NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18
Every time I watch a manga, I think about it. They clearly start barehanded, but somehow summon weapons out of nowhere.
It’s downright cowardly.
Just think about it.
You’re ready to fight, thinking it’s a fair fistfight, but suddenly your opponent pulls out a sword?
Not a knife, but a sword.
In manga, they fight equally with all sorts of weird powers, but in reality, if you throw a punch at someone with a sword, you’re just a lunatic begging to be sliced up.
So.
“No way!”
Swish—
“C’mon!”
Shwoosh!
“Honest!”
Screech—
“Fight fair!”
Rustle—
“Use your fists!”
“Shut your mouth, you damn [Abnormality]!”
I was sweating cold as I stared at my sliced shirt.
The faint red line etched through the fabric indicated I could no longer play the role of a shirt.
If I had hesitated just a moment longer, it wouldn’t have been my clothing that got sliced, but rather my torso that would have been opened up.
“Old man is still spry, huh?”
They say to be careful of kids and old folks in martial arts novels, and it rings true.
Sure, he was a bit muscular, but he’s still an old man!
He was walking around with a pretty fierce-looking wolf too.
I never thought he’d actually fight wielding a sword.
Moreover.
‘Strong.’
Incredibly so.
Although the [Ashen God], who couldn’t showcase his powers due to spatial constraints, died and got absorbed—
He absurdly retired, but in a moment, the mythological beast [Hati] put me on edge.
Monsters bearing the name of a [God].
After obtaining a [Status Window] and learning the standards of power in this world, I thought the [Ashen God] would be around B-rank.
Considering the origin of the [Ashen God], I presumed it must be the power that ranks as the standard of a [God].
‘If he was just some madman wielding a sword, I could easily take him down in no time.’
The murderous intent tightened around my body.
The shapeless aura pressed down on the air, making it feel heavy.
My thoughts and will distorted the world as if it were all against me.
“Is that an A-rank? Or perhaps…”
Something beyond that?
My judgment was mistaken.
The barrier excluding [Abnormality]—
The endlessly resurrecting shadow soldiers—
And even the beasts with the name of a [God]—
Now that all of them had vanished, I thought there was no remaining threat, but…
“That one looks dangerous, though.”
*
It might just be natural if you think about it.
In the mythological age.
Before humanity flourished with civilization.
Back when [Gods], [Fairies], and [Spirits] roamed freely.
Yeah, during that time when those called [Heroes] still existed, how could those who opposed the [God] not be [Heroes] themselves?
They shattered rocks in a single blow.
Ran faster than beasts.
One against a hundred, one against a thousand, showcasing powers that seemed absurd.
One human alone fought against the monsters of myth and changed the course of war.
Born as a human, yet not growing up as one—these were beings that absorbed faith and transcended beyond that.
The Alliance Leader who ended the Age of Myth being a [Hero] is something of a given.
[Hero’s Sword]
It has no grand name.
After all, even the Alliance Leader himself isn’t a figure recorded in history.
Simply put…
It’s a sword forged from the combined hope of countless [Heroes], who died opposing the [God] for the sake of humanity, hoping that their struggles would somehow allow the future to confront the [God].
A sword entrusted to humanity’s last survivor against the [God] of that time, carrying the wish for victory.
[The Sword That Cuts the God]
A miraculous [Cutting] that cleaves through [God] and [Abnormality].
“Your superhuman body must indeed be the power of an [Abnormality], right?”
Lifting the [Miracle] in hand, I glared at the [Abnormal Entity] before me.
Unlike the warriors bound to [Ragnarok], no matter how many means they used to suppress aging, humans can’t stop the passage of thousands of years.
A body that is no longer fitting to be called superhuman.
But.
“As long as you are an [Abnormality], there’s no reason I can’t cut you!”
My body aged and fell into weakness, and after a long time off the battlefield, my skills had dulled.
So what of it?
He is a survivor from the age of myths.
One who opened a new era, backed by the desires of countless [Heroes].
[The Last Hero]
Having fought against numerous [Gods] and opposed the [World], he ultimately ushered in the [Age of Humanity]. The experience of [The Last Hero] is certainly not something that could lose its luster over such trivialities!
With a step forth.
Bounding.
Leaping three steps.
Transcending space.
Skill and experience reach the realm of [Miracle] against [Abnormality].
Reality distorts.
Thud—
The sword that pierced my heart burst free from my back.
“Rest easy, I won’t kill you.”
Such an [Abnormality] that merely clings to a mere heart wound can be sustained easily by an entity like the [Alliance].
“Cough, that crazy old man!”
Even as I coughed up blood, his resilient spirit was commendable, but…
“Still just an [Abnormality].”
Since they’re born of humans, they should rightly be tools.
“Cut off your limbs and hand them over.”
Pulling the sword from my heart, I swung it again.
Rustle—
“…!”
Boom—
Just when the Alliance Leader was about to swing his sword, flames poured down from the sky.
As if Han Yu-seong was swept away, the flames poured down, seemingly indifferent.
They burned beyond just scorching the surroundings—melting everything.
Even for an Alliance Leader, facing this blaze with an aged body, death was on the line.
Swoosh—
Ashes swirled about as a gigantic shape formed.
It looked like a giant from myths.
“Have the shadows… all disappeared?”
Now that the barrier of [Ragnarok] has collapsed, it seems the shadows that lost their immortality couldn’t withstand a confrontation against the [God].
“So, you came to protect your master?”
“ㅈㅜㄱㅇㅓ!”
A stammering speech, unable to form even proper words.
But what happened next was far from trivial.
Everything melted by the fire dried up in an instant, turning into black ashes.
The world stained black with ash.
And then.
Swoosh—
The world turned red once more.
*
“Cough, hack… hack! Cough!”
Han Yu-seong, who barely escaped the intrusion of the [Ashen King], gasped for breath.
“Really thought I was about to die…”
Spitting blood from my throat, I collapsed right onto the ground.
That was genuinely dangerous.
If the [Ashen King], knowing I could resist his flames, decided to engulf everything around us in fire, it would have ended right there.
“Yu-seong! Are you okay?! Ahh!”
A bear cub came rushing in with a camera, and upon seeing me, screamed and covered its eyes.
Is it because my injuries are severe?
No, the only wounds I have are the faint line on my chest and the stab in my heart, hardly serious enough to be visibly damaging.
A pierced heart? As long as I apply pressure like squeezing a muscle, it’s not an immediate issue.
Not human?
Don’t underestimate superhumans.
It’s not like my heart was ripped out; it’s merely a scratched area—if I were that fragile, I wouldn’t even be considered superhuman.
Anyway, the bear’s reaction is simple.
In case you missed it, the attack from the [Ashen King] swept away everything around us, including myself.
It’s understandable considering the Alliance Leader’s ability wouldn’t let him avoid such attacks.
What’s vital now is that I was caught up in that assault too.
While my body can withstand the flames, my clothes are not a part of me.
Of course, my clothing that got swept up in the fire has long turned to ash…
“Hey, don’t cover your eyes! Cover the camera lens instead!”
Thanks to that, my nakedness is being broadcasted live to the world via the camera the bear brought with it.
I grabbed the smartphone I left with the bear and checked the screen.
– Woah…
– I believed in you…
– Wow, you really are something…
– Really, is that the important part?! What’s happening here?!
As expected of my streaming audience.
Their minds are gone.
While there might be a few sane people, they quickly got drowned out by a plethora of morons focused solely on my predicament.
No, that’s not the important part.
“First, the explanation: That old man is the Alliance Leader, the one who initiated this chaos, the mastermind behind hiding [Abnormality] from the world and acting from behind the scenes, and I’m a super badass hero fighting against the villains. The end!”
– ???
– You didn’t explain anything!
– Can you please clarify?
“I’ll explain to the bear later. I have to go back soon. Or watch the recap later.”
Usually, I’d take my time explaining, but right now, there’s really no time for that.
Currently, the [Ashen King] is facing off against the [Alliance Leader], but he can’t hold on for long.
After all, the [Ashen King] might have known how to spew flames since the days of the [Ashen God], but he never learned to fine-tune or control it.
Just spewing it out effectively melts everything, so what’s there to manage?
That may have worked back in the days as a [Ghost], but as the [God], the [Ashen King] has become too powerful for combat.
Given his sheer size, it’s already asking for trouble.
Sure, most enemies are sufficient experiences in themselves.
Even the shadow warriors, who gave me trouble, were unable to get close; the melting flames serve as an excellent shield and weapon simultaneously.
But.
Rustle—
“Ahaaaa!!!”
The [Alliance Leader]’s sword cleaves through the left arm of the [Ashen King].
The severed arm quickly reassembles into ashes, but…
‘The power of the flames has weakened.’
It’s not apparent yet, but I know it for certain.
The temperature of the flames has dropped.
While the [Ashen King’s] body appears invulnerable to physical blows, as long as it has a substance, it can still take hits.
Just like how I defeated the [Ashen God].
I will damage the main body until it can no longer create flames.
Faster than burning everything around to collect ashes so he can’t recover.
The things I did when I was weaker are certainly doable by that Alliance Leader.
However, unlike back then, the scale is larger, so it might not be instantaneous…
‘But it won’t take long either.’
Ultimately, it’s simply a matter of time before the [Ashen King] takes damage.
After that, he’ll turn back to attack me…
“If we fight again here, the outcome will be the same.”
If it continues like this.
“Boss battles demand an overspawning strategy, after all.”
■ Management System
■ Master Unit
└ Han Yu-seong LV1
《Would you like to allocate stats?》
Just wait, I’m going for a retry.