Chapter 308
Chapter 308
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 308
Chapter Title: Afterglow of the Flower
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He cut down the enemies like some kind of yaksha.
Subdue me without a scratch? Don't make me laugh. Even if you all came at me with everything you've got, you couldn't beat me before my stamina runs out!
Don't underestimate me, the one who's survived in this other world!
—Shaaaat!
—Shaaaat!
So no excuses needed.
"Kieeeek!!!!!!!"
I let out a battle cry to boost my stamina.
After all, there's no consequences for me.
I could see heaven. I'd probably go there when I die. But you lot? Straight to hell. —Slash! I recovered the downward slash instantly, slicing into the rear while chaining Blood Heaven Asura Kick and Heavenly Demon Palm Strike to smash the enemies on both sides.
—Whoosh!
The thrusting attacks that followed pierced them like shish kebab, and as I pulled out, I slammed Asura Blood Fist to shake them off.
—Shaaaat!!!
The strength of Realization Swordsmanship and Realization Fist Art lay in their variability and chaining.
From sword to kick, kick to fist. Then back to sword to complete the sword dance. If I could perfectly blend in Taekwondo and Heavenly Demon Divine Art... I might truly reach the heavens beyond heaven...!
It was a shame I wouldn't get to see that realm.
—Shaaaat!!!
The dryads roared in frenzy upon seeing their sisters sliced apart. —Kieeeek!!! I roared back in kind.
In this space, there were winners and losers, but no cowards. Good! Warriors! Come at me until your dying breath! —Paht! Sharp claws shot toward my carotid artery!
"Not on my watch!"
—Pahk!
I smacked the claws away with my gauntlet and thrust my sword into her armpit. —Shaaaat! She screamed, turning to leaves and vanishing.
—I'd already cut down dozens.
Yet the dryads' morale hadn't broken, and dozens more charged.
"Fuck!"
How much longer could I hold out?
Even wiping out every last dryad offered no hope. But... now, all I could do was swing my sword.
—Paht!
Another wave of dryads rushed in.
I shook off the thoughts and raised my sword.
As I drew out every ounce of my body's potential to unleash the sword dance once more,
—Stop!!!
Alraune's shout-like command rang out.
—Ssshh.
At that single word "stop," the dryads—berserk and lost in the trance of battle—suddenly withdrew their killing intent and retreated.
They formed ranks at the rear like perfectly trained soldiers. As expected of a queen. What command.
"...I didn't realize you'd turn my children this savage."
Alraune spoke in a tone of regret mixed with a hint of anger.
So you thought you'd just subdue me easily?
Big dreams, you thick-headed bitch.
"Haa... haa... Thanks for the breather."
I regulated my breathing and checked my stamina. Luckily, my surging mana was barely depleted.
But... how far would my stamina hold?
"I didn't want to use this ability. But you've stirred my greed... No helping it. Since you've come to your senses after so long, it might be good to test it. Come now, black child."
—Sararak.
Alraune spread her palm as if catching falling rain, and atop it rose something like a brilliant yellow tulip forged from molten gold.
...A flower?
"What the hell is that?"
"Now you'll find peace. This will erase your consciousness. Shame you won't enjoy it, but I'll make good use of your essence."
—Pajit!
Suddenly, dazzling light burst from the tulip!
"Wh-what?!"
It was like the mad golden radiance leaking from the secret treasure vault deep underground in the golden land of El Dorado!! The intense light nearly shattered my eyes!!!
"What is this brilliant light... Graaaah!!!!!!!"
The light engulfed me!!!!!!!
"Kieeeek!!!!!!!"
In a world brighter than the sun's touch, I felt myself dragged into darkness. Hot yet cold... Could this be.
This.
Death?
"If only you'd obeyed quietly... Tsk tsk tsk."
I clearly felt my essence flying toward an unknown realm beyond. The last thing I heard was Alraune's tongue-clicking.
Not a good.
End.
****
"Heaven's surprisingly underwhelming."
Cold pierced me, snapping my eyes open. Instinct told me this was the afterlife. Contrary to popular belief, heaven's scenery wasn't flashy.
The River of Three Paths or Mount Nakbeol might be more vibrant.
The heaven I'd reached was, well.
An infinitely pitch-black, brutally barren space.
—Like my inner world.
"What?"
No way, did I fuck up?
Looking around, there was literally nothing—no lies. No floor, walls, ceiling. Just endless darkness.
A familiar... space.
Testing, I moved my body, and it responded naturally.
Above all, my attire.
I was buck naked. My body, honed to the extreme, scarred by the trials of time.
Good thing my little brother was intact.
Thought about jerking it, but figured someone might see.
"My heart... it's beating?"
Hand on chest, I felt it pulsing strongly.
...Am I not dead?
As I puzzled over this,
—Thud thud.
—Thud thud.
—Thud thud.
In the void, an unforgettable footstep echoed. That sound, steady gait... Yeah, I knew this guy.
—Chiiik.
"You Beolbeolja?"
It was Beolbeolja.
No, why the hell was Beolbeolja here...? So this was heaven? Did I have to spend eternity with all the guys I'd killed?
—Shaaah.
As I pondered life and death seriously,
"No way...! You're that dryad from back then!"
The dryad from the promotion battle appeared.
—Kyuuusaahat...!
"And you're the Kobold Guardian!!!!"
Beolbeolja, dryad, and Kobold Guardian!
My comrades-in-arms come to greet me! Overjoyed, genuine happiness welled up. These bastards! My bros, waiting for me!!
"You motherfucking pricks! You came!!!"
I waved, and they drew their weapons.
"..."
Right.
That's how it was.
We weren't exactly on good terms.
"Long time no see. Fucking thrilled to see my friends. You assholes not happy to see me?"
Suddenly, armor clad my body. A familiar sword filled my grip. —Chiiik! —Shaaaat! —Kyuuuuw!! Beolbeolja hefted his axe, dryad her claws, Kobold Guardian his fists.
—Thud thud.
I approached them.
"No need for words."
—Paht!
Battle began.
Me and these fuckers were fated to fight forever. I'd killed them endlessly in my inner world. Patterns, habits—all memorized ages ago.
—Pakit!
I parried Beolbeolja's axe, cut off his counter, shoved my sword down his throat. —Pusik! Dryad was a joke. I'd just slaughtered tons of them. Sliced her quick, then stabbed Thunderclap Demon Claw into Kobold Guardian's heart.
Stronger than back then, I diced the trio without much trouble.
"Fucking bullshit."
Black blood poured from their corpses.
Then.
—Kyuuuuw!
—Kuwaaaah!!
—Krooooh!
—Orororong!!!
—Techaahat!!!
Behind the corpses loomed an infinite horde filling the horizon—pure malice.
Roaring, they were all the bandits, monsters, and beasts I'd slain so far.
"...Looks like."
—Clack clack.
Armies seething with hatred and grudge marched toward me.
So many, the ground seemed a parade of monsters.
"This ain't heaven, but hell."
—Buoooooh!!! Grandpa Sackcloth wailed from the east. —Kuooh!!! Roaring from the west was the last yokai survivor from Solitary Conquest. —Kaaak!!! Screeching from the sky was Black Birdman. —Piriririri! Even the flute-playing demon piping away.
Enemies filling the horizon.
Beings born from my nightmares and fears.
The monsters advanced amid the army toward me.
—Kraaaah!!
—Jueeeek!!!
Next came the pagan giant and Flesh Golem. Even the mountain lord ogre appeared, and sea folk rose from the depths.
They were dead set on killing me.
"Deep karma I have."
The world brimmed with monsters shrieking endlessly, howling savagely as they advanced.
So many.
Too many.
"Like Solitary Conquest."
Whether this world stemmed from my mind, heaven, or hell—I couldn't tell anymore. All blended into one.
"Good."
But.
A sword in my hand.
And they marched to kill me.
Only one thing to do.
Grip the sword.
Take stance.
In this other world, that's all there was.
"—Wabarat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Kuoooooh!!!!!!!
The demon army engulfed me. Pouring hatred from all sides, fiercer than the dryad horde by double. Slain foes dragged at my ankles.
Each swing pierced me with hundreds of thorns; mad blades shredded my body.
Excruciating pain.
Yet I didn't fall.
This place wasn't reality, apparently.
"I won't forgive parasites carving out my heart!!!!!!!!!"
Screams and roars were one.
Chanting sutras, I endlessly swung at the monsters before me. They did the same.
Mad conquest.
A battle impossible to win.
Grandpa Sackcloth and Black Birdman's power defied imagination. Unbeatable, unreachable masters for current me. Granny Ghoul was manageable at least.
—Body in ruins.
No walls, yet I felt cornered. Naturally, defeat. I backpedaled, blocking attacks.
"...Huh?"
In timeless void space, as my body was hacked apart in endless retreat,
"My mind...!"
My mind was disintegrating.
My very existence sought eternal erasure. I felt it clearly.
Defeat means... death?
Eternal vanishing?
Fuck this.
No different from fighting Alraune earlier.
—Techaahat!!!!!
—Kuooh!!
—Jueeeeeeeek!!!
Collapsing mind, monsters before me heralded my total annihilation. Simultaneously, the infinite fighting spirit flame in my soul flickered out.
"Yeah."
This much is enough.
Fucking hell, I've done all I could.
Beyond my power now.
Accept fate.
"Time for me to go too."
Just wanted to see Cloudy's face one last time. Winia's too. Karin, Lady Risha came to mind. Kobson that fucker 100% dead too. My divine friend Elise, wanna see you once more.
—Psshh.
Accepting death, my body crumbled from the toes up. So this is dissolution...
Life's foundation shattering, scattering.
—Tuk.
The moment I abandoned all.
—What's behind me now.
📜 DIVINE VOICES 📜 [You can win.]
The Buddha in my heart.
📜 DIVINE VOICES 📜 [Death to Goliath.]
Oracle King, King David.
📜 DIVINE VOICES 📜 [With shepherd's crook and garlic, tame the turbid world.]
Pinnacle of Fusion Confucianism. Hwanung.
—The beings I'd offered faith to.
They all laid hands on my shoulders.
📜 DIVINE VOICES 📜 [Go, Wheel-Turning Saint King.]
[Go forth, Giant Slayer.]
[Go, my seeker of enlightenment.]
"No, bros, where the hell you been all this...?"
Hot energy seeped from their hands on my shoulders.
—Hahat.
I laughed.
That's right.
All I'd built up hadn't vanished.
Justice upheld by Buddha's power. Pagan giant slain by King David's might. Turbid world purified by Hwanung's strength.
"Ah."
All tremendous feats, achievements.
That renown, undeniably from my power, stayed with me forever.
"I am."
Disintegration halted.
"Heavenly Demon."
Reconstruction began.
"Kim Katt."
—KuoOOOOOOH!!!!!!!
Before me, incomprehensible malice-filled evils of all creation. Hatred-spewing kin, no different from my own handiwork.
—Hwaak.
"You...!"
And appearing.
—Smiling Kim Geuntae.
"Heh."
Following the three gods, my origin emerged.
"Watch."
Then.
"Watch this Heavenly Demon."
With Geuntae watching, can't show weakness.
The me you see is this mighty.
"I'll show you once more!"
—My true power!
Toward the darkness beyond.
Arm extended.
Stance taken.
Index finger pointed.
—Now I can do it.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Heavenly Demon Death Beam With that.
It ended.
—Chwaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!
Omnipotent beam erupted unrealistically from my fingertip, overwhelming, shattering, melting, destroying, smashing, clearing the space.
—Pachang!!!!
Thus the world broke.
What remained in the illusion was reality.
"Heavenly Demon."
—Thereby I returned to reality.
"Kim Katt has descended."
Peerless Heavenly Demon descends.
The supreme demon, above all men, crushing myriad foes, descends.
"Wh-what is this...! Breaking free from my illusion?! "
Alraune's panicked face came into view.
Felt like ages since we met.
"That pathetic illusion."
Power overflowing.
Mana rampaging.
"Doesn't work on me."
"Pathetic... illusion? Resisting ultimate illusion... Unbelievable...! But your power can't defeat me!"
—Chwaaaah!
Waves of illusion shot forth again.
"Hah."
Like a tsunami of spring breeze, it crashed over me.
"Weak."
In the fading afterglow, I felt the three great beings supporting me. They were still with me.
This pulsing power's source was surely them.
"Wh-why! Why doesn't it work?!"
"Because you're."
Her attacks proved futile.
"A worthless bitch."
Ultimate illusion?
Thought that crap could topple Heavenly Demon Kim Katt?
Foolish.
And foolish.
"Even if I die and revive, I never lose to worthless scum like you, you cunt."
"Insolent fool!!!! My children! No need for more! Tear him apart!"
—Shaaaat!!
—Shaaaaat!
—Shaaaat!!!
Surging not illusion, but reality.
Dozens of real dryads charged solely to kill me. More frenzied than before, true mythic berserkers.
And it didn't end there.
Fully enraged Alraune summoned dozens of massive vines, snaking toward me like world-devouring serpents.
Desperate strike.
However.
"I."
—Declare.
"Am Heavenly Demon, Kim Katt."
—Grip sword.
"A being beyond heaven."
Omnipotence seeped into every joint.
Power of Buddha, King David, true Hwanung.
"Thought that paper army could win?"
Heavenly Demon Death Beam.
Alraune's pinnacle illusion exploited my infinite inner world, letting me taste supreme realm briefly. That illusory strike vanished with the inner world's collapse.
But the sensation.
Remained—
"—Firmly in my hand."
Mana and muscles exploded.
"True Realization Swordsmanship, Second Secret Ultimate Technique."
Followed by supreme severing art transcending my limits.
"Realization Severance."
—Paht.
Drew.
That was it.
—Ultimate sword strike cleaved the world.