Chapter 204

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 204: The Absolute (3)

“Kwon Hanul, you bastard!”

Kwon Myung-woo shouted as he suddenly opened his eyes.

As soon as he came to his senses, he looked around for Hanul—but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Captain!”

“Are you all right?”

Instead, he saw the faces of the Hyukcheon Corps.

Kwon Myung-woo grabbed Vice-Captain Kwon Junyeol by the collar and demanded: “Where’s that brat Hanul? What about Mei Xiao? What happened to the Dragon Slayer?!”

“Please calm down, sir! If you keep moving like this, your wound will reopen!”

At those words, Kwon Myung-woo looked down at his chest.

Thick bandages were tightly wrapped around him.

“Kh…!”

Only then did the pain he'd forgotten come crashing back.

The sensation of having one’s heart pierced was excruciating beyond imagination—so much so that his body trembled from the agony welling up deep in his chest.

But at this moment, pain was the least of his concerns.

“I asked you what happened to Hanul!”

“That is…”

Kwon Junyeol began explaining everything honestly.

As he spoke, the Dragon Slayer’s name alone made Myung-woo’s eyes widen with intensity.

“Hanul’s facing off against both of them at the same time?! And you all just stood by and let that happen?!”

“If you’d seen it with your own eyes, Captain, you’d understand… He took on the Dragon Slayer in one blow—”

“Silence! I’m going there right now!”

Mei Xiao and the Dragon Slayer may not be as strong as Kwon Myung-woo, but they were Absolutes in their own right.

Hanul needed help before he was killed. No—he may already be dead.

“What are you all doing?! Move out, now—”

Suddenly, Kwon Myung-woo clutched his chest and collapsed.

Blood began to seep through the bandages tightly wound around him.

“See? I told you not to move!”

“Medic! The captain’s wound reopened!”

The medic rushed in, but Myung-woo shoved him away.

“No… I have to go to Hanul.”

As the family elder, he had received help from Hanul rather than offering it.

He couldn’t allow Hanul to die like this—not when he hadn’t done anything himself.

His pride—his dignity—simply wouldn't allow it.

“Don’t stop me! Even if I die, I’ll save Hanul first!”

Just as Kwon Myung-woo shouted—

A heavy pressure fell upon him.

“…What?”

It wasn’t just Myung-woo.

Every Hunter present—the Hyukcheon Corps, the Iron Corps—all felt the weight of it.

As though a colossal hand had engulfed them completely.

Even with mana flared to the limit, it was nearly impossible to resist.

“Who is it? Who the hell is…”

But that wasn’t the end.

Another aura followed—one so massive that the earlier pressure felt like a child’s prank by comparison.

Boom.

A thunderous crash rocked the entire underground fortress.

The impact shook the earth, dust raining down from the ceiling.

Boom.

A second crash. Walls cracked.

The ceiling split apart.

Even Kwon Myung-woo—one of the strongest in the world—felt a twinge of fear.

Cold sweat ran down his face as he murmured, “…What in the world is happening?”

* * *

Dark crimson scales began covering Kwon Hanul’s body.

Except for the shift from black to a deep red hue, the transformation looked the same as before.

But the result was entirely different.

Previously, the tight, even layering of scales resembled that of a serpent.

Now there was no order—no form.

The scales jutted out erratically, resembling a tangled web of veins.

The face had changed even more drastically.

What once resembled a smooth mask now looked like a demonic visage—twisted and cruel.

Once the transformation ended, Hanul spread his arms wide.

And in that moment, red smoke erupted around him.

The smoke twisted and coiled, forming giant arms.

Three pairs of arms unfolded symmetrically behind Hanul’s back, radiating a terrifying divine glow.

“……”

‘This isn’t right.’

Mei Xiao realized it the instant she saw him.

‘This shouldn’t exist.’

Something like this had no place in the world.

Her instincts—her intellect—her very existence as a living being screamed in panic.

“AHAHAHAHA!”

Suddenly, a burst of manic laughter rang out.

Mei Xiao snapped out of her daze and turned toward the Dragon Slayer.

“I don’t know what kind of trick you pulled… but thanks to you, I’m going to get even stronger!”

The Dragon Slayer’s mana surged further.

What had been a reddish-orange hue turned molten red, like flowing magma.

Seeing that, Mei Xiao remembered—

The Dragon Slayer grew stronger as the power of the dragon intensified.

If Hanul grew stronger, so too would the Dragon Slayer.

“Let’s see what you’ve got!”

The Dragon Slayer dashed forward and in a single step, appeared right before Hanul, swinging both phantom blades down.

Hanul didn’t move at all.

The swords landed squarely on both his shoulders, completely unobstructed.

“You fool! My Dragonbane Star cancels out your Authorities—”

CRACK!

With a piercing sound, the phantom blades shattered to pieces.

The Dragon Slayer stared in disbelief.

His weapons were destroyed— but Hanul’s body remained untouched.

Not a scratch.

“Y-you bastard…!”

Flustered, the Dragon Slayer began to react but Hanul raised his hand.

The giant arms behind him dissolved into red smoke.

Hanul then brought his palm down slamming it through empty air.

And the Dragon Slayer was smashed into the ground.

He landed like a flattened frog and a massive handprint was scorched into the ground around him.

“GURGHAAACK!”

Blood burst from the Dragon Slayer’s mouth as he lay pinned to the floor.

That brief moment had dealt massive internal damage.

“D-damn it…! I still have… the power of the Dragon Slayer…!”

The Dragon Slayer’s mana flared again.

He grit his teeth and struggled to rise.

At that moment another giant arm vanished into smoke.

Hanul punched the air again.

Something exploded.

The place where the Dragon Slayer had been standing was obliterated and the rear wall behind him was blown open, leaving a hole large enough for a warship to pass through.

“…Dragon Slayer?” Mei Xiao murmured, dazed.

But the Dragon Slayer was gone.

Hanul slowly turned to look at her.

Their eyes met.

And in that instant—

Mei Xiao was overwhelmed by terror.

She bit down hard on her tongue.

The taste of blood jolted her back to her senses.

“Tch.”

Spitting out the remaining blood, Mei Xiao moved.

Her figure vanished—then reappeared behind Hanul, silent as a shadow.

She slashed at his neck with Sword Aura, without a sound, without a trace.

But the strike didn’t connect.

Something blocked it.

A flaming blade-like presence had intercepted her sword.

But something was wrong—

There was no hand holding the weapon.

The flaming blade floated there, suspended in midair.

Mei Xiao stared at it and murmured, “…Sword Aura?”

No, that wasn’t all.

“Two-Sword Telekinesis…?”

At that moment, Kwon Hanul turned to look at Mei Xiao.

And then, the number of swords in the air began to increase.

From one or two— to ten… then twenty.

Countless blades took aim at Mei Xiao.

When Hanul raised a single finger and pointed at her, the swords rained down.

Mei Xiao deflected them using Sword Aura—but she could only block the first few.

The rest pierced through her defenses, targeting every opening.

Eventually, the flying swords stabbed through her entire body.

“Aaaaagh!”

With a scream, Mei Xiao collapsed to the floor.

Blood leaked from numerous wounds across her body.

The flying swords hovered around her—and then, again, pointed their tips at her.

“Hah…”

Faced with death, Mei Xiao let out a hollow laugh.

A bitter, disbelieving laugh, laced with helplessness and regret.

It was then, just as the flying swords were about to strike again, someone leapt in front of her.

Holding her in his arms, he pulled her away from the incoming blades.

“…Dragon Slayer?”

Mei Xiao, startled, looked up from within the embrace.

The Dragon Slayer—bloodied and battered—gritted out a reply, “Damn it… If you die, how the hell am I supposed to take on that monster by myself?”

Just one strike.

That alone had rendered him completely incapacitated—even when he was several times stronger than usual.

Just one exchange.

That alone had pushed Mei Xiao to the brink of death.

Both of them understood it now.

The Kwon Hanul before them had transcended all reason. He was a monster beyond comprehension.

“Hey… got any backup plans?”

At the Dragon Slayer’s words, Mei Xiao gave a small nod.

“I do. But you’ll have to buy me some time.”

“Damn it. I can’t believe we’re having to strategize against some punk like that…”

An Absolute is someone challenged, not someone who challenges.

But against a creature like that, pride was a luxury they couldn’t afford.

“Then I’ll trust you.”

The Dragon Slayer gently laid Mei Xiao down.

As he stepped forward, cracking his fists—a longsword burst through his chest.

He slowly turned around.

There stood Mei Xiao, gripping the hilt of the sword.

“…Why?”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she pulled the sword out of his chest— and in the next instant, sliced through his neck.

“I’m sorry. This was the only way we could win.”

From the Dragon Slayer’s corpse, something black and dusty rose into the air.

All of it was absorbed into the sword in Mei Xiao’s hand.

“By turning you into a Ghostblade, I can create a chance.”

Ghostblade.

An Authority of the Shura Bloodline— which enslaves the soul of the one killed and turns it into one’s own power.

The energy of the Dragonbane Star now surged through Mei Xiao’s magic.

“Haa… This is good. The more I channel your power, the stronger the Dragonbane becomes.”

Just like the Dragon Slayer, her magic grew stronger.

“You know… The Shura Bloodline’s powers are closely tied to weapons. Which is why things like Sword Aura and Sword Force resonate so well with it.”

Mei Xiao bit her thumb, drawing blood, then traced a line of it across her blade.

“So what do you think happens… when Ghostblade meets Sword Aura?”

The blade turned crimson.

The Sword Aura it emitted burned with a deep, dark red.

Ghostblade – Same Root, Intertwined Branches

From the sword’s edge, Sword Aura branched outward.

With the Dragon Slayer turned into a Ghostblade, there was no longer any concern over mana.

The crimson Sword Aura coiled around Mei Xiao, then spread further, consuming the ground and ceiling alike.

It looked like the spreading roots and branches of a tree.

“Its power, its range—it's on a whole different level now.”

Soon, the Sword Aura surrounded Kwon Hanul.

From every direction, it surged with deadly pressure.

“Even you can’t block all of this barehanded.”

Sword Aura must be countered with Sword Aura.

But the sheer amount of it was overwhelming.

“Let’s end this now.”

The Sword Aura began to move— tightening in from all sides, constricting Hanul.

As a test, Hanul threw a punch.

One of the giant arms behind him vanished and lashed out at the approaching Sword Aura.

But the moment the strike made contact, it was sliced apart and dissipated.

—Impressive.

For the first time since his transformation, Hanul spoke.

—Even in this form, I can’t overpower the sword forged through a lifetime of discipline.

This had nothing to do with bloodline or magic.

It was the Sword Aura honed by Blood Flame Blade Mei Xiao that had bested his attack.

—Then I have no choice but to counter with a secret art worthy of this.

Hanul brought his hands together in front of his chest.

The three pairs of giant arms did the same.

As he summoned his mana, the world itself began to tremble.

A vast, nearly incomprehensible amount of power began to gather within the space between his hands.

Structured around the giant hands he poured all of his Dragon Aura into it.

And through the Shura King, he reshaped that energy.

What started as a raging flame of Dragon Aura slowly condensed into a smooth, obsidian-like sphere.

Watching this through the branches of her Sword Aura , Mei Xiao murmured faintly, “No way… That’s impossible… It can’t be…”

Fist Aura.

An advanced martial technique said to be wieldable only by Absolutes.

“No… not that… anything but that…”

Fist Aura has nothing to do with bloodline.

It can only be attained through years of training and enlightenment.

For someone of Hanul’s age to have acquired it—was simply impossible.

“It doesn’t matter… If it's a clash of Aura, mine will win.”

She was right.

Her Sword Aura, refined through discipline and experience, was fundamentally different from Hanul’s, which was artificially created through the Shura King.

But Hanul wasn’t aiming for a Aura clash.

—Hoo…

He took a deep breath.

From the obsidian sphere of Aura, wisps of white smoke began to rise.

—I’ll say this in advance.

The smoke thickened, billowing outward.

From within it, Hanul spoke again.

—This is a technique personally devised by Hyukcheon’s Strongest Fist.

Before he could finish, Mei Xiao struck.

Her Sword Aura surged, crashing down upon Hanul.

—Its name… is Inkflame.

And in that moment—Hanul’s gathered Fist Aura vanished.

Then, something unseen exploded.

An enormous, invisible force expanded outward.

All of Mei Xiao’s Sword Aura disintegrated in an instant followed by the floor and all debris above it.

“…Huh?”

Unable to comprehend what she was seeing, Mei Xiao’s mouth opened on its own.

‘I have to run.’

The thought screamed through her mind.

But before she could act, the colorless explosion swallowed her.

Her defensive mana evaporated.

Her clothing disappeared.

Then her skin. Her flesh.

“…Ah.”

With a final, wordless breath— Mei Xiao vanished into the explosion.

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, Mei Xiao came to her senses.

Even after regaining consciousness, her mind remained blank.

She couldn’t remember what had just happened.

“What the hell…?”

She tried to sit up— but her body wouldn’t move.

Looking down, she let out a long sigh.

“…It’s over.”

Her body was utterly ruined, more missing than intact.

Then, a shadow fell over her face.

Kwon Hanul had approached.

“Looks like you won.”

There was no reply.

Mei Xiao let out a dry laugh.

“What, no celebration? You just beat two Absolutes. Shouldn’t you at least be a little happy?”

Suddenly, all her remaining strength drained away.

The thin thread of life holding her together was coming undone.

“…Congratulations.”

With that final word—

“On becoming the next Absolute…”

—Mei Xiao’s eyes lost their light.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]