Episode 38: Tower of Strife (3)
King of Afterimage, Azas.
A dark entity that consumed the ruins of the Periad Kingdom.
His race isn’t explicitly stated, but context suggests he’s a demon.
If you diligently follow the mechanics without getting greedy, the fight isn’t overly complex.
In the Endless Distorted Afterimage zone, Azas is usually asleep, recovering his lost power.
He doesn’t wake unless you destroy the Power Stones that fuel him.
‘Yet he’s awake the moment I enter…’
I didn’t touch the stones.
There’s only one explanation.
‘Those bastards pulled something.’
Invaders start at the floor’s entrance.
They couldn’t have outpaced me to this point, so they must’ve done something specific.
Sure enough, an unusual message appeared.
《A warp opens in the Endless Distorted Afterimage zone.》
《A foul stench of blood emanates from the warp.》
Rage surged to my head.
The old, buried temper of my youth flared up.
But I’m not that teenage Oh Hyun-woo anymore.
I’ve learned to control my emotions with age and honed my tact through corporate life.
I’m pissed, but anger won’t solve this.
‘So that’s how it is?’
Vampiric abominations, barely recognizable, poured from the warp.
I don’t know how they opened such a flashy portal, but one thing’s clear—they want me dead here.
‘Karmar, Deathside. I won’t let you off easy.’
I’ll crush them thoroughly later.
For now, I need to survive.
The boss is awake, and monsters are flooding from the warp.
The longer this drags, the worse it gets.
The only answer is to blitz Azas.
Problem is, the standard strategy is to destroy all four Power Stones simultaneously to weaken him.
With him awake, breaking them one by one will only let the enemy numbers grow.
‘Take down a full-powered Azas in a flash, huh…’
Even in my Lucifer days, I never tried this.
Variables are out of control, and I can’t claim a clear power advantage.
But…
‘This’ll be fun.’
The situation pushes me to fight a strong foe.
Unlike the game, I’m risking my actual life.
This chilling sensation of standing on a cliff’s edge.
Yet, instead of fear, excitement fills my chest.
At 28, the jaded Oh Hyun-woo hated precarious situations.
Or so I thought.
‘I’m not normal, am I?’
Despite the irritation, my heart races in this danger.
“Master.”
“Sage!”
“My lord.”
The three villains look at me.
I have one thing to say.
“No change in plans. We take Azas’s head now.”
“Yes!”
I headed straight for the boss room.
《The Power Stones remain intact. Entering now will make defeating Azas significantly harder. Proceed?》
YES.
《King of Afterimage Azas appears.》
‘What Lucifer couldn’t do, I’ll surpass now.’
***
Entering the map, I sharply scanned the terrain.
Azas, the King of Afterimage, created this Distorted Afterimage—his own world of illusions.
He leaves afterimages, teleporting through them.
But creating them causes slight distortions.
Spotting those distortions lets me predict his movements.
‘Can’t miss a single crack or groove.’
With the Power Stones intact, his power is amplified.
As I analyzed the distortions, the King finally appeared.
“Foolish worms. Challenging me without destroying the stones—do you not fear death?”
In my memories, Azas was a frantic fool, weakened by lost stones, stumbling after a few hits.
But now…
‘He’s impressive.’
With the stones active, Azas is no mere boss.
His human-like form shimmers like a shadow.
Blackened skin peeks through his afterimages.
Dark veins twist like lightning, and his eyes hold an abyss-like darkness.
His movements are silent yet suffused with killing intent—an unyielding regal presence.
‘Now that’s the dignity a villain should have.’
I love villains.
Ones like the Seven Sins, with deep lore and power, are perfect.
But Azas, radiating raw strength, is also my type.
In short…
‘I want him.’
For the first time in a while, my collector’s itch stirred.
“…Why do you look at me like that?”
Azas seemed unnerved by my unexpected reaction.
Staring him down, I spoke.
“Hertia. Caligo. Theo.”
“Yes!”
“We’re changing plans.”
“…What?”
Ignoring their confusion, I moved.
“Don’t kill him. Capture him. I’m making him mine.”
***
Azas was baffled by the man’s arrogance.
Claiming to make him a subordinate—had he lost his mind facing death?
But it didn’t take long to see the source of his confidence.
“Theo!”
Theo, wielding his scepter, darted past Azas with blinding speed.
Boom!
He struck the ground.
“Have you truly lost your mind? Or are you seeing things out of fear?”
Hyun-woo didn’t respond to Azas’s taunt, continuing the assault.
“Hertia!”
A mana orb formed in Hertia’s hand.
Instead of targeting Azas, she hurled it at a stone slab on the ground.
What kind of absurd tactic was this?
The next moves were just as bizarre.
Caligo sprayed poison on the floor, and Meryl struck a rotten branch.
All Hyun-woo’s party did was destroy the map around Azas.
“What are you planning…?”
Freed from Hertia’s Law, Azas drew his Mistblade.
He lunged at Theo, who was aiming for his back.
“Theo, to the right!”
Clang!
《Black Prince Theo parries King of Afterimage Azas’s attack.》
《King of Afterimage Azas leaves First Afterimage on Theo.》
He deflected my strike!
Now Azas understood why this man was so arrogant—he predicted his moves with precision.
But the outcome was set.
Three afterimages, and the scepter-wielding boy would die—
《Witch of the Apocalypse Hertia erases King of Afterimage Azas’s afterimage.》
“?!!”
Azas turned to where his afterimage should’ve been.
There stood Hertia.
“How… do you know how to counter my ability?”
Hertia offered the rattled Azas some advice.
“My Master desires you. Cease your futile resistance and pledge loyalty.”
“What? You dare tell me to bow to a mere human?!”
“You don’t know how to seize an opportunity. Then you’ll face harsh reality.”
Azas ignored her words.
His power was intact.
The Power Stones weren’t fully charged, but he had enough to reduce these fools to ash.
His afterimage attack failed, but he’d identified the weakest link.
‘The priestess… you’re the weak spot!’
Seizing another chance, Azas charged at Black Priestess Meryl.
Then—
“Meryl, now. Confess your sins and accept punishment!”
As Azas entered Meryl’s attack range, a blood-red magic circle flashed at her feet.
《Black Priestess Meryl uses Sacrifice of Sin.》
“I confess my sins!”
“You think this trick will stop me?!”
Azas created a clone, escaping Meryl’s skill.
《Sacrifice of Sin applies Focused Taunt to King of Afterimage Azas’s clone.》
The taunt hit Azas’s clone.
But the enemy leader smirked, as if he’d been waiting for this.
‘He’s smiling?’
A bell rang from behind.
Jingle.
Theo, scepter in hand, darted past Azas.
As the scepter touched the clone—
“Checkmate.”
《Theo’s Absolute Sovereignty’s second effect, King’s Command, activates.》
《Rewrites the mind of the struck enemy!》
《Black Prince Theo dominates King of Afterimage Azas’s clone.》
Wooom!
A dark, abyssal power erupted from Theo’s scepter, fully seizing control of Azas’s clone.
“Haha! Hahaha!”
Hyun-woo’s loud laughter echoed.
The villains shivered.
That laugh—the manic cackle they’d heard when rampaging with Lucifer in the past.
“You can look forward to this, Azas. We’re just getting started.”
In that moment, Azas realized the true danger of the man before him.