The Heavenly Meteor Sword
The wind in the heavens felt refreshing.
This was the first time I had used this martial art since my rebirth.
**Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps**.
The pinnacle of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, one of the advanced techniques, and the ultimate form of void-walking within it.
By spurting out strands of internal energy from my entire body, it lifted me into the air and allowed me to move exactly like I would on the ground, even while hovering in midair.
Truth be told, the name “void-walking” sounded grand, but in practice the efficiency of the internal energy was poor and the technique lacked real combat utility.
Yet there had been a reason I had used it frequently in my previous life.
It was a technique meant for displaying martial power.
Those whose cultivation levels were lower would freeze in terror and collapse to the ground the moment they felt a single step of the Sovereign Steps.
But today I needed to use it in earnest.
Hooooo.
In front of me, hovering in the air, floated a dragon the size of a house.
The creature had wings, yet it was staring down at me like a human looking at an insect while still floating in midair, and it wanted me to catch that scaly lizard.
“This fellow is indeed impressive in size. That means his core must be quite pure too, right?”
*Crack—*
The huge dragon glared at me with its massive eyes and let out a low, threatening growl, refusing to move.
How long had it lived?
Did it know how to sense the strength of its opponent through its age?
The aura emanating from the dragon before me now was stronger than I had expected.
“If I had been a moment later, the Aegis Shield would have been in real danger.”
This guy is on a completely different level from any ordinary monster.
Moreover, judging by how much it had eaten, its abdomen was considerably fuller than any species of dragon I had seen in the Central Plains.
I glanced down.
The eyes of the hunters were fixed on this side.
Among them, I could clearly see Kim Na-yeon with her blonde hair.
*Tsk.*
I clicked my tongue.
No matter how urgent the situation was, I had exposed my body to the entire world.
The distance was too great to make out her appearance in detail, but in this era there were strange techniques. Drones could photograph me from afar.
If I stayed like this, the Aegis Shield and sister Na-yeon would scold me until I cried.
*Uwoong.*
Using the mystery of the Natural Realm, I began to gather the internal energy in the air.
To defeat this kind of monster, my current internal energy storage was completely insufficient.
I had no choice but to borrow the power of the Natural Realm.
Even after **Rebirth of Bone and Muscle**, it was still too much to handle with this tiny body.
Then I had no choice but to end it quickly.
Afterward, I would leave the exhausted body to sister Na-yeon.
**Kwa kwa kwa kwa!**
In an instant, a tyrannical aura exploded from my entire body.
“You spirit beast, you have no time to play.”
The dragon noticed my explosive aura and immediately took action.
**Kaaak—!**
**Puff puff boom!**
While spinning, the dragon’s wings flapped once, and then its massive body began retreating at terrifying speed.
Along with the gale created by the wings, countless meteor-like fireballs hurtled toward my entire body.
This fellow has good instincts.
Logically speaking, a little girl like me should be too scared to make a dragon of that size flee. But the dragon instinctively sensed that the sharp aura in the air was aimed at its throat.
The spirit beast knew.
If I was in front of it, I would definitely kill it.
I shone my eyes and moved my body like a streak of lightning in pursuit.
**Kwa kwa kwa bang!**
Explosions rang out endlessly around me.
I raised the **Mind Sword** and cut them apart, constantly chasing the dragon.
*Crack.*
Feeling that I would not easily shake me off, the dragon opened its mouth.
**Dragon’s Breath.**
It spat out the power it had used to target the Aegis Shield.
**Kwaaaa—!**
**Kiiing—!**
I cut it cleanly in one stroke.
The strong qi from the **Mind Sword** sliced through the air and poured out like a torrent toward the dragon’s massive body.
**Puff puff boom!**
**Kaaaak—?!**
The roar changed quality.
The dragon’s red mana was pierced through, and giant wounds carved by the strong qi appeared all over its body.
*Twirl.*
Taking advantage of the gap while the dragon staggered in midair, I stretched out my hand.
**Uuuwoong!**
One, two, three, hundred, thousand.
Countless **Mind Swords** burning with the pure internal energy flames of the strong qi materialized around the dragon.
A complete encirclement formed entirely from swords.
“Welcome to your glory.”
I smiled with the corners of my mouth raised.
“You are the first to receive my first sword style, the Heavenly Demon Meteor Sword, of the Three Heavenly Demon Swords of this era.”
**Heavenly Demon Three Swords.**
**First Style.**
**Heavenly Demon Meteor Sword.**
The countless swords quickly turned into the shape of a meteor shower falling from the sky and began piercing the dragon’s entire body.
***
**Kaaaa—!!**
Meteors fell from the dry sky.
Countless streaks of light pierced through and tore apart and shattered the robust body of the ancient species as if there were no obstacles, then shot out in the opposite direction.
Meteors, flashes, flesh, blood, roars almost like screams, and then silence.
The body of the ancient species Brontanis was torn to shreds as it slowly began falling to the ground, losing all strength.
There was no sound of the ground and the body colliding.
The ancient species, composed of condensed mana, had already turned into energy and scattered the moment life left its body.
“......”
No one present was able to move.
Everyone simply stared at the incomprehensible phenomenon that had occurred here, with nothing left to say.
“...Is it gone?”
Among them, only Kim Na-yeon looked around urgently.
Because the black object that had been at the center of the meteor shower had also disappeared somewhere with the extinction of the ancient species.
*Tap tap tap!*
The moment everyone stopped moving while watching the ancient species vanish, Kim Na-yeon alone moved.
She darted to an empty area and frantically searched around, with the desperate heart of a parent searching for their child.
“Hik?”
*Thud.*
At some point, Na-yeon sat down.
At the same time, a heavy weight pressed down on her.
“......”
The Wiji Yeon who had disappeared was now nestled in her arms.
Eyes tightly closed, clutching the precious thing, she held a jewel glowing red in her tiny hands.
Could this be an item left behind by the ancient species?
*Snore.*
A soft snoring sound came from her.
The moment she was held by Na-yeon, she fell asleep immediately.
*Ziyeon-ah, you protected the hunters?*
*Even while using strength that would cause you to faint?*
“...Hehe.”
Na-yeon smiled faintly and hugged Wiji Yeon tighter.
The power Wiji Yeon possessed far exceeded what Kim Na-yeon had vaguely imagined.
A truly absurd amount of power hidden in this small body.
Absolute power reminiscent of nuclear weapons held by countries in the era of conventional weapons.
The threat was no longer just Lee Myeong-won of the Red Wind.
Other hunters who had witnessed this scene could also speak out.
The power of this girl who grew up as an experiment was dangerous; they should take some action.
They could claim she should be sealed away so she would never see the light again.
But who in the world could control or seal away a girl with such overwhelming power?
Wouldn’t it just turn her into a monster by poking her hive?
Even if not that, wouldn’t an immature Wiji Yeon who didn’t understand the world be used by someone and end up with blood on those small hands?
An experiment girl raised in a laboratory.
A girl who didn’t know the ways of the world and found everything strange.
The mind of a white canvas girl would be stained with the first color drawn on it.
If she were the one, she could raise Wiji Yeon properly.
Kim Na-yeon made a firm resolution to protect Wiji Yeon.
She had to grow up correctly and use this power for the sake of humanity.
Until then, she would become his shield for Ziyeon.
Despite being a free-spirited cat-like Wiji Yeon, he listened to Kim Na-yeon.
She would be able to handle this girl herself.
Maintaining the Aegis ability, Na-yeon carefully raised her shield and turned her body.
The small body of Wiji Yeon was perfectly hidden behind Na-yeon’s shield.
*Tap.*
Kim Na-yeon held Wiji Yeon gently in her arms and flew toward the city.
***
**Kwaaa!**
Leaving behind a crimson afterimage, the being crossed the battlefield with overwhelming momentum.
The being racing toward the place where the ancient species had fallen—Lee Myeong-won’s mind was in an unprecedentedly complicated state.
“That... is it...!”
Only Lee Myeong-won could recognize that ‘it’.
The power that felt like it originated from the same source as the **Blood Demon** he had been carrying in his body since the moment it was discovered as a newborn baby.
It was so faint that only when touching it could one feel it, but the feeling was unmistakable.
Yet even after forcefully manifesting its ability, no matter how much mana he poured in, it only passed through like air.
But today, the thing he had worked on for many years in the underground laboratory had become a complete body and appeared before his eyes.
Why was it here?
How had it manifested its ability?
Was the hypnosis not in the right state?
Countless thoughts rose and vanished in Lee Myeong-won’s mind, but before all questions, securing it was the top priority.
*Tap.*
The moment Lee Myeong-won reached the very front of the battlefield, the only things in his line of sight were hunters who had begun recovering the injured and withdrawing.
The gazes of the surrounding hunters focused on Lee Myeong-won.
“Who?”
“The enemy...! It’s Lee Myeong-won of the Red Wind!”
He did not openly display hostility, but the hunters’ eyes were full of fighting spirit.
Lee Myeong-won did not care about the gaze at all and asked.
“The one who defeated the ancient species. Or rather, where are the hunters?”
“When you ask a question like that?”
In front of Lee Myeong-won, the master of the Sorim Guild, Han So-rim, crossed her arms and stepped forward.
“The casualties among the hunters were enormous. Isn’t this when the Red Wind members who didn’t suffer any damage at the final defense line should take the lead and help?”
Lee Myeong-won’s eyes shone as he stared at Han So-rim.
“I am asking where the one who defeated the ancient species is now.”
“...Hmph.”
Under that eerie gaze, Han So-rim had no choice but to step back a step.
Because a dangerous feeling emanated from Lee Myeong-won right now.
But no one opened their mouths.
In fact, no one knew where the hunters who had defeated the ancient species had gone.
“Could it be an S-rank hunter in hiding? Master Lee Myeong-won probably knows that there are outstanding hunters who are not registered with the association, right?”
“What... There’s no way a single S-rank hunter could defeat an ancient species.”
Han So-rim shot back as if asserting her pride, but Lee Myeong-won’s attention left Han So-rim in an instant.
Lee Myeong-won’s eyes, shining brightly, scanned the surroundings.
Two relatively healthy independent hunters.
A group of hunters gathering around the guild unit to recover the injured.
Several individual hunters who were returning alone.
One female hunter of the tanker type who was rushing toward the city at high speed. Because her body enhancement was immature without manifesting her ability, she had a golden shield raised in front of her body.
“...Wait.”
*Flash!*
Just as Lee Myeong-won was about to approach the female hunter who looked like a tanker, a blue streak of light blocked his path.
The being who appeared within that streak of light was a young man.
“Where are you going? Master Lee Myeong-won. I have something to talk to you about.”
Lee Myeong-won ground his teeth upon confirming the young man’s appearance.
He was the only person Lee Myeong-won found irritating, the master of the Suryong Guild and his former friend from the past.
“Kim Jin-seong...!”