Ch.8787. Fierce Battle

Before he could even perceive the anomaly, his intuition moved his body. Malacor, who had been about to cut down Rex, retrieved his longsword and leaped high into the air. Though he had already passed the distance where his blade could reach, his legs didn’t stop. Only after landing on the ground far away did his thoughts catch up.

‘What in the world…’

Malacor gritted his teeth while breathing roughly. A sudden inexplicable sense of danger had surged up, and when he came to his senses, he found himself fleeing. Why? There was no need to ponder that question. Malacor opened his mouth with a surprised expression.

“…No way!”

Rex slowly raised his head. His appearance wasn’t much different from before. Though he had no fatal injuries, shallow wounds covered his entire body. Blood trickled from the wounds opened by the fierce battle. His pale complexion made it seem like he would soon become a corpse if left alone without intervention.

Only one thing had changed.

“You’ve crossed the wall!”

Malacor shouted in an enraged voice.

Hwigwang (Radiance).

A dazzling golden light was emanating from Rex’s body. Rex silently caressed his Zweihander. The sacred flame wrapping around the blade moved with his gesture. The blazing fire climbed up the blade and engulfed Rex’s entire body. The radiance grew as it consumed the fuel.

Whoosh! The light that had brightly illuminated the forest instantly diminished. Though smaller in size, its brightness was now more intense and concentrated. The calm blue eyes no longer showed any fatigue or fear. They simply gazed at Malacor with composure.

“You!”

That gaze was unbearably hateful. His already distorted expression crumpled further. Malacor stomped the ground with a roar.

Hwigwang is not a realm that can be crossed so easily. He suppressed his desire to deny it. Though reason screamed it was impossible, the scene unfolding before his eyes was undeniable reality. The man had ascended to Hwigwang. He would acknowledge what must be acknowledged.

“Even so, nothing will change!”

Malacor’s eyes turned pitch black. Until now, he had faced Rex using only Hwigwang. Now it was different. Pandemius’s blessings numbered over dozens. Even the leadership of the order didn’t know the exact number.

But if asked which one was most famous, everyone would name this one. Honyoyunghae (Shadow Fusion). Malacor’s body wobbled and mutated. Black armor erupted through his skin. Though not as skilled as Shaharon, within the order, very few could handle Honyoyunghae better than Malacor, except for him.

Malacor threw away his longsword. Having drawn out his full power, he no longer needed the sword. His body itself was now a weapon stronger than anything else. His arm, made of shadow, stretched like rubber and shot forward.

Rex widened his eyes. He knew his opponent was using a blessing. He also guessed it was a blessing that strengthened the body. However, he hadn’t expected him to discard his weapon, much less for his body to undergo such bizarre mutations. His surprise lasted only a moment before his gaze quickly read the trajectory of the attack. —Kwang! The Zweihander he thrust forward deflected the fist. But he wasn’t satisfied with just that. Swordsmanship is about flow. After defending, countering is the foundation of all swordsmanship. The blade that dug into Malacor’s side stirred his internal organs.

“Kuhek!”

Red blood flowed from Malacor’s mouth. He wasn’t cut. The protection of Hwigwang and Honyoyunghae isn’t so flimsy as to be broken by a single sword strike. The black armor enveloping Malacor disperses the impact given to its caster. That function was working properly. The problem was that Rex’s sword strike was heavier than Malacor had imagined.

It was incomprehensible. This was too dramatic a growth to be attributed merely to ascending to Hwigwang. On the surface, Malacor and Rex appeared to be at the same level. However, even within the same realm, standards vary tremendously. Malacor had become Hwigwang more than ten years ago. In contrast, Rex was a novice who had just entered the threshold of Hwigwang. In a world where accumulated time equals skill, that gap cannot be easily narrowed.

It should be that way, but…

“Kraaaah!”

Malacor shouted and stretched out his hand. The fist he threw with all his might was blocked by Rex’s Hwigwang and bounced off. It wasn’t an illusion. The Hwigwang that this damned man was generating was as solid as his own. Perhaps… No, that’s impossible. Malacor tried to erase the anxiety spreading subtly within him. He tried to erase it, but couldn’t. The thought that this mere novice of less than a day had abilities superior to his own, after years of refining Hwigwang, complicated and confused his mind.

“I won’t kill you! I won’t!”

Dozens of tentacles shot out from Malacor’s body. Shadow blades, sharply honed, swept through the space. —Kugugugu! Trees filling the forest were bisected and collapsed with a rumble. Though clearly an attack that would endanger life if it hit, Rex felt no crisis. Rather, he thought the previous fist was much more troublesome to deal with. Uncontrollable anger tends to dull attacks.

He spotted a gap in the successive onslaught. Twisting his body, tilting his head, and for tentacles he couldn’t avoid, he cut them with his Zweihander. One step at a time, yet steadily, Rex approached Malacor. The distance gradually closed.

“You little rat…!”

Malacor glared at Rex with eyes full of hatred. Ignoring the insult, Rex pulled his Zweihander back behind his shoulder. The golden sacred flame covering the blade no longer burned. Instead, a light mass condensed like a ball of thread emitted a fierce glow.

[I’ll help you.]

Ellin sent a telepathic message. Rex had only manifested Hwigwang recently. Though the change was certainly surprising, she hadn’t just been watching idly. While she didn’t know the details, it was clear that the current situation was positive for their group. Of course, even without her, anyone could notice that Rex was pushing Malacor back—but they wouldn’t dare to intervene in the battle. But she was a mage. Ellin’s magic could directly intervene in combat and steer the situation positively.

Crackle! Lightning that tore through the air was fired. The lightning split into dozens of arrows, intercepting all of Malacor’s tentacles at once. Malacor flinched as the current dug into his skin. The tentacles were destroyed, but that was all. The damage was minimal. Such power couldn’t penetrate the defense of Honyoyunghae and Hwigwang. Just enough to be annoying. And that made it more troublesome. Too weak to bother blocking, yet too persistent to ignore completely, it kept clinging and diverting his attention.

“Hoo.”

Rex steadied his breathing as he stared at Malacor. Thanks to Ellin’s magic, he had a brief respite. It would only be a few seconds at most, but better than nothing. The advantage had clearly shifted to his side now. Malacor was cornered. If he pressed on like this, could he kill him? An optimistic thought. Even if he defeated Malacor, Shaharon still remained. He worried about Berger who was fighting him.

But for now, defeating the enemy before him came first.

‘The vessel.’

Rex’s mind sank inward. His thoughts accelerated. He was aware that he had ascended to Hwigwang. The wall that had always blocked his path had crumbled to dust. Normally, he would have spent time processing this realization and building his foundation, but now there was no such luxury.

‘Quickly.’

He took only what he needed. He organized what he had gained. Boreas had compared Rex’s state to a vessel. That the vessel was full and couldn’t hold more water. Upon entering the threshold of Hwigwang, that vessel had expanded incomparably wider than before.

Into that expanded vessel, a massive waterfall poured. It was power that had been suppressed in one part of the pattern, unable to be converted into divine power. It was impossible to absorb all the energy at once. He accepted as much as his ability allowed. The pattern responded to its master’s will. Thump! The sound of his heartbeat grew loud.

Rex moved his feet. Like a sun fallen to earth, an overwhelming wave of light spread out from him. Wind accompanied that movement. It wasn’t his own. A familiar, warm sensation… with a hint of affection. It was Chloe’s energy.

‘A blessing?’

He pushed aside the question that momentarily arose. His body felt light. The wind assisted his actions. The cuts carved all over his body began to heal. He didn’t know Chloe possessed such a blessing, but at least it wasn’t harmful. What he needed to do remained unchanged.

Kill Malacor.

Pang! Rex’s form disappeared. That’s how it appeared to Malacor’s eyes. The movement, accelerated by accepting dormant divine power and Chloe’s blessing, penetrated Malacor’s perception. Belatedly, Malacor realized. I missed him. That alone was disconcerting, but what followed was even more surprising. Not from behind, above, or the side. Rex appeared from the front. Zweihander. Seeing the storm of light concentrated on that greatsword, Malacor understood.

‘This is…’

Unstoppable. His instinct sent a warning. That would shatter even his Honyoyunghae and Hwigwang. He needed to dodge, but Rex’s Zweihander pierced through the Hwigwang faster than Malacor could kick off the ground. —Crunch! The light smashed through the shadow hastily built like an iron wall. The armor of Honyoyunghae couldn’t stop the Zweihander at all and was split in an instant.

The blade crushed his collarbone and advanced toward his heart. That sensation felt distant. Is this how I die? Malacor looked at Rex with disbelief.

Just as Rex was about to apply more force to his grip on the hilt to completely end Malacor’s life…

“Enough.”

A voice echoed. A sudden eerie sensation washed over him. Rex froze without realizing it. The sound of approaching footsteps reached his ears. Though the steps were leisurely and relaxed as if out for a stroll, Rex couldn’t move, like a frog before a snake. Move! He screamed in his mind, but his frozen body remained rigid, waiting for the other to approach.

“How troublesome.”

Shaharon muttered in an indifferent tone. Rex barely managed to turn his stiff neck. The fact that Shaharon had intervened meant…

“I expected some struggle, but this is more annoying than anticipated.”

Rex’s pupils trembled. In the distance, he saw Berger lying covered in blood. No way. An ominous imagination invaded his mind.

“I didn’t kill him. Not yet.”

Shaharon raised his hand.

“It’s more convenient to deal with everyone at once.”

An Apostle is one who not only receives blessings from a god but builds their own mythology. Transcending mortal limits, an Apostle constructs their own ideal in the world. Shinwihaebangs (Divine Authority Release). A power that twists the laws of nature and imposes new rules.

A black flower bud bloomed above his palm. The tightly closed petals slowly opened. Shaharon’s lips moved.

“Gonghusanran (Void Scatter).”

The flower fully bloomed.

Light—disappears. The blue sky is covered by an abyss. A wave of darkness surged out from Shaharon. It greedily devoured everything around it as it advanced.

Apostle.

The power of a god.

An ability that the current Rex could not handle no matter what. The power of a god cannot be blocked unless by the same god.

[Even an Apostle cannot penetrate my barrier.]

Rex was neither an Apostle nor a god, but…

Just once, he could borrow the power of a god.

“Pungyeongbihwajang.”

A blue curtain unfurled.

***

Kuwoong…!

A woman walking along a mountain path tilted her head at the sudden earthquake.

After narrowing her brow and looking at a distant place for a moment, she resumed her journey.

However, her direction deviated from her original destination.