Nothing Special Then or Now
“Ugh…….”
Saleos staggered back to his feet after crashing into the earth. Taking the hit completely unguarded had left him reeling, the impact heavy enough to rattle him—but nowhere near enough to put him down for good.
“You…… cowardly bastard…….”
“Canteas, you hear that? The demon’s calling us cowards.”
“Maybe you hit him wrong last time? Guy’s completely lost it.”
“You son of a—!”
Rumble—!
Hearing their banter, Saleos erupted in fury, unleashing a suffocating killing intent and raw power that flooded the air. He’d tried to show a little courtesy for an old acquaintance, but clearly that was a waste of effort.
“I’ll make you beg for your lives.”
Whoosh—
Demonic energy poured from Saleos, steadily reinforcing his body.
“Ah, seeing that finally jogs my memory.”
As veins bulged across Saleos’s frame and his bulk swelled, Do-ha clapped his hands together. There was another one who fought like this—Satan himself. The Saleos standing in front of him, though, was a far inferior knockoff. Back then, because he was the same type as Satan, Do-ha had used him for a bit of practice and play.
“At the time I hadn’t fought Satan yet, so I got a decent amount of practice out of this guy…… Hah, good times.”
“And he seems to think that means he fought you to a standstill…….”
“Well, delusions are free.”
Thud!
Do-ha shrugged and shot forward in a blur. It had been a while—time to check Saleos’s skill. How much had he changed compared to decades ago? The Demon Realm ran on a different timeline; the years that had passed for him would have been far longer than mere decades.
Boom!
Their arms crossed, and a massive shockwave exploded outward in every direction. Just one clash of arms, and buildings and trees alike were blasted away.
“You bastard! Still impressive for a human. To block my arm!”
“That’s been bugging me this whole time.”
Do-ha’s brow furrowed at Saleos’s words. Judging by the tone, this fool genuinely believed he was strong.
“He actually thinks I’m weaker than him.”
Hummm—!
Baek-bo Myeol-hwang Gong, Second Step: Muje-gak.
Whoosh!
Crack—!
Do-ha spun in place and unleashed Muje-gak. Saleos crossed both arms to block the incoming kick.
“Kh!”
A groan slipped out of him unbidden. He’d only blocked a single kick, yet the pain felt like his arms were being torn clean off—even after leaping into the air to bleed off as much of the force as possible.
“Hey, hanging up there like that is a bad idea.”
Shaaa—!
As Do-ha drew up his energy, golden light began to pour from his body.
Ban-ya Geum-gang Shin-gong, Fifth Absolute: Yacha Baekpal-ta.
Clench.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Fists clenched, Do-ha began hammering the airborne Saleos without pause.
Kh…… He’s really going to town with those punches. But the moment those fists stop, your head will leave your shoulders.
Saleos blocked and dodged the storm of blows, eyes flashing as he hunted for an opening. Do-ha read that look and let out a short laugh.
“Looking for a gap, huh? Too bad—looks like you’re the one about to get one.”
“What nonsense are you—”
Ssshk.
Shaaa—
Clench.
“?!”
A strange energy brushed him, and in the same instant his muscles locked solid. Saleos’s eyes bulged so wide they nearly popped from his skull.
What the hell was that just now? What did he do? Why had his muscles seized up out of nowhere?
“Hey, your arms dropped.”
“Ah—!”
“Too late.”
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
With his muscles frozen and an opening created, Do-ha’s fists blazed with golden light and began thrashing Saleos’s entire body.
“Gaaaaah!”
The scream tore from Saleos’s throat as Yacha Baekpal-ta landed. Baek Do-ha’s raw power was already overwhelming; layered with the energy of Pama, every blow hurt twice as much.
This…… I need to put some distance between us first.
In the end Saleos decided to fall back. Close combat was his specialty, so retreating would leave him unable to attack as well—but he needed a moment to catch his breath.
Ssshk.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Shaaa—
Stumble.
Saleos’s legs tangled as he tried to retreat.
“What the hell is wrong with my body?!”
“Another opening?”
Ban-ya Geum-gang Shin-gong, Seventh Absolute: Daera Hangma Shingwon.
Do-ha drove his fist straight into the fallen Saleos’s gut.
KRAAAAAANG!
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
The moment the fist landed, a massive crater yawned open in the ground—as if a meteor had struck.
“Ghk…….”
Every organ inside him ruptured. Saleos’s eyes rolled back. His muscles had locked twice in rapid succession, dropping his guard and tangling his legs. Because of that, he’d taken the full force of a major attack.
“Damn, telekinesis really is useful.”
Do-ha marveled at the power of his psychokinesis. In a fight measured in ten-thousandths of a second, creating openings like that was lethal. Just look at Saleos foaming at the mouth. Two tiny gaps, and the damage was catastrophic.
Thud.
“Watch your mouth in the afterlife.”
Do-ha gently set his foot on Saleos’s head.
Then—
Hummm—!
Baek-bo Myeol-hwang Gong, Second Step: Muje-gak.
Crunch!
He unleashed Muje-gak and stomped, bursting Saleos’s skull.
“Nothing special then or now.”
Do-ha flicked the blood from his leg and clicked his tongue lightly. Even back then, if it hadn’t been for practice against Satan, he never would have toyed with Saleos. He would have simply killed him outright—no need to fight at all. More precisely, it wasn’t that there was no need; there was no value. The man had simply been too weak.
“What rank was this guy again?”
“Uh…… he was a duke, so…….”
Canteas tilted his head, thinking. Even the grand dukes never dared challenge Do-ha, so mere dukes had never even registered on their radar.
“Not sure. But a duke should be at least twenty-second or higher.”
“This trash is twenty-second or higher…….”
Do-ha shook his head. Honestly, the Demon Realm needed a thorough purge. They’d been crushed by him before and still hadn’t learned a thing. How could something this weak even be a duke?
“Tsk tsk. The Demon Realm won’t last much longer either.”
“…….”
Watching Do-ha click his tongue and start walking, Canteas shrugged. It wasn’t that the Demon Realm or its demons were weak—Do-ha was simply absurdly strong. Even the Saleos who’d just died could have easily wiped out an entire nation. Among demons, the rank of duke was not something one obtained lightly. It couldn’t be bought with bribes or corruption. Pure strength alone determined who rose. The fact that Do-ha could kill such a duke so casually meant only one thing: he was monstrously powerful.
He feels even stronger than before…….
Canteas had spent more than forty years at Do-ha’s side, watching that power. He knew it well—and yet it still felt greater than in the past. Decades ago he had already seen Do-ha reach the same Profound Realm he occupied now.
“Canteas, what are you doing? Let’s go.”
“Ah, hang on. Let me grab the corpse.”
Snapping out of his thoughts, Canteas headed for Saleos’s remains. High-ranking demons made excellent materials.
“Come to think of it, this bastard blew the head off again!”
“Oh right…….”
Do-ha scratched his head at Canteas’s complaint. He’d been told to leave the heads as intact as possible for undead conversion, but he’d forgotten.
“Damn it, now I have to make a Dullahan instead of a Death Knight!”
“What’s wrong with a Dullahan?”
“The strength difference is huge!”
A mediocre Death Knight was far stronger than twenty well-crafted, powerful Dullahan. That was why he always preferred turning powerful enemies into Death Knights—but when the head was destroyed, he had no choice but to settle for a Dullahan.
“If we want to expand our forces, we need lots of Death Knights, okay?”
“Got it. Next time I’ll try to leave the head.”
Do-ha patted Canteas’s shoulder at the grumbling.
In that instant—
Rumble—!
“?!!”
“?!!”
From the underground chamber Saleos had burst out of, an overwhelming wave of death energy began to surge.
“Do-ha, this is…….”
“Looks like the summoning’s started. Let’s move.”
“Got it.”
Tap!
Do-ha and Canteas shot forward at tremendous speed and hurled themselves into the hole.
Whoosh—
“At last…….”
The cardinal stared at the summoning circle with a pounding heart. From the vast array, a bone-chilling death energy poured out—strong enough to stop a heart on the spot. Thanks to Saleos pinning the enemy down, they had been able to fully activate the circle.
We still haven’t found the Book of the Dead, but……
They had at least discovered Fenrir’s remains. At first only a jawbone had been visible, but further excavation had uncovered a complete skull. And the size of it was staggering. A single skull larger than most mountains.
Still, finding Fenrir should earn me some favor.
The reason he’d tried to emerge earlier had been the same—this Fenrir. Now that the beast lay right before them, Anubis would be delighted when he appeared.
Whoosh.
Thud.
“Whoa, what is that?”
“Is that a skull?”
Whip!
Voices rose behind him. The cardinal spun around.
“Ba…… Baek Do-ha?!”
The sight of Baek Do-ha threw the cardinal into panic. Why was he here? Saleos should have been keeping him occupied.
“Don’t tell me…… Saleos is dead?”
“You didn’t actually put your faith in that weakling, did you?”
“Weakling? A man who once lost to Saleos talks big.”
“??”
“?”
At the cardinal’s words, both Do-ha and Canteas tilted their heads. Lost? Had something that dreamlike ever happened?
“Canteas, is there some kind of drug around here? Looks like the whole lot of them have lost their minds…….”
“Don’t play dumb! Countless demons have already testified! The moment your friends arrived, you turned tail and fled!”
“Haa…… Seriously…….”
“Kehehehehe.”
Do-ha pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed; Canteas burst out laughing. The rumor had spread this far? Trusting a demon’s word was foolish to begin with—but if these people had been smart, they wouldn’t have become cultists. A duke-class demon’s delusion had been repeated so often that the story of Do-ha running away had actually taken root.
“Aigoo, I’m tearing up over here.”
Canteas wiped imaginary tears while laughing. To think such a wild rumor had been circulating.
“This is seriously pissing me off……. Canteas. Pull out Saleos’s corpse. I’m grinding it to dust.”
“Hey now, don’t take it out on my materials.”
“Think whatever you want. I’m killing all of you anyway.”
Rumble—!
As Do-ha drew up his energy, the underground chamber shook violently. The space was so vast it was questionable whether “underground” was even the right word. The distant skull alone was mountain-sized, which meant the cavern carved around it was equally enormous.