Chapter 334: Request (2)

Crack! Crack!

A transformation started within Cheon Wol-seong, who hovered mid-air.

Fresh skin rapidly replaced the wounded area and healed it seamlessly. His skeleton appeared to grow twice as substantial as before. Even the facial bones began to shift and align to their will.

It was a total transformation.

The alterations in the face and body echoed a complete body reconstruction.

Swish

Simultaneously, a stream of blood ascended into the air. It appeared to originate from the tiger emblem adorning the armor.

Finally, his eyes began to shimmer. The rising blood in his irises made him appear less than human.

"...Should we intervene now?"

Cheon Miryo asked, noticing the swift recovery from all the injuries he had sustained thus far.

"No, it's too late now,"

Seol-Hwi responded, shaking his head.

Swish

Seol-Hwi observed the halo-like light emanating from the body of the Heavenly Demon. He had anticipated this.

Gather the energy...

Despite having attained the Profound Demon level, he employed the same techniques as Seol-Hwi. His proficiency in these techniques made it challenging for Seol-Hwi to move.

Wheik

In a moment, Cheon Wol-seong's energy vanished and then resurfaced anew. He had become a completely different being.

Gone were the familiar aspects of the man known as Cheon Wol-seong. Even his white hair that had previously been visible was gone. Now the hair was dark, the skin gone of wrinkles, the nose more defined, and his eyes held a smile.

-Ah, as I suspected, it's Shin Yaja,

The AI mumbled, astounded by the events unfolding.

Seol-Hwi, then raised a question,

"Do you know him too?"

-I can't not know him. For a player to become an AI, they need to satisfy several significant conditions. Have I discussed this before?" AI inquired, revealing a key detail. "There have been three people who managed to touch Profound Demon.

"Uh. Hmmm."

-Among them, Shin Yaja is the one who has reached the third stage, mastering the Profound Demon's highest level. Ah, damn it all. I suppose if it was him, I'd have to explain everything. Tsk. Tsk...

"Stop talking to yourself and explain it to me properly, would you? Up until now, the Sect Leader... Did he assist the player who killed the actual Sect Leader?"

-In essence, that's how it functions. Correct. Like our relationship, it appears that man taught him everything. He's the one who helped him reach Profound Demon.

Seol-Hwi was troubled by this.

He found it challenging to grasp the situation due to its abruptness. However, he managed to comprehend a few aspects.

In the past, there existed three formidable Profound Demons. One of their disciples was the "False Heavenly Demon," whom they have been handling until now. Now, his teacher had entered the picture to deal with him personally.

"So, just how mighty is he compared to Cheon Wol-seong?"

-Compared to him? His ranking has gone from the second tier of Profound Demon to the third...

The AI momentarily paused before continuing,

-The gap between their power levels will be substantial. Consider him as ten times more powerful.

That's insane!

Seol-Hwi was completely floored. Cheon Wol-seong's prior strength was enough to make him lose his Seol-Hwi's rationality.

They even employed Simulation to plan their offense and defense in advance, and obstruct them.

This was why Cheon Miryo struggled to handle him, and just as they were starting to surmount this issue, a new formidable monster was introduced.

-Pull yourself together! He's on his way!

"...!"

Emerging from his dazed state, he saw either Cheon Wol-seong, or rather, Shin Yaja holding a rusty sword out front.

Crack!

He raised his sword, targeting Cheon Miryo. A millisecond later, he applied a light force.

Chak!

The blade shattered with a disquieting noise, sending fragments flying towards her.

"Huh!"

The sword splintered into countless pieces. Luckily, they landed ten feet away, leaving Cheon Miryo untouched.

However, that was not the main issue.

Swish. Bababak.

Pieces of the shattered sword began to soar, each turning into a new incarnation of the Heavenly Demon, Shin Yaja. This was reality, and not an illusion.

"What...!"

Cheon Miryo and Seol-Hwi watched the spectacle unfold, inhaling sharply at the sight.

Kwakwakwang!

Each shard morphed into a new Heavenly Demon, with its own halo of light.

Cheon Miryo swung her arms, but the ice guard she had shattered with startling ease and collapsed in a moment.

Kwang!

"Ackkk!"

Then, a sudden pulse of energy sent a shockwave through her stomach, catapulting Cheon Miryo a great distance, resulting in her rolling helplessly on the ground.

"Miss Cheon!"

Paaat! Swish.

Seol-Hwi darted towards her, only to be obstructed by the Heavenly Demon, now the AI Sinn Yaja.

Nonchalantly, he shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing significant.

"Don't worry. I didn't kill her because she didn't seem that important. Besides, I'm more interested in you than in her."

"...You bastard!"

-Stop, Seol-Hwi! Don't do anything reckless, stop now!

Seol-Hwi was about to charge ahead when he froze at the AI's warning.

Swish!

Then, an odd thing occurred. At the fingertips of the transformed Heavenly Demon, the shattered sword began to stir, as if resurrecting.

Tak!

"..."

Each fragment of the sword was as tiny as a grain of sand. They were all attracted to the handle gripped by the Heavenly Demon.

Crack

As time seemingly reversed, the fine iron sword powder began to reassemble slowly, returning to its rusty form.

...Air Sword.

The void technique was in use.

No, initially, it was this mysterious sword that could change its location to anywhere the wielder desired.

Shin Yaja showed no signs of running out of techniques anytime soon.

Observing the newcomer, it appeared that the new Heavenly Demon was significantly more powerful than the predecessor, sufficient to make the previous one seem dim in comparison.

-Rushing in would result in instant death.

"Ahmm."

Seol-Hwi collected himself upon the AI's warning.

Not long ago he had pointed out Cheon Miryo's error, and he had almost repeated the same one.

"Phew."

Witnessing Seol-Hwi's ability to restrain his anger, Shin Yaja smiled.

"Intriguing. It seems you have an AI."

"..."

"What's your AI's name?"

It was a seemingly random question that caught Seol-Hwi off guard, with his opponent feigning ignorance. Why was this necessary?

He took a moment to ponder.

-Speak. We're on borrowed time.

"Hmm..."

Nevertheless, Seol-Hwi chose to play along with the AI's request.

"...Sa Yu-Kang."

"Sa Yu-Kang? Ohh! Really? For real?!"

Upon hearing his response, Shin Yaja expressed genuine surprise. His face brightened, lighting up as he jumped up in excitement. At that moment, he resembled an exuberant child.

"Nice. Then let's do it like this. You won't be able to beat me anyway... just call him out. I want to meet the guy who used to be popular in the past."

"..."

Seol-Hwi crinkled his brow at this once more.

Contrarily, the man's tone was soft, yet his demeanor conveyed a sense of superiority over Seol-Hwi. The implication that they were not even on equal footing irked him.

Look now. He's summoning you.

-...

Seol-Hwi was struggling to contain his anger, yet the AI remained silent. He turned back and forced a smile.

"Why? Doesn't he want to?"

Shin Yaja asked, a look of puzzlement on his face. There was a pause before Seol-Hwi responded.

"No particular reason."

"There's no answer?"

Shin Yaja tilted his head and clapped his hands with a surprised "Ah!"

"Hey, you haven't fully leveled up your AI yet."

"What...?"

"That must be it. So... that explains why only your thoughts are being shared."

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

"I get it now..."

Shin Yaja slowly raised his sword, a smile coming on his lips.

"I'll help you. So that your AI gets a chance to come out..."

"..."

"Let's bring you to the brink of death."

Swish

The first to make a move was Seol-Hwi. The best defense was a strong offense.

Thus, he employed the Nine Yin Demonic Arts, a technique that could momentarily halt time within the span of his palm. The goal was to create a temporal discrepancy, thereby evading imminent death.

Piing!

In an instant, it looked like Seol-Hwi landed a direct hit.

Absolute Supreme Demonic Arts—-

A magical assault so potent, it could instantly upend the world upon use. The lightning bolt was aimed directly at Shin Yaja.

However, things were not as simple as they appeared.

Shhh!

The attack, literally lightning, shifted direction at the very last moment. It brushed right past the opponent's face.

"The space...?"

In that instant, Seol-Hwi felt something.

There was no special shield of internal energy to ward off the attack.

"Ah, just a minor twist. Yes, this is why I wasn't struck."

Seol-Hwi's eyes widened at these words. Could one truly manipulate space to evade an attack?

"Well, you can do this too, right? It's possible to create your own space using your internal energy. Of course, you'll need some training."

Tuk

As soon as he concluded his words, he took a step, and that was when something occurred.

Sigh!

The three-foot distance was closed in one stride.

"...!"

"To warp space."

Clench!

Shin Yaja thrusted his sword into Seol-Hwi's abdomen, but unsurprisingly, that too failed.

"Ohhh."

Seol-Hwi's body gradually vanished, only to reappear on the other side.

"You used your head then. To avoid it using footwork..."

Shin Yaja had a smile that suggested he was thoroughly enjoying this.

A thought crossed Seol-Hwi's mind.

There must be a limit. Regardless of how advanced you were, you can't have infinite internal energy...

Regardless of how incredible his energy felt, aided by nature, there must be a limit to what he could use. It should be impossible for him to use it indefinitely.

"Oh, I know what you are thinking."

As Seol-Hwi adopted a defensive stance, Shin Yaja grinned.

"But what would happen if you died before reaching that?"

Casually, he took a step to the left and proceeded six steps forward.

Then, in a heartbeat—

Swish!

He materialized directly in front of Seol-Hwi, beginning to brandish his sword with minimal preparation.

"Euk...!"

Swish! Sasasasak!

Frantically, Seol-Hwi attempted to dodge.

But it was futile. Right next to him, a flurry of swords came from all directions. Blocking or avoiding them was impossible.

Over this period, Seol-Hwi had suffered numerous wounds.

Swish! Chang!

With a swift stroke, he cut a line from Seol-Hwi's shoulder down to his thigh.

"Ack!"

Recoiling from the blow, Seol-Hwi was sent sprawling to the ground. He rolled until coming to a stop.

Drip

In the meantime, he utilized a technique to rapidly heal his body, but once the wound was opened, the healing process did not seem simple.

This probably was an ability of the sword.

"Eukkk..."

It was humiliating. He did not expect the disparity to be this extreme.

Unmistakably, the adversary had shattered all limitations comparable to his Profound Demon level, making the gap feel significantly greater between them.

Moving through space and then distorting it.

The opponent had not even used all his techniques yet. That, above all, left Seol-Hwi feeling disoriented.

-Seol-Hwi.

The voice of the AI broke into his thoughts.

"Yes?"

-I believe it's necessary for me to intervene.

I can manage for now. I can endure until the Earth Demon arrives...

-TheEarth Demon will take too long.

"What do you mean?"

Surprise registered on Seol-Hwi's face.

-He attacked the way he did because he prioritized concealing his position above all else. Even if the Earth Demon decided to deploy his strength to kill him, the opponent didn't want his location revealed.

Damn it...

Seol-Hwi clenched his teeth.

As expected, this adversary was far from ordinary. With every move, he was always one step ahead.

"What should I do then?"

-Phew... Once you ascend to the Profound Demon level, certain conditions must be met to progress further. However, time has passed and that is now impossible.

Right...

-Yet, there is a method. Shin Yaja is aware of it too, which is why he did things this way.

Seol-Hwi waited for the AI's next words.

-Primarily, you must forcefully subdue the mind and body. This approach will present two issues.

...What are they?

-First, our connection won't be permanent. The state of Profound Demon will inevitably return the owner to their body. Basically, he's aiming to separate us, and I will naturally fade once our bond is severed.

"... And the second?"

-Same thing, Demon God. It won't help when fighting an enemy with such a big difference in power. So, we have a single strategy. They're trying to trick Earth Demon into using all his power in his fight.

"..."

-Are you sure you still want to do this? Even with limited time, I will not lose to him.

"..."

Seol-Hwi struggled to respond. Estimating the exact amount of strength to conserve for a formidable future enemy was not easy.

"Huh? You?"

Just then—

Crack!

Cheon Miryo suddenly appeared, using her power to freeze Shin Yaja in place.

"Ahh! Let's move quickly!"

The sudden ambush was successful. Seol-Hwi's eyes flickered with urgency.

It might appear as though the opponent has been struck, but in truth, the situation has become more perilous.

"Kukukukuk."

He then shifted his gaze to Cheon Miryo.

His target shifted instantly.

"I will."

Seol-Hwi resolved himself.

Realizing that he was currently incapable of defeating the man...

"Get that man out of my sight immediately."

Seol-Hwi had the foreboding feeling that this was likely the last favor he could ask of the AI.