Chapter 200
Chapter 200
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: The Demon's Sword Dance
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Crackle, zzzap-!
Rumble, grrrumble-.
The whole world turned yellow.
Within that light, red swords streaked like paint, and deafening thunder roared one after another, threatening to burst eardrums.
The screen showed nothing.
For a while, only the clash of their colors was visible.
And so, after some time.
Crackle, zzzap-.
Claaaang-!
Amid the new bursts of light and sound erupting everywhere, viewers finally spotted the two fighters.
Boom-!
The two were flying through the sky.
With every flash of light, Jin Ha-ryeong leaped across mountain peaks in a single bound, while Soo-hyuk unleashed lightning and swung his sword.
Clashing, falling. Flying, hurling, slashing.
Soo-hyuk threw everything he had at Jin Ha-ryeong.
Grrrrrind-.
Rumble-!
The two swords collided, lightning pouring down simultaneously.
In the swallowed silence, Soo-hyuk whispered.
"You look a bit banged up?"
"……."
Jin Ha-ryeong's eyebrow twitched.
He could tell from that subtle reaction. This was confirmation.
"Murim and Blue Zone got completely wrecked by the Heavenly Demon."
Murim and Blue Zone.
These two forces were among the top powers even in the Tower.
Murim with Jin Do-ha, Blue Zone with Kim Il-su—no matter how much of a Heavenly Demon he was, they weren't pushovers.
He looked fine, but that was just surface level.
Having clashed with those massive guilds led by Jin Do-ha and Kim Il-su, he couldn't be unscathed.
"You holding up okay?"
Poke-.
A fingertip pressed into Soo-hyuk's forehead.
Just a light touch, but the impact was anything but light. Soo-hyuk flew backward, tumbling across the ground.
Wobble-.
Finally regaining his balance and standing, Soo-hyuk's body shook visibly.
Not Jin Ha-ryeong's doing. It was his own condition.
"One flick of a finger and you look ready to shatter."
Fatigue had reached its limit.
All that was left was to burn the final ember.
'I've tried that already.'
At this rate, he had maybe a minute left to move.
"No need to worry."
Crackle-!
Thump-!
Feeling his heart heat up, he ignited that final spark.
"I won't go down to a damn finger, at least."
[Rumble, grrrumble-.]
The screen flashed. Glimpses of swords clashing and earth crumbling flickered before being swallowed by blinding light again.
Lee Soo-hyuk was fighting the Heavenly Demon. The thought sent shivers down Ye-ryeong's spine.
'What the hell...'
The techniques he'd pulled out on stream.
They were original moves he'd devised using the Lightning skill.
Of course, "original" didn't mean they couldn't be copied.
Streamer Lee Soo-hyuk had the Lightning skill, just like him.
But recreating those techniques perfectly just because they had the same skill? Was that easy?
She couldn't believe it. Ye-ryeong shook her head.
The shock was dozens of times greater than when she'd first seen his stream.
"Those moves... did he practice them separately or something...?"
She wanted to ask Unhyang if she knew something, but she couldn't.
Not when Unhyang was shedding tears of awe at the sight of him battling the Heavenly Demon.
Her face pale as a ghost, she stared off into space.
"...Hey, Unhyang?"
"……."
"Can't you hear me? Unhyang!"
"Y-Yes? M-Me?"
Her eyes widened in surprise. Whatever it was, she wasn't in her right mind.
At first, Ye-ryeong thought it was shock from seeing the Heavenly Demon.
'Maybe not?'
No matter how impressive the Heavenly Demon was, this reaction was too much.
Unhyang glanced at Ye-ryeong cautiously and asked.
"Uh... what did you say?"
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. I was just too focused."
Too focused on the stream to hear a voice right in front of her?
Ye-ryeong didn't buy it. A player of Unhyang's caliber losing it over a stream? No way.
'Not because of Soo-hyuk.'
Ye-ryeong's gaze shifted to the Heavenly Demon on screen.
Swinging a sword that howled like a demon, bleeding along his path—he was the devil everyone feared.
Was she scared of him? Did she have some bad history with the Heavenly Demon?
If it was messy drama, better to steer clear, but...
"...He's holding his own better than expected, huh?"
She wanted to probe, oddly enough.
What was the connection between Unhyang and the Heavenly Demon?
"Rumors say he's a big deal, but the Heavenly Demon's nothing special."
Ye-ryeong tossed out bait.
Easy, light bait.
And.
"He's just going easy on him."
Unhyang bit.
The girl who fawned over Soo-hyuk, who would've gushed "As expected of Soo-hyuk-nim!" was eerily cold now.
"...He looks a little hurt, too."
'She knows something.'
Ye-ryeong's eyes narrowed as she watched Unhyang.
Those weren't observations from the stream.
Unhyang had seen and faced the Heavenly Demon, just like her.
'Daughter of the Divine Alliance... what's her deal with the Heavenly Demon?'
What was the link between the Divine Alliance and the Heavenly Demon?
She wanted to ask more, but Ye-ryeong just licked her lips and stopped.
This was far enough.
She and Unhyang were just chance acquaintances, barely sisters even. Hardly any bond at all.
If there was drama between them, they'd sort it themselves.
"Soo-hyuk-nim's hanging in there pretty well, but..."
Unaware or not of Ye-ryeong's thoughts.
Unhyang stared intently at the flashing kit screen, clenching her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms.
"This fight ends when the Heavenly Demon decides it does."
Splatter-.
Skin tore, blood spraying. Wounds already throbbing everywhere, now consciousness fading too.
Crackle, zzzap-.
Boom-!
Smashing through a stone wall, he flew and slammed a fist down at Jin Ha-ryeong.
Blocking with one hand, she plunged straight down into the earth.
Boom-!
Rumble rumble-.
The cliff of rock crumbled, the ground shaking.
Did it land even a little? Hope flickered, then died.
'No way.'
And sure enough.
"It'll be over soon."
Down there.
Jin Ha-ryeong looked up at Soo-hyuk, unscathed.
Seeing Soo-hyuk's body tearing apart from lightning overload, he sensed the end.
Soo-hyuk sensed it too from that gaze. The Jin Ha-ryeong he knew wouldn't let it end like this.
So surely.
'He'll come finish it himself.'
And sure enough.
"This feels unsatisfying."
Clink-.
As if signaling the fight's end, Jin Ha-ryeong sheathed the sword in his hand.
But he still had swords aplenty.
Thousands unused around him.
Rumble-.
Storm clouds roared. In windless sky, they writhed like dragons.
On the ground, he commanded the heavens.
Red demonic energy poured from his body, forming a demon's shape.
Creak-.
Drip, clatter clatter-!
Swords scattered everywhere converged on the demon shape. The demon reached out, greedily seizing them one by one.
Not leaving a single one. All of them.
"...Trying to mimic Thousand-Armed Guanyin?"
The bodhisattva—or demon—with a thousand hands and eyes had appeared.
Just the hands outnumbered Guanyin. A form of demon Soo-hyuk had never seen.
Twenty years.
The realm the Heavenly Demon had reached in that time far exceeded Soo-hyuk's expectations.
'Now that's more like the Heavenly Demon.'
The man he knew had two names and faces.
Jin Ha-ryeong's name and face. And Heavenly Demon's.
Same person, utterly different.
The one he'd fought until now was Jin Ha-ryeong. Now before him was the Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon.
The devil Murim—no, the entire Tower—feared and revered.
His palms sweated. Even in his past life, facing that devil had tensed him up.
"You showed your tricks first. Guess I'll return the favor."
Tricks?
Calling them "re-jig" was generous. For the Heavenly Demon's reputation and skill, it was passing at best.
Chill, chill-.
His body went numb.
Not just lightning backlash. The massive demonic energy clump forming the demon and its killing intent crushed him.
If he wanted, he could crush Soo-hyuk without that show.
'Showing off on purpose?'
The Heavenly Demon had shown him the sky.
This was the pinnacle of all players, the height he must surpass again.
"Makes me not even wanna fight."
Drop-.
Soo-hyuk lowered his sword.
Power drained from his body all at once, nearly making him scream.
Everything hurt. Hurt way too much.
No strength left. If not for the end in sight, he'd have collapsed.
Yet he didn't fall, thanks to that last drop of pride.
Whoooosh-.
The demon reached out.
Thousands of swords flew from all directions.
No blind spots, each sword swinging like wielded by a person.
Soo-hyuk didn't resist.
This wasn't the time to fight back. He'd never intended a real brawl from the start.
This was a comeback match.
The flashy first bout as the real Lee Soo-hyuk. He'd chosen the Heavenly Demon for it.
Through this, declare to all: I'm back. And that "all" included the Heavenly Demon before him.
Now, watch and feel. Gauge the distance with his body.
How far was he from the Heavenly Demon?
Staring straight at the oncoming swords, he thought.
'Just about this much.'
How long to close this gap again?
Roughly this much?... No, the Heavenly Demon wouldn't stand still either.
Before those thoughts finished.
Stab stab slice-.
The demon's swords shredded his body.