Chapter 371: Shin Sangyong
Chapter 371: Shin Sangyong
3-Step Flight.
Of course, it wasn't called that because I could only use it three times. It was an ability where I divided my movement skills into three parts, controlling the magic consumed with each leap to adjust my flight distance at will.
The instant an opening appeared, I didn't hesitate for a second.
I immediately kicked off the ground, executing the first leap using the speed of my Orthros Long Boots.
—Kill him!
The moment my body was airborne, a countless number of bloodthirsty auras surged toward me as if they had been waiting.
But I had anticipated this. That’s why I dropped low as soon as I was in the air, feeling the countless attacks slice through the empty space above me.
I’d dodged, but I had no intention of landing just yet. Before I hit the ground, I quickly kicked out, feeling my sole make contact with someone’s shoulder.
From that position, I launched myself into another leap using the boots.
Shushushuk!
This time, arrows flew at me again, but I could feel that their killing intent was significantly weaker than before. I swung the Victoria’s Glory fiercely, deflecting as many arrows as I could.
The ones I cut were sliced in half, scattering into the air. However, I felt a few arrows that I couldn't block strike my body from a blind spot.
Biting my lip, I glanced down. There wasn't even a sliver of space, let alone room to land, in the dense enemy formation. Every one of them was staring up, their long weapons held rigidly upright.
If I descended now, my balance would surely shatter. The key to the 3-Step Flight was to make the transitions between the first, second, and third steps flow like water.
That left only one solution. I had to create an opening, just like before.
As my body began to fall, I infused my sword with magic. Then, I began relentlessly striking the landing point with waves of sword aura.
The Victoria’s Glory let out short hums, and with each one, a 30-centimeter-long wave of energy poured into the heart of the enemy ranks.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Frantic movements and chaotic screams erupted from within the thick dust kicked up by the impacts. The indiscriminate waves of energy became a baptism of light, creating a small hole in the enemy's formation.
A moment later.
Feeling my hair whip from side to side in the fierce wind, I landed on the ground. The instant my feet touched the earth, completing the first flight, a brilliant light enveloped my entire body. With the sound of something slicing through the air, dozens of gleaming blades lunged at me from all directions.
I briefly clicked my tongue at the perfectly executed follow-up.
I quickly raised my head and stared forward. Through the storm of incoming weapons, I could see the disrupted formation. And through that gap, I activated the second flight—Positional Exchange—and leaped past it.
I blinked, and the scene before me changed. A faint cheer erupted from behind me, but it was cut short, likely because they realized my afterimage had vanished. Without a moment to look back, I immediately started running again.
Half the distance left.
I had covered half of it in an instant. That meant fifteen meters. Normally, it was a distance I could close in a single dash.
But as I looked at the Spirit King standing in my way, an inexplicable frustration tightened my chest. In a way, it was the final gatekeeper before the Spirit Summoner, and it was not an easy opponent.
But what could I do about it now? In the end, it all came down to who had made the more meticulous calculations.
I swallowed once. I knew I’d become a target again if I took to the air, but the sky was the only open path available to me. Could I really get past the Spirit King while dodging all the attacks aimed at me?
I can't leave it to luck.
Betting my life on fortune was a fool's errand. The enemy was watching my every move. I had to use that to my advantage. They had probably finished reloading by now. If I could make them waste another volley of spells and arrows, my chances of breaking through the Spirit King would increase.
As the thought crossed my mind, I felt incoming attacks and reacted instinctively.
First, before kicking off the ground, I drew upon the power of Positional Exchange. Then, as I shot into the air, I activated the prepared Positional Exchange a beat later.
My feet were still on the ground.
My body shot up, cutting through the wind. But the feeling of weightlessness was brief.
It reversed in an instant, pulling me back down.
Thud!
The moment I had leaped, I was already landing back on the ground.
Kaboom! Kaboom!
Shushushuk! Shushushuk!
Countless spells and arrows belatedly tore through the empty air. The enemy had targeted me the moment I jumped, but thanks to Positional Exchange activating simultaneously, I had landed right back on the ground. The gap was about one second. By preparing Positional Exchange before I leaped, I had created the effect of the jump and the ability's activation happening at almost the same time.
This bought me an opportunity.
The Spirit King was still in my way, but things were much better than before.
Before the precious time I’d created ran out, I moved quickly. I grabbed the collar of a man staring blankly in front of me and yanked him down hard.
Believing this next leap would decide the battle, I stepped on his collapsing shoulder and, this time, launched myself into the air with every ounce of strength I had.
The distance to the Spirit King was about five meters. With this much power in my jump, it was more than enough.
My body soared in an arc, rapidly closing the distance to the giant of water.
The Spirit King seemed to have noticed me. Its head slowly lowered, its gaze fixing on me.
Then, as dozens of water-colored beams of light shot out from its entire body, its right arm began to transform. The fiercely approaching beams fell toward me, precisely targeting my ascending form.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
It was practically a concentrated barrage. I held my breath for a moment but responded by thrusting my sword forward. At the same time, I poured my magic into it, preparing a wave of energy to slice through the Spirit King.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
I had something I could rely on. The beams that hit me erupted into a fierce spray of water and dispersed into the air, just like before. I had been taking a beating, but my magic resistance was still holding up, allowing me to narrowly defend against the dozens of light beams.
ROOOOOOOOAR!
At that moment, with a tremendous roar of fury, I saw its right arm, now even larger than before, reach for me. The physical force of the incoming blow was not something I could ignore. Just as I had thrown my all into my leap, the fist of water, swung with all its might, shot toward me as if to smash me into the ground.
Just before it reached me, I gripped my sword with both hands and focused all my senses.
The moment the fist and my sword were about to collide, I angled my blade diagonally and tilted my body half a turn to the right. My experience fighting one-on-one with the Sword Empress momentarily came to my aid.
It all happened in an instant.
I felt a sharp pain in my left elbow as it grazed past, but the fist of water formed a single massive torrent and shot past me. I moved alongside it, slipping inward toward the main body. Then, I charged straight into the Spirit King's torso.
For a second, I had the illusion of seeing a blue ocean before me. Its body, eight meters in diameter, looked like a colossal wall of water. Just as I was about to be engulfed, I swung the wave of energy I had prepared at the obstacle blocking my path.
Splaaaaash!
Like a miracle, the sea parted to the left and right, revealing the empty space behind it.
In a way, this was a perfect chance to deal a decisive blow to the Spirit King.
But I quickly dismissed the thought. Though it was a king, the Spirit King was still a summoned being. If I killed its master, it would naturally disappear.
There was only one target. The Spirit Summoner.
As I reminded myself of that, the parted sea of water began to boil and bubble, the wound starting to regenerate. Just before it closed completely, I slipped through the gap, moving in a straight line.
I did it…!
The thought came the moment I broke free.
Thump!
“Haaak.”
As soon as I passed through the Spirit King, a powerful impact slammed into my back, forcing a gasp of air from my lungs. My speed had already been greatly reduced from riding the water with my sword, and that last blow threw my balance completely off.
I felt my body tilt even further. But I couldn't give up. If I fell now, all the hell I had gone through would be for nothing.
“Kuk!”
Fortunately, my heightened concentration allowed me to turn a crisis into an opportunity.
Instead of resisting the force on my back, I accepted it. Just like when I had saved Ahn Sol during the Rite of Passage, I controlled the impact and converted it into forward momentum. My stalled body shot forward as if flicked by a rubber band.
Swoosh!
The wind brushed past my head into the open air. Seeing it, a wave of euphoria washed over me. I had finally cleared the main hurdle.
The remaining distance was ten meters. My body was still airborne.
After completing two flights, I looked down and saw the Spirit Summoner, now within reach.
Finally. The Spirit Summoner was finally in range.
Her arrogant smile was gone. Seeing her mouth agape, I knew I was on the verge of achieving my goal. The once-faint possibility was now a certainty right before my eyes.
I sent a surge of magic through the circuits running throughout my body. Below, countless Users were watching me. I felt the same sensation I had when I wielded Zero Code in the past.
I can do this.
Thanks to the push from the Spirit King, I regained some speed and began my descent. My exhausted leap and magic now sliced through the air like a slide, aimed at finally achieving my objective. The Spirit Summoner watching me bit her lip in frustration before her expression twisted into one of malice.
I dove straight for the woman, drawing up the magic flowing through my body's circuits. Only one step remained.
Drip!
It was then.
With victory just a step away, my eyes widened at the Spirit Summoner's next action.
It happened just as I began my descent.
Realizing I was coming for her, the Spirit Summoner opened her mouth wide and screamed, then swept her hand out horizontally.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!
At that moment, to the left of my path, a dark shadow was cast along with a massive torrent of water. Like a blue carpet being unrolled, it shot forward, racing to block the point I was about to pass through.
From the right, an unknown, violent force rushed in, matching the water's speed. It was only then that I understood the situation. And though it was just for a fleeting moment, I was impressed.
They were precise attacks, calculated to match my speed. If I continued on my current trajectory, the two killing forces would crush me like clapping hands the moment I reached that point.
I don't think so.
The leap wasn't over yet. I curled my body inward. The magic I had stored up was still coursing through my circuits.
The instant before I reached the intersection point.
BOOM!
Without delay, I unfurled my body and unleashed all the swirling magic at once. My body, which had been falling in a gentle arc, shot forward as if launched by a rubber band, its trajectory straightening into a near-perfect line.
It was the activation of the final leap, Bowstring Shadow Step.
My descent accelerated even further. In that state, I 'passed through' the intersection point.
SPLASH!
I heard nothing. I only felt the light and spray of water erupting into the sky behind me after I had passed the point of impact.
With hope finally at hand, I put my strength into the Victoria’s Glory for the last time. I aimed it at the Users tightly surrounding the Spirit Summoner below.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
An ability I had saved for this very moment. At last, the pure white sword let out a clear hum. A flash of sword light shot out, followed by tearing screams as several Users collapsed.
The Spirit Summoner was among them. But she wasn't dead yet; she staggered for a moment, clutching her right arm as she barely regained her footing.
After managing to stand, the Spirit Summoner glared at me as I closed in. I didn't know when she had picked it up, but in her right hand was the Caligo Abraxas, its transformation undone.
Seeing that, a thrilling euphoria washed over me.
Everything I had endured, all the patience, had been for this very moment. A certain opportunity, carved out through countless crises.
Thinking this was truly the end, I pulled my right arm far back.
Wooooong—
As if certain of my victory, the Victoria’s Glory let out an unprecedentedly clear hum.
—Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
And as if making a final, desperate struggle, the Spirit Summoner let out a piercing scream and weakly raised the Caligo Abraxas.
With that, the distance between the Spirit Summoner and me became zero.
In that same instant, white and black intersected.
Slice!
CRASH!
After cutting through something, I plummeted to the earth. I had put so much force into it that the ground shook with a tremendous roar, and a cloud of dust rose, obscuring the surroundings.
But what I felt all over my body wasn't the hard ground. It was the soft, yielding flesh of a human body.
As I recovered from the impact and raised my head, I saw a fountain of blood gushing intermittently and a headless corpse, its body crushed and bloodied.
“……”
For all the effort it took, the result was over in an instant. I gasped for breath, thinking I had finally killed her, but it wasn't over yet. I lifted the corpse and immediately got to my feet.
The area was silent. The dust had settled, revealing only the enemies staring blankly at me and the dead Spirit Summoner.
With the corpse in my left hand and the Victoria’s Glory in my right, I looked up at the sky. It had become filled with dark clouds.
Drip, drip.
Following that, the massive body of water that had formed the Spirit King scattered into countless droplets, raining down everywhere. With its summoner dead, it could no longer exist here, following the law of this world.
Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!
The raindrops drenching the area seemed to snap the enemies out of their stupor, and a menacing killing intent soon filled the air. Despite it all, I kept my gaze fixed on the sky.
By now, the signal should have reached them.
Rumble!
As a single streak of lightning flashed between the clouds, I felt my eyes focus.
The moment I confirmed it, I unleashed my magic once more and shouted at the top of my lungs.
“HYUUUUNG!”
And at that moment.
KRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUMBLE!
The world turned a brilliant, blinding yellow.