Chapter 366
Chapter 366
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 366
Chapter Title: Thunderous Rematch
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Masked Soo-hyuk and Jin Do-ha, with his hair cropped short, clashed once more.
Boom-!
No thunder had struck from the sky, yet a thunderous roar erupted from their swords. In a flash, both figures vanished, only to reappear.
Jin Do-ha unleashed his full power, colliding with Soo-hyuk. As the two battled, Namgung Ga-hwi intervened, wielding the Emperor's Sword Form.
Screeech-.
Craaack-.
Namgung Ga-hwi's sword qi flew toward Soo-hyuk, who was locked in a blade clash with Jin Do-ha.
Deeming it impossible to ignore, Soo-hyuk's assault faltered for a moment.
Jin Do-ha didn't miss the opening.
"Press him!"
"Yes!"
The two charged at Soo-hyuk together. Though Namgung Ga-hwi's skill was a notch below, he was still the head of one of the world's supreme clans.
They had never coordinated before, but experts of Jin Do-ha and Namgung Ga-hwi's caliber instinctively knew how the other would move.
Their joint assault was organic and devastating, as if honed through countless spars. Yet Soo-hyuk's sword, parrying them, held a margin of leisure.
Each time his gaze met Soo-hyuk's eyes peeking from beneath the mask, Namgung Ga-hwi felt a chill run down his spine.
"Damn it!"
Every time, Namgung Ga-hwi poured more power into his sword. Normally, one would flee or falter, but he surged with greater ferocity—that was the mark of a true master.
The instinct of a martial arts legend representing the Murim world.
But on this day, at least, that instinct drove him toward death.
Kaaang-.
Namgung Ga-hwi's sweeping sword locked with Soo-hyuk's, refusing to yield. Normally, Jin Do-ha would exploit this gap, but no follow-up came.
'Jin Do-ha?'
In that instant, he had circled behind Soo-hyuk with a foot technique.
'Using me as bait?'
Soo-hyuk and Jin Do-ha's swords swung simultaneously. Soo-hyuk's toward Namgung Ga-hwi, Jin Do-ha's toward Soo-hyuk.
In that moment, Namgung Ga-hwi's choice was a scream-like shout.
"Jin Do-haaa-!"
Screeech-.
Bones shattered as his body was cleaved from crown to groin. At the same speed, Jin Do-ha brought his sword down, yet oddly, no sound came from his blade.
Crackle, crackle-.
Another hand, not gripping a sword, seized Jin Do-ha's blade. Lightning blazed fiercely within his grasp, serving as armor.
Jin Do-ha clenched his fist as if to sever the hand outright, yanking his sword free. In the process, Soo-hyuk's palm suffered a shallow cut.
Boom-!
Jin Do-ha repelled Soo-hyuk with a palm strike and leaped back, creating distance.
Soo-hyuk skidded to a halt, scraping the ground with one hand. He shook the blood from his blade after bisecting Namgung Ga-hwi.
"Now it's just you left."
With those words, Soo-hyuk examined his palm. A deep gash marred the hand cut by Jin Do-ha's sword.
As expected of Jin Do-ha. Soo-hyuk had thought he wouldn't take a wound unless facing the Heavenly Demon or Ha-ilz.
Truly a warrior worthy of the title God of War.
But Soo-hyuk's surprise paled compared to Jin Do-ha's.
Even the baited strike on the Namgung clan head had failed, leaving Jin Do-ha with an incredulous expression.
"You definitely died back then."
Madness flickered in Jin Do-ha's eyes, his disheveled hair framing his face.
"Who are you? What the hell are you?"
"I'm curious about that myself. How I came back alive. Maybe the Tower gave me a chance because it couldn't trust bastards like you."
"The Tower didn't trust me?"
Jin Do-ha's face twisted. The composure he had maintained began to crack.
"Who are you to decide that?"
"I didn't decide it. The results did."
"Results?"
"I took down the Hydra. And after that? You lot are stuck floundering on the 9th floor, not breaking through a single one. If that's the case, why bother betraying me?"
It was the thought Soo-hyuk had when he first reincarnated and learned players were still on the 9th floor.
Why betray me if you can't do anything without me?
Those words seemed to strike Jin Do-ha's reverse scale. Ferocity swelled on his face, mingled with rage and shame.
But that faded quickly.
"You... know nothing about it."
Jin Do-ha bellowed.
"Even if you'd been there, it would've been the same. Don't spout nonsense!"
Unlike the agitated Jin Do-ha, Soo-hyuk nodded calmly.
"You're right. Maybe it would've been the same."
Soo-hyuk acknowledged it.
With a grand archmage and the Heavenly Demon, yet failing to conquer the guardian—had he been there, it might not have changed. Was he vastly superior to the Heavenly Demon? In truth, it was six of one, half a dozen of the other.
"That's probably why. You killed me, and I got another shot."
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
Over the past six months, Soo-hyuk reflected on his gains.
Lightning Heart and Thunderclap, Thunder Heart and Lightning. Selfish Sacrifice and the Black Soul Ring...
He recounted what he hadn't possessed before, comparing it step by step to the old Lee Soo-hyuk.
The conclusion he reached.
"If I'd kept going as I was, I'd have hit a wall eventually. Even without you, I'd have destroyed myself someday."
He had been incomplete.
A high-output engine without supporting tires or frame. Not even fuel, forced to burn life force.
How long could that have lasted? Could he have cleared the 9th floor? Its guardian? And beyond?
Sooner or later, he would have burned out to ash. Lee Soo-hyuk had been unstable and flawed.
"In that sense, thanks. You gave me another chance. But..."
Soo-hyuk's voice trembled like never before.
"You killed my friends too."
Throughout his time in the Murim Alliance, Soo-hyuk had remained composed.
It wasn't indifference. His heart had burned hot the entire time. How could he feel nothing with his enemies right there?
The more he endured, the fiercer his rage grew. But he didn't let it explode wildly.
He had learned from one mistake.
Extreme cold could express heat just as well. They looked similar but were worlds apart. Cold meant fewer errors.
"Now it's your turn to pay."
"You're too early for that."
Even alone amid the corpses, Jin Do-ha brimmed with confidence.
"If you'd come a year later, it would've been perfect. Then you really could've become the old Lee Soo-hyuk again. But the world you knew has changed eras. We've grown stronger."
Throughout the fight, Jin Do-ha had thought.
Soo-hyuk was undoubtedly powerful. Astonishingly so, growing this fast.
But only to that extent.
Jin Do-ha had lived in Lee Soo-hyuk's era. He had witnessed the legend of the Blue Eyes and even left his own footprints beside them.
And so?
He didn't feel that same aura from the Soo-hyuk before him now.
The untouchable absoluteness like the Heavenly Demon.
"You're stronger than back then, sure. But the era shifted, and so did our levels—higher now. Get what I'm saying?"
It was mockery of his foe and a mantra to bolster his own confidence. Jin Do-ha even smirked.
As if to say, you think you're that tiger from the past?
But at Soo-hyuk's calm nod, Jin Do-ha's expression hardened.
Why?
Not defiance surging with energy, not a reckless assault—Soo-hyuk's serene demeanor stirred greater unease in Jin Do-ha.
He couldn't pinpoint why.
For a fleeting moment, that composure evoked the old Lee Soo-hyuk.
And in that instant.
"No way—."
Jin Do-ha's eyes widened as if tearing. A foreboding premonition flashed through his mind.
No way, until now?
His instincts, sharp enough for the God of War moniker, screamed. And unfortunately, they hit the mark again.
Rumble-!
An ominous thunderclap.
It didn't come from the sky. It boomed from Soo-hyuk's body, black lightning coursing over him.
Rumblerumble-.
A familiar phenomenon. Master of Lightning, the skill symbolizing Player Lee Soo-hyuk. Impossible to mistake.
The issue: until now, Jin Do-ha had assumed Soo-hyuk was already using it.
And it didn't end there.
This time, lightning struck from the clouds. A blinding flash shook the earth with a massive thunderclap.
Tzzzzz-.
Deep blue lightning flared around Soo-hyuk's body. Black lightning tinged with blue? Jin Do-ha had never seen such a thing.
He didn't know what it was, but one thing was certain.
Lee Soo-hyuk with Master of Lightning would be far stronger than before.
Tzzzzz-.
Soo-hyuk cloaked himself in the dark lightning briefly before reining it in. Outwardly unchanged, but Jin Do-ha felt it in his bones.
This was an entirely different being from moments ago. He sensed the overwhelming gap he'd felt against prime Lee Soo-hyuk.
Instinct warned him.
Flee! You can't win!
How dire it was—the screams didn't stop at one. But another voice shouted just as loudly.
Think you can escape? Die fighting if you must.
Whoosh-.
Jin Do-ha slid forward like silk. A typhoon howled from his blade tip, waves crashing forth.
In this moment, he unleashed his ultimate technique. His sword whipped up a tempest, cleaving the earth like parting the sea.
From all directions, Jin Do-ha's swords assailed simultaneously. They split into sword energies—a veritable horde of dozens of Jin Do-has charging at once.
In that instant, flash.
Soo-hyuk's sword swung like literal lightning. Deep blue bolts surged like raging waves in all directions. They battered away the dozens of blades, finally engulfing Jin Do-ha himself.
At that moment, Jin Do-ha squeezed out his last vestige of life force for one final technique.
Piii-.
All sound vanished. The world turned blinding white, Soo-hyuk's charging form seeming to freeze mid-motion.
This was Jin Do-ha's mindscape, a tangible reality. Amid the halted, snow-white expanse, only he moved.
The blue sword blade inched forward laboriously. Even that slight motion taxed him, but he poured everything into this single strike.
A technique forged to fell the Heavenly Demon.
Flowing White Heart Sword.
The instant his sword sliced through the frozen Soo-hyuk.
Rumble-!
With a single thunderclap, Soo-hyuk vanished from Jin Do-ha's sight.
A sound rang out, vision lost. It meant one thing.
Sensing it instinctively, Jin Do-ha touched his throat. Hot, sticky wetness met his fingers. The sensation he'd known all his life as the God of War.
In that moment, as the white world restored to normalcy, Jin Do-ha murmured.
"......I've been cut."