8th Iteration (2)
8th Iteration (2)
- Beeeeeeeeep—
The ringing filled my head. I grimaced. Even for me, a body fried by Heavenly Thunder wasn't something you could just shake off.
'...really freaking fast.'
The Clear Lightning Flash unleashed by the 8th Iteration. An expansion ability combining the Divine Bow and Heavenly Thunder, it was the 8th Iteration's signature killing technique.
It was fast. I'd felt that speed before, from the arrows and the Heavenly Thunder, but Clear Lightning Flash was on a whole other level.
There was no discernible gap between the shot and the impact. Even with the Observation Authority, it was hard to track.
'And the power...'
I had countered it. I knew the data in advance, and the tell was blatant.
I maximized my defense and even tried to deflect it... no, I failed to deflect it. The Sure Hit property forced Clear Lightning Flash to slam into me regardless.
And the result was this mess. My whole body was scorched black, like a dead tree struck by lightning. Plunging toward the ground, I forced up my vitality energy.
- Ssssss...!
My body, overflowing with vitality, began regenerating instantly. That was the effect of Taesan.
'Homogenization, Recovery Melody, Body Regeneration.'
I layered on other recovery and regeneration effects. The overlapping waves of healing washed over me. My damaged body rapidly knitted back together.
The remnants of Heavenly Thunder in my system spasmed, trying to disrupt the healing. Not a problem. I suppressed its movement with Dominance, dissolved it into my mana, and absorbed it.
- CRACKLE-BOOM!
'Of course he wouldn't just wait.'
A thick bolt of lightning latched onto me.
Its output was monstrous. Obviously, a direct hit would cost me dearly. With my now-restored hands, I swung the Beacon Fire Sword and the Black Iron sword.
'Myriad Transformations.'
Grain-Rain Seasonal Boundary - Swift White-Wing Severance
Midsummer Seasonal Boundary - Setting Sun Blue Axe Severance
A white flash and a red flash overlapped. The Heavenly Thunder was cut cleanly and scattered.
In that gap, I crashed to the ground, discarded the crumbling Black Iron sword, and seized the earth.
'Taesan.'
KUGUNG! The heaving ground surged up and wrapped around me in a sphere. I layered and hardened the earth several times over and packed dense defensive magic between every layer.
Heavenly Thunder Expansion Ability
Blue Sky Thunderbolt
KWA-RUUUNG! Dozens, hundreds of bolts similar to the one before came crashing down without pause.
Amid the lightning, arrows tipped with flashes of light pierced through. The arrows exploited the gaps and exploded. KWAGANG! The defenses hardened with Taesan trembled violently.
I clicked my tongue.
'He fights like an absolute bastard.'
The sky was a deluge of Heavenly Thunder. I tracked the 8th Iteration, his position updating frantically within my perception.
The 8th Iteration had three main mobility techniques.
Sky-Walking Heaven Path, which let him leap and fly through the sky freely. Bow-Body Bullet Shadow, which was highly efficient for kicking off empty air.
'Lightning Step Movement.'
A mobility technique using Heavenly Thunder, similar to elementalization.
He could either transform his body into Heavenly Thunder to move at super-high speed, or teleport to any point his Heavenly Thunder reached.
'How the hell was I supposed to catch that.'
When you combined Heavenly Thunder, already fast, with those three... you got evasion maneuvers like that.
KU-RUUUNG! The sky flashed a sickly blue. A sea of lightning unfurled across the heavens.
'Thunder Rain Domination.'
Environmental domination through an attribute ability... a technique similar to a sustained area-control skill. The field converged on a single point. Swallowing hard, I brought both hands together.
Between my palms, Calamity Flame, Azure Sea, and Taesan merged and twisted into one. Three Ends. A full manifestation, not a simplified one.
I thrust both hands forward. The warped and roiling Three Ends tore through the ceiling of my earthen dome and surged upward.
Divine Bow - Heavenly Thunder Expansion Ability
Clear Lightning Flash
The Clear Lightning Flash, fully charged during the exchanged blows, struck. The bolt drove down in a straight line, piercing the ceiling and plunging straight into Three Ends.
- ...──!
An expanding black sphere swallowed the sound and the Heavenly Thunder. Clenching my trembling hands, I nodded.
'Clear Lightning Flash can be stopped if you ram it head-on with Three Ends.'
The 3rd Iteration's technique, with side effects serious enough but an output that rivaled later iterations. And it lived up to that.
Crick, crackle! An eerie sound scraped at my Qi Sense. A familiar sensation. The phenomenon that followed was, too.
'Ah.'
My body plummeted.
The sight of space breaking. Honestly, I'd barely felt it the last time it broke, but this time it hit me clearly in the head.
The ground and the empty air split like shards of glass and shattered. Plummeting through the fractured space, I spread my wings.
The area beyond the wall was the same as I had observed before. An alien realm where disparate darknesses rippled and flowed.
- Poomph
[?]
I blinked.
Just as I was trying to regain my balance, thin arms wrapped around the backs of my knees and my waist. Right after, a soft sensation supported my body and lifted me.
I tilted my head slightly. I couldn't see, but I observed a pair of purple eyes staring straight at my face.
"...Again... this sort of thing..."
[Huh?]
The person who had caught me was the Vice Headmaster, Venus Litera. Bewilderment rose on my face.
[Vice Headmaster, why are you...]
"I was on standby, just in case. I'm glad I was."
The Vice Headmaster tilted her head back. Toward the sky... or rather, above her head. The wall of space, cracked open with a gaping hole, was visible.
"Excuse me for a moment."
[Ah.]
Venus adjusted her hold on me. One hand secured my waist, and she raised her free hand. KWARUUUNG! The Heavenly Thunder that had been about to pour out was blocked.
"Hm."
Venus tilted an eyebrow. The force hammering the wall was considerable. Just as she was about to exert more power, lightning flared.
Lightning Step Movement. The 8th Iteration, appearing right outside the wall, loosed his bowstring. KWANG! An arrow pierced the wall and came flying in.
[I'll─]
- Eup
"Stay still."
Venus, pressing my head down with one hand, blinked.
A light flickered within her dull violet eyes. Granules of light like constellations winked in and out.
[Huh?]
I inhaled sharply at the familiar presence. Venus twisted her body. She narrowly slipped out of the arrow's trajectory.
The arrow whizzed right past her eyes. Venus's gaze tracked the arrow to the end. Shreeek! The arrow twisted. Defying the laws of physics, it aimed directly for her eye.
- CRACK!
The space containing the arrow was isolated, like a messy patchwork of shattered glass. Venus flicked her finger.
Kkigigeek...! The isolated space warped. Soon, crumpled into a single point, it vanished along with the arrow.
"That's a very expensive arrow, you know."
The 8th Iteration, having stepped back outside the space, spoke. Venus didn't reply, instead drawing a staff from the empty air.
The 8th Iteration shrugged.
"I have no intention of fighting you inside Siyoram."
The Heavenly Thunder he had unleashed spread into the darkness. Venus, withdrawing to evade the lightning, swung her staff.
A black-and-white dot blossomed within the surrounding darkness and slammed into the Heavenly Thunder.
WOONG! As before, it crumpled the space, swallowed the Heavenly Thunder, and vanished.
The Heavenly Thunder swelled as if in a seizure. As its already formidable output surged higher, the wall touched by the lightning's tendrils softened and melted away.
He didn't miss that moment.
One of the bolts of Heavenly Thunder, split in all directions, penetrated the wall. Then, using Lightning Step Movement, the 8th Iteration rode the lightning and escaped beyond the wall.
"What the..."
Venus's eyes widened a fraction. It was an incredible speed. Even with these eyes, it was hard to perceive.
"Tsk."
Venus clicked her tongue as she saw the direction the Heavenly Thunder had gone. She folded space and gave chase.
<xml>
[I'm fine]
"Huh?"
In the midst of all that.
Lee Ha-yul, nestled in her arms, stirred. Venus pressed his head back down, but this time he didn't stay still.
Lee Ha-yul eventually pulled free and shook his head.
[I will be fine. So please let me go. I'm still in the middle of the Trial, and I can handle it.]
"Cadet Lee Ha-yul's words are difficult to understand."
The Vice Headmaster furrowed her brow elegantly.
"As Vice Headmaster of Siyoram, I have a duty to protect the cadets. Naturally, Cadet Lee Ha-yul is my top priority, but I cannot stand by while another cadet is targeted."
[Yes, I know. It's fine.]
Lee Ha-yul let out a heavy breath and wiped the corner of his mouth. He cleaned off the yellowish particles that flowed instead of blood and shook his head.
[Even if I'm not okay... I'm going to make it okay.]
Crackle! Lightning sparked from his bristling hair.
* * *
A snowfield region inside the Tower of Growth.
It was exactly the place Baek A-rin had imagined. It was similar to where she had entered last year under the theme of "Contemplation."
The ground was solid frozen earth, the terrain swept by blizzards. There were jagged snowy peaks and vast canyons.
'A 4th Rank, at best?'
Baek A-rin, having recovered her spear, leaped away.
The monster she had been standing on staggered and collapsed to the ground with a thud. The piled-up snow shifted heavily.
A yeti with pure white fur, three or four times her size.
Baek A-rin shrugged as she watched snow pile onto the dirt exposed by the aftermath of the battle, the snow and fur staining a vivid crimson.
'At least the growth is definitely happening.'
She hadn't been here long, and she'd already faced a 4th Rank. If she kept roaming, she'd likely see many more of them.
"Huh?"
Baek A-rin, who had been checking her plan, suddenly looked up. The moment she blinked at the subtle premonition, the sky flashed.
A brilliant blue line was drawn across the sky.
Boom! The snowfield shuddered at the belated roar. Her eyes widened at the immense output battering her skin.
'Lightning?'
It wasn't just ordinary lightning. The quality was quite familiar. Daera's lightning energy... wasn't it Heavenly Thunder, that unique ability?
But something was different. Similar, but not identical. Baek A-rin narrowed her eyes and looked up at the sky.
In the sky where the lightning had subsided, a gaping hole was visible.
- Rumble!
Lightning struck down from within the hole.
The snowfield heaved and burst apart. Soil, rocks, and snow mixed together and flew in all directions. Baek A-rin leveled her spear at the snow that had risen like a dust cloud.
The snow settled. A man was visible within it.
Distinctive black hair against the pure white background. The features visible below it...
Baek A-rin blinked.
"...Ha-yul...?"
No.
Baek A-rin immediately retracted what she had just muttered. It wasn't Lee Ha-yul.
However, there was just enough resemblance to cause a moment's mistake.
Whoosh! The blizzard came to a halt around her.
Baek A-rin's expression froze over. A tremor ran through her shoulders instinctively.
A terrifying killing intent crashed over Baek A-rin, shoving the blizzard aside like an executioner's blade.
"...Crunch."
The 8th Iteration gritted his teeth. Emotions convulsed inside his chest. Lightning flickered as his hair stood on end.
Before anyone knew it.
His bow was drawn to its limit. Condensed Heavenly Thunder wavered.
'Can I kill her?'
It would be a bit difficult.
This was inside the Tower of Growth. No matter how much he shattered the body, it would be useless. He'd have to pierce the 'soul', which was essentially the real thing, and burn it with Heavenly Thunder.
It was only difficult; it was possible.
If he missed? The thought was laughable. He would definitely hit. There was no way he could miss.
The bowstring was drawn. Now, if he let go, the arrow—the Heavenly Thunder—would naturally fly.
It was a simple thing.
It had been the same back then.
When she approached from behind. When he had flipped her cloak. When she had grasped her spear and aimed it at him.
Killing Baek A-rin hadn't been difficult.
But he hadn't.
No, he couldn't.
"......"
His hand stiffened. Though he felt not the slightest bit of cold, his body froze. A moment's hesitation seized the hand holding the drawn bow.
- Bzzt!
At that instant. Lightning flashed in the 8th Iteration's eyes. Following the clear signal, he kicked off the ground.
Boom! Lightning struck down where he had been standing.
"What the?"
The vicious lightning that had burst in the sky... it was Heavenly Thunder.
'It's not my Heavenly Thunder.'
The Innate Talent was different. It was foreign, but he could distinguish it.
The surging Heavenly Thunder split and surged toward the 8th Iteration. Just as he pulled his body back, a pure white arm suddenly burst out from within the Heavenly Thunder.
Not just one.
One solid pair of arms. Three translucent pairs of arms. A distinct Innate Talent bloomed from each of the weapons they held.
- Crackle!
Heavenly Thunder bloomed as well. The rapidly accelerating weapons aimed for his vital points. Startled, the 8th Iteration detonated his Heavenly Thunder.
"Tch!"
The Heavenly Thunder was cut. The 8th Iteration unfurled his cloak. Despite how it looked, it was made of processed hide from a 2nd-Rank monster. It was far better than most armor.
Crunch! The descending scythe merely scratched the cloak, unable to tear it. He widened the distance in that gap.
"What the hell is that."
The 8th Iteration muttered with a numb expression.
At his landing spot, the Heavenly Thunder that had been rushing at him swelled and condensed into a single point.
Lee Ha-yul clutching a pitch-black bow was revealed. Rumble! The convulsing Heavenly Thunder was gradually being soothed and shaped into an arrow.
A unique ability so familiar it felt like his own. The familiar... process of Harmonization.
The 8th Iteration's mouth fell open.
Mana Affinity Expansion Ability
Homogenization - Heavenly Thunder
"...Are you actually some kind of space monster? You seem like a worse bastard than the Tower Master."
[That's spitting on your own face.]
With a pout, Lee Ha-yul released the bowstring.
Pseudo Expansion Ability
Clear Lightning Flash
Sound couldn't keep up. Neither could the eyes. No, even to the superior eyes of the 8th Iteration, it approached far too quickly.
It was his technique. One he'd made excellent use of.
Being on the receiving end made him want to curse at the sheer speed. Gritting his teeth, the 8th Iteration wreathed himself in Heavenly Thunder.
Maybe it was because it wasn't the Source Record, but he could at least see it. He could react. If so, he could dodge with Lightning Step Movement...
- Crack!
Just before that.
Spikes of ice shot up from the ground.
His reflexively swung elbow smashed the spike aimed at his back. The scattered Heavenly Thunder burned away the cold energy pouring in from all sides.
'Ah.'
It was an excessive reaction. Even if it was Azure Sea, he could have left it to his cloak a couple of times...
"That son of a..."
It was Baek A-rin, her spear planted in the ground. The 8th Iteration's face crumpled miserably upon seeing her.
- Boom!
The thunder crashed down. The world flashed as it unleashed a deafening roar.
"Agh!"
He raised his cloak and barely managed to reduce the damage, but unable to fully negate it, the 8th Iteration bounced across the ground like a skipping stone.
"Who is that person?"
In the meantime.
Baek A-rin calmly approached Lee Ha-yul, who had frozen up after firing the arrow.
[......]
Lee Ha-yul couldn't bring himself to answer and just made an awkward, half-hearted expression.
* * *
[Unique Ability 「Heavenly Thunder」 has matured]