Chapter 42 Part2 (1/2)

<chapter 42.=”” sun=”” G.o.d's=”” hero=”” -=”” 2=””>

[Kukaaaah!?]

How did this human's power increase so suddenly? Had he been hiding his strength all this time? The Garuda, surrounded by dark flame greatswords, looked around and couldn't hide its panic.

[Kikuoooooh!]

[Next.]

Though it expelled its flames in every which direction and managed to melt the greatswords, more greatswords would take their place and attack it. Each and every greatsword was tinged in dark flame, so the Garuda could not oppose them without its s.h.i.+ning flame!

At first, the Garuda thought it may be a hallucination, but there was not a single person in the world that could fool it, the master of the s.h.i.+ning flames. Just in case, it allowed one of the greatswords through, but was met with agonizing pain.

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's Dark Flame was much more powerful than the Dark Flame Ghosts', so the Garuda immediately released its s.h.i.+ning flame and erased the greatsword. However, it had taken considerable damage in the process.

[Guaaaahk! Kugiaaaaah!]

[Hoo.]

There was only one thing it could think of. Either he had way more magic than it did, or he was supplying himself limitless mana through some unknown means!

But what about the Garuda? It had just awoken after hundreds of years of imprisonment, so its body was in terrible shape. Its body had been contaminated, its mana hadn't recovered properly, and it couldn't use any of its other authorities, aside from its s.h.i.+ning Flame. A few more attacks like this, and it wouldn't have enough mana to even produce its s.h.i.+ning flames!

[Kureureuk...!]

Then, what should it do? It obviously had to run away. If it ran away at full speed, a human wouldn't be able to follow (the Garuda still hadn't figured out just how fast Jin was). First, it would run away, somehow replenish its mana, figure out the human's abilities, and then form some countermeasures to them.

Yeah. That would be the rational decision. But because the Garuda's mind and body had been corrupted by the undead curse, it made the exact opposite call. It unleashed even greater flames, burning away the greatswords, and then charged at the t.i.tan!

[Kuhaaaaaaaahk!]

[Nice looking flames you got there!]

It was level 9! Although it was standing on the precipice of life and death, there was no way it couldn't kill a level 8 human! On the contrary, if it were to kill him and then absorb his mysterious mana source, it would soon be restored from this corrupted state!

Its mind was filled with violence, void of any reason; the Garuda looked like any other undead in the Underground Empire. The Garuda had barely kept itself together before, but had completely snapped after fighting Lee s.h.i.+n Woo.

'Good.'

On the other hand, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo couldn't stop himself from inwardly smiling. After he'd a.n.a.lyzed both his and his enemy's environment, he had activated Wild Card, which was definitely working.

Once he'd activated the skill, he'd antic.i.p.ated the Garuda's response, its panicked state, and even its current action... No, by using Wild Card, everything was going according to his 'script'.

'This skill, Wild Card... Turns a limited s.p.a.ce into my stage. It sets up the situation, causing my enemy and the circ.u.mstances to go in a certain direction; a direction in which I win. I'm the only main character here...!'

Honestly, his innate skills (e.g. Disguise, Instigate, Acting, etc.) weren't suitable for battle. Regardless, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had used those skills resourcefully (or forcefully) to overcome danger. However, they weren't meant to be used to attack the enemy.

But when Wild Card fuses all of his skills together and amplifies them, the Joker's innate skills become the most powerful skills in the world. The clearing, filled to the brim with greatswords, was a good example of this. Those were mostly created with his Disguise and Acting skills... To be frank, they were all falsities that only he and the Garuda could see.

'If I can make them think it's real, then it supplants what's actually 'real'. Moreover, it's gotten hit by one of my greatswords already, so it's already afraid.'

Normally, it would be impossible to use his Disguise, Acting, and Instigate skills on such a large scale. But it was made possible by his Wild Card skill, which made the entire area his own, amplified all of his skills, mixed and matched them, and activated them!

'You can't act without the proper stage. Wild Card sets up the perfect stage for me, and when I, the actor, sets foot on that stage, the play begins!'

Of course, not all of the greatswords within the clearing were fakes. A few of the swords had been created by his Bone Armory skill, so some real weapons were mixed in with the fakes. And when the Garuda had tested to see if it were hallucinating or not, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had used a real greatsword. Once it pierced its body, true dark flame erupted from the blade and caused a grievous wound!

[Kugyaaaaaahk!]

[You really think you'll be able to burn all of these with those measly flames? You need more!]

As a result, the stage was set. The Garuda thought all of the greatswords were real threats, so it was burning each and every one of them with its flames. While Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had barely used any mana, the Garuda was releasing its s.h.i.+ning flames over a wide area, so its mana was draining fast. Thus, the once close battle had completely turned in his favor.

It might be different if the Garuda could reabsorb its mana, but it wasn't a 'complete' level 9! Moreover, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was dominating the mana in the entire area (as Wild Card had increased his reach), so he was gradually strangling it!

[Kuguooooooh...!]

It hadn't even been 3 minutes since he'd used the Wild Card skill (he had 140 seconds left before the t.i.tan deactivated), yet the flames that enclosed its body had become pale and diminished significantly. Plus, its form looked clearer than before as well.

Its half-rotten eyes looked into Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's eyes. Its hostility, anger, and regret were reflected within those eyes, as it couldn't defeat him.

[Hoo. Hoo. Now you're starting to look at me.]

[Kikuoooooh!]

Originally, its golden body must've been beautiful. However, the many years spent trapped here caused its skin to split, and the undead curse caused his body to rot, blackening its body here and there. That was the biggest cause of its rapidly dwindling intellect.

It had been imprisoned by the Magic Emperor's barrier, and was corrupted by the Undead Emperor's curse, so the Garuda was just an unfortunate victim of the strife between the two. It was quite pitiful, but directing that anger at Lee s.h.i.+n Woo would do nothing but inconvenience him.

[If you even have a shred of reason left, then we shouldn't have to fight...]

[You would've looked a little cool if you weren't raising your greatsword.]

It seemed as though Zenon had also figured out Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's personality by fighting with him, as he retorted like Jin would. But what he didn't know was that if the Garuda really did have any reason left in it, then Lee s.h.i.+n Woo would've sent it to the surface to wreak havoc onto the Emperor's forces.