Plague had been taking a nap when—

Thud, thud, thud...

His eyes opened at the sound of approaching footsteps in the distance.

‘N-No, it can’t be...?’

A bad feeling welled up from the pits of his stomach.

Those footsteps were far too familiar to him now. Those were the very same footsteps that had been chasing after him relentlessly for the past several days.

‘That damned bastard chased me all the way here...? Damn it... He’s quite persistent.’ Plague ground his teeth.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do.

The assailant chasing after him was immune to all viruses.

It was only natural.

Just like Siegfried, Lee Geon was someone who had reached the realm of Grandmaster, so his body had changed, too.

Siegfried was not the only one with a body immune to all poisons and viruses. Thanks to that, Plague was powerless against Lee Geon, just like how he was powerless against Siegfried.

“Whew~”

Lee Geon let out a long whistle and hummed a tune.

“Phew~ Lalala~”

It was his way of applying pressure on Plague, showing that he knew that he was hiding in this ruin.

‘Damn it...’

Plague shuddered as chills ran down his spine.

Thud... Thud...

Meanwhile, Lee Geon’s footsteps drew closer and closer.

‘I have to run quickly.’

Plague made up his mind and immediately ran out of his hiding place. He bolted in the opposite direction from the footsteps.

“You won’t escape this time,” Lee Geon muttered, flashing a chilling grin.

“You’re going to pay for this, you son of a bitch!” Plague screamed in a fit of rage as he sprinted away.

Unfortunately, Lee Geon was faster.

“Where are you going?”

“Wha—?!”

“Don’t you think it’s time to end this game of chase?”

Lee Geon suddenly appeared behind Plague and whispered, his voice cutting like a cold blade.

“Do you know how much trouble I had to go through just to kill a filthy bastard like you?”

“Y-You—!”

“Enough with this game already. Time to die.”

Lee Geon drew his sword and unleashed a barrage of attacks at Plague.

“Gaaargh!”

Plague could do nothing but take the beating like a sandbag, unable to retaliate in the slightest.

All of his skills revolved around unleashing viruses and diseases, and against an opponent like Lee Geon, such skills were utterly useless.

Thus, there was nothing he could do but suffer.

“Aaaagh! Ghkkkk!”

“Oh? Quite the persistent bastard, aren’t you?”

Despite sounding calm and collected, Lee Geon’s face visibly twisted. He looked annoyed because the demonic creature had been refusing to die.

Of course, it was to be expected.

Though there was nothing Plague could do against Lee Geon, he had already caused a widespread endemic that took the lives of hundreds of millions of people. All of the lives he took made him unimaginably powerful; his stats had to have skyrocketed to impressive heights.

If it weren't for the inherent weakness of relying solely on viruses and diseases, he would have easily destroyed Lee Geon in a heartbeat.

Plague was by no means weak at all, which was why Lee Geon was having a hard time finishing him off.

though it would take time, Lee Geon would eventually finish him off.

“Graaaghk!”

Plague’s screams echoed throughout the ancient ruins.

“I guess I’ll just have to drain you dry if you won’t die easily,” Lee Geon said with a shrug.

Then, he activated his skill, the Devouring Grand Art.

Woooong!

Plague’s mana began to pour into Lee Geon’s sword. His mana and lifeforce were being sucked away at a rapid pace.

“Grwaaaaagh!”

Plague screamed in agony. Then, he started shriveling and withering like an old tree devoid of life.

‘Is this... how I'm going to die? Is this it? Damn it... But I just learned how to properly use my abilities...’

Not even the overwhelming stats of a demonic creature could resist Lee Geon’s Devouring Grand Art.

Plague despaired at his impending doom.

Shwiiiiiik!

All of a sudden, a rain of aura blades fell from the sky, trapping Lee Geon. Then, the aura blades emitted a bright light.

Kabooooooom!

A massive explosion engulfed Lee Geon.

Thud!

Right after the explosion, Siegfried dropped from the sky.

“M-Master!” Plague exclaimed, his eyes full of relief.

Siegfried cast a glance at the demonic creature and said, “You held out well, buddy.”

“A-Ah...!”

“Hey, Hamchi. Take him somewhere safe.”

“Kyuuu! Leave it to Hamchi!”

Hamchi grabbed Plague and escaped.

Once the two had disappeared, Siegfried stepped forward and greeted Lee Geon.

“It’s been a while, hasn't it?”

***

“Has it been about three months since we last saw each other?” Siegfried asked, scouring his memories.

“Are you here to rescue your lackey, Han Tae-Sung?” Lee Geon sneered, his lips twisting into a crooked grin.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Do you not know that you were walking to your death?”

‘That damned attitude of his really pisses me off,’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly.

Lee Geon had always been like that. No matter who stood before him, he had no qualms about showing off his ingrained sense of superiority, entitlement, and smug arrogance.

He would always look down at them regardless of their identity.

Of course, it was not hard to see why.

Lee Geon was extraordinarily gifted. He was born with a talent so overwhelming that it was normal for him to be proud of himself. When people lived their whole lives being praised, admired, and marveled at, then it was only normal for them to grow arrogant.

Even so, that did not justify treating others like peasants while acting as if he were some sort of noble.

‘I’m going to destroy him,’ Siegfried thought, clenching his weapon tightly. He wanted to shatter that arrogance and teach Lee Geon that he was not superior to others, that he was just another human like everyone else.

Siegfried gripped his +10 Sky Piercer and said, “No need for talk. Let’s fight.”

“You? Fight me? It looks like you forgot your place after winning by sheer luck,” Lee Geon said with a smirk, raising and pointing his blade at Siegfried. Then, he added, “Do you think fortune will smile upon you again?”

“We will see soon enough,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“This damn worm—”

Before even finishing his words, Lee Geon lunged and unleashed a barrage of attacks on Siegfried.

And that was not all...

Rumble!

Lee Geon’s sword turned into a black hole that greedily sucked in all of Siegfried’s energy.

[Alert: HP has been drained!]

[Alert: Primordial Force has been drained!]

[Alert: Stamina has been drained!]

The Devouring Grand Art drained Siegfried, seemingly intent on turning him into nothing but a dried husk.

“Argh...!” Siegfried gritted his teeth in agony.

“I guess it’s time to die, no?” Lee Geon sneered.

He pressed harder, and he allowed no room for any counterattacks.

Despite being pressured, Siegfried did not use any of his skills, as using them would only feed Lee Geon. Every skill would be devoured by the Devouring Grand Art, turning into fuel for Lee Geon.

Hence, Siegfried fought only with basic attacks.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed rapidly, showing just how fierce their battle was.

Lee Geon pressed on, forcing Siegfried to defend himself.

While others would think that the battle had shifted entirely in Lee Geon’s favor, the reality was that he had yet to land a single clean hit on Siegfried.

Since Siegfried had leveled up the Invincible Spear Art, the automatic defense system triggered much more frequently than before. This compensated for the handicap of being unable to use his skills.

“So you’ve improved a little bit,” Lee Geon scoffed. Then, he flashed a smirk and said, “But do you really think that—”

Flash!

The +10 Sky Piercer unleashed a blinding light.

Clang!

Lee Geon’s sword shattered into pieces, triggering a violent explosion.

“Gahkk!”

Lee Geon was blasted away into the distance.

When his sword was destroyed, the energy he absorbed using the Devouring Grand Art exploded at once. He had been using his sword as a medium to store the energy he absorbed, so the destruction of the sword created a massive explosion.

***

“Not bad at all,” Siegfried muttered with a smile.

[Mortal Blade]

[Nothing is indestructible before this blade.]

[Type: Accessory]

[Rating: Transcendent]

[Attack Power: 0]

[Charges: 9/10]

[Effect: Mortality: destroys the enemy’s weapon regardless of its remaining durability.]

Siegfried was more than satisfied with the performance of the Mortal Blade that was specially crafted for him by Quandt.

He managed to easily shatter the sword Lee Geon had been using as a medium for his Devouring Grand Art simply by exchanging blows using basic attacks.

“Argh... You bastard...” Lee Geon groaned, staggering to his feet.

“Your Devouring Grand Art is really powerful, but it has some serious drawbacks. It puts enormous strain on your body whenever you use it,” Siegfried said as he leisurely walked over.

“...”

“So you need to depend on a medium to ease the burden. And that sword was your medium, wasn’t it?”

“Han Tae-Sung...”

“But what will happen when the sword is destroyed? How stable will your skill be without a medium? How long can you maintain it? Thirty seconds? Or maybe a minute at most?”

“Tsk,” Lee Geon clicked his tongue. Then, he grinned even though his weakness had been exposed.

Surprisingly, there was not the slightest bit of fear on his face.

“Well, you’re not wrong. But who said I only had one sword?” Lee Geon said, opening his inventory and drawing another sword.

“Huh?”

“Did you really think I’d come here without any backups?”

Swoosh!

Siegfried thrust his +10 Sky Piercer forward like a bolt of lightning.

“...!”

Lee Geon instinctively raised his blade to block the spear, but it was not enough.

Clang!

The sword he drew shattered instantly, and the +10 Sky Piercer carved a deep gash across his chest.

“Damn it!” Lee Geon screamed in anger.

He jumped back with lightning speed and pulled yet another sword from his inventory.

“You damn worm dares to go against me?!” he roared in rage.

Even though the gash was a grievous wound, Lee Geon seemed more concerned about his pride than his HP.

Whoosh!

Lee Geon swung his sword, and the sword began sucking in all of the energy around him.

Clang!

However, the sword exploded into fragments, destroyed just like the others before it. In mere seconds, three swords with more than +15 enhancements were shattered into pieces by the +10 Sky Piercer.

“...”

Lee Geon shut his mouth, stunned.

His mind started to race.

‘The stability of my skill drops without a sword. Damn it... I don’t have that many left...’

He was forced to burn through swords worth billions of won every time he used the Devouring Grand Art. While the skill was powerful, it was an insatiable monster that not only devoured the energy around it but also Lee Geon’s money.

It was like driving a supercar equipped with a massive engine, but instead of guzzling fuel, it guzzled cold, hard cash.

As if that was not enough, Siegfried was somehow destroying his swords in an instant.

Lee Geon was now just throwing away money for nothing.

Thus, he concluded that he had two choices left—First, he could fight barehanded while taking the full brunt of the backlash from the Devouring Grand Art skill, and the second and final choice was to make a tactical retreat.

Lee Geon hesitated for a moment, but he soon made up his mind.

He threw the broken sword in his hand aside and clenched his fists.

‘Me? Run away from this worm? Don’t make me laugh. I’m Lee Geon. I’m going to finish him in under a minute.’

Instead of fleeing, he chose to stand his ground and fight.

Anyone would agree that the smarter strategic move was to retreat for now.

However, his pride refused to listen to logic.

In his eyes, Siegfried was nothing more than a nobody who got lucky. He was a gamer who had risen to prominence not with his own skills, but through sheer luck.

Thus, even though he was at a stark disadvantage, Lee Geon couldn’t imagine himself running from a nobody like Han Tae-Sung. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

“So you figured out my weakness. Is that all? Is that why you’re getting so cocky?” Lee Geon said with a scoff. Then, he grinned like a demon and asked, “But do you really think that means you can beat me? I am Lee Geon!”

Rumble!

His entire body began pulling in every single bit of energy in his surroundings. Without any medium acting as a filter, he unleashed the Devouring Grand Art and absorbed everything directly into his body.

Backlash be damned, he was prepared to pay the price as long as he could squash the arrogant worm who dared to stand against him.