The Awakened watching the duel from the Spectator’s Stand held their breath.
Because the screen didn’t transmit sound, they became increasingly bewildered once the real fight began.
When Ban Eunhyeol explained, they thought things were settled.
Even if the intruder won, this dimension would disappear anyway, so surviving and returning to another dimension was the better choice.
But when Dana’s face twisted in pain and the intruder launched an onslaught, they realized something had gone terribly wrong.
As they watched the screen with anxious hearts, something happened.
“Dana!”
“Lee Dana!”
The Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Hayeon, who had momentarily frozen, jumped up and dashed down from the Spectator’s Stand in a panic.
Other Awakened hurriedly followed, rushing down the stairs behind them.
Up until Dana unleashed her ferocious attacks, everyone thought her victory was certain.
But the fact that the intruder survived the onslaught unscathed and counterattacked—when had they gotten behind Dana? How had they blocked the attacks? No one could tell.
Shocked, worried, and confused, the Awakened ran down the stairs and pressed themselves against the Spectator’s Stand railing, staring beyond the dome.
Bang!
The moment Ban Eunhyeol saw Dana being stabbed, he went berserk, summoned the Spirit King, and began furiously attacking the dome.
Fireballs rained onto the transparent dome that separated the Spectator’s Stand from Dana, and deafening booms echoed, threatening to burst eardrums.
“Break it now! Use whatever it takes, just break it!”
Not only the Spirit King, but from the highest to the lowest ranked spirits—all were summoned as Ban Eunhyeol screamed and unleashed his skills.
Having suddenly exerted himself, his face rapidly paled, but he refused to stop.
However, the dome repelled every attack from Ban Eunhyeol and his spirits, as if mocking their efforts; not even a scratch appeared. Through the unyielding dome, they could see Dana’s staggering profile.
“Dana! Ah… Please, just break! Please…!”
Ban Eunhyeol’s voice grew weaker. Having summoned too many spirits and spent so much energy at once, he was drained.
“We’ll handle it, just stop now.”
Yeon Hayeon and Ji Ganghan supported him from both sides, trying to seat him in the chair behind them. But Ban Eunhyeol resisted to the end, emanating a murderous intent as if he’d shatter the dome with will alone.
His excitement showed no sign of subsiding easily.
“Why can’t we do anything…”
Ban Eunhyeol buried his face in both hands with a look of despair. But soon, he removed his hands and checked Dana’s condition.
At least the spirits protected Dana, and Bisharp lifted her onto his back and soared high to buy some time.
But on the screen, Dana’s complexion grew darker by the minute. She managed to attack Lee Dana after widening the gap, but her strikes were weaker than before.
Meanwhile, Lee Dana displayed overwhelmingly superior combat skill—far beyond anything from earlier. Whatever she had done, it worked.
If they didn’t help Dana immediately, the worst might happen.
But how?
How could they get across the Spectator’s Stand, break through the dome, and reach Dana to help her?
“What the hell is this!”
“They must have made it so we absolutely can’t intervene.”
The Awakened, forcibly moved into the Spectator’s Stand, couldn’t even leave their seats. Every attempt to jump down resulted in their bodies bouncing back to their original spots.
Half screamed in frustration, the rest let out quiet sighs, gazing worriedly at Dana.
Ban Eunhyeol started out among the former, but as his strength waned, he was drifting into the latter group.
“If anything happens to Dana, I won’t let it go. I’ll destroy the whole damn system.”
Ban Eunhyeol growled threateningly at the air, his voice seething with murderous intent.
Had he known things would turn out this way, he wouldn’t have let Dana accept the quest and would’ve found another solution.
He’d assumed Lee Dana also saw the same status window and acted too complacently.
Doyihyeon clenched his fist tightly in silence.
The veins in his hand bulged, his whole hand trembling.
‘Please let her be alright.’
He forced himself to stay calm and hoped Dana was safe, but the trembling of his body betrayed how furious he was.
He had found the idea of a duel over a dimension’s fate crazy, but naturally believed Dana would win.
But clearly, he’d been shortsighted.
While he wondered if there was any way to break free from the system’s interference and save Dana—
‘Damn it, why can’t I even get over there! Nada mustn’t die!’
Mark bit his lower lip in frustration, trying to summon his contracted creatures and somehow send them to the dome.
He thought his summoned monsters could get to the dome since they were not human.
So, when Ban Eunhyeol called on his spirits, Mark did the same, trying to send his summons out from the Spectator’s Stand.
But even the monsters couldn’t cross the Spectator’s Stand railing.
He watched helplessly as Nada, the Awakened he admired so much, suffered.
This situation was so suffocating he felt he might lose his mind.
‘If only I had blocked her from coming over in the first place…’
Yeon Hayeon was drowning in guilt for not stopping Lee Dana when she’d first crossed over.
If only she’d stood her ground when Lee Dana broke the bars, not dodged aside, not let her cross.
Then Dana wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.
Regretful, everyone kept their eyes glued to Dana on the screen.
All they could do now was pray that Dana wouldn’t be hurt further and would somehow win.
After that, no one in the Spectator’s Stand uttered a word.
Everyone clasped their hands, holding their breath as they watched the fight between Dana and the intruder.
‘Why did she suddenly change like that?’
Pressed tightly against Bisharp’s back, I hurriedly gulped down a healing Potion. I also pulled out an Antidote Pill for Paralysis Poison and swallowed it in haste.
When I was stabbed, my back burned like it had been branded, but the pain was gradually fading.
‘If she’d just stabbed with the sword, I would’ve recovered quickly.’
But she used the Cursed Blade skill on me the moment she revived and approached. Thanks to that, my body was stiffening in real time.
She didn’t seem to know how to use skills before—was she really the same person as before Tebeho took over?
After stabbing me in the back, Lee Dana unleashed an incredible barrage of skilled attacks.
If not for the help of the spirits, I might not have escaped her.
It was the first time I’d ever felt my life so threatened.
Up until now, I’d always held the upper hand, killing monsters weaker than myself. But fighting someone with the exact same strength was on a whole different level.
[Is the stab wound alright?]
Bisharp asked in a worried voice.
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and replied.
“I have to be.”
It was just a roundabout way of saying I wasn’t alright.
No matter how many Antidote Pills I swallowed and Potions I chugged, it was useless.
The wounded area was completely numb—no pain at all.
My hand came away damp when I touched my back, but I felt nothing, which was horrifying.
I glanced back at the fake Bisharp chasing after us with Lee Dana on its back.
‘Time to bind her.’
The fake Bisharp, which had been tailing us closely, suddenly plummeted and crashed to the ground, throwing Lee Dana off violently.
“Red!”
If only she’d been hurt in the fall. But Lee Dana immediately called Red and landed safely on its back.
But as soon as she mounted fake Red, it, too, crashed to the ground like Bisharp.
I’d confirmed that Lee Dana didn’t use the Shackles of Darkness while in the sky and exploited that opening.
‘She definitely still has weaknesses.’
When Lee Dana first attacked, I was too busy fending her off to notice, only thinking she handled her skills better than before Tebeho consumed her. But after continued observation, her flaws stood out.
There was still hope.
As long as my body didn’t stiffen completely before I eliminated her.
Thud!
Lee Dana fell hard to the ground with a loud crash.
Because I’d used my spirits to block her own from coming to her rescue, no one could catch her.
If only she’d landed better, she wouldn’t have fallen so awkwardly. But now that I kept my distance, dodging her attacks, I saw plenty of weaknesses.
At this rate, I still had a chance to win.
Even if I lost a lot of blood, as long as I couldn’t feel pain in my back, I felt like I could take her head-on and win.
‘I need to finish this quickly.’
To end this fight as fast as possible, I resolved to squeeze out every bit of strength I had left.