328 — Sword Ghost

“……”
“…..”

Sword Ghost So Hang-woo and Yu Seha.

Two transcendent beings who had unquestionably set foot among the “Above.”

If they wished, either could at any time undergo <Ascension to Immortality> and ascend, leaving the mortal realm to climb the celestial stairs. Yet both chose to remain among humans instead of ascending, and their gazes met.

It lasted only five or ten seconds, but Yu Seha felt it as an eternity.

If either of them so much as moved a finger, the entire area would be obliterated. They were so overwhelmingly powerful and so far above everyone else that the repercussions would be immense; the discordant clamors and screams of hell around them were no more than the cries of tiny insects.

Yu Seha was clearly at a disadvantage: he had many things to protect, while the Sword Ghost cared for no one—a madman who wouldn’t mind if anyone died. Still, Yu Seha did not tense. If the Sword Ghost were the type to make such a move, he would have acted long ago.

Yu Seha drank in the Sword Ghost’s gaze; he understood the desire burning in those madness-filled eyes.

Suddenly the Sword Ghost smiled brightly. The joy-filled smile was, in a way, innocent, but the darkness in his eyes—devoid of any trace of humanity—was the literal embodiment of madness.

Sleek.

The Sword Ghost turned his body. It was a gesture to be followed, but the ones who accepted the invitation were not Yu Seha but dozens of hunters who had been waiting to ambush him.

As soon as the Sword Ghost advanced, those behind him surged forward. The sound of flesh and bone slicing rang like ghosts—in less than a second the seasoned hunters were dead.

Thuds. Something rolled down the temple steps and came to rest at Yu Seha’s feet.

“……”

It was the severed head of an unnamed hunter. Blood spurted from her neck, running down the temple steps like a red carpet laid out for a VIP.

Yu Seha closed the dead hunter’s eyes and said softly.

“I’ll be back.”
“…Yu Seha.”
“As promised in advance, let no one enter.”
“……”

Hesitant, Su Ok-bin placed a hand on Yu Seha’s shoulder, her bitter expression apologizing for being unable to help.

Yu Seha smiled faintly, stroked Su Ok-bin’s gentle cheek, and gave a teasing look.

“Thank you for worrying about me…”
“…I wish you good fortune.”

Yu Seha stepped forward, one calm step at a time.

A nauseatingly intense demonic energy surged at his approach. Dozens of A-rank fiends, presumed to have been hiding in the corners, rushed in.

“That’s him.”
“Is that him?”
“That’s definitely him!”

Yu Seha had been the subject of many rumors since the <Villain Invasion>. On top of that, his recent large-scale S-rank hunts had earned him tremendous fame even abroad. It would be no exaggeration to say everyone who hoped to kill Yu Seha to make a name for themselves had joined this war.

Some had other motives.

“For Moon Ha-yeon!”
“Never send her to the Demon King!”

Fanatics demonstrating absolute loyalty to the Demon King charged forward. Yu Seha watched their assault in silence; he knew there was no need to intervene.

Bang! A harmony of ice and fire produced a massive explosion against the charging fiends; two A-rank fiends at the forefront burned and froze at once, turning to ash.

A sweet voice called, “Seha, leave this to us.”

It was Moon Bora, who had succeeded in perfectly controlling [Harmony of Unity]. Strangely, every time her power brushed by, the fiends’ momentum weakened.

“You’ve completed it?”
“…Yes, I’ve trained it enough that it reaches my sister.”
“You worked hard.”

Yu Seha placed his hand above Moon Bora’s head, softly stroking her crown and praising her as if she were admirable.

“Huff, huff! Se-Seha! This is a battlefield!”
“Yeah, yeah, good job.”
“Se-Seha!”

A feral roar split the air as the remaining fiends charged, but a moment later they were crushed by Ma Hana’s massive forepaw; her right arm had undergone <Complete Bestialization>.

“Mmm, Seha, Bora!”
“Ms. Hana!”

Ma Hana shifted into <Anthropomorphic Form>. Relying on her height and superior physicality, she wielded <Kallas Shield Arts> in all directions.

“Mmm, Seha, go! We’ll open the way!”

Yu Seha nodded and moved forward. A moment later, two shadows fell over his head.

Flap! Ju Na-young spread her wings. Ju Yuri, wearing a bomb necklace, landed beside her. Ju Na-young looked at Yu Seha.

“Yong, Yu Seha!”
“Are you ready?”
“Yes!”

He then looked straight at Ju Yuri. Ju Yuri clasped her hands politely and bowed her head.

“…I will protect Nayong with my life if I must.”
“I believe you. Also, don’t go to area C-11. Ju Ye-yong the hunter is there.”
“……”

At that remark, Ju Yuri trembled, her face full of fear.

“Yes, yes… thank you.”
“Then excuse me.”

They unfolded their wings and flew up again.

Kugugu—!!! Columns of red and black fire erupted, forming two red-and-black dragons about twenty meters long.

-Roooaaaaar!!!
-Rrrrrraaaaa!!!

A full release of <Dragon Form>. Combined with everyone’s <Sharing>, they reached mid-range S-rank power—literal, overwhelming growth.

Yu Seha watched them and murmured quietly, “Barbados.”

With a bang, Barbados appeared wearing combat gear.

“Please take care of our kids.”

Barbados smiled faintly and saluted.

Then he said something utterly absurd.

“Master.”
“Do you have a request?”
“Will I lose?”
“……”

Yu Seha snorted at the absurdity and wondered why he’d been called. He ran a hand over his brow and stepped forward with a proud stride, as if declaring victory.

“Win.”
“I’ll trust you.”
“Of course.”

He strode down the path smeared with corpses and blood—the route the others had cleared. His black coat billowed like a cloak, and with one leap he arrived at the temple.

A pungent metallic stench of blood greeted him inside. A mound of bodies—at least a hundred hunters—laid piled, each with eyes that had not even perceived their own deaths.

Atop the mound sat an old man with an eyepatch—a supreme swordsman, his left arm hanging limp, not a day older in appearance.

Sword Ghost So Hang-woo. He was smiling.

The Sword Ghost descended from the mound, certain his eyes had not deceived him.

He declared that Yu Seha had become a being of a different dimension than he had been one year and six months ago—an absolute being no longer to be considered mortal, someone who could touch the edge of the celestial world and beyond.

The Sword Ghost shouted, “Come, Yu Seha. And take it proudly.”
My neck…!!!

Yu Seha did not reply. He silently surveyed his surroundings. The temple interior looked ordinary, yet felt wildly alien—had the Sword Ghost prepared an answer to their stares?

Suddenly the Sword Ghost raised his sword toward the sky. A straight blade aura shot up as if to cut the skylight.

Amazingly, as the blade aura extended, the skylight’s dimensions stretched; it expanded not only upward but sideways, the space effectively without limit.

Yu Seha was sure. ‘…It’s Moon Ha-yeon’s power.’ Using the Demon King’s authority, it was that kind of space. Destroying it wouldn’t be hard, but there seemed no need to force it.

“We can fight freely here. No need to worry about insects.”

The Sword Ghost, as if announcing he’d prepared the stage, gripped the <Evil Energy Longsword> behind his back.

“Now, like before, each of us staking everything—”

He couldn’t finish. As if cutting off his words, something ghostly and chilling fell upon them as fast as lightning and free as the wind.

Bang! The Sword Ghost was sent flying. He defended against the strike and examined what had struck him.

Countlessly thin and long, each tentacle boasted tremendous tensile strength—upon closer inspection they were white, frost-covered tree roots.

Kwak kwak kwak!

Blown back by strikes of overwhelming speed and mass, the Sword Ghost kept flying.

‘I see.’ He understood instinctively: these tentacles were sharper, lighter, sturdier, and tougher than anything—like spear blades—yet they retained the flexibility and resilience of living things.

He lifted a corner of his mouth. “Indeed, the lower body of that Kirin I saw then! Is this the authority from which it originates?!”

Its refinement and power were incomparably delicate and potent.

But he laughed. “This is laughable!” With a single, wild slash, he severed the tentacles cleanly.

After landing, he looked up to see Yu Seha floating midair.

“Hoho…?”

Beneath Yu Seha’s fluttering black coat there was no visible body—he looked like a ghost with only his head floating.

The Sword Ghost laughed with intrigue. “Is that even possible? Good, very well, it seems you’ve prepared many things. Yes, that’s how it should be—if you’re a disciple, you grow to please your master. Now show me; none other than I will gladly match you!”

Yu Seha replied indifferently, “I’ve already shown you.”

The Sword Ghost’s pupils trembled. Moments later he involuntarily spat something from his mouth.

“Guh!”

It was black, dead blood. Soon black blood poured from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth—massive bleeding from every orifice.

His vision flooded with red. Staring at the blood pooled in his palm, he examined the air around him—more precisely, the atmosphere.

Invisible to the naked eye, a colorless, odorless presence filled the temple. It had become an intense poison, eating away at the Sword Ghost’s body.

“…A virus?”

His immunity and resistance had long since transcended normal limits, yet he—who should have been immune to disease—was suffering damage.

‘All sorts of things are mixed in.’ It wasn’t a single simple pathogen. Agents that coagulate blood, melt flesh, or scatter the mind—deadly viruses on their own—had combined and evolved to the point that producing a vaccine was impossible.

It was vicious enough to potentially drive humanity to extinction—a living, moving pandemic.

Surprisingly, that was not all. Numerous lifeforms pressed against his instincts. The Sword Ghost rolled his eyes.

Throughout the temple, which had expanded far beyond before, grotesque creatures that defied definition crept forth. These newly appeared beings were horrific and featureless; there were at least a hundred, and they charged the Sword Ghost without hesitation.

‘About C to A-rank, perhaps.’ Not immensely strong, but each possessed high lethality. They spat acidic liquids that melted on contact, exhaled poisonous gas, fired corrosive needles, and worse.

The Sword Ghost quickly understood their origin. “…You grew and dominated microbes, plants, and fungi?”

Microscopic lifeforms drifting in the air had been consumed by Complete Devour and rapidly grown into monsters. With the ‘Contractor of All Things’ added, absolute domination was inscribed, and they burned life force to boost attack power by any means.

The Sword Ghost chuckled, satisfied with Yu Seha’s trickery. “Good, very good…” He imagined that, if he wished, he could turn the continent into a domain of plagues and monsters.

I thought he only knew how to slash with a sword, he mused, but he had learned devious tricks as well.

“This is something else…”

Abilities even more vicious than Moon Ha-yeon’s.

“Well then…”

“You don’t know who the Demon King is, Yu Seha!”