The Support Ate it All - Chapter 578: Twin Masters (2)

A small metal friction sound kept ringing.

Sensing us, they turned this way, and I greeted first.

“Good morning.”

Instead of answering, the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Dang twins studied my face closely, then looked mildly puzzled.

“…You look kind of worn out. Your skin looks dry, too.”

“The other two look glossy, though.”

“Did something happen last night?”

“I’d like to believe it wasn’t what we’re thinking.”

I deflected the interrogation with perfect naturalness.

“I guess I’m not used to the bed here.”

“Is that so? Anyway, get ready.”

Leaving their suspicion behind, Dang Ilbi manipulated the terminal.

Something under our feet resonated—

and a wave of mana swept through the grounds.

Just like the Dragonslayer Academy arena and training rooms, a safety system had been set.

Then the twins took their positions in the middle of the training grounds.

“There’s no need to match headcount.”

“Considering the gap, that would be unfair instead.”

“All three of you, come at us together.”

We’d been planning to suggest the same thing anyway, so we calmly took our place opposite them and went into combat stance.

A shadow seeped up from beneath Dang Gyu-young’s feet, taking the shape of a man in a lab coat.

Gyu-Shadow Undead Number One—the Lab Director.

And in one hand, they also pulled out a long shadow club.

Seo Ye-in put a pot on their head, chambered their assault rifle, and I raised the Crow Tree while stirring a light wind.

Then the twins revealed what they’d been holding.

In Dang Ilbi’s hand were steel pellets.

Small, and of varying sizes.

And in Dang Hanbi’s hand was a handful of coins.

Seeing that, I said:

“Finger-Flick Technique, huh.”

What you launch with it varies, depending on its foundation.

Some discharge cold like an Ice-White Pellet, but some use small objects like that.

The two nodded.

“I’ve mastered many weapons and hidden weapons, but nothing fits my hand better than this.”

“Shooting them with a mechanism can’t compare to flicking and throwing them yourself.”

“There’s a difference in power—and more than anything, the feel is different.”

Then rather than assassin types, they were closer to close-to-mid-range fighters.

That was unusually atypical for the Dang clan.

It looked like they barely used poison at all, and even their hidden weapons were used only in frontal fights.

‘A true hero.’

I looked at them with eyes full of respect.

Sensing that, the Twin Heroes of the Dang Family spoke with slightly embarrassed expressions.

“Let’s begin.”

“And again—go all out.”

“We will as well.”

As we stared each other down, the tension in the grounds steadily climbed.

Then the Twin Heroes suddenly stepped forward.

They crossed both hands in an X, then flung them wide—and the pellets and coins that had been fitted along their fingers scattered like buckshot.

The Lab Director instantly swelled its body to protect us.

Its upper body turned into a rag in an instant, but it held.

We followed behind it—Dang Gyu-young and I—closing the distance.

The Twin Heroes’ eyes glinted.

“Looks like some kind of undead.”

“Tough one.”

“But can it withstand this?”

Coins and pellets focused on the Lab Director—

—and it could no longer maintain its form, scattering apart.

Resummoning it would require a short delay.

And just as the finger-flick barrage was about to fly toward us—

a shadow shot up from beneath Dang Ilbi’s feet and pounced on them at terrifying speed.

Gyu-Shadow Undead Number Two—the Dark-Shadow Commander.

It was more effective as a surprise, so we hadn’t brought it out at the start.

Even with that sudden move, the twins responded calmly.

Stepping into footwork, Dang Ilbi intercepted the Dark-Shadow Commander as it flashed past.

Still, thanks to that, the initiative swung to us.

Dang Gyu-young kicked off the ground and swung the shadow club.

Dang Ilbi didn’t dodge—instead, they thrust out a fist, each finger fitted with pellets.

So they had serious skill not only in finger-flicking, but also in fist techniques.

An extremely un-Dang-like side.

For a moment, Kim Gapdu’s image overlapped.

‘A true hero.’

Either way, the situation was still in our favor.

Dang Ilbi, retreating through footwork, hesitated.

Because the wind blowing in from behind blocked their retreat.

And Dang Gyu-young tried to bring the club down, but in the next moment, sensing something, they pulled back.

Coins skimmed through the spot they’d just been standing.

Dang Hanbi had provided cover fire.

Mana bullets rained toward them.

Dang Hanbi had to return immediately to their artillery duel with Seo Ye-in.

With a flick, coins collided with the mana bullets midair and canceled them out.

‘In raw power, they’re right at our heels.’

Because the most important parts—Core and mana bullets—were both A-rank.

‘Their technique is still behind, though.’

Then Dang Hanbi swung an arm in a dynamic motion, like a pitcher throwing a curveball.

The coins struck along different trajectories.

Seo Ye-in’s figure turned faintly pale as it moved.

It seemed they’d judged it would be hard to dodge everything, and activated Ghostless Shadow.

‘It’s a shame they’re still lacking movement skills.’

Sooner or later, Ahn Jeongmi would bring something.

Thinking that, I fired an Ice-White Pellet and met Dang Ilbi’s eyes as they evaded.

[You use ‘Octopus Arms’.]

[You use ‘Mutual-Destruction Eye’.]

‘Five times. Only five.’

I had to consider cooldowns, too.

But right after that, I couldn’t help flinching.

[‘Poisoned (B)’ status effect has been applied to the target.]

[‘Poisoned (B)’ status effect has been…….]

[‘Poisoned (B)’ …….]

[‘Poisoned (B)’…….]

[‘Poisoned (B)’…….]

‘What kind of odds is that.’

You hit a one-in-three five times in a row?

Of course, my surprise didn’t even compare to Dang Ilbi’s.

They stared at me like their eyes might split.

“When did you poison me?!”

“What? You got poisoned?”

Dang Hanbi’s eyes widened as well.

Even if they mainly used finger-flicking, they were still from the Dang family—so their knowledge of poison was deep, and their resistance would be high, too.

Yet they hadn’t even noticed the slightest sign I used poison, and they’d been poisoned on top of that.

‘It must feel like pure nonsense.’

But I had no intention of explaining.

Mutual-Destruction Eye’s activation condition was half its performance.

‘If anything, now’s the chance.’

If we exploited the opening, we could land something meaningful.

I joined up with Dang Gyu-young and pressured Dang Ilbi.

The club swung, a line of cold surged in, and compressed wind detonated.

Even so, Dang Ilbi’s responses were as smooth as an A-rank master’s.

They knocked aside the club with a kick, tilted their body to narrowly avoid the Ice-White Pellet, and twisted into the wind blast.

Only a tiny portion became effective hits, and even then, they reduced the damage with subtle moves.

‘By stamina, did we shave off five percent?’

And it wasn’t like finger-flicking was their only tool.

It was about time to pull something out.

As expected, after batting away the shadow club again, Dang Ilbi scattered steel pellets.

They seemed to float in the air for a moment—then gradually gained speed, circling around them.

Dang Gyu-young tested a few with a swing—

“…!”

The rebound was no joke, and their face hardened.

As Dang Gyu-young hesitated, Dang Ilbi counterattacked.

Steel pellets packed with internal energy shot out like a machine gun.

But a lump of shadow surged up and blocked them with its body.

Of course, it was the Lab Director, resummoned.

Then I used wind force to disturb Dang Ilbi’s stance, and the Dark-Shadow Commander—also resummoned—thrust its sword in.

As if that weren’t enough, shadow butterflies were already fluttering in.

“Excellent.”

Even as they frantically stepped through footwork, a relaxed smile hung on Dang Ilbi’s lips.

The Twin Heroes, who’d been fighting separately, had already regrouped into one position.

Their momentum abruptly surged—and they scattered pellets and coins in all directions.

Then they spun their bodies like a windmill.

Metal whirled, shredding everything within range.

The shadow undead and butterflies were forcibly unsummoned again, but we’d managed to get out in time.

I linked ★Blink★ with Ghostless Shadow and pulled Seo Ye-in out, and Dang Gyu-young escaped the vortex with [Shadow Leap].

But this, too, was part of the Twin Heroes’ aim.

Pellets and coins were already circling around the two of them.

Taking advantage of the distance we’d been forced to create, they reinforced their defense even more tightly.

We’d basically lost most of the early initiative—but Dang Gyu-young and I kicked off the ground again,

and clashed with Dang Ilbi.

Meanwhile, between Dang Hanbi’s thumb and index finger, only a single coin remained.

A resonance rang out that didn’t match such a tiny piece of metal.

Which meant a tremendous amount of power had been poured into it.

In the next moment, the coin left Dang Hanbi’s hand and tore toward its target at frightening speed.

“…….”

Seo Ye-in stepped sideways with Featherstep to move out of its path.

But as if they’d anticipated that, the coin’s trajectory sharply bent.

“…….”

As if realizing it was unavoidable, those gray eyes met the incoming projectile.

Then Seo Ye-in dipped their waist slightly, like offering a greeting, and stuck their head out—

more precisely, the pot on their head.

The coin bounced away uselessly and rolled along the ground.

Dang Hanbi blinked, completely unable to predict the result.

“What?”

“…Kim Ho sturdy.”

Seo Ye-in raised a hand and flashed a V sign.