Chapter 44: Contact
Jet-black scales sprouted from the man's body.
Son Yuhan's eyebrows twitched.
He could feel an exceptional spiritual power emanating from the scales.
I can't kill him.
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!!
Just as he expected, the flying swords couldn't penetrate the man's scales.
The man's expression brightened.
Thwap—!
A scale-covered hand grabbed the straight sword.
"You insolent monkey....... yes, you'll spit out the truth before you die."
The man laughed brutally and pulled the sword.
The man's physical strength was so immense that Son Yuhan was pulled along helplessly.
"Keh!"
He twisted his body fully and threw a left punch.
Klaaaaaang!
A defensive spiritual tool materialized in an instant and deflected the man's blow.
"A holy relic......? First those swords, and now this. How many holy relics are you carrying?"
"Life's all about having the right gear."
Sooooooosh—
Three flying swords shot towards the man.
He couldn't use the other one, as it was busy operating the defensive spiritual tool.
—Caaaaaaaaw!
At that moment, the crow in his clothes puffed up its body and blocked one of the flying swords.
Now there were only two left.
The man easily deflected the two swords, then kicked the defensive spiritual tool to create distance.
Kabooooom!
"Ugh......."
Son Yuhan let out a groan from the powerful recoil he felt from the spiritual tool.
The two men stared at each other in the blue sky.
Suddenly, the man took something out of his pocket.
It looked like a seed.
He grinned fiercely.
"You're not the only one carrying holy relics, you yellow monkey."
"That's rich coming from a birdbrain who probably only roasts beans."
The man's face reddened.
"You yellow monkey!"
The man planted the seed in the palm of his hand.
Then, a jet-black sword bloomed from his hand.
Son Yuhan watched the scene with fascinated eyes.
A spiritual tool that fuses with the body. I've never seen one like this before.
The man gestured to the crow.
—Caaaaaaaaw!
The crow nodded and cleared the area.
Son Yuhan stared at him in disbelief.
"You're more affectionate than I thought. Does that crow roast beans too?"
"Shut your mouth."
The man growled and kicked off the air.
His horns glowed black.
Sooooooosh—
The man rushed towards Son Yuhan.
Son Yuhan gripped his straight sword tightly.
His cultivation is at the peak of the early foundation-building stage. And he seems skilled in aerial combat too.
He had no choice but to launch a surprise attack earlier, but now he needed to change the battlefield.
He didn't particularly think he would lose.
A cultivator who had successfully built the foundation of the eight trigrams possessed a much purer spiritual power than a cultivator of the same rank.
It might have been a different story if his opponent was in the mid-foundation-building stage.
If we're both in the early stage, I'll definitely win.
Having made his decision, Son Yuhan turned and fled.
"Where do you think you're going!"
The man swiped with his left hand.
Five claw-like energy slashes targeted Son Yuhan.
Son Yuhan threw two defensive spiritual tools into the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Tsk! Just how many holy relics do you have......!"
The man was extremely curious about which god Son Yuhan served.
Seeing how many holy relics he had, it must be a really great god.
The man shouted with excitement:
"If I can claim those holy relics, I'll be one step closer to achieving His descent!"
The man shot across the sky.
Son Yuhan's speed was much faster.
Gauging the distance between them, Son Yuhan swallowed his disappointment.
He'll catch up to me before I reach the ground.
His hands formed a series of hand seals, leaving afterimages.
A strong flow of spiritual energy swirled around him.
"Six Lights Flamefall."
Flaaaaaare—!
A huge fireball split into six and soared into the sky.
Three flying swords ascended with it.
The man snorted and swung his jet-black sword.
His shoulder drew a neat afterimage.
Slash, sl-slash!
"Just let me catch you quietly!"
The fireballs were instantly cut into small pieces.
The three flying swords were also flung away.
Just as the man, victorious, was about to launch another energy slash.
Hmm?
The man felt something strange and looked at the flying swords.
...Why are there only three?
I batted one away earlier, but it still hasn't returned?
That can't be right.
There was plenty of time.
He should have been able to recover one flying sword by—
"You're quick on the uptake."
Son Yuhan pointed his finger at the man.
The Four Absolute Arts technique.
"Self-Destruction."
At that moment.
One flying sword, hidden within the shattered flames, began to glow red-hot.
The sword used its body as fuel and rushed towards the man.
"...Damn it!"
The spiritual power within the flying sword was raging violently.
Sensing this, the man gripped the jet-black sword with both hands.
The spiritual power in his body gathered into the sword.
Son Yuhan didn't remain idle either.
"Crimson Flame Blade."
Kr-kr-kr-kr-krack!
He pressed his palms together.
Then, the petal-like flames fluttering in the air gathered towards the flying sword.
"Strike."
Fwoooooooom—!
The flying sword let out a final cry and unleashed a devastating blow.
The man gritted his teeth in preparation for the coming impact.
Kaboooooooooooooooooom!!!!
"Keoheok!"
The man, along with his jet-black sword, fell towards the ground.
Though Son Yuhan couldn't see it, fine cracks appeared on the sword.
Croooooomble—!
A huge crater formed around the point of impact.
Son Yuhan watched him with his spiritual sense.
"He's still fine."
He took out another flying sword.
A killing blow.
"It must be certain."
His fingers bent towards the ground.
Flaaaaaare—
The red-glowing flying swords fell downwards.
He didn't intend to kill him.
He needed to get information, after all.
Sooooooosh— Kaboom!!
A huge, deafening explosion.
A thick cloud of dust rose, obscuring the view.
At that moment.
"...Huh?"
Son Yuhan's eyebrows rose and fell.
He opened his eyes wide and looked down.
At that moment.
[Krrrrwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!!!]
With a powerful roar, the dust cloud cleared.
[Krrrrrrk.......]
The man no longer had a human form.
His horns were larger than before, and his fingernails grew long and hideous.
And a long tail swayed from near his tailbone.
Son Yuhan forced a smile and said:
"No wings?"
[Krwaaaaar!]
The demon's tail swayed.
Baaaaaaang—!
In an instant, the demon was in front of Son Yuhan.
The demon let out a ferocious roar and extended its hand.
Right after, four defensive spiritual tools appeared in a row.
Klaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!!!
"Keoheok......!"
Son Yuhan was flung away.
His body didn't stop until flying for several hundred meters.
Son Yuhan wiped the blood flowing from his lips and muttered:
"This is why I tried to end it quickly......."
The image of the tall demon he had fought in the pyramid flashed in his mind.
Just like that tall demon whose cultivation had exploded, this demon's cultivation also suddenly and dramatically increased.
To jump to the mid-foundation-building stage in an instant.......
Son Yuhan grabbed a scythe from his storage pouch and swallowed hard.
Should I escape to the Hyundoo continent now?
The thought suddenly came to him.
If he raised his cultivation just a little, he could easily defeat this demon.
Was there really a need to take the risk.......
Was there?
Son Yuhan unconsciously focused his mind.
A blue window appeared before his eyes.
[You can currently travel to two worlds.]
[Hyundoo Continent]
[Village of the Skilled Dwarves]
Travel is possible without going through Earth.
......Hah.
The blue window didn't easily disappear.
His awakening ability and his will were closely intertwined.
Because a deep part of his psyche wanted to escape, the blue window did not disappear.
[Krrrrwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!!]
At that moment, the demon, which had been watching for an opening, rushed forward.
It was like watching a broken video.
Every time its tail swayed, the demon's form closed in by leaps and bounds.
"Keh!"
Son Yuhan quickly dodged to the side.
Woosh!
A few strands of his hair were cut.
Son Yuhan quickly formed a hand seal.
"Thousand-Pound Water Prison"
A torrent of water erupted around the demon, trapping it.
[Krwaaaak!]
The demon snorted and lashed its tail.
Pop! The water prison shattered.
The demon looked at Son Yuhan and sneered.
[Hehehe....... yellow monkey. You too are powerless before the grace of the Lord Dragon God.]
"I thought you lost your mind. The one in the pyramid completely lost his."
[Do not compare me to such a lowly being. I am the closest disciple of the Lord Dragon God.]
The demon opened its long, torn mouth wide.
Fwom, a mass of jet-black light gathered in its mouth.
Son Yuhan gathered his damaged defensive spiritual tools together, then drew his sword to defend himself.
Right after, a black pillar of light the thickness of a large pot shot out.
Kabooooooooooooom!!
"Keoheok!"
A large amount of blood poured from his mouth.
Croooooomble—!
Son Yuhan's body made a huge crater in the ground.
The demon's hideous claws loomed over him.
He desperately rolled his body away.
Stab!
[What good reflexes! As expected of one who has awakened a spiritual sense!]
The demon laughed brutally and raised a gourd from his waist.
He brought the gourd to his lips and drank, glug-glug.
What in the heavens.......
Son Yuhan was deeply surprised by the terrifying resentment he felt from the gourd.
At that moment, he remembered the news he had heard in the taxi that morning.
[This is breaking news. An unidentified monster is reported to have appeared in southern Spain.]
The demon cackled and wiped its mouth with the back of its hand.
[Kyah, this is delicious. I'm glad I prepared a snack earlier!]
The black light began to gather in the demon's mouth again.
[The monster has caused the deaths of 98 hunters, 521 soldiers, and 1,291 civilians. The number of seriously and lightly injured is.......]
Fwoooooooom—
A dark and powerful spiritual power gathered in its mouth full of sharp teeth.
[Krrrrwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!!]
A black beam of light shot towards Son Yuhan.
[Sob, sob... my mom disappeared right before my eyes...]
Immediately, defensive spiritual tools and a wall of earth shot up in front of Son Yuhan.
Crumble—
The beam of light easily tore through his defenses.
Hit by the weakened beam, Son Yuhan flew.
Kaboom—!
"Cough...!"
Embedded in a huge rock, Son Yuhan coughed up thick blood.
The demon stretched its mouth into a wide grin and approached him.
[Fortunately, you're not dead. I still have a lot to ask. I really hope you answer seriously.]
By then, a crow was circling low around him.
It was certain of its master's victory.
Step— Step—
When the distance between the two men had narrowed to about a hundred meters.
Son Yuhan's lips suddenly moved.
"...Did you come back?"
[Hmm? What did you say?]
Son Yuhan took a deep breath.
"I asked if you've been to Spain."
[Spain? Ah... well, yes. I needed a post-meal snack.]
"The news said so. That some monster slaughtered the people of Spain."
The demon's lips twitched.
[Haha, so you're a messenger of justice. Perhaps you don't serve a god? Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to say such things.]
"So it was you. Why did you kill the civilians? It wouldn't be very helpful for raising your cultivation."
[Have you heard the saying, many a little makes a mickle? It's something like that.]
Son Yuhan let out a short laugh.
I think I had a similar conversation in the Hyeonhyeong sect.
Son Yuhan stared at the demon with piercing eyes.
It was a fight he was almost certain to lose, yet for some reason, the blue window did not appear before his eyes.
He felt that something inside him had changed.
"A few potatoes."
[What?]
"That's the extent of my goodwill."
As for himself.
He had run away from the pyramid.
He ran away before his spar with Beom Jin-oh.
He had even run away from his fight with the golden cultivator by borrowing someone else's power.
When he thought about it, he had always run away without giving it his all.
Did I really have to?
Even if it meant clashing, struggling, and getting beaten to a pulp.
He had infinitely more "chances" than others.
So what if he was broken? What if he was defeated?
All he had to do was get up again.
"A gentleman should constantly strive for self-strengthening."
The path of immortality is to challenge the heavens.
If he gave up in the face of such a trial, how could he ascend?
Click—
A sound like a lock being undone was heard.
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom—!!!
[...What!]
A vast and powerful spiritual power swirled around him.
The demon's eyes widened.
What in the heavens...
Two specters shimmered into existence behind Son Yuhan.
A man holding a hammer, and a man in a fluttering, pure white robe.
The two men looked remarkably similar to Son Yuhan.
0 Comments