Chapter 68: Victory?

Fortunately, he wasn't thrown back to the start, but to the beginning of the last stage.

[The Awakener can only respawn after 5 hours.]

[If the awakener dies before the cooldown finishes, they won't respawn.]

A third of my HP gone and now this? Fucking Penalty zone.

YuWon was upset but had no time to show it. After all, the ghoul was already eyeing him. He had one chance to do it right. If he failed, then that was it.

Goodbye cruel world. Nah, fuck that shit.

Taking a deep breath, YuWon readied himself. But things were different this time. Instead of flying towards him, the ghoul flew upwards. Once in the air, it looked down upon YuWon and smiled.

Don't tell me it knows...

As if reading his thoughts, a notification flashed before his eyes.

[The Domain boss knows everything that has happened in its domain in the past and the present]

"Of course it does."

The ghoul screeched and suddenly dove toward YuWon. The claws were once again stretched towards him. But at the last moment, the ghoul turned and kicked YuWon in the chest.

YuWon had been expecting the claws to hit him and was taken aback by the sudden change. However, there was no respite for him.

As he fell to the ground, the ghoul grabbed him by the neck. YuWon grunted in pain as the ghoul's claws dug into his skin. But he couldn't do much about it.

Dust and debris shot up as the ghoul kept dragging him across the ground. The force ripped off his shirt, and the pain of being dragged even worse.

The blade sliced clean through the ghoul's tail, severing it completely. Blood sprayed into the air as the ghoul let out a high-pitched wail of pain as it stumbled and fell.

"Try hitting me... now," YuWon panted, throwing the tail away.

Suddenly, YuWon couldn't take his weight and fell to one knee before leaning on his sword for support.

"Come on... not yet... a few more... minutes..." YuWon muttered, feeling his vision turn hazy.

He could feel his exhaustion creeping up on him. But he forced himself to stay focused. The ghoul was on its last legs. He couldn't collapse now that victory was in his sights.

The ghoul thought the same thing and forced itself back on its feet. But much like YuWon, the ghoul too was disoriented as it dove toward him. YuWon rolled sideways, then slashed upward, cutting deep into the ghoul's chest.

The ghoul took a few steps before collapsing beside YuWon. Its limbs twitched, showing its weakness, but YuWon didn't take any chances and kept his eyes on the ghoul as he walked up to it.

"This is it..." YuWon mumbled, raising the blade.

With a final thrust, he drove the blade into the ghoul's neck. The creature let out a weak, pitiful sound before it finally went still. Its body slumped to the ground, lifeless.

YuWon stood there for a moment, leaning over the sword as it absorbed the creature's blood. But just as YuWon turned to leave the park, something caught his eye.

A second later, the severed tail shot towards him. YuWon tried to catch it, but it slipped past his grip and slammed into his shoulder.

"Ugh!" YuWon grunted as he stumbled backward.

The force of the tail sent him crashing on top of the fallen ghoul. After everything, YuWon couldn't move any longer. He could feel the blood draining from his body as his vision blurred.

He tried to pull the tail out, but he didn't have the strength. As he lay over the ghoul's corpse, something green appeared before him.

"Gi...na..."

YuWon barely touched whatever was before him as his vision went dark.