Ch.60Chapter 60 – Skyscraper (2)

Looking at the naked giant wearing a yaksha mask, hope flickered across Shin Jaehyuk’s face. He’d heard that Skyscraper worked as a vigilante. If that was the case, the reason for his personal appearance was obvious. He must have come to save an innocent citizen being attacked by thugs…

‘Thank goodn—huh?’

His faith was immediately betrayed. Shin Jaehyuk had to urgently duck with a pale face, as he found himself included in the attack range of the giant’s swinging greatsword.

“Shit—! Why me?!”

Shin Jaehyuk hadn’t considered that Skyscraper might have seen him counterattacking with his spear. Unable to contain his indignation, he tried to explain his situation. That he was an innocent citizen who had been attacked by this madman without any explanation.

However, that conversation was too complex for his English skills. As a resident of Eden where only a single common language existed, Shin Jaehyuk had never felt interest in or necessity for foreign languages. Thus, during his school days, he’d used English class to make up for sleep lost to insomnia, leaving his English abilities crawling along the bottom.

‘Damn, I can’t even pull out my phone to use a translator in this situation.’

Meanwhile, Skyscraper couldn’t understand Korean, nor could he read the indignant expression on the helmeted thug’s face. The fact that he only covered his face with a helmet added to the suspicion. Wasn’t it just like a bank robber wearing a mask? A shallow trick to hide his identity…

Therefore, his thoughts remained unchanged. First, take down the armor-wearing guy exuding murderous intent, then subdue the helmet guy. Simple.

Action followed decision. Muscles bulged on thighs thicker than an average person’s waist, and his body over 2 meters tall charged forward at an unbelievable speed. Reaching top speed in milliseconds, his body rushed toward the one who looked more dangerous—Kwak Taewoo.

“—!!!”

The giant’s presence, reaching striking distance in the blink of an eye, was terrifying even for someone like Kwak Taewoo. Panicking, Taewoo switched weapons from subspace. A longsword in his right hand, Dragon’s Echo in his left.

Just before the opponent’s sword could split his head, Taewoo deflected the dagger blade, and the opponent froze. Taewoo used that moment to distance himself from the terrifying giant, deciding to finish off Shin Jaehyuk first while his opponent was frozen—

“UURRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!”

But his opponent was no pushover. Skyscraper was an S-class body strengthening artist. Those who reached such heights could control even normal physiological responses to some extent.

Skyscraper’s movements seemed paralyzed by the dragon’s roar momentarily, but the stiffness wore off in less than a few seconds, and he approached at high speed again. Then he was paralyzed again, and again moved at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

With each repetition of paralysis and stiffness, Skyscraper approached Kwak Taewoo like a ghost, alternating between visible and invisible. To a third party, it might have looked like a ridiculous stop-motion. But to Kwak Taewoo, it was more like a scene from a horror movie.

‘Damn it, I can’t fight the Dark Knight with this kind of handicap…!’

Two opponents, each challenging enough one-on-one. Facing both simultaneously was impossible. He had to give up on one of them. And with Skyscraper obsessively charging at him like a madman, Kwak Taewoo had no freedom to choose.

‘Still, I’m not without a chance—!’

The fortunate thing was that Shin Jaehyuk kept running away with no intention of joining forces with Skyscraper, and that one-on-one combat was Kwak Taewoo’s specialty.

Kwak Taewoo gathered all his focus that had been directed at Shin Jaehyuk and poured it onto Skyscraper. Even though he wore a power suit that dramatically enhanced physical abilities, Skyscraper moved so fast he was barely more than an afterimage.

“Huaaap—!!”

Kwak Taewoo raised his mana output to its limit. The pressure made his hair stand on end and his whole body tingle. It was a sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time. The feeling of walking a tightrope between life and death. That sensation he had felt vividly every second in a world on the brink of destruction…!

As Kwak Taewoo deepened his concentration, the world lost its color and began to move slowly, very slowly. Flying stone fragments, clouds obscuring moonlight, even Shin Jaehyuk escaping in the gap—all slowed equally. Skyscraper’s movements, previously too fast to see, now appeared like very fast bullets.

And bullets were something a master could react to.

In the infinitely slowed gray world, Kwak Taewoo moved his sword. He had no intention of meeting the attack head-on. Even a deflected blow from the world’s strongest superhuman could be fatal.

So, he redirected it.

One cannot respond by watching a bullet. Kwak Taewoo predicted the exact position of the incoming greatsword. At the precise position and time the bullet-fast greatsword would be, he flexed his wrist downward. Sword entangled sword, twisting the direction of force…

KWAAANG—!!!

The world regained its color, and the two men experienced contrasting emotions. The greatsword made from a Death Worm’s spine was deeply embedded in the ground. The face inside the helmet smiled, while the face beneath the yaksha mask hardened.

‘He blocked it?’

It was a first. Never had his attack been so easily nullified. The shock was even greater for Skyscraper, who had extensive experience fighting high-level awakened ones during his vigilante activities. Had his attack failed against an opponent who was barely A-class, not even S-class?

Taking advantage of Skyscraper’s momentary freeze of surprise, Kwak Taewoo was already swinging his longsword. The diagonal downward slash cut across Skyscraper’s bare chest.

‘Got him—?’

Now it was Kwak Taewoo’s turn to be surprised. He had expected the clean direct hit to inflict a disabling wound, but Skyscraper’s chest showed only a bluish bruise. The highest-grade body strengthening artists had muscle density and bone density far surpassing ordinary awakened ones.

‘I cut him with a sharp blade, but instead of splitting the flesh, it only left a mark like being hit with a blunt weapon? What kind of insane body…’

‘He wounded me…!’

Meanwhile, Skyscraper was shocked by the mere fact that he had been injured. His body was like a natural armor, which was why he fought bare-chested—other armor or clothing would only get in the way. Yet until now, no one had succeeded in wounding him. Not bank robbers with shotguns, not even rampaging A-class pyrokinesis awakened ones.

Though it was just a bruise, the fact that his opponent’s attack had left a mark on his body gave Skyscraper a sense of tension, which cleared away the blinding anger. As regained reason led to calmness, Skyscraper could analyze the situation with a cooler eye.

‘…Troublesome. This irritating feeling interfering with my movements, is it an artifact?’

His opponent seemed unwilling to engage first, maintaining distance while glaring at him. To check where the other one had gone, Skyscraper slightly turned his head.

‘He’s running away. Toward Central Park? Fortunately, there should be no civilians there at this hour…’

Though Shin Jaehyuk was fleeing beyond sight, Skyscraper remained calm. It was a distance he could cover instantly, and the fleeing one seemed less threatening than his current opponent. Deciding to focus on the formidable opponent before him, Skyscraper adjusted his yaksha mask.

“From now on, I’ll use my full strength.”

***

Taking advantage of the two fighting, Shin Jaehyuk was diligently fleeing. The occasional infrasound still made his body stiffen, preventing him from getting too far, but either because of the increased distance or his growing accustomed to the sound, the stiffness was resolving more quickly. By now, he only felt a disturbing twinge at the unpleasant sound.

‘What do I do now? After I escape to Central Park.’

He had momentarily escaped the chaos, but soon someone would follow. The winner of that fight. And it was obvious that the winner would be stronger than the loser.

He felt trapped, like having a tiger at the front door and a wolf at the back. Either outcome was troublesome. Skyscraper was undisputedly one of humanity’s strongest, and if he caught Shin Jaehyuk, his fake identity would be exposed in no time.

Kwak Taewoo coming would also be problematic. Having confirmed that the spear was ineffective, Shin Jaehyuk would have to subdue Kwak Taewoo in close combat with martial arts. But if Kwak Taewoo defeated Skyscraper one-on-one, it couldn’t have been through physical specs, meaning his skills must be exceptional.

Therefore, there was only one answer.

‘Escape as far as possible and hide before the fight ends! I can only pray their battle lasts a long time…!’

Shin Jaehyuk concentrated mana and divine power in his legs and ran with all his might.

***

The naked giant and the knight in SF armor faced each other. A suffocating tension flowed between the two superhumans.

They watched each other’s movements without even breathing. Neither moved rashly. Kwak Taewoo knew that attacking first would only result in the opponent dodging with animal-like reflexes, while Skyscraper was wary of the skill his opponent had just demonstrated.

In this precarious stalemate, Skyscraper moved first. His opponent showed no sign of engaging, and he was concerned about losing track of the fleeing one if he dragged this out too long.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH-!!!!!”

Skyscraper let out a mighty roar. The thunderous voice counteracted the vibration from the dagger, temporarily freeing his body. It was a very brief window, but he didn’t miss it. For his body strengthening artist’s reflexes, it was more than enough time.

Skyscraper stepped forward. When his left foot landed, the ground shook; when his right foot stomped, the surface flipped over. The ground cracked as if it were made of jelly rather than concrete. Stone fragments and dust spurted through the cracks.

The dust cloud obscured vision. Kwak Taewoo expanded his ki-sensing range to detect his opponent supernaturally. The opponent was detected. It was a mass of power too enormous to be called human. Like a raging storm. A natural disaster confined in a single body…

And from the center of the storm, the giant moved.

As the giant swung his greatsword, the air tore with a scream. In the world once again turned gray, Kwak Taewoo gritted his teeth. His overloaded power suit was overheating to the point of burning him, but he suppressed the pain.

‘If I can’t overcome one S-class, how can I claim to change the world…!’

Like diverting a waterfall, the two-handed sword’s blade met the bone sword and twisted its trajectory. Flowing like water, yet with definite strength. The greatsword’s path was guided where Kwak Taewoo wanted it, passing by his body.

“Wrrrraaaaaahhhhhhh-!!!”

Having determined that a single swing couldn’t fell his opponent, Skyscraper attacked relentlessly like a hurricane. Kwak Taewoo never separated his sword from his opponent’s, twisting the blade’s path without a single mistake.

The greatsword that had been flying savagely as if to split the opponent in two kept cutting empty air and hitting the ground instead. One person’s one-sided attacks being completely nullified by another… it was like watching a well-rehearsed play between two perfectly synchronized actors.

Kwak Taewoo, with his extensive experience sparring with Cha Eunkyung who excelled him in every aspect, could somewhat match an S-class despite his weakened body, going against the flow of time. Moreover, the fact that his opponent was a body strengthening artist without special abilities made him easier to handle.

Just as Kwak Taewoo, gaining confidence, was deflecting Skyscraper’s attacks with increasingly relaxed movements:

“Kuk!”

Moving flexibly like a reed in a storm to deflect attacks, Kwak Taewoo suddenly noticed something wrong and let out a dismayed sound.

The monochrome world was regaining its color. And with color, objects were returning to their original speed. Faster and faster.

‘It’s too much to maintain throughout the entire fight after all…!’

The phenomenon of the world slowing down immensely. A realm said to be attainable only by masters who have reached the pinnacle of at least one martial art. A realm that an ordinary talent like Kwak Taewoo could never reach. That he could barely set foot in this world was merely a temporary doping effect due to various artifacts.

And now, as that doping was ending, Kwak Taewoo found it increasingly difficult to deflect attacks. The greatsword that originally wouldn’t even touch a hair now grazed his arms and legs, creating minor wounds. And because Skyscraper’s full-strength swings created pressure and wind, giving the blade a slightly larger hit area than the actual blade, tiny vacuum blades penetrated the armor and inflicted wounds.

As damage accumulated, Kwak Taewoo’s movements became sluggish, making it even harder to respond to the already difficult sword strikes.

Finally, in one moment, Kwak Taewoo failed in the minute distribution of force.

‘Oh no—’

Before a strike that could cleave even a mountain, even one mistake was fatal.

Despite deflecting it, the remaining force of the impact was too powerful. The shock, like being hit by a speeding dump truck, knocked away Kwak Taewoo’s longsword and broke his stance. Into that broken stance came the next sword strike. And this one, Kwak Taewoo could not block no matter how hard he tried.

KWAAAAAANG-!!!!!!!

When the bone blade finally reached his abdomen, the armor caved in and Kwak Taewoo’s body was flung like a bowling pin. His body, shot violently in a straight line, destroyed several trees without stopping, finally creating a crater when it met a thick wall.

“Khurhuk! K-kuk…”

Fortunately, he survived, but Kwak Taewoo’s condition was miserable. Sparks flew from his heavily dented armor, and he coughed up an alarming amount of blood. His abdomen, which took the direct hit, was beyond blue with internal bleeding—it had turned blackish as if necrotic.

It was only because Skyscraper, sensing a clean hit just before impact, had slightly reduced his strength that it ended this way. Had he struck with full force, Kwak Taewoo would have been instantly killed, his body split in two.

“This should be enough to immobilize him.”

Skyscraper muttered, having finally succeeded in taking down the formidable opponent.

Considering the opponent was A-class, that level of injury wouldn’t kill him immediately. Why they were engaged in a deadly chase through downtown in the middle of the night could be interrogated later after giving him a potion. First, he needed to catch the one who got away.

The fugitive had already disappeared from sight, vanishing beyond the road. But Skyscraper remained calm. He had more than enough experience chasing criminals.

“At that speed, he should have reached Central Park by now.”

Skyscraper, more familiar with New York’s geography than anyone, could guess the fugitive’s location. And with his physical abilities, he could certainly catch up.

“I will catch you and make you pay for disturbing the peace of New York—!”

The giant stomped the ground to pursue the fugitive.