The Imugi's Demise
Slash!
Thud!
Whoosh.
Slash!
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
Attacks poured in so fast they were nearly invisible, and wounds began to open across the Imugi's body one after another.
Rip.
"Kyaak!"
Having finally grasped the pattern of the human's assault, the Imugi recoiled in shock. It made sense—its scales were so thick that a single strike left no mark, so the same spot was struck again and again without the slightest deviation.
Easy to say. In reality it was absurd. How could anyone, while moving at that speed, hit the exact same point with zero error?
Wooooong!
Dead Sun Sword Technique, Fourth Form: Radiant Slanting Sun.
The Jeomchang-style sword art unfolded, and Do-ha's blade began to dance with light, almost playful precision.
Then—
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The sword plunged repeatedly into the already opened wounds.
"Kiiiieee!"
Tremble.
"?"
The Imugi, raising an arm to call upon a Yeouiju, stared in stunned disbelief at its own shaking body. The damage was not yet severe enough for this. Why was its arm already trembling?
"Being a snake, the poison spreads slowly, huh."
Sssss.
At some point Do-ha's eyes had turned a deep, vivid green.
Yeokcheon-mudok-ma-gong, Second Absolute: Creeping Death.
He had been continuously injecting poison into the Imugi through the air itself. Whether because the creature was a serpent or simply because of its massive size, the toxin was spreading more slowly than usual.
Twitch.
Thud.
Clatter-roll.
"What's this? Giving it to me?"
The convulsing arm went completely numb and dropped the Yeouiju it had been clutching. The pearl rolled straight to Do-ha's feet.
Zaaang.
One recovered.
One left. That remaining one, however, could only be taken by killing the Imugi. Its rampaging energy had bound the Yeouiju to the creature's very life force. Even if he forcibly seized it, the pearl would simply return to the Imugi.
"……."
Zzzzzzzzz.
The moment it lost one Yeouiju, deep killing intent flooded the Imugi's eyes and an enormous surge of power erupted from its body. The fear that had filled it moments earlier vanished, replaced by pure greed.
Crack.
Kiiiiiiiiing!
The Imugi opened its jaws wide and began gathering energy—exactly the posture of a dragon preparing to unleash its breath.
"Blinded by greed."
The Imugi had not even noticed that the Yeouiju was now drawing on its life force as well. If it attacked in this state, it would literally be vomiting out its own life.
Of course, it no longer has enough reason left to realize that…
Sss.
Do-ha shook his head and lowered his sword. To cut through that overwhelming power, he would have to draw every last drop of his own energy in a single stroke.
Kuuuuuuuuuuu!
His eyes, now calm and settled, flared with light as a colossal force surged upward from within him.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!"
Kiiing!
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
At last the energy roared out of the Imugi's mouth.
Myeol-hwang Sword Technique, Tenth Form: Heavenly Hope Sword Crossing.
Ssssss.
Do-ha's sword moved so slowly it almost looked languid. Yet that blade began to slice cleanly through the torrent of the Imugi's power.
"In the next life, be born as the dragon you always wanted to be."
Step.
Slash!
With a single step forward, Do-ha's sword carved straight through the Imugi's open jaws.
Then—
Riiiiip.
Starting from the torn mouth, the Imugi's long body was sheared cleanly in half from end to end.
"Kya… ak…."
Boom!
The eyes of the bisected Imugi rolled white, and it died on the spot.
Clatter-roll.
"I'm charging Je-woo extra for this commission."
Do-ha scooped up the final Yeouiju and let out a long, weary sigh. He had taken internal injuries just from dealing with a single oversized snake.
Whoosh.
Thud.
"You okay?"
Canteas descended from the sky and looked him over. It seemed Do-ha had overexerted himself at the end to cut through the Imugi's energy.
"I took some internal damage, but nothing dangerous."
"Good to hear."
"Pii!"
"Yong-yong, I brought you along and you didn't do a single thing."
"Pii…."
Yong-yong's ears drooped at Do-ha's words. He had come to help find dragons, only for the enemy to turn out to be an Imugi.
"Pii!"
"He's saying if he knew how to use magic, he would've found a mere snake no problem."
"Hmm."
Do-ha fell into thought at Yong-yong's claim.
For Yong-yong to learn magic properly, he needs a dragon.
He or Canteas could teach him, of course, but a dragon had to learn magic from another dragon. Only then could he eventually speak Dragon Tongue. More than that, human magic and dragon magic were fundamentally different in nature. If Yong-yong learned from a human, he would end up a half-baked dragon.
He's already clever enough to hold a conversation. I can't turn a dragon like that into a half-measure.
The problem was that every dragon in Belhart had vanished without a trace.
"Hmm. There is one, but whether he'd take Yong-yong in…"
"Huh? Take Yong-yong in?"
"There's something like that."
Do-ha shrugged at Canteas's question.
"Let's go. I need to tell Je-woo—"
At that moment—
Shrrrrrrrrrr.
Clear clouds gathered in the sky, and flower petals began to drift down.
"Well, well. How did you heavy-assed gentlemen make it all the way out here?"
They were immortals from Seon-gye.
Ssssss.
"Absolute Being. So you were still alive."
"Long time no see, Dool."
Seeing the immortal emerge from the clouds, Do-ha greeted him. Immortal Dool—the messenger who directly carried news and words to the middle realm.
"The rest of you too. Been a while."
Do-ha glanced past Dool at Hogeon and Jailsol. He knew all of them. Not close friends, exactly—just people he had exchanged a few words with in passing.
"What brings you here?"
"We've come to take it back."
"Take what back?"
"The Yeouiju."
Jailsol held out his hand. The dragon Yeouiju the Imugi had stolen belonged to Seon-gye. Now that the Imugi was dead, they had to reclaim it.
"Yeouiju, huh… I don't have it."
Do-ha smirked and shrugged.
"Listen here, Baek Do-ha!"
"Hey."
Ssssss.
When Hogeon raised his voice, Do-ha let killing intent rise.
"You sat around doing nothing while I fought the Imugi, and now you suddenly show up spouting this crap?"
"Th-that's…"
"I greeted you nicely and you already forgot who I am?"
"……."
"……."
"……."
The immortals exchanged uneasy glances and shut their mouths.
Ah…
This was exactly why they had said they shouldn't come…
No matter how weakened he was, that bastard would never bow his head…
"You just sit on your asses and then casually snatch the Yeouiju? Have you no shame? I'm genuinely curious how the hell you ever became immortals. You greedy bastards."
At Do-ha's razor-sharp rebuke, the immortals' faces flushed red. They desperately wanted to argue back, but they knew Baek Do-ha's temperament far too well to open their mouths.
"My anger might just shift from the Demon God to Seon-gye. How do you plan to handle that?"
"A-Absolute Being, we never meant it that way…"
His words made the immortals panic. They were only doing their duty; there was no other intention.
"Go."
"Huh?"
"Get lost."
Do-ha flicked his hand as if shooing away a fly.
"Or should I come up to Seon-gye myself?"
"N-no! We… we'll be on our way."
The immortals flinched and started to move. Their opponent was the Absolute Being. If he crossed over to Seon-gye and started a rampage, the entire realm would be turned upside down.
Of course, he was weakened now. Right this moment they could overpower him by force—or even kill him. But if…
If by some one-in-a-million chance Baek Do-ha escaped and survived, the aftermath was as clear as day. That was why even a weakened Baek Do-ha was not someone they could afford to slight. He was the madman who had marched into the Demon Realm alone and fought the Demon God, after all.
"Wait."
"……."
The immortals, about to return to the clouds, gulped and stopped in their tracks.
What now…?
Why call them back all of a sudden?
"Dool."
"…Me?"
"Hand over that fan you're holding."
"Why this…"
Dool quickly hid the fan behind his back.
"You need to be punished for trying to pull a fast one on me. Give me the fan and I'll let it go."
"……."
"Don't make me say it twice."
Do-ha's expression turned cold.
"I… I'm not the only one! Jailsol has a fan too!"
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Jailsol, who had been standing quietly, jumped in alarm and stared at Dool. Was this lunatic serious? Suddenly dragging him under like a water ghost?
"Oh, really? Perfect. Then both of you hand them over. I'll give one to each of them."
Do-ha held out his hand. One for his grandfather, and the other as a gift for the Association President who was suffering because of him.
I'll give him this and then pile even more work on him.
While Do-ha was thinking such wicked thoughts, the Association President back at headquarters suddenly shuddered for no reason he could name.
"…Damn it."
In the end Dool and Jailsol handed their fans over to Do-ha.
Those damn things were hard to come by even in Seon-gye…
Flutter. Flutter.
"Oh, these really are nice."
Do-ha waved a fan and smiled in satisfaction. Every time it moved, a fragrant floral scent and a cool breeze flowed out. Even someone seething with uncontrollable rage would calm down and feel better just by using one of these fans.
"Now get lost."
"……."
"Ah, one more thing."
"What now…"
The immortals, about to leave, sighed and looked back. What else was he going to confiscate?
"Don't tell the Kunlun Sect kids that I've returned. If word spreads, the cult bastards will go into hiding."
"……."
"If any rumor that I've come back reaches the Moorim, the culprits will be you three."
"Understood… we'll keep quiet."
Shrrrrrr.
The immortals nodded, slipped back into the clouds, and vanished.
"This is exactly why the Kunlun Sect people hate you."
Canteas, who had been watching in silence, shook his head. After all these years he was once again witnessing the insane spectacle of Do-ha shaking down immortals. Decades ago the man had extorted food and clothes from them; now he had even walked off with their fans.
"They tried to take my Yeouiju, so they had to be punished."
"…?"
My Yeouiju…?
What was this shamelessness?
The Yeouiju originally belonged to Seon-gye. When a dragon died, the pearl returned to Seon-gye on its own; this time the Imugi had forcibly kept it. The immortals coming down to reclaim it had simply been doing their job.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Even the immortals learned that lesson clearly today."
"They also learned you're still a complete lunatic."
"Let's just collect the Imugi's corpse."
"I want some of those scales! Earlier I saw how tough they were—your sword bounced right off them."
Canteas began cheerfully gathering the Imugi's remains with an excited expression.