"Oppa!!!"
"Urgh."
The blade sank straight into my stomach.
I didn't know if I should call it luck, but thanks to the way I twisted my body, the sword missed my vitals.
Still, I couldn't let Yoo Joonghyuk pull the sword out just yet.
The moment she pulled it free, blood would gush from my abdomen, and Yoo Joonghyuk would immediately turn her attack toward Dokja.
I couldn't allow that to happen.
Clench!
Hot liquid flowed over my hand. My blood slid down my fingers and dripped onto the ground.
It was the price for grabbing a blade coated in Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship with my bare hand.
"Oppa!!!"
"Hyung!!!"
"Mister!!!"
"Dokyun!!!"
"I can still hold on! Go!!"
This was undeniably a fatal wound.
Even so, I had one trump card I could rely on.
The Dokkaebi's bag.
If my memory served me right, there was definitely a healing potion inside.
Once this was over, I could secretly use the potion to treat the wound without any lasting aftereffects.
[So don't worry about me and run!]
This nightmare would only end once the Simulation was defeated.
"...Heewon, Gilyoung, Jihye! Target the Theater Owner first!"
Grinding their teeth, the group charged toward the Theater Owner.
I knew they wanted to rush back and help me this very second.
But they also knew.
They knew that the fastest way to save me was to take down the Theater Owner and break Yoo Joonghyuk's brainwashing.
Screeech!
"Aaaaargh!"
Yoo Joonghyuk tried to wrench the sword lodged in my stomach, attempting to rip it out by force.
Thud.
An agonizing surge of pain, the likes of which I had never felt, drained the strength from my legs, forcing me to my knees.
No matter how much it hurts, I have no intention of letting you go.
Grab!
"You're just going to abandon your sword and leave?"
If I was already on my knees, then I'd just use that as a spring!!!
Bam!
I sprang upward and slammed my forehead straight into Yoo Joonghyuk's face.
Whether she hadn't expected the attack or the impact was simply too great, her entire body staggered.
"This is the artificially reinforced hard head I developed while rolling around construction sites, you bitch!!"
I might have caused more damage than when I punched her; she was bleeding from the nose and looked completely dazed.
Well, it made sense.
The hardest bone in the human body is the skull.
And she had just taken a direct hit to the face from a head backed by maxed-out strength...
It was only natural that she'd be reeling.
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is worried about your injury.]
[The Constellation 'Lily Blooming in Aquarius' is worried about your injury.]
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' recommends that you fall back for a moment and regroup.]
"If I back off now, who do you think Yoo Joonghyuk will go after?"
Her staggering would only last a moment.
She would recover almost instantly.
"More importantly, who else but me can take Yoo Joonghyuk's attacks head-on and stay standing?"
[The Constellations of Absolute Evil are enjoying your pain.]
[The Demon King 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust' licks his lips at your misfortune.]
Those perverted Absolute Evil bastards.
If it can only be used inside the theater... then this should do the trick.
I just hoped it hadn't broken when I was thrown.
Gulp.
[[Tyrant T-Rex DNA Ampoule] has been used.]
[Stamina Lv.40 -> Stamina Lv.50]
[Strength Lv.40 -> Strength Lv.50]
[Agility Lv.40 -> Agility Lv.50]
[Magic Power Lv.40 -> Magic Power Lv.50]
[All stats will increase explosively for 30 minutes!]
I had worried it wouldn't work because of the scenario's stat cap... but since it was a temporary boost rather than a permanent one, it worked perfectly.
Lacking skills?
Lacking experience?
I'll crush all of that with overwhelming raw stats.
Whoosh.
Tap.
As I finished my preparations, Yoo Joonghyuk looked straight at me.
"Pissed off?"
She was clearly being controlled... but was this rage rising from the deepest depths of her heart?
Well, it didn't matter.
"All you Absolute Evil bastards, pay attention."
[The Constellations of Absolute Evil are listening to your words.]
[The Demon King 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust' snickers as he watches you.]
"Sponsor me, and I'll make this situation a lot more entertaining. What do you say?"
[The Constellations of Absolute Good stare at you in displeasure for catering to the Absolute Evil faction.]
[The Constellations of Absolute Evil hesitate for a moment.]
[The Demon King 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust' quickly sponsors 500 Coins.]
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' sponsors 600 Coins, telling you not to do it.]
Perfect timing.
Thanks to that, I could milk them for even more.
"See that? Are you really going to let Absolute Good outdo you? This standoff won't last long, you know?"
[The Constellations of Absolute Evil hurriedly gather Coins.]
[You have been sponsored 5,000 Coins!]
It was less than what Asmodeus had given me, but by normal standards, it was a significant sum.
"Well, I guess I'll settle for this much."
[The Demon King 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust' looks forward to seeing how you'll make it entertaining.]
Constellations really are impatient.
They might actually be more impatient than Koreans.
"I'll show you."
Squelch!
[Many Constellations are horrified by your actions!]
[A few Constellations admire your courage!]
I could understand their reaction.
Because I had just ripped Yoo Joonghyuk's sword out of my own stomach.
There are two main reasons why you're told never to pull out a blade after being stabbed.
First, if the wound is severe, pulling the blade can cause you to bleed out instantly.
Second, if you've been stabbed in the abdomen, your internal organs can spill out through the opening.
The Constellations knew this, which is why they reacted the way they did.
In other words, I had just set a deadly time limit on myself; if I didn't finish Yoo Joonghyuk quickly, I was a dead man.
Fwish.
"...?"
"Pick it up."
[The Demon King 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust' leaps to his feet and sends thunderous applause!]
[The Constellations of Absolute Evil can't take their eyes off this thrilling development!]
Slide.
Yoo Joonghyuk picked up her sword.
We stared at each other in silence.
Step.
Step.
Kaaang!!
When an axe and a sword collide head-on, the sword inevitably breaks.
Yoo Joonghyuk knew this, and I could see her trying to use her technique to deflect the impact.
Clang clang clang!!
A flurry of precise, efficient slashes.
But... it was a familiar pattern.
Kkagak!
Boom!
I brought my axe down in a vertical strike.
Whether it's a sword or an axe, the downward strike is the foundation of the technique, but mine was a crude attack fueled by nothing but raw power. It was rough and riddled with openings, like someone imitating a move they'd never actually learned.
However, there was one difference: the gap in our stats was now so vast that it could simply devour technique.
When that single blow shattered all her slashes, a look of bewilderment crossed her face for the first time.
Kaaang—!
Surely she didn't think I'd handed the sword back just to get some sponsorships.
Chaeng—!
Why was it that even with such a great weapon, I hadn't been able to take Yoo Joonghyuk down sooner?
Because it was my first time using an axe? Or because of Yoo Joonghyuk's [Force Transmission] skill, which sent shocks straight through the weapon?
Or perhaps because I was exhausted from the relentless battles?
Kkagaga—k!
All of those were true.
But the biggest reason was simple: I had never fought a Yoo Joonghyuk who used only her fists.
The only time I'd crossed fists with her was once, back in the subway.
Even then, the difference in our power had been so extreme that it was embarrassing to call it a fight.
A lack of experience, a lack of adaptation to a new weapon, and Yoo Joonghyuk's own growth—too many variables had overlapped.
But now, I've adapted to all of it.
The strength control, the increased reach, and even Yoo Joonghyuk's swordsmanship.
Now, it was time to counterattack—!
"Huh?"
Did Yoo Joonghyuk have a skill that let her hang upside down?
Did such a skill even exist?
Ah. I see.
I've collapsed.
I finally succumbed to the excessive blood loss.
My strength was already fading, and if I relaxed any further, my organs would likely spill out.
Yoo Joonghyuk walked toward me as I lay there.
.
.
.
[Exclusive Skill, [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint] Stage 2 has activated.]
[Exclusive Attribute, [Support Raised with an Abandoned Dream], extends its branches toward you.]
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