Chapter 439: Avatar – Geuk (㘌)
Chapter 439: Avatar – Geuk (㘌)
A Pillar of Light descends.
What of it?
Just because The End has begun, am I supposed to stand by and watch with my hands tied?
If I were the type to give up in the face of a despair that hasn't even arrived yet, I wouldn't have made it this far in the first place.
I grit my teeth and force my body up.
Blood pours from unhealed wounds, and my limbs tremble, unable to find their strength, but I stand.
Planting both feet firmly on the ground, I hoist The Hammer onto my shoulder.
To greet the invader.
After waiting for a few seconds, footsteps echo from within the Pillar of Light.
Step. Step.
The entity that arrived with those short strides was a being that didn't fit the atmosphere at all.
Even with the brilliant Pillar of Light at its back, it appeared clearly, as if the backlighting had no effect on it whatsoever.
Clad in clothes of a black so deep it bordered on purple, it was hard to believe such a being had simply manifested in this place.
Dressed as impeccably as a fashion model, the humanoid entity walked slowly out of the light.
With a slender frame that could easily be mistaken for a woman's, the being wore a turtleneck shirt that fit perfectly and trousers made of an unrecognizable material. Over it all was a coat made of fabric so thin it felt like a sheet of paper.
Draped in dark purple garments over skin so pale it looked blue, the entity walked forward, its androgynous face framed by light purple hair so long it dragged on the ground.
Based on the slender lines of the body and the hairstyle, one would assume it was a woman.
However, there were expressions and qualities etched into that face that made one forget those elements and perceive the being as a man.
It was human.
A human that was impossible to reconcile with the fact that it had just walked out of a Pillar of Light.
An ordinary human, utterly out of place.
And yet, my intuition screamed.
That is The Enemy.
Unlike Dam, the Avatar I had met before, this one didn't feel alien. In fact, it felt almost familiar—but it was The Enemy.
Therefore, the moment I squeezed out my remaining strength and lunged at it—
"Hmm."
The entity, which had been so far away, was suddenly standing right in front of me.
Thud.
The sensation traveled through my hands.
The feeling of striking something solid.
Something was wrong.
I only realized it after the impact had already registered in my palms.
Had The Enemy moved toward me at ultra-high speed?
I thought so for a moment.
But no.
I was currently standing right next to the Pillar of Light.
Without my realizing it, I had reached The Enemy and swung my hammer exactly as intended.
Without my realizing it.
No.
I clearly remembered sprinting.
I remembered spotting The Enemy, squeezing out my remaining strength, and swinging The Hammer.
It wasn't that the intermediate process had been skipped.
I had charged toward The Enemy and swung The Hammer of my own will.
It was just that I perceived the process later than the moment the attack landed.
It was an indescribably strange phenomenon, but that was how it felt.
Until a moment ago, I only had memories of those two events.
That was why I felt the middle process had been skipped.
But then, the memory of "2. I ran toward The Enemy" caught up a moment later.
And when I pieced experiences 1, 2, and 3 together, there was nothing strange about them at all.
The only problem was that the order in which I perceived them was 1, 3, then 2.
While I was reeling from the confusion—
"You know of The End."
He spoke.
As I gripped my hammer again and took a combat stance—
...The middle process vanished again.
There was nothing strange about it.
It was simply that while he let go of The Hammer he had caught with his hand and I immediately took a fighting stance, the opponent had leisurely struck up a conversation.
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue and swung The Hammer.
"This means there is no issue in revealing my name. Take note. I am the existence who bears the name of Geuk (㘌)."
His words and voice were perfectly human.
Aside from the slightly strange syntax, talking to him felt more comfortable than talking to The Queen.
The problem was...
I had no intention of conversing with this being, yet the process of my attacks continued to be skipped, and each time, the entity raised its voice.
It was as if we were standing face-to-face, having a chat.
But my attacks had never stopped.
"I am the Absolute, descended to grant a grief-stricken wish that made the heavens ring, using the soul as a tinder."
Despite this, the opponent continued to speak louder, as if completely unaffected by my attacks.
My attacks were launched, and the opponent blocked them.
It reached a point where I wondered if it was all just a delusion existing only in my memory.
The only problem was that there was evidence my attacks weren't a delusion.
As time passed, my body grew exhausted, and my unhealed wounds tore further from the violent movements.
The fact that I had launched an attack existed only in my memory, yet the aftereffects were steadily accumulating in my body.
I felt like I needed to solve the mystery of this ability.
...But it didn't matter.
Because I knew the attacks themselves weren't being nullified.
My body was gradually breaking down, but the opponent wasn't unscathed either.
The opponent's right hand, which had repeatedly blocked attacks in my memory.
The Enemy seemed unchanged, but upon closer inspection, small spots were appearing.
Dark blue bruises formed by the impact of The Hammer.
I could do this.
This being was different from Dam.
It wasn't like back then, when hitting felt like stirring a flame.
This guy called Geuk was a being with a physical form.
One that was remarkably close to human.
If so, I could do it.
And so, even as I grit my teeth and continued my assault—
"One question blooms. The fact that there is no summoner."
He continued to raise his voice.
As if he didn't care that his hand was being ruined by my attacks.
Even as the blue bruises multiplied and his pale skin turned a bruised indigo.
Without paying it any mind at all.
"Since there is no one to state a wish, what must I do?"
What do you mean, what should you do?
"Then just get lost."
The words were so absurd that I actually replied.
"I see, you are there."
He said, staring straight at me.
"Regrettably, you are not the summoner. Then, what must I do?"
He twisted.
His smile, his eyes, his mouth.
They began to tear, moving beyond the limits of a human.
"I grant wishes. At the cost of the stage's curtain call."
Within that broken face, a ruined smile contorted.
I continued my attack, but the laughter did not stop.
"Even if no wish is granted... the stage must come to an end."
He laughed.
"The finale of a stage must be grand. Therefore, I respect you all."
The Enemy’s shadow bloomed.
The forms of countless beings cast within the shadow were projected onto the Pillar of Light.
A massive, amorphous entity.
A dragon sprouting tentacles.
A mechanical lifeform with countless legs.
A human with two faces.
A humanoid being with multiple eyes.
"The Sentient Beings who are the masters of this world. Humans. I descend in their form."
All those shadows vanished, and only one existence remained.
The being before my eyes.
"Struggle. Laugh joyfully. Liven up the atmosphere. For this is a festival."
He laughed, raising both hands and shouting.
Crack.
Perhaps because he had stopped defending to reach his hands toward the sky.
For the first time, a proper, effective blow landed on The Enemy’s arm, snapping it.
I didn't perceive it immediately, but the memory soon bloomed, and I realized what happened.
I pressed the attack.
Bang!
The Enemy’s other hand flew off.
This time it didn't just break; it literally exploded and was blown away.
For some reason, strength flooded my body.
Riding that momentum, I brought The Hammer down toward The Enemy’s head.
I could end this.
I didn't know if it was a trait of this being, but he was weak.
If so, I would end it right here.
I struck with all my might.
With all the strangely overflowing power I possessed.
"Show me your everything like that."
Grin.
He looked at me.
With a tearing smile.
"And accept your destruction."
Pow!
Along with the sound of leather being struck.
Pain flared.
Someone had walloped me, and my body was launched into the air.
The moment I perceived the attack, I slammed my hammer into the ground to stop my flight.
I checked to see who had attacked me.
The Enemy, Geuk, was laughing toward the sky with his broken and exploded hands.
Beside him stood something in the shape of a human.
I realized belatedly that I had been hit because that thing had swung its fist at me.
However, it wasn't human.
It was tentacles.
Countless small, black tentacles that looked like earthworms were clumped together to take a human shape.
"This is your fourth enemy."
Having said that, Geuk stopped laughing and looked at me.
"The story continues. On and on. For the stage shall not stop."
In sync with that voice, numerous beings began to walk out from beyond the Pillar of Light.
Each with a different appearance, a different race, and even a different size.
"As many stories head toward their climax, show me your limits."
Geuk began to clap.
With hands that had somehow regenerated.
"There are no rehearsals, so I will hear no excuses. You must face this in peak condition."
The pain vanished. Strength surged.
Startled, I checked my condition; there wasn't a single wound left on my body.
Just as Geuk said, I was in peak condition.
...What a ridiculous guy.
Despite saying he came to destroy us, he healed my wounds.
Fine by me.
I smiled at the thought.
Earlier, I had pushed him that far even when I was half-dead.
In a perfect state, winning should be even easier.
Then, the moment I took my stance and prepared to charge—
Sshhhhhhh—!
With a loud sound of tearing wind.
Countless shadows began to pass overhead.
Flames rained down upon the earth.
Fire bloomed repeatedly around the Pillar of Light.
The Air Force.
Realizing this, I shifted my body slightly to avoid getting caught in the bombardment.
It seemed someone had requested an airstrike.
I didn't think an attack of this level would change much.
Just as I was thinking some fool had pointlessly intervened—
"Weapons based on the physical laws of this world. I do not dislike them. This, too, is the struggle of the pitiful, a performance to heighten the mood."
Geuk seemed to have lost interest in me, spouting nonsense as he watched the flames blooming around him.
The weaker entities that had emerged from the Pillar of Light were swept away by the bombardment.
However, those with power above a certain level were advancing through the explosions as if they were merely a nuisance.
The colony of black worms that was supposed to be my fourth enemy had also vanished.
This was my chance.
A chance to kill The Enemy.
Geuk wasn't paying attention to me.
And the enemies emerging from the Pillar of Light were distracted by the bombardment.
Therefore.
I lunged.
With my body in perfect condition, putting in every ounce of my strength.
A strike that would shatter space and reach The Enemy.
"Huh?"
The moment I heard Geuk’s voice, our eyes met.
But it was already too late.
The Hammer reached Geuk’s head.
The power contained in The Hammer was amplified several times more than when I was hunting those academic credential forgers.
An attack that could only be launched in a truly perfect state.
It connected with Geuk’s head.
I felt the impact.
The sensation of something being pulverized.
And then, the perception of The Enemy being destroyed.
It was a strike so perfectly placed that even I, the one who delivered it, was stunned.
The Avatar, its head gone, tumbled across the ground.
The Pillar of Light began to fade.
As if this really was The End.
I stood there blankly, watching the disappearing Pillar of Light.
But I knew.
There was no way it would end like this.
So, I remained in my spot, maintaining my combat stance and waiting.
However, nothing happened.
The Pillar of Light vanished, and the headless Avatar continued to roll on the ground.
"...What is this?"
The words escaped my lips involuntarily.
The situation was just that absurd.
If it was going to end this easily, then why...?
I had heard that the combat capabilities of each Avatar varied wildly, but something this weak had shown up?
No, there must be something more.
I grit my teeth and waited.
But in the end, nothing else happened until the Management Bureau Cleanup Crew arrived.
For a whole week, I remained on edge, wary of an invisible enemy, to the point where even my disciples couldn't approach me.
Only after that week had passed did I finally accept that The Enemy had truly been defeated.
And I fell into a quiet sleep.
With a bitter smile.