and launching a counterstrike.

‘Skills sure are convenient.’

Before Gijun could even make a decision, the activated Skill took control of his body and produced this impossible result.

‘Good thing I kept it hidden.’

If Bodge had known in advance that Gijun was using Illusion Sword techniques, this outcome would never have happened.

“…Ugh.”

At that moment, a groan escaped Bodge’s lips.

The wound where the bastard had been struck was still burning.

Naturally.

A Blaze Sword strike was no ordinary attack.

The intensely condensed flames must have been inflicting terrible pain on Bodge right now.

*

‘That bastard used the Illusion Sword.’

Bodge was confused.

Allowing his enemy to land a hit was shocking enough, but even more unsettling was that a Seeker had used Nuia’s Illusion Sword technique.

‘There’s no way another race could know about this Illusion Sword.’

It made no sense.

Nuia’s Illusion Sword was a secret sword technique passed down only among the Nuia.

And the Nuia hadn’t interacted with other races for a very long time.

It was utterly baffling—a human Seeker wielding the Illusion Sword technique.

‘And flawless, too.’

His Illusion Sword was impeccable, without a single flaw.

It had even caught Bodge off-guard, landing a hit.

Granted, the surprise had played its part in that blow.

He himself was no slouch with the Illusion Sword, and he doubted he’d fall for the same trick twice.

‘Damn it.’

But a new problem arose.

A searing pain radiated from where the attack had struck moments ago.

The agony spread, relentless, until his entire arm felt like it was being devoured by fire.

‘I was careless.’

Bodge had to admit his mistake.

He’d been so certain his decisive strike would land.

Never did he imagine the bastard would block it and counterattack in the same breath.

That split-second miscalculation had led to this.

‘No more mistakes.’

He clenched his teeth.

In that instant, the Seeker moved again.

A Fireball hurtled toward Bodge in a flash.

Bodge thrust out his hand, weaving a barrier.

Crack—BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—Crack!

The Fireball slammed against the barrier.

‘…Ngh…’

It was agonizing.

Even though he’d blocked it, the intense flames made his wound blaze with fresh, sharper pain.

‘I need to end this fast.’

Bodge knew this fight couldn’t drag on.

‘I have no choice but to use it.’

And of course, Bodge hadn’t yet played all his trump cards.

‘He surprised me for a moment, but it’s over now.’

In that moment, a black aura began to shroud Bodge’s entire body.

‘I never thought I’d be forced to use this power now…’

Bodge could feel his consciousness dimming, slipping away.

And then—

[Heh-heh, heh-heh… Kha-hahahahaha!]

Bodge, engulfed in the black aura, burst into a mad, manic laugh.

*

“It looks like things are settling down a bit.”

Around then, Amalta and Klaim, having entered the inner keep, let out a sigh of relief as they surveyed the fallen Nuia.

“It certainly seems that way.”

They’d taken down a number of Nuia by now.

But most of those had been nothing but the small fry.

“It seems the real ones are still hiding somewhere.”

“Yeah, ‘real ones’ probably just means the Chief’s underlings.”

“The question is how many are still lying in wait.”

Not a single warrior had shown themselves yet.

Whatever their game, by now they had to know the situation, yet they refused to show their faces.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Amalta muttered under his breath.

His instincts were screaming a warning.

“It feels like a chill has been filling this whole fortress since a little while ago.”

“Is that so?”

Klaim couldn’t sense it, but Amalta could.

An ominous, malevolent energy seemed to be saturating every corner of the fortress.

I don’t know what that is yet… but let’s go a little further in first. We’ll find out.

Yes, sir.

The two of them resumed their walk.

Each gripped their weapon tight, scanning their surroundings slowly, ready for an enemy to spring from anywhere at any moment.

That was when it happened.

Crack!

“…!”

The door ahead of them swung open.

No—more accurately, it had been shattered.

They’re out.

Just as Amalta had said, beyond the wrecked door, burly Nuia emerged.

A dozen or so of them.

But something was off.

Those bastards…

A black aura rippled over the Nuia’s bodies.

And their eyes were completely bloodshot.

[Krrrr… Krrrr…]

They were letting out unintelligible groans.

They didn’t feel like rational beings at all.

It was as if something had fully consumed them.

So this was it.

Amalta narrowed his brow.

Now he understood what that ominous presence had been, the one he’d sensed moments before.

“This is…”

And Klaim, his face grave, stared at the warriors who had emerged ahead of them.

Because he recognized that black aura.

“You know what it is?”

“I remember seeing it before. When we fought at the Celestial Castle.”

It was the same aura the Magin had worn during the last Raid on the Celestial Castle.

Did that mean the Nuia warriors before them had become Magin now?

“I don’t know why they’re cloaked in that aura, but this has turned into a pretty dire situation.”

“Right. I don’t know what their baseline fighting strength was, but this is dangerous.”

The numbers were overwhelming too.

But what worried Amalta wasn’t just the sheer count.

It was the literal danger radiating from that presence.

And then.

Kraaaaaaah!

The creatures surged forward at once, charging straight at the two of them.

“From now on, it’s every man for himself.”

“Yes. I suppose it has to be.”

Both of them realized at the same instant that neither had the luxury to look out for the other—then they crashed into the charging warriors.

Crack! Clang!

The moment Amalta’s Spear and Klaim’s Shield deflected their enemies’ blows, a shared intuition struck them both.

‘This is… really dangerous.’

Amalta’s massive frame shuddered hard, and Klaim’s HP visibly dropped.

A message even appeared before Klaim’s eyes.

[Holy Power has weakened.]

[Defense and Stamina recovery reduced by 30%.]

‘Not easy at all, is it.’

Klaim let out a hollow laugh.

This Quest might be one of the hardest he’d ever undertaken — truly, one he could count on one hand.

*

‘Hah.’

Gijun let out a hollow laugh.

Because he knew that laugh all too well.

‘Ancient Evil.’

That bastard.

No — not quite. Something was different.

[What in the world are you, to vex this body so?]

The creature seemed to be seeing Gijun for the first time.

Which meant it was definitely not the Ancient Evil.

[Heh heh, heh heh heh…]

Then it let out another unnerving laugh, aimed straight at Gijun.

[Well, never mind. Thanks to you, I can step outside again.]

“…?”

[Khh… this one begged me.]

The creature spoke.

[It said I could have this body anytime I wanted — if I just killed you.]

Gijun tilted his head.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

That was when Libre spoke.

[It is the latent darkness of the Nuia.]

‘…Latent darkness?’

What the hell was that, now?

[It is the darkness itself — the shadow that has dwelled in the Nuia for ages, living in these deep depths.]

Gijun couldn’t follow easily.

What did it mean, the darkness had seeped into something — and how could it possibly have a will of its own?

[This land’s darkness is no mere darkness. It is a being. From the moment the Nuia could no longer perceive themselves, this darkness crept into the depths of their souls and stayed with them for life.]

“But then why… why does that darkness feel just like the Ancient Evil?”

[That one is the cause.]

“Bodge?”

[Yes. His nature awakened the darkness’s malice.]

‘….’

Gijun stared at Bodge, his face taut.

Was he supposed to be relieved that it wasn’t the Ancient Evil?

‘Out of the frying pan, into the fire.’

Still, one thing was clear: the tide of this fight had turned against him again.

Bodge was already strong.

And now he had grown even stronger.

‘Still, I shouldn’t think of it as purely bad.’

Even now, Gijun tried to find the silver lining.

‘If he’s pulled out that power, it means he was feeling threatened.’

They had only exchanged a single sword-stroke, yet Bodge had felt pressured enough by Gijun to unleash that force — that, at least, was the most hopeful message he could take from this situation.

Sreung—

Gijun slowly raised the Sain-geom.

And now, Bodge — completely consumed by the darkness — raised his own dagger just as slowly.

‘And….’

There was one more reason for hope.

‘If it’s not the Ancient Evil, but darkness — then I have a better shot.’

At that moment—

Fwoosh!

A radiant halo of light began to burst from Gijun’s Sain-geom.