Chapter 336: Designated Erasure - 『The Yellow King』(1)
Chapter 336: Designated Erasure - 『The Yellow King』(1)
At his appearance, I clenched my teeth.
Get a grip, Lee Ha-ram.
That is the Heavenly Demon Sword God, yet it is an existence that is not him.
If the feeling that this phenomenon is truly my master takes root within me, I too will slowly become a performer in this play.
In reality, the Yellow King would likely stop the activation before such a thing could happen.
Even so, by meeting the counterpart and experiencing The Play, a seed is planted in one's heart.
A seed of longing to meet the one who has already vanished, that false shadow, once again.
The Yellow King can stop nourishing that seed by suppressing The Play's activation, but once a seed is planted, it can still sprout within the heart.
That is one of the reasons the Yellow King lives far apart from others.
An O-Rank Monster, an irregular existence born from the mixture of the immortal Phoenix’s Otherworld Erosion—that is the power of the Yellow King.
"What is the matter, Ha-ram? You are unusually quiet today."
The existence born from that power, who was my master yet not my master.
The Heavenly Demon Sword God of those days, looking exactly like my memories.
There was only one thing I could do for him.
"…I am sorry, Grandfather."
I wanted to show the shadow of my old master, who, though clumsy, carried a sense of worry for me in his words.
Thump.
I unleashed my power.
A power that had grown incomparably stronger than in the past.
Though a force capable of destroying everything radiated outward, the living room situated between us remained intact. The curtains merely fluttered as if a gentle breeze had passed, watching our conversation.
"…."
The Heavenly Demon Sword God stroked his chin as he observed my power, staring at me intently.
"…."
I also remained silent.
I was certain that if it were the Heavenly Demon Sword God, he would understand.
After a brief silence where only my power radiated in all directions.
"Has space-time been distorted?"
The Heavenly Demon Sword God's question broke the silence.
I shook my head.
As I signaled my denial, the Heavenly Demon Sword God drew his blade and slashed through the air.
Even now, decades later, it was a feat no one could replicate.
A silver line was etched into the void.
However, perhaps it looked different to the Heavenly Demon Sword God.
"A light sword. It contains nothing. A sword is meant to be perfected through the years it is swung."
It was a phrase I had heard countless times in the past.
The past version of me couldn't understand it, but now I could.
"You're right. Kids these days don't know that and only focus on appearances, so they're quite hopeless. I wish Kong Jianping could have come here to get a lecture as well."
That was why I spoke the words I wanted to convey.
The shadow of my master seemed to have realized his own situation.
"Tsk, tsk. You still have a long way to go. I can tell just by looking at the energy you're radiating. You have too many stray thoughts. Whether that path is right or wrong, do not agonize over it—just take a step forward. If it turns out to be wrong, you can simply turn back then. If you cannot walk forward because you fear the consequences of your actions, how can you call yourself a disciple of the Heavenly Demon, who bears the name of the Supreme One?"
I didn't expect to be scolded like this at my age.
…Since I'm older now, maybe I should say something back.
"I have too much on my shoulders to do that."
"You rascal. It is enough to carry what you can hold in your arms. If you try to shoulder more, you will only be crushed by the weight without being able to take a single step."
After saying that, the Heavenly Demon Sword God laughed heartily and sheathed his sword.
…I wanted to tell him.
I didn't know the exact point in time he was from, but this Heavenly Demon Sword God didn't know what he would do later.
I wanted to tell my master, who spoke such words, that he had paid the price for shouldering a burden he couldn't carry.
But that was unnecessary.
The only thing I could do for this fragment of my master now was to withdraw my power and see him off as he slowly faded behind the stage.
"Hmm. Everything is gradually growing faint. Is it time to disappear?"
The Heavenly Demon Sword God said as he looked up at the void.
I remained silent, watching him as he became translucent.
"Long ago, a man said he didn't know if he was dreaming of being a butterfly or if a butterfly was dreaming of being him. But it seems he didn't consider that there might be someone who could be certain they were in a dream."
"…I suppose so."
Falsehood and reality.
Where is the boundary?
It was a tedious thought, but seeing this phenomenon made me think that way.
"What do you think, Ha-ram? Is this a dream? If it is a dream, at least the memory will remain."
"…I'm not sure. I've never seen anyone wake from an eternal dream."
There was Meteor, but he was an exception.
"Ha, your silver tongue has improved quite a bit. Perhaps it's due to age. Anyway…."
Ssh.
Now, the Heavenly Demon Sword God's very existence began to melt into the air and vanish.
the final value he left behind was…
'…It was a pleasure to meet you, Ha-ram.'
A small whisper, so faint I couldn't tell if it was an auditory hallucination or if he had truly spoken.
With that, one actor vanished.
Now, I hoped a more reasonable actor would appear.
Thinking that, I turned my head toward the direction where I felt a new presence.
"No. Please. You crazy Yellow King bastard."
Seeing the newly appeared actor, I couldn't help but curse.
The Yellow King didn't intentionally arrange the actors, but with this lineup, I had to curse even if it wasn't his intention.
"Oh my. What's this? Little Ha-ram is using bad words."
A woman's voice echoed in the living room.
Though she looked to be in her late teens or early twenties at most, her calm voice was imbued with power.
It was a voice with a deep, heavy resonance, as if she had spent decades observing others—a voice where maturity slept.
"…Sigh."
Hearing that voice after such a long time, all I could do was let out a sigh.
At my reaction, the woman—who wore a fantasy-style black nun's habit that revealed her body's silhouette, something that could never be called a proper habit, and didn't even wear a veil—scattered her long platinum blonde hair into the air and stared at me with red eyes.
"Hmm? You're acting much older now. Have you devoted yourself to religion? As I've often said, having faith is an act that doesn't help in life. It's more beneficial for survival to practice self-discipline and throw punches at the sky with emotion during that time. However, if you can find peace of mind through religion, I won't deny that heart."
It's been a while since I heard those crazy remarks.
No matter how you looked at it, she was a woman dressed in a nun's habit as if she had devoted herself to the clergy, yet the way she talked had shocked more than a few people.
"So, if you've found faith, shall we pray together? Since I believe in myself rather than someone standing in the heavens, I can't pray on your behalf, but I can at least hold your hands…. Oh? The connection is cut."
Before I could say anything, she, who had been carrying the conversation all by herself, stared blankly into the void and soon spoke.
"There's no way the Divine Power path would be cut, so it seems I'm a cloned fake or some sort of necromancy has occurred. So, which is the correct answer? Little Ha-ram."
Wait, what? How did this crazy cleric figure it out already?
There's a rule that you shouldn't tell an actor about their situation because of the risk of personality collapse or rampage, but if she figured it out on her own and asked…. …It should be… fine, right?
"You're something like a shadow of the original. Don't try to know more than that."
"Hmm. I see. At least it doesn't seem like those Otherworld bastards cloned me. Let's see. Is this a method where I recognize myself as a severed existence and return to nothingness if I wish? This is quite interesting. If such a power exists, it would be quite useful for granting peaceful rest to the dying."
…Why is her situational awareness so fast? Is it because of the time she spent in the Otherworld?
Well, she was someone who lived as a Saintess for decades in the Otherworld as a returnee before coming back, so she probably has more experience than me, but….
Let's stop overthinking.
Among returnees, this person is an outlier anyway.
"Since you've realized it, hurry up and go. You don't have any lingering regrets or anything anyway."
Shoo, shoo.
I waved my hand with that sentiment.
"Hmm."
Our old returnee.
She, who once held the Hero name 'Saintess,' hummed with interest and stared at me.
Feeling an ominous sensation, I didn't let my guard down.
"It seems Little Ha-ram has grown up quite well? It feels like only yesterday you were blubbering."
"Ha, how long ago was that?"
"To me, it wasn't that long ago. Well, I don't really care about disappearing. But since I've seen your face…."
Grin.
An ominous smile appeared on the Saintess’s face.
"…Let's see your skills."
Her voice whispered in my ear.
Fast.
The moment I tried to react to her, who had quickly taken my back.
Thump.
A footstep that shook heaven and earth.
With that, the ground partially cracked, throwing off my posture, and at the same time, her fluttering clothes caught my eye.
The trajectory of her fist. I couldn't see it.
In this state, I couldn't tell where she was extending her hand.
…Visually, that is.
If it were the old me, I would have been done for.
Clang.
I immediately summoned gauntlets to both hands.
I overlapped my hands to block my forehead.
Thud.
Along with a heavy weight on my hands.
"Ho-oh."
After her intrigued voice rang out.
"Then let's increase the speed."
Bang.
With a sound like the air being crushed, my vision blurred in an instant.
What the.
I thought that, but the thought didn't last long.
Because my vision showed me what she had done to me.
Right-hand palm strike.
She had extended both hands toward me.
A left fist aiming for my forehead.
And a right-hand palm strike that had been tucked close to her left hand, making its movement imperceptible.
Hit by that, I was pushed back along with the ground I had bonded with mana, breaking through The Wall of the house and floating into the air.
Damn it.
The airtime wasn't long.
But if I didn't fix my posture immediately….
Thinking that, I was about to take a breakfall and land on the ground.
"I believe I told you that a predictable breakfall is just a target. How much time has passed for you to forget that?"
Along with an ominous voice.
Her smiling face entered my inverted field of vision.
Seeing that, only one thought dominated my mind.
…Seriously, what the hell.
Was the Saintess always this strong?
Even though I haven't released my limiters yet.
I didn't even perceive this person moving?
That thought was fleeting.
Bang. Bang.
Immediately, she took a stance on the ground, grabbed my arm with her left hand, and unleashed a series of right-hand jabs.
"Now, if you keep this up, you'll just be fluttering in the air."
Just as she said.
She was peppering my body with fast jabs.
Naturally, I should have been blown away by the recoil of the hits, but the hand wrapped around my wrist prevented that.
Whether it was to intentionally cause pain, her control of force neutralized the impact just enough to stop my body from flying away.
Thanks to that, I was fluttering in the air like a kite, just as the Saintess had said.
Perhaps it was thanks to that pain.
The many things she had taught me came to mind.
Martial arts, mindset, physical reinforcement, and… even that shameless personality.
She was far from being a 'Master,' but I could at least call her 'Teacher.'
I didn't know she was this strong back then.
Now that I've reached the same level, I can tell.
This person is a monster too.
Although she doesn't have a registration number because she was an Awakened from before the registration system was established.
She remains in the Management Bureau database as 01-013-O.
One of the returnees who protected Earth before the skills of the Awakened had fully matured.
Her generation is the same as mine.
But if we are the old Heroes.
They could be called the Heroes of the past who stood on the front lines even longer ago.
Then, what can I give her?
I sent the Heavenly Demon Sword God away with a smile.
Then, if there is something I can give to a figure from further in the past than myself.
Isn't there only one thing?
Bang.
A shockwave spread around my body.
"Hmm?"
She tilted her head at that.
Even so, her jabs didn't stop, but…
Now, they didn't reach.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Aha."
The shockwaves from our hands colliding continued to echo.
Hand met hand.
The jabs thrown by the her of the past.
The fists blocked by the me of the present.
The straight lines we threw at each other.
At some point, we both exposed an opening.
She and I made different choices.
I struck the hand that was gripping my wrist.
She struck my body.
The restraint vanished.
And pain and force surged through my body.
Thump.
As the anchor of the hand gripping my wrist disappeared, I broke free from her grasp and landed on the ground.
She stared at me while shaking her struck hand.
"I see, so that is Little Ha-ram’s sincere strength."
Grin.
She smiled.
I also showed her a smile.
No more words were needed.
Now, we would only show the strength we possessed.
Smiling at each other, we dashed toward one another.