The Goblin King, The Demigod Duergsini (4)

There is no time to think.

Thinking is out of the question, I don’t even have a moment to breathe.

If I stop moving, Duergsini will act and kill the yokai.

If I stop,

I cannot allow that.

Duergsini turns his helix to tear Heukho apart.

Heukho

did not possess techniques to oppose Duergsini, so

I surrounded myself with spiritual power and took Duergsini’s strike for Heukho instead.

While my body had a few holes, it was not fatal.

I cannot kill Duergsini, but

Duergsini too

is in no position to kill me.

Using my body as a shield seems like a decent strategy.

I could only roughly gauge Heukho the ‘Violent Black Tiger”s full strength from the spiritual power she possessed, unable to accurately assess her level.

Of course, that is because

she was one of the ‘ascension-qualified yokai’ I had persuaded with words, not fought.

Heukho did not have spiritual power nor techniques to oppose goblins, but

Chaaaaaaak!

Look at that formidable physical force.

She was simply a brutishly powerful yokai.

Her physical force alone was strong enough to rend space, so even Duergsini could not just brush off her attacks.

I discard any arrogant notions.

Duergsini is not an opponent I can defeat alone.

Not just Heukho,

we all must combine our strength.

Like this,

I will endure until Yi Haneul, Ho-jun, and Lord Beast arrive.

Since all the world’s darkness was within Geusondae’s domain, he must have already informed them that Duergsini appeared in Jirisan.

They will surely

come running to save me without delay.

…The problem is whether Heukho and I can withstand Duergsini until then.

Despite Heukho and I putting immense pressure on Duergsini, he did not falter.

[3 minutes 23 seconds remaining.]

He merely continued counting down the time.

After 3 minutes 23 seconds,

either Grandfather Mangtae or Noeng will die.

…He wants me to endure 3 more minutes here?

My mind is growing hazy.

Enduring the pain with the adrenaline from rage is only possible so many times.

I’ve lost count of how many holes have opened in my body.

My arms and legs seem to have been severed seventeen or eighteen times,

and burst open about five times.

Bang!

“Ughhhh…”

Ah,

The moment I spoke, another fist-sized hole opened in my abdomen.

Scratch that, using my body as a shield is not a good strategy.

Slowly,

I’m reaching my limit.

Not my body, but my mental fortitude is at its limit…

If I were an ordinary human, I would have died over a hundred times by now.

If my identity was still 100% ‘human’,

my mind would have shattered long ago.

That’s how severe my injuries were,

and that’s how excruciating the pain was.

Still, I must endure.

To make Duergsini’s words

become lies.

‘In 10 minutes, I will kill one of the two old ones’ – Duergsini’s words had been the ‘truth’ until now.

But if I manage to stop Duergsini here with Heukho,

Duergsini’s ‘truth’ will become a ‘lie’,

and I will

have disrupted Duergsini’s scheme.

If that situation arises, Duergsini will no longer be a demigod capable of predicting the future, but

just… no, more than just a powerful goblin.

So I pressed Duergsini with all my might.

Duergsini’s helix gradually grew fainter.

Heukho was a stronger yokai than I expected.

It was an achievement I could never have managed alone.

However,

merely making his helix faint does not mean I can stop Duergsini.

To completely stop Duergsini, I must take that liver clearly visible to my eyes.

If I take his liver, Duergsini will die on the spot,

and the moment Duergsini dies, I will awaken to my ninth tail.

An odd standoff ensued where neither of us could kill the other.

From Duergsini’s perspective, Heukho was a massive obstruction, yet

her abilities were too exceptional for him to easily kill her.

And even if an opportunity to kill her arose, since I took Duergsini’s attacks for Heukho,

the 2-on-1 standoff dragged on more sluggishly than expected.

Soon,

the time Duergsini had warned of approached with only about 30 seconds left.

…Oh no.

The atmosphere changed.

To make his ‘future prediction’ into ‘truth’,

it seems Duergsini resolved to be serious.

Bang!

The sound of something bursting.

Looking with a foreboding feeling, I saw

Heukho’s upper and lower bodies separated.

Wh…When did he attack…!

I didn’t even have time to react.

Heukho is a supreme yokai among supreme yokai.

She won’t die from just that, but it will take considerable time to recover her body.

In the meantime, if I muster every last ounce of strength I have…

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunkthunkthunkthunk.

Spears?

Arrows?

Something heavy as a thousand pounds pierced my body in various places.

“Ugh, ah…”

It was an agony so excruciating that not even screams could escape.

Not just intense pain, but

a repulsive sensation as if countless maggots were gnawing at every part of my body.

[Divine Spears.]

[An authority of a demigod]

[That mortals cannot dare resist.]

“Ughhhh…”

Crack!

I pulled out one of the spears piercing my body.

Dark red blood gushed from where the spear was removed.

I tried using my spiritual power to heal, but

it did not recover.

[…However,]

[You resist.]

[Divine Spears]

[Cannot be pulled out.]

[This too]

[Is proof that if you manifest your ninth tail,]

[You will join the ranks of deities.]

[With your ninth tail, you will be able]

[To wield true divine might,]

[Not a half-baked demigod like me.]

“Shut… up…! I don’t care at all…!”

Thunk!

I pulled out another spear.

As expected,

it did not heal.

[The descent of a deity]

[Is a calamity]

[From the perspective of mortals.]

[Therefore,]

[Manifesting your ninth tail and turning the cycle]

[Is the only way]

[To save mortals.]

[Soon,]

[10 seconds remain.]

…Damn it.

After 10 seconds, either Noeng or Grandfather Mangtae

will die.

[How many more yokai must die]

[Before you face reality?]

[How many more yokai must be sacrificed]

[Before you turn the cycle?]

[5 seconds]

[Remain.]

Perhaps from losing too much blood, my vision blurred and my mind grew muddled.

Heukho was

…still separated into her upper and lower bodies.

I cannot stop it.

5 seconds

4 seconds

3 seconds…

…

…

…

[Sealing Taoism]

Eight Trigrams Formation

Heaven, Earth, Wind, Cloud, Dragon, Tiger, Bird, Snake

Coffin

Shhhhhhhhhhh.

From the dark sky of the pseudo-other world, light descended.

Eight chains.

The chains bound Duergsini.

This aura,

I’ve felt it somewhere before…

…Ah.

Yes.

My power,

The power of freedom.

2 seconds.

Duergsini takes up a divine spear and shatters the chains.

Five chains break with a single strike.

Three chains still remain.

Duergsini readies his spear again.

1 second.

In that moment, someone appearing at an invisible speed thrusts a fist into Duergsini.

Not a mere fist, but one that unleashed an immense light capable of banishing all darkness from the pseudo-other world in an instant.

This too

is my power,

the power of freedom.

Duergsini drops the spear from his hand.

0.5 seconds.

However, Duergsini does not have just two arms.

Not three either.

Not six,

and not ten.

Hundreds.

Hundreds of arms sprout from his helix.

And each of those hundreds of arms held a divine spear.

Right before the chains could be severed,

Rumble.

Rumblerrumblerrumble.

Inexplicably, dark clouds covered the pseudo-other world’s sky.

The pseudo-other world, briefly illuminated by Yi Haneul’s ‘power of freedom’, darkened once more.

Rumble.

Rumblerrumblerrumble.

At the center of the dark clouds

was someone.

Smaller than a human,

smaller even than a fox – a squirrel.

…As expected.

“Click click.”

You didn’t die…!

The insurance I fed Dapoh just in case seems to have worked properly.

Kwarzzzzzzzz!

Lightning struck from the dark clouds.

The lightning struck Duergsini directly.

However, to Duergsini, a far stronger yokai than even Heukho could not stop,

Dapoh’s lightning

only obstructed him for a fleeting moment.

But

that fleeting moment

changed everything.

-1 second.

[…]

-2 seconds.

[…]

-3 seconds.

Duergsini

did not move to kill either Grandfather Mangtae or Noeng.

To be precise, he could not move.

The scheme

was ruined.

Not only to me, but to himself as well,

Duergsini had told lies.

Duergsini’s lies were two:

First,

Dapoh was still alive.

Second,

Time passed, but he could not kill Grandfather Mangtae or Noeng.

This was an unambiguous, blatant lie.

His presence as a demigod

gradually

faded.

The divine spears piercing my body vanished.

The price for lies was severe.

Duergsini

had lost his divine might.