1007——————==

Soul of the Evil God (四神之魂)

The light emitted by Gin Nara kept shining for a while without disappearing. It was so broad in range that my Inner Palace was already destroyed, with the desolate night sky visible behind me. I was continuously neutralizing the rays with the Peerless Technique, but I couldn’t maintain my concentration, so I seized the opportunity to escape the ray’s range.

Soul Removal Technique!

Pa-at!

As I escaped and looked at Gin Nara with my Void Step, Cheon Woo-jin, who had suddenly appeared beside me, said while floating in the night sky as well.

“The Illuminati sent that guy knowing you’re in the Master Class, Absolute Realm. They must’ve thought you could beat him.”

“Hmmm. If it’s the Eight Parts of the Divine…”

“First, run away. That’s the best option.”

I was slightly taken aback by Cheon Woo-jin’s sudden words.

“What? No matter how formidable the Eight Parts of the Divine are, I have Xuyou, and if we join forces, we can definitely win!”

Cheon Woo-jin shot me a cold glance, likely concerned about the risk of eavesdropping.

[You fool. Regardless of winning or losing, you’re currently without Heavenly Secret. If there’s even a slight chance he inflicts a fatal blow and you die? What will happen if your rebirth ends?]

“……”

[I’ll give you the signal, so prepare.]

Cheon Woo-jin’s words were right. Without the Heavenly Secret, there was a danger of dying if I recklessly fought a strong opponent. It might not be the end, but I had too much at stake to rely on that. I nodded.

‘Let’s not overdo it.’

Eventually, Cheon Woo-jin clenched his fist tightly.

“Get crushed!”

Thud!!

Then Gin Nara, who had been emitting rays, seemed to bend under an invisible force. Seeing the compressed figure of the man-faced bird Gin Nara, it looked like one blow could deal a finishing blow. However, soon a mechanical sound emerged from Gin Nara.

[Hyper level psychic detection. Measured physical force load of 4293 kilotons… deploying psychic distortion field.]

Bang!

From the center of Gin Nara’s body, an intangible wave erupted in a hexagonal shape, shaking off all pressure and returning to its original form. It seemed to be made of a special metal; there wasn’t even a trace of it being bent.

‘Hmm… this isn’t an opportunity. It’s ambiguous to run or fight, so I’ll just stay still.’

I realized that moving awkwardly would only lead to loss, so I decided to maintain a defensive stance.

Seeing that, Cheon Woo-jin frowned.

“Indeed, the latest model is equipped with a psychic distortion field? The initial models were easily affected by psychic powers, but the speed of technological advancement is astonishing.”

I said, confused, “Hey, aren’t you going to use Illusion Technique? Isn’t that your specialty, like your Upper Dantian ability?”

“……”

After a silence, Cheon Woo-jin’s next words surprised me.

“My Illusion Technique has been sealed since World War II against Nazi Germany. So, my current ability is less than half of my prime.”

“What?!”

Cheon Woo-jin can’t use Illusion Technique?

What the heck does that mean?!

“So hurry up and run. Things are about to get messier!”

Yelling, Cheon Woo-jin pulled out ten talismans from his pocket and hurled them forward.

Talisman Art

Spirit Void Formation

Then Gin Nara let out a sound wave from his face, and as soon as the talisman made contact with the sound wave, a circular barrier was summoned in the air. The moment the circular barrier naturally embraced Gin Nara, he momentarily hesitated, and the guy started emitting mechanical sounds again.

[Detecting Tao Skill. Seal maker type. Energy release initiating destruction.]

Kaboom!!

Gin Nara shone with light, and along with an enormous amount of brightness, he began to smash the Spirit Void Formation into pieces. Although it appeared to be a considerable high-level technique, the way Gin Nara broke the barrier instantly suggested that it possessed extremely high capabilities.

At that moment, Cheon Woo-jin gritted his teeth and looked at me, and I realized that his gaze expressed a will to risk his life to hold the line. It was probably a signal to hastily escape this place.

‘No.’

At that moment, I thought that was simply unacceptable.

Having repeatedly engaged in life-and-death battles hundreds of times, I knew this. If I left Cheon Woo-jin behind to escape alone, he would undoubtedly be killed. Gin Nara, though devoid of his former rationality, was a culmination of formidable technology and could decode all of Cheon Woo-jin’s techniques and psychic powers.

Cheon Woo-jin was right.

Losing to Gin Nara could mean the end of my rebirth, so fleeing was the right choice. But—now I had to protect my companion and find a way to win!

‘Let’s fight!’

The moment I finished my thoughts, I swung Xuyou.

Intent Heavenly Pillar

Absolute Realm

Infinite Slash!

Whoosh!

The thread-like trajectory created by Xuyou sliced through the space ahead. Gin Nara’s movements, once radiating light, came to a halt for an instant, and the space twisted apart from the line created by the trajectory and crumbled.

Boomboomboom!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With a thunderous sound, Gin Nara flew backward, and the explosive noise repeated ten times. But knowing that wasn’t a sign that I had finished him off, I let out a grunt.

“Hmm…”

According to my thoughts, it should have been sliced so smoothly that he couldn’t retaliate again. Yet the loud explosive sound meant he had withstood the slash by countering the Infinite Slash’s cutting power.

No matter how advanced the battle machine created on the basis of the Eight Parts of the Divine was… to withstand a fatal blow from Absolute Realm without dying?

‘Well, maybe I can manage this.’

My fighting spirit ignited, and I felt strength surge in my arm. At that moment, Cheon Woo-jin yelled from behind.

“You blockhead! I told you to run away!”

“If I run, you’ll die. What am I supposed to do?”

“Either way, if the end comes, we all die, so what’s the point? Don’t ruin the great cause and run now!”

“Forget it. I’m going to win.”

I replied curtly and took my stance. I could see Gin Nara, who was embedded in the ground, slowly rising from his position.

[Force reduction technology not applicable… external defense rate down to 43%… signal received from headquarters to continue fighting.]

Gin Nara’s eyes shone with a cold light, typical of machines.

[Over Charge mode. Activating main abilities.]

Thwack!

Gin Nara leaped up and used a technique I had seen before.

Whoooosh—

Super Flashing Flower

Light began to gather around Gin Nara’s wings in the form of luminous bullets. Moments later, thousands of glowing projectiles started firing at me with countless trajectories. I could tell it was different from the rays earlier, as I had seen this technique before.

‘Right. I saw Gin Nara using this technique when the Eight Parts of the Divine battled the Queen Mother of the West!’

So this is not a beam fired from technology, but Gin Nara’s inherent power! I attempted to evade the incoming rays using Soul Removal Technique, but in an instant, I noticed five rays coming in at angles that even Soul Removal couldn’t avoid. As expected, it was a technique of the Eight Parts of the Divine’s main body, Gin Nara.

‘Ugh, if the Peerless Technique fails, it could be fatal, so I need to be safe here…’

Protection Energy Technique deployed!

Boom!

I quickly blocked the rays with Protection Energy Technique, sustaining minimal damage, but the pressure still made my shoulder ache. Despite blocking most of it with the Protection Energy Technique, if I’d taken that head-on, my upper body would have surely been blown away. Gritting my teeth, I stepped once more into the Void while unleashing the Soul Removal Technique against Gin Nara.

“Urrrgh!!!”

Thunder God Sword Dance

Single Slash!

Crack!

As I made the slashing motion with the Thunder God Sword Dance, I got chills watching Gin Nara regenerate at an incredible speed where I had just cut. If I could feel the regeneration in just this fleeting moment, it meant he was uncannily close to immortality.

No doubt about it. He regenerated immediately after being struck with the Infinite Slash earlier, so it wasn’t sliced neatly. The shock from the Infinite Slash had been dispersed, resulting in that explosive sound.

‘Damn, a simple cut won’t take this guy down in one strike. I guess I needs to land multiple precise cuts…’

I thought I needed a more certain method to take him down. So I was about to switch to the Five Techniques of Thousand Kills Slash when something strange caught my eye.

‘Huh? What’s that?’

Thanks to slashing him with a single blow, I spotted a round, wiggling piece of metal inside Gin Nara’s torso. Thinking it might be something, I quickly switched my actions and performed a different technique. As Xuyou slid back into its sheath, my right hand snatched the fleeting moment.

Technique of All Things!

Pa-at!

The next moment, a spherical piece of metal was in my hand.

‘Alright! I stole it!’

As soon as I pulled out the sphere with the Technique of All Things, I swiftly backed away, and Gin Nara’s movements suddenly ceased.

[…main power source… Demigods Heart loss… quick replacement required… auxiliary power activated… cannot operate due to Over Charge…]

Wrrrrrrrr!

Beep!

[Stand by.]

Thud.

After mumbling something nonsensical, Gin Nara’s lights flickered out, and he slumped down right there.

“……”

Hmm, did I win?!

I yelled at Cheon Woo-jin, who was hovering above, “Hey, look! I caught Gin Nara! I was scared for nothing!”

“…Huh.”

Cheon Woo-jin seemed momentarily speechless, staring blankly before he finally spoke.

“You may be an idiot normally, but you think well in a fight sometimes…”

“Hey, what’s wrong with a bit of honest praise?!”

“That aside, just get out of there. It’s dangerous.”

“Uh? Why is it dangerous?”

Bleeep!

Bleeep!

Before I finished my words, Gin Nara’s eyes suddenly illuminated in red, and it muttered.

[Nuclear fusion explosion commencing.]

Kaboom!!

“Gah, gah, gah!!”

“……”

“I told you to run away! Those Illuminati bastards always self-destruct with nuclear bombs… just like this again…”

With beads of sweat pouring down his forehead, Cheon Woo-jin was frantically reaching his hands toward Gin Nara’s body, squeezing out every bit of his psychic power as if it were the last. Meanwhile, Gin Nara’s body was already melting from tremendous heat, engulfed in bizarre lava-like flames. It almost seemed as if the lava were alive and moving.

In that brief moment, Cheon Woo-jin managed to stop Gin Nara’s explosion with his psychic power, but he clenched his teeth with no room for relaxation, looking like he used all his strength.

“Do something quickly!!”

“Got it!”

Swish!!

I loaded Intent Heavenly Pillar and sliced the explosion into hundreds of pieces in an instant. It seemed to lessen Cheon Woo-jin’s burden somewhat, but he was still sweating profusely, extending his hands.

Cheon Woo-jin shouted, “That won’t be enough!! Don’t you know anything besides slicing things as a martial artist?! What good is slicing a formless energy like nuclear fusion?!”

“Ah…”

“Is there no other way?!”

Ugh, what do I do?!

I was caught off guard since I hadn’t considered what to do after defeating Gin Nara. I didn’t fully understand what nuclear fusion was, but I realized if it slipped out of psychic control, we’d both die.

In that moment, a great idea popped into my head.

‘If the Divine Thief did it, I can too!’

Can I adapt the situation then to overcome this crisis?

I quickly asked Cheon Woo-jin, “How far do we have to be to be safe from that explosion?”

Cheon Woo-jin, sharp-minded, realized what I was trying to do and answered right away.

“At least a hundred Li! If we go northeast, it should be okay. Move that way!”

“Okay!”

Technique of All Things

Changing location!

Pa-at!

‘As far away as possible…!!’

With my empty left hand, I cast Technique of All Things while stretching it toward the place of explosive energy. Just as searing heat threatened to engulf my hand, I swiftly shifted my position to a faraway spot.

Swish!

In that instant, the nuclear fusion energy vanished, and a gigantic explosion erupted outside a hundred Li.

Kugugugugu…!!

Having thrown it as far as possible, I might not have exceeded that distance. However, I couldn’t help but be astonished when I saw the mushroom cloud rise from over a hundred Li away. It looked like a mountain had been blown away.

‘That tiny mass can equate to an all-out attack from the Eight Parts of the Divine?’

Scientific power shouldn’t be underestimated.

Breathing heavily while lying on the ground, Cheon Woo-jin spoke.

“Huff… huff… Damn… again this… huff…”

“…Sorry. There was no other way.”

“Huff… huff…”

Cheon Woo-jin swayed and collapsed.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I hurriedly supported Cheon Woo-jin to lift him up, but I jumped back, startled to discover a strange mark embedded on the back of his neck.

‘This is!’

Isn’t that a curse?!

Having studied the Demon Path from Zhuge Sa, I immediately recognized it as a powerful curse mark. Since magical power was radiating from it, I also realized that the spellcaster of this curse must be immensely strong.

“…Did you see? Hoo.”

As Cheon Woo-jin muttered tiredly, I questioned him.

“What’s that curse mark?”

“Like you see, it’s a curse.”

“Who cast it?”

With those words, I stared intently.

“…It’s the mark of the Demon King Zhuge Sa, who defeated Simon Magus and became the master of the Demon War. That’s why I can’t use Illusion Technique now.”