episode_0271

Chapter 271 – Awakening

Stepping back, Isis lightly tidied her hair, then examined Ruan’s body.

“R-Ruan. I’m glad you’re safe. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. I’m fine, Noona. Thank you for worrying about me.”

Ruan smiled gently.

The moment she met his smile, Isis flinched. That smile, the voice calling her Noona, reminded her of someone she missed dearly.

“R-Ruan…?”

She knew this man in front of her wasn’t her younger brother.

But now, she saw both the pure Ruan of her childhood and the delinquent Ruan he became after going astray, reflected in him simultaneously.

Her mind knew it couldn’t be true, yet she thought it.

Isis reached out a trembling hand and caressed Ruan’s cheek.

“Are my eyes… playing tricks on me?”

“Why do you think that?”

“You… you feel like my younger brother. It’s funny, isn’t it, to have such a delusion now, after I gave up being a sister?”

Isis felt a strong sense of guilt.

She felt incredibly sorry for confusing the two, when she had already chosen love over her younger brother.

But Ruan, instead of being offended by her words, simply shrugged.

“Not really? In a way, it seems natural.”

“What…?”

“Actually, I met him inside.”

“Him?”

“Ruan Friuli, I mean. He wasn’t completely gone; he remained inside here.”

Ruan pointed to his head.

“Ruan… was there?”

“Yeah. He called it a residual consciousness, and he told me to take good care of you, Noona. Then, saying he couldn’t bear to see you suffer, he willingly merged with me. Our memories got a bit mixed, and that must be why you’re confusing me with your younger brother? I’m a little hurt by that.”

“I’m so, so sorry. I apologize.”

Despite apologizing, Isis’s face was bright.

It might be rude to Ruan, but she was overjoyed that her younger brother cared for her so deeply, and that the two had become one.

Thanks to this, she didn’t have to give up on either love or being a sister.

‘Thank you, Ruan.’

He truly left her a great gift to ease her suffering.

The corners of her mouth curved into an involuntary smile.

Ruan, seemingly displeased by Isis’s reaction, frowned then pinched her cheek.

“Aren’t you a little too happy? Do you perhaps like him more than me?”

“N-No. Both of you are precious.”

“It doesn’t look that way, though?”

“I-It’s true. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have come here.”

This was her honest truth.

If she had chosen her younger brother instead of Ruan, she would have remained at the academy and simply stood by, even if she regretted it, regardless of whether she was kidnapped or not.

Having received her affirmation, Ruan grinned, whispering playfully.

“Well, if that were the case, you wouldn’t have kissed me in front of everyone, would you? You’re surprisingly bold, you know?”

“Th-That was to wake you up…”

“Really? From what I saw earlier, your tongue was quite active.”

“Ruan!!”

“Hahahaha! Alright, alright. I’ll stop. Calm down.”

As Isis’s face flushed red and she shouted at his embarrassing remarks, Ruan roared with laughter and stroked her head.

Isis pouted, feeling as if she was being treated like a younger sibling in reverse, but she wasn’t actually that displeased.

No, to be honest, she quite liked it.

‘I want him to keep stroking my head…’

However, happy times inevitably come to an end.

Ruan carefully tidied her hair, then adopted a serious expression and gazed in one direction.

“Then… what are you going to do? Are you going to fight more?”

There, stood a golden specter.

He had maintained silence since Ruan woke up, but he let out a chuckle and opened his mouth.

“To think you’d escape the dominion of the evil spirit. Should I say it’s unexpected? Or perhaps, as expected? You truly are extraordinary.”

“Cut the useless talk. If you’re leaving, scram quickly, and if you’re going to fight, attack quickly.”

“Ahahahah! So confident, aren’t you? Do you really think I don’t know? You can’t fight yet, can you?”

“……”

Ruan fell silent.

Isis nervously shifted her gaze between the two, wondering if there was another problem.

The answer came from the golden specter.

“Even if you’ve regained control of your body, the evil spirit’s power still dominates inside you. If you rashly try to use magic, that’s when you’ll truly become a demon. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes. You’re right. But it doesn’t matter if I don’t step forward. The power here is enough to kill you. So, if you don’t want to die, scram.”

The two continued their standoff for a while.

The situation, which had been ongoing, concluded with the golden specter’s reluctant concession.

“I admit it. This time, it’s my defeat. But remember this. This isn’t the end. Next time, I will definitely win.”

“Do whatever you want, you gay bastard. I have no intention of losing, ever.”

“…Next time, I’ll make sure you can’t even say the word ‘gay.’ Be prepared.”

The golden specter, seemingly provoked by the word ‘gay,’ vowed so and then vanished.

Isis was about to question Ruan immediately.

“Ru…”

“Ruan!”

“You idiot!!”

If it hadn’t been for the sudden interference of the interlopers.

Deborah and Alisa pushed Isis aside, took positions on either side of Ruan, and poured out all their worries.

Isis felt a pang of jealousy for a moment, but then she let out a small chuckle.

She understood their feelings completely, and more importantly, she was the latecomer.

‘I need to work harder in the future.’

She vowed to become the most important person in Ruan’s heart, someday!

As she clenched her fists, Ruan pushed Deborah and Alisa away.

“There’s a lot I want to say, but let’s save that for later. We need to get out of here first.”

“Ah, yes! Let’s help Master!”

“Okay! Get on my back!”

The group, having reached a consensus, quickly began to escape the Dark Church’s headquarters.

Incidentally, Ruan was riding on Alisa’s back.

*

Crash! Boom! Bang!

Dozens of Death Knights blocking their way were instantly shattered by an invisible fist.

Cain surged towards Hersculer in that opening.

Bang! Crash! Boom!

Dark magic and invisible fists collided, causing continuous roars of sound to reverberate.

Hersculer’s strength lay in his overwhelming magical power and endless undead army, but he was not lacking in personal magic either.

In fact, if Cain hadn’t amplified his physical abilities by injecting an invisible strong force into his heart, Hersculer would have had the upper hand.

After several exchanges, Cain quickly retreated from Hersculer.

Swish!

A sword strike grazed past him by a hair’s breadth.

The Death Knights, who had been shattered just seconds ago, regenerated.

They were even continuously joining the battle.

Leona was doing her best to hold back the undead, but as time passed, her stamina was inevitably depleted.

She grew increasingly tired, and more undead began to slip past her.

Yet, she couldn’t ask for help.

[Hahahaha! You’re quite something! Take this too!]

“Not a chance!”

Rumble! Rumble!

Roxana seemed busy putting all her effort into defending against the demonic sword Calisto.

At this rate, there was no chance of victory.

‘Is there no other way?’

Cain prepared to activate his final move.

This technique carried an extremely high risk, so much so that it might be more accurate to call it a suicide move. Moreover, even if he succeeded in using it, he wouldn’t become noticeably stronger.

It would merely increase the possibility of him overcoming the wall blocking his path.

In other words, it was essentially a gamble.

That’s why he didn’t want to use it until Ruan arrived, at least.

Although their master-disciple relationship was formed by Sara’s coercion, as a master, he had to properly fulfill that role.

The moment Cain was about to activate the technique with a hint of regret.

Crash!

The debris blocking the entrance shattered, and the group who had entered earlier emerged.

Ruan was among them.

“You’re a little late.”

Cain chuckled, then repelled Hersculer with a powerful blow and landed in front of Ruan.

“Cain!”

Cain didn’t turn back at Ruan’s call and spoke calmly.

“I’ll only say this once, so listen carefully. From now on, I will integrate my inner world and my magic.”

“Integration of inner world and magic? Is that even possible?”

“It is. It’s a technique I created using the Divine Demonic Extreme Shadow you taught me and my own enlightenment.”

Cain raised his index finger.

On it, invisible magical power compressed and rotated, forming a small sphere.

It was Kanghwan.

“I’m injecting Kanghwan into my upper dantian.”

“Huh? Wait a moment. That’s too dangerous!”

“I know. That’s why I’m telling you now.”

“Stop! Don’t do it!”

Despite Ruan’s attempts to stop him, Cain brought his index finger to his glabella.

Kanghwan penetrated through his skin and into his upper dantian.

“Ugh!”

At that moment, the world convulsed.

More precisely, Cain’s inner world violently shifted due to the sudden intruder.

Under the power of Kanghwan, his inner world was forcibly expanded, breaking, shattering, and shaking as if it would collapse at any moment.

But fortunately, his strong inner world withstood the drastic change.

Although it was only a brief respite, there were no immediate signs of collapse.

Cain raised his head.

It was clearly the same world as before, but his eyes were seeing something different.

The grand laws that governed this world and the essence of mana began to become faintly visible, though not yet distinct.

His pursuit of martial arts became imbued with a soul, transforming into a law that warped the world.

His Martial Soul (武魂) was Formless (無形).

Having no form, it could not be seen, and thus, it could reach that which had no form.

Cain saw the evil soul hidden behind Hersculer’s shell.

“I haven’t thought of a name for it, so you can name it later.”

“Cain…”

“Then watch carefully from now on. This is my last lesson.”

Whoosh!

The moment he took a step forward, Cain’s very body became formless.

Stepping one foot out of dimension, unconstrained by any bonds, he transcended physical laws and made the distance to Hersculer zero.

Cain threw a punch.

Thunderous explosion!

It was a single strike, yet thousands of fist attacks exploded in a fleeting moment, endlessly dividing a single second.

Hersculer, who had remained unharmed throughout their continuous exchanges, allowed an attack for the first time.

Hersculer glanced at his limp, dangling arm, then tore it off without hesitation.

Crack! Snap!

Blood gushed from his shoulder.

However, Hersculer concentrated demonic energy into his arm as if he felt no pain.

Crackle! Crackle!

Then, just as a tree grows, a new arm sprouted.

Hersculer narrowed his eyes.

“Interesting mana manipulation. To forcefully draw out spiritual energy and transcend your realm.”

“If you know that, don’t let your guard down. You’re full of openings.”

Cain, who had somehow arrived within close proximity, continued his offensive without a moment’s pause.

Crash!

Hersculer, who had blocked the blow, was sent flying.

Cain, catching up even faster, instantly split into dozens of forms.

He was the formless, and the formless was him.

Existing nowhere, he could simultaneously exist everywhere.

Cain repeatedly took dozens of forms and then returned to one, unleashing multi-directional attacks from unpredictable locations.

Hersculer’s defense gradually crumbled, and the number of allowed attacks increased, leading to accumulated damage.

Destruction outpaced the body’s regeneration, and eventually, Hersculer reached a state where he could no longer move.

Even amidst this, his expression remained unchanged.

Cain chuckled faintly and rubbed his temple where veins protruded.

He was reaching his limit.

If he delayed any longer, his inner world would collapse, and his breath would cease.

Cain gathered his concentration.

“Hersculer. You’re very relaxed. Do you mistake yourself for being immortal?”

“Immortal… that is my wish. But everything is relative. With the exception of a very few beings, I am infinitely close to immortality.”

“You are arrogant. That makes it more worthwhile to kill you.”

“Impossible. You cannot do it.”

“We’ll see about that. Don’t regret it.”

Cain condensed all his enlightenment into his fist.

He further squeezed his already unstable inner world, solidifying his inner perception, and poured his very life into that single strike.

At this moment, Cain was certain.

‘I can reach it.’

May this fist create a massive crack on his face. May it leave a scar that will never fade.

Cain wove his martial arts and soul into one.

“Soul Annihilation Flash (滅魂閃).”

A power that could destroy even the soul was born.

Horror dawned in Hersculer’s eyes, which had always been impassive.

“That’s…!”

“I told you, didn’t I? Don’t regret it.”

“No, don’t…!”

“It’s already too late.”

Crackling!

The moment those words fell, Cain’s fist, which had surged forward like light, pierced through Hersculer’s soul.