Chapter 145: Acknowledgment from the Sword Demon - (1)
‘Let’s see who has more patience. If I had to say, the two heaviest things on me are my mouth and my butt.’
Sanghyun blocked the barrage of attacks from Saize with the Song of the Sword, but he didn’t counterattack right away.
That was because, contrary to his expectations, Saize showed no openings and remained cautious even during the assault.
Seeing how Saize worried about being counterattacked while aiming for Sanghyun, Sanghyun decided to yield a move.
Instead, while casting Song of the Sword, he feigned surprise and stepped back, wearing an expression like he had just lost ten years of his life.
‘I’m still maintaining the Over Psychedelic state. There’s no major change in my condition for now.’
While coldly assessing his own situation, he outwardly acted as if he was slightly frightened.
With troublesome boss monsters like Saize, if one has a trap, it has to finish things in a single blow.
In other words, if the trap fails, it becomes difficult to set another trap afterward.
That was why Sanghyun kept repeating gestures and expressions to lower Saize’s guard.
“Damn, the Song of the Sword…”
Sanghyun wore a bitter expression.
It was the face of someone who had just lost a trump card, which made a faint smile form on Saize’s lips as he watched.
It was likely due to the expectation that one of Sanghyun’s troublesome defensive skills had been disabled.
Kwaaang!
With a loud boom, Saize closed the distance again. The berserk state was still active.
Kang! Kang! Kang! Kaaang!
“Grrgh!”
As he blocked Saize’s savage strikes with the blade, Sanghyun let out a deliberately pained groan.
He lowered his posture as if he was being overpowered, intentionally broke his balance, and even exposed a weakness.
He also prepared a plan to use the Immortal skill early if Saize targeted the opening from an unexpected angle.
But Saize, whether he had noticed or not, just passed by the exposed gap without a second glance.
‘He can’t just ignore Do Kyungsoo, right? Saize, do you really have that much patience?’
Sanghyun glanced to the rear, where Do Kyungsoo was slowly rising.
Saize did the same.
Facing not one but two enemies that needed to be killed clearly weighed on Saize.
He had fought Do Kyungsoo before. He surely knew that Kyungsoo was as tricky an opponent as Sanghyun.
Perhaps that was why—
Kwakwakwa!
Black smoke suddenly burst out from Saize’s entire body as he entered a state of perfect berserk.
It was likely a full-awakening skill, like Sanghyun’s Over Psychedelic or Do Kyungsoo’s Sword Demon—Sword God.
The reason was obvious.
He intended to finish off Sanghyun before Do Kyungsoo fully recovered and then take care of the rest.
And at that very moment—
“Aah!”
Sanghyun deliberately tripped over a stone he had noted earlier, creating a scene where he completely lost his balance.
The fall itself wasn’t even acting—it was real. He had actually tripped on the stone.
“Die!”
‘He took the bait!’
Saize had taken the bait.
And it was a very good one.
In reverse, even Sanghyun admitted it was the kind of perfect opportunity he would’ve gone for himself.
Kuung!
With a sound like the wind rushing in, Saize closed the distance.
Within his heightened senses, strengthened by Over Psychedelic, Sanghyun broke down Saize’s movements in minute detail.
‘Not yet.’
If he used the Immortal skill too early, a monster like Saize would immediately back off.
Just the feeling of a defensive barrier wrapping his body could alert him, making him abandon the attack.
“Watch out!”
Do Kyungsoo’s shout rang out.
It was a natural reaction, given that he didn’t know about the Immortal skill.
In that fleeting moment, Sanghyun saw Kyungsoo try to rise to help him, only to fall again.
‘I’ve seen enough of your sincerity. Thank you.’
He saw Kyungsoo’s genuine desire to help. At the very least, Kyungsoo wasn’t just watching Sanghyun’s crisis from the sidelines.
In fact, Kyungsoo had played a big part in getting them to this situation.
Thanks to his active fight against Saize in the early stages, Sanghyun was able to observe from the rear and read the patterns.
It was prior research and practice.
‘Just a bit more!’
Sanghyun endured again.
Even as Saize’s sword tip slashed through the front of his clothes, he held on.
In the Over Psychedelic state, it was possible to break time into absurdly small units and think within them.
And then, just as the blade was about to pierce Sanghyun’s skin—
『Immortal』
[Immortal skill activated. Remaining uses: 2.]
He immediately used the invincibility skill.
A skill that granted a full 10 seconds of complete invincibility to perfectly protect his life!
Kududuk!
Sanghyun’s entire body transformed into an unbreakable shield, entering a state of total invincibility.
The sword that had been about to pierce his skin stopped completely in place.
“Wh-What the—!”
A panicked Saize tried to push the sword in with all his might, but no matter how hard he forced it, it wouldn’t budge.
At that moment—
“……!”
Saize felt the weighty pressure he had placed on the blade suddenly sink into empty space.
That was because—
『Another World』
It was due to Sanghyun’s isolation skill.
The subspace Sanghyun isolated himself into was visible, but it wasn’t the same concept as the current space.
In short, the same tragedy from earlier was about to repeat itself. The problem was that his awareness was a beat too late!
‘Got me!’
It took 0 seconds for Saize’s thought to become reality. In other words, it happened the moment he thought it.
Sanghyun overlapped the Mad Demon Sword with Saize’s left shoulder and released the isolation.
Slice!
“Ugh!”
It was such a clean cut that there wasn’t even a reason to groan—his left shoulder was severed in an instant.
Control of the battle shifted immediately.
Activating Weak Point Enhancement, Sanghyun quickly stacked four hits of stats and continued into a finishing combo.
The Whisper of the Sage, the Sword of Ruin, the Rage of the Mortal, and even Thunderclap erupted in an extreme chain attack!
And all of that massive damage concentrated right on the injured and weakened left arm.
Fuwaaaash!
“Gwaaaargh!”
A metallic scream filled with pain erupted from Saize’s body and mouth—a sound no one had ever heard before.
Sanghyun’s greatsword pierced through Saize’s shredded shoulder and came out from his back.
Crackle!
The current from the Thunderclap skill struck Saize’s skin directly, which had lost its defensive function due to the deep wound.
Though the sword in Saize’s right hand remained intact, the real issue was that his mental state was no longer stable.
He had fallen into panic.
The tide of the battle had completely turned because of a single Immortal skill.
The fact that this lowly creature had a blessing that could keep it from dying—Saize considered it a blessing—was hard to believe.
『Skill Reset』
He immediately reset all skill cooldowns.
It was a kind of insurance skill Sanghyun had planned to use only in the most critical or worst-case situations.
He hadn’t found a use for it since the battle with Lee Sehwa, but now was the time when it was absolutely necessary.
“This can’t be!”
Though Saize, furious, spewed blood from his upper body and tried to stab Sanghyun somehow—
Crack.
The complete invincibility of the Immortal skill was still holding strong.
And the gift returned for such a reckless attempt was yet another Finishing Combo.
This time, the target of the attack was Saize’s right arm—the arm he had regenerated into a weapon.
If it had been an ordinary slash, Saize’s arm might have withstood it, but unfortunately, the power was overwhelming.
Skeeeerrrk!
“Kwaaaaargh!”
Saize, now without a right or left arm—not just one—looked nothing like the powerful and dignified figure he had been at the start of the fight.
All that remained was the pitiful image of a once-skilled warrior who had lost what mattered most.
“Haah!”
Sanghyun charged at Saize. Now was the time to end it. He had been preparing this final move for a while.
“I… I… will not die! Never!”
Saize, too, did not give up and fought back.
His entire body’s blood vessels swelled like balloons, and the blood-shot eyes with burst vessels turned completely red.
He had entered the final stage of berserk.
Shraaack!
Soon, Saize regenerated his lost left arm. The same response as before. He had regained his weapon.
And he targeted Sanghyun.
At such a dangerously close distance, there was no telling how anyone could avoid what was about to happen!
The sword in Saize’s hand clearly targeted Sanghyun, and Sanghyun’s sword also aimed directly at Saize.
Shluk!
But the sound came from only one of them.
In that instant, one side succeeded, and the other failed—it was a fateful crossroads.
And then—
“Ah…”
“Wow, this is…”
“Whew.”
Three voices overlapped.
A sigh-like murmur from Saize.
A voice filled with surprise from Do Kyungsoo.
And Sanghyun’s voice wrapping up the situation.
The three men reacted differently to the result, but one of those voices soon faded away.
“This… can’t be…”
Saize looked down at the greatsword piercing through his heart with a dazed expression.
He had fallen for Another World again.
Using the isolation skill, Sanghyun had fixed the Mad Demon Sword’s position at Saize’s left chest.
And then, as he deactivated the isolation, he didn’t even need to put in extra effort—by overlapping spaces, he pierced Saize’s heart.
“Grrraaaah!”
Saize desperately struggled to rekindle the life force in his dying heart.
But his health had already dropped well below 5.5%, and that automatically triggered an unavoidable death skill.
『Cursed Execution』
That was the end.
The demon summoned to perform the execution slashed Saize’s throat—
Shrrrk!
—without hesitation, despite his desperate resistance.
It was over.
This was the third phase of the large-scale raid that Do Kyungsoo had so desperately wanted to witness.
It was the moment when the boss monster Saize was killed—by none other than Sanghyun.
Though the battle had begun with both of them, there was no doubt that Sanghyun was the star of the finale.
[……Level up!]
[You have reached Level 185!]
‘What a bounty of experience!’
He had gained ten full levels.
Not only had he defeated a boss monster, but thanks to the synergy with his Rapid Growth title, it was the best result possible.
Even named players, when they were around level 175, had never leapt ten levels at once.
Sanghyun could say it with confidence.
[SS-grade Title, 【The One Who Sees Through All】 has been granted.]
‘Oh ho. Starting off with something nice?’
Before even checking for loot like Artifacts or Magic Stones from Saize, a pleasant message appeared.
Even F-grade titles were rare.
Let alone an SS-grade one—rare wouldn’t even begin to describe it. It was like winning the lottery.
What kind of effects would this title have? Sanghyun was curious about the legacy Saize had left behind.
And then—
■ Title Overview: Allows you to copy three major skills from a specific player or monster.
You may assign custom names to the copied skills to suit your taste.
■ Special Option: One skill is automatically copied from the defeated target who triggered the title’s inheritance.
This copied skill does not count toward the three skill copy chances and is a bonus reward for earning the title.
You have learned the skill ‘Regeneration’ from the Great Demon Beast Saize. Please refer to the tooltip for further details.
‘Regeneration, huh.’
Just the word alone was enough to make his heart pound. Sanghyun’s eyes darted toward the skill window.
What kind of skill had been copied?