Debuff Master-Chapter 1071

Chapter 1071
“Lu...nea...” Zerachiel uttered the name under his breath. He looked dazed as if half of his soul had been sucked out of him after hearing the name he had never expected to hear again.
“Does the name ring a bell?
Keke!”
Siegfried smirked and taunted, clearly trying to stir up the archangel on purpose. Then, he mocked, “Is that her name? Your long-lost first love? Lunea?”
Zerachiel stared straight at him and asked, “You... how do you know that name?”
“Who knows? Why? Are you worried I read your diary while you were sleeping?”
“Answer the question. How do you know that name?”
Siegfried did not answer. Instead, he chose to mock the archangel even more, jabbing deeper into the wound in his heart.
“I’m sowee... I’m sowee...” He mockingly repeated the exact same words Zerachiel had squeezed out between sobs at Lunea’s deathbed. “I’m going to... mishh you shooo much...!”
“...”
“
Tsk...
You were bawling like a baby. The Archangel of Death? What a joke.
Boo-hoo!
Man up, will you? Hey, your dick’s gonna fall off if you keep crying like that.”
Obviously, Siegfried was provoking the archangel on purpose, and he chose to cross the line in doing so.
Anyone would grieve the loss of a loved one, and every man would shed a tear after saying goodbye to the one they loved, forever. Of course, crying would not cause a man’s genitals to fall off, even Siegfried knew that.
However, all that mattered to him right now was to push Zerachiel to his breaking point, make him lose his composure, and hopefully show a weakness that could be exploited, even if it meant he had to resort to underhanded tactics.
The strategy Siegfried chose worked like a charm.
“You fuck. Cut the bullshit and answer my question. How do you know her name?” Zerachiel cursed, finally snapping.
“Maybe I saw it in a dream? Or maybe I didn’t?” Siegfried replied with a shrug. Then, he added, “That’ll be five hundred gold if you want me to answer.
Keke!”
“You piece of shit...”
“
Tsk, tsk...
Hey, you pitiful little prick. You’re nothing but a damn spoiled brat, aren’t you? Your girlfriend dies, and now the rest of the world has to suffer the same fate as her? Everyone’s lives are meaningless because of that? Aren’t you a selfish bastard? Just because this world doesn’t match your twisted little ideology, you think it’s broken?”
This time, Siegfried was no longer mocking him, as he meant every word. He genuinely thought that Zerachiel was pathetic.
It was natural to long for a loved one, mourn them, and cherish their memory. However, letting that grief spiral into a delusional excuse to rob others of their lives was a whole different story.
To Siegfried, Zerachiel’s mindset was no different from a teenager going through puberty. It was the sort of reckless, self-centered, pathetic thinking that some emotionally unstable kid would indulge in just to make themselves feel better.
“This world might be filled with nothing but pain and misery in that sick little emo brain of yours, but even if life sucks and drags you through the mud, some moments are really fucking beautiful."
"Haven’t you heard that the sun will eventually shine one day? Everyone’s just living through it, just like you,” Siegfried said. Then, he added, “But you wouldn’t know the first thing about that, would you?”
“...Are you done yet?” Zerachiel growled.
“Not even close,” Siegfried shook his head. Then, he continued, “Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that your twisted little ideology is true. That this world is only filled with suffering and pain, so the only way to give peace to everyone is through death.”
“So what?”
“Does that give you the right to end people’s lives however the fuck you want? Who the hell gave you that right? Who the hell are you to decide when someone should die or not? If someone really wants to die because they can’t take it anymore, that should be their decision to make, not yours.”
Siegfried’s previous annoying mocking tone was nowhere to be found. Now, he sounded absolutely furious. He started off just trying to shake Zerachiel, but now, it was personal.
Siegfried felt sick knowing that the pathetic loser was going around throwing tantrums by butchering innocent people while trying to justify his actions in the name of mercy.
“You know what I think whenever I look at you? The Creator must’ve lost his damn mind. Why the hell did he give someone like you that much power? It must’ve been a mistake or he was damn high at the time.”
“I’m not going to grant you a peaceful death,” Zerachiel growled, furious. Then, he put away his Scythe or Repose and took out two curved twin swords that looked just as menacing as the scythe.
“Be careful, Siegfried,” Michael warned.
“What? Why?”
“Zerachiel’s main weapon isn’t his scythe. Those twin swords are his true weapons.”
“
Eh?!”
“He is much stronger with them.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! He can still get stronger?!”
Siegfried was so flabbergasted that he felt like he had made a huge mistake provoking the archangel. He was already having a hard time dealing with that ridiculously broken scythe, but it turned out that the scythe wasn't even the archangel’s main weapon.
Perhaps it had always been impossible for him to win this battle.
“What the fuck is wrong with this damn game? Damn it...” Siegfried growled through clenched teeth.
Zerachiel would most likely become stronger with his main weapons. Aside from people like Siegfried or Shakiro, who had mastered almost any weapon out there, every warrior had a weapon they specialized in.
In fact, even the archangels and demon lords had a weapon they were most familiar with, and they would become the most dangerous with that weapon in hand.
As for Zerachiel, that weapon was not the scythe but those dual swords.
“I’m going to slice you into a thousand—no, ten thousand pieces,” Zerachiel growled.
The powerful gust of wind blew past them.
Whoooosh!
The gust of wind turned into an unstoppable raging whirlwind. It howled like a beast before turning into a ferocious storm that threatened to rip Siegfried and his allies to shreds.
***
Michael’s warning was no exaggeration, as Zerachiel’s combat prowess while wielding the dual swords was truly overwhelming.
‘
This is insane!’
Siegfried could do nothing but defend against the ferocious onslaught unleashed by the Archangel of Death.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The dual swords clashed relentlessly against the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, and each blow was so powerful that Siegfried would falter every time he blocked them.
That was how intense Zerachiel’s attacks were, as his movements were so sharp and precise that even Siegfried was forced to defend for his life.
But that was not all...
“You can die, too, Big Brother.”
Zerachiel suddenly shifted targets from Siegfried to Michael, lunging straight for a gap in Michael’s defenses.
Chwak! Chwak!
The dual blades slashed through the air, sending an energy wave in the shape of a cross.
Sukeok!
Shwaaaa!
Michael was cut across his chest, and blood splattered into the air.
A critical hit!
“
Gaaah!”
Michael was blasted away. He collapsed, incapacitated after just a single attack.
Bam!
Zerachiel kicked Siegfried away before turning toward Hamchi.
“Get lost,” he muttered, swinging his swords at him.
Shwaaak!
“Shut it!” Hamchi retorted and summoned a shield using the power of the spirits.
But it was to no avail.
Fwooosh!
The storm of blades unleashed by Zerachiel completely shattered the shield into pieces and pierced straight through it.
“
Aaaack!”
Hamchi screamed in agony.
Caught by the storm of blades, Hamchi’s whole body was cut up by the blades, causing him to be drenched in blood from head to toe.
With Michael and Hamchi both incapacitated, only Siegfried and Chae Hyung-Seok remained.
“Hey, do you think you’re gonna lose this one too?” Chae Hyung-Seok asked.
“Shut it,” Siegfried snapped back at him while wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
However, the situation looked far from good for him right now.
[Alert: Demon Lord’s Descent has 2 minutes 31 seconds remaining!]
[Alert: Demon Lord’s Descent has 2 minutes 30 seconds remaining!]
[Alert: Demon Lord’s Descent has 2 minutes 29 seconds remaining!]
Quite a lot of time had passed, and his transformation was about to wear off. If he couldn’t finish Zerachiel within the next two minutes, then it was not just himself but also every one of his comrades that would be annihilated.
‘
I’ll have to use Chae Hyung-Seok as bait and hope for an opening,’
Siegfried thought.
It was then.
“Hey, Han Tae-Sung. You’re losing against that guy in terms of raw stats, aren’t you?”
“So what about it?”
“I have a way to solve that. Do you wanna give it a shot?”
“What is it?”
“I’ll buff you with the ones used by demons.”
“...!”
“It will make you at least twice as strong as you are right now, but...”
“The side effects will probably be really bad, won’t they?”
“You’ll probably be bedridden for a week, if you’re lucky. It won’t be surprising if you die from it.”
The buff used by demons, so-called Demonic Buff, was Chae Hyung-Seok’s secret weapon. It was a double-edged sword that granted fearsome powers to even the most ordinary people in exchange for taking their lives the moment the battle ended.
The Demonic Buff was capable of giving miraculous powers in exchange for one’s life.
And yet...
“Do it,” Siegfried said firmly without a hint of hesitation.
Rather than dwelling on the past and asking what-if questions, he would rather live to the fullest in the present.
Forget about the side effects or whatever, what was important to him right now was victory.
“Are you sure?”
“Just do it already.”
“
Sigh...
You’re really one stubborn bastard.”
In the end, Chae Hyung-Seok clicked his tongue at Siegfried’s stubborn resolve and cast the Demonic Buff on him.
Wooong!
[Alert: Your Attack Power has increased explosively!]
[Alert: Your Magic Attack Power has increased explosively!]
[Alert: Your Magic Resistance has increased explosively!]
(omitted...)
[Alert: Your Movement Speed has increased explosively!]
[Alert: Your Attack Speed has increased explosively!]
[Alert: Your Casting Speed has increased explosively!]
Siegfried stared at the chain of notifications popping up in front of his eyes before checking his stats. His stats had skyrocketed thanks to the Demonic Buff cast by Chae Hyung-Seok.
C-Crack...!
Gnashing his teeth, Siegfried faced Zerachiel once again.
This was it.
Having received the Demonic Buff, it was all or nothing.
***
Armed with the Demonic Buff, Siegfried could now fight Zerachiel on even footing.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp landed hit after hit on the debuffed Archangel of Death, driving him slowly into a corner.
“You dare!” Zerachiel roared and retaliated by swinging his dual swords.
Chwaaak!
Siegfried was caught by the dual swords and ended up drenched in blood.
The Archangel of Death was showing that he was not going down easily without a fight.
However, the balance of power was gradually shifting, and it was shifting in Siegfried’s favor.
The powerful debuffs he possessed synergized extremely well with the Demonic Buff, which enabled him to slowly overpower even the Archangel of Death.
But that was not all.
“Hey, Lunea was quite the babe, wasn’t she?”
Siegfried resorted to his underhanded tactics once again as he put the pressure on Zerachiel.
“Oh man, I’d love to stroke that smooth blue hair of hers—”
“Shut the fuck up, you bastard!”
Zerachiel was already enraged after being forced to be on the defensive, so the mention of Lunea sent him over the edge, making him snap and lose control of himself.
Lunea was not just another human to him. She was his one and only love, his everything from the dawn of time, and his most painful memory. Thus, it was only natural for him to lose his composure at Siegfried's provocations.
‘
Now!’
Siegfried seized the moment when Zerachiel lost his composure and allowed rage to take over him.
Boom!
The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp charged with Crushing Tremor and Skull Breaker crashed down on Zerachiel’s head.
Boom! Boom!
A massive explosion occurred.
Crushing Tremor would trigger a powerful explosion that unleashed a powerful splash damage, while Skull Breaker dealt an overwhelming amount of burst damage. The combo was so powerful that even the Archangel of Death couldn’t just take it in stride.
‘
It’s not enough!’
Siegfried exclaimed inwardly.
He did not let up and cast Absolute Zero to freeze Zerachiel in place.
Wooong!
Zerachiel spread his wings and tried to reflect the freezing effect back to Siegfried, but it was to no avail.
‘
I fell for that once. I’m not falling for it again!’
Siegfried timed it perfectly and used Wave of Oppression.
Fwoosh!
A shockwave erupted from him, sending out a powerful disruptive force that disrupted the flow of Zerachiel’s energy, stopping his attempt to reflect Absolute Zero.
Flash!
And just like that, Zerachiel was frozen solid by Absolute Zero.
[Archangel of Death: Zerachiel]
[HP: ■■■■■□□□□□]
Zerachiel only had fifty percent HP remaining.
‘
It’s over.’
Siegfried activated the World of Despair and forcefully dragged the frozen archangel into the dominion he created, the dominion of the Lord of Despair. He intended to end this fight once and for all inside the World of Despair.