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Chapter 703: Basement Floor (8)
Machine Swordmaster Mohir.
Yeongwoo still didn’t even know the bastard’s epithet.
But there were two things he knew for certain.
Mohir was a being so strong that even President Lemu would struggle to face him.
And he was someone Yeongwoo should never encounter again.
And yet, hadn’t the worst possible thing happened in the end?
‘Fuck, hasn’t fate been on my side this whole time? Why the hell is it suddenly doing this to me?’
With a truly disbelieving expression, Yeongwoo met Mohir’s gaze.
Well, it hadn’t been that long since he’d stabbed the bastard in the back here in the Black Zone, so running into him again wasn’t completely impossible.
But why did it have to be now of all times?
‘Does karma really exist after all?’
As Yeongwoo squeezed his eyes shut, Dots Salzeo, sensing the ominous atmosphere, lifted his head from beneath the transparent cloak.
-Wh… what’s wrong with you? You know that guy?
“Know him? It’s more than that. I ripped him off for some money once.”
-Ripped him off?
“To be precise, it’d be more accurate to say I stole it.”
-Doesn’t look like it was something that simple.
That was because this was the first time Dots Salzeo had ever seen fear appear on this lunatic kidnapper’s face.
-Don’t tell me… that guy is someone even you can’t beat?
At that, Yeongwoo shrugged.
“Hard to deny it.”
Dots immediately screamed in horror.
-WHAT?! You can’t beat him? Then isn’t this a huge fucking problem? Y-You bastard… aren’t you a Planetary Ship Owner? And you can’t even beat one machine?
“Being a Planetary Ship Owner doesn’t make me invincible. It just means I’ve got momentum.”
-You insane bastard! Don’t we have to survive here first before we can meet my brother?!
While Yeongwoo and Dots noisily argued, Machine Swordmaster Mohir drew the sword at his waist.
Shwaaaaaat!
It was a bizarre sword shaped like a tuning fork.
“To think I’d see that thing again.”
Yeongwoo recognized the sword and swallowed heavily, and Mohir stepped forward before speaking in a low voice.
-Today, there’s no escape route. I can finally finish this properly.
He was referring to how Yeongwoo had escaped through the trading hall exit while Lemu bought him time last time.
Yeongwoo looked around at his surroundings—where there wasn’t even anyone to help him, much less an escape route—and let out a servile laugh.
“H-Hehe, I was in kind of a difficult situation back then. But things are better now. I’ll pay back double what I stole that time, so how about we settle this peacefully through conversation?”
But Mohir didn’t even blink.
-Your debt can only be repaid with your life.
“You son of a bitch, my life’s worth way more than that pocket change.”
-Then it shall be an even greater pleasure.
The moment he finished speaking and took a combat stance, Yeongwoo panicked and hurriedly pulled out the legendary spear ‘Lightning Rod’ that Lemu had gifted him.
Paaaat!
Then he raised the Lightning Rod high and shouted.
“P-President Le… no, Lemu! Help me……!”
The moment Yeongwoo pronounced ‘Lemu,’ crackling lightning damage swept across his entire body, and even Mohir’s pupils briefly turned orange.
【Lemu’s Seal】
|Whenever you pronounce ‘Lemu,’ you suffer electrifying lightning damage and gain favorability from machines.
Pajijijit!
But after that, nothing happened.
Lemu didn’t appear through a portal, nor did Mohir suddenly become favorable toward Yeongwoo.
“Le… President Le?”
Had the teleportation function from back then been a one-time use?
Or had Lemu decided there was no longer any need to interfere in the affairs of a Planetary Ship Owner?
“Lemu!”
Pajit!
Yeongwoo called out to Lemu again, but the only thing that returned was Mohir’s sneer.
-Death cannot be postponed twice.
“Goddammit.”
Deciding there was no other option, Yeongwoo reluctantly drew Bastard.
Shwaaaaaat!
Then he spoke toward Dots Salzeo behind him.
“Looks like the kidnapping ends here. Run while you still can.”
-…What?
“I said run, asshole. You wanna die with me here?”
Then Yeongwoo pulled out several oil coins from his pocket and held them out to Dots.
“Use these to find the exit somehow. And when you reach the upper floors, go to the hangar where our ship is docked. My parents are there, so if you explain things well enough, they’ll send you back to your family.”
Then Yeongwoo added the rest.
“Of course, that’s only if you survive long enough to get there. Hurry.”
As soon as Yeongwoo shoved Dots lightly on the shoulder, Dots asked back with a bewildered expression.
-Y-You really want me to go alone? Then what about you? Are you seriously going to die here?
“If I survive, I’ll kidnap you again later, so get moving already!”
By now, Mohir was staring toward Dots beneath the transparent cloak, so Yeongwoo raised Aratutbank into a guard position and shouted.
“Aren’t I your opponent? Focus on me!”
Mohir let out a sinister grin.
-You still think this place is a protected zone.
“Protected zone?”
-Disappear!
At last, Mohir’s eyes blazed crimson as he charged forward, and Yeongwoo immediately moved as far away from Dots as possible while thrusting out Aratutbank.
Taaaaaang!
The first impact struck.
A tremendous crashing sound exploded from Aratutbank, making the surrounding air tremble violently, and Yeongwoo even felt as though his entire body had been driven into the ground.
‘Crazy, what the hell is this? Was he always this strong……?’
But the second attack was already flying toward him, leaving him no time to marvel at the opponent’s strength.
“Goddamn, this bastard really!”
Realizing the hologram guide had already pierced through his neck, Yeongwoo hurriedly raised Bastard, and in the next instant an overwhelming force slammed into its surface.
TAAAAAAAAANG!
Mohir’s blade had violently smashed into Bastard.
“Keh!”
Unable to withstand the force, Yeongwoo was sent flying backward and only managed to regain his footing after rolling several times.
‘Fuck, I’m still nowhere near enough. Just how strong is he?’
Well, even Lemu had been completely unable to match Mohir.
And Mohir had only just begun displaying his abilities.
As Mohir slowly approached while readjusting his grip on the sword, red light began leaking from his pupils, and then his pressure unfolded.
Kwaaaaaaaaat!
At last, a blackish-red wave of pressure swept across the entire area, and not only Yeongwoo, but even Sevio Fonta—who still hadn’t escaped the scene—was caught in the pressure and frozen in place.
-Damn it, my luck really is rotten.
Overwhelmed by the crushing pressure strangling his neck, Sevio eventually dropped to one knee.
Meanwhile, Yeongwoo was still in decent enough condition to turn his head and check Dots’s position.
Though his body did feel heavy, as if submerged deep underwater.
-Y-You… how are you still able to move?
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Seeing Yeongwoo turn his head sharply, Sevio’s eyes widened in shock, and Yeongwoo replied without taking his gaze off Mohir.
“I told you already. I needed to secure a courtesy reduction rate.”
-Ah, so that’s why. But unfortunately, the rest is unfolding exactly as I said. You may have escaped some of the restrictions of courtesy, but you’re still overwhelmingly inferior in pure combat power.
“…….”
Because that was true, Yeongwoo had nothing to say in rebuttal.
“Yeah. Maybe the reason you rarely see anyone capable of overthrowing those above them is because they die after running into shit like this before they can fully grow.”
-To think I’d witness the downfall of a Planetary Ship Owner firsthand… perhaps I’m lucky.
As Sevio laughed quietly, Yeongwoo wrinkled his nose.
“You bastard, I’m not dead yet.”
At the same time, he tightened his grip on Bastard, though the truth was that he really didn’t have any decisive method available.
How was he supposed to defeat the strongest among self-aware machines?
So the best he could do was fight back with every method available to him, and……
‘No choice. I’ll have to use the Chairman’s name if it comes down to it.’
Just as Yeongwoo was about to activate his final trump card—‘begging the Chairman to save his life’—Mohir tilted his head and stepped forward first.
-Interesting. To think you can still move like that.
“I’ve been preparing for the day I could beat the hell out of bastards like you.”
-Then do it now. There won’t be a next chance.
Kwaat!
The moment those words ended, Mohir charged forward trailing a crimson arc, and Yeongwoo immediately activated Gambler’s Overload.
【Overload】
|For 5 seconds, your attack power doubles, and once Overload ends, Gambler separates from your body.
Chiiiiiiik!
Steam erupted from the prosthetic arm on his right side as its output skyrocketed.
Seeing this, Mohir’s expression turned intrigued.
-Struggle with everything you have, Planetary Ship Owner!
As expected, Mohir hadn’t forgotten that his opponent was still a Planetary Ship Owner.
Yeongwoo immediately pulled back to widen the distance, then used ‘Sword Ability’ to fire Bastard straight ahead.
Shwaaaaaaaaaaak!
Of course, he attacked with the expectation that Mohir would easily block it, so immediately afterward he pointed toward the air.
“Come forth, Two Hundred Ninety-Two Sword Mountain……!”
The instant Yeongwoo’s command fell, the air split apart with a crack and hundreds of blades poured down, and only then did Mohir shift into a defensive stance.
Kwiiiiiiiing!
No matter how powerful Mohir was, he couldn’t simply ignore Bastard and the Sword Mountain empowered by Overload and Sword Ability.
-Interesting.
Mohir stabbed his sword into the ground and turned his pupils blue, and in that instant a protective barrier wrapped around him and blocked every attack.
‘That crazy bastard, just how many abilities does he even have?’
Seen another way, that meant Mohir had brought out techniques he’d never even needed to use before.
In other words, Mohir was finally starting to fight seriously.
But just as Sevio had said earlier, higher beings capable of forcibly imposing courtesy possessed monstrous martial might.
Even while simultaneously taking attacks from Bastard and Sword Mountain controlled through Sword Ability, Mohir’s body didn’t receive so much as a scratch.
-It is time for you to accept your death.
At last, Mohir released his defensive stance and rose from where he stood, and Yeongwoo immediately seized the opening and charged in.
Kwaaaaaat!
At the same time, he recalled Bastard and swung it straight toward Mohir.
Shwaaaaaaaaaak!
In effect, it was the first attack Yeongwoo had landed directly against Mohir.
“Try blocking this too!”
Corrosive blood, produced by biting his tongue, boiled out from Yeongwoo’s mouth as he shouted.
“Kwehet!”
The instant blood sprayed from Yeongwoo’s mouth, Bastard slammed into Mohir’s sword, and the result was—
Kaaaaaaang!
‘…What?’
A deafening clang meant Bastard’s attack had been blocked.
And if Bastard’s attack had been stopped, then that meant……
‘This bastard… he’s writing a Myth?’
The moment Yeongwoo’s eyes widened, Mohir thrust his forehead between the crossed blades and headbutted him.
Kwaak!
-How coincidental. It’s the same scene as last time. But the ending will be different.
At that moment, Yeongwoo’s prosthetic arm reached the end of its operating time and fell to the ground, and immediately afterward Mohir emitted blazing crimson light from his eyes and clamped a hand over Yeongwoo’s mouth.
Kwaak!
“Mmph!”
-This time, no one will save you. Disappear into the past……!
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