The Power of Sun Wukong (2)
The battle had finally reached its climax. The horde of yokai had visibly dwindled after the Mirror of Division was destroyed, forcing their leader to step forward himself.
One Strike
“Kyahaha! Over here, you monster!”
The monkey yokai, Son, darted around with surprising speed for his size, constantly shifting positions to confuse his opponent’s vision.
—Truly like a monkey.
Cheonma tracked every single one of Son’s movements without missing a beat, preparing for the next strike. When the creature suddenly charged in from the right with a punch, Cheonma simply deflected it.
Thud.
“Kugh!”
—All flash and no substance. You should read your opponent first. That kind of reckless attack only works against enemies who can’t keep up with your movements. Against me, who hasn’t missed a single motion, it’s a terrible choice.
Thud.
“Kuak!”
Cheonma moved first to the spot where Son would land, then launched a powerful upward kick that sent him flying back into the air. The monstrous strength behind that slender frame smashed into Son and extended his hang time.
“Strike down.”
Crackle—
A floating target was as good as a sitting duck. Especially when it came to Cheonma’s lightning, which excelled in both speed and power. Just as expected, the bolt of lightning streaked down and struck Son dead on.
Two Strikes
“Three Strikes!”
Boom.
It was nothing more than a simple punch. There was no refined technique or deeper principle behind it.
“Even a half-baked Karma user is still a Karma user, I suppose.”
But that fist carried Karma within it. A crude, reckless attack that relied solely on raw Karma power. How embarrassing. How pathetic. And this was the one leading the yokai?
—A fool who has no right to wield such power.
Cheonma’s eyes sharpened like blades as she pierced through Son with her gaze. The Karma he possessed, the brute strength of his body, even the ability to twist space and reduce an attack’s power—none of it truly belonged to him.
—All you have is an oversized ego that doesn’t fit your vessel.
“Kyahaha! Three Strikes!”
Ignoring Cheonma’s words, Son threw another punch. The first strike halted the lightning, the second pierced through it, and the third would shatter Cheonma. But at the most critical moment—the third strike—an anomaly occurred.
Grab.
The enemy who should have been pierced had casually caught his fist instead.
—You waste far too much on your punches. Without proper technique, even hammering with Karma is easily blocked like this.
“Monkey Smash!”
The more Cheonma watched Son’s attacks, the lower her expectations plummeted.
—It’s no different from a strong child throwing a tantrum.
“Monkey Strike!”
—Just what criteria does Sun Wukong use to administer these trials? This question refuses to leave my mind. Perhaps he simply granted special qualifications because the creature is also a monkey yokai.
Thinking that, Cheonma turned her gaze to observe the battle beside her.
“Kyahaha! You’re too busy running away!”
“All that brute strength and nothing else!”
Unlike her own fight, that side was fiercely contested. It made sense—Hoya was clearly weaker than Son in terms of raw power. Yet she deftly dodged each threatening blow and never missed an opening to counterattack.
“…I really didn’t want to use this for real.”
“Is that a matchstick?! It just tickles!”
“Little foxes, it’s time to dye the darkness red.”
At Hoya’s gesture, massive fire foxes began to manifest around them.
“Grrrrr.”
“Grrrrr.”
“Graaawr!”
Cheonma smiled faintly as she observed the foxes, which had grown far larger and more powerful than she remembered. Even their tails had increased in number.
Not bad. The little one has grown after all.
“This feeling! It’s the power of our ancestor’s avatar!”
“That’s why I keep asking why you call him your ancestor.”
“He is the king and father of all monkey yokai! As his descendant, I am naturally both his subject and his offspring!”
Even as he spoke, Son casually swatted away the fox that had sunk its teeth into his arm. The bite left behind a faint burn mark and a slight sting.
“As expected of his power! It can actually harm me! But it’s still not enough! To think you can only use the Great Sage’s power to this pathetic degree!”
…What do you think of that statement?
“My other self is right!”
—A pair of idiots.
Who was he to talk about someone being unable to use power properly? The one recklessly flaunting borrowed strength had no right to say such things.
“Then I’ll fight seriously too!”
Crackle. Crackle—
Oh?
“Haaaaah!”
Cheonma’s interest was piqued by the way Son’s body began to glow. Karma was being absorbed throughout his entire form, causing his physique to grow.
So this is how one can wield another’s Karma. It’s not simple physical reinforcement. The Karma is recalling its true owner and reshaping the body to match. In other words, it’s transforming him into Sun Wukong’s body.
“Kuhuhuhu!”
Of course, it’s far from perfect.
Though he had become dozens of times stronger than before, it was still incomplete. The proof was the patches across his body that lacked the golden fur.
“My current body is nearly identical to our ancestor’s!”
Certainly different from before.
Booom!
“Guh!”
But you still can’t fully accept the power. Similar, but not perfect. And even if it were, there’s no way I would lose to someone who can’t control that strength.
Though his body had grown stronger, his internals remained unchanged. Cheonma switched from fists to palm strikes, delivering direct internal damage as she spoke.
Looks like the other side is reaching its climax too.
Where Cheonma’s gaze had shifted, Hoya was preparing the same technique she had used when they first met.
"Hundred Demons Night Parade"
⟨ Baekgwi Yaeng ⟩
—Oh, it’s definitely improved from before. The control over Karma has become far more precise. The variety of yokai summoned has increased, and their ferocity has grown as well.
“What the…?”
Son stood there with his mouth agape, too stunned by Hoya’s Hundred Demons Night Parade to even think about attacking. Cheonma kept her eyes fixed on Hoya as she spoke.
Watch closely. That is the true power of a Karma user. A genuine one, unlike your half-baked imitation.
The words seemed to strike a chord in Son’s chest. He shot a glare at Cheonma, who wasn’t even paying attention to him, then charged toward his other self who was fighting Hoya.
“W-what is this?!”
“Other me! At this rate we’re going to lose! It’s a shame, but we have no choice but to use that!”
“Then I’ll do it! You’ve already transformed, so you don’t have any strength left, right?!”
“That’s right. I’m counting on you!”
While still engaged with Hoya, the other Son who had been in a daze rushed over. The first Son reached out his hand.
“Aren’t you going to stop them?”
—You’re watching just as intently, aren’t you?
Both Cheonma and Hoya simply observed the two yokai.
“Even if I wanted to hit them, I can’t. My Ghostly Qi is refusing to respond to that power right now…”
—Oh? Now that’s interesting.
“Then why are you just standing there?”
I have something I need to confirm. That’s why I’m watching so quietly. Of course, I’m not simply here to admire raw power.
The real reason Hoya remained still was to carefully observe how the Karma moved to support its user. Sun Wukong’s Karma. And how another being could wield it, how the Karma remained docile instead of running wild, and how it lent its power to someone else.
If this works out, I might be able to pass it on to Zeon as well.
Yes. If she could just learn this method, it might be possible to transfer her own Karma. And if her current hypothesis was correct…
…No, that might be getting too far ahead. For now, it’s best to focus on the problem right in front of us.
The aura had grown even stronger than before. Cheonma’s eyes grew more serious as well. No matter how much of a reckless fool he was, if that power could hurl mountains, part seas, and eventually even tear space apart?
Well, it’s not quite at that level yet.
Still, it might be capable of splitting mountains.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Hm?
“N-no way. Why is that in his hands…?”
Hoya trembled as if she had seen something terrifying, biting her nails. Cheonma, startled by the sudden change, placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her and asked.
What’s gotten into you?
“That can’t be. I’m sure it was there when I went in? Was there another yokai who took the trial after me? But I never heard anything about…”
Get a hold of yourself.
Tap.
“Ouch!”
The familiar pain on her forehead snapped her back to her senses. Hoya wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes and shouted.
“Why did you hit me?!”
Because you were about to lose your mind.
“I-I wasn’t losing my mind!”
Even as she protested, Hoya seemed to realize her earlier state hadn’t been normal. She quietly expressed her gratitude in a small voice.
“Thank you.”
It’s nothing. Now explain why you reacted like that.
Gulp.
Hoya swallowed dryly as she stared at Son—or more precisely, at the long staff held in his hand. At first, the unique aura combined with old memories had sent her into a brief panic. But now that she had regained her composure, she could see the differences from her own memories.
“The reason I showed such an embarrassing side earlier is because of that weapon. I don’t know how he manifested it, but upon closer inspection, it’s not the original. It’s a replica…”
So? What is that weapon?
Gulp.
“That weapon is the Ruyi Jingu Bang. It is the pillar of the Dragon Palace and the weapon used by the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.”