Resurrection Chapter 55 - Nothing Went Wrong, Did It?

Seo Heesoo stared straight at the Scorching Archdemon.

Among his passive skills, <Eyes That See in the Dark> had evolved past <Eyes That See Beyond the Dark> into <Eyes That Pierce the Dark>. With human eyes, he couldn’t even distinguish the archdemon’s facial features, but now he could clearly see its weak points and knew exactly where and how to attack.

That wasn’t the only skill that had evolved. <Tough Body> had changed to <Unrivaled Hardy Body>, and <Mind of Steel> had changed to <Mind of Bedrock>. <Amazing Resilience> had evolved into <Miraculous Resilience>, and <Lion’s Roar> had evolved into <Dragon’s Roar>.

In addition to these, most of his passive and active skills had grown, and new skills had also been unlocked. He could tell that a dramatic change had occurred without even having to look at the Awakened System. He could feel a powerful force he’d never had before filling his entire body.

‘This time, I might actually be able to defeat it!’

Seo Heesoo aimed his greatsword at the archdemon. It was emitting a brilliant light, unthinkable for a sword that had been chipped and dulled. The buffs Kim Yitae had cast on him had long since expired, but it looked powerful enough just by being imbued with his surging mana.

Seo Heesoo lowered his body, assuming a ready stance that was, for swordsmen, the equivalent of a magic incantation. As a humming energy rose from his body, he simultaneously uttered the incantation and charged forward like lightning.

“Charge.”

A thunderous boom caused by his near-sonic movement followed him. Seo Heesoo, having outrun the sound, narrowly dodged the archdemon’s mace that had crushed him so many times before. Then, between the chains of the mace that writhed like a coiling dragon, he raised his greatsword high and brought it down.

“Annihilation Strike!”

A pillar of light stretched far, as if to split the archdemon’s face. The valley had long since lost its shape and been laid to waste, so there was nothing left for the impact to send flying.

The attack hit the archdemon squarely. In its aftermath, flames gushed from every one of the archdemon’s orifices. In tandem, the heat emanating from the archdemon gradually weakened. Seo Heesoo could be confident that his attack was working on it.

「A mere human…! Amazing…! …uncountable…! At this rate… nothing…! By all means…!」

The roaring archdemon, instead of immediately attempting a counterattack, for some reason raised both its hands into the air. A strange energy writhed between the archdemon’s palms, and the shape of a giant wheel began to form.

He didn’t know how powerful the attack was, but it had to be some kind of ultimate move. The archdemon was forgoing all offense and defense to concentrate its power on it.

Seo Heesoo had a gut feeling that it would be best to defeat the archdemon before it completed the wheel. If that thing went off, there was a high probability that not only he but also Kim Yitae and Min Gongchan would be caught in the aftermath.

Since he couldn’t be revived without Kim Yitae, he had to settle the score now, even if it meant exhausting all of his mana.

Seo Heesoo prepared the final blow to finish off the archdemon. He was about to use Grand Annihilation Strike, an attack skill he had acquired upon reaching Lv. 61.

But in the moment he raised his greatsword again to get into position, he felt an eerie sensation. The sixth sense that transcended the five senses, one of the characteristics of a berserker, sent him a warning.

He had a strong feeling that something was going wrong. Seo Heesoo unconsciously lifted his head.

In the sky above the valley, whose walls were melting and flowing like lava. The air there was writhing strangely from the intense heat emitted by the archdemon.

Seo Heesoo, who had been staring at the sky on the verge of a storm, lowered his body and went up on the balls of his feet. Then, putting a bursting amount of strength into his thighs and calves, he jumped into the air from a standstill, without a running start.

Soaring tens of meters up in an instant, Seo Heesoo saw someone flying toward him. The figure, gliding closer with a jet-black cloak spread like wings, was conspicuous even from a distance.

Long, snow-white hair, and two horns sprouting like misplaced tree branches!

From that alone, it was obvious who the opponent was.

Seo Heesoo muttered as if in a groan.

“Yaksha.”

👑

Yaksha flew in at high speed, sweeping up the ash on the ground.

The aura of death that churned around him like a wave pushed back the flames that filled the area.

Thanks to that, as he got closer, the hellishly hot air subsided, but that was only for a moment. When Yaksha was within reach, it became hard to breathe for a reason other than the flames.

The passive skill of the S-rank hunter Yaksha exuded an incredible sense of authority just by looking at it. <Land of Certain Death>, which usurped the life force of the living, didn’t distinguish between friend or foe once it was activated. Whether it was a monster or a person, if you entered its sphere of influence, your HP would be unconditionally whittled away.

Not only that, the Divine General’s Horns he wore on his head rendered most barriers or seals useless. Even at the main building of the Irregularities Investigation Agency, which boasted the best security against superhumans in the Republic of Korea, Yaksha alone could use his abilities to their fullest.

In fact, superhumans collectively known as necromancers, such as spirit masters, liches, and ghoul masters, were notorious for their poor physical abilities. Those who fought by putting forward the undead were no different from ordinary people without the Awakened System, but such generalizations didn’t apply to Yaksha.

The cloak he wore was an epic-grade item with some of the best performance among defensive gear. It deflected most swords and even had a flight function, and above all, it looked cool.

In terms of looking cool, his weapon, the Trishula, was no slouch either. It was a mythic-grade item that boasted a 10% critical hit rate.

Just listing his item specs would be a mouthful, so normally I wouldn’t have confronted him unnecessarily. The moment I saw his crooked horns, I would have made a run for it with Teleport, but I couldn’t abandon Heesoo hyung while he was fighting the archdemon.

I drew my magic sword, preparing to resist. Without thinking, I was about to press the blade against my forearm and make an offering. To have even a slight chance of winning, fighting with Lævateinn awakened was the best option.

But surprisingly, Min Gongchan stopped me.

“Not yet!”

Shouting loudly, he threw something on the ground and stomped on it. From there, plates of metal extended upwards and enveloped Min Gongchan’s entire body.

I knew what the faint luster was at a glance. It was none other than mithril.

Even though I knew he was a regressor and could freely access the interdimensional store, I was greatly surprised. He had talked about mithril armor while telling the story of beating up werewolves, but I didn’t know it was a full suit of armor. Considering that even a fingernail-sized piece of mithril was ridiculously expensive, the price was unimaginable.

How on earth did a guy who was just an ordinary person get his hands on that?

If it was an all-purpose item like mithril armor, then yes, it was plausible that he could beat down werewolves. What were werewolves, he could probably take down a griffin!

If the opponent hadn’t been Yaksha, I would have been so impressed by the mithril armor that I wouldn’t have doubted Min Gongchan’s victory. But the opponent was bad. Really bad. I yelled.

“Hey, are you crazy? Stand back! The opponent is Yaksha!”

The bastard Min Gongchan, oblivious to my concern, ignored my words.

“Just give me a buff!”

Min Gongchan said that and rushed forward before I could stop him. I cursed inwardly, but I had no choice but to add accuracy to his fists. A precise strike improves not only speed but also attack power, making it the best buff in a situation like this.

“Hah!”

Min Gongchan let out a kiai and threw a punch at Yaksha. His movements themselves were fluid and showed signs of repeated training. Well, he was able to beat down werewolves on his own, so it must not have been just his items!

But Min Gongchan wasn’t the only one for whom items weren’t everything. Min Gongchan tried to land a preemptive strike, but it didn’t reach Yaksha. Without even looking at him, Yaksha swung his cloak wide in a flapping motion. The blast of wind that erupted from it sent Min Gongchan flying far away.

Boom!

Min Gongchan was sent flying and crashed into the distance, and my eyes met Yaksha’s.

My heart sank, and I brought the magic sword in my hand to my forearm. But Yaksha didn’t let me awaken the magic sword. He threw the Trishula straight at me to stop my offering.

The Trishula was less thrown and more shot out.

I couldn’t see the Trishula’s trajectory at all. It was impossible to track the movement of that damn weapon with my eyes. Needless to say, if I couldn’t see it, I couldn’t block it either.

Clang!

The Trishula accurately struck the blade of the magic sword. A tremendous shock flowed through the blade and was transmitted to my hand. My palm split open, and like an idiot, I dropped the sword.

The magic sword, sent flying by the Trishula, flew far away, and I was empty-handed in an instant. Yaksha, who had immediately flown forward following the Trishula’s trajectory, was already in front of me in the moment I yelled, “Ah!”

As I widened my eyes, Yaksha grabbed me by the collar. And then he slapped me.

Even if he didn’t put much force into it, the opponent was an S-rank hunter. He was nothing but a weapon from head to toe. No matter how much of an A-rank I was, compared to him, I was no different from a reed.

Crack!

A sound that was hard to believe was just from being slapped across the face erupted, and my vision went dark. As I blinked rapidly and came to my senses, the pain of being punched and the pain of being burned hit me all at once. Feeling blood gush from inside my mouth, I spat out a curse.

“You son of a…”

Yaksha didn’t wait for me to finish cursing. He slapped me repeatedly, as if to break my spirit.