Chapter 883
Chapter 883
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 883
Chapter Title: King of Monsters (4)
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1.
Location Point's Seoul branch chief, Teacher Sua, joined them much later than planned.
"It's been a long time since we last met, Lord Siu. I humbly apologize for the delay in my arrival due to pressing duties."
"You must be exhausted from the long trip."
Teacher Sua bowed her head with impeccable politeness.
They hadn't crossed paths much even back in the mortal realm, but at least on the surface, she hadn't changed a bit.
Her signature hanbok.
The refined air of a single lotus bloom, elegant without excess.
Her delicate eyebrows and rounded forehead, as if plucked straight from an Oriental beauty scroll.
Her use of "this girl" as a first-person pronoun.
And her distinctive speech straight out of a historical drama.
Not just the formal "opnida," but she sprinkled in casual "wayo" forms here and there—Siu still couldn't quite pin down the pattern.
In any case, Teacher Sua was one of the most old-fashioned witches Siu knew.
She had been a witch since his master was still an apprentice, which meant her actual age was extraordinarily advanced.
"First, allow me to show you to your quarters."
"I humbly accept your gracious offer."
After picking her up at immigration, Siu introduced her to the estate, and they fell into casual conversation.
Chatting across various topics reaffirmed what he already sensed: Teacher Sua was an incredibly formidable person to deal with.
Not in a picky sense, but more like she exuded the aura of a much wiser elder.
Every word from her soft, measured voice carried an air of reprimand, even laced with the utmost honorifics.
"How long do you plan to stay?"
"I've scheduled for about a fortnight."
"I've heard the mortal realm is quite chaotic these days... Are you sure it's alright?"
"When a longtime friend calls for aid, one must roll up their sleeves. Pray do not worry, Lord Siu. Besides..."
Teacher Sua paused for a moment and fixed him with a steady gaze.
"This girl has received many graces from Lord Siu, and I am deeply grateful for the chance to repay them, even if only in this small way."
"What have I even done to deserve that?"
"Nay. Lady Tiferet's condition improved remarkably after meeting you."
Siu had heard something similar before.
The timing of his first meeting with Eloa had been during her darkest hour.
Back then, his master resembled a sword honed to a razor's edge—dangerously fragile.
Capable of cleaving anything, yet liable to shatter at the slightest mishap.
Through their shared trials, he witnessed her smiles, her moments of joy.
Once they became lovers, their bond transcended mere master and disciple, evolving into a partnership for the future... though that was the gist of it.
"It was the first time Lady Tiferet has shone with such happiness since that incident."
"Ahem."
It stung a little.
The prickly part was, naturally, that Siu and Eloa didn't share a typical master-disciple relationship.
In witch society, such bonds were generally equated to parent and child.
Even his master had once viewed her bond with her temporary disciple Siu as a grave sin.
So how would Teacher Sua—someone far older, and seemingly far stricter about propriety—react to the truth?
Did she even know that Siu and Eloa were lovers?
"Hehe, worry not overly so. Though appearances may suggest otherwise, this girl is not so rigid a soul."
"...Guess my poker face is worse than I thought."
Yesterday's Soul Witch, and countless other instances before, proved it.
He'd chalked it up to his inexperience making his expressions readable, but at this rate, his acting chops were downright abysmal.
"One whose face belies their heart cannot be trusted. I have heard tell of your morning-cloud, evening-rain pure bond."
"Aha... I see."
Lots of unfamiliar phrasing, but luckily, it meant less explaining on his end.
Still, a new question arose.
Had his master mentioned his other romantic entanglements?
And if not, could he convince Teacher Sua—who seemed even stricter than his master—to understand?
He didn't strictly need her approval, but being branded a philanderer by his master's close confidante would sting.
"Um..."
"Given the delay, I wish to commence training at once. Are you prepared?"
He figured being upfront was best, but the moment slipped away.
By the time he gathered his thoughts, they had arrived at the expansive clearing by the lake.
"Yes, sounds good."
Teacher Sua had come to Gehenna at Eloa's behest to assist with Siu's training.
In light of the ominous prophecy, it was all about honing his skills to peak perfection.
Of course, she wasn't stronger than his master.
The hierarchy gap alone was two full ranks.
But as any gamer knew, a coach didn't need to outplay a pro to be effective—teaching was its own domain.
Even the Gwanghwamun branch witches and his master had learned from her, making Teacher Sua a true master instructor.
"What aspect of training did you have in mind?"
"Lady Tiferet mentioned it concerned battles against great monsters."
"Oh. Perfect."
His master had zeroed in on his weakness, as expected.
Indeed, he'd struggled badly against the Kraken while trapped in that aquarium.
Even without his maximum firepower, the Red Branch, the monster's sheer class and overwhelming mana reserves had rendered his attacks ineffective.
"I understand you've focused your training on great witch battles thus far?"
"That's right for now. But training for great monsters... Is that even possible?"
"Of course."
Branch Chief Sua smiled faintly and drew something from her sleeve.
From the billowing folds emerged a shamanic talisman: a straight branch of water elder trimmed neat, adorned with ragged paper fringes.
It resembled a duster at a glance, but the bell dangling from the tip infused it with a profound ritual air.
"Yes, ma'am."
She swung what appeared to be a ritual implement, and with the chime of bells, thick mist enveloped the surroundings.
Previously, Siu and Eloa had handled the drainage tunnel while Sua managed the outer barrier, so he'd never witnessed her power firsthand.
Yet the witch dubbed Korea's guardian deity wielded mana as pure and profound as her reputation suggested.
Somewhere around the 21st or 22nd hierarchy, by his estimate.
The otherworldly barrier unfurled, transforming the landscape.
Like Dorothy's manifested chapel, it was a barrier imposed through symbolic conjuration upon the mortal plane.
The hazy trees sharpened into lush green pines encircling the clearing, while strips of white cloth linked them in a continuous ring.
True to its aesthetic, the magic brimmed with Eastern flair.
"Understood."
"Open the gate of the Southern Palace."
⟨ Summoning Rite ⟩
With the incantation repeated, a colossal wooden door erupted from the clearing's center.
Plastered with yellow talismans inscribed "Kyungmun" and bound in heavy chains, the gate swung wide to reveal the familiar slowly emerging from within.
-Hwooooo...
Talons sharp as a raptor’s, antlers of a stag, mane of a lion.
A massive maw fringed with long whiskers clutched a yeou orb, its body sheathed head to tail in crimson scales.
A palpable divinity radiated from it, as if gathering seven star jewels would grant any wish.
Siu had wondered at the barrier's vast scale, but one glance at the familiar's size made it obvious.
Like Rakenraken, it was less a living creature and more a force of nature akin to terrain itself.
The chains coiled around its form were as thick as a large bus.
Each breath whipped up gales, each twist of its body threatened to flood rivers—a monument to majesty.
"Uh... I have to fight that?"
"Indeed."
"Will it be alright?"
Siu had subjugated Lurye's cherished foreign minister Rakenraken without issue.
If he accidentally damaged Teacher Sua's familiar while she was here to help with training, he'd feel terrible.
"No cause for concern. 'Tis but an illusion manifesting the divine beast's image."
"Feels awfully real for an illusion. Alright, got it."
Black armor enveloped his form as he gripped his spear at the ready.
Ribbon fringes trailed from the armor's waist like tassels, while a halo ring hovered above his head, primed for activation.
This battle form had become second nature, ossified into instinct.
His expanded senses—forward, back, left, right—drank in the surroundings with dozens of times normal acuity.
The current Siu could bisect a hail of machine-gun fire blindfolded, down to the last bullet.
"Pierce."
Reviewing his aquarium clash with the Kraken had highlighted the shortcomings.
No Red Branch for max output, no Dorothy's halo.
He'd always wondered: if facing that class and regeneration now, could he inflict truly lethal damage?
For the moment, the crimson eyes merely regarded Siu placidly, devoid of hostility.
The perfect sandbag to unleash everything on.
"Huuuuup..."
He drew a deep breath.
Amplifying mana, then amplifying the amplified mana—Siu's signature repeated amplification.
Channeling it through the halo for third- and fourth-stage boosts.
All battle experience coalesced within.
His old ultimate move had been a power-lanced javelin, gathering force to a single point.
But that was a stopgap born of the distortion field's long-term burden.
With his Red Branch mastery improved, a new paradigm emerged.
"Hah!"
With a shout, his feet gouged the firm earth.
The Red Spear, infused with colossal mana, screamed as distortion fields spewed from it.
Blending those fields with reverse barriers formed curved planes that dispersed the strain from his spirit body, funneling raw power to the center.
One-shotting a lifeform of that mass was impossible.
Moreover, Siu still couldn't concentrate power to a pinpoint like Eloa.
The notion of instant victory was a mere shackle, a delusion holding him back.
What he needed was three thrusts.
The first to carve a path.
The second to breach defenses.
The third to claim its life.
Like Lurye's cascading waves.
An ultimate chain attack, each link summoning greater force.
"Wa-wait...!"
Teacher Sua's brief fluster at the mana output surge was just that—brief.
In perfect sync, the red spear tip lunged three times, reshaping the terrain in a blaze of crimson ruin.