Reincarnated With The Degenerate System

My spear screamed like a jet tearing through the clouds while the air detonated behind it.

In response, his fan activated automatically, trying to cut off my attack—but the force behind my spear was way stronger than before, slicing through every bit of resistance.

bang!

My spear connected, and the impact threw him into a pillar with a deafening crack, stone groaned under the blow.

thud!

He hit hard, sliding down the side before crumpling slightly.

"How—" he whispered, then choked as blood surged up his throat, his stare frozen somewhere between shock and confusion.

In his mind, he probably didn't even know where he'd gone wrong. For a man built on pride, that was the cruelest ending.

"Not so tough now, are you?" I laughed—and hurled another strike. This time, I shattered both his legs.

He hit the ground face first, a broken sound tearing out of his throat. Whatever he tried to activate… nothing happened. His power didn't answer him at all.

I guessed why.

Using abilities like his took focus. Kind of hard to do it when he's missing parts of himself.

"Hey." I strolled up and smiled down at him. "Let me tell you a little secret."

He lifted his head just enough to glare at me, resentment leaking out through bloodshot eyes.

"You see this shadow?" I lifted my palm and let it writhe, thin black ribbons coiling and slipping between my fingers. "This isn't my real ability. My original one is actually—"

I stopped there on purpose, letting the silence do the talking.

His lips trembled. "You can… affect the mind too?"

"Bingo!" I laughed, unable to hide my smug look . "It's really funny how you kept preaching about your power being special and all, not knowing you were dealing with someone with multiple abilities."

His face twisted, the realization finally crawling in. He thought I was just flailing—panicking, throwing wild shots in desperation.

What he didn't know was that every throw had been a brick. Every recall, another layer. I wasn't gambling. I was stacking the deck, winding the attack counter higher and higher until my spear's effect triggered.

It was such a genius plan that I even tricked my own brain into forgetting the ability existed.

And no, it's definitely not because I actually forgot about it for real and I'm only now pretending it was part of the plan. Obviously not. I'm way too smart to rely on luck.

I angled my spear under his chin, just enough to make him lift his head.

"So how does it feel? Knowing you're about to die because of your own arrogance?"

He said nothing, just ground his teeth until the sound itself seemed sharp enough to cut steel.

"You're angry? I liked that look on your face better," I titled my head, savoring the way his glare burned. "See, I'm a sadist myself—but I'm the responsible kind. I make sure my opponent can't fight back first… then I start torturing them mentally."

The words hit harder than my spear ever had.

Blood poured from his mouth in thick splashes, not even a dramatic spray—just ugly, helpless leaking, like his body had finally given up pretending it was okay.

"You're really close to dying, you know."" I said, calm as a doctor calling time of death, "So before you go… at least tell me your name."

I crouched slightly, meeting his eyes through the mess of blood.

"Or what—do you prefer fading out as just some nobody in my head? Either way's fine by me."

He laughed. A horrible, bubbling sound. "You really… think this is… the end?"

I shrugged. "For you? Definitely."

His fingers twitched, and he forced a crooked smile.

"I promise you this," he rasped. "The moment you leave this tower… you'll die a dog's death. My guild—Mythical—won't let this go."

"Mythical."

A slow smile crept onto my lips. Of course it was them. Like the universe had developed a sick hobby by handing me members of that guild one by one to be sacrificed.

"You think that's supposed to scare me?" I jabbed a finger into his forehead, my smirk absolutely merciless. "I've got a personal problem with that guild of yours. So, killing you is a great bonus."

"You..." His eyes widened one last time, and honestly? I was ready to squeeze in a few more insults.

Unfortunately for my entertainment—and very fortunately for his suffering—the damage, the stress, and probably the sheer rage finally tipped him over the edge.

His breath hitched, rattled… and then stopped altogether.

I stood up feeling a little disappointed that my fun was over—but then I noticed a few of his members peeking through the boss corpse.

My grin snapped right back into place.

"Oh? Trying to escape?" I laughed, lunging toward them. "You can run, but you can't hide!

They panicked and formed a line of tanks in front, while the long-range dealers threw a mix of spells at me from the rear.

"Moon Needle Thrust! —Shadow Expanded!"

I pierced through their whole defense in one clean strike, then swung my spear, cutting the next group in half. The scene was so grotesque that the rest immediately broke formation and ran for their lives—which just made it easier for me to pick them off one by one.

Soon, most of them were wiped out by my normal attacks.

Bodies were scattered everywhere. I stepped over a twitching arm and spun my spear once, letting the blood drip off the tip.

That's when I heard it—a weak, trembling voice behind a broken shield.

"W-Wait! P-Please don't kill me!"

I turned and saw a man crawling backward, hands shaking so much he could barely keep his balance.

"I-I'm not part of Mythical!" he cried, pointing at the fallen bodies around him. "I swear! They forced me to join their group."

"Oh?" I tilted my head. "So, you're not with them?"

He nodded so fast it looked like he was trying to shake his own head off.