Debuff Master-Chapter 1030

Chapter 1030
The Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain used by the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal was a spectacular sight beyond belief.
A secret technique painstakingly created and perfected over a lifetime by the Weapon Master, Shakiro, had reached a level so extraordinary that even the Grandmasters could do nothing but marvel at the sight of it.
When that very Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain was unleashed by the Demon Lord of Greed and Betrayal, what followed could only be described as breathtaking.
A phenomenon where a cascade of small blue meteors falling from the heavens unfolded, as a rain of lethal petals rained from above, causing widespread death across the battlefield.
Shwaaaaak!
The ghostly swords poured down like a storm, piercing every enemy and turning them into pincushions.
“
Aaaack!”
“A-Aaaagh!”
“Kuheok!”
“Ghhaaak!”
The Holy Alliance troops were slaughtered by the countless swords that zipped across the battlefield. The swords flew with overwhelming speed and precision that it was impossible to dodge them.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
One by one, the Holy Alliance troops collapsed dead, massacred by the Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain.
In contrast, the coalition forces did not suffer a single scratch.
The Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain moved under Siegfried’s will, so not a single hair of his allies was harmed.
“Oh my god...”
“W-What is this...?”
“Whoa...”
The coalition forces trembled in awe after witnessing the miracle that Siegfried was displaying. Not only did he kill the enemy’s Supreme Commander, the Grandmaster, Dark Sky Lord, but he even changed the tide of the battle in a single move.
What Siegfried displayed here was even more shocking than his legendary feat in the Battle of Odessa.
The last remaining petal of the Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain dropped to the ground, signaling the end of the battle.
It was a decisive victory for the coalition forces.
“Long live His Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa!”
“Long live the Proatine Kingdom!”
“Long live the coalition forces!”
Cries of victory echoed across the battlefield.
[Alert: Transformation has been lifted!]
Meanwhile, Siegfried reverted to a human.
And then...
Thud!
He collapsed right there on the battlefield.
[Alert: Warning! Warning!]
[Alert: Your energies are rampaging out of control!]
[Alert: Your mana hall is being overloaded!]
[Alert: Your mana hall is rampaging!]
His mana hall was once again pushed beyond its limits after he used Demon Lord’s Descent.
“
Ghh...!”
Siegfried clutched his chest and groaned in agony.
Badump! Badump! Badump!
His heart pounded like it was about to burst, and his blood vessels bulged until they were visibly strained.
“
Ah...”
As his vision began to blur, Siegfried realized he was about to black out again.
‘
Doesn’t matter. As long as my mana hall doesn’t shatter...’
he thought.
The Demon Lord’s Descent placed an immense burden on his mana hall. But against an opponent like the Dark Sky Lord, he had no other choice but to use it even though he knew that it would strain his body.
“If I just get two days of solid rest... I should be fine...” he murmured.
It was then.
“Siegfried... van Proa...”
One of the Holy Alliance’s knights dragged his leg and crawled toward Siegfried.
“You... I’ll take you with me...
ugh!”
The knight had somehow survived the deadly storm of the Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain.
‘
Wait, what?!’
Siegfried tried to get up and deal with him, but his body would not listen to him.
Panic slowly started setting in.
[Alert: Status Ailment!]
[Alert: Your mana hall is rampaging!]
[Alert: Your body is unable to contain the immense energy in your body!]
[Alert: Your Radioactive Energy is going berserk!]
[Alert: Your Mana is going berserk!]
[Alert: Your Divine Power is going berserk!]
[Alert: Your Demonic Power is going berserk!]
[Alert: Your character will soon lose consciousness!]
[Alert: 10 seconds until you lose consciousness!]
[Alert: 9... 8...!]
Siegfried was already incapacitated after using the Demon Lord’s Descent, so he couldn’t even move, let alone defend himself.
‘
Am I going to die... like this?’
Siegfried thought, looking up in disbelief.
The knight used his sword as a crutch to loom over Siegfried, and he squeezed every ounce of his strength to raise the sword above his head, preparing to drive it down.
Siegfried had just delivered the defining blow that ended this massive battle, yet he was about to die at the hands of a no-name grunt.
“Siegfried van Proa... D-Dieee...!”
The knight roared as he plunged the sword downward.
Bam!
A furry paw came out of nowhere and smacked the back of the knight's head.
“
Gweehhk!”
“
Kyaaah!
What the hell do you think you’re doing to my owner punk?!”
Hamchi had arrived with near-immaculate timing, allowing Siegfried to narrowly escape death.
“
Kyuuu!
Are you okay, owner punk?!”
“Y-Yeah... thanks...”
“Stay with me!
Kyuuu!
Owner punk!”
But Siegfried could no longer respond.
[Alert: Status Ailment!]
[Alert: You are now unconscious!]
[Alert: 71 hours 59 minutes and 59 seconds remaining until your character regains consciousness!]
[Alert: 71 hours 59 minutes and 58 seconds remaining until your character regains consciousness!]
This time, Siegfried van Proa fell unconscious for seventy-two hours, causing Han Tae-Sung to completely lose control over his character.
***
After that, Tae-Sung found himself with three days off. Since he couldn’t play the game anyway, he decided to take a break in the real world.
Of course, it was difficult for a world-renowned pro-gamer and celebrity to have proper rest.
Tae-Sung headed to the gym first thing in the morning to do some workout. While self-discipline and staying in shape were important, he did not forget to be the
good
boss that he was.
“One more! Just one more, man!”
“
Grkk!
I can’t! I can’t do it!”
“You can do it! Chest up! Engage your core! Squeeze your glutes!”
“
Huff! Huff!
I-I really can’t!”
“Squat! Ass to the grass!”
“
Uaaaarghhh!”
Every time he went to do some workout, Tae-Sung would always drag Chae Hyung-Seok along with him. As a boss, he took great care to provide
benefits
for his
favorite
employee, personally putting the latter through a grueling—no, beneficial workout routine.
After the workout...
“What? You’re down already just from that?”
“
Huff... Huff...”
“Tsk,
so weak.”
“Y-You crazy bastard...! You made me... do all those squats... and expect me to stand up...?”
“
Tsk, tsk...”
Tae-Sung clicked his tongue in disappointment while Chae Hyung-Seok was gasping on the floor. Then, he headed straight for the showers while shaking his head and grumbling, “Seriously, kids these days are just so weak.
Hehehe!”
At this point, rather than a benefit, this was more of an abuse. However, this was still technically legal, as the main purpose of the workout was to improve Chae Hyung-Seok’s stamina and help him become healthy again.
After all, their employment contract included a clause that stated...
The employee shall actively participate in intensive physical training with the employer for the purpose of mental and physical discipline.
This clause made it virtually impossible for Chae Hyung-Seok to refuse.
‘
Ah, right.’
Tae-Sung suddenly remembered something after coming out of the shower.
Chae Hyung-Seok brushed past him, but Tae-Sung did not spare him so much as a glance.
Instead, he pulled out his phone and called Cheon Woo-Jin.
— What’s this? You’re actually calling me?
“Hey, when have I not called you?”
— You’re always too busy gaming to even text. And now you’re calling out of nowhere, so yeah—it seems suspicious.
“Well, there is something.”
— Huh?
“I just finished working out and showered, so... What do you say we meet at the sauna an hour from now?”
The "sauna" Tae-Sung mentioned referred to a private spa at a certain five-star hotel. It was a premium healing space reserved exclusively for VVIPs, and it was equipped with everything from open-air baths to a swimming pool and massage rooms.
It was the perfect place for a celebrity like Tae-Sung to meet someone quietly, without getting interrupted by anyone.
— What’s up?
“I’ll explain when we meet.”
— Okay, got it.
“See you in a bit.”
After heading home to change clothes, Tae-Sung immediately left for the hotel to meet Cheon Woo-Jin.
About an hour later, the two of them sat in an open-air bath, snow falling thick and fast around them. They sipped on cold drinks as they talked.
Winter had already come.
Watching the heavy snow, which was edly the biggest snowfall in fifty years while soaking in the hot bath made them feel like they had the entire world at their feet.
However, the conversation between Tae-Sung and Cheon Woo-Jin was far from peaceful.
“Hey, Cheon Woo-Jin.”
“Yeah?”
“You... How much do you know about Beowulf?”
“That’s quite a random question.”
“So? How much do you know about him?”
“
Hmm...
Just that he’s someone who’s been around since the early days? And that he’s Korean?”
“Everyone knows that.”
“Hey, what’s this about?”
“Have you ever met him in person?”
“Nope. He avoids offline meetups like the plague. Honestly, given his skill and accomplishments, the fact that he’s never gone pro says a lot about his personality.”
“
Hmm...
”
“But why are you asking? Is there something going on?”
“He’s suspicious.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m saying that Beowulf is suspicious,” Tae-Sung said. Then, he proceeded to tell Cheon Woo-Jin about his theory, the one that Beowulf could actually be the Master of the Illuminati.
“W-What?! Seriously?!” Cheon Woo-Jin exclaimed, jumping out of his seat.
His reaction was understandable, as during the incident with the Church of Osric, he brought the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron, into the Guardians, thinking he could be trusted, only to pay dearly for that mistake.
And now, he was hearing that Beowulf, who had been involved with the Guardians for years, could secretly be the leader of the secret organization hell-bent on summoning the angels into the Middle Realm to bring about its destruction.
“No way...”
“It’s not just a hunch,” Tae-Sung said, shaking his head. Then, he added, “Artifacts like that don’t just pop up randomly. You should know too, no?”
“Yeah, I agree. But still...”
“I mean, it’s not like I’m a hundred percent certain. But don’t you find it strange? Do you even know where or how that guy leveled up?”
“Well...” Cheon Woo-Jin couldn’t answer.
Why?
It was all because even he himself found Beowulf’s leveling speed to be abnormally fast. No one had ever claimed to have partied with him, nor was he known to have any special relationships with NPCs, either.
For a Grandmaster, there was surprisingly little known information about him.
“How close are you to rebuilding the Guardians right now?” Tae-Sung asked.
“About ninety percent?” Cheon Woo-Jin replied.
“Is Beowulf involved?”
“Very much.”
“Cut him off,” Tae-Sung said bluntly. Then, he added, “And keep your distance from now on. Unless you wanna get backstabbed again.”
“...Okay.”
“And watch him. See if anything seems off.”
“Yeah, got it.”
Cheon Woo-Jin’s expression grew grave.
Beowulf had been one of the comrades he cared for the most, so the thought of this betrayal weighed heavily on him.
“I’ll dig into his background, too.”
“Yeah, I’ll leave that to you then.”
And just like that, Tae-Sung and Cheon Woo-Jin marked Beowulf as a person of extreme interest, deciding to keep a close eye on him while maintaining their distance.
***
Three days later.
“Are you awake?”
As expected, Saintess Janette had been waiting for Siegfried.
Since the damage was to his mana hall, the only one capable of treating him was the saintess.
“Thank you as always. I’ve survived again thanks to you,” Siegfried said, expressing his gratitude as he slowly sat up on the bed.
“I warned you to be careful just a few days ago... and yet here we are again,” Saintess Janette said, narrowing her eyes.
“
Haha... Hahaha...”
Siegfried laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
It felt like being a bad patient who went against his doctor’s orders and continued with his vices, such as drinking or smoking, only to end up in worse shape because of it.
Of course, this time, he pushed himself to the limit yet again out of necessity.
“You were seriously at risk this time,” Saintess Janette scolded.
“I... I’m sorry...”
“All it takes to shatter your mana hall is one abrupt surge of energy, so never release it in explosive bursts even if you have to.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Once the mana hall shatters, there will be no fixing it. You must remember that.”
“Yes, ma’am...”
“Your Majesty, you are the hope of this world. For the one destined to save this world from the wrath of the heavens to neglect his own health is...”
And thus, Siegfried found himself lectured for over an hour by the saintess.
Plop...!
It got so bad that blood practically started trickling from his ears.
‘
P-Please, I’m sorry... Just stop already...’
Siegfried begged inwardly.
After what felt like an eternal agony, he was finally released.
“Oh, right,” Saintess Janette suddenly uttered, as if remembering something important. Then, she turned around and said, “A secret letter from Emperor Stuttgart addressed to Your Majesty has arrived.”
“...
Eh?”
“Here, take a look.”
She handed him a sealed envelope marked with the crest of the Marchioni Empire.
‘
What’s this about all of a sudden?’
Siegfried wondered before opening the secret letter from the emperor.