Heaven Kill
Hee-hee— At that moment, Alkan Temir smiled.
"Indeed. I like it. A true hunter must know not only how to set traps but how to evade them as well."
Alkan looked genuinely pleased, as if gazing upon a disciple who had passed some hidden test.
"But I can't tell you that yet."
"Why not?"
"It's the condition for learning my ultimate technique. I'll tell you once you've mastered both arrows."
"What if I hear it and don't like it, then only take two out of the three secrets? The Aiming Spirit Arrow alone seems valuable enough."
"Impressive. I don't know what your previous life was like, but it must not have been easy. Good question."
Alkan nodded at his query.
"My ultimate technique is only complete once all three arrows are learned. Learning just two means nothing. They're merely the foundation for the final arrow."
"That makes it even more intriguing. To think that foundation alone sealed the God of the Void."
"Hahaha. Is that how it sounds?"
[Shut up.]
Alkan glanced sidelong with a chuckle, and Kalderet growled in response.
"It means steel yourself. Mastering even those two arrows will involve grueling training. But deciding on the final arrow will be even more painful than that."
Alkan's smile faded as he spoke.
"The choice is yours."
"What is there to hesitate about after coming this far? If you match what I want, there's no reason to refuse."
Adel spoke without a hint of doubt.
"So, when do we start the training?"
"When?"
At that instant, Adel scanned his surroundings. Astonishingly, the landscape had changed. The snowstorm-swept summit of the Ancestral Tomb had vanished, replaced by pitch-black void.
I didn't notice.
Was he too absorbed in Alkan's words? No.
The space itself has shifted.
[The power of the Rift.]
"...What?"
It was then.
Adel hurriedly looked around. But he heard only Kalderet's voice—no sign of the wolf.
His voice faded into nothingness.
It's already begun.
Adel knew it instinctively.
Shuuuk—!!!
A sharp whoosh cut through the darkness, and he twisted his body. A single streak of light grazed his cheek by a hair's breadth.
Drip—
Blood trickled from Adel's cheek.
To pierce Dragon's Gluttony’s defense.
The armor, having devoured the previous kings' sacred treasures and reached stage one completion, couldn't be broken easily even by ordinary divine artifacts.
"......"
Adel touched his cheek. Yet the flash from moments ago had sliced through the armor like paper. The mask covering his face was dented where the arrow had passed.
"This is......"
Adel turned toward the direction the light had come from. But the glow had vanished, leaving nothing visible.
Shaaak—!!!
Light flashed again beneath his feet. He leaped back instinctively to dodge, but nothing happened below.
"Guh...!!"
Dizzying pain struck from the blind spot behind. Hit mid-air, Adel crashed to the ground.
"Focus."
Alkan's voice rang out.
"An archer must read the arrow's trajectory. That's the most basic of basics."
Countless lines emerged in the blackness around Adel, glowing with light. They sprawled before his eyes like intricate murals.
"This is......"
Adel stared at the luminous lines in the dark. Irregular and haphazardly drawn, they began etching themselves into his vision one by one.
Arrow traces.
Exactly that—remnants of the arrows' paths. The traces materialized in three dimensions in his mind, sharpening the moment he closed his eyes until the hunt's form finally took shape.
Innumerable arrows fired at once. Too many to count.
A normal hunter loosed one arrow from a bow; the exceptional fired two simultaneously. Among Ulan hunters, some could manage three, and it was said Gal Black Crow Nazan could pack five into one shot.
But this...
It surpassed those numbers. Not several, but dozens... perhaps hundreds, tangled in complexity.
"I see. It's not multiple arrows nocked on the bow—the arrow itself splits."
Creak—
Adel assumed position. He slowly drew the string of Kyeol in his hand and closed his eyes.
First, one.
Vmmm....
One arrow formed on Kyeol's string.
One whose end is infinite.
Bang—!!!!
A deafening roar erupted as the arrow shot from Kyeol's string.
Shaaaack...!!
With a sound like tearing wind, the arrow split into dozens of strands, weaving a net across the sky.
Twitch—
But Adel's eyes wavered.
Missed.
The trajectory of his shot deviated subtly from the lingering traces. And the prey didn't miss that gap.
It slipped through the tiniest hole in the net of arrows he'd created.
What the hell?
The opponent was impossibly fast, formless. Yet the flash had pierced such prey.
Faster than the prey.
Adel gripped his bow again.
Shaaak—
Shaaaack—!!
Kagagang—!!
The flash split into dozens, merged into one, then shattered into hundreds again.
Boom—!!
Kwang—!!
The flash seemed slow at times, then blindingly fast; fast, then eerily still. He lost count of the repetitions.
Yet paradoxically, as he shot more, the initial heaviness of Kyeol lifted. His fingertips felt only the string's tension.
"Impressive......"
Alkan's voice echoed. But Adel, lost in his own world, moved on instinct.
The arrow's speed increases over time. He's already surpassed my arrows' pace.
Alkan watched with keen interest, wondering how much faster he could go.
Srrip—
A sharp sound like a sword cleaving air.
Alkan felt a chill he couldn't explain.
No whoosh from the arrow.
Thud—
Adel's bow dance halted, and in the silence, he finally opened his eyes.
"Now I get it. Who this arrow's tip is aimed at."
Alkan gave a wry smile.
"Kalderet."
"Right. The first arrow of Heaven Kill, the secret I used to seal the God of the Void."
"Does it have a name?"
Adel exhaled slowly and asked.
"Aiming Heaven Arrow."
"Targeting the heavens... Arrogant, but fitting."
"I'm the surprised one. To master my Heaven Kill so quickly... No, you've surpassed its limits."
Alkan crossed his arms, eyeing Adel. The arms holding the bow trembled—proof he'd been too immersed to notice his body's limits.
"What's the second arrow called?"
"Aiming Moon Arrow."
Adel nodded slowly. Then, without waiting for explanation, he drew the string again with shaking arms.
"...?!"
Alkan couldn't hide his shock.
He pierced its essence?
In a single attempt, Adel had grasped the secret's core. Thus, he could visualize the second arrow from the name alone.
Vmmm....
Red light lingered at his arrow's tip.
"...Incredible."
It was sincere. For centuries of existence, this was likely the first time he'd felt true astonishment.
"Looks like the path I've walked isn't wrong after all."
"Hm?"
"You said true extremes can't be reached by leaning on others... In my previous life, I hunted and captured many gods, absorbing their power."
Adel opened his eyes.
"It's not just borrowing. Making it your own means gaining eyes that pierce the depths of their power."
Chill—
Even as a spirit, Alkan shuddered under Adel's gaze.
"Could you have seen the third arrow?"
Adel shook his head. Alkan sighed in relief.
"But I know what its tip points to."
"......"
Alkan's expression hardened.
"Yourself."
"Ha, hahaha...!!"
Alkan burst into laughter, his face a mix of thrill and ecstasy.
"You're beyond what I imagined!! If you know that, no need to teach it. I was arrogant. To awaken my life's extreme so easily."
"No. Without you, I never would have grasped it. Your enlightenment ends on a different side from mine."
"Excellent."
Alkan patted Adel's shoulder lightly.
"Aiming Dark Arrow. The name of my final arrow. With these three, nothing is unhuntable. You've mastered all my extremes. You can go back now."
He moved to dispel the surrounding darkness.
"Wait."
Adel's word halted him.
"Now it's my turn to teach you."
"...What?"
"I realized it after mastering Heaven Kill. Ahem... Probably just once."
He gazed at the cracked Kyeol and murmured lowly.
Shaaaak—!!!
Adel drew Kyeol's string.
"Watch closely."
Crack...!!!
The thick bowstave, sturdy enough for divine power, began to bend.
Crack...!
Snap...!!
It bent further, on the verge of breaking.
"Wh-what......"
The spirit's eyes trembled.
"To hunt......"
Adel whispered into the dark.
Kwaaaang—!!!!
Nothing was visible. Only the roar pierced the void.
But Alkan couldn't close his mouth at the sight before him.
[Wh-what...]
The darkness encircling them was breached, light seeping through. Before the hole stood Kalderet, looking baffled as he stared at them.
"This barrier was made with the Rift's power, yet......"
No need to spell out what piercing it meant.
"One shot is enough."
Thud—
Adel tossed the shattered Kyeol and said.