Necromancer Survival

     Kim Sangyoon jumped to the ceiling before rushing at Bae Jaemin at a tremendous speed.
Though the Priest managed to avoid that attack, he left his back open to a follow-up swing.

     But…

     “[Change].”

     One of the Priest’s summoned Angels–one of the ones holding a harp–switched positions with Bae Jaemin instantaneously.
Kim Sangyoon’s fist stopped just short of smashing the angel’s head.

     The angel did not seem to feel any pain–let alone any hindrance–even though its head was half demolished.
It acted like a golem rather than a summoned creature.

“[Hymn.]” Meanwhile, Bae Jaemin used a new skill.
The angel with a broken head, accompanied by the other summoned angels, began to play a solemn melody with their instruments.

     I noticed that Bae Jaemin’s feet were slightly floating above the ground; when looking at him, I could see the shadow of flickering, giant wings at his ankles.

     After that–as if they were magnets with the same poles–whenever Kim Sangyoon approached, the Priest was pushed gently away, allowing the Priest to avoid all attacks.
This was clearly due to the effects of the skill that Bae Jaemin had cast just earlier.

     After repeatedly failing to touch the man, Kim Sangyoon growled–

[Are you going to keep running away?!]

     Bae Jaemin sneered insidiously, “If I drag time, it’s my victory.
Why should I compete with you?”

     The Priest was clearly angry but, as he said, Kim Sangyoon was at a disadvantage the longer the fight dragged on.
The black debris–the remains of his shattering body–that was fluttering behind Kim Sangyoon was also starting to thicken.

     Although the Warrior consumed his life to immediately gain enough power to overwhelm the Priest, it was evident that Kim Sangyoon would bow out of the fight first if Bae Jaemin continued to avoid his attacks.

     Kim Sangyoon narrowed his eyes and glared at Bae Jaemin, who kept responding to his attacks with soft jeers.

     “[Berserker Drive, Lunar Eclipse.]”

     However, Kim Sangyoon remained resolutely calm and slowly clenched his fist.

     When Kim Sangyoon activated his skill, a circular pattern like a full moon was engraved into the dented ground.
As he folded his fingers, one by one, the phases of the moon sequentially blackened until the engraving finally transformed into a thin crescent moon.

     That wasn’t all–as the skill activated, the same pattern appeared under Bae Jaemin and the angels’ feet.
Bae Jaemin arched his back as if he were trying to escape the influence of the pattern; he floated higher than before.

     And then, once more, Kim Sangyoon rushed towards Bae Jaemin at an insane speed.

     “It’s…futile!” Bae Jaemin shouted boldly as he fired orbs of light.
But, Kim Sangyoon did not avoid the attacks and instead opted to narrow the distance between him and the Priest.

“[Change].”

     The Warrior almost grabbed Bae Jaemin by the neck, but once again, Bae Jaemin’s skill came out on top.

     This time, the Priest had changed positions with an angel carrying a lyre; even as it defended itself, the angel stared blankly at Kim Sangyoon.

     However…

 

     Crash–!

 

     “Cough…!”

     When Kim Sangyoon punched the angel in the stomach, the other three angels and Bae Jaemin faltered as if they had also been hit in the same area.

     Bae Jaemin gritted his teeth and looked at the crescent moon pattern underneath his feet.
“This bastard…”

.
[Go to the afterlife with your stupid angels.]

     Kim Sangyoon raised his fist once more.

     Bae Jaemin ground his teeth as he shouted, “[Perfect Shield]!”

 

Cla-Cla-Cla-Clank–!

 

     An opaque shield materialized in front of the Warrior’s fist, and the angel could not be hit.
Fist and shield interlocked; it screeched as if a metal pipe was grinding against a window.

     However, Kim Sangyoon didn’t give up; as if he had prepared for this situation, he spread his other fist.
As his fingers unfurled, one by one, the crescent moon pattern turned back into the full moon once more.
At that point, Kim Sangyoon swung his fist.

 

Clank–!

 

    Immediately, the center of the shield broke as if some heavy weight had slammed against it.
The skill the Warrior used just now must have adjusted the distribution of his power according to the number of opponents before him.

     Bae Jaemin’s eyes opened wide as he saw the smashed shield–and, consequently, the Warrior’s fist smashed into his face.

     I watched Bae Jaemin chew at something in his cheeks before spitting out a white shard of a tooth.
When I saw his humiliated expression, I felt as if a bit of my pain had been relieved.

     “I’m going to kill you today…” he grumbled.

     I couldn’t be too happy though.

     His cheeks, swollen from a few good hits, recovered with a flick of the Priest’s finger; the angels who had been smashed and broken here and there had revitalized as if nothing had happened.

     Compared to Bae Jaemin’s ability to recover as if nothing happened no matter how much he was attacked, it was clear that Kim Sangyoon had reached his limit.
Although there was no significant change in Kim Sangyoon’s expression, the black dust swirling around him now covered about half of his body.

     ‘No matter how many times he wins skirmishes against Bae Jaemin… What’ll happen if Kim Sangyoon dies…?’

     Bae Jaemin had now properly prepared himself; this time he raised his staff without taking the time to belittle his opponent.

     I didn’t know what kind of skill he was about to use, but I felt a shift in the atmosphere…characteristic of a large-scale, wide-area attack.
Small clouds gathered around Bae Jaemin’s body as if they were mimicking a scene from the holy scriptures; soon, an intense light began to shine over his head, piercing through the ceiling.

     Then Kim Sangyoon stepped back for the first time since launching his [Berserker Drive] ability.
When I saw a hitherto unseen, anxious expression on his face, my body also tensed.

     “[Divine Possession].” When the words finally tumbled out of Bae Jaemin’s mouth, the skill was fully activated.

     I didn’t know much about a High Priest’s skills, but when the Priest’s eyes opened, I was immediately overwhelmed–I couldn’t dare look at him directly.

[Divine Possession].

     An incredible skill that calls upon a god to descend upon the User; Bae Jaemin had succeeded in stuffing something so tremendous into his body.
It was almost unbelievable to imagine that something like a god could reside in his small and insignificant mortal flesh.

[Tsk….
What’s that?]

     Kim Sangyoon had also felt that presence; his expression became momentarily agitated.

     I felt the gravity of the situation when that high-dimensional being used Bae Jaemin’s eyes to face us… Unfortunately, I immediately sensed what emotions it harbored.

     It was not even slightly benevolent towards us.
No–it was clearly hostile and exuded killing intent.

[Traitors of order and righteousness…You must be apostles of the Retrograde, violators of the right order.] 1

     However, it did not immediately reach out to us.  That being could immediately quash us, but, ironically, the being probably felt no need to rush because it was so overwhelmingly powerful.

     Though it spoke using Bae Jaemin’s mouth, its voice was completely different from that of the Priest’s.
Permeating throughout its words was a predominant emotion: contempt.

[The smell of corpses is so disgustingly strong… I see, the Retrograde still thrives in this world through disgusting means.]

     With that mysterious statement, it looked at me rather than Kim Sangyoon, the Warrior that stood right in front of me.

“”

     ‘Is it because I’m a Necromancer…?’

     While it was well-known and true that Priests were well equipped against evil attributes, the god’s proclamation didn’t seem to be talking about a mere superficial gap in power.

     But that vaulted, distant god seemed unwilling to kindly explain the matter to me.
Of course, I didn’t expect such consideration, either.

     The God soon took its eyes off of me and looked at the Warrior, covered in black smoke.

[Whether in the past or now, you always make stupid choices… Iora.]

     […What are you talking about? Tsk.]

[Doesn’t he feel any shame at being reduced to a weapon?]

     After muttering this, the god raised both arms; the scattered angels lined up behind it, emitting an incomparably intense aura.

     Then, the god gracefully frowned, and with its hands raised and sweeping through the air, it declared–

[While the sun is up, we shall emerge victorious.]

[Aaaah~ aaaah~ aaaah~ aaaah~]

     The angels behind the god opened their mouths, singing what seemed to be a wordless hymn.
A beautiful melody began to fill the entire house.

     Though it was definitely a dark early dawn outside the window just earlier, the whole house surprisingly began to brighten…as if the sun had just risen.
I could no longer feel any darkness outside that window.

 

 

 

 

TL: Iora??? What tf is going on? Why is Kim Sangyoon Iora??? Who is this ‘god’?

Footnotes

So, 역행 is a word that means “going against the flow” or “moving in the opposite direction.” It can be used both literally and metaphorically, for example, to describe someone who is driving the wrong way on a road, or someone who is going against societal norms or conventions.
This word was already used before to describe Seo Dawon’s skill path or skill tree.