Editor: Ytho, LaidBackGuy
Huge thanks to Lepsy is lost for sponsoring 2 chapters of Possessing Nothing! (2/2)
Swik.
The attack came out of the rubble, leaving behind a fluttering afterimage. The Doppelganger"s attack was intimidating, but at the same time, it did not carry any hint of life. So it was tricky to deal with. The attack would be difficult for someone to detect because of the lack of life force.
That wasn"t the case for Lee Sungmin. His senses clearly picked up the attack of the Doppelganger. The spear collapsed and rotated in Lee Sungmin"s hands. Tatak! A series of kicks later, they collided. Lee Sungmin gave strength to both his arm muscles without stepping back.
buung! The spear swung, cutting a large arc and caused the Doppelganger to back off. The Doppelganger looked at the red spear while rolling it"s grey eyes, just like those of Baek Sogo. He confirmed the blade was equipped on the spear. And then he held the spear in front of him.
"They look the same. It"s uncanny."
The Doppelganger"s feet moved. The overall gesture that began with the foot created a near-perfect Shadowless technique. If one were not familiar with it, they would be entirely caught off guard by the complicated movements. But it is not like that for Lee Sungmin. He knew the Shadowless technique.
From one step to two steps. That was the Two-step Calamitous End move. Shadowless was a complementary technique. And it began with the Two-step Calamitous Ending move. After the Doppelganger took two steps, it"s whole body gave off a strong, dense aura. The purple aura around the spear gripped in Lee Sungmin"s hands grew stronger.
kkwaaang! The Doppelganger"s Two-step Calamitous End was countered by Lee Sungmin"s unyielding blow. In Lee Sungmin"s hand, the spear began to turn violently, and the spear was thrust into the chest of the Doppelganger.
The Doppelganger opened its mouth, but it neither screamed nor moaned. It looked at Lee Sungmin while blinking blankly, and fell apart. Lee Sungmin pulled out his spear while looking at the flesh that collapsed to the ground powerlessly.
“how… What is going on?”
“It"s a monster.”
Lee Sungmin murmured, looking down at the collapsed lump of flesh that was in the shape of Baek Sogo a moment ago. The feeling when he pierced the monster"s flesh pa.s.sed through his mind. Finally, Lee Sungmin turned to face Jang Deuksu. He wiped off the remnants of flesh left on his spear, along with the unpleasantness and annoyance he felt at that moment.
“It was in the shape of Baek Sogo, but it"s a monster…”
“Did you not see it yourself? It is that kind of a monster.”
“It"s response was slow, but… The Shadowless technique that "Monster" showed was that of Baek Sogo. I don"t think there was a big difference in their level either if I"m not wrong.”
Jang Deuksu murmured with disbelief on his face. Lee Sungmin also felt that to some extent, during the fight against the Doppelganger. It didn"t seem that strong, but nonetheless, the martial arts of that monster were no different from a high-level expert.
[Originally, monsters like Doppelgangers can only mimic the appearance, but can"t mimic their skills. But then that"s the common sense that applies "outside".]
Rubia muttered.
[The a.n.a.lysis is in progress. The information I got from the line now is that this dungeon is a complex maze type. I think I can play the role of a guide well, so trust me and move forward.]
"Can I really believe you?"
[Oh gosh. Can"t you just trust me?]
Rubia grumbled. The armor that was listening to their conversation, trembled. Heoju, who was already accustomed to the armor, seemed to want to talk.
"What is it?"
[Why do you want me to shut up while letting that crude rag doll make so much noise?]
[A rag doll? You don"t even have a body of your own and need a clunky piece of armor to travel!]
[I swear, the moment I regain my true form, I will kick your 4-year old a.s.s.]
Heoju and Rubia began to bicker. Lee Sungmin felt his head aching, so he knocked on the armor with his hand. Then Heoju shut his mouth without a squeak, and Rubia laughed pompously seeing that.
“… I have a terrible feeling.”
Jang Deuksu was walking in front of him and had a grave look on his face unlike before. He looked quite comical, walking ahead while holding a large axe in both his hands.
“What do you mean?”
“this… dungeon. We just fought a monster that looked like Baek Sogo.”
Me, not we. Lee Sungmin wanted to say, but he endured.
“If others are also…”
Lee Sungmin also realized what Jang Deuksu wanted to say. That Doppelganger in the form of Baek Sogo had displayed her Shadowless technique. Even if he wasn"t used to the fight itself, the Doppelganger"s martial arts were real. Lee Sungmin was able to knock it out relatively easily because he recognized the movements.
"Ah."
He recalled the memories of his past life. In this dungeon, everyone except Wijihoyeon died. That was what Wijihoyeon had declared after coming out of the dungeon. Everyone else said she had killed them.
Maybe that time, it was a Doppelganger, and not Wijihoyeon herself, who killed Baek Sogo and the others.
“I have to go.”
Lee Sungmin, pa.s.sed by Jang Deuksu and headed forward, conscious of the ominous feeling rising from his heart.
“Heugh… Heugh… !”
Peerless Warrior stared at the sight in front of him, taking rough breaths. Where he was looking, there lay a mercilessly crushed body. It was one of the experts of the Murim factions who came into this dungeon along with them. Heavenly Skyfall was an expert over all those at the peak, but his defeat was one-sided, and he died without even knowing why.
“It "s like a monster… !”
Peerless Warrior soon realized that he would soon face the same ending as Heavenly Skyfall. He glanced down at his hands that were covered with blood. He could feel a blinding pain originating from his crushed left hand. His right hand didn"t hurt as much, but he doubted it was in good shape either.
A monster walked over to where he lay on the ground. The monster was in the shape of an ice-cold beauty. The dark hair, which seemed to extend into the darkness of the night, fluttered lightly with every step she took, and the void-like dark eyes did not show any emotion.
Minor Heavenly Demon Wijihoyeon.
He knew it was a monster. He also knew that she had an outstanding martial art for her age. There were rumors spreading far and wide of Wijihoyeon"s fame. The Wijihoyeon, who one-sidedly subdued b.l.o.o.d.y Heavenly Demon Baek Museon, cut off his left arm and escaped without any losses from Travia, Baek Museon"s territory.
Nevertheless, he still joined the chase against Wijihoyeon. It was because of his inexplicable sense of righteousness. So, he did not try to escape. He gathered his inner force to self-destruct as a final struggle before meeting his inevitable death. He called for the power that he had built up throughout a lifetime in his body. Although he was fairly new, Peerless Warrior was still an expert at the transcendence level. If he attempted to end them both in mutual destruction, he might be able to take one arm from her at least. That was all he wanted.
“euaaaah!”
Peerless Warrior ran forward while roaring. He attacked without any regard for his life. Wijihoyeon raised her arm as she looked at him. The Black Dragon covering her shoulders became larger.
He already knew. Just a while ago, Heavenly Skyfall could not escape the attack and was turned into a miserable corpse. In the hands of Wijihoyeon, even a seemingly powerless piece of cloth had become the hardest and fastest whip-like blunt weapon, powerful than anything he had ever seen. It completely covered his field of vision and overcame him with sweeping attacks. He couldn"t avoid it completely. His left leg was ripped off to the side, but he didn"t care. He could no longer feel the pain. Peerless Warrior looked up at Wijihoyeon with eyes full of murderous killing intent.
Wijihoyeon"s eyes looking down at the Peerless Warrior did not contain any emotions. Her hand moved again, and the Black Dragon that was fluttering flew into the air. It was a simple and direct attack, but its speed and power could not be ignored.
Peerless Warrior clenched his fist and twisted himself in the air.
kwadeudeuk! His left arm was torn. The pain was blinding, but he chose to ignore it. He had to endure. Peerless Warrior stretched out his right hand while vomiting blood. He had used up all his power in that attack just now. He thought he could cause her some losses at least with his desperate attempt. However, in reality, the one who lost completely unilaterally was still Peerless Warrior.
Wijihoyeon met the rain of pouring blood as she lowered her hand. She looked up blankly at the sky, then turned around and looked at Heavenly Skyfall"s body.
The monster in the shape of Wijihoyeon left the place, feeling no emotion.
While Wijihoyeon"s Doppelganger killed Peerless Warrior and Heavenly Skyfall.
The real Wijihoyeon was looking at the man standing in front of her. The man was wounded. His sides were torn up, but neither blood nor intestines flowed. The man had severe injuries, but he did not budge at all. The man"s eyes did not contain any special attention or determination, looking completely lifeless.
“… Hmm.”
Wijihoyeon touched her chin with her hand while the Black Dragon fluttered on her back. She looked at the man"s face once again while frowning.
She knew that it was not a "real" person. Right in front of her, she saw an unidentifiable ma.s.s that suddenly took the appearance of such a person.
“I was just wondering, but…”
She didn"t recognize him at first. It had been 9 years already. Wijihoyeon, who was in Genavis nine years ago, had the look of a young girl, and likewise, "he" was still a young boy. 9 years had pa.s.sed. After so many years, Wijihoyeon barely had any traces of that young girl from many years ago.
“You also came here, huh.”
When did he enter? She was aware of the Murim factions" pursuit but she had not felt his presence among them. Wijihoyeon laughed bitterly, feeling a complex longing. She didn"t think she would meet him at this place, and wondered what kind of expression she should have when she met the "real" person. If she knew, she would have dressed up a little more. No, that wouldn"t really suit her. After thinking till there, Wijihoyeon looked down at her chest.
It hadn"t grown much.
That was the biggest complaint Wijihoyeon had. In nine years, her physique had changed and her face had also changed. She has become taller, but her b.r.e.a.s.t.s haven"t grown much. It wasn"t that there was nothing, but it wasn"t big enough to the point of being obvious, and according to Wijihoyeon"s criteria, it was slightly smaller than the average. She had lived 9 years without pretending to be a man. Being a woman, wearing women"s clothes and introducing herself as a woman. However, just as Wijihoyeon"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s didn"t grow much in the past life, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s did not grow much now even though she had lived as a woman rather than as a man this time around.
"I thought I"d put in a lot of effort."
When they met again, she wanted to show off the curvature of her raised chest and brag. But it can"t be helped. Her chest did not grow. She even considered trying out a Feng Yu Huan pill, but when she thought about it, there was no reason to go that far for him. Besides, if her chest really grew like a watermelon, it would have been very uncomfortable. Even if it was like this, Wiji Hoyeon was satisfied with the size of her chest. It wasn"t a burden when it came to practicing martial arts.
"But it is quite a pity."
She didn"t do it, but she still wanted to see that surprised look. Wijihoyeon raised her hand, sincerely thinking about it.
“This world is very mysterious. During the past nine years, I have seen and heard so much. This is how I am now. I"m going to be different from the "me" you knew in my previous life.”
She would say that to him. Wijihoyeon chuckled softly.
“What. You said you had never met me in the past. And this conversation is meaningless. You"re… I mean. You are not the guy I know. Is that right?”
The Doppelganger did not answer. It ignored the wound on its side and attacked. It stretched out ahead with light steps, narrowing the distance at once and shooting the spear in its hands in a straight line. No, it just pretended to shoot. The spear qi wavered and the spear vanished. The movement of the spear changed depending on the hands.
Wijihoyeon felt very smug. Nine Heavenly Spears Sungmin version. The Nine Heavenly Spears technique she altered to suit Lee Sungmin. Honestly, while transferring the martial arts, she didn"t expect much from Lee Sungmin. According to her, his talent was not so great, she thought he wouldn"t reach High Peak even after 10 years.
But see. The spear that shot out looked beautiful with a purple color. His martial arts had become stronger. Wijihoyeon smiled happily and extended her hand forward. Black Dragon, which was drooping down, spreads out toward the front following her arm"s gesture.
The spear form created by the Doppelganger was obstructed by Wijihoyeon"s Black Dragon.
“It"s excellent.”
Wijihoyeon murmured. Her outstretched hand clenched to form a fist. The spear wound around the Black Dragon shattered, making a terrible sound. Doppelganger tried to get the spear out of the way, but Wijihoyeon moved faster. Her slightly rolled fist collided into the Doppelganger"s chest.
Bang.
The Doppelganger"s upper body exploded. Wijihoyeon laughed bitterly, stepping back away from the scattered flesh.
“I would be very sad if you died here.”
I think.
Wijihoyeon turned her body while adding that.
(T/N: if Peerless Warrior and Heavenly Skyfall sound like whacky a.s.s t.i.tles for those two pls know that is exactly what it sounds like in raws as well. These 2 come as a set. Both of their names are derived from stars in the big dipper and have a strangely "thunderous" feel, which is kinda ironic since they die before they can even blink. They are also Taoist type warriors. And Peerless Warrior, in particular, his name sounds kinda like First name: Incomparable, Second name: Cannot be Defeated.)