Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

Saaah!

The crescent-shaped void, neither liquid nor gas, bore into Shimun’s chest without hesitation, his arms spread wide.

At that, ‘Tch. Did he go mad before we even started?’

Daniel clicked his tongue in slight disappointment.

‘It’s especially fun to break guys like him.’

The more arrogant and haughty they were, the more satisfying it was to break them. The void, just by contact, could cause mental problems. And if contacted with a high concentration or in large quantities, the affected part would be grotesquely twisted.

Impressing this process on the body was immensely enjoyable for Daniel. It was one of his few hobbies aside from observing chaos.

‘But if he’s gone mad before we even started…’

He couldn’t even enjoy his hobby properly. Daniel sighed in regret.

Given the situation, ‘I’ll just finish off Kim Shimun and display him. Then I’ll go deal with Dohu.’

He needed to show what happens when anyone dared to oppose Desperado. Given the venue of the general stadium, it was perfect for making a statement. That’s what Daniel thought.

“What the…?”

Shimun, who had been hit by the void, appeared again with a composed smile.

“You! Why are you still okay?!”

Daniel exclaimed in shock.

“Well? Why do you think?”

Shimun replied with an annoyingly relaxed grin.

“You bastard!”

Daniel roared and swung his dagger again. A swarm of sharp void tendrils targeted Shimun simultaneously, but that was it.

The numerous void tendrils, despite their sharp appearance and notorious reputation, swirled around harmlessly.

Ssssss.

Like water and oil separating, they couldn’t even touch Shimun and merely dispersed around him. The void tendrils floated around Shimun like loosened eggs.

At that unbelievable sight, “This can’t be…”

Daniel was left in a daze. But only for a moment.

“I don’t know why the void doesn’t work on you.”

The dazed look in his sunken eyes quickly filled with murderous intent.

“But slicing your throat with a blade will do just fine!”

Bang.

Daniel kicked off the ground. The intense sonic boom accompanying his charge testified to the speed of a ranker-level assassin.

Despite the considerable distance,

Shuaak.

In an instant, Daniel’s dagger skidded perilously close to Shimun’s carotid artery. Had the dagger’s blade been slightly longer, or the purple aura been a bit more intense,

Shimun’s neck would have spouted a fountain of blood.

However, there was no hint of disappointment on Daniel’s face.

In fact, “You…”

His face darkened.

The reason was simple, “How did you avoid that?”

As a ranker-level assassin, he realized that Shimun hadn’t just dodged by luck. Shimun had precisely calculated the trajectory of his attack and evaded it.

Shimun shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe I was lucky.”

“Don’t bullshit me!”

Daniel’s voice rose at Shimun’s nonchalant response.

“Do you think I’m an idiot? You clearly…”

Daniel’s tirade abruptly stopped.

‘No, there’s no need to play into his hands like this.’

There was no need to engage in conversation with Shimun.

‘I’ll just confirm it myself.’

He just needed to attack again and find out directly.

How a mere Platinum rank had managed to evade his attack.

Daniel swiftly lunged.

This time, with full intention, his dagger emitted an even sharper aura than before.

Buzz.

‘Two fake-outs.’

Several throwing knives, pulled out from who knows where, left Daniel’s hands.

Sshheak.

The knives flew in a straight line. Each one was wrapped in a vivid purple aura. They were aimed at Shimun’s neck and abdomen with a time lag.

Then, with minimal movement, just as he had avoided the previous strike, Shimun twisted his neck and waist, narrowly evading the knives.

Swoosh.

‘He really is reading all my attacks.’

Daniel’s eyes filled with certainty but nothing more.

‘I don’t know how he’s doing it, but with his body twisted, he can’t dodge this!’

Shimun, with his neck and waist twisted in different directions, had his upper body bent diagonally as if leaning on one leg.

Ssschuk.

The diagonal slash across his torso would be impossible to avoid. It should have been.

But,

Kiieeeng!

Crack.

A sharp hum.

At the same time, the sound of a body twisting.

Then,

Swoosh.

Shimun avoided Daniel’s slash once again with a movement that defied the laws of physics. The sinister purple aura pitifully scraped the air.

Instead of being surprised, Daniel, who was about to initiate another attack, felt a sense of frustration in his eyes.

‘Damn!’

“Even if I’m just a Platinum rank…”

He noticed the magi coalesced around Shimun’s now braced hand.

“You can’t just swing recklessly like that.”

And so,

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功).

Supreme Emperor’s Demolition Strike (覇皇碎).

Shimun’s domineering punch struck Daniel’s chest.

***

Jamshil Sports Complex’s Olympic Main Stadium. The immense stadium shook slightly.

The reason was simple. The Emperor’s Demolition Strike had struck the stadium’s roof. Daniel, who had been hit by it, was sent crashing down to the center of the stadium below.

One curious thing was, despite being struck by the Emperor’s Demolition Strike from such a height,

“Urgh…!”

Daniel, the recipient, was entirely unscathed. From atop the stadium’s roof, Shimun glanced at his fist that had struck Daniel.

‘As expected of a ranker.’

He recalled the previous situation. A sword strike encompassing his entire upper body.

Naturally, Daniel’s movements became larger, and Shimun, who had transcended Platinum, was able to find an opening.

So he immediately unleashed the Emperor’s Demolition Strike.

‘To think he covered the impact point with void in that split second… As expected, a ranker’s utilization of their traits is remarkable.’

Just before Emperor’s Demolition Strike struck Daniel’s chest, Daniel used his trait, Void Shaping, to shield himself.

Of course, calling it a shield was somewhat inaccurate.

‘Unfortunately for him, since it’s a void-related trait, it didn’t fully activate.’

For Shimun, who had the title ‘He Who Attracts the Gaze from Beyond’ and connections with the Black Goat, he had an overwhelming advantage when it came to void-related matters.

This allowed him to obliterate half of Daniel’s void-based defensive measure. Shimun let out a slight smirk and jumped down from the stadium’s roof.

Then, his feet sank into the stadium’s floor, but that was all.

Thud.

Shimun casually pulled his feet out of the ground.

“There’s good stuff in being a core member of Desperado, huh?”

Shimun, with a relaxed voice and matching stride, continued, “If that armor was anything less than A-rank, your chest would’ve been blown open.”

To which, “You…”

Thud.

Daniel struggled to his feet, shaking off dust and dirt.

“You think you can deceive me, you Platinum scum?!”

“Deceive? You overextended yourself and got countered. That’s entirely your fault.”

Shimun replied with an irritatingly smug smile. For a moment, veins popped on Daniel’s neck in anger, but then,

“Hoo… Fine, I admit it.”

With a sigh and a spit of bloody saliva, Daniel nodded.

“I underestimated you. Your level was beyond my expectations.”

He brushed off the dirt clinging to his clothes and regripped his dagger.

Shimun chuckled lightly.

“Underestimated? You saw earlier that your trait doesn’t work on me.”

“Hah! Do you think I became a ranker just because of one trait?”

Daniel let out a sneer.

“Seems like getting a bit of ranker experience has made you arrogant…”

With eyes filled with murderous intent, he glared at Shimun.

“Let’s see if you can stay so cocky.”

Swoosh.

Like a lie, Daniel vanished. A cold evening breeze swept around the stadium.

Shimun glanced around the stadium and

‘Indeed, ranker-level assassins are different.’

He was slightly impressed by not sensing anything at all.

‘This is a whole other level from Kim Jongjun or Jinwook’s stealth.’

Kim Jongjun and Park Jinwook, who were top-rank assassin classes near the pinnacle of Diamond, even Park Jinwook, who was at the highest echelon of assassination classes, couldn’t compare to Daniel’s stealth as a ranker.

‘Of course, even in my past life, Daniel’s stealth was considered the best among the top three assassins.’

Daniel, whom the American high-ranker Andrew managed to take down only by discovering the void trails, would have never been caught if Andrew hadn’t figured out the void trails.

And now, ‘No wonder he’s called the world’s best in stealth.’

Shimun understood why Andrew, despite his SS-Rank trait of analysis, couldn’t see through Daniel’s stealth in the past.

‘Who would’ve thought it involves partially stepping into the other side.’

The stadium seemed devoid of any presence except for Shimun. However, with his affinity with the void, Shimun clearly saw Daniel moving carefully around him, partially shrouded in the distinct dark purple hue of the void.

One thing puzzled him.

‘How did he manage that? With an SS-Rank trait like Void Shaping, he shouldn’t be able to utilize the Beyond.’

SS-Rank trait Void Shaping.

As the name suggests, it allows the user to manipulate and shape the void, but that’s all. There shouldn’t be any ability to partially step into a dimension like the Beyond.

Moreover, utilizing it for stealth?

That would require a complete redefinition of the trait’s name. Something along the lines of ‘Wanderer of the Beyond.’

‘So that’s it.’

Shimun’s questioning eyes calmed with realization.

‘Is this related to the Chaos that the Black Goat mentioned?’

The Constellation Black Goat. An entity that usually showed no reaction, it had displayed clear emotions towards the being called Chaos.

Additionally, for it to give a mission under irregular arena conditions,

‘It must be.’

It was certain that Daniel’s stealth was related to this Chaos.

Furthermore, ‘This Chaos is likely a Constellation from the Beyond.’

Using the Beyond for stealth without any penalty indicated that Chaos was a Constellation from the Beyond.

‘The relationship between Desperado and a Constellation from the Beyond…’

It warranted investigation.

With his thoughts organized, Shimun focused magi through his fingers.

Then,

Piping.

Dark beams of light shot out in large quantities. The beams crossed the wide stadium, spreading in all directions.

At first glance, it appeared to be a standard method to detect a hidden assassin, unleashing area-of-effect attacks.

However, the reality was a bit different.

“Hmm.”

Shimun’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if the beams were searching for the hidden Daniel. This was merely a ruse, to give Daniel the impression that Shimun was unaware of his position.

Meanwhile, ‘Hiding between reality and the Beyond, I thought attacks wouldn’t reach him…’

Two or three beams shot towards where Daniel was hidden, and Daniel quickly evaded them. This indicated that, ‘So even hidden between dimensions, he can be hit by attacks?’

This meant the stealth was vulnerable to real-world attacks.

‘This makes things easier.’

Suppressing the smile that threatened to form on his face, Shimun snapped his fingers.

Kururung.

The sky, now dark, rumbled with a fierce thunderclap. Lightning struck Shimun’s hand, drawing in the crackling energy.

Bzzzt.

The magi and lightning condensed into a spherical form. This caused Daniel, who had been circling cautiously, to move faster.

‘He must have seen my broadcast and knows this is an explosive skill.’

During the last siege, Astrape’s lightning had obliterated a section of the fortress wall. If he unleashed it in the center of the stadium, even a ranker-level assassin wouldn’t be able to dodge.

So, ‘He’ll attack before I can unleash this.’

As expected, behind Shimun, from the blind spot of his left eye, Daniel emerged.

Swish.

However, having anticipated Daniel’s movements from the start, Shimun perfectly read the trajectory of the incoming dagger through his precognitive vision.

Critically, the energy in Shimun’s hand wasn’t Astrape.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功).

2nd Technique (波): Annihilation Cannon (殲滅砲).

Pah-zzz!

The beam, infused with intense lightning, cut across the air. Carrying the power of Astrape, the beam sliced through space in an instant.

“Ah!”

The beam pierced through Daniel in mid-attack.

Still, as one would expect from a ranker-level assassin, Daniel instinctively twisted his body in that split second.

“Aagh!”

With a short scream, he rolled on the ground. Originally aiming for the heart, the Annihilation Cannon had instead obliterated Daniel’s left shoulder.

Thud.

His left arm, now disconnected, slapped against the ground.

However, Daniel couldn’t even think of retrieving it.

The reason was simple. The obliterated left shoulder, where Astrape’s lightning had seeped in, sparked and sizzled.

“Arghhhh!”

His injury kept being aggravated.

“Tch. I used up 500 points—no, 400 points. You could at least die cleanly.”

Shimun clicked his tongue in disappointment.

To that, “You damn monster!”

Instead of charging at him, Daniel filled his remaining right hand with void and gripped the air fiercely. It was the same technique he used to dispose of Kim Shihyuk and Park Jinwook.

Void Exile.

Then,

Swish.

With the movement of his arm, Shimun’s form vanished without a trace. A temporary silence descended upon the vast stadium.

“Damn it!”

Daniel broke the stillness with a harsh curse. He immediately retrieved various potions from his inventory and poured them over his wounds.

However,

Zap!

“Aaargh!”

The invading lightning didn’t disappear easily, persistently interfering with the healing effects of the recovery potions.

Amidst the excruciating pain, “Kim Shimun, you bastard! I’ll definitely kill you… I’ll tear you to pieces!!”

Clenching his teeth, Daniel roared in rage.

Woo-woo-ong.

Through the broken ceiling of the stadium, faint sirens could be heard. Undoubtedly, the aftermath of the battle had prompted the mobilization of the Awakened military.

“Damn it!”

Unable to properly tend to his injuries due to the lingering lightning, Daniel clutched his lightning-embedded left shoulder and staggered to his feet.

“Just wait, Kim Shimun…”

Swallowing the continuous nerve-wracking pain,

“I’ll rip apart not just you, but everyone who’s ever spoken to you!”

He spewed out murderous threats.

Then, in his ears,

“Is that so?”

A voice he should never have heard, “I was considering capturing you alive, but there’s no need now.”

echoed.

And that night,

-Breaking news. Around 7:40 PM today, at Jamshil Sports Complex’s Olympic Main Stadium…

-Reports indicate that a key member of the notorious villain organization, Desperado, has died.

In the 8 and 9 o’clock news, as well as on various global portal sites,

『Shocking! Desperado’s Key Member Daniel, Dead?!』

『Official Association Announcement: Void Sprinter Daniel Confirmed Dead!』

『One of the Top Three Assassins, Daniel, Dies in Korea? The Reasons?』

Articles about the death of the world-renowned villain flooded the headlines.

TL’s Corner:
Meh, pretty anti-climactic.