#54 Since When Did We Forget?
At some point, had they all forgotten? Was this what it looked like when ants hunted a colossal prey?
Over there. The skeleton legion charging at the evil dragon Kasumus was exactly that. Countless skeletons swarming a monster that looked at least three times the size of an Amond Drake!
Shhhk! Five skeletons smashed to pieces by its tail swipe flew all the way to the group, scattering across the ground. But.
Clatter-clack! The skeletons reassembled and stood back up. Fitting bones back onto each other, slotting skulls on like helmets, then charging back in to attack.
"What the hell is..."
Over there. A man caught Lee Hyuk's eye. It was Theo.
Theo stood at a distance, mana pouring out in all directions.
'That guy's...' He remembered. The Awakener who debuted in the first quarter test not long ago. Codename: Hades. Assigned to S-rank 20th place as a rookie. Rumored to be Choi Kang-ho's subordinate or friend, since he was always with him. He'd even stood as his guarantor.
'That's the Constellation Gauntlet.' The gauntlet that had gained fame thanks to King recently.
Theo was displaying utterly terrifying combat prowess. Familiar spirits clung to every part of the massive, mountain-like monster's body. Dealing damage? Not quite—they were controlling its movements. Gripping its ankles, sticking to its face. It was human wave tactics at their most vicious.
But the truly crucial part was over there.
Whoosh!Krunch!
Choi Kang-ho! Lee Hyuk's eyes widened. He recalled his master's words from the past.
—"Kang-ho? Ah, you probably never saw how he fights, Hyuk."
—"I've heard Beast Master is a rare ability."
—"It is, but at its core, he uses hand-to-hand and swordsmanship too."
—"Did you teach him swordsmanship, Master?"
—"I didn't teach him swordsmanship." His master had smiled faintly then.
—"Iron Fist didn't teach him hand-to-hand either."
—"Then who..."
—"In the past, there was a friend of ours named Kang Jun-seok."
—"......"
—"You wouldn't have heard of him, Hyuk. Sometimes when I watch Kang-ho fight, it reminds me of Jun-seok. Uncannily similar."
"......"
Choi Kang-ho was flying through the air. The Oerblade surging from both hands cleaved through everything in front of him with ferocious swings. Mana scattered everywhere, pulverizing whatever it touched.
Shrieeek! The beast twisted its body, whipping its massive tail at Kang-ho.
Grrrrowl! A hulking Furball appeared out of nowhere, slamming into the tail with a body check.
Boom! A deafening shockwave exploded outward. Gusts of wind howled, trees toppled, and chaos erupted.
Screee! Riding that wind, a fox plummeted from the sky. Lee Hyuk instinctively rushed forward and caught it.
Nyaa! Nyaa! A three-tailed fox—one tail abnormally huge—looked up at him and blinked. Then it hopped up, licked his cheek, and bounded off excitedly toward the fray.
"......"
Whoosh! Meanwhile, Kang-ho twisted midair, landing a brutal roundhouse kick square on the monster's forehead.
Crack! The sound of its scales shattering rang out clearly.
Gulp! Lee Hyuk swore he'd never seen anything like it in his life. Kang-ho's movements had no fixed form. His sword swings seemed formless yet precise, seamlessly blending into fluid hand-to-hand. Different from his master's swordsmanship. Different from Iron Fist King Im Cheol-bae's martial arts.
Above all.
'Fast...!'
Pop! Kang-ho darted unpredictably, slicing off the monster's remaining wing. At the same time, he thrust his sword into its forehead and swept his leg to sever a limb.
Krunch! One leg dangled in tatters.
In that instant, Kang-ho clasped his hands together.
And then.
Rooooar! The Oerblade's blade extended over tenfold. Like a sacred tower of pure white light manifesting.
Anyone not an idiot could tell it was mana crystallized at the pinnacle of purity. It even looked holy. A chill ran down the spine, heart pounding inexplicably at the sight of that power incarnate.
'If that even grazes you.'
Unimaginable devastation.
The blade—
Slaaash! Completely bisected the beast's thigh.
Screeeeech! The stubborn monster bellowed and toppled.
Rumble! Its massive body crashed down, triggering another earthquake.
* * *
Crackle, fizz— Kang-ho struggled to rein in the rampaging mana in his core.
'Strong bastard.' Stronger than expected. It had drawn out more mana than anticipated. His body boiled with it, on the verge of going berserk.
'Trouble.'
Fizz— His skin split open.
Pop! Pop! Like bursting balloons, blood sprayed from ruptures across his body. Soon, he was drenched head to toe in crimson.
Every nerve screamed in agony. His immense muscles and overflowing mana ironically caused the pain.
'Weak.' Kang-ho realized anew.
'First full-power fight in ages—' And his body couldn't keep up.
Shhh— Mana surged wildly around him. White and blue energies flickered like an erupting volcano.
[Hey! You okay?!] Theo noticed and rushed over frantically.
Kang-ho raised a hand to stop him. Come closer and you'd get hurt.
Theo halted, hesitating, then sighed and took a step nearer.
Sizzle! Steam rose where the mana touched him.
[Whoa, this is no joke.] Still, Theo grimaced but spread his arms wide.
Roooar! Kang-ho's mana felt like dense water. Entering it was like being crushed by immense pressure.
Theo absorbed some into his body, then redirected it away.
[Gah.] Even that sent agony ripping through him.
"......Stop. It's pointless."
[Stay like that and something's gonna break for sure.] Theo gritted his teeth, gradually neutralizing Kang-ho's mana bit by bit.
Finally, the boiling mana calmed. His torn skin healed slowly, and silence returned.
Theo chuckled through the pain that felt like his body was shattering. Without his family's mana training, even he might not have endured.
Panting, Theo looked at Kang-ho. Kang-ho stared back, then smirked.
"Not bad."
[This body's always been not bad.] Theo lightly bumped his fist against Kang-ho's offered one.
Kang-ho slowly approached Kasumus's fallen core. A bizarre black glow leaked from beneath its thick scales.
Crunch. He pried off a scale, revealing a pitch-black magic stone with tendril-like roots embedded inside.
[As expected. That's why it grew wings and got bigger.]
"Yeah." Spot on.
Kang-ho reached for the stone.
Crack. The Eternal Crystal tore free with a sound. As it did, Kasumus's body began to change. Its bulk shrank, severed wing stumps regressed and vanished.
Soon, it reverted to the Kasumus Theo remembered.
As Kang-ho turned away, Theo hesitated in place.
"......?"
Theo pointed at it.
[Give me that.]
"You want it?"
[Yeah. Gimme.]
"Not the gauntlet, thief."
[......Not that. Well, I do need it, but you'd never give it up...]
His rambling betrayed his greed. Theo swallowed hard, pointing at Kasumus's corpse.
[This.]
Kang-ho shrugged.
"Take it?"
[Might work right now.]
. . . . . .
Step, step. Walking toward the gate, Kang-ho glanced back at Furball following him and smiled faintly.
Krrung... Furball rolled his buried eyes worriedly, whining mournfully.
"Don't worry. I'm fine."
Grrrowl... Furball always fretted over Kang-ho. He'd sworn to protect him, yet seeing him suffer post-battle filled him with guilt.
Kiiing... Seol-a sat atop Furball's head, equally downcast.
Kang-ho chuckled at the pair.
"......"
Then his expression hardened at the group ahead. Lee Hyuk of Baekya at the front. Go Je-hoon of Napa. Forte of Mercenary. Representatives of the Big 3 guilds, all gathered.
Kang-ho walked up and stood before them. They all looked dazed.
An era of money. An era of power. Living in it, they'd just witnessed an Absolute who had slumbered through winter in Cheorwon's mountains for 30 years.
Yes. Perhaps they'd forgotten. This era of money, power, factions, and cliques. But there existed a force that overwhelmed it all: pure, overwhelming strength.
Its owner didn't flaunt it. Didn't crave power or wealth with it. Maybe he didn't care about such things.
They were utterly stunned.
Kang-ho spoke slowly.
"I may have done something inexcusable to all of you."
Everyone thought the same.
'Could we have taken that thing...?'
That absurd monster whose roar alone could terrify them all? Even if they did, the casualties would've been catastrophic. In this era that sometimes valued lives like commodities, losing high-rank Awakeners was irreplaceable.
Gulp. Lee Hyuk swallowed.
"I had business with it. Couldn't warn you ahead—circumstances. Might shake this era to its core."
Kang-ho eyed the Big 3 reps.
"You'll learn soon enough. You need to. A major turning point."
All stood straighter without realizing.
Yes. His every word carried that weight.
Suddenly.
Rumble! Over there, fallen Kasumus stirred. Mana enveloped and distorted it—then it vanished in a blink.
Shhhk! The skeleton legion collapsed into bone piles everywhere.
"The Amond Drake pair and the rest are yours as planned."
Kang-ho addressed them, then headed off.
Thump, thump. Lee Hyuk felt his heart race unwittingly.
Ironic.
'Cool.'
Desire for strength. After entering SS-rank, taking Baekya's helm amid the Big 3. That pure hunger had faded, tangled and distorted by money.
But now, Lee Hyuk felt it surging purely again.
The endless efforts, passion, innate talent. Great master. Stellar background.
'I...'
He'd had it all. Once, training to grow stronger was the world's greatest joy.
'What the hell am I...'
Suddenly, the thought struck unbidden.
'Since when did I forget?'
Strength transcending groups. Pure, overwhelming.
Yes. That man was, truly, an Absolute.