Ch.141Chapter 141 – Master (5)

[Call Unavailable Area.]

‘Now even the radio waves aren’t reaching.’

Shin Jaehyuk was greeted by dense vegetation after flying from France to Tibet’s Potala Mountain on a private jet provided by the French. With no other means of transportation available, Shin Jaehyuk pushed through the trees with his bare hands, heading toward the coordinates indicated on the map.

The blue globe projected from the prophecy book guided him toward his destination. Judging by how the signal grew clearer as he approached his destination, he would soon arrive at the sage’s dwelling.

‘By now I should be… Huh?’

Shin Jaehyuk stopped mid-step, sensing something strange as he was trying to estimate when he might arrive. The feeling of passing through a soft membrane. A barrier.

“…I’ve arrived.”

An ancient temple. A structure that hadn’t been visible from outside the barrier now stood before Shin Jaehyuk’s eyes.

As he crossed the main gate, Shin Jaehyuk glanced at the statues placed on either side.

‘Buddhist Four Heavenly Kings… They look like Buddhist statues, but they’re not ordinary ones. They’re magic cannon golems like the ones I saw in the Empire.’

Shin Jaehyuk became even more certain that this was the sage’s dwelling. The fact that the golems weren’t attacking him meant the sage welcomed his visit.

After passing through the Heavenly Kings Gate and entering deeper into the temple, he found a massive structure surrounded by stupas. It was the main hall, typically housing a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha—the core building of a temple. The clear sound of a wooden gong faintly echoed from inside.

Shin Jaehyuk removed his shoes and entered the main hall. Unlike typical main halls, there was no Buddha statue inside. Instead, a monk was reciting Buddhist scriptures in the place where the Buddha statue should have been.

-Goshimugaaemuggaegomuyugongpowonricheondomomgsanggugyeongnyeolban…

“Sage, Leonardo.”

At Shin Jaehyuk’s call, the recitation stopped. With the rustling of red kasaya robes, the wooden gong fell silent as well. The sage slowly opened his previously closed eyes. Between his half-opened eyes flowed an indescribable aura.

“…Welcome, seeker who walks the path of divinity. What answer do you seek that has brought you so far?”

***

The interior was instantly covered in the blood mist scattered by the Emperor. The effect was particularly potent since the space had been designed as a sealed room for containment, preventing any ventilation.

Kwak Taewoo could only stare like a dog that had lost its chicken as the Emperor gradually disappeared before his eyes. A magical stealth technique that made him vanish from perception in a split second, despite being under direct observation just a moment ago. It was overwhelmingly superior to the skill that Duke August had demonstrated previously.

‘I suppose that makes sense. The Duke said he received his shadow stealth technique from the Emperor, so naturally the Emperor’s stealth would be superior….’

Even when spreading his ki-sense or focusing it on a single point, there was no trace of the Emperor. The Emperor had vanished as if he had never been there in the first place. Kwak Taewoo slowly turned his body, vigilant of his surroundings.

‘Where is he? Where is he hiding….’

Kwak Taewoo maintained his highest state of alertness for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and then 20 minutes. Still, the Emperor’s position remained undetected. Nor did the Emperor make any first move.

After such a long wait, Kwak Taewoo began to wonder if the Emperor had fled.

In that moment when his vigilance unconsciously weakened, a chilling sensation brushed against the nape of his neck.

Without time to think, he reflexively rolled his body. Immediately after, a longsword falling from the ceiling pierced through the spot where Kwak Taewoo had been standing.

“Tsk, as expected, a dagger isn’t enough for perfect stealth. But against an inexperienced Sword Master, this level of penalty is nothing…”

The Emperor picked up a new sword from a dead holy knight’s body on the floor and concealed himself again. Kwak Taewoo quickly drew a long sword energy and swept the area, but nothing was caught by his blade.

‘Damn! If this drags on, I’ll be at a disadvantage…!’

That surprise attack just now—if not for the superhuman reflexes of a Sword Master, he wouldn’t have been able to dodge it.

This situation was unfavorable. He couldn’t wait days for the Emperor’s attack while vampires were causing chaos in the Floating Island, and with time, the Emperor would recover his strength.

He couldn’t allow that. Kwak Taewoo quickly racked his brain.

‘Lord Frederick said I lack creativity. That’s why he told me to use various artifacts to compensate for unpredictability….’

Among my one hundred and eight artifacts, is there something I can use now? Of course there is.

Kwak Taewoo drew out the Dragon’s Roar Dagger, one of his most frequently used artifacts. As he scraped the blade, an unpleasant metallic sound emerged along with infrasonic waves. The blood mist acted as a buffer, reducing its power. Still, it seemed to have some effect as a presence wavered unsteadily in the empty space.

“There you are!”

Kwak Taewoo pulled out a new artifact. A crescent moon blade with a razor-sharp edge. When he swung it, five slash marks resembling beast claw marks flew toward the area where the presence was wavering.

The blood mist parted abruptly, revealing the hidden Emperor. Blood was dripping from where his left wrist should have been.

“…You have many interesting toys.”

“I have over a hundred more.”

Instead of regenerating his wrist, the Emperor applied blood magic to the wound. The blood from his wrist seemed to connect with the mist, and then the mist condensed to form a massive hammer. It looked as if an elephant-sized blunt weapon was attached to his wrist instead of a hand.

As he deployed his blood magic, the hammer swung. From Kwak Taewoo’s perspective, it appeared as if the mist attached itself to the Emperor’s severed wrist as he swung it, forming a hammer.

Befitting a hammer made of mist, it moved abnormally fast despite its mass. Even before the attack arrived, tremendous air pressure pressed against his face.

Kwak Taewoo raised Arondight in front of his body and concentrated. His master’s teachings flashed through his mind.

‘When facing an opponent wielding a blunt weapon, aim for the shoulder. Blunt weapons are swung in wide arcs, so if you block the shoulder movement, their destructive power is greatly reduced.’

Kwak Taewoo acted as instructed. Fortunately, this was a technique he had practiced countless times alone over the past few days, so he was confident.

The moment the massive hammer completely blocked the Emperor’s view of him, Kwak Taewoo pushed off the ground and nimbly dove toward the Emperor’s left side.

“Too slow!”

The Emperor gathered blood in his right hand to form a dagger. The reverse-gripped dagger targeted Kwak Taewoo. Kwak Taewoo didn’t dodge the attack. Instead, he clashed Arondight against the blood dagger. The energy-cutting sword severed the magical energy mixed in the blood, reverting the blood dagger back to ordinary blood.

With an expression of realization, the Emperor quickly bit his right hand. However, Kwak Taewoo’s target wasn’t the right arm. A destructive sword energy slashed down the Emperor’s left shoulder. The dangerous hammer fell off along with the left arm.

The Emperor immediately tried to regenerate his shoulder to grab Kwak Taewoo’s neck, but was surprised when the regeneration didn’t occur.

‘His recovery is slow?’

“I soaked it in holy water on my way here. It worked well on your subordinates. Seems it works on you too?”

Kwak Taewoo mocked the Emperor as he readjusted his stance. The holy water applied to his blade, combined with Kwak Taewoo’s unique sword energy, hindered the Emperor’s recovery. Due to abnormally rapid mana circulation, the violent sword energy remained partially in the wound, destroying nearby tissue.

The tide of battle had turned quite unfavorable for the Emperor. However, far from showing fear or anxiety, the Emperor burst into maniacal laughter.

“Hehehahaha-!!! How long has it been since I’ve had such fun…. Yes, entertain me more!!”

Kwak Taewoo felt his vision clearing. Was it an illusion? No. The Emperor was gathering all the remaining mist. With his one remaining arm, the Emperor compressed the vast blood mist, compressing it further and further.

“Three hundred years ago, I made a contract with a fallen angel who called himself the Angel of Death. That fallen angel, Satamael, who gifted me with blood magic and the power of Ma-in, possessed the ability to transform his body into any form he desired. I saw infinite possibilities for an assassin in that power, and crudely imitated it with blood magic. This is the result.”

Sabah’s unique blood magic, Panacea. The Emperor, his right arm stained red, assumed a fighting stance.

“Now, let’s burn our last life to the fullest, outsider-!”

The Emperor charged straight at Kwak Taewoo. Kwak Taewoo focused all his attention on the Emperor’s right arm.

‘What technique is this? Outwardly, apart from the arm turning red, there doesn’t seem to be anything special….’

He soon found out. The Emperor extended his arm at a slightly early timing. A mistake? The fist wouldn’t reach at this distance.

Just as he thought that, the fist strangely shot forward. No, it wasn’t the fist shooting forward. The arm itself was stretching like rubber.

As the Emperor’s arm stretched, its tip sharpened like a spear. A second later, the arm truly became a spear. Kwak Taewoo dodged in surprise as the attack mocked his sense of distance.

The arm followed in the direction he dodged. Just as its side seemed to sharpen, it truly transformed into a sword.

When Kwak Taewoo tried to counter with Arondight, the arm, now transformed into a sickle, evaded his sword and aimed for his heart.

Kwak Taewoo pulled out a new artifact. A crude stone club. When he struck it on the ground, a stone wall rose with a ground-shaking impact.

Behind the stone wall separating him from the Emperor, Kwak Taewoo caught his breath.

‘…So that’s the technique. Transforming his arm at will. And due to the blood mist’s properties, his movements have become even faster.’

The stone wall raised by the artifact didn’t hold the Emperor for long. The center of the wall was blown open as if hit by a shell, and an arm shaped like a massive siege hammer appeared. The Emperor continued his attack without giving Kwak Taewoo even a moment’s rest.

‘Damn it, if I could just cut off that arm with Arondight!’

In truth, attacking by transforming one’s body wasn’t such a unique technique. Many amorphous demons enjoyed fighting by extending tentacles from their bodies. Kwak Taewoo had faced many such enemies.

However, the problem was that this technique was combined with Sabah’s shadow stealth. When facing amorphous demons, one concentrates ki-sense on the opponent to detect signs of body transformation. That is, predicting where tentacles will extend from by sensing the movement of magical energy, and then evading the attack path.

But against the Emperor, that method couldn’t be used. That damned stealth technique—whatever its principle—prevented any detection of magical energy movement even at close range. Kwak Taewoo had to rely purely on his senses and reflexes to dodge attacks.

Moreover, unlike amorphous demons that randomly spewed tentacles, each of the Emperor’s attacks contained delicate calculations and systematic killing techniques. Unpredictable, versatile attacks flew toward vital spots at every moment.

‘Truly the King of Assassins…!’

It was as if his body itself had become a weapon. The ultimate form of an assassin.

Even with just one arm, the Emperor skillfully pressured Kwak Taewoo without giving him a moment’s rest. Unlike Kwak Taewoo, who wasn’t even fifty years old combining his first and second lives, the Emperor was an old monster who had lived for three hundred years. Naturally, their combat experience was on different levels.

‘No. At this rate, Behemdorf’s sacrifice will be meaningless…!’

Kwak Taewoo gritted his teeth. As the Emperor grew accustomed to his unbalanced body, his attacks became increasingly fierce. Consequently, Kwak Taewoo’s reactions gradually slowed, and the damage to his armor increased.

Pushed onto the defensive, Kwak Taewoo desperately searched for a way out. But no answer appeared. In his urgency, he randomly pulled artifacts from his subspace and used them haphazardly.

‘Please, just once…!’

A dust cloud rose as the effects of dozens of artifacts exploded at the spot where the Emperor had been standing. Kwak Taewoo waited for the dust to settle, hoping the Emperor had been caught in this bombardment of artifacts.

As his vision cleared, Kwak Taewoo saw his hopes dashed. The Emperor stood unharmed in the spot where all sorts of special effects had just swept through. The Emperor smiled, certain of victory.

“It seems you’ve finally run out of tricks.”

With a last desperate attempt, Kwak Taewoo threw Arondight. The Emperor easily twisted his body to avoid the flying sword.

“Is that your final struggle?”

The Emperor mocked Kwak Taewoo’s futile resistance. Kwak Taewoo collapsed weakly to the ground.

‘Is this the end… Huh?’

The Emperor leisurely walked over and placed his nail on Kwak Taewoo’s nape. Yet Kwak Taewoo just stared blankly at the empty space behind the Emperor. Thinking Kwak Taewoo had lost his mind from the shock of defeat, the Emperor transformed his arm into an executioner’s blade.

“I thank you for giving me this final pleasure, outsider. I’ll specially grant you a painless death. Any last words?”

“Master…!”

“Master? What are you talk— Urgh…”

With a squelch, a familiar blade pierced through the Emperor’s chest. The Emperor coughed up black blood, his eyes filled with shock. The Emperor identified the assassin.

“You held out admirably, Taewoo. I’m proud to have taught you.”

“Lord Frederick, finally…!”

The Imperial Knight Commander, the Empire’s greatest Sword Master, and Kwak Taewoo’s master. Lord Frederick stood there proudly, holding Arondight.

Lord Frederick, who had briefly become the Emperor’s puppet after being bitten but recovered thanks to holy water. He had regained consciousness and caught the Arondight thrown by Kwak Taewoo to ambush the Emperor.

“This… is… becoming careless at the final moment…. How unbecoming of the King of Assassins….”

The Emperor collapsed with a hollow mutter, assassinated by someone who wasn’t even an assassin. His black heart, severed by Arondight, couldn’t produce magical energy for regeneration. The Emperor’s complexion quickly turned as pale as someone about to die.

“Wait, you bastard, before you die, deal with your subordinates rampaging in the city!”

Remembering Behemdorf’s warning, Kwak Taewoo urgently grabbed the Emperor’s collar and shook him, with no time to rejoice over his master’s revival and their victory.

“Hehe, there’s no need to rush, it will happen naturally….”

Strangely, the Emperor complied with Kwak Taewoo’s threat. His attitude was excessively cooperative. Suspicious of his intentions, Kwak Taewoo pressed the Emperor.

“What do you mean? What do you mean by ‘naturally’!”

“…I’ll tell you as a reward for entertaining me. From the beginning, my death was one of the conditions for fulfilling the contract. And the death of my subordinates as well….”

“What? What are you saying?”

“Hehe… Check that ‘status window’ thing. That special ability that outsiders like you possess.”

“Status window? How do you know about the status—”

“Silence. I need to rest now…. I’ve been working for too long. Far too long….”

Just before his last breath, the Emperor focused his mind one final time. A powerful mental wave burst forth from the Imperial Palace. The vampires attacking humans in the streets of the Floating Island, and the numerous citizens who had turned into vampires, all heard this mental wave.

“Huh? Captain, what are those guys suddenly doing…?”

The hierarchy among demons is strict. The strong bow to the weak, and subordinates obey their superiors. This absolute law of master and servant applies to the relationship between vampires and vampire lords as well.

The vampires, comprising 70% of the Empire’s population, faithfully carried out the final order given by their vampire lord.

Thud, thud, thud.

The sound of hearts bursting. The blood of vampires who had committed mass suicide soaked the streets. Due to the slope, the blood gathered in the street gutters and began to flow like a river. Along the drainage system of the Floating Island, reportedly designed by Emperor George Leonhardt II 300 years ago.

The river of blood filled with magical energy flowed along the drainage system, creating a geometric pattern. If someone were to look at that pattern from above the Floating Island, they would surely say it resembled a massive magic circle or summoning array.

“Damn it! Dying after leaving only cryptic words…! What’s so important about the status window—?”

Opening his status window, Kwak Taewoo discovered a number that was rapidly changing in real-time.

[Civilization Military Level]

97%…

98%…

99%…

Kwak Taewoo realized its meaning and widened his eyes.

“Oh shit.”

100%.

In the sky above the Floating Island, at an altitude of 1km, a black dot appeared.