Beyond the Eternity

Among those fighting each other, I spotted the king candidates that I recognised immediately.

The Sun, Han Taeyang

The Hanged Man, Hwang Dowon

The Justice, Yoo Hyewon

The Chariot, Jung Kyungho

Obviously, people like the [Hierophant], the [World], the [Lover], the [Star], the [Moon] and the [Wheel of Fortune] could not participate in the King's Hunt because they were dead.

And other king candidates like the [Temperance], the [Magician], the [Strength] and the [Hermit] had their Arcane cards sacrificed by the [Devil], Park Joonhyuk, to summon the [Yellow Dragon Sword]. As such, It was impossible for them to participate without their chosen Arcane cards.

However, they would be able to participate if they become the pieces of other kings. That's only if they managed to survive the explosion, of course.

Speaking of the [Devil], there was no sight of Park Joonhyuk anywhere. In fact, even king candidates like the [Death], the [High Priestess], the [Black King], the [White Empress] and the [Tower] were nowhere to be seen.

I can understand the [High Priestess] not participating. But what about the other kings? Those guys were extremely greedy.

[The High Priestess has abstained from the Last King's Qualification.]

As the name suggested, the High Priestess wasn't greedy for the Holy Grail. To be precise, she must have already seen the true nature of that item.

The other king candidates were a different story.

Kwang!

There was a huge explosion and multiple people were blown away by the unbelievable force. It was an attack filled with great magic power. No, It was an attack imbued with the power of the Sun.

Someone calmly walked through the crimson purgatory he had created. The flames split apart as if making way for that person.

"Isn't this rather good? There's alot of strong people here."

The man spoke nonchalantly as he summoned a ball of fire. Even from here, I could feel the heat of those flames.

Han Taeyang. He's the leader of the Sun Group and his Arcana was the Sun.

He laughed like a maniac and swung the flames towards a certain direction. The unfortunate players that were caught by those flames were reduced to ashes without delay and those who survived suffered extreme burns.

His flames were boosted by the power of the Sun so it had some serious attack power. If we fought against that person, would we win?

Slash!

His flames were fierce and burned everything it touched. However, someone cut through those flames as if it was made of paper and leaped towards where Han Taeyang was standing.

"...!"

Han Taeyang was built like a magic type fighter. As such, he would be in a complete disadvantage if he was caught in close quarter combat.

He leaped back at once and there was the sound of a sword striking the ground. Once the cloud of dust gave way, the mysterious attacker was revealed.

Long hair, brown eyes, and a slender figure. It was a woman dressed up like a knight from a fantasy story with a short mantle.

The Justice, Yoo Hyewon.

Han Taeyang looked excited for some reason. Perhaps he must have noticed something.

"Isn't this interesting? A woman wants to become a king? Or is it because King Arthur is your support constellation?"

"You bastard. Don't say the name of my support constellation from that mouth?"

"Haha! Why are you so uptight? It's not everyday you see a foreign constellation in South Korea."

Yoo Hyewon glared at him. However, Han Taeyang only smiled as if he found her reaction amusing.

[The constellation 'King of the Round Table' is looking at his Incarnation.]

[The constellation 'Heavenly Sun' is glaring at the constellation 'King of the Round Table']

Heavenly Sun and the King of the Round Table. There was a huge difference in status between the two gods that cannot be measured.

The Heavenly Sun, Hae Mo-So is a historical god from Korean Peninsula. While the King of the Round Table, King Arthur is a Myth-grade constellation from legends. Although the Heavenly Sun had a good amount of status, he couldn't compare to King Arthur whose stories were not limited to his home land.

In the end, It was Stories that determined the status of the Constellation Gods.

[The constellation 'King of the Round Table' is unleashing his status.]

[The constellation 'Heavenly Sun' is unleashing his status.]

A great amount of 'status' were unleashed from the bodies of both Han Taeyang and Yoo Hyewon.

In a scenario where the players' synchronisation with their chosen constellations has reached their peak, the status of the constellations can be unleashed partially those their Incarnations.

"Damnit, what is... this?"

"Too... strong."

The other players, who caught in the crossfire, were bleeding out from the released divine status.

Why were they bleeding out like that? If they released their magic power, they should be able to endure even if they don't have a support constellation.

It was then...

"Heok!"

"Ugh!"

Some people were caught by a thin threads and groaned as they were cut. A man wearing a lab coat redrew his threads and calmly observed the battlefield.

"All this destruction for a stupid cup? How meaningless. But I don't like it when my fate is left into the hands of others so I have no choice."

The Hanged Man, Hwang Dowon swung his threads again and strangled the life out of the next set of players. He glanced at the Grail but he seemed unconvinced of its value.

I would say he's the intelligent type but he simply lacked information.

I shifted my gaze back to Han Taeyang and Yoo Hyewon who were crashing with all their might.

Han Taeyang who was a magic type kept his distance and attacked Yoo Hyewon using ranged attacks. His attack has crazy firepower since his attack were boosted by the Sun Arcana and he also had the status of his support Constellation as well.

But Yoo Hyewon was not to be underestimated. Perhaps she was the speed type or the skill type or maybe both, she made her way towards Han Taeyang while dodging his attacks and cutting the ones she could not dodge.

Her support constellation was King Arthur so her sword technique was at a ridiculous level. Would her sword technique be at the same level as Soo Jinyoung?

... Wait, what was that?

I narrowed my eyes as some people were cut by something. No, those people were being cut down by a huge amount of people without much resistance.

So that person was joining the party, huh?

A person with strong magic power swung his sword and the people infront of him was blown away as if they were hit by a loose cannon.

"Make sure to leave no survivors."

It was a harsh voice. Upon that command, the people behind him jumped out and pounced on the fleeing servants without mercy. Those guys weren't that strong but their numbers were overwhelming.

People stared with disbelief as their bodies were cut down one by one and blood spurted.

The people, who were terrified by the unfair match up, tried to retreat. But the man from before was one step faster and pounced like a wild beast.

The Chariot, Jung Kyungho. He was a brutal man that possessed one of the biggest pieces apart from the World, Ollerus Izzard.

...Han Taeyang, Hwang Dowon, Yoo Hyewon, Jung Kyungho.

Those four had the potential to become the absolute king if they were born in a different era. However, those four were now fighting each other.

"This is too brutal. Have we really gone back to the terrible age of kings?"

Kagura, who was watching beside me, frowned her brows.

Indeed, the age of kings was a really dark era in human history and Gwanghwamun has transformed into a battlefield resembling the age of kings.

Lee Dokho asked. "What are we even supposed to do in this situation?"

"Needles to say, fighting is not of the question. It's only the three of us so even if we fight, we'll get completely annihilated before we even reach that place."

"Tch! That much is obvious, then what do you suppose we do, deputy-nim?"

"We don't necessarily need to fight to reach there."

"What?"

"Do you still have the Hermit Cloak with you?"

"Yes, why? Ohhh! I get it now."

Lee Dokho's eyes widened in realisation.

While the other candidates were killing each other, we would use the Hermit Cloak to brush past them and steal the Holy Grail under their nose.

I can't become the master of the Holy Grail using that method but my aim was not to become the master to begin with.

"Make sure to avoid fighting as much as possible. The plan will be meaningless if we get caught."

"Okay."

The three of us moved through the battlefield while wearing the Assassination Cloak.

We avoided places where the people were fighting and made use of corners. Eventually, we managed to close the distance between us and the Holy Grail.

Even so, there was this sense of unease in my heart that I couldn't pinpoint. What's this feeling?

The plan was going smoothly. The other kings were still fighting and we managed to move without them noticing us. So why was I having this feeling of a terrible premonition?

...Was I missing something important? If so then what?

Swish!

There was a piercing sound.

It was the familiar sound of the air parting way.

Time slowed down and I reflexively crouched down while pulling the party members with me.

Something brushed past the empty air and struck the ground infront of me with a loud sound. There was a trace of magic power on the shell.

[Strong Magic Bullet]

Someone that has perfected the magic bullet skill to this level. The sudden ambush complicated my thoughts. Was there someone that was able to see through the stealth of the Assassination Cloak?

"Damnit! Everyone find cover!"

Several rounds of bullets were fired at once. Fortunately, the three of us were able to find cover in time and the bullets hit the wall behind us.

"Hahahaha! Is that a fleeing king candidate I see?"

It was a voice I was not familiar with. I peeked behind the cover and saw a group of people holding firearms approaching.

It seems some king candidates were smarter than I thought. Perhaps he must have noticed that some king candidates will make their way towards the Holy Grail while avoiding the other kings. But how was he able to see through our stealth.

[Exclusive skill, Black Box has activated.]

I used the skill on the person leading the people this way.

[ « Soul Status » ]

Name: Choi Jungin

Age: 35

Contracted Constellation: Ruler of Corruption

Primary Attritudes: Serial Killer (Rare)

Skills: Marksmanship Lv. 7, Strong Magic Bullets Lv. 2, Weapon Mastery Lv. 3 Lying Lv. 4

Divine Authorities: Bloodlust

Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 32, Strength Lv. 30, Agility Lv. 30, Magic Power Lv. 20

Description: An Incarnation who managed to escape from the Seoul Detention Centre and become the King of the [Tower]. It's advised not to believe any of his words.

The Tower has arrived.

Damn, I forgot about this guy. Since the world was ruined, wouldn't it make sense for prisoners and serial killers to start coming out?

"Oi! Oi! Come out! I know you're there. If you surrender your card, I make sure to let you go."

This bastard. If you're going to lie like this, make sure to reduce your fucking bloodlust. Then maybe, people will find your words to be a little believable.

More importantly, who was going to believe this guy when his support Constellation was a Demon?

"Tch! It's just one problem after another. What are we going to do about that guy?"

"I think I should be able to take out that group."

"You idiot! Even if you were blessed with a strong physique, you'll be filled with holes before you even enter their space!"

"....."

Kagura possessed the power of a Saint attribute. Therefore, she had the Reinforced Physique. But she would still be overwhelmed if she fought those people. Once again, their power levels were low but the problem was their numbers.

...This is difficult.

Choi Jungin had the authority of Bloodlust and his Magic Bullet was at an advanced level. In addition, It would be difficult to handle all of them without increasing my overall stats.

[Coins Possessed: 73,920C]

My coins was initially 123,250C before I spent 49,330C to purchase a few items. The coins I have now would be enough to increase my current overall stats which was 120 to 160.

But my plans will be ruined if I used that route. Should I raise my stats or escape using the crowd as a meat shield?

Suddenly, a system message cut through the chaos like a sword.

[The Death has entered the battlefield.]