Ch.167Feeding Trough

BOOM!

Following Se-erin’s gesture, the meteor of the starlight sword begins its descent, covering the ground. As the hazy snow dust scatters in all directions, Se-erin maintains a long, thin breath while her eyes gleam.

‘Gone.’

She momentarily lost sight of the man who had introduced himself as Jegal-cheon. This shouldn’t be possible. She had pushed away the space controlled by her opponent and summoned her inner world here.

It meant everything should be under her control.

That’s when it happened. Se-erin detected a glimmering blue light within the swirling snow dust. It was the same attack as before. However, Se-erin didn’t move. Maintaining her posture, she exhaled a breath.

“Hoo…”

CLANG!

One breath. That’s all the time it took for Se-erin to summon dozens of swords from thin air. The swords formed a sturdy barrier, blocking all incoming attacks.

In that moment, Se-erin’s body rotated lightly. Her feet twisted against the ground, adding rotation to her entire body. As the blue-winged cloak on her back spread wide, Se-erin reached out, grabbed a nearby sword, and swung it.

CLANG!

The burst of energy envelops her entire body. Se-erin glared at Jegal-cheon who had appeared beside her. Unlike his initially frail impression, up close, his body was covered in lean muscles.

SCREECH!

Sparks flew from the long pipe that met Se-erin’s sword. Jegal-cheon was the one who gave up the brief test of strength. He dissolved and disappeared along with the mist that enveloped his body.

Again.

Jegal-cheon’s presence completely vanished from Se-erin’s senses. He didn’t seem to have left the space itself, but with his presence and appearance gone, there was no way to find him.

Se-erin unleashed a barrage of swords toward where Jegal-cheon might be.

THUD!

As the swords plunged into the ground along her line of sight, overturning the earth, Se-erin’s left hand moved on its own, bringing her fingers to the blade. It was her younger sister Se-iran’s will. Se-erin willingly surrendered control of her body.

SLICE-

As the thin blade shallowly cut the girl’s finger, the blood that flowed from it drew a line under her eyes.

This is the moment when Se-iran’s power resides in both eyes. Se-erin could now see what she normally couldn’t. The world Se-erin faced changed dramatically. Vivid colors faded away, and birds and wolves floating in empty space revealed themselves.

Another world existing within reality. Eyes that see the spirit realm. Se-erin could now see Jegal-cheon who had disappeared into the spirit realm. The moment she recognized the enemy’s presence.

Se-erin’s form momentarily blurred, then appeared in front of Jegal-cheon. He didn’t look surprised even when she appeared right before him.

Was he overconfident in the power he was using? Se-erin smiled fiercely and grabbed Jegal-cheon’s head. Although Se-erin, existing in the material world, shouldn’t normally be able to interfere with the spirit realm, Se-iran’s power made it possible.

CRACK!

“What…!”

The moment the small girl’s hand grabbed the adult man’s head, she slammed it straight down to the ground.

THUD!

Jegal-cheon, having allowed this unexpected blow, reacted immediately. Twisting his body that was driven into the ground, he swung his long pipe toward Se-erin. It was a strike with considerable force, but Se-erin didn’t avoid it.

Only straight ahead.

Moving forward. The moment the wind of starlight, Pungbaek, wrapped around Se-erin’s hand, it collided with Jegal-cheon’s pipe.

BOOM!

It was a martial technique created solely for a single, powerful strike. Jegal-cheon’s body was thrown backward by the tremendous destructive power. As his body, spinning half a rotation, quickly regained balance.

Se-erin’s form followed right in front of him. As Jegal-cheon’s expression grew urgent, his form began to dissolve into the air once more. But this time, she wouldn’t let him escape.

Though she didn’t know how, her opponent possessed the power to cross into the spirit realm. Se-erin used her sister’s power generously.

The flowing power wrapped around Se-erin’s hands and feet. Se-erin grabbed Jegal-cheon as he tried to disappear and unleashed a flurry of fist strikes.

BANG! THUD!

It was a clash at extremely close range. Unable to create even the minimum distance needed to swing a sword, Se-erin had to use only fist and leg techniques to match Jegal-cheon.

Blood splattered with dull sounds. The hundreds of exchanges that occurred in a brief moment ended with Se-erin pushing Jegal-cheon back. As Jegal-cheon’s briefly flying form flailed to regain balance.

Se-erin created over a hundred swords and unleashed them toward Jegal-cheon. With each breath she took, the number of swords increased.

The thousand swords created this way pressed in on Jegal-cheon from all directions.

CRASH!

A storm of swords. Jegal-cheon had to grit his teeth and pour all his inner strength into his protective energy. CLANG! His body shook continuously from the impact of striking the sturdy barrier.

While controlling a thousand swords, Se-erin detected another flash of light not far away. It was the same light-based attack as before. However, Jegal-cheon didn’t seem to have the capacity to unleash such attacks.

That meant someone other than Jegal-cheon was attacking Se-erin.

The ink-colored blade Se-erin drew absorbed all the incoming light as it spread wide. THUD- With the impact, as Se-erin slid backward, Jegal-cheon’s form, which had been engulfed in the storm of swords, leaped out.

Se-erin’s gaze settled calmly. Having recognized the presence of another enemy, she couldn’t fully focus on Jegal-cheon.

‘Se-iran.’

[I don’t know.]

Even her sister couldn’t detect the enemy’s presence. Se-erin composed her breath and once again moved her sword to summon a storm. SWISH! Blades collided and rotated against each other. The resulting roar sounded like a dragon’s cry.

Then she changed her approach. Ignoring the presence of another enemy, she decided to focus on dealing with the enemy before her eyes.

Two swords were drawn from Se-erin’s waist. The Ice Dragon Sword and the Fire Dragon Sword. As the drawn swords flew behind her back and took their positions, dozens of swords appeared around them and began to rotate together.

KEENG!

The external mana amplification mechanism rotated rapidly, beginning to resonate with the starlight ring lodged in Se-erin’s heart. Mana was amplified at a speed incomparable to before.

RUMBLE!

The erupting mana affects the surroundings. Beyond simply disturbing the atmosphere, it distorts space itself. Part of the inner world Se-erin summoned crumples, revealing the real world beyond it.

That’s when it happened. As blue light flashed from beyond the space, another attack flew toward Se-erin. Se-erin didn’t react. More precisely, she couldn’t react.

Because she was focusing all her mental energy on mana amplification.

That’s why her younger sister Se-iran stepped in. As the flowing power made Se-erin’s shadow writhe, a pitch-black dragon’s head shot out from within it and devoured all the blue light beams.

Simultaneously, Se-erin’s legs moved forward. One step, her strongly planted foot stomps the ground hard. Se-erin pushed both hands forward and poured out the mana within her body.

CRASH!

A white flashing beam sweeps away everything in its straight path. Space distorts as the inner world Se-erin summoned collapses.

‘Dragon’s Breath.’

The dragon’s breath shot forward, along with a thousand swords, engulfs Jegal-cheon’s form. That was the end. Jegal-cheon couldn’t even leave a scream. He met his end while crouching amidst the storm of swords flying from all directions.

“Ha…”

At the same time, Se-erin collapsed. The delayed backlash caused tremendous pain throughout her body. The cold energy of the Ice Dragon dulled the pain, but it was still enough to make her groan.

As the formation collapses, the mist-filled ravine returns to its original form. The only one who appeared among it was Sephiroth. Her condition was terrible. Her entire body was covered in blood, and one arm hung limply as if the nerves were damaged.

“Deputy Commander Sephiroth?”

“Se-erin…?”

“Where did the others go?”

Sephiroth silently cast her gaze forward. From the inside of the ravine, a rough burst of energy belatedly erupted.

BOOM!

I was late getting out. Se-erin muttered in a small voice. The other commanders, except for herself, had already escaped the formation and headed toward the inside of the ravine.

Se-erin raised her tired body.

“Can you move?”

“Impossible. I’d just be a burden if I followed.”

“Then, see you later.”

Sephiroth was in no condition to fight anymore. Without even waiting for Sephiroth’s response, Se-erin launched herself toward the inside of the ravine.

WHOOSH!

The girl’s form, wrapped in wind, flew away rapidly.