The Incompetent Hero and Yeomhyeongok (5)
I've said it more times than I can count, but Yeomhyeongok was a secret palace I had run through dozens of times while playing the success route of the Incompetent Hero.
For an eroge, it was a peculiar dungeon that never produced a single lewd CG, yet the returns from clearing it were so generous that I ran it for fun. There simply wasn't a better place for leveling—so it was no exaggeration to say that most of its gimmicks were already locked inside my head.
Even so, the secret door that had appeared this time, leading down to the fifteenth floor…
It was pure, heart-pounding excitement.
The condition that triggered the secret-door gimmick was something I could figure out without much thought.
I had to reach the fourteenth floor together with the Emperor of Yeom. Until now I had never even seen the Emperor's corpse, let alone the living man himself, so of course the door never opened.
In the game, you only arrive in the Yeom Kingdom after the kingdom has already fallen.
Because of the game's nature—where you can only choose options inside a fixed script—the condition of heading to Yeomhyeongok's fourteenth floor with a living Emperor of Yeom is almost impossible to satisfy. Even if that weren't the case, the Emperor of Yeom is essentially the king of the Yeom Kingdom.
Meeting such a person, then bringing him all the way here, borders on the impossible.
So fulfilling that condition this time was little more than a happy accident.
Which meant everything beyond this point was uncharted territory, even for me.
But for Juzaku to show up out of nowhere here of all places… it's not even funny.
I never imagined I would meet one of the Four Sacred Beasts at the very bottom of Yeomhyeongok.
Of course… progressing Baekryeon's story inevitably leads you to Baekho, and I had already met Hyeonmu, another of the Four Sacred Beasts, so I had vaguely assumed I would run into the others again someday.
I just never expected it to happen this soon.
"Moreover, in a place I never even considered… or rather, is it precisely because it's this place that I could meet her?"
A prison that confines the shining flame…
Had the "shining flame" been referring to the Juzaku standing right in front of me?
Just what kind of man had the first Emperor of Yeom been?
"My name is Juzaku."
Crack… crack-crack…
Whoosh—
The mere fact of Juzaku's existence began to heat the surrounding space, rough and searing.
With every step she took, footprints of flame were left behind, and the quiet crackle of burning fire reached my ears.
Scorching heat flooded outward without restraint, swallowing the entire chamber.
A presence that completely dominated the space itself.
It was unmistakably similar to the presence I had felt when I faced the Demon King.
"Descendant of the Covenant-Bearer. The time has come to fulfill the ancient pact."
"The pact… you say?"
"Indeed."
Even under the crushing weight of Juzaku's presence, the Emperor of Yeom managed to keep his wits and ask the question.
Juzaku gave a light nod, then flicked a glance toward me.
"However… before the pact is fulfilled, it seems there is one present who is unnecessary to its completion."
Her crimson eyes locked onto mine.
Instinct
The Instinct skill picked up a faint sense of danger. At the same moment, Juzaku casually raised her hand.
Snap—!
She flicked her pure-white fingers.
"!"
KRAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!
Without the slightest warning, a pillar of flame erupted.
If the crisis sense from Instinct had not triggered before the attack even began, I would have been swallowed by that pillar of fire in a single breath.
Even if I had been caught, my absurd magic value would have kept me from dying outright—but there would have been no way to stop my clothes from burning to ash.
I had zero interest in suddenly wandering around naked.
"You dodged…?"
"Jumping straight to an attack? Pretty rough of you."
"…Indeed. You have long since surpassed the limits of humanity. The realm of demigods… no. Have you already left even that realm far behind?"
"Quite the evaluation. But you might want to remember something—anyone who points a gun should be prepared to get shot themselves. You're ready for the consequences of striking first, right?"
I drew the Holy Sword and kicked off the ground, launching myself forward as if I had been shot from a bow.
The acceleration was so abrupt that the already superheated air slammed directly against my skin, making it burn even hotter.
You have been afflicted with Burn.
Passive effect activated. Damage from Status Abnormality: Burn is reduced.
HP decreases by 0.05% per second.
"Zero-point-zero-five percent per second! That means two thousand seconds!!!"
Two thousand seconds was more than enough!
Earth Cleaver
KWAGAGAGAK!!!!
A pure-white flash of light slammed down upon the world.
It was a killing blow that transcended distance and ignored the opponent's durability, slicing through Juzaku's body in a single stroke.
"!! You cut her…?!"
The Emperor of Yeom's eyes went round with shock at the sight of a Sacred Beast being cut down—something that defied all common sense.
From Juzaku's shoulder, crimson flames that looked exactly like blood welled up.
Anyone watching would have thought she had taken a critical wound. But I, still holding the sword, could feel the truth.
There was no cutting sensation.
I couldn't tell whether I had dealt damage or not. But one thing was certain: it was not a fatal wound.
Proof of that was the fact that Juzaku's expression had not changed in the slightest.
Still wearing that same leisurely look, she glanced at her own shoulder and spoke.
"Hmm… The power itself is certainly impressive. Had it been one of the other Sacred Beasts—Baekho or Cheongryong—this single strike would have left a critical wound. You who have reached the realm of gods while still in a human body… you may take pride in that."
"Thanks for the compliment. But it doesn't look like I managed to deal any real damage to you."
"Of course not. Can you cut flowing water? Can you cleave a burning flame?"
Whoooosh!!!
"! Flames from the wound…?!"
"So you don't die easily, huh? A phoenix after all."
The flames surging from her shoulder burned hotter still, as if determined to incinerate the very mark of the cut, until at last the wound itself vanished completely.
I had already expected she wouldn't die from something like this.
I adjusted my grip on the sword and settled into stance.
If I must cut flame, then I will gladly cut flame.
Triple Strike
It was not the ultimate form.
But it was something close to it.
Three successive strikes of the Sword King Secret Arts, hammered home in an extremely short span of time.
Pure-white flashes of light, the same color as the Holy Sword's blade, carved through the air.
Horizontal cut. Vertical cut. Thrust.
They would sever Juzaku's limbs and pierce her heart.
"Do you truly believe such crude, vulgar swordplay can even touch my body?"
"!"
Whoooosh!!!
Yet the more wounds I inflicted, the scorching flames that erupted from her body invaded me in return.
"Judgment."
The raging flames compressed in an instant.
Like a tiny point of light, the compressed fire was released.
Manifesting Gang-gi. Mana is continuously consumed while Gang-gi is maintained.
"Tch!!"
Kiiiiiiiiing—! KRAAAAAAAAAANG!!!
An explosion of flame that bloomed like a beautiful flower.
A brilliant golden dawn-slash, mixed with pure white light, split that explosion apart.
The moment the blast was cleaved, I ran without the slightest pause.
Earth Cleaver
"!"
KRAAAAAAAAAANG!!!
An attack powerful enough to split the entire floor detonated.
Apparently even she found it burdensome to take a Gang-gi-clad strike head-on; she beat her pure-white wings and dodged.
"So that last attack could cut flame after all?"
"…Insolent…!"
Flames began to flicker irregularly.
Here it comes.
Verdict
"Mt. Tai Cleaver!"
The irregularly flickering flames exploded all at once, and dozens of flame pillars together with cascading fire blasts came crashing down on me.
I dodged the pillars and cut through the explosions.
That sequence repeated several times within a single breath.
Bang! Bang-bang-bang-bang!!!
As if trading punches, the instant I parried Juzaku's attack I reset my grip and shifted into a counter stance.
Continuous Cleaving
A flurry.
I simply swung the sword without end, cutting and cutting.
Until, at last, nothing but razor-sharp slashes filled a fixed domain of space.
BANG!!!
"Guh…!!"
Whether it was because she was a being called a Sacred Beast, or because she was the phoenix known as Juzaku, the fact that she somehow endured attacks that each carried the power of an ultimate killing blow was truly remarkable.
Yet the volume of crimson flame welling from the wounds carved across her body was visibly dwindling.
In some places, blood was flowing instead of fire.
Just a little more and I would take her down!
"Here I come! Sword King—!"
"Wait!! Hold on!!!"
"Secret Arts?!"
KWAANG!!!
Just as I was about to swing, the Emperor of Yeom's voice stabbed into my ear.
I barely managed to alter the path of the blade, slicing past Juzaku's side by a hair's breadth.
"?"
"Please calm yourself for a moment. Sacred Beast Juzaku has come to me solely to fulfill the pact made by the first Emperor of Yeom."
"But she was the one who picked the fight first."
"Then, if only for my sake, spare her. I am asking you."
Not a command—a request.
Faced with a bowed head and a genuine plea, I let out a sigh and lowered my sword.
"…"
"Therefore, Juzaku, will you not also withdraw your power so that we may speak?"
"…Very well."
The Burn status effect has been removed.
Ah. Still, I won this round.