NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42
Observer IV
For reference, the proper nouns I use in the text are mostly of my own creation.
I didn’t fancy myself a creator afflicted with a delusion that I alone had the right to name everything. Rather, it was simply because I was often the first to witness these wondrous phenomena.
Think about it. Who else but me has watched in real time as an Awakener transformed into a grotesquery?
Thus, I alone had to come up with terms for phenomena like ‘corruption’ and for entities known as ‘Corruptors.’
What I had to create wasn’t limited to terminology. Every time a formidable boss-level grotesquery appeared, I had to write the ‘strategy guide’ for defeating it.
I hope others will not have to make the same mistakes I did.
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[Saintess Corruption]
[Executioner Route: Route Activation Conditions]
1. At least 15 years have passed while the Saintess is still alive.
2. The number of civilian casualties the Saintess has witnessed exceeds ‘at least’ one million. Especially if she has observed powerless elders and children dying or being tortured over 100,000 times.
3. When the Saintess masters the use of aura.
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This is known as the ‘Executioner Route.’
None of these conditions being met means the Executioner Route does not activate.
This is knowledge I've gained through numerous regressions. In fact, conditions 1 and 2 are almost identical, so it is fine to consider them as one.
The existence of SG Net is irrelevant here. Even if SG Net, which allows the spreading of videos, disappears, the Saintess does not stop her ‘executions.’ Only the locations of the executions change.
If the pathway to disseminate videos online is blocked, the Saintess would not just use underground parking lots; she would hang the bodies of villains directly in city squares. If she managed to obtain a cassette of the villain confessing their sins, she would play it, or if that wasn’t feasible, she would use paper, attaching it to the corpse’s body as if posting a notice.
Has anyone ever witnessed bodies being hung simultaneously in 12 cities across the nation on the same day and at the same hour?
Let me reiterate, the Saintess is a multi-ability Awakener almost to the point of cheating. She should never be underestimated.
The best strategy is never to enter the Executioner Route in the first place. But if you do enter it, you must subdue the Saintess as quickly as possible.
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[Executioner's Abilities]
1. Time Stop
2. Telepathy
3. Clairvoyance
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Let’s start with an explanation of Time Stop.
Our time is not the same as the Saintess’s time.
From my perspective, I might have only delayed a day, but to the Saintess, it could have been two days, a week, a month, or perhaps even a year. Each second that passes might give the Saintess an opportunity close to eternity.
Take, for example, right now.
“Damn it...!”
It was impossible to dodge thousands of bullets and dozens of axes. I ran with all my might, but like a light drizzle soaking clothes, or rather a torrential downpour during the monsoon, I was barraged.
I surrounded my body with aura to block the damage, but aura is not infinite. My mental energy was continuously depleted in real time.
[I think Mr. Undertaker’s combat prowess is impressive.]
As the battle continued, hundreds of footprints appeared on the snow-covered ground.
In front of me. Behind me. All around.
Footprints I hadn’t stepped in or seen tightened around me.
[But how long can you hold out?]
The Saintess’s aura was infinite.
Despite having just unleashed countless attacks, the Saintess seemed not to tire, sending dozens of axes, each meticulously infused with aura, flying towards me again.
It was an absurd manipulation of aura.
“You’re not telling me you’re charging up aura while stopping time?”
[Yes.]
The Saintess’s indifferent tone pierced directly into my mind. Though her tone was the same as usual, for some reason, it sounded annoying to my ears.
[I took a ten-day break and recharged. While Mr. Undertaker was standing still, I rested.]
I cursed internally. It was as if I was fighting someone with an infinite HP and MP cheat code.
‘Is this how Ten Legs felt when it faced me?’
I might not remember Ten Legs, but from its perspective, I must have seemed like a being who, no matter how many times they killed me, would always come back to life and demand a rematch. They probably wanted to complain about me cheating.
Right now, I felt exactly like that. Involuntarily, my monster empathy was flourishing.
However, like my regressions, the Executioner’s [Time Stop] was not a perfect ability. There was definitely a weakness.
‘If she had kept attacking me while stopping time, she could have subdued me easily, but she didn’t.’
Her not doing so meant she couldn’t.
Above all, the Saintess used ‘hand axes’ as throwing weapons rather than ‘swords’ or ‘spears’ that could strike an opponent directly. She stubbornly persisted in long-range combat rather than close combat.
This clearly meant something.
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[Executioner's Abilities]
1. Time Stop: An ability that allows for an almost infinite number of attacks while always being able to dodge an opponent’s attacks. However, it is presumed that time stop is canceled ‘in cases of direct contact’ with an opponent.
2. Telepathy
3. Clairvoyance
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This might be the flaw in the Time Stop ability.
And while the Saintess casually mentioned she had ‘rested for ten days,’ it was likely an exaggeration.
In this era, firearms and ammunition were not abundantly stocked. Gathering those rare resources to bring here and fire at me would have consumed a significant amount of time.
For me, it was merely a moment, but during that time, the Saintess had likely traveled the nation preparing her attack.
Of course, it wouldn’t matter if she could stop time for a year, or even ten years, but even for the Saintess, that would be difficult.
Living alone for years in a world where no one else moves or speaks would be challenging.
At least every ten days, if she didn’t release time, the Saintess’s mental energy would rapidly deteriorate.
Thus, battling the Saintess resembled playing a shooting game, or perhaps more accurately, a bullet hell game.
Even just closing my eyes for a moment, countless bullet curtains obscured my vision. Somehow, I had to dodge the barrage of bullets and axes and finally, approach the Saintess and ‘touch’ her.
It seemed an excessively difficult victory condition, but unfortunately, the Saintess’s gimmick wasn’t over yet.
[Roar!]
I flinched—
A sudden loud bang from my left startled me. Had the Saintess finally resorted to using bombs as well as guns?
But that was strange. I quickly looked around, but there was no explosion anywhere to be seen.
Of course, hesitation during combat was quite fatal. As I flinched, countless bullets pummeled my body.
My entire body vibrated. My head was dizzy. I felt the remaining aura dip significantly from the impact.
‘What was that explosion sound?’
As I moved swiftly, I endlessly pondered. Before I could even hypothesize what the explosion sound was, a new noise tore through my mind with a ferocity.
[Screeeeech—!]
My face contorted. The sound was like dragging a steel tooth across a metal plate. Already having a highly developed sense of hearing compared to the average person, my discomfort grew even more.
But with bullets raining down from all directions, such a metallic noise shouldn’t have been so loud.
‘Telepathy ability!’
I gritted my teeth. This was noise that the Saintess was directly implanting in my head.
“Wasn’t telepathy supposed to only transmit voices!”
[As I mentioned, my ability has evolved over time. I can replay any sound I remember storing. Would you like me to play a song for you?]
Damn it.
If the Saintess personally took on the role of a radio DJ, I would be grateful to listen and even send fan letters regularly. The problem was that the DJ was currently causing me noise pollution.
It wasn’t just explosion sounds and screeching that tormented me.
[Undertaker! I’ve come to help!]
That was Dang Seo-rin’s voice.
Even though my head knew Dang Seo-rin wasn’t actually here, my body couldn’t help but react. I hesitated, and yet another barrage of bullets cascaded down on the aura barrier. It was maddening.
[Hyung!]
That was Seo Gyu. I gritted my teeth and ignored it.
But the next moment, when I heard a whispering voice right next to my ear, I thought I was going crazy.
[Is that the guild master?]
It was none other than Go Yuri’s voice. Chills ran down my entire body.
‘I’m going mad.’
Such maliciousness was unmatched. As much as I knew the Saintess, she knew me too well.
Closing off my senses was useless. How could I dodge telepathy that was being hammered directly into my brain?
Eventually, I couldn’t even trust my own hearing. My senses muddled, I continued the battle.
[No matter how much you run, it’s meaningless, Mr. Undertaker. Have you forgotten that I am still revered as a constellation by others?]
I widened my eyes. Could it be?
[As soon as the battle started, I designated Mr. Undertaker as a ‘target for subjugation’ to Awakeners across the nation. I’ve notified them of your location as well. Looking through Clairvoyance, hundreds of Awakeners are converging here.]
“All the Awakeners like me!”
[No, only 50% of the Awakeners like you. It’s just that many of the strong ones are among that 50%. Many others have been eyeing you eagerly, like the SwordMarquess of Yuldoguk. Now that I’ve declared under the name of Constellation that ‘the Undertaker has fallen,’ even if only temporarily, they’ve been given a reason.]
“Dang Seo-rin...”
[Of course, I haven’t implanted any messages to the guild master of Samcheon World or the leader of the National Road Management Corps. But since I didn’t want you to be disappointed that they weren’t invited, I prepared a surprise gift for you without Mr. Undertaker knowing.]
This is insane.
“Please tell me it’s not Go Yuri!”
[You know me well, Mr. Undertaker.]
My head felt faint. Dealing with the Saintess turned Corruptor was deathly enough, but now Go Yuri joining the fight too? Was she planning to turn the regressor into a minced regressor salad?
[You have three hours left.]
A time attack had been added to the bullet hell game. It might have been just bluffing to make me anxious, but.
In conclusion, the Saintess’s abilities were as follows:
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[Executioner's Abilities]
1. Time Stop: An ability that allows for an almost infinite number of attacks while always being able to dodge an opponent’s attacks. However, it is presumed that time stop is canceled ‘in cases of direct contact’ with an opponent.
2. Telepathy: Initially, it transmitted only the Saintess’s voice, but as the ability upgraded, it transformed into ‘sound playback.’ She could reproduce not only other people’s voices but also noises such as explosions.
3. Clairvoyance
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How was one to defeat this?
Honestly, it wouldn’t be out of line to declare her unbeatable.
“……”
But there is always a way to win.
Whether it was Ten Legs, Udumbara, or Milky Way, when I first faced them, it always seemed like there was no answer, but as could be seen from the case of the Udumbara, sometimes the problem was solved in an entirely unexpected way.
I gave up.
More precisely, I gave up on defeating the Saintess.
Instead, I suddenly wiped out all the aura that was wrapped around my entire body.
“……!”
From a distance, I saw the Saintess’s eyes widen.
Footnotes:
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