Chapter 42: Toward the Hell Train (4)
A white wave of shinsu slammed into the gatekeeper guarding the entrance of the Hell Train — the Mirotic Guardian. After the explosion and the rippling shockwaves of shinsu passed, the Guardian's figure emerged once more. As expected, completely unharmed.
"So you're just a fledgling who barely climbed up from D-rank. You know nothing. This door right now…"
"I know, I know. It won't open until the train arrives, right? Absolutely."
The Guardian tilted his head for a moment at my reply, but only briefly. Soon, among the five lances floating behind him, the first and second began to move.
"Such arrogant behavior… overestimating your own strength. No attack of any kind can—"
"—affect you. Yeah, I know. Unless someone turns you off with a remote or the train arrives and you disappear automatically."
"…I don't understand why you're doing this if you already know everything. But according to my assigned duty, I will eliminate you."
The two lances released shinsu and shot toward me with enough power to be abnormal for this area. I lightly swung my sword diagonally, deflecting the two lances which bounced away in the exact direction I struck them. My turn now. I only planned to play a little — but I'd start strong.
'White Night/Baekya, partial activation.'
When I thrust my sword, White Night, a white beam blasted out from it. It struck the Guardian squarely in the chest and detonated with quite a satisfying force. In the smoke from the blast, a sudden green flash appeared as a shinsu cannon fired. I quickly tilted my head to dodge it. The Guardian had already drawn his third lance. Each additional lance used made him exponentially stronger — but he still wasn't enough. He had five lances, so I intended to force him to draw all five.
After setting today's goal, I twisted my angles and unleashed white slashes at each of the three incoming lances. The Guardian took the hits but looked completely fine, as expected. It was only a projection — it wasn't supposed to take actual damage.
"Return!"
The Guardian shouted, retrieving the three lances, and then they began to multiply. One lance split into five, forming a total of fifteen lances that flew toward me. Their power far exceeded the earlier attacks.
Hmm, fifteen lances… that's nearly Ranker level.
In response, I formed twelve shinsu swords and launched them. For reference, I continuously absorb shinsu due to my "Blessing of Shinsu." Meaning unlike normal people, increasing the number of rooms doesn't decrease power or increase control difficulty. As long as my control is strong enough, I can create as many rooms as I like.
My twelve shinsu swords collided with twelve of the Guardian's lances, canceling each other out. I easily deflected the last three with my real sword. Taking advantage of the moment as the Guardian retrieved his weapons, I crafted a massive shinsu sword on the spot and fired it. It also hit cleanly. Thanks to the ongoing exchanges, the entire first floor of Train City was shaking with constant roars and tremors. Despite the direct hit from the giant shinsu sword, the Guardian stood unscathed yet again. Then his fourth lance lit up.
"Oh, finally the fourth one."
At last, the fourth of the five lances began to move. Shinsu swirled with even greater intensity around the Guardian. Floating all four lances around him, he spoke to me.
"I acknowledge your strength for forcing me to draw my fourth lance. So, will you retreat now? This door will never open before the Hell Train arrives."
…Even if he's nothing but a program-made artificial lifeform, he's speaking so politely that I honestly don't feel like fighting anymore. Maybe I should withdraw now. But… my blood is still burning. I only just started getting excited — walking away now feels frustrating.
"Sorry, but I just warmed up."
"…You refuse to listen to reason."
Sorry. I did listen. Seeing the Guardian sigh actually made me feel guilty. I used to have a normal personality outside the Tower. How did I turn into such a battle maniac?
"Did I get it from you?"
"What?"
Maschenny stared at me weirdly after my sudden question. Ignoring her, I looked back at the Guardian. His aura and his lances kept growing stronger. The four lances began splitting again — ultimately forming twenty.
With fifteen lances, he was close to Ranker level, but earlier I realized something: the number of rooms matched Rankers, but the strength of each room did not. That was when he had three to fifteen. Now that he has drawn the fourth lance and increased to twenty… I have no idea anymore. Each additional lance multiplies his power drastically.
"If you insist on being stubborn… be erased here!"
Twenty green lances fired at me with overwhelming pressure — clearly stronger than before. Still not quite Ranker level, but confronting twenty at once head-on was intimidating. Fear, trembling, excitement, joy — all sorts of conflicting emotions swirled through me.
I dispersed twelve shinsu swords around me and summoned a vortex of shinsu around White Night.
Hoaquin-Style Shinsu Control — White Dragon Gale
From White Night, a white vortex formed. And around each of the twelve shinsu swords, twelve more vortices appeared. These weren't ordinary whirlwinds. Each one possessed enough cutting power to be considered a slash made of wind — deadly whirlwinds of pure blade-like shinsu. They could be used for either offense or defense. This was my shinsu technique: White Dragon Gale.
The twelve whirlwinds intertwined and expanded, forming a flow of violent air around me to block attacks.
"Whirlwinds won't save you!"
On the Guardian's shout, the twenty lances pierced through the first vortex — the weakest one. But eleven more remained. Some lances were caught by the unique currents of my whirlwinds and veered off course. Others failed to penetrate the spinning barriers and were swallowed by the winds. By the time the last vortex was breached, only seven lances remained — still dangerous.
I pulled the remaining twelve whirlwinds back into my sword, combining them with the vortex around White Night. Thirteen in total. Their violent shinsoo currents intensified, barely restrained.
I didn't need to hold them back any longer.
"I think this will matter."
I swung White Night toward the seven incoming lances — and toward the Guardian standing in a straight line behind them. The thirteen released vortices roared forward, a colossal white tornado like a raging dragon. It shattered the lances instantly and surged toward the Guardian, swallowing him whole.
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GAK—!
A chilling, blade-like sound tore through the air as ferocious winds raged. The Guardian's form was consumed by the storm, shredded apart as if ripped limb from limb.
"...!"
Even the Guardian, who had shown almost no reaction to any of my attacks until now, seemed genuinely startled by this one.
Of course, the damage was still zero.
The storm of razor-sharp shinsu winds finally settled, and the Guardian's figure emerged once more — perfectly unharmed. Just like when we first met, his appearance was immaculate, not even a speck of dust on his clothes. But… something felt different.
"Code D-352 detected. Activating High-Ranker Protocol."
…What?
Before I could even process the confusion, the Guardian's fifth lance burst with light. He had finally begun using all five. And at the same time, an overwhelming aura radiated outward from him — so powerful it felt like he'd become an entirely different being.
Wuuuuum—
The five lances gathered around him again. As before, they began splitting. The problem was: instead of splitting into five each, they were now splitting into six. The five lances multiplied rapidly… becoming thirty.
"Exterminate."
The moment he spoke, more than thirty lances shot toward me at terrifying speed. Each one carried far more power than the ones he used with four lances.
What the hell— this really IS Ranker level.
If I don't block this, I'm actually going to die. For the first time in a while, my survival instinct blared loudly. I forced an awkward smile to relax myself, then tightened my grip on White Night. Thirty green lances, already overwhelming me just by existing. They were on a completely different level from the earlier twenty.
To stop this, I would need to use my absolute strongest card.
"White Night — activate."
My strongest trump card was, of course, White Night. Without a trace of hesitation, I unleashed its activation — not a partial activation like before, but the full 100%.
The moment I activated White Night, blinding white light surged out.
White Night Full Drive – Ventus Solari (Solar Wind)
Unlike the form I used back in the Crown Game, this version lived up to the name "Solar Wind." Each swing generated violent explosions. With this, maybe — maybe — I could cancel out the thirty incoming lances. If I just kept swinging until everything blew up, it might work—
Just as I prepared to swing White Night, a blue flash appeared and yanked me away.
The blue shinsu-enhanced figure moved like lightning — Maschenny. She suddenly grabbed me and pulled me aside, forcing me to cancel White Night's activation. Right before I swung, she snatched me and leapt out of the lances' trajectory. Then, with her back to the Guardian, she threw me away from the direct line of fire.
Ugh— no, wait, more importantly—
"HEY! Are you insane?! Do you know how dangerous it is to interrupt during activation?!"
Instead of apologizing, Maschenny shouted back even louder:
"You idiot! Didn't you hear him say High-Ranker? You should be running, not trying to clash with that!"
…Honestly, if I were being optimistic, maybe I could have canceled them—? No, okay, maybe not. And come to think of it, I could've just retreated. Guardians don't attack people who withdraw. I completely forgot, too focused on the fight.
How pathetic— Wait.
The thirty lances that should've slammed into a wall after missing me were floating in mid-air. When the Guardian turned toward us again, they swiftly adjusted their angle and charged at us.
Why?
I thought he didn't attack retreating opponents?
"Maschenny!"
Of all things, Maschenny was standing with her back to the Guardian. Before the lances reached me, they would hit her first. I grabbed her immediately and pulled her behind me.
Damn it, I canceled White Night earlier too…
Now the thirty lances were aimed solely at me. I poured as much shinsu into my sword as I could and swung—but stopping a Ranker-level barrage with normal sword strikes was, unfortunately and obviously, impossible. The green lances easily tore through my attack.
The first lance hit me directly.
"Ghh—!"
The impact was enormous.
"Hoaquin!"
Maschenny would be caught if she stayed here, but I had no room to warn her.
…Damn it. All this because I picked a fight with something that wasn't even doing anything.
I only meant to use him for warm-up training, and now I was about to die like an idiot. The remaining twenty-nine lances still raced toward me without mercy. One was already right in front of my face.
I had no choice but to endure.
Clenching my teeth, I reinforced my body with shinsoo. The second lance pierced through me, and as the rest were about to tear me apart—
—everything vanished.
"…?"
The two lances that had hit me, the dozens more about to hit, and even the Guardian himself—
All of them disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Stunned, both Maschenny and I simply blinked dumbly.
Huh?
------------------
300 Power Stones → 1 extra chapter
500 Power Stones → 1 extra chapter
1000+ Power Stones → 2 extra chapters
If you want to read 10 advance chapters ahead.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Leonzky