Omega stepped over the sticky flesh of the shredded worm and pulled out the items he had kept in storage.
They were syringes he had prepared specifically for this final battle. He grabbed a handful with one hand.
With a thunk!, he drove them deep into his neck and injected every last drop of the drug that Hex had created.
“Ahh, that hits the spot.”
Energy surged through his entire body. Power that could be called omnipotent. It felt impossible to lose.
It was the perfect time to cast off his nightmares.
When Omega saw Joo-yeon approaching on her own to put some distance between him and the students, his lips curled into a sarcastic smile.
“Wasting a sneak attack like that just to save some snot-nosed brat? Have you lost your mind?”
“Killing you after saving him will be enough.”
“Kuhahaha!!! So the great general’s gotten rusty after spending time with little kids!”
Joo-yeon instantly grasped who had orchestrated the chaos on this remote island.
Rohan who was battered to a mess. Corin who was unconscious. Ichinose and Noah who were paralyzed with fear.
The scene stirred memories long buried in the depths of her mind.
Joo-yeon took a deep breath, forcing her awareness into focus.
Her rage had already gone beyond its limit. Still, she made every effort to remain calm.
She reminded herself, again and again, that not a single student had died.
I need to stay composed. He’s not an opponent I can beat while losing control.
Aside from his more developed abilities compared to when she had faced him before, his appearance had also become even more grotesque than in the past.
Even so, she felt no fear.
The thing Joo-yeon truly feared had narrowly failed to happen.
“This time, I won’t let it slip away.”
When Joo-yeon spread her hand, flames surged upward.
—Whoooosh! A torrent of blazing fire exploded forth and condensed into the shape of a greatsword.
A blade larger than her own height. A weapon that had severed the head of the dragon that attacked the Three Nations Alliance.
The massive sword moved in her hand as lightly as a twig.
Omega immediately shifted into battle mode.
“That sword will make a fine trophy for my victory.”
Crunch! Crrrack!
Omega’s right arm began to writhe and transform with a sticky, grotesque change.
Seeing the new form, one of Joo-yeon’s eyebrows twitched.
The color was different, but she could never forget that shape, no matter what he had done to its shell.
“I see. So it was you who invaded the Three Nations and stole the dragon’s head.”
“Kuhuhu, be grateful I let you in on the secret before you die.”
Suddenly, with a thunk! a long sword protruded from the dragon’s mouth and started spraying a stream of ominous, sinister liquid.
But Joo-yeon showed no special reaction.
She simply spoke the truth.
“Maybe you’re too stupid to understand. That monster ended up in slumber because I hunted it down.”
“It couldn’t properly wield its power due to its low intelligence.”
“…Pathetic. If that’s what you need to believe, go ahead.”
That was the end of their conversation.
The traces of the monsters fused to Omega’s body were now fully revealed, without a single gap.
And the tips of Joo-yeon’s hair began to flicker with flames.
“”…..…””
Step.
Just as Omega slightly shifted his weight by nudging a foot forward,
Joo-yeon vanished from her spot without a single preparatory movement.
And then, she reappeared.
A slash aimed to carve out life without hesitation. Flames that sought to burn life to ash.
Omega drew an arc with his sword and blocked the greatsword.
“Huhahaha!!! That’s it! Let’s kill each other!”
“…….”
Omega felt the drug dull his fear of the flames and elevate his consciousness.
A mad burst of laughter escaped.
The seven remaining octopus limbs shot out from his back toward Joo-yeon.
Pababak!
An unbelievable speed for a greatsword. They were shattered effortlessly, almost absurdly so.
Faced with Joo-yeon’s still-formidable strength, Omega decided to hold nothing back.
[Bio Trickster]
The moment the skill was activated, the pitch-black mechanical components covering his jaw injected chemicals and detached.
And Hex’s ambitious creations were unveiled.
Poison glands filled with deadly venom, chimera muscles selected for each body part.
Carapace skin resistant to fire, regenerative tissue and genetic materials.
The external transformation alone was alarming.
But the internal changes were even more numerous. They were over dozens in kind.
“……You’ve given up being human.”
“I don’t cling to a feeble species. Soon, even you will become part of this body.”
The dragon head biting down on Omega’s sword growled as if it had come back to life.
“You are a disgrace to humanity by your very existence. I’ll put you down before you become any more grotesque.”
Joo-yeon’s greatsword summoned flames.
[Flame Wheel]
Flames filled Omega’s entire field of vision.
Pushing through the searing heat that made it nearly impossible to keep his eyes open, Joo-yeon drove the blade forward.
Claaang!!
Omega blocked Joo-yeon’s strike and was overcome with elation.
In the past, just facing this heat would have destroyed his eyes, but now, he could endure it.
As long as it wasn’t a direct hit, the surrounding flames could be managed with his new body and the effects of the drugs. The situation was clearly different from before.
[Blazing Truth]
Joo-yeon’s crimson slashes poured down like an avalanche.
[Echo Mirror]
The barrier Omega cast in midair swallowed the heat before bursting apart.
“Die! Become my nourishment!”
Joo-yeon’s composure clashed with Omega’s madness. Their swords and skills exploded in a frenzy.
They slashed, detonated, stabbed, dodged, and fired.
Their onslaught made the ground of the deserted island tremble violently.
Even so, it was a deadlock.
The scales had yet to tip in either direction.
***
[The quest has been completed.]
A notification window filled with rewards popped up in front of Rohan.
But he couldn’t read it. He couldn’t focus on it.
“………”
Rohan felt the pain that had been shattering his concentration slowly begin to subside.
And yet, his vision continued to blur.
He was finally able to breathe again, but the realization that Joo-yeon had arrived threatened to pull him back into unconsciousness.
However, he bit his tongue and forced himself to stay awake.
He couldn’t fall asleep. He couldn’t let go of his consciousness.
There has to be something. Something I can still do…
The established order in Abyss City had already collapsed.
Joo-yeon’s victory—, or at the very least, a draw, seemed overwhelmingly likely, but it wasn’t absolute.
If there was anything he could still do, he had to.
Rewards. The rewards…
Among the notification windows that had flashed by earlier, he briefly caught sight of one: points.
He opened the shop and dumped all his points into anything that could bring about change.
[You have bought a Unique Skill Level-Up.]
As the skills evolved, complex descriptions surfaced.
But his consciousness couldn’t fully process the tiny letters.
The pain and the drained state of his body made it impossible to concentrate.
And yet—
Even without reading the details, something settled into his body and instinctively made itself understood.
“!”
Had his desperation and determination finally reached the heavens?
When his Unique Skill reached Level 3, a new talent bloomed.
It told him that, rooted in the concept of inflicting weaknesses, he could now infuse projectiles with specific skills and magical power.
“Rohan! Are you okay?!”
“Hey! Snap out of it!”
Corin hung limply at Noah’s side, unconscious.
Seeing his friends safe helped dull the pain. Rohan felt proud of himself.
“Can you stand?”
“Grab my hand!”
Ichinose and Noah supported Rohan and helped him to his feet.
The moment he stood with their help, he pulled both girls into a tight hug.
“”!!!””
“I’m so glad… really… I’m just glad you’re all okay.”
There was a special emotion woven into his voice.
Ichinose and Noah were startled and turned to look at Rohan.
“Rohan…”
“You…?”
As the girls cast their gaze toward him, what they saw was him with his eyes closed.
Thinking he had lost consciousness, Ichinose pulled Rohan toward her.
“Noah. I’ll take care of Rohan. Let’s each take one person.”
“Got it. Let’s go quickly.”
After wiping the panic off her face, Noah kicked off the ground and began to move.
Just as Ichinose gripped Rohan tightly and was about to follow—
Rohan spoke in a faint voice.
“Ichinose. Wait a second.”
“Y-You’re awake? You’re okay…?”
“I’m fine. I wasn’t asleep.”
That was a lie. He had dozed off for a moment.
If he loosened his grip on consciousness even a little, it would slip away.
“Hoo… Let me borrow your shoulder so I can stand properly.”
“What are you trying to do…?”
“It’s for the instructor.”
“We’ll only get in the way if we interfere!”
“I know. But still… just trust me. Just this once.”
“….…”
Ichinose hesitated for a moment.
Then, as if she had silently made up her mind,
She grabbed Rohan’s arm which was draped over her shoulder tightly.
“Thank you.”
Rohan quickly began to prepare.
Before he lost consciousness again, something he needed to do came to mind. He had to see this through.
Ichinose is right. That’s the right answer.
Whatever he tried to do, Rohan couldn’t track the movements of Joo-yeon and Omega when they were fighting seriously…. not at his level.
All he could see were flashes of color that didn’t belong in nature, streaking past like beams of light.
He could only feel the impact through the resonating force of immense power colliding.
Still…
There were moments when he could clearly see the two of them.
In the brief instant when their swords clashed and they tested each other’s strength, time seemed to stop for several seconds.
Just once. This might work…
His trembling hand slipped into his coat.
A Tigrova Pistol. It was Snowfall-75 that he obtained from the supply drop.
His legs had no strength, so he couldn’t pull away the hand resting on Ichinose for support.
To load the gun, he bit down on the barrel.
With one hand gripping the handle and his mouth holding the barrel—click!—he forced the pistol slide back.
I’ll infuse this with a skill.
He immediately put his new talent to use, channeling mana into the bullet.
Ichinose stared blankly with her mouth slightly open at the strange mana gathering in the pistol.
Rohan had finished his preparations.
Believe. This will hit. It has to. He’s the type who’ll take the hit even if he sees it coming.
Would Omega’s pride even allow him to dodge a student’s attack?
Hasn’t he always taken every strike head-on, confident in his durability?
“Urgh…!”
“Rohan!”
The warning signs of impending mana exhaustion arrived.
Rohan let out a dry laugh at the sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“If I shoot the gun, you run right away. Please.”
“…Okay.”
He felt sorry, but he couldn’t even bring himself to tell Ichinose that she’d be alright.
Even the slightest distraction from his focus was hard to bear.
Kuuuuung—!!!
A clash of power shook the air.
The tremendous shockwave sharpened Rohan’s mind, if only for a moment.
It’s here!
He saw Omega’s back as he wrestled for dominance with Joo-yeon.
With monsters surging out of Omega’s body, the target had become absurdly large.
“Haa…”
Rohan exhaled and scraped together every last bit of strength he had left.
He poured it into his line of sight and the tip of his finger.
Even if I can’t apply a weakness…
He prayed desperately to cause even the tiniest positive anomaly.
And with that hope, Rohan pulled the trigger.
Bang!
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