Vol 2. Chapter 42: Heroes Fade Like Flowers While G.o.ds Burn Brightly (3)

For a moment.

The war stopped.

Those who had been trying to kill their enemies, those who were trying to sneak away, those who had been planning and coordinating, those who were watching the situation, and those who were deep in confusion – all of them were forced to turn heads.

And there I was.

If anyone was exceptionally large, for example, a human who was three meters tall, he would arouse people’s attention in a flash, even if he was standing among a large crowd in the middle of a city. Even if others did not know who he was, what his name was, what his personality and abilities were, their attention would be drawn to him naturally. His size alone was enough to garner attention.

But what if he was not only three meters tall?

What if he was 10 meters?

20 meters?

What if, what if he was 100 meters? 200 meters?

Even if he was standing still without doing anything, people would not be able to take their eyes off the enormous giant.

“What the? What was that just now?”

“A voice? Did he speak just now?”

Their attention became focused on me. Even though they were standing in the middle of a fierce battlefield, they weren’t able to take their eyes off me.

Because, I was too big.

Because, they were too small.

Tung!

A loud roar resonated. It was the sound of a steel plate being struck with a large hammer. Before I knew it, there was a metal wall erected in front of me, and in the middle of the wall was a clear fist mark.

“Heup!”

The man responsible for the surprise attack, the Fist Emperor, charged towards the wall. It was as if he had expected the ambush to fail. His feet touched the ground only once, but the distance of tens of meters was reduced to a mere 1 meter.

Another ferocious attack!

Tung!

But once again, a metal wall about two meters across was formed in front of me, hindering his attack.

“What, what is that!?”

The equipment that was on the floor…!”

The metal walls erected around me were formed from the weapons and armors that had littered the floor of the battlefield. To be exact, the walls were formed from the metal portions of the equipment. The metals had melted together like liquid and became a lump. It was blocking the attacks of the Fist Emperor as if it had its own mind.

“A mere wall!”

As he clenched his teeth, a grand aura began to swirl all over the Fist Emperor’s body. His feet left a deep mark on the stone floor, and the swirling aura formed into a tremendous weapon and struck the metal wall.

Wooong!

But this time, I didn’t stay still. I reached out my hand and put my palm against the metal wall.

Puck.

As a result, the metal wall made a completely different sound from before. It no longer reverberated in a metallic clang but sounded like a hammer hitting a lump of clay. The Fist Emperor seemed to be fl.u.s.tered that his attack had disappeared without causing any reaction.

With my hand still resting against the metal wall, I nodded.

“I see. This is the power of green. Conversion of external energies into vibration energy.”

I closed my eyes. I could feel a special biological organ in my body. Actually, there were more than one. It rested in my arms, in my legs, and between my lungs.

Wooong-!

I could feel the vibration. Before I knew it, the power of green was absorbing the vibrations on the wall into my body. It was not an optical phenomenon, so it would not be visible if it was photographed. However, it was colored fresh green, something that would be visible to anything with life, even a child.

I focused my consciousness on sending new signals to the organs. It was also a form of vibration, but it possessed different properties from the previous one.

The power of red – storing of vibrations.

The green glow around my body slowly started to shade red. It was sucked into the biological organ that existed in the body once again, then emitted from my right arm after being transformed.

The wall had been shining green, but turned red in an instant. The Fist Emperor became shocked and tried to retreat, but it was too late. The wall was tightly grasping onto his fist as if it were alive.

“And this is.”

Wooong!

The vibration spread. The Fist Emperor’s attack was transformed into vibration, and the vibration was infinitely amplified by a power that eclipsed a transcendent’s.

The red light changed once more.

“Brilliant Heaven Seven Lights. Orange.”

Boom!

This is what it must have sounded like to shoot a cannon right next to my ear. Everyone screamed and covered their ears at the loud blast. It was a tremendous vibration which caused an earthquake and made buildings collapse from its aftershock.

“F, fist Emperor-nim!”

A nearby warrior shouted in a loud voice.

“Your, your arm!”

Blood spewed like a fountain. The Fist Emperor’s right arm was gone. The force of the strong vibration had smashed his arm apart, from just below his shoulder.

“How dare you! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!!”

Despite the confusion, the loyal warriors of the Zhu Family charged without looking back. A swordsman slashed down with a longsword like a bolt of lightning.

Schlooook!

But the sword never reached its destination. A spear had jutted up from the floor and penetrated his jaw, exiting from the top of his head.

“Die!”

A shadow under the hanging body materialized and came at me. It wasn’t an illusion. He didn’t seem to be an ability user who mastered an element to escape the physical boundaries of the body, so it must have meant that he was a mutant born with special powers.

The man jumped out of the shadows and shot up like a bullet. His momentum as he threw himself at me with the sword was quite ferocious. It was the kind of attack that abandoned all defenses. He was literally throwing his life away to land a single attack on me.

However, fierce determination alone was not worth much. The weapon held in his hand did not share his sentiments.

Plop.

As soon as it entered my territory, the small sword was instantly liquefied. Perhaps it had undergone hundreds, no, thousands of quenching, but it did not matter. I was twisting the strong metal at its smallest particles. The molecular structure of the metal had morphed without the use of any energy.

“What, what?!”

An expression of incredible astonishment and the shout of disbelief marked his end. His own sword had morphed into an awl, then pierced his throat. His cold body lost all momentum and rolled on the floor.

“Oh, my arm.”

But I didn’t care about him. I was looking at my arm, which had turned into a mush of flesh. Compared to the powerful energy I possessed, my body was too feeble. As such, it had not been able to withstand the explosive power of the vibration.

Although my body had begun to evolve following the methods of the Brilliant Heaven Seven Lights, the limitations were quite clear.

Click.

But it was not a serious issue, but more of a simple annoyance. Without hesitation, I took out Shadow Stalker and pointed it at my arm.

Bang!

The regression bullet collided with my arm with a bang. The surrounding area’s time was reversed and my arm was restored back to normal. But at that moment,

Thuckk!

This time, a strong shock was conveyed through my forehead and my head was lurched back. The thing stuck to my head was a type of heavy ammunition plastered with all sorts of spells. Naturally, it wasn’t from Shadow Stalker, but from a sniper who was aiming for me from afar.

“Ah, it’s annoying that I can’t predict the future.”

I frowned. It felt blinding to not be able to see the future. It was a relief that I had been able to sharply reduce the speed of the bullet with my control over metal. Otherwise, it might have penetrated through my skull. If the bullet had been made of wood or stone, rather than metal, it could have killed my body instantly.

“Uaaaaah!”

I grabbed the fist of a bare-handed fighter. It wasn’t even worth the effort to absorb the physical force with the power of green.

Wiing!!

As I emitted a force of vibration, he collapsed on the ground while bleeding. It was around that time.

“What are you standing still for? Support him!”

Min-kyung, the princess of the Korean Empire, shouted while holding a sabre in her hand. She must have fallen into confusion after the sudden death of my brother, but come to her senses when she saw me fighting alone.

Obviously, I didn’t need their measly help.

So I spoke.

Stay still and wait.

“…..!!”

“…..!?”

Everyone stopped in their place – the warrior who were running with their weapons, the archers who were readying their arrows, and the sorcerers who were about to chant their spells. However, only those belonging to the Lee Family had been subjected to the command. The Zhu Family’s forces must have seen it as an opportunity.

“Kill him!”

Five or six spearmen rushed toward me as I turned around. Their attacks were like bolts of lightning, but all of their spears were made of metal.

“You’re quite slow to pick up on things.”

The weapons must have been carefully crafted by master blacksmiths with much effort. However, they were liquified as soon as they entered my territory. As the enemy became shocked by the unexpected situation, the fluid metal formed into dozens of awls and shot back towards their masters. In an instant, dozens of enemies fell to the ground with dozens of metal pieces sticking out of their bodies.

“Yes. Insects. You insects… What should I do with you? What can I do to lighten my mood?”

I turned around and started walking towards Gw.a.n.ghwamun Gate. My territory gradually expanded.

Bang! Clang! Chwareukkk!

The abandoned weapons of the dead soared into the sky as if they were alive. They shot like bullets and rotated like boomerangs, aiming at the weak spots of the enemies. It was as if each were being wielded by an experienced soldier.

No one could stop the onslaught. Every step I took was accompanied by blood and flesh.

“What, what is this!?”

“Get out of the way!!”

The weapons which were on the floor, embedded in the bodies, and even held in the enemies’ hands, began to come alive and fly away like swallows. The ability users of the Zhu Family resisted desperately, but the force contained in the weapons was far from normal.

“How could this be!? Is he utilizing the Will of the Swords?”

“That’s not even funny! Such is a skill that only appears in history books or ancient myths!”

They came at me in desperation, but none of them were able to get close to me. Sniper shots from afar were no longer effective. The weapons flying around me were deflecting and blocking all long-range attacks.

“Affinity! It’s elemental affinity! That b.a.s.t.a.r.d! He’s using the spiritual arts!”

“Dammit! I would rather it be the Will of the Swords! Does it make sense that he can control his element to this extent!? Even the masters of the magic towers can’t wield this kind of power! Did he sign a contract with the legendary Spirit King or something!?”

Screams and shouts were bursting out from all over the place, but they were quickly devoured. The pouring rain of iron and the rising skewers from the ground cut the flesh, broke the bones, and smashed apart any attempts of defense.

Warriors charging at me were stabbed to death by their own swords. Sorcerers shooting curses at me vomited when the spell was reversed. Wizards memorizing spells were stabbed to death by daggers that penetrated their defense magic.

Dead, dead, dead. The more I became accustomed to utilizing elemental power, the faster the slaughter became. The number of deaths quickly went from two to triple digits, but the time it took to reach four digits was shorter than the time it took to go from two to three.

In addition, were these just ordinary people?

No. They weren’t conscripts who were forced into the army and sent to the battlefield with a gun, nor were they soldiers who were paid to receive basic, repet.i.tive training. Each one was a masterful fighter who had trained their abilities for at least 10 years.

But they were falling like moths rushing to the torch. Their deaths were in vain.

This was absolute difference in power.

“This is too d.a.m.ned slow. It’s still less than 3,000.”

It was a one-sided ma.s.sacre. The killing was mechanical.

“At this pace, it’s going to take forever to kill all of them.”

My sense of reason finally started to return as I heard my voice laced with boredom.

I heard screams. I heard something breaking and exploding. I sat in front of the wide open door and listened blankly.

It occurred to me that the door should be closed now.

But at the same time.

Why?

A question arose. I couldn’t figure out why I had to close the door. Why should I desperately try to control myself? Because of the lives of these insignificant insects? Because of the country called Korea and the organization that was trying to protect it?

How ridiculous.

If I really had an interest in them, I would have interfered using all sorts of methods from the very beginning. There had been so many opportunities and methods that it was unmeasurable. Orbital bombing would have solved everything, even if it was something like an international conflict.

In the end, the reason I had entered the Lee Family was due to my brother.

And now, my reason was gone.

‘Ha.’

I leaned my head against the door with a sigh.

Still.

I stayed still in place.