Chapter 979 – 979. The Ascent To Radiance
“Aww, you’re doing such cute things. You little rogue vermin. I’ll suck you all dry, down to your very souls.”
Mobi Seol rises. Even with swords piercing his body and blood gushing from his mouth, he doesn’t utter a single scream, calmly standing up. This sight is enough to instill fear in the members.
‘It doesn’t seem like a bluff. Is it a characteristic of a monster?’
This is good. I can capture him and ask about Mukjiryun.
“What are you doing? Don’t just stand there, attack.”
I commanded the members. The first to move was Seong Ji-gon. His senses had become sharper recently from sparring with the members. Seong Ji-gon’s sword aimed for Mobi Seol’s neck. Mobi Seol raised his hand and grabbed Seong Ji-gon’s sword.
The members rushed in from all sides, stabbing Mobi Seol’s body. Thud, thud, thud. Gruesome sounds echoed. Yet, Mobi Seol’s face remained calm.
“Your swords are no threat to me.”
Mobi Seol rotated his body. The members flew backward. Some collided with Mobi Seol’s arms, their heads exploding. Seong Ji-gon, who crashed into the wall, let out a faint groan as he got up.
“Ugh… What kind of guy is this?”
Mobi Seol slowly pulled out the weapons embedded in his body. His wounds began to heal at a rapid pace.
I got up. The energy I felt from Mobi Seol was, if I had to guess, at the same Five Qi level as me. Seong Ji-gon and Cheol O-dan couldn’t handle Mobi Seol.
“It doesn’t seem like sorcery, is it martial arts? Or is it a power you’ve had since birth?”
“Hehe. Have you heard of the Undying Divine Art? The martial art I’ve mastered is that very Undying Divine Art. If I achieve mastery, I’ll become an immortal who can’t be killed by any attack.”
He speaks proudly. It’s to buy time to recover his wounds. I used this opportunity to ask further.
“Who’s behind Mukjiryun?”
“Behind Mukjiryun? What are you talking about?”
“Someone like you must hold a high position within Mukjiryun. Don’t play dumb, tell me. Who’s controlling Mukjiryun from behind? Should I make it easier? Who gave you this note?”
I shook the note in my hand. Mobi Seol’s face briefly hardened upon seeing the note. But he soon grinned.
“Ah, that note? I found it on the way, so I don’t know.”
It seems he has no intention of speaking honestly. I decided to cut off Mobi Seol’s limbs and ask him.
I held the Hwaryeon Flying Dagger in my hand and took a step forward. Mobi Seol grinned and opened his mouth wide.
“Aww! Aww!”
A shockwave erupted from Mobi Seol. The members were simultaneously blown away in all directions. And my body, conversely, was pulled toward Mobi Seol by an unknown force.
“You seem like you’d be quite tasty to chew on. I’ll eat you alive, starting with your head.”
I didn’t resist. I saw this as an opportunity.
‘Let’s get close and kill him. If I swing my sword before he grabs me, it’ll be fine.’
It was the moment I was about to swing my sword. His palm moved first. An orange energy flashed from his palm.
“This is the Vermilion Divine Palm.”
The orange energy emitted from his palm engulfed me. I was hit head-on in the abdomen and flew backward, rolling across the floor.
‘Palm wind… It’s a martial art of the palm technique type.’
Tuh. I spat out the blood pooling in my mouth onto the floor. I’ve strengthened my body with inner energy, so I can withstand a few palm winds.
‘If I keep getting hit, I’ll be in danger too.’
I don’t want to keep getting hit.
‘Accelerate.’
[Acceleration is used. It lasts for 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 4]
I ran toward Mobi Seol. Mobi Seol grinned and raised his right hand. A vermilion energy appeared in his right hand.
‘Flash.’
In an instant, I leaped and secured a position next to him.
Yeongcheon Style (影天流) Lightning Flash (雷光).
A sword imbued with red lightning flashed.
“Ugh, Aww!”
The sword didn’t reach Mobi Seol’s body. My body was blown backward by the shockwave emanating from him.
“Aww! Aww!”
Mobi Seol, having escaped the crisis, laughed and mimicked the cries of a newborn baby. My body floated up and was sucked toward Mobi Seol.
‘Every time that bastard cries, my body is either pulled or pushed away. Is he using repulsive and attractive forces?’
I wasn’t flustered. I had roughly anticipated it from the start. However, it was extremely unpleasant for my body to be dragged around by someone else’s will.
“This time, I’ll crush and mix your insides!”
The vermilion energy rotated in Mobi Seol’s palm. Just as his hand was about to extend, I activated a skill.
‘Thousand Hearts.’
The force pulling my body disappeared.
‘Flash.’
I dodged his palm technique and swung my sword. Red lightning crackled fiercely on the blade.
Yeongcheon Style (影天流) Lightning Flash (雷光).
The red slash tore through his shoulder. I didn’t stop. I extended my left hand, which wasn’t holding the sword, toward his abdomen.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) Heavenly Demon Palm (天魔神掌).
“Kueeeeek!”
Mobi Seol’s massive body flew backward. He crashed through the inn’s wall, rolled across the dirt floor, and landed in the forest filled with trees.
‘He’s a guy who’s fine even after being stabbed multiple times. He won’t fall with just this.’
I went outside through the shattered wall. Seong Ji-gon and the rogues followed behind me, keeping their distance and watching.
“Ugh, Aww…. My insides are all mushy…. It hurts so much…. Aww….”
Mobi Seol was lying face down on the ground. He curled up like a pill bug.
“Aww… Aww… Awwwww.”
Mobi Seol cried. The low, spreading cries of a newborn baby were eerie.
Squish, squish, squish.
A change began. Mobi Seol’s body swelled up. His hard muscles disappeared, and squishy flesh increased in volume. Eventually, he became a house-sized newborn baby. This was the true form of the monster Mobi Seol.
“Aww!! Uwaaaaaaaah! Uwaaah!”
Mobi Seol cried. His voice was so loud that it made my eardrums throb. An invisible force was raging around him. Trees were breaking, and leaves and stones were flying around with a ferocious momentum.
‘I don’t sense any intelligence. Has he completely lost his mind and only left his instincts?’
It wasn’t unusual. Most monsters valued their instincts more than reason.
Glance. I looked up at the sky. This was outside the inn. There was no ceiling. It was a clear night with not a single cloud.
‘Lightning Strike.’
Kwarurururung!
A streak of blue lightning struck Mobi Seol. Mobi Seol’s crying stopped abruptly.
“…Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The crying grew even louder.
‘One strike isn’t enough? Then how about two, three strikes?’
Lightning struck with thunder. The surroundings flashed brightly. I dropped a total of seven lightning strikes in three seconds, but Mobi Seol was fine.
‘No matter what, he’s too fine. Is he of the Earth attribute?’
Earth was considered the opposite of the Lightning attribute.
‘Even if lightning doesn’t work, I have my sword.’
I rushed toward Mobi Seol. The effect of Thousand Hearts was still in effect.
‘About 10 seconds left, I guess. I’ll finish it in one go. The genius’s time.’
[The genius’s time is activated for 10 seconds.]
My senses heightened dramatically. Mobi Seol’s invisible, telekinetic-like force tried to snatch my body but failed repeatedly. With Thousand Hearts activated, I was immune to status ailments. No matter how invisible the force was, it was impossible to grab and stop my body. It would be more effective to throw trees or rocks and inflict damage.
Mobi Seol’s surroundings were a hurricane. Trees and stones were flying around.
‘I can feel every single stone.’
With the activation of the genius’s time, my senses became incredibly sharp. After taking what I could and deflecting what I could, I arrived in front of Mobi Seol.
Mobi Seol extended his short, thick hand toward me. At the same time, Mobi Seol’s large mouth opened like a toad. The inside of his mouth, filled with sharp teeth, was disgusting in itself.
Hwarrrr.
The blue sword energy of the Hwaryeon Flying Dagger soared like flames. The flames soon seeped into the blade, forming a sword aura.
I swung my sword. I swung my sword like a machine, without any form or meaning. Just quickly.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaa! Aaaaaaaack!”
Mobi Seol screamed. His blood touched my body. I didn’t stop. The sensation of cutting through flesh felt through the sword. It felt particularly exhilarating today.
“A, aaaa…!”
When I came to my senses, his entire body, except for his head, was in tatters.
‘Ah, I had something to ask.’
Because I entrusted myself to the flow of battle, Mobi Seol was in tatters except for his head.
‘It can’t be helped. I’ll have to find out later… Huh?’
The scattered pieces of flesh and entrails on the ground were wriggling like caterpillars, slowly gathering. They were regenerating slowly but surely. He wasn’t dead.
‘Did he say the martial art he mastered was the Undying Divine Art? Not only the martial art but also the monster’s blood must have played a role.’
The Undying Divine Art seemed closer to sorcery than martial arts.
‘It’s a relief that he didn’t die, but if I leave him like this, he’ll recover completely.’
My shoulders were stiff. I had already used Thousand Hearts. I didn’t want to fight Mobi Seol again.
I pondered for a moment and then called Seong Ji-gon and Cheol O-dan.
“Hey, you guys. Don’t just watch, come here!”
At my gesture, Cheol O-dan quickly ran over. Their gazes at me were mixed with awe.
“Keep attacking this guy so he can’t regenerate. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Where are you going?”
Jin Gu-eon asked.
“If this guy is truly immortal, I need to find another way.”
“Yes! We’ll make sure he can’t regenerate! But can we try burning him once?”
I didn’t think that they could do anything to Mobi Seol with just fire.
“Do as you please.”
I used the space transfer system in a place where no one was watching. My body was engulfed in light and appeared on Nakwol Mountain. I planned to ask Miryeong about how to deal with the immortal Mobi Seol. As a sorceress who had reached the Three Peaks realm, she would surely have a solution.
“Miryeong! Your husband is here!”
•••
I appeared at the Odong Inn at dawn. Miryeong had given me a simple solution. It didn’t even take 10 minutes in terms of time. The reason I was so late was because I had engaged in a long-awaited physical conversation with Miryeong.
“Yujin, did you find a solution?”
“Of course, I did.”
Seong Ji-gon was leaning against the inn. I raised my hand, showing the few talismans Miryeong had given me. Seong Ji-gon nodded in admiration.
Then, Seong Ji-gon and I headed to where Mobi Seol was. The stench of fishy blood and burning flesh was overwhelming.
“Seong Yujin-nim! You’ve arrived!”
Jin Gu-eon quickly approached and bowed his head. Having seen my skills with his own eyes, he was more polite than before.
I nodded and turned my gaze to Mobi Seol. Compared to a few hours ago, his size had decreased. His head, which was larger than my body, had become as small as a normal human head, and his face was distorted with pain.
Around him, Mobi Seol’s flesh was wriggling. The members were constantly cutting, crushing, and burning Mobi Seol’s flesh.
“There were no problems, right?”
“His body has shrunk… but other than that, there were no problems. The strange thing is that even if we burn his flesh, it regenerates.”
I approached Mobi Seol. Mobi Seol’s head was dangling from a tree branch.
“Have you decided to answer my questions now?”
“…Aww…. No matter what you do… I have no intention of speaking.”
“Why? You want to be comfortable too. Don’t be like this, let’s go comfortably.”
“I don’t die. I won’t die even after years, decades. Did you say your name was Seong Yujin? I will definitely chew you alive someday.”
Mobi Seol spoke with hatred. The members around me trembled. I understood. It was inevitable to feel eerie when an immortal whose torso had disappeared and only his head remained said such things. But not for me.
“A guy who will die if his head is crushed is putting on a show.”
“Do you think I’ll die with just that? If you really think so, try crushing my head.”
He grinned. I had no intention of falling for his provocation. It would be annoying if he didn’t die, but it would be troublesome if he really died.
“You seem really confident. Okay, I give up. I won’t ask. I’ll wait until you want to talk.”
I approached him. His eyes shook when he saw the talisman in my hand.
“…You’re holding an unpleasant talisman. What is that?”
“A talisman that cuts off regeneration.”
“…There’s no way such a talisman exists…!”
“You can see if it exists or not.”
