Chapter 155 - Episode 21. God of Ashes (8)
Chapter 155: Episode 21. God of Ashes (8)
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Two hundred years.
That was how long Jaehwan had spent teaching the Gods of Yesterday on the Sixth Floor of 〈Metaverse〉.
Yet he had not devoted all two hundred years solely to instructing them. As more gods crossed over from Yesterday into Today, more gods took on the role of assistants, teaching others in Jaehwan’s place.
That left Jaehwan with time for his own training.
He slowly blinked. Russell’s wave had already closed to within ten meters. If he had not been using 「Selflessness」 at full power, Jaehwan’s body would have been torn apart by the particles in the wave long ago.
Russell wore the expression of someone who believed the battle was already over.
Jaehwan had waited for this moment all along.
Crack.
The muscles throughout his body writhed, and something inside him broke.
His soul was writhing in agony as it endured time compressed to an excessive density. It was the side effect of reckless training.
Still, there was no other way right now. Unless he wrung his soul out to its limit, he could not defeat the powerhouses of the 《Abyss》.
As Russell had said, Stab was a simple technique.
Stab was powerful because it was fast. It was an attack that could reach the enemy faster than any other.
Jaehwan had thought about it.
What was the fastest Stab?
Even if he enhanced its performance with World Force, the speed of Stab, which depended on the structure of the physical body, had its limits.
So Jaehwan had doubted the Stab he already understood, then doubted it again.
And now, this technique was...
Tzzzzzzzt!
At the end of endless Doubt, it was a brief Understanding of Stab, with one more line barely added to it.
Jaehwan’s right arm, gripping Dokbul, began to heat up like a battery flooded with excessive current. World Force raged within his arm.
He compressed that rampaging World Force, then compressed it again.
Then...
“...!”
Rough spray swallowed the gods’ cries. Jaehwan drove his heel into the ground, scattering thick clouds of dust and creating a massive crater.
By the time the startled gods opened their mouths, Jaehwan had already stabbed forward with his sword.
From the moment his enemy used a wave, Jaehwan had been lucky.
He had created this technique while recalling the day he split through the waves of Deadmans in 《Chaos》.
The atmosphere became a vacuum in an instant. Something shot from Dokbul’s blade, but no one nearby could see it properly.
One thing was certain.
The World Force unleashed by that Stab pierced through the center of the wave.
And Russell’s lips moved in shock.
It used half the World Force of 「Constellation Rending」, but by limiting its attack range, it could display even greater power depending on the situation. A technique that moved later, yet struck first.
If Cheongheo had been here, he might have said this.
“You brat, you have understood Strike First Though Moving Later.”
The technique did not have a name yet.
But the moment Jaehwan saw the path it had carved through the wave, he realized there could only be one name for it.
Jaehwan Style, Second Form: 「Path of the Wave」.
Breaking spray crashed over Jaehwan.
Russell’s long scream faded with the wave. Jaehwan was pelted by the remnants of the falling water, yet focused his mind. World Force felt ready to surge backward inside him, but he endured without showing it.
Once every scattered bubble had vanished, a scene of ebb tide appeared before him. Gods’ corpses lay strewn across the desolate landscape left behind by the wave.
Beyond those bodies was the God of the Deep Sea Russell, staggering before collapsing to his knees. Russell stared at Jaehwan with eyes wide in disbelief, vomiting World Force as he glared at him.
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ marvels that it was a battle worth watching for the first time in a while.]
[The Dragon God ‘Droyan’ asks what happened while they were in the bathroom.]
[The God of Mortality ‘Thanatos’ nods at the life-or-death battle.]
[The God of Speed ‘Velo’ claims that they saw Jaehwan’s Stab.]
[The God of Flash ‘Rayray’ announces the arrival of a new Seven Star.]
Apparently, a god nearby had been broadcasting. Perhaps Rene’s drones had recorded the battle.
[Some gods donate 500,000 trust to your battle.]
[Some gods celebrate your victory.]
[Some gods cast envious glances at you.]
An enormous amount of trust had been donated, and jealous, envious looks poured toward Jaehwan from every direction. Still, it had been a battle worthy of that much support: a battle between two Seven Stars.
“I never thought I would see a battle that changed who held a seat among the Seven Stars.”
Even the gods who had come up to the Eighth Floor as official witnesses quietly showed their admiration.
Russell raised his head and glared at the gods. He looked ready to say something at once, but apparently had no strength left. After repeatedly staggering as he tried to stand, Russell caught his breath and ground his teeth.
His Vicegerent was already riddled with holes. The match was as good as over.
Jaehwan was just as surprised. 「Path of the Wave」 was the strongest single-target technique he could use right now. It was a secret technique meant to sever an enemy’s life when they were at their most vulnerable.
He had not expected Russell to survive after taking it head-on.
The Seven Stars’ reputation did not seem to be false.
“...”
Jaehwan readjusted his grip on Dokbul and approached Russell.
Anxious emotion flickered across the growling Russell’s eyes.
Gods at the level of the Seven Stars spent enormous amounts of time and trust raising their personal Vicegerents. Losing his Vicegerent now would mean the God of the Deep Sea had lost most of his fighting strength.
Russell limped and raised an arm as though trying to fight, but every joint in his body had been pierced. He could neither rise nor collapse as he remained seated.
Jaehwan asked him, “Any last words?”
Russell silently glared at Jaehwan before speaking.
“Now you are the God Slayer.”
Jaehwan looked down at Russell for a moment, then used the power of 「Soul Erasure」 to sever Russell’s link.
Russell’s presence vanished after a faint spark and a tremendous impact.
Jaehwan watched Russell’s Vicegerent collapse onto the ground, then said, “If you know anyone, take him away and treat him.”
A few gods who had been cautiously watching stepped forward.
“I am the God of the Lake Ness. Russell-nim once showed us kindness. May we take him?”
“Do what you want.”
“Thank you for your mercy.”
The gods bowed deeply, then took the unconscious Vicegerent away.
The link had been severed, but neither god nor Vicegerent had died. If he was lucky, Russell might regain his Vicegerent someday.
Jaehwan himself did not know why he had not killed Russell.
Perhaps it was guilt over killing enough gods to be called the God Slayer. Or perhaps it was because of the look Russell had given him at the end.
Either way, it did not matter now.
Jaehwan took a light breath and slowly looked around at the crowd.
“I will definitely kill the next one. Withdrawing or running away will not save you. As you saw, I can sever your links and strike your real bodies. Anyone else want to come at me?”
The gods who had been gauging the situation recoiled from his quiet but savage voice.
Yet some gods still remained, trying to incite the crowd.
“Do not be afraid. No matter how strong he is, he is alone.”
“He is exhausted from fighting Russell-nim. We can kill him now.”
“Where are the Alliance’s powerhouses? This is our chance!”
Jaehwan said, “That is right. I used up quite a bit of strength. But I still have enough left to destroy the Eighth Floor.”
Dokbul, filled with the World Force of 「Fall」, let out a fierce roar from Jaehwan’s hand.
“Alliance bastards must be hiding here too. I know the Leader bastard is watching.”
Jaehwan slowly took a stance.
Anyone who had watched Jaehwan’s battle through the broadcast could not help but flee at the sight.
“Th-that is...”
Jaehwan had taken the stance for 「Constellation Rending」.
“I said I would fight the Leader one-on-one in three days. I never said I would climb the Branches. You deceived me, so I am changing the agreement. Choose. Face me and fight right now, or...”
Holding that stance, Jaehwan glared into the distance at the stage of ‘Climbing the Branches’ and the Alliance’s main headquarters beneath it.
“Let the entire Eighth Floor be destroyed here.”
In truth, Jaehwan did not have enough World Force left to use 「Constellation Rending」. That technique required him to expend all his World Force.
Even so, his threat was quite effective. The surrounding crowd was already fleeing far away.
“H-he is insane. He is going to use that technique!”
“The God Slayer has declared a massacre!”
As the crowd rapidly thinned, the gods who had been inciting them turned pale and scattered in every direction to hide.
Yet there were still gods who did not flee.
“Jaehwan!”
Andersen descended from the air and landed on Jaehwan’s shoulder. She had apparently seen everything he had done through the broadcast.
By now, Andersen was used to the way Jaehwan caused trouble, so instead of scolding him, she said this.
“If you are short on World Force, tell me. I have some stored up.”
Jaehwan nodded lightly.
From this point on, he would need to borrow even a crow’s strength.
He turned his gaze toward the gods who still had not fled.
“Be careful. Some strong ones are still here.”
Andersen sounded tense.
Jaehwan felt them too. Some were hiding among the crowd.
One possessed World Pressure at least equal to Russell’s.
There were also five others with World Force nearly as powerful, though they did not seem to be at the level of the Seven Stars.
A ticking sound came from somewhere.
“A clock? Do not tell me...”
The figure who stepped out from the crowd had an appearance that made it impossible to tell whether they were male or female. They wore a distinctive eyepatch marked with the Roman numeral ‘IX’.
Those who recognized the god held their breath and backed away.
“It is a ‘Blind Clockmaker.’”
Blind Clockmakers?
Jaehwan narrowed his eyes and glared at them.
This was not the only one. One was behind the wall across from him. Two were hidden among the crowd. Another was on top of the pavilion to his right.
Jaehwan asked Andersen, “Are they from the Alliance?”
“Strictly speaking, they are not Alliance personnel.”
“Then?”
“They are elites from the Fifth Site. The Leader belongs there. It looks like they sent them to help him.”
The Fifth Site. At last, a force even larger than the Alliance had appeared.
Jaehwan had expected the time would come.
“The Blind Clockmakers’ strength is determined by the number on their eyepatches. Since that one has a nine, they are quite strong. They are among the finest assassins.”
He could tell even without the explanation.
It was the calmest World Pressure he had ever felt. Rakers, one of the Metaverse Six Gods, had been the only god with a similar flow of World Force, but the enemy before him gave off World Pressure even quieter than that.
And at least four more like that were hidden nearby.
“Did you come to lead me to the Leader?”
The opponent did not answer Jaehwan’s question. They only watched his reaction with a silent gaze, as though inspecting a broken clock.
A silence so deep that not even breathing could be heard settled heavily over the area.
Jaehwan instinctively realized it.
This could become dangerous if he made a mistake.
Russell had been formidable, but these were assassins accustomed to coordinated attacks.
The Clockmaker’s eyes remained fixed on Dokbul in Jaehwan’s hand. They seemed to be carefully measuring the World Force flowing through the sword.
A chill ran down Jaehwan’s spine.
The enemy was judging whether he could still use 「Constellation Rending」.
Would they strike first, or wait for a counterattack?
Neither choice put Jaehwan in a favorable position.
If the other powerhouses hidden among the crowd joined the fight, even Jaehwan could not guarantee his survival.
In that suffocating tension, Jaehwan and the Clockmaker moved their hands at the same time.
“That is enough.”
A cold voice shattered the silence.
With a tremendous explosion, one of the five World Pressures surrounding the area abruptly weakened.
In that brief moment, one Clockmaker behind the wall had been taken down.
Someone stepped out from beyond the collapsed wall through the thick dust.
“We have business with him first.”
The crowd looked confused.
Not even a Seven Star-level powerhouse could casually interfere in this battle. Who would dare step into this fight?
Yet when they saw who had emerged from beyond the wall, cries of shock spread through the crowd.
Powerhouses who had not fled even when Russell, one of the Seven Stars, and the Clockmakers of the Fifth Zone appeared quickly turned tail and ran.
Watching them, Jaehwan felt he could understand their fearsome reputation within the 《Tree of Illusion》.
Even so, Jaehwan did not panic. He smiled.
Their arrival meant the ‘Black Shop’ had done its job properly.
Yu Seolha, the Second Division Commander of 「Rupture」, glared at Jaehwan and asked, “Where is Jin Eunsae?”
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