Thun?der God
Thun?der God
Touching a soul is difficult.
Naturally, interfering with the exceptionally rare Soul Ingots among unique abilities is even harder.
But it's not impossible.
I've been learning how to handle and manipulate souls for a while now. And just recently, I even managed to observe the manifestation of the Soul Ingots, albeit imperfectly.
Mana Affinity Expansion Ability
Homogenization - Soul Ingot(?)
Like lighting a counter-fire, I drove a crude Innate Talent into it. I wasn't confident I could seize Dominion and manipulate it at will, but I could at least disrupt things.
Cracks spread through the Soul Ingots embedded in its soul. Roughly half of them. Soon enough, the Soul Ingots, now webbed with fissures, began crumbling one by one.
- Kigagagak─!
A thunderous roar erupted from its gaping maw.
The enraged Sicarius twisted its body and lashed out with its claws.
Lee Ha-yul leaned his upper body back, narrowly evading the claws that grazed his hair, and stepped back.
The consumed Soul Ingots had erased its wounds and broken the restraints.
Sicarius poured out mana recklessly. The malice-laden mana spewed by a 2nd Rank monster was itself both poison and a deadly weapon.
Its mana, tempered even more viciously by the consumed Soul Ingots, surged outward in undulating waves.
Those who had been pressing the assault clicked their tongues and widened the distance.
'Of course it would change tactics.'
Its strengths had been completely blocked and mercilessly trampled. A monster with intelligence wouldn't just charge in the same way again.
- Gruuung...!
Viscous mana, thick as lava, pushed outward.
Within it, Sicarius swelled in size and raised its head. Now dozens of times larger, the creature glared down at Lee Ha-yul from above.
'It used half its Soul Ingots on regeneration, and I destroyed about half.'
It hadn't burned through all of them.
Soul Ingots draped over its enlarged body like armor. The texture was like slime, but the color was filthy and revolting, like cigarette smoke.
The Soul Ingot expansion ability, Baekdanjopi (Soul-Forged Wrapping Skin). A technique that forges armaments from Soul Ingots.
Crude. Its performance doesn't even compare to the original work.
The reason is probably that the caster isn't nearby, and the implanted Soul Ingots weren't prepared for very long.
- Ha-yul! That thing's gone up a stage! We should re-coordinate by applying pressure—!
- We don't need to capture it anymore.
- What?
Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been burning away the murky mana and raising the output of her Calamity Flame, blinked.
They had driven Sicarius to the brink of death, deliberately refrained from killing it, lured out the use of its Soul Ingots—and it had worked.
That was all I needed to see.
There was no longer any reason to keep it alive. Even if I just killed it, I could make good use of both the body and the soul.
And also...
'Good.'
Lee Ha-yul rubbed his solar plexus and smiled with satisfaction. Baek A-rin, who had been glancing at him, shook her head.
- They say some people's minds are like reeds, and you really are like that...
- ...Ahem, my explanation was insufficient.
After clearing his throat awkwardly, Lee Ha-yul thrust his sword into Subspace.
- Anyway, I'll handle that thing alone, so please go help on the other battlefields. Or stay by Seo-yul's side and guard her with me.
- What? That's not—
- Seriously, it's fine.
He drew a weapon from within Subspace.
He gripped the long haft tightly. The heavy weight dangling from its end swung free. He gathered the Gale and compressed it into the hammer.
- I can finish it quickly, no need to overexert.
- ...The walls are thoroughly defended, so we'll keep back and encircle it.
Hong Yeon-hwa, her brow furrowed, leaped back lightly. Far enough to casually dodge stray attacks, but close enough to intervene immediately if something happened.
That seemed to be the extent of the concession she was willing to make right now.
Nodding, Lee Ha-yul spread the Sky Wing Feather wide. Six azure wings embraced the Heavenly Thunder.
Kwarreung! The wings blazed white-hot. The fluttering wings propelled his body forward.
From below, upward.
White lightning that soared into the dark sky slammed into Sicarius's lower jaw.
All-Rounder Expansion Ability
Myriad Transformations
Overlord Strike - Lower Jawbone Lifting Collapse
- Kwang─!
The moment of impact, the Technique Category expansion ability and the Gale exploded simultaneously.
Crunch! A chunk of the Soul Ingot armor was torn away. The flesh beneath burst open as well.
Sicarius's body shot upward. Lee Ha-yul caught up in a single wingbeat and brought the hammer crashing down.
All-Rounder Expansion Ability
Myriad Transformations
Overlord Strike - Skull Splitter
Kwang! Sicarius was slammed into the ground.
The earth heaved like a wave as clouds of dirt erupted. Buried deep in the ground, Sicarius writhed.
Fluid Body. Its form, dispersed into attribute power, phased straight through every obstacle.
Stealth. Without warning, its massive presence vanished without a trace.
Super High Speed. Despite its enormous bulk, it soared upward, shedding afterimages.
The unique abilities had activated in a flawless three-part sequence. Unlike earlier, it manifested without any real hindrance.
The humans' attacks were strong and heavy, but if only the white and beautiful human's interference were gone, it could devour them all. It pierced through the dust and empty air.
Its claws grazed the trailing edge of lightning that had already vacated the spot.
The hammer, having traced a full circle through the air, smashed into its head.
The battered body was flung sideways. Before it could even begin to decelerate, the hammer flashed repeatedly from within the Heavenly Thunder that had already caught up.
Kwang! Shattered Soul Ingot armor scattered. Kwang! Exploding Gale shredded hide and scales. Kwang! From the burst chunks of flesh, blood gushed out in torrents.
Whenever the Heavenly Thunder flashed, it took four or five more blows before it knew it, sent sailing through the air.
It wasn't that it couldn't perceive it. With Super High Speed active, Sicarius could respond well enough—but speed wasn't the only problem.
- Jjeojeojeok!
The raised Heavenly Thunder split into dozens of branches.
Sicarius vomited shrieks and mana. Its claws and tail, wreathed in Soul Ingot armaments, tore through the streams of Heavenly Thunder.
Heavenly Thunder Expansion Ability
Lightning Step Movement
The scattered Heavenly Thunder reassembled itself. Over a hundred streams of Heavenly Thunder raced around Sicarius as if coiling around it, densely filling the area.
Every single one was both a passage and an escape route.
Lee Ha-yul drew two swords and freely traversed the streams of Heavenly Thunder. The blades, each condensing Heavenly Thunder and Gale respectively, flashed.
'Nice.'
Lee Ha-yul smiled faintly at the Innate Talent of Heavenly Thunder resting weightily within his Mindscape.
This was different from Imitation. The Heavenly Thunder, having bloomed with its own unique characteristics, blazed whiter the further it went.
That made it highly difficult to control, but the time for fussing over difficulty was long past.
"Ah..."
Daera, looking up at the sky, let her mouth fall open.
Against the backdrop of the sky beyond the frontline—a sky steeped in murky darkness—pure white lightning was etched densely like a constellation.
From the sky where that constellation had been drawn in an instant, a shooting star fell.
- Kwang─!
The exact same spot where it had first been slammed down. From its gaping maw, instead of mana and shrieks, blood and chunks of flesh came pouring out.
Sicarius writhed.
Fluid Body... was difficult.
It had taken too much damage. Sicarius, which had been scraping at the ground, digested the Soul Ingots embedded in its soul according to the implanted information.
Instantly, new flesh and scales sprouted, and the shed mana and blood welled back up.
With this, it had consumed every Soul Ingot except the one constrained to be left behind at all costs.
[......]
The enemy they had struggled to maim had regenerated, yet Lee Ha-yul's expression was composed.
Having calmly observed and recorded the Soul Ingots' digestion process, Lee Ha-yul stretched out his leg.
The moment his toes touched the empty air, faint ripples spread as if he had brushed a tranquil water's surface.
Heavenly Thunder Expansion Ability
Sky-Walking Heaven Path
Ttuk, ttuk... The ripples soon subsided. Lee Ha-yul stowed the sword, now at the end of its lifespan, into Subspace.
[Thank goodness. I still have to deal with the Bitter Cold and Purgatory armies—and all their underling forces. It would've been a problem if I'd gotten bogged down by a 2nd Rank.]
By the normal progression of the original work, this was the point where even a 3rd Rank would require careful tiptoeing around—but reality was simply different.
The matchup had been the worst possible one for it to begin with. Its innate Stealth and Fluid Body didn't work on Lee Ha-yul in the slightest, and he could surpass its Super High Speed with his own speed.
Because he had completely shut down every one of Sicarius's advantages, the fight had resolved with astonishing ease.
Of course, where in the world would you find an opponent Lee Ha-yul didn't counter in terms of matchup.
[And the owner who fed you all that fodder... I need to deal with them too...]
Six wings brimming with Heavenly Thunder. Beside them, six five-colored wings newly sprouted, then became dyed in Heavenly Thunder.
He reached out to the side, and Jeonghwa, having swiftly flown back, settled into his hand. Stroking its smooth shaft, he raised it high.
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, white lightning poured down. The crystal orb devoured Heavenly Thunder like one possessed and fiercely extended its blade.
- Jjajajajak!
A crescent blade rose as if enveloping the elongated spear blade and the crystal orb. The condensed Heavenly Thunder released a piercing peal of thunder.
He thrust the spear tip toward the sky and released a vast amount of mana. The overflowing pure white mana surged upward, saturated with Heavenly Thunder.
Heavenly Thunder Expansion Ability
Thunder Rain Domination
- Kwaaaaaa─!
In an instant, the sky was dyed with searing light. The pitch-black sky vanished. The dense constellation drawn by the white lightning vanished.
In its place, a sea of lightning unfurled.
Countless streams of Heavenly Thunder spread like paint, expanding the sea. The earth beneath the sky was likewise dyed white.
Heavenly Thunder, pooled in the sky without a single gap.
Once the amplified lightning energy stabilized, the sea stopped expanding and gradually condensed, concentrating into the spear blade.
The spear shaft felt heavy. The aura contained within was vast, but that was because the Innate Talent that had concentrated and refined that energy was dense and rich.
Smiling brightly, Lee Ha-yul reversed his grip on the spear and drew his arm back.
There was no way to miss such an overt tell. It knew that if it was struck, its life—so very short compared to its grudge—would end.
So it had to dodge.
Mana Affinity Expansion Ability
Homogenization - Super High Speed
But both instinct and reason indicated that dodging was impossible.
All-Rounder Expansion Ability
Myriad Transformations - Sure Hit
The Innate Talent coiled around the spear tip warned that there was absolutely no escape.
All-Rounder Expansion Ability
Myriad Transformations - Droplet Penetration - Falling Heaven Substitutional Punishment
And it was as the warning said.
Heavenly Thunder Expansion Ability
Clear Lightning Flash
- .........───!
Sicarius, which had killed and devoured countless enemies with overwhelming speed all this time, now truly understood the prey's perspective.
It could not dodge.
Its perception couldn't even properly register it.
Even if it had perceived it, its body wouldn't have moved fast enough to evade. And even if it had dodged, it would have been pursued to the very end.
As if the world had blinked out for a moment.
When awareness returned, it felt a massive hole punched clean through its body. The tough hide, scales, and Soul Ingot armor had been pierced as easily as clay.
Just a single hole. But in reality, the wound left behind wasn't merely a hole in its flesh.
- ...Kkiiik...
Sicarius, which had tried to turn its head like a rusted machine, crumbled away while looking up at the sunset glow.
[Huuu...]
Fluttering twelve wings, Lee Ha-yul came to stand lightly upon the air.
When he let out a deep sigh and observed the sky, the isolated space was collapsing, revealing the sunset glow beneath.
- Tak!
Soon, from far away, Jeonghwa—which had destroyed the core of the Grade 1 Dungeon that had been the center of the outbreak—returned to his hand.
Wuuuung... Jeonghwa let out a small resonance. At the will-thought steeped in fatigue, Lee Ha-yul chuckled softly and held Jeonghwa tight in his arms.
[You worked hard. Thank you, really.]
- Woong, wuuuung...
Jeonghwa quivered with more energy than before.
"......"
Everyone below was watching that sight.
Pure white attire worn exactly to his taste.
The twelve wings, bearing Heavenly Thunder, gave a single flap. Fragments of Heavenly Thunder scattered leisurely like feathers before folding away gracefully.
With a face of unearthly beauty, smiling gently, he cradled preciously in his arms the spear and staff that had finished off the monster.
Behind him, the ominous sky came crashing down like a shattered shell, revealing the original, gentle sunset glow.
"......"
A masterpiece painting.
No—it was a scene of such breathtaking beauty that anyone would find it only natural to call it a scene straight out of myth.
* * *
Siyoram is both a foundation for growth and, at the same time, a cradle meant to protect a still-immature child.
Above all, since the very reason for its founding was to serve as a place for Lee Ha-yul's growth and protection, it is a defensive facility designed to withstand invasions from its primary enemies—the Outer World Tower Masters.
"......"
Venus, too, is part of that design.
She is the Vice Headmaster who acts as the proxy for the ever-confined Tower Master of Growth, and simultaneously the gatekeeper who always remains at Siyoram, wholly devoted to its defense.
She gazed down at the sea before Siyoram, now stained crimson.
It was a gruesome sight one might call a Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood, but Venus was hardly fazed. That was because all that blood had been shed by monsters.
"They don't even have the strength to conduct reconnaissance, let alone an invasion."
Venus turned her gaze to the one who had led the monsters here.
A rock jutting up amidst a sea surging with blood-red waves and corpses. Upon it stood a figure, utterly black.
Dark hair, and a gloomy impression settled over his face. His frame, draped in a black robe, was so slight that the word "boy" suited him far better than "man."
"I came... because there's something... I wanted to ask."
"Something you want to ask."
The boy, who had been staring up intently at Venus for a while, opened his mouth.
"You... don't you resent the Tower Master of Growth...?"