Classless Ascension

The Gemini group and the unknown enemies were still fighting in the vast castle courtyard, and it could only be called flashy and chaotic.

—Boom!—

How the hell was Gemini still alive? There were only 5 of them after all— or not? Josh suddenly noticed countless lumps of soil moving around the battlefield. They would come out of the earth and slam the enemies heavily…golems!

—Clang!—

The one controlling them actually seemed to be his target. He was handling a pink gem in his hand and was seemingly relaying orders to the magical creatures. Why hadn't he used it before? Was it his trump card?

Either way, this equalized the battlefield. While the anti-Fallen were pretty much unbeatable (thanks to the chain buff), golems were spawning every second to send shockwave after shockwave at them.

— Crash!—

Both sides seemed to be in a stalemate at first glance, but Josh then noticed his target's face. It was gradually becoming paler and paler by the second. He was definitely growing weaker while the enemies remained strong.

No, it was worse than that. For some reason, the enemies didn't seem to be taking any risk at all. Even then, they didn't feel impatient in the least. Were they simply buying time? For what purpose? He honestly couldn't fathom it.

— Kacha!—

Should he help? It seemed like he had underestimated the Gemini members. But, if he did, he'd have to get ready to get ganged upon by all the enemies, and not just for show like what was happening there.

The stakes would instantly get raised a few levels if he got involved. They wanted to stall Gemini but to kill him. Wait, no! This wasn't it. They wanted to kill Gemini, too but were not pressed for time.

—Bang!—

Holy crap. Whatever they were waiting for would be terrible news for them all, Josh included. What about waiting for his target to weaken? Screw that! Surviving came first! He'd freaking save his target if it meant saving himself.

Oh well, it was time to fuck shit up….

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The Gemini members were at their wits ends.

"Fuck that guy. He should have stayed with us!"

"No point in cursing the dead. Focus on staying alive."

"I swear, I hate those freaking glowing chains so damn much!"

"It's fine. We still have the boss's golems. Without them, we'd already be screwed."

They glanced at the man who was currently single-handedly keeping them alive. While his golems weren't too strong, they worked perfectly together to create an unbreakable defense line.

They also had to thank Lana for their survival. The old lady didn't seem to be doing much, but she was intimidating the enemies.

Earlier, she had shown a hint of her true power as she had slaughtered a Climber instantly. It was just a shame that her deadly sword techniques had limitations, hence their current predicament.

"We just need to keep surviving like this, and we'll be fine. Reinforcements are on their way!" They cheered one another. Whatever happened, they wouldn't give up.

But they all instinctively felt that something was wrong. Their opponents were way too calm. This wasn't a bloody war, but one big calculated move. Whatever it meant didn't augur anything good.

That's when a commotion was heard as a few Climbers pointed toward the castle. The Gemini members turned their heads, shocked by the scene.

A lone man was making his way over. He was bloodied from head to toe, so much that his features were hard to see. But they recognized the gas mask that he was wearing: he was part of the anti-Fallen group.

Still, how the hell had he gotten so injured, and where were his seven other allies?! They couldn't have all died, right?!

That's when he cried out:

"Guys, we have a problem! That fucker is still alive in there! He holed himself in a room with other Fallens. We have them pinned down, but they're more resistant than cockroaches and he's trying to teach them his trick!"

What?! That guy hadn't died yet? They clearly remembered how peculiar he had been. He hadn't seemed powerful by any measure and yet could take the buffs down. Was this perhaps an excellent opportunity for them?

The Gemini members instinctively tried to eliminate this new enemy, but the anti-Fallen were faster. They crowed around him, even giving him medicinal pellets. Tch— this sure was annoying.

They saw him recover, exchange a few hushed words with others, gesticulate a bit, then a lot, and finally leave while bringing another eight members with him. Instantly the pressure on the Gemini group was alleviated, but even then, it wasn't enough.

They couldn't help but grumble:

"If only we were able to do significant damage."

"We have to maintain the defense perimeter at all costs."

"This is the worst, they're free to come and go, and we're stuck here."

But, complaining wouldn't change the reality of the situation. They kept relentlessly fighting for their survival. This was all they could do. At this point, their only hope was external help from the MTA.

Why weren't they here yet? Was there something shady going on with that? But, they didn't ponder over it too much. It seemed like their problems were back:

"Crap, the 9 of them are coming back."

"Tch— couldn't he have bought more time at least?"

"Guys, there's something very weird about their group…."

They couldn't help but be taken aback. The one who had spoken out had both great hearing and perception. He continued:

"It seems like 8 of them are angrily chasing that 9th guy. Why?"

"Wait…What if?" Lana suddenly raised an eyebrow as she carefully looked in the masked man's direction. "Get ready to counterattack. He might actually be an ally." She murmured.

They couldn't help but gasp as they finally realized what she was implying. Could this man really be that one annoying bastard?! Then again, it wouldn't feel too surprising if he had cheated death.

That's when the masked man reached the battlefield, screaming atop of his lungs: "Screw the damn Fallen and their goddamn boats and icebergs! Death to Gemini!" He was so goddamn fanatic!

The Gemini members couldn't help but twitch. It truly was that fucker! They almost felt like beating him up before their actual enemies for some obscure reason.

Josh charged at them with anger in his steps, fury in his heart, and insults on his lips— tons of them:

"You motherfuckers. Screw all the Fallens, may you all rot in hell for eternity. You don't deserve to live in our world. You don't—" Whatever had happened at the castle, he sure was fired up!

He was so fired up that he recklessly charged straight at the Gemini members.

"Wait, don't just rush toward them. They have golems!" One of the enemies shouted.

But it was already too late. Josh was about to reach the Gemini members, but instead of cowering as they had done before, they charged back. He instantly cried out, "What the fuck?!" before he turned heels, heading back to the "allies".

Seeing the sudden Gemini charge, they were confused but instantly reacted. They unconsciously cleared a path for their ally to join their ranks and prepared to kill their enemies!

Honestly, it didn't make sense. Josh had been so suspicious, so how were they instinctively trusting him?! Was it perhaps the true hate they had felt in him? Had his acting been really on point?

Gemini attacked…and at the same time, Josh began his killing spree. He did so at the most dangerous spot, right among all the enemies. They suddenly began coughing blood as all their links disappeared.

They instantly were annihilated by the Gemini members. Far back, the 8 Climbers had arrived, screaming warnings all this while. Sadly, no one had heard any of them. Why? Because Josh had been vociferating insults even louder!

The eight could only watch in horror as all their colleagues perished one after the other. How naive had they been! They had instantly realized that something was wrong when they had assaulted an empty room under his directives.

It had already been too late. Josh had zoomed all the way back at a surprising speed. He hadn't required much time to blend with the others and cause their demise—all in a day's work.

The poor victims died in utter confusion, barely a few even realizing what had transpired. As for the eight still left, what were they gonna do? Well, besides dying needlessly. They gave one last hateful look at Josh, hurrying back into the castle.

"That's how it's done." Josh was looking proud as he lay atop the dismembered bodies.

"You, why did you have to run away in the first place?!"

"Tch— because they all wanted to kill me, obviously." Josh shrugged as if this whole convoluted plan of his was extremely natural.

"It doesn't matter right now. Let's check the situation outside and possibly open the barrier." Lana sighed.

Josh kept his ears and eyes wide open as the man he had been tasked to kill approached the outer barrier protecting the compound.

Taking a golden medal in his hand, he pressed it unto the barrier with a Climber explaining:

"This allows control over the whole thing. The only problem is it requires direct contact."

The recruiter proceeded with his business, but his face soon turned extremely gloomy. After a few unsuccessful tries, he finally grimly uttered:

"It's been tampered with. No one can escape this place right now. We'll have to destroy it, starting with the energy source fueling it all."

Seeing how he was grimacing, this probably wouldn't be easy…

Creator's Thought

Sometimes, the mood is all that is required. They felt that I truly belonged with them. In fact, I was simply exploiting that preconceived idea they had that I would be running for my life and wouldn't dare to come back.