Chapter 291: The Curse of Immortality (2) |
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ryu Min swung his scythe—and Artaros blocked by instinct.
Or rather, tried to block.
Slash—!
One of his arms fell off.
Now a one-armed Artaros faced another strike.
Clang— Clang—!
He managed to block, but barely.
His movements were clearly slower than before.
Artaros, though slightly flustered, didn’t show it and attempted a counterattack.
He was invincible—what was the point in blocking?
Ting—!
His sword bounced off the invincibility barrier, and Artaros was visibly shaken.
Ryu Min, indifferent, drove his scythe into Artaros’s heart.
Thud—!
In an instant, Artaros lost his life—only to regain consciousness again.
He revived yet again and would continue to do so—but his expression now held unmistakable distress.
‘This isn’t good.’
His overall stats had dropped further.
Now even blocking the black scythe was proving difficult.
Especially when the attacks came relentlessly.
Thud— Thud— Thud—
His neck was severed, his skull pierced, his heart impaled.
Within just 50 seconds, Artaros died five times.
His stats had dropped to less than half.
‘I’ve lost a lot, but I can still manage. Just 10 more seconds…’
Then the opponent’s invincibility would wear off.
Just ten more seconds, and he’d have a chance to strike back.
‘I’ve taken seven stat penalties, but it’s fine. If I use [Blazing Radiance] again and raise my stats by 50%…’
He figured he could still hold his ground.
And so, when the golden light surrounding Ryu Min faded cleanly—
Artaros used Blazing Radiance to prepare his counterattack.
His stats surged 50%, vitality returning to him.
[You probably thought you had the upper hand by killing me during your invincibility—but that ends now—]
He trailed off mid-sentence.
There was a change in Ryu Min’s body.
Black energy shimmered around him, different from before.
“Oh, this? My Grim Reaper Form’s cooldown came back.”
[…….]
“What? You thought only you had buffs? I’ve got them too.”
Before the words even fully left him, Ryu Min’s scythe flashed like lightning.
Before Artaros could react—his head was severed again.
As it reattached, Ryu Min murmured,
“You say it’s a curse that prevents death? That you keep reviving? Then I’ll just keep killing you. Forever—until we’re both sick of it.”
Ryu Min was relentless in his goal to kill his opponent.
His foe was strong—but now, a weakness was showing.
If not now, there would be no other chance.
Knowing that, he pushed with everything he had.
Using The Grim Reaper Form, it felt like he was fighting a child.
Slash— Slash— Slash—!
He severed the limbs and finished it with his newly learned skill.
‘Death Sentence.’
Fwoosh!
The moment he cast it, a fountain of crimson blood burst forth—an instant death.
Despite such a gruesome death, Artaros kept reviving.
Of course, during the three seconds it took him to come back, Ryu Min couldn’t interfere.
Before his body was fully restored, even swings of the scythe would strike another dimension.
But that didn’t matter to Ryu Min.
He’d just wait three seconds—then kill again.
“How many times have you died now? Thirty times?”
[…….]
“How’s it feel to die the moment you revive? How much have your stats dropped? I’m curious. Oh, sorry. I didn’t give you time to speak.”
Ryu Min pulled back his scythe.
“If you’ve got something to say, go ahead.”
[……Godkind don’t use the stat system. That’s just something made for players to easily understand.]
“Whatever. How much power do you have left? By my count, you’ve got only about 4% compared to the original.”
To Ryu Min, an opponent with 96% of their power lost was nothing.
Well, they might still toy with average players, but not him.
[Mock me all you like. If it brings you comfort.]
“Oh? Giving up now? Don’t feel like surviving?”
[If you’re expecting me to beg, you’re wasting your time. I have no intention of groveling for my life.]
“Is that so?”
Ryu Min tried to read his opponent’s mind.
There was no way someone sent by the gods to kill him would give up so easily.
There had to be something hidden.
‘Huh?’
With that thought, Ryu Min was genuinely shocked.
Because Artaros’s gambit was something he hadn’t anticipated.
[You fool.]
Suddenly, Artaros’s eyes turned violet.
[Giving me time to talk—that was your fatal mistake. All I needed was a moment.]
Ryu Min’s body froze like if his soul had left him.
In a stillness where even time seemed to stop, only Artaros’s lips moved.
[To have driven me this far… I commend you, Black Scythe. But to the gods, you’re an inconvenience. You shouldn’t ruin their only source of fun.]
Artaros placed his hand on Ryu Min’s head.
If he could, he’d crush it right there—but with time slowed like this, his options were limited.
[It’d be best to kill you, but in my current state, that’s impossible. So I’ll erase your memories. All the abilities, connections, and power you’ve gained—gone. Then you’ll naturally fail the game and disappear.]
Unable to kill him, this was all Artaros could do.
[I’ll be waiting for your soul in the underworld. Haa… What am I going to tell Nyx?]
Muttering to himself, Artaros dragged his weary body and disappeared beyond the space.
***
Demon Castle, shrouded in darkness.
Only one person lay sprawled across the floor.
“Ugh… Wh-where is this…?”
Regaining consciousness, Ryu Min sat up and looked around.
Nothing was visible—but more than that, his head was pounding.
“Ugh… my skull’s about to split… What the hell happened?”
He looked around, but no one was there.
Neither Plunictos nor Artaros—both had disappeared somewhere.
‘That bastard Artaros… he tried to erase my memories.’
Ryu Min clearly remembered the moments just before.
Everything the bastard said after stopping time—every word.
All thanks to the Rune of Memory he’d obtained after defeating the dragon.
‘He couldn’t kill me with his reduced stats, so he tried to erase my memories after stopping time… And then he must’ve deactivated the Void Space.’
It was a good attempt—but the guy hadn’t known.
That the Rune of Memory preserved his memories intact.
Even the words spoken in that slowed-time state remained in Ryu Min’s mind.
‘Or rather… did he slow time to the extreme instead of actually stopping it?’
Even in the decelerated time, Ryu Min’s ears had remained open.
Which was how he could hear every word Artaros muttered.
‘He definitely mentioned a god named Nyx at the end.’
That was likely the being who ordered Artaros to kill him.
‘So I’ve got one more god to kill now.’
A chilling smile crept across Ryu Min’s lips.
I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!
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