The Hero Returns

Act 7

Crack, crack—!

Su-hyeun grabbed Hercules' neck tightly and slammed it to the ground. Hercules was already staggering from his injuries. Moreover, Strength was Su-hyeun's best stat, and he was using the Immortality skill at the moment. Above all, Hercules here wasn't the hero in his prime.

Crunch, crunch—

Craaack—!

Hercules' head went through the floor, and the floor of the stage collapsed. Some heroes who had been rushing toward Su-hyeun hesitated for a moment. The others launched their skills.

Whoosh—!

Swish, swiiish—

Ifrit's flames swept over Su-hyeun and Hercules. Meanwhile, other heroes rushed at Su-hyeun with their spears and swords.

Stab, stab—

Whooosh—

Su-hyeun's body was pierced by the spears and swords and burnt by fire magic. One spear pierced Su-hyeun's neck. He still held Hercules' neck tightly. The shadow heroes stopped moving all of a sudden. Right after that—

Puff—

—Su-hyeun's figure scattered like smoke.

[Doppelganger.]

Swish, swish—

Slaaash—

The heads of the rushing heroes were cut with a single stroke. At that moment, Ifrit started moving again.

Whoosh—

Crack—!

Huge wings appeared from both of Ifrit's shoulders. At the same time, Su-hyeun hit Ifrit's abdomen. Ifrit's mouth opened wide. Even though they couldn't make sounds, it seemed like they still could feel pain. For a moment, Ifrit staggered.

Stab—!

When Su-hyeun tried to swing his sword again, an arrow from somewhere penetrated Su-hyeun's shoulder. Su-hyeun couldn't swing his sword all the way. With no other choice, he moved his other arm and grabbed Ifrit's neck.

Crunch—

Ifrit's neck was broken. Su-hyeun lifted the body without hesitation.

Whiz—

Wham, wham, wham—

Five arrows flew to Su-hyeun again. They all aimed for his weak spots.

<<Robin Hood.>>

Robin Hood was the hero who had fought against Chun Ha-jin at the quarterfinals.

Screech—

Robin Hood drew his bow once more from a distance. The arrows that had been flying were definitely annoying. Su-hyeun took his spear off his back as Robin Hood drew his bow. There was no preparation action. He didn't even inject his magic into the spear. Naturally, the Dragon Slaying Spear was just an ordinary spear without magic. Su-hyeun even didn't need a skill. He only needed to kill one person. What he had to do was throw.

Swiiish—

Whiiiiizz—

The spear and arrow flew at the same time. The tips of the spear and arrow hit each other. The spear broke the arrow and stuck into Robin Hood's neck.

Crack—

Flop—

Robin Hood fell backward. His neck had a hole from the spear. Su-hyeun knocked another annoying opponent away. He pulled the arrow from his shoulder. At that moment, he felt dizzy. He felt as if the sky and ground turned upside down. Su-hyeun held his head with his hand.

<<Was it a poisoned arrow?>>

Robin Hood's arrows had been flying at him throughout the fight. He was avoiding them because it was easy enough. But the one shot Robin Hood had made was a source of trouble.

It was a poisoned arrow. And it was a deadly poison. It was a pretty fatal wound. If it were a simple poison, Su-hyeun would recover slowly over time because his magic resistance was directly related to his resistance to poison. But…

<<Even if it were a simple poison, I wouldn't have enough time to recover.>>

There was little time left for the Immortality skill. He had to hurry. He didn't have time for detoxification. Su-hyeun began to move again. There was no reason to hesitate since he realized that there was no time left.

Swish, stab, slash—

Chun Ha-jin, Hercules, Ifrit, and Robin Hood. Su-hyeun had been killing many important heroes. Now, almost a quarter of them remained.

<<I have about five more minutes…>> Su-hyeun's eyes moved fast, gleaming. <<I have to kill them all in time.>>

***

Splash—

Luslec stepped on the body of a shadow hero who had fallen to the floor. He didn't mean to step on him, but it just happened when he began to move. Luslec canceled the summoning. Then, the shadows heroes who had fallen all over the place turned to smoke and scattered in the air.

"Gasp, gasp—"

And, among the smoke, Su-hyeun was standing, his sword tip on the floor. His mouth was filled with a sweet smell, and his legs and arms were shaking. His whole body was covered with wounds, and the poison was spreading through his body. The duration for Immortality was already over.

Whoosh—

Luslec could clearly see with Eyes of Heroic Spirit skill, that the flame inside of Su-hyeun had weakened. More precisely, it was the little magic power left in Su-hyeun. Not only was he injured and out of shape, but his magic had run out.

"…Great job."

But Luslec was still amazed. He had no choice but to be amazed. He looked at the shadows of the heroes that were still turning into smoke.

"At first, I wondered who would be the strongest one here," Luslec said.

"Gasp, gasp—"

"After you beat Chun Ha-jin, I began to wonder how many heroes you could defeat. But you… you exceeded my expectations over and over."

Clap, clap, clap—

Luslec clapped his hands with sincere admiration. He didn't clap to celebrate Su-hyeun. It was to express his respect.

"You're the best," Luslec went on. "The achievement rate is meaningless for you. Now you can move on to the next floor—"

"Bull…sh*t…," Su-hyeun muttered.

Crack—

Su-hyeun pulled out the sword that he had stuck into the ground. Luslec frowned a little at such an act from Su-hyeun.

"Are you trying to continue?"

"I…didn't win yet, did I?"

The king was still standing. The game, the competition, wasn't over yet.

<<He wants to finish since I defeated all the other heroes?>>

Su-hyeun could not accept that idea.

Gyaong—!

Miru, who was watching the game from the back, cried in a little voice. Miru was crying to stop Su-hyeun. He was about to move to come to Su-hyeun's aid.

"Miru." At the call from Su-hyeun, Miru stopped flapping his wings. "Don't…move…Stay…still…"

Gyaong—

Miru cried very sadly. His voice was trembling. But Miru still followed the order from Su-hyeun and didn't move.

<<If Miru moves, he'll become the target.>>

Luslec hadn't cared about Miru since he didn't move at all. There was one time that some heroes tried to attack Miru, when Miru had tried to protect Su-hyeun from Hercules' club. Shortly after that, Su-hyeun had to fight against the heroes that showed hostility to Miru.

<<I don't have any energy to protect Miru right now. And Miru's mobility is meaningless in this small stage.>>

In the end, Miru's role was extremely limited in the stadium because Miru's survivability came from his mobility and flying ability.

"Are you really not stopping?" Luslec asked.

"…Yes," Su-hyeun answered slowly.

"You've already achieved 100% accomplishment rate. You know that, right?"

"I…know."

"Then why?"

"But…is it really 100%?"

Luslec flinched as if Su-hyeun hit the mark. Then, he shook his head, grinning.

"You're really something."

Accomplishment rate, 100%. Su-hyeun thought that was meaningless. And in fact, it was. 100% meant the maximum of the expectation of the administrator. And the highest achievement rate expected by Luslec, the administrator of the 42nd floor, was to knock down all the heroes here. Su-hyeun already had passed the original goal. What he had done so far was more than 100%; it would be considered close to 110% or 120%.

<<There is no maximum.>>

Su-hyeun's suspicions were assured after he met Luslec, the administrator. The trial wasn't a simple game. There was no fixed reward since it was a program. Luslec looked at Miru, who was sitting at a distance. Miru folded his wings as if he wouldn't move no matter what happened. But he was still staring at Su-hyeun very closely. It seemed like Miru firmly believed in Su-hyeun.

"Then, borrow the power of your divine beast. You can do that, at least, right?"

"I don't…need it."

"…Damn it."

Luslec scratched his head as if he was in trouble. He looked at Su-hyeun, who could hardly lift his sword up, squeezing the last of the magic he had.

He went on, "I think you assumed it already, but this isn't my real body."

"I…know. Probably…it is a body…of a hero named, Luslec."

"Yes. I mean, I did adjust the numbers and types of the souls he had. But anyway, what I can display right now is as strong as Luslec was."

Schwing—

Luslec finally drew his sword out. He said, "Ok. Then, defeat this man. Let's see how far you can go."

Rumble—

Dark energy came out from Luslec's body. Luslec was a Heroic Spirit Summoner who was also good with a sword. The aura began to wrap around his sword. It was a mixture of his magic and the energy of dead people.

"Hwooo— Haaaa—"

Su-hyeun took a deep inhale and exhale. He already checked his opponent's power. Now, it was time to check his own body and condition.

<<Fortunately, provocation worked,>> Su-hyeun thought.

Luslec drew all of his energy at once. He was going to do his best. Su-hyeun was glad. If Luslec judged Su-hyeun's status with a cool head, he might decide to buy time to make him consume all of his energy. But Luslec didn't do that. He wanted to finish it all in one battle. And that was also what Su-hyeun wanted and hoped for.

<<The problem is…I'm not sure if I have enough power.>>

Checking his condition was a ridiculous thing at the moment. He didn't need to bother. He already knew how he was; he was in the worst condition of his life. Many parts of his body were broken, cut, and bleeding. He didn't have much Health left, and detoxification took too long a time. He was so dizzy, he even had a hard time just standing up. He only had a little bit of magic left. He might be able to swing his sword once, but that would be it. But Su-hyeun didn't give up.

<<I only have a little bit of energy>> —Su-hyeun's eyes sparked— <<but still, I have some. And that's the most important thing.>>

There was only a small chance to win this fight.

Gnashing—

Su-hyeun clenched his teeth. He could feel the true meaning of making a final effort. Su-hyeun took a small step forward.

Rumble—

The little embers in him lit up again. Su-hyeun surrounded his sword with his magic. That was all of the power Su-hyeun could squeeze out at the moment.

"Are you ready now?"

Luslec didn't run away from Su-hyeun. He didn't wait until Su-hyeun's power drained out. That would be the most definite way to win, but he didn't do that. Su-hyeun realized that it was the original character of Luslec. The administrator wouldn't let his personal feelings affect the trial. At this moment, Su-hyeun was really dealing with a hero named Luslec.

"Then…I will—"

Stomp—

Su-hyeun took his second step.

"—go first."

Swish—

Su-hyeun's body rushed to Luslec. He was. moving much slower than he had before. He was slow enough that Luslec could see every move he made. It was slow, very slow.

Rumble, rumble—

The energy from the spirits and magic rumbled like a giant wave from Luslec's sword.

<<I can see,>> Su-hyeun thought.

Su-hyeun could see numerous spirits from Luslec's energy and all the hostility they felt toward Su-hyeun. Su-hyeun got goosebumps. The steps moving forward began to tremble. Su-hyeun had no way to protect his body at the moment. It was Death Aura. And the energy it gave Su-hyeun felt like it would decompose all of his body, even his bones if he stepped forward one more.

<<I shouldn't hesitate.>>

Su-hyeun repeated like a chant. Spirit Summoners were good at distracting attention.

<<There's no reason to be scared of the already dead ones.>>

Swish—

Luslec swung his sword toward Su-hyeun, who rushed into the dark wave that he had created.

Slaaash—

Slash—

The two swords struck each other.

At that moment…

Slash—!

Su-hyeun's waist was deeply cut, and blood splattered to the ground.