Chapter 616 – Three Cards (2)

[Impossible.]

Erinies blurted out, her eyes wide with disbelief.

[Power and magic of such horrific magnitude… I’ve never sensed it before. You didn’t warn me!]
‘I did. From the very first moment we met, each time I summoned you, I did.’

This adversary is far from typical.
He’s a being who, even without employing his full might, could shatter every dimension of this universe.

‘The Queen has lost her sense of fear.’

She was the one who ignored my repeated warnings.

[Silence. I don’t wish to hear such words from you.]

Erinies grumbled under her breath, her attention riveted on deciphering the demon’s magic.

With age, one should acquire competence in crisis management, but her sense of urgency seemed to have dulled.

‘If it were Eleanor, right now…’
[If you value your tongue, avoid uttering that name.]

Stirring her with ‘Your daughter is far more formidable.’ I too harnessed the power of Danjeon.

Erinies’ arrogance was anticipated. There was no need for dismay.
It was the reason I hadn’t hastily played the Queen card.
It was necessary to humble Erinies, who staunchly denied my claim that she needed spiritualization.

‘So, how do we harm this creature?’
[If we utilize the power of the crown at the same level… it’s not impossible. However, your assistance is essential.]
‘And what about spiritualization?’
[I… I’ve already expressed my refusal to that.]
‘All I care about is bringing him down.’

But should your plan fail,
We might need to force the spiritualization.

[…That won’t be necessary.]
‘Then answer me.’
[If you swear to refrain from approaching all spirits!]
‘Only if you succeed. Agreed.’

Being unable to utilize spirits would indeed be a significant loss. But if it allows us to vanquish him, it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
Erinies’ emotions oscillated with the establishment of yet another pact.

-Umm!

Biding her time while initiating the spirit summoning process.
Summoning a spirit, one that stands at the pinnacle among magical entities, into a combat-ready state is a time-consuming process.

‘We need to do this unnoticed.’

Preparations had to be made with utmost caution to avoid detection.

[…Please do your utmost to drain his power.]
‘That’s the plan.’

The situation is dire, and the prospect of subjugation appears bleak.
Surprisingly, the initial plan is unfolding precisely as envisioned.

After setting up a one versus many scenario, we drain our opponent while relentlessly consuming potions.
Even if he can regenerate, there should be a limit.

Ultimately, it’s a battle of endurance.
Whose stamina will deplete first?

It’s a test of willpower.

‘The disparity in skill and experience can be compensated by numbers.’

“Sigh…”

Stretching out his arms and crossing them behind him, he once again transmutes his life force into magi.

This marks the third time.

【The Eight Forms of Dowon – The Third, Stem】

A monumental force that burdens the body with a mere singular use.

If used successively, the spots on the body cling onto the flesh, searing it. By the third time, these tumor-like spots infiltrate the blood vessels and organs.

─A guttural growl echoes!

The body, now unified with the magi, is fortified threefold, becoming potent enough to engage in solitary combat and stall for time.

─Thud. Thump.

Despite this, he could not prevent the blood from the internal injuries from seeping out.

【Healing】

He seals the wounds with the divine power of healing. This was the same method used three years ago when his immature control over magi sent his body into a chaotic frenzy.

In exchange for drawing out power beyond his limits, he accepts the continuous internal injuries and compensates for the damage through healing.

─Drip, drip.

The veins rupture, and black stems spring forth from his arms and throughout the body.

The Heavenly Demon Arts, perfected in his generation. He was confident that nothing surpassed it, yet, if he was willing to set his body ablaze, there was nothing he couldn’t achieve.

“…Sieon? Your body.”

He hadn’t established a specific name. It was nothing more than a kind of overload achieved by escalating the magi to an extreme point.

“…….”

Yet, he thought, the old man, always basking in his own glory, would’ve probably named it something like this:

Soil: In the first stage, soil-like spots appear.
Leaf: In the second, radiant leaves bloom on the body.
Stem: By the third, the trunk of a tree ascends along the veins.

‘You’ve probably never seen it either.’

To manifest this power, all elements need to align perfectly.

Unlike when he battled an unfinished version of himself, the weight of his punches would be significantly different.

The demon sneered at him and once again infused his sword with magi. Although his condition seemed much more deteriorated, it was unclear who was more desperate.

─Hiss!

Black Peach: The stem of the black peach tree ascended to his cheek.
The final phase, leaving behind flowers. He bent his knees and lunged forward.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

He was evolving.

At first glance, such a scene seemed easily perceived.

─Boom! Boom! Boom!

A colossal explosion reverberated from the sky as the two beings clashed.

Those who had barely escaped with their lives watched the spectacle, their limbs slackened.

“…Sieon.”

Sansuyu, having recovered her energy by absorbing the mana erupting in the sky, rose from her seat.

_’You’re not growing stronger, you’re pushing too hard.’_

Everyone else was entranced by Lee Si-heon’s power.

It wasn’t surprising; after all, Lee Si-heon was single-handedly conducting what had been, until moments before, a battle of one against many.

He remained unyielding even when attacked by three superhumans, including King Mokryeong.

Such a fiend he was battling tooth and nail.

In that fleeting interval, he’d drawn upon a strength equivalent to that of Cornus and Jung Si-woo combined. However, the spreading black spots of decay were visibly disconcerting.

_‘…!’_

She had seen that form before; overexerting, again and again, until he abandoned himself.

The memory, lingering like sediment in Cornus’s psyche, began to consume her.

“Si-“

The sight of a knight’s throat entirely severed by a sword strike.

The figure of a corpse, riddled with black spots.

Although he had somehow survived, the sight of Lee Si-heon, once dead, was a trauma that posed as Cornus’s most significant vulnerability. Trembling- Cornus’s hands quivered.

As she, bereft of reason, hastily rose to intervene in the fight, Jung Si-woo stopped her.

“Cornus, wait.”

“Move. Si-heon is-“

“…I should go. I have a way.”

A way?

Cornus’s eyes drifted towards Si-woo.

Jung Si-woo, who had suffered serious injuries due to the previous resistance, collapsing his defenses.

What could he possibly do with his battered body? Doubt flickered in her eyes.

Jung Si-woo took a deep, ragged breath and revealed the truth.

The plan he had devised.

“I’ll give it a shot.”

Cornus, upon hearing this, questioned her own ears.

“Is it true?”

“Perhaps.”

Lee Si-heon was buying time.

He had hinted as much right before colliding with the demon, and seemed to hold some trump cards.

Si-woo and Cornus accepted the potion Si-heon offered.

They were the only two with the immediate power to face the king.

“I’ll go assist now. Please provide support magic.”

“….”

Angelica, her dignity compromised, remained silent.

Who would save the world now?

Even if it was a being born from a trial intended for the king, its image perceived by others was entirely separate.

Some of the clergy even showed their shattered faith.

Their savior was not God, but the enemy’s king?

_Thud._

Jung Si-woo, having prepared himself, rose again wielding the Sacred Sword.

* * * * * * * * * * *

It wasn’t enough.

‘Is it far?’

_[Just a little more…]_

The collision of fist and sword tore through space.

The speed had already surpassed the speed of sound.

Even before my senses registered the onslaught, my hands and feet were parrying the swarm of sword thrusts.

“Gah!”

Blood spurts as the sword slashes my forearm. My magic erupts, his power shattering my wound, bringing with it a surge of agony.

─Ugh!

Alba’s magic envelops me, soothing the torment. The spells unspooling steadfastly from behind have undeniable potency, but the demon’s response is too swift.

Surpassing my past self,
And surpassing once again.

Even in moments when body and soul are set ablaze, the injuries only multiply.

‘…More.’

I grit my teeth, moving with increased precision.

‘More, More!’

Laughable how growth only comes out of necessity for humans. Even now, alternatives for my martial arts techniques surge in my mind.

“……!”

The demon, wordlessly, is entirely engrossed in combat.
I, too, clear my mind and engage.

-Boom!

A blow is exchanged.

-Boom!

And another blow exchanged.

-Boom!

Fist fights and sword strikes continue unabated. As I immerse in this carnage, distributing scars on my body, finally, a signal drops.

[It’s…done!]
‘So right now-’

“Agh!”

-Clang!

A sword strike smacks my forearm. The magical energy coiled around my arm vibrates, the muscle convulses and ruptures.

Undoubtedly, he had sensed the shift in the air and had no intention of relenting. I wield my martial arts, gauging the optimal timing for escape.

Assistance was needed, and Si-woo, realizing this, moves.

-Flash!

A tree, its branches splayed, cleaves a gap between the demon and me. Jung Si-woo intervenes, discarding his armor and brandishing his sword.

“….”

A feeble attack, his strength significantly drained.
While I manage to escape, the bitten Jung Si-woo is left defenseless.

-Thud!

The demon, blocking the sword, swings his weapon. Jung Si-woo’s body is cleaved in two.

“!”

A sight that made me question my eyes for an instant. Had he made a sacrifice? At that moment, Jung Si-woo’s body transforms into dried tree bark, and his Pando, descending from the heavens, reconstitutes Jung Si-woo’s form.

‘He’s alive.’

The moment Jung Si-woo’s survival is confirmed, I summon a spirit. Appearing with a green magical circle unfurled in the sky, Erinies extends her hand forward, her crown splayed.

【Disappear from this world, NOW! 】

A force akin to divine power clasped in her hand.
A beam of light piercing through the natural order is revealed, painting the first trace of astonishment on the demon’s face.

─Kuaaaa!

The crown radiates light, the beam engulfs the demon. His armor, the foundation of his body, disintegrates, and his body is instantaneously perforated.

【I…I got him-】

A moment of joy and sorrow entwined.

I swiftly consumed the potion, and once certain that the demon’s form was disintegrating, I turned my gaze to Jung Si-woo.

“…Ugh, heh, huhuh. Quite a gamble, wasn’t it? Siheon.”

The voice of the dying Si-woo reached my ears. Jung Si-woo, having reborn in Pando, laughed bemusedly.

Pando.

A colossal congregation of trees sharing the same root system. The mighty power it conceals, a prerogative of the World Tree of Justice, remains largely unknown.

‘No.’

It’s formidable.

Pando is a unique tree entity. Thousands of trees are, in reality, bound as a single organism.

Considering Jung Si-woo’s demonstration, it would not be amiss to interpret Pando’s ability as a power to transfer to other entities.

‘…And…’

Lifting my gaze, I see the tumultuous writhing of an immense organ. If that trait is akin to Jung Si-woo’s power…

‘The foreign body hasn’t disappeared.’

【 What does that mean? 】

‘Prepare for spiritualization. Right this instant.’

The expanse of the sky splits, its size diminishing. The internal organs and tree trunks compress and coalesce, shrinking in size.

And when I finally saw it taking on a human form, I forcefully infused Erinies with magical energy.

He is the King of Trees. The man, having regained his strength, was once again imbuing his body with power.

【 What is that all of a sudden- 】
“Hurry.”
【 What?! 】

And with that, Erinies’s anguished cry suddenly reverberated through the battlefield.