Chapitre 10: Chapter 10
The fight between Jun-hee and the Ten-Tailed Serpent King erupted with a ferocity that shook the entire dungeon. Jun-hee darted forward, her twin hard-construct blades sparking with violet lightning as she slashed at the King's tails.
The first tail came at her like a spear, aiming to impale her through the chest. With a deft sidestep, she severed it in one clean strike. The tail fell, writhing violently on the ground before dissolving into green mist.
But no sooner had she cut it than the tail began to regenerate. From the severed stump, flesh and scales writhed, growing rapidly until it was whole again.
"They regenerate?" Jun-hee muttered under her breath, her jaw tightening.
The King chuckled darkly. "I am no ordinary serpent, little hunter. Your efforts are meaningless."
Two tails lashed out simultaneously, one striking at her feet while the other came down like a whip from above. Jun-hee rolled to the side, flipping backward to avoid the second strike. Her blades moved in a blur, slicing through both tails in rapid succession.
As she landed, more tails shot toward her, their movements like blurs of green and silver. Jun-hee parried and slashed, her movements fluid and precise, but the Serpent King was relentless. For every tail she destroyed, another would grow back, stronger and faster.
The King lunged, its massive body coiling around her in an attempt to crush her. Jun-hee leapt high into the air, her blades glowing brighter as she drove them into the King's side. The creature let out an ear-piercing roar, its body writhing in pain, but it retaliated with a sweeping tail strike that sent her crashing into a tree.
Jun-hee groaned as she pushed herself to her feet, blood dripping from a gash on her forehead. The King was gaining the upper hand, and she knew it.
"You're strong, hunter," the King hissed, its voice like nails on glass. "But even strength has its limits."
The Serpent King lunged again, this time striking her hard in the side with one of its tails. She skidded across the icy ground, coughing up blood as her constructs flickered weakly.
The King loomed over her now, its fangs bared, venom dripping onto the ground and sizzling like acid. "You've reached your limit. Now, die."
The King's tails reared back, ready to deliver the final blow—when a sudden blur cut through the air.
SLASH!
A tail fell to the ground, severed cleanly.
The King recoiled in surprise, its gaze snapping to the source.
Standing there was Jin Tae-min.
But something was different.
His eyes glowed an intense, otherworldly blue, pulsing with an eerie light. His movements were calm and precise, his posture rigid, as if he wasn't fully in control of his body.
"Tae-min?" Jun-hee whispered, her voice filled with disbelief.
The system notification appeared before Tae-min:
[System Override Activated]
Time Remaining: 10 Minutes
User Control Relinquished to System Protocol Omega
The Serpent King hissed, its tails snapping toward Tae-min like a hurricane of flesh and scale.
But Tae-min moved faster.
With inhuman speed, he sidestepped the first attack, caught the second tail mid-strike, and twisted it until it snapped like a twig. Another tail shot toward him, but he leapt over it effortlessly, his movements a blend of grace and brutality.
He landed on the King's back, his hand glowing with blue energy as he slammed it into the creature's scales. A shockwave erupted, cracking the ground beneath them. The Serpent King roared in agony, thrashing wildly, but Tae-min was unrelenting.
He tore through the King's tails with brutal efficiency, each strike of his hand or blade slicing cleanly through the regenerating flesh.
"You think you're strong because of your regeneration?" Tae-min's voice was cold, mechanical, and devoid of emotion. "I'll make you regret it."
He ripped one tail from the creature's body, using it as a weapon to batter the King's head. The dungeon shook as the battle reached its peak, each strike of Tae-min's attacks echoing like thunder.
Despite its power, the Serpent King was faltering. Its tails were regenerating slower, its movements becoming sluggish.
"This… this cannot be!" the King roared. "What are you?!"
Tae-min didn't answer. He drove his blade into the King's chest, twisting it as green blood sprayed everywhere. The King screeched, its glowing eyes flickering.
But before the killing blow, the King's voice cut through the chaos, its tone filled with something unusual: fear.
"You… You bear the mark of the Fallen Sovereign," the King rasped, blood bubbling from its mouth. "Do you not know what you truly are?"
Tae-min froze, his glowing eyes narrowing.
"What did you say?"
The Serpent King chuckled weakly, even as its life faded. "You are no mere human. No… you are the vessel of ascension. The harbinger. When the time comes, even the system won't be able to control you."
With one final surge of power, Tae-min drove the blade deeper, silencing the King forever. Its body slumped to the ground, lifeless.
The system notification appeared once more:
[System Override Deactivated]
User Control Restored
Tae-min blinked weakly before collapsing to the ground. The blue glow in his eyes dimmed completely, leaving him looking like an ordinary young man. His body was drenched in blood—some his, some the serpent king's—and his hands and legs trembled uncontrollably. Every fiber of his being screamed in exhaustion, and he couldn't even muster the strength to lift a finger.
"What… just happened?" he muttered, his voice barely audible. His eyelids fluttered shut, and his body lay motionless, paralyzed on the icy ground.
Jun-hee, battered and bloodied herself, managed to pull herself upright. Her hard construct blades had long since vanished, and her breaths came in ragged gasps. She stared at Tae-min with wide, disbelieving eyes, her mind racing to make sense of what she had just witnessed.
Her gaze shifted to the lifeless corpse of the Ten-Tailed Serpent King, its massive form riddled with wounds and completely still. Even its famed regeneration had failed against the sheer brutality of Tae-min's assault. Yet, it wasn't just the serpent king's death that haunted her—it was the words it had spoken in its final moments.
"You are no mere human. You are the vessel of Ascension. The harbinger."
Jun-hee's hands trembled slightly as she replayed the scene in her mind. The horrifying power Tae-min, a supposed D-class healer, had unleashed was beyond anything she had ever seen. The speed, the precision, the cold, calculated brutality—it wasn't human. It wasn't him.
And yet, somehow, it was.
She stepped closer to Tae-min's unconscious body, her legs threatening to give way beneath her. When she reached him, she knelt down and checked his pulse. It was faint but steady. Relief washed over her, but it was quickly replaced by an unsettling mix of confusion and dread.
"What are you, Tae-min?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the eerie silence of the dungeon.
The gate was still shut, the red sky above casting an ominous glow over the battlefield. Jun-hee looked up at the pulsating edges of the portal, her mind racing. The serpent king's words about the gate's mechanics echoed in her head, but now they felt like a warning.
"When the time comes, even the system won't be able to control you."
Jun-hee's jaw tightened. Whatever had just happened wasn't over—not by a long shot. And for the first time in years, she felt the cold grip of fear wrapping around her heart.
The gate's energy shimmered and faded as it opened, revealing the battered and bloodied figures of Jun-hee and an unconscious Tae-min in her arms. The crowd outside erupted into relieved cheers, Min-ji standing at the forefront with her team. The joy on their faces quickly turned to concern when they saw the state of the two. Jun-hee, bruised and limping, carried Tae-min, his body completely limp, his bloodstained hoodie clinging to him like a second skin.
"Medic, now!" Jun-hee shouted, her voice hoarse but commanding.
Several medics rushed forward, carrying stretchers and supplies. One reached out to check the gash on Jun-hee's shoulder, but she brushed them off. "Leave me. Focus on him," she said, nodding toward Tae-min. Her voice was sharp, but her expression was distant, her mind racing with fragmented thoughts.
Min-ji approached cautiously, her eyes filled with questions. "Jun-hee, what happened in there?"
Jun-hee didn't respond immediately. She hesitated, her gaze dropping to the ground.
Min-ji tried again, her tone lighter this time. "For you to kill a king… You must be really strong. Lol."
Jun-hee forced a weak smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "What can I say? It runs in the blood," she replied, her voice flat, her expression heavy with unspoken thoughts.
Min-ji frowned, sensing the weight in Jun-hee's demeanor. She was about to press further when Jun-hee interrupted, her tone curt. "I need to check on Tae-min."
"Okay," Min-ji said softly, stepping aside.
Jun-hee made her way to the medic van where Tae-min lay on a stretcher. His face was pale, his breathing shallow, but steady. One of the medics glanced up at her. "He's still alive, but barely. We're taking him to the hospital for better treatment."
Jun-hee nodded. "Take care of him."
As the van doors closed and it sped away, Jun-hee stood rooted to the spot, her thoughts a storm of images and words. She could still see the serpent king's lifeless body, its blood staining the frozen ground, and hear its ominous, cryptic last words. She could see Tae-min's glowing blue eyes and the terrifying precision with which he fought, like a puppet being controlled by something far beyond human understanding.
Her fists clenched, the chill of the evening air biting at her exposed skin, but her mind remained fixated. The serpent king's final words replayed over and over. "You are the vessel of Ascension. The harbinger. And when the time comes, not even the system will control you."
Jun-hee whispered to herself, her voice laced with unease and curiosity. "Jin Tae-min… who are you?"
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FateArchitect
FateArchitect Chapter 10 people. I hope y’all liked it
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
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