Chapter 10 — More evil than the Devil.
‘There must be a weakness. I have to find a way to get around that skill.’
Yoon-seok comeback with a new determination. He was still not familiar with Tower of Heaven but even like that, he has a belief that he would never meet with the challenger that is impossible to beat. And his belief was not wrong. The man isn’t invincible. It’s just that his sword and himself weren’t the best combinations.
‘There would have been a way to deal with it if only I had magic skill…’
Some skills sold in stores are magic-related. The magic skill such as fire ball, lightning bolt and freeze. If only he had magic skill now, there might have been a solution, but Yoon-seok did not even bat an eye at the magic skills. AP was limited, so he thought it was reasonable to be specialized in what he is good at. Also, the opinion in the chat room was that magic was very disadvantageous in the duel.
Boom! Boom! Badaboom!
The blood drops explode in the air. As he already was out of blast radius from before, with ease and minimal movement Yoon-seok dodged it. Then he thrust his sword with all his might. Swish! The sharp blade cuts the man’s right arm. If it was a typical duel, it would be time to score a final blow…
Yoon-seok promptly stepped back. Soon a pool of blood would burst from the wound, and there would be a risk of injury if it touched the body. ‘Back step.’
Boom! Boom!
Just about Yoon-seok’s feet landed on the ground, the blood made contact with his shield, creating a loud explosion. ‘It would be dangerous if I was late to react.’ Yoon-seok quietly observed his opponent. It’s said know yourself before the enemy and you will be unbeatable. Before talking about victory, it was necessary to get a closer look at his opponent’s ability. There is one thing he was most curious about. Is it possible to heal an injury even when he lost limbs? And not that long after he got the result with the answer was ‘Yes’.
“You son of a bitch human…”
The man frowned, and at the same time his severe cut arm that was lying on the ground floating in the air and flying towards the devil. With an annoyed expression clearly placed on his face, he was holding his arm trying to attach it to the wounded part. Pssshh! Smoke puffed out from the process and the detached arm gets attached in an instant. ‘Is his body some sort of a toy?’ Although he expected that outcome, he felt like he wanted to curse. Nothing from the previous duel made him this hopeless. Nonetheless, one thing that was clear, the displeased face he saw was really worth in this jinxed situation.
‘It’s not that he didn’t avoid it, he failed to do so.’ After looking at a few moves, realization came drowning Yoon-seok that this man wasn’t acting about having very lousy martial arts skills, because it’s actually like that. It was no surprise. If he had such skill, he would also don’t feel a need to master skills related to enhancing the body.
‘Maybe those horns are the weakness?’
Yoon-seok focused on the horns on the man’s forehead. The man said that his power originally belongs to him and horns are one of the most obvious physical features of a Devil. ‘It’s worth a try.’ Yoon-seok approached carefully and cut off the horn at once. Just in case, Yoon-seok used <Multiply>, which strengthens slash power and sliced the horns like tofu. However……
‘Is there really any weakness?’
Although the horns disappeared, the man’s power remained the same. Not to mention the horns attached back just like the arm. What he got from it was nothing but the man’s wrath, who now completely exploded. “You worthless human! I’ll tear you apart!” As if the fun was over, the man began to attack with all his might. However, Yoon-seok wasn’t easy to beat. Even if he can’t think of a way to win since his opponent can easily recover from any injury, avoiding is another story.
‘His pattern of attack is rather simple.’
A loud burst of blood is certainly a threat, but the blood that sprayed around is not as fast as an arrow. Yoon-seok focused on avoiding for the time being. If he didn’t draw near to attack, he won’t know. Slash didn’t made a significant difference. He also devoted himself to avoid while maintaining a certain distance or block it with his shield. Despite this, Yoon-seok continued to conduct experiments from time to time.
‘This is driving me crazy…’
If Yoon-seok cuts his head off, it sticks back.
If Yoon-seok cut his waist, he didn’t die.
No matter what he did, it will connect back in seconds.
His attacks were nothing but a few minor injuries.
Is there really no possible way to win?
Yoon-seok bit his lips. Ironically, the man also did the same. Ka-boom! Meaningless blood exploded in the air once again. The man’s eyebrows furrowed with anger as he was looking at Yoon-seok. The man was angry that an insect-like man could cut off his horns and treated him as some kind of an experiment while he kept slipping away like a loach. However, thinking that he won’t last long, the man’s mouth curved into a smile.
“Let’s see how long you’ll last!”
It’s already been 10 minutes since the duel began. The duel was being prolonged, Yoon-seok was covered with sweat and dirt as he was rolling around to avoid the blood of the man. “Haa… Haa…” His breath has become shallow. Yoon-seok’s chest moved up and down every time he took a breath. His lips and throat had lost moisture, devoid a long time ago, and when he swallowed his saliva, he tasted blood. ‘Damn it…’ His gut told him that he was going to lose. Although both of them have battered bodies, no major injuries really impacted the man’s body.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to avoid attacks from his opponent since he was gradually running out of stamina. Yoon-seok was a little disappointed to see the man looked a bit tired, but he was much more relieved. ‘As expected, it wasn’t a risk-free ability.’ The man’s ability is not unconditional. It uses a certain amount of power each time it is used. If he could hold out until the man’s stamina depleted, a new possibility could have been opened to Yoon-seok.
‘If I knew this would happen, I should’ve leveled up my stamina instead of agility.’
Nothing will change even his regret came late. At that time he judged that it was the best thing to do. Who could have predicted this situation? This time, he just did not have luck in the duel match.
Boom!
Without a doubt, it was another blood explosion that blew off in the air. However, something was different from before, Yoon-seok was now exhausted and slowly his body failed to respond in time. His right arm holding the shield was torn apart by the force. “Akh! Arggghhhh!!” Yoon-seok could not bear it and scream. It’s far different from Kang Hyung-woo’s punch. He now believed this duel was a real deal, he never imagined this kind of pain before. The devil smiled, looking at Yoon-seok who was in agony.
“Ahahahaha! Don’t cry at that kind of pain already! I will show you real hell soon!”
Fear surfaced in Yoon-seok’s eyes. It was because he could clearly see what would happen to him if he lost. One arm has already been torn off. No matter how many soldiers rolled the bullet-laden battlefield, if they were hurt like this, they would panic. Until a few days ago, Yoon-seok was an ordinary person who had nothing to do with these things. “Kh–arghhhh!” And soon the determination to win vanished. All that remains was the thought about whether his death would be painless or not. ‘I have to die in one swift…’ Technically speaking, it’s not real death. As long as there is a coin, the challenger can be revived.
And so he made a quick resolution, no room for hesitation. The blade that is supposed to slaughter his opponent lunged forward. On the other hand, the man who had been watching him had expected this coming.
Blam!
Blood gushed out and exploded as soon as it touched Yoon-seok’s sword precisely. The court sword of the F+ rank, which was purchased for 1500 AP, was shattered. Fragments were scattered and dug into Yoon-seok’s flesh, but he had no time to feel pain. Panic-stricken, Yoon-seok used his back step repeatedly with the intention to flee.
‘Back step, back step, back step.’
Eventually, Yoon-seok stopped back step after his back met with the stadium wall. The man was slowly approaching with a bright smile on his face, and Yoon-seok had nowhere else to run away. Yoon-seok lifted his broken sword, eyes fixed on one place. Although it was broken and the length became no more than of a dagger, the tip of the sword, which tilted to a diagonal degree, was still sharp. In his eyes, the sword looked like his salvation.
‘I-it’s still not too late…’
Like a possessed person, he held his sword on the other way round. If he put this right in the throat, the man couldn’t stop it this time. But right at that moment…
—I thought you’ve changed even just a little, but you still have that habit of running away when something goes wrong, huh?
Kang Hyung-woo’s sarcastic comment caught his attention. His body stiffened and left him dumbfounded. How many times had he felt this kind of hallucination? Anger and sadness mixed into one. He was very aware it’s merely a hallucination, yet he couldn’t deny those words. He was completely in a different world from Earth, but he was still under the influence of Kang Hyung-woo. It made him furious.
—How many times did you really think you could change?
He thought he had grown a little after going through many things. But the reality was telling him otherwise.
—You can’t win? It’s too painful to withstand? You’d rather choose death with your own hands?
Yoon-seok also knew. It was a way of a defeated loser’s mindset trying to justify action and logic.
—That’s funny.
He can see himself standing on the roof’s railing. Not long after the fire broke out in his father’s factory. Yoon-seok ran away because he didn’t have the courage to die. Yoon-seok has thought about this once: is there a time when he can say that he ‘now’ is different from that time?
‘…different.’
—What’s the difference?
‘I… I won’t run away anymore.’
Did Yoon-seok’s answer satisfy Hyung-woo? The Kang Hyung-woo in his hallucination smiled and answered.
—Then prove it.
Yoon-seok squeezed his sword. He raised his broken sword that was like a dagger and pointed it at his opponent, not himself. Even if he did it for thousands and thousands of times, he wouldn’t be able to win. He might cry out in pain, thinking it is better to die. But those facts somehow sounded good.
Yoon-seok already knew. If it’s not now, he will never break free from Kang Hyung-woo’s grasp. That’s why he raised his sword. The hallucinations were no longer heard.
“What’s with the last ditch survival effort? That was quite unsightly.” The man scoffed at Yoon-seok. But he didn’t care. Unsightly he said? That’s not true. What’s really unsightly is giving up without a will to fight. Like he used to. “First of all, I’ll tear your limbs apart. And then until you beg me to kill you–” The man rattled on the horrible things he would do to Yoon-seok in the future with such pride. His words were coming in Yoon-seok’s ear and out from the other side. The pain from his chopped off arm was still clear, but he was no longer afraid. It must be more painful later, but at least after he got through, Yoon-seok would be able to move forward.
‘That being the case… come and get me.’
He can put up with his death. But he won’t just do nothing, waiting for it. Because it was another way to shun his old self. Even if the enemy is unbeatable, Yoon-seok will fight. With all of his, until his last breath.
That’s the only way to prove that he has changed himself.