Silence stretched as the standoff continued. Had Ibaekho finished sorting out his thoughts during that time?

“I thought maybe you had some backup to act this aggressively... Well, either way’s fine. We’ll see once it starts.”

“......”

“Let’s start by taking off our Baron’s clothes.”

“......?”

“That way we can neuter him or whatever else.”

With that, Ibaekho’s figure vanished before my eyes.

“......!”

His movement was too fast for my agility to chase. Yet the warrior’s instinct born from countless hardships caught his attack, raising my shield. But...

“PVP? Think that’ll work?”

No impact was felt on the shield where I anticipated the punch’s path.

“Damage blocking only works—”

Unexpectedly, the real impact came from behind.

“Only when you block with your shield, huh?”

KA-BOOM! The shock was like being hit by siege weaponry. Without a chance to cry out, even using [Giant Form], my body was pushed backward.

Then... ‘...Huh?’ As I regained senses, a heavy blow struck my jaw, and my body tilted back again.

What was that? An uppercut? I couldn’t tell how it happened from that angle, but one thing was certain — this time, damage landed properly.

Enough to make me want to vomit everything inside.

“Ugh...”

“Cool, huh? When I hit like this, it feels like damage doubles. Oh, by the way, this is an extra effect not in the game... Hup!”

Trying to regain posture, I swung the Demon Crusher, but Ibaekho jumped with frustrating agility to evade.

“Oh, looks like you’re ready.”

Suddenly, as Ibaekho stepped back to create distance—

“No hard feelings.”

When I looked up dazed, the surroundings glowed red. Slowly raising my head, a huge sphere reminiscent of the sun was falling.

Whooosh! A sphere covered in ominously deep red magic. Unfortunately, it was even bigger than my shield in [Giant Form].

At least ten times larger. ‘Perfect guard is impossible.’ As soon as I made this quick judgment, I raised my shield to block the sky and activated Dragon Mode.

「Character used [Scales of Greed].」

「Character’s magic resistance is over 500.」

「All magic damage taken is reduced by 50%.」

Bellarios’s active skill on the invincible barbarian (final form) that handles ‘magic resistance.’

No sooner had I used the skill, a brilliant light engulfed my entire body, swallowing even the noise. And then... shiiiiiish!

Smoke rose like opening the lid on a boiling pot, from the scales covering my skin. Hot, stinging, burning. But...

“Wow, even after that hit, not a scratch.”

No critical injury was sustained — after all, my shield blocked all vital areas.

“Our Baron really became a monster.”

After briefly marveling at my intact stance, Ibaekho closed the gap again, buzzing attacks like a fly.

Bam! Bam! Heavy jabs fired continuously. KA-BOOM! Interspersed with powerful strikes.

Swoosh! Parmel Harbae’s curse magic and Jaina’s debuffs covered me. Whooosh!

Harbae’s magic, which my shield couldn’t block, struck intermittently. But... bam! Ibaekho, who usually beat me like a dog, tilted his head in confusion.

“What? Your neck won’t even turn now?”

That’s because Shield Barbarian gets tougher the more he’s hit.

「Physical resistance rises proportionally to absorbed magic damage.」

How many magic hits have I taken so far?

「Character’s physical resistance exceeds 750.」

「All physical damage is reduced by half.」

Not only is [Evolved Shell] Stage 3 active...

「Character cast [Iron Fortress].」

「[Evolved Shell] effect increased by 1.5 times.」

I’m about to use that too.

Thunk! Compared to before, the normal attacks felt like mere tickles. This was why I could stay confident even 4:1.

‘They can’t use ultimates here anyway.’ Like [Star’s Demise] or that ‘thing’ used on Briat in the Golden Ruins.

As long as allies are nearby, using those is risky. Conversely, if no allies were around, I could use them without hesitation...

“This should ease your worries. Baron, you ready to go all out? Hey! Everyone, back off!”

In some ways, this resembled how Ibaekho smartly fought by knowing my shield’s traits earlier. ‘Do they think I’m a dumb monster?’

I’d never wait, knowing everything, for him to create distance.

“Behe—laaaaaaaah!!”

With a battle cry, I charged at the rear line. After being pummeled all day, it was time.

“Aures!!”

It’s time to catch at least one. As I rushed in, Leg Auress raised his shield to block.

Tank vs. tank. Normally, they couldn’t deal critical damage to each other, making it a stalemate...

“Don’t worry! I’ll protect Lord Ruin Genesis—.”

What’s he saying? Does he think I’m a pure tank? No. 87 Crowl’s Demon Crusher. No. 687 Siege Slayer. And Ogre’s [Swing].

These are now basically normal attacks since I recently got ultimates. 「Character used [Aegis Dragon Armor].」

After being hit by Ibaekho’s attacks and Harbae’s magic, the damage I’d accumulated: 「Reflecting accumulated damage.」 That’s enough.

No. ???? Aegis Dragon Armor. The active effect is quite flashy. Actually...

‘It always makes my chest swell with pride.’ It has a more ‘overwhelming’ effect than any ability or equipment I have.

Like this: swoooooosh! Behind me, the summoned soul warrior swings a massive greatsword that looks like it could tear down castle walls.

The target: Parmel Harbae, Ruin Genesis. If only the priest Jaina were out of the way, the fight would be much more manageable.

But the problem is the gatekeeper Leg Auress in front. ‘Hmm, not really a problem?’

Indeed, what happened next matched my expectations.

Leg Auress stood with a gigantic shield before Harbae, a thick magical barrier layered dozens deep forming over him.

‘A tank protecting a mage, and a mage casting spells to protect that tank...’

It sounds romantic, but...

‘They’re a pain in the ass.’ Nothing changes no matter what.

No matter how they combined power, how could they stop me? They couldn’t even stop me properly during the experiment. Crackle crackle crackle!

The magical barrier of the top-tier mage tore like paper. One layer, two, three, four... No matter how many layers, it was meaningless.

That ruthless warrior’s greatsword didn’t discriminate at all. Crackle crackle crackle!

Swinging wildly, the greatsword finally shattered the last magical barrier and sent flying even Leg Auress, the final wall.

“Gahk!”

Okay, tank down. Bam! Ibaekho hammered normal attacks from behind, but I could just ignore them.

‘GM is watching...’

Since sacrifices can’t be made outside the walls, even the priest has no real way to stop me.

Now my job is to finish off Parmel Harbae, who has used all his defensive spells...

“...Huh?”

Then an unexpected variable burst out, surprisingly positive for me at first though I didn’t realize it right away.

“Why... won’t it disappear?”

The soul warrior summoned by Aegis Dragon Armor didn’t vanish after striking once. No, it even retracted its greatsword and prepared to strike again. Strangely, those brief moments felt like slow motion.

“Uh...?”

Ibaekho’s stunned face forgot to guard me.

“...!”

Jaina looked worried. GM wide-eyed watching. And...

“This is troubling.”

Parmel Harbae urgently began casting. As my senses flooded with real-time info, I instinctively understood what happened.

[Stacks build as you take hits, and physical damage scales with stacks.]

Due to experimental limits, we’d only seen up to Stage 4 of Aegis Dragon Armor’s effect. So we didn’t know how many stages there really were.

But...

「Accumulated damage exceeded a threshold.」

「Effect triggered again.」

A double activation.

‘Is there another added effect at a higher stage?’ It was a reasonable guess, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

This alone was enough. ‘Aegis Dragon Armor’ deserves single-number ranking.

KRAAAASH! Time accelerated and the soul warrior’s greatsword charged at Harbae. And then—

“...La Abiestuka Bieran.”

Just as the chant finished, a dark crimson veil enveloped Harbae in a sphere.

The veil rippled ominously, far too sinister to be a protective shield.

‘I’ve never seen this before.’ It looked like one of Harbae’s hidden trump cards. I’d soon find out its power—

“...Huh?”

Watching carefully, my eyes went wide. I hadn’t expected this at all.

If the shield broke or the greatsword bounced off, that wouldn’t be surprising. But... whoooosh!

The greatsword disappeared as soon as it touched the veil. More precisely, it felt swallowed whole.

Like that sphere was a portal to another world. ‘Isn’t that basically invincibility...?’

Given the very short casting time, it seemed absurdly powerful.

Still, I decided not to feel unfair. Just like I scammed with Aegis Dragon Armor, this old man likely had a trump card too.

‘Besides, it probably isn’t no-cost.’ In our world, strong power always comes with a price. Like Harbae panting now.

“Hoo... hoo...”

Harbae breathed heavily as if using up all his future strength. His white hair was soaked with sweat, clinging to his skin. It looked like he could pass out any moment.

‘Have I ever seen him pushed this far before?’ I thought. It felt strangely out of place, but this was no time to just watch.

The veil had just disappeared. Thud! I quickened my steps and closed the distance to Harbae.

As I swung the hammer, another unexpected event happened. Whoosh! My hammer cut through empty air.

So absurd, I needed time to process it. ‘...He dodged?’

Harbae dodged my strike. No matter how low my agility, a mage shouldn’t be able to evade like that.

It wasn’t luck either. Whoosh! His movements dodging the follow-up attacks were as smooth as a martial arts form, enough to fluster me.

“You didn’t know, huh?”

“......”

“Magic developed in warfare. So ancient mages all trained in close combat. To protect themselves in melee.”

Damn it. If mages do martial arts too, what are we supposed to do for a living? Thinking that, I tried closing the gap more.

Step step. Instead of creating distance, Harbae approached me, reaching out. Then... thud. His hand lightly touched my stomach. Boom!

An explosive shock surged inside. No incantation or large magic flow was felt.

“Gahk!”

What the hell was that? Penetrating my magic resistance in Dragon Mode? ‘...That easily?’ I was stunned but quickly grasped the situation.

I had known this ‘technique’ but forgotten it over time.

[You might know this. You were temporarily untouchable. I connected the circuit, completing the spell through your body.]

[Ah, so that’s why your magic resistance didn’t work.] Though I don’t understand the exact principle.

The important part: Harbae ignored my magic resistance and dealt damage in close combat with Ibaekho.

“Okay, a mage in melee isn’t so easy after all.” Blood trickled down my throat, but it wasn’t a serious injury.

I judged I needed some time to regroup and created distance.

‘A bit disappointing not to have finished one on the first turn...’ But there was no rush. I’d at least incapacitated Leg Auress.

“Aures...!”

He seemed alive and likely to be healed soon.

‘I should have taken down at least one at the start.’ The situation wasn’t good. Ibaekho paused his attacks and spoke to me.

“You saw, right? No matter how much you struggle, it’s useless.”

He was cocky but it wasn’t over yet.

“So just stop here, yeah? Just say it. What did you talk about with that old man? You don’t have to tell anyone else, just me. Then we’ll end this, okay?”

I smiled at Ibaekho’s arrogance.

“Getting long-winded...”

“......?”

“Getting tired, huh?”

I wasn’t tired yet.

「Character cast [N O V E L I G H T] [Soul Dive].」

「Soul power regenerates proportional to soul consumed.」

Whether street fight, ring battle, jungle, ocean, or other worlds, one truth never changes.

“Behe—laaaaaaaah!!”

In the end, the one who stands till the last wins.*** One minute, two, three... The battle continued. Ten, twenty, thirty minutes... Rolling on the ground, coughing blood. One, two, three hours...

Fainting, waking in burning agony. Four hours. Maybe even longer.

Time passed slow like a teenager but also too fast.

“Huff... huff... huff...”

Hot breaths came from everywhere, not just me.

“Baron... maybe it’s enough now...?”

Leg Auress, who’d left and returned several times, guarded Harbae and pleaded earnestly.

“Even you have limits...”

Usually, the one who says that first is closest to their limit. Jaina added from afar.

“...Monster.”

A short murmur, as if thoroughly fed up.

“Ah ha... huh...”

Ibaekho, still sweating beads, wiped his brow and spoke.

“You definitely had some backup to believe in. Didn’t expect it to be yourself, though.”

He kept grinning like it was fun.

“Looks like it wasn’t that far off.”

Apparently, he liked how strong I’d become.