episode_0161

“… That’s ridiculous.”

A woman with a look of obvious embarrassment murmured. It was the only appearance that showed any hint of human emotion.

“How could I do it alone… ”

But she shut her mouth tightly before speaking. And then, as if nothing had happened, she stared at Lee Hyeon with her characteristically unreadable eyes.

“… That’s too bad. Surely the eternal happiness you dreamed of wasn’t there? Why did you choose self-imposed suffering? This is not rational at all… ”

“Shut up.”

Lee Hyeon cut off the woman who was about to start talking at length, as if he had no intention of mixing things up.

“How dare you play such a joke with our family… ”

Lee Hyun did not hide his rising hostility. The particles gathered in the air around him were shaking violently. Even Jin Ye-seo could clearly feel the thrilling sensation.

“Hmm… ”

The woman, seeing Lee Hyeon’s extreme reaction, once again has a strange smile on her lips, feeling curious.

Lee Hyun checked the woman’s abdomen. It was an attack that had been launched after releasing the prediction up to the 6th path. There was also a clear sensation of the soles of the feet digging into the intestines.

But now, all that was there was was a torn belly button, and not even a hint of rawness on the soft skin.

There is only one answer. The attack was definitely successful, but he was instantly restored.

Just like before, when he regenerated his severed arm in an instant and moved normally even after being stabbed in the heart.

She’s too dangerous an enemy to capture alive. Personal anger aside, that woman is too dangerous.

Movements that go beyond human limits, the sight of someone surviving and moving even after having their arms cut off or being hit in the heart, an unidentified ability to turn people’s minds upside down, and even the ability to control hideous monsters as if they were their own limbs.

A feat that is impossible even for a demon as big as a house and breathing fire from its mouth, the highest-ranking demon of the Baekdu bloodline, and the most powerful and oldest black magician.

Even the confident smile seemed to declare that it was a life form that had absolutely nothing to do with death, and that there was absolutely no way to destroy it.

“… ”

He kept spinning his thoughts. How to deal with an enemy who keeps coming back to life even after cutting off his limbs, rupturing his internal organs, and even stabbing him through the heart.

‘…no.’

But Lee Hyun shook his head. There was still one place left to try.

A tiny head with a face that is so ugly it’s hard to look at.

Anyway, there is no other way out. Leaving that woman behind and leaving this underground with Jin Ye-seo is impossible in the first place.

‘It’s worth a try.’

Thinking so, Lee Hyun immediately writes an additional magic formula for the prediction and engraves it into his body. The form is the 7th path, the greatest power he can exert.

Soon, all the passages in your body will be fully opened and a huge amount of particles will pour in like a tidal wave. Vitality will spread to your limbs, and the world you see with your enhanced eyes will flow at a slower pace.

“… Ugh.”

And the terrible pain that comes with it.

Sa Jae-hyeok had absolutely forbidden the liberation of the Seven Paths because his life was in danger, but in this situation, there was nothing he could do.

That thing in front of me was definitely not an opponent I could defeat by saving my strength.

-Bang!

As soon as the power seeped into his body, Lee Hyun kicked the ground and quickly closed the distance between himself and the woman.

-Wedge!

She swung her blade horizontally at a speed that was too fast for the eye to see. The blade barely missed her neck. The sound that followed belatedly was a fierce cracking sound.

-Bam! Kwaang!

Lee Hyun continued to push the woman. As he cut off both arms in succession, the writhing soft tissues began to take shape again. As he tore off one leg entirely, she jumped over the rubble with the remaining leg as if she was performing acrobatics.

Even that was a surprising enough move, but it was definitely easier to deal with than before.

If this situation continued, I would be able to kill that woman before the duration of the prediction ended.

But still, the calm expression of the woman grabs his ankle.

“Hmm… ”

Even as he extends his arm, he studies the movement of the blade. Even as his leg is cut off, he closely examines the tremors of his muscles with his eyes. As if he is trying to discern each and every small movement. This is not the appearance of a cornered prey by any means.

“Come to think of it… This is… definitely… ”

-Whew!

This time, two arms and one leg flew into the air at once. But even at that moment, the woman just muttered with a meaningful expression.

And finally, the moment when Lee Hyun rushes in to take her head off.

That grotesque smile that splits her ears is once again engraved on the woman’s face.

“… That’s pretty good.”

-Bang!

“Cough… !”

The woman’s lower body twists at an angle that is impossible for the human body. Immediately afterwards, a blow of incredible speed is struck into Lee Hyun’s chest.

A powerful attack that would have torn my heart apart long ago if I hadn’t built a wall of particles.

“No!!”

The situation changed in an instant. Jin Ye-seo, who saw this, became lost in thought and cried out. She tried to raise her trembling arms, but her body, which was so upset, would not move.

The woman, who had grown limbs again, closed the distance between her and Hyun and rushed at him. Hyun narrowly cut off the woman’s hand that was about to touch his body. He then kicked her away with his foot and opened the distance between them again.

-Bang!

And beyond the thick dust, he was panting, his blade digging into the ground to support himself. Then, with a violent cough, he gushed out a bucketful of blood onto the ground.

“Ugh… Ugh… ! Woof, gulp! Gulp… !”

“What on earth… is that look in your eyes? Right?”

The woman’s calm voice flew into his ear and pierced him like a mockery.

“Of course. Of course, you can’t handle particles better than lower creatures.”

-Saaaak…

The woman walks with a plodding pace. The skin that had been exposed by Lee Hyun’s kick, her internal organs and bones, ripples and covers the empty space again. Soon, the area is completely restored without any trace of the blow.

“But you. I have something to ask you.”

A woman who has stopped walking looks at Lee Hyeon with eyes that seem arrogant at first glance and asks.

“What kind of relationship are you with your rival? He moves just like before. Even though he’s been in a bad mood for a while.”

“Haa… Haa… Cough! What the… nonsense… ”

Lee Hyeon glared at the woman with fierce eyes and muttered.

“Whew… Okay, that’s okay.”

The woman sighed at the sight of him showing no intention of answering. Then she began to walk forward again.

“You’ll know if you check it yourself. Looking into memories is easy for Betelgeuse… Hmm?”

Then, the woman suddenly turns her head to the side.

“Oh, no… ”

“Hmm… ”

Jin Ye-seo was leaning against the wall, staring at Lee Hyeon. The sight of her still body shaking with effort was even more pitiful.

“One female, one male, with an instinctive affinity that would lead to reproduction… That’s what it was.”

The moment she felt that moisture, the woman once again expressed her satisfaction by tearing her lips up to her ears.

“Useless bonding when you can’t even take care of yourself. Well, it’s okay to show that despair right in front of your eyes. Sometimes, bitterness is necessary.”

“No… No… Move, move… !”

The woman ignored Jin Ye-seo’s cries and continued walking. Lee Hyeon held onto his senses even as his vision blurred.

The time he could use his magic on the 7th path was only a few minutes. And that had been shortened even further by the blow just now. Thirty or forty seconds. At most, a minute was the time he could remain in the magical world.

“Haa… Haa… ”

Prediction. The strongest physical strengthening magic in the circulatory system. A powerful force that allowed the five families of Black Lotus to reach their current position.

The woman exerted even more powerful force and crushed Lee Hyeon, who was operating such a prediction plan.

The worst enemy whose identity is still unknown. Even Sa Jae-hyuk has never pushed him this far.

However, Lee Hyeon was able to gain a clue to win from the appearance of that woman.

“Still, thanks to you, I had a lot of fun. As a reward, I’ll put you on the ‘collectible’ list too.”

The physical enhancements the woman showed in the fight. The movement of particles detected in the gap.

The implication of this fact is clear. The woman was operating the particles in the same way as them, that is, using magic.

And he has the means to disperse any magic, no matter how powerful, as if it never existed.

The power of authority.

“Sigh… ”

After finishing his thoughts, Lee Hyun lifted the blade with his trembling arms. His physical condition was the worst. And the range of his power was limited. If the woman noticed the manifestation and tried to distance herself, there would be no way to win.

Fortunately, the woman in front of him was treating him with an attitude that was bordering on arrogance, not just carelessness.

Lee Hyun thought. Then I will pull you in. Until the last moment. Until that moment when you absolutely cannot escape the final attack.

“You can think of it as an honor. It’s a privilege granted only to a few lower creatures… Huh?”

-Bang!

Lee Hyun ran towards the woman who was mumbling something again and swung his blade violently.

“I just said it. Even so, I don’t think he has that much learning ability… ”

However, the woman sighed and blocked the attack by lightly raising her arm. The arm that had just been cut off like a blade was now blocking his blade from digging in as if it were a piece of iron.

-Pfft!

“Ugh… !”

The woman then counterattacks him. As he flies away, Lee Hyun can clearly hear the sound of her shoulder blade breaking.

-Bang!

The solid stone wall shatters as it strikes the back of his head. The confident enemy in front of him leaps forward along with him. In order to strike the final blow at Lee Hyun.

Imagining the short future he was about to face passed through his mind like a prophecy.

She will be right in front of his nose in the blink of an eye. And with her evil hands, she will squeeze Lee Hyun’s heart and burst it. He will die without even being able to scream, never to return to the one who is waiting for him.

However, Lee Hyun smiles even in the midst of pain. At the very moment when the enemy he jumped into is still in the air. To borrow Sa Jae Hyuk’s expression, ‘a moment that even God cannot do anything about.’

Because now was exactly the time he wanted.

Lee Hyun becomes aware of a certain power that has been hovering around his heart all along, and instantly spreads it to its maximum range.

The force spreads out in all directions like ripples, and soon every particle in space comes under his control.

In the slowly flowing time, the woman had already come up to his nose and was reaching out her hand. However, her face, which had suddenly lost its flow, began to gradually distort in a strange way.

First doubt, then confidence, and finally extreme fear.

The woman’s expression changes in an instant.

“This is…!”

And just as she opened her mouth with her pupils dilated greatly, she was about to say something.

“Look behind.”

-Crack!

A cold hum. And with a sharp, skull-splitting sound, the blade dug right into the center of her forehead.