From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 148: The Beginning of the Cataclysm Pt. 4

Boom!

Rather than the sound of metal clashing, it was almost like a bomb had exploded. Sound wasn’t the only thing that seemed to explode from the clash either.

ROAR!

A frantic flame shot up between the two spears and flew into the sky.

The flames stretched up like sticky sap and spread about the vicinity. A flame hotter than those burning around the international airport engulfed the surrounding area.

“GRAHHH!”

The drakes had been smashing around the international airport without any difficulty, but were now melting in place. These were monsters that had the property of fire and strong resistance to flames.

It was such a ridiculous scene, an unbelievable event, to the point where if anyone saw this scene, they would call it a hoax even while watching it firsthand.

BOOM!

The two spears collided once again.

Lee Jun-Kyeong quickly turned around. The power of the man in the black robe was stronger than he had expected. He was being pushed back even now, even while squeezing out every last drop of power.

Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t have any plans on beating him here from the beginning, but this was a bit much.

‘This man…’

If this man was the dark secret of Utgard, and the man suspected of being the being backing Set, then he had to clash with him, regardless of the risk, and try to figure out who it was.

What he wanted to do in this battle was to find something out, even if he had to use every trump card at his disposal.

He just wanted to remove the black robe and see who was underneath the hood.

Slash!

However, even if that was all he had wanted, it wasn’t easy.

The man’s spear passed by Lee Jun-Kyeong’s forearm, and his blood spilled, soaking his clothes.

Wriggle.

Muspel’s Spear spewed out a few more thorns. Before anyone had noticed, the thorns extending from Muspel’s Spear were winding all the way around Lee Jun-Kyeong’s arm as if they were consuming him.

The thorns were then surrounded by flames.

“Cough.”

It was hard enough for him to even just block the man in black’s spear.

However, on top of that, Muspel’s Spear was acting up as well.

[Muspel’s Spear is revealing its devilish aura!]

It was constantly trying to consume him.

‘Does he not have any skills?’

If there was something he could be relieved by, however, it was that the man in the black robe only fought him using pure strength.

There were no special manipulations of mana, skills, or any usage of mana in any way.

The man in black only dealt with him with nothing but strength.

Thus.

‘This really is revolting.’

To think that this man was overwhelming him, who had the power to explode everything, with just strength alone.

To think this man had the power to extinguish the flames created by the power of the Monarch of Fire.

Lee Jun-Kyeong was revolted.

BOOM!

Lee Jun-Kyeong and the man in the black robes’ spears struck again, causing another explosion.

However, it didn’t end like this.

The man in the black robe didn’t seem to have any intentions of killing him, and Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t have the strength to take off the man in black robe.

Therefore.

[You are being eroded by the devilish aura.]

Lee Jun-Kyeong deliberately gave himself to Muspel’s Spear.

He could feel a squirming force, and an emotional mana refluxed into his body from Muspel’s Spear. The thorns that had been mainly situated on his arm suddenly wriggled its way into his heart.

“Ugh…”

[The devilish aura is stimulating Madness.]

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s eyes, which had already turned red like blood, began to spew an even more crimson color.

BOOM!

Lee Jun-Kyeong knocked aside the man in the black robe with a spear and forced him to take a step back. He then gasped as if he was tired. A thorn from Muspel’s Spear was winding its way around his upper body.

“It’s okay…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t tell if this was his true feelings or something he was just saying, but he looked at the man in the black robes with blood-red eyes.

“For now…”

At the same time.

[The Dragon’s Bloodstone resonated with the weak dragon's heart!]

There was an explosive force that blasted all around them, and the ground where Lee Jun-Kyeong stood had begun to melt.

***

The lava was seething around them as Lee Jun-Kyeong clashed with the man in the black robe.

However, unlike before, the robes of the man in black were torn and in tatters. Nevertheless, the face was still shrouded.

The problem was simple.

“Ugh…

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s condition was not normal.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of clashing iron caused a series of explosions.

Lee Jun-Kyeong was thrusting forward like crazy, piercing his spear forward.

Whether it was his skill or his purpose in removing his opponent’s robe, he had lost it all.

With thorns pierced all over his body, Lee Jun-Kyeong just wielded his spear and stabbed it forward like crazy.

Boom!

Ripping through space, his spear accelerated even further as it burst into flames.

The man in the black robe swung his spear in response. With a clash, there was another explosion.

BOOM!

After that series of explosions, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s body began to change even further.

Crack.

It was an unpleasant sound.

Scales were starting to grow on Lee Jun-Kyeong as he pierced the man in the black robe’s body.

Crack.

The thorns that had come from Muspel’s Spear turned into something that resembled the skin of a reptile and covered him. It spread over half of his upper body and climbed up his neck.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!

With its appearance, Lee Jun-Kyeong's momentum seemed to have become more intense.

The spear that seemed to shoot forward endlessly was covered with scales and had morphed into an arm-like shape.

“Greuguhhhh…”

With a strange sound, Lee Jun-Kyeong jumped into the sky and plummeted down to the man in the black robe.

BANG!

For the first time, the man in the black showed a response.

“Ugh!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong had fallen from the sky and stabbed his spear-arm down onto the man.

Although the man in the black robe had been able to stop him, Lee Jun-Kyeong stopped in the air as if ignoring gravity and continued to press down on the man in the black robe.

The response of the man was completely different from how he seemed previously, where he seemed to be able to knock away any of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s blows.

“Greuguhhhh…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong made the strange, guttural sound again and kicked the man in the black robe in the face with one foot.

Swish!

The man in the black robe attempted to dodge, but the tip of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s foot caught onto a corner of the robe and flung it off.

“Greuguhhhh…”

The two fell onto the ground, and Lee Jun-Kyeong gasped heavily out of exhaustion.

Swish.

The man in the black robe turned to put on the robe that had been peeled off his body.

Although it had only been for a moment, the robe had still come off, and a face was thus exposed.

But, as soon as Lee Jun-Kyeong recognized the face of the man in the black robe…

“You’re…”

A sound of disbelief escaped his mouth.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had been eroded by the devilish aura and exhausted all of his strength. In addition, his appearance had changed as if he had been consumed by his own strength. Despite all that, he had suddenly been shocked into saying human words again.

The Madness in his eyes and the changes in his entire body were still there.

But.

“What the…!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was still obviously surprised.

The robe of the man in black fluttered in the air.

Although his face had been covered again, Lee Jun-Kyeong had gotten a direct look at his face.

“Tsk tsk. This can’t do.”

It was the first time that the man in the black robe had opened his mouth.

Then.

Squelch!

A spear shot out of the hands of the man and pierced itself into Lee Jun-Kyeong’s right shoulder.

It happened in an instant, at a speed that could not be seen.

The attack had penetrated past Lee Jun-Kyeong’s senses and driven itself into his shoulder.

Squelch.

Blood torrented down from the hole in his shoulder.

“Ugh…”

Still, what was pierced into his shoulder seemed to be just a spear.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had been eroded by Madness and the dragon’s blood, but he should have been able to pull the spear out on his own and treat his injuries.

However, there was something different about the spear that was stuck in his shoulder.

There was something that continued to drive it forward.

"Argh!"

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s groans became more intense.

“So far…”

Thud.

Lee Jun-Kyeong fell to one knee as he stared at the man in the black robe as his hand held the spear that was stuck in his shoulder in place.

He muttered, “You’ve just been playing with everyone…”

“No.” The man in the black robe approached slowly. "I just saw a new future."

“…”

Before Lee Jun-Kyeong realized it, the man in black nearly stood directly in front of him.

Squelch.

“AGHH!”

After twisting the spear stuck in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s shoulder once more, the man in black pulled the spear out.

In the punctured hole left behind, the scales on Lee Jun-Kyeong’s body moved to fill the gap. However, something seemed to be blocking them from closing up the wound.

Flap.

In the meantime, something came flying over to where they were.

Sitting on the shoulder of the man in the black robes was Odin’s Familiar.

“Huginn. Let’s go back.”

It was the black crow, Huginn.

***

A group of people were staring intensely at the burning international airport with anxious expressions. It was Jeong In-Chang and his party who had led the survivors out of the international airport after meeting with Yeo Seong-Gu.

Rumble!!

They saw the international airport crumble into pieces, and could feel a huge aura exuding from there.

“Gasp…”

It was a powerful mana that even ordinary humans could feel, leaving them goosebumps.

‘Mr. Lee.’

‘Lee Jun-Kyeong.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong was fighting there. Jeong In-Chang and Yeo Seong-Gu thought of the same thing as they strained their eyes.

‘Please, hurry.’

‘Hurry up and end things quickly so you can come out.’

They were waiting for him.

The fight inside the ruins should be extraordinary. After all, Jeong In-Chang had seen the man in the black robe. His power seemed beyond astonishment and reached a terrifying level.

That was why he hadn’t wanted Lee Jun-Kyeong to face the man in the black robe, but Lee Jun-Kyeong had refused to leave.

“...”

Considering that Lee Jun-Kyeong had his own reasons and still had decided to face the terrifyingly powerful man in the black robe, that meant that the Hunter had something he believed in.

That was why Jeong In-Chang believed in him.

‘No matter what, he has always…’

Because he would always return.

Even though Lee Jun-Kyeong seemed reckless, he was a calculating man. He would always weigh his chances of winning and make sure to secure his survival.

He would only fight when he still had a chance to come back alive. That was why Jeong In-Chang believed in him.

“Goongje…”

Still, it was impossible to not be anxious whenever he faced this situation.

Boom, boom, boom, BOOM!

The flames shot into the sky, and the heat had spread over even up to where they were waiting.

Nevertheless, the party couldn’t move, as if they were stuck by nails driven into the ground.

Even the survivors as well.

“...”

The survivors also waited for Lee Jun-Kyeong, mouths shut tight with anxiety.

They wanted to get out of here quickly but were unable to say anything. They were overwhelmed by the atmosphere exuded by the two men who were staring at the international airport.

Thus, they stood there, waiting for quite some time.

BOOOOM!

A roar, incomparable to before, blasted out from the ruins of the airport.

The international airport, “it’s completely…collapsed…”

Incheon International Airport, the pride of Korea, had collapsed after failing to overcome the flames.

The sky was covered with acrid smoke and clouds of dust.

“Keugahh!!!”

Inside the destroyed airport, the drakes who were dying from the total collapse of the building screamed.

“Retreat!” the White Tiger Clan shouted as they led the survivors back away from the explosion.

The place in front of them was dangerous, and thus, they had to return quickly with the survivors.

Jeong In-Chang briefly turned his gaze back toward the survivors.

“...”

Behind the survivors was a speechless sight.

Step.

In between the survivors, they could hear someone’s steps.

Jeong In-Chang and Yeo Seong-Gu looked at the man approaching them at the same time.

“The man…in black…”

He was walking toward them, carrying Lee Jun-Kyeong in his arms.

“Mr. Lee!”