Ep513 - I Became a Drunkard in a Martial Arts Novel.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. The Heavenly Demon looked up at the devouring void above and lamented. "...I was careless." No matter how formidable Baek Woo-jin was, this time he thought there was no way to rectify the situation. After all, wasn’t this the destruction foretold by the gods themselves? Unless it had been interrupted early on, there was nothing he could do in the midst of a calamity that was already underway. He was so sure of it. "I underestimated. I forgot." Drunk on the prospect of a new beginning, he overlooked a crucial fact. "You weren't the kind of human who could be confined by mere predictions." He always was. Chosen as the hero, he possessed a rebellious spirit. The more people said it couldn't be done, predicting failure, the more tenaciously he pursued it. And he relished succeeding against the odds, enjoying throwing the foresight of his detractors into disarray. "Even in this situation, you find a way." The void, recognizing this world as unnecessary, was consuming everything around it. At the moment, it was limited to Mount Kunlun and its surroundings, but over time, its scope would broaden and eventually swallow the entire world. Amidst the inevitable process of destruction, once again, he set out on a path. Watching this unfold, a sudden thought emerged. 'Perhaps I, too...' The hero always found a way to save the world, no matter the moment. And the saintess, unable to forget, prayed to the goddess and reached his embrace. In contrast, what had he done? Had he not blamed someone amidst despair, cursed them, while secretly hoping they would approach? 'Is there another path for me too...?' Watching them, a doubt arose for the first time—a question of whether there might have been another path for him. But he quickly shook his head, dispelling the thought. "It's a pointless thought." Even if there was, what could he do about it? He had already chosen his path and reached its end. 'This is all there is for me, and this is how it will be.' And this is how it must stay. Her mind resolute, her body began to levitate gradually. Having come this far, she was certain her plan could not fail, yet a part of her felt uneasy. Having witnessed so many opponents, confident in victory, crumble wretchedly before him. Thus, she vowed not to be complacent. "If you won't give up until the end, then neither will I." She resolved to push him to the very edge. To seize the perfect ideal she has longed for. With this vow, the image of the Heavenly Demon vanished swiftly into the void, disappearing without a trace. It was the moment their battlefield shifted to an unknown realm. --- He was enveloped by darkness so dense, he couldn’t see an inch ahead. The world beyond that darkness was far more turbulent than Baek Woo-jin had envisioned. Sucked in by a force powerful enough to consume the entire world, countless objects collided, shattered, and swirled around him relentlessly. "This is no joke..." Boom! His body was pulled inexorably into the cacophony, so loud it almost deafened him. Feeling like time dragged on for what seemed like an hour, unease began to stir. 'Did I miscalculate?' Maybe his rash judgment was a mistake. If there was no way to break this situation, leaving him with nothing but a futile death... "No, that can't be." He forcibly pushed away the dark thoughts inching into his mind. Even if that were true, it wouldn't change matters. He had chosen this place as his final resting ground. He had resolved not to wait quietly for death in the arms of those he loved, but to struggle to save them to the last moment. 'Yes, it's too early to give up.' Steeling his compromised mind against being swallowed by the abyss, he shifted his gaze. Everywhere he looked, the scene was the same. Yet he hoped, expectantly, for a singularity somewhere. "The trash bin, he said." According to the Heavenly Demon, the god—an amatuer storyteller—referred to this place as the trash bin. A place where unnecessary things were dumped and erased. If that's the case, there must be a destination here too. A place where unnecessary things gather and gradually fade away. Indeed, it was true. Whoosh... The pulling force began to weaken gradually. It signaled the proximity of the destination. The force that had slowly diminished over a period abruptly ceased. Finally brought to a halt, the sight that met Baek Woo-jin's eyes was a mound of countless debris. Components of worlds absorbed from the realm he had crafted. Once radiant pieces, each in its prime, were now discarded and gathered here as unwanted debris. "...What a twisted bastard," he muttered, anger rising even without cause. He couldn't comprehend the ways of the gods. Could they really destroy the world they created so mercilessly without feeling a shred of guilt? "Sigh... Calm down, calm down." Baek Woo-jin struggled to reign in his emotions. Now was not the time to succumb to anger but to find a way out. Just as he was about to move, he realized it. There was no ground to stand on, nor was there gravity pressing on his shoulders here. "...It's practically akin to outer space." There was a good chance that originally, this place didn't even have oxygen. Oxygen was only being supplied in the process of absorbing worlds deemed unnecessary. "To move here..." He released energy in the opposite direction he wanted to go. Poong— Instantaneously, the reactive force slightly propelled his body. "Hm, so it's like this." A simple experiment showed that movement itself wouldn't be difficult. From now on, he would be able to move by balancing his body then bursting energy from his Yongcheon points. Baek Woo-jin aligned his body by releasing energy, gradually advancing. While grinding his teeth at the sight of a world shattered to ruins, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. "Right. The Five Elemental Divinities were the first things sucked in here." Once the sun reached the phase of total darkness and became the gateway to the trash bin, The first thing the Heavenly Demon tossed was none other than the Five Elemental Divinities. According to her, they were the essence of this world. The moment they were consumed, the trash bin began to regard the world as unnecessary and started absorbing everything. That gave him a feasible idea. "If I can find the Five Elemental Divinities again..." And if he could escape this place with them, Perhaps the pull drawing the world in would also disappear. It wasn't certain. Whether he could shift the world's perception, once branded as unnecessary, back. But without any clues, it was surely a method worth trying. Just one problem remained. "...It’d be easier finding a needle in a desert." This was a place consuming entire worlds. Its scale was beyond comprehension. Could he truly find marble-sized orbs, each akin to a child’s fist—and five of them—within this vast expanse? The answer wasn't hard to reach. "Even if it's impossible, I have to do it." There was no time to judge what was possible or impossible. He simply had to act. Otherwise, the world and those dear to him would perish, reduced to debris like these ruins. To find a miracle, one must never give up. Granted, even a miracle seemed doubtful with the gods having turned their backs. Nonetheless, he swam slowly through the dark void, clinging to the slender thread of hope. Yet all that met his eyes were ghastly ruins. To estimate the scale of the space, he moved in a single direction, continuously. One hour, two hours, three hours… Despite time passing, no end was in sight, and unease brewed anew. ‘…Could this be a world without end?’ He came to an abrupt stop. ‘This won’t work.’ Wandering aimlessly in search of the Five Elemental Divinities seemed absolutely futile, even with a miracle. How, then, could he find them? ‘Each of the Five Elemental Divinities contains its distinct energy flow.’ Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, Wood. Every orb was infused with fundamental energies that formed the foundation of worlds. If he could accurately detect and locate those energies, Surely, even in a vast world like this, they could be found. The issue was the vastness itself. He didn’t have the means to spread his energy across this entire expanse. Thus, Baek Woo-jin looked to something other than himself. To this world. A force prevalent not as natural energy, not as magic, not even as spiritual energy, but unique to this world. If he could harness it as his own, perhaps he could encompass the entire space. “Mm... It doesn't seem like a great idea.” It was a daunting endeavor. The thought of whether such an energy could be tamed by a human was questionable, not to mention the immense risk—mismanagement of such a force could bring him to the brink of death. It was dizzying, but once again, Baek Woo-jin didn't hesitate. He lay his body in the dark expanse, closing his eyes. Simultaneously, he began to distinctly sense the energy. This energy, composed of a myriad of elements fused together, reached out, attempting to consume even that force. --- Author's Note Hello, dear readers. This is Noonjak. Although I've already mentioned this in announcements, I want to apologize once more before resuming the series. As the end of the year approaches, unavoidable circumstances have arisen, though as I reflected upon waking from falling asleep at home yesterday, I realized these were somewhat excuses. I understand now that I may have been too fixated on writing only when in the best condition. Therefore, I've resolved to focus more on finding ways to continue under less-than-ideal circumstances, unless it's truly unbearable. It's regrettable to make such a pledge as we near the end, but I'll do my utmost to finish well. I’ll see you in the next chapter. Thank you, as always, for reading. Have a restful night. (_ _)