Chapter 209: Primordial Sun (3)
Chapter 209: Primordial Sun (3)
Thud.
My eyes had nearly rolled back in my head from the impact; I must have swung with everything I had.
"H-huuuuuuuh!"
The celestial being, who looked like a Buddhist statue, crumpled his already grim face even further as he caught my hammer.
As if to say that since he had blocked it once, there was no reason he couldn't do it twice.
After that brief exchange of blows.
"Lord Deva, are you alright?!"
Voices called out from others of his race standing beside him, those who had also blocked weapons.
"...I am fine. More importantly, carry out the operation immediately."
"But if you aren't there, Lord Deva, who will stop Zess...?"
"That is exactly why."
"Where do you think you're going, babbling like that while ignoring me, you bastards!"
Taking advantage of their conversation, I soared into the sky. I shrunk my hammer—which was large enough to blot out the heavens—to the size of a house and swung it at them.
Boom!
With a massive roar of impact, The Hammer strike was thwarted once again.
However, a different situation unfolded compared to the previous two exchanges.
Crack.
Cracks began to spiderweb across the Bronze Spear held by the one called Deva.
"Go, now! As you can see, Zess isn't the problem right now!"
"...Yes, sir!"
As the statue-like man roared, the remaining entities dashed toward the ground.
"Where do you think you're going!"
I tried to bypass the being called Deva to annihilate the enemies pouring downward, but—
"Ack...!"
With a sharp pain in my throat, my body was yanked backward.
Feeling as though I was being strangled, I quickly brought my left hand to my neck.
Metal?
I felt a cold, thin metal coiled around my throat.
"Unknown powerhouse. I cannot simply let you go."
From the voice behind me, I understood that this bizarre attack was also Deva’s doing. However, because what was wrapped around my neck wasn't a rope or a hook but a thin metal wire, I couldn't easily break free and was dragged in front of him.
The moment I reached him, the thin metal around my neck quickly unraveled.
It seemed it didn't possess any special power to keep strangling me.
"...."
I lightly stroked my neck to check for deep wounds.
Then, I raised my head and glared at the Deva before me.
A spear studded with countless metal thorns.
A bow so excessively twisted it looked like a narrow 'C'.
A flexible Soft Sword that had just coiled around my neck.
A shield with long spikes protruding to the left and right.
A vajra with blunt weights on both ends.
A long, sharp blade integrated with a metal gauntlet.
In his remaining two hands, he held a red orb and a blue orb, their purposes unknown.
"Are you not going to ignore me this time?"
"...Because you don't seem like an opponent I can afford to ignore."
I was concerned about the ones who had dropped below, but compared to the Deva in front of me, they were insignificantly weak.
"To receive such praise from a Strong One. It is an honor."
Grin.
He curled the corners of his mouth as if to smile.
But because his face was so absurdly grim, it looked nothing like a smile; it was a grotesque sight.
In contrast, my face was a mask of pure expressionlessness, devoid of even a trace of a smile.
After a brief exchange of looks and words.
I waited for the clash to continue, but since neither of us moved, I quickly scanned the ground.
Seeing giant lasers and pillars of fire erupting from the ground toward the sky, it seemed the residents of this room could hold their own against those who weren't Deva.
"You're distracted."
"Then why don't you attack?"
"No fool would willingly stick their head into the lion's den."
He knew well enough. If he had blindly charged in just because I looked full of openings, my hammer would have swung, and his head would have exploded.
Since the standoff continued, I openly surveyed the floor this time.
Perhaps because it was Deva’s attack they couldn't handle initially, I could see a defensive line forming against the subsequent attacks.
With that, I changed my objective.
"There's one thing I want to ask."
Rather than fighting this man, I chose a way to keep him occupied as long as possible.
In other words, I decided to talk.
"What is it, Strong One?"
"Why did you people attack this place?"
"A simple question. To survive."
To survive, huh.
"Does 'to survive' mean you're allowed to kill countless others?"
"One's own death versus the death of another. Unless one is a saint, it is natural to choose the death of the other."
"It seems to me the people of this world could live just fine without such pillaging."
The world I saw was prosperous and relaxed.
A place where families walked together, a place of culture and technology.
However, my words seemed incomprehensible to Deva.
"...Who are you?"
An answer came that was completely detached from my question.
"Lee Ha-ram."
I gave him my name.
"Lee Ha-ram. I have never heard of it."
Deva muttered to himself before immediately continuing.
"I see. Strong One, Lee Ha-ram. You are not a being belonging to the Demiurge."
Having finished his piece, Deva took on a grave expression and began to quietly steady his energy.
"...How do you know that?"
"Because Zess's world is also built on pillage. Only the scale differs from ours. Every being of the Demiurge lives that way."
As he spoke, he radiated refined energy, spread all eight arms, and smiled.
"I also understand why Zess hasn't come out. So that's how it was."
He seemed to have reached some conclusion on his own. I wished he'd share it with me instead of keeping it to himself.
Despite my wish.
"Was the reason you spoke to me to buy time?"
Ignoring my thoughts entirely, Deva, with his arms fully spread, spoke to me.
"...."
I said nothing.
"No need to feign innocence. For someone swallowing endless fury to ask questions of someone they have no interest in... it must be a display of extreme self-control, born from a desire to protect those living on the ground."
Deva reached behind his back and thrust his weapons into the fire floating behind him.
"However. Such things are meaningless now."
Whoosh.
Perhaps because they touched the fire, the bronze weapons in Deva’s hands began to glow with a golden heat.
"Strong One. I request a duel!"
And so, the battle began.
* * *
Clang! Cl-cl-cl-clang!
I swung my hammer to deflect the arrows, spears, and soft swords that suddenly flew at me.
"Tsk."
In exchange, a long blade pierced through my torso.
The sensation that followed wasn't an indescribable pain.
It was simply... hot.
It wasn't the nonsensical heat of Zess's fire, but the area pierced by the blade was instantly seared, sending a constant throb of heat instead of sharp pain.
That made it about six times I'd been hit by his weapons.
I gritted my teeth against the pain from the wounds that wouldn't easily heal.
I swung my hammer at Deva, who was swinging his vajra to attack me again.
Boom!
However, The Hammer was blocked by the shield in his hand.
Just as it had been throughout this entire fight.
Of course, I wasn't losing in terms of strength.
"I said you can't block it!"
Boom!
The Hammer had been stopped by the shield once, but as I twisted my entire body and slammed it down again—
Crack!
Deva’s arm broke once more, and the shield, pushed back by The Hammer, slammed into Deva’s own head.
Unable to withstand the force, Deva’s skull caved in sickeningly.
In exchange for this strike, the blade stuck in my stomach sliced through my side, nearly severing my waist in half. But since he took a fatal blow and I was only half-dead, it was a fair trade.
However.
Whoosh.
The fire flowing from Deva’s back healed his body.
And I, too, emitted light as I reattached my waist.
In the end, it was a meaningless exchange.
Of course.
Clang. Cl-cl-cl-clang.
Regardless of each other's regeneration, we continued to trade blows.
One's head was crushed, the other's limbs were seared until they lost all sensation but pain, and the countless metallic sounds dominating the air never ceased.
"H-huph!"
Occasionally, Deva would shout and make the Red and Blue Orbs in his hands glow.
Skreeeeeeee.
With a sound like a screeching insect, he displayed a peculiar technique that destroyed the surrounding space.
Unlike the god-tier Weaponry Skills Deva showed, the timing for that technique was obvious, and since it didn't link with his weapon skills, it was easy to avoid.
The problem was...
"Tsk."
Sensing the precursor to the Spatial Destruction, I gave up my attack and immediately widened the distance.
I had the upper hand in the previous exchange; if it had continued, I could have popped Deva’s head without taking any damage myself.
...But I couldn't recover from that damage.
While the shattered space separated us and we each took a breath as it slowly repaired itself, I looked down at my left index finger.
It had been swallowed by the Spatial Destruction and remained gone, as if it had been teleported to another dimension.
In other words, it was an absolute offensive power I was experiencing for the first time—one that even bypassed my regeneration.
How annoying.
Overall, his techniques were half a step to a full step above mine.
But fundamentally, my raw power overwhelmed Deva’s, so unless it was a surprise attack like before, the exchange would end in my victory.
However, whenever I tried to land a decisive finishing blow after gaining the upper hand, that ridiculous Spatial Destruction blocked me, preventing either side from landing a clean kill.
There's no end to this.
Even as I thought that, I took my stance again.
First, I saw the destroyed space was about to be restored.
And for another reason.
The flame on Deva’s back, which seemed to be the source of his power, had shrunk to less than half its original size.
If that flame represented the total amount of energy Deva possessed, I would definitely win.
With that thought.
The moment the space was restored.
Boom!
I kicked off a foothold I created in the air with my will and lunged toward Deva, who had also prepared to fight again.
Clang!
The collision between the spear Deva thrust and The Hammer I swung upward.
Overpowered by strength, Deva’s spear soared into the air.
The deflected tip of the spear pointed toward my head, but I didn't stop my charge.
Slice.
The spear blade dug into the top of my head.
As a result, the skin above my right eye and some of my hair were sliced away.
Blood flowed along with the pain, but I kept moving forward.
Boom!
The second collision.
The vajra The Enemy swung down met The Hammer I swung from the left over my head.
The result was my overwhelming victory.
In any previous exchange, I would have had to prepare for the next defense since The Enemy still had four weapons left.
But perhaps fatigue had accumulated from constantly blocking The Hammer.
Crack.
The sensation of something breaking transmitted to my hand, and bronze bones burst through Deva’s skin.
This was my chance.
Immediately, I lunged into the opening in Deva’s torso.
Despite having many arms and god-tier Weaponry Skills, the structure of the human body meant he couldn't attack the space directly in front of his chest.
I raised The Hammer floating in the air.
And slammed it straight into Deva’s chest.
Thump!
A perfect strike.
The Hammer, striking The Enemy’s chest, pierced through his torso, crushing internal organs and bones.
For the first time, it touched the flames.
Perhaps because of that.
Fwoosh.
With a sound like a dying breeze, the fire went out.
Deva’s movements also stopped.
"...Did I win?"
Deva wasn't moving at all, and there seemed to be no sign of anything else happening.
The moment I relaxed my strength and twisted The Hammer to pull it out of his body—
"Not yet."
Whoosh!
The fire that had completely gone out flared up violently once more.
And Deva’s six hands reached out toward me.
Tsk. A final struggle?
I tried to pull away immediately.
But because The Hammer was still lodged in Deva’s body, my reaction was slightly delayed.
Deva’s six hands, having discarded their weapons, pulled me into a bear hug against his chest.
What does he plan to do with this?
Deva’s strength wasn't enough to crush me.
And by discarding all his weapons to perform this restraint, he had lost all means of attacking me.
The only thing left was Spatial Destruction.
But at this distance, he would be caught in it too.
However, a bad premonition struck me. Just as I poured strength into my body to break free—
"H-huph...!"
Deva’s much-weakened shout rang in my ear.
Skreeeeeeeeeeeeee.
The insect-like screech that overwhelmed everything else...
Engulfed me.
