Chapter 99 Divine Ultimatum (4)

b Blood Pact}, the Unique Skill obtained after risking his life at the end of a ferocious battle in his early days. That skill had greatly helped shape Yoon-seok’s future. He benefited greatly from the ability in many duels, including against the Heavenly Devil and Kerixis. It was also included as one of the components of b Bloodseeker Ultimatum}. It was safe to say that he took the lion’s share.

Of course, if he received that ability again, it wouldn’t make much of a difference now. However, it couldn’t be denied that the skill made Yoon-seok who he was today.

‘It seems like he doesn’t recognize me.’

Yoon-seok, who was observing his opponent, smirked. The opponent’s determined eyes were directed at Yoon-seok without any sign of recognition. If he’d recognized him, he would’ve caught a glimpse of change.

‘Was it only right that he couldn’t recognize me?’

Unlike before, he was using two swords and was currently covering his face with a mask. Most of all, he grew 10cm taller. Well, there was no guarantee that his opponent still remembered what he looked like from the start.

「Countdown is starting.」

The countdown had begun. Should he say it was like a quiet blazing flame? His foe was calmly controlling his breath until the end and focusing. It seemed that his habit of being arrogant to others had naturally been cured while he ascended.

「3.」

When they first met each other, they knew nothing about their foe. But now that they’ve come through the narrow door to the 11th floor, it was safe for them to call each other veterans.

「2.」

How much had he changed? What kind of skills did he acquire, and how did he grow? Who knows.

「1.」

He would get to find out shortly.

「START!」

The phrase popped up, and their restraints were lifted. It was different from last time. Of course, his opponent didn’t immediately rush in; it was because he was now observing him. Saving his breath, he devoted all attention toward his opponent.

‘Was it more advantageous for him to make the attack later?’

He watched for a moment, but the demon stood still. When it didn’t seem like he would make the first move, Yoon-seok pulled out the Judgment Sword and lunged.

「You’ve encountered evil.」

Now that he thought about it, he could see it. Even if he had an easy way to win, he still said he would bring him greater pain with an evil grin. Was it true that the essence remained the same even if the amount was reduced? All stats were increased after the judgment mark appeared. Yoon-seok fired off a wave of sword energy from a distance as a test.

Whoosh!

Colorless sword energy shot in the form of a crescent moon. The demon raised his palm. At the same time, a red geometric pattern was drawn on the palm of his hand as a red wolf popped out and swallowed the sword energy without leaving a trace.

‘Power.. no, is it a Unique Skill?’

There was no command, so Yoon-seok thought it was likely the latter. Experienced as he was with {Blood Pact}, that was his hunch.

‘I guess he’s still fighting with unusual powers..’

The demon’s equipment was odd to match. He was wearing a cape that looked more for show instead of utility, and he wasn’t carrying any weapons.

‘But just in case, let’s strike again.’

Yoon-seok fired a second wave at a closer distance. Then, the demon blocked the attack in the same way.

‘So you’re gonna hide your abilities until I show mine?’

That wasn’t so bad. Yoon-seok would hide his secret weapon, Judgment of the Ruined Monarch, until the end since, with that, he was even able to beat the Sword Saint. Well, he guessed that was what his opponent was pursuing, so it didn’t hurt to try.

‘Let’s start lightly.’

Whoooooosh!

The moment Yoon-seok swung his sword forward, purple Skywrath Energy began to divide into several strokes. Falling Flowers, the tactic the Sword Saint demonstrated when he was against Yoon-seok. Seeing this, Yoon-seok knew for the first time that Shifting was a tactic integrated with illusion and speediness.

“..!”

Did he feel threatened by this move? His opponent was flustered and extended his palm again. Then, though there was no wound on his palm, blood splattered out. Not only that, but the blood drops sent out grew like balloons filled with air. Was this a newly unlocked skill after upgrading b Blood Pact}? It was much larger than before.

‘..It doesn’t explode?’

It didn’t explode. The moment it touched the sword energy, the drops of blood flattened and spread wide, changing into a magic circle mid-air.

‘Is it the same ability he used to summon the creature?’

The impacts were similar but different in effect. Instead of summoning the wolf creature, the levitating magic blood circle swallowed the purple sword without a trace.

‘So it’s multi-purpose..’

Yoon-seok swung his sword again, his curiosity growing deeper. He realized that it could also be used as a defense skill. Then, could he stop this too?

Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!

Red tidal waves erupted from the sword in Yoon-seok’s hand: the Heavenly Devil Sword. It felt like the difficulty level of each tactic took a huge leap, but perhaps it was just his imagination. Yoon-seok still had the Bloodseeker Sword. No, he didn’t use that anymore, so should he call it Skywrath Sword? He wasn’t receiving the increase in stats from the King of All Sword’s effects.

“Legion of Destruction.”

The demon used an active skill for the first time, causing dozens of soldiers to rise from the empty floor. Of course, they burst apart amid the tidal wave, but the summons didn’t stop. It continued endlessly until the path piled up with their bodies blocked the tsunami.

‘So he can block it this way.’

A human wave strategy used since the ancient Chinese dynasty. It was a no-brainer, but it worked well. However, Yoon-seok tilted his head.

‘If he does that, is his magic not affected?’

Active skills used magic, and a considerable amount of magic would be needed for such skill. It seemed to Yoon-seok that he was just trying to block a hole on the boat by tearing off the boards. But..

‘I guess you didn’t just use it without thinking.’

The summoned soldiers exploded, and the floor was filled with their blood. Then, the blood rose into the air, clumped into a sphere, and surged into the demon’s body. It wasn’t hard to predict that a significant amount had been recovered. Did he think that Yoon-seok was nervous when he hesitated? The corners of his mouth slightly raised.

But unfortunately..

‘I thought that’s why he would use the summoning skill, but the synergy is better than expected.’

That was the only thing Yoon-seok appreciated, this interaction between unique and general skills. It would be strange if he were surprised. If he were a challenger who used AP without taking that into account, he wouldn’t be able to come this far.

Plorkk.

Yoon-seok, using Enhanced Speed, didn’t hesitate to slam his sword into his foe’s lower abdomen, right where the {Blood Pact} was located. But his foe was fine.

Chikkkkkkkkkkkkk!

As soon as his sword was pulled out, the wound recovered with the sound of boiling water. He counterattacked the moment the sword pierced him, but it was pointless.

Tadak.

Yoon-seok stepped back to evade even before the counterattack began. Why was it possible to heal when the core was smashed? He didn’t have such a question because he already knew.

‘Does that count as one?’

During the synthesizing process to make b Bloodseeker Ultimatum}, Yoon-seok had upgraded {Blood Pact} to Rank D.

Rank D — Increases the number of cores to 9.

Coincidentally, Yoon-seok even remembered the location of the additional cores. But the opponent was different. After stabbing the exact location of one core, he looked extremely flustered at Yoon-seok, who widened their distance.

“..!”

Of course, it was surprising. Although b Blood Pact} offered incredible healing abilities, it was practically useless after being smashed. From then on, if his throat was cut or his heart was run through, he would die. It was still too early to decide whether this was just a coincidence.

‘What’s left?’

Eight cores left. If he wanted to survive any longer, he would have to take out everything he had. Yoon-seok slowly broke the cores one by one and cornered his opponent. In doing so, he looked at all the skills he had. There was nothing particularly interesting. That was why he decided to impose restrictions.

「 To Lady’s Commandment, only Unique Skills can be used within the realm.」

Was it because it was a fairly complicated condition? The consumption was catching up even though his magic was increasing non-stop because of {Divine Ultimatum}. He could maintain it for about 20 minutes. Well, Yoon-seok couldn’t use general skills now, but it was incomparable to the pressure his opponent was feeling.

Only one skill left. If he hadn’t already lost the battle, he would have to risk his life on that one skill. That’s what Yoon-seok wanted.

“Who the hell are you!”

The demon spoke for the first time; his voice was filled with anger and agitation. That was understandable. Thus far, he had destroyed the exact location of the cores.

“Why are you making fun of me when you have such powers!”

Even the fact that Yoon-seok could kill him in one blow if he wanted..he noticed that as well. His guess was true. The duel would’ve long ended if he prevented him from using {Blood Pact} with Lady’s Commandment. But Yoon-seok didn’t answer.

“..”

He just continued to break the cores one by one, pushing his opponent into a corner. If this happened, he thought that a new method of fighting would appear. But..

‘It’s not that different.’

No matter how much time he gave to continue the fight, it was no different from the start. It was his ability, so he thought he’d know best. But was that not the case? Yoon-seok took off his mask as he wondered if making him angry would be different. Then, the demon clenched his teeth.

“Y, you’re the one who..!”

He hadn’t forgotten him. When Yoon-seok silently raised the corners of his mouth without saying anything, he began to get worked up.

“You human insect..! Fully knowing who I am..!”

Bangggg!

Boom, boom, boom!

The opponent’s attack grew more violent. But that was all. Nothing was different. Eventually, Yoon-seok decided it was time to wrap up. Just in time, there was only one core left.

Slash!historical

Yoon-seok poked his sword into the core and answered the question he had asked earlier. Why was he making fun of him when he had such powers? The reason was simple.

“I wanted to see how you use it before I took it.”

Plus, he had a better textbook this way, so he didn’t have to waste time with trial and error back in the waiting room.

「Victory.」

「1,500,000 AP will be paid as a reward.」

「Unique technique b Predation} has been activated.」

With that phrase, a new menu list appeared.

「Please select a skill to acquire.」

*Unique Skill

Blood Pact (B)

*General Skills

Legion of Destruction (B-), Endurance (C-). Blood Rage (C-), Health Rehabilitation (A-), Magic Decomposition (D-), Heart Hunter (C)..

His opponent had a total of 15 skills. There were many not used during the duel, but Yoon-seok soon noticed that they were passive.

「Acquire Unique Skill b Blood Pact}.」

After choosing the skill he wanted, it was time for the equipment. Yoon-seok chose the highest-ranking among them, and he chose magic as the stat to take, concluding his reward choices.

「Looted the Vampire Count’s Blazer (Rank A-).」

「Absorbed magic stat.」

「Go to the waiting room on the 12th floor.」

「Please prepare for the next duel.」

He was back in the waiting room. Yoon-seok checked the wall first. He would move to the waiting room on the 12th floor, but the wall was still there. It was the same for Namgoong Soso.

“Duel? What do you mean? No, wait a minute! When did you go there?”

Was it because time stopped during the duel? When he came back, Namgoong Soso was talking to him. However, the location of Yoon-seok, where they were facing each other, was moved to the middle of the room instantly. Looking at Namgoong Soso tilting her head, Yoon-seok said.

“It’s nothing. So, what were you going to say earlier?”

It felt like the conversation would be prolonged if he said that he came back from a duel.