Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Towards the God!
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Grip!
"What do you think you're doing?"
Reneah's hand clamped down on his shoulder.
Her expression was utterly different from before.
No trace of playfulness—only cold resolve.
"It's dangerous."
"I know."
But stopping here meant it was all over.
The thunder echoing from the heavens wasn't some mere natural phenomenon.
It was the will of a god protecting Baek Yeonhwa.
The flagship of the Azure Dragon, intent on saving the girl like a daughter.
"You plan to kill her?"
"That would cause real trouble."
The Azure Dragon was protecting Baek Yeonhwa right now. Killing her in this situation would unleash utter chaos.
"What we need is to snap Baek Yeonhwa back to her senses."
Rumble—!
Boom—!
Thunder crashed like something out of a movie.
The frequency of lightning strikes hitting Seoul was increasing.
Yoo Ye-na was holding it back.
But even she was nearing her limit.
"We don't have much time."
The sky could collapse at any moment.
Reneah slowly looked up at the heavens.
The dark clouds swirled in a vortex—it wouldn't be surprising if the Azure Dragon burst forth right then.
"It's not that we don't have much time."
A short sigh.
"We have none at all."
Turning her back, she slowly drew her bow.
"It'll come down soon."
Her voice calm, Reneah lightly patted his shoulder as if in greeting.
"An old one like me has just one job: lay the groundwork so you young folks can shine."
"Reneah—"
"Don't worry. I'll buy you enough time to bring that girl back to her senses."
A faint maple scent wafted from her.
Golden motes gathered around her, taking the shape of autumn leaves.
Let's briefly recall the history of the 4th Floor, Rajesta Continent.
Unlike the Old Martial World on the 5th Floor, the 4th Floor had no beings called gods.
Or more precisely, there were none now.
If you look into Rajesta Continent's history, gods did exist in the distant past.
They lorded over all races, proclaiming themselves kings above kings.
And the tyranny of these arrogant gods grew worse by the day.
In the end, every race united against the gods.
After a war that drenched the entire continent in blood, they finally drove the gods out.
This was called the War of Liberation.
On Rajesta Continent,
1,500 years ago.
"To think that in my lifetime, I'd once again—"
Golden maple leaves converged in her palm.
The light layered and compressed—
Ultimately forming the shape of the arrow that had toppled myths.
"—aim my bow at one of those so-called gods."
She drew the bowstring.
The single golden arrow, loosed after such elaborate preparation, flew in utter silence.
If you hadn't been watching, you wouldn't have even realized it had been fired.
The golden line advanced.
It stretched forth, and forth again—
Without tearing the air, without gaining speed.
In the end, it pierced beyond the eye of the storm.
Rawr—!
The god's roar shook the ground, twisting the sky.
The relentless thunder paused for a moment, plunging everything into an unbelievable silence.
"That thing's voice is really..."
Her tone was nonchalant, but her face was pale.
Her trembling hands were stark proof of the strain she'd endured.
Kim Yang rushed over and caught Reneah as she nearly collapsed.
"A-Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
She caught her breath and smiled.
"Back in the day, I'd fire these off whenever I got bored."
Grumbling like that, Reneah turned to him.
"Go on. Make it happen."
"......Couldn't you have just shot that at Baek Yeonhwa?"
When he asked honestly, Reneah stared at him before snorting loudly.
"Are all you kids these days like this?! No, isn't this supposed to be a touching moment?"
"P-President."
"No, I was going to approach her, but her aura was so intense that I just..."
As he scratched his cheek, Reneah started to say more but ended up chuckling and relaxing.
"Well, that works too. Though it would've been hard to find a scrap of flesh left on that woman."
She spoke as if her arrow packed the punch of a bomb.
But it wasn't bravado—you could tell just by looking at the sky.
The Azure Dragon's cries had quieted once.
Proof that her arrow had struck true.
"Hah, must be 'cause it's been so long. My hands are shaking like crazy."
He focused back on Baek Yeonhwa inside the ruined building.
This wasn't like some nobody like Geum Tae-min.
A top-ten martial world expert in full rampage.
Before entering, he glanced at the two women and struck a casual pose.
"Once this is over, let's grab some beef."
"Y-Yeah!"
"You're paying?"
"No."
Why would I?
"Baek Yeonhwa should foot the bill."
His vision blurred.
Baek Yeonhwa's face, at least thirty meters away moments ago, was suddenly right in front of him.
"Hup—!"
Momentary acceleration.
He forcibly erased the concept of distance.
Don't call it cowardly.
First, you have to win.
"......!"
Bam—!
His swung fist clearly connected with Baek Yeonhwa.
But she merely tilted her head back—no real impact.
On the contrary, he vividly felt her rock-hard skin against his knuckles, and dread of defeat gripped him tightly.
The one who struck sensing defeat first.
How unfair could this get?
"Rawr—!"
A shrill ring pierced his ears.
The massive sound hit him head-on, shattering his balance.
In moments like this, you don't think—you follow instinct.
His outstretched hand grabbed her horn.
He gripped both horns tight, lifted his body, and raised his knee.
Knee strike.
Crack!
Baek Yeonhwa took it again.
Now, clear hostility burned in her eyes.
She abandoned chasing him away and switched to outright offense.
He'd expected a brutal slugfest, given how beast-like she was acting without self-awareness.
But what she unleashed was a profoundly serene and beautiful fist technique.
The moment her heel strike hit his gut, something surged up from inside as his body flew.
Bam!
He slammed into the crumbling wall of the abandoned building.
A shock like his body was splitting apart.
No time to vomit up what churned in his gut.
Baek Yeonhwa spread her wings and dove, whipping her tail down.
Boom—!
He barely rolled aside, but the spot her tail struck pulverized into dust—no trace left—and a tail-shaped crater formed in the ground.
I'm really gonna die here.
Couldn't get a hunter license, so I started a marriage agency.
Why did it feel more dangerous lately?
"Hey, Baek Yeonhwa!"
He called out desperately, but she just swung her tail again.
No room for talk or compromise.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
He dodged the whip-like tail lashes.
Reading the trajectory was simple, so evasion was easy. But just dodging changed nothing.
And she wasn't some amateur warrior who'd lived idly.
Boom—!
Her tail smashed down ferociously.
As the cement wall shattered and smoke billowed—
Baek Yeonhwa emerged from the smoke, wings spread.
She'd hidden herself deliberately in the smoke for a speed-boosted ambush.
A rigidly poised straight punch.
Small fist, but with enough power to burst a human body.
That fist grazed past him.
His clothes tore where it brushed, but he'd swung back in response.
Perfect counterpunch.
Reading intent is basic, his father always said.
"Grr—!"
This time, it clearly landed—Baek Yeonhwa staggered back.
"Coming to your senses yet?!"
"Rawr!"
"Ah, shit!"
The back-and-forth continued relentlessly. Baek Yeonhwa was undoubtedly a martial world elite.
But the alien wings and tail sprouting from her shattered the yin-yang balance she'd honed her entire life—
While he, conversely, felt his stiffened body recalling old memories one by one.
He struck her side with the ambush style Ryu Seram had called bullshit.
He pressed maximum acceleration against her like he'd planned for Yoo Ye-na's telekinesis.
Ambush.
Follow-up.
Exploit.
Her ironclad body began to crumble.
Before long, she shifted from offense to defense.
Wings folded, tail wrapped tight.
She seemed to be recovering stamina.
Rumble—! Boom—!
The sky roared again.
The Azure Dragon's lightning had slowed.
Now was the time to end it for real.
"Hah, hah... Hey, Baek Yeonhwa."
"Grr..."
A growl-like breath.
Golden eyes glared from the shadow of her wings.
"Let's be honest here."
This should be enough.
"You've come back to your senses, haven't you?"
"Grrr..."
"Scared? Blaming yourself for things going this far? So you're hiding behind that beast act?"
He shook out his aching fists.
He'd thought the drool at his mouth was saliva, but wiping it revealed blood.
"Ptoo! Think of this as a secret confession—be straight with me. It's just us here anyway."
But Baek Yeonhwa showed no reaction. She panted warily like a dragon truly lost to instinct.
"Fine. Confessions go both ways. I'll go first, then you next."
He shrugged and assumed stance.
"Truth is—"
He had to time it perfectly.
Like a sharp spear.
Pierce her dragon wings and reach her.
It felt like he'd become the hero from some cliché fantasy tale. Rescuing a woman from a dragon? The trope was caked in dust.
"I'm—"
So he laughed.
Not because the fight was fun.
"Not from the 3rd Floor."
"......!"
Her eyes flickered.
"Got you."
The split-second opening from his confession.
With all his strength in both hands, he forced her wings open—
And poured everything into it.
Fist extended.