Chapter 97

< Chapter 97: The Four Divine Beasts (7) >

“What have you been doing all this time?”

“…Well, I’ve been doing this and that.”

Maiden’s expression was very complicated. Longing, sadness, anger, sympathy.

All of those combined to create an indescribable look.

“…Excuse me, sister. Do you know this person?”

Yu Hwa approached the two of them.

“Oh. Allen Velvet. Well, he’s trash.”

“Haha.”

At Maiden’s harsh words, Hermit awkwardly laughed.

“…Is he a villain?”

Yu Hwa’s eyes sharpened.

She lowered her stance, readying her magical power for an attack at any moment.

“No, he wasn’t that trashy. At least not until 11 years ago.”

Maiden looked at Hermit with misty eyes.

“Theft, fraud, bribery. Although he was trash who would do anything for money, he was recyclable trash. He never crossed the line.”

“…Haha. You’re really digging into my dark past.”

“Mr. Sangjae almost turned you into a decent person too.”

Maiden’s meeting with Hermit was intertwined with her husband, Kim Sangjae.

Kim Sangjae met Hermit during his active days, and various events led Hermit to work under Kim Sangjae.

It’s been over 10 years since then.

“Of course, it’s been 11 years, so he might have become a villain.”

Maiden glanced at the Black Tortoise, who was being stepped on and smirked.

“A villain wouldn’t stop the Black Tortoise in this situation. That’s not it.”

“…That’s true.”

Yu Hwa’s guard lowered a bit.

A villain wouldn’t help in a national disaster.

“Alright, you ungrateful brat. I have many questions for you, but…”

Maiden looked around, licking her lips.

“Considering the situation, we’ll postpone it.”

The man called Allen Velvet had admired Kim Sangjae greatly.

What life had he led after Kim Sangjae’s death?

What was he doing now?

She was full of curiosity but decided to put it off.

“But there’s one thing I must ask.”

But this had to be asked.

“Allen, you. The kid… What’s your relationship with Kang Seo-yul?”

The reason Maiden headed for the Black Tortoise as soon as she arrived in Australia, not Vermilion Bird or the other Four Divine Beasts, was none other than Kang Seo-yul.

Maiden recalled the conversation she had with Kang Seo-yul on the transport earlier.

―I’ll handle Vermilion Bird myself.

―It’s fine. I can handle an incomplete Four Divine Beasts on my own.

―Could you send the MK-3 (Maiden Critines-3) to the sky, though? You’ve collected my biological signal, so you can, right?

How did he know about MK-3? It was still a mystery.

Anyway, Kang Seo-yul finally said:

―Oh, and you don’t have to worry about the Black Tortoise. I sent a friend.

―So, Maiden and Yu Hwa, please support the most dangerous place in Australia. I ask you.

Although she agreed, she still thought the Black Tortoise was the most dangerous.

That’s why Maiden headed for the Black Tortoise at Laboratory 1 immediately after launching MK-3.

To stop the Black Tortoise, which seemed to be the most dangerous in Australia, as Kang Seo-yul requested.

And there, she met Hermit, who was toying with the Black Tortoise like a plaything.

“You dealing with the Black Tortoise and the kid dealing with Vermilion Bird. You’re not going to tell me there’s no connection between these situations, are you?”

“Hmm.”

Hermit briefly collected his thoughts.

It was hard to deny a connection between them, especially considering he and Kang Seo-yul were each taking on the Black Tortoise and Vermilion Bird. But he couldn’t reveal his affiliation with the Saviors of Truth to Maiden, who had a profound grudge against the organization.

“It’s just a mutual benefit relationship.”

This was the best he could do.

“…Right. It’s a secret, huh.”

Maiden smirked.

“Okay, let’s move on. We don’t have time.”

Maiden clicked her tongue as she checked her non-functioning smartphone and other communication devices.

But she more or less understood the situation.

Aside from the Black Tortoise, the immense magical power and fierce flames felt from a distance had ceased.

‘That kid is really something.’

Maiden stuck out her tongue.

Kang Seo-yul must have taken care of Vermilion Bird on her own.

Anyway, now the only remaining Four Divine Beasts were White Tiger and Blue Dragon.

Once they were dealt with, the rampaging monsters would be taken care of quickly.

“We’re heading to White Tiger and Blue Dragon. What about you?”

“I will go to Kang Seo-yul first.”

* * *

S-rank weapon, Cheonbyeon

It’s a masterpiece created by the world’s greatest artisan, Jung Il-yong.

This weapon, with demanding usage conditions entirely disregarded and considering only performance, easily surpasses S-rank with its overwhelming and almost deceitful capabilities.

Its inherent sharpness is needless to say, and its strength, magical conductivity, and all other performances are overpowering.

Whoosh!

“Arrrrgh!”

Thanks to the overwhelming performance of the Cheonbyeon, even my mere D-rank attack cuts through the heavily armored skin of the Beast Master like butter.

“You, filthy scum!”

The Beast Master rushed in, consumed with rage.

This could be dangerous?

I wrapped magic around the Cheonbyeon.

‘Boost.’

I activated the unique ability of the Cheonbyeon that can accelerate the body for just over a second.

Swoosh-

The Beast Master’s attack cut through thin air.

“Feels like he’s a matador or something.”

The behavior becomes more and more beast-like.

Unlike the amateurish movements shown earlier, it has become harder to read the attack as the anger takes over, and the actions become more animalistic.

If I didn’t have the Cheonbyeon, I might have become minced meat long ago.

“Die! You damn descendant of superhumans!”

He smashes the ground with a sizzling murderous intent.

Fast.

Is he gradually getting used to the lower body of the White Tiger? It’s so fast that it’s barely visible.

But it’s not impossible to respond to.

I quickly changed the Cheonbyeon into the form of a ‘dagger.’

The unique ability of the ‘Cheonbyeon.’

‘A Thousand Forms’

A versatile weapon that can change its appearance in an instant according to the user’s will.

The transformation speed is less than 0.01 seconds.

Swoosh-

A dagger that changed its form in an instant.

The wind’s path opened up at that moment.

Red trajectory.

It’s at least 10 times more than usual.

Thanks to the Cheonbyeon’s various transformations, the evasion routes have greatly increased.

I chose one of the paths.

Twisting my body slightly, I changed the dagger into a shield.

I held the shield up at an angle to match the direction of the Beast Master’s charge.

Screeeech-!

A fierce sound of friction rang out.

It was the sound of the Beast Master’s body grazing past my shield.

I perfectly deflected the charge and simultaneously changed the shield into a whip.

Whoosh-!

I aimed at the moment the Beast Master, who was sent flying by inertia, landed, and restrained his body with the whip.

“This bastard!”

I try to release the whip by giving it strength, but it’s in vain.

The tensile strength of Cheonbyeon is not comparable to the inflamed carapace of a tortoise.

I slightly altered the form of the whip in that state.

From the whip surrounding the Beast Master, new branches emerged, scattering in all directions.

Boom!

They took root in the ground. The binding is complete.

“Argh!”

At the same time, I changed the handle of the whip I was holding to look like a bow.

I pulled the bowstring.

Whoosh!

Wind’s blade

Flame of Engraving

Spirit’s flames.

Spiral Arrow.

The four characteristics combined, and the intangible arrow condensed in a whirlwind.

“Eek!”

Feeling the power of my arrow, the Beast Master expanded its wings to break free from the binding whip, at the same time forming armor on its back and increasing its volume.

Crack. Crack!

Cheonbyeon began to screech in agony. Its limit for changing shape is about 20 meters, and even that is possible only when made thin like a sword.

Forcibly increasing the volume like that, no matter how strong it is, it can’t hold.

“Hraaah!”

Snap!

Cheonbyeon that had formed the whip unraveled.

Thud!

The Beast Master hit the ground.

“Ha!”

It looked at me and sneered, thinking my secret weapon had become useless.

…But that’s what you think.

I returned a smirk.

“Try to dodge it if you can.”

My goal from the beginning was to buy time to gather the Spiral Arrow.

The whip had served its purpose well enough.

Whirl!

My arrow’s translucent flames of the spirits flared even more, carried by the wind.

Whoosh!

The wind began to swirl more fiercely in the heat of the flames.

I gently released the bowstring.

Bang!

A loud noise as if piercing the air.

No, as if it pierced space itself.

The advantage of the wind attribute is speed.

The strong performance of Cheonbyeon, combined with the synergy between the wind and fire attributes, accelerated the arrow further.

The most powerful technique I can use.

It charged at the Beast Master like a flash of light.

And the next moment.

Kaboom!

“Kraaaah!”

The intangible arrow had precisely pierced the Beast Master’s chest.

Whoosh!

A whirlwind rushed in at that moment, a whirlwind carrying flames.

The Beast Master was burning. The flames of the spirits, bearing a clear intention to kill, were burning everything.

“It’s hot! Argh! Aaah!”

Not only the skin but the flames seeping through the hole in the chest were burning the Beast Master’s organs.

Gurgle, gurgle.

It’s regenerating while burning.

Flicker-

It’s burning while regenerating.

“Sa, save me! Aaah!”

The property of the Blue Dragon is regeneration. Probably the Beast Master’s Blue Dragon factor was struggling to survive.

But even that has its limits. The gene transplant, an imperfect result of research, couldn’t replicate even 10% of the Blue Dragon’s regenerative ability.

Whirl!

Soon the burning speed began to surpass the regenerating speed. Despite my flames being somewhat weakened, the regeneration couldn’t keep up.

“Gurgle, gurk.”

Strange noises began to erupt from the Beast Master’s mouth, probably having lost its senses due to the pain.

But I couldn’t let my guard down.

The Beast Master’s attribute is that of the Four Symbols; anything might happen.

I returned Cheonbyeon, which had temporarily stopped functioning from overuse earlier, to its original sword form.

And, turning it into a 20-meter-long sword, I aimed for the Beast Master’s neck and swung.

Slash-

Something cut, and

Roll-

The Beast Master’s head rolled on the ground.

Thump-

A little later, its body fell to the ground.

“…”

Still, I didn’t let my guard down, watching the situation closely.

About a minute passed.

“Phew.”

I was finally sure of my victory.

The severed head and body of the Beast Master didn’t move an inch and were still collapsed.

In that state, the only thing that could revive would be the ‘Immortal King,’ which would appear much later.

All the tension was gone in an instant.

“I’m exhausted.”

I caught the white tiger.

It was too tiring to deal with both the Vermilion Bird and the Beast Master.

If I hadn’t recovered mana with Lucifer’s spear, I couldn’t have held on.

Even the Spiral Arrow I used earlier squeezed out my mana to the limit.

“…Hmm?”

It was when he was checking the remaining magic power.

Suddenly, the flow of magical power accelerated.

Is this… an increase in magical power?

“Did they give me a reward for working hard?”

This is a happy misunderstanding.

It was when he was smiling like that.

Crackle!

Suddenly, sparks flew from the Beast Master’s body.

They scattered in blue, white, red, and black lights.

In the sudden situation, while being taken aback.

“Heh heh heh.”

Laughter flowed from the half-remaining head of the Beast Master.

“This world… is wrong.”

It was a voice filled with ecstasy.

“Such a world… doesn’t deserve to exist.”

The mouth turning into ashes, fluttering away, said this last.

“Flesh. Avoid it. The phenomenon of resonance with the Divine Beasts… reversed into a monstrous bio-bomb. At least half of the continent will fly away, so avoid it if you can…”

That was the end.

The Beast Master’s head turned into ash and scattered.

The sparks from his body started to intensify.

Good heavens!

I never thought he’d prepare such a dog-like trick in anticipation of his death!

How did such garbage not appear and die in the original?

Crackle!

No.

Now is not the time to think about that.

I must think of a way to stop it.

Then it happened.

Whooosh!

The Beast Master’s body swelled up.

It puffed up like a balloon about to explode.

Things that looked like blood vessels glowed red in a balloon that shone in four colors.

To anyone, it looked like a bomb just before exploding.

The magical power around me twisted.

Good heavens!

What should I do?

What can I do right now?

Can I use the flames of the spirits to burn only the fuse?

No, there’s no time for that.

What about cutting it off using the heavenly whip?

It’s impossible.

Well, it might be possible, but I can’t guarantee it will stop it.

It’s fortunate if it doesn’t explode right away.

My mind was racing at an incredible speed. It would have been less than a second.

Whooosh!

The Beast Master’s body shone even brighter.

“…There’s no way.”

I have no way to stop that explosion. I was certain of that.

It was when I was in despair.

“Seo-yul!”

Ha Si-yeon’s voice was heard from behind me.

Looking back, Si-yeon and Goldie were approaching.

…Ah, so the apparent increase in magical power was because Si-yeon was getting closer, and ‘Resonance’ activated.

A question that had arisen earlier was solved.

But why are those two here?

I asked them to look after White Tiger, and if they could move, to take care of the rampaging monsters.

No, more importantly, where did they leave White Tiger and come here?

Then it happened.

“Roar!”

Behind me, from where the bio-bomb was blinking, the roar of White Tiger was heard.

I quickly turned my head back.

“White…Tiger?”

White Tiger was wrapped around the Beast Master’s body, his face tightly crumpled.

He looked at me with a determined expression.

“Growl.”

Is it an illusion?

It seemed like White Tiger smiled at me for the first time.

And the next moment,

Whooosh!

The sound of magical power twisting rang out.

< Chapter 97: Four Divine Beasts (7) > End.