Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Crushing the Foreseer
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The first round ended simply. Of course, from the spectators' point of view, they'd think I had won by the skin of my teeth.
Since we'd kept fighting at this level, it felt like the perfect moment for doubts about my true skills to start cropping up.
So for this next spar, I planned to crush him outright. So Hwi and I climbed back onto the stage.
"Look at this guy."
I muttered that as I eyed So Hwi. Spars usually avoided using unique mana patterns.
It was like wielding wooden swords instead of live steel. But this bastard was using his mana pattern right now. I was sensitive to shifts in mana, so I clocked it immediately.
Whatever it was, it clearly wasn't some flashy ability like mine or Han Sang-ah's.
"Playing a bit loose with you made you think..."
He seemed convinced he'd only lost narrowly. Probably figured that with his ability in play, he'd take the win.
The spar kicked off once more.
"Die!"
Hey, it's just a spar, you idiot. Die? Isn't that overkill? So Hwi came storming in with that shout.
"?!"
And that's when I spotted something off. His movements were definitely different from the first round. One of his twin swords was already cutting off the spot I was about to move to.
Try to block, and he strikes somewhere else. Try to dodge, and he hits the evasion spot.
I had it figured out. Simple enough.
"Future sight, huh? Nice trick."
"…"
So Hwi didn't reply. Must've been embarrassed. It wasn't the kind that peered days or months ahead.
A few seconds at most, and it barely drained any mana. For hunters, knowing a split second ahead beat vague long-term visions any day.
I traded a few more blows with So Hwi, got the rhythm, and nailed it.
"Three seconds."
My words made his movements stutter for an instant.
"What, surprised?"
You think I haven't scrapped with future-seers before? I've tangled with ones who could see ahead and twist it to their whims.
For a brawler like So Hwi, peeking three seconds out wasn't all that game-changing. At best, it was like pre-placing a few stones on the Go board.
No need to fire up Paradox Flame. He wasn't that skilled.
"Last round, you came at me way too hard."
Time to flip offense and defense. This was supposed to be fun for everyone. Can't have you hogging all the enjoyment.
The instant I moved my spear, he edged back a step. I swung anyway, figuring he'd dodge.
Even future sight couldn't reveal what came after that glimpse.
Which meant he was done for. No way to turn that vision into anything useful.
My spear whipped around, and the blue trajectories I'd conjured joined the assault. So Hwi dodged and parried frantically based on his foresight, but one trajectory slammed into his chest.
"Gah?!"
Once that first hit landed, it was game over. Future sight or not, his body had to keep up to block or evade properly.
The ability was great for previewing, but it couldn't land blows or shield him on its own.
After that initial strike, I started pounding So Hwi like a ragdoll. He looked just like Jung No-hoon getting worked over in the training room.
But this wasn't training—it was a beatdown. I dialed it back just enough to avoid serious injury. He wouldn't walk away with a damn thing from this thrashing.
The spar got halted. The organizers called it, saying they couldn't stomach watching the one-sided pummeling anymore.
"Good work."
In that state, So Hwi probably couldn't go another round. But then I got word from the committee.
"He wants to keep going?"
"Yes, Hunter So Hwi's side is insisting hard. And besides..."
Five rounds were scheduled, with corporate ads slotted between them.
Stopping now would piss off the sponsors big time. Plus, the crowd tuning in for this matchup.
"Hunter Yoo Chan-seok dominating like that has ramped up expectations tenfold. Honestly, we'd hate to cut it short here too."
Even if the committee wanted to push on, they couldn't force it if So Hwi tapped out.
"Got it."
I sent them off and mulled it over. He'd already played every card, even the unspoken ban on abilities. Still got wrecked. And now he wanted more?
"He's holding something back."
This wasn't just stubborn pride or rage. That'd be easy—same beatdown as before.
But if it wasn't? After the break, those thoughts in mind, I returned to the stage.
One look at So Hwi, and I scowled.
"What the hell did you do?"
He didn't answer. Something alien—not his mana—had taken root inside him. Creepy, sticky mana, repulsive and bone-chilling.
"Shut up and grab your spear."
Veins writhed under his arms. I whipped my head toward the staff and bellowed.
"Evacuate everyone! Now!"
So Hwi's condition was bad.
"You crazy fuck, what the hell's going through your head?"
That foreign mana was steadily corroding his body from within.
Felt like Kim Ji-hyun back in Dover. But this was way more intense, faster, relentless.
"What are you waiting for? Didn't you hear me, you deaf bastards? Evacuate them!"
My shout prompted a hasty announcement over the speakers for the crowd to clear out. But people just gawked at me blankly, clueless why I was losing it.
"Haa... haa..."
Fuck, everything was going straight to hell. Black, oozing energy seeped from So Hwi's body.
Too late. He was gone. No saving him. Folks shuffled toward exits, eyes flicking between me and him.
No immediate threat in sight. No clue why they needed to bolt, so no urgency.
"We're screwed."
Still, I'd save whoever I could.
"Raaargh!"
The stench of rotting flesh spread. His body decayed in real time. Shreds of putrid meat plopped to the floor.
Thick, black sludge—once red blood—oozed stickily.
Boils erupting across his skin spewed yellow pus. No longer human.
"Save me."
"Can't."
You're finished. I had no choice but to pass sentence. Plop—his swollen eyeball burst free and hit the ground.
His flesh regenerated nonstop, only to rot away again. Finally, people sensed something wrong and screamed as they fled.
—You craved victory, so it shall be.
A voice—not So Hwi's—issued from his mouth. Just hearing it raised chills.
"Polite, at least. Still gonna grant your wish, huh."
I ignited Paradox Flame and torched the vile aura leaking from him. Touching that would rot a normal person solid.
—The rider of victory mounts his steed and charges. That steed's name is death. All who shout triumph and plant their banners, remember the mountain of corpses rotting beneath.
He extended a hand sideways, and a golden chalice filled with murky green-black liquid materialized.
"Wordy bastard."
His mana surged like it would pierce the heavens. Every hunter within kilometers would feel it.
—I pronounce your death, mortal.
"Bullshit."
I laughed in disbelief and leveled my spear at So Hwi's body. Whatever had hijacked it was leagues beyond the original owner. I could tell without clashing.
People were evacuating. Clearing just the immediate area wouldn't cut it. The whole few-kilometer radius needed to go.
Suddenly, his gut split wide, hurling rotten flesh at me. I dodged; it splattered on impact, spraying maggots like shrapnel.
"Ruining my appetite."
I swung my spear in all directions. Dozens of blue trajectories hovered around me.
—Petty tricks.
"Haven't even started the real tricks. You ever take a hit like this?"
The suspended blue trajectories began to vibrate in unison. Their hum resonated with the mana in the air.
As the air's mana vibrated at that precise frequency, the oscillations rippled into the rotten corpse's body.
—...You.
Even his colossal mana trembled in sync with the air's, gradually unraveling.
Lingering Echo.
Like shattering a glass with sound. Sense the opponent's mana wavelength, then vibrate ambient mana to match.
Their mana resonates, then crumbles apart.
Like those internal poison purge techniques from wuxia tales.
—Impressive. One among you does have deep insight into mana.
I'm a bit of an oddity. Chunks of rotten flesh kept sloughing off him, hitting the ground and morphing into giant flies, maggots, and beetles that swarmed me.
—Don't think I'll let you walk away.
"Wasn't planning to let you either, you expired sack of shit."
Rotten means landfill-bound. Why're you still squirming? I gripped my spear and lashed out at the onrushing vermin.
The ring on my finger gleamed, plummeting the temperature around me and bearing down on the monster ahead.
Not weak enough for an instant kill, but it cramped his style.
I chipped away at his overwhelming mana with Lingering Echo while blazing Paradox Flame incinerated the corrosive fumes pouring from his body.
Meanwhile, my spear and blue trajectories synced up for combo strikes.
"Scavenger bugs, right?"
Hordes of massive maggots, flies, and carrion beetles surged at me like waves. My relentless spear swings and trajectories shredded them like meat in a blender.
Paradox Flame roiled, purifying the foul energies and venting mana into the air.
My body drank it in without pause. In the meantime, swarms of tiny winged pests clumped together in midair, draping the decaying monster's form like a coat.
All at once, huge mushrooms sprouted across his body, belching fog-like spores everywhere.
"God, this is filthy. Really kills the mood to fight."
This brawl would drag on too. And it felt like it'd be a total appetite-killer.