Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 35

Jinseong was certain for a reason.

The Apostle Lotus had indeed read a portion of Jinseong’s thoughts and memories.

However, what Lotus understood was only a fragment related to parallel worlds.

He had comprehended the fact that in *Dungeon & Fighter Mobile*, another dimension existed where Lotus himself was an Apostle, fighting hard after being transferred there by Hilder.

But it should have stopped there.

‘But the vision I just saw wasn’t like that.’

Right before Lenny’s death, Jinseong had seen the vision of a “quest the user would progress in the future” and the NPCs accompanying them on that quest.

It wasn’t information traded with the Apostle Lotus, nor was it a memory Jinseong had consciously recalled.

‘Lotus might have the power to show visions, but it wouldn’t make sense for him to show “just any” vision.’

Making people recall their most painful memories or terrifying scenes to incapacitate them was a specialty of Lotus.

In such hallucinatory states, he could provoke, guide, and trigger various actions, leading GBL cultists to kill one another, and eventually, completely dominate their minds, making them worship him.

From that perspective, the vision Jinseong saw—“the quest the female archer user will progress in the future” and “the NPCs appearing in that quest”—was clearly different from the usual method Lotus had employed until now.

‘Yet, the fact that the vision appeared means… Lotus is corrupted. This current situation proves it as well.’

Based on the fact that such a vision was shown to him, Jinseong could confirm Lotus’s current state.

The mere fact that Lotus, who should have already been declared dead and had his body collapse, was still moving showed that he was in a “corrupted state.”

In other words, Jinseong had to stop him.

He had to prevent the “corrupted” Lotus from harming the user, Ban, or Aganzo.

“Hahaha, do you think you are equal to me just because we made a deal? How foolish humans are!”

Lotus laughed, sharpening his tentacles.

Listening to Lotus’s arrogant voice, Jinseong had only one concern.

Would that voice snap the user and the NPCs out of their hallucinations?

Lotus’s supposed power was not what worried Jinseong.

“What a joke. You’ve already been beaten to a pulp by the adventurer, Ban, and Aganzo, and you don’t have much strength left. Did you think I wouldn’t know that?”

Though Lotus had been powerful, Jinseong already knew that Lotus could no longer display that power at this point.

According to the flow of the main scenario quest, Lotus’s physical body should have already perished by now.

He had barely succeeded in his last attempt at mental manipulation, showing his presence in the mental world and fighting the user, Ban, Aganzo, and others. But regardless, his physical body was finished.

That meant Lotus should have been dead by now, and the only reason he was still barely clinging to life was due to the “corruption,” which meant that Jinseong could stand a chance!

“How arrogant, you wretch!”

“Who’s the arrogant one here?”

However, regardless of the calculation that he stood a chance, there was still a problem for Jinseong, who was currently possessed in *Plane: Arad*. He didn’t have the same powerful advantages given to the users or “character adventurers.”

Ssshhh—!

Once again, one of Lotus’s powerful tentacles shot out.

Jinseong deflected Lotus’s tentacle, as thick as his own torso, with a sharp clanging sound.

“Ugh.”

Even though Lotus’s attack had weakened, it still made Jinseong’s arm tingle. However, the fact that he had blocked the Apostle’s attack twice perfectly brought a satisfied smile to his face.

And at that moment, Lotus’s specialty, mental manipulation, which he took pride in being the best at, came into play.

“…So, you intend to protect those humans in front of you? How dare you try to protect anyone from me, who can wield thousands of weapons at once!”

It meant that Lotus had read Jinseong’s intent—not just to attack but to protect the user, Aganzo, and Ban.

Jinseong quickly tried to act like that wasn’t the case, but it was already too late.

“No, why would I… uh…”

“Do you think you can deceive me with mere words, foolish human?”

As one of the sharp tentacles wavered for a moment, the others, which had been limp on the ground, started to rise and stiffen.

Even without confirming, it was clear that Lotus had divided the power previously concentrated in one tentacle among several.

“That’s a bit… unfair.”

For Jinseong, this was the worst attack pattern he could face.

“Hahaha, I’ll show you the power that once ruled the vast sea, power that not even Apostles dare to touch!”

────, ────, ────!

Several tentacles surged toward their respective targets.

“Damn it, —.”

Jinseong gritted his teeth and had to move.

—

The hair of the user, Ban, and Aganzo, who had collapsed in a daze, fluttered faintly.

At the same time, the sound of metal clashing against metal continued to ring out.

It meant that Jinseong had already blocked the tentacles flying toward the three several times.

“How long do you think you can keep blocking them? You will not achieve what you desire!”

“You’re still saying that after watching me block all your attacks so far?”

Jinseong shouted as he deflected both Lotus’s words and his tentacles, though Lotus wasn’t entirely wrong.

The first weakness was Jinseong’s skill structure.

‘Damn it, I can’t just switch the preset skill combos right now! Although I’m over level 25 and have several combos stacked—’

This was Jinseong’s frustration.

There were skills that activated while moving, and what Jinseong needed now was the combination of those.

To protect Ban, Aganzo, and the user, who were spread out at some distance, he needed to move and deal with the tentacles. However, since Jinseong hadn’t yet reached the appropriate level, he needed to rely on skills with added effects like a 100% or 150% damage boost.

‘The problem is the skills without mobility. You must use those before moving on to the next combo with a mobility skill. I never expected to face the Dark Knight’s notorious issue in this way!’

A tentacle was surging toward Ban.

Jinseong had just finished blocking the tentacle that had been aimed at Aganzo.

Ban was on the far left, the user in the middle, and Aganzo on the right.

He had to block the tentacle closing in on Ban, then immediately block the next tentacle flying toward the user.

To get to Ban as quickly as possible, he needed a skill that would allow both mobility and an attack. The most suitable option was .

However, was the second skill in Jinseong’s primary combo!

“—.”

In the end, to block the tentacle aimed at Ban, Jinseong used the pointless skill to cut the air with his beam saber in front of Aganzo.

“-!”

Kaaang—!

Barely managing to reach Ban’s position, he blocked the tentacle just in time!

“—.”

The next skill in his combo had a bit of mobility, so it allowed him to cover the distance between Ban and the user.

But there was yet another issue. As soon as he protected the user, a tentacle was already aiming for Aganzo’s neck.

“-!”

Fortunately, Jinseong had distributed skills with slight mobility into each combo.

Though allowed him to move just enough, he barely managed to deflect the tentacle’s side with a deep stab, but there was no time to relax.

The next skill was , which used colorless cube fragments and only activated while stationary.

Jinseong had no choice but to “cancel the skill combo.”

“!”

He activated another skill combo.

And naturally, that came with a penalty.

‘The cooldown won’t recover immediately. There’s a delay after the skill usage suspension before the cooldown starts ticking—’

It meant losing time.

Since the cooldown only began after the skill usage suspension, the difference would be “a few seconds” compared to if the cooldown started right after using all the skills.

“Hahaha! Struggle! Move! Even without controlling your mind, I, the Apostle, can control your body!”

Jinseong was too overwhelmed to even respond to Lotus’s smug taunt.

Which skills could he use after a few seconds of cooldown?

When had the cooldown started, and what mobility skills were included in the next combo? How far could he move with that mobility?

But that wasn’t the only issue.

Even amidst all this calculation, Jinseong was most concerned with the timing.

‘In a little while, the user will kill Lotus in the vision, and they will all wake up—user, Ban, and Aganzo! If that happens, I’m—’

Finished.

Even though Lotus should be dead by now, he was still moving with power. If the female archer user saw the Dark Knight user suddenly crash into their scenario quest and act like a fool, she wouldn’t stay still!

Caught up in blocking the attacks, Jinseong couldn’t get close to Lotus’s main body.

If he kept stalling, the user would discover the “corrupted quest.”

Repeating the same actions wouldn’t produce any solutions in this situation of no retreat or advance

.

‘…I have to try it. Right here.’

Jinseong steeled himself.

The only way to break through this was to deal with the three incoming tentacles at virtually the same time and immediately attack Lotus.

“Hooo…”

Jinseong paused briefly, taking a deep breath.

Lotus’s voice rang out triumphantly.

“Have you finally given up on your futile resistance? Your sword will be buried here!”

“I can’t do that. I won’t.”

Jinseong replied.

“That is not for you to decide. Powerless humans have no right to make decisions!”

The enraged Lotus sent his tentacles flying even faster.

Swiish—! The sound of the tentacles cutting through the air reached Jinseong’s ears instinctively.

In that brief exchange, the pattern of attack had shifted.

The first tentacle aimed at Jinseong in front of Aganzo, the second at the user, and the last at Ban, with each attack coming in sequence.

If Jinseong slashed diagonally, he might be able to handle all the attacks at once.

‘But it’s impossible to block all three tentacles with just the sword. Even in terms of timing, this is likely my last chance—’

Despite knowing it was impossible to deflect them all, there was no other choice.

Jinseong swung his sword.

“.”

The sword’s energy shot out in a cross shape.

It was aimed at nothing but empty space.

“Hahaha! Are you trying to protect just one of them, knowing you can’t save them all? That is no different from—”

Before Lotus could finish his sentence, Jinseong dashed forward.

“!”

It was a straightforward technique where the user leapt forward and smashed their weapon into the ground, generating a shockwave.

Nothing special.

The followed by combo had been used multiple times since the Sky Castle.

But this time, its purpose was different.

Jinseong’s target was the tentacle aimed at Ban, the farthest one.

So, what about the tentacle closest to Aganzo, the one about to hit its mark?

And what about the tentacle flying toward the user, right in the middle?

“—This is your defeat, non-human human—”

Lotus couldn’t finish his sentence.

Kaaaang! Kaaaang!

The sound of metal clashing was even louder than his voice.

Lotus’s tentacles all collided with Jinseong’s body and recoiled.

Kaaaaang…!

The final tentacle was deflected by Jinseong’s sword as it slammed into the ground.

“—What… What just happened—?”

Lotus didn’t understand for a moment.

The first and second tentacles had clearly hit Jinseong’s body.

Yet, why had he been able to ignore all of those attacks and strike at the last tentacle?

“This is exactly like .”

Jinseong was smiling.

One of the skill mechanics that he hadn’t fully grasped in his fear was now clear.

Some specific skills in *Dungeon & Fighter* had a unique system where, if hit during activation, the attack was nullified. It wasn’t the “super armor” that let you endure while taking damage.

“No-hit invincibility. You don’t know about it, right?”

In other words, it was an “instant invincibility” mechanic that users referred to as “no-hit invincibility,” and Jinseong confirmed it applied to him as well.

He immediately gripped the sword’s handle with both hands.

“What was that you said? Something about the powerless having no decision-making rights?”

“W-Wait—”

The distance between Jinseong and Lotus’s trapped altar was now so close that it was no exaggeration to say they were face-to-face.

“I’ll return those words to you. And—”

Not even giving Lotus time to extend his tentacles again, Jinseong continued.

“—This is for Lenny. !”

─────────────……!!!!

The dark-element slash cut through all of Lotus’s tentacles and his body.

The translucent cloth draped over Jinseong’s body fluttered in the wind.