The Right Arm of the Evil God
The massive door rumbled open like the gates of a fortress, revealing the scene beyond.
“This is incredible,” I muttered.
The space past the door was so vast it was hard to believe we were underground. But what truly astonished me wasn’t the sheer size of the cavern or the enormous pillars dotting the area. Even without any mana-sensing ability, it was impossible to miss.
Deep beneath the earth, a brilliant light blazed like the sun itself. There was no way I could overlook something like that unless I’d gone blind.
“It’s called the Light of Genesis. The name comes from holy arts, but it certainly lives up to it.”
And embedded throughout the walls and pillars like stars in the night sky were mana stones of such high purity that even a layman could tell at a glance. Lines connecting the points formed a magical circle so beautiful that even I, who knew nothing of magic, could appreciate its elegance.
“That’s a sealing array. It creates an absolute barrier limited exclusively to anything related to the evil god.”
“I heard holy arts and magic don’t mix well…”
“With enough effort and money, it’s possible.”
“…You’re talking like you’ve actually tried it.”
“…………”
Her silence was as good as confirmation.
“Isn’t that restriction basically meaningless?”
“…Who knows.”
I couldn’t tell if she was skillfully bypassing it or if there were other constraints I didn’t know about. But there was no time to dwell on the question.
Because in the center of the underground chamber—where the magic and sunlight converged—I sensed a presence.
It was an incredibly unpleasant experience. Who would enjoy the feeling of a sticky gaze and voice trying to cling to your very soul, slipping past your eyes, skin, and ears?
“………”
Fortunately, I could block it in advance. Thanks to Ancient Martial Arts: Standing Posture, I had gained absolute control over my five senses. I closed my skin, sealed my ears, and shut my eyes, cutting off all interference. At the same time, I continued to observe, listen, and feel without letting my guard down.
“That is the evil god’s right arm.”
“…Terrifying. Even in its weakened state, just recognizing me lets it exert this much pressure.”
“I told you, didn’t I? If you don’t wrap your soul, you’ll die much faster.”
“Still, this feels like cheating. We just stepped through the door.”
Put another way, it meant the Ancient Martial Arts I had just learned was the most suitable method for dealing with an evil god.
“In case you were wondering, I wasn’t the one who prepared that soul wrapping. It was already set up by the imperial family in the empire’s early days.”
“…Their future foresight is no joke.”
It meant that nameless imperial ancestor had foreseen even my current self while creating this sealing ground. They had even seen through Diana’s regressions, despite the fact that the Diana who hadn’t regressed would have simply attended the academy like any normal student.
“■■■■■?”
Confusion and displeasure radiated from the evil god’s voice. It seemed to have realized its attack hadn’t worked.
“…With senses and judgment like that, it’s supposed to be nothing but a remnant?”
I muttered in disbelief, but that wasn’t the end of it. Once it registered that its attack had been blocked, the creature immediately made its next move.
A massive surge of energy exploded inside the seal. Even from beyond the barrier, I could see the black, murky power swirling violently. Thanks to the absolute barrier designed specifically against the evil god, the explosive force didn’t reach us directly.
“So this shaking is just the aftershock from rattling the seal.”
“…We’re literally having a light earthquake right now?”
It wasn’t a severe tremor, but I could clearly feel the ground rumbling. And in that vibration, the magical circle shook ever so slightly.
Then, from beyond the seal, a single drop of energy slipped through the gap.
Just one tiny droplet. A remnant of a remnant—barely even a speck of power.
“…So that’s why this place is so huge.”
The moment that minuscule force touched the shadows, it swelled in size instantly.
“They’re coming.”
At Diana’s warning, the shadows began to rise.
“…………”
“…………”
“…………”
There were easily a hundred of them. Even if they had been mere goblins instead of shadow monsters, claiming victory would have been difficult.
“Is it too much for you?”
“It might have been before I learned Lightning Step.”
I was worried, of course. I had only just reached the basics of Lightning Step, and the only real combat experience I had with it was embarrassingly sloppy. Not to mention the sheer number of enemies.
“But right now, I’m actually excited. After all the suffering it took to learn this martial art, I want to see just how amazing it really is.”
For the first time, I could fulfill the role of a proper combat specialist—the one I had been forced to abandon before.
“Then your weapon…”
“Ah, I’m saving that for later. This is just the opening act, right?”
“…? Don’t you have any other weapons?”
I had plenty of weapons I’d swept up from the academy, but they were all standard class equipment. Wielding them carelessly risked letting mana flow through me.
“I’ve got this.”
I pulled a brick out of my pocket.
“Uh… right. Of course you do.”
“You seem oddly flustered?”
“Not at all.”
Diana’s suspiciously awkward response made me want to press her further, but I didn’t have the chance.
Because the shadow monsters were silently closing in.
“Transformation: Gauntlet.”
I spoke to the brick exactly as I had been told. It melted with a silvery glow, wrapping around my arm and reshaping itself into a pair of steel gauntlets before the light faded.
“Just like I heard. It changed exactly into the image I had in mind.”
This was the Helisbort family’s treasure. The pinnacle of versatility. The shape-memory alloy, Agatram.
“Eh? Ehhh??”
Diana sounded genuinely shocked, her voice slipping out without any attempt to hide her surprise. It seemed she truly knew nothing about Agatram.
‘Oh Ji-o’s knowledge mentioned it, so there’s no way she wouldn’t have used it before.’
I’d have to ask her about the details once this was over.
‘For now…’
I needed to deal with the enemies in front of me first.
├─ Complete sensory control ✓
├─ Perfect balance and posture ✓
└─ Absolute physical mastery — ACTIVATED ★
* * *
Shadow monsters. I hadn’t expected to see them here, but at least I knew what they were. They had appeared as enemy units both when fighting evil god followers and after the evil god’s resurrection. I immediately pulled the information from Oh Ji-o’s memories.
‘Primary attack method is arms that can transform into blades. Higher variants have the habit of devouring anything they touch. Fast movement speed, no sound, bonus to ambush success rate and evasion. Weaknesses: light and fire. Resistance: physical.’
“Tsk. Of all things, physical resistance.”
Then again, since they were shadow monsters, maybe it was a relief they didn’t have complete immunity?
I tested it by secretly striking the side of a shadow monster trying to ambush me.
With a heavy thud, its light body flew far into the distance. Since my fist hadn’t sunk into it like it was mud, it clearly didn’t have full physical immunity.
‘The sensation was weird, though.’
But it was too early to celebrate. My current strength was estimated at over 300—measured in tons, not kilograms—yet I hadn’t completely crushed the creature. Still, watching the shadow monster that had been sent flying twitch helplessly after slamming into a pillar, killing them didn’t seem impossible.
What remained now was to endure until I had defeated the entire army of shadow monsters closing in right before my eyes.
“Then, let’s begin.”
For that purpose, I took my first step.
“Time to walk.”
"Stand if you have taken form."
"Tread if you have stood."
⟨ Ancient Martial Arts: Treading Step ⟩
The moment I took a step, all sound vanished from that spot. The sound of impact, the sound of weight shifting, even the faintest rustle—everything disappeared into perfect silence. This was the correct step that Ancient Martial Arts demanded.
They controlled every muscle, vibration, and recoil of the body through steps that swallowed even sound itself. Martial arts were, after all, a way of fighting. Every action without the slightest waste was converted directly into destructive power.
Compared to the sound my first punch had made earlier, this was a small, light noise. But the result was completely different.
“So this is how it works.”
“………!”
This time, my fist didn’t send the shadow monster flying. It pierced straight through its body. The creature with a hole in its chest flailed its arms for a moment before going limp.
“Next.”
I shook my arm to fling the corpse off. Immediately, another monster charged in from the side. I thrust my hand out—not a fist this time, but an open-palm spear hand.
“………!”
My hand blade pierced through the opponent’s body without fail.
“Next.”
The enemies rushed in. The hundred-plus monsters had surrounded me, each swinging its arms. But the limitation of a close encirclement was that not many could attack at once. At most, five enemies could strike simultaneously.
And thanks to the absolute sense of balance gained from proper posture and the perfect body control that came from correct movement, I could dodge their attacks by the narrowest of margins.
I walked. I extended my arm. When an enemy fell, I dodged the next attack and walked again. It wasn’t even a proper technique, let alone a refined martial form. It was simply an extension of moving correctly.
Yet the strikes that concentrated the full strength of my body into a single point easily shattered the physical resistance and slaughtered the creatures.
What I was doing was nothing more than experimenting to see what kind of attack produced what kind of result.
Fist strikes were the most instinctive and basic, so they were easy. Palm strikes could crush a wide surface area. Spear hands pierced straight into the opponent’s body as their name suggested. Elbow strikes drove deep impacts like a blunt weapon.
“And I can’t not try this.”
Once I had built up enough understanding of my body, I could even play around a little.
“Finger strike.”
“………!”
My two fingers shot forward like spears and sank straight into the shadow monster’s throat. I raked them sideways, and its head tore clean off.
“…I really need to study finger techniques properly too.”
The number of shadow monsters was still overwhelming, but it didn’t matter. My stamina, which exceeded 200, recovered faster than it was depleted. And simply walking and moving correctly allowed me to evade every single attack.
‘What about Diana…’
I glanced her way just in case, but there was no need to worry. Without even drawing her weapon, she had piled up a mountain of corpses using only her mana-infused fists.
There had been no mention in Oh Ji-o’s memories of her excelling at close combat, so she must have trained like a mad dog. I made that rather reasonable assumption as I slapped another monster across the face.
With a crisp smack, the shadow monster’s head flew off like a popped cork.
‘Hmm… this is…’
The sensation was more addictive than I expected.
* * *
‘It’s still watching.’
I could feel the gaze from beyond the seal. It seemed to have given up on trying to penetrate us directly, but it was clearly observing how we fought. Because I could sense it, both Diana and I were deliberately using only raw physical power.
Our real enemy wasn’t these shadow monsters. It was the evil god inside the seal. And naturally, this situation was far from ideal for it.
“Yeah, I’ve been waiting for you to make a move.”
Another explosion erupted inside the seal, and the change began. About half of the shadow monsters remained. Instead of advancing toward us, they started merging with one another.
“Are they fusing?”
“Yes. And you must not attack them.”
“Is that some kind of courtesy?”
“No. There’s a risk of getting sucked into that current.”
“…Got it.”
I could feel a flow emanating from the shadows. The monsters no longer needed to move toward it themselves. Once enough of them had gathered, they began exerting a shadow-specific attractive force. Shadows behind pillars, our own shadows, the insides of the magical circle—every dark patch in sight was being sucked in.
And then—
“……………!”
A colossal shadow monster rose to its feet.
The second phase had begun.