Chapter 296: O Foolish and Pitiful One (3)
Chapter 296: O Foolish and Pitiful One (3)
Jonsa watched the scene before him, a faint, fishy smile playing on his lips.
Good. This is enough.
With every punch and every slash, the dragons were swept away.
It was truly overwhelming combat power.
Watching the three of them fight, Jonsa thought to himself, The one I lent to Rust likely wasn't in a perfect state. But these three are different.
He had summoned these familiars, handed down by the Outer God, in as complete a form as possible. To achieve this, he had sacrificed the souls and mana of hundreds of dark mages.
Of course, there was a risk.
In Jonsa’s eyes, he could see the faint strings connecting him to the three. These strings were the leashes that allowed him to control them. To maintain this connection, Jonsa had to constantly expend his own mana.
If these faint strings were to snap, he would lose control over those monsters instantly. However…
One cannot plot such grand designs without facing some level of threat.
Even if they had fallen from grace and lost their power, their opponents were still dragons—the guardians of the Middle World. To face them, he had to accept this level of risk.
It’s fine. I can finish everything before the strings break.
Jonsa gripped his staff tightly as he watched the three familiars tear the dragons apart.
“You monster!”
Enraged by the slaughter of his kin, Arcana charged at the enemy, erupting with as much Aura as he could muster.
His target was a robust warrior wielding a single-edged saber.
As one who also walked the Way of the Sword, Arcana couldn't help but marvel at the level of martial prowess the man displayed. Such clean yet hegemonic strikes.
If he didn't feel a sense of competitive spirit toward someone who seemed to have reached the pinnacle of the act of 'cutting,' he wouldn't be the Sword Dragon.
But this was a battlefield.
More than his curiosity about martial arts, it was the fury toward his kin dying helplessly beneath those blades that fueled Arcana’s rage. He was the only one here who could stop that monster.
“Hyaaaaah!”
Arcana’s powerful strike sought its mark. In that moment, the opponent glanced at him and began to take a stance—
What?
It was only for a brief moment, but Arcana saw it. The warrior, who had been about to take a stance against him, suddenly ignored him and turned his gaze away.
Why? For what reason? Was he saying that someone like Arcana wasn't even a threat?
But he was wrong. The reason the warrior turned his eyes away was…
Ssssh.
Before he knew it, another warrior had appeared in front of Arcana, blocking his path.
This new opponent slowly swung his sword against Arcana’s fierce attack.
No, slowly?
That wasn't right. The movement of the sword itself was as fast as a flash of light. If it weren't, it would have been impossible to intervene so late and still block Arcana’s powerful strike.
The reason it felt slow was…
It’s beautiful.
A clean motion without a single wasted gesture. The defensive movement, which felt like elegance forged into the shape of martial arts, left Arcana mesmerized.
And the result was even more shocking.
Whoosh!
“Urgh…”
Arcana’s full-powered attack missed the opponent. Or more accurately, the opponent made it miss.
…How did he do that?
Arcana couldn't understand it. He had devoted his entire life to the Way of the Sword and had reached what humans called the 9-Star Realm, yet the move this Death Knight—no, this warrior—had shown was beyond his comprehension.
Come to think of it, he was the one who blocked the Lord’s Breath earlier.
The Lord’s Breath, specialized in annihilation, had not been met head-on; instead, this man had gathered the energy and dispersed it elsewhere. Just as he had just parried Arcana’s attack.
“Do you have a will of your own?”
“……”
“I wish to hear your name.”
The opponent did not answer Arcana’s request. Watching him silently raise his sword, Arcana spoke with a voice full of regret.
“How tragic. For such a great warrior to have his will bound by the lackeys of an Outer God…”
“……”
“Fine. Then, as swordsmen, let us converse through our blades.”
The moment he finished speaking, Arcana lunged forward. He swung his sword at the warrior with everything he had.
“Hyaaaaah!”
Aura Blades, each strike more powerful than the Breath of an average adult dragon, filled the air. Arcana’s assault was so fierce that the hell demons lurking nearby, waiting for an opening, were instantly shredded.
However, there was one being who moved with tranquility in this space…
“Kuh…”
It was Arcana’s opponent, the mysterious swordsman. His sword was far from forceful, yet it parried Arcana’s blade with exactly the right amount of strength at exactly the right spots.
The act was so perfect that not even the sound of their blades clashing could be heard.
It didn't matter if the destructive power behind Arcana’s sword was 10, 100, or 1,000. Unless he could break the very framework of that technique, all that power would simply be diverted away.
It feels like I’m trying to cut through water.
Arcana decided to change his approach. He couldn't overcome that technique with speed and power. In that case, what if he broke the distance?
“Hup!”
Boom!
Kicking off the ground with explosive force, Arcana succeeded in reaching the opponent’s immediate vicinity in a single step.
No matter how profound the opponent’s technique was, it was fundamentally swordsmanship. And swordsmanship required space to swing the blade. If he closed the distance and left no room for the sword to move, his chances of winning—
Hmm?
It was then. Before Arcana could finish his thought, the opponent’s palm came into contact with the right side of his head.
And then…
BOOM!
“Gahhh!”
A terrifying, immense force exploded. Even with the body of a Draconian, which was far sturdier than a human’s, Arcana felt as if his head was going to shatter from the blow. If he hadn't desperately twisted his body to mitigate most of the impact, the fight would have ended with that single move.
“Urgh… You truly are an absurd monster. To have such power with bare hands in close quarters.”
Monks had shown similar techniques before. Arcana could do something similar as well. But this strike had been applied with a much higher level of principle.
The level of his martial arts is on a different plane.
With this one move, Arcana was certain. He could not defeat the warrior before him. He asked the man:
“May I know the name of that technique?”
“……”
“I suppose that’s impossible.”
“Wudang… Cotton… Palm… it is called.”
It happened then. The opponent spoke for the first time. Though it was a strained, squeezed-out voice, Arcana flinched upon hearing it.
The opponent continued.
“There is… still… hope.”
“……”
“Please… hold on.”
Arcana realized what the man’s words meant. He didn't know how these three had fallen into such a state, but…
He hasn't completely submitted. And the control isn't perfect.
Though he lived for the sword, he was still a dragon, a member of a magical race. He possessed the theoretical knowledge to grasp the man’s current condition.
I must hold on. If I hold on, the situation might change.
From that moment, Arcana’s sword changed. It shifted from an aggressive style that pushed forward with raw power to a defensive style focused on protecting and enduring.
Fortunately, the opponent’s sword was also focused on defense. If he intended to endure, he could do so indefinitely.
Or so Arcana thought, until the opponent spoke again.
“E…vade.”
Having said that, the opponent raised his sword high. Then…
Swish.
He drew a circle in the air.
A perfect circle. Within that perfect circle, where not a single flaw could be found, two opposing energies entered.
Positive energy and negative energy.
The two energies did not mix into one but spun around as if chasing each other’s tails.
What is that?
It was a sword technique he had never seen before. No, it was a law he was seeing for the first time. He had never even imagined that positive and negative energy could be maintained in the same space while being kept separate.
Was such a thing even possible? And even if it were, what on earth did it mean?
The opponent spoke to him in a strained voice.
“Run… away.”
Unfortunately, that warning failed to have an effect.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
An overwhelming, immense force. A perfect micro-universe crafted within the harmony of Taiji. He had manifested that through his sword.
Taiji Wisdom Sword.
A sword technique of the highest difficulty, so rare that only a handful of people in the long history of the Wudang Sect—the greatest Taoist sword sect—had ever mastered it. It was now being unleashed in this world.
“Aaaargh…”
Arcana tried to resist the massive force pressing down on him. His Aura Hall, which had accumulated power through long years of cultivation, could produce an output exceeding the Dragon Heart of most Ancient Dragons.
However…
“Ggggh…”
Despite that…
“Damn… it…”
The massive force currently crushing him surpassed the power Arcana had built up over thousands of years. Eventually…
CRASH!
Arcana was crushed by the colossal power.
“Lord Arcana!”
“Arcana!”
The dragons watching the duel screamed. In the current state of the war, Arcana’s defeat was far too critical.
But where they looked, there was only a massive crater, as if a meteor had fallen, and Arcana’s remains, crushed to death in the center.
“Wooooooh!”
“I will never forgive you!”
Emboldened by Arcana’s death, the dragons fought with even greater fury. But…
Bang!
Every time a punch landed, a massive dragon’s body exploded like a balloon.
Slash!
Every time a strike flashed, a body armored in steel scales was sliced as cleanly as butter.
The difference in power, which could not be overcome by rage or fighting spirit, rendered them helpless.
Even so… despite that…
“Go!”
“Do not retreat! We are the great dragons!”
Until the very, very end… not a single one fled.
* * *
A massive gold dragon lay collapsed, covered in blood.
The scales that once shone more brilliantly than gold had fallen off. The wings that used to roam the wide skies had been torn away. Dozens of mana spears embedded throughout his body pierced him, pinning him to the ground.
The Dragon Lord’s condition was truly wretched.
Jonsa approached the Lord and spoke.
“You look pathetic.”
“……”
“What do you think? Even in this situation, am I still foolish and wrong?”
“You are.”
“……”
“O foolish one. The future you desire will never come.”
“……”
“Your end will be nothing but ruin, and in that moment, you will become the most miserable and pitiful being in this world.”
“……”
“O foolish and pitiful one. You are not even worth hating. I can only feel pity for you.”
Having said his piece, the Dragon Lord closed his eyes. He wasn't dead. He was still breathing. But he closed his eyes as if to say there was nothing more to discuss with Jonsa.
Jonsa stared at the Lord and thought, Is he just talking? Or…
The Dragon Lord’s lack of despair, even in this situation, made Jonsa uneasy. But…
No. I shouldn't let it bother me.
It was merely the rambling of a loser. To anyone’s eyes, he was the victor, not the Lord who faced death at this very moment.
Jonsa pointed his staff at the Lord and said, “O great being. No, O being who was great…”
“……”
“I offer your death to Him.”
Jonsa’s mana dug into the Dragon Lord’s heart. Soon…
Crack!
“Gah…”
The Dragon Lord’s heart shattered. And in that moment…
“Ohhh. Finally, only the last seal remains.”
The World Tree withered. The Dragon Lord’s heart broke. Now, only one thing was left. Once that was resolved, the Setting Sun would finally arrive, and they would receive eternal salvation.
“Everyone, well done. Today’s victory—”
It happened then. At the very moment Jonsa was about to declare victory to his disciples and subordinates…
“Gah!”
Jonsa suddenly clutched his heart and coughed up blood. Seeing this, his disciples rushed over in a panic.
“Master!”
“Are you alright?”
“What happened so suddenly?”
Jonsa spoke while drenched in a cold sweat.
“Someone… someone has touched the sealed site.”
“What?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Jonsa didn't have the strength to answer his disciples’ questions. He didn't know who it was, but they had provoked Him, who was slumbering in the sealed site. Because of that, He had briefly opened His eyes, and the aftermath had shaken Jonsa’s mana and soul, which were directly connected to Him.
What is this? Who, why… no, how?
The sealed site was designated as a forbidden area that no one could enter except for the Pope of the Holy Kingdom. And even if someone did enter, there shouldn't be any human other than himself capable of doing something that could break a divine seal and cause Him to open His eyes.
No, that’s not what’s important.
What mattered now was stabilizing this fluctuating mana. The mana he had received from Him was trying to return to its original owner as He woke up. If he didn't focus all his strength on suppressing this, he might meet an absurd death right here.
Only one step left until the Setting Sun. With only one step remaining, he couldn't afford to die such a ridiculous death.
“Hnnngh!”
Jonsa used all his mana to suppress the energy that was trying to return to the Outer God.
And this became a fatal mistake for Jonsa.
“Amitabha!”
Along with a resonant shout, a massive golden fist came flying toward him.