Debuff Master

Chapter 755

‘This is it! I can beat him now!’

Upon discovering a way to defeat the Savior, Siegfried raced at full speed toward King Frederick’s hidden chambers.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

While he was en route, he encountered Seung-Gu in the hallway, and the latter was piloting the formidable Golem King Reventon.

“Hey, Seung-Gu!” Siegfried shouted. Eager to share the breakthrough, Siegfried said, “I've figured it out! I know how we can—”

Boom!

The massive cannon mounted on Golem King Reventon’s arm spat fire, firing a cannonball at Siegfried.

“...!”

Siegfried was caught off guard, but his instincts allowed him to dodge the cannonball. He rolled on the ground and immediately got up to regain his stance.

“What the hell are you doing, Seung-Gu?!” Siegfried shouted.

“I... follow my master’s... commands...” Seung-Gu muttered lifelessly.

“What did you say...?”

“Surrender now... Siegfried van Proa...”

It was then.

A swarm of Iron Golems appeared, and they all aimed their twin cannons on their shoulders at Siegfried.

“What the...?! Damn it!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Siegfried barely had time to curse as cannonballs rained down upon him.

Siegfried transformed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a shield and blocked as many cannonballs as he could, but he knew that this was a losing battle.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Eventually, he failed to withstand the relentless barrage and was blasted away. He ricocheted off the ground and slammed into a wall. He was strong and tenacious, but absorbing the kinetic energy from hundreds of explosive rounds was impossible, even for him.

“Ugh...” Siegfried grimaced, wiping away blood from his mouth as he pushed himself upright. Then, he glared at Seung-Gu and growled, “What the hell are you doing, Seung-Gu?”

“Come obediently with us, Siegfried van Proa.”

“Our master calls for you.”

“We are Master’s loyal servants. We serve only his will.”

Yong Seol-Hwa, Gosran, Daytona, and the other Head Crusher Guild members appeared behind Seung-Gu. They encircled Siegfried and closed in on him.

‘Damn it!’ Siegfried cursed, realizing that his comrades had fallen to the Savior’s hypnosis, transforming them into puppets under his control.

But that was not the end of his problems...

“You bastard, Siegfried van Proa!”

“It’s time to pay for your sins!”

“Come to hell with me!”

The troublesome wraiths that had been chasing after him reappeared. The Head Crusher Guild members who had been keeping them at bay were now on their side, so it wasn't a strange sight to see them here.

With the addition of the wraiths, Siegfried was now completely surrounded by enemies.

Siegfried looked around. He was utterly alone, without a single ally around him. He looked around frantically, but the sheer number of his enemies was just too overwhelming.

The encirclement was flawless, and it seemed that he had found himself in an inescapable predicament.

***

‘What should I do? Fight back?’ Siegfried racked his brain, trying to come up with a way out of this mess.

Rumble!

He unleashed Wave of Oppression and Wave of Truth in a desperate bid to free his allies from the hypnosis, but it was to no avail. Wave of Oppression could stop the hypnosis from setting in, but the hypnosis had already taken effect, so it was useless.

‘This is insane. I can’t fight them without hurting them—no, I’m not even sure if I can win...’ Siegfried growled inwardly.

He barely managed to find the key to defeating the Savior, but now, he was stuck in a hopeless situation. If he could somehow reach King Frederick’s hidden chamber, he'd have a decent chance of winning.

Unfortunately, his allies were under hypnosis, so his chances of victory seemed very slim.

‘I guess I have no other choice,’ Siegfried gritted his teeth.

Wooong!

He placed down Shadow Hell, casting a powerful Movement Speed debuff field around him. Then, the Frost Hydras and Night Stalkers emerged from the ground, unleashing their icy breaths and binding spells to immobilize the enemies around him.

‘I’ll break through the front!’

In one swift motion, Siegfried activated the third stage of Overclocking.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

A burst of lightning erupted from him, and he became filled with energy. The next moment, he transformed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a shield and counted down from three.

‘Three... two... one...!’

Boom!

He shot forward like an arrow, rushing past his enemies with terrifying speed and force.

“...!”

Siegfried tore through the encirclement before the Head Crusher Guild members and the wraiths could process what had just happened.

Siegfried was like an unstoppable force that plowed through the front, leaving only devastation in his wake. The path he passed through looked as if the sea had parted.

Siegfried, with his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp held firmly in front of him, smashed through everything in his path, leaving only destruction behind as he disappeared into the distance.

***

Siegfried had no other thoughts whatsoever except for making a beeline for King Frederick’s hidden chambers, where the portrait was located.

After cranking up Overclocking to its third stage and putting every bit of its buff into his speed, he managed to reach incredible speeds. It was like he was driving a Formula One racing car.

The reflexes and visual acuity of Formula One drivers were beyond ordinary human limits, and Siegfried had basically reached the same level as them.

There was no room for spare thoughts, as his focus was solely on maintaining control of this unprecedented speed. He was moving so fast that walls and turns appeared in the blink of an eye, so he had to maneuver his character, which was more like a racing car now, with rapt concentration.

Unfortunately, he couldn't perfectly handle the extreme speed.

Screech! Baaam!

Siegfried smashed head-first into a wall, but he did not fall down.

Overclocking's Super Armor prevented him from getting knocked back. Instead, he broke through the wall and broke the ones behind it as he moved forward toward his goal.

‘Whoa?! This works?!’ Siegfried exclaimed inwardly, realizing that he could simply bulldoze through the walls. Armed with this new discovery, Siegfried chose not to slow down. Instead, he raised his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp in its shield form and smashed through every wall in his path to the king’s hidden chambers.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He moved in a straight line toward his destination. After a few more crashes, he finally shattered the wall that led to the chambers where the Savior had been waiting for him.

“Siegfried van Proa—”

The Savior tried to say something, but it fell on deaf ears.

Whoosh!

Siegfried charged straight past him without even acknowledging his presence.

“...!” Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The Savior realized that something was wrong the moment Siegfried ignored him and raced straight down the staircase, vanishing from sight.

Why had Siegfried ignored him and made a beeline downstairs?

There could only be one explanation.

“What?!”

The Savior hurriedly slid down the stairs after him, but it was already too late. Siegfried had reached the secret chambers and was staring at the portrait that had nothing on it except for a swirling dark red background.

The void in the portrait was so unnatural that something was obviously once there.

“SIEGFRIED!” the Savior shouted. He tried to chase after Siegfried, but it was too late. Siegfried had already transformed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a saber.

‘Too late.’

Swoosh!

Siegfried cut the portrait in half with one fell swoop and...

KIEEEEEEE!

A thick black smoke emerged from the broken portrait.

“...!”

The Savior had desperately tried to stop Siegfried, but he froze when the portrait split into two.

***

The information that Siegfried had obtained from clearing the quest had proven to be true.

“Grwaaaaaah!”

The Savior erupted into a scream that sounded similar to the wailing of a gravely wounded beast. His intangible form, which was similar to that of a ghost, began to solidify, becoming more and more distinct by the second.

With the portrait destroyed, he transformed from an intangible spirit into a real, tangible being.

‘Oh? It’s not over yet?’

Siegfried was surprised that the Savior was still alive. He assumed that the Savior would die the moment the portrait was destroyed, just like a lich, so he was truly surprised to see that the Savior was still standing.

But that did not matter...

‘I guess this works, too.’

Seeing that the Savior was now a tangible being was more than enough for Siegfried. During their earlier encounter, Siegfried felt that the Savior was an unkillable spirit, but the tables had turned.

‘I can actually kill you now,’ Siegfried thought with a menacing smirk. The once immortal enemy, the Savior, now had a physical body. In other words, Siegfried could finally tear him apart.

Well, he wasn't a hundred percent sure if he could do that, as he had yet to test it out, but he had a very good feeling that physical attacks were finally going to work on the Savior.

‘Today is the day you’re going to die, asshole.’ Siegfried transformed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a hammer and charged at the Savior, who was still writhing and shrieking in agony.

“Y-You dare...! Siegfried van Proa!”

The Savior unleashed a powerful shockwave to push Siegfried back before turning around to flee. He had to flee to a safe place, as he had just been stripped of his immortality.

“Just you wait, Siegfried van Proa! I’ll bring you endless despair in the pits of the abyss the next time we meet! Mark my words–!”

“There won’t be a next time.”

“...!”

The Savior gasped after realizing that Siegfried, who was farther away just a moment ago, was now right in front of his face.

“This ends today,” Siegfried said with a wicked smirk.

Boom!

He slammed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp into the ground.

Rumble!

The Barrier of Victory shot up, sealing both Siegfried and the Savior inside it.

“...!”

The Savior looked around, visibly rattled after being trapped inside the indestructible barrier.

“Are you really going to continue playing the fool, Siegfried van Proa?! I’m not the only Executor of Destiny! Even if you kill me, another will rise to take my place! Can't you understand that? Joining forces with me and cleansing this world is the only—!”

Siegfried ignored the Savior’s ramblings.

Rumble!

He placed down Blaze Field and Shadow Hell simultaneously; the flames and shadows of the debuff fields pervaded the Barrier of Victory. Then, he cast Elemental Shower, Waves of Oppression, Wave of Truth, and every single debuff in his arsenal.

“Are you really going to ignore me, Siegfried van Proa?! Joining forces with me means creating a brand-new world!”

Siegfried was still ignoring him.

Rumble!

The +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp pulsated with an overwhelming amount of energy that distorted even the space around it.

“S-Siegfried...! Listen to what I have to say—” the Savior cried out desperately, but Siegfried didn't give him a chance to finish—no, he was not interested in what the Savior had to say to him.

Shwoom!

He focused and channeled all of his strength into his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp, and then he swung it with all of his strength while activating Touch of Death at the same time.

The weapon tore through the air and headed straight for the Savior’s chest.

Baaam!

Touch of Death was unleashed the moment it struck the Savior's chest, and a powerful burst of energy erupted. The burst of energy was so strong that it completely distorted the space around it.

BOOM!

The distorted spacetime around the Savior imploded, and he was also engulfed by Touch of Death.