The Heavenly Demon Does Not Retreat!
Growl.
I must have overdone the inner energy training.
Hunger hit me out of nowhere. Then again, twelve hours without a single bite of food — of course my stomach would start complaining.
I pulled a lunchbox from my bag. More precisely, gimbap I'd bought from a nearby shop.
"Want some?"
"Yes."
Cheonma came over and settled beside me. Something like a satisfied smile sat on her lips — she must have made progress in her own training as well.
We ate the gimbap while trading light conversation.
"Why is the qi so dense here?"
"I don't know. I'm not familiar with dungeons either…"
"Hmm. From now on, whenever we enter a dungeon, starting with inner energy training might be a good idea."
"An excellent thought."
Like this, it almost felt like a picnic. Maybe it was just Cheonma's easygoing demeanor rubbing off on me.
Once the gimbap was gone, I stood up.
Time was running short.
Ordinary people couldn't last even an hour inside a dungeon — the erosion that radiated from within saw to that. Superhumans could hold out for up to two days at most. Even so, filling those two days to the brim was a bad idea.
What was it they said? You can go mad?
Mana seeped into the brain and the heart. That was why clearing a dungeon as fast as possible was always the smarter play. There was a reason the commander had told us to be back within a day.
Either way, more than twelve hours had already slipped by. It was time to move.
I packed up and got to my feet. Cheonma fell in behind me, camera still in hand. Fortunately it was a high-end model that performed well even in this kind of darkness — money well spent.
Creak.
We stepped out of the inn.
Outside wasn't as dark as I'd feared. Maybe that had something to do with the full moon standing tall overhead like a second sun. I moved by the light it poured down.
In the distance, a vast palace rose into view. That was my destination.
Softly. Carefully.
I walked with care. There was nothing to gain from stirring up the zombies. Cheonma followed without making a sound.
Further on, zombies blocked an alley — roughly five of them.
"Uuugh—!"
"Grrrr—!"
I could have turned around and found another way. I shook my head.
Why bother?
I wanted to put my expanded inner energy to the test.
I closed in on them slowly. Maybe it was the night — visibility had dropped enough that the zombies still hadn't spotted me.
How far had I gotten?
"KRAAAAGH—!!"
A silent assassination was, unfortunately, off the table. The zombies weren't quite that stupid.
All five lunged at once, swarming in as if to surround me. They left the rear open, but from left to right the space filled solid with undead.
Not long ago, a situation like this would have left me tense. But whether it was the extra inner energy or the real combat experience, my mind was strangely still.
I let my sword hang loose and waited.
The moment they closed to point-blank range—
A flash.
My blade danced — literally unfurling like a whip of steel, coiling around all five zombies at once.
Slash—!
Slash—!
Slash—!
In an instant, five heads lofted into the air. Even watching it happen — even knowing I'd done it — the spectacle was hard to believe.
This is what inner energy does!
Inner energy really was king. No wonder the protagonists in martial arts novels tore the world apart hunting for spirit elixirs.
After clearing the five, I glanced back at Cheonma. A faint smile greeted me — apparently even she thought that had been a clean stroke.
I answered with a smile of my own and moved on.
The palace was still a long way off. We needed to hurry.
Slash—!
Slash—!
On the road to the palace I ran into more zombies — including armored guard zombies. None of them were a match for me. With the extra inner energy, cutting them down was almost easy.
Clearing a path as I went, I finally arrived at the great palace itself.
So this is the palace.
Strangely, there were no zombies near the exterior. Approaching was more comfortable than expected.
But I can't let my guard down.
The grounds outside might be empty — the interior was overflowing. The moment you stepped inside, the zombies went berserk and attacked. Caution was mandatory.
I climbed the stairs without running. They turned out to be surprisingly tall; once I reached the top, the palace entrance came into view.
Two zombies stood at the door.
These were no ordinary undead.
Knight zombies!
Full plate armor from head to toe — no mistaking them for anything else. And that made things awkward.
Where am I even supposed to hit?
The only exposed point was the thin gap between the helmet plates. I'd have to drive my sword through that slit to kill them.
A gun would make this so much easier.
Bullets tore through armor. They stopped working on the higher floors, sure — but early on, guns were pure cheats.
I closed in on the knight zombies with a faintly regretful look. True to their title, they reacted faster than the regular ones.
"Grrr—!"
"KRAAAGH—!"
The moment they spotted me, both charged.
Clank—!
Clank—!
They were faster than I'd expected — nothing about them suggested they were wearing full plate.
I glanced at Cheonma. She simply nodded, as if to say, You can handle this now.
That was enough. Confidence settled in.
The knight zombies closed to striking range. Knights or not, they were still zombies — thankfully they didn't use weapons, just swung their arms.
Of course, taking a gauntleted fist would hurt. Bones might break. But not getting bitten was already a massive advantage.
Whoosh—!
I slipped past a swinging arm. Fast, yes — but not too fast to dodge. I dropped low; another arm whistled over my head.
Now!
A gap opened. Tiny — the kind most people would never even notice. To my eyes, it looked as wide as a fist.
I drove my sword into that narrow slit. The blade slid between the helmet plates without so much as grazing the metal.
Thrust—!
It punched straight through the zombie's skull. Knight or not, its head wasn't steel.
I wrenched the sword free and turned on the remaining one.
"KRAAAGH—!"
It swung. Strangely, it felt slower than the first. I ducked the arm and slid my blade into the helmet gap.
Thrust—!
The sword tore through its brain. Instant kill by any measure.
Thud—!
I'd taken down two knight zombies more easily than expected. I stared at my sword, a little stunned. All I'd done was expand my inner energy — yet it felt like my skill itself had jumped an entire tier.
"Shall we go?"
"Yeah."
Cheonma's voice snapped me back. I stepped into the palace.
The interior was lined with windows, and moonlight spilled through them in pale sheets. It wasn't particularly dark.
The zombies, however, were everywhere.
"Grrrr—!"
"Grrrk—!"
Knight zombies. Noble zombies. Servant zombies. Maid zombies. Every variety imaginable — and every last one of them was looking at me.
"KRAAAAAAGH—!!"
They roared and charged. Their numbers easily topped a hundred.
I didn't panic. I'd known this was coming. I simply tightened my grip on the sword and stepped toward them.
Suddenly, something my clone had once said rose to the surface. My mouth opened on its own, and the words spilled out.
I could not be stopped by zombies. I had to keep moving forward — all the way to the throne.
A zombie closed to point-blank range.
"KRAAAGH—!"
One of the knight zombies from earlier. Knights really were the fastest. But I'd already fought this type. Before it could extend its arm, I struck first.
Thrust—!
The blade slid between the helmet plates and tore through its brain. I yanked the sword free and turned on the rest.
It was still the only technique I could use — but it was more than enough. The blade bent like a whip, longer and more sinuous than before, and coiled around the swarm.
Slash—!
Slash—!
Slash—!
A maid zombie's head lofted into the air. A servant zombie's waist split clean through. A noble-looking zombie's heart sheared in half and scattered through empty space.
In moments, the front ranks were gone. Even I could barely believe the precision of it.
I didn't stop to marvel. I kept swinging and pressed forward.
Slash—!
Slash—!
Slash—!
Blood and flesh scattered like spring blossoms. The air itself was thick with gore. Plenty of it painted my own body — but none of it was enough to halt my steps.
Left.
I twisted my body just enough. A zombie's claws skimmed past by a hair.
Forward.
I stepped ahead. Zombie teeth rasped across the space where my back had been a heartbeat earlier.
Keep advancing.
I wasn't worried about dying. I trusted Cheonma. If anything went wrong, she would handle it somehow.
So I kept going — exactly the way she had shown me. As if remembering her footsteps, I moved forward without a single retreat.