305 – Fight of the Returner (24)

Black magic power bursting out of Cheonma’s body. Feeling a sense of crisis, I also reflexively released my magic power, but inside I accepted the regression. Cheonma’s magic power cannot be fought. That is a power that cannot be defeated.

“… Huh?”

But my body is still fine. My magic power was being pushed back by Cheonma’s magic power, but I was still holding up pretty well. Why?

Weak. The magic power of Cheonma is much weaker than the magic power in my memory. At the point when 3 months had passed, Cheonma’s magic power was nothing but destruction itself. It was an energy that would suck life out of anyone who touched it and make them kneel down. Now, it was far below that.

However, when I subdued Choi Jiwon with magic power, it seemed to be much stronger than this. Why is that?

“Ah.”

It was short. The fight itself was much shorter, and Cheonma was only given half the time to grow. It also seemed like he didn’t want to use his strength as much as possible, so there must have been a reason.

In other words, Cheonma was going to great lengths to kill me. Originally, he shouldn’t have used his magic power, but he forced himself to release it.

“…”

“…”

It’s also good news that Cheonma didn’t run away even after seeing my magic power. When I wasn’t using magic, he figured out the nature of my magic and immediately distanced himself, but now that he can use magic too, he must be calculating that he can crush me head-on. Looking at it this way, the initiative in the battle was with Cheonma. It’s just that Cheonma himself doesn’t know it.

“You want to kill me?”

Let me summarize my advantages. I can use magic, and my swordsmanship has improved tremendously.

My disadvantage is that Cheonma has also released his magic, and he has started using his fists. He’s probably used to fighting with his fists.

“Try it.”

So, it’s obvious that this state is close to ‘Cheonma’s power. ’

Let’s see. How much power does Cheonma have?

***

The waiting room of the arena. Various races were killing time in various ways. Some were tense, some were chatting leisurely, and some were lying down blankly.

This is the largest arena in the universe. Not only do all races gather here, but all cultures are mixed here. With the diverse cultures from all over the universe, combined with cutting-edge technology, this arena really became a place where anything could happen without any problem.

Suddenly lying down naked, copulating in the hallway, dancing and singing… The ‘largest in the universe’ brought out scenes beyond imagination.

-Shoot.

In such an arena, it was not unusual for people to suddenly appear out of thin air. It was quite common to see people moving to the waiting room via teleportation devices.

“Keuh-eok…! Kkuk…”

However, it was not common to see a human who had just moved suddenly stand up from his seat and cough repeatedly. It was like watching a play, with people groping their chests, looking around in disbelief, and sighing in relief.

“Are they mentally ill?”

“They say that humans have chips implanted in their brains and experience drug-induced hallucinations. They must be addicts.”

“Tsk tsk… ”

Whether the furry beastmen clicked their tongues or not at the sight, the human who had just moved was busy checking his physical condition by repeatedly opening and closing his hands. Yeah, what can I say? It’s me. I had just returned.

“What the heck…”

The Heavenly Demon’s power pierced my chest, causing my heart to burst. I never thought I would hear the sound of a human heart exploding, but I even less thought it would be my own heart. The Heavenly

Demon who used his fists could not simply be described as ‘strong’. That was… incomprehensible. I clearly cut but didn’t get cut, I dodged but couldn’t dodge. It seemed to foresee the future where I would move, and all my thoughts seemed to be in the palm of my hand.

What the hell is that. What do you want me to do? An enemy like that appears on the 28th floor? I know it was a mistake, but you want me to accept this? You idiot angels. Is this how you handle things? You’ll just get fired, but we’re all going to lose.

“… Let’s calm down.”

Yes, I’m the one who’s dying, not the angel. There’s no point in whining. I took a deep breath and caressed the fur of one of the water spirits watching me. The water spirit tried to resist, so I froze it with cold air and caressed it. My mind felt a little more stable when I touched something soft. Let’s calm down and organize my thoughts.

I pushed Cheonma hard enough. I destroyed most of the martial arts he used. In the process, I was able to grow tremendously and gain confidence in myself. It was a difficult but rewarding time. Anyone who saw it would have praised me, saying, “Well done,” and I was proud of myself. However,

Cheonma, who had revealed his true strength, stepped on me as if it were a gift. He deflected my sword and squeezed my heart. I was climbing the stairs diligently, but Cheonma was looking down at me from the top of the mountain.

A genius uses the same time differently. I thought I caught up with the genius’s ten minutes in six hours, but Cheonma had already spent tens, maybe hundreds of years on martial arts. How many times longer would I have to spend to catch up with the genius’s time? How much time would I have to invest to defeat Cheonma, who had already worked incredibly hard? What sacrifices would I have to make to defeat Cheonma, who had already worked for hundreds of years?

“Haa…”

It was the worst case scenario. It was true that Cheonma was hiding his power, and I confirmed that it was possible to release that power if I pushed myself to a certain extent. If this were a game, I would have to call the operator, but the operator was currently absent.

How strong must the emperor be to have fought Cheonma? Or maybe he wouldn’t have recovered enough strength at that time. Should I rather blame the emperor for not being able to deal with it then?

I still had the option of talking to Cheonma and extracting information, but I just didn’t want to move right now. I was so shocked that I lost my will. I guess I was burnt out.

The drone led me to the stadium, and I didn’t say a word until I met Choi Ji-won again. After wrapping up the first match, we decided to go back to reality and take a break. I needed time to recuperate.

“Cheonma can use his full power…?”

Choi Ji-won asked while eating chicken.

“Not full power. It feels like 10% of his power.”

“Hmm… ”

We saw the Heavenly Demon after 3 months, so we knew how strong he could become. The Heavenly Demon after the seal was released was incredibly weak compared to the Heavenly Demon after 3 months. But he was still not an enemy that could be defeated.

“Even if I use cold energy, I resist with magic power. My physical abilities seem similar, but the martial arts using magic power are too difficult.”

“Certainly… that fist was a bit strange.”

Thanks to my achievement level, my magic power was at the top among the players. Since this tower did not recommend bows, magic, or other martial arts, players basically invested their abilities in physical abilities, and of course, their magic power was relatively lacking. That’s why I, whose achievement level was high and gave me all abilities, had the most magic power.

“The Heavenly Demon… had more than me.” The

Heavenly Demon’s magic power was more than mine. Twice, maybe three times more. It wasn’t just the amount that was greater, but the quality was also superior, so I was pushed back in a face-to-face fight. Does

that mean my skills were lacking? That’s not true. That guy’s fist was… incomprehensible. I couldn’t understand it. The extended fist seemed to bend at some point, and the steps he took seemed to fold space and run.

Cheonma. There was no other way to explain it. Even in his weakened state, he reigned. That was because he was Cheonma.

“Of course, the power Cheonma displayed did not seem to be without risk. In fact, he does not bring out his hidden power until he is pushed to the very end.”

Cheonma must have made his own determination. He must have accepted some degree of damage.

But if I am going to regress right now, what would all that mean? The protagonist’s temporary doping is exciting and cool, but when the enemy uses it, there is no other power as unreasonable as this. What if my lifespan is shortened, my body is ruined, and my health declines? I am going to lose right now. How many YOLO people in modern society would become stronger if they could at the cost of their lifespan and health? It is just annoying that they are using it as a penalty.

“Negotiate… should we?” He

might be able to defeat Cheonma. But then, it might not stop at years, but you might have to be prepared for tens or hundreds of years of regression. Just this repeated regression alone is tiring and exhausting people. If it lasts for decades, then you might really be ruined. (Fun and hard are two different things.)

So, if there’s a way to stop Cheonma without winning… If there’s a way to buy time until the Archangel comes. I think we should seriously consider it.

“Junho.”

Choi Ji-won, who was resting her chin on her hand and thinking, suddenly spoke. The Boongboongi on her desk vibrated sinisterly.

“Boongboongi just told me an idea… but it’s a bit strange.”

“Huh?”

Choi Ji-won usually just spoke frankly in these cases, and she never hesitated. It was actually the first time Boongboongi had expressed an opinion. That sword was trying to say something shocking.

“If you don’t think so, tell me. If you don’t think you can beat Cheonma…”

“If not?”

And Boongboongi’s plan was.

“To Cheonma…” “How about implanting memories?”

“Does that mean we should regress together?”

“Huh?”

It was the most shocking plan I’ve ever seen.