"Front paw punch!"
Pop!
"........!"
Something was wrong.
This world felt a little off.
What exactly was wrong, you ask?
The Third Star Master unconsciously clenched his molars with a grind.
'Why... why is my hand being called a front paw?'
He was confused.
Honestly, at first, he had no idea what had even happened to him. He had simply been focused on the Demon King's legs charging toward him.
Because Credos had promised.
That he wouldn't use his hands.
That he'd only use his legs.
He had sworn it on the honor of the Demon King himself.
So, he had only prepared to guard against kicks...
'Front paw... punch?'
When had the Demon King's hands started being called front paws?
No, wait.
Are they even technically front paws?
Isn't that a term you usually use for animals?
More than that, this bastard Credos—does he even have a conscience?
".....Gaaaah!"
In the haze of his muddled thoughts, anger and a sense of crisis suddenly bloomed.
The Third Star Master forced his blurring eyes wide open.
This wasn't the time.
He couldn't go down like this.
His mind snapped into clarity.
He hurriedly regained his balance.
Thud! Thump! Thump!
A desperate stagger backward.
He barely managed not to fall.
Even so, the dizziness wouldn't go away.
The unexpected blow he'd just taken had done more damage than he thought.
".....Credos! What is the meaning of this?!"
He tried to protest.
This wasn't right.
You were the one who swore first.
He genuinely wanted to question the Demon King's honor. But he couldn't.
Because the Demon King's fist came flying at him again.
"Another front paw punch!"
Fwoosh—!
"......!"
This bastard Credos... he's serious.
That punch earlier wasn't some accident or slip-up.
The air-splitting whoosh of the incoming punch. The killing intent packed into that blow said it all. This was an attack filled with sincerity, intent, or outright malice.
"Kh!"
The Third Star Master raised his claw.
He tried to block the charging Demon King's fist.
But at that moment—
"...Pretending to punch, then a back leg kick!"
Whoosh!
The Demon King's incoming punch vanished just like that.
Instead, a kick came swooping up from below.
Right into the wide-open space between his legs.
A direct hit to the middle.
'N-no...'
If he got hit there wrong, his sack(?) could get destroyed.
…But that fleeting moment of panic was meaningless.
Crack!
"......!"
Ah... Mother.
Why, when I get hit between the legs, does it feel like I'm hearing a beeeeeep sound in my ears?
Where does our fleeting life come from, and where does it go? What is the cause of this pain-filled existence? My pain. Yes. Pain is mine. It comes from what is mine. If I discard what is mine one by one, will the pain also disappear?
Is that what letting go means?
Like my sack, which now can never be filled again.
Maybe by letting everything go, I can be freed from my anguish.
Maybe.
Surely.
Therefore...
".....Urrggh...!"
Nearly reaching a state of enlightenment (?), the Third Star Master suddenly snapped back to reality from the horrifying pain and pulled his butt back. He couldn't straighten his knees. Goosebumps—something that shouldn't even appear on a carapace—erupted all over his exoskeleton. A tear even slipped out.
He was indignant.
This just felt wrong.
Probably for that reason...
"Cre—! Dos—!"
Still throbbing with the pain of his crushed sack,
From within it, the Third Star Master let out a furious roar.
With a vow never to fall again to such underhanded tricks, he ignited into a full combat stance.
But his formation came a little too late.
Kim Jangcheol had already been in a perfect battle stance for a while now. From the very moment he had come face-to-face with the Third Star Master, he had thrown all his senses into the fight.
"...Hup!"
Kim Jangcheol's eyes gleamed.
He leaped.
He dived into the left flank of the roaring Third Star Master.
As he moved, everything about the Third Star Master—his traits, his patterns—flowed through his mind, just as they had when he had defeated him nineteen times in the game.
'You can never face this guy head-on.'
Suddenly, he remembered the time he played as the Paladin of Blood in the first run. How confused he had been the first time he fought the Third Star Master as a boss.
'No matter how much I hit him, it didn't matter.'
The damage didn't register at all.
Every attack just bounced off his carapace.
And those claws of his—what were they like?
They unleashed sweeping strikes that covered nearly 180 degrees in front. Despite his massive frame, the speed of his chained attacks had made him want to puke.
So he died. And died again.
He challenged him. And again. And again.
Finally, the breakthrough came on his 189th try.
'That's when I...'
He had finally figured out this guy's weakness.
It was—
Stop!
"I'm sorry!"
While diving toward the Third Star Master's flank, Kim Jangcheol suddenly halted. He stopped dead in his tracks. And he shouted.
That he was sorry.
"...What?"
The Third Star Master, who had been adjusting to counter the charge, hesitated. A stunned look spread across his face. His eyes. Right. He looked bewildered. Of course, he did. Who wouldn't be confused after suddenly getting an apology in the middle of this?
"Sorry... did you say?"
"Yeah."
Kim Jangcheol nodded.
His face was full of genuine, apologetic expression.
"I think I got a little too obsessed with winning. So I ended up doing something dishonorable to you. I'm truly sorry."
"......."
"Could you accept my apology, as a knight would?"
"......."
"In the name of the Demon King, I bow my head in apology."
"Hoo..."
The Third Star Master's claws, brimming with combat tension, slowly dropped. His hardened expression began to ease just a bit.
"Very well. I, Raster, accept the sincere apology of you, Demon King Credos, and from now on, I shall continue our duel with knigh—"
"Forget that! Apology punch!"
Pop!
"........!"
The Third Star Master's jaw jerked sideways again.
His eyes shook from the blow.
He glared back with eyes full of betrayal.
Seeing it, Kim Jangcheol let out a bitter smile.
'Sorry, but what can I say? This is the only way to beat you.'
And it really was.
In the game, Raster, the Third Star Master, was a tank through and through if fought head-on. His carapace defense left no gaps. One hit from him could knock your soul out. And despite his bulky armor, he wasn't even that slow—he was like a walking fortress.
But it wasn't that he had no weaknesses.
'That was his personality.'
He was honest.
A pure warrior to the core.
He even had an unusually strong devotion to chivalry—strange for a demon.
Which made him vulnerable to lies and deception.
'That's why you needed special items and magic in the game.'
An item that created an identical illusion of the player: Mist of Mimicry. And a magic spell that erased the player's presence momentarily.
You had to use both together.
If you sent in the illusion as bait?
And simultaneously erased your own presence?
He would, nine times out of ten, fall for the illusion.
That's when you hit him from behind.
And if you missed your chance?
You'd strike when he was still looking around for you.
'...Because when he tensed up, his defense would skyrocket.'
So if he lost concentration even for a moment?
If his stance loosened just a little?
His otherwise overwhelming defense would plummet.
That moment was the chance to strike.
Just like now.
"What? You're saying you're going to continue the invasion of the human world that I gave up on? So you attacked the Second Star Master in the name of some greater cause? Don't make me laugh!"
Crack!
He smacked the staggering bastard's head again.
"Graaah!"
A heavy groan came from the guy.
And in that instant, Kim Jangcheol realized—
The guy had regained his focus.
He quickly leapt back.
Right after—
Fwoooosh—!
The bastard's pincers slashed past just in front of his face.
A strike that crushed and pulverized everything it touched!
'Phew.'
No joke.
Definitely not someone to let your guard down around.
"But! Credos! You turned the long years of hope and preparation of everyone in the Abandoned Lands into nothing! Even now, the demons of the Abandoned Lands are falling into starvation, eating one another just to survive, or collapsing from hunger, and yet you remain blind to their suffering!"
"I know. That's why I said we're going to farm, right?"
"Such pathetic excuses!"
Boom!
The Third Star Master charged in an instant.
But Kim Jangcheol saw it all.
He could read it frame by frame—every move was identical to the pattern he'd analyzed in the game.
Swoosh, BAM!
He dodged.
Ssswip, Fwoosh!
He deflected it.
Then glanced at the bastard's carapace.
'Orange.'
A bit redder than before.
Just a bit more now...
'That timing' was coming.
The perfect moment to take him down in a single blow.
…So, with that in mind, Kim Jangcheol suddenly clutched his eyes.
"Graaah!"
He threw in a convincing scream(?) for effect.
Then, he shouted a line full of anguish and accusation.
"Throwing dirt in my eyes?! You...! Cowardly scum!"
"...What?"
Freeze!
The attacking Third Star Master suddenly halted in a panic.
Kim Jangcheol saw his face through the gap in his fingers.
He looked completely flustered.
His eyes filled with indignation.
The bastard cried out, desperate.
"I would never stoop to such cowardice in battle—!"
"I know that!"
Smack-smack!
"....! "
Once again, the Third Star Master's face snapped to the side from the blow.
And then, the carapace helmet surrounding his head, the shell that encased his whole body like armor, flushed deeper, now a complete bloody red.
Then, while his head was still turned, he suddenly froze in place.
Like a grim statue.
Like a volcano about to erupt.
...Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The Third Star Master's body began to tremble.
A fierce battle aura surged from him!
Even the ground beneath him let out a deep rumble.
And at that sight—
Kim Jangcheol immediately leapt back.
Crash—!
At the same time, a long fracture ran along the carapace spine on the Third Star Master's back. Boiling-hot bodily fluid gushed out like molten lava.
The shell split open.
From the cracks, a blazing new body began to push its way out.
Kim Jangcheol knew that form well.
'Here we go, Phase 2.'
In the game, when the Third Star Master's health dropped below half, he would enter Phase 2 mode.
He'd shed his shell and molt, becoming far more massive. Far more powerful. He transformed into berserker mode.
And that naïve sense of chivalry, which had been his one weakness?
It vanished.
No trickery would work on him anymore. From that point on, he had to be dealt with through pure skill alone.
"....Graaaaaah!"
The Third Star Master roared as his molting continued.
And his now-crimson eyes locked onto Kim Jangcheol.
'How dare you...! HOW DARE YOU!'
The Demon King who had tricked him again and again.
Credos, who only played dirty.
This wasn't an honorable duel.
This was not something a Demon King should ever do.
No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't forgive him.
He would tear him apart, no matter what.
The moment he made that vow—
Flick.
The Demon King raised his hand into the air.
Was he about to use some trick again?
But such cheap tactics won't work anymo—
BOOM—!
Just as he was about to sneer at Credos—
A space tore open in the sky out of nowhere. From that rift, a massive chair came crashing down. A bizarre contraption, crammed with countless unknown tools—the likes of which he had never seen before.
But that wasn't all.
Immediately after, a giant, round stone slab also thunked down in front of the Demon King.
"Oh-ho."
Grinning, as if very pleased.
Credos picked up the stone slab.
And began walking toward him.
'What the...?'
The Third Star Master's gaze wavered slightly.
He wanted to say something.
I'm in the middle of molting right now.
Molting wasn't finished yet.
It's the most vulnerable moment! To have a fair fight, you should wait until the molt is complete.
…He wanted to say all that, but—
He was in the middle of molting, so he couldn't open his mouth!
And yet, the Demon King just kept coming! Step, step, step!
So confidently!
Until he was right in front of him!
And then, lifting that stupid-looking stone slab with both hands—
Smiling brightly—!
He aimed right at the top of his skull!
"In the game, the Phase 2 transformation scene was a cinematic cutscene, y'know? So I had to just sit there holding my controller, watching. But, well, I guess this is real life, huh? So it's different? I can do whatever I want? Then there's no reason I gotta wait, right? There's no such thing as the 'transformation scene protection law' in real life, yeah?"
"...!"
NO!
No, absolutely not!
Wait a second!
Wait just a secoooond!
He begged with his eyes.
This wasn't right.
You really going to do this?
You're doing something really wrong right now.
This crosses the line—socially, ethically, morally! There are lines you shouldn't cross, man! Only when we respect those lines can we build a beautiful, just society!
He wanted to scream it out loud.
But he was still mid-molt.
The molt wasn't done yet.
He couldn't open his mouth properly!
"If you've got something to say, then say it, you x-bastard rebel!"
Fwoooosh—!
".....!"
That absurd stone slab—millstone—came crashing down on his head.
In that critical moment, the Third Star Master just barely finished molting his head.
He shouted, desperately.
"Wait—!"
CRACK!
And that was the end of it.
The millstone's grace landed right on the still-soft crown of the freshly molted Third Star Master. The heavy, devastating blow landed as a perfect critical hit.
".....!"
The Third Star Master's eyes glazed over.
The eyes of the watching soldiers from the Third Star Legion also trembled violently.
[T/L: Read more chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]