Chapter 124

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Chapter 124

“That bastard is the intruder you trusted? Too late now.”

“Ugh…!”

He kicked as if playing soccer.

A red-skinned figure flew toward me.

A giant with three heads and six arms—Asura

Is that Asura?

Why is he so weak?

The guy was acting all high and mighty, but he got wrecked.

Suddenly, my vision turned red.

A danger detection signal.

“Soul Barrier.”

Thanks to Skuld, my danger detection has been upgraded, but I still can't see the trajectory.

For now, I immediately casted Soul Barrier.

Boom!

A deafening sound erupted from behind me.

I quickly turned around to see Pollux grinning menacingly.

“Soul Barrier? You… you’re Kim Jiho, aren’t you?!”

“Pollux…!”

“Because of you, I ended up sealed away! Today, I will finally settle this grudge!”

He hit me first, and now he’s mad?

What the hell is his problem?

Like a thief getting angry when caught.

Whoosh!

Pollux’s figure vanished.

Boom. Boom.

Above me.

Then, the sound of impact from behind.

My golden Soul Barrier remained solid, without a single crack.

Defense is holding up just fine.

But I can’t just sit here and keep getting hit.

Time to go all out for the first time in a while.

“Summon Phoenix.”

[It has been a long time, Master.]

A Phoenix appeared before me.

Maybe it’s because I’ve evolved into S-rank, but its mana felt overwhelming, despite being the same size as before.

“I’ll imbue you with soul energy. Keep Pollux in check.”

[Understood.]

As I imbued the Phoenix with soul energy, its body turned pure white.

With it keeping Pollux occupied, I draw my Soul Sword.

Boom. Boom.

“Tch, this thing is too damn tough…!”

Pollux continued pounding away at my barrier.

But it didn’t even budge.

Raising it to level 50 was definitely worth it.

While keeping an eye on the barrier’s condition, I channelled soul energy into my Soul Sword.

It surged upward in an instant.

It extended beyond the barrier.

The blade now reached about 4 to 5 meters in length.

I can’t freely control its length like the Yeoui, but this should be enough.

After all, this is a battle of soul bodies.

As long as my attacks connect, the outcome will be determined by SP amount and efficiency.

“So this is the original Soul Barrier… Completely uselessly sturdy…!”

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom!

Pollux’s fists rained down from all directions.

But none of them penetrated my barrier.

At this rate, he’s just throwing weak punches at a wall.

My skill efficiency is clearly much better.

Now, I just need to attack.

The problem is…

I can see his fists, but not his body.

Where the hell is he striking from?

Still, my Soul Sword is 5 meters long.

If I swing it in all directions, surely one hit will land, right?

I made sure to avoid hitting the fallen Asura and swung my sword.

But—nothing.

I felt no contact at all.

His punches kept coming, but even at maximum speed, my sword never touched him.

“Tch, too slow.”

Pollux’s afterimages flickered in all directions.

It’s like he’s using some kind of clone technique, leaving behind countless residual images.

But whenever my sword does touch one, it vanishes instantly.

None of my attacks were landing.

Damn… Is there really this much of a power gap?

We’re both soul beings, aren’t we?

Crack.

[Soul Barrier is damaged. SP is being consumed for repair.]

A message popped up, and SP drained rapidly.

I checked my SP usage—10 million SP gone.

I recharge it—another 10 million gone instantly.

If this keeps up, I’ll be in serious trouble…

Even the Phoenix can’t catch Pollux.

[Master, he’s too fast!]

“Did you really think a mere Phoenix could keep up with a god?”

…Damn, this is pissing me off.

The only reason I’m still standing is because my barrier is unbroken.

If it had shattered even once, I’d already be defeated and sealed away.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

“Hahaha! A mere mortal like you, granted the power of a Soul God? What a joke!”

Pollux easily dodged all my attacks, laughing mockingly.

Damn bastard…

No matter how much I swung my Soul Sword, it only consumed my SP without landing an effective hit.

I need to think of another way rather than just trying to land a strike.

Boom!

Another punch crashed toward me.

A sturdy barrier blocked it.

Hmm… the barrier.

Right, the barrier makes contact with the enemy.

Can I imbue it with Soul Emission?

As soon as I tried it, a message popped up.

[Soul Emission is imbued into Soul Barrier. While the protective efficiency decreases, it now reflects attacks, dealing damage to the enemy.]

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Urgh… Reflection? How absurd!”

Pollux, who had been pounding away at my Soul Barrier, suddenly had golden explosions erupted from both of his fists.

Then he abruptly stopped attacking and leaped backward.

He grimaced and looked down at his fists.

His hands, strangely mangled.

Since he was in a soul form, there was no blood, but parts of his fists had been torn away.

“Soul Gods are such a nuisance. I see now why my father, Zeus, was so wary of you.”

“And you—why the hell are you so fast when you’re just another lower god?”

“Hah. The fact that someone like you thinks they can stand on equal footing with me… No matter if you’re the Soul God, you’re far too arrogant.”

Pollux’s fists began regenerating at an incredible speed.

He took a deep breath while looking at me.

“I didn’t want to use his authority… but I have no choice. Soul Emission…!”

Pollux’s fists flashed pure white.

Then, white flames erupted.

Wait—why the hell can he use Soul Emission?

Did Hercules not just lose Soul Barrier, but also Soul Emission?!

My vision turned red again.

I imbued my Soul Barrier with Soul Emission and evaded.

I have to admit it—close combat against him is impossible.

That means my only options are Soul-imbued Incantations or powers like Thunder God's Authority.

I need to lock down every possible escape route.

Though its efficiency is cut in half compared to melee attacks, I have no choice…

But just as I prepared for a large-scale attack, an obstacle stood in my way.

That damn Asura, lying in a miserable heap.

If he gets hit by Soul-imbued attacks, he’ll die.

Tch.

Useless god…

I backed away, making sure he was out of the attack’s range.

As I retreated with all my might, Pollux closed in at a slightly faster pace.

There’s no massive speed gap between us.

From that, I can tell there isn’t a huge difference in our physical capabilities…

Once I gained enough distance to avoid hitting Asura, I rose into the sky and activated my skill.

“Thunder God.”

Soul-infused Thunder God.

From beyond my Soul Barrier, radiant white lightning erupted in every direction.

An inescapable situation.

Pollux clenched his teeth.

“Soul Barrier.”

This bastard can use Soul Barrier too?

Damn it, Hercules!

All because you fell for Aphrodite’s temptation, now I’m stuck suffering like this?!

As my Thunder God pierced into his Soul Barrier, Pollux’s fist reached me first.

Boom!

[Soul Barrier is partially shattered.]

[Soul Barrier is recovering.]

[SP is greatly consumed.]

His fist, burning with white flames, smashed into my Soul Barrier.

Unlike before, when his hits barely tickled, this strike packed real force.

My golden barrier was half-collapsed, and his massive fist stopped just short of my face.

Then, he followed up with a second and third strike.

Every time my barrier was about to break, it regenerated—only to be broken again and restored once more.

Pollux stared at my Soul Barrier with a stunned look.

“Damn it…”

His expression twisted in frustration.

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His fists slowly began to burn again.

The reflection damage combined with my Thunder God and him barely piercing my barrier is taking a toll.

“Soul Barrier.”

Pollux leaped backward and reactivated Soul Barrier.

His burning arms extinguished and slowly regenerated.

I can’t just sit back and watch.

Once more…

“Focused Enhancement—Thunder God.”

CRACKLE!

Lightning rained down.

“Phoenix, don’t hold back. Burn everything.”

[Understood.]

I unleashed my Phoenix.

In an instant, the sky-world was engulfed by relentless lightning and brilliant white flames.

Pollux scrambled to evade.

But this is different from before.

I’ve sealed off every escape route.

Pollux’s Soul Barrier is battered by my Thunder God and Phoenix’s flames.

Half of his barrier shattered.

His eyes widened in shock as he desperately flew.

“Grrr… To be pushed back by a mere mortal… A Soul God…!”

Well, compared to him, I guess I am just a mortal.

Still, even if my martial skills fall short, I should make the best use of what I have, right?

Even though he stole both Soul Energy Emission and Soul Barrier, my skill level itself seems to be lacking.

If you infuse Energy Emission into a ranged attack, its efficiency drops by half.

Right now, my Energy Emission efficiency is at level 50, making it 100 times more effective—so in this case, it’s 50 times.

And yet, even with that lower efficiency attack, his barrier was half-destroyed…

Damn, if I had landed just one sword strike with my soul sword, this fight would have been over already.

“Hah, the world is truly unfair. Why was such a power granted to someone with such insignificant talent like you?”

“And this is coming from a guy who lived his life as a pampered son of a god? Didn’t even go through much hardship. At least Hercules had his Twelve Labors.”

“Hah… The Twelve Labors of Hercules were a blessing. I, Pollux, possessed talent no less than Hercules, yet he took on all the trials, leaving me without the chance to make a name for myself as a hero. I could have completed those trials. If I had, I would have stood in his place…!”

“Oh, come on, how do you even compare yourself to Hercules? You’re just some womanizing rapist bastard.”

All you did was grant infinite stamina.

“And you’re still using Hercules’ skills, aren’t you? Stop complaining. Thunder God.”

I close the distance now.

That paper-thin Soul Barrier, which even Thunder God can break through, will be destroyed in an instant.

Pollux, who had been wearing a grim expression as I and the Phoenix approached, clenched his lips tightly.

Then, clenching his fist, he muttered:

“Brother, help me. Castor.”

As soon as he uttered the name Castor, Pollux’s right arm transformed into solid steel.

And then he infused it with energy.

His entire arm began burning bright white.

This was a different level of power than before.

Hmm, this looks strong.

I released Thunder God, widening the gap between us.

Zzzzt! Zzzzt!

The Thunder God struck against Pollux’s barrier repeatedly.

As I concentrated my power, cracks began forming in his barrier, like an eggshell breaking apart.

Pollux, eyeing his barrier with cold eyes, leaned forward instead.

Then—his form disappeared.

Scanning the area, I spotted him standing where Asura had collapsed.

He lifted Asura with his left arm and hurled him toward me.

“Gaaah! Krrrghhh!”

The moment Asura made contact with the Thunder God’s energy, he screamed in agony.

At this rate, he was going to be erased entirely.

Ah, this useless bastard…

I considered finishing him off along with Pollux, but I decided to let him go this time.

I deactivated Energy Emission on the Thunder God, so Asura was merely being electrocuted now.

“Go down.”

I commanded lightly with Dragon Words and drew my soul sword.

As soon as Asura hit the ground, Pollux charged at me.

His right arm burned as he rocketed toward me like a cannonball.

Damn, he’s fast.

But now, I was getting used to his speed, and my danger sense showed me the trajectory of his attack.

Unlike before, this was his final desperate strike.

It was fast, but I could see his route.

This time, no dodging…

I thrust my soul sword!

Zzzzt!

The sword of light and the steel fist collided.

For a moment, we seemed evenly matched, pressing against each other in a contest of strength.

And then—

BOOM!

The steel fist shattered into pieces.

Pollux’s arm disintegrated, bursting into flames.

He looked at me in disbelief.

His entire body was quickly engulfed in white flames.

“Grr… How… How could this be…?! I gave it my all… I combined my power with Castor’s… There’s no way I could lose…!”

Pollux writhed in agony as he was consumed by the white flames.

Was this the end?

Damn, if he had just taken one sword hit from the beginning, he would’ve died instantly.

“If it’s come to this…!”

Grimacing in pain, Pollux turned his gaze downward.

Following his line of sight, I saw Asura writhing in pain.

“Haaah!”

Pollux suddenly lunged toward Asura.

What the hell?

Is he trying to kill Asura?

Asura was useless and only got in the way, but letting him die like this left a bad taste in my mouth.

“Phoenix, don’t let him get near Asura!”

[Understood.]

I unleashed Thunder God toward Pollux’s back.

Even while burning, he dodged the streaks of lightning with remarkable agility.

Damn, this guy really was a martial god.

But he couldn’t dodge them all.

A lightning bolt struck his right leg directly.

“Gaaah!”

Pollux plummeted from the sky.

By the time his body hit the clouds, his limbs had already vanished.

Only his torso and head remained, wailing in agony.

Even his soul form showed no signs of regeneration.

“Grrr… If I used Energy Emission… I should’ve at least taken one of you down with me…”

“Farewell, my first guardian deity.”

Shink!

I gently stabbed my soul sword into his chest.

Pollux’s eyes lost their light.

“You… bastard…”

He disappeared, his gaze filled with resentment to the very end.

What a stubborn guy…

Still, since he was my first guardian deity, I couldn’t help but feel a complicated mix of emotions.

We actually had a decent relationship at first…

“Aaagh! S-Save me! Hurry, I’m going to die!”

Suddenly, I heard desperate screaming from the side.

Asura flailed all six of his arms wildly, in a complete panic.

His body was still burning slightly from the Thunder God’s energy.

Sigh… This useless idiot…

Even at the very end, he was just a pain in the ass.

I walked toward Asura.

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