Duo. The Mountain Called the Heavenly Demon.
Jingle!
The clear sound of a bell snapped the two martial artists, who had been meditating with their eyes closed, into alertness.
They stood up.
The twin martial artists, who looked astonishingly identical, immediately bowed with a fist salute toward an old man with white hair holding a bell.
"Heh heh heh. It seems there's no other choice but to use you this time. I had hoped to save the Saengangshi for later. But if it's you twins, even the Heavenly Demon might be manageable."
At the old man's words, the two twin Jiangshi (vampires) twisted their lips into identical smirks.
– We obey the command of the Red Lotus Lord. –
In perfect unison, the two Jiangshi bowed low.
The old man waved his hand behind him, and twenty coffins burst open. Twenty pale Jiangshi rose from within.
"Let's go."
***
"That's impressive."
Seowoon, cloaked in stealth gear and peering outside through a monocular from a high-rise building, spoke quietly. Nam Sagwang clicked his tongue.
"Damn bastards. They actually completed the Saengangshi."
"So those are the Saengangshi, huh? The ones moving so fluidly, wielding qi like that?"
"You can barely tell them apart from real people."
"If I hadn't known better, I would've thought they were just normal players."
"Cheh. More annoying opponents showing up one after another."
The two Jiangshi, gracefully destroying an iron golem with flowing qi techniques, caught Nam Sagwang's gaze.
But his attention was soon drawn to a man wielding a skull-shaped staff who summoned more golems and fired flashing beams at the Jiangshi.
"That's the fifth round already."
"And even those two Jiangshi are starting to slow down."
As the man continued summoning dozens of golems and casting debuffs, the once-overwhelming Jiangshi were visibly losing their edge.
Just as it looked like the fight would end, the two Jiangshi began to retreat.
"Guess they weren't planning to finish it here."
Seowoon's comment was met with a nod from Nam Sagwang.
"Like lions in a cage."
"Lions in a cage?"
Watching the retreating Jiangshi, Nam Sagwang spoke.
"When unfamiliar lions are locked in the same cage, they'll fight randomly at first. But they don't go all out trying to kill each other. They just test one another's strength—observe and measure."
"Like we're doing."
Seowoon said, and Nam Sagwang nodded again.
"Yeah. The real life-or-death battles only begin after those little skirmishes are over and the hierarchy is set. That's when the two or three lions left fight to the death to become the leader."
"I think that moment's about to come."
Time passed swiftly.
Seowoon and Nam Sagwang, now lions in the same cage, had fought many battles. When their opponents seemed weak, they didn't hesitate to take their lives. But when the enemy was strong and the outcome unclear, they would withdraw quickly to minimize damage.
After three days, only eight survivors remained, not counting the two of them.
The shrinking battle zone had now condensed to a 3-kilometer radius around Ganseok Station.
"Today's probably the end."
"Most likely."
Seowoon nodded at Nam Sagwang's words.
Seeing that the battle zone had shrunk to a quarter of its size in a day, it was clear the end was near.
As the two stepped out of a rundown building, the setting sun bathed the surroundings in crimson.
Ding! Heavenly Demon…
Ding! Heavenly Demon…
Ding! Heavenly Demon…
The alert chimes rang out, and the man once again made his overwhelming presence known.
The two of them dove toward the center of the storm.
At the intersection in front of Ganseok Station, a temporary alliance was in a fierce battle with the Heavenly Demon.
"That's wind infused with qi!"
Dozens of iron golems closed in around two players, but a single gust of wind cleaved through them, slicing their metallic torsos cleanly.
With a mere gesture, the Heavenly Demon summoned a gust of qi-infused wind. Then he stomped.
When his foot hit the ground, a shockwave cracked the earth like a spiderweb and collapsed the terrain.
As if that wasn't enough, the surrounding buildings began to crumble like an earthquake had struck.
"There you are!"
In the chaos, the Heavenly Demon spotted Seowoon and Nam Sagwang and shouted.
"Let's join forces!"
But a knight pointed his sword at the Heavenly Demon and shouted instead.
A Saengangshi, wielding qi, ambushed the Heavenly Demon from behind while a red-haired warrior slashed down with a dao glowing with Do River energy.
With thunderous crashes, dozens of iron golems hurled parked cars at the Heavenly Demon, while magma-based golems frantically tried to pin him down.
The final four remaining players now unleashed all their power on the Heavenly Demon in a furious onslaught.
Waves of powerful mana surged as debuffs flew toward him. The red-haired warrior and the knight—whose white armor was cracked and breaking—attempted to strike him down with blazing sword aura.
Into that battlefield, Seowoon shouted:
"Fall back this way!"
Shouting as he led the players toward the back of Ganseok Station, Seowoon multiplied into dozens of copies and rushed at Cheonma.
Clang!
Namsagwang blocked Cheonma's sword aura and sneered.
"Guess you can't summon Won Yeongshin, huh?"
At his taunt, Cheonma smiled as if amused.
With his smile, a current of wind began to blow from his body.
Before Namsagwang could react to the warm breeze, he had already backed away—but it was too late. His right arm had long since been severed.
Seowoon, who finally witnessed Cheonma's divine power with clear eyes, shook his head.
This wasn't a level any normal player could reach.
"That's the kind of power that wouldn't be out of place as an epic monster."
Against that overwhelming presence—strong enough to devour most epic monsters solo—Seowoon summoned every aircraft he had.
Fwoooosh!
As planes began to appear with a roar, Cheonma simply smiled.
Seowoon's eyes widened as he watched four planes get destroyed mid-air by Won Yeongshin, who had detached from Cheonma's body.
"Go ahead and keep sending more—I'll just keep absorbing them."
As if playing around, Cheonma stood beside Won Yeongshin while the debris of the fallen aircraft rained down behind him.
BOOM! Fwoosh!
Seowoon frowned as he saw Cheonma standing tall amidst the flames.
A mountain that seemed impossible to climb.
Just looking up at that insurmountable peak made his chest tighten.
Then, Seowoon's gaze quietly dropped toward a gas station about 50 meters away from Cheonma.
"Everyone, attack!"
With the knight's shout, another intense battle erupted from the raining aircraft debris.
Countless clones attacked Cheonma, and the knight's white aura flew in.
Namsagwang's water force joined in, as did the red-haired warrior's flowing blade.
But none of it could so much as graze the hem of Cheonma's clothing.
The first to be torn apart was the Sengkangshi wielding qi, who died without avenging his master.
That was the beginning. One by one, the players began to fall.
Even the alchemist, who had been casting debuffs to the very end, was killed—and with that, Cheonma's body, now free of any hindrance, turned lighter.
Seowoon could tell: Cheonma could've ended this game anytime he wanted. He was only matching the others on purpose.
One by one, everyone vanished into loot boxes on the broken asphalt, leaving only Seowoon and the one-armed Namsagwang.
"…Huff, huff… Why? You could've ended this ages ago."
At Seowoon's question, Cheonma simply shrugged.
"Who knows?"
With an unreadable expression, Cheonma stared straight at him. Seowoon collapsed to his knees.
Cough!
With a wet cough, thick black blood poured from his mouth.
As the blood soaked the asphalt, Seowoon struggled to his feet.
"I'll go first."
The moment Seowoon nodded to Namsagwang's words, Namsagwang charged Cheonma one last time.
Thud.
But his head hit the ground lifelessly before he even got close.
Meanwhile, Seowoon had made it to the gas station and now smiled.
"Hoping to take me down with you in a blaze?" Cheonma asked, seeing right through him.
"No," Seowoon grinned. "I'll never die by your hand."
With that, he tore a mana explosion scroll.
Please let this work.
As fire consumed his body and pain surged through him, the force of the explosion threw him backward.
Barely standing amidst the blast thanks to the grounding technique of Cheongeunchu, Seowoon extended his hand.
Sensing a massive presence through the flames, he reached out without even confirming his target.
That one second of focused attack—not even containing killing intent—managed to lightly graze Cheonma's shoulder.
Seeing a shallow cut and a thin line of blood, Cheonma's smile deepened even within the fire.
"To lay a finger on me… That was an impressive second. I'll remember that strike."
Seowoon smiled back.
His face was almost completely burned, the skin melted off—yet his smile sent a chill even down Cheonma's spine.
"I'll send you off gently," Cheonma said, raising his sword.
Just then, a notification rang in Seowoon's ears:
Ding! Damage Mirror succeeded. The Giant's Dagger disintegrates.
Cheonma's untouched chest suddenly split open, blood spurting out. The aura barrier that had protected him from the flames began to burn his flesh in unbearable agony.
Sensing something had gone wrong, Cheonma slashed downward—but Seowoon had already vanished via Blink.
Appearing behind Cheonma, Seowoon thrust his hand forward.
His fingers pierced through the qi barrier and embedded deep into Cheonma's back.
"Mm."
Cheonma let out that single sound instead of a groan.
His divine form spun instantly.
But when he turned and slashed his sword—Seowoon was already gone.
Dududududududududu—
Amid the sound, the roar of a helicopter that had been prepared in advance approached.
As the helicopter carrying the remaining magic bomb scrolls and explosives drew near, Seowoon lunged at the Heavenly Demon once more.
He was barely clinging to life from wounds inflicted by the martial energy. His internal organs were nearly destroyed, and the internal injuries were severe.
Almost all of his skin had melted in the flames.
Even so, the fact that the Heavenly Demon could still let out a mere "Mm." and endure was astounding—but this had to be the end.
"Die, you bastard!"
Seowoon, with his once-healed skin and head now scorched again, charged in with a grotesque appearance, screaming with rage—only to be cleanly cut down by the Heavenly Demon's sword.
Before the shock of the slash even set in, his bisected hair was instantly consumed by the flames.
-Crash!
Just before Seowoon could smile, the Heavenly Demon's blood bone spike pierced precisely through his side, right where the spleen was.
"This time, even I was in danger."
As the Heavenly Demon turned to move, the incoming helicopter crashed directly into the flaming gas station.
-KWAHHHHH!
With the ensuing explosion, Seowoon's consciousness was severed.
[Ding ding ding ding! Cloyd Survival has ended.]
[Pararararambam! Congratulations on making it to the final two!
You have earned the right to participate in the next game.
You've received the second-highest reward in this match.]
As the message announcing he was one of the final two rang out, Seowoon opened his eyes—only to frown deeply.
***
A massive burst of flame split open from the explosion.
From within, the grotesque form of the Heavenly Demon slowly began to regenerate.
By the time he had walked completely out of the blaze, every injury on his body had fully healed.
-Jin Seowoon – Jin Seowoon (Suicide.) 1/150
The Heavenly Demon's smile deepened as he looked at the final survivor list.
"So he kept his word to the end. I'd like to see him again… Judging by the lack of sightings, is he mainly playing Squad Games?"
His smile grew wider as he checked the rapidly updating lobby rank board.
-1st place: Heavenly Demon.
…
-21st place: Jin Seowoon.
***
[Ding! You ranked in the TOP 2 in your first Ranked Game. You've been awarded 300 reward coins. Kill bonus! An additional 50 coins have been awarded. You've made it into the final 5 for six consecutive rounds. An extra 480 coins have been awarded.]
Despite the generous rewards being announced, Seowoon's scowl didn't ease.
The final battle with the Heavenly Demon refused to leave his mind.
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