Chapter 163
Chapter: 163
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 163
>Chapter Title: Storm (4)
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[Let me show you something interesting.]
Along with the Holy Emperor's words, which carried a sense of delight for some reason, a brightly glowing white something appeared before Seongjin's eyes.
Its sleek, streamlined form flapped its tail and followed along, so at first, Seongjin thought it was a fish about the size of his forearm.
[This is called an Image.]
[An Image?]
[When a thought takes concrete form, it becomes something like this. You can't easily see it anywhere else. This might be a good opportunity.]
The fish-like thing seemed to move entirely according to the Holy Emperor's will. It swam to Seongjin's left and right, coming right up close for easy observation.
Huh? But that shape...
[Do you know what it is?]
Then another fish appeared at Seongjin's feet. Then three, four in succession...
A total of five fish, surrounded by white light, flapped and swam after them.
Around that time, Seongjin realized the true nature of these fish.
'...Silver Thorn?'
It was hard to tell at first because of the bright light enveloping them, but what they were waving like tails was clearly the proper guard and hilt of a sword!
But when he glanced back, the original Silver Thorn was properly sheathed at the Holy Emperor's waist.
[It looks exactly like Silver Thorn? But...!]
Then a faint vibration came from the Holy Emperor. It felt like a small chuckle.
'So this is an Image!'
Seongjin realized two things.
First, the thing swimming and following them—this [Image]—perfectly reflected the image of a familiar object from the Holy Emperor's mind. Right now, he was imagining Silver Thorn with an aura blade formed around it, glowing brightly.
And the second thing.
'It really looks like a school of salmon swimming fiercely against a raging current...'
So in this man's head, Silver Thorn was already a salmon.
He was staring dumbfounded at the flapping, swimming swords because it was so absurd when the Holy Emperor spoke again.
[Yes. Now that you know what it is, let us see what it can do.]
With those words.
The five salmon... no, Silver Thorns, all turned their heads at once and shot toward the monsters at tremendous speed!
Screeeeech!
They flew, slicing through every space they collided with. When passing through the office, they were a single beam of light; under the stormy sky, white lightning; and in the black cosmos, a comet trailing a long tail.
Flash, flash.
Darting quickly from one space to another, the Silver Thorns finally crashed into the bodies of the monsters that were frantically dodging in panic and exploded on impact.
Boom! Bwoom! Bwoom!
The entire world shook with violent vibrations. The monsters, struck hard, staggered while letting out bizarre cries that were somewhere between screams and growls of irritation.
Kraaaaaah!
'Whoa...'
So all those explosions happening here and there earlier were this guy's doing!
While the monsters hesitated, the Holy Emperor, who had swiftly put some distance between them and it, asked,
[Do you understand the whole process of creating an Image, moving it, and finally activating it?]
[Uh, more or less?]
Seongjin vaguely grasped the essence of the technique. It was closer to intuition than reason.
[Then, shall you try it?]
Hm, flying swords, huh...
Seongjin tried to visualize a nutcracker in his mind. A sturdy steel blade flying straight like a missile.
For a moment, a hazy gray rod-like thing flickered in front of him and vanished.
Hm? Maybe it's simpler than I thought?
'Alright. Let's go with this feeling!'
Seongjin tried to concentrate as hard as he could. Soon the monsters caught up again, flailing about, but he didn't spare them a glance.
This guy would handle dodging just fine, no doubt.
Swish.
The tentacle cluster that had finally closed the distance shot out dozens of legs rapidly.
From afar, they looked soft and wavy like sea anemone tentacles submerged in seawater, but up close, each one was as thick and sturdy as a massive log.
It was a terrifying attack that tore apart every approaching space, but the Holy Emperor effortlessly twisted his body and dodged all those legs.
Kwaaaang!
Then the black beast that had been darting around looking for an opening lunged in, baring its sharp fangs.
The beast's canines, dripping with pitch-black demonic energy, were nearly as long as Seongjin was tall—getting caught in them would undoubtedly rip him to shreds without a trace.
The Holy Emperor leaped through space with Seongjin in tow. For an instant, a black stormy sky unfolded around them.
Clack!
The beast's jaws chased after, snapping viciously, but they leisurely evaded the fangs and were soon flying under a quiet starry sky.
After that, the close evasions continued, but to the Holy Emperor, this was merely a training ground. He was silently waiting for Seongjin to grasp something.
[It doesn't have to be a weapon. Just think of something most familiar to you.]
As the hazy rod appeared and vanished repeatedly without meaning, the Holy Emperor gave him a subtle hint.
Hm, something familiar...
Hanging dangling, Seongjin seriously rested his chin on his hand.
[Kraaaak! That thing is really annoying!]
The spawn, with some of its lower tentacles severed, flailed and vented its frustration. Compared to the greed embodied in beast form, its low mobility body had taken heavy damage from four out of the five swords by itself.
[The King of Delcross is no pushover, as expected.]
Even though it was confident it hadn't let its guard down, Greed couldn't deny that their preparations had been inadequate.
For the past several years, the Holy Emperor, bound by the [Accord], had been unable to even perform simple acts like 'directly cutting' due to insufficient karma. So they thought facing him with only incarnations made of Images would suffice.
But the King of Delcross was adept at loopholes. Instead of acting directly, he struck them indirectly and efficiently by launching Images.
The Images themselves weren't very lethal—just small sword forms—but they chased after them like they had wills of their own, causing large and small explosions. Of course, compared to the power of the incarnations they had brought, it was minor damage.
However, no matter how trivial the attacks, failing to land even one hit while continuously getting struck changed everything.
If the night passed like this, the victor was obvious.
[Moreover, that boy is somehow nagging at my nerves...]
Greed frowned as it looked at the boy dangling and shaking from the Holy Emperor's grasp.
The boy had his eyes closed, mumbling something intently. It was an absurdly calm demeanor given the situation.
Yet strangely, an ominous aura emanated from the boy.
[What the hell is he doing?]
The spawn muttered dazedly as it retracted its tentacles. It had sensed the ill omen too.
Greed kicked off powerfully from one of the greed-infused dimensions and shouted.
[That one is the prepared vessel! Nothing would be strange for him to do. Be cautious!]
At that moment, whoosh. A small spark appeared before the boy.
Small. Easy to visualize.
But something that would turn most lethal upon striking the enemy.
Soon, before Seongjin's opened eyes, a dark crimson flame flickered.
It resembled a fragment of the Demon King's small soul fragment, or perhaps Gehenna's fire.
As he stared entranced at the flame gaining clearer form and burning brighter, the Holy Emperor glanced at it and nodded.
[Yes, that looks good.]
[Haha!]
Seongjin grinned proudly. It was the first distinct Image he had created.
Satisfying. From now on, I shall name this Demon King No. 2!
[Then, what will you do with it now?]
[Launch it at the enemy!]
[Yes.]
Alright! Fly, Demon King No. 2!
Seongjin commanded the flame energetically.
But perhaps because it was so different from the missile image he'd first imagined, his Demon King No. 2 didn't soar off as stylishly as the Holy Emperor's salmon.
The flame wobbled and fell like a poorly thrown ball, but fortunately, it bumped right into the wavy head of a nearby tentacle monster.
It was small, and since it wasn't one of the Holy Emperor's threatening sword strikes, the monster had clearly let its guard down.
But the result was unexpected.
The moment that tiny flame touched.
Rooaaar!
Suddenly, a fierce dark crimson blaze erupted from there, rapidly spreading toward the monster's upper tentacles and devouring it.
Just like Gehenna's flames that swallowed everything in an instant.
[Gyaaaah! What is this?!]
The sea anemone, panicked by the flames that wouldn't go out easily, froze in place and began thrashing its head wildly!
[Pathetic. Why aren't you putting it out? What are you doing?]
As excessive Greed passed by the monster in disbelief, the spawn cried out indignantly.
[No! This is weird! It won't go out! What the hell is this?!]
It flailed about engulfed in flames.
The sight of its massive tentacle legs burning strand by strand, scattering bright embers, was truly spectacular.
As he watched the brilliant fireworks show contentedly, the Holy Emperor tossed out a word of praise.
[Well done.]
[Ahahaha!]
Even Father thinks so, right?
Seongjin was grinning proudly when the Holy Emperor glanced around and said,
[Now, let us head back. We've delayed longer than expected. I'll finish off the rest in one go.]
[In one go?]
What will this guy show me this time?
Seongjin's eyes sparkled with anticipation, and the Holy Emperor nodded.
[Yes. Thanks to you, we have sufficient karma.]
And at that moment his words ended.
'......!'
Seongjin widened his eyes and held his breath. Hundreds—no, thousands—of fish had suddenly appeared around them, all beginning to swim in unison, encircling them.
At that majestic yet beautiful sight, Seongjin dumbly opened his mouth.
The brilliantly shining white salmon moved in parallel yet disciplined unison, almost as if they had become one massive creature.
Or perhaps they themselves were a wave of silver light, and they were swimming within that luminous sea.
And shortly after.
[Go.]
With that short command, the peaceful scene ended.
Screeeeech!
Like hundreds of cruise missiles launched simultaneously, the silver swords turned and charged at the monsters all at once.
The white beams, each seeming to have their own will, crisscrossed and leaped through spaces, tracing hundreds of trajectories—an utterly astonishing spectacle.
And without leaving a single one, they slammed into the black dog and sea anemone, erupting in a brilliant white blaze.
'......!'
Seongjin squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the shockwave. But strangely, no impact came. The surroundings were eerily silent, without even an explosion.
He cautiously opened his eyes to find them standing on a misty, rain-drizzling mountainside.
The Holy Emperor had unleashed hundreds of missiles at the monsters and escaped through a shattered space before they could even detonate.
Is this okay like this? Don't we need to confirm what happened to them?
[The result is fixed the moment they hit. They won't even have forms left by now. We just need to leave this place.]
Confirming Seongjin's bewildered face, the Holy Emperor said that. Then he set Seongjin down on the ground with a flick and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
[By the way, I once said I would look at your sword someday.]
After the Heresy Tribunal ended up like that, the Holy Emperor had told him to bring his sword during an audience.
The problem was that afterward, with Incarnation Festival preparations and monster task force duties, both he and the Holy Emperor had been too busy for an opportunity.
The Holy Emperor drew Silver Thorn from his waist and slowly aimed it forward, continuing.
[This will be a good chance as well. Engrave this trajectory well in your mind.]
The blade of the salmon... no, Silver Thorn in his hand became enveloped in light, and beams of light began extending straight forward from it.
[The simplest path is always the best. However, it is not the same path for everyone.]
The glowing white aura blade extended to about the length of a nutcracker. Yet strangely, Seongjin felt as if its tip stretched endlessly, beyond sight.
That was no wonder.
The moment he thought it, in the space it reached, if this sword aimed at the world's end, it was already touching that boundary.
[You will eventually reach here on your own. So experiencing it once in advance isn't so bad.]
And then.
Without any prelude.
Not even the sound of something breaking.
The world before his eyes split in half in an instant.