[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 580: The Black Zone (12)

Gatekeeper.

A mysterious fighter who greets every visitor to the Black Zone all by himself.

But even so, he’s just a mere underling. So how the hell is he still alive?

The universe is vast, and the number of strong beings is as countless as the stars.

‘And most of those strong ones are villains.’

Even without going far—just look at Mara.

There’s no way that guy would ever obey a gatekeeper’s rules.

Chances are, Mara would’ve crushed the opponent’s skull with a flick of his finger and forced his way in.

Well, not that Mara would ever have a reason to visit the Black Zone anyway.

Step, step.

As Yeongwoo approached the gatekeeper, he noticed piles of dust collected here and there on the ground.

Probably from the countless duels fought in this place, the ground had been gouged out, and dust had accumulated in the pits.

‘If I use that well, it could come in handy.’

And then, finally—

“…?”

Yeongwoo saw something the previous challengers had also noticed.

Another circle drawn on the ground—this one with a radius of 20 meters—centered on the gatekeeper.

‘Looks obvious—once you step in there, the fight starts.’

Yeongwoo had survived this long purely on instincts and reading the room.

So before stepping into the second circle, he untied Bastard from his waist and planted it into the ground, leaning Aratubank next to it.

Thunk.

A gesture announcing that he really was here to fight barehanded.

Then, for the first time, the gatekeeper—who had been standing silently until now—reduced his size to match Yeongwoo’s height.

Srrrup.

And then he spoke.

—Bastard.

“What…?”

Yeongwoo actually gaped in surprise.

Even with a keen eye, one could tell the sword was a Mythic-grade weapon—but how could he identify it this precisely?

“How do you know it’s Bastard? Don’t tell me you met its previous owner?”

The gatekeeper lifted his chin slightly toward the sword.

—It was a long time ago, but dueling a prince here isn’t something you forget.

‘Long ago… a prince…?’

It was almost certainly the Chairman.

And the gatekeeper was talking about him back when he was the prince of Vesedel.

“What, the Chairman was already a villain even during his prince days?”

Not only that—he had visited the Black Zone himself to make some shady deal.

—Is that prince still alive…? Impressive.

The gatekeeper’s white pupils drifted upward for a moment, recalling the past, before returning to Yeongwoo.

And then he voiced the obvious question.

—If the prince is still alive, why is his sword with you?

“What, you bastard—you think it doesn’t suit me or something?”

As Yeongwoo rolled his wrists and stepped toward the second circle, the gatekeeper replied with his usual blunt tone.

—You are the most frivolous ‘Mythic’ I’ve ever seen.

“First place is still first place.”

And the moment Yeongwoo’s toes touched the second circle, the gatekeeper hurled the token with terrifying speed.

Swaaaash!

‘What the hell, why is this projectile so fast?’

He could feel the opponent’s raw strength just from the speed of the throw.

But Yeongwoo now had a Void-Eye in place of one eye, and his perception was sharp enough for him to catch the token with a single hand.

Thwack!

“You really love these intimidation tactics, don’t you?”

The token was a small, polished white pebble.

The moment he held it, system text appeared in his vision:

「You have entered the Duel Circle as a challenger.」

「Challengers are prohibited from using Prestige within the circle.」

‘No Prestige allowed?’

So that was how the gatekeeper could beat anyone regardless of their status.

In here, victories were determined purely by martial skill.

‘Still impressive, though. He beat that many fighters purely with technique…’

As Yeongwoo held the pebble, he sensed a violent surge of intent from across the circle.

Kwaaaaa!

The gatekeeper charged without warning.

“You dirty bastard!”

A white streak crossed the circle in an instant, already in front of Yeongwoo.

His convict martial art, Rohm’s Bottom, fired a danger alert.

‘Right kick…! No—left leg coming in low!’

Using a brief glimpse of the hologram prediction, Yeongwoo launched a low kick of his own.

Slaaash!

Even if he had to take a hit, he’d at least land one back—that was his judgment.

And that judgment—

Baaaaaam!

—was perfect.

Yeongwoo’s low kick landed first by a hair’s breadth.

—…!

The gatekeeper’s posture collapsed completely.

His balance broken, he stumbled sideways instead of following through with his mid-kick.

Meanwhile, from afar, Jeonggu slapped Kejen’s shoulder repeatedly.

“Uh? Isn’t— isn’t it over?!”

—What is?

“He blocked the attack! No—he didn’t just block it, he—!”

Out there, Yeongwoo was seen delivering a ruthless soccer-kick to the gatekeeper, who looked more like the assault victim at this point—half-on the ground, blocking with his arms.

And moreover—

—It is impressive.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Not many people manage to counterattack the gatekeeper, right?”

—No, that’s not the point.

Kejen pointed at Yeongwoo’s feet.

—He’s still inside the second circle.

“Huh?”

Jeonggu’s mind raced.

If stepping outside the 100-meter large circle meant surrender…

Then what was the purpose of the 20-meter smaller circle?

“Ah!”

And he shouted.

“Yeongwoo! If you stay inside the small circle, something happens!”

Hearing that, Yeongwoo—who was chasing the rolling gatekeeper—quickly looked down.

“What? This circle has a mechanic too?”

And right at that moment, the gatekeeper, now with enough distance gained, launched a front kick.

Swaaaash!

A clear push kick meant to knock Yeongwoo out of the second circle.

‘So there really IS something.’

Yeongwoo saw it in the gatekeeper’s reaction.

The secret behind the ticket grades lay inside this small circle.

But this time, the kick was too fast—before Yeongwoo could defend, it slammed into his solar plexus.

Baaaam!

“Grrh—dammit!”

The pain vanished almost instantly thanks to the Berserker Charm—but the real issue was that Yeongwoo’s body was sent flying backward.

‘Shit, this is bad—!’

During that brief moment of airtime, two images flashed in his mind.

The Bastard he had planted before entering the circle.

And the Aratubank he had leaned next to it.

‘I put them right at the edge—where exactly…?’

There was no time to turn his head to look.

The ground was approaching fast.

‘Damn it!’

So just before he crossed the boundary, Yeongwoo stretched one leg back as far as possible.

If Bastard was exactly there—it would act as a foothold.

Fwaaap!

Seeing Yeongwoo extend his foot, the gatekeeper’s brows twitched.

Because unbelievably—Bastard was exactly in that spot.

Their movement had been strictly linear this whole time.

And then—

Tap.

“Oh.”

Realizing it worked, Yeongwoo’s eyes sharpened.

“Looks like the setup is still on my side.”

Using Bastard like a springboard, he launched himself back into the circle—

BANG!

—driving a knee made of Artari-flesh straight toward the gatekeeper.

—Impressive.

The gatekeeper complimented him for the first time.

Then he raised both arms slightly, catching Yeongwoo’s knee and pulling to deflect it.

CRUNCH!

Though he couldn’t prevent the knee from hitting his torso, both of them knew the impact wasn’t enough.

Expecting the quick counter, Yeongwoo bit his tongue to draw blood and spit it forward.

FWAAH!

The corrosive blood splattered onto the gatekeeper’s face, but without even flinching, he grabbed Yeongwoo and slammed him into the ground.

KRAAANG!

“Ugh!”

His spine felt like it was shattering—but Yeongwoo actually grinned.

‘He’s stopped trying to throw me out of the circle!’

He could feel that the fight had moved to the next stage.

Whooosh!

With mount position secured, the gatekeeper unleashed brutal elbow strikes, white arcs slicing the air.

Thud-thud-thud-THUD!

“You crazy bastard!”

Yeongwoo’s raised left arm snapped almost instantly, so he immediately activated Self-Destruction and Gambler’s Overload at once.

BOOOOM!

The gatekeeper froze for a moment amid the explosion of fire, and the overloaded Gambler prosthetic smashed into his jaw.

【Overload】

|For 5 seconds, attack power is doubled. When Overload ends, the Gambler prosthetic detaches from your body.

BAAAM!

He only had 5 seconds.

Feeling the gatekeeper thrown sideways, Yeongwoo gritted his teeth and rolled after him.

“Get back here! You need to take more hits!”

The gatekeeper, already recovering and standing across from him, glared with blank white pupils.

—This should be enough. You have earned the right—

But Yeongwoo didn’t care about rights or tickets—he cared about those remaining seconds of Overload.

He charged straight at the gatekeeper.

Tap-tap-tap!

“Enough? What, you backing out now?!”

The gatekeeper’s nasal tentacle twitched.

—You dare cross the line. Leave while I show mercy.

But Yeongwoo was already in his face, swinging the blazing Gambler’s fist.

“Come on! One hundred seventy-five Sword Rain—!”

—…!

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]