The main story involving Shion, The Broken Crown, might seem complicated when broken into details, but it’s straightforward when viewed as a whole.
It revolves around individuals who lack the ability to directly harm the Tiger Emperor.
These people, with their sinister motives, target his unripe bloodline.
The protagonist's role and purpose in Abyss City are just as simple:
To play a defense game, ensuring such individuals don’t approach or expose Noah Frozenheart.
Failure doesn’t result in catastrophe for Noah but leads to a grim ending where all the elves who fled Tigrova are wiped out.
‘I’ll finish this today.’
Knowing this, Rohan solidified his resolve.
From now on, failure was not an option.
“I’ll go first.”
As Rohan, holding his longsword, jumped at the perfect moment, Clara, sitting atop the tunnel, moved her fingers.
She followed his instructions, executing their plan perfectly. Satisfaction and an inexplicable heat filled her mind.
“Arachne.”
Just ahead of Rohan’s landing spot, a slack thread spread across the road suddenly tightened.
A single black strand, barely visible, stretched horizontally across the tunnel entrance.
The oncoming vehicles resembled insects diving into a spider’s web.
With Clara’s precise focus of mana, the thread sharpened to a deadly edge, like a master-crafted blade.
Piiiiing! Tididiiing!
The lead vehicle passed through Clara’s thread without a sound.
The car’s body was sliced so finely that the cuts were imperceptible—until Rohan landed atop it with his sword drawn.
Boom!
The impact, infused with mana, shattered the windshield, and Clara’s trap began to take full effect.
The vehicle, starting to show signs of its clean cuts, wobbled unsteadily.
Rohan didn’t hesitate, plunging his longsword into the driver’s seat and slicing through to the passenger’s side.
‘They’re dead.’
The blade met flesh and bone, but there were no screams or resistance.
The passengers, already lifeless from Clara’s thread, offered no reaction.
The vehicle, now bisected and unstable, lost control, veering into the tunnel wall.
Rohan leapt off the car and landed inside the tunnel.
Screeeech—! Crash!!!
In an instant, chaos erupted within the tunnel.
The vehicles following behind had also passed through Clara’s thread, their wheels spinning erratically.
Bang! Crash!
Rohan dodged the tumbling cars, his sharp eyes quickly assessing the situation.
The tunnel was now effectively blocked by the pileup.
‘Wonder how many survived.’
The key lay in how quickly the leading vehicles detected the sudden anomaly and the aggressive mana.
Those who slowed down still couldn’t avoid the trap.
‘Looks like the trap worked up to the second row.’
Judging by the scattered debris, some had forcibly escaped their vehicles by breaking the doors.
Rohan figured that was likely the best course of action in their situation.
While Clara’s thread had rendered most vehicles unusable, a few empty cars with no corpses inside suggested not all were killed.
“Ugh... damn it... where’s the boss?!”
“You crazy bitch! What organization are you with?!”
The disorganized shouting outside indicated Clara was handling things there.
Rohan had no reason to step outside yet.
‘Alright, jackpot.’
The one who escaped cleanly through the tunnel’s torn ceiling without rolling out of his vehicle was still inside.
That individual had gracefully evaded the pileup, maneuvering out just before the crash.
“Hey, mutt. Let me rub some salt on you.”
Rohan’s voice echoed inside the tunnel as his footsteps resonated.
He carried his longsword, ensuring the target wouldn’t retreat further.
“Hah... I knew today’s fortune reading was garbage,” a voice muttered.
The Doberman beastman, leader of the gang, Akin Doberman, stood unfazed.
Even after narrowly escaping death in the ambush, he chewed on a cigarette before spitting it out.
Click.
In one hand, Akin held a modernized crossbow, commonly referred to as a hand crossbow.
Its sleek, polished frame gleamed, complete with a mounted scope.
Despite firing bolts instead of bullets, it looked as deadly as a gun.
Rohan immediately heightened his caution.
In a world where firearms were so easily accessible, anyone choosing to wield a bow or crossbow was not to be underestimated.
It meant they were confident that such a weapon could be stronger and more effective than a gun.
‘Focus. Balance my mana properly.’
He remembered the Bulldog brothers, the Doberman’s bulky henchmen, who were likely outside with Clara.
With those meat shields gone, Rohan felt less constrained from the start.
Step. Step. Step.
Seizing the opportunity, Rohan closed the distance without a word.
The Doberman raised his crossbow, aiming it at Rohan.
“So many grudges, I don’t even know who sent you,” Akin sneered.
He infused the bolt with mana and fired without hesitation.
Rohan had been watching closely since the moment mana rippled around the arrow.
The instant Akin’s fingers twitched, Rohan swiftly raised his sword.
Clang!
The mana-infused projectile clashed against the blade, ringing out like a hammer striking steel.
‘Heavy.’
The force of the impact left Rohan’s palm stinging.
Tap!
Switching from walking to a full sprint, Rohan pushed off the hard ground, closing the distance in a straight line.
“Impressive courage,” Akin muttered.
Watching Rohan charge without any evasive maneuvers, Akin lifted his crossbow again.
Click!
The timing of their movements turned into a split-second duel.
With the crossbow aimed directly at Rohan’s forehead, their gazes locked.
Akin didn’t flinch as he fired.
Rohan kicked upward, knocking Akin’s hand skyward, and swung his mana-coated sword.
Whoosh!
The blade cut through the air as Akin retreated.
Simultaneously, Rohan kicked a side mirror lying on the ground, sending it flying toward the Doberman.
“I told you, I’ll rub some salt on you.”
Akin smirked, dodging the projectile with a swift tilt of his head.
"It's not the day for me to end up in a stew. It’s been a while since I craved human flesh. Surrender your neck, and I'll chew through your bones," Akin Doberman sneered as he leapt backward, pulling a short bolt from his coat.
He reloaded. Mana surged into the bolt. He aimed.
Every movement flowed seamlessly, and Akin engaged Rohan in a brutal melee.
Fwoosh!
The bolt grazed Rohan’s shoulder.
Shiiing!
A fiery blade passed so close it burned the edge of Akin’s coat, leaving a blackened, charred mark.
In between, their weapons clashed, and they grappled in a fierce, close-quarters struggle.
Despite wielding a crossbow, Akin wasn’t lacking in close combat skills.
His fists and raw ferocity had been his primary weapons for survival long before he mastered the crossbow.
While he couldn’t overpower Rohan, who held a longsword as his main weapon, Akin wasn’t being completely overwhelmed either.
"..."
Neither man’s breathing had faltered yet.
The chaotic screams echoing outside the tunnel felt like they came from another world.
Both of them came to the same conclusion.
‘He’s far more troublesome than expected.’
They readied their weapons once more.
Swish!
Rohan crouched low like a predator stalking its prey, his stance resembling a dog trader squaring off against a wild mutt.
‘This mutt... He’s quick at creating distance.’
Akin was faster than Rohan, though not as nimble as Shion or Clara.
What made him stand out was his exceptional footwork, honed through years of experience.
‘Doesn’t matter.’
Rohan remained calm.
The situation pressured Akin, not him.
Even if Akin held his crossbow with a composed expression, Rohan knew...
‘If I stay defensive, he’ll be forced to reveal his hand eventually.’
Patience would bring the right opportunity. Rohan was sure of it.
***
While focusing on Rohan, Akin’s sharp hearing picked up the sounds of his subordinates dying quickly outside the tunnel.
‘The woman on top of the tunnel must be handling the outside.’
From the intensity of the sounds, it might seem like the leader should have been facing Clara instead.
Yet, for some reason, Akin felt this current matchup was appropriate.
Just as he had learned in the back alleys of Yamal, neither superior mana nor physical ability guaranteed victory.
They merely increased the odds—life-or-death situations offered no absolutes.
‘The real threat, the one who must die for me to survive, is this man.’
Akin’s instincts screamed that Rohan was the key obstacle.
‘How much mana do I have left...?’
He could still use a skill.
But if he kept firing bolts like this, it would soon become impossible.
‘I’ll use it.’
Failure after using this technique could spell doom, but Akin wasn’t alive today because of failures.
"..."
Tack. Tack-tack.
The sound of Akin’s footsteps changed.
Though he moved alone, it sounded like multiple people were walking in staggered steps.
Rohan noticed the shift immediately.
"!"
Akin’s figure multiplied, leaving thick afterimages as he moved.
The duplicates circled Rohan, all mimicking the same movements.
Though the skill’s grade was low, illusion-based abilities were exceedingly rare.
For those encountering such skills for the first time, reacting properly was difficult.
Hasty decisions often deepened the confusion.
"I’ll kill you cleanly."
"I’ll kill you cleanly."
"I’ll kill you cleanly."
The voices multiplied, echoing throughout the tunnel.
Akin couldn’t maintain this skill for long, but he masked his urgency with a calm facade, raising his crossbow.
‘Here it comes.’
Rohan tightened his grip on his longsword, as though he might break the handle.
Illusions were fascinating. A tingling sense of alienation spread through his limbs.
Even knowing about the skill beforehand, the vivid sights, smells, and sounds created by the illusion left him questioning reality.
As Jo Yeon had once warned, the less confidence one had in themselves, the harder it was to break free from such effects.
But Rohan had no doubts.
He’d been waiting for this exact moment.
Rohan possessed a method far more reliable than any academy training.
‘I should buy Ichinose some snacks later.’
The breakthrough came when Ichinose Yui had accidentally demonstrated a unique use of swordsmanship, which Rohan adapted into his own.
Focusing his thoughts, Rohan activated his trump card.
‘Status Window.’
A translucent panel appeared before his eyes.
Ignoring everything else, Rohan directed his focus straight to the status section.
『Name: Rohan
Health: 88%
Mana: 71%
Affiliation: Echoes of the Southern Ruins
Organization: Orion Academy
Attributes: [Physical] [Fire]
Status: Confused (Illusion)
Remaining Points: 3,772P』
The status clearly indicated he was under the effect of an illusion.
This alone gave him certainty.
It was enough to break through an illusion of this level.
[You have identified the void in the illusion.]
[You are now fully aware of the illusion.]
[You have escaped the illusion.]
"I’ll kill you cleanly."
A clear voice came from Rohan’s right.
The illusions before him vanished, and the unsettling sensation in his limbs disappeared.
The relief of escaping even a low-tier illusion felt unexpectedly refreshing.
Rohan immediately redirected his mana, stepped forward, and swung his sword like a lightning strike.
[One Strike - Flame Sever]
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