The 31st Piece Turns the Tables
chapter-108

Boooooom!

The corpses of Shadow Hunters lay all over.

However, because their faces all looked like they had no idea why they died, the only thing anyone could discern about the person who killed them was that they were an expert.

Still… even an expert can’t kill everyone.

“Cough… cough…”

“You’ve become weak, witch.”

Mirei’s body was covered in countless arrows.

It was her defeat.

Dir, Malacus’s cold-hearted hunting dog, emerged from the forest.

Grrrr…

Those fangs had left many scars on her body at this point.

Not too long after, Malacus emerged from the forest as well.

Though he couldn’t see from his eyes, he was confident enough that even his gait felt nonchalant.

He had cloudy eyes, which were impossible to see through.

“That dog… I see. So you’re quite the repugnant bastard yourself.”

“Shut your mouth. I recommend you do so if you wish to live even a moment longer.”

“Haha… it hurts so damn much… Why couldn’t you go easier on me?”

“...Where is he?”

“...Who are you talking about?”

“Don’t try to fool me. He reeked of shadows as well. Is he here?”

“What do you think about being satisfied with just me?”

“Answer me.”

“......”

“Answer me right now. If you don't, this dagger will pierce your heart.”

“Stab me then.”

“...What?”

“Stab me, you coward. Stab my heart a hundred times for all I care. See if I’ll talk.”

Raise…

Mirei’s senses were on edge. She could feel Malacus’s intent as he slowly approached her.

‘I guess this is the end… the experiment was a failure too. I guess I bit off more than I could chew, Sodin. Sorry.’

It was clear that after she died here, Seol, who was behind that wall, would die too. This would be the futile end of her life’s research.

‘No, I need to buy time. I can’t just let him kill me!’

Suddenly, Mirei thought of trying to buy as much time as she could before her death.

“Look, Malacus.”

“......”

“I have a question. You know the cliche, right? How villains ramble on and on the moment they get an opportunity to kill the main character. Stay true to your role, alright?”

“I am not a villain.”

“Haha… How could you say something like that after you’ve already killed me once? You’re bad at looking at yourself objectively, huh?”

“I am not a villain.”

Malacus turned his head to Mirei.

“I am a judge.”

“A judge? And what do you judge, then?”

“...You.”

“What?”

“You, the Shadow Summoners.”

“What did we do wrong? No, let me ask it again. What did I do wrong?”

“Your existence. It itself is a sin.”

“Haha, you’re completely twisted. Why do you think that? You… A Shadow Summoner did something to you, didn’t they?”

Flinch…

There was a reaction.

And like a fisherman who felt a bite, Mirei held on to that moment and dug deeper.

“Maybe it involves your eyes… or a grudge… Something like that’s involved, huh?”

“...It is completely unrelated to you, as you are weaker than me.”

Malacus’s eyes glossed over Mirei.

He bore a haggard appearance, yet his gaze was far more sinister.

Those were the eyes of someone solely dedicated to their goals, severing anything unrelated.

However… at that moment…

Rumble Rumble…

“So he’s over there.”

“God damn it…”

As an eerie sound rang out from the house made from trees, Malacus realized that someone was there.

Seol clearly had to be there.

Step…

Step… Step…

"After I kill you, I will kill him as well."

"...What will be after then?"

"Rest... I will finally be able to take a break from my exhausting life."

“You psycho.”

Malacus was now by Mirei’s side. They were close enough to each other to hear each other’s breath.

Mirei did not avoid Malacus’s eyes.

Well, it wasn’t like he would react to her looking at him, either. She simply just didn’t want to look away from death.

“Goodbye, witch… hm?”

Whine…

Whine…

Dir, Malacus’s intelligent hunting dog, approached Malacus and stopped him.

“What’s wrong, Dir?”

Something felt off.

Whine… Whine…

“...Dir?”

Dir was pushing Malacus with his head.

It was as if Dir was trying his best to tell Malacus to leave as quickly as possible.

Malacus felt a sudden wake-up call.

“Damn it!”

Dash!

Malacus quickly ran away, and the reason for Dir’s warning revealed itself shortly after.

BOOOOOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted from the house, blowing it to bits.

The walls had blown off the building, revealing the False-Death Inducing Device inside.

Tremble!

“Urrrgh… uraahh… scary… it’s scary…”

Malacus was shaking on the ground, drooling to himself.

He didn’t understand what was going on, as he was blind and could only hear an endless ringing.

Even if he was blind, his reactions were still definitely strange.

Mirei didn’t understand why Malacus acted like this, but she realized this was her golden opportunity.

She turned around and looked at the house.

Crumble…

The trees that formed the walls were all destroyed, and she saw two individuals tied up in chains.

Beeeep!

Beeeeeeep!

The False-Death Inducing Device blinked red multiple times while ringing an alarm.

“...Was it a success?” shouted Mirei.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Seol felt like he had just passed through a dark tunnel. He had finally overcome the last hurdle.

Clatter…

Clatter…

He and Jamad were covered in chains.

Seol was certain he had fallen asleep inside a house, but, for some reason, when he woke up, the walls and the ceiling were gone.

‘Focus.’

Seol decided to worry about the small stuff later and continued to focus.

[You are within the influence zone of ‘A Place Without Light’.]

[You are unable to use Shadow Summon.]

Fwirl!

Fwirl!

Karuna and Karen returned to Seol’s Shadow Space.

Malacus, whom Seol had met previously, was here once more. However, that was also just a trivial issue.

Right now, this was the most important event for Seol.

Craaaaaaaackle!

Seol had black veins all over his body and black eyes.

His condition was not normal.

And then…

Fweeeeeeee

“Kuaaaaaaargh!”

Seol screamed in pain.

The veins were climbing up his neck. The shaking chains creaked as something incredible was on the verge of happening.

- Something… Something’s coming…

- I just woke up. What’s going on?

- Snowman came out from his sleep

- WTF IS THAT THOUGH???

- This is crazy… Are you sure nothing went wrong?

- Why do I feel like he’s going to explode?

- No!

“...Oh my god,” murmured Mirei to herself. She couldn’t believe what was happening.

Snap!

Snaaap!

Snap!

The chains broke off one by one.

While the chains restraining Jamad remained the same, those holding Seol were snapping off.

However, it wasn’t as if Jamad wasn’t changing at all. In an instant, he transformed into a liquid-like form and slipped through the chains to reach Seol.

“It’s a success… Sodin, it worked…”

Seol changed once more when Jamad reached him.

Seol was covered in black, like the night had taken over him.

“Finally…”

Slide…

The shadows began covering Seol’s face as well.

Hum…

Seol had turned completely black.

Was he devoured by the shadows?

Frsssssssss!

Seol still had the fire monkey tattoo on his face.

Purga’s blessing remained.

However, its shape was changing.

The tattoo melted down and slowly drifted near Seol’s lips.

Seol’s eyes continued radiating a golden light as the Purga tattoo near his lips slowly transformed into a tattoo symbolic of Jamad’s fang.

Rumble…

Snap! Snaaaaaap!

Boooooooom!

Finally, the chains broke.

Seol then immediately received a lot of messages.

Despite his body feeling like it was burning, he began checking the new messages.

[You have broken through the Wall of Awakening.]

[Awakening! You awaken a new skill.]

[You awaken Exceptional Skill: Night Crow.]

[Exceptional Skill: Night Crow is born!]

[You have earned the inaugural achievement 'My Own Path'.]

[You have earned the inaugural title 'The One Who Walks Alone'.]

[You have earned the special achievement 'The Path of Infinity'.]

[You have earned the special title 'Master of Shadows'.]

The messages continued.

[You enter the Night Crow form with Shaman ‘Jamad, the Volcanic’.]

[You absorb Jamad, the Volcanic’s stats.]

[Your class is changed to Fighter.]

[Shadow Hand is now influenced by Strength.]

[You are able to use Volcano Armor.]

[You are able to use Volcano Stance.]

[You are able to use Passive: Moving Flames.]

[You are able to use Passive: Heat and Warmth.]

The birth of an Exceptional Skill.

Seol only expected to be bestowed an Exceptional Skill. He never anticipated owning a new Exceptional Skill entirely.

[‘AHHHHHH’ has donated 1000 Madness!]

[10/10]

- I can’t believe they’re combining… They’re combiningggggggg!

- Every giant mecha fan is popping off right now.

- Everybody liked this.

- Are you ready, J?

- Of course, S!

[‘Exceptional Skill’ has donated 700 Madness!]

[He got an Exceptional Skill like this? Night Crow? LMFAOOOO My heart needs to calm down.]

- I can feel… my blood boiling!!! I’m popping offffff!

- Bubble… Bubble…

- …Could you choose a cooler-sounding effect? That sounds like someone’s making soup.

- No soup for you!

Seol looked around.

The first thing he saw was Mirei.

“Mirei.”

“I look like a porcupine, huh? Hahaha… First, could you beat up that guy in the forest?”

“...Understood.”

Seol headed into the forest where Malacus was waiting for him.

Grrrrrr…

“You reek of shadows… In the end, were you devoured by it?”

Seol looked at his changed self before responding.

“I like it though. What about you?”

The fang-shaped tattoo moved as a voice poured out.

“This feeling of moving flesh and bones… It's been a while. I’m satisfied with it too.”

Malacus’s shocked voice spilled out of the forest.

“A terrible existence has been born… I shall free you from your terrible fate.”

Seol asked Jamad a question.

“Is it really terrible?”

“It’s a terribly good life.”

Fwip!

Fwip!

Grrrrrrr…

Seol felt multiple presences around him.

Malacus had begun his hunt.

“His movements… I noticed this before too, but he definitely isn’t normal.”

“I know.”

“Seol. What do you think about leaving your body to me?”

Jamad talked around the subject, but it was true that he was the one more comfortable with close-quarters combat, not Seol.

Seol nodded.

Immediately, the many presences Seol felt before shrank down to two.

Baaaaark!

‘Right… or left?’

Before Seol could make a judgment, Jamad moved his body. It was a strange feeling. Seol believed that this is what it would feel like if someone else moved his body.

Fwoosh…

Bam!

Whimper!

Crush!

Crush!

It was a light blow.

However, that was more than enough force for Dir to be pushed away through trees.

Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!

Malacus used that opening to fire multiple arrows. The hunter and his hunting dog were a fantastic combination.

“Hm?”

Multiple arrows were about to land on Seol's back.

However…

Fwirl!

Grab!

Grab!

Grab!

All three arrows were caught.

Seol was standing still in his Night Crow state, but his Shadow Hand had appeared from his back, grabbing the arrows mid-flight.

Not only did Seol accurately grab them all, but he also had enough strength to properly catch them.

Shadow Hand was a fearsome spell now.

After his Awakening, Seol was on a completely different level from before.

“Oho… you’re pretty good.”

Jamad complimented Seol’s reaction speed.

Even though the one who attacked Dir was Jamad, Seol was the one who used Shadow Hand to protect them.

The forest was silent for a second. Quietly, Malacus spoke once more.

“That… that strength… What are you?”

“Me?” asked Seol back.

Then, the fang-shaped tattoo moved.

“Or us?”