25 Chapter 25 In Face of True Power(2)
As the Arachne Queen turned its gaze upon Jinwoo, he gritted his bloodied teeth and gripped his dagger until his palms started to bleed.
'I... promised Jinah,'
"I.. can't Die here!"
Every fiber of his being refused to die here without a fight.
Ignoring his injuries, Jinwoo marshaled what little strength remained and charged with a bellowing cry.
His feet pounded against the dirty groungs, blood trailing behind him.
The queen watched his approach impassively, its many eyes gleaming with intelligence.
"I refuse to DIE!!" Sung Jinwoo yelled and his speed increased further.
But as he was about to reach the Queen, from its maw erupted a stream of web that flew toward Jinwoo enveloping him entirely.
'Huh?'
He thought as he crashed to the ground, bound in the ethereal threads from head to toe.
'Ugh!' Only his face remained exposed, bloody teeth gritted in fury and panic. His dagger lay just beyond his fingertips, useless.
As the Arachne Queen reared back to pierce Jinwoo with its pointed leg, despair gripped his heart.
' I..I thought I gained power, I thought my days would finally come, But.. but ' All his hard-won levels and strength meant nothing before this beast.
"How much stronger do I need to be?! What kind of Power do I need to get?!" he roared in anguish, struggling furiously against his bindings even as death bore down upon him.
He was feeling all kinds of emotions, all those memories inside that double dungeon he struggled to erase from his mind, in a few moments, the Arachne Queen would pierce him and it would be the end.
But then—
"Overwhelming power" A voice echoed.
*Ting!*
A flash of steel caught Jinwoo's eye.
Azaroth appeared suddenly, he swung his greatsword to deflect the strike of the Arachne Queen.
The blade hummed with power as it intercepted the blow.
"...Over..welming.. power..?" Jinwoo muttered absentmindedly, looking at the man who easily deflected the attack.
"Yes... the answer, to your question" Azaroth said as he deflected another attack with precision, His martial arts Perfection was no joke.
Jinwoo's eyes widened as Azaroth deflected all the incoming attacks that came his way 'with gritted teeth'.
The Queen 'pushed' Azaroth back and targeted Jinwoo with its two legs,
But Azaroth quickly reached in time and blocked the two legs with his Great sword's flat surface with both hands.
"Overwhelming power... is the only.." He 'somehow' managed to push the Queen back and continued, ".. way to get what you want."
His words made Jinwoo remember that damnd statue of God's smiling face,
"Overwhelming power is the only way to make people Bow their heads... and kneel before you" He was muttering his inner thoughts in a daze.
Jinwoo remembered how everyone was kneeling in front of the statue.
*CRIII*
"Yes! No matter what.." Azaroth yelled as he 'managed' to cut off the legs of the Queen, "...What kind of strategies your opponents use, they'll become helpless in the face of Power." Azaroth said as he jumped high and avoided the incoming webs.
The Arachne Queen tried to attack Azaroth in mid-air but he easily tilted his body and dodged.
Azaroth landed on the ground and dashed towards the rear of the Arachne and cut down its two legs by putting 'all his strength' behind that swing. With that Azaroth had 'managed' to cut down its three legs.
The Queen shrieked in agony, now it only had one leg on its right side and two legs on the left, making it hard for the Queen to maintain its balance.
"People might thank you and show gratitude when you help them..." Azaroth continued.
Jinwoo thought of all the grateful words and thanks he received, 'I didn't imagine, the weakest of us all would be so useful..' others had said when he had managed to decipher the commandments and saved their lives... but at last-
'People looked down on me because I was..no I am weak...' He thought.
Azaroth looked at Jinwoo with a smile and swung his sword freeing him from the webs.
"But in the face of true power..." Azaroth gave him a hand.
Azaroth's seemingly philosophical statements weren't arbitrary; they were deliberate, a calculated exploration into the depths of Sung Jin-Woo's psyche.
It was akin to the way an astrologer might delve into your personal history before addressing your concerns.
When you go to some astrologer or predictor or a con man and tell them your problems like you are having trouble in business or relationship, instead of solving your queries, the first thing they tell you is- Your name is xxx, mother's name xxx, even if that information were available on the person's social media, he would still feel like the predictor was on to something.
What the other party is trying to do is- trying to connect with the person's inner self, they had done their research and were doing nothing but trying to guess how the person would feel by shooting darts in the dark.
But it was different in this case. Azarort didn't need to shoot in the dark, he fully knew about Jin-woo, he knew what sort of life Jiw had lived till now, and what sort of thoughts his words would invoke inside him.
Azaroth practically had a map of Jinwoo's memories, navigating through the labyrinth of resentment, betrayal, and unresolved emotions.
Azaroth's words weren't just about the immediate battle; they were about the battles fought within the recesses of Jinwoo's own mind. The echoes of the past reverberated with each swing of Azaroth's sword.
The mention of overwhelming power triggering memories of the God's smiling face statue and the bowed heads of the kneeling people struck a chord with Jinwoo. It wasn't just a philosophical statement; it was a key to unlock the doors of Jinwoo's own history, revealing moments of weakness, moments of feeling overlooked and underestimated.
So even if the things Azaroth said looked unrelated at the moment, for Jin-woo, they seemed something else.
In those moments of battle, Azaroth wasn't just a warrior; he became a mirror reflecting Jinwoo's inner demons.
He could have easily killed the B-rank Boss, but his words while fighting 'with his life' on the line while protecting the despair-driven protag invoked a greater impact.
~ Jin Woo's POV ~
As he extended his hand, saying, "But in face of true power...."
Instinctively, I reached out and grasped his hand, "...They will easily betray you..." I muttered, the words escaping my lips almost involuntarily.
He, however, smiled in response. Without glancing back, he snapped towards the incoming web of the Queen, and a burst of flames consumed the threads.
I was subconsciously re-living all those memories, how one by one all those grateful fuckers left me... it wasn't their fault, I was the one who was being a hypocrite at that time, in this world, at the end of the day, they were just trying to save their own lives....
Humans... a race who kills their own if it means gaining something.... but the race who acts as sages to maintain their false image of righteousness... I-I hate those—
"That's why you need allies.... good people who are not just money greedy but really care for their friends and allies," he said.
Listening to his words my eyes widened, and a flood of memories rushed back to me.
Lee Joohee's unwavering support and Mr. Song's selfless acts of kindness.
Their genuine care and readiness to sacrifice.
My gaze involuntarily shifted toward the bloodied Arachnid Queen. With only three legs remaining, the monstrous creature seemed on the brink of death.
In a desperate act, the Queen mustered whatever vitality remained within its fucked-up form and lunged toward us with an open mouth.
Panic seized me, and the words escaped my lips in a reflex, "Behind you!"
He, for a split second, looked at his right hand's connected sword and shook his head.
He then picked up my fallen dagger from his left hand and pivoted toward the oncoming threat and hurled the dagger with a defining force that sliced through the air.
*Pierce**Spurlg**CRIIIIIII!!!!!!* The dagger found its mark, piercing the forehead of the Arachnid Queen with unwavering accuracy.
*snap!* A spark of fire ignited within the hole left by the dagger..... It was... astonishing...
I looked at that with wide eyes and mouth.
He turned his back to the Queen, his gaze meeting mine...
~Jinwoo's POV end~
~3rd POV~
Azaroth turned and looked at Jinwoo with a smile.
Jinwoo watched in awe as Azaroth's massive greatsword dissolved into countless nanobots that reformed into a simple black tank top and hoodie.
"Hi, by the way, I'm Azaroth," said the hunter, extending a hand in greeting.
As soon as he said that a large boom occurred from behind and the Queen's body blasted due to his fire.
It looked like a badass action movie scene....
Jinwoo could only stare in disbelief, "A...Azaroth?"
This immensely powerful man, who had just defeated the terrifying queen, was the Azaroth that he had come to... help...? Eh..?
"Azaroth...as in the student at my sister's school?" He asked just to be sure.
♦♦♦♦
Author Note:
It seems Jinwoo will finally get a big carrying Big Brother Figure!
Our Azaroth is such a good guy...
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