Dusk (BL Light Novel)

The entire Viajok faction, which had been charging at Gang Jaegyung based on my command, let out a collective scream as they fell and turned into glowing fragments.
— “What the hell…?”

I was no exception. My screen had already turned grayscale, with cracks spiderwebbing across it.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: Restart.
I quickly searched for the army medic’s ultimate skill. An overpowered ultimate that could revive all fallen allies within ten seconds. With that, we could literally start over.

But once again, my hopes were crushed.
[Faction] Jeojajok Supreme Commander Pianoseonyul has cast Messiah from the Heart of the Lifeless Land!
[Faction] Jeojajok Supreme Commander Pianoseonyul has defeated Viajok Supreme Commander Nabi!
[Alliance] Nabi: Ah, f—

[Faction] Jeojajok Supreme Commander Dalkomna has cast Messiah from the Heart of the Lifeless Land!
[Faction] Jeojajok Supreme Commander Dalkomna has defeated Viajok Supreme Commander Sora Godong!
As soon as Genocide erupted, two Jeojajok assassin commanders who had been hiding under stealth skills seized the perfect timing to simultaneously assassinate two Viajok medics. Our last hope was extinguished.
Total annihilation. A complete defeat.

Just moments ago, my HP had been fluctuating around 50%. Now, it was gone in an instant. Not just mine — almost all of Viajok was obliterated in a single Genocide strike from Retaking a Class, the army medic.
It was inevitable. Gang Jaegyung had abandoned all his defense and dumped everything into attack power and accuracy.
Even hardcore damage dealers usually kept at least some defensive engravings, but he had stripped them all away and packed his entire build with offensive engravings. There was no way his damage output wouldn’t be devastating.

In fact, Gang Jaegyung’s damage output might have even been higher than the priest destroyer we had been wary of. It was natural, given that he had sacrificed all his defense. But in exchange, he was as fragile as glass — just a few hits would have been enough to kill him.
And he had used that fragility to his advantage. Taking a page from my playbook, he pretended to tank on the frontlines, making it seem like he was tough enough to withstand all that aggression. It was a calculated move to deceive everyone into thinking, “He must be tanky to act so reckless.” This allowed him to get close and spread debuffs while still being perceived as a harmless healer.
When I realized why Gang Jaegyung had said it would be easier after what I had done yesterday, a chill ran down my spine.

[Faction] Mangchi: What the hell just happened?
[Faction] Jeonbokjukmashittang: What the hell?
[Faction] Hwareoparayo: What the…? Intimidation???

The alliance and faction chat exploded with messages from players who had been waiting for the battle to end or who now had nothing left to do. Those who had been wiped out by Genocide started voicing their confusion, and some began pulling up combat logs. Even veteran players were baffled by the ridiculously high damage output.
I exhaled a defeated sigh and typed a message.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: The enemy commander swapped all his engravings to offensive ones and focused entirely on accuracy and attack power.
[Alliance] ASDFQER: ?
[Alliance] Lawschool: ?
[Alliance] Wing: ?
[Alliance] Jeonbuchira says Jeonbuchim: Ah;
[Alliance] Yeriah: ??
[Alliance] Amichinchickenmoksipta: ?

[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: He stacked Cliffoth and other offensive buffs, then unleashed it all in one strike.
[Alliance] Cryingcattears: And he was acting like a tank while doing it?
[Alliance] Awakener: WTF lmaooo
[Alliance] Kigal: That’s insane… holy crap
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: Anyway, good work, everyone. 

Damn it. The economy’s going to crash for a while. They’d spend the remaining time resurrecting the fallen and taking as much territory as possible. Cleaning up the mess next week was going to be a nightmare. The only silver lining was that it was our turn to attack next week.
Sure, the enemy team’s strategy was well-executed, but the sinking feeling that we could have stopped it if we had figured it out earlier left me feeling hollow.
— “Hey, you did well. You know that, right?”

Moon Seonhwa, who had been stunned into silence by the impact of the Genocide, finally spoke through the voice chat, trying to console me. I was the alliance commander, and getting wiped out this badly would definitely hurt my reputation. For the next few days, people would probably be talking about how I had ordered them to ignore Retaking a Class. But honestly, I didn’t care about that.
Damn it. Losing to Gang Jaegyung like this. And in the most humiliating way possible. That smug bastard who always thought he was the smartest in the room (and he usually was). I wanted to knock him down a peg, but instead, he had stomped all over me.
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. Instead, I whispered to Moon Seonhwa.

[Whisper] Honeybread >> Sillonti: I can’t believe I got massacred by Retaking a Class and even got Intimidation stacked on me. FML.
[Whisper] Sillonti >> Honeybread: LOOOOOL 
[Whisper] Honeybread >> Sillonti: Damn it. FML.

Cursing internally hundreds, no, thousands of times, I watched helplessly as the Jeojajok forces resurrected their allies amidst the scattered glowing fragments and started seizing territory.
And that’s when a character suddenly appeared right in front of me. Of course, it had to be Gang Jaegyung.
Without a word, Gang Jaegyung approached me and started changing clothes. The pristine white uniform he had been wearing was swapped out piece by piece until he was dressed in dull, mud-colored attire from head to toe. The entire outfit was the same color as the ground I was lying on, giving the illusion that he was some kind of boulder standing amidst the battlefield.

He even swapped his wings for ones dyed the same earthen hue. Then, he positioned himself precisely at the center of my glowing fragment, adjusting his stance with minute, jerky movements. Once he seemed satisfied with the spot, he finally stilled and played dead.
Thanks to his mud-colored outfit, Gang Jaegyung’s character blended seamlessly into the ground, making it almost impossible to distinguish where the character ended and the ground began.
What the hell kind of mockery is this?

Before I could even fully process the absurdity, a speech bubble popped up above my glowing fragment.
[General] Retaking a Class: If I had to pinpoint the biggest reason for this defeat…
[General] Retaking a Class: Without a doubt… it was my own mistake…

…?
[General] Retaking a Class: If only I hadn’t followed that order to ignore him…
— “What the hell is he doing now?”

What kind of bullshit was this?
I spun the camera around in utter disbelief. Thanks to his camouflage, Gang Jaegyung’s character was nearly invisible, and with the speech bubbles rising from my glowing fragment, it looked exactly as if I were the one typing those messages.
Gang Jaegyung was definitely doing this on purpose, using the mud-colored outfit to blend in and make it seem like I was the one pathetically beating myself up over the loss.

…This was beyond infuriating.
[General] Retaking a Class: If I had just focused fire on him once… If only I had done that, I would’ve realized it sooner…
[General] Retaking a Class: But instead, I let my pride over yesterday’s tanking stunt get in the way and ordered everyone to ignore him… (wipes away tears)

— “That… that asshole! What is he doing?!”
Moon Seonhwa, who had been dead nearby, burst out laughing, cackling so hard it sounded like she was about to choke. Her hysterical laughter brought the absurdity of the situation crashing down on me, and I ripped off my headset, flinging it aside.
I shot to my feet, only to slump back down onto the chair, jaw dropping open in sheer disbelief. “Wow!” The incredulous exclamation escaped me, dripping with disbelief.

I wasn’t the type to wallow in self-pity like that, let alone spam the chat with dramatic ellipses and overly sentimental nonsense.
But Gang Jaegyung was determined. He kept going, relentlessly pounding out the fake, cringeworthy self-blame.
[General] Retaking a Class: If I had at least tried to fight back…

[General] Retaking a Class: Or… if I hadn’t tried to tank as a healer yesterday… Would things have turned out differently…? (gazes wistfully into the distance)
Fuck. Fuck.
I wanted to run away to the respawn point, but the battle wasn’t officially over yet, so I was stuck here — stuck looking like a complete moron who had nothing better to do than sit there, wallowing in self-blame like some overdramatic, mopey idiot.

My head throbbed, and a frustrated groan slipped out.
[General] Retaking a Class: Maybe… if I had just thought things through a little more clearly…
[General] Retaking a Class: Now the prices will surge since we lost territory… and everyone’s going to suffer…

[General] Retaking a Class: It’s all my fault… (wipes away tears again)
[General] Retaking a Class: It was…
[General] Retaking a Class: It was ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) my fault for giving the wrong orders…

If he were standing next to me in real life right now, I’d happily pay a settlement just to beat the hell out of him.
It was as if I were actually typing those messages myself, and the sheer embarrassment made my face burn with mortification. I frantically groped around the desk, searching for my phone. It was right where I always left it. I pressed the cool surface against my flushed cheek, trying to cool down, while my other hand shakily scrolled through the chat logs, looking for a familiar name and the voice call button.
[General] Retaking a Class: I don’t deserve this…

I don’t deserve this? What the hell? If anyone deserves it, it’s me!
[General] Retaking a Class: Because of me (sniffles) it all turned out like this…
You’re dead, you bastard.

The phone’s screen felt colder against my burning skin, and I pressed it to my ear as the dial tone droned on. Almost immediately, the voice I heard more often than my own family’s answered.
— “I turned off the broadcast mic. You can speak freely.”
His casual tone only made me angrier. It was as if he already knew what I was about to say.

Even so, I swallowed my pride and admitted defeat. Gang Jaegyung had completely played me.
“Let’s meet in real life, you bastard.”
— “When do you want to meet? I’m free all weekend.”

I have never heard someone sound so unbearably cheerful in my entire life. My jaw clenched so hard I could hear my teeth grinding.
“Tomorrow. Immediately.”
— “Where? Just tell me the place. I’ll come to you.”

“I’ll text you the location. And listen — the moment you see me, clench your teeth. I’m not joking.”
— “Got it!”
Gang Jaegyung replied in such a chipper, upbeat tone that anyone listening would think he was about to go on a date. Then, he hung up. At least now that he had agreed to meet, the insufferable pity-party messages in the chat finally stopped.

I threw my phone onto the desk, not caring where it landed, and rubbed my hands over my face. My cheeks were still burning.
Damn it… You’re really going to get it tomorrow, you bastard.