Chapter 31
The Final Battle (5)
The two Greatest Swordsmen fighting in the motel hallway immediately realized that the Golden Mutant and the monsters were about to arrive.
Whoooom!
The pillar of light was impossible to miss.
[00:00:10]
"...Exactly 1:00 AM."
Perhaps from now on, mutants and monsters would appear at this exact time every day.
A timer had appeared before both of them.
However, the remaining time looked different.
[00:00:09]
"...Huh?"
"What is this?"
[00:00:08]
The two swordsmen paused their duel in confusion. Only eight seconds remained until the monsters emerged.
Yeongwoo quickly glanced at his wristwatch.
His own timer had already dropped to five seconds.
Unable to wait any longer, the Sangju Greatest Swordsman proposed a truce.
"Hey... shouldn't we deal with the urgent problem first?"
To him, killing the mutant was far more important than continuing a pointless duel with another challenger.
There was no point fighting over an empty ghost town where nearly everyone was already dead.
"Well? We don't have time. Decide."
The Sangju Greatest Swordsman, Dokgo Se-hwan, appeared to be in his early forties.
He wasn't even wearing underwear.
The only thing he had managed to grab while rushing out of the motel room was his Early Bird Sword.
Although his appearance looked ridiculous, Yeongwoo—having already crossed swords with him—could only see him as an overwhelming monster.
That was also why Yeongwoo couldn't immediately reject the truce.
"At this rate, I can't guarantee victory. His sword is far too fast."
Then... was there any solution?
Golden Punishment — Legendary Bracelet
Grants pain to enemies.
Accumulated Golden Ratio: 2
Yeongwoo looked down at the golden bracelet on his wrist.
It was the only piece of equipment whose effect he still hadn't confirmed.
"Clashing weapons doesn't seem to activate it. I probably need to stab the opponent directly... or make physical contact."
But Se-hwan was so incredibly fast that even touching him was nearly impossible, let alone landing a fatal strike.
At the moment, there was no clear strategy.
"Should I summon Myung-tae now? No... I only have one summon left today. I need to save it until I'm certain."
After considering countless possibilities in only a few moments, Yeongwoo finally made his decision.
First, he would lure the Sangju Greatest Swordsman toward the mutant.
Once there, he would steal the mutant's senses as well before deciding the outcome of their battle.
"Fine. Let's eliminate the mutant first. If we leave it alone, innocent people could get caught in the crossfire."
Dokgo Se-hwan smiled faintly before taking a few steps backward.
"At least you're not completely stupid."
Keeping his eyes on Yeongwoo, he began putting on the scattered clothes lying around the motel room.
"You seriously have time to get dressed? Weren't you spending most of your time running around naked anyway?"
Yeongwoo glanced at the pair of underwear hanging halfway off Se-hwan's hips.
Se-hwan frowned.
"Watch your mouth, kid."
At that moment, golden energy erupted from his body.
But it had no effect on Yeongwoo.
His own eyes were glowing with golden light as well.
After staring at Yeongwoo for a moment, Dokgo Se-hwan finished getting dressed.
Meanwhile, Yeongwoo left the motel.
The timer had already disappeared from view.
Instead, countless blue pillars of light now tore through the skies over Sangju.
"Where's the mutant?"
According to what he'd heard earlier, Sangju had a group that monopolized monster hunting.
Essentially, they were the subordinates of the Greatest Swordsman.
By now, those hunters were probably dealing with monsters appearing throughout the city.
That meant Yeongwoo only had to locate the mutant.
Someone below the level of a Greatest Swordsman wouldn't even dare approach it.
"There."
His gaze fixed somewhere to the north.
Though distant, he could clearly see a brilliant crimson pillar of light.
The Sangju Greatest Swordsman would naturally follow him.
Yeongwoo pushed hard against the ground.
Boom!
Like a bullet fired from a gun, he shot northward.
What kind of mutant would appear on Sangju's second day?
Judging from previous patterns, it would undoubtedly be stronger than yesterday's.
Until now, every mutant Yeongwoo had encountered had merely been low-level creatures such as goblins and trolls.
But yesterday morning, he'd seen with his own eyes that someone had transformed into a dragon-class monster.
It was only a matter of when.
Eventually...
Such monsters would definitely appear.
Bang!
As Yeongwoo raced north, the scenery blurred past.
"There are more people than I expected."
The civilians moved with perfect coordination, as though responding to an air-raid siren.
Those already outside hurried into nearby buildings.
Meanwhile, others rushed out carrying weapons.
Their equipment and presence were anything but ordinary.
"Those must be the monster hunters."
Yeongwoo instinctively realized they belonged to Sangju's ruling force.
At the same time, the hunters also noticed the unknown swordsman speeding across the city.
"...He's not the Greatest Swordsman?"
Everyone instinctively reached for their weapons.
But Yeongwoo had no time to care.
Rumble!
Behind him...
Dokgo Se-hwan pursued him while releasing an overwhelming killing intent.
Now fully armed, he even carried a shield.
"Greatest Swordsman!"
Since they had never exchanged names, Se-hwan simply called Yeongwoo "Greatest Swordsman."
"Don't forget! The mutant comes first!"
He rapidly closed the distance.
"..."
His speed was terrifying.
Naturally, Se-hwan was still barefoot.
"As if you'd ever give up the reward."
Yeongwoo alternated his gaze between Se-hwan—who was already overtaking him—and the rapidly approaching crimson pillar.
At this pace, they'd reach the mutant within seconds.
"What about the kill reward? Does it go to whoever lands the finishing blow?"
The instant Yeongwoo shouted the question—
Fwoosh!
A heavy tearing sound echoed.
Before Yeongwoo's eyes appeared the holographic guidance of the Gumi Sword Technique.
The hologram lay completely flat against the ground.
"...!"
Scrape!
Kicking up dust, Yeongwoo immediately dropped into a slide.
Se-hwan did exactly the same.
The Sangju Sword Technique had warned him as well.
As the two Greatest Swordsmen moved almost identically...
Only Yeongwoo received another message.
Your Sense stat has temporarily increased from 100 to 480.
"...Damn."
This was completely different from when he'd first crossed swords with Se-hwan.
That could only mean one thing.
He had just stolen the senses of someone else.
In other words...
An attack was coming that couldn't be blocked by any normal means.
Without thinking, Yeongwoo threw himself flat and slid forward.
"KRAAAAH!"
The second mutant of Sangju had appeared.
BOOOOM!!
A black blade tore through space itself above the heads of Yeongwoo and Se-hwan.
Every hair on Yeongwoo's body stood on end.
He immediately jumped back to his feet.
Roughly ten meters ahead stood an enormous black silhouette.
It was at least five meters tall.
And it wasn't alone.
Mounted atop a massive black horse sat a knight clad entirely in jet-black armor and cloak.
In his right hand rested an enormous greatsword with a blade nearly three meters long.
"...What the hell is that?"
Even Dokgo Se-hwan froze.
The previous mutant had never possessed such overwhelming presence.
Yeongwoo quietly answered.
"It's a Dullahan."
"A headless knight."
"What?"
Instead of explaining further, Yeongwoo pointed toward the knight's left hand.
More specifically...
The severed head it was holding.
Only then did Se-hwan realize it.
There was no head on the knight's body.
The knight held his own decapitated head in his left hand.
Its eyes were wide open.
Its lips trembled with rage while grinding its teeth.
Yeongwoo asked quietly,
"Why did this man become a mutant?"
Because the name floating above him read—
[Mayor of Sangju — Kim Hyun-ho]
If someone became a mutant, it meant they had been judged by the people.
How had the mayor ended up on that list?
"...Damn."
"The mayor came back."
Only after recognizing the name did Se-hwan speak.
"There were allegations..."
"Of providing sexual favors."
"Sexual favors?"
Yeongwoo frowned.
It strangely matched Sangju's current theme.
"It was never proven."
"The Reset began before the investigation finished."
In other words, he had merely been accused.
No verdict had ever been reached.
"...Then he could actually have been innocent."
"Maybe."
"Maybe not."
"If he really was innocent..."
Se-hwan couldn't finish.
CRACK!
The mayor kicked off the ground with his horse once more.
BOOOOM!!
The same horrifying sound rang out.
Then both Greatest Swordsmen witnessed something impossible.
The black sword suddenly extended...
Stretching to an absurd length.
"Shit...!"
It now measured well over ten meters.
"Did they give him that thing just so he could wipe out the entire city?"
Yeongwoo barely avoided the sweeping black slash.
Se-hwan spat onto the ground.
"Forget the jokes."
"Figure out how we're supposed to kill that monster."
Even his hands were trembling.
No matter how powerful Se-hwan was—even after monopolizing three million Karma—facing such a creature was terrifying.
Yeongwoo, however, was slightly calmer.
At least he knew what a Dullahan was.
"I've only seen one in games... but seeing one in real life is something else entirely."
How were mutants chosen?
Games?
Novels?
Or human imagination itself?
That was as far as his thoughts went.
He slowly retreated into a combat stance.
The Dullahan—
No...
Mayor Kim Hyun-ho had already begun charging again.
"He isn't even trying to talk."
"Looks like he intends to kill everyone."
"Making him my friend won't be easy this time."
Yeongwoo subtly moved closer to Dokgo Se-hwan.
As soon as the mutant's next attack ended...
He intended to eliminate Se-hwan first—with Myung-tae's help.
"Now my Sense stat is more than twice his."
"If Myung-tae joins in, we can definitely win."
BOOOOM!!
Another black slash ripped through the air.
"Again?!"
"Doesn't that bastard ever get tired?"
As Se-hwan desperately retreated, Yeongwoo also leaped backward.
He grabbed the amber whistle hanging around his neck.
Then—
Fweeeeeeeet!!
A loud whistle echoed across the battlefield.
"...Huh?"
Se-hwan turned in surprise.
Even the mayor's severed head rolled its eyes toward Yeongwoo.
"Who are you?"
The moment the mayor spoke—
SKREEEEEE!!
A gigantic eagle tore through the sky and descended.