Chapter 347: Ascension to Immortality (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 347: Ascension to Immortality (3)
In a city cafe, a figure sitting at an outdoor table was answering a phone call.
“Ah, yes, yes. Thank you for the information. The intel you’ve provided will be used to make the world a brighter and more beautiful place. I’ll also make sure you’re compensated fairly for the tip, so there’s no need to worry.”
It was a conversation that was slightly unusual, perhaps, but not enough to arouse suspicion from passersby.
“Ah, come to think of it, your parents haven’t been well lately, have they? You must have a lot of expenses. I’ll add a little extra out of my own pocket so you won’t feel slighted.”
To anyone listening—unless they were paying exceptionally close attention—it would sound like someone talking to an acquaintance or a business associate.
After all, on a phone call, you can’t see the person on the other end.
“Haha, no need for thanks. It’s only right. Well then, I’ll be off. I hope we can continue to help each other in the future.”
No one would ever guess that the person on the other end of the line was trembling in pure terror.
Nor would they imagine that the man sitting in a cafe in broad daylight, ordering a Persimmon Latte, was the King of Villains—the one who had just thrown down the gauntlet against the Association.
“My, my. Our secretary is being so cute. Why is she shaking like that? I really am going to send the money.”
He sucked on his straw until it made a slurping sound, then habitually gnawed on the end of it. As he reviewed the information he had received, the King of Villains smiled.
“Dear me, it seems the Association President didn’t find my words very trustworthy. Splitting his forces like this… I’m almost hurt.”
There was only one S-rank, and while there were quite a few A-ranks, their numbers had been halved. They didn’t seem particularly threatening.
“I was worried he might deploy a monster like Seo Ye-hwa, but it seems that’s not the case.”
He calculated the current combat-ready personnel, Alcatraz’s standing forces, and the half-strength Starlight Team.
After running the simulations in his head, it seemed entirely possible—provided he could eliminate the variables.
“This might actually be worth a shot.”
Of course, he wouldn’t invade right now while they were on high alert.
They wouldn’t be able to maintain that tension forever.
He needed to harass them with guerrilla tactics, slowly draining their strength until they were exhausted.
“Mmm, this is delicious.”
To enjoy something as much as this persimmon, one had to wait patiently until the target became soft and yielding.
Still, since this was his debut, it would be a problem if the opponent was too weak.
“Let’s wait for the perfect timing.”
Humming to himself as he enjoyed his drink, he looked nothing like a villain to the casual observer.
But he was, without a doubt, a villain.
* * *
A woman charged head-on into the storm of swords, striking out with her fists.
The swords that collided with Cathy’s fists—which were reaching the pinnacle of superhuman strength—failed to maintain their form, shattering or snapping. However, in the grand scheme of things, the loss of a hundred or two hundred blades among the infinite swarm had little impact.
“Aha! I don’t know why, but these bastards seem to have some kind of grudge against me.”
Professor Park A-ram unleashed her golden mana, her radiance crushing the swords flying toward her, but the result was the same. It was an attack that could reduce their numbers, but it wasn’t decisive.
“There’s no end to them…!”
“Yeah, I agree. There are way too many of them.”
Despite Ha-ni’s skill in parrying blade with blade and Baek Seol’s use of a magnet-like Artifact to bind the swords together, the metallic storm remained fierce.
“Wait, I don’t think I’m imagining this.”
Since I couldn’t actively attack, I was huddled closely behind Ha-ni and Cathy Noona for protection.
Thanks to that, I noticed something.
These swords.
They were prioritizing me first, then Professor Park A-ram, Baek Seol, and Ga-eul in that order. They were only attacking Cathy Noona and Ha-ni because they were protecting me.
Are they attacking in order of the severity of our sins?
I couldn’t even fight back, and having all these blades flying in front of my face was terrifying, but…
“So-hyun, it’s okay. Noona will protect you, so don’t worry.”
“Don’t you dare try to use your power, okay? We can handle this much…!”
Thanks to Cathy Noona and Ha-ni pulverizing every blade that came near, they didn’t feel like a major threat.
“I—I want to! I want to say cool lines too!”
Ga-eul, who was melting swords with a whip made of Demonic Energy, was also fairly cool in her own way.
If only she hadn’t said that, she would have looked even better.
…It felt a bit like riding a thrilling amusement park attraction—safe but scary—but the problem was that we couldn’t keep this up forever.
Even superhumans get tired, and no matter how many swords we broke, it didn’t even make a dent. There was no solution in sight.
— Hmph. Everyone is holding out well. It’s almost touching, considering how you all were when I first saw you.
However, seeing how relaxed Sun Wukong was, there had to be a way.
‘Tell me the way before things get too dangerous.’
— Kid. Didn’t I tell you to trust other people a bit more? They’ll figure it out on their own without being told.
Sun Wukong paused for a moment, and then I heard her chuckle.
— Look. Someone’s already caught on.
Someone caught on?
The moment I thought that, my Master, who had been standing still and observing, began to move.
She drew the sword from her waist and charged into the storm. Intense heat radiated from her body as flowers of fire bloomed.
It was a swordsmanship where even if she coated her blade in Sword Aura, the weapon itself couldn’t withstand the high temperature and would eventually break.
Furthermore, the sword she was using now was just an ordinary one she had picked up temporarily; it wouldn’t last long.
I thought her familiar Plum Blossom Sword Technique would be better, but Master’s movements were devoid of hesitation.
After a few exchanges, the sword, unable to endure its weakened durability, snapped.
Just as I was about to shout that it was dangerous—
“Is this one a bit sturdier than mine?”
…Huh?
What happened next defied common sense.
Master had snatched the lead sword flying toward her right out of the air.
Immediately, the blade turned crimson, and she used it to cleave through the following wave of swords.
…I mean, what if they were coated in poison? How could she just grab a random weapon like that?
Is that the strategy?
When I called out to Sun Wukong in confusion, her response was equally shocking.
— I didn’t expect her to do that either. I thought she’d gather her Mantra and look for the ‘One Sword’ at the center of the storm.
‘…Then shouldn’t we stop her?’
She was dancing, parrying and crushing swords with a sword of her own. When her current blade broke, she unhesitatingly seized a new one from the ones she had just defeated.
It was a sword dance performed in the heart of the storm, becoming one with the blades.
Swords were breaking and shattering in the clash of steel, but the collision of fire and iron held a strange beauty. It was truly a performance worthy of being called a sword dance.
— No, let’s just watch for now. You can find it that way too.
Cathy Noona and Ha-ni, who were busy dealing with the swords flying at me, were also watching her antics with bewildered expressions.
* * *
Lee Ha-ru, on the other hand, was enjoying the sensation of becoming one with the sword without any hesitation or fear.
In fact, she was intentionally using the swords as disposables.
If she wanted to, it wouldn’t have been difficult to adjust her internal energy so that her blade wouldn’t break or melt even when clashing with sturdier ones.
The reason she was moving toward the center of the storm, constantly switching weapons, was simple.
Just before she challenged the storm of swords, she had whispered something so softly that no one could hear.
“…With this many swords, surely there must be at least one decent one among them?”
She was testing the swords within this infinite storm.
She wanted to test the ones the others were facing as well, but since she was limited by time and physical stamina, she moved toward the most intense part of the storm based on her accumulated experience.
She was getting closer.
A sword was reacting to her Mantra as if it were calling out to her.
A sword breaks; she grabs a new one and swings.
As she approached the center, the storm grew more violent, and she sustained some wounds. But she knew that the moment she faltered or hesitated, the swords would devour her.
She pushed forward, saving the time she would have spent feeling fear.
She was at a point where she needed a new sword for a serious battle.
A sword that wouldn’t melt in the heat of her flames, a sword that wouldn’t easily break in a clash.
She felt as if the new sword that could accept her everything was right here.
Perhaps, just as she was testing them, the swords were testing her by sending increasingly powerful blades her way.
How many steps had she taken? How long had she been performing this sword dance?
What was certain was that she had reached deep into the heart of the storm.
Finally, the strongest sword her senses had identified flew toward her.
It had a white blade that felt elegantly antique yet was perfectly maintained.
The hilt was clean and practical in design.
And above all.
It possessed a sturdiness that did not melt even under the full force of her flames.
This sword was undoubtedly the strongest within this infinite storm.
Of course, it wouldn’t let itself be caught easily.
First, she had to have a conversation with the sword to make it acknowledge her.
The sword she was holding broke in the first exchange, but no matter.
The means for conversation were scattered everywhere. She only needed to reach out and grab one.
The Mountain of Knives Hell.
In this hell filled with blades and swords, flowers made of flames bloomed and swayed, melting the mediocre swords that couldn’t withstand the heat.
The sound of clashing steel, the sound of snapping blades, and the increasing number of wounds from flying fragments filled the air, but her opponent wasn’t unscathed either.
Her own as-yet-unnamed swordsmanship versus a masterpiece sword wielding an unknown technique.
To be honest, if a swordsman had been wielding that blade directly, she would have lost.
She took pride in the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, which had been passed down through generations, and she was confident in the improved version she had created.
But the swordsmanship this blade displayed was something that had been refined over an even longer period of time.
However, unfortunately for the blade, this was not a duel between two swordsmen, but a duel between a sword and a swordsman.
When her colliding sword broke and there were no other swords nearby to grab, the masterpiece blade flew toward her without hesitation. But this was exactly what she had been waiting for.
“Got you.”
She didn’t know who the swordsman who had mastered this blade was, but he had a certain habit.
At the moment he tried to deliver the final blow, he had a strange obsession with a horizontal slashing motion.
If he were holding the sword himself, it wouldn’t be a problem.
In fact, depending on the level of mastery, it could be a very threatening attack.
However, in a state where there was no physical body holding it—whether it was Sword Control or something else—there was a very brief moment during the preparation for that horizontal slash.
A moment when the hilt of the sword was exposed to the enemy.
Even if one were aiming for it, the time it took for a perfected swordsman to swing a blade was a mere fraction of a second.
A moment’s lapse in concentration, and her head would roll.
Still, she was certain.
And as expected, the sword flinched, showing a moment of hesitation as if wondering if it was truly alright to cut her.
“You shouldn’t hesitate in a duel.”
The sword resisted violently the moment she gripped the hilt, but it would understand once they had a proper conversation.
She poured her internal energy into the sword, suppressing its wild thrashing, and then pressured it with her heat.
Go ahead, keep resisting. I’ll just break you.
With that intent, she slammed even stronger internal energy into the blade.
Perhaps her persuasion worked. The sword eventually grew quiet, its blade beginning to hum with a low vibration.
“I’ve gained a good sword.”
* * *
“Is that thing… crying?”
— Uh, well. All the swords here are masterpieces, but since they belong to Jingwang, it shouldn’t be easy to take ownership.
“No, I’m telling you, the sword is literally crying!”
— Of course it is. A sword made in the Boiling Hell for the King of Hell just got terrified by a human.
“…Then is that thing Myth-grade by any chance?”
— Probably not that high. It wasn’t made for Jingwang to wield personally, but for executing sinners. It’s a sword designed for Sword Control.
“Then if we take it…”
— The material is likely Divine Iron, though. It’s probably the same stuff used to make the Ruyi.
…Aren’t we screwed if we take that?
Whether she knew what I was thinking or not, Master was showing off her new sword now that the storm had stopped. The others were showering her with praise, saying how amazing she was.
“How was that, So-hyun!”
“…Ah, um. You did great. It’s amazing.”
…And I didn’t really have anything else to do but praise her.
She looked so happy; I couldn’t exactly tell her to leave it behind.