Chapter 72 – Day 72

Day 72

Kang Han-tae’s previously wild aura changed to become as sharp as a well-forged sword.

“Wow!”

Cheon Seo-ah exclaimed in admiration at Kang Han-tae’s suddenly transformed aura.

So.

“What are you going to show us now?”

Cheon Seo-ah asked with a grin.
Kang Han-tae just glared at her with a heavily sunken expression and took a step forward.

Thud-!

A light step caused the ground to rumble, sending intense shockwaves in all directions.

Kwagaga-!

The sharply honed momentum exploded in an instant as Kang Han-tae’s body stretched out towards Cheon Seo-ah.

Kang Han-tae moved like a single line.
His speed was unimaginably fast and overwhelming, beyond what a human could imagine.

As Kang Han-tae moved, the air was pushed aside in all directions, and even the sound lagged behind, echoing a beat late.

Cheon Seo-ah smiled gently at Kang Han-tae, who was dizzying her eyes as he darted around in all directions.

“You’re quite an energetic child.”

“Hap-!”

As soon as Cheon Seo-ah’s murmur ended, Kang Han-tae appeared behind her and swung down his greatsword.

The blade of the greatsword, aiming for Cheon Seo-ah’s head, had a second blade formed by the intense fighting spirit gathered on it.

This blade of fighting spirit overflowed with a sharp edge that seemed capable of cutting through anything.

“Come to think of it.”

Looking at the greatsword falling towards her head, Cheon Seo-ah smiled softly.

“I’ve also learned a few sword-related techniques.”

As she said this, Cheon Seo-ah extended her index finger towards the greatsword.

At that moment.

Jjeoeoeng-!

A blade made of magical energy shot out from Cheon Seo-ah’s index finger, blocking Kang Han-tae’s greatsword.

As the blade of fighting spirit and the blade of magical energy collided, intense shockwaves spread out in all directions.

“Wh-What-!”

As if he couldn’t believe his attack was blocked by just a finger, Kang Han-tae’s expression twisted with bewilderment.

How on earth.
How on earth could this monster block his attack with just one finger!

Kang Han-tae’s eyes, distorted with confusion, blazed as if saying those words.

Meanwhile, Cheon Seo-ah looked at the finger that had blocked Kang Han-tae’s greatsword.

“Hmm, as expected. Maybe it was a bit clumsy since I don’t use it often.”

Cheon Seo-ah muttered while examining her finger.
At the tip of Cheon Seo-ah’s finger, or more precisely, at the tip of her fingernail, there was a slight ‘wound’ etched.

It was just a fingernail.
And it was merely a very slight ‘scratch’ on a part that would grow back over time.

Nevertheless, Cheon Seo-ah smiled as if pleased by the fact that her fingernail had been scratched.

Meanwhile….

“Ah, Miss-!”

Mio, the sword demon, shouted upon seeing the scratch on Cheon Seo-ah’s fingernail.
She had already drawn the sword at her waist, and flames of anger blazed in her eyes.

How dare.

“You dare to wound the Miss’s body!”

Kwagaga-!

As tremendous power burst forth, violent waves began to surge around her.
The surrounding land instantly lost moisture, withered, and twisted, turning into a desert.

It was the rampage of the Drought Dragon Sword Technique she had mastered, which absorbs moisture from the surroundings and uses it as her own power.

However.

“Stay still.”

“Ugh-!”

Mio, who was about to go berserk with rage, suddenly let out a suppressed groan.
The other villains who were nearby had subdued her.

Each one of them was a villain with power equal to hers.
No, among them, the proxy was even more advanced than Mio.

No matter how much she lost her mind and went on a rampage, she alone couldn’t break through the restraint of eight villains.

Cheon Seoa also spoke with a gentle smile towards Mio, who was genuinely angry about her injury.

“I’m fine. More importantly…”

Cheon Seoa slightly shifted her gaze from Mio to Kang Hantae.
A sticky smile had already formed on Cheon Seoa’s lips.

Facing that smile, Kang Hantae was suddenly gripped by a chilling fear and involuntarily shuddered.

“This isn’t all, is it?”

Instinctively feeling fear, Kang Hantae unconsciously stepped back.
As Cheon Seoa spoke while looking at the retreating Kang Hantae, a gloomy darkness flowed from her two eyes.

* * *

‘Kargel.’

[I know.]

Kargel responded to Han-tae Kang, who called him with a heavy voice.

The thing before his eyes was a monster.
It was a monster among monsters with overwhelming strength that he had never encountered before.

However.

‘It’s not unbeatable.’

Han-tae Kang muttered to himself.

If someone were to ask if the opponent was truly a perfect being, Han-tae could firmly say.

That the opponent was not a perfect being.

The evidence was in her fingernails.

The tiny scratch engraved on her fingernails from the recent collision.
Although there was no trace of it left now, the very fact that such a ‘scratch’ had occurred was evidence that the opponent was not a perfect being.

Therefore, Han-tae Kang.

“Hoo-.”

Han-tae Kang exhaled deeply and closed his eyes.
While Seo-ah Cheon was watching his appearance with interest, Han-tae muttered softly.

“Release.”

Click-.

Simultaneously with Han-tae’s murmur, a sound like a lock opening echoed through the air.

At the same time.

Whoosh-.

The shadow rose up, eventually swallowing Kang Han-tae and forming a massive sphere.

Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!

The shadow that swallowed Kang Han-tae and formed a massive sphere pulsates.

The shadow sphere emits a sound like a beating heart, following a regular rhythm.

Its appearance was very similar to how protagonists release their sealed powers.
At this, the smile on Cheon Seo-ah’s lips deepened even further.

In creative works that feature transformations, there’s one common rule.

That is, not attacking while the opponent is in the process of transforming.

Cheon Seo-ah, as if following this immutable truth, made no move, seemingly waiting for Kang Han-tae’s transformation to complete.

How much time had passed like that?

Crack-!

A single crack appeared on the pulsating shadow sphere, then spread out in all directions.

Boom-!

With an intense impact, the shadow sphere shattered into pieces and collapsed.
From within those fragments, a completely changed Kang Han-tae emerged.

If the pre-transformation Kang Han-tae looked like a knight from a fantasy novel.
The Kang Han-tae who walked out of the shattered shadow sphere now looked like a mix between a dragon and a human.

The pure white armor had disappeared without a trace.
In its place were dark blue scales protruding from the skin and thick muscles.

A tail, sleek yet exuding a chilling sharpness, had grown from his backside.
On his back, wings made of hundreds of blades fluttered.

The only trace of Kang Han-tae’s human past was the greatsword made of some kind of bone that hadn’t disappeared.

The moment Kang Han-tae’s tightly closed eyes opened, having transformed from human to monster.

Kuung-!

A powerful presence spread in all directions, beginning to weigh down everything around.

Even the nine villains involuntarily let out a groan and staggered under the pressure created by that mighty presence.

“Indeed. You have become one.”

Cheon Seo-ah, looking at Kang Han-tae with eyes overflowing with gloomy darkness, nodded and muttered.

The Kang Han-tae reflected in her eyes could no longer be called human.

Kang Han-tae’s soul and body, having become one with his own shadow, had moved infinitely far from being human.

But.

“Who taught you that ‘fusion’?”

At Cheon Seo-ah’s incomprehensible words, Kang Han-tae, who was barely maintaining a somewhat human form, tilted his head.

What does she mean by ‘who’ taught him?
What is she talking about?

Himself and his contracted beast Kargel.
This power of becoming one wasn’t taught by anyone.

While Kang Han-tae was looking at Cheon Seo-ah with eyes still unable to understand, holding such thoughts.

“And.”

Cheon Seo-ah glanced up at the sky.

“What on earth did you bring?”

As she spoke, Cheon Seoa’s gaze transcended space and looked out into the vast universe.

The immense universe.
In that place where no light existed, suddenly a huge crack appeared with a sharp sound.

From within the crack, something even darker than darkness was oozing out.

Only Cheon Seoa and Kang Hantae noticed this sudden anomaly.

[Wh-What-!]

Kang Hantae, who had transformed from human to monster, was flustered.

This presence.
Kang Hantae knew this overwhelming presence.

And for good reason.

[Why are you here…?]

The land of struggle where Kang Hantae had fallen in the past.
The owner of this overwhelming presence was the one who had bestowed ‘blessing’ upon Kang Hantae when he fell to the land of struggle without any abilities.

Furthermore, it was the being who had helped Kang Hantae become the new king of the land of struggle.

And moreover, it was the one who had helped Kang Hantae return to Earth.

Meanwhile, Cheon Seoa, regardless of Kang Hantae’s bewilderment, spoke towards the crack engraved in the universe and the ‘something’ trying to cross over to Earth through that crack.

“I’m sorry, but uninvited guests cannot come.”

As she said this, Cheon Seoa’s expression was frozen in an incredibly cold manner.