Chapter 57: Preparation (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 57: Preparation (4)
The moment Hae-in grasped the spear, his eyes closed and his body slumped.
Thud.
Sion shot out a hand and caught him.
The warmth of the man who had collapsed and was now leaning completely against her traveled up her arm.
“…”
Sion quietly held her breath.
Jung Hae-in, completely drained of strength, had fallen into her arms, warm and defenseless.
His chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm, his breathing quiet.
She gently laid him down on the coat she had taken off earlier.
Brushing the hair from his forehead, she softly caressed his cheek.
“…Adorable.”
To trust her so completely, to leave himself in her care like this. Sion took a slow, quiet breath.
Her heart felt as if it were floating.
With a flutter of excitement, she rose silently to her feet.
She felt like a child about to open a Christmas present.
She walked to the door of the training ground.
Looking at the device mounted on the wall, she slowly raised her hand.
She pressed the button, her fingertip firm.
CLANG! CLANG!
With a heavy vibration, the entrance to the training ground slammed shut.
Then, a steel shutter began to slowly descend.
The glass window connecting to the control room was completely blocked, cutting off all sight of the outside world.
It was a device her grandfather and the other members used for seclusion training.
Now, this place was completely isolated from the outside.
No matter what happened in here, no one outside would ever know.
Sion approached Jung Hae-in with light, skipping steps.
He was still sleeping soundly on the coat she had spread out for him.
It had been a month since they’d entered Gaon.
During that time, Sion’s dissatisfaction had only grown.
Because some crazy woman had completely messed up the class assignments, she’d had to spend her days in a separate class from Jung Hae-in.
If things had gone as they should have…
She could have been with Hae-in nearly every moment, just like when they were here.
With each passing day, she felt herself withering away.
“…Hehe.”
It was time to recharge.
She took a slow breath and lay down beside Jung Hae-in.
This spot next to him—Sion’s spot—had always been here.
She gently leaned against him.
The moment their skin touched, a comforting warmth seeped into her.
Sion slowly reached out and caressed his cheek.
Warm.
This was a defenseless moment he showed to no one else, a moment permitted only to her.
Slowly, she moved closer. Sion’s eyes grew heavy, languid.
She pressed the tip of her nose against the nape of his neck.
His unique scent put her mind at ease. It felt as if her head was growing hazy.
It wasn’t enough.
A thirst that couldn’t be quenched by his scent alone.
Without hesitation, she pressed her body against his.
Everywhere their skin touched, a subtle heat began to rise.
Sion felt her mind grow dizzy.
Her leg moved silently, naturally wrapping around his.
One of her hands went to rest on Jung Hae-in’s chest.
Her other hand moved slowly, brushing past her own chest, her stomach, and then drifted lower.
Just before it reached its destination, her heartbeat quickened slightly.
However.
Her fingertips hesitated. In the end, she smoothly changed their course.
As if pulling away from the tempting heat, her hand moved silently along his warmth, carefully cupping his cheek.
In that instant, a black flame flickered to life at her fingertips.
The gently rising flame flowed over Hae-in’s body and enveloped his weapon.
A flame that was warm yet foreign, but in no way harmful.
With this, his trial would become much easier.
“…Hah.”
A quiet sigh escaped her slightly parted lips.
Just sharing his body heat filled her with an overflowing sense of fulfillment.
For now, this was enough.
The withering sensations she had endured for the past month were gradually being replenished.
She closed her eyes.
In this moment…
No one could interfere.
*
I opened my eyes.
A massive, humid cave.
I’d been here once before.
I carefully pushed myself up.
Just then, something in the darkness moved slowly.
Thump….
A deep reverberation echoed from somewhere.
As my vision gradually adjusted to the dark, I found myself facing a colossal figure seated before me.
The very air was crushed by its form.
I slowly raised my gaze.
It was looking down at me with piercing eyes.
“I’m here.”
I straightened my posture and spoke.
Its mere presence was a crushing weight.
In that moment.
CLANG!
A spear slammed into the ground.
I tilted my head slightly, dodging the Catastrophe that had been thrown at me.
“So, have you changed your mind?” I asked the great dragon with a smile.
This was the trial to draw out the power of Catastrophe.
I had already passed the first part of that trial, the trial of the mind.
However, the second trial… I had failed.
“You’re not just going to lend it to me, are you?”
Don’t be absurd.
It was to be expected. The trial required me…
To inflict a direct wound on Aldebaran.
The hide that covered its body wasn’t just a simple defense; it was worthy of being called a fortress wall.
In the past, countless heroes had unleashed their power against it, yet they had failed to leave even a single crack.
Then, and now.
No one had ever been able to truly kill this being.
Last time, I had swung my spear at the beast again and again.
Of course, it was weaker now than in its days as a Civilization Termination Beast, but all my attacks had simply bounced off.
And so, I had been unceremoniously kicked out of the inner world it controlled.
I had spent all this time pondering the reason for my expulsion.
How could I pierce its hide?
====
[Authority: Fragment of Harmony (片鱗)]
① Shatter Evil, Reveal Justice (破邪顯正)
— Destroy that which is wicked.
② ???
③ ???
====
Shatter Evil, Reveal Justice.
The essence of this ability was to break that which is wicked—in other words, evil.
If so, then Aldebaran, though an ancient dragon, was in essence a magical beast.
Which meant… was it not a wicked being?
I gripped the spear embedded in the ground.
The heavy, metallic sensation filled my hand.
I slowly put my strength into it and pulled the spear forcefully from the ground.
I raised my hand.
I closed my eyes, drawing up the power that lay dormant deep within me.
The energy of Demon Slaying.
A cold, foreign, jade-green mana surged forth.
As the energy enveloped the spear, a sharp wave of power swirled around it.
“Here I come.”
I charged toward Aldebaran with all my might.
CRASH!
A massive collision.
My vision distorted.
*
“Ah, fuck.”
I gasped for breath.
Lying on my back on the cold floor, I stared up at the cavern ceiling, which glowed with a blue light.
I had failed.
But I had found a clue.
My approach itself wasn’t wrong.
It was different from before.
This time, it didn’t feel like my attacks were completely ineffective.
And yet, I still couldn’t break through.
Aldebaran’s hide remained as solid as ever.
Even though the tip of my spear had struck it, I hadn’t been able to make a single scratch.
‘Why?’
Now that I’d clashed with it, I thought I knew the reason.
I lacked absolute power.
I was a hair’s breadth away. It felt like I was missing that last 2%.
It had an effect.
But it was just a little, a tiny bit, short.
What could I do? It was a lack of training.
I gave a bitter smile, got to my feet, and gripped my spear tightly.
“Hoo…”
The moment I drew upon Shatter Evil, Reveal Justice again…
Just then.
Another energy began to flow through my body.
It was a black flame.
The flame rose as if it were alive, surging like a mighty wave and slowly seeping into the jade-green mana.
The jade-green mana and the black flame intertwined.
The black flame approached obediently. The jade-green mana willingly accepted it.
And then, the two powers merged into one.
The spear began to vibrate.
The heavy pressure I felt in my fingertips was immense.
Wooooong….
The two powers achieved perfect harmony, finally creating a new wave of energy.
The black flame and the jade-green mana wrapped around each other, forming a massive current.
I gripped the spear.
The heavy pressure spreading from my fingertips was incomparably more intense than before.
Hoh….
Aldebaran’s eyes narrowed with interest.
Its dark pupils sank deeper.
I took a slow breath.
And then.
“For real, this time.”
I pushed off my feet and shot into the air.
The strongest technique I possessed.
‘Catenaccio.’
However.
Catenaccio was a technique where the clones I created attacked different areas in close proximity.
That method wouldn’t pierce Aldebaran’s hide. The moment the attack was dispersed, it would be meaningless.
What I needed was…
‘A One-Point Shot.’
A single, powerful strike that could pierce one spot.
I wove several clones in mid-air.
The clones appeared, holding spears.
The black flame and jade-green mana enveloped their bodies.
All the clones held their spears and aimed at Aldebaran.
But this still wasn’t enough.
One spot.
I had to strike one spot.
In the air, I gathered all the clones into one.
The clones lined up behind me, forming a perfect, single file.
In that instant.
The power of all the clones was compressed into one.
The multiple spears fused into a single, massive spear.
‘Phalanx (Φάλαγγα).’
A colossal spear, floating in the air.
Jade-green mana swirled as the black flame created a raging tide.
This spear existed to destroy a single target.
I…
brought it crashing down.
KRA-KOOOOM!!!
The tip of the spear collided with the hide.
Instantly, a tremendous metallic clang shook the cave.
The recoil from the attack shot from my fingertips, up my arm, and through my entire body.
An incredible pressure crushed down on me.
Crack….
“!”
Cracks began to form.
I gritted my teeth. I couldn’t stop now.
I raised the spear.
The halberd’s blade sharpened as the black flame and jade-green mana burned even more intensely.
I slammed it down again and again.
CRASH!
CRASH!
CRASH!
The shock of the impacts traveled up my arm, making my bones ache.
But I didn’t stop.
“Please!!”
KRA-BOOOOM!
The moment the final blow landed, an overwhelming explosion erupted, loud enough to make the entire cave tremble.
It was cracked.
No.
It was pierced.
Cracks spread from the center of the hide, and finally…
Crr-unch.
A huge fissure opened up.
The impenetrable wall had been shattered, and a clear wound was carved into Aldebaran’s body.
The second trial.
To leave a scar on its body.
As I stared at the shattered hide, I gasped for breath.
“Success…”
Having poured every last ounce of my strength into that attack, my energy vanished in that instant.
And just like that…
I plummeted from the air.