Chapter: 632
As I was hearing the wrath of Mang, he suddenly started to speak to me.
“Honey, I have one last question for you.”
“What is it?”
“Do you want to join me?”
I had to stifle a laugh when I heard that. Persuasion even after coming all this way? It was absurd.
Even though he seemed quite persistent, I could tell by his attitude.
‘That means he needs me that much.’
To be precise, he needs my powers.
He wants to eat the dragon’s power, block it, and the ability to swallow and take away.
That must have meant he desired it.
“This is your last opportunity. I have no intention of showing you any more mercy.”
“Hmm.”
Pretending to think, I lightly stroked my chin.
“I have one more question.”
I pointed at him with my fingertips and asked.
“You said you’d let him go if he got his body back. But after letting him go, will he still be alive?”
“Hmm?”
Upon hearing my question, Mang nodded his head.
“I suppose I need a piece or something. If I take that off, will he survive?”
“Aha.”
As I added a bit more explanation, Mang finally seemed to understand.
“Blessings would continue.”
“Blessings?”
“Yes, the blessing of having ended my life by helping me.”
So what he meant was…
It’s a reference to the fact he’s basically saying someone is going to die.
“There’s no greater blessing than this…”
Mang, who was about to continue speaking, paused for a moment.
“Ah, I see.”
He spoke as if he had suddenly realized something.
“I guess you’ll reject me this time too.”
It seemed he had managed to understand me somewhat through our few conversations and was figuring out the situation.
The guy was surprisingly sharp.
“…”
“…”
Silence began.
That was the signal.
Thud.
Cha-ching—!
We quickly closed the distance between us.
Wheein—!
My perception sharpened again.
A thread of energy emanated from his body.
I turned my head at the sight.
Shh! The sword grazed my hair.
Chomp! Cut hair froze in midair.
And then came another attack.
I swiftly rotated my body to let the sword glide past me.
Using the momentum, I aimed for the bastard’s waist with my leg.
Boom—!
A loud crash echoed.
The attack was not successful.
My leg collided with an ice barrier that had formed in the air, reducing its impact.
My movement was hindered by the blocked attack.
Mang swung his sword as if he wouldn’t let this chance go.
If it continued like this, I was risking getting slashed.
Seeing that, I lightly flicked my hand.
A spark jumped from my fingertips and flew toward the blade.
Ping—!
“…!”
It was a trivial act, but the trajectory of the sword was altered.
Bam—!
Thanks to that, the sword struck the ground instead of my head.
I quickly regained my balance and threw a punch.
Hwaaaaak—!
‘Tua Pa Cheon Mu.’
Second Form.
Tobe’s Heaven.
A sharp gust of wind rushed towards Mang.
Boom! This time, a barrier formed in the air blocked my attack.
Thud—! My attack spread out, shattering it.
“…!!”
Mang’s eyes widened at the crumbling barrier.
Non-standard moves.
The power of Tuapa Cheon Mu is based on perfect techniques.
Because of that, its power might be somewhat lower.
‘That doesn’t mean it’s weak.’
A fist engulfed in wind struck Mang’s abdomen.
The problem was.
Thud—!
“Ugh!”
I also felt a shock in my stomach.
Bam—!!!
The shockwaves bounced me off.
Thud—! Crash—!
I slammed into the wall and fell alongside some debris.
It wasn’t a massive hit, so I managed to shake it off and stand up.
But.
‘Did you just kick me while I was in that state?’
In the aftermath of the Tuapa Cheon Mu, he kicked me with his leg.
In a ridiculous situation, I stared at him.
“Cough. Tch.”
Mang was grimacing and spitting blood, looking like he was in quite a bit of pain gripping his abdomen.
Woohoo—.
I could see his upper body was gradually healing.
Watching that, I thought to myself.
‘Looks like he can use that power too.’
That implied he could use other abilities as well, yet he wasn’t using any of them in our fight.
It must be because he was conscious of my powers.
It’s a tricky situation.
Even if it wasn’t that complicated right now.
‘I don’t think it’s going to be easy to take him down.’
The power gap felt ambiguous.
I had the advantage in speed, but that difference was minimal.
It looked like we were fairly evenly matched.
But the biggest issue at hand was.
‘My body is getting slower and slower.’
I was noticing my movements were beginning to lag.
I wasn’t particularly tired.
Though my energy had dropped significantly, it wasn’t so low that I felt weak.
So what was going on with my body?
While I was checking for any abnormalities, that’s when it hit me.
“… This is ridiculous.”
He spoke up.
“I can’t even kill you properly. If things went as they should, I would’ve swallowed you in a single bite and still been hungry.”
Hearing that, I gave my shoulders a slight roll.
“Then just stop talking and run if you want to.”
“That’s not an option. This fight has already been decided; how could I run away?”
When I said that, he smiled again—a smile that was genuinely irritating.
At that moment.
“You must be feeling it; your body is gradually becoming less responsive.”
“…”
Hearing Mang’s words, I clicked my tongue in frustration.
So this weird sensation was his doing? How did he pull that off?
‘It’s not poison.’
Since reaching a state of invulnerability, there’s no way poison could affect me now.
If it’s not poison, then what is it?
With doubts swirling, I looked at Mang.
He gave me the answer.
“A dragon, you see, doesn’t usually venture out of its nest. Do you know why?”
“Why? So you can get stronger if you stay here?”
“No.”
He pointed to the ground.
“It’s not that I grow stronger by being here; it’s that other dragons grow weaker because of it.”
“… Oh.”
His explanation slightly impressed me.
This was fresh information.
“This spot may seem insignificant, but it’s my sanctuary. Before long, you will find yourself moving at a snail’s pace. There is no way you can defeat me here.”
“Hmm.”
I was starting to become increasingly annoyed with my already sluggish body.
‘This is troublesome.’
This was indeed tricky.
I hadn’t anticipated topographical issues.
Even worse.
‘The constant healing is annoying.’
If things continued this way, just as he said, the battle would stretch out, and I’d be left at a disadvantage.
While it was good he wasn’t using his abilities,
‘That means my powers aren’t truly useful right now.’
The conditions for stealing powers were quite bothersome.
It wasn’t feasible now.
Then what other options did I have left?
‘Wrap it up as quickly as possible.’
There weren’t really any alternatives.
What was I going to do about it?
In the middle of my contemplation.
“Why? Are you still weighing your options—”
“Ah.”
Fortunately, I recalled that there was a potential solution.
I didn’t know if it would work, but I thought there was one thing I’d like to try.
‘Should I go for it?’
Ignoring the warning from the devil not to use it, I’d kept it hidden away.
The Abyss had clearly caution me that unless it’s outside the realm of imagination, I should never use it.
The first time I tried it, I nearly died when my insides exploded.
Since then, I’ve only attempted it in thought; I had never acted on it directly.
Now could be my chance to give it a shot.
After a brief moment of indecision,
Swish.
I stretched out my right hand into the air.
Firoor—!! Flames gathered at my palm’s tip.
“Hmm?”
The expression on Mang’s face showed confusion.
But for an instant, it transformed into a mocking grin.
What he thought was that I was setting up some technique I was using earlier.
Yes, I had used Yeom-ok plenty of times.
It likely looked strange since I blocked an attack with it moments ago.
But then.
“Are you still trying to struggle? I thought you’d—um?”
His words faltered abruptly.
Mang’s eyes widened like lanterns.
Whoosh, whoosh!
The gathered jade began to spin rapidly, surprisingly picking up speed.
I focused my complete attention on my palm.
Hwaaaaa—!!!
It was spinning much faster than normal. Just how fast?
Whir—!
Nearby cold air was being drawn toward the flames.
And then, at that moment.
Fwoosh!
The cold air that had been pulled in suddenly ignited.
It morphed into flames and seeped into the jade.
Spinning faster and compressing tightly.
Now filled with heat, the jade started to blaze fiercely.
“… What the hell…! What are you trying to do now?!”
Seeing this, Mang hurriedly swung his sword from a distance.
Shh—!!
It seemed he was trying to intercept me not knowing what I was up to.
His judgment was good,
But he still made a mistake.
Whoosh—!!
Crimson blood sprayed outward.
The energy struck me straight in the chest.
It was an incomparably stronger attack than before.
At the same time, Crash! An ice wound blossomed on the injury.
If it was a fatal injury, it could’ve been one.
Yet through it all, I didn’t release the jade.
Thanks to that.
‘Alright.’
The technique hadn’t failed.
Only then did I seize the completed jade.
Bam—!
Without hesitation, I grasped it tightly.
At that very moment.
Kaboom—!!!!!
The gathered flames exploded, engulfing the space in sizzling heat.
“Gah—!”
The searing heat was blocked by Mang, who raised his sword in defense.
But the heat wasn’t hostile; it didn’t seem to have any intent behind it.
It was simply.
‘Hot.’
Just hot, and unbearably so.
The heat colliding with the cold air generated thick steam.
In a completely obscured field of vision.
A grimace filled Mang’s face.
All the heat may have dissipated, yet somehow, the temperature in the area seemed to rise drastically.
‘What on earth did I just do…’
As Mang stood on alert, staring into the void,
Wheek—! Fly!
In an instant.
The wind surged and washed away the steam.
With all the vapor cleared away, an expression of shock spread across Mang’s face.
“…!”
There, with ice encasing his chest from the sword’s impact, was the blood-borne Gu Yang-cheon.
“Not as bad as I anticipated.”
Something was flickering with blue flames.
You know…
If you just considered the shape.
‘A spear…?’
I stood, wielding a long spear formed entirely from flames.
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