Chapter 1844 – 1844. The Ascension Of Gwangmyeong
Cheon Yu-Woon, now a Guisura, rushed towards me in an instant.
Fast. But not so fast that I couldn’t react. I swung my sword horizontally.
Clang! The Guisura crossed his sword and mace to block my strike. Immediately after, his knee struck my abdomen. Before I could even feel the pain, my body shot upwards, breaking through the ceiling and out of the roof. My body didn’t stop there.
‘…Damn it. If I hadn’t used my protective qi right before getting hit, the fight would have ended right there.’
It wasn’t luck. It was because I reacted for sure. But he definitely held back. He didn’t swing the spear and iron mace in his other two hands, but used his knee instead.
“Hahahaha! You who possess the martial arts of a Sura! Amuse me more!”
The Guisura’s laughter echoed from below. I gathered my wits and thought about my next move. If we were just comparing physical abilities, he was stronger than me.
‘That guy seems to be enjoying this situation, so I’ll try to lure him into being careless…’
Bang!
He shot up into the sky and appeared in front of me. The Guisura, whose eyes met mine right in front of me, pulled all four of his arms back at the same time. I could feel overwhelming power and energy from the four weapons.
“You won’t die from just this, will you?”
“…Damn it.”
Demonic Divine Art (天魔神功) – Mahoraga (摩睺羅).
Surviving comes first. Even if I could use full recovery, I couldn’t die meaninglessly. I had to see this guy’s techniques a few more times before dying. That way, I wouldn’t miss a golden opportunity that might suddenly appear.
Kwaaaang!
The shock was beyond imagination, and my barrier couldn’t withstand it and shattered. I managed to block the Guisura’s attack, but I couldn’t completely negate the shockwave. My body, swept away by the shockwave, flew out of the Cheonma Church.
‘It’s better this way. It also means that the Cheonma Church, which I have to govern, won’t be damaged.’
After flying for a while, I crashed into a hill and managed to stop. I leaned my back against the ground and took a breath. I could see the Guisura flying towards me from the direction of the Cheonma Church.
‘Should I run?’
Honestly, I didn’t think I could win. I could react, but that was it. His power transcended mine.
‘And after I run? Cheon Yu-Woon isn’t an idiot, he wouldn’t have just given his body to the Guisura. It’s more like he temporarily manifested his power. The Cheon Yu-Woon who returns to normal will do anything to protect his position. If I retreat here, I have to give up the Cheonma.’
I couldn’t do that.
‘The chances of winning are slim.’
But it wasn’t impossible.
The Guisura threw a spear at me.
Demonic Divine Art (天魔神功) – Heavenly Demon’s Descent Step (天魔君臨步).
I pretended to get up and stepped on the Heavenly Demon’s Descent Step. My body appeared in the sky.
Whoosh!
An iron mace was flying towards me. It flew the moment I stepped on the Heavenly Demon’s Descent Step.
The ability of that third eye on his forehead was clear. I didn’t know exactly what the ability was, but he knew where I would appear and threw the iron mace.
[Using a Moment (刹那). Remaining stacks: 1]
‘The third eye’s abilities are different for each Sura. They can see the flow of space, or even see a short future.’
I dodged the iron mace with a Moment and stepped on the Heavenly Demon’s Descent Step in the air. This was the Heavenly Demon’s Descent Step of the Cheonma Divine Art from this world that I had obtained this time.
Demonic Divine Art (天魔神功) – Heavenly Demon’s Descent Step (天魔君臨步) – Shift (換位).
My body multiplied into 30 and charged towards the Guisura. All 29 bodies were fake. They could be called illusions. My power was too weak and my skill was too low to give the illusions substance.
“Hahahaha! A cheap trick! Not bad!”
I didn’t like it. Guisura. This guy had been smiling all along. Considering the characteristics of the Sura race, it wasn’t strange. Sura were battle maniacs. But it pissed me off that he was laughing at me.
‘Let’s see if you can still laugh before you die.’
The 30 Shifts, including myself, surrounded the Guisura from all directions. The Guisura didn’t react to the Shifts. His three eyes were only focused on the real me.
‘He saw through it from the beginning. Is this also the ability of the third eye?’
Even so, the distance was already close. A collision was inevitable.
‘Stormbreaker!’
I gripped the sword in my right hand and the greatsword-shaped Stormbreaker in my left. I enveloped my whole body in demonic energy and unleashed it. Even if my blood vessels were shattered, I had no choice if I wanted to fight the Guisura right now.
I swung the greatsword and sword, both with black sword energy, simultaneously, pressuring the Guisura. His sword and mace blocked my attacks.
“Hahahaha!”
The Guisura’s laughter echoed between the clashing swords and maces. Sparks flew. Even when sparks flew into my eyes, I didn’t close them. Life and death were swirling around me right now.
“Not enough! Swing more sharply! And that last attack was too straightforward!”
Even in the midst of this, he was giving me advice without using his other two arms. I gritted my teeth. I felt like I was completely in the palm of his hand.
In less than a minute, I had exchanged over 300 blows with him. But none of them were effective hits.
‘The skill level itself is different.’
The Sura race. Monsters of the underworld who have lived for at least hundreds to thousands of years. Would the battle-loving Sura race have just played around during that time? Of course not. They would have fought and fought. If there was no one to fight, they would go to where there was someone to fight. That’s why they’re called Sura.
‘He’s a guy who has survived until now. I can’t compare my combat skills to his. I can’t win just by swinging my weapons.’
“It’s getting boring. Try to put in a little more effort.”
The Guisura’s other two hands, which weren’t holding weapons, clenched into fists. He swung his fists. I saw this as an opportunity.
[Using a Moment (刹那). Remaining stacks: 0]
In the slowed-down world, I could see his fists. I would dodge the fists and land a fatal blow. I could do it with a Moment.
The pupils of the Guisura’s third eye moved. One of the two fists hit my sword from the side of my wrist, and the other fist hit my abdomen.
With a sharp pain, my body flew away and crashed into the ground. The pain through my abdomen quickly subsided. It seemed that I had protected myself as much as possible with my protective qi, so there was no internal damage. My mind was racing.
‘He reacted to the speed of a Moment! No, he knew it before!’
I needed confirmation.
‘Meteor Sword!’
A Meteor Sword fell from the sky. The Guisura dodged it without even looking.
‘Thunderbolt!’
Immediately after, a lightning strike fell. It focused on speed rather than power. Contrary to expectations, the Guisura didn’t dodge the lightning. He was struck by the lightning and fell to the ground.
‘…If it was future prediction, he would have dodged the lightning too.’
He didn’t dodge it. There was a possibility that it wasn’t future prediction. Then my head started to hurt.
‘Ah, I don’t know.’
Since when did I start fighting with my head? Whether the opponent sees the future or sees through my movements, I just have to kill them.
“If you have nothing more to show, then die!”
The Guisura rushed towards me. The smile on his demonic face was still there, but the playfulness had diminished somewhat. He was genuinely trying to kill me.
‘Stormbreaker.’
The Stormbreaker, which had been in the form of a greatsword, disassembled and attached to my body, becoming armor. I gripped the sword hilt with both hands and ran towards him.
‘I’ll kill you.’
The corners of the Guisura’s mouth tore open. Weapons were created in his hands. Three swords in one hand. A total of 12 swords, and he rushed towards me. A sharp aura emanated from him. It felt like I would be cut down the moment I got close.
‘Yeah. Damn it. Let’s see who dies first.’
I didn’t stop running. I stepped into his domain, the space of a demon.
I swung one sword against 12 swords.
Demonic Divine Sword (天魔神劍) – Sura’s Rampage (修羅亂舞).
One sword energy multiplied into dozens of sword energies. I kept swinging my sword, increasing the sword energy. Soon, the surrounding area was filled with thousands of sword energies. A dance of sword energy that even I, who used the technique, couldn’t avoid. The protective qi around my body was torn apart, and the Stormbreaker’s armor was cut. I gritted my teeth and exchanged blows with him in the midst of the sword energy.
The Guisura, who wasn’t wearing armor, was in worse condition. His skin was torn by the sword energy, and drops of blood splattered. The funny thing was that there were no fatal wounds. Vajra Body. Or maybe he had reached a realm beyond that.
“Hahaha! This is fun! So fun!”
In the midst of the tiresome laughter, my body was pushed back. One sword energy pierced my thigh. I momentarily lost my balance. A perfect opening appeared, but the Guisura didn’t kill me. Instead, he kicked my body and knocked me out of the area where the sword energy was raging.
“You bastard… what are you doing…!”
“You must still have something to show me. It’s too wasteful to use it on mere sword energy. Show me your last stand!!”
“Damn it, really.”
I reverse-summoned the Stormbreaker, which had been torn to shreds by the raging sword energy. My body was covered in blood. It seemed like I had lost a lot of blood, but I wasn’t anemic, and my vision was clear.
There was only one thing on my mind.
I will kill that bastard.
I squeezed out all the demonic energy within me. The demonic energy around me split into nine strands and floated around me. Like dragons. The demonic energy began to be absorbed into the sword. I forced it in even though it wouldn’t go in. The sword trembled as if it couldn’t withstand it. It wasn’t even a Hwaryeon Bido. Who cared if it broke in this attack?
“Hooh. So you’re putting everything you have into one sword. Not bad.”
The Guisura grinned. It seemed like he saw it as just a simple technique.
[Activating Heavenly Heart (天心). Lasts for 1 minute.]
[Activating Genius Time for 10 seconds.]
The true Demonic Calamity (魔劫) must contain my existence and my heart. But even now, using Genius Time, I didn’t know exactly what that meant. However, I put something into the sword as my instincts told me, as my senses led me.
The Guisura’s smile disappeared. His eyes turned serious.
“You’ve put your karma into the sword. That’s a Sura technique. …Ah, I see. You’re also a Sura. Good, young Sura. I’ll kill you with all my power.”
The space around the Guisura trembled. Demonic energy spread everywhere, taking over the space. Countless ghosts appeared from the darkness. The ghosts looked at me and returned to the Guisura.
Guisura.
It became a single sword.
A single sword that only pursued sharpness.
‘Illusion? Sorcery? …Who cares. That’s the Guisura. No matter how he changes, what I have to do doesn’t change.’
I walked forward and lifted the sword that had become demonic energy itself.
『Using the Light of the Heavenly Star.』
『Earthly Dark Star (地暗星).』
I gave mass to the demonic energy.
The sword in front of me tilted forward, its tip pointing at me.
I swung my sword.
Demonic Divine Sword (天魔神劍) – Demonic Calamity (魔劫) – Limitless (無量).
A clash of power against power.
My vision flashed. In the midst of my crumbling consciousness, I saw him breaking apart, and I felt a sword pierce my abdomen.
Thud.
It was me who fell to the ground. I thought I had been stabbed by a sword, but there was a fist-sized hole in my abdomen. I looked up at the sound of footsteps and saw the Guisura grinning. There was a sword wound on his shoulder. I could see the bone through it, but the wound was already regenerating.
“That was fun. See you in the underworld. I’ll come find you myself. Let’s fight again then.”
The Guisura raised his sword.
“It’s not over yet.”
“…I’ll give you credit for that will.”
It wasn’t over.
Genius Time hadn’t ended yet. There were about 2 seconds left. Thanks to that, I found the last move. With the highest level of talent in this world, I could succeed.
Demonic Divine Art (天魔神功) – Heaven-Breaking Wildness (破天荒).
I shattered my own soul, and using that shattered soul as fuel, I grasped the final power in my hands.
I got up. I didn’t get up by putting my hands on the ground. The overwhelming demonic energy flowing out of my body grabbed me and lifted me up.
Kwaaaang!
Energy exploded. The aftermath alone blew away the surroundings. Even the Guisura was startled and stepped back when he saw me now.
‘…So that’s it.’
My blood vessels had burst. My dantian was shattered, and my heart was pounding fiercely like a runaway train heading for its end. Demonic energy rose into the sky. It was a kind of waste, but I couldn’t control the massive demonic energy that was flooding in now. Maybe it was because of the demonic energy rising into the sky, but my hair turned white and shot upwards.
“Could it be that you… shattered your own soul and converted it into power? You crazy bastard! Aren’t you afraid of annihilation?!”
“I don’t know.”
My only thought right now was to kill the guy in front of me. I could recover even my annihilated soul with full recovery… I didn’t know. If it didn’t work, it didn’t work.
“First, I’ll kill you.”
“…What are you? Are you even human?”
“The me now… is a Cheonma who has surpassed the Cheonma. A Super Cheonma (超天魔).”
