Chapter 1039

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Tap—SHWEEEE!

Jin Taekyung had been hurtling straight ahead. With a slight twist of his foot, he slipped sideways, his movement flowing as though he’d been waiting for this exact moment.

The Blood-Sword Demon Lord could only stare in surprise.

What the…!

He hadn’t seen this coming. No one would have. With the gap between them already clear and the situation so dangerous, what Disciple would leave his injured Master behind?

But something else startled the Blood-Sword Demon Lord even more.

He’s… going after the mages!

There was no doubt. Jin Taekyung veered around his flank and shot forward again, heading straight for the twenty or so white-robed figures surveying the battlefield from the foot of a high hill.

Why in the world would he—no, how could he…?

Thoughts tangled together in his mind in that fleeting instant. But now that he’d been caught off guard, there was no time to hesitate. He pushed aside every question, twisted with all his might, and thrust out a hand.

SHWAAK!

The strike tore through the air at a terrifying speed. In that instant, as time seemed to slow, the blood-red Force coiling around his blade was about to shoot toward Jin Taekyung’s back.

No—in the very instant it was about to shoot forward—

FWOOSH!

That dreadful heat suddenly rushed in. In the disarray of his composure, the Blood-Sword Demon Lord remembered someone he’d momentarily forgotten.

The Fire King, Jeok Cheongang.

That son of a bitch…!

He didn’t even have time to shout. The horrified Blood-Sword Demon Lord barely managed to turn his sword and block the flames that had rushed right up to him.

KWA-BOOM! GRRRR!

The ground buckled as though an earthquake had struck. Acrid black smoke and steam billowed up, blanketing the area. Through them, the Blood-Sword Demon Lord saw a fist streaming blinding white light-flames.

CRUNCH.

He saw the man behind it, too, steadily driving back his sword despite the blood-red Force wrapped around it.

“You dare take your eyes off me?”

Beyond the trembling blade, barely holding back the Flame-Extinguishing Divine Fist, the Blood-Sword Demon Lord stared at Jeok Cheongang’s faint smile. His gaze sank low.

It was too late. One moment of surprise, one moment of carelessness, and Jin Taekyung had slipped away.

“You’ve still got plenty of energy, Senior. At your age, shouldn’t you be resting in a coffin?”

“Under normal circumstances, perhaps. But one day, someone high above the clouds told me something.”

FWOOSH.

The flames rose even more fiercely, belying the Internal Injury Jeok Cheongang had suffered earlier. He breathed out a scorching sigh.

“He said he’d send me a wild little brat for a Disciple—an extraordinary one—and that I should build coffins for other bastards until the boy learned to act like an adult.”

“……!”

“But what use would this old man have for coffins? I can burn the whole lot of you to ashes. Wouldn’t you agree?”

The Blood-Sword Demon Lord’s sword was still being pushed back. It wasn’t simply because Jeok Cheongang had drawn on every last bit of strength he had.

It was his aura.

The history behind the name Fire King. The weight of the years borne by an old giant who had lived for more than a century.

And…

“Even if you died and came back a hundred times, you’d never understand why I’m here.”

It was the spirit only shown by those who fought with their lives on the line—not to kill someone, but to protect something precious.

“So when you die this time, don’t be reborn as a human again.”

Ghostly blue fire, like the flames of hell, flickered in Jeok Cheongang’s eyes.

For an instant, the Blood-Sword Demon Lord felt overwhelmed. He clenched his teeth.

“This damned old monster dares to…!”

Gone was the respectful address. His voice had turned harsh.

Jeok Cheongang’s smile broadened. His opponent was losing his composure.

“Much better. I’d rather bite down on a sword and die than keep hearing you call me ‘Senior.’”

“Shut your mouth!”

CRUNCH!

The balance of power, which had been tipping slowly in Jeok Cheongang’s favor, reversed in an instant. The fearsome power bestowed on the Blood-Sword Demon Lord by the mages—or sorcerers, as he called them—poured into his sword. A pressure as vast as Mount Taishan bore down on Jeok Cheongang.

Hup.

Jeok Cheongang caught his breath. A vein stood out on his forehead, and he felt his feet digging deep into the ground. Still, he did not retreat.

No—he couldn’t.

What? Hold him off for just half a quarter-hour?

Beyond the Blood-Sword Demon Lord’s shoulder, he could see the back of a certain insolent brat disappearing into the enemy ranks. The boy had thrown aside his Master, a man he revered as the heavens, like a worn-out rag.

A faint smile touched Jeok Cheongang’s lips.

Treating this old man like a feeble geezer. The nerve of him.

He knew perfectly well that the Blood-Sword Demon Lord had the advantage. Jeok Cheongang had already spent a considerable amount of internal energy fighting the Black Ghosts. His opponent, far from tiring, had gained power beyond his own limits, just as the Southern Heaven Demon Empress once had.

But…

I’ll show you why they call me the Fire King.

A hundred and twenty years. Every one of them had been a struggle.

He had fought enemies, every manner of inner demon, and even himself. Once, loneliness had consumed him.

Not anymore.

There was someone who trusted him more than anyone else in the world. He had something worth protecting with his life.

If you want, I’ll hold out for half a year, not half a quarter-hour. I’ll wait for you as long as it takes.

That was why the Fire King Jeok Cheongang would not break.

He could not.

FWOOSH—GRRRR!

His fiercely burning light-flames wavered against the immense blood-red Force. A roar like the heavens splitting apart filled the air as overwhelming power surged toward him.

It could not wipe the smile from his face.

“Come on, then.”

KWA-BOOM!

White and red energy clashed and mingled again and again, their collisions shaking everything around them.

All of it happened far behind a man cutting through the enemy lines like the point of a sharp awl.

From some point on, I could clearly feel the constant roars and the shock waves from the immense power.

Old Master.

His face came to mind.

Half a quarter-hour. Not even enough time to leisurely finish a cup of tea.

But in a fight between superhumans trading lightning-fast blows, it was plenty of time for someone to die.

That was exactly why I had to keep moving instead of turning back to check on Jeok Cheongang.

If I kill the mages, the Magic empowering the Blood-Sword Demon Lord will break.

It was one of the reasons I’d changed direction and left Jeok Cheongang behind. As long as the Magic held, the Blood-Sword Demon Lord wouldn’t go down easily. He might even keep getting stronger.

But cut off the Magic that had made him so powerful, and we could turn the tide.

Of course, as I’d expected, things weren’t going smoothly.

SHWISH-SHWISH-SHWISH!

Weapons whistled past my ears without pause. Flashes of light skimmed dangerously close to my body.

Sabers, swords, spears, and the occasional weapon of a shape I didn’t recognize. They came in all kinds, but had two things in common.

First, every one of them had been swung at me.

Second, bright light flowed over the countless blades.

Peak masters…!

Not just a few of them. There were only about a hundred enemies stationed in the rear, but every last one had reached the level of injuring others with Sword Energy.

At their center stood someone radiating an especially powerful aura.

System Level: 170 So Gunak

A hulking man enclosed from head to toe in jet-black armor.

Naturally, I didn’t know his title. Even if I’d known who he used to be, it hardly mattered. The enemy in front of me had already lost his former self.

Black Ghost.

My heart sank, and not just because another formidable obstacle had appeared.

The last Black Ghost, who hadn’t shown up on the battlefield, was still here. That made me think of one possibility I hadn’t wanted to believe.

WHOOOM!

A heavy rush of air snapped me back to the present. My thoughts were anything but light, but my feet felt like feathers as I shot forward.

SWISH! KWA-BOOM!

The great saber missed me and tore into the ground, sending earth flying. As ice and dirt scattered in every direction, I thrust White Flame’s spearhead forward with all my strength.

SLICE!

Its flashing arc sliced across the back of his neck.

But the feel of the strike traveled up the shaft to my fingertips. It hadn’t gone deep enough to kill him.

He dodged?

I hadn’t let my guard down like a fool. Every second mattered, and I’d put everything into that first strike. The spear’s trajectory and timing had both been exact.

What I hadn’t accounted for was just how many variables Magic could introduce.

System Level: 173 So Gunak

Three levels.

That might sound like a small difference. In the realm of superhumans, it wasn’t.

WHOOOM—KWA-BOOM!

His next strike was faster and stronger than the last.

No—a strike getting faster and stronger even now.

System Level: 175 So Gunak

SHWEEEE!

The heavy rush of air sharpened to a shriek. His massive, blunt saber came crashing down like lightning, carving through the space before him.

KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!

The ground sank beneath the tremendous force. As I backed away to escape its shock wave, the sound of more than ten streaks of wind rang past my ears.

SLICE! SPURT!

Blood sprang from cuts across my body. I’d twisted aside the moment I sensed the danger, but it was too late.

No. They’d been too fast.

They’d grown stronger. Stronger than they were a moment ago.

I’d seen it clearly. At the last instant, the blades had gained speed and force, shooting toward me like flashes of light.

I’d felt it, too: the Black Ghost and the hundred or so Peak masters closing in from every side—and, beyond their shoulders, a distinct pulse of energy spilling down from the hilltop.

They’re trying to stop me somehow. Before I can get any closer.

I wasn’t the only one who sensed danger.

The twenty white-robed figures standing in a circle—the mages—must have felt their lives were in danger, too.

But I’m different.

Everyone fears death. Me. Them.

But what makes the difference in the face of that fear is the strength of one’s Will and desperation.

Inventory open.

I spoke the command in my mind and threw myself forward with all my strength.

Toward the more than a hundred Peak masters, who had grown even stronger.

Toward the last Black Ghost, whom I had to get past.

PAPAT!

One step.

Every distance vanished, and time slowed.

At the same time, dozens of streaks of light blazed destructively, coloring the world around me. And a single bolt of lightning, more enormous than all of them combined, came crashing down toward me.

SHWAAAK!

Yeah. I knew it. I was one man against many, and the difference in our strength was plain to see.

But what the eye could see wasn’t everything.

I have to get through. No matter what it takes.

Those trying to get past, and those standing in their way.

Those fighting to protect something, and those who had forgotten what they were meant to protect.

They had no Will. They had forgotten desperation. They couldn’t even remember the word duty.

But I wasn’t like them.

I knew what all of those things meant. That was why I could risk my life to keep going. Why I could throw myself into the oncoming attacks and strike with everything I had, down to my soul.

Just like now.

SHWAK!

White Flame’s spearhead tore through the air.

At the same time, I whispered the command I’d held back.

Summon Fire Dragon Armor.

Ding.

KWA-BOOOOM!