1285 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Whoosh—!! The flames swirled in a gray haze, forming a long spear that was tightly gripped by Father’s hand. I couldn’t help but let out a cynical chuckle at the sight. 'Damn it.’ This is driving me crazy. I might have shown it once, and he’s mimicking it just like that? Moreover, ‘He’s even cloaked it in intent.’ The very mental wrapping I'd used to endure the rotation and compression, Father had somehow observed and replicated it. ‘Is it perfect? I’m not sure.’ The realization he was demonstrating, the multitude of calculations I used to craft martial arts—the sheer power balanced through my wager, Father was replicating them with apparent ease. The difference lay in one aspect. 'Realm.' I’d assumed it was just the gap between our realms. ‘Yet, even that's uncertain.’ The physical form of a true path warrior, the strength it bestowed was enough to cause anomalies. Snap. I lightly flexed my fingers, deactivating the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. With my aura dispelled, Father looked at me with a bewildered expression. There was a reason I retracted my power. ‘If it comes to this.’ It’s too frustrating just to overlook. In the Northern Sea, Father was overwhelmingly strong, so I had to accept it. But this was different. ‘I have my pride.’ Whoosh—!!! I couldn’t just let it slide, so I engulfed myself in flames, crafting an azure spear in an instant. Yet, I made sure to differentiate it from Father’s. ‘I’m not wrapping it in intent.’ Now that I was capable of orchestrating rotation and compression efficiently, I no longer needed to rely on the crutch of an intent barrier. Thus, I upheld the spear purely with the power of my fiery technique. ‘…It’s difficult.’ The level of martial arts is rising. Or perhaps, it was always meant to be at this level. I was merely using the intent wrap as a shortcut. So then, ‘This must be the true form.’ A spear untouched by the facade of intent. The pure blue flame took on a composed shape. I gripped the spear tightly, and Father cast a curious glance my way, as if he’d discerned my intention. Thud. Father moved first. He set his stance and rotated his torso to throw the spear. Upon witnessing that, I readied myself as well. Whiz-! We hurled our spears simultaneously. Narrow streaks of light collided at speeds too swift for sound to follow. Thud. The belated noise. CRAAAASH—!!! An explosion erupted as the intermingled flames burst apart. The sound was tremendous. The overwhelming pressure of our wager surged in all directions. The gusts churned as if to sweep away the grass of the open plain. Amidst the chaos, I kept my eyes open, refusing to lose sight of the gaps in the flames. ‘Where is he?’ The pressure and heat were intense. My skin felt like it was scorching, yet such things wouldn’t deter either of us. Therefore, I had to find him. Father, somewhere within this fiery mire. I thus sharpened my spiritual senses, elevating them until I discerned his presence. ‘There.’ Whoosh—!!! I seized the blazing flames again, clenching the fiery forged jewel in my palm. KRAK—!! I clenched my fist hard, causing them to burst. ‘Great Wheel of Fiery Essence.’ The fragments of the ruptured flames dispersed as embers, coalescing with residual specks to form luminescent fireflies. I launched them towards Father’s presence with precise intent. BOOM—!!!!! A bombardment detonated in its wake, clearly provoking a response that nudged his presence. I adjusted my aim with a fleeting glimpse. His retreat was visible. There was but one direction. I forced and cornered him there. The flames had already dissipated. My blurred sight returned, and Father’s image finally came into focus. At that pivotal moment. Pushing him to the desired spot. 'Now.' I detonated the gathered embers precisely as I’d planned. KSHING-! Father's brow furrowed at the brilliant orbs' radiance. But it was too late. Infusing them with intense energy, I triggered their explosion. BOOM—!!! An explosion no less intense than the previous one rippled outwards. The amassed energy had drained considerably, but I still had enough reserves. The sizzling ground, the smoke rising from the scorching aftermath. Despite watching this, I maintained my vigilance. ‘I don’t feel like I’ve won.’ It was instinct. Even though I executed my tactics well, whether they affected him remained uncertain. Father, for me, was always that being. A figure you'd expect to see when confronting the three mighty sovereigns, yet impossible to behold. ‘An anomaly crafted by the world.’ A paradoxical entity born to thwart cataclysms, unbound by the world’s limitations as the heir of the family. Even without that, he possessed an instinctual, extraordinary talent. The world claims there are no protagonists in life, but if there were, wouldn’t it be Father? ‘…How absurd.’ While I’m seen as a calamity, Father is the opposite—it's laughably contradictory. ‘What can you do?’ My life, no, my existence has been like this. Blaze. Flames engulfed my grip as I held onto the searing heat. Whooosh—!!! The swirling smoke lifted in spirals. As expected, Father had not been caught. However… Hum. ‘…!’ Feeling a curious sensation, my eyes widened. What was this sensation? ‘…Master?’ The realm of the master. Something supreme pressed heavily on my shoulders. Why did I feel something like this? My gaze, magnified, shifted to Father. Amidst the dispersing smoke, his form was unveiled. Ha. ‘What the hell…?’ I’ve seen this before. It may not be complete, but that’s… ‘...What Grandfather used.’ The ultimate technique of our lineage and the complete bloom of our bloodline. A power once said could only be wielded by someone who wasn’t purely human but an overseer of this realm. ‘Transcendent Form.’ Our family’s Transcendent Form. Father’s state epitomized just that. Cloaked in gray flames turned to smoke, his hair flamed into a fiery brilliance. As if the flames themselves had been fashioned into human form. ‘This is insane.’ He can resort to even that? ‘What the…?’ What was he doing during the past year here? Or was it the effect of becoming a true path warrior? Regardless, it far exceeded my expectations. “This is too much.” I couldn’t even muster a laugh anymore. All that remained was a question of what to do next. Hissssss. Father’s expression remained stoic as he looked at me. Then, Hum. Behind him, countless flame orbs materialized. They hung in the air like stars against a night sky. Each small orb was imbued with a formidable portion of my wager. Father gave a subtle flick of his hand. ROAAAAR---!!! Like a shower of stars, they began to rain down upon me. “Damn it.” GEEIIING---!!! I initiated a friction within, preparing for chaos. It seemed like the casting time might cut close, but I narrowly made it. ‘Heavenly Demon’s Dominion Step.’ I took a single step. ROAAAAR--!!! Presence and pressure manifested to crush the flame orbs, causing them to explode before they reached me. Each step felt like a tremendous burden, and it was an inefficient martial art. ‘It consumes too much essence.’ Designed to showcase my presence as a heavenly demon, it was never meant for efficiency. Back then, thanks to my abundant energy, efficiency never truly mattered. ‘Still.’ It had broad applicability. By merely walking, I could dismantle martial arts techniques. Of course. ‘Only up to a point.’ I could only sustain it briefly. Just three steps. Anything more would exponentially drain my resources. CRACK—!!! Yet, in just three steps, I managed to neutralize most of the flame orbs. Though I suffered some heat-related injuries from the explosions, it was negligible. I deactivated the Heavenly Demon’s Dominion Step and prepared to cast the Heavenly Demon Soul Impact once more. Whoosh. That’s when I sensed a presence in front of me. “……!” Father. Somehow I hadn’t noticed him approach so close. It bore the intent. “Damn.” Gray flames shot from his fist. I twisted my body to avoid it. BOOOM--!!! If I hadn’t dodged that, I’d have been in serious trouble. ‘…How can he be this strong?’ Achieving a complete mastery of the fire realm. With his transcendent form, Father seemed to have ascended another level. Surpassing boundaries. ‘Has he reached that point?’ Did he somehow bridge the chasm and stand on the same ground as me? Or was it just how I perceived him? ‘That would be too unfair.’ I returned from the brink, struggled and overcame countless trials to reach my level. Father shouldn’t be able to rise like this. A smirk crept across my lips. I spread my hand wide open. Channeling my wager quickly, I shot it from the middle dan to the upper dan. As my wager climbed to the upper dan, it heated my blood, setting my soul to tremble with resonance. Hiss. The heat gathered in my palm. Guyeom's Extreme Five Forms. An ultimate form that only reveals itself through mastery of the flame technique. “……!” Father retreated immediately upon seeing it. He seemed to have sensed something was amiss. “He recognizes it.” Was he able to identify it? Father furrowed his brow. Unmoved by either the flame orbs or my mastery over the flame technique, he finally showed surprise at the sight of my ultimate form. “Intimidated by this, are you?” “…….” Whoooosh. Even though surprised, he formed flames once more, attempting to regain his stance by seizing the orbs. “If you’re going further, then I will too.” I realized I couldn’t hold back any longer; I had to go all out as well. I couldn't delay the match any further. I had to win somehow. ‘…Let’s do this.’ I resolved to go all in. Just as Father was poised to charge at me again— “Don’t move…!” “……!” My words made him halt. My hand was pointed directly at Mother, who was bound within the aura. “If you move, I’ll burn her…!” The expression on Father’s face was one of disbelief. It seemed he hadn’t expected me to target there. ‘Wow, this despicable bastard… Even after all this….’ If Shin Noya were here, he’d undoubtedly be shouting curses at me. ‘Well, what choice do I have?’ To win, sometimes you discard principles and play ruthlessly. ‘…Even though I said it.’ When it came to patricide, ironically, I was somewhat of an expert.