Chapter 680
In a world flowing slowly.
The pale blue flame that coiled around my fist and surged forth burned, using every sight that flashed by in that fleeting moment as kindling.
The single fist I thrust like a cannonball toward the Black Hand Demon Fist’s heart.
The sight of that bastard, his eyes wide as if they would pop out, hastily extending his hand.
And despite that, his black energy, pushed back helplessly, and his protective energy, which shattered the moment it touched the flames.
And… beyond that, even the dazzling flash of light that cut through space and approached.
‘BOOM! ‘
‘Aaaang’
A colossal roar and vibration.
A scorching gale swept through the place where everything had happened in an instant, and ended in an instant.
No, it was the same for a radius of several dozen yards.
A fog, created by the heat and steam from the Scorching Yang Energy, encroached upon the area and obstructed the view.
‘Swaaaaaa’
I stood tall in my spot, staring at the hazy fog. Until a single voice flowed out from beyond it.
“Truly astonishing. More than I had thought.”
A voice tinged with a faint, sincere admiration. I pulled White Flame toward me with telekinesis and replied calmly.
“I suppose I’m pretty good for my age. I bet even the Heavenly Demon or the Martial God weren’t this good.”
“How arrogant. But I’ll admit it. You are more than qualified to say such things.”
“Don’t give me that crap about qualifications. You have the gall to spew that nonsense after interfering because you were scared?”
The voice that came out of my lips was composed, but inwardly, my stomach churned.
‘Damn it.’
That flash of light that entered my vision at the last moment.
If it hadn’t been for the Twin Wheels, clearly thrown by the slender old man, the Black Hand Demon Fist might have suffered a massive internal injury or died on the spot.
‘I expected it, but… the timing was too exquisite.’
In that brief moment, I was given only two choices.
Either I finish off the Black Hand Demon Fist in exchange for having my head cut off by the Twin Wheels and becoming a Dullahan-in-training, or I let the bastard go and save myself.
Of course, my choice was naturally the latter.
I swung my fist, changing its direction in mid-air, to strike the Twin Wheels, and the Black Hand Demon Fist, not even daring to think of exploiting the opening, hastily retreated.
A short clash that began and ended in the blink of an eye.
At a glance, it might seem like we were evenly matched, but for me, this was a huge loss.
Having had a harsh taste of my power, the Black Hand Demon Fist would now be incomparably more cautious and thorough in dealing with me. An opponent’s carelessness is a greater weakness than any other, but the chance to exploit that carelessness only comes once, at the beginning.
‘If this continues…’
It won’t be easy. No, it will become a very difficult fight.
I probed for the figure hidden beyond the fog and opened my mouth.
“Our little Black Hand. My Black Hand, who learned martial arts through his asshole while living half a century longer than me. Where are you hiding?”
I thought he might just ignore me, but the Black Hand Demon Fist was a man of excellent character who answered his opponent’s words with all sincerity.
“…Shut your trap.”
“Is it just me, or does your voice sound a lot smaller than before? Did your balls shrivel up after getting a taste of my flame?”
“…You bastard. You’re getting cocky just because you exploited a moment of my carelessness. Do you think such an opportunity will come to you again?”
I let out a smirk.
Considering the Black Hand Demon Fist’s martial prowess, it wasn’t entirely wrong to say I’d exploited a moment of carelessness, but that was something a junior martial artist would say.
Not some old monster who had eaten his fill of years.
“Don’t you feel like an idiot even as you say it? Huh?”
“You son of a bitch who deserves to be torn to shreds…?!”
“Enough.”
The Black Hand Demon Fist’s shout, about to continue, was cut off by a cold voice. From beyond the fog that still hung thick all around, a slender figure was revealed.
‘Shhhk.’
The mud, baked dry by the horrific heat, crumbled like sand at the tip of the old man’s foot.
Holding a wheel with sawtooth-like blades in each hand, he lightly shook his sleeves.
Swaaaaaa.
A cold wind descended upon the hot air, and as it pushed away the fog that obscured the view, the surrounding scenery was revealed, transformed from a swamp teeming with all sorts of poisons into a desert.
“So this is the legendary Flame Extinguishing Divine Fist. Amazing. What level of mastery is this?”
Toward the old man who asked with pure admiration, I lowered my spearhead and replied.
“The three-thousand-and-twenty-fifth level.”
“Is it just my imagination, or does that number feel absurd?”
“The realms of martial arts are originally endless.”
“A wise answer to a foolish question. The Fire King raised his disciple well.”
“I’d say he raised me splendidly. But why did your parents raise their kid to be like this?”
A full-force parental diss aimed straight at him. But the old man was unshaken.
“Well, if I ever have cause to go to the netherworld, I’ll be sure to ask.”
‘Shhhk.’
A step forward as if on a stroll. I measured the distance and answered.
“Speaking of which, how about paying them a visit today?”
“A pity. It seems I won’t have any reason to go anywhere near there for the time being.”
“It’s not good to postpone things like that. Think how angry your parents will be in the nine springs of the underworld. They worked their asses off to raise a child, only for him not to visit.”
“You’ve guessed wrong this time. This old man is an orphan from birth and was never cared for by anyone, so I have no reason to be called an unfilial son.”
‘Shhhk.’
The third step already.
Muyaho, who had been transformed from a majestic white tiger into a Poodle that had a bad grooming day after having its fur shaved by the Twin Wheels, let out a low growl. I stared at the Twin Wheels that began to slowly spin in the old man’s hands and muttered.
“Then even if you go to the netherworld, you won’t be able to ask why they raised you like that. Since you don’t know their faces anyway.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Thank you for the good advice.”
“Then what about that idiot who’s stealthily following your ass right behind you?”
The Black Hand Demon Fist spat out a short curse, and the old man answered calmly.
“Black Hand… that friend is in a similar situation.”
“I’m asking because I’m genuinely curious, is it a prerequisite for the Dark Heaven? Or is it some kind of trend?”
Instead of answering, the old man took another step forward.
‘Shhhk.’
And the moment that unusually clear sound pierced my ears, I could see it. The blue radiance emanating from the Twin Wheels held in the old man’s hands.
Tzztztzt! Shiiing!
Two streaks of light flew in with a faint sound of tearing air.
As the Twin Wheels flew with bizarre movements like living snakes, the Black Hand Demon Fist, his eyes gleaming with madness, was charging in from below.
Sweeeeeeek!
An attack that began simultaneously from two directions. No, three directions.
– Kraaaang!
With the roar of the white tiger erupting from behind me, I swung down the spearhead of White Flame with all my might.
‘Kwang!’
A fierce repulsive force was transmitted along with a loud roar. Having deflected one of the Twin Wheels, I felt a wind blowing from my blind spot and turned my head.
‘Shhhk, swish!’
It was by a hair’s breadth.
Just as the strands of hair cut by the strong energy scattered in the air, the Black Hand Demon Fist, who had closed the distance to three yards, shook his tattered sleeves.
“You baaastard!”
Gugugugugung!
The palm force that erupted from his two wide-open hands shook the space.
I gently pushed my spearhead toward the black energy that rushed in like a wave.
Fire Dragon Divine Spear. First Form.
Fire Dragon’s Tail.
‘Fwoosh, swaaaaak!’
The pale blue flame billowed. As the Fire Dragon’s tail split the black palm force and shot forward without hesitation, the startled Black Hand Demon Fist let out a cry of alarm and twisted his body.
‘Swish!’
A sharp cutting sound. But unlike me, the Black Hand Demon Fist didn’t get away with just having his hair cut.
From the tip of his blunt nose, which had been cut off without him realizing it, blood was dripping.
“You, you dare…”
I knew for sure. Even if we fought ten more times, the Black Hand Demon Fist could not defeat me.
That old monster’s lofty pride and the anger inherent in his heart were paralyzing his reason, and that minute crack was an opportunity for me.
‘Now.’ ‘Papat!’
A single step.
The distance of several yards between me and the Black Hand Demon Fist was erased in an instant, and over a dozen movements flashed through my mind.
Choosing one of them is a very simple task.
‘Shhhk.’
From heaven to earth. A pale blue flame bloomed upon the spearhead as it descended with a faint sound of tearing air.
Fire Dragon Divine Spear. Second Form.
‘Heavenly Strike.’
‘Fwoosh. Kwaaaaaa!’
A snowball grows larger as it rolls, and a current becomes a wave when it gathers.
The eyes of the Black Hand Demon Fist, who was looking up at the single streak of flame cutting through the air, widened.
“Hup…!”
A double palm strike thrust upward with a cry of alarm. In the brief moment that the hastily summoned palm force collided with the flame and died out, blue flashes of light flew in from the left and right.
Shiiiing!
The neck. And the chest.
This was an attack that couldn’t be dodged by movement alone. With a split-second judgment, I twisted the spearhead that was aimed at the Black Hand Demon Fist and swung it.
‘Kwang!’
No matter how exceptional a person may be, no one can overcome an unavoidable force.
Just as my body, having lost its balance from the tremendous repulsive force, was pushed back helplessly, someone’s whitish figure rushed in like a ghost.
‘Shhrik!’
There was not a single word, not even a breath.
The old man, who had only been throwing the Twin Wheels from the rear until now, began his own battle, calmly and composedly, yet with precise speed and flow.
Just like this moment.
‘Shwak! Pupuk!’
Hot, and cool.
Even though I twisted my body at the last moment, the result didn’t change much.
The [finger wind] that erupted from the tips of his long, withered, branch-like fingers pierced my shoulder, and the spearhead of White Flame, which was advancing toward the old man, lost its direction and wavered.
And dodging the powerless spearhead was an incredibly easy task for the old man.
‘Shhhk.’
The spearhead cut through the empty air in vain.
Gritting my teeth, I straightened my posture and spread my remaining hand. At the same time, I thrust it, boiling with heat and flame, toward the old man’s chest.
The Flame God Palm, advancing while incinerating everything in its path, was reflected in the old man’s eyes.
An indescribably hot, ceaselessly burning heat.
But seeing the old man’s still coldly composed eyes, I felt an unidentifiable chill.
‘This is…’
An unidentifiable sense of unease. And the ominous premonition that seized my entire body soon became reality.
‘Ssk.’
In a brief moment, split and split again, the old man slowly extends his hand.
No, he wasn’t the only one who was slow.
My palm strike advancing toward his chest, and the Black Hand Demon Fist and the white tiger rushing in from behind us, were the same.
And… along with the cold energy that flowed from the old man’s wrinkled hand, the stopped time began to flow again.
‘Kwaduk! Pzzzzzzzt!’
The two palms finally met.
The pale blue flame and the pure white cold energy collided and mixed.
‘Kwadududuk!’
Everything was scorching hot, and freezing cold.
Two lights of different colors flickered ceaselessly before my eyes, and an unprecedented amount of power shattered and shook the surroundings.
Gugugugugung!
A roar as if heaven and earth were splitting apart.
And I saw. At the same time, I could hear.
“My introduction is late.”
The powerful Yin-cold energy that pressed down on the slowly dying flame.
“This old man is called the Great Snow Demon.”
And the cold voice that flowed out between puffs of white breath.
‘Kwachang!’