The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 113

113.

Dizzying messages popped up, greeting Do-hyun, but he couldn’t focus on them right now.

“…Charlie?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Charlie responded immediately to Do-hyun’s bewildered murmur.

A deep voice, the face of a stern middle-aged man, and shimmering golden hair.

It was the Charlie that Do-hyun remembered.

[The Oath Knight’s loyalty is at its maximum.]

[You have met the conditions.]

[‘Kaiser’s First Sword, Charlie’ becomes your Guardian.]

“You have kept the necklace I gave you safe. Thanks to that, this humble sword has been able to come to my lord’s side, albeit late.”

For Charlie, it meant returning to Do-hyun’s side, traversing back through at least hundreds, perhaps even over a thousand years.

‘…So, Charlie’s Guardian transformation was a hidden option?’

There was a reason why he gave me the necklace.

An option that grants a Guardian….

It felt absurd, but that’s how hidden options usually were. All sorts of options existed.

And now wasn’t the time for Do-hyun to dwell on such things.

‘Wow, the timing is insane.’

Just as he reached level 35, Charlie appeared, helping him escape the crisis.

He really thought he was going to die like this.

He couldn’t think of a way to overcome this situation, but was this what Gamelion called fate?

“My lord, I would like to greet you more properly, but it seems the situation is not favorable right now.”

“Yeah.”

As Charlie said, now wasn’t the time to be sentimental.

[Kuaaaaa!]

“That terrible energy… it certainly seems to be the energy of the Abyss, but is that correct?”

The Destroyer, Geyman, was still alive.

He seemed to have suffered significant damage from Charlie’s flash, unable to properly support his body, but eliminating 10% of his health in one hit was impossible.

[I’ll kill you, I’ll definitely kill you… I can’t… I can’t die like this…!]

The guy kept muttering, his voice cracking like nails scratching a chalkboard.

Just looking at him gave Do-hyun the creeps.

As Do-hyun roughly nodded in agreement, Charlie, who instinctively frowned, widened his eyes and sincerely admired him.

“As expected of my lord. You have been fighting those guys for all these long years.”

“No, it’s not like that….”

“You don’t have to be modest. The eyes of your loyal sword, Charlie, cannot be deceived. How difficult those times must have been… From now on, I will assist my lord!”

“…Let’s just go with that.”

Seeing the stern middle-aged man’s eyes sparkling, Do-hyun wasn’t thrilled, but he simply nodded.

He had learned from experience that there was no point in talking at length with such a reactive person.

And now there was no time to explain.

[—-!]

He had to deal with the guy who was charging at him, screaming silently.

He seemed to have lost his mind, but his malice was evident in the way he targeted Do-hyun first.

For Do-hyun, whose health and mana were both depleted, it was a disastrous situation, but….

“How dare you!”

Clang!

Charlie, having drawn his sword again, blocked him reliably.

If he was going to do that, why did he bother putting the sword back in its sheath to greet him….

“Of course. I couldn’t possibly show my blade when greeting my lord!”

“…I see.”

Since that’s what he said, there was nothing Do-hyun could say.

And that wasn’t what was important right now.

What was important now was that Charlie’s combat power was beyond imagination.

Clang! Clang!

Although Geyman’s stats had been reduced by 70%, it was still incredible that Charlie was fighting him single-handedly.

‘Wow, is this what a former commander of the Knights is like?’

It was hard to believe that he had just obtained this Guardian.

It seemed that, due to the nature of the tutorial, he was indeed downgraded from his original power.

Unfortunately, that was the limit.

“Kugh…!”

[Who knows where you crawled out from, but did you think you could stand against me!!]

After exchanging blows for a while, it became clear that Charlie was struggling.

Only when Do-hyun joined in could they balance the fight.

Perhaps Geyman was uncomfortable with the sudden intrusion, as he clicked his tongue and took a step back.

Thanks to that, Charlie, relieved, spoke with a self-reproachful voice.

“I apologize, my lord. If I could only wield my full power….”

“Can’t you use that technique you used earlier? It looked strong.”

“Ah, you mean the Sword of Light? I lost a lot of power traveling back through time, so I need a lot of time after using it once. Moreover, it’s not a complete Sword of Light… I am ashamed.”

In other words, it was a finishing move that could only be used once per battle.

It was a shame, but it was understandable.

‘If he could use something like that freely, it would break the balance.’

It would be even stranger if he had such power right after becoming a Guardian.

In fact, even now, his performance was amazing enough.

‘I can do it with Charlie.’

That’s how he felt.

Just a moment ago, there seemed to be no hope, but Charlie’s presence made it possible.

This wasn’t just a thought.

“I’m not in good condition right now, so hold him as much as you can.”

“Understood, my lord.”

“Let’s go in right away before he recovers.”

As soon as he received Do-hyun’s order, Charlie dashed out and perfectly grabbed Geyman’s aggro [aggression; drawing the enemy’s attention].

A one-on-one with the Destroyer, Geyman?

[Kuaaa! You insignificant thing is annoying me!]

Even if he could hold out to some extent, he would eventually be torn to pieces, as Geyman said.

But winning and grabbing aggro were two different things.

Swoosh- Stab!

Every time it was confirmed that the aggro was held, Do-hyun sneakily attacked and retreated, enraging Geyman to the point where he turned his target.

“Where are you looking! Your opponent is me!”

Charlie persistently followed and interfered.

The gap that was revealed was Do-hyun’s attack timing.

[You fly-like things!!]

By the time Geyman couldn’t contain his anger and swung his dark swords in all directions, Do-hyun had already disappeared.

[Why! Why can’t I hit him!]

As the Destroyer, Geyman, he was going crazy with frustration.

Just one hit.

He really only needed to land one hit, but it was as if Do-hyun was predicting the future, dodging like a ghost.

‘The best CC [crowd control; abilities that impair enemy actions] is being low on health.’

He didn’t know it, but the thought that he only needed one hit was making his movements monotonous.

He was getting excited because he couldn’t land that one hit, and his movements were getting bigger.

Even that made it easy to predict, and with Charlie holding him back, the Destroyer, Geyman, was no longer a threatening beast to Do-hyun.

Thwack, Thwack! Stab!

He was just a moving sandbag, nothing more, nothing less.

[Ah…. ]

Slowly, but surely.

He was dying.

[Aaa….]

The Destroyer, Geyman, knew it too.

They were clearly weaker than him.

Their health, stamina, and remaining numbers were so low that they would die if he just grazed them.

‘…I’m being hunted.’

When he came to his senses, he was the prey.

That little bug was driving him to the edge of a cliff.

Just two humans… no, just one dying human was making it possible.

He couldn’t die like this. He had to kill that arrogant guy.

-Kill him… kill him and be free….

If he did, he could be freed, like the voice in his head said.

…But how?

Instant death skill? The powerful techniques of the Corrupted Holy Knight?

He couldn’t even use a fraction of them because he had used up his last strength to revive.

No matter what he did, his sword couldn’t reach Do-hyun, and Do-hyun’s sword was slowly carving away at his life.

[Ah.]

In the end, Geyman had no choice but to admit it.

He, who had wandered for 10 years, would eventually die here.

He, who had overcome death with immortal power, would finally meet a pathetic end.

Swoosh-

The sword slashed past his side.

Crack! Clang!

What was once a sword became a double-edged ax, tearing his shoulder, and Geyman’s sword, swung in retaliation, was blocked by Charlie’s sword.

Stab!

A dagger flew and pierced his heart.

What was once a dagger soon became a shield, protecting Charlie, and what was once a shield became a sword again, aiming for his heart.

A single sword became countless assassins, tightening around his neck.

-Sir Taksenel, thank you so much!

-Thank you, Knight Mister! I like Knight Mister the best!

Was it a dying vision?

A voice that shouldn’t be heard echoed in his ears.

The weak voice of a wrinkled old man and the cheerful voice of a young girl.

-Please… please save me…!

-Kyaa, kyaaa! Monster, you monster! Let go of my mom! Waaaaah!

-Ughaa! No. No! Please save my daughter!

At some point, the voice had turned into a chilling scream.

The old man, who had thanked him with wrinkled eyes, was begging for his life with half of his face melted.

The girl, who had smiled brightly and shyly handed him a flower, was crying with tears streaming down her face.

-Save me! Save meee!

-I don’t want to die… please… please…!

-Kill, kill, kill, kill….

-Sir Leved… no, Sir Taksenel! Where is Sir Taksenel!

Numerous screams were heard.

In a place where blood was piled up and his body was half-submerged, the people wailing in terrible shapes were all those who had thanked Taksenel.

[Stop… stop…!]

The Destroyer, half of his eyes rolled back, waved his hands frantically.

Stab-!

He pierced his heart.

He killed the one who was looking for him, with his own hands.

-Sir Taksenel… Sir….

-Monster… you’re a monster.

-Give me back my family, give them back!

He blew up the head of the one who called him a monster, and sent the one who was looking for his family to his family’s side.

It was all a memory of that day.

The endless death was now a swamp, engulfing him.

Ah….

He felt it.

The last shred of humanity left in him was disappearing.

The people he had killed were grabbing his feet with their bony hands.

[The Abyss Contractor who broke the taboo, ‘Destroyer Geyman,’ loses the ‘Broken Hourglass of Faith.’]

[Destroyer Geyman’s mind is being consumed by the Abyss.]

The steadily beating heartbeat stopped.

In a sense that echoed silently, as if falling into a terrible void.

“Just go now. You were disgusting.”

Do-hyun’s voice, filled with a disgusted tone, was heard, and

Stab!

The sensation of his heart being pierced filled the void.

Feeling his body, which he had been maintaining unstably, scatter and approach death, Geyman shed tears.

They were black tears.

[I… didn’t… want… to… be… a… vessel… I… just… wanted… to… live… as… a… human…. ]

The small murmur could not continue to the end.

“Why are you trying to sell your sob story here? No way.”

With Do-hyun’s voice suddenly interjecting, his head was cut off and his mind flew away.

Behind the disappearing figure, shimmering like a mirage, a notification popped up, and

[You have defeated the Abyss Contractor who broke the taboo, ‘Destroyer Geyman!’]

[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]

[It will be recorded in the Adventure Log.]

[You have cleared the sudden quest ‘The Only Hope!’]

[The quest reward changes due to the unbelievable achievement.]

[As a reward…….]

…….

“Uwaaaaa!”

Do-hyun screamed.