The Mysterious Man

Boom—

Together with the explosion were the clicking sounds like a hidden mechanism. 

Click—, click—

Shortly, metal chains protruded from the ground as if it was preventing something from breaking out. 

Hans sensed Light's chaotic emotions and could not help but smile. 

'It works!' 

The gamble he made worked. 

Click—, click—

The metal chains began to crack one by one until all of them were destroyed consecutively. Both Light and his boss servant stood there dazed as they watched their fears unfold in front of their eyes. 

Soon, as the dust gradually cleared the view, a man, who was bound by chain locks on both of his arms, appeared. 

It was a man with an appearance of a mid-20s. He had fiery red hair that reached his neck as well as a fit physique and a perfectly chiseled face. The man wore elegant silver light gear under a grandiose golden-white robe. 

The man emitted a warm aura. It's gentle, tender and light. It's as if the man was untainted with evil and sins. 

However, beneath this sacred aura, lives a behemoth in human flesh. The tremendous pressure he's giving off was the same as this SS-Class boss monster. 

The man's eyebrows fluttered as his eyes slowly opened. The man's black pupils surveyed the surroundings with a hint of melancholy etched on his face. He briefly looked at his hands before shifting in Hans' direction. 

'He should be good, right?' 

[I dunno.]

'...'

Well, since he gambled almost his life for this, there's no use in playing in the palms of death anymore. 

Shu—

Under the shocking gaze of Light, Hans suddenly stretched out his hand towards the boss monster's foot and muttered. 

"What are you—!!!" 

[Life steal] 

Shrrumm—

Hans didn't wait for the after results and immediately forced his weakened body to back off. After his retreat, red lines shot through his chest coming from the boss monster, who just fell on his knees from the sudden loss of energy. 

"What did you do!!?" 

Light quickly aided his servant and after seeing no signs of damage, he heaved a sigh of relief. However, it crumbled after seeing Hans' healthy figure. 

'H-how!?' 

Meanwhile, Hans closed his eyes for a short while, getting used to the soothing energy healing his every internal organ. 

'Fortunately, I have that.' 

[Life steal (A) 

— Steals the target's 1% of maximum health and converts it into your own. 

—The more damage you receive from the same monster, the stronger the Life Steal. 

Damage Received: 79%

Total Life steal: 1% + (39.5%)

Cooldown: 1 day

Note: Damage Received would be reset for every skill use.

Plundered From: Elite Vampire.] 

Although it didn't heal all of his body, it should be enough for now. Hopefully, this newly arrived guy could help him, or else if he turned out to be an enemy… 

'I'll be doomed.'

The man looked at his position with a face full of gratitude. 

"Thank you for freeing me."

At that moment, Hans' eyes brightened after hearing the man's words. Followed by the short bow was a familiar mechanical sound ringing in his head. 

[You have freed the 'Light of Justice'] 

......

Light stared at the familiar face he really loathed to see. The owner of that familiar name he does not want to hear. Rage filled his eyes as he stared at Hans. Blood gushed out from his palms at the intensity of his clenched fists. 

'This bastard!!!' 

Now, all of his plans have turned into useless shits! 

Decades of planning, decades of experimenting would all come to naught just because this man freed the only guy he truly feared. 

'Damn it!! If not for 'them'... It wouldn't come to this!!'

However, he had no choice. The only option is to ride with the waves and let the water guide him either to hell or to heaven. 

Light shifted his gaze back to the man. Cold sweats trickled down his forehead. Those gentle but deadly eyes gave him shivers down his body. 

Despite the fear crawling on his skin, Light's face only turned cold and did not show any weak side. With a stiff face, Light spoke towards the man with a hint of sarcasm. 

"How have you been in there, my dear brother?" 

It's been many years since he last called him that. 

What an unpleasant nostalgia. 

His brother looked at him with his gentle eyes without hate or any rage. Light hated it. Living in this world with such innocent and naive eyes would lead to only death. 

He hated that his brother had it. 

The man suddenly smiled and softly muttered, "I'm doing just fine. How about you, brother?" 

"I just want to kill you."

Light rarely gets to show his true emotions but with his sworn enemy standing in front of his eyes, he couldn't hold back anymore. 

"Really?" 

A gentle smile appeared on the man's face as he reached for the air and a rapier suddenly appeared in his hands. 

"I have the same thoughts too." 

...….. 

Meanwhile, as the two conversed, at a distance, Hans' eyes widened after hearing their exchange. 

'They are brothers?' 

Who would have thought that the villain and the hero would be brothers? 

It sounded more like a fantasy novel plot for him. However, he also needed to kill this powerful man but Hans had no idea how he would execute it. 

Not only was the man strong, but also he had no power left to do it. If he was at his peak condition, he might stand a chance to win— probably a 3% chance. 

'If I knew this, I would have rested in the 4th Layer.'

It was too late to regret it now. No matter how skilled or experienced he is, it would be impossible to predict the future with 100% accuracy. 

'I need to help him for now.'

As his sweats gathered on his arms, Hans checked his remaining status. 

[Stamina Remaining: 73

 Mana Remaining: 51.]

Fortunately, he didn't use much in the boss monster short bout. Because of the strange tingles, he felt earlier, Hans didn't know why his brain concluded that there must be another existence hiding in the room. 

At first, he ignored it. However, after he recalled how the boss monster evaded the throne when it could just slam it with its foot into smithereens, Hans had doubts. 

The boss monster then carefully walked to the side as if afraid to touch the throne. It stopped in front of it like a knight guarding something. 

Thus, with a face full of uncertainty, Hans gambled. After he was sent flying backwards, he maneuvered his duplicate sword and threw it towards the suspected jewel emitting faint mana. 

As the boss monster wasn't focused on defending anymore after knowing that he's weak, it's just natural to let its guard down. Even Light didn't see it as maybe he was currently jumping in happiness seeing him being bodied. 

That's why It was the perfect time to launch an unsuspected attack. 

'But still, I'm glad it works.'

…and to think that the Light of Justice was sealed under the golden throne caught him by surprise. 

He somewhat thought Light was the 'Light of Justice' after those many brainwashing stories. Thank goodness, he didn't completely fall for that. Hans heaved a heavy sigh. 

For now, he's safe and pretty much at the endgame. The bosses were here, the light of justice is here. All of his quests are already gathered in front of him. 

But first, what he needed to do was help the man. There is no certainty that he's strong enough to fight the boss monster. 

'Let's do it.'

As Hans steeled his will, he dashed towards the others. 

......…. 

"I see…"

Light opened his arms and at that moment, the boss monster became worms, instantly covering Light's full body. 

This is his source of confidence. 

A transformation with him and the boss monster he created. He had no idea if it was enough to stop his brother as it's been decades since he last fought him. 

"My dear brother!! Look at my greatest invention!!" With a face full of madness, Light continued, "I did this just for this day!!!" 

Then, his eyes shifted to Hans who's now standing beside his brother.

"...and you!!! A bastard of reality!! Intruding here and breaking all of my plans!!! You also deserved to die!!!" 

Shu—

Swooosh—

Without warning, Light smashed his gigantic six arms towards their location. 

Smash—

Smash—

Hans and the man dodged it effortlessly. The onslaught continued. 

"HAHAHAHA, run!!!" 

Light leaped into the air and unleashed a devastating spell. 

[Saint Skill: Storm Dance, Roaring Thunders!] 

Rumble—, Rumble—

The ceiling of the Temple crumbled into small rubbles, exposing terrifying lightning looming from above. The spell stretches for over 100 miles in diameter with Hans' estimate. 

"Eat it!!!" 

Rumble—

The golden lightning, as if dancing, rained down towards the two. 

Sizzle—

Baam—, Baam—, Baam—

Hans, with the help of the man, barely dodged those lighting speed strikes. If it's 5 or 10, it would be quite easy but something like thousands is nearly impossible for himself. 

"Thank you."

The man smiled and nodded. With such gentle eyes, it was hard to imagine that there was a quest to kill him. 

'Sigh— focus.' 

As the lightning rains calmed down and the dust settled, Hans scanned the area. The previous temple was already destroyed, subverting his views. As far as he knows, the boss room couldn't be destroyed by any means. 

The large pillars of the Temple have now become nothing but rubbles and dust. In over 100 miles, the place was scorched down to its last molecule. 

Light landed on the ground. 

"What do you think of my casual attack brother!!?" 

Hans glanced at Light before shifting towards the man. 

"It's strong." A smile bloomed on his lips. At that moment, a flash of white suddenly appeared below Light's chin at a blinding speed, "However, if you want to kill me, that's not enough, brother."

[Knight's Basic Weapon Style: Stab] 

The rapier pierced the Light's heart position. 

"Huh?" 

However, the weapon was too short to reach the monster's heart. Light immediately realized what his brother did. 

"Did you…!!" 

This guy is looking down at him even after his perfect transformation. 

"...just used a basic stab to kill me!!!!?" 

"Hmm?" The man pulled the rapier out and held his chin, "Well, I thought that was enough to kill you though."

Light veins popped out of his body, seemingly wanting to explode. It was truly humiliating! 

"You bastard!" 

Light, who stood motionless after the man attacked, issued fast and multiple tail strikes. 

Baam—, Baam—

The ground was pierced like butter yet the man dodge it without much difficulty. 

"B-Basic F-footwork!!!? You son of a… !! How dare you humiliate me!!?" 

Without thinking, Light just launched reckless attacks. From fireballs the size of a giant meteor to a deafening dragon roar, all of it was used uncontrollably as if Light had an infinite source of energy. 

Booom—, Booom—, Booom—

Meanwhile, Hans watched this transpire with his mouth wide. He already abandoned the thought of helping, seeing the man just dodged those large-scale attacks like he's walking in the park. 

It's even more exaggerated than the fight with Urs and that bastard, Aviante. 

'Is that man an SSS-Class perhaps?' 

Wouldn't that be a rare sight? 

He's seen 2 SSS-Class creatures while others on Earth have only seen 1, which is Aviante. 

'This is amazing…'

As Hans watched the fight with stars sparkling in his eyes, Light finally stopped his barrage with one powerful punch. 

[Saint Technique: Annihilation Type: Twin Hooks] 

Shhruuum—

Boooom—

An explosion resounded throughout the world. Hans was caught in the fire and struggled to keep his balance against the powerful shockwaves. He didn't know what happened. The last thing he saw was his vision turning white. 

...…. 

After a short period, the two battling figures were exposed. 

Beneath a large crater stood a man and monster. 

Drip—, drip—

"He hehe, acting tough but look at you… lost one arm."

"Says the guy who lost 4 arms." 

Light mouth twitched at his brother's remark and frowned, "But I still have 2…"

The man and Light stared at each other as they reminisced their unpleasant memories. 

Suddenly, the man asked in a low voice, "Aka, why did it come to this?" 

Hans, who was buried under rubble frowned. 

'His name is not Light?' 

Then who's Light? 

The answer he's looking for was presented to him after. 

"Hehe, there are things better left unsaid, Light."