The Madman's Ambush
At the root of all technique: “Greetings! Heroes who protect the nation! Please remain only in my memory, just as my family once did!”
An earthquake struck, followed by the crushing pressure and inertia of a rocket launch. The wall split open and Lee Han appeared—or rather, the opposite. They had been brought before Lee Han. The moment his personal grudge and the spells unfurling from his palms registered, every Awakened’s instincts screamed in alarm.
「Urgent Decree」
Yet the suddenness of the situation left them unable to move, and more importantly, at least four spells had already manifested—each of considerable scale. The first to react was, as always, Yu-seong.
-Shraaak!
A sword strike infused with qi slashed diagonally, severing one spell, but the remaining three flared and detonated.
「Crimson Butterflies」
「Will-o’-the-Wisp」
「Afterburn」
Purple-red butterflies scattered through the air. A blazing ghost swung its fists while a wall of fire trapped the Awakened inside.
-Kwaaaang!
A tremendous explosion erupted, hurling Yu-seong away.
“Everyone!” Yu-seong shouted toward the raging flames.
But the very next instant, spears of ice and blades of wind rained down on Lee Han.
“One more and we could have broken through! You exceeded my expectations!”
「Urgent Decree」
「Frostflower Net」
“Smiling in this situation? You’re completely insane!”
-Clang!
An Awakened cloaked in frost swung a sword at Lee Han to break through the flames, only to be sent flying by a kick from the sorcerer whose limbs were wrapped in talismans.
“Tsk!”
The veteran Awakened, forced backward, clicked his tongue sharply at the sight of the shikigami lining the walls with guns leveled at him. He poured every ounce of protective qi into his defense. Contrary to his expectations of a bullet storm, however, Yu-seong tore through the shikigami ranks and threw their formation into chaos.
“Good work! Just hold them until the ranged fighters recover!”
Following the veteran’s words, the rest of the team emerged one by one from the wall of fire and faced Lee Han.
“Hey! Even if you’re stronger than any of us individually, you can’t handle this many! Choose—die fighting or rot in prison!”
“Heh heh heh… So we’ve come this far.”
No one present failed to understand that it was already far too late for such choices.
“I propose the opposite. If you agree not to interfere, I will guarantee your survival. Of course,” Lee Han added with a mad smile, “while preserving your consciousness, that is!”
The moment his words ended, they became a battle cry. Lee Han’s hand ignited in crimson flame—not aimed at the Awakened directly in front of him, but at the shield-bearing Awakened to his left.
“One down first.”
「Dragon Claw」
The crimson flames stretching from Lee Han’s hand lengthened like a dagger. The paladin Awakened recognized the threat and raised his holy shield, yet—
-Thud!
The dragon’s talons, formed of sinister fire, pierced straight through the sacred shield and into the man’s chest. The flames did not stop there. A small explosion centered on his torso caused the paladin’s body to swell like a balloon before collapsing inward. There was no need to check; he was dead.
“Myungho—!”
A rogue Awakened screamed his comrade’s name and charged in blind fury. The veteran Awakened refused to stand idle either. In fact, every single one of them rushed forward, willing to endure the hail of bullets and internal injuries.
“Even if the quantity of inner energy is similar, the quality differs vastly! Moreover, holy power without a true object of faith is nothing but an empty shell. Now then, everyone—if you wish to become as strong as I am, you must harbor a great purpose!”
Lee Han shouted kindly while parrying and counterattacking the Awakened’s assaults.
“Not interested, you bastard!”
“Anger! It is certainly excellent fuel, but a great purpose is required! You must dream beyond mere emotion!!!”
Lee Han roared like a madman while fending off and striking back against more than ten Awakened. Though wounded and exhausted by their attacks, he never ceased advancing his own agenda. He was, without exaggeration, the very image of a lunatic.
“Are you all right?”
At that moment the flames subsided. Yu-seong approached the group still gathered in place.
“We’re—cough!”
The sorcerer spoke with difficulty before coughing up blood. In exchange for blocking the sudden ambush, they had all suffered significant internal injuries. The sorcerer, however, had borne the greatest share.
“I’m sorry, but we must reach the center of this Secret Realm immediately.”
“That’s—! This person can’t move anymore.”
Pigeon 4 and Yu-seong clashed. Anyone could see the sorcerer needed intensive care in a hospital bed, not movement.
“No! I must move. After seeing that man, I understand now. This Secret Realm itself is empowering him.”
If the sorcerer’s words were true, it explained how Lee Han—despite being a sorcerer—could fight on equal or superior terms with close-combat Awakened.
“Yu-seong, you must take this person and head for the center of the Secret Realm. Cover us!”
‘Leave it to—!’
In that instant, Yu-seong’s sixth sense was seized by an icy dread. He spun around.
‘Ah.’
Lee Han’s eyes met Yu-seong’s. The gaze of a predator that had found its prey, and the prey that had sensed the predator.
In the next moment Lee Han’s body shot forward like an arrow, targeting the sorcerer, Yu-seong, and the Awakened with weaker defenses.
His instincts warned him. Tempered by a month of being struck by a superior opponent, Yu-seong’s body understood exactly what those instincts were saying.
‘Master comes to mind.’
A scene flashed through his thoughts.
“Master, at this point you might as well let me hit you on purpose.”
“If I let you hit me, the lesson won’t stick. Here’s a tip… If you think the enemy will handle your feint, you need to use a trick.”
“A trick?”
“Yes. In close combat, speed matters, but landing the first hit matters most. No matter how fast you are, if you don’t connect, it’s meaningless. Conversely, even if you’re a beat slower, if you land it, you win.”
Yu-seong had been surprised that his master would teach underhanded methods.
“There’s something my former instructor used to say. The perfect form is called ‘FM.’”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s military slang… The point is that even the perfect trick is still a technique. No—rather, techniques were born from tricks. Suppressing the opponent through efficient means instead of a head-on clash.”
So go ahead and turn your own tricks into techniques.
-Thud!
Yu-seong drew a deep breath and stomped the ground to settle into his stance. It bore no resemblance to any swordsmanship posture. His left arm was bent and thrust forward while his right arm was drawn straight back. Then, using his waist as an axis, he rotated his upper body, coiling his left arm inward as his right arm joined the motion. It looked exactly like the motion of throwing a ball.
‘A throw?’
「Dragon Claw」
Lee Han confidently unleashed his technique. After all, an assassin’s hidden technique from a non-archer Awakened would be nothing more than an insect before this Dragon Claw.
Yet as the stance completed, the hand Yu-seong revealed held nothing at all.
‘Invisible?’
Seeing the flow of qi rippling from Yu-seong’s hand, Lee Han made that judgment. But when he noticed the qi stretching far into the distance, his gaze followed it to its end—where a sword was arcing through the air toward him.
‘Qi thread? From the side.’
Yu-seong had manifested his inner energy as a single thread connected to the sword’s hilt, using wind qi to compensate for the distance before swinging with full force.
‘Just cut the thread.’
Lee Han envisioned the fragile qi thread—incapable of defying the principle of wood generating fire—being consumed by Dragon Claw, leaving the sword useless.
But Lee Han had forgotten the most fundamental element while lost in imagination. Wind, like fire, was endlessly light, yet unlike fire it was softer and heavier.
The sword that had been flying toward Lee Han suddenly lengthened. At this rate the length difference meant it would miss entirely if left alone. Yet that was not the only anomaly.
‘What is that?’
A mass of qi had formed in his eight o’clock direction—roughly the distance between the overextended sword and Lee Han himself. The sword had already passed that point.
Lee Han relaxed, focusing solely on his attack—
-Thud!
“Kuhk!”
A burning pain exploded in his back, shattering his posture and causing Dragon Claw to fizzle out.
‘A sword? But—’
Swallowing the pain, Lee Han scanned the situation to understand how a sword had embedded itself in his back. His eyes caught the mass of qi entangled with the thread.
‘It caught on that and came around!’
It was a disaster. He had been too greedy and paid the price with injury, yet recovery was still possible.
“Haha! I was too greedy. At this point… hmm?”
Lee Han attempted to alter the Secret Realm’s terrain and form a hand seal for healing, but for some reason the realm’s response had slowed. If he bought time he could still move, but—
「Ice Bolt」
The Awakened gave him no such opening. Lee Han dodged in panic.
“Nice work, you rascal! Leave the rest to us and go do what you have to do!”
“Yu-seong, here’s your sword.”
“Thank you! Everyone—good luck!”
Pigeon 4 hoisted the sorcerer onto his back. Yu-seong shouldered the door open with a body slam and charged through.