“What’s the plan?” Han Geon-joo asked.
“For now, we stick to the pattern! You have the copied skill, so just keep it up—watch out!”
Sa-yoon broke off his command and leaped into the air, flinging a wire at the boss’s horn. The tip of Moonlight coiled around the horn, pulling Sa-yoon upward just as the axe, which had been aimed for the opening he’d left, crashed into the blameless floor instead. The impact sent a shockwave through the ground, shaking the labyrinth and kicking up a cloud of stone fragments. From his new perch atop the boss’s head, Sa-yoon manipulated Moonlight once more.
—KIEEEK!
The previous experience with the wires had clearly left a strong impression. The moment the silver threads entered its line of sight, the master of the Golden Ox Palace reacted violently. It swung a massive hand, swatting at the wire, then raised its double-bladed axe to strike the deflected line. An immense pressure wave accompanied the simple downward swing.
WHOOSH!
The wind whipped Sa-yoon’s hair about his face as the axe blade closed in on the wire, which he had hastily anchored to a nearby pillar.
KRRRSSSHHH!
The screech of metal on metal scraped at his eardrums. As durable as Moonlight was after drinking his blood, it couldn’t withstand the brute force of that axe indefinitely. Sa-yoon tightened his grip on the wire.
With a sudden snap, the thread broke, causing the boss to stumble off-balance. In the very next instant…
The broken wire seamlessly stitched itself back together. The master of the Golden Ox Palace let out a guttural sound of confusion, Keuek?, as the wire reformed right before its eyes.
“What do you mean, ‘Keuek’?”
Sa-yoon swiftly coiled the wire around the boss’s body again, feeding it more of his blood. The silver thread hardened into a steel cable, binding the creature completely. He pulled, and with a sickening crunch, the wire bit deep into the boss’s body, tearing its hide and peeling away its skin. Sa-yoon’s eyes narrowed as he channeled the condensed energy of Frost through the wire.
But the chilling frost, which had never failed him before, was useless against the master of a constellation. This was precisely why he had come to rely on Moonlight as his primary weapon.
I didn’t expect it to work anyway.
Even without Frost, he had plenty of other options.
“Support me, Han Geon-joo!”
“On it.”
An ominous shadow crept over the silver wire. Infused with the dark energy, Moonlight penetrated the boss’s muscles with greater ease. Sa-yoon waited until blood began to trickle down the creature’s body before yanking the wire taut. With a series of sharp rips, Moonlight, unable to fully bear the massive monster’s weight, was dragged through its body, mauling it in the process. Skin was scraped away, flesh was flayed, and chunks of muscle fell to the floor.
—KRAAAAAAAH!
The boss’s scream echoed fiercely through the labyrinth.
No, it was a roar disguised as a scream.
The debuff notification appeared at the same instant that Half of Conviction, which had been hovering in the air, shot toward Sa-yoon and embedded itself in his body. Though the ‘Action Disabled’ status prevented him from physically gripping the dagger, his ownership allowed him to activate its skills.
A white light erupted from Half of Conviction, enveloping him in a protective aura.
With that, his physical stats, which had been automatically nerfed by the difference in status with the celestial being, returned to normal. Sa-yoon immediately shot a wire toward the still-frozen Geon-joo and zipped to his side. As he grabbed Geon-joo’s arm, the effect of Merhan’s Vigor transferred to him, releasing him from the paralysis.
“Drink.”
Sa-yoon pushed a potion vial into his mouth.
It was one of Dr. Reino’s Substitution Potions.
An elixir with the ability to convert all of a user’s stats into a single, chosen stat. Though a single bottle was priceless, it was well worth its cost in a Gate like this.
“The buff wears off in ten minutes. We have to shave off as much of its health as we can before then. You know what that means.”
“You want me to switch to agility,” Geon-joo stated.
“Right.”
For as long as Han Geon-joo could maintain the Formless Dagger skill, they had to maximize their speed and raise the efficiency of their combination attacks to a vicious new level.
Sa-yoon swallowed his own Substitution Potion, a bitter taste in his mouth. He’d had to spend a fortune to restock after depleting his supply during the fight with the Unknown, and he hadn’t expected to use two of them here.
I’d better get my money’s worth, then.
He poured everything into agility.
As the potion’s energy spread through his body, his stats began to convert. His eyes met Geon-joo’s. A silent nod passed between them, and in the next moment, both men vanished from their spots.
WHOOSH!
The wire flew through the space, instantly ensnaring the boss’s foot. Sa-yoon scraped it relentlessly against one area until the skin was not just peeled but completely gouged out, exposing the unprotected muscle beneath. Before the flesh could regenerate, Geon-joo plunged his sword into the opening. The shadows that followed writhed within the wound, and the boss’s health bar dropped sharply.
Immediately, they moved to the next target.
With no time to waste, Sa-yoon began an assault on the boss’s left foot. Han Geon-joo retrieved his sword with Conviction and mirrored Sa-yoon’s movements, thrusting his blade into the path the wire had just carved. The two of them moved as one, a whirlwind of coordinated strikes around the colossal beast.
After crippling both feet, they used a weakening potion to slow its regeneration. They left a large amount of shadow energy in the wounds to prevent them from healing easily, inflicting a continuous bleed-like damage-over-time effect. From there, they moved up: to the thighs, the waist, the abdomen, the chest, the arms, and finally, the face. The higher they climbed, the deeper their attacks became, until the floor was slick with the boss’s blood. Before long, its health had dropped to the third bar.
“Ah,” Han Geon-joo gasped in the middle of their relentless assault.
“Is it over?”
“Yes.”
“Then we switch positions.”
Sa-yoon had wielded Moonlight primarily because his agility was higher than Geon-joo’s; it was more efficient for him to handle the intricate wires while dodging the boss’s attacks. But now that both of them had boosted their agility with Dr. Reino’s potions, the situation had changed. Sa-yoon tossed Moonlight to him and summoned every sword in his possession, using Formless Dagger to suspend them in the air.
“Just do what you saw me do.”
“I’ll try my best.”
Given the circumstances, Geon-joo accepted without protest. Moonlight, already sated with its user’s blood, settled obediently into his grasp.
Fzzt!
Without any instruction, Han Geon-joo fired the wire and launched himself into the air.
Yes, that’s how it should be.
I wouldn’t have handed Moonlight to just anyone.
The wire was a notoriously difficult weapon to master, demanding meticulous control. But Han Geon-joo was someone he could trust.
‘Weapon Master (SS)’
He had been born a genius in this life and could handle almost any weapon with ease.
They resumed the hunt with their roles reversed. Geon-joo, whose fighting style was already similar to Sa-yoon’s from his training, now perfectly emulated Sa-yoon’s handling of the weapon. His proficiency was easily on par with Sa-yoon’s pre-potion state.
As a result, their combat efficiency soared.
If Geon-joo was now the pre-potion Sa-yoon, then Sa-yoon had become a version of himself amplified by the potion. Summoning every S-ranked sword he owned, Sa-yoon mercilessly savaged the wounds Geon-joo carved open.
“Heris’s Repentance.”
He used the skill, which was available three times a day, without a second thought and triggered a massive explosion. The wound burst open as the master of the Golden Ox Palace staggered. The creature’s health was now close to the end of its second-to-last bar.
It was then that the Substitution Potions wore off. It would have been ideal to finish the boss within the time limit, but reducing its health by 80% was more than enough to secure a decisive advantage. The potion’s side effects immediately set in, and Sa-yoon’s legs began to tremble, but he fought through it with sheer willpower. He steadied the staggering Geon-joo and took back the wire.
The others are holding their own.
He anchored the wire to a wall and zipped away, dodging an attack from the enraged boss while scanning his surroundings. The teams—Mi-jeong and Yi-han, Taeseok and Ho-cheol, and Dong-ju—were well-matched. They weren’t dominating, but they weren’t being pushed back either. Taking a moment to steady his ragged breath, he launched himself toward the ceiling again. His body spun in mid-air, narrowly avoiding an axe the boss hurled at him.
“You should take this back.”
Using the rotational momentum, he snatched the handle of the passing axe and threw it back. It embedded itself in the boss’s chest, draining the last sliver of its second-to-last health bar.
Only one bar remained.
He could feel victory approaching, but he didn’t let his guard down. Bosses like this always had one last trick up their sleeve.
The master of the Golden Ox Palace was no different.
As its final health bar appeared, the bar itself turned a sinister purple, and the light in the beast’s eyes shifted to a chilling violet.
Ding!
As the system notification chimed, the boss’s eyes glazed over. It let out a bizarre shriek and suddenly charged toward the Minotaurs that were fighting the rest of Noah.
“Get back! You can’t block it!” Jaehee shouted a swift warning, directing his teammates to evacuate. The hunters, caught in the middle of combat, scrambled back in terror.
“Hey! Why is this bastard coming over here?!” Taeseok roared in anger.
In that instant, with a swift movement, the master of the Golden Ox Palace seized a Minotaur, shoved it into its mouth, and swallowed it whole.
“……”
A stunned silence fell over the battlefield.
So that’s what ‘Predation’ meant.
With each Minotaur the creature devoured, Sa-yoon felt its health bar rise and its murderous aura intensify. He flung his wire. If he let this continue, they would lose a battle that was already won.
“This is its second phase. Its attack patterns will be different, and it’ll probably be stronger.”
“I know,” Geon-joo replied.
“So, I need you to borrow one more thing from me.”
“What?”
His original plan had been to handle the rest alone, but the aftereffects of Dr. Reino’s potion were more severe than he’d anticipated. He couldn’t manage it by himself. He couldn’t very well ask Geon-joo to turn into a snake, nor could he summon one, so his only option was to lend him his own skill, even if its nature was hard to grasp.
“Take my Demigod Body.”
Still, the idea of handing over his own unique power was unappealing, so he muttered under his breath as he pressed his lips to Geon-joo’s. As their lips parted, a golden light flickered in their eyes.
Balance said… something about me being great.
As he gave his own interpretation of the True Word, Ruin and Kelthart, the necklaces around both his and Geon-joo’s necks, began to glow, emitting a torrent of divine power.
No matter how much of a bull-head you are, you shouldn’t leave your enemy to go somewhere else.
Sa-yoon smirked, turning back to the master of the Golden Ox Palace.
It’s time for our second phase, too.