### Chapter 374 – Room 205, The Cursed Room – ‘The Absolute Master’ (23)
—
– Lee Eunsol
Everything was proceeding without any major issues.
Ijasung accepted the position of the Emperor’s master, naturally joining the Heavenly Alliance on the family’s side.
Thanks to that, the grand battle with the Baehwa sect on the plains was an overwhelming victory.
Consequently, the cornered Baehwa sect began the construction of the Sky Tower to summon Cardamos, so it was just a matter of breaking it down.
Up to this point, everything had been smooth sailing, and it progressed much more easily than previous rounds.
In the past, we had to fight tooth and nail to get inside the tower with bare hands and use Jinchul’s star, but this time, it ended with a simple ‘click’ from Mr. Seunghyun from a distance.
— Boom!
With a deafening explosion that shook the earth, the final flash took less than a second to bring down the Sky Tower.
“It’s done!”
“Yess! It’s done, right?”
Perhaps due to the overwhelming energy release, Mr. Seunghyun briefly swayed.
Just then, Jinchul quickly supported him.
At that moment, a sharp sword was aimed at Mr. Seunghyun’s neck.
This was where the first problem arose.
It was a variable that hadn’t been experienced in the previous rounds.
“Ah? Ugh? M-Master?”
“….”
Ijasung was so furious that his eyes turned bloodshot.
“Why—”
“Shut up!”
In a crisis, Mr. Seunghyun spoke as calmly as he could.
“Master—”
“What? Master? You’re just running your mouth! Are you truly my disciple, Seunghyun?”
“…”
“Since we have a long history, let’s hear what you have to say. What kind of trick is this? Don’t even think about bringing up new martial arts or epiphanies!”
In Ijasung’s eyes, the ‘Final Flash’ was definitely not a martial art.
“The imperial family has hidden this for a long time—”
“Don’t lie to me! It’s not a secret power of the imperial family. I’m certain I’ve never even heard rumors of a technique this powerful!”
To Ijasung, the ‘Final Flash’ was not even a technique at all.
It was something beyond martial art and technique.
It wasn’t just a degree; it was a power that surpassed even the apostles.
In other words, it was not human power.
“I have witnessed a force comparable to this only once. Thirty years ago, when the Baehwa leader used the Fire Line to judge the Demon, the pressure that fan emitted was similar to this!”
“…”
“Seunghyun. I figured you must have joined hands with the imperial family and strayed from martial arts. I also guessed you had learned some nefarious technique. But!”
“Master of the Heavenly Alliance….”
“What the hell is this? This is not human power, but the power of a god. Which god did you start serving?”
Ijasung concluded that the ‘Final Flash’ was the power of an unknown evil god.
What could I say in this situation?
Should I just tell the truth?
That it wasn’t the power of an evil god, but an ultra-weapon created by humanity in a distant future?
It was hard to justify.
After all, Ijasung’s conclusion was half-accurate.
The ‘Final Flash’ was indeed power on par with the Fire Line mentioned by Ijasung, a legacy bestowed by the hotel.
A miracle that far transcended the limits of mortals.
While everyone was confused and fumbling around, a sharp wind swept in, and a new figure appeared.
“Then you, Ijasung, step aside! I will rip apart every single piece of these insects and offer them to Asha!”
It was Jo Wonhong.
An absolute master.
And also a being filled with the urge to slaughter us alive at any moment.
Ijasung stepped back, sheathing his sword.
This was the worst situation we had tried to avoid—fighting Jo Wonhong without Ijasung’s help.
*
– Kim Sanghyun
As soon as the fight began, Eunsol and Jo Wonhong shouted the same thing at the same time.
“Elena, you should return to the palace!”
“Hyung, out of courtesy for your past friendship, I will spare your life, so return!”
If the opponent was the leader of the Baehwa sect, it wouldn’t be easy for Elena to use her justice.
The ominous imagination had a long preparation time, and it was challenging to identify friends and foes, making it ill-suited for a chaotic battle.
Thus, Eunsol’s judgment that it would be better for Elena to escape to the palace and bring Seungyub with her rather than die here was reasonable.
Even as the leader of the Baehwa sect, it couldn’t be guaranteed that Ijasung wouldn’t intervene in this fight, so it was better to minimize the enemies if possible.
It was a bizarre situation where both had completely different reasons, yet shared the same purpose of wanting to send Elena back.
Thanks to that, Elena started to sprint towards the palace without anyone hindering her.
Jo Wonhong’s hands were emitting destructive red flames.
“The wrath of Agni is upon me… Sinners shall face divine punishment!”
With a single breath, the leader’s dual palms rushed toward my upper body.
Instantly, I leaned back—
“Ugh!”
I definitely dodged the leader’s hands, but the red flames spiraling from his arms immediately inflicted a terrible burn on my chest.
As pain shot through me, I almost allowed another hit—
“Take this!”
The leader exclaimed as he flipped backwards, avoiding Jinchul’s crescent moon sword from behind.
Jo Wonhong couldn’t afford to disregard Jinchul’s attack coming from the back.
In the brief moment when our movements crossed, Jinchul looked at me, his eyes asking if I was okay.
Of course, I was someone who could handle injuries like this long before entering the hotel.
Again, the leader spread flames all around, putting pressure on both Jinchul and me.
I stepped left and right to dodge the trajectory of the flames, then swept my spear into the air with one strike.
Jinchul also slashed his crescent moon sword horizontally and approached the leader in one breath.
As the three superhumans tangled, the surroundings started to blaze and explode.
After experiencing such repetitive exchanges, the leader coldly laughed.
“Indeed! One is the grand general of the empire, and the other is said to be Ijasung’s disciple; you certainly live up to your names!”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“But you should know that today is the day of your funerals!”
This time, the leader turned his whole body around, creating a fiery vortex.
We had to retreat due to the rampant heat emanating all around us, but as I hurriedly scanned the inside of the vortex, I saw Jo Wonhong began to perform some complicated hand movements with both hands.
It was clearly a hyper-powerful technique being prepared!
While I couldn’t stop it with my strength, Jinchul was different.
— Raaaah!
As the ominous wave emitting from an otherworldly star appeared in the living realm, Jinchul made a bold decision that made my eyes widen.
He held onto a shard of the star with his left hand and inserted it into the fire vortex created by Jo Wonhong!
No matter how much the blessing of courage existed, it was a reckless action, and within moments, the skin on his left hand started to burn off, exposing the muscles and bones underneath.
Naturally, Jinchul couldn’t help but scream.
“Ugh! Damn it!”
However, with great risk comes great reward.
Jinchul’s choice delivered a significant blow to Jo Wonhong.
The shard of the otherworldly star that entered the vortex emitted waves that disrupted the intricate technique Jo Wonhong was preparing.
“You lunatic!”
Jinchul’s desperate gamble seemed to have been effective, as Jo Wonhong spilled blood from his mouth due to the sudden disruption of his technique.
Moreover, he momentarily lost concentration and began to sway, and obviously, the fire vortex protecting him crumbled without form.
Seeing an opportunity, I charged in with my spear.
“Yah!”
Jo Wonhong, who had avoided our attacks until now with mysterious movements, couldn’t evade my spear or defend against it this time.
The sharp spear pierced through his shoulder in an instant.
For an ordinary person, such an attack would likely mean death.
At this point, I was certain.
In this kind of close combat, Jo Wonhong was lower than Ijasung.
Not only was he below Ijasung in martial arts, but he also fell short even when factoring in techniques.
I was sure because I had fought both of them.
Of course, while he was inferior to Ijasung, Jo Wonhong was still lightyears ahead of an ordinary person.
“By Booh Mora, deliver the judgment of iron fists upon those who commit evil!”
The bloodied leader raised his head to the sky and uttered a fierce prayer, as an immense white fist appeared overhead, hurtling down towards Jinchul and me!
By this point, Jinchul still hadn’t recovered from the previous critical injury.
Given that he had done such a nonsensical thing as holding onto a harmful shard of the otherworldly star and sticking his hand into that vortex, it was only expected.
In a rushed moment, I dived to grab Jinchul and rolled him on the ground.
— Crack!
If I had been even one second slower, we both would have been turned into bloody pulp.
Jinchul, realizing the situation, clenched his teeth and began rolling on the floor as well.
— Boom! Boom!
After a total of three punches landed, the white fist vanished as if it had evaporated.
Surprised by the absurdity of the situation, Jinchul voiced his frustration.
“What the hell! Just because you prayed, a fisting punch comes down out of nowhere? If there’s no god to believe in, how am I supposed to live in peace?!”
While Jinchul and I were rolling on the ground, what was that leader doing?
As he regained his stance and glanced at Jo Wonhong, both of them sighed in unison.
“No way, that bastard Jo Wonhong!”
“Such a son of a bitch!”
I had to admit that my earlier assessment of Jo Wonhong being below Ijasung was too hasty.
As Jo Wonhong completed his ominous incantation, a massive creature resembling a giant stingray appeared, and he mounted it—
Soaring into the sky!
*
In some sense, Jo Wonhong was far more terrifying than Ijasung.
At the very least, Ijasung couldn’t fly through the sky on a sword like those characters from the martial arts novels that Mooksung liked!
The leader even pulled out the Fire Line and began hurling fireballs from the sky.
Thanks to that, I rolled around.
I simply kept rolling and rolling.
At this point, fireballs were raining down from above at such a speed I felt like I was in a shooting game!
It was so ridiculous that Jinchul’s annoyance could be heard over the chaos.
“Hey, you bastard! What kind of martial arts is this?”
Casually dropping fireballs from the sky, Jo Wonhong calmly replied.
“Of course, it’s not martial arts. But Ijasung doing such wouldn’t even be considered, it’s amusing that you would say that. Is the rock summoned by the general martial arts? Or is the ray shot by a disciple some kind of martial arts?”
That was correct, and it made me chuckle.
As I kept dodging, I turned around to see Ijasung talking to Eunsol about something.
From what I could faintly hear, they seemed to be discussing the ‘Emperor’, and while the atmosphere wasn’t good, I felt somewhat relieved knowing Eunsol wouldn’t die from crashing into a fireball.
“Yah, Hyung! There’s no way out of this.”
I know.
We already used the Final Flash to bring down the tower, so there was no means to snipe that bastard.
Naturally, I had no means of flying as well.
Not managing to create those ‘wing boots’ was the source of eternal regret!
Just as irritation surged through me, the barrage of fireballs finally stopped.
However, seeing Jo Wonhong’s nonchalant expression, I knew it was merely a brief break to recharge his power.
When I was at a loss for what to do, Jinchul suddenly lifted me up!
“Woah! What’s up? Jinchul, what’s with the sudden—”
Jinchul didn’t respond.
The moment I turned to look at his eyes, I realized he wasn’t simply unable to respond but was in a state of ‘no can do.’
Jinchul was operating in a different time flow than I was.
‘The Moment’ was being used!
Upon realizing this, I understood his intentions.
“No, no, no! Jinchul! Jinchul! That’s too reckless; I request a redo—”
Jinchul’s body bent back.
The unfathomable force blessed by courage surged through his entire body.
Additionally, the infinite concentration created by ‘the moment’ allowed for ‘exquisite’ movements.
Thus—
Jinchul managed to throw me ‘precisely’ toward the flying Jo Wonhong.
“Hyung! I believe in you!”
“What do you mean believe in me, you lunatic!”
Even as he spat out expletives, I realized I didn’t actually mind this moment.
Due to excessive tension and razor-sharp concentration, the world seemed to be playing at 0.5 speed.
I was flying through the air, looking down at the people below.
Eunsol, realizing the situation late, cupped her hands over her mouth.
Ijasung’s eyes widened in surprise, I didn’t know he could make that sort of expression.
And Jo Wonhong, our true enemy.
He seemed completely unprepared for a ‘human bullet’ coming his way, his mouth agape in a stunned expression.
The result born from Jinchul’s unexpected maneuver, which nobody—not even I—foresaw, was utterly hilarious.
It was delightful.
Even in a life-and-death struggle… I found this moment so enjoyable.
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