Chapter 98

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As soon as I heard the painful scream, I ran straight into the shadows, quickly releasing my hand.

Immediately, numerous spears and maces pierced the spot where my hand had slipped out.

As I stepped out of the shadows at a distance, I saw that he had grabbed his right leg, which was impaled by Nidhogg's fang.

"It, can't be… !”

Seeing the way he alternately looked at the Nidhogg's fang and the armor with the hole in it as if he couldn't believe it, it seemed that that armor was also a very rare item.

It would be dangerous if I didn't choose sooner than that.

I activated the banshee's necklace, weakening his overall ability, and rushed in once more.

As he had learned Cass Lyle's alchemy, he might have the means to heal his wounds, so I couldn't afford to give him a chance to recover.

I pulled out the shadow clone, put him in the front, and rushed straight it.

When the clone drew attention and destroyed the formation, I used the branches of the World Tree to break down the golems one by one.

The golems helplessly returned to their original form of soil and lost their mana to me.

By the time I had destroyed six golems, he finally pulled out the Nidhogg's fang that was lodged deep in his thigh.

And as soon as I saw black, dead blood dripping from his wound, I set off Hunter's mark and raked his wound again.

With a keuk sound, blood splattered from his right leg like a gush of juice.

“Keu, aak!”

He fell forward.

Even from a distance, the wound was nothing short of horrible.

And as soon as he had no more energy to command, the golem formation began to collapse on itself.

A golem that had lost its buffs and command was no longer a threat.

Even if it was a bit overkill, I decided that now was the right time and I poured a lot of mana into the branches of the World Tree.

He somehow rolled his body and avoid them, but such agile action was too much for the golems.

Finally, all of the golems collapsed, and at the same time, the shadow clone pierced his arm where his bare skin had appeared and held it in place.

“Keueuk, stop… ! Fuuck... ! I lost, please!”

At his desperate cry, the clone who was about to break his neck, stopped and he looked at me.

I first kicked his weapon, the flag, away and began to ask him what was bothering me.

"What's your name?"

“What…… .”

He looked at me as if he was dumbfounded and soon shook his head.

“Yoo Ji-Hyuk. You know, so why are you asking?"

“… You fell into this world like me, didn't you? And you don't know why?"

"Yes."

He nodded with difficulty.

"It's been about two to three months."

There was a clear time difference between me and him getting here.

If I think about it, there was certainly more immaturity in his movements than mine.

“A few more questions. How did you get Ahn Do-Hoon's ability and Cass Lyle's ability?"

“… That is rather what I want to ask.”

He muttered, looking at me as if it was ridiculous.

“How the hell did you get the branch of the World Tree… ? That's something you can't get unless you're a member of the World Tree clan.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

When I answered how I got the branch of the World Tree, he looked at me in a ridiculous way.

“Wait, then what…… you mean is there was such a thing? Something like an Easter egg from to get the branch of the World Tree?”

He let out a swear word in a small voice.

Then he tilted his head as if he didn't understand.

“Wai, wait…… Why, my breath … .”

“It looks like the poison has spread now.”

Hearing my words, he turned his head and looked at me.

Then he shook his head as if it was ridiculous.

“Wha, what…… I have poison resistance only...…three things...… .”

“The dagger that I stabbed you with is called Nidhogg’s Fang.”

In the places where the armor had cracked and his skin could be seen, I could see that it had turned black as if it had dried up.

Normally, I would have just cut his neck or crushed his heart, but the fact that my opponent was another me seemed to have made me more emotional than necessary.

“It's a deadly poison that can kill the world tree. I've never seen anyone survive when it spreads. There is no way to decipher it.”

“Fu, ck, this…… what is this.”

“I’ll ease the pain at least.”

“Wai, wait… !”

With a snap, the clone snapped his neck without hesitation.

As I watched him, who might be my future, his corpse began to disappear like sand in the wind.

“Wow.”

I heard applause from behind me.

When I turned my head, there was a young man with a goat-like curved horn on one side of his forehead, looking at me.

At a glance, he was wearing a luxurious suit, but instead of shoes, he had goat hooves protruding dauntingly.

With his sculpted appearance, he was chewing on a grass stem and looking at me with admiration.

Margo.

A Seven Evil with a demon motif, who looks like a mixture of a human and a goat.

It was him.

“It’s amazing, amazing. You're the first person to have killed your other self in such a short and efficient manner.”

“Margo. Right?"

He was applauding enthusiastically, but he suddenly stopped moving as if he had broken down.

Then, with an 'I knew it' look on his face, he stroked his chin.

"As expected, you know my name.”

Just as I heard from Ariman.

He mumbled like that, and before I knew it, he opened the folding chair he had with him and slumped down in it.

Then, looking at me, he gently extended his hand.

“Since we're here anyway, why don't we talk? Don't we each have a lot of things we're curious about?" 

I have a lot.

At his words, as I looked at him as if to say, what are you talking about, he fiddled with both hands as if he were excited.

“A being from another dimension, so you are a stranger? Ariman warned me, but I still wanted to hear it from your own mouth.”

As I nodded and accepted, he shouted, 'As expected!' and clapped his hands.

Then he looked at me and said.

“Okay, give and take. If you have any questions to ask, ask me quickly."

He muttered without giving me time to speak.

"Oh, should I tell you what's going on with your colleagues who came in after you?"

"What?"

At his words, I suddenly let out a sound without realizing it.

It was best not to exchange more words than necessary with Margo, who was skilled at playing tricks and deceiving others with his demon motif.

But he looked at my face and smiled as if he knew.

“A girl with red hair, a boy with blue hair and gray eyes, and a girl with dark hair and eyes like the night sky. These are three...… How, is it okay if I use these three people's current situation as an answer to the previous question?"

As I nodded, he pursed his lips as if to say, wait a moment.

“Let’s see…… The boy and the girl with dark hair are holding up pretty well, Hmm? If they do well, they might win. Is it because the age difference is short?”

That was a relief.

As long as there was no weight, they had to be equal to their original selves.

Choi Hyun-Woo and Jin Ye-Seul didn't seem to be in a bad situation, at least.

Then he murmured, clicking his tongue, tsk, tsk.

“On the other hand, the girl with red hair seems to be in a very precarious situation.”

It can't be.

“Not a very good match. The opponent is herself, who has grown more than 10 years...… Oh my God! The opponent is a Necromancer. Even calling you and the dark-haired boy as undead. Most of all, she seems to be very shaken mentally...… You know how important it is to maintain composure in a battle between wizards...… .”

With a deafening sound, I slammed the place where he was sitting with all my might along with the shadow clone.

He hurriedly rolled from his seat with an ouch, dodging the attack.

“Calm down! Unlike the other guys, I'll lose even if I fight with a goblin!"

“If you don’t want to die, release your ability right now.”

As I spoke to him threateningly, he just smiled awkwardly.

“That, what's that. It's not up to me. When you think that you don't want to digest after eating, don't you still secrete gastric juice? For me, this dungeon is like that.”

He held out his hands, as if to tell me to calm down.

The palms of his hands were engraved with bizarre tattoos.

"I'm ashamed, but that's not what I can do as I please. I'm telling you. I can't lie because of the constraints of my ability!"

“Where is this bullshit...… .”

"And more than anything else.”

He got up and brushed off the dust from his body.

Then he straightened up his messy tie and looked at me.

“Why should I do that?”

The pupil on the horned side began to divide as if the cells were dividing.

When his pupils numbered sixteen, I stopped counting.

“I heard from Ariman.”

He closed his eyes, then opened them and looked at me.

Numerous pupils began to stare at me.

“That unpleasant neutralist always babbles on about equality, but never talks nonsense.”

And he looked at me with a face that seemed afraid to even imagine.

His gaze was clearly a mixture of disgust, contempt, and fear.

“He said that someone who could kill me, and us would appear. That’s exactly you.”

Margo was truly afraid.

He told me, sweeping down his trembling forearms.

“And he really was right! The weight you brought with you. The condition of being a stranger. Even the smell that only a being who can change the flow of this world can emit... ! Even if you only have one of these, you've fulfilled the conditions to kill me, but don't you have three?"

He shook his head.

“I don’t want to die.”

He muttered again in a voice that was a mixture of pure malice and desire.

I really don't want to die.

"So I want you to die here instead. For my mental and physical stability."

Before he could make a move, the branches of the World Tree that I had spread out earlier pierced his entire body.

But he was just giggling and laughing.

“Do you think I'm crazy to come here with my body?”

A roar was heard along with those words.

At the epicenter of the sound, the space was shaking.

And just like the corpse that disappeared earlier, Margo's body began to scatter like dust little by little.

“Oh, I didn't lie. I can't really get rid of it. But the opposite is different.”

It doesn't matter what I make.

So, let's see, give it a try. 

With those words, his whole body turned to dust and disappeared.

“Tsk…… .”

The vibrations in the space began to fluctuate more and more.

And not long after, someone jumped out of the vibrations.

“Kkyaaak!”

I immediately tried to slash the opponent with the branches of the World Tree and the Henir's shadow, but I had to stop at the scream I heard.

A girl?

Then it could be Han Soo-Young, Jin Ye Seul, or maybe even Lydia.

In that case, maybe we don't have to confront each other...… .

“Aak, what is this all of a sudden…… .”

The girl who was thrown at me rubbed her buttocks with her hands, muttering in disbelief.

Then she looked around and immediately gave me a startled look as her eyes met mine.

And it was the same for me when I saw her from the front.

My heart pounded and felt like it was sinking.

A cat-like face with dense features.

However, because of her sharp eyes, she looked somewhat ferocious despite her small stature.

Her hair, which seemed to reach down to her shoulders, was about to be tied back in a single strand, and the scar on one of her cheeks was particularly noticeable.

And most of all, she looked like my sister, Yoo Ji-Na, but had a completely different face.

no way.

Don't tell me she's...… .

“No, that’s absurd…… No way, I'm a man... ?”

She murmured blankly, but quickly pulled out the trident tied to her back and looked at me warily.

At that, I also reflexively drew out the dagger and began to spread the Henir's shadow threateningly.

Then, as she frowned, static electricity erupted from her body with a crackling sound.

Is it Lee Myung-Joon this time?

“…… .”

“…… .”

It was when we were both hesitating, looking at each other's face, unable to rush ahead of each other like that.

I heard a roar again.

It was the roar of the vibration of space in which she appeared.

And there was more than one place where the roar could be heard.

“… This is a bit too much.”

I spread out the branches of the World Tree and the Henir's shadow, wary not of her but of the surrounding area.

She also moved a little further away from me and began to be wary of her surroundings, fixing her trident.

Soon, another person popped out from the vibration of the space.

“Keueuk!”

“What is this… ?”

“… Oh My God."

A figure carrying a single sword at his side.

A figure carrying a huge bow behind his back.

And a figure wearing a wizard's robe.

Although the way they were dressed and looked was different, they were all me. 

“This is really crazy.”

Someone muttered like that through clenched teeth.

The five people, who realized the situation, kept their distance and kept each other in check.

Everyone was surprised, but they seemed to know that this was due to Margo's ability.

So everyone knew it.

The fact that they would never be compatible with the other selves they met through Margo's ability.

And that only one person would be left in the end.

That meant that there was no need for conversation between each other.

“…… .”

“…… .”

“…… .”

In a confrontation where we only looked at each other, someone moved first.

“Heup!”

It was the one who drew the sword.

He has literally flooded with explosive momentum, spewing out his breath.

Not towards me, but towards the one wearing the wizard's outfit.

From that point on, each person began to move.

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