Chapter 26

The air was damp.

And the unpleasant squelching underfoot, which had been there for a while, was still there.

Kang Yuseong didn’t need to look to know it was blood.

Below him, a space where the Necromancers’ vile habits culminated would surely unfold.

And soon, the stairs came to an end.

Click.

Even the torches that had sporadically clung to the walls were gone now.

Kang Yuseong switched on the flashlight attached to his shoulder.

“Ugh…!”

He grimaced.

Before him lay a vast plaza, where countless corpses were piled on top of each other.

On one side, a massive cauldron bubbled, and on the other, raw meat, its ribs exposed as if in a butcher shop, hung in rows.

Thud.

Kang Yuseong took a step.

“You’re an interesting one.”

Just then, a bizarre voice, like grinding metal, echoed.

Kang Yuseong turned his head to see the Necromancer standing there.

His eyes glowed with an eerie light.

Facing that gaze gave Kang Yuseong a chilling sensation, as if his very being was being seen through.

“Hmph, nothing special after all. I watched, thinking you might be something extraordinary… but it seems better to just kill you and use you as material.”

Suddenly, the numerous corpses lying on the ground rose again.

These corpses exuded a completely different aura from the Ghouls in the swamp earlier.

“Die.”

The Necromancer’s low voice echoed ominously.

“Kiiiaaak!”

In an instant, the corpses charged at Kang Yuseong.

Their speed and strength were on a completely different level from the previous corpses.

Clang!

Kang Yuseong swung his sword to block their attacks, then slashed, cutting them down.

“Kiiyaak!”

“Haaaat!”

Screech!

A strange sound rang from Kang Yuseong’s sword as Chakra Force exploded forth.

Chakra, Meteor Stab!

Whoosh!

Crack!

His sword decapitated the corpses.

Crack! Swish!

Dozens of slashes were delivered in an instant, and the corpses continued to fall.

Then, he immediately rushed towards the Necromancer.

“Haaaat!”

Slice-

The corpses fell before his slashes.

If one approached, he’d grab its neck, pull it in, and deliver a knee kick. He’d grab another’s head and smash it into the wall, knocking it down.

Yet, he didn’t stop his advance.

Whoosh!

The longsword in his hand danced wildly, and the corpses fell like autumn leaves.

Chakra Force exploded, and a surge of adrenaline pushed Kang Yuseong into a frenzy.

“Haaaat!”

Crackle!

Gripping his sword, he spun fiercely on the spot and leapt into the air.

Whoosh!

As the corpses struck by his sword fell backward, he had already leapt within striking distance of the Necromancer.

‘Got him!’

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Flying right up to the Necromancer, he brought his sword straight down.

Just as the Necromancer was about to be split in two by his sword, Kang Yuseong’s expression suddenly wavered significantly.

Him.

He had spotted a cold smile playing on the Necromancer’s lips.

That was the moment.

Thwack!

‘Urgh!’

His sword, which he had brought down with all his might, bounced back with immense recoil, and Kang Yuseong felt a tearing pain in his grip.

Thud, thud, thud!

As he was thrown backward, he barely managed to regain his balance and stand upright. Though he still stumbled back a few steps.

His hand still tingling, he glared at the Necromancer with an incredulous expression.

‘How…!’

This was an impossible occurrence.

Shield.

The Necromancer had just deployed an energy shield, used by Magic Users, to repel Kang Yuseong.

It was something Kang Yuseong couldn’t comprehend based on his knowledge.

Necromancy was dark magic.

And an energy shield was white magic.

Just as oil and water cannot mix, these were spells that one person could not master simultaneously.

Yet, the Necromancer had done it.

At that moment, the Necromancer chuckled ominously, looking at him.

“Surprised? But you’re quite capable. To have made it this far.”

Necromancers were weak in close combat for this reason.

Without their summoned creatures, their own power was absolutely weak.

But in this state…

Kang Yuseong’s brow furrowed deeply.

‘That bastard… could it be!’

Something flashed like lightning through his mind.

There was only one thing that could explain this impossible situation.

Plunderer.

What if that Necromancer was the Plunderer himself…!

‘Yes… that’s the only way it makes sense.’

This was clear evidence.

That he was the Plunderer.

And that meant only one thing.

‘I must kill him… to obtain the Plunderer’s Legacy.’

Kang Yuseong slowly rose to his feet.

A chilling smile had now appeared on his lips.

“Yes… you’d better look forward to it even more. Because now… things are going to get really interesting.”

His eyes blazed with a chilling blue flame.

The goal was finally before his eyes, within his grasp.

There was no stopping now.

The only thing that could calm this pounding heart was the Necromancer’s life.

In this moment, nothing could stop Kang Yuseong.

Thud, thud-

He pushed off the ground powerfully and charged forward.

The corpses tried to block him, but Kang Yuseong simply swung his sword, cutting them down.

Heads flew, rotten hearts were pierced and burst, and corpses piled up like mountains beside him.

Whoosh!

Kang Yuseong’s sword, approaching the Necromancer in an instant, made a chilling sound as it thrust towards him.

Clang!

The Necromancer instantly deployed an energy shield, attempting to repel the attack.

At that moment, he flinched.

Kang Yuseong was smiling.

Like a spider observing a fly caught in its web, wearing a satisfied expression.

Screech!

Before the energy shield, Kang Yuseong’s sword surged upwards.

“Ta-hat!”

And the sword, having bypassed the shield’s barrier, traced a diagonal line in the air before dropping sharply.

Crack!

He felt the impact.

“Ugh!”

He saw the Necromancer stumble.

Kang Yuseong immediately spun around and unleashed Chakra, Critical Strike.

Whoosh!

His sword terrifyingly tore through the air, then bit into its target with sharp teeth.

Swish!

Blood splattered.

The Necromancer retreated with a look of dismay, but Kang Yuseong would never give him an opening.

Thud, thud-

He kicked off the ground and shot into the air.

And with all his might, he brought his sword down.

That was when it happened.

Roooaarr!

Kang Yuseong’s eyes widened.

This, suddenly surging up from below!

‘Danger!’

Kang Yuseong quickly retracted his sword and twisted his body in mid-air.

Whoosh!

Something powerful grazed his back, burning hot, in an instant.

Boom!

And a massive explosion erupted.

Kang Yuseong grimaced.

‘You bastard!’

Fireball.

The Necromancer was also proficient in offensive magic.

And having created an opening, he immediately exuded a thick, dark aura and chanted an incantation.

This time, it was dark magic.

As he chanted and raised his wand, pointing it at Kang Yuseong, Kang Yuseong’s body abruptly froze in mid-air.

‘Urgh!’

Curse!

A quintessential dark magic spell had seized control of his body.

Creeaak! Crackle, crackle!

And at that moment, the ground split open, and black thorny vines erupted.

Crunch-

The thorny vines dug into Kang Yuseong’s body and began to constrict him.

‘Urgh!’

He gritted his teeth.

The Necromancer watched him, smiling coldly.

In his hand was a dagger-shaped mass of black mist.

As the thorny vines powerfully constricted Kang Yuseong’s entire body, he couldn’t move.

Thud. Thud.

Then the Necromancer approached him.

“Hmph, you’re not living up to your big words, how disappointing. At this rate…”

Swoosh-

He placed the dagger against Kang Yuseong’s cheek.

‘Gasp!’

The dagger was so cold it felt like his heart would stop, instilling a terrible chill and fear into Kang Yuseong.

A cursed dagger.

If his heart was pierced by it, Kang Yuseong would become the Necromancer’s slave.

The Necromancer lowered the dagger slightly and smiled ominously.

“This isn’t fun at all, is it?”

Drip-

Blood oozed out.

At that moment, Kang Yuseong felt his consciousness fading.

This was the power of dark magic.

A forbidden power that destroyed body, mind, and even soul!

Grind!

Kang Yuseong ground his teeth, sparks seeming to fly from his eyes.

He couldn’t lose his mind.

If he did, he would become one of the countless beings behind the Necromancer, forced to live here forever.

“Now, it’s over.”

The Necromancer raised the dagger and thrust it straight into Kang Yuseong.

That was the moment.

“Kuaaaah!”

Crunch!

Thwack!

“…”

The Necromancer, who was about to stab with the dagger, frowned.

His dagger had stopped right before Kang Yuseong’s heart.

Kang Yuseong’s right hand had tightly gripped the blade.

Drip- Drip, drip, drip-

His hand was deeply cut by the sharp blade, blood flowing freely.

The blood, which should have been red, was stained black by the dagger’s curse, dripping relentlessly.

And Kang Yuseong’s right arm was a mess.

He had forcibly torn off the deeply embedded thorny vines, leaving blood splattered everywhere.

Kang Yuseong smiled grimly, looking at the Necromancer.

“It’s not… over yet, you bastard. I told you… it was going to get interesting, didn’t I?”

Kang Yuseong’s eyes blazed with a chilling blue light.

“Well, I have to keep my word, then.”

Crunch-

Suddenly, his body, completely constricted by the thorny vines, slowly began to move forward.

Even through the extreme pain of flesh tearing and muscles ripping, Kang Yuseong was pulling himself free without a single change in expression.

Drip, drip, drip-

Blood flowed, and Kang Yuseong was trembling all over.

His muscles and tendons were so damaged that he couldn’t simply stand.

The Necromancer watched him, frowning.

No human had ever shown such a display before him.

This was madness.

Humans resist death endlessly, but when faced with it, they abandon everything.

For death was an absolute, and humans were infinitely weak before it.

Yet, occasionally, such madmen appear.

And they…

Suddenly, Kang Yuseong’s kick flew towards the Necromancer’s face.

It was a kick so clean and precise, delivered from a blind spot, that the Necromancer couldn’t react.

The Necromancer hastily retreated.

That was his mistake.

Kang Yuseong had put his entire being into that kick.

Just five seconds.

To buy himself that time.

He delivered the kick, and while the Necromancer recoiled, he pulled a vial from the leather pouch at his waist.

And before the Necromancer could even stop him, he emptied the liquid inside into his mouth.

Instantly, a powerful force erupted from him.

Rooooar-

Kang Yuseong’s wounds slowly healed, and his gaze grew even sharper.

“What in the…?”

The Necromancer wore an incredulous expression at his sudden transformation.

“Shall we start again?”

Kang Yuseong grinned.

One minute and twenty seconds.

That was the time remaining for him, enhanced by the Chakra Awakening Potion.