The enormous greatsword came crashing down.
At the very moment Yunseong thought he was about to die with no way out—
KAAANG!
“...Hm.”
Blocking that greatsword,
two humans appeared.
“C-Chair!?”
“COUGH... what... what are you doing?!”
A flustered man’s voice,
and a woman’s voice full of pain.
Hearing those voices, Yunseong felt tears well up.
“Captain Seo...!”
Voices even more familiar to him than the Chair’s.
The captain and deputy captain of Central Branch Combat Team 4—the team Yunseong belonged to.
[Seo Younghee]
[Lv. 24 Intermediate Guardian]
[Shin Seokjun]
[Lv. 22 Intermediate Support Caster]
Seo Younghee and Shin Seokjun.
He could tell at once that those were the voices of the couple.
“Chair!”
The two Awakeners cried out.
“Yunseong is a member of our Combat Team 4!”
“If there’s some kind of problem, shouldn’t you be telling us? And besides... that attack just now.”
Both of their faces twisted,
and a thin sheen of cold sweat ran down.
“No matter how we look at it, it felt like you meant to kill him.”
“Hoho....”
At their words,
the Chair tilted his head slightly and asked,
“How did you two figure out where this was and come here? I made sure not to make any noise.”
“....”
At that,
Shin Seokjun silently lifted his right arm and rolled up his sleeve.
On that arm, translucent watch-like devices were strapped in place.
And one of them—
ZIIIIIIING—
as if an alarm time had arrived,
kept ringing.
“It’s a Skill I got after reaching level 20 as a [Support Caster]. It sends an alert when an ally is in danger.”
“Hooh!”
“I can’t put it on many people, so I only set it on the guild’s key people and our team members. I never imagined... it would trigger for the first time in a situation like this.”
“Amazing!”
At that,
the Chair smiled brightly, as if he were genuinely pleased.
“Just as expected of our guild’s elite team captains! So reliable.”
“......”
“I never thought someone would be this thorough. If I’d known... I would’ve ended it with the first strike.”
After saying that,
as if he had no intention of making excuses at all—
“Still, hesitation really is poison.”
With a soft motion,
he raised the greatsword again.
“...Oh my god, honey!”
Seo Younghee shouted.
And behind her, Shin Seokjun thrust out his hand just as quickly, as if he didn’t need her to say anything.
PAAAHK....
Light settled over Seo Younghee’s body.
A buff from Shin Seokjun—one of the Association’s buffers so strong he ranked among the very best for one-on-one support.
That buff settled over the body of Captain Seo Younghee, whose defensive ability was said to rival even the executives.
KWAAANG!
“...COUGH!”
Even so.
Blood leaked from her mouth from that lightly swung blow.
“...Honey, this.”
“Yeah... this is going to be... really hard.”
Shadows fell over both of their faces.
They’d sensed their team member’s crisis and rushed here—
only to find the source of that crisis was something they couldn’t handle.
Just like Yunseong’s situation,
were they going to die pointlessly at the Chair’s hands?
That was what the couple thought—
but to be precise,
that thought was slightly wrong.
“What is all this commotion?!”
Unlike Yunseong, who almost got handled quietly,
the couple succeeded in making a commotion against the Chair.
“What is this.”
“Chair, Captain Seo... what in the world is going on?”
Hearing that commotion,
the Assault Team’s sleeping Awakeners came rushing in.
*****
“Captain Seo Younghee! Explain the situation!”
Among the first to arrive were
the strongest elites in the Association—
the ones who had been with the Chair since the earliest days of Doomsday.
“Why are the captain and the Chair fighting?!”
They were the five executives.
And among them, the one known to respect the Chair the most—an Awakener of the [Knight] class, and the head of the warrior-types.
When Park Sanghyun shouted,
Seo Younghee, even as she frowned at the order from someone who was practically her direct superior, opened her mouth.
“The Chair attacked Yunseong.”
“What did you say?”
“No matter how we looked at it, it was an attack filled with killing intent, so we tried to stop it and hear the circumstances, but... instead of answering our questions, he attacked us too.”
“That makes no—”
At her words,
the executives’ eyes wavered as if shaken.
“That’s nonsense, Captain Seo!”
Park Sanghyun in particular shouted in a tone that still sounded like he was scolding her.
When Seo Younghee read the emotion inside that voice, a dark shadow fell over her expression.
‘...This is bad.’
She was someone who held influence in this group—
but compared to the Chair, it was nothing.
‘If the Chair points at us and Yunseong and calls us traitors?’
They could be framed as traitors instead,
and end up taking the executives’ combined assault.
Desperately trying to avoid that outcome,
Seo Younghee hurriedly turned her head—
but.
“...Hmmm.”
The one who spared her from that situation
wasn’t her.
“Well, I didn’t intend for things to turn out like this, but.”
“...Chair?”
“Still, now that it’s come to this, I’m thinking it might actually be for the best.”
Rather than accusing the Seo couple of being traitors,
the Chair spoke as he looked at the five executives gathered there—
and the team-captain-level powerhouses gathering behind them.
“There was something I’ve been curious about, deep down.”
“Our Association’s five executives and combat team captains. Even within Gyeonggi, you’re among the strongest... people with truly formidable power.”
“...What are you trying to say?”
“I’ll admit it’s a bit awkward to say, but since you’re the fighting strength I raised with my own hands, I’ve always been proud of your strength. That’s the truth. But... sometimes I had this thought too.”
A smile formed at the old man’s lips.
“All of you, and me alone.”
He lifted his greatsword high.
A black radiance, darker than the night itself, clung to that blade.
“If we fought to the death... who would win?”
CRACK!
The Chair stabbed his sword into the ground.
As the massive greatsword drove into the frozen earth, splitting it—
PAAAHK—
the darkness clinging to the blade spread through the Association’s entire formation.
[Curse of No Retreat]
That dark energy
grabbed the Awakeners by their ankles.
[This is a curse cast with full power by the ‘Cursed Dark Knight’.]
[Unless the caster of the curse dies or becomes unable to maintain the curse, the cursed targets will be unable to leave the battlefield.]
[However, the caster of the curse also cannot leave the battlefield.]
The intent behind that action was extremely clear.
The executives and captains gathered there shouted in shock.
“What in the world are you doing, Chair?!”
“What do you mean, what am I doing. Sanghyun, with that brain of yours, you should understand.”
Then,
the old man raised a hand and tapped the air with his finger, as if knocking on something.
“You’re truly capable, but the problem is you tend to look away from the truth at times like this. Then let me make it crystal clear.”
The others didn’t notice—
but five people did.
[By the authority of the ‘Chair’, the system of the Guild ‘Gyeonggi Province Survivors’ Association’ changes.]
[By the authority of the ‘Chair’, the ‘Guild Message’ system becomes temporarily unavailable.]
The executives
could understand the meaning of that act.
“Captain Seo was right.”
“...!?”
Their leader, who had been with them since the first days of Doomsday,
had truly betrayed them.
“I intend to betray you.”
A meaning so horrific
it made their blood run cold.
*****
KAAANG!
When the Chair swung his sword,
the one who blocked it was the person who had respected the Chair the most.
“Chair... no.”
It was Park Sanghyun.
“Old man...! Why?!”
Despair stained Park Sanghyun’s face,
but the Chair, as if he didn’t care about that expression at all—
KWAANG!
swung the greatsword without hesitation.
“...Mister? What is even happening right now?”
“I-I don’t know...!”
At the sudden turn of events,
the other Awakeners couldn’t help but panic too.
“You said you and the old man were sworn brothers too!”
“That’s just— we used to drink soju together before Doomsday and talk some bullshit!”
“You’re seriously useless! Ha... fine. Then we don’t have a choice.”
But.
They were still Awakeners who had risen to the top in a region.
FWOOOSH.
“First, we subdue him and think afterward.”
“H-How did it come to having to face my big brother...? My legs are already shaking....”
“Just endure it a little!”
Flames rose in the hand of [Fire Mage] Jung Hwayeon.
And [Grand Archer] Jang Ji Han set specially manufactured arrows directly onto his bowstring.
Against the Chair,
the Association’s Awakeners began taking up battle formation.
“Let the light of hope fall upon brave heroes!”
One of the Association’s five executives—
[Priest] Seong Jinhye shouted, and
a powerful buff-light settled over the executives and captains encircling the Chair.
Radiant light descended onto the battlefield at night.
In that moment.
“First... it’s right to deal with Jinhye first.”
“...!”
Toward Seong Jinhye—the source of that blazing light—
the old man holding the greatsword closed in at an incredible speed.
‘Fast...!’
An unbelievable speed that shouldn’t have been possible with an old man’s body.
All the other Awakeners lost track of the Chair’s movement.
And just as the most crucial part of battle—
the priest in the rear line—was about to be helplessly removed.
KAAANG!
“I’ve been waiting to see when you’d show up!”
From within the darkness,
sharp throwing daggers flew in, aiming for the back of the old man’s head.
“Sahyeok!”
“...I knew it. No wonder you showed an opening so easily. Was it on purpose?”
Watching those daggers bounce away so easily,
a man wrapped head to toe in black bandages stepped out from the night’s shadow.
[Jin Sahyeok]
[Lv.28 Intermediate Assassin]
One of the Association’s five executives,
and the one among them whose external profile was the least known.
“...Old man.”
Assassin Jin Sahyeok, with dozens of daggers slotted between the joints of both hands,
glared at the Chair and spoke.
“I don’t know why you’re suddenly doing this, but it’s not too late yet. If there’s a reason you’re doing something like this, explain it.”
“Hoho. Are you disappointed in me?”
“Not enough to be disappointed.”
The Chair was revered by the Association’s Awakeners for his strength.
But.
That was only the Awakeners’ unspoken longing for power taking shape.
“I already knew you weren’t some great saint the way people imagine.”
Everyone who’d stayed close to him already knew.
That old man who acted dignified was actually fickle in plenty of ways,
and often showed petty sides unbefitting the head of a massive faction.
“But I didn’t think you were stupid enough to suddenly betray your own side. You must’ve been pretty satisfied with the title of Chair. What’s the reason?”
“Haha, the reason....”
At those words—
“...The reason.”
The Chair couldn’t speak for a moment.
People thought a strange fear flashed across his face,
but that expression didn’t last long.
“Well, what does something like that matter in this situation?”
“......”
“To begin with, Sahyeok—why are you so angry? It’s unlike you, someone who’s usually so calm.”
“Looks like you’ve gone senile. To you, does this look like a situation that doesn’t deserve anger?”
“No. Anyone else would have reason to be angry. But.”
The old man’s eyes fixed on the assassin.
“You should be happy instead, shouldn’t you?”
“What?”
“You’ve been dying to kill me all this time.”
At that,
a faint tremor ran through the assassin’s eyes.
“...You knew?”
“You’ve been strutting around making your killing intent so obvious. I couldn’t not notice.”
The Chair’s eyes as he looked at the assassin—
they seemed to say he knew everything about him.
“That you’re actually desperate to kill everyone you can see, and that your nature is that of a vicious killing demon—I noticed that long ago.”
“......”
“Now you’ve been given the chance to fulfill what that nature wants. You should be happy.”
At that,
the assassin clenched his teeth and answered.
“Sure, my nature is filthy... and disgusting.”
“You finally admit it!”
“But!”
[Intermediate Assassin] Jin Sahyeok.
He was a man who had suffered from murderous impulses rooted inside him since childhood—
and at the same time.
“I’ve never once lost to that damned instinct!”
Not even once until now
had he ever been defeated by that impulse.
“Looks like talking won’t work, so next I’ll put you on the ground and then we’ll talk.”
Jin Sahyeok’s body slipped back into the darkness.
He would keep aiming for openings whenever the Chair fought other Awakeners.
“...Everyone, listen!”
The Knight who had been shedding tears at the Chair’s betrayal—
Park Sanghyun wiped the tears gathered in his eyes.
“Old man... the Chair’s curses are certainly powerful, but they also have restrictions! A restriction that only one curse can be applied to a single target!”
He shouted solemnly under the light the ‘Priest’ had released.
“He used that one on [Curse of No Retreat], so there won’t be any additional curses! No matter how strong he is, he can’t defeat the entire Assault Team! I give the order as the head of the warriors!”
His blade pointed at the Chair’s forehead.
“The Chair has lost his reason for unknown reasons. In the name of the Association, subdue him!”
[A ‘Senior Knight’s Roar’ echoes across the battlefield!]
“Before the united Association, force him to his knees!”
An enormous number of Awakeners, wrapped in radiant light,
began ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) closing in around a single Chair.
*****
The Chair was clearly strong.
The strongest in all of Gyeonggi—something no one could deny.
But no matter how strong he was,
there was no way he could win against this many Awakeners.
And that...
“Sanghyun.”
was something the Chair, Gangsan,
already knew well.
“Are you sure that order is fine?”
“What are you trying to say!”
“I’m asking if you’re really fine with the entire Assault Team facing me.”
Even though he stood in the middle of countless enemies,
Gangsan spoke in a relaxed manner.
“Well. You were always a kid who needed my advice.”
“...?”
“Sharpen your ears.”
A rather abrupt remark.
But.
No one needed to struggle to understand what he meant.
THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD....
The moment Gangsan spoke,
there was a sound coming from the surroundings.
“....”
Heavy, deafening footsteps
approaching from far away.
Experienced Awakeners
could guess what that sound was at once.
‘...A monster wave!’
From far away.
From the very direction they had been headed toward—
an overwhelming number of monsters were charging in.
*****
“Combat Team 1 Captain!”
“Y-Yes!”
“From now on, you command all Assault Team forces at or below captain and deputy-captain level. Take them and go toward where that sound is coming from.”
“...All forces at or below deputy-captain level?”
“Yes.”
Park Sanghyun glared at the Chair as he spoke.
“The number of presences I can feel isn’t normal. Even if our Assault Team fights at full strength, it’ll be a number that’s hard to withstand.”
“...That many!”
“I’m not telling you to defeat them. But hold out as long as you can.”
The Chair’s greatsword
swung toward the Combat Team 1 Captain.
KAAANG!
Park Sanghyun’s longsword barely knocked it aside.
“...Until we subdue that old man and join you!”
“...Yes!”
The Combat Team 1 Captain left with the troops,
and what remained on the battlefield was:
thirteen combat teams’ captain and deputy-captain-level strength—twenty-five people.
And the five executives.
“Right, right. At this level, it’ll be manageable.”
“...More than enough, old man!”
A total of thirty.
And—
...GULP.
‘I-I... what am I supposed to do...?’
One injured man,
watching that scene helplessly.
