Chapter 38
Chapter 38
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Necromancer of the Sword Clan
-----------------------------------------------------------------
'No one's coming to save me.'
Choi Seung-hyun realized there was no one who would rescue him from this hell.
And he would have to endure another round of horrific agony.
With that thought, he felt abandoned by the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan, his seniors in the Black Tortoise Sword Division, and the entire world. He resigned himself to it all.
There was no one to save him in this despair.
He could only hope for a swift death.
Just as the T-Bacteria Colony—born from Sasaki Shiro's unique skill, Bacterium Creation—was about to touch Choi Seung-hyun's body...
KABOOM!
The iron-barred door to the torture chamber where Sasaki Shiro and Choi Seung-hyun were exploded with a deafening blast, flying off its hinges.
Amid the billowing dust it kicked up, someone leaped into the room.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Sasaki Shiro twisted his face into a demonic snarl, glaring at the doorway.
He hated being interrupted while he was having his fun.
Yet someone had brazenly invaded his torture chamber.
"I don't care who you are— you're not dying easy!"
Sasaki Shiro immediately hurled a mass of bacteria at the intruder.
Countless clumps of bacteria, clumped together like black powder, swarmed toward the figure who had entered the room.
At that moment...
WHOOSH!
From within the dust cloud, black flames erupted.
'Black flames?'
Sasaki Shiro flinched, furrowing his brow.
He'd never seen a superhuman wield black flames before, and they'd just incinerated his bacteria.
Moments later, a figure emerged from the black flames.
"Y-You...!"
"H-Hall Leader...?"
Sasaki Shiro and Choi Seung-hyun both wore expressions of utter disbelief. The person standing there was the last one they expected.
It was none other than Shin Yu-hyun.
"Finally, I found you, Sasaki Shiro."
Shin Yu-hyun glared at the man in the white coat as if he were a blood-sworn enemy.
The Mad Doctor, Sasaki Shiro.
An executive of the Iron Fire Group, infamous for his extreme right-wing ideology, viewing Korea as a Japanese vassal state. A superhuman villain and a 4th-class mage at the low end of 4-star rank, his unique skill Bacterium Creation made him capable of mass slaughter.
The Hunter Association had designated him an A-rank threat, slapping a 10 billion won bounty on his head.
"You filthy Korean bug dare call me by name?!"
Sasaki Shiro's face contorted in rage.
He already saw Korean superhumans as Japanese slaves, and hearing his name from Shin Yu-hyun—whom he'd heard was a worthless failure in the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan—pissed him off to no end.
"Die!"
Sasaki Shiro conjured two 3rd-class fire attack spells, Fire Balls, in his hands and shouted.
A lightning-fast chantless attack spell.
But in that same instant, Shin Yu-hyun activated Body Strengthening Technique and charged straight at Sasaki Shiro.
"N-No...!"
Seeing this, Choi Seung-hyun tried to shout in alarm.
He'd heard rumors that Shin Yu-hyun had grown stronger lately, but he didn't believe he could take on the Mad Doctor Sasaki Shiro, a 4th-class mage.
And yet...
Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship
First Form: Nameless
Flash!
A crimson sword gleam flashed, and the two Fire Balls Sasaki Shiro had launched split in half and vanished.
BOOM!
The severed Fire Balls grazed past Shin Yu-hyun and exploded in small bursts before disappearing.
"Wh-What?!"
"Huh?"
Sasaki Shiro and Choi Seung-hyun both gaped in shock, eyes wide.
They never imagined Shin Yu-hyun would destroy the fire magic in the blink of an eye.
And that was just the beginning.
Slipping into the unguarded Sasaki Shiro's bosom with his charging momentum, Shin Yu-hyun drove his fist forward.
THUD!
"Gahk!"
Sasaki Shiro spewed blood from his mouth and tumbled over.
Shin Yu-hyun's mana-infused fist had slammed right into his solar plexus.
Superhumans with magical or esper abilities generally had weaker bodies than swordsmen or warriors, so they wore defensive gear.
Like a barrier coat, Sasaki Shiro's white gown was enchanted with defensive magic.
But Shin Yu-hyun's fist shattered the barrier on the gown effortlessly and buried itself in Sasaki Shiro's solar plexus.
"You damn bastard!"
His guts churning in agony, but his fury at the one who'd dared touch him overriding it, Sasaki Shiro grimaced and quickly began casting his next spell.
"Ice Javelin!"
Soon, a massive ice spear began materializing above Sasaki Shiro's body.
Ice Javelin was a 4th-class spell, his trump card.
No one had ever blocked it—they all got pierced through.
And on top of that, he secretly activated his unique skill.
"Fool! Leaving me an opening was your mistake!"
Sasaki Shiro shouted triumphantly, hurling the Ice Javelin at Shin Yu-hyun.
In response, Shin Yu-hyun smirked faintly.
"I was waiting for you on purpose."
To demonstrate the overwhelming gap in skill.
WHOOSH!
Black flames surged from the crimson blade of the magic sword Ignis.
Lowering his stance, Shin Yu-hyun locked eyes on the oncoming Ice Javelin.
Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship
Second Form: Shatter
Slash!
A sharp whoosh cut the air as a crimson arc cleaved through the Ice Javelin.
Crack!
The Ice Javelin split clean in two.
Hiss!
The halves shot past Shin Yu-hyun on either side, dissolving into steam and vanishing.
Then, raising black flames, Shin Yu-hyun whirled Ignis in a dance-like sword motion.
Crimson sword gleams and black flames wove a dazzling pattern around him.
It looked as if black flames were spiraling upward around Shin Yu-hyun at the center.
"I-Impossible!"
Sasaki Shiro cried out in disbelief.
Ice Javelin was a 4th-class spell, unlike the Fire Balls.
Yet it had been bisected just like them!
And that wasn't all.
The bacteria he'd hidden as his ace in the hole were all incinerated by Shin Yu-hyun's sword dance.
'Just as I expected.'
Shin Yu-hyun already knew everything about Sasaki Shiro—his personality, abilities, and attack patterns.
He'd fought the Mad Doctor, who became a Getia Worshipper in his previous life, several times.
"Now then..."
Shin Yu-hyun fixed Sasaki Shiro with cold eyes.
In his previous life, Sasaki Shiro had delighted in enslaving and torturously interrogating Koreans.
Among them were Shin Yu-hyun's friends, comrades, and even people from the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan who had looked after him.
Simply killing the bastard for revenge wouldn't be enough.
Not when he'd made Shin Yu-hyun's loved ones die in agony at his hands.
Shin Yu-hyun spoke in a voice laced with chilling menace.
"You'll pay the price thoroughly."
A painless death would be mercy.
Sasaki Shiro was trash of the same ilk as the Getia scum Shin Yu-hyun despised.
A pleasure killer who reveled in others' suffering.
"You goddamn vermin!"
Poof!
Enraged by Shin Yu-hyun's icy warning, Sasaki Shiro bellowed, spewing black powder-like bacteria from his entire body.
"Try blocking this!"
Sasaki Shiro raised both hands and shouted. A white light emanated from the bracelet on his wrist, activating a magic circle. It was an artifact accessory, the pinnacle of modern magitech.
Modern mages used such artifacts instead of staves for rapid spellcasting.
Shh!
Soon, at least twenty Ice Arrows materialized around Sasaki Shiro.
And swirling around him were clusters of black bacteria.
Realizing he couldn't win with single powerful strikes, he was opting for a barrage of attacks.
'Just as expected.'
But Shin Yu-hyun smirked. He already knew Sasaki Shiro's patterns.
Thud!
Shin Yu-hyun stomped the ground with a firm stance and charged at Sasaki Shiro.
Whoosh.
Black flames leaked from the half-lowered magic sword Ignis, leaving a straight trail of dark crimson in the air.
Swoosh!
At that moment, the horde of Ice Arrows flew at Shin Yu-hyun.
Shin Yu-hyun swung the black-flame wreathed Ignis.
Fwoosh!
Jet-black flames spread out like darkness itself, enveloping him.
"Idiot! You think those flames can stop my magic?!"
Sasaki Shiro sneered.
No matter how much black flame he wrapped himself in, he couldn't block twenty Ice Arrows.
Pierce! Pierce!
Sure enough, the Ice Arrows easily pierced the swirling black flames.
"Not yet!"
But Sasaki Shiro's assault wasn't over.
He prepared his next spell immediately.
"Stone Splinter!"
A 4th-class earth attack spell.
Hard stone shards appeared around Sasaki Shiro.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Following the Ice Arrows, the Stone Splinters now flew at him.
They too pierced the black flames with ease.
"Ah..."
Choi Seung-hyun despaired at the sight.
Even Shin Yu-hyun couldn't survive this onslaught, he thought.
"Heh heh. Fool."
Sasaki Shiro also sneered, certain of victory.
Shin Yu-hyun must have been shredded by the Ice Arrows and Stone Splinters.
But...
"Who are you looking at?"
"Gasp!"
The voice suddenly at his left ear made Sasaki Shiro jolt in terror, jerking to the right.
Too late.
Shin Yu-hyun's blazing black-flame fist was already plunging into Sasaki Shiro's left side.
Zzzzt!
As Shin Yu-hyun's fist exceeded a certain speed, the defensive magic on the white gown activated, generating a barrier.
He even desperately clumped black bacteria to block the punch.
Whoosh! Crash!
But the fist, incinerating the black bacteria fiercely, shattered the barrier and buried deep into Sasaki Shiro's side.
THUD!
"Khek!"
Sasaki Shiro couldn't even breathe properly as his body twisted sideways, flying through the air like a marionette with cut strings.
Crack!
Three or four of his ribs snapped.
Thud!
Right after, Shin Yu-hyun powerfully kicked off the ground, pursuing the airborne Sasaki Shiro.
In the blink of an eye, he caught up to Sasaki Shiro midair.
Shin Yu-hyun reached out and grabbed his wrist.
Whoosh!
Spinning his body, he slammed Sasaki Shiro into the ground.