Ch.83Tyrant Lee Ji Cheol (3)

To others, it might have seemed like I’d been acting recklessly all this time, but in reality, I was quite rational when it came to combat.

That’s how it had always been.

I would quantify my power, compare it to my opponent’s, and then devise a way to win based on that assessment.

‘……’

Initially, I estimated Lee Jichul’s power to be around 10 points.

For reference, Gordon is 5 points, and I’m currently at 8 points. So regardless of what I said outwardly, I had given Lee Jichul’s strength considerable credit.

But I was wrong. That single strike was enough to tell. Lee Jichul’s upper limit was positioned much higher than I had anticipated.

‘…13 points? No, possibly up to 15 points.’

Honestly, this makes things quite troublesome.

Gordon, Hans, and Khan. The combination I had prepared was literally meant to take down a 10-point Lee Jichul.

Bang!

Crash!

“An undying soldier. How interesting.”

Boom!

Crash!

Crackle!

The vitality of Hans, the undead Durahhan, had clearly grown stronger than before. That was thanks to my diligent leveling up.

However, despite that, when facing Lee Jichul head-on, he was being destroyed so continuously that his regeneration speed could barely keep up.

“Aphiros’s Thunder.”

“Cursed Lance!”

Whoosh!

Zzzap!

Boom!

Crackle─!

Gordon launched a cursed spear and Khan summoned storm clouds to unleash intense lightning, but Lee Jichul drew up his magical power and took it head-on.

Then with a violent shake of his body, the two spells dissipated without much effect.

“Oh my.”

Hans, who had quickly retreated during a momentary gap, grabbed his half-regenerated head and let out a groan.

“What a brute. I’ve never seen such a powerful opponent here before.”

“Hmm, this is troublesome. My Lord, I might not be able to handle this with my current form.”

Hans and Khan’s opinions were similar to mine. We couldn’t break through Lee Jichul with our current combination.

In the end, it meant we needed to find some other means.

‘I’d prefer not to summon Chae Hwain if possible…’

While she would certainly be a reliable ally against Lee Jichul, I had the feeling that the more she engaged in battle, the more she slipped from my control.

After contemplating, I let out a small sigh and spoke softly.

“Khan, prepare the ritual.”

“The ritual? But that hasn’t been verified yet…”

“Just do it.”

Previously, I had considered various methods to regain some of my power with Khan, the master of sorcery.

And as a result, I formed a hypothesis that might be somewhat effective.

‘Necromancy.’

The unidentified chains I discovered when Helena directly touched my soul a few months ago.

And at that time, Helena reported witnessing immense power just by slightly loosening the chains bound to my soul.

If so, perhaps I could achieve a temporary increase in power by directly stimulating my soul through a necromantic ritual.

That was the method I had devised from such an idea.

“Understood. I’ll begin immediately.”

“Gordon, help Khan. Hans, just keep getting beaten up to buy us time.”

“…That’s quite an unreasonable demand out of nowhere.”

Khan began the ritual by scattering totems across the ground, while Hans rushed toward Lee Jichul without hesitation and swung his blade.

Slash─!

Clang!

‘Honestly, I’m not sure if this will work.’

If I had to say, the risk is greater. But I can’t stand this frustration anymore.

‘Am I supposed to cower and run away from someone like him?’

My pride wouldn’t allow it. For me, now bearing the title of Master of the Underworld, defeat was absolutely unacceptable.

‘……’

This feeling was truly nostalgic. Not overwhelming an enemy from a position of absolute power, but seeking a way forward against a stronger opponent.

I had experienced this countless times before becoming the Absolute One, but had forgotten this sensation since then.

‘A nobody who wouldn’t have been worth my time before.’

Thanks to that, I’m now resorting to this unnecessary gamble of directly touching my soul.

The situation isn’t good.

It’s just a theoretical hypothesis, and I’m trying it for the first time as an improvisation.

However, if the ritual succeeds.

Lee Jichul would pay dearly for it.

#

‘How curious.’

Lee Jichul, who had been thoroughly demolishing Hans even using close combat skills, felt an unresolved sense of discomfort throughout the battle.

‘They’re clearly inferior compared to that monster woman’s minions.’

While they certainly couldn’t be called weak, in terms of raw power, Helena’s undead were stronger. That much was certain.

And yet.

‘What is this unsettling feeling?’

Though subtle, there was something in them that couldn’t be found in Helena’s undead.

Despite clearly overpowering them without much difficulty, it felt like facing opponents of a much higher caliber.

“Water King Strike.”

Slash─!

Boom!

Due to the inexplicably unpleasant sensation, Lee Jichul used even his high-consumption main skill to completely disintegrate Hans’s body.

“…Finally dead. I’ll acknowledge that tenacious vitality at least.”

Even for a high-level undead, after sustaining several fatal wounds, it would charge back in perfect condition a little later.

That life force, which seemed to defy natural law, was enough to momentarily disgust even Lee Jichul.

“The farce ends here. There’s nothing more you can do anyway.”

Though he had roughly guessed it, they were clearly hiding and preparing some kind of trick.

Lee Jichul snorted and once again strongly ignited magical power throughout his body.

The skill he had used when first initiating combat—this time, he would release it at full power.

It would get a bit noisy around here, but the ominous sensation he’d been feeling bothered him.

So, he would end the battle quickly with one decisive blow.

Whoosh.

Rumble.

“…Earth Crusher.”

But just then, he sensed someone’s presence from behind. It was the Durahhan zombie Hans, who was thought to have exhausted his strength.

“My skull is ringing. That last one was a bit intense.”

Lee Jichul felt a momentary chill run down his spine and immediately changed targets, striking down at Hans with his arm.

Crash!

Bang!

A blow infused with magical power and body enhancement skills.

Hans’s body was grotesquely crushed and shattered, collapsing to the ground.

However, the scene that Lee Jichul had witnessed several times before began to unfold again before his eyes.

Crack.

Crackle.

Crunch.

The skeleton that had been scattered in pieces began to reassemble, and the burst flesh and broken armor regained their form.

Seeing this, Lee Jichul’s expression hardened as he spoke.

“…This is impossible. Such an undead cannot exist.”

“Everyone who first faces me says the same thing.”

It was closer to the concept of being unable to die rather than simply not dying.

All power naturally comes with a cost. It was clear that such perfect regeneration would consume considerable energy each time.

Nevertheless, the opponent was repeating endless resurrections as if ignoring such laws.

‘…There’s no point in destroying him over and over.’

If that’s the case, dealing with the caster maintaining this would be much simpler.

At a glance, the trick they were preparing was nearing its final stage, and it wouldn’t be good to let the creator of such a bizarre undead act freely.

Lee Jichul tried to push Hans away with force and immediately headed toward Baek Eunha.

More precisely, he tried to.

Grab.

“That’s a problem. I was told to block until the ritual is complete. I’d rather not get scolded after doing all this work.”

Hans grabbed Lee Jichul’s arm. Lee Jichul snorted and tried to shake it off by summoning magical power without even looking back.

However, for some reason, the grabbed arm wouldn’t budge at all.

“Urgh?”

“Ha, this is why humans are… Acting so arrogant when they can’t even properly handle their own strength.”

It was clearly different from before. As he turned around realizing this, Lee Jichul finally understood the source of the discomfort he had been feeling since the beginning of the fight.

Crack!

Crunch!

“If I could use my full power, I would have crushed you immediately. Don’t you think?”

“How can you have such power…!”

As time passed, Hans’s body, which was pressing down on Lee Jichul, began to crack like it was breaking apart. It was the result of forcibly drawing out power beyond his limit.

“Well, it seems I’ve bought enough time. See you again. Though I’m not sure if there will be another chance.”

Crack.

Crumble!

Looking at Hans’s remains that scattered like dust, Lee Jichul gritted his teeth with trembling eyes.

‘This guy was hiding his power.’

And with that, a disturbing thought crossed Lee Jichul’s mind.

Hans is an undead summoned by Baek Eunha. The fact that he was holding back his power inevitably proved another fact.

‘Does that mean he hasn’t shown his true ability either?’

Just as Lee Jichul was sensing an ominous future, a sudden wave of magical power reverberated.

More precisely, it was something much heavier and denser than magical power.

Along with it came a strange resonance.

It was like a heartbeat, or perhaps like a quiet bell toll.

Turning his head, sensing that something unusual was happening.

Lee Jichul, for a moment, saw death.