Chapter 17

The yellow current enveloping Jun-gyeong’s entire body met the falling rain and violently turned it to steam.
Red mist tinged with yellow blanketed the deck, and Jun-gyeong’s crimson eyes flashed from within.

Crunch-
“Ptui. What an unpleasant bastard.”

Fearn spat and clenched his fists.
The orc’s combat instincts were sounding a warning, but his race’s characteristic simplicity and lust for battle crushed that warning beneath them.

Fearn kicked off the deck and charged once more.
The fear of death stabbing into his heart and Jun-gyeong’s killing intent constricting his entire body only stoked his fighting spirit, driving him forward faster and harder than before.

BOOOOM-!

But this time, Jun-gyeong didn’t dodge.
No, he had no need to.

As Dokkaebi Power: Lightning melded into his nervous system, his body’s reaction speed began matching perfectly with the red attack trajectories reflected in his eyes.
Its effect easily surpassed what nineteen percent synchronization alone could provide.

Crackle-!

Fearn swung his fist, and Jun-gyeong tilted his head ever so slightly, letting the punch skim past his face.
In that fleeting instant, Jun-gyeong lightly twisted his upper body and slipped inside Fearn’s guard.
The blade of the baeipdo bound tightly to his hand traced an arc charged with yellow current.

Slice-!
“Gakh!!”

The orc’s steel-like hide split apart like paper.
But no blood burst from the wound.
Lightning energy penetrated the cut, forcibly contracting Fearn’s muscles and blood vessels and stopping the bleeding.
The absence of blood did not mean the absence of pain.
Instead of blood spraying outward, lightning energy burrowed deeper into his body.
Fearn’s massive body convulsed under the lightning and staggered sideways.

“For pleasure, that sounded awfully close to a scream.”

Jun-gyeong’s voice remained as cold as ever.
And he didn’t stop.
The Thunder Bead’s output was forcibly pushing his physical performance beyond what nineteen percent Body Synchronization should have allowed.
Jun-gyeong’s figure vanished into the wind and rain, leaving an afterimage behind.

Shhk- Crackle! Clang!!

The rapid succession of impacts swallowed the sound of the rain.
Jun-gyeong relentlessly targeted Fearn’s joints and vital points.
Fearn swung his massive arm in retaliation, but Jun-gyeong had already moved beyond its trajectory.

“Y-You insect!!”

Enraged, Fearn slammed his fist into the deck.

BOOOOM-!!!

He intended to use the shockwave from his monstrous strength to pin Jun-gyeong in place.
But Jun-gyeong was already airborne.
Another bolt of lightning struck down over Jun-gyeong’s silhouette against the white searchlights, the light flowing straight into the blade of his baeipdo.

“Die.”

Jun-gyeong’s saber came down vertically.
It was no simple slash.
The lightning condensed within the blade exploded, tearing diagonally from Fearn’s shoulder across his chest.

KRA-KRA-KABOOOM-!!
“AAAAARGH!!!”

His hide split wide open.
The lightning burned through Fearn’s flesh and destroyed the muscle beneath.
The face he had insisted was smiling in pleasure was now unmistakably terrified, steeped in pain and agony.

Fearn’s upper body sagged sideways and crashed onto the deck.

Thud-

The green skin and muscles he took such pride in were charred black in places, giving off smoke instead of blood.

Meanwhile, in the darkness below the ship’s railing, the being that had devoured the sacrifices Takahachi threw into the sea was beginning to reveal itself.

Slap, slap.

The sound of something sticky slapping against steel rang out.
Soon, a filthy hand slick with viscous slime rose over the rain-soaked deck.

Slap, slap.

Jun-gyeong looked down at the fallen Fearn and readjusted his grip on his sword.

“When you get to Hell, tell them I sent you. They’ll treat you well.”

Jun-gyeong’s blade swept through Fearn’s neck.

Decapitation.
The orc was already dead, but Jun-gyeong had made certain of it. His severed head rolled across the deck with the rocking of the ship.

-Watch out! Something’s climbing up from below the ship.

Before Ok-hee’s warning even reached him, Jun-gyeong was already looking away from Fearn’s head and toward the deck railing.
His sharpened senses after absorbing the Thunder Bead had already alerted him to the monster’s arrival.

“Where are we now?”
-Huh?
“I asked where we are. Are we still in international waters?”
-Ah, hold on. No. We’ve entered South Korean territorial waters now.

A faint smile unlike any he had shown until now appeared on Jun-gyeong’s face.
In truth, he had sensed the monster’s presence since the early stages of the battle on deck.

“Good. Then it really is a monster that crossed the boundary.”
-…Right. Wait, did you know a monster was going to appear?

Beyond the railing at the end of Jun-gyeong’s gaze, thick liquid that even the rain could not dilute crept onto the deck.

“Took the damn thing long enough. At least it showed up on time.”

Under the white glare of the searchlights appeared a grotesque creature with a monkey’s body and a turtle shell on its back.
The hollow dish atop its head was filled with rainwater, and every time it opened its mouth, the stench of rot billowed out.

“Grrr… Kat…!”

Its appearance alone was enough for Ok-hee to recognize what kind of monster it was.

-It’s a Japanese monster called a Kappa. Watch out for its slime.

Jun-gyeong already knew its name.
The Book of Karmic Sin had appeared above its head the moment it emerged.

The moment Ok-hee finished speaking, the creature stretched out its abnormally long arms, planted both hands on the deck, and launched itself like a spring.

Whoosh-

It was no simple leap.
The slick slime pouring from the Kappa’s entire body mixed with the rain and instantly turned the whole deck into a slimy surface more slippery than ice.
The instant Jun-gyeong braced his feet to keep his balance, the Kappa glided across the slick deck at tremendous speed as though swimming through water.
Sharp hooks sprang from its fingertips and swept toward the back of Jun-gyeong’s knee.

Crackle-!

Jun-gyeong reacted with the Thunder Bead’s power and brought his blade down to block the hooks.
But raw strength was not the Kappa’s true weapon.
The instant blade and claw collided, a powerful suction burst from the Kappa’s hand and began drawing away the lightning surrounding Jun-gyeong’s arm.
The Kappa was a monster that controlled the power of water.
It guided Jun-gyeong’s lightning away like water through a channel, dispersing it into the deck.

“You bastard.”

Jun-gyeong frowned, twisted his blade to knock away the Kappa’s claws, then kicked it in the chest.
Its body bounced backward like a rubber ball, but the slime let it come to a smooth stop at the edge of the deck.
The Kappa cackled grotesquely and this time flung the water pooled in the dish atop its head toward Jun-gyeong.

SPLASH-!

It was no ordinary spray of water.
The stream absorbed the falling rain and transformed in midair into dozens of razor-sharp blades that surrounded Jun-gyeong from every direction.

-Watch out! That water is laced with poison. If it touches your skin, you’ll be paralyzed immediately and your flesh will rot!

At Ok-hee’s urgent warning, Jun-gyeong drew up the crimson karmic flames and yellow lightning at the same time.

Crackle–

The crimson karmic flames and yellow lightning raging around Jun-gyeong vaporized the water-pressure blades converging from every direction.

HISSS!

Thick steam erupted with a violent hiss, but the Kappa did not miss the opening.
Its long arm whipped through the steam.
It was not merely attacking. It controlled the rainwater pooled on the deck and wrapped it around Jun-gyeong’s ankle.

“…Damn it.”

His ankle was locked in place, the slime-laced water gluing his shoe to the deck like adhesive.
At the same time, the Kappa spun at an unnatural speed and charged.
The edge of its shell rotated like a saw blade, sweeping horizontally toward Jun-gyeong’s waist.

CLANG-!

Jun-gyeong raised his blade vertically to block, but the impact felt different from before.
The creature’s slime flowed along the blade, trying to rob Jun-gyeong of his grip.
The instant that slippery energy reached his wrist, Jun-gyeong detonated his lightning energy.

CRACKLE! RUMBLE!

“Get lost.”

Lightning erupted from Jun-gyeong’s toes and shattered the water binding his ankle.
Freed, Jun-gyeong swept his saber upward and kicked the Kappa beneath the jaw.

BANG-!

But the Kappa twisted in midair, regained its balance, and landed in Fearn’s blood scattered across the deck.
Then something grotesque happened.
The orc’s blood was absorbed into the Kappa’s body, and its size swelled to nearly twice what it had been.

“Grrr… Kat! Kat!”

The Kappa’s eyes turned bloodred.
Corrupted by Mana, it had absorbed the blood of an orc whose muscles had been strengthened through Mana-based breathing, using it to enlarge its own body.

When it opened its jaws wide, the rain spiraled into its mouth, and a high-pressure projectile of blood-red water blasted toward Jun-gyeong.

BOOM! KRA-KRA-BOOM!!

Jun-gyeong slid across the deck, leaving an afterimage of lightning behind.
The slime made it difficult to keep his balance, but he turned the slickness to his advantage, skating into the Kappa’s blind spot.
A precise plan for killing the Kappa was already taking shape in his mind.

Jun-gyeong reversed his grip on the saber.
The heat of the karmic flames swallowed the lightning’s glow, turning the blade a searing black-red.
The instant the Kappa raised its hand to unleash another barrage of water-pressure blades, Jun-gyeong’s figure tore through the air.

His body shot through the red mist straight toward the Kappa.
The Kappa swung the hand that had been reaching for its dish around to the front.
Its claws, enlarged along with its body, swept toward Jun-gyeong’s throat.

Crackle-

Jun-gyeong flicked his head aside to evade the claws and simultaneously drove the pommel of his saber hard into the Kappa’s chest.

THUD-!!
“Grrrk!”

As the Kappa’s body was knocked backward, Jun-gyeong ran up its long arm like a snake and leaped higher.
From the beginning, Jun-gyeong’s target had not been its body, but the grotesque dish atop its head.
The intense heat of the karmic flames concentrated within the blade until it burned black, while lightning coiled around it.
Sensing the danger, the Kappa desperately fired a stream of water upward, but Jun-gyeong twisted in midair and rode the flow downward.

SHHAAK-

Jun-gyeong drove his saber down toward the top of the Kappa’s head.
But the creature knew full well that the dish was its weakness.

“KAK! KAAAAK!!”

It threw itself backward and barely avoided the blade, raising its claws.
With Jun-gyeong suspended in midair, he was now the one in danger.
But Jun-gyeong immediately extended his leg and kicked the Kappa in the chest.

THUD-!
“Grrr… Kat…!”

The Kappa was sent flying backward, but its slime let it stop at the edge of the deck.
But the water in the dish atop its head had already begun evaporating under Jun-gyeong’s lightning energy, leaving it rapidly drying out.

“Grrk- Grrk- Kat!!”

As the dish emptied, the Kappa staggered and began to shrivel.
Deprived of the water that was the source of its power, it instinctively searched for weaker prey.
Its gaze turned toward the darkness where Takahachi and the remaining Saenara Gang members were hiding.
The metallic stench of blood, the nauseating reek of slime, and the pounding hearts of humans terrified by the battle between inhuman beings all stoked the Kappa’s thirst.

“H-Hey… Why are you looking over here? I’m the one who summoned you! I gave you the sacrifices! Kill him! I said kill him!!”

Takahachi, who had been hiding in the darkness and watching the battle, screamed in panic.
But instead of answering, the Kappa stretched out a long arm and snatched one of the men by the back of the neck beside him.

“Agh!! Save me! Oyabun!! GRAAAGH!!!”

Crunch, Crack!

The scream was cut short.
The Kappa dragged the man in, stuffed him into its mouth alive, and chewed him down.
Fresh blood began filling the dish atop its head bright red in place of the water it lacked.

“Y-You fucking monster!!”

As death closed in, the terrified Takahachi drew his handgun and began firing wildly.

BANG! BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG-

But the Kappa didn’t stop.
Instead, it cackled grotesquely and sprayed slime at Takahachi and the remaining Saenara Gang members, binding their feet.
Then it began devouring them one by one.

Crunch- Chomp- Crack- Crunch, Chomp-

The Kappa’s body swelled grotesquely as it absorbed the humans’ flesh and wandering souls.
The tormented faces of those it had consumed rippled across its shell, while dark-crimson blood mist now rose from the dish atop its head instead of rainwater.

Jun-gyeong watched the revolting sight without expression and readjusted his grip on his sword.
It was irritating to let the monster grow stronger, but those humans were people he intended to kill anyway.
Rather than add even one more karmic sin to his own burden, he decided it was better to let the creature take that sin upon itself, then cut it down all at once.
Besides, he didn’t want to stain Seolhwa with the blood of such filthy humans.
The lightning in Jun-gyeong’s eyes intensified.

Dark-crimson vapor poured from the Kappa’s entire body.
The dish atop its head brimmed with thick, reeking blood.

“KYAAAAAA-!!!”

The Kappa roared and kicked off the deck, crumpling the steel plate beneath its feet like paper.
Its speed and weight were on an entirely different level from before.
The Kappa curled into itself in midair and spun like a massive saw blade as it descended on Jun-gyeong.

BOOOOM-!

Jun-gyeong saw the attack marked in red and evaded by the narrowest margin, but the deck in its wake was brutally torn apart.
The instant it landed, the Kappa opened its jaws wide and unleashed a barrage of high-pressure blood-water projectiles.

KRA-KRA-BOOM!! BOOM!!

Jun-gyeong zigzagged forward, leaving lightning afterimages behind.
Whenever the Kappa’s projectiles exploded, blood-laced water sprayed everywhere with enough corrosive force to melt anything it touched.
But the crimson karmic flames surrounding Jun-gyeong vaporized even that toxic force before it could reach him.

“Twice the size and three times as strong.”

Jun-gyeong’s eyes turned cold.
It didn’t matter how strong or how large the creature became.
Jun-gyeong lowered his baeipdo.
Yellow lightning coiled along the blade and mixed with the crimson karmic flames, forming a strange orange sheath of light.

“I’ll cut you down in one stroke.”

Jun-gyeong’s figure vanished.
No, he simply moved so fast that he disappeared from sight.
The ability to stimulate his body’s cells and move too quickly for the eye to follow.
That was the power of Dokkaebi Power: Lightning.

SHHAAAAK-!

The Kappa felt instinctive terror and sprayed slime and water-pressure blades in every direction.
But Jun-gyeong pierced through every gap between its attacks and slipped into its blind spot.

“DIE!!!”

In that instant, his lightning power blazed once more.
A single killing strike.
Jun-gyeong’s saber drew a straight line from the crown of the Kappa’s head down between its legs.

KRAK-KRAK-KRAK-!!

It was no simple slash.
The lightning condensed within the blade invaded its body, paralyzing its nervous system and the flow of its magic, while the karmic flames that erupted afterward purified and burned away the humans’ wandering souls and blood it had absorbed.

“GAAAAAAGH…!”

The Kappa screamed as its body split in two.
The distorted faces of Takahachi and the gang members rippling within its body scattered into the air and vanished as ash.

BOOOOM!!

With one final explosion, the Kappa’s massive body vanished without a trace.
Only black ash washing away in the rain remained to prove that a monster had ever stood there.
At Jun-gyeong’s feet lay a luminous blue bead left behind when the Kappa’s body disappeared.

-Phew~ It’s really over.

Just as Ok-hee said, the battle was over.
And not only the battle. The ship itself was nearing its end.
Broken and ruptured in every direction, the vessel was slowly beginning to list.
Jun-gyeong picked up the blue bead from the deck, slipped it into his pocket, then turned toward the wheelhouse.
There, the captain, elf, and dwarf were clustered against the windows, staring down at him.
He gave a faint chuckle and crooked his wrist toward them.

“Let’s go.”

Jun-gyeong lightly flicked the blood and rain from his blade, then headed toward the lifeboats.
The storm-like rain still poured down, but there was nothing left to stand in his way.
Only the open book floating silently behind him remained.