ALL NOVEL Chapter 453
Chapter 454
A shadow poured down, pooling like a puddle on the ground. The pungent stench assaulted Yeon-woo’s nostrils, making him grimace as if he might lose his sense of smell forever.
Witnessing this, Yeon-woo altered his body’s properties like a magnet. Perhaps the nanomachines were magnetic too, as they stubbornly held onto him despite the impending fall.
The cracked eyeballs healed almost instantly, and Moryo stretched out both arms as if to grab Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo slid back, gliding against the ceiling.
But that wasn’t the end of the attack. Suddenly, a black arm shot out from the center of the dragon’s wing, lunging at Yeon-woo.
“Ugh…!”
A choice he couldn’t avoid followed. Yeon-woo deflected the incoming arm with his sword.
Straining against the force, he eventually determined he could hold on no longer and released his grip. He let the sword slide, causing Moryo’s arm to narrowly miss him.
‘Damn it…!!’
It may not solely be the dragon’s massive size, but grappling with a behemoth like this felt utterly insane.
His palms tingled. Just enduring that much had taken a toll, and facing it head-on would have led to an obvious disaster.
However, aside from that, the way the mana was used felt strangely familiar. Yeon-woo’s elemental enhancement using shadows also produced arms through shadow manipulation.
Of course, Moryo must have chosen the arm simply as a means of attack, but in Tae-oh’s case, it was likely tied to his imagery. The reason Yeon-woo deduced this was simple and straightforward.
The elemental mana Yeon-woo was employing, shadows, should be associated more with Tae-oh than with himself. Hence, its manifestation had to do with Tae-oh.
‘Could it be that he admired me?’
Yeon-woo’s lips curled into a pleased smile. Even though the situation was dire, it was amusing enough to make him chuckle. Isn’t it delightful? The thought that a son could admire his father.
[Hehehe, what’s this? Have you lost your mind!?]
“I’m always a bit crazy.”
Responding blandly to Moryo’s mockery, Yeon-woo checked the bubbling mana beneath his feet and moved back.
Boom!! Like a bomb going off underwater, a colossal column shot up.
Every step Yeon-woo took back corresponded to a similar mana reaction rising beneath him.
If he got swept away even once, complications in the ongoing battle would undoubtedly arise, so he focused on dodging with all his might.
Of course, it wasn’t just that he needed to avoid. Dodging Moryo’s attacks while simultaneously avoiding shadow explosions was no simple task.
He scouted for a safe zone and prepared a teleportation technique. Evading the repeatedly descending shadows became crucial.
While inflicting minor wounds bit by bit, it didn’t seem to significantly affect Moryo.
‘Is it time to use it?’
As Yeon-woo contemplated, he fiddled with Relin’s Warehouse.
Currently, Relin’s Archive in Harmony City was closed. There was no space to store magic books.
Having been a source of decent income, the loss would be considerable. Yet, more importantly, the battle against Moryo took precedence.
Thus, Yeon-woo had preemptively auctioned off all the light elemental fragments.
And he processed it through Sullivan. Given his characteristics, he couldn’t escape the bomb-like nature, but the form could be altered.
You might wonder why he hadn’t used it until now, but the truth is, it had been meaningless so far. Well, it was as if using it would’ve aided Moryo.
The reason was simple. Until Ilucia absorbed enough divinity, light was akin to a potion rather than poison for Moryo.
The wielder of both the sun god’s divinity and the shadows that devour the world was Moryo until just a moment ago.
In other words, the impact of light would more likely heal than harm.
However, now, thanks to Ilucia’s presence, Moryo had lost some of the sun god’s divinity, making it likely that light would be a blow.
Of course, plenty of divinity remained, but now that the balance of divinity and shadows had been disturbed, the divinity couldn’t exert grand efficacy.
‘I think it might just work…’
At the point where he thought a little more would help, Yeon-woo noticed something moving below in the narrowly maintained passage.
‘What’s this, is someone coming?’
Namgung Seong and Kim Yoo-min were definitely not coming. Namgung Seong could only block shadows with the Emperor’s Sword Form, and Kim Yoo-min would have exhausted all his strength clearing paths.
Baek In-hwa seemed like she could barely make it. Other than that, maybe Kai.
As if confirming Yeon-woo’s assumptions, the ice formed at the bottom of the passage.
Baek In-hwa slid in, naturally keeping a low profile, and Kai followed behind.
“I’m here to help.”
Baek In-hwa stopped heroically, striking a pose as she spoke softly. Kai silently surveyed the surroundings, then sighed quietly.
“Good, you arrived just in time. We can get to work now.”
Regardless of Kai’s reaction, Yeon-woo decided to focus solely on decapitating Moryo.
Choice and concentration. It could be said to always find the right direction in search of the correct answer.
*
Kai realized that he had been searching for a place to die for some time. Thoughts of wanting to die had crossed his mind.
However, a warrior who couldn’t protect anything was not permitted to die.
Thus, Kai wandered. To reclaim what he couldn’t protect. To find someone to help him fight.
The boy named Choi Yeon-woo he found had indeed accomplished extraordinary things.
He made contracts with princes, dealt with other dopplegangers, and even studied Moryo’s weaknesses to achieve meaningful results.
In truth, Kai was satisfied just with rescuing the goddess Ilucia and was prepared to meet his end at any time.
Well, since he wanted to help kill Moryo, he wouldn’t easily take his own life.
Therefore, he evaluated the situation. Timing for death. At the same time, the timing to inflict considerable damage on Moryo.
And this was the result now. Kai stood at a crossroads.
There were two options. Now reunited with Ilucia, perhaps he could live his second life.
He could cast off the shadows that covered his body and once more live beneath the sun.
If not, he would take revenge on Moryo that devoured him. Who knows what that guy would think of Kai’s actions? Perhaps he would just think of it as being bitten by a dog he had raised.
When Kai faced death, he envisioned Ilucia grieving. After all, she was the only remaining kin in this world.
Once he disappeared, Ilucia would be utterly alone.
…But still, no, nonetheless.
Kai yearned for revenge. His life had been a mere continuation to sustain that revenge.
For him, revenge wasn’t just a goal in life. It was, in fact, the destination he set for himself. The final station at which the train called Kai Hros would arrive.
Thus, he steeled his resolve. Ilucia might say it was alright, but his hands were already plenty stained.
Such a being remaining by her side would undoubtedly become a hindrance.
Kai abhorred the idea of Choi Yeon-woo living without atonement. Anything could be done. He just firmly believed that atonement to the already dead was impossible.
Seeing objects spill into the void, Kai doubted his eyes. Wasn’t it as if God had crafted a stage just for him? Everything he desired was right here.
Grabbing a glass bottle rolling on the ground, Kai chuckled softly. He saw Choi Yeon-woo scattering that object all around.
Incredibly, it was none other than Choi Yeon-woo, the problem solver he had sought that created this situation.
“Interesting.”
“Forget amusing, just throw this!”
“No need for that.”
The light elemental fragments were clearly landing hits on Moryo. However, the damaged areas were merely the outer shell.
Scraping off countless layers of shadow shells wouldn’t allow him to take down Moryo in his lifetime.
Bringing the rolling light elemental fragment to his mouth, Kai opened the lid and dumped the liquid inside. His insides twisted. It was discomforting; it was painful.
It felt like he was burning from the inside. No, it was genuinely burning. The shadows and light, entities that should never coexist, clashed inside him.
“…What are you doing?”
Choi Yeon-woo asked in shock as if witnessing something jaw-dropping. Kai didn’t reply to that. He silently continued pushing the crystals into his body.
[Kai, you foolish friend. What on earth are you doing!?]
Moryo chuckled at the sight. He appeared utterly broken. He had always relished mocking others, but the changes within this fight were excessively intense.
“I didn’t realize you still considered me a friend.”
Kai laughed too. He until no more could fit, poured in the elemental fragments and, when the threshold was reached, he hesitated no longer.
“Don’t miss your chance.”
As he brushed past Choi Yeon-woo downwards, Kai murmured briefly and leaped into the air. This height was nothing for Kai.
Bouncing off the wall, Kai dove toward Zahak’s wide-open mouth, looking down at him.
Zahak attempted to spit out the unexpected intruder rushing into his maw. He never anticipated anyone would dash into his mouth. He thought Kai would try to make a close-range attack using the crystals inside him.
[What are you doing, Kai…!! Life is precious, as Ilucia taught you!!]
“I couldn’t care less now.”
Regrettably, Zahak’s shadow, teeming with greed, had no intentions of letting Kai go.
Perhaps it was a snowball effect of the weakened command over the nanomachines caused by Tae-oh.
The light exploded. It burst, repeated explosions went off. And then…
From the deepest part of the shadows, where not even a glimmer of light escaped, emerged a light so intense it felt like it could incinerate the retina.
Yeon-woo lay prone. He knew what was about to happen. Yet, he didn’t let go of the sword he tightly gripped.
(To be continued in the next chapter)