Chapter 133: Mouth

Meteor fall.

Whether it could be called a natural disaster was debatable, but it was likely the most devastating disaster imaginable to humans.

Typhoons, earthquakes, droughts, and tsunamis have claimed countless lives, but they’ve never come close to eradicating humanity as a species.

But meteors? If large enough, they have the potential not only to wipe out humanity but to destroy an entire planet.

Seeing such a meteor stopped by bare hands and cut by an absurd sword technique like Baldo left me speechless.

“Thank you.”

The man who had landed gently on the ground placed his hand on the sheathed katana and smiled.

“I’ve always wanted to cut a star. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a star, but thanks to you, I got to cut something similar. Thank you.”

As Baek Jeong-nam landed next, looking at him incredulously, the man charged towards me, who was still hiding behind the barrier.

Would that technique that instantly turned the meteor to foam work on ninjutsu, which isn’t physical matter?

As a fellow ninja, it was a fascinating experiment, but I had no intention of testing it in actual combat.

“Hup…!”

I absorbed the barrier I had set up, timing it with his draw. The barrier that had completely enveloped me transformed back into mana and returned to me.

I was about to attack him in the moment he missed with his Baldo technique, but…

“What?!”

As casually as tossing trash from a pocket, he dropped the katana in his hand and reached for another one at his waist.

Why would he discard a katana so easily? Was the foam-creating ability not tied to that katana he just held?

Or was the katana he was drawing now the one with the ability to turn enemies into foam?

I hadn’t been able to see which katana he used earlier because of the falling meteor.

Either way, it was too late to dodge. At best, I concentrated energy manipulation on my stomach, betting everything on the possibility that the ability might activate upon being cut. Then…

“Urgh…!!”

The man who had been fine until just moments ago suddenly started vomiting blood and collapsing.

“Ugh…!!! Why now of all times!!”

“What’s wrong!! You Japanese bastard!!”

He tried to stand up again despite coughing up blood, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. He fell face-first onto the ground.

Whether it was a chronic illness or an effect of the katana he had just used, I couldn’t tell. But that wasn’t my concern.

“I don’t know what’s happening, but what an absurd end, as ridiculous as you are.”

I didn’t know what was going on, but I had no reason to let this sudden incapacitation of my enemy slide.

As he was conveniently face-down, exposing his neck perfectly for beheading, I swung my sword.

But my blade never reached his neck. Before I could behead him, Baek Jeong-nam saved him using that strange footwork technique he had shown earlier.

“How unexpected. You, who acted like you’d massacre an entire family for having the slightest connection to Japan, saving the Baldo scum.”

“Who said I saved him? I just temporarily spared him because if you kill him, I can’t kill him later.”

“What are you, a tsundere or something…”

“Tsundere?! Can’t you use the pure Korean word ‘saechimbukku’?!”

“This bastard is really driving me insane…”

The fact that he was speaking again suggested he had recovered somewhat, but it looked like he’d need considerable time before he could fight again.

“Hey, Korean-obsessed baldy… Three minutes… Buy me three minutes. In that time, I’ll…”

Before the Baldo scum could finish speaking, Baek Jeong-nam grabbed him by the collar and threw him far away.

“Stop talking nonsense and just watch. It won’t even take three minutes…”

Saying this, Baek Jeong-nam finally took a stance that smelled of martial arts, but with his severely burned hands, such words seemed laughable.

“I’ll say this now, but unlike you, I don’t have much of a grudge against you.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying if you let me kill the guy behind you, I don’t mind letting you go. How about it? Don’t you think it’s better to retreat now and plan for the future rather than dying meaninglessly here?”

“What bullshit. I could just kill you and then kill the guy behind you later. That way I’d catch two Japanese rats. Why should I do what you say?”

“I see… You were that kind of person.”

I stepped forward, thinking I’d just cut down this injured fool in one stroke.

But when I saw him raise his right foot with an unusually serious expression, I sensed danger and reflexively leaped back.

Bang!! His kick, moving far beyond the speed of sound, completely shattered the floor just by barely grazing it with his toe.

I had momentarily forgotten because he had been using some pseudo-martial art light-years away from the Taekwondo I knew, but Taekwondo was originally a martial art focused more on kicks than punches.

And the power of legs is three times that of arms. Of course, this didn’t mean his combat power tripled, but it was no exaggeration to say his true strength was only showing now.

However…

“Do you think bringing out the legs you’ve been saving will change anything now?”

He may have brought out his legs instead of his fists, but that didn’t change the fact that my skills were still superior.

Didn’t he say he’d end this in three minutes?

He was half right and half wrong. This fight would indeed end in three minutes, but I’d be the one left standing at the end.

“Here I come…”

“Kim Jang-hoon style Taekwondo!! Dokdo Kick!!!”

Despite the laughable technique name, a series of impressive, dazzling techniques unfolded before my eyes.

But no matter how good his kicking techniques were, they couldn’t surpass a ninja’s skills in terms of finesse.

Shuriken rained down like a storm, and numerous ninjutsu techniques painted the sky.

After what felt like about three minutes, Baek Jeong-nam, who had been desperately defending with just his two feet, slowly fell to his knees, covered in blood.

“Urgh…!!”

“Don’t be too upset. Logically, there’s no way pseudo-Taekwondo could defeat a ninja who’s trained for 400 years.”

“Shut up, you Japan-lover…!!”

“Fuck, I keep telling you I’m not a Japan-lover…”

After confirming he had fallen, I turned to look at where the Baldo scum had collapsed.

“How absurd.”

True to his word that he’d only need three minutes, the Baldo scum was still coughing up blood but had his hand on his sword hilt, watching me.

Judging by what looked like a syringe stuck in his thigh, he must have injected some kind of healing potion.

No, more importantly, I needed to focus on the katana he was holding now. The blade was clearly several dozen centimeters longer than the one he had been holding initially.

‘There’s a possibility he summoned a new katana with summoning magic, but…’

Considering his personality, it was unlikely he had learned magic, so this was probably one of the katana’s abilities.

Demon swords with the ability to extend or shorten their blades weren’t uncommon, so it was reasonable to assume he had transformed the katana he had shown earlier.

“At that length, it’s closer to a tachi than a katana. Can you even draw it properly?”

“For a ninja, you’re more impatient than I expected. You’ll find out soon enough with your body. Are you that curious?”

Saying this, he slowly approached me, closing the distance.

Now, how should I counter that attack which could potentially be fatal with just a graze?

Should I concentrate energy manipulation to prevent being cut, like I was about to do earlier?

No, if the ability activates just by touch rather than being triggered by cutting, I’d die in vain.

Then should I try to catch the blade?

No, since he can extend the length, he might be able to extend the blade from the side and cut my palm.

‘The only options left are… to dodge the attack and then counterattack to kill him, or to kill him in one go before he draws the katana.’

Fortunately, he was covered in wounds from the backlash of his ability, and though he had recovered with a healing potion, his stamina was still depleted.

‘I’ll kill him before he can recover his stamina.’

Once I made up my mind, the hesitation in my steps vanished.

He’d need considerable distance to draw a katana that long, so if I closed the gap instantly, he wouldn’t be able to draw it.

It would be a match decided in an instant, so to give it my all, I paused for a moment to gather strength in my legs…

“Nongae!!”

Baek Jeong-nam, who I thought had fallen, suddenly stood up and grabbed both my shoulders with this ridiculous technique name, restraining me.

“H-how…!!!”

I turned my head slightly to look, and saw a syringe stuck in his shoulder, identical to the one in the Baldo scum’s thigh.

I had momentarily forgotten, but there were other people in this castle besides the possessed individuals.

The people who had followed the Baldo scum must have injected Baek Jeong-nam with a potion while I was distracted focusing on the Baldo scum.

“Hurry up and strike!! You Japanese bastard!!!”

With Baek Jeong-nam’s booming voice, the Baldo scum who had been inching closer suddenly charged at me.

“Where the hell did this madman get such strength…!!”

I tried to shake off his arms, but somehow Baek Jeong-nam had gained incredible strength, and I couldn’t break free.

“Ugh!!”

While I was struggling with him, the Baldo scum reached point-blank range. But he was too close.

At this rate, he’d cut Baek Jeong-nam behind me as well, but more importantly, he was too close to have space to draw his katana.

Just as I was wondering what he was thinking approaching like this, the side of his scabbard began to open like a beast’s maw.

“Baldo Art: Agito…”

“…Huh? Huh?”

“…Wait?!!”

The blade, drawn through the side opening, sliced through my stomach and, in turn, cut through Baek Jeong-nam’s stomach behind me.

As our upper bodies fell to the ground almost simultaneously, he calmly said:

“Subjugation complete.”