Chapter 1374

Chapter 1374

Joy Co. Ltd.’s conference room.

When everyone saw the sharp blade break through the countless waves of players all at once and aim straight for Athenae’s neck, they all assumed that she would die.

Yet, at the critical moment, the Immortal Monarch got triggered.

The Immortal Monarch was one of the skills that Minhyuk obtained when he became the Battle God. It was a skill that only had a 5% chance of getting triggered, but could create a breakthrough through some random method.

Shock dyed everyone’s faces.

“Are you saying that... he can borrow the power of the Pillars...? Is this even real?”

“Isn’t this a force that can usurp the balance?”

The fact that a mere player could borrow the power of the Pillars every once in a while was already beyond common sense.

At that moment, Department Head Kim Dae-Il opened his mouth to speak. He had always denied Minhyuk’s efforts and always talked sarcastically about him.

Kim Dae-Il said, “Who knows? It’s hard to say that the balance will be broken.”

Now, he no longer denied Minhyuk’s efforts and achievements.

“Hephaestus, the Master of Life and Death, the Evil God, The Persistent, and finally Athenae, who had already lent him her strength. Who in the entire world of Athenae can make a connection and forge a friendship with these people?”

The balance could not be destroyed. After all, an ordinary person couldn't build a relationship with any one of those people.

Department Head Kim Dae-Il had been reflecting on Minhyuk’s words when he heard them.

‘I will wake up earlier than everybody else in the morning.’

‘I will sleep later than everybody else at night.’

Then, he thought back on the things that Minhyuk had achieved.

“It’s only possible because it’s Minhyuk.”

***

Each day was the same. Minhyuk would wake up early and head straight to the gym while everyone else was still dreaming in La La Land. When night came, he would sleep later than everyone else. He would not stop what he was doing even if the rest of the people had started to tuck themselves in for the night.

When Anas asked him what he could do, he pondered deeply about the question. It was true. A single person could accomplish very little.

THUD!

The Transcendental’s Spear stabbed Anas’ chest and left him with an expression that mirrored that of an evil ghost.

Rumble!

Anas grabbed the Transcendental’s Spear that was struggling to pierce through his chest and pulled it out.

[Your HP has fallen below 81%.]

Unfortunately, the Transcendental’s Spear was unable to deal a massive amount of damage. They had to cut Anas’ HP and force it down to at least 70% to stop his Divine Power Devourer.

Anas, with blood still dripping from his mouth, laughed maniacally. “You humans, you always work hard and strive hard to achieve what you want. Still... did you think that you’re the only one who’s special?”

Crack!

The Transcendental’s Spear turned into wisps of black energy that disappeared with just a slight exertion of force in Anas’ grasp.

“That’s how things are. Everyone thinks that they are the most special beings in the world, but...”

[No. He’s special.]

“...?”

Anas froze as goosebumps rose all over his body. He slowly raised his stiff head and looked to the sky. Four Pillars in a translucent state were looking at Anas in contempt.

Evil God Obren turned to look at Minhyuk, his eyes filled with affection. With a small smile on his face, he said...

[That’s the kind of person he is. And we are always by his side.]

[Yes, he’s someone who cannot do everything.]

[But we are here. And we will doo all of the things that he cannot do, with him.]

Swoosh!

The four Pillars transformed and morphed into the symbols that represented them.

The Evil God’s symbol was the devil laughing maniacally. Hephaestus’ symbol was the figure of a hammer and an anvil. The Master of Life and Death’s symbol was a skeleton stained with blood. The Persistent’s symbol was the figure of a man swinging his sword.

Minhyuk felt the fear that had enveloped him earlier slowly disappear as he stared at the four symbols that revolved around him. Then, he heard Obren’s voice in his ears.

[When I first met you, I wondered if there was truly such a unique guy in this world.]

[You’re like a fool who cannot get your head straight whenever you see food, but you will always pay back those who helped you and showed you kindness.]

[Although you always show kindness, you will never show mercy to your enemies.]

[The immature you had grown to become the Battle God and eventually become the one who supported all of the gourmands in the world.]

[Yes, there will be times when you’ll be scared.]

[There will be times when you will doubt if you really can do it yourself.]

[Don’t worry.]

Obren’s voice comforted Minhyuk greatly.

[I’m always with you. They are with you.]

[So, let’s go. Let’s go together, Minhyuk.]

All of the fear that wrapped around Minhyuk and tried to drag him to the depths of the abyss disappeared. He could now stare calmly at the tip of the sword that was aiming for his neck. At this moment, the symbol of the devil floated in front of Minhyuk and released a blinding black light.

[Evil God Obren’s symbol is helping you.]

[The power of Evil God Obren is within you.]

[In front of the Evil God’s Terror...]

[...No one will be able to look at you straight.]

That was right. There were a lot of things that he could not do on his own. Nonetheless, with them by his side, he was not afraid to face these difficulties.

Anas, who had released a burst of power and sprinted straight toward Minhyuk. Suddenly, an overwhelming fear weighed down on him. The tip of his sword, which was aiming straight for Minhyuk’s neck, veered off track and stabbed the ground in front of him. At the same time, cold sweat dripped down his entire body.

Minhyuk hurriedly used Hermes’ Shoes to step into the air.

[The Maker Hephaestus’ symbol is helping you.]

[The power of Hephaestus seeps into your sword.]

[The Sword of Aeon has been strengthened.]

[The Sword of Aeon has been strengthened.]

[The Sword of Aeon...]

[The Sword of Aeon...]

[The Sword of Aeon...]

[The Sword of Aeon has received a total of 428% increase in power through the strengthening process.]

Minhyuk raised his sword and slashed Anas, who was still shaking in fear.

[Sword of Carnage.]

[Your sword has been strengthened. The damage of the Sword of Carnage has greatly increased.]

“Keuhaaaaaaack!”

A scream was ripped out of Anas’ mouth as Minhyuk’s sword continued to cut and tear him apart. At that moment, the duration of the abnormal status that the Evil God had inflicted on him was finished. Anas did not waste any time and grabbed Minhyuk with his bloody arm.

Unfortunately, Anas’ HP was still at 72%.

“Silver Dragon Armor,” Minhyuk murmured as he equipped the silver armor.

Clank, clank, clank!

At the same time, Anas’ sword struck his entire being. Despite having the Silver Dragon Armor, an armor with shocking defensive power, equipped, Minhyuk still suffered enormous damage from Anas’ blows.

[Your HP has fallen below 32%.]

Minhyuk stared at the skeleton symbol hovering in front of him while he received Anas’ attacks. He felt as if Master of Life and Death Louis was looking at him with a faint smile on his face.

Clang!

Clang!

[The Master of Life and Death Louis’ symbol is helping you.]

Then, at that moment, thick chains shot out from the ground and wrapped around Anas’ wrists.

“...?”

[The Land of Hellfire has been opened.]

The ground beneath Anas opened up and revealed the clusters of hellfire bubbling from underneath the surface. Anas felt the danger and tried to tear the chains wrapped around him apart. Alas, no matter how hard he struggled, he could not break them apart.

Swoosh!

A huge chain shot out and dragged him down into the blazing flames of hellfire.

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

At the same time, a huge pillar of flame shot out and devoured him.

“Keuaaaaaaaaack!” Anas shrieked from the pain as his entire body burned.

Sizzle!

Thud!

Not long after, the ground closed, and Anas’ screams died down. One of the players who was in the Land of the Gods thought that maybe things were over just like that.

Crack!

Unfortunately, that was not the case. A crack appeared on the ground. This crack grew larger until Anas broke free and clawed himself out.

Anas, whose entire body was burnt and charred, tried to catch his breath.

He was fully aware of the gap between him and Minhyuk. Minhyuk was not even at Level 800 yet. The only reason he was able to fight against a lot of people over Level 1,000 was because of his various skills and the power of his artifacts. In contrast, Anas was around Level 1,600. The gap between them was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Yet despite these circumstances, Anas still received an overwhelming amount of damage. This was something that Anas could not bring himself to believe. Then, he recalled the words that Minhyuk said about waking up earlier and sleeping later than everybody else.

‘I see.’

It was just like a flower. When the seed was planted on the ground, it would sprout and bloom until it became the most beautiful flower in the world.

[The Divine Power Devourer has ended.]

Anas’ HP has dropped to 54%. This just went to show how shocking the effects of the hellfire, which dragged him into the depths of the earth, were.

[You will not be able to recover, regenerate, or heal the injuries inflicted by Hellfire.]

Nevertheless, Anas thought that it was fine.

[Divine Power Extinction.]

[You have burned all of your divine power and used it to raise the power of your attack to the extreme.]

[Your attack power has increased by 1,123%.]

[Your attack power has increased by 2,117%.]

[Your attack power has increased by 3,131%.]

[Your attack power has increased by 5,161%. It has reached an extreme level.]

Anas released an overwhelming amount of divine power that fluctuated and created a storm that wreaked havoc upon the Land of the Gods.

Boom!

Anas, with his sword in one hand, shot forward.

[Enemies cannot avoid skills used after the activation of the Divine Power Extinction.]

Minhyuk found it difficult to follow Anas’ movements with his eyes. There was only one thought running in his head and it was,

‘I will die if I get hit with that.’

Then, bright light erupted from the symbol of a man swinging his sword. The symbol seemed to tell him,

‘Don’t back down. Stand tall and fight back. I will protect you and accompany you on your path.’

Gulp!

At the same time, a pair of black and golden dice rolled behind him and gave Minhyuk a boost in power.

Crack, crack, crack!

As he looked at the sword that was accompanied by a storm of power and was moving to stab him, Minhyuk made his choice.

[Destruction.]

The power of the black die was applied to Destruction.

[The Persistent Beladon’s symbol is helping you.]

[Your effort, will, and bravery will add up and create a shield that will protect you.]

A shield appeared in front of Minhyuk.

[Calculating the defensive power.]

[The Persistent does not dare to measure your efforts!]

[The Persistent does not dare to measure...]

[The Persistent does not dare to measure...]

[A shield with 45,689% additional defensive power has been created.]

BANG!

Anas’ sword collided with the shield. The shield looked flimsy, shabby, and unappealing. Regardless, it remained rock solid even after receiving the impact of a sword that carried the force of a power strengthened by 5,000%.

[The strength and power that he has built up will not break apart.]

In the end, Anas failed to break the shield. The power that he used ended up scattered in the wind.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk’s sword, which was imbued with the power of Destruction and strengthened by the black die, sliced Anas.

Swoosh!

BANG!

A rain of lightning fell upon Anas. They struck him without any mercy, inflicting enormous amounts of damage and ripping groans and screams from his mouth. When Minhyuk saw this, he decided to give it his all.

[Exploding Lightning.]

[All enemies within a forty-meter radius will be put in a two-second stunned state.]

Boom!

Another bolt of lightning struck Anas. This time, it left him in a two-second stunned state.

“Intangible Sword.”

“Frenzied Blade.”

“Annihilator’s Sword.”

The non-stop attacks slowly chipped away at Anas’ HP.

[Your HP has fallen below 41%.]

[You will not be able to recover, regenerate, or heal the injuries under the influence of Hellfire for 2 minutes and 20 seconds.]

If Anas had been able to heal his wounds, his HP would have jumped back up to 65% by now. Yet despite all of that, the bleeding Anas was still able to raise his sword and stab Minhyuk, who was launching one attack after another, in the heart.

Thud!

[Your HP has fallen to 0%.]

[You have been forced to log out.]

Anas could no longer mock or laugh at Minhyuk. His eyes carried a hint of respect and awe as he stared at Minhyuk’s slowly disappearing body. He slowly walked past Minhyuk’s ashes and walked right in front of the entrance to the Land of the Gods.

Meanwhile, the commentators explained and relayed the urgent situation to their viewers.

[In the end, Player Minhyuk has been forced to log out.]

[What will happen to the Land of the Gods once Anas enters? The results are obvious to us all.]

[There’s a high chance of Anas killing Athenae the moment he sets foot inside the Land of the Gods.]

[Even though his HP has fallen to 40%, he will be able to recover quickly once the effects of Hellfire are over.]

[Anas knows that. That’s why he’s going to enter the Land of the Gods right away.]

‘It wasn’t easy.’

It was not easy to deal with the guy named Minhyuk. Regardless, even if he could no longer absorb their divine power, he would still be able to kill everyone in the Land of the Gods once he regained his ability to recover his injuries.

For now, he would deal with the Absolute Gods. After all, it was very easy to deal with them since Gabriel’s Shackles were still restraining them. Anas raised his fist and smashed the tightly closed doors of the Land of the Gods.

Crack!

Anas cackled wildly as he walked past the ruins of the door and entered the Land of the Gods.

[You will not be able to recover, regenerate, or heal the injuries under the influence of Hellfire for 1 minute and 20 seconds.]

The restriction placed upon him was about to end.

Anas breathed deeply as he went deeper into the Land of the Gods.

‘The air in the Land of the Gods always tasted sweet. That guy named Minhyuk originally wanted to lure the archangels here and wipe them out with the help of the gods of Olympus.’

It was a very smart idea. However, the plan could only be devised and executed because he and the archangels did not know of the existence or their connections with the gods of Olympus. At the very least, no one would be able to stop him anymore. After all, Battle God Minhyuk was already dead...

“Hi~”

“...?”

Confusion was plastered on Anas’s face. Standing in front of him was Minhyuk, who had appeared with a flash of light in the sky of the Land of the Gods.

[You have used the Resurrection Parchment.]

[The Resurrection Parchment allows you to get revived right away. However, if you die once more, you will suffer from 1.5x the ordinary forced logout penalty.]

Anas’ pupils shook when he saw the sight that greeted him.

The Absolute Gods had just unraveled the chains of Gabriel’s Shackles and had been freed from their restrictions. There were also thousands of gods standing among them. They were all looking at him with a gaze filled with mockery and contempt.

[You will not be able to recover, regenerate, or heal the injuries under the influence of Hellfire for 1 minute and 9 seconds.]

‘No way...’

At this moment, Anas realized something.

Using Louis’ hellfire. Minhyuk’s forced logout. His entry. As well as his 40% remaining HP.

‘Were all of these included in his plan...?’

However, no matter how hard Anas thought about it, he just could not believe that someone could make such a plan.

‘Anyway, they wouldn’t be able to kill me even if they surrounded me like this. After all, once the one minute ends...’

[The Battle God has entered the Land of the Gods. His true powers as the Battle God have been released.]

[All of the Battle God’s stats have increased by 22%.]

This was not enough.

‘Even with this much power, you won’t be able to kill me...’

[A sword that is superior to the Greatest Sword has been born in the world.]

[This sword was born in the hands of the four Pillars of the world.]

[The artifact’s corresponding ranking has not been determined.]

[The four Pillars have given the artifact a corresponding name. Its name is Supreme Blade.]

A sword flew toward Minhyuk as he descended from the sky. Minhyuk quickly raised his hand and grabbed it.

[The name of the owner of the sword will be revealed upon the approval of its owner.]

[The name of the owner of the sword is... Minhyuk.]

Minhyuk slung the sword on his shoulder and said, “Well then, shall we start round two?”