Debuff Master-Chapter 1072

Chapter 1072
“...!”
Zerachiel was still frozen in place and was completely motionless within the World of Despair.
‘
An opening!’
Siegfried immediately used Heaven and Earth Cleaving Blade.
Chwak! Chwaaak!
Two sword waves came crashing down on Zerachiel.
Pshwaaa!
A fountain of blood spurted out from Zerachiel’s chest, now sporting a wound in the shape of a cross.
‘
You’ve got to be kidding me!’
Siegfried was in disbelief upon seeing that Zerachiel was still alive, even after getting hit by Heaven and Earth Cleaving Blade.
Most opponents would have been sliced into four and died on the spot. However, Zerachiel endured the attack even though he was already in a ragged state.
Still, Siegfried was not discouraged, as he knew the battle had already tilted heavily in his favor.
‘I’ll just have to debuff him more and shred him to pieces,’
he thought as he cast Elemental Shower to drastically reduce the archangel’s resistance to elemental damage.
Immediately afterward, the real finishing blow was made—the Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain.
Shwiiiiiik!
A storm of radiant blades infused with powerful chilling energy rained down like a blizzard. Already weakened by the Elemental Shower debuff, Zerachiel was extremely vulnerable to frost energy, which caused him to take amplified damage from it.
“
Graaaah!”
An agonized scream echoed from the Archangel of Death’s mouth.
However, Siegfried did not stop there.
‘
Time to end this!’
He imbued his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp with the most powerful single-target skill in his arsenal, Touch of Death. The skill that was so devastatingly powerful that it could warp space and time had fully charged up the weapon.
‘
Focus and... hit him!’
Siegfried transformed the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a spear and lunged forward with Lightning activated.
Shwiiiik!
The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp cut through space as it zeroed in on Zerachiel’s heart.
“...!”
Zerachiel saw the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp coming for him, but he couldn’t dodge it.
After being hit by Absolute Zero and Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain, the chilling energy gripped him tightly, keeping him in place.
As a result...
Puuuuk!
The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp stabbed straight into Zerachiel’s heart.
Flash!
A blinding light exploded within the World of Despair followed by the destructive force of Touch of Death unleashing from the spear’s tip. Exactly a second later, an explosion on par with a nuclear bomb being detonated erupted.
***
The World of Despair receded and vanished, revealing Zerachiel staring blankly at the sky with the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp still embedded in his chest.
Thick black clouds loomed above him, but from between those ominous clouds, a single ray of light cascaded down on him.
“...Lunea,” Zerachiel muttered the name of his love with a smile.
Michael staggered toward him and called out in a hoarse voice, “Zerachiel.”
“B-Big Brother...” Zerachiel slowly turned to face him.
“Why did it have to come to this...?” Michael asked.
“It’s not your fault, big brother... I brought this upon myself...”
“What...? Why would you say—?”
“I know that I lost my mind long ago. I also knew how twisted my thoughts became.”
“W-What...?”
“I’ve been insane for a long time now, and I always knew something was off. I knew what I believed was wrong.”
“Then why...”
“But I couldn’t stop myself. Immortality without Lunea was a curse. Ever since she left me that day... I’ve been living every single day in agony, and not one moment has passed without suffering.”
“Zerachiel...”
“But it’s okay now. I can finally go to her.”
And with those words, his body began to break apart into glittering particles that slowly scattered into the wind. Even the Archangel of Death couldn’t withstand the destructive power of Touch of Death.
“I’m sorry for... showing you this pitiful side of me, Big Brother...”
“Zerachiel!”
“I was the one... who needed to rest all along...” Zerachiel said with a gentle smile.
Then, he vanished without a trace.
Shwaaa...
At the same time, tens of millions of wraiths disintegrated and scattered into the wind, leaving no traces as if they had never existed in the first place.
“
Phew...”
Siegfried finally relaxed. He leaned against a boulder in order to stabilize his trembling body.
Ding!
[Alert: You have defeated the Archangel of Death: Zerachiel!]
[Alert: Congratulations!]
[Alert: You have leveled up!]
[Alert: You have reached Level 423!]
[Alert: You have reached Level 424!]
[Alert: You have reached Level 425!]
[Alert: You have reached Level 426!]
(omitted...)
[Alert: You have reached Level 432!]
Perhaps it was because he defeated an archangel, but he gained a whopping ten levels in one go. This kind of jump was nothing short of a miracle, as he was in a stage where gaining even a single level required days of excruciating grinding.
And yet, he couldn’t celebrate this miracle.
Demon Lord’s Descent had ended, and he reverted to his human form. The body that seemed nearly invincible was now trembling uncontrollably, and he was pale as if he were suffering from hypothermia.
His vision was blurry, and he was so disoriented that he felt he would lose consciousness at any moment now.
But that was not the worst part of it...
Badump! Badump! Badump!
His mana hall began to violently surge out of control, as all of the different energies stored inside him were running amok.
The backlash from the Demon Lord’s Descent coupled with the side effects of the Demonic Buff had pushed Siegfried’s body past its limits.
[Alert: Status Ailment!]
[Alert: Your character is about to faint!]
[Alert: You will faint in 10 seconds!]
[Alert: You will faint in 9 seconds!]
[Alert: You will faint in 8 seconds!]
In the end, he still couldn’t avoid fainting this time, but that was not the real problem.
“If I die like this, then...”
He knew that he would die if he couldn't stabilize his rampaging mana hall. Even if he passed out, his mana hall would continue to rampage, and there was even a chance that it would completely shatter into pieces while he was unconscious.
“
Tsk...”
Chae Hyung-Seok clicked his tongue and walked up beside him. Then, he stared down at him and said, “See? I told you the side effects would be brutal.”
“
U-Ugh...”
Siegfried groaned, unable to form any words.
“Just go to sleep. I’ve got this,” Chae Hyung-Seok said without waiting for a response. Then, he knelt beside him, fed him potions, cast buffs, and used healing spells.
‘
This damn punk...’
Siegfried thought as he cast his blurry gaze at Chae Hyung-Seok, who was administering first aid to him.
The world was truly a strange place.
Just a few months ago, the two of them hated each other’s guts so much that nobody would be surprised if they ended up killing each other in real life. They were bitter enemies who harbored toxic hatred toward each other.
Today, his rival was taking care of him without hesitation or malice.
“I’m... counting on you...” Siegfried muttered.
“Yeah, yeah. Just go to sleep already, Mr. Young CEO. Leave things here to me.”
“Okay...”
With those final words, Siegfried’s head slumped forward.
Thud...
“
Tsk...
What a pain in the ass,” Chae Hyung-Seok grumbled. After finishing the emergency treatment, he hoisted Siegfried up on his shoulder before turning toward Michael.
“Let’s get outta here.
Ah,
can you bring that rat with you?”
“Certainly,” Michael replied.
He carried Hamchi and followed close behind, but the look on his face was a rather complicated one.
“I should’ve taken better care of you, Zerachiel... I should’ve been there for you... How did we end up like this, brother?” Michael muttered under his breath.
For Michael, losing his little brother was a wound that cut far too deep, one that was so deep and painful that he could barely put it into words.
***
That night, Tae-Sung left the fate of Siegfried von Proa to the heavens and decided to spend some time in the real world instead.
After all, there was nothing he could do at this point, so he figured he might as well take a few days off and relax. Also, he managed to stop the Archangel of Death, Zerachiel, and gain ten levels in the process, so even if he ended up dying and lost around three levels, it still would not be a loss.
Of course, that was only if the worst-case scenario of his mana hall getting shattered did not happen.
With that in mind, Tae-Sung emptied his mind and left his house to meet up with none other than Yong Seol-Hwa.
He secretly met up with her at their designated meeting place before heading straight to a cafe in Namyangju.
The couple that just recently began dating had to keep their hats pulled low and wear masks, as both of them were far too famous in the gaming world to date openly without drawing attention from people.
Of course, neither of them had any intention of hiding their relationship forever. Even so, they had to keep their identities concealed for one simple reason, and that was to have a peaceful date in public, which was impossible for them to have.
Fans would approach them and ask for autographs or selfies, even if they were just having a cup of coffee at a cafe. Worse still, some would even invade their privacy by eavesdropping on their conversations or filming them.
However, fans were not the worst of their problems...
Paparazzi were like hyenas, and as soon as they caught a whiff, they would swoop in and start snapping photos of every single thing they did.
Thus, they had to reluctantly keep their identities under wraps to enjoy their time together.
Despite the hassle, it was worth it.
“The weather’s really nice today.”
“Yeah, it really is.”
Sitting on the rooftop of the quiet cafe, Tae-Sung and Yong Seol-Hwa enjoyed the cool breeze and had a wonderful time together. They took selfies, shared a slice of sweet cake, held hands, and talked about everything there was to talk about, just like any ordinary couple on a date.
Unfortunately, time felt far too short.
All they did was drink coffee and eat a meal, yet before they knew it, it was almost midnight.
In front of Yong Seol-Hwa’s house, Tae-Sung was smiling. “Go on in."
“Already?” Yong Seol-Hwa sulked, seemingly reluctant to part ways.
“You should go. It’s late.”
“I know... but I don’t want to...”
“
Hmm...
”
Seeing her like that, Tae-Sung changed his mind and decided to stay with her for another hour.
It was then.
Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!
Out of nowhere, Yong Seol-Hwa’s phone started vibrating like crazy.
“Your phone’s ringing, Seol-Hwa,” Tae-Sung said.
“Ah! It’s nothing! Ignore it!” Yong Seol-Hwa exclaimed, frantically waving her hands as she hurriedly put her phone on silent mode.
“Doesn’t seem like it though...” Tae-Sung muttered with an awkward smile.
The reason was...
[My Silly Daddy ❤: 19 missed calls]
He happened to glance at Yong Seol-Hwa’s screen and saw that she had nearly twenty missed calls from her father, Yong Tae-Pung.
“That’s a lot of missed calls. Answer the call, Seol-Hwa.”
“No, it’s fine!”
“Come on, you should answer your parents’ calls,” Tae-Sung chuckled gently and coaxed her.
“I mean, yeah, but...”
“Just answer it.”
“...Okay.”
Yong Seol-Hwa reluctantly gave in to Tae-Sung’s suggestion and picked up the twentieth call from Yong Tae-Pung.
“...Hello?”
— Where are you, sweetheart? Why aren’t you home yet?
Her father’s voice on the other end was full of urgency.
— When are you coming home? Are you far? Should I come pick you up?
“...Dad.”
— Is it Tae-Sung? Is he stopping you from coming home?!
“Dad!”
— Just tell me if that’s the case! I’ll head over there right now and straighten him out! You can’t just trust him like that! He may seem nice, but he’s still a guy! Every guy except your father is an animal! A wolf! A dog!
“...I’m hanging up.”
— Wait! Seol-Hwa! Where are you?! Do you know what time it is right now?!
“I’m blocking your number, too.”
And with that, Yong Seol-Hwa hung up and actually blocked her father’s number.
She would comfort and reassure him if he were just being worried, but Yong Tae-Pung was way too worked up that she felt exhausted at the mere thought of dealing with him.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go.”
Yong Seol-Hwa linked arms with Tae-Sung and began walking.
“
Eh? Erm...
Okay?”
“I don’t want to go home yet.”
“But... it’s already late?”
“Just stay with me a bit longer. I’m too annoyed to go home right now because of my dad. I’ll head back after a bit.”
“O-Okay.”
“Let’s grab a beer somewhere.”
And just like that, Tae-Sung ended up going out for a drink with Yong Seol-Hwa.