Chapter 364 – The Wounded Beast (3)

“Please convey to Master. I will never die.”

He spoke and simultaneously invoked space magic.
Was there really a need for a fistfight between master and disciple?

Just as Baekdo seemed ready to let go, her form vanished before my eyes.

“Where—”

-Kwadeudeudeuk.

“You wretch…!”

The sound of a captured arm cracking filled the air.
As Baekdo’s magic seeped into the activated space magic, it began to distort in an unfavorable direction.

If this continues, I won’t know the outcome either.

-Flash!!

The coordinates of space shifted, and our surroundings changed to an unfamiliar location for both Baekdo and me.

The dark pre-dawn sky. Baekdo, who had grabbed my arm, followed me and clenched her fist.

A sharp gust of wind blew from behind.
I felt relief amidst the trees that sprouted from the ground like sudden eruptions.

It was fortunate that this place was not a city, but rather a vast forest.

– Kwaaang!

Baekdo and I plummeted at a staggering speed. The ground split beneath us, and as soon as our backs touched the earth, we assumed our stances and aimed our fists at one another.

– Thud!

One beat, two beats.

The reeds bowed their heads, and shadows passed by. As I sat on the reed-laden ground, I stepped back and rose to my feet. A white magical energy scattered from Baekdo’s approaching fist.

– Kooung!

Our fists collided, causing the grass to bow in one direction.

A tremendous gust of wind.

“I don’t understand what frame of mind you have to try and defeat me, a seventh-grade disciple.”

Pure strength surged forth. The status window unfolded inwardly, causing the muscles throughout my body to swell.

“…Even if I have to rip off your limbs, I will take you with me.”
“If you take me.”
“The position of the Heavenly Demon is not something you can simply relinquish at your whim. No one gets to choose their own death.”

“I won’t die.”
“Then say…”

A long beam of light, a white flower unfurling with a clenched fist behind it.

“Listen up!”

Reacting to the scattering petals, I crossed my arms to block the strike.

【 White Peach · Fang 】

The petals, charging in a straight line, pierced through my elbow.
The sensation of repelling it was different.

“Bite…!”

More intense than any technique I’ve encountered before.
It was vastly different from White Peach’s colossal fist, which bore the power to penetrate a mountain range.
In a brief moment, her White Peach transformed into a narrow, fierce torrent, completely carving away half of my body.

“Gah-“

Ah.
She truly intends to finish me off.

Before my body could recover, White Peach swooped in, arriving right before my eyes.

【 White Peach · Chain Ring · Leaf Kick 】

White Peach’s thigh emerged between her Black Dragon steps.

Legs clad in tights stretched out, revealing their length.

A shadow cast itself across the face. She struck my head without hesitation.

– Kwajik!

The sound of flesh being crushed. White flowers clung to my body, hindering me from executing proper martial arts.

It was a restrictive force. I wrapped myself in steadfastness and slowly mended my broken body.

Then, White Peach, who had been observing my pitiful state, yelled out.

“These are the opponents you will face. They are much stronger than this.”

Her voice trembled with anger.

White Peach descended slowly, accompanied by the fluttering petals. The petals danced around her shins.

“It’s not just mere ruffians, but beings even I could fall victim to.”
“…”
“In a war like that, who does a weakened man crawl in to save?”

– Kadeudeuk

I felt the sensation of bones reattaching.

I enveloped my entire body with the power of ‘sturdiness’, the crimson vigor, shaking off my physical constraints and awakening my magical abilities.

“Then shall I lose everything, damn it?”

At the sound of my normal voice, White Peach’s brow furrowed.

“If you lose here once. What about next?”

Then should I give in this time?
Living by continuously giving in, I would end up losing my master, my lover, and be left all alone.

“Heh heh heh.”

The Danjeon of magical power swelled as if on the verge of bursting. From the narrow gaps, a deep, black magical energy emerged.

“…You.”

White Peach’s face twisted in an instant.
The intensity of the fiercely fluttering flowers dwindled slightly.

“Since when, that…”
“Does the Seventh Master need to know?”

There are things I cannot surrender. It’s the same for me as well.
It felt as if there would be nothing left for me to do if I succumbed just this once.
Who would enjoy defying their master’s wishes?

I clenched my fist, filled with resentment.

Assuming her stance, she extended her fist. Dark energy coalesced around it.

Forcefully.
Unyielding.

“Come at me.”

White Peach’s form vanished.
Her entire body’s senses were on high alert. One hit could immobilize and leave her vulnerable.
As though foretold, her body bent backward to evade the impending strike.

*Crash!*

She blocked White Peach’s leg with her arm.

It was simply a strike that had been accelerated. Yet, the muscles in her arm melted away in an instant.

‘I can’t keep up.’

A decision was made.
Only a decision.
White Peach’s figure disappeared from her sight once more. Merely keeping up with the movements was overwhelming.

White Peach’s form flickered in and out of existence, as if everywhere at once. With great difficulty, she barely managed to respond to the relentless onslaught of attacks.
Her head was struck by a heel.
Her collarbone shattered under a fist.

As the battle wore on, White Peach’s face became increasingly contorted.

“Please, just give up already!”

*Kwaaak!*

In the moment that single word was uttered, I seized the opportunity. Targeting the tiniest opening, I grabbed Baekdo’s ankle and threw her to the side.

*Crack!*

The sound of a tree snapping in half. I gasped for breath and repaired my body’s damaged tissues.

“Heo-eok, hee-eok.”

Fibers protruded from my skin and clung to it. Clotted blood was discarded onto the floor before being regenerated. Had it not been for the newly acquired fortitude, I would not have been able to endure this far.

“…Lee Si-heon.”

Baekdo murmured, her voice still maintaining its coolness.

“Please give up.”

“…That’s Master. I have things to do as well.”

*Drip, drip.*

A long red streak ran down my chin. Blood droplets trickled along the streak and fell. My nose bled profusely.

“Heh, heh.”

I raised my fist again.

“Do you remember what Master said before? She asked me why I was fighting.”

“…What?”

“Well, we first met when my master suddenly brought it up.”

Why do we fight?
To catch and punish all the wicked beings, they say.

Even though it was a brief conversation, I remember it.
No, the truth is, I remember all of my experiences here.

Who I have killed and what power I have gained.
And what abilities I can wield and the chances of success.

– Squirm.

A dreadfully vile and sticky energy forms on my body.
Black spots are etched onto my face.

I am still a disciple who cannot surpass my master.
A classic case where the master is too exceptional for the disciple to overcome.
At least in this world, they are Baekdo and Cheondo, figures who may have reached the pinnacle.

Individuals who have reached such a level that they speak of it.
How can I, a mere disciple, surpass them?

【 Black Spade 】

I must try, even if I don’t know how.

– Grit.

Enveloped in intense pain, a sound escapes through clenched teeth.

With a creak, boiling black blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

“Enough…”
“But Master, you started it.”

This was the first time he had managed to maintain his composure to such an extent. He released even more of his arcane power.

Unlike the petals of White Peach that fluttered through the air, his own dark and viscous petals fell heavily to the ground, bereft of any semblance of dance.

Petals soaked in blood… evidence that his wounds had not yet fully healed.

【 Black Peach · Modified 】

In a situation requiring exertion of power, there was no alternative but to give it everything he had.

If injured, heal.
If broken, mend.
If torn, twist.

His body, dissolving into black specks, was forcibly maintained through the power of strained healing.

The foundation of his strength was the potential of the artificially elevated status window, and it was thanks to King Mokryeong’s disposition, which aided in its absorption, that he had come this far. Considering each aspect, he was truly a man who had started with nothing.

Yes, he had nothing to his name.

It took considerable time to reach our destination, in a pathetic state where I could barely maintain the strength I had mustered.

“…Was it truly necessary… to go this far?”

Upon seeing my condition, White Peach’s words were significantly more disheartened than before.

“It was absolutely necessary.”

– Creak, creak.

My wretched form resembled a dying black peach tree, covered in dark spots and petals.

– Drip, drip.

The black spots were said to be akin to the ashes of a smoldering tree, as your father had once mentioned.

My body moved.

“Inhale-!”

– Thud!

The forest quivered as I struck the air. After exchanging blows with White Peach, the black and white flowers that blossomed from below intertwined with each other, creating chaos in our surroundings.

White Peach’s clenched fist wavered, unable to find its target.

【White Peach】

Countered.

【Blooming Hedge】

Grasping the arisen white flowers, I snapped them off.

As two parallel lines of magical energy struck White Peach’s shoulders, the nearby petals were sliced away in an instant. From this point on, I tread in unknown territory. It was solely my power that moved along with my body. A method for creating waves with differing qualities of the Heavenly Demon’s divine power.

“Kuk.”

A single sound emerged from White Peach’s gritted teeth. I extended my open palm towards her heart.

Now that our flowers were completely severed, the viscous magical energy engulfed White Peach’s entire body. Her eyes remained fixed upon my face.

“…”

The summer’s radiation blushed a deep crimson. The magic energy fragmented into hexagons.

The undulating magic energy and flower petals gathered in my palm.

Truth be told, I had no desire to defy my masters’ teachings. Even if we had crossed paths for but a moment, I believed we would meet again.

If I were to follow Heaven’s path now, in the event something went awry, I feared I would blame her.

It was slightly terrifying.

I uttered a single word in a raspy voice.

“…Daegubo-“

It perfectly described my current predicament.

【 The Sin of Excess Peach (餘桃之罪) 】

– Flash!!!!

Deuk.

In an instant, the amassed magical energy erupted.
The magic enveloping White Peach’s body emitted light simultaneously, greedily consuming the entire surrounding forest.

– Kkuduk, kkuduk, deuk!

Screams burst forth from my body.
The elongated spots covered my entire face.

Everything vanished before my eyes. The light gradually faded.

White Peach’s disappeared body. I retracted my power and slowly absorbed the magic back into my body.
Swallowing it without bursting. The spots receded.

Yet, was it still insufficient?

“……”

White Peach, who had risen, appeared to have sustained substantial injuries. However, she walked towards me as if nothing had happened.

No, she had taken quite a significant blow.

It was just that my body was in a far worse state.

“Damn… it’s incredibly powerful.”

Baekdo lowered her head and responded.

“…Obviously. I can’t possibly lose to a mere seventh-tier disciple who isn’t even at the third tier.”

The surrounding forest had been completely leveled.
It was a force so potent that it shattered the natural environment itself.

Taking the fight with Maehwa even more seriously.
I had given my all, stopping just short of putting my life in danger. The absurdity of it all left me with a hollow laugh.

“…We’ll discuss that power later.”

Baekdo raised her hand, but her magic didn’t materialize.

“Just as I said. I’ll take you with me, even if I have to tear your limbs apart.”
“Heh heh.”

Her stubbornness seemed unyielding. I was much the same, but she took it to another level. I conjured spatial magic with my hand and withdrew.

“So, Lee Si-heon. It’s time to give up, slowly…”

– Crackle!

Suddenly, there was the sound of something splitting apart.

Baekdo’s hair transformed into an orange hue, and her face contorted in a frown.

“Damn-“

As the crude curse spewed forth, her appearance changed. Shape. Form. The woman clad in a black dragon robe knelt and placed her hand upon my body.

A powerful magic enveloped me, mending my every wound.

“…Really. I told you not to, really….”

Her breathing was heavy, perhaps due to her frustration. Hwangdo, with tears streaming down her face and gritting her teeth, gently touched my cheek.

“What are you doing, you idiot! Why are you fighting with Baekdo?!”
“Uh, well…”

It seemed there was no other answer.

“It’s not just anyone, it’s Baekdo. I thought it’d be appropriate to converse with our fists.”
“You imbecile!”

It was the first time Hwangdo cursed at me. After providing some rudimentary first aid, she caught her breath and looked at me.

“Go, quickly.”
“Sister…?”
“Leave before your body transforms again. Can I… Can I trust you?”
“…….”

I pondered for a moment before giving a single nod.
I decided to use the spatial magic I was attempting to conjure once more. My vision flipped.
The last glimpse I had of Zodiac was hazy, making it difficult to recall her expression.
Perhaps she had been worried about me.