An eerie silence ensued. The old fiend contemplated dozens of times in that brief moment.
‘Should I attack first? Or should I wait for him to go away?'
To be honest, he was not confident in winning against Specter. He even had the Archmage with him. Although the fiend’s own level was high, he wasn’t strong enough to overshadow what he had experienced 26 years ago. Perhaps the intense scenes they showed him in the past had turned into a trauma.
“…”
There was still no sound from the other side of the stall. There wasn’t even any sign of magic being gathered.
‘He’s controlling his magic perfectly?’
What kind of posture was Specter in right now? Was he clenching his fists like himself? Or was he preparing to receive the first attack and immediately counterattack? The moment felt as long as eons. In the end, the old fiend couldn’t withstand the heavy atmosphere and his eyes turned ferocious. He was about to strike with his tightly clenched fist…
Squeak!
"Oh, Director-nim! What are you doing here?”
"Huuuuh? Uhh… a.s.sistant Manager Kim, I think I'm a little drunk."
"Phew, you still have the same habit of opening all the stalls when you come into the restroom drunk. Let's get out of here.”
When the two men left the restroom, the old fiend collapsed on the toilet.
"Hu, huuu...”
When the tension loosened, the breath he had been suppressing came out. He was so nervous that he had droplets of sweat all over his face.
'All this because of some crazy guy...’
He was angry. But the target of his anger was not the bug called the director just now.
'd.a.m.n it. Was I so afraid of Specter?’
He didn’t want to admit it, but he had no choice but to do so. He didn’t want to deal with Specter even though there was a gap of 40 levels between them. He felt pathetic and it made him even angrier.
“…”
The old fiend sat on the toilet for another hour before carefully opening the stall door. There was no one else in the restroom.
Splash.
When he washed his face with cold water, the tension was also washed away.
"...Tsk."
He hadn’t raised his level by killing players and hunting monsters to feel this small. Holding back his frustration, the old fiend left the building.
"3rd round? Are we going for a 3rd round?"
"a.s.sistant Manager Kim, after coin karaoke, of course! I'm at home... I got a call from my wife. She says I’m dead if I come home past midnight."
"Oh… Then, please head home."
The gazes of a man and a woman stuck to the old fiend as the latter disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Waiting on top of a building, Skaya made fun of Seo Jun-Ho. "Specter, your personality has changed~ Back in the day, you would have simply beaten the fiends up to death, regardless of if we were in the city center or not.”
"…I'm not as strong as I used to be. If I don't overpower him in one go, people will be in danger."
The two began jumping over buildings, chasing after the old fiend.
***
The old fiend abruptly looked back. The shopping district was packed during the day, but now, not even a single ant wandered about. It was because the only stores open 24 hours a day in the shopping district were convenience stores.
‘Why am I so nervous?’
The old fiend frowned. It felt like a sticky killing intent was coming up from the tip of his toes. However, there was no sign of an enemy.
“…”
There were times when you had to leave your body to your instincts instead of depending on your logical judgment. The old fiend thought that this was one of those moments. Turning around, he began to run at full speed.
"Oh, did he notice?" Skaya asked.
"No, he just felt it instinctively," replied Seo Jun-Ho.
Seo Jun-Ho and Skaya began to move faster. The old fiend was fast, but it was not enough to throw the two off his trail.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
While running forward, the old fiend changed his mind.
'I shouldn't go to a deserted place. I might need a hostage.’
If so, he had to enter the downtown area. The old fiend changed direction and rapidly ran toward the road with shining lights. Seeing the old fiend’s movements, Seo Jun-Ho contemplated.
'If I use Shadow Movement, I can catch up at once. But…'
With his magic stats greatly reduced, his combat power would be reduced if he used Shadow Movement since the skill consumed a lot of magic.
As if noticing his worries, Skaya opened her mouth first, "As you said, I was going to take it easy today, but since the situation is like this, I'll help you."
"…Sorry.”
"No, this noona is glad to see your humanity after a long time."
Skaya smiled as her body floated into the air. At the same time, four magic circles were created around her. Considering that most magicians who could use simultaneous casting could only do double casting, seeing Skaya use quadruple casting freely as if breathing was beyond common sense.
‘They say you need enough computational skills to draw 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the air with four different fingers at the same time to do this.’
When a normal magician could cast a spell, Skaya casted four. Simple math dictated that her combat power was four times higher than a normal magician. But the algorithm known as magic was not that simple.
"Reverse Gravity, Magic Prison, Detect Force, Lightning Spear."
A magician who could do multiple casting could be up to tens of times stronger depending on which magic they combined together.
Crackle!
A two-meter-long spear of lightning was created behind Skaya. At the same time, the old fiend running at high speed on the road began to ‘fall’ into the sky.
“…!”
Unable to find a place to step on, the old fiend quickly kicked into the air.
Wooooong!
A square Magic Prison bound his body tightly.
"Keuk?!"
On top of his forehead, a red mark symbolizing the tracking magic "Detect Force" was engraved.
"…d.a.m.n it!"
In the end, the old man couldn't find a way to escape and hurriedly raised his demonic energy. The dopo he was wearing flapped about and the air around him vibrated.[1] His red eyes reflected the spear of lightning that had illuminated the night sky.
"Heup!"
Zzzzzt!
The old fiend’s fist collided with the Lightning Spear. The spear broke apart like sugar cubes when it collided with the fist that had been strengthened by demonic energy. But this didn’t mean that the old fiend was unscathed.
Tingle, tingle.
He tried to block as much as possible with demonic energy, but he felt a buzzing feeling as if bugs were crawling all over his body.
"Hey, hey!"
Watching the scene, Skaya waved cheerfully like a parking agent. In response, Seo Jun-Ho jumped from the rooftop of a building to the road without any doubt. At that moment, a teleport gate created under his feet moved him to another location.
“…!”
It was just above the old fiend's head. Seo Jun-Ho looked down at the panicking old fiend looking up at him.
"Nice to meet you, fiend."
Seo Jun-Ho covered the fiend’s face with his big palm.
"Curtain of Darkness."
Hwaaaaa!
At the same time, the world turned dark.
***
Crash!
The old fiend’s back struck the wall of darkness. He hurriedly hurled his fist at Specter.
“…”
However, Specter moved his face and stepped back without hesitation. It was dark, but it wasn’t dark enough that they weren’t able to locate each other.
‘Tsk.’
The old fiend clicked his tongue. This was the situation he wanted to avoid the most.
‘I got trapped by the Archmage, and now, I’m in a one-on-one situation with Specter...’
The old fiend thought that he might die today.
"Since when?”
"Even before you went to the restroom…"
"d.a.m.n it, you really made a fool out of me.”
He didn’t expect that Specter had been watching him hide in the restroom for an hour. Feeling humiliated, the old fiend explosively raised his demonic energy.
"I don't plan to go down so easily," the old fiend remarked defiantly.
"You're going to die. Easily."
"That arrogance... It's the same as before.”
"...Hmm?" Seo Jun-Ho asked curiously, “Do you know me?"
"I do. 27 years ago, I was at the scene of a fiend ma.s.sacre in front of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.”
"Well, then you'll have no complaints about dying today since you have basically lived for 27 years more than you should have.”
The old fiend prepared himself in silence. Watching closely, Seo Jun-Ho raised his sword.
‘He's got a good posture, without any gaps.’
The old fiend never revealed his level, but if he was at the scene of that fiend ma.s.sacre 27 years ago… He should be at least level 120 by now, as long as he hadn’t been playing around watching TV at home.
‘This is the first...’
It was the first time Specter faced a fiend who was higher in level than Kal Signer. He was even in a state where his stats were greatly reduced. The old fiend should be enough for Seo Jun-Ho to confirm his current combat power.
Crrr. Crrr.
Darkness fluttered under Seo Jun-Ho's feet and took the shape of a wolf.
"Watchguard of Darkness…"
Becoming wary, the old fiend bit his lips.
Paaa!
The Wolves of Darkness pushed off the floor and rushed out.
‘But I'm not the same as before either…’
Having strengthened his body with demonic energy, the old fiend rapidly launched fists into the air.
Pababak!
The Watchguard of Darkness was beaten by the old fiend’s fists and dispersed like smoke. But that wasn’t the end of it; the scattered darkness began to wrap around the old fiend's body.
"d.a.m.n it, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" cursed the old fiend as he snapped the threads of darkness.
‘d.a.m.n, as I thought, it's impossible to have a drawn out battle with Specter.’
The Watchguard of Darkness was a specialized skill that ate away at the opponent's stamina, mental strength, and concentration. Specter was also well aware of this fact. Therefore, engaging in a drawn out battle against Specter was no different from receiving a penalty of your own.
'I have to finish it at once.’
However, Specter didn’t give him that chance.
Wha-ah!
Specter disappeared. The old fiend felt Specter’s presence behind him, and he responded immediately.
Boom!
The fist strengthened with demonic energy didn’t budge even after colliding with the Black Dragon Fang.
‘To engage in close combat with me… How arrogant.'
The old fiend’s martial artist pride was deeply hurt. His eyebrows’ flinched and he sent even more fists flying toward his opponent.
Pababat!
Specter did not even avoid the fists because the dark s.p.a.ce of his Curtain of Darkness was his weapon and shield. Wolves of Darkness jumped out from the floor and walls to block the attack on Specter’s behalf and charged at the old fiend.
"How long are you going to make a fool out of me?!" shouted the old fiend, enraged.
With hands strengthened with demonic energy, the old fiend tore apart the Wolves of Darkness, but they once again wound around the old fiend’s body and obstructed him.
"Until you die," Seo Jun-Ho replied and straightened his grip on Black Dragon Fang before charging at the old fiend. The blade sliced through s.p.a.ce.
Slice!
The old fiend quickly lowered his head and moved in close to Specter.
'It's dangerous if I give him s.p.a.ce…’
Seo Jun-Ho tapped lightly on the floor with the soles of his feet. At that moment, dozens of Fangs of Darkness popped out from the ground, walls, and ceiling, aiming for the old fiend.
"Keuk?!"
The old fiend hurriedly twisted his body at the unexpected anomalous attack. Thanks to this, he managed to avoid the Fangs of Darkness, but he completely lost his balance.
‘It's over...’
Seo Jun-Ho immediately rushed in, swinging Black Dragon Fang at the old fiend’s heart. But the old fiend was experienced; he showed that the past few decades hadn’t been a waste.
Crack!
Twisting his body, he gave up his left shoulder instead of his heart.
"Uaaak!"
Pababat.
Kicking the air to retreat away, the old fiend quickly used his right hand to stop the bleeding on his injured shoulder. Then, the blood that was flowing like a waterfall stopped all of a sudden. Biting his lips, the old fiend glared at Specter’s expressionless mask.
"Kuhu..." Letting out an incomprehensible laugh, the old fiend began to concentrate all the demonic energy on his right fist.
It gave off such a frightening aura that even Seo Jun-Ho felt a chill down his spine.
‘What is he planning?’
The first thing Seo Jun-Ho thought was that it would be dangerous to get hit by that fist. But if the old fiend couldn’t hit him with that fist, it would be fine. Now, the old fiend and Specter were more than 10 meters apart, so there was no way he would get hit. During this short battle, Specter had already figured out the old fiend’s speed.
‘I don't know what he’s thinking, but... There will be nothing good that’ll come out of it if I let him do what he wants.’
Seo Jun-Ho immediately gathered his skills. He used Watchguard of Darkness once again to get on the old fiend’s nerves. Then, he utilized his footwork and hid in the darkness.
“…”
Tremble.
The old fiend's whole body began to tremble. Blue veins bulged on his right arm and they were swollen as if they would burst at any moment. It was a phenomenon that occurred because he was using demonic energy beyond his limits.
'If this attack fails... I'll probably die.’
A cornered mouse would bite a cat—that was how this situation looked. The old fiend realized it through the brief battle with Specter. As expected, the Watchguard of Darkness was a fraudulent skill to the point where the word cheat was appropriate to describe it.
‘But I’m also not that… weak.’
Gyeoksantau, hitting a mountain to hit a cow, was a technique that used his Wave (B) skill to directly hit the opponent through a specific medium.
‘People who don't know about my skill always get done in once.’
And if he hit Specter once with a fist with this much strength, he could win. Believing in that, he deliberately fought Specter while hiding his skills.
'I might be able to… capture Specter?’
The corners of the old fiend’s mouth curled up as he closed his eyes. He couldn’t sense Specter, who was now hiding in the darkness.
‘But…’
He had grasped all the s.p.a.ce inside the Curtain of Darkness through his Wave skill. Naturally, he could accurately identify the direction that Specter was in through the flow of air.
‘I'm going to wash away the humiliation of 27 years ago with this fist today.’
Opening his eyes wide, the old fiend threw his fist to one side.
b.o.o.boob.o.o.boom!
The overwhelming destructive power containing 29 years of demonic energy flew through the air.
1. Dopo is an overcoat in hanbok, a traditional Korean clothing. Also called “taoist robe” and worn by male confucian scholars (from wikipedia). ☜