Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 463: The Fine Line Between Life and Death

The boundary between life and death is not something one can easily cross. You must maintain a state of being half-dead without fully succumbing to it.

The problem is that this state doesn’t hold much significance in itself.

Just because one stands at the edge of life and death doesn’t mean everyone transcends their limits or improves their martial skills.

Thus, everything must stem from the uniqueness of Yuri. His obsession with the sword. The threshold of great mastery.

Even the fleeting moments that judge life and death become nourishment for an insatiable pursuit of achievement in martial arts.

All of that transforms the bizarre situation that befalls Yuri into an undescribable form. Amidst the slowly flowing time, only Yuri was there to observe it all.

Perhaps this was a process of transcending humanity. A progression towards a realm beyond human existence that occurred as Yuri re-forged the inner sword he had built over his life…

With an incomprehensible calmness, Yuri accepted it.

Yet, there was a moment when Yuri ruthlessly cast away that tranquility and swung his sword without hesitation.

It was not because all processes had concluded.

It was because he simply could not tolerate what he had just witnessed, a situation just one step shy of the legendary Grand Master’s domain.

The crisis of Kim Yoo-min. Upon witnessing a situation that seemed impossible to overcome, Yuri swung his sword.

Fortunately, he was able to imbue the sword with the scene he had been observing moments before.

The gracefully wielded sword split the air without any resistance. It was almost inappropriate to say that it sliced the air.

A dark moon appeared in the void. The ominously dark moon tilted as if to glare at something.

Along the trajectory of the sword, the space trembled. The air, shimmering like a mirage, opened a gap, allowing the sword to penetrate through with no resistance.

Aside from the fact that it had traversed a distant space, it may not seem like much at all, the simple strike.

However, Hwayo’s response to that blow was dramatically different.

[…What?]

With a plop, the flesh from Hwayo’s right shoulder to his armpit was cleaved off, falling to the ground. Blood gushed forth, forming a substantial pool of Hwayo’s blood on the ground.

Everyone, except for Yeon-woo, thought that the strike was meaningless. Yet Yeon-woo had another perspective entirely.

‘…That’s it.’

The ultimate point he sought, something only the Celestial Thunder could handle, the fatal strike that cuts through the past, he felt his instincts scream that it was something similar to this.

Thus, no miracles occurred. Time did not rewind like a tape being rewound.

Only Hwayo’s severed right arm and Hwayo’s grim chuckle remained in that place.

“…I don’t know what it is, but I’m alive!”

Kim Yoo-min, who had no idea what was going on while fleeing without looking back, shouted that as he escaped the pit. Yeon-woo sighed in relief. Thank goodness.

However, every event has its costs. The shock of what had just happened completely unraveled the shape of the “Causal Cut” he had been weaving. There was no way to deliver a follow-up strike.

Yeon-woo’s gaze swirled. He knew Yuri’s condition well.

Thus, what lay at the end of his gaze was something he could predict quite adequately.

‘Rest well.’

There was no choice but to say that now.

*

It might seem like Hwayo’s immortality had vanished, but that wasn’t the case. Such a phenomenon occurred solely due to Yuri’s fatal strike.

Focusing purely on cleaving, on killing the opponent, led to a result that sliced through anything that stood in the way.

Yeon-woo was once again assembling his ultimate martial prowess from the beginning. Fortunately, the shock had not wasted his mana.

As long as it wasn’t emitted externally, any mana scattered within his body could be fully recovered, which was one of the advantages of Dragon Heart.

There was no need for replication. It may seem somewhat similar, but the directions were entirely different.

While Yuri’s sword was purely for killing, Yeon-woo’s aim was to save his family. To sever everything that had interfered in his past.

Thus, he had to stop at mere reference. Yuri had once said that following behind him was enough to reach the peak.

However, simply following was no longer sufficient. He had to create something new on that path. Otherwise, Yuri wouldn’t be able to see him.

[…This is ridiculous. This dying old man just surpassed me for a moment?]

“Of course, Master!”

Noel’s bright answer was met with Hwayo’s scornful laughter.

[It’s impressive you can still laugh. With your breath cut off.]

“…What?”

“Noel, not now! Focus!!”

Noel’s momentary wavering prayer was gently calmed by Yeon-woo’s sharp command.

Of course, it was inevitable to be swayed by Hwayo’s words. However, if it were Noel, she could suppress that distraction until the battle concluded.

Feeling sorrow could wait until the fight was over. When that time came, she could grieve without reservation.

But now, it was unacceptable. In the battlefield, one could not mourn the death of others.

“…Damn it.”

Lucrecia spat out a curse, her face set hard, then charged at Hwayo.

It seemed she was overextending, which made him worry, but peering through the torn clothing, at least her right arm looked intact. Perhaps being a dead weight didn’t affect her vitality much.

Yeon-woo’s speed in weaving the “Causal Cut” accelerated. Perhaps due to the impact of what he had just seen, it was certainly a sufficient strike for reference in completing his technique.

He focused and concentrated. Whatever else may happen, missing was simply not an option.

What more was there to say? There was no energy left for a second attempt.

Thanks to Hwayo losing his right arm, the situation had vastly improved compared to earlier. Losing just one arm was like one of his two weapons being taken away.

‘Of course, I’ve lost an arm too though.’

Even taking into account that it was easier with the knowledge of Yuri’s strikes, it was only slightly faster than usual, perhaps due to one arm being absent.

As he tried to use his martial will with an incomplete body, it felt oddly unbalanced.

The clash between the Creation of Despair and the chilling ice of Baek In-hwa shattered as Lucrecia’s fist slammed in.

The fight raged mercilessly. Yeon-woo, who could only watch from a distance, felt as though his heart was rotting away.

Then, soon, a few minutes that felt like hours had passed, and Yeon-woo swung his sword. The starlight radiance enveloped the Celestial Thunder.

Though not perfect, it felt like it had been the most flawless sword path he had wielded since he started.

“Ugh-!!”

Hwayo felt a sinister premonition as he saw Yeon-woo rushing towards him.

If he took that, he would truly come closer to death. As a being of life, it was a natural instinct to flee.

However, Hwayo suppressed that feeling. While it was a reflex everyone should have, from Hwayo’s perspective, it was anything but a natural response.

Thus, he thought to welcome it joyfully. A single strike that offered him the potential of death. This beautiful and exquisite pain.

*

He had lived for far too long. He knew well that his nature lay in killing. Yet, he had refrained for the long years because he didn’t want to kill the children his friends loved.

During that time, it was not others who tormented his nature—it was himself. He needed to kill his emotions. To suppress his body’s responses and stifle everything.

After a prolonged period of living like this, at some point, he became known as the “Rock Man.”

He had sat still for such an extended time, like a rock, showing no reaction regardless of who approached.

There were moments he could endure, and countless moments that seemed impossible to bear.

Even during those times, Hwayo simply endured. Because there was no other way.

Then one day, the man realized he could bear it no longer.

As if human patience had a limit, he heard a sound in his mind, like something snapped.

That was the day he gained the title of Demon King. The act of annihilating a world became alarmingly easy.

By merely letting go of the reins he had grasped for thousands of years, he was able to liberate himself freely.

As he killed his friend’s children, the man mourned. He would have rather wished to die, but that was impossible no matter how hard they tried.

He had sought countless means to die, but it all held no meaning.

Hwayo wanted to die. He always had. He wished for death, just as his Great Warriors and his cult did.

Beyond the cleaving sword, he felt a deep, sticky emotion. Yeon-woo was observing his past.

He accepted everything Hwayo had felt in his lifetime, as an immortal, and as a killer.

He had no intention of understanding it with his heart. If he tried to do that, even his heart would shatter, leaving only fragments behind. Understanding it with his mind was enough.

Yeon-woo plunged into his past. He swam through an abyss as vast and deep as the night sky, or as immense as the universe itself.

In order to cleave apart his immortality, he needed to comprehend all related to him. To investigate and sever the connections therein.

In the darkest of shadows, the only light that appeared was the Celestial Thunder. The soft radiance wrapped around the blade of the Celestial Thunder guided Yeon-woo.

Countless memories of the past swirled around Yeon-woo as he swam by. There were far too many to count.

He had once glimpsed the past of an old man during a test to verify performance. However, the past of that man, who had lived for ninety years, did not compare to this volume.

That was perhaps a natural occurrence. Hwayo’s lifespan likely exceeded anyone’s imagination. When such time accumulates, anyone would hold this extent of memories.

‘…He hasn’t tried to forget, has he?’

Hwayo contained all the memories of those he had killed. There was no scent in those memories. No sorrow, no hatred, no intent to kill, nothing at all.

Only that fact existed. It was a rather foreign approach for Yeon-woo.

Thus, contemplating this, Yeon-woo continued to swim through the darkness, endlessly relying on the light of the Celestial Thunder.

(To be continued in the next chapter)