Chapter 3. Throne of Madness: Lunance Abervich (1)
Chapter 3. Throne of Madness: Lunance Abervich (1)
Focusing his mind, Sura felt a sense of familiarity as he saw the eleven worlds howling within his mental world.
His mouth opened.
"What I am about to show you now."
Sura's eyes gleamed.
"Is my enlightenment, and my world."
At Sura's words, some Tusu complained that it was cringey.
- World my ass
- Shut up, it's romantic, what are you talking about
- Is this the first or second time that over-immersed Sura-wang has done that? Just watch lol
- Right, it's 100% romantic lololol
While some of the Tusu were complaining about the cringe, Sura's sword technique began to manifest.
- Sura Pacheon Sword Technique. 1st Form. Mangombeultoe (Ten Thousand Swords Never Retreat).
The 10 hells spoken of in Buddhism.
Sura knew how the Buddhist hells were structured through various creative works that had come out of Korea in the past.
And while living in the world of Murim, he often thought that the world was like hell, and he created his worlds based on his background knowledge of hell and the enlightenment he gained while practicing swordsmanship.
The worlds named after the Buddhist hells were each a world he had created and a space where he discussed his enlightenment of the sword.
Sura's sword was unsheathed and began to move.
The sight was like a forest of swords, and it wouldn't be an understatement to call it a full bloom of swords.
The first hell. He manifested the appearance of the Dosanjiiok (Sword Mountain Hell).
"...Good god."
"Try and take this. Just once."
One world manifested and crashed into Lunans.
Lunans stared at the sight blankly for a moment.
'I can feel the madness.'
In that dazzling movement, Lunans caught a glimpse of madness.
The madness of a man who had gone crazy to create this world.
The swords moved.
One. Two. Three. Four, five, six, seven, eight... nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen....
Countless swords rushed toward Lunans.
"This is fun!"
Lunans began to parry the swords with incredible reflexes.
Truly a movement worthy of one who holds a Divine Throne.
Meanwhile, Sura watched the scene he was unfolding, feeling regret rather than admiration.
'It's only half-baked.'
The true charm of this Sura Pacheon Sword Technique is drawing out the power of the Simsang World through Qi.
But right now, Sura had no Qi, nor any power to replace it.
He had created a whopping 11 Simsang Worlds.
Of course, the number of Simsang Worlds didn't necessarily indicate strength, but each of these worlds possessed earth-shattering power.
There were quite a few enthusiasts who, upon seeing Sura's level, inferred that he surpassed the Murim Alliance Leader, the Sadoryeon Leader, and the Cheon-ma, who were known as the Three Seats under Heaven and the strongest in Murim.
And those enthusiasts' words turned out to be correct later on.
The Master of the Eleven Worlds.
It was a name some enthusiasts called Sura by.
Even though these Simsang Worlds had such terrifying power, after Sura crossed over to Earth, they couldn't be properly unleashed due to the absence of Qi.
All that remained were the existence of the Simsang Worlds and his enlightenment.
Because of this handicap, Lunans was able to handle Sura's sword.
After all, Lunans was also a masterpiece created by numerous modern scholars together with AI.
Lunans' sword moved dazzlingly in accordance with Sura's movements.
And the Elderbook Specters and Tusu watching this scene couldn't help but be astonished.
- Wow, what is this? I can barely follow it with my eyes.
- They're using a sword like that, damn.
- Fuck, I've done kendo for a few years, but this is just phenomenal, what is this really? Even our master can't do that.
- Ah lol, forget all that, it's just super fun lololol.
The chat was scrolling, but Sura didn't even have a moment to check it.
Because the unfolding of his enlightenment regarding the manifestation of a Simsang World without Qi didn't give him any such opening.
Furthermore, Lunans also exploited the gaps in his forms caused by the lack of Qi, inflicting wounds on Sura.
That was why Sura had no choice but to be tense right now.
However.
'This is fun.'
Sura was having fun.
It was more fun than any time he had spent bored over the last few months.
And if he felt this kind of enjoyment, it was only right to respond in kind.
"2nd Form."
- Sura Pacheon Sword Technique. 2nd Form. Hwabalsanyeomgaese (Fire Uproots Mountains, Flames Cover the World).
A name taken from Xiang Yu, who was famous in the past for "uprooting mountains and covering the world with his spirit."
It was a form that showed a fierce power like a volcanic eruption, taken from the second hell, the Hwatangjiiok (Boiling Cauldron Hell).
Sura's form changed.
If the 1st form just now showed the shape of countless swords and had the property of 'many', this one was 'explosion' and 'fire'.
Kwaaaaaang!
A fierce power erupted from Sura's sword as it collided with Lunans' sword, and a loud sound rang out.
Lunans' arm, with his divine power sealed, shook for a moment.
The two men looked at each other with their swords pressed closely together.
"Amazing! What on earth is this power!"
"It's one of the swords I possess."
"Oh! Unbelievable! To think you still have swords left to show! I am happy!"
"I have plenty more to show besides this."
"Good god! Good god! Are you perhaps a god of the sword!"
Lunans was happy.
Since being born at the beginning of time and spending a dizzying amount of time, he had never been this happy.
This terrifying swordsmanship and guts. And above all, the madness that seemed to resemble his own.
What had led this man to madness?
Lunans began to want to know more about this man.
But before that, he had to end this fight.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
The two men's swords collided, and an explosive sound rang out.
It was because the essence of Sura's technique was infused, showing such fierce power.
It was enough to be overwhelming even for Lunans, who had sealed his divine power.
More and more scratches were being added to Lunans' body.
Likewise, Sura had also sustained many wounds, knowingly or unknowingly.
It was a situation where even with the sword's effects, it was hard to keep up.
It was time to settle things soon.
The two, who had been clashing fiercely, soon separated for a moment to catch their breath.
"Ha... ha... ah.... You're strong."
"Thanks... for the compliment."
"It's been a really long time since I've had this much fun."
Lunans' madness-filled eyes looked at Sura.
"Try and kill me. Sura."
As those words ended, Lunans rushed in.
Lunans' sword rushed in, aiming at Sura's entire perimeter.
At this rate, it was clear that Sura would be torn to pieces.
- This looks dangerous.
- Sura, hold on! Endure it!
- King, if you can't win this, I'm going to depose you! Win!
The worried Tusu were momentarily flustered.
Because Sura had narrowed his eyes instead.
However, Sura saw a path within it.
In the past. To the question he asked himself about what it meant to be the strongest.
Sura had answered like this.
[Block or dodge everything. And if you hit everything, isn't that the strongest?]
A truly simple and light statement.
However, when skill is added to those words and actions, it is no longer simple or light.
Sura's sword swung.
Then, Lunans' sword path began to be blocked or deflected.
The swords that had rushed in from all directions were all going in different directions or being blocked.
Supreme defense and parrying.
After all this defense ended, Sura attempted a horizontal slash at Lunans.
'Something like this!'
Lunans tried to block the sword, but was soon astonished.
'Good god! I can't block it! What on earth is this!'
Certain hit.
That absolute attack could not be blocked or dodged by anyone!
Lunans ended up allowing the attack to hit his forehead just like that.
Chwaaaaaak!
A deep wound appeared on Lunans' forehead.
"Kuaaaaaak!"
Sura's attack split Lunans' forehead.
Holding his split forehead, Lunans collapsed, bleeding.
Watching him, Sura had a smile on his lips, though he looked exhausted.
"I won."
At the same time as those words, Sura also sat down on the spot.
"Ha... ha... I'm dying."
The aftermath of swinging without Qi was quite significant.
Even though it was virtual reality, mental fatigue washed over him.
Remembering that he was broadcasting, Sura only then looked at the chat.
- Wow... wow....
- Uh... Sura-nim. Please open donations. I want to donate.
Sura, who had briefly turned off the in-game microphone and even paused, opened his mouth.
"Did I... close donations?"
It seemed he had turned off the donation function without realizing it.
- Yeah, open it right now. I felt bad watching this duel for free;;
- Open the door right now, President Sura!!!
As soon as Sura turned on the donation function, donations poured in like water.
['Man-sigan Mangnyeong' donated 300,000 won!]
- I'm a specter who has over 10,000 hours in the Ancient series combined. This was the best duel I've seen in 10,000 hours.
['GOAT' donated 500,000 won!]
- I recognize you as the GOAT of the Ancient Book series.
['Ruria' donated 2,000,000 won!]
- I'm sorry. You're not a mod-cheater.... I'm giving you more money because I'm sorry.
['Elderbook Rich' donated 500,000 won!]
- I'm a rich guy, I think I'm going to ascend to nirvana. Life Vessel, get ready lol.
['Mangnyeong' donated 800,000 won!]
- Wow, I haven't even entered Hard Mode yet, but this person is just wow....
The three people who had donated before also caught his eye.
"...Come to think of it, I have to do a reaction when I receive donations, right?"
- Oh, is something big coming?
- Is he going to show us something?
Sura smiled.
Because a very interesting scene was about to unfold.
"What I'm about to show you now is, so to speak... my final finishing move. Watch closely."
Sura unpaused and stood up again from where he had collapsed.
Lunans sneered as he watched him.
"What is it. Are you going to kill me?"
Sura shook his head.
"No. I'm going to show you something. Watch closely."
Sura raised his sword, and began to slowly slash downwards from right above Lunans.
- ?
- ???
- What is this
- Isn't that just a downward slash? What kind of reaction is this.
Just as everyone was flustered by Sura's incomprehensible reaction, only Lunans, who realized its meaning, was following the movement.
"...What is this. How can you make such a movement."
"Oh. You noticed."
Seeing the sword slowly beginning to slash down, Lunans couldn't even make a slight movement.
It's distant.
He could only think that he couldn't block or dodge that from Sura's sword path.
And he felt certain that that attack would definitely split his body.
That slowly descending sword. The path of the sword that seemed to pose no threat.
It was bringing a distant sense of despair to Lunans, who held one of the Divine Thrones of this vast world.
"...What on earth is this...!"
"Don't worry. I won't kill you."
Sura smiled at Lunans' reaction.
Only then did the Tusu realize.
That such a simple movement contained a deep, unfathomable, and distant level of mastery.
- No, if Lunans is that freaked out, doesn't it mean it's truly impossible to dodge?
- What is it, really? It's moving so slowly, but you can't dodge it?
- What is this really? He's a monster, seriously;;
- It's probably because we don't know swords, so we can't see it. Like in martial arts novels, where people at a lower level can't read the movements of those at a higher level, damn.
The sword eventually reached right in front of Lunans' eyes, and Lunans couldn't even make a single movement.
- Hey hey hey hey, Lunans is going to die!
- No! The world is going to be ruined!
- Are we watching a God-Slayer?
However, Sura stopped the movement.
Because he had no intention of killing Lunans in the first place.
Just before the sword touched Lunans' eyes, Sura withdrew the sword.
"Haa... haa...."
Lunans looked at Sura, breathing heavily.
"What was that movement."
Sura smiled broadly.
"If I had to name it... Shinsal (God-Slaying)? But this. It's an incomplete technique."
"Hahaha! That? It looks perfect to my eyes! And the name is arrogant, but it fits the power! With that movement, you could easily kill a god!"
Lunans was filled with joy as he looked at Sura.
He was very interesting. This man.
Sura pressed pause for a moment.
"How was the reaction. Was it fun? Making Lunans flustered."
- What is it, really? That technique?
- It's just a downward slash, but Lunans is freaking out;;
"Just, well. It's something I thought of. It's not much. I didn't know the reaction would be this good."
Since he had even flustered his last opponent, the Cheon-ma, with this technique, it was understandable that the Tusu were amazed.
"It's something I thought of when I was in Murim. Although I can't use it carelessly."
- That's insane.
- He's really crazy. Is this the World's Best?
While they were talking like that, a big shot appeared.
['Michael Garcia' donated $2,500!]
- Nice to meet you! Korean gamer Sura! I enjoyed the duel! My production team and I were really, really moved. This amount is my own money for that! And Sura. Would it be possible to use this video as a promotional video for the game? We will pay a small fee!
"...Michael Garcia?"
The content of the donation came out in Korean, as if it had been automatically translated.
The Tusu who saw the donation went wild.
- Wow
- Crazy;;
- Michael Garcia is here?
"Uh... Mr. Michael Garcia. Thank you. Ah. Should I speak in English?"
As he was about to convey his thanks in English, Michael Garcia's chat appeared.
- It's fine! We have a Korean on our team who is translating for us! It's lacking, but there are also automatic subtitles!
"Ah. Then I'll speak in Korean. 2,500 dollars.... Thank you very much. And for the promotional video... could you contact me separately later? I'll give you my email address via private message."
- Thank you! Sura! Have a fun play!
- And if you ask Lunans to show you the Divine Realm, he will do it! I think he would be satisfied too! He's looking at you right there, isn't he? :)
With that, Michael seemed to have left, as no more chats appeared.
"Ah. Since I've rested a bit, shall we go see the Divine Realm that Director Michael mentioned? But what does he mean by he's looking at me...."
Inside the translucent paused screen, Lunans, who was lying down, and Sura made eye contact.
"...Uh?"
- Uh?
- Uh-uh-uh??
- What is this?
Sura and the Tusu froze for a moment.