127. Finals (6)
What makes the Yellow Dragon's Ascension Breath so broken is that it's the perfect area-of-effect spell.
Whether you're invisible or whatever.
The moment you enter that area, you're guaranteed to take damage.
And it's such an extreme burst attack that unless you're an S-grade tank or some absurdly broken tank covered head to toe in defense runes, whatever it is will get one-shotted.
'But how?'
Rachel simply couldn't understand it.
How could Gale Slayer, an assassin-type summon, possibly be safe inside the Breath?
'Did he use a tanking rune?'
There were sometimes runes that abnormally amplified HP for a certain period of time.
But no way.
Who would put a tanking rune on an assassin-type summon unless they were an idiot?!
While Rachel stood there blankly stunned,
Slash!
Gale Slayer, who had cut off the Yellow Dragon's neck, did not stay still.
He immediately moved toward White Tiger and began whirling his scythe around.
It was a desperate movement that said he would not allow even the slightest moment of breathing room.
-Krrrroooar!
Rachel flinched at White Tiger's cry and came back to her senses.
White Tiger raised his claws, knocked away the spinning scythe, and retreated backward.
Kkagagagang!
And so the clash began!
The two summons charged at each other, one swinging claws and the other carving with a scythe.
Taat!
Rachel, having landed on the ground after dismissing the Yellow Dragon, asked,
"Baek Jinwoo."
"Huh?"
"How did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"It definitely got hit by the Breath. .! So how did it survive?"
"Ah, that."
Baek Jinwoo hesitated.
Should he tell her or not?
In truth, the answer was already decided.
"I'll tell you if you tell me what your one remaining summon is."
"......!"
Rachel bit her lip hard.
As expected.
Her opponent was still wary because she had only brought out four summons.
"You know, there has to be give and take, right?"
"Forget it.."
Rachel took a deep breath.
Then she tried to cool down her overheated brain. Right now, this was a battle to decide the best in the world.
This wasn't the time to seek answers from her opponent, but from herself.
Kuagagagaga!
White Tiger and Gale Slayer were locked in a fierce fight.
If you looked only at raw size and build, White Tiger, a damage-tank hybrid, was far stronger, but... the one controlling that Gale Slayer was none other than God Ji-nu.
Elegant movements and skill that ignored the gap in weight class!
That was why he was a genius.
That scythe control showed exactly what heaven-given talent looked like.
And then.
'Ah.'
As her heated mind cooled to lukewarm, things she hadn't quite been able to see began to come into view.
'No way.....!'
Rachel clenched her fist tight.
The reason that Gale Slayer had been unharmed!
She felt like she finally knew what it was.
'It wasn't hit by the Breath in the first place!'
The moment that thought hit her, the hair on both her forearms stood on end.
It was pure chills.
'If you calculate the Breath's range and timing......'
From the very moment Explosive Dragon had appeared and fired Explosive Dragon Wave into White Tiger's mouth, Gale Slayer had already been there.
Right beside her, in fact.
She simply hadn't seen it because it had been cloaked in invisibility......
Without realizing that, Rachel had immediately ridden the Yellow Dragon and rushed over to fire Ascension Breath at Baek Jinwoo.
At a place where there was only the Wind Fairy and the player.
'I got too worked up!'
Rushing at Baek Jinwoo in her impatience had itself been a mistake.
Baek Jinwoo's flustered expression and the Wind Fairy wildly swinging her staff like mad had also played a part in deceiving her.
"Ha."
Rachel let out an admiring breath.
"......Now you're acting too?"
It felt unfair.
If that open-mouthed expression had been acting, then it deserved the grand prize at the BAFTA Awards, one of Britain's most prestigious arts honors!
Even that Wind Fairy deserved an award.
How could she swing her staff so desperately at empty air like that?!
"Oh, looks like you figured it out faster than I expected?"
Baek Jinwoo grinned.
Yeah.
Physical ability was physical ability, but Battle of Summoners originally had a heavy psychological component too.
Baek Jinwoo had simply used that properly.
"But now I've shown all my cards. If this keeps going, I think I can deal with White Tiger somehow. So what's your next move? Isn't it about time you brought it out?"
Even while controlling his summon, Baek Jinwoo did not let go of his tension.
Ordinary matches were based on the premise that all five summons would be brought out.
Because the basic concept was that two were stronger than one, and three were stronger than two.
But what if someone didn't follow that?
Then it was one of two things.
Either they were underestimating their opponent, or the hidden card they were concealing was incredibly powerful.
Baek Jinwoo believed it was the latter.
That was why he couldn't face White Tiger with complete peace of mind.
Slash!
Gale Slayer's scythe dug into White Tiger's hide.
It had already been strong to begin with, but after stacking quite a bit from Lamba, Gale Slayer's power was beyond even S-grade.
-Krrrroooar!
White Tiger was clearly being pushed back.
Blood spurted from the hide torn open by the scythe, and bone was exposed.
Rachel was dumbfounded.
'Even if it used up almost all its MP... White Tiger is getting pushed back?'
Rachel's gaze turned toward Gale Slayer.
It was merely holding a scythe and spinning like a top, but that alone was a tremendous threat.
"Not bringing out your card?"
"......."
"At this rate, your White Tiger is done for."
Gale Slayer's dance began growing sharper and sharper.
'Hurry up and reveal it.'
Show me what you've been hiding in your sleeve.
If you really came here with only four summons just for mind games... then you deserve to pay the price with defeat.
"......!"
Rachel's eyes wavered briefly.
At this point, she had no choice. If possible, she had not wanted to reveal this card to the world yet, but......
'I don't want to lose.'
At least just once.
‘I don't even hope for anything after that, but just this once.’
She wanted to defeat that powerful god of hers, One Heaven God Ji-nu.
Swoosh.
She raised her hand.
At the same time, the summon that appeared in midair was an old man with a white beard holding a staff!
"W-what...?!"
Baek Jinwoo recognized the summon immediately.
"You little punk!"
Was this even possible?
Baek Jinwoo was horrified.
How could he not know it?
It was a pretty famous S-grade summon even in Battle of Summoners.
Archmage (S-grade).
Among humanoid summons, it was known as the absolute pinnacle of magic.
If the conditions were right, it could summon meteors, stop time, and even use an instant-death move called Power Word Kill.
Of course, getting it to that point would require a great deal of time and effort.
Even so!
Two S-grades was one thing, but three was too much!
This wasn't something that could be explained away by luck.
Kkagagang!
Gale Slayer, who had been relentlessly cornering White Tiger, immediately changed direction.
The one way to raise your odds at least somewhat against an Archmage!
Engage it in close combat.
But then.
Swoosh.
The Archmage raised his staff, and...
Pazzzzzzt!
Purple lightning began to flicker from that staff.
As if a thunder god were descending, a majestic force gathered from the heavens.
Great Wizard.
9 Circles.
Power Word Kill.
It was the Archmage's greatest instant-death skill, used by consuming all MP.
If it hit, you simply died on the spot.
HP? Tanking?
It ignored all of that.
The instant it hit, it forced a reverse summon. In a single-target match, there was hardly any magic more vicious than that.
And now.
God Ji-nu, who only had Gale Slayer left, could no longer avoid it.
"Sorry, Baek Jinwoo. You're going to win everything from the next league onward anyway. Just let me have this one."
Let her have it, my ass!
Baek Jinwoo's eyes turned bloodshot.
Absolutely.
He absolutely would not get hit.
Pazzzzzzzzt!
Purple lightning burst forth and began rushing toward Gale Slayer.
Its speed was almost like the speed of sound, but—
Instinct!
Baek Jinwoo's instinct was telling him.
That magic's proficiency was still far too low.
If it were cast while precisely reading the point of impact, it would be impossible to dodge, but that also meant—
All he had to do was fool Rachel's eyes!
Kuagagagagagaga!
Amid the savage lightning erupting from the staff, a bizarre phenomenon began to unfold.
Between the bolts.
Gale Slayer sprang out at a razor-thin angle, raised his chilling scythe high—
Swaeaeaeaeak!
And instantly slit the throat, the weak point of a humanoid summon.
Slash!
A crack appeared.
Pu-hwak!
The head fell off.
Just 0.1 second.
Everything had happened within that time.
'How…..'
Did that even make sense?
Dodging Power Word Kill?
With control alone?
"I told you….."
Baek Jinwoo muttered.
"I said I'd never lose."
Swaeaeaeak!
After taking care of the Archmage, Gale Slayer immediately changed direction and charged at White Tiger.
"Huh."
A dumbfounded sigh escaped Rachel's lips.
S-grade summons were broken?
Bullshit.
That, that, that God Ji-nu bastard himself was the broken one.
"What kind of......."
Rachel was so dumbfounded she couldn't even finish speaking.
White Tiger unleashed all of its remaining skills, but—
Rachel could only stare blankly as Gale Slayer dodged every last one of them and carved White Tiger apart with his scythe.
Her strength left her.
She had absolutely no idea how anyone was supposed to beat a summon that moved like that.
“…..”
She had lost.
This was a complete loss.
No matter how much she tried to cool her head, it felt so hot that steam could practically be seen rising from it.
"Ha ha."
It was so absurd that she could only laugh hollowly now.
The corners of Rachel's mouth slowly rose.
Yeah, fuck it.
You take it all, God Ji-nu.
If she still couldn't win after going this far, then not even the God of Control himself could win.
No, God Ji-nu himself was just a god.
A GOD named Ji-nu.
Rachel gave up and let go of White Tiger's control.
-Krrrrooooooar!
With White Tiger's howl, the match came to an end.
The 4th World League.
Champion nation, South Korea!
MVP = ?
Of course, it was Baek Jinwoo.
* * *
The atmosphere across the entire UK turned ice-cold.
What kind of absurd performance was that?!
It was already shocking that Rachel's new summon turned out to be yet another S-grade summon.
But what the hell was that monster who sent her trump card away in a single strike?!
'Does that even make sense?'
'Isn't he beyond human?'
'Even if he were doping, that shouldn't be possible!'
On the screen, Gale Slayer dodging Power Word Kill was shown in slow motion.
He was so fast.
Even ordinary people could barely follow it with their eyes despite the slow motion.
And yet?
Gale Slayer's movement as he dodged it was not just abnormal, but awe-inspiring.
"H-ha ha ha. I seriously have no words."
Yoshida Hikaru laughed helplessly.
"That lunatic."
Xenos shook his head from side to side.
".......Rachel. That unreadable woman. She'd been hiding something like that?"
Moscowman looked betrayed at the sight of her having no less than three S-grade summons.
"Kkeulkeulkeul, didn't I say so? God Ji-nu is a god!"
There was also Baekcheon, cackling while gathered with the Taiwanese national team.
World rankers.
Players.
Ordinary people.
Everyone was watching that screen.
The moment Earth's hegemony changed.
The moment South Korea, once the weakest nation, dramatically stole the UK's place.
"Wow."
Inside South Korea, a short cheer burst from someone's mouth.
Was that the spark?
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
At once, 50 million voices began shaking the nation with thunderous force.
South Korea's festival?
It was only beginning now.
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