KRAAAASH!
The guardian’s foot slammed into the floor.
Sang-hyeok slipped to the side, avoiding the descending foot.
His target was the opposite ankle—the one supporting the guardian’s weight.
He avoided the foot itself.
But the instant it struck the ground, the impact exploded outward through the floor in every direction.
WHAM!
The shockwave struck Sang-hyeok across the back.
His body pitched forward, but he barely caught himself by planting a hand against the ground.
He had not even been hit directly, yet the air was knocked from his lungs.
His feet slid backward, the soles of his shoes scraping long lines across the gray floor.
Stone fragments kicked up by the impact struck his back and shoulders.
Only after being pushed several more steps did Sang-hyeok manage to steady himself.
That was merely the aftermath of the guardian taking a single step.
If that foot crushed him even once, it would be over.
Without even taking time to catch his breath, Sang-hyeok stretched a hand toward the ankle glowing red in his vision.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
FLASH!
Black energy shot from his fingertips and struck the ankle.
HISSSS.
A palm-sized section of the silver shell turned into black sand.
But the moment the red light beneath it was exposed, new shell material grew over the gouged section.
It was not that <Extinction Devouring> failed to work.
The guardian simply regenerated faster.
Sang-hyeok poured in more mana, but the hole did not deepen. Only his mana drained rapidly.
Rumble.
Then the foot Sang-hyeok had been targeting slowly lifted from the floor.
Sang-hyeok immediately withdrew <Extinction Devouring> and retreated.
The guardian raised that foot higher, bringing it above Sang-hyeok’s head.
Because its movements were slow, it was easy to read where the foot would land.
The moment Sang-hyeok moved out of the way in advance.
KRAAAASH!
The enormous foot slammed into the empty space.
The floor caved in and stone fragments flew in every direction.
Sang-hyeok covered his face with his arms and endured as the impact pushed him backward.
The instant the foot stopped, he stretched out his hand again.
FLASH!
Black energy covered the same ankle as before.
The silver shell melted away, but once again the red light flashed and a fresh shell covered the damaged area.
Just as before, even the mark vanished after a few seconds.
The bastard’s regeneration had not weakened in the slightest.
As the guardian raised its foot again, Sang-hyeok moved away from the place where it would land.
KRAAAASH!
Immediately after the foot struck the floor, Sang-hyeok aimed at the same ankle once more.
This time, he compressed <Extinction Devouring> into a narrower stream before firing it.
He intended to dig deeply into a single point.
HISSSS!
This time, a fist-sized hollow formed.
But as the red light swelled, the groove rapidly grew shallow and finally returned to a smooth silver surface.
All three attempts ended the same way.
<Extinction Devouring> fired from range could erase only the outer shell. It could not reach the weakness inside.
[Time Remaining 07:12]
His mana was gradually recovering through the Tutorial Adjustment.
But after using <Extinction Devouring> three times, less than half remained.
‘Range won’t work.’
Just as he had severed the Adamantine Scarecrow’s arm, he needed to press his palm directly against the target.
Only then could he reach the weakness inside the ankle before the shell regenerated.
Sang-hyeok watched the guardian’s steps.
Its motion when lifting a foot was slow, and the landing point was obvious.
The dangerous part was the shockwave that exploded in every direction on impact.
But immediately after the foot came down, the guardian’s immense weight made its next movement one beat slower.
He had to use that opening.
Sang-hyeok increased the distance until he could withstand the impact and waited for the next attack.
Rumble.
The guardian’s foot slowly rose.
Sang-hyeok moved out of the landing zone and lowered his body in preparation for the shock.
KRAAAASH!
The foot struck the floor, and a shockwave burst outward.
Sang-hyeok was pushed backward, but because he had created distance beforehand, he did not fall.
The moment the impact passed, he kicked off the ground.
Before the guardian could recover its center of gravity, Sang-hyeok rushed straight toward the ankle he had chosen.
Tap!
The enormous ankle filled his vision.
‘Now.’
Without hesitation, Sang-hyeok pressed his palm against it.
HISSSSS!
The outer shell that had only been shallowly gouged no matter how many times he fired from range collapsed instantly beneath his palm.
Black sand poured down, exposing the red light inside.
‘It works.’
Without removing his hand, Sang-hyeok poured more mana into <Extinction Devouring>.
VMMMM!
As the red light spread, fresh shell material rapidly filled the gouged section.
The newly formed shell tried to push Sang-hyeok’s palm away.
Sang-hyeok planted his feet firmly and pressed down harder.
At that moment, the guardian’s upper body slowly bent forward.
An enormous palm descended to rip Sang-hyeok away.
There was no time.
Sang-hyeok pushed more mana into <Demon Dragon’s Eye>.
“Ghk.”
Pain surged through his eyes as though needles were scraping their insides, and blood ran from the tip of his nose.
[The output of <Demon Dragon’s Eye: Weakness Insight> exceeds the current limit.]
[Temporary visual paralysis may occur with prolonged use.]
Sang-hyeok ignored the warning.
The colors around him faded, leaving only a single red light clearly visible beneath the regenerating shell.
It was the weakness in the ankle he had been searching for.
Even as the outer shell filled back in, that red light remained in the same place.
There was no need to struggle against the entire shell.
He had only one point to target.
‘There.’
Sang-hyeok concentrated the <Extinction Devouring> he had been spreading widely into a single point.
The black energy pierced through the fresh shell and covered the red light.
The shadow above him rapidly expanded.
The guardian’s palm was now close enough to see without even looking up.
Sang-hyeok did not dodge.
If he removed his hand now, he would be back at the beginning.
As his mana drained, the sensation in his fingertips began to fade.
Sang-hyeok gritted his teeth and pushed <Extinction Devouring> to the end.
CRUNCH!
The red light turned black.
A moment later, the sound of tearing metal burst from inside the ankle.
Craaaack!
The guardian’s ankle bent sideways.
“ROOOOAR!”
The guardian roared for the first time.
At the same time.
Tilt!
Its enormous body lost balance and leaned backward.
Sang-hyeok removed his hand and threw himself away.
The guardian’s palm swept past his back.
A moment later and he would have been crushed beneath it.
KRAAAAAASH!
The guardian collapsed onto the floor.
The ground shook violently, throwing Sang-hyeok sideways as well.
Only after rolling several times did he finally stop.
“Ghh……!”
Eeeee——!!
A long ringing filled his ears.
His entire body throbbed, but he could still stand.
The edges of his vision, however, remained narrowed by blackness.
Meanwhile, the fallen guardian groped across the floor with one hand.
When its enormous palm braced against the ground, its upper body slowly began to rise.
The broken ankle scraped uselessly along the floor and could no longer support its weight properly.
Even so, the guardian did not stop.
Using only one hand and its remaining leg, it was forcing its gigantic body upright again.
[Time Remaining 05:48]
Sang-hyeok’s gaze moved from the number to the guardian’s head.
More than five minutes still remained in the trial.
But with his remaining mana and narrowed vision, he did not have enough strength to bring the guardian down a second time.
He had to settle this before the bastard fully stood up again.
This was his final chance.
Whoosh.
As the Tutorial Adjustment continued, the trembling in his limbs gradually subsided.
His exhausted mana also began filling again.
Sang-hyeok stared at the guardian’s forehead.
Even through his narrowed vision, the red light there remained clear.
The more the guardian pushed itself up from the floor, the brighter the light became.
It was a weakness like the one he had found in the ankle.
This time, his target was the forehead.
Sang-hyeok pushed himself up and ran straight toward the guardian’s head.
The floor shattered by the guardian’s fall was littered with stone fragments.
He stepped over the larger debris and twisted around the sharper pieces jutting upward.
His back and side throbbed with every step.
Even so, he did not slow down.
As he ran, the guardian’s head continued rising higher.
Sang-hyeok gritted his teeth and increased his speed.
Tap!
An enormous hand dropped across Sang-hyeok’s path.
A single finger was thicker than Sang-hyeok’s torso.
One of them slammed down into the route ahead.
BOOM!
The guardian’s hand struck the floor directly behind him.
The stone cracked and dust burst upward.
A hollow deep enough to fit a person had formed where Sang-hyeok had been running moments before.
The impact from behind shook his body, but Sang-hyeok did not slow down.
Beyond the pale cloud of stone dust, the red light in the guardian’s forehead remained vivid.
Without killing his momentum, Sang-hyeok kicked off the ground with all his strength.
FLASH!
His body shot into the air.
As the forehead rushed closer, Sang-hyeok reached toward the red light.
The instant his feet touched the silver shell, he slammed his palm down on that spot.
As the guardian raised its upper body, the surface beneath Sang-hyeok tilted sharply upward.
The floor dropped away in an instant.
His feet slipped, and Sang-hyeok lowered his stance and pressed more weight into his palm.
If he fell now, there would be no second chance.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
HISSSSS!
The silver shell beneath his palm collapsed into black sand.
The sand poured down the sloping forehead.
A deep red light was revealed beneath it.
VMMMM!
Fresh shell rapidly sprouted from the edges of the gouged section.
But Sang-hyeok did not try to erase the new shell again.
He had already learned what to do when he broke the ankle.
The only thing he needed to target was the red light beating inside.
Sang-hyeok focused his remaining mana on that single point.
WHOOOOM!
Black energy spread over the red light.
The new shell climbed around his wrist, but he did not remove his hand.
As his remaining mana bottomed out, the black energy visibly faded.
‘Just a little more……!’
Then.
FLASH!
Vmmmm.
The Tutorial Adjustment rapidly replenished his mana.
“……!”
Sang-hyeok’s eyes flashed as he immediately poured the recovered mana into <Extinction Devouring>.
But that was not the end of the danger.
WHOOOOOSH!!
A fierce wind crashed down from above.
When Sang-hyeok raised his head slightly, the guardian’s palm was already filling his entire vision.
Less than a handspan remained between it and Sang-hyeok’s head.
But Sang-hyeok did not dodge.
Instead, he pressed his palm down even harder.
“It’s over.”
CRACKCRACKCRACK!
At that moment.
The black energy swallowed the red light.
The red light flashed brilliantly once, then went out.
Black sand poured from the place where the red light had vanished.
Fssssss!
At the same time, the guardian’s descending hand stopped in place.
Only a handspan above Sang-hyeok’s head.
The enormous palm could not descend any farther.
The red fire in both eyes went out.
Then white cracks began spreading across the steel shell.
FLASH!
Dazzling light burst from between the cracks.
Starting with the head, then the torso and limbs, the guardian’s body turned into particles of light and scattered.
As the forehead beneath Sang-hyeok’s feet vanished, his body dropped toward the floor.
THUD.
The moment both feet touched down, strength left his legs.
Sang-hyeok dropped to one knee and braced a hand against the floor.
Gasping roughly, he raised his head.
Particles of light left behind by the guardian filled the gray space and slowly dispersed.
Sang-hyeok silently watched until the final light disappeared.
[Time Remaining 04:59]
The timer was still counting down.
But there was no longer anything in the space capable of threatening Sang-hyeok.
The Unbreakable Guardian.
An existence the Tower had declared from the start was not a target for defeat.
For the past four years, every player who passed through this gate had simply avoided it and endured the allotted time.
A guardian no one had even believed could be defeated had completely vanished at Sang-hyeok’s hands.
And yet the system remained silent.
Even with the guardian gone, not a single defeat notification appeared.
The silence lasted even longer than when he had severed the Adamantine Scarecrow’s arm.
It was almost as though the Tower itself had frozen, unsure how to process what had happened before it.
Sang-hyeok waited while catching his breath.
A moment later.
「An unanticipated clear result has been confirmed.」
[Impossible Achievement Accomplished]
[You have defeated an existence that was not a target for defeat.]
[The Unbreakable Guardian has vanished.]
[Achievement Name: The One Who Achieved the Impossible]
[This achievement will be announced on all Eastern and Western channels.]
[Republic of Korea achievement points +100,000]
The notifications did not end there.
[As reward, <Demon Dragon’s Eye: Structural Analysis> opens.]
[As reward, <Demon Eye Record Stone> acquired.]
[As reward, <Seal Key to the Demon Dragon’s Treasury> acquired.]