Do these System bastards ever run out of requests?

He scanned the notification, its urgency palpable, then waved a hand to dismiss the quest window. The order to stop two more gates was, in other words, a confirmation that the war would begin after just two more were cleared.

He had only been able to guess that it would be “soon,” with no real sense of the timeline. Now, he could finally gauge it. It was a stroke of misfortune, but a stroke of luck at the same time. Sa-yoon patted the back of Geon-joo, who was glaring at Abaddon.

It was his first SSS-Rank boss, but he didn’t feel anxious.

He didn’t think Han Geon-joo would lose.

He might have been worried if it were Geon-joo with only his own Demigod Body. But a Han Geon-joo who had also taken his Demigod Body was strong. Truly, without exaggeration or empty words.

He was an opponent that even Sa-yoon himself wasn’t confident he could beat.

It was inevitable. When Han Geon-joo transformed into a serpent, he possessed the power not of a demigod, but of a complete god. And now, having already used that power once before, his control would be even better.

The angel of the trumpet, having finished its gaze upon Abaddon, vanished into the sun.

Twitch.

As if released from a restraint, the tip of Abaddon’s finger moved. A True Word flowed from Han Geon-joo’s lips.

Magnificent Defiance of Heavens.

The eyes of the one who had realized his given destiny transformed into those of a reptile. In the next instant, Han Geon-joo became a colossal serpent and charged toward Abaddon.

A black shadow spread thickly across the wide plain, drawing a dark line across the sky. The members of Night Rat, seeing Geon-joo’s serpent form for the first time, stared with wide eyes at the surreal spectacle. Someone let out a curse, someone an exclamation of awe, and someone, a flicker of competitive spirit. Sa-yoon, keenly sensing this, let a sliver of killing intent leak out. The guild member who was the target of his sharp gaze startled and looked away awkwardly.

“Fucking cool…” someone muttered, their voice full of genuine awe. Just then, the serpent, moving with a speed unbelievable for its massive size, bit down on Abaddon’s shoulder. It was a speed even faster than Sa-yoon’s own maximum. The venom injected through its fangs instantly turned the bitten area a dark purple, but Abaddon didn’t even scream. He simply raised his left hand and brought it down on the serpent biting his shoulder.

KLANG!

A sharp sound rang out, as if striking steel rather than scales. The serpent’s jaws tightened. CRUNCH. The sound of something being crushed was heard. In response, Abaddon turned to his Hwangchung and uttered something unintelligible. The tens of thousands of locusts that had been fighting the guild members stirred and began to move.

“Whoa, whoa!”

The startled guild members urgently gave chase, swinging their weapons. An explosion detonated between Abaddon and the Hwangchung, momentarily delaying their convergence, but it wasn’t enough to stop the tens of thousands. The Hwangchung that avoided the blast bared their fangs at Geon-joo. As the distance rapidly closed, Sa-yoon, who had been timing it, snapped his fingers.

KRR-CRACK!

An ice wall materialized from thin air, blocking the Hwangchung. In that time, Han Geon-joo violently shook his head, flinging the king of the Hwangchung, who had been floating arrogantly in the air, to the ground.

BOOOOOOM!

A cloud of dust rose, and the world turned hazy. Through the blurry vision, Sa-yoon’s narrowed eyes tracked Abaddon, who was rustling as he moved. The black serpent plunged into the dust storm and once again tore into the fallen king.

—KIEEEEEK!

Perceiving the threat to their king, the Hwangchung shrieked, a grating sound that scraped at the ears, as they clawed at the ice wall. Abaddon and the serpent tumbled across the sand, wrestling with each other.

THUD! THUD!

The serpent was busy trying to crush Abaddon with its massive body, and each time, Abaddon would extend his long fingernails and dig them between its scales. Scrrrape! With every drag of his claws, red blood dripped from the serpent. It was a situation that would have made anyone else scream in agony, but Han Geon-joo didn’t even flinch, coiling his body tighter to constrict Abaddon.

It was then…

Szzzzzz.

A sizzling sound was heard. It wasn’t an auditory hallucination; the smell of something burning followed, stinging Sa-yoon’s nose.

It was coming from inside the dust storm.

—KIAAAAAK!

With a ferocious scream, Abaddon began to devour Han Geon-joo’s body. Wherever his teeth touched, the scales fell away powerlessly, and the exposed, tender flesh was seared black, as if burned by fire. Han Geon-joo’s body convulsed with every bite. It seemed Abaddon possessed venomous fangs of his own.

No, it wasn’t just his teeth.

Now that he looked, Han Geon-joo’s entire body, where it was wrapped around Abaddon, was burning.

An unknown mist emanating from Abaddon was touching the serpent’s skin, and the once-hard scales began to melt. Abaddon’s body was also melting to some extent, but it was nothing compared to the damage Han Geon-joo was taking.

Tssssssss!

The sound of sizzling meat reached him, and Sa-yoon’s brow furrowed. Kkik, kkik. Abaddon let out a bizarre laugh, like a rusty cog turning, and his eyes curved into a chilling smile.

Dammit.

“Han Geon-joo, let go!”

To let him die in a mutual-destruction gambit like this would be too great a loss. The serpent, which had been tightening its coils to crush Abaddon’s windpipe, turned to look at Sa-yoon. Its vertical pupils met his eyes.

“Let go and switch to hit-and-run attacks! Stop foolishly letting him burn your body, you bastard!”

Did turning into a snake turn your brain into a reptile’s, too?

He yelled again with a fierce expression, and only then did Han Geon-joo release Abaddon. The sizzling sound subsided. His windpipe freed, Abaddon let out a few ragged coughs. A thick, gruesome-looking brown liquid shot from his mouth and splattered onto the ground. It was Abaddon’s blood.

In that time, Sa-yoon had rushed to Geon-joo’s side and was pouring potions over his skin. The black eyes turned to him, as if to say he didn’t need it, but he was too worried to leave him be.

“Cough!”

Abaddon coughed again, and the locust swarm’s movements grew more violent.

“God, dammit! Don’t let them out! Block them!”

“If the defense line breaks and they interfere with the fight, we’re all dead!”

“If you’re alive, then swing, you bastards!”

The guild members roared from within the wall Sa-yoon had created. Though they should have been exhausted from a battle that had lasted over two hours, not a single one had died yet. They pushed the severely injured to the rear and used a combination of bombs, mist, and Sa-yoon’s ice walls to stay alive.

But even as they desperately held back the Hwangchung, they couldn’t control the entire swarm, which had now entered a berserk-like state.

Dududududu!

The helicopter-like sound from them grew louder. Just as he was thinking it sounded like a thousand warhorses charging onto a battlefield, Abaddon broke off the two antennae on his head and held them in his hands. They sharpened into deadly blades, gleaming menacingly.

Shing!

Han Geon-joo let out a hiss and shoved Sa-yoon far away from him. Sa-yoon did a mid-air somersault and landed on the ground, his brow furrowed. Abaddon and the serpent stared at each other.

“You are an ancient serpent.”

His excitement having subsided, he seemed to have found the will to communicate, his voice dripping with arrogance.

As if to mock him, Han Geon-joo hissed again, his body moving like a wave as he charged. Abaddon, too, rushed forward without backing down, and a violent collision ensued.

KAAAAANG!

The blades met the hard, triangular forehead. The serpent’s tongue shot out and wrapped around Abaddon’s neck. Blood trickled from Abaddon’s neck as the rough tongue, covered in what seemed to be sharp thorns, moved. The creature frowned and raised its sword to sever the tongue, but Han Geon-joo lifted him from below like an ox.

Whoosh!

Abaddon’s body was thrown into the air. The massive serpent raised its heavy tail and slammed it into him. THWACK! The being was sent flying, but spread its wings mid-air to an abrupt halt and burst into manic laughter.

“Your struggle is futile! This is an apocalypse you cannot stop!”

Abaddon then shot across the space toward the Hwangchung. The swarm, their numbers having been reduced from tens of thousands to the thousands thanks to the guild’s tireless efforts, reacted to their king’s movement, their wings beating furiously.

“The fifth angel has blown his trumpet, and you shall be destroyed by the plague of locusts!”

With his roar, thousands of locusts soared high enough to touch the sun. Their speed, faster than a rocket, was difficult to follow even with an S-Rank’s vision, but their speed wasn’t what mattered. The giant Hwangchung, basking in the sun’s light, shrieked, their bodies catching fire as they began to fall toward Han Geon-joo and the guild members.

It was a scene no different from a rain of living bombs. As they fell, they gained momentum, and the intensified flames and heat incinerated them.

“……”

The once-boisterous guild members fell silent, holding their breath. They had talked about the apocalypse, and now a scene like a meteor shower was unfolding before them as thousands of locusts fell. No, they weren’t locusts. Each and every one was a cursed bomb carrying a massive explosive heat.

A direct hit would be unsurvivable.

Dammit.

Realizing he had underestimated the danger of an SSS-Rank Gate, Sa-yoon spread his frost energy far and wide. He had to make it as wide and as thick as possible. As mana violently circulated through his body, a searing pain, as if his blood vessels were being scraped, was accompanied by the return of the hemoptysis he had just suppressed.

I’ve gone over.

His face contorted, realizing he had likely surpassed his promised error progression limit, and he shouted.

“Kim Jongsik!”

At his blood-choked cry, Jongsik shot upward and placed his hands on the ice barrier Sa-yoon had created.

Grind, grind. The ice wall was covered in stone, reinforcing it further.

For now, this was the best he could do. The wall wouldn’t be able to block every attack, but it would at least save the guild members from the risk of death. His defenses complete, Sa-yoon turned his head. He was about to put up an ice wall for Geon-joo, but a frantic hand grabbed his shoulder.

“The number falling on Geon-joo-ssi is four times the number falling on Night Rat! Even if you put one up, it won’t hold! You’ll just be torturing yourself, Sa-yoon-ssi!”

It was Lee Jaehee, who had flown in on his Gryphon. Woof! The Fenrir barked fiercely and grabbed Sa-yoon by the scruff of his neck. Jaehee’s summons desperately scrambled to escape the area where thousands of giant bombs were falling. Sa-yoon, being dragged along by Rai, who was even using Flash Step, bit his lip.

He knew.

He knew it was useless, that it would only foolishly raise his error progression, and that in the end, it would be a stupid choice.

But even so, if by doing it, Han Geon-joo’s chances of survival, his chances of being in less pain, increased even by a little, wouldn’t that alone make it meaningful?

As he was thinking that, a cold voice came from above.

“You still have to face two more Watchmen. If you don’t want to leave Geon-joo-ssi to fight alone later, then get a grip.”

The words were enough to restore his wavering reason.

…Fuck. I can’t have that.

In the end, Sa-yoon squeezed his eyes shut.

He knew, in truth. He wouldn’t die. His Demigod Body might have been at risk, but his complete form would be fine.

But being fine didn’t mean there would be no pain.

If only my body were in better shape.

Before, it had been annoyingly resilient no matter how much he abused it. Now that his life was precious, it was failing him.

BOOM! CRASH! CRASH! BOOOOOM!

BA-BOOM!

A series of explosions hammered at his eardrums. A powerful aftershock swept the area, and Abaddon’s bizarre laughter, an echo loud enough to shake the world, drowned out the blasts. Sa-yoon, who had barely escaped the impact zone, had to roll violently with Jaehee and his summons. He coughed up sand and pushed himself to his feet.

He could hear the groans of his guild members.

The fact that they were making noise meant they were at least alive.

So, Sa-yoon immediately looked toward Geon-joo. The once-flat ground had been gouged out, as if by a sinkhole. The crater, from which ashen smoke, black smoke, and flames were rising, felt ominous and chilling, as if a demon were about to be summoned.

“Han Geon-joo!”

Confirming that he could no longer feel the black serpent’s immense presence, Sa-yoon ran toward him. Woof! Rai was about to grab him again and rush to the site of the explosion.

WHOOSH!

The Gryphon flew in swiftly and beat its large wings, creating a powerful gust of wind. The smoke cleared. And when the view inside the crater was revealed, someone emerged from the flames.

“…What a filthy way to fight. How are you still alive with skills like that?”

The low murmur was familiar, yet strangely alien. It was not youthful, but mature, and it seemed to hold a hint of ancient wisdom that he had never felt from Han Geon-joo. With a sense of suspicion, Sa-yoon watched the man brush his hair back. The hair that flowed smoothly between his slender fingers was long, reaching down to his waist.

“Han Geon-joo?”

The face and voice were his, but something was subtly different. Sa-yoon noticed a familiar aura from the man who had changed back from a serpent to a human, one he had seen somewhere before.

True Evil of Mankind? The past life of Han Geon-joo I saw in the Gate.

This was exactly the feeling that Han Geon-joo, the Fallen Serpent God, had given off.

Just then, the man, who had fully emerged from the flames, glared at Abaddon, still in the sky, and flicked his finger. In the next instant, as if a great gravity were pulling him down, Abaddon, who was hundreds of meters in the air, was helplessly dragged down.

“W-What trickery is this—!”

The panicked creature flailed its limbs, but its falling speed didn’t slow in the slightest. In fact, it accelerated, and its massive body slammed into the ground.

BOOOOOOOM!

“Keuk!”

Abaddon’s body convulsed on impact. It seemed to be trying to stand, but it was as if an invisible hand were pressing it down. The man, who had been watching the scene with a cold gaze, spoke.

“My Defiance of Heavens is not a True Word I received to deal with a mere watchman.”

As he spoke, the man’s lips curled into a smirk. A chill ran down Sa-yoon’s spine. It wasn’t because it was frightening, but because his smile was so uncannily similar to his own.

The man, with his crooked smile, flicked his finger once more. Abaddon, who had been flung high into the sky again, was sent crashing back to the earth.

BOOM! CRASH! CRASH!

After this malicious act was repeated several times, Abaddon’s internal organs seemed to rupture. He let out a choked gasp and died. For an opponent he had just been fighting a fierce battle against, it was an anticlimactic death.

“……”

No one.

Absolutely no one dared to speak as they watched the scene. The man, who seemed to have finally vented his anger, let out a refreshing breath and turned to look at Sa-yoon. His eyes softened.