Creation Talent 56: Stand Against the Void
Kim Jihun stared at the scene unfolding before him. A massive darkness was creeping closer. It tore through the barrier over the arena, advancing relentlessly—the universe's natural predator, the Void. The gods' archenemy, the foe of this world.
"Hoo..."
Kim Jihun took a deep breath and raised his sword straight. The Void possessed terrifying properties. A power that reduced all existence to nothingness. Whether matter, time, space, or even concepts—any form whatsoever was reverted to utter nothingness. A horrifying force that erased everything.
But Kim Jihun was a prospective Creator God with the Creation Talent. He suddenly recalled the lecture on the Void.
-The Void's natural enemy is creation itself.
-As the Void reduces matter to nothingness, we gods drive it back through creation and management.
-This is our divine mission: to sustain the universe's lifespan.
-Someday, the universe will perish. But we must fight on—until the last flicker of Creation Force remains.
-That is the guidance of the Great Law.
The words from class came back to him. The Void truly erased everything. No matter how mighty the divine power, it dissolved into nothingness; even the most sacred gods were utterly annihilated if swallowed by it.
Yet Kim Jihun wielded the power of creation.
-Wuuung...
Creation Force began gathering at his fingertips. He intended to shield Leila from this Void.
Of course, he couldn't hold it off forever. He was an excellent low-level god at handling Creation Force, but still just a low-level god. Without a true Creator God arriving, Kim Jihun would be devoured by the Void and cease to exist.
But he had something to believe in.
'The school will send help.'
The instructors at the prestigious Allei School were exceptional. They all held mid-rank or higher status, with a rare few even at high-rank. Would they ignore a threat like this during a promotion match? They would surely rush to the rescue.
So.
'Hold out as long as possible.'
He planned to endure until they arrived.
Jihun enveloped his sword in Creation Force. It began glowing with a brilliant golden light.
Leila watched his back.
'Kim Jihun?'
She had attacked him, after all. She'd thrown endless tantrums at him before. So why was he so devoted to her now? He could have captured her during the promotion match but hadn't. And now, facing annihilation by the Void, he'd appeared out of nowhere to protect her.
'Why?'
In that moment, Leila felt a swirl of emotions toward Kim Jihun: regret, guilt, gratitude, and... something indefinable. Her mind churned with complicated thoughts about him. She clenched her fists tight, staring at his back.
-Pzzt!
Kim Jihun unleashed a barrage of golden sword beams.
"Urgh!"
He groaned. He was locked in a desperate struggle against the Void itself—a grueling, exhausting battle. The sword beams infused with Creation Force obliterated chunks of the Void, only for the beams themselves to vanish afterward. He struck dozens, hundreds of times, but the encroaching Void slowly gnawed away at their territory.
"Damn it!"
Rarely one to curse, Jihun sheathed his sword. Then he summoned Creation Force to erect a barrier around himself and Leila—a luxurious wall of golden energy.
As the Creation Force wall formed around them, the Void slammed into it. Jihun panted heavily and said to Leila,
"Right now, my Creation Force is holding back the Void. But it won't last long. Let's hope the instructors come to save us in the meantime."
Each impact from the Void shaved off massive chunks of Jihun's Creation Force. His reserves were immense for a low-level god, but still, he was only a low-level god. He couldn't hold out forever. The instructors had to arrive before then.
Leila was stunned. Not by the sheer amount of his Creation Force for a low-level god, but by the fact that he hadn't abandoned her.
Her voice cracked with half-sobs as she cried out,
"Why are you protecting me?! You could escape alone and live! Run away! Get out of here! Don't sacrifice yourself for me!"
She half-whimpered, half-shouted at him. But Jihun's demeanor remained steady. He didn't respond to Leila. He simply turned his head to watch the Creation Force wall.
Kim Jihun thought to himself,
'If I ran now, I could survive.'
Alone, escape would be easy. He had an artifact of swift speed; using it would let him slip away from the Void's waves without issue.
But he couldn't.
'I'd spend the rest of my life haunted by guilt.'
If he'd shattered her defensive field earlier, she would have returned safely to the school and avoided this peril. Paradoxically, by not defeating her, he'd put her in this danger. So he felt an indirect responsibility.
And beyond that.
'...Leaving the person right in front of me feels wrong.'
He wasn't the type to abandon others and flee danger. Kim Jihun was innocently pure-hearted—foolishly so—and deeply devoted.
Leila stared blankly at his back. His steadfast, reliable silhouette. Tears welled in her large eyes.
That was when it happened.
-Ho, so you're here?
Amid the surging dark Void, a woman's voice echoed. It was beautiful yet laced with a sinister undertone.
Kim Jihun tensed at the unidentified voice and reached for his sword hilt.
The voice continued.
-A mere low-level god holding out against the Void like this? Impressive.
As her voice rang out, the Void waves surrounding Kim Jihun and Leila vanished in an instant. Jihun looked around in shock. Nothing was left around them.
But from the empty space, the voice persisted.
-Found you at last. Kim Jihun.
-Crack!
Space split open, and a figure materialized from the void. It was a woman cloaked entirely in black—black hair, black eyes, black wings.
Leila screamed in terror upon seeing her.
"Ma-shin Clan!"
Ma-shin Clan.
At her frightened cry, Kim Jihun eyed the black woman. He couldn't help but be shocked by her unexpected appearance.
"Asrie!"
Indeed, the Ma-shin who appeared before Kim Jihun looked exactly like Asrie. The only differences were the black hair, eyes, and wings—otherwise, strikingly similar.
The Ma-shin, called Asrie, chuckled amusedly.
-Ahaha! I'm not Asrie, little one. Call me Alquinoa?
The Ma-shin revealed her name as Alquinoa.
Kim Jihun tensed at the Ma-shin resembling Asrie. If this was one of those legendary betrayers who wielded the Void, the situation was extremely dangerous.
Traitors to the gods, manipulators of the Void. The Ma-shin Clan.
Jihun summoned his dwindling Creation Force and wrapped it around his sword.
Alquinoa murmured,
-A low-level god already wielding Creation Force? Remarkable.
No wonder 'he' covets you.
Her eerie voice filled the space. Then, hundreds of forms began emerging around them—black-ether wolves, hundreds strong, encircling Kim Jihun and Leila.
Jihun gritted his teeth.
'Damn...'
Even at a glance, the black woman and wolves were no ordinary foes. Those black wolves were surely the infamous demonic beasts.
Jihun raised his sword again. Alquinoa's cold voice followed.
-The woman is unnecessary. Kill her.
Her command rippled through the Void waves. Several demonic beasts lunged toward Leila.
"Ah, uwaa...!!"
Leila stumbled back, her face a mask of terror and fear. The beasts charged at terrifying speed, aiming to rip out her slender throat.
But Kim Jihun was at her side.
-Boom!
He leaped and swung his Creation Force-infused sword at the oncoming beast. A massive impact rang out, flinging the beast back. Struck by Creation Force, the beast's body crumbled into nothingness.
Jihun had protected Leila.
Fuming with rage, Kim Jihun shouted,
"Take me down first, you damn bitch!"
His cry echoed faintly through the barrier on a thread of divine power. Alquinoa's expression darkened.
She growled lowly at him, seething quietly.
-...I was going to capture you unharmed if possible.
But first, I'll have to break that attitude.
At her murmur, dozens of demonic beasts moved in unison. They circled Kim Jihun and Leila slowly, biding their time.
Jihun gripped his sword, Gladius, tightly.
'Damn...'
The situation was dire. Dozens of beasts stalked them, waiting for an opening. They wouldn't last long.
But Jihun didn't give up.
-Boom!
Another beast leaped at his blind spot. He blocked it with desperate effort. Their assaults continued. He parried dozens of attacks with his sword, gradually tiring.
-Boom!
His openings multiplied. The beasts exploited them relentlessly. Kim Jihun could only defend.
Alquinoa smiled at him.
-Impressive, Kim Jihun. Truly impressive.
Wielding Creation Force as a low-level god, fending off demonic beasts.
Jihun ignored her words, raising his sword. But his Creation Force was depleting. Each block against the beasts or Void shaved off huge amounts.
He was on the verge of exhaustion.
"Hah... huff..."
Jihun gasped for breath. Anyone could see he was spent, pushed to his limit. Alquinoa laughed as she watched.
-This is the end, Kim Jihun.
You held out pretty well. Now, I'll make it easy.
As her words echoed, two beasts charged at Kim Jihun and Leila simultaneously.
Jihun swung his sword.
-Boom!
His strike hit the beast targeting Leila.
"Urgh!"
But the other beast clamped onto his throat, inflicting a mortal wound.
"Gah!"
Kim Jihun dropped his sword and collapsed. Black smoke rose from his neck alongside a trickle of blood—proof of Void corrosion.
He tried summoning Creation Force to resist the invading Void, but his reserves were empty. The Void began eroding him.
-Well, that's that.
Alquinoa approached with a relaxed laugh, as if it had all been a game. She summoned black ether, the Void's power.
-Come now. Join me and submit to the Void.
Her black hand reached for Jihun.
Jihun despaired.
'Is this it...?'
He closed his eyes. There was nothing left he could do. He prepared to accept his fate.
That was when.
-Flash!
There was light.
Next chapter around lunchtime~