Chapter 289: Episode 54 – Demon King Slayer (5)
“Destroy, Double Dragon Swords.”
At Lee Jihye’s words, magic power exploded from the two swords. Something resembling a blue dragon flew forward to tear at my neck.
The Double Dragon Swords. The strongest swords on the Korean Peninsula and the relic of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare shone. I looked at the trajectory of the Kendo and used Way of the Wind and Electrification.
“Eh, you became smaller? Where did this incarnation come from?”
Admiral Lee Jihye. She survived up to the 95th scenario and was one of the 100 most powerful people in Ways of Survival.
However, this was a story for when she was ‘alive.’ If I remembered, in the original novel, the Lee Jihye of the 1863rd round had died long ago. Then who was the Lee Jihye in front of my eyes?
I flew at an alt.i.tude that the Double Dragon Swords couldn’t reach me and shouted, “Lee Jihye, stop! I’m not an enemy!”
“What, you know me? Indeed, I am a bit famous.” She muttered shameless words and took a pose.
I knew what this technique was.
Instant Kill. A great skill in Ways of Survival and a fearsome skill that killed any opponent with one blow.
“Do you really think I can’t cut a small bug like you?”
I faced Lee Jihye’s eyes and got gooseb.u.mps. Then Lee Jihye disappeared in an instant. An invisible sword was aimed at my neck and I instinctively knew what would happen next.
I cried out, “Yoo Jonghyuk!”
A shadow as big as a house covered my eyes and the strong sound of metal colliding was heard.
Yoo Jonghyuk blocked the sword by my side and Lee Jihye swung the Double Dragon Swords at Yoo Jonghyuk.
There was a small scratch on the blade of the Heaven Shaking Sword. Instant Kill was a powerful technique. If only the opponent wasn’t Yoo Jonghyuk.
In the 1863rd round, Yoo Jonghyuk was closer to a killing machine than anyone else. His decision couldn’t be reversed. Once he decided to kill someone, he would kill them.
Yoo Jonghyuk broke through the threshold of transcendence and swung his sword. Lee Jihye was pushed by the power gap and crashed to the ground. Yoo Jonghyuk, who held the upper hand, fell towards Lee Jihye.
“Yoo Jonghyuk! Stop!” I shouted as there was a loud roar from the ground.
I saw Lee Jihye falling in the dust and Yoo Jonghyuk aiming at her. Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t stop at my words. Sparks of probability were around him. The regression depression was releasing.
“Happy memories! Happy memories!”
Yoo Jonghyuk paused.
“Don’t kill her! You can’t kill her!”
I didn’t know why this Lee Jihye was alive. However, there was one thing I knew. At the very least, Yoo Jonghyuk shouldn’t kill her. Lee Jihye rose from the dust and shouted, “What are you doing? Come on Supreme King! This time I will kill you!”
It seemed this wasn’t the first time Lee Jihye and Yoo Jonghyuk had clashed. I couldn’t understand no matter how I thought about it. It was strange that the dead Lee Jihye had survived, let alone become enemies with Yoo Jonghyuk.
“Wait! Lee Jihye, stop this! We have no intention of fighting!”
Lee Jihye didn’t stop. Yoo Jonghyuk’s movements had become pa.s.sive because of my order. Lee Jihye’s blade cut the skin and blood flowed from Yoo Jonghyuk. In the regression depression state, he couldn’t take effective defense measures.
However, if I gave an attack order then he would rush at Lee Jihye like before… s.h.i.+t. I was still maintaining Electrification so I climbed onto Yoo Jonghyuk’s shoulder and shouted at Lee Jihye. “Stop it, you brat! Yoo Jonghyuk is your master!”
“Master? What is this bulls.h.i.+t? I’ve never had this monster as a master.”
Lee Jihye’s eyes shone fiercely. “My master is a much more wonderful person.”
A five coloured aura flowed from Lee Jihye’s blade. I reflexively activated Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint. No matter what the attack, it was easy to avoid if the direction was known.
[The skill activation is cancelled due to a lack of understanding about the person!]
…Even if my understanding with Yoo Jonghyuk was low, something was strange. Lee Jihye wasn’t such a complicated human being. At the very least, the Lee Jihye that I knew…
[The character ‘Lee Jihye’ has activated the stigma ‘Song of the Sword Lv. 10!]
Was she going to do this? Then I had an idea. I strongly gripped Unbroken Faith and invoked a stigma.
[The stigma ‘Song of the Sword Lv. 5’ has been used.]
Lee Jihye’s expression was shocked as she confirmed the five colours rising from my blade. She hadn’t seemed to notice yet. In any case, this stigma relied on ‘chance.’ Let’s see who was luckier.
Lee Jihye was the first player. Strings floated in the air and the writing of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare flowed.
「 The 10th day. Clear skies. After eating breakfast, I went to work in Donghun. 」 (TL: Central building where government affairs of the local area were performed)
Bingo. I could see Lee Jihye’s expression distorting. Song of the Sword was a skill developed based on the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare’s diary. If there was no luck then an effect wouldn’t be triggered.
Then it was my turn.
「 The 28th day. Clear skies. I fired 10 rounds of five with the bow. In five rounds, I hit all targets. In two rounds, I hit four targets and in three rounds, I hit three targets. 」
A fire bolt poured out from my blade. Lee Jihye’s eyes widened and she stepped back.
[The constellation ‘Maritime War G.o.d’ is looking at you with astonishment.]
Lee Jihye put out the fire burning her collar and screamed, “Who are you? How are you using my sponsor’s stigma?”
“Let’s have a conversation.”
“I will cut off your limbs and then you will answer straight.”
Perhaps my attack had irritated her but Lee Jihye’s expression became a bit serious. “I don’t know what sponsor you have but they will receive a big injury.”
Lee Jihye pulled out a new sword. Surprisingly, it was an item that I also knew. The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. In all the rounds that I had read about, there was no memory of Lee Jihye holding the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
“The Big Dipper! Give me strength!” At Lee Jihye’s cry, several stars shone in the sky.
The Big Dipper originally consisted of seven constellations. However, this was the latter scenario and only four stars shone because some had died. Dazzling light poured from the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword as it evolved into a star relic.
It was obvious what Lee Jihye was going to do. The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword had the terrible power to break the link between sponsor and incarnation for a short time.
By the way, Lee Jihye’s expression towards me was strange. “You… there are no links?”
Of course. I was now one with my incarnation body.
[The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ is looking at incarnation ‘Lee Jihye’.]
The astonished Lee Jihye took one step back. Then it was my turn. I pulled out the same sword that Lee Jihye was holding.
“H-How?
How on earth?”
I leapt from Yoo Jonghyuk’s shoulders and held onto the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword that let out a dazzling brilliance. The moment that the careless Lee Jihye’s eyes widened, the trajectory of Way of the Wind moved over her head. There were explosive sparks and Lee Jihye shrieked with pain.
“Aaaaack!”
The star of the Maritime War G.o.d defending her flickered. I backed away.
[The constellation ‘Maritime War G.o.d’ is angry at you!]
…I understood. I had been planning to break the Maritime War G.o.d’s link to Lee Jihye in order to neutralize Lee Jihye, but it failed.
Lee Jihye’s eyes turned white. The Duke of Loyalty and Warfare of the 95th scenario was about to descend in front of my eyes. I hurriedly checked the water in the surrounding area. Everything was over if the Ghost Fleet was summoned here.
The tributary of Cheonggyecheon was rising in the air. (TL Note: A stream) There were sparks as the illusions of the Ghost Fleet started to appear one by one.
Dammit. I reflexively looked at the plastic bottles behind me. To be precise, it was at the flowers plugged in. Should I borrow the archangels’ power? Would they lend their strength? The Lee Jihye in front of me wasn’t ‘evil.’
“Duke of Loyalty and Warfare. Please stop.”
Then a serious man’s voice was heard. A bear-like man’s hand pointed at Lee Jihye’s shoulder.
[The constellation ‘Maritime War G.o.d’ is furious!]
[The constellation ‘Master of Steel’ is sending out a cold gaze!]
It was a battle between constellations. It was the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare who stepped down first. The Ghost Fleet’s illusions disappeared and Lee Jihye collapsed on the ground. Then a man emerged from behind Lee Jihye.
“You were here as well.” I stared blankly at the man. I didn’t know how many times I would be surprised today.
“What are you doing, Hyunsung ahjussi? He is on Yoo Jonghyuk’s side!”
“That hasn’t been figured out yet.”
The 25th or the 95th scenario. The third round or the 1863rd round… Lee Hyunsung was the Lee Hyunsung I knew.
I barely managed to hold back a few tears.
“I am Lee Hyunsung. Can I ask for your name?”
“…I am Kim Dokja.”
Lee Hyunsung seemed to have suffered a lot and I could see a thick scar on his forehead. There were countless scars on his tight steel-like muscles.
I tried to calm my confused mind. Like Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung was a person who couldn’t be alive right now. In the 1863rd round, Yoo Jonghyuk lost all his companions.
Lee Hyunsung said, “Dokja-ssi. We have no intention of being hostile to you. We just need Yoo Jonghyuk over there.”
It was a nice smile but I could read the calm behind it without much difficulty. This Lee Hyunsung had made it through 94 scenarios. If I threatened him even a little bit, Lee Hyunsung would try to remove me in a more thorough and effective way than Lee Jihye.
I inquired in a calm tone, “Why do you need Yoo Jonghyuk?”
“He has the key to clearing this scenario.”
I knew what the 95th scenario was and could see that Lee Hyunsung’s words were true. By the way, that wasn’t the only thing I was curious about.
“How many people are in your group?”
“Huh?”
“If you have reached the 95th scenario then you must have a group.”
“Ah, my group is Jihye…”
“If you lie to me one more time, I won’t trust your words in the future.”
Lee Hyunsung’s expression hardened. I continued speaking, “Are you the leader? Is it Lee Hyunsung-ssi?”
Lee Hyunsung’s eyes were shaking. Indeed, he was a man who wasn’t good at hiding his emotions, no matter how much time pa.s.sed.
“That…”
The blurred eyes gave me confidence. Lee Hyunsung and Lee Jihye were in the same group but they weren’t the leader. This ‘1863rd round’ wasn’t the 1863rd round I knew.
My head calmed down because a definite hypothesis was in it. In hindsight, many things could be understood. My understanding of Yoo Jonghyuk was strangely low. The reason why Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung survived when they should be dead.
There was someone else besides me. Someone who wasn’t in the original novel was active in this round.
“If you want Yoo Jonghyuk, please guide me to your leader.”
Lee Hyunsung shook his head. “It is difficult. I don’t know what you and Yoo Jonghyuk intend…”
“You don’t have to be so vigilant. As you can see, I’m weak and the current Yoo Jonghyuk is safe. He listens to my words pretty well.”
“What a piece of s.h.i.+t! How can that b.a.s.t.a.r.d listen to anyone?”
Lee Jihye had a pretty good understanding of Yoo Jonghyuk. Lee Hyunsung was also full of disbelief.
“Kim Dokja-ssi, are you Yoo Jonghyuk’s companion?”
…Companion.
“That’s right.”
“…I don’t believe it. I know that Yoo Jonghyuk has no companions.”
“I’ll show you the evidence. Yoo Jonghyuk.”
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at me.
“Pick up your sword.”
Yoo Jonghyuk picked up the Heaven Shaking Sword.
Lee Jihye cried out. “Only that much…!”
“Yoo Jonghyuk, come here.”
As Yoo Jonghyuk approached, the terrified Lee Jihye hid behind Lee Hyunsung. “Hyunsung ahjussi! Be careful! He’s going to attack―”
“Yoo Jonghyuk, sit down.”
Yoo Jonghyuk sat down.
Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung’s mouths were wide open. It was truly amazing. The Yoo Jonghyuk they knew would never do something like this. I felt a bit sorry for him but it should be fine since I was beaten up a lot yesterday.
Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung looked like they were watching a circus and I smiled at them. “What else do you want to try? Should I feed him dirt?”
They glanced at each other after hearing my words. Lee Jihye waved her hands and Lee Hyunsung gave a deep sigh.
“…Follow me.”
***
Their base wasn’t far away. However, due to the ‘unnamed things’ that appeared along the way, it took longer than I thought. It took around two hours as we wandered around the ruins avoiding the monsters.
In the distance, a building that seemed to be their stronghold appeared.
“This is the place.”
There, I met a person wearing the same coat as me.