The Incompetent Hero and Pirate Extermination (5)

Splash... crash!

Splash... crash!

Warships cut their way forward through waves that were as rough as they were ominously surging. They had accomplished the enormous feat of wiping out the Iron Horn Band — the pirates who had long been Dandong's greatest headache — and yet their morale was scraping the bottom. Like the remnants of a force that had lost a battle, the decks held nothing but gloom.

"...Just what is going on here? Elder — do you know what exactly... happened?"

Yeogibuk, who had fled the island as if escaping for his life, asked the question while looking at Jong-ui on the deck. He had judged that Jong-ui understood the present situation better than anyone, and that judgment was correct.

Jong-ui, like Yeogibuk, kept his gaze fixed beyond the sea from the deck as he spoke.

"It is a story from myth."

"Myth...?"

"Do you know the tale of the Seven Demon Kings?"

"If it's that..."

It was a famous old story in Yeom Kingdom.

Long ago, a thunderbolt that shook heaven and earth struck down from the sky, and from a rocky mountain a certain life was born. The one resembling a monkey, born from hard rock, was called the Stone Monkey. As the Stone Monkey grew, he became mighty and founded a nation called Oraeguk. The Stone Monkey went about calling himself Sun Wukong, and in time he raised a disturbance that turned the Heavenly Realm upside down.

After that, he began seeking out those with power similar to his own from every corner of the world, and found a total of six beings. Called the Ox Demon King, the Flood Demon King, the Peng Demon King, the Sata King, the Mihu King, and the Uyung King, each possessed power that rivaled the gods. Sun Wukong and the six demon kings swore brotherhood, and in time they became known as the Seven Demon Kings — objects of dread.

In the end they were called the Great Stars and became objects of reverence, but their evil deeds were so overwhelming that endless chaos continued to wrack the world. To set that chaos right, a messenger sent from heaven succeeded in cutting them down and sealing them away.

"Isn't the name of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the old fairy tale that recorded the messenger's journey to seal those seven demon kings precisely the Tale of the Seven Demon Kings?"

"I am saying that it was not a mere story. The Seven Demon Kings truly existed — and for reasons unknown, they have appeared in the present world...."

"Th-that's..."

The rest of Yeogibuk's words — There's no way something out of a fairy tale would actually happen, right? — never left his mouth. Because they had actually experienced it. Because that being had crossed the sea as if it were dry land, shattered a warship by piercing straight through it in a single exchange, and yet, as if it were nothing at all, had crushed everyone present beneath an overwhelming presence that left them unable to move a finger.

"I-if that's the case..., shouldn't we go help Hero Cheon-woo?"

"If we went, we would only get in the way."

"Mmm...."

Yeogibuk groaned at Jong-ui's words and glanced toward a corner of the deck. There, Dan Seollin — companion of Jang Cheon-woo of the Jaryong Unit, and princess of the Dan family — was trembling in fear. Perhaps... it was only natural. The monster spoken of earlier had targeted her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a clear and deliberate purpose. Her other companion, the swordswoman of Jo, Baekryeon, was trying to comfort her, but it did not seem to be having much effect.

"Baekryeon.... Th-this is weird.... My body..., the shaking won't stop...."

"Lady Seollin...."

Like a frightened baby bird, the uncontrollable trembling of her body was all too unfamiliar to Seollin. She had always been overflowing with confidence. Under the name of the Dan clan, she had always been bold — fearing no one, and only burning hotter with competitive spirit against those stronger than herself. But today, the terror and fear she felt for the first time had dealt Seollin a tremendous shock.

"Th-this is weird.... I've heard plenty of talk about people targeting me.... Even hearing those stories..., it never bothered me...."

I'm scared.

From the moment she recognized that something transcendent — something that could not be defied — was targeting her, the trembling of her body would not disappear. This sensation of inescapable death drawing near.

"I'm shaking.... My body.... won't listen to me...."

"...It is all right, Lady Seollin. Young Master is far stronger than you imagine. He will surely defeat that one and return — so do not be afraid."

So saying, Baekryeon gently gathered Seollin into her arms.

Clang! Ching! Kiking! Ting! Kiiing!!!

I had fought any number of beings until now. I had fought monsters. I had fought beastmen. But never once had the thought that my life was in danger crossed my mind. With the overwhelming stats from the cheat file, and after inheriting the true secret arts of the Sword King, I had not a single rival.

But right now....

This... might actually be dangerous.

Kaaang!!

Every time I knocked aside the spear thrusting in with such precision, my arms shook. That was how absurd the power ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠packed into the spear was. Precision, speed, weight — none of it compared even remotely to any opponent I had met so far.

"Hwahaha! What the hell are ya? You really human?"

"I am human!"

Somehow I shoved Fukhaedaeseong back and opened the distance.

Being able to somehow keep my footing and stand even on the undulating waves was thanks to the footwork — but magic was being burned at a correspondingly ferocious rate. With what I had left, about four hours was the limit, and once I factored in the distance back....

If I didn't end this fight quickly, I might sink straight into the ocean.

More than anything, means of recovering magic are already scarce enough — and of all places, I end up forced to burn it out here....

Annoying as hell....

"Kyaha~ Ain't had a fight this fun in ages. What's yer real identity? A human got this much power? Don't make me laugh with jokes like that!"

"Shut up! Just how much DLC is this damn game gonna drop, making up this kind of backstory crap!!!"

Fukhaedaeseong. One of the six yokai said to possess power equal to Sun Wukong from Journey to the West. Only after exchanging a few blows did it surface from my memory. That one had definitely been called a Demon King as well. But within this world's setting, there should only be a single Demon King — and that Demon King was currently split into four fragments. Then what the hell was this guy....

"Haa.... Let me ask one thing. Besides you, are there others in the Beastman Alliance?"

"Huh? You mean my other brothers? Nah. I just thought what they were doin' looked fun, so I'm cooperatin' — and the others are just livin' however they please."

In other words, no other of the Seven Great Stars were cooperating with the Beastman Alliance. Was that at least fortunate? If another bastard with this level of power were attached, things would go to hell before I even faced the Heavenly Demon. On top of that, the watcher the Beastman Alliance had sent to the pirates was probably this guy alone. With power like this, he could casually wipe out a decent martial sect by himself.

"...How about you ease up and let me go? I'm a bit busy."

"That ain't happenin'. I was the one managin' this place, y'know. Now that everything's gone to hell and you're takin' all the humans away, I got nothin' to say to those guys."

"So in other words, I have to take you down."

"That's right. But... if you keep holdin' back like that... you'll never beat me."

A chilling sensation brushed across my skin. At the same time, the guy's form vanished.

"!"

Kaaang!!

If it hadn't been for the Intuition skill and the instinctive senses drawn from the Sword King's memories, I would have been run clean through.

"...You son of a bitch!...."

"Whoa, yer reactions are real good."

"Fine. Let's see who dies — you or me."

Brilliant golden light. The warm light of dawn that could only be seen from a rising sun wrapped around Leon's body, then flowed along the blade and undulated.

"Here I come."

BOOM!!!

Seawater exploded and scattered. Along the trajectory of the drawn sword, golden magic light remained and flashed.

Sword King Secret Arts. Horizontal cut, vertical cut, thrust — a swordsmanship that simply, simply trained three movements to the absolute limit. Among them, the Sword King's secret art said to have split the sea with a single thrust was unleashed here.

Kwagagagagak!!!

The sea split, leaving golden afterimages in its wake. I attacked him with the resolve of a one-hit kill — but of course he did not go down in a single blow. Fukhaedaeseong, who had barely slipped past the strike, looked at me as if greatly surprised.

"No way."

Crack.

"Tsk. So it broke after all...."

No matter how high the technique, the limits of the sword itself were unavoidable. I stowed the broken blade in my inventory and, in exchange, drew out the Holy Sword I had stored there.

With the Holy Sword, it shouldn't break....

Dan Seolpung had said it. The Sword King Secret Arts was a sword method completed by the explosive application of Qi layered onto an extremely trained basic sword. Exactly as he said. No matter how extremely you trained the basic sword, in the end it was still a basic sword. What let you transcend that limit was Qi — that is, the explosive application of magic. But there was a problem. The moment you put magic into it, the power of the Sword King Secret Arts amplified several times over. Because of that extreme difference in power — a difference even extreme technique could not control — the burden on an ordinary sword was far too great. To withstand it, either the sword's own performance had to be excellent, or you had to cast enhancement magic on the blade to raise its durability itself. So the Sword King had said.

...You — don't use magic.

...Yes.

Of course that wasn't the reason I hadn't been using magic. As I said earlier, once you started applying magic, the power amplified beyond what even my technique could control. That meant the collateral damage to the surroundings was utterly catastrophic. Even the Sword King, after seeing a horrific scene that left him speechless, had instructed me to avoid magic-based application as much as possible — so I had been refraining from using it. But....

Rumble... rumble... rumble!!....

"Whoa.... First time I've seen a human split the sea, y'know. You're really somethin'."

As the split sea came crashing back together, a roar loud enough to hurt the ears rolled over us.

"And that sword... I see. So you're one of those Hero types or whatever?"

"Yeah. That's right. There's nothing here to break or anything.... So it's fine even if I go all out."

"Now that's... an interestin' thing to say."

Golden dawn light dyed the pure white Holy Sword. Water-like energy swirled around his spear.

Zzeong! Ziiiiing!! Kwaaaaaang!!!

Spear and sword clashed — and then the sea split.