Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Feral Instincts
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Ha Ji-tae’s eyes widened as he blinked in astonishment. Both precisely smashing the moon wheel from that distance and, instead of dodging the one flying at him diagonally, snatching it mid-air with his foot.
“How did you do that?”
He asked directly.
“Well.”
An infuriating answer came back. Wi Seong-cheon stopped spinning it and glanced down at the moon wheel hooked on his foot. Then at the one he had slammed into the ground. It was embedded deep, but not a single scratch marred its blade.
“You treasure that weapon?”
“I’ve grown attached to it. Used it for a long time.”
“You’d resent me if I shattered it?”
“Probably. It’s familiar in my hands. Making a new one wouldn’t be hard, and I’d wield it just as well. Still, if you broke it, I’d hold it against you. It’s my master’s keepsake.”
“Oh dear.”
Good thing he hadn’t. Wi Seong-cheon thought as much while swinging his foot wide. The moon wheel dangling from his ankle flew toward Ha Ji-tae. He also casually kicked the one embedded in the ground back to him.
“Why give it back?”
“You said you’d resent me if I broke it?”
“You actually care about that?”
“I’m already plenty hated as it is. No need to rack up pointless grudges. So, what now? Gonna keep blocking me?”
“...Thanks for returning it, but that’s that. This is this.”
“Shameless bastard.”
“I told you. I have my reasons to block you. If you’re so eager to pass, don’t ask permission—just beat me and go.”
Ha Ji-tae composed his surprise and spoke.
Kuuuoooong!
Another resounding roar echoed. Wi Seong-cheon’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s gonna hurt.”
Ha Ji-tae didn’t respond. He bent deeply at the waist, raising both arms high behind his back. His wrists spun, accelerating the moon wheels’ rotation.
Then he leaped. Kicking off a branch, Ha Ji-tae launched himself at Wi Seong-cheon via the tree trunk.
Amid the swift motion, silver flashed. Just one moon wheel shot forth.
Wi Seong-cheon didn’t calculate its trajectory. For an incoming attack, the endpoint was inevitably where he stood. Keeping that firmly in mind, he kicked off the ground.
His conviction was arrogant yet certain. He could react without tracking it visually. Block or evade.
To Ha Ji-tae, Wi Seong-cheon’s response seemed utterly reckless. He didn’t hesitate. The distance between them closed in an instant as they charged.
Ha Ji-tae’s hand, still whirling a moon wheel on his right wrist, extended smoothly.
Thud. The moon wheel slipped free from his wrist. Its spin was furious, yet strangely slow. The moon wheel filled the space between Ha Ji-tae and Wi Seong-cheon.
The slowly advancing rotation threatened Wi Seong-cheon.
Wi Seong-cheon didn’t leap up but dove low. The moon wheel grazed just above his bowed head.
As that sound passed, his heightened hearing caught the whirring spin and the tearing wind. The first moon wheel was veering leftward.
Keeek.
The sound changed. The flying moon wheel split into two. One half shot upward, the other pressed on at a slightly offset angle. The crescent-shaped fragment spun wildly, targeting Wi Seong-cheon.
The sudden shift startled him slightly. Wi Seong-cheon twisted away from its path. Then Ha Ji-tae snatched the incoming moon wheel mid-air. Their distance had narrowed that much already.
‘Caught...’
He didn’t hurl the seized moon wheel. Gripping it like a sickle, Ha Ji-tae slashed down at Wi Seong-cheon’s side.
The attack wasn’t one, but two—no, three. The moon wheel soaring in the air was plummeting toward Wi Seong-cheon, and the first one was returning toward Ha Ji-tae.
‘...it?’
Wi Seong-cheon’s speed shifted abruptly. Heavenly Flower Chain Technique, Reverse Flow. The inner energy coursing through his body reversed and surged violently. It produced the optimal, fastest movement.
It was as if time flowed differently only for Wi Seong-cheon.
Just as Ha Ji-tae’s gripped moon wheel nearly touched him, his wrist was seized. That hand yanked sharply, crumbling Ha Ji-tae’s stance.
It didn’t end there. Wi Seong-cheon wedged his foot between Ha Ji-tae’s legs and hooked his Achilles with his heel, pulling.
The hand yanked downward. With his ankle caught, one of Ha Ji-tae’s knees buckled. Then his body lifted and spun.
Crack!
In the process, Wi Seong-cheon wrenched Ha Ji-tae’s shoulder from its socket.
Whoosh!
The two delayed moon wheels grazed past Wi Seong-cheon by a hair. Close as it was, not even a thread of his clothing was cut.
“...Ah, that hurts.”
Ha Ji-tae muttered. Wi Seong-cheon released the arm he’d twisted back.
“Heading out?”
“...Ugh...”
Lifting his head from the dirt, Ha Ji-tae groaned. He couldn’t grasp what had happened.
One moment Wi Seong-cheon had spun, and the next he was face-down. His dislocated arm throbbed miserably.
“Popped it out clean, so you can probably shove it back in yourself. That’ll hurt too, but if you’re worried, head to the medical hall.”
“...If Hwangbo Seong-u asks, tell him I did my best.”
Wi Seong-cheon chuckled at Ha Ji-tae’s grumbling. Dusting his hands as he stood, he saw Bang Jun staring slack-jawed.
‘What the hell was that?’
He’d thought breaking Hwangbo Seong-u’s arm was shocking enough. Yet Bang Jun was stunned again.
* * *
He had drawn his blade long ago.
Hwangbo Seong-u, transformed into a bear, was incomparably stronger than in human form. His innate physique had grown even more robust in full beastman state.
An ordinary blade couldn’t pierce that thick hide, let alone part the fur. Only by forming blade energy could he even match it.
That was using just brute body strength. Even as a bear, Hwangbo Seong-u retained his reason and freely wielded his inner energy.
Moreover, the Hwangbo Clan’s fist techniques suited his bear form even better than human.
Hwangbo Clan fist techniques prioritized raw power over finesse. Rather than retreating to evade, they advanced to crush foes amid their attacks.
“How long!”
Even as a bear, Hwangbo Seong-u spoke human words. His pronunciation was a bit slurred, but still.
That booming shout, devoid of energy yet, sought to cower Paeng Yeon-hwa like a lion’s roar.
“In that state! You gonna fight!”
With another bellow, Hwangbo Seong-u raised his massive fist. Actually, it was more a paw. And not clenched, so fist wasn’t quite right.
What did it matter? The “fist” of bear-form Hwangbo Seong-u held tremendous power regardless.
Kwaaaang!
It slammed down on Paeng Yeon-hwa. She had leaped just before, her body shoved back by the wind pressure. The shattered earth erupted, and she used it as footing to leap even higher.
In mid-air, Paeng Yeon-hwa spun. Her rotating “tail” accelerated the turn. The longsword she gripped gleamed.
Crimson blade energy severed the space between her and Hwangbo Seong-u.
“Krrahat!”
It failed. A rough laugh accompanied a straight punch that pulverized the blade energy’s path.
Creeeang!
Paeng Yeon-hwa’s body was blasted backward. But she didn’t tumble ugly to the ground. With fluid poise, she righted herself mid-air and landed silently.
Her palms and wrists tingled. The longsword hadn’t broken, but Hwangbo Seong-u’s shoving force was indeed formidable.
Paeng Yeon-hwa’s eyes narrowed further, her breaths ragged. The beast ears atop her head flattened back. Her slender tail, once swaying, now bristled and puffed.
“Suppressing it too much is bad.”
Thud!
Hwangbo Seong-u advanced with heavy steps, taunting. Paeng Yeon-hwa bit her lower lip hard. Her sharpened fangs tore it, drawing blood.
The metallic tang flooding her mouth sharpened her senses further, making her breaths even more labored.
‘No.’
Her senses were acute, yet her mind hazy. Her heart pounded distractingly loud, hot blood seeming to incinerate her body. Never had her instincts surged this fiercely.
Growl, grrr...
Between massive heartbeats, such growls seemed to echo.
“Don’t... you hear?”
“Hear what?”
Paeng Yeon-hwa gasped out. Hwangbo Seong-u furrowed his brow. She let the blood from her lip flow freely now, no longer swallowing it.
“This sound.”
“What’re you on about?”
The sound Paeng Yeon-hwa’s ears caught didn’t reach Hwangbo Seong-u. Her head spun more. With the sound came a scent.
Faint at first, now stabbing her nose. Unshakable. Her breathing grew rougher. Seeing her stagger, Hwangbo Seong-u’s expression turned uneasy.
He had charged recklessly, but now realized Paeng Yeon-hwa wasn’t just being stubborn.
“...What’s wrong with you?”
Hwangbo Seong-u asked, his drive waning. Paeng Yeon-hwa didn’t answer. The sound intensified. The scent too. They dredged up a horrific memory she’d buried.
A room splattered with crimson blood. Corpses shredded beyond recognition. Revolting, vivid traces of predation. Standing amid it all.
Grrr, a growl.
A scent unerasable even in the gore.
Of her kin.
‘Brother.’
“What the...”
“Ah.”
Paeng Yeon-hwa’s mouth gaped.
Her longsword slipped from her grasp, clattering to the ground.
Her sleeves ballooned then burst. Her buckling body was propped by hands on the dirt. Hwangbo Seong-u, approaching, halted abruptly.
Kwaduduk!
Silver-white fur cloaked her arms. Then black stripes crossed the silver base. Not just arms. Hook-like claws shredded her shoes, scraping the ground.
“Ah, ah.”
Consciousness faded. Paeng Yeon-hwa couldn’t control this partial beastman transformation. Unlike Hwangbo Seong-u’s full-body change, hers affected only limbs.
Yet her blood ran no thinner than his.
If anything, thicker, fiercer. Her frame didn’t enlarge. But densely compact muscles jerked her body.
Kwaduduk!
The hand on the ground, furred and enlarged, remained human, not beast.
Engineered that way.
Ordinary boneless beastmen were born between human and beastman. Rare, but akin to human birth.
Paeng Yeon-hwa was different.
The Paeng Clan’s heaven-defying sin, flouting celestial will and worldly order. Long ago, they sought to create monsters, succeeded, then lost control and were exterminated.
Paeng Yeon-hwa’s brother. Tiger Calamity Paeng Yeon-u.
Paeng Yeon-hwa rose unsteadily, claws scraping earth.
Razor claws protruded from elongated fingertips. Perfectly aligned nails rivaled a single-edged blade.
“...What. Finally in the mood...”
Hwangbo Seong-u smirked mid-sentence, but before he finished, Paeng Yeon-hwa tore open his chest.