Spirit Valley (9)

The fundamental principle of a domain ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠art is imposing a specific effect upon an area designated by its caster. The level and scope of that domain vary wildly depending on the caster's power. Even when two people unfold the same technique, a deeper understanding of domains produces sharper effects — and one that won't easily collapse. It was precisely because of that irregularity that my little trick could work.

Raise the domain's core performance by sacrificing its other functions.

An idea only possible because I'd learned it alone, rather than inheriting it properly from a sect. The domain art I was unfolding now, Sparrow Wings Enfolding the Sky, was no different. After all, it was classified as a fairly high-tier technique even among the Spirit Sects.

FWOOSH!

A pair of flame-like wings sprouted from the empty air.

The wings curved around the surroundings, forming a space. Its effect was simple: the removal of all hindering effects. Anyone who entered this space had every debuff — curses, poisons, and the like — instantly dispelled. Granted, they would all return the moment the domain collapsed, but until then, no matter how lethal the affliction, it simply stopped.

Yes. Even this fog…

This mist that was numbing my eyes and senses.

"There you are."

The fog gradually receded, revealing the shape of the Heavenly Demon Fiend.

"How… how are you…?"

"I was dying to see you."

The instant those words left my mouth, my head spun and blood came dripping down from my nose.

Damn it.

No matter how much my stats had risen, this was still a high-level domain art. But with this, his signature fog was sealed away.

I turned my gaze and located my spear — roughly twenty paces away. The fog might be gone, but that didn't mean the man's internal energy had vanished with it. He certainly wouldn't let me pick it up without a fight.

And this domain will last three minutes at most.

I had to settle this before then — or I'd be plunged right back into that foggy hell.

I suppose… I'll have to use it.

I'd hoped to avoid taking it out until I could handle it a little more safely. But you know what they say — hoard a thing too long and it turns to crap. When the moment to use something arrives, you have to commit without hesitation.

I opened my subspace and drew it out: a black ring set with a crimson jewel.

"Let's see how far we can take it — right up to the edge."

I slipped the ring onto my finger. At once, a dizzying energy seethed through my body, strength flooding up from within.

"Whoa… this is insane."

I'd heard about this ring's power until my ears grew calluses in my past life — but using it firsthand, even those words felt like an understatement.

"GRAAAAAAGH!"

Having lost his fog, the Heavenly Demon Fiend began wildly swinging his sword. Yet unlike before, it no longer looked so sharp.

"You call THIS an attack!"

I evaded his blade and drove my fist toward the wedge. Naturally, he raised an arm to protect it — I smashed through it anyway.

"KGHAK!"

For the first time, the Heavenly Demon Fiend staggered backward. Seizing that opening, I sprinted for the spot where my spear lay.

The more I moved, the more the power surged. I had never felt this exhilarated in my life.

"Extermination begins now!"

Gripping the spear, I charged straight at him. Blade and spearpoint collided in a spray of sparks.

"That… sword…"

"You think you have time to talk?"

The spear lashed out wildly. The attacks were erratic, driven by pure instinct alone — and yet…

"KEHEK!"

…that alone was enough to smother the Fiend's blade. The spear was growing lighter in my hands by the second.

Parry, thrust, slash. I worked the crystal-clear laws of the spear without a moment's rest.

More…! I can go further!

Greed took root. How strong could I become? Where was the limit of this power?

I want to know.

Around the time my vision began to darken at the edges —

"KGAAAAK!"

The Heavenly Demon Fiend's right arm came off. Not long after, his left arm was torn away as well.

"YOOOOU!"

In the end, he lost both legs too. The wedge now lay utterly exposed, with nothing left to guard it. I swallowed a great breath and leveled my spear at it.

"…Chal(?)."

The wedge shattered beneath the blow. A massive hole tore open in the Heavenly Demon Fiend's chest.

The Heavenly Demon Fiend crumbled into dust. It was the moment a B-rank gate boss was exterminated by a single hunter.

The chat seemed to be scrolling furiously, but none of it registered. My heart was pounding far too violently. My body burned unbearably hot.

Not enough. I needed more enemies to fight.

I still haven't seen the end of it.

I could spill more blood. This wasn't the end of my limit. Not enough — it wasn't nearly enough. Not enough not enough not enough not enough not enough not enough not enough not enough not enough—

"…Kgh!"

I barely shook off the insane obsession that coiled around my skull like brainwashing.

This cursed ring.

I'd never dreamed it would push me into frenzy like this. If I stayed like this any longer, I really would become a murderer.

"I'll… be ending… the stream… now…."

After wrapping up the broadcast as best I could, I reached for the ring to pull it off.

"GKAK!"

A monstrous psychological resistance bored straight through my brain.

The moment I removed it, I would return to the weakling I used to be.

But you're growing stronger without lifting a finger, aren't you?

There's no need for painful effort.

Someone whispered sweetly in my ear. The last fraying thread of my reason grew dimmer and dimmer.

…Is there really a reason to endure this agony?

That's right. Better yet — if I just surrendered my body to this sensation…

"Hoh. So this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ring is the culprit, is it?"

At that moment, a titan of a man strode up before me.

"Under normal circumstances I couldn't lend you a hand — but the boss is already slain, so no harm done, eh?"

"You are…?"

"Heh heh. I've taken quite a liking to you, you see. I couldn't just stand by and watch you lose your mind out here."

Regardless of who this man was, my arm moved first. My body, governed by Berserk, tried to unfold my spear art of its own accord.

"Run…!"

"Run, you say? PWAHAHA! Now that's a word I haven't heard in an age!"

He removed the mask covering his face and took his stance.

…Why is HE here?!'

Before my stunned mind could even settle —

"It may sting a wee bit, so endure it with a good battle cry!"

A deep, ink-black fist, like that of the Black Tortoise itself, traced an elegant arc through the air.

A fist that left its mark like a brush whipped across paper. Four strokes hammered into my body one after another, heavy impacts convulsing through my insides.

"Gahk…!"

"That should do it."

Having neutralized me in a single stroke, he slid the ring off my finger. The instant it left my hand, the compulsion wrapping my body extinguished all at once — and a wave of agonizing pain crashed in.

Was I in so much of a frenzy that I couldn't feel the pain?!'

The agony was beyond screaming. I'd taken wounds fighting the Heavenly Demon Fiend, and then taken this man's fists square on top of them. Honestly, the fact that I was still conscious was gratitude enough.

"KWAHAHA! Well then — everything worked out in the end, didn't it!"

He laughed heartily, both hands resting on his shoulders. I dragged myself upright, using my spear as a crutch.

"I never… imagined the hunter who followed as our watch officer would be you, sir."

A middle-aged man whose beard and hair grew wild as a lion's mane. Despite his considerable age, he still worked as an active hunter — a powerhouse who showed no intention of stepping down from the #1 spot in Korea's hunter rankings.

The master of a fist sect. The Fist King, Kang Hyuk-jin.

"Isn't your price tag a bit steep for work like this?"

"And thanks to that, I was able to save you before you fell into qi deviation, no? A good turn is a good turn."

…He wasn't wrong. Whatever his reasons, it was thanks to the Fist King that I'd escaped that ring's dominion.

Its side effects are worse than I expected.

I'd nearly repeated the "Solion Guild Incident" from before my regression. I'd best not so much as glance at it for a while.

"That said, you're quite something. I truly didn't think you'd clear a B-rank gate solo."

"I got lucky. The ring helped, too."

"KAH! There are truckloads of hunters who couldn't beat that thing even if you handed them a ring like that! Too much modesty ruins the appetite, you rascal!"

He clapped my back boisterously with his enormous palms.

"Ugh, kgh."

Apparently he had no idea I was injured. Each blow felt like my bones and organs were being forcibly separated.

"But you know, lad."

"Yes?"

"You used the martial arts of all Four Great Sects."

The Fist King's face, which had been wearing such a genial grin until a moment ago, stiffened slightly.

"Barrier arts and domain arts. That spear art has been heavily modified, but it resembled the Sword Sect's style."

"…"

"And that punch from before, the one from a while back — it was, without a doubt…"

Golden light flickered in his eyes.

"The Hyeonmu Ink Fist. I'm certain of it."

"So you were alive, huh?"

"…You say that as though you were hoping I'd died."

Kang Hwi lowered the child he'd been cradling in his arms, his face brimming with relief. Kang Yul was still asleep in exactly the same posture as before. I spread a light touch of mana through her to check the state of the spell.

"It's gone."

"R-really?!"

"Yeah. Clean sweep."

The jiangshi curse that had been carved into Kang Yul's brain had been wiped away without a trace.

"Ohhh…! Thank goodness… thank goodness, truly…."

Kang Hwi clutched Kang Yul tightly to his chest as hot tears poured down his face. At a glance, his condition was anything but normal. His clothes were filthy past saving, and blood was streaming from cuts and gashes all over his body. There was probably not a single spot on him that didn't hurt with every movement.

"Thank you! From the bottom of my heart… I don't know how I could ever repay this kindness…."

He was smiling, blissfully happy, as though his own pain didn't exist in his world. Bawling, he squeezed his sister's small body against him with all his strength.

"Mmm… too tight, oppaaa…."

Only when Kang Yul slurringly complained in her sleep did he finally ease his grip.

"Here, take this."

I handed Kang Hwi the last remaining potion. It had been worth enduring the maddening urge not to use it myself.

"Huh? Shouldn't you use it, Foreigner-nim?!"

"Keep it. When I get back, I can bathe in gold instead."

It wasn't a lie. Ridiculously extravagant, sure — but money is money.

"The barrier formation's effect will wear off soon too. Report it to the village chief when I'm gone. The jiangshi won't rise again, but if the bodies rot, that'll be a problem — so bury them properly."

With my body creaking in protest, I started walking — toward the spot where the return gate would open.

"Well then. I'm off."

"Foreigner-nim."

"Now what?"

"Will I… be able to see you again?"

Kang Hwi looked at me with steady, calm eyes.

"You'd better pray you don't. Me showing up again would mean your world is falling apart."

"Even so, I want to see you again, Foreigner-nim. And next time — next time I want to fight beside you."

"Fight, he says."

I gave a careless wave and turned my back.

"Farewell, Foreigner-nim!"

Kang Hwi's voice rang out, clear and bright. It was a hopeful cry the raid team of my pre-regression days had never once heard from that boy.

"And… see you again, Taehyun-nim!"

And with that parting —

the B-rank gate was cleared.

And then.

"This one is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coming with ME! KWAHAHAHA!"

I got kidnapped by the Fist King.