Ch.131Demon Hunt (5)
by fnovelpia
Zarkan is a troublesome opponent.
Unlike his first appearance, which was quite shabby and even ridiculous, the power Zarkan displayed was not to be underestimated. Even Najin, who had reached the level of Sword Seeker and obtained two stars, could see that.
‘How annoying.’
As the battle continued, Najin frowned.
The force-type magic that Zarkan wielded was difficult to deal with. It was different from other spells that simply required shooting magic to hit the enemy to inflict damage.
One force field for each finger.
Ten fingers on a human hand, plus 21 fingers of a demon, making a total of 31 force fields.
Each of those force fields was a large, solid bludgeon. Bludgeons the size of a human torso relentlessly struck the ground and blocked Najin’s sword. The force fields could be used for both attack and defense, and even for long-range control. And there were 31 of these force fields floating around.
‘The power can’t be ignored either. Seeing how my sword energy gets chipped away in chunks whenever we clash…’
Moreover, those force fields were barely visible to the naked eye, making them all the more troublesome. Najin was steadily chipping away at the force fields, but his rate of consumption was much faster than his opponent’s. At this rate, Najin would be the one to lose.
So if asked whether he felt a sense of crisis… well, that wasn’t quite it. Najin’s eyes remained calm.
“……”
Najin’s eyes narrowed.
He didn’t pay attention to the heavy “thud, thoom!” sounds created by the 31 force fields. What he listened to was the sound of his own heartbeat. Najin concentrated on his own rhythm.
Thump, thump, thump…
Listening to his heartbeat, he still seemed to have some leeway. In the past, this would have been Najin’s limit. If he tried to move his body any further, it would have been strained. It might still strain now, but why? He felt like he could move more aggressively.
Najin trusted his instincts.
Thumpthumpthump.
His heart beat rapidly. Blood circulated quickly through his body. Muscles tensed and nerves accelerated. The feeling of muscles throughout his body being tightly drawn. Mana wrapped around muscles that seemed about to snap at any moment.
Bang!
Najin took a step forward. As he kicked off the ground and tried to move “as usual,” his eyes widened. Because the movement was much faster than Najin himself had anticipated.
If the sound of kicking off the ground was usually a “tap,” the sound now was a “bang,” like a shell being fired.
Slash!
Cutting through one force field, Najin slid across the ground. A moment of acceleration. Najin wasn’t the only one surprised by this acceleration. Zarkan’s eyes were also filled with surprise. Had he been hiding his strength all this time? Looking at Zarkan’s gaze that seemed to ask this… Najin, who had been flustered, soon smiled.
Ah, so this is what it feels like.
It took Najin only a few exchanges to adapt to his body’s speed. Najin was starting to get the hang of “how” to move his body. He also seemed to understand how the stars and dragon blood had changed his body.
‘This is less about physical enhancement and more about…’
-The size of the vessel has increased. The efficiency has improved.
It was just as Merlin had said.
It was no wonder Najin hadn’t noticed this. The change in his body was far from mere physical enhancement. The size of the vessel itself had increased.
By obtaining a star, Najin had earned the right to challenge the heavens. And that qualification was not conceptual or ideological. Najin could now understand that fact.
The star, which he still didn’t know how to use. Changes had occurred in his body to allow him to handle the power of this star. The vessel had grown larger, and he could now handle more power at once. Simply put, his limit had been raised, and the strain on his body had been reduced even when wielding a lot of power at once.
‘And…’
Najin sensed his body.
The channels through which mana flowed. The size of those channels hadn’t changed much. But there were small branches spreading around the channels. Like a tree putting down roots. Though still small and insignificant… they weren’t useless.
Those small branches allowed him to use mana more precisely and efficiently.
So, like this.
Najin kicked off the ground. The mana that had been evenly distributed throughout his body concentrated in his legs. Mana instantly filled the small branches extending to his legs and feet. Zarkan’s force fields were pounding not where Najin was heading, but where he had already passed.
The distance closed in an instant.
But Zarkan’s gaze was looking elsewhere, not noticing that Najin had penetrated right up to his face. He would have to pay dearly for that.
Thud.
Najin struck the ground and moved his mana. The mana that had been concentrated in his legs spread back throughout his body, and further strongly into his arms, shoulders, and core. Najin swung his sword.
Slash.
The sword smoothly cut through Zarkan’s arm. The tip of the blade cut through the force field and touched Zarkan’s flesh. The blade cut through flesh, severed bone, and emerged on the opposite side.
As the dark fluid, magical energy, stretched from the severed arm trying to reattach it—
With a grip, Najin’s hand seized Zarkan’s severed arm and kicked off the ground. Najin created distance from Zarkan and cut the stretching dark fluid from the arm’s cross-section with his sword.
That series of movements happened so quickly that from Zarkan’s perspective, it seemed like his arm had fallen off the moment Najin brushed past him. The pain hit him belatedly.
Swoosh.
Najin, who landed on the ground with a slide, threw Zarkan’s arm behind him with a flick and said,
“That’s one for now.”
A smile spread across Najin’s face.
2.
Instantaneous acceleration created by concentrating mana at a single point. It was movement beyond the limits of the flesh, but since mana acted as a buffer, the strain on the body wasn’t severe.
Having realized this fact, Najin actively utilized it.
For Zarkan, who had barely been keeping up with Najin’s movements until now, it was like a bolt from the blue. He had lost an arm. Fortunately, what he lost was a human arm, not a demon’s arm, but…
The loss was still significant.
Five force fields had disappeared. But Zarkan was a magician with abundant combat experience. Without panicking at the blood gushing from the cross-section, he crushed the cut surface with force fields to stop the bleeding.
Crunch.
His expression contorted with pain, but that was it. Zarkan soon glared at Najin and swung his force fields.
Kragagagagak!
The force fields scraped the ground and pushed toward Najin. Transparent cubic force fields. The power emitted around the force fields shattered anything they touched. Just a touch would crush arms, legs, anything.
But they couldn’t touch him.
Because Najin’s movements had become faster? No, that wasn’t all. Najin wasn’t constantly moving faster. He moved at the same speed as before, only accelerating when Zarkan showed even the slightest opening.
Splurt!
Zarkan gritted his teeth at the blood spurting from his shoulder. It even felt like his opponent was toying with him. Since the opponent’s speed wasn’t constant, it was maddening to deal with.
The longer the battle continued, the more wounds accumulated. Blood flowed.
Until now, Zarkan would have had the advantage in a war of attrition, but not anymore. The situation had reversed. Zarkan realized this fact.
‘This is bullshit. Really.’
Zarkan brought out his hidden card.
A means he had intended to use only at critical moments due to its extreme consumption: demonic power. The demon Marphos that Zarkan had contracted with was a demon that governed “refraction.”
Refraction. To bend and break. To distort.
The demon’s hand extending from Zarkan’s spine moved arbitrarily. The force fields that had maintained a cubic form refracted to match Najin’s evasion. Najin’s eyes widened at the suddenly transformed force fields.
Crunch!
Even then, Najin reacted, but couldn’t react perfectly. The force field struck Najin’s shoulder. Flesh was torn away, and blood flowed freely.
And such attacks didn’t stop at just one.
Twenty-six force fields ran wild, constantly changing shape and pouncing on Najin. Force fields that bent, broke, and refracted without warning. Of course, handling them wasn’t easy for Zarkan either.
Drip.
Blood flowed from Zarkan’s nose. His eyes were bloodshot. He was using all of his 7th circle computational ability to move the force fields, and even that wasn’t enough, so he was entrusting calculations to the demon’s hands.
Every time he changed the size of a force field, chunks of mana were consumed. He had to settle this before his mana hit bottom.
3rd circle magic, Fragmentation.
6th circle magic, Force Field Storm.
Twenty-one force fields split. From 21 to 42, and from 42 to 84, the split force fields rotated in irregular orbits and swept the area. Buildings touched by the force fields crumbled into powder with a “poof” sound.
A force field storm created by 6th circle magic.
There was nowhere to hide. Najin exhaled deeply and plunged into the storm. Within the raging storm, white flashes flickered several times per second. Each time the light flashed, the size of the storm diminished.
And then, with a thud!
Najin burst out, cutting through the storm. Najin’s body wasn’t unscathed either. Flesh was torn from his shoulders and legs, and blood flowed. But none of the wounds were fatal. Najin, having broken through the storm, charged toward Zarkan.
At that moment, Najin saw it.
Zarkan’s arm stretched out toward him.
Of the 26 force fields, Zarkan had used only 21 to create the force field storm. What about the remaining 5 force fields… the ones held by Zarkan’s human arm? As if to answer, Zarkan rubbed his middle finger and thumb together.
With a snap, he flicked his fingers.
6th circle magic, Refraction.
Five force fields collided. They merged and pushed toward Najin. A spell that bends and refracts everything it touches. Having contracted with the demon of refraction, the power of this spell approached that of the 7th circle.
However, there was one thing he overlooked.
The characters for “bend” (屈) and “break” (折) didn’t have good compatibility with Najin. The sword energy of a boy who had never once bent or broken shone. Najin kicked off the ground and took his stance. It was a stance with a meaning opposite to refraction.
A sword (劍) to execute demons.
The sword of Atanga shattered the force field head-on.
3.
Zarkan. His past name was Zarkan Blen.
He was once a promising talent.
Just as everyone carries some story in their lives, Zarkan had his own. Regardless of the weight of that story, he had a life.
Zarkan Blen, a promising talent of the Force Field School.
He had talent. Because of his talent, he reached the 6th circle at the age of 67. Considering that some people couldn’t break through the wall of the 5th circle even after dedicating their entire lives, Zarkan had talent.
Having talent was fortunate, but.
Having a clear limit was his misfortune.
Zarkan walked the righteous path until the age of 97. But he couldn’t advance beyond the 6th circle. Despite dedicating 30 years, there were no results. Around that time, Zarkan realized it. The fact that his talent only went this far.
No one called Zarkan a promising talent anymore. He was just an old man. But, his body remained fixed at the time when he shone the brightest.
Those at the Sword Seeker level are freed from aging. They live their entire lives with the body they had when they were at their peak. At first glance, it seems like they’ve been granted eternity, but in reality, that’s not the case. The world never permits the word “eternity.”
The world grants humans 120 years.
120 years, the limit of an ordinary human’s lifespan.
Humans who live beyond this are considered errors from the world’s perspective. They don’t conform to the principles. Then what should be done?
They are pushed out of the world.
From this world to the next. From this shore to the other shore. But those with bodies that have overcome aging don’t get pushed out. They don’t accept death and reject the natural law of circulation. The world pushes such individuals to the outside of the world.
The Outer Continent, outside the world.
Those who refuse to be pushed there have their bodies and souls crumble, meeting death. The rate may vary, but the wear and tear definitely comes. That is the death given to those granted eternal bodies.
To avoid death, one must leave for the Outer Continent.
That’s why many Sword Seeker-level warriors head to the Outer Continent of their own accord. They may claim grand ambitions like saving the world, becoming heroes, or purifying the Outer Continent, but those are just self-justifications.
They are those who no longer belong to the natural order.
They are those who can no longer live on the continent.
Here, an old magician.
Zarkan Blen was no different.
Zarkan’s wear and tear began at the age of 97. When he saw his body crumbling, he despaired. Death approached. He had to leave the magic tower and head to the Outer Continent. But what awaited him there was also death.
Monsters swarm the Outer Continent.
Magical beasts resembling the cursed beings of Camlann, transcendent beings shining in the night sky, demons coveting human souls, and greedy hunters aspiring to become constellations are all there.
He wasn’t confident in surviving among them. Nor did he want to become a soldier to fight them. Zarkan was a magician and a researcher. He simply wanted more knowledge and research.
The given time was over.
Zarkan had to choose.
What he would remain as.
And, Zarkan chose.
He abandoned his beliefs. He abandoned his conscience. He betrayed the oath he had made before his master long ago. In exchange for all of that, he made a deal with a demon. He stepped into the “next level” he had so desired.
7th circle. The demon’s hand. Higher-dimensional knowledge.
He could do more. He could know more. The realm of transcendence he had so desired flickered before his eyes. These were the things he had desired throughout his life.
It seemed grand in one sense.
“Ah.”
And also shabby.
Zarkan saw it. The magic he had dedicated his entire life to researching being torn apart. Sword energy resembling a constellation, sword energy that would never bend or break, shattering the force fields and approaching.
Pushed out of the continent.
Pushed out of the Outer Continent as well.
A magician who could only settle at the boundary.
The last thing this outdated magician saw was a white light. A white flash brushed past Zarkan’s neck. Following that, a golden light burst like fireworks before Zarkan’s eyes.
Slash.
Zarkan’s head fell to the ground.
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