VSP 166

“It’s impossible alone.”

The boss was designed assuming two EX-rank players would participate from the start.

In reality, while Sejun was gone, Dogyeong endured all sorts of hardships and tried attacking from multiple angles, but ultimately failed to defeat it.

And yet, the past when he’d blurted out that he could handle it if only Sejun could return felt like ages ago now. Dogyeong shook his head vigorously.

“But if someone just creates the opportunity…”

Dogyeong looked at that ‘someone’.

“It’s possible.”

Sejun stared at Dogyeong.

Perhaps because no one had ever expected him to perfectly fulfill any single role, Cha Dogyeong entrusting him with such an important task felt strangely natural.

But Sejun soon nodded.

He didn’t doubt he could do it. It wasn’t that he lacked confidence in his own ‘power’; Sejun knew he wasn’t weak anymore.

Nor did he doubt Cha Dogyeong could do it.

Probably anyone would feel the same. Cha Dogyeong was born to be the protagonist.

Even though he was injured, even though it hurt his heart, Sejun didn’t think he would fail.

“Uh.”

Suddenly, Sejun looked up at the sky. He hadn’t noticed, but the rain had stopped.

He could see faint clouds covering the sky, which had been nothing but hazy all along.

-Cha Dogyeong, Sejun-oppa! Anyone who can hear me, answer me!

At that moment, the artifact, which had been dead silent, lit up.

-Whoa, you scared me. You’re deafening me, Choi Yerin!

-Dohun, you’re the loudest one here, shut up for a sec.

-I did it.

He could hear Lee Dohun and Na Yookyung’s voices, and even Choi Hangyeol’s cocky voice.

With so many people already talking, Ryu Sehyun didn’t say anything, perhaps to avoid confusion, but he could faintly hear his breathing, so he seemed to be listening properly too.

-Choi Hangyeol, can you detect it?

-Just getting the artifact back online was my best effort…

-He’s putting on a show saying he can’t detect it, that bastard.

Fortunately, it seemed everyone was safe enough to speak.

A small wave of relief spread through Sejun’s chest. Thank goodness.

The moment he realized they were safe, something occurred to Sejun.

It’s the last resort. Most of them are probably in ragged shape anyway. If we stick together, our chances of success go up.

And since the artifact is back to normal… Sejun took a deep breath.

“Cha Dogyeong.”

“Hm?”

“Better with a group than alone, right?”

Dogyeong immediately understood what Sejun meant and chuckled.

“I suppose so.”

Sejun nodded.

“I’ll create an opening.”

“Yeah, just make it.”

Dogeong’s gaze shifted to Asura. After enduring several attacks from Hoya’s relentless assault, Asura’s skin was covered in countless cracks, and his massive, damaged body staggered.

“Then I’ll finish that bastard off myself.”

Asura’s remaining arms braced against the floor. The creature was in a groggy state.

Realizing a brief window had opened, Hoya immediately returned to Sejun’s side.

[Grrr]

Hoya naturally acted cute toward Sejun, seeking praise.

Sejun gently stroked the tiger head rubbing against his hand, then turned his gaze to fiddle with the artifact, making use of the hard-won moment.

“Yerin, Cha Dogyeong and I are currently…”

Sejun explained his position and the final operation to the other hunters. The operation was simple, and time was short, so there wasn’t much to say.

In that instant, Dogyeong and Hoya’s eyes met.

A look of extreme disgust passed quickly between the two.

It seemed unlikely these two would ever like each other or become friends.

But Hoya hid his displeasure and gave a nod, and Dogyeong silently nodded back.

It was a dramatic alliance, but Sejun hadn’t witnessed it.

And so, the assault began.

***

Asura was born from chaos, existing solely to kill humans.

Hurry, pull your body stuck in the ground free and kill the humans. Kill more. Kill them all.

Like all the monsters from another world that appeared in dungeons, Asura was driven solely by hatred for humans.

-Grrrrrrr

The middle head, the eldest of the three, scanned the surroundings. One of its two younger siblings had lost an eye; the other had a face intact but had lost both arms.

It couldn’t contain its seething rage. Yet, the head that alone among the three could assess the situation calmly knew it had to get through this moment.

Because two legs were still buried in the ground.

The weak humans fell only to charge again. Small and annoying.

But Asura endured. Once his body was free from the earth, those insect-like humans would pose no threat.

Asura struggled, inch by inch, to free the legs still stuck in the ground.

At first, everything below his waist was pinned to the ground, but now most of it was free, only his ankles still stuck.

Soon he would be free. Once that happened, it wouldn’t matter how strong the humans before him were.

In that moment, Asura would shatter this world itself.

When Asura had recovered from the wounds inflicted by the blue beast, the humans swarmed once more to attack him.

A last desperate attempt.

Asura assessed their movements with a simple glance.

Asura knew what the humans were after. They were after the core coiled within his body.

It was ridiculous. The core was the source of his power. Attacks wouldn’t even scratch it unless they were extraordinary.

That beast’s earlier strike had been powerful enough to damage Asura, but as long as he concealed the core, there was no problem. His outer shell was solid.

But the humans’ last struggle was quite intense.

Swoosh!

Asura’s side was cut without a sound.

Bullets flew from a quiet place, the flames that had been bothering him so much flew, and a human in the form of a beast unleashed an annoying attack.

Each wound alone was insignificant, but when they piled up, it was a different story. Moreover, they were fast.

In contrast, Asura’s attacks failed to land a decisive blow. It was as if the humans knew his attacks in advance and dodged them.

Who is reading his movements and informing them?

Then he must make them lose their ability to judge.

Asura’s three faces simultaneously opened their mouths wide.

-Grrrr!

As Asura roared, heaven and earth were overturned. In the instant the world’s orientation shifted, humans, unable to distinguish sky from ground, screamed and scattered in all directions.

“Damn it, what the hell?!”

“This is ridiculous!”

Bodies, deprived of gravity, fell haphazardly. Some flailed helplessly, unaware they were even falling.

[Grrr!]

They thought it was over, but then came the beast’s cry. It was the blue-hued beast that had dealt the fatal blow.

It was too low and harsh to be called a cry, closer to a scraping friction sound tearing through the air. That sound brought the humans back to consciousness.

The eyes of the falling humans changed. Their vacant stares regained focus, and strength returned to their bodies.

Asura clicked his tongue. That beast was indeed irritating.

The humans charged again. Knowing this was their last chance, they abandoned defense and rushed forward. Asura, too, mustered up every last ounce of strength.

Then suddenly, the leader sensed something wrong. Unlike earlier, when they’d only made feeble attacks that barely scratched the surface, the humans’ movements now were strange.

As if they were aiming for something specific.

-……?

Asura realized too late. While the humans appeared to be charging recklessly, each one focused an unusually strong attack on a specific location.

Asura’s chest. Where the core resided.

Before he knew it, the wound on his chest had changed in depth and density compared to the others.

It wasn’t coincidence. They had been deliberately focusing their attacks there from the start.

Not to scratch, but to dig in.

As Asura recognized this fact, he also realized the strongest among those he had been fighting earlier was nowhere to be seen.

-Grrr

Asura instantly deployed his protective barrier. A shield enveloping his entire body began rising from his skin. Crimson-black heat haze blossomed all over him.

But it was too late. His outer layer was already heavily damaged. The wounds were far too deep to be called mere scratches.

They were like insects. Things that would have been nothing alone, but the result of relentlessly gnawing at the same spot was this.

The gash was too deep for a single protective barrier to cover.

Sensing the crisis, the remaining three arms moved simultaneously.

Whoosh! Horizontally, in all directions, without hesitation. As the arms sliced through the air, a deafening sound like a vacuum bursting spread like a wave.

Humans collapsed. They were thrown, fell, and rolled around.

Some crashed into the walls, others simply fell flat on the ground. In an instant, the battlefield fell silent, and only the dust slowly settled.

Asura took a deep breath and looked around.

It’s over.

He thought so.