8th Iteration (3)
8th Iteration (3)
The Clear Lightning Flash was still a clumsy imitation. Sure Hit had been attached in a similar way, but I hadn't expected it to actually land.
"……"
"Is it a trial set by a Tower Master? Or some sort of… distant relative?"
Baek A-rin, having adjusted her grip on her spear shaft, turned her head. Her meaningful gaze flicked back and forth between Lee Ha-yul and the direction the 8th Iteration had been sent flying.
Lee Ha-yul slightly shielded his face with a wing.
[…It's a trial.]
"Aha, a trial, is it? Like those black helmet entities from the last tower entry? But why does it look—"
[I don't know any more than that either. I'll explain later what I do know.]
With his mouth pressed firmly shut, Lee Ha-yul stepped forward.
Far in the distance. The 8th Iteration, who had been lying dazed in the snow-scoured frozen land from the shock wave, staggered to his feet.
"Oh, dear."
Baek A-rin, her expression ambiguous, slipped behind Lee Ha-yul for cover. Unfazed, Lee Ha-yul discarded the melted bow and drew a new one.
"Haa."
The 8th Iteration, now upright, exhaled heavily. Lightning energy crackled within his breath. There were no major injuries.
Thanks to the cloak that had blocked the pseudo Clear Lightning Flash.
The material was the toughest, most durable part from the hide of a 2nd-Rank monster. Properly processed, it was sturdy enough to scoff at most ordinary armor.
"I have no words."
Thanks to that, he wasn't really hurt. Not enough to hinder combat, anyway.
But there was some mental shock.
Shaking his dazed head, the 8th Iteration raised his arm. The bow he had never let go, even while flying, took in mana.
- Ssssskkk…
The bowstring was drawn.
At the same moment, the 8th Iteration's form vanished. Only a lingering tail of lightning remained in his place.
I hadn't let my focus slip, yet I couldn't even see it coming. The instant Baek A-rin's eyes went wide, a cascade of blue lines poured in from far away.
Each and every one was an arrow laden with dizzying lightning energy.
"Wow."
The power subtly emanating from a single arrow was absurd.
Just one of those striking would collapse any normal barrier wall entirely, and if they pounded the ground consecutively, it would upend the terrain.
- Kwagagang!
The arrows exploded in midair.
Lee Ha-yul had released his bowstring. Jjajajak! Arrows charged with Heavenly Thunder shot into the sky.
All-Rounder Expansion Ability
Myriad Transformations - Downpour
Soon they split countlessly like lightning, striking down the oncoming arrows. None were missed. Every single arrow collided against another through Sure Hit.
"Now that I think about it, isn't that the Heavenly Thunder that Senior Daera uses? I was just letting it slide because you're using it so naturally."
Baek A-rin, who had been staring up at the sky while gathering mana, murmured. Lee Ha-yul flinched his shoulders, then pretended not to hear and continued firing arrows.
Kwagagang! Arrows crashed together and annihilated. Different clashing Heavenly Thunders writhed madly in the air.
'Matching him in archery is tough.'
I was gradually being pushed back. Which was only natural.
Even on first use, it was an almost perfect imitation, but there was still roughness to it. Hoping to overwhelm the original, honed to its limit, was too greedy.
If I wanted to learn, I should stubbornly stick to archery. But if I wanted to win, I had to do something else.
[I'm going to close in.]
"…Can you even close in?"
Baek A-rin narrowed her eyes with a strange expression. The enemy was so far away that even pouring mana into her already superior eyesight left him invisible.
That kind of distance had been created in a single use of a movement technique. Even that was only an estimate. Baek A-rin didn't know exactly how that person had widened the gap.
[I can stick to him.]
Nodding slightly, Lee Ha-yul stirred his mana. Jjajajak! Vivid lightning energy—Heavenly Thunder—surged fiercely.
From the rough look of it, it was the same unique ability. Daera's speed had certainly been monstrous too.
"But I don't think I could possibly keep up?"
The problem was that Baek A-rin herself couldn't even perceive that speed. Right now, she didn't even feel confident about dealing with the arrows that were raining down.
[Don't worry.]
When she showed her skepticism, Lee Ha-yul shook his head. One of the three pairs of wings unfurled behind his back shed its form, then wrapped snugly around Baek A-rin's body.
[We can go like this.]
"Aha…"
What if he drops me midway? At that speed, won't my body be torn apart? She deliberately didn't voice those doubts.
Because there was no way Lee Ha-yul hadn't already considered what she'd thought of.
[I'll go now.]
Lee Ha-yul lowered his stance. Ureureung… Heavenly Thunder condensed into his body. A low rumble of thunder rolled along the ground.
'Imitation.'
Lightning Step Movement. The similarly embodied technique coiled around his body. Part of his form synchronized with the Heavenly Thunder.
Kwareureung! The Heavenly Thunder shot forward.
"Waaah… Huh?"
Tremendous acceleration, enough to stretch the background sideways. Yet there was no recoil hitting her body. Blinking, Baek A-rin lowered her gaze.
The wing wrapped around her was glowing a pale green. Sensing the countless presences within, Baek A-rin let out a breath of admiration.
Wind spirits were diffusing the recoil.
"Ugh. Just a few times seeing it… you sensed it and you're already using that?"
The 8th Iteration, seeing Heavenly Thunder rapidly closing in, recoiled in horror and pulled himself backward.
Kwareureung! Lightning Step Movement, Sky-Walking Heaven Path, Bow-Body Bullet Shadow. Cycling movement techniques, he drew his bowstring.
Downpour and Sure Hit. Split arrows blanketed the sky and rained down.
"Yap."
The moment Lee Ha-yul drew his bow in response, Baek A-rin raised her spear.
The spear entwined with the winged garment transformed. The blades merged together, shifting into a large crystal orb.
'I can't help in close quarters.'
Baek A-rin couldn't play a major role between those two. Though the exchange was barely a few clashes, it was enough to reach that judgment.
The crystal orb, gleaming with a chill light, unleashed its stored Azure Sea. It swallowed and wielded dominion over the cold energy of the whole area.
- Jjeojeok…
The momentum of the arrow rain faltered. Completely blocking arrows infused with Heavenly Thunder was difficult, but a brief hitch was more than enough.
Lee Ha-yul's own volley of arrows reduced their numbers in the first wave.
Hwaak! He fluttered his wings.
All five wings except the one cradling Baek A-rin scattered five-colored feathers.
Pababak! The surging feathers slammed into the arrows and detonated.
A single wing couldn't block a single arrow. So a dozen or so feathers clung to each arrow. Through guidance by Sure Hit and Observation, there was no misfire.
And the tiny handful of arrows that actually got close were shot down by the six arms summoned through One Face Six Arms.
'This guy, what does he think he is, an Asura?'
Clicking his tongue, the 8th Iteration drew his bowstring taut, unleashing Heavenly Thunder.
Thunder Rain Domination. Heavenly Thunder spread violently. The surrounding snow and ground were swallowed by Heavenly Thunder and annihilated together.
Soon the Heavenly Thunder condensed back. A wrought arrow of lightning aimed at Lee Ha-yul.
"That! A finishing blow is coming!"
She didn't know the technique's name, but the sheer force made it ominous. At Baek A-rin's urgent cry, Lee Ha-yul dropped his bow and seized Jeunghwa.
Kkwadeuk! He gripped Jeunghwa in reverse and pulled it back. The White Night spat out by the crystal orb wrapped around the spear blade.
'Homogenization, White Night.'
He pushed in his own self-generated White Night as well. The spear blade swelled thicker and longer.
Beyond its swelling, a fierce light flooded the world.
'Light Attribute?'
My eyes narrowed against the unbearable brilliance and pressure. The 8th Iteration loosed the bowstring.
Clear Lightning Flash.
A line of blue was drawn across the world. It closed in before the thought of speed could even register—before I could so much as feel that it was fast, it was already at my nose.
Reacting after the shot is far too late. I’d confirmed that the moment I observed the first arrow. Lee Ha-yul thrust out his left arm, ready from the start.
Pure white armor encased his left arm. Across it, a golden line shot forth.
‘Manifest, Authority of Protection.’
From his left arm, a torrent of gold erupted.
He gathered the raging torrent before his palm—holding back the energy that threatened to scatter in all directions—and drove it straight into the oncoming Clear Lightning Flash.
— CRACK-KABOOOOOM!
The monstrous impact shook his body. His advance halted. Lee Ha-yul dug both legs into the ground and clenched his teeth.
The Authority of Protection was chipped away rapidly.
What mattered was that he’d blocked it.
Lee Ha-yul grinned and twisted his body. Legs anchored to the earth. He pulled in every drop of Vitality Energy and drove his physical abilities to their limit.
All of that power, poured wholly into the spear.
‘Homogenization, Heavenly Thunder.’
Every trace of Heavenly Thunder he’d been using for movement was crammed into the Spear of Purification. Rumble! He harmonized White Night and Heavenly Thunder—force that would normally clash—through Harmonization.
‘Calamity Flame.’
WHOOSH! From the tail end of the Spear of Purification, Calamity Flame bloomed. He fed Vitality Energy into those flames like kindling. The fiercely roaring Calamity Flame drove the spear forward.
He hurled the Spear of Purification.
A thrown spear. The tip tore through empty air and pierced the center of the Clear Lightning Flash.
— KABOOOOOM!
It punched through. The spear of light mercilessly split the blue line and shot onward.
“You crazy son of a—”
Shock dawned on the 8th Iteration’s face.
He’d taken the Clear Lightning Flash head-on and pierced through it. That alone was staggering, but the spear of light now hurtling toward him carried a murderous momentum beyond anything reasonable.
And on top of that, a frigid chill crept in from behind. His eyes were fixed ahead, but he could see the situation behind him just as clearly.
At some point, Baek A-rin had appeared at his back. As if she’d leaped through space itself, she drove her staff into the ground.
— CRAAAASH!
Spines of ice erupted from the ground. From three directions—where the spear of light was not—the spines surged like a tidal wave.
This wasn’t a single Azure Sea. The ice spines manifested by Baek A-rin and Lee Ha-yul were woven together.
Azure Sea… he did not want to be struck by that. Confirming that every escape route was sealed, the 8th Iteration launched himself into the sky.
‘Hold on.’
Then he frowned.
Sky-Walking Heaven Path. Thanks to this expansion ability, the 8th Iteration could move freely through the heavens.
But his movement was unnatural now.
Something was off. The sky he’d always roamed felt awkward, alien. A strange sense of rejection scraped at the back of his mind.
‘Homogenization, Gale.’
The unease became reality. CRASH! The wind energy filling the sky descended as blades of wind. The 8th Iteration’s mouth fell open.
‘What—what, what now?’
A wind-attribute unique ability. And its output was monstrous. The dominance was so overwhelming that interfering with it was unthinkable.
His face twisting, the 8th Iteration spun around. His fully unfurled cloak wrapped around him. CRACK-CRACK-CRACK! The storm hammered against it.
— Creak…
Inside the cloak, he drew his bow. Five lightning bolts coalesced on the bowstring, already aimed at Lee Ha-yul, who was surging up toward the 8th Iteration.
CRACKLE-BOOM! Heavenly Thunder erupted. Split into five branches, the lightning crashed down toward the ground.
To meet it, Lee Ha-yul drew his blades. The Beacon Fire Sword in one hand. In the other hand and the three additional pairs, ordinary Black Iron swords.
‘One Face Six Arms. Rapid-fire technique-category expansion abilities through it.’
The 2nd Iteration’s primary combat method. A style that consumed so much Heart Power it was normally difficult to spam—yet this guy was using it like it was nothing.
WHOOOM! Eight sword blades rippled. The 8th Iteration’s eyes twitched. A ripple. Different from an expansion of Innate Talent.
‘Space.’
The blades moved.
The ripples trailing the blades carved across the void. The Heavenly Thunder layered atop them was sliced clean through—Innate Talent and all—and crumbled.
The 8th Iteration’s eyes flew wide. He urgently twisted his body with Bow-Body Bullet Shadow. SLASH! The space where he’d been floating a moment ago was rent open.
‘Wait, Spatial Slash?’
He knew the guy had spatial-type abilities. But to think there was another madman besides the Vice Headmaster who could spam such techniques—not just single strikes, but rapid volleys.
In the 8th Iteration’s stunned vision, Lee Ha-yul wheeled his blade back around.
The Black Iron swords had all shattered. Only the Beacon Fire Sword, wreathed in Calamity Flame, pushed toward the gap in the cloak, aiming for the throat.
‘I could dodge—’
Sky-Walking Heaven Path and Bow-Body Bullet Shadow. But the wind energy saturating the sky was so damn troublesome, using them was a pain.
Lightning Step Movement.
That would work. By forcing Heavenly Thunder through the irritating wind energy, he could evade for now. The follow-up transition would depend on how he played it.
‘Hah.’
Thinking about his next move, the 8th Iteration let out a quiet laugh.
He’d been cornered, in his own way. He hadn’t expected this at all. He’d thought he was in the teaching role, but Lee Ha-yul’s reserves of power were genuinely staggering.
‘Little shit, why are you the one falling apart here?’
Cornered as he was, the 8th Iteration was still in decent shape. The first Clear Lightning Flash that hit him had reduced output, and the cloak had deflected it—minimal damage.
But Lee Ha-yul’s face was drenched in blood.
From his closed eyes, his nose, his mouth, his ears—blood streamed steadily.
Was that all?
His internal organs were pulverized and mangled together. Every muscle was shredded, and his bones were on the verge of breaking.
Even with Taesan’s durability and recovery, he was in that state.
A reckless charge that abandoned all thought of healing. The 8th Iteration could see it plainly—he was deliberately pushing himself past every limit.
Did he really want to protect it that badly? What was so precious that he’d throw himself forward like this, straining to stop an intention that wasn’t even certain?
Inside the sluggish flow of time, barely distinguishable from frozen, the 8th Iteration’s focus swept across the ground below.
He saw Baek A-rin.
Outwardly, she wasn’t much different from the woman he’d known. The bitch who had stabbed him in the back.
‘But she’s different.’
Same appearance doesn’t mean the same interior.
Same essence doesn’t mean the same path walked.
And he couldn’t be certain the path ahead would be the same, either.
Even if it were. Judging and condemning that—that wasn’t something he should become.
He knew that well. The obvious, correct answer when you thought about it rationally.
Honestly, the answer his heart demanded was completely different…
— I believe in you!
— Who else would I rely on but you? If there’s someone else who plays with monsters like that, bring ’em here.
— Look back on the path you’ve walked. Do you see the answer? This many people have been saved by you.
The 8th Iteration was—
Though he knew everything in this world was fake, he was a sage who had struggled to save even those fakes.
It was true that, starting from the 9th Iteration—who had read the 8th’s records, grown distrustful and suspicious, and never found a pillar to lean on—things had gone astray.
But the 8th Iteration himself had lived a life of good deeds.
‘Tch…’
He clicked his tongue inwardly. He considered dragging this out further, but—yeah, enough venting.
‘Bastard. You’ve got sharp instincts, and I hated the way you kept testing me for nothing… but I can just smack you on the head later for that.’
The blood-red blade pushing through the gap in the cloak, aiming for his throat. Feeling the Calamity Flame already spreading across his body, the 8th Iteration gently closed his eyes.
‘…Wait. Why is this bastard bleeding instead of glowing?’
Belatedly, his eyes snapped open at the Heavenly Thunder crashing down toward his head—but it was a little too late.
— SLASH!
The Beacon Fire Sword carved through his throat.