1290 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

BOOM---!!! The beasts rampaged around. Despite the vastness of the space, the devotion of the net was more than enough to fill it entirely. - Roarrrrrrr---!!! The giant roar carried a sense of power, causing even the surrounding beasts to flinch in fear. "Ugh!!!" "Aaaargh......!!!" The apostles around me all seemed frozen in place. The Hundred Ghost Parade. This was a power I wielded through the beasts under my control. 'Unleash it.' Craaash---!!! Screeeech!!! Numerous dusky blue-black mystical gates opened in the sky, and without pause, beasts streamed down from them. In no time, the space was filled and these creatures started to devour the other beasts. Simultaneously. Hisssss---!!! The energy stored in my heart was being drained at an absurd rate. What was causing such a rapid depletion? Had I used too much in one go? The value was noteworthy enough to make my eyes squint. At this pace, I would soon be an empty vessel. 'It's okay.' I didn't care. "Gah!?" I grabbed the throat of a passing apostle. As I leaped and subdued him... Hisssss--!! "Aaaaaaaah--!!!" I employed the Heaven Demon Absorption Art to seize and devour the apostle’s energy, slowly drawing it inside me. Once some of the depleted energy was replenished... "Delicious." I smirked, indicating I was satisfied. “What...?” “He absorbed the energy...!?” Others gasped as they witnessed their fellow apostle wither away and die. One was not enough; having been detected, I captured another to replenish my energy. All the energy drained by the use of the beasts was restored. I felt a smile creeping up from the rush. "So that's what it was." Ahead, the Sword Queen, flapping her delicate wings and swaying her tail, spoke to me. "I wondered why the creatures kept disappearing. It was you." "Yes, it was me." I dusted off my hands. It seemed she could sense the dying apostles as well. "I was starving and had to devour something… luckily, there was plenty to eat around." "Hmm..." The Sword Queen stared at me intently. Her gray irises were unsettling. "Who exactly are you?" "…Well. It's hard to define." I was certainly not human. Yet, it was difficult to define myself as something specific. If I had to be exact... "A calamity." In terms of identity, that was accurate. A calamity. Something meant to destroy the world. The world regarded me as such. And as the Sword Queen heard this, her eyes widened momentarily. "Fitting." She spoke, acknowledging it. Ridiculous. Her understanding was annoying. "I don't like that feeling." "Has something drastically changed since I've last seen you, or... were you always like this?" "Probably? I tried to play nice." "I didn't say you looked nice..." "Alright then." I cut off the Sword Queen’s unnecessary chatter. I had no interest in hearing it. I cracked my neck a few times and loosened my body. “Let’s get on with it.” Screeeeeeeeech---!!!! BOOM---!!! I unleashed my full power, shaking the surroundings. Heavenly Demon Ruler Technique. THUD---!!! With a single step, the heavens and earth trembled. Screeee---!!! Grind!!! Pressure crushed from all sides. The apostles groaned, their movements frozen. Seizing the opportunity, the beasts appeared and began to devour them. Crack!!! Screeeech!!! Two Hundred-Class Beasts surged and began to rampage. Amidst the chaos, I set my eyes on the Sword Queen, moving towards her. Sizzle. With heat in my hands, I leapt with power. THUD---!!! The ground shattered as I landed in front of the Sword Queen. My heated hand pierced directly into her chest. Crunch. "Hmm?" My hand penetrated her chest with surprising ease. I narrowed my eyes. The sensation was unmistakable. Shatter. As I gazed at my arm piercing through the Sword Queen, her calm voice reached my ears. "It hurts." Then... CRACKLE---!!! The Sword Queen’s body cracked and shattered. The fragments exploded, swirling like dancing petals. I focused my gaze, using my spiritual vision and looked up. Right, it seemed too easy. 'It wouldn't be that simple.' If it were simple, it wouldn’t have been resolved this easily. More importantly, 'Facing the Mistress wouldn't be simple.' The Sword Queen was the Mistress. The feeling was unmistakably hers. Moreover, 'She holds the energy of my Mother.' Not just any mistress, but one carrying the energy of the mistress of all realms, my Mother. Though the reason remains unknown. CRUNCH. I pushed down on the ground, glaring at the scattered fragments. "What are you trying to do? If you leave them be, your allies will all perish." Screech—! CRUNCH---!!! The beasts rampaged, busy devouring the apostles. They might be the nemesis of martial artists, but that meant nothing to me. Of course, given the apostles' strength, the beasts wouldn't easily win, but... BOOM. "Ugh!" Those halted by the pressure I emitted were different. I caught another frozen one, absorbing their energy. This way, only the number of apostles would decrease. So what was the point, I wondered. -That’s not true. The Sword Queen’s voice echoed in the air. -My children are not so weak. At her gentle voice, the whites of my eyes flickered. SHING---!!! Suddenly, the fragments in the sky began to move, raining down. What was this? Just as I was wondering... "Ahhh--!" "Oh, Great One...!!" Shockingly, the fragments started to merge with the apostles' bodies. Those who received the Sword Queen's fragments began to undergo transformation. THUD---!! The ground vibrated. "Sigh." I let out an astonished breath at the palpable shockwave. The pressure from my Heavenly Demon Ruler Technique was nullified. Simultaneously, SHING---!!! A massive gray light began to emanate from the apostles' bodies. It was an overwhelming light, intense enough to make someone squint. That wasn't all. "The aura has intensified." The detected momentum had changed. Rumble---!!! Not just the apostles, but even the beasts within this space began to emit light. 'What is this?' Is it the Sword Queen's power? Or something else entirely? Granting power without direct combat...? I wasn't entirely sure, but... "Alright." Would anything change because of that? My gaze dropped to the lowest point. "Come forth." At my command, Tam responded. The changes held no importance. In any case, "Just devour them all." The amount of available prey increased. That's how I saw it. * * * CRACK---!!!! The cave shattered with a harsh explosion. "Kuaah---!!!" An apostle screamed as I tore his arm off. Fwoooosh---!!! Flames swept the entire area. Each time the White Flame brushed past an apostle, it reduced them to ash in haste. Screech---!!! The beasts battled against each other. The net, with its massive form, continued its rampage repeatedly. How much time had passed? 'About half a si-jin?' Neither a long nor a short moment. Yet, within the constant barrage of battles, it felt like an eternity. During that time, I had slaughtered continuously, over and over again. The vast cave had now turned to ruins as a result. Despite the destruction of their space due to ongoing battles... "Damn." There's no end. Realizing this, I bit my lip. "This cursed power." I muttered, snapping an apostle's neck. Though the lifeless body collapsed to the ground... "Hack!" Incredibly, it didn't die; its neck regenerated. The torn neck faded into a gray aura and disappeared. Only then did I realize the nature of the Sword Queen's power. Immortality. The apostles had become immortal. Not only had their strength increased, but even death couldn't claim them. That was why their numbers didn't dwindle. What’s worse... 'The Heaven Demon Absorption Art is ineffective.' I was supposed to fight while absorbing energy. But that was no longer possible. Was this also due to the Sword Queen’s power? Fwoooosh---!!!! No matter how many White Flames I unleashed, the result was the same. It only temporarily erased them; they revived immediately, offering no resolution. "Disgusting bastards." I needed a solution. And immediately. "Tsk." Swallowing a sigh, I gathered my strength. Surveying the surroundings, I noticed that more than half of the beasts I summoned had dwindled. Not because the beasts perished and disappeared. 'Maintaining them is pointless.' I concluded that taking direct action would be more efficient. 'But even this is reaching its limit.' Fighting non-stop for half a si-jin. Though I've been using energy, it's not resolving the issue. 'This is troublesome.' How to deal with foes that won't die... Was it a mistake to choose this cave as the battlefield? Perhaps. 'I didn't expect it to be this severe.' I didn't expect the Sword Queen to be someone capable of this. I narrowed my eyes. Fwooooosh---!!! 'Should I consider fleeing?' While holding off the apostles, I contemplated. At this rate, the outcome would be grim. 'But...' The Paejon was a concern. That damned old man lay weakly, tied to a tree. 'Hah.' I grit my teeth. Wasting time here was meaningless. What to do... As I weighed my options. Screeeeeech---!! "......!!" Something approached. I quickly turned. Boom---!!!! A storm swept across the ground where I stood. At the familiar pressure, I looked up. "What is this situation?" Above in the sky stood an old man with a fan. Cheolhyun Buseon had arrived. "I'm glad I decided to come... To think you'd be having fun without me." "......Damn." This was precisely why I didn't want to spend more time here. With the arrival of Cheolhyun Buseon, the situation took a dire turn. "Haha. Your face is quite a sight now. Don't worry, I have no intention of fighting dirty." "......What?" "Why not leave the rest and face me one-on-one? That would be more favorable for you." He offered a chance, suggesting a one-on-one duel, excluding the numerous apostles. "Whatever your purpose here, seeing your master like that must have revealed something, right? What do you say? Wouldn't that be better?" "......" Mentioning the Paejon, he posed the suggestion. I rolled my eyes, assessing potential escape routes. Taking a deep breath, I recalibrated my thoughts. 'Get a grip.' The Paejon isn't the issue. After witnessing the Sword Queen's power, a protracted battle was out of the question. Even if I somehow bested Cheolhyun Buseon... 'What comes after is the real problem.' After all, escaping from this situation seemed impossible. 'What to do.' How should I proceed? As I was pondering amidst this total crisis... “Now, make your choice quickly-.” At that moment, just as Cheolhyun Buseon began to speak, Crackle--! "Mm?" "Huh?" From the sky... KABOOM---!!! RUMBLE---!!!! The ceiling of the cave shattered as a bluish-green lightning bolt struck down.