827 Episode 42 Destination (3)

I said, pulling Anna Croft back.

"I'll take over from here."

"I can fight too."

I glanced at Anna. Her face was stained with shame. Perhaps her pride was hurt.

"I know. You're strong, But not now."

Anna Croft was definitely a person with incredible growth potential. If only a little more time passed, she would grow into a being that even the Great-grade Constellations, or even the Narrative-grade Constellations, would have difficulty handling.

But that was only the latter half of the 'Ways of Survival'.

The enemy before us now was a monster that could annihilate three Great-grade Constellations in one blow. It was definitely not an enemy Anna Croft could handle.

"You know, since you've seen the future. It's my turn now."

As if she already knew what I was going to do, Anna didn't act any more. Instead, she searched through her bosom and handed me a small leather water bottle.

"Drink."

"What is it?"

"It's my blood."

I opened my eyes wide.

Anna Croft's trait was 'Elixir Maker; Her blood itself is comparable to a high-quality elixir.

"Was giving this to me also included in the future?"

Anna Croft, her shoulders slightly shrugging, answered bluntly.

"Aren't you going to take it?"

I smiled and opened the cap of the bottle.

"I always end up drinking your blood whenever I meet you."

"This is only the second time."

Was it because my sympathy with the Demon King of Salvation had deepened? The moment I drank Anna's blood, Kim Dokja's stories lit up brightly and warmed the muscles of my entire body.

I felt the 'Dream Eater' looking down at me from above.

I thought as I faced that distant gaze.

How many more monsters like that are there in this Fear Realm?

—Coming.

I nodded and activated [Way of the Wind]. I flew high into the sky, avoiding the tentacles of the 'Dream Eater' flying towards me.

—You know this is a method that no one in their right mind would ever try, right?

"Have we ever been in our right minds?"

Kim Dokja's laughter flowed out from the other end of the phone. With that laughter as accompaniment, I flew up to the distant sky. My entire body's muscles were ticklish. The stories inside me were trembling.

—It about time to fight properly.

The banished penalty was completely restored by obtaining the main scenario.

In other words, now is the time to test 100% of my strength. After all, I am the successor to the name of the 'Demon King of Salvation'. Even though I cannot fully display his power, I am not weak now.

Geeeeeeeeing!

The 'Blade of Faith' rose from the sword of 'Unbreakable Faith'. As I swung the long sword vertically, pitch-black stories poured out from the surface of the tentacles flying towards me. The blow was minimal, but I didn’t care. It was just the beginning.

When the knots that Lycaon had told me about became entangled in the sword, the wind soon became my will.

I ran towards the main body of the thing with my sword stuck in its tentacle leg.

Ooooooooh!

This time, there must have been a slight blow, and I felt the 'Dream Eater' flinch.

—Did you apply what you learned from Lycaon?

"Yes."

The next moment, the 'Dream Eater’s' legs shook greatly and soared into the sky. It was definitely the attack that had sent the three Great-grade Constellations to the goal earlier.

—Don’t hold back from now on.

Kim Dokja's words were right. From now on, if I don't give it my all, I'll die.

A fierce storm blew from the distant sky. Kim Dokja said, watching the tentacles of the thing falling at an incredible speed.

—If this doesn't work, you'll really die. You know that, right?

"Anna told me I wouldn't die."

—Do you believe that?

"I have to believe it now."

—Let's get started.

Originally, even if I used [Incite] or [Bookmark], it would have been impossible to compete with the 'Dream Eater'.

But now, if only for a little while, it might be possible.

Just because I went into the Fear of the '40th Round' once and came out, the power of my incite had changed.

"I—"

Of course, the person I would [Incite] was already decided.

"I am Goryeo First Sword Cheok Jungyeong!"

It wasn't just [Incite]. [Sentence Reinforcement] is a basic skill, and [Incite] is fully imbued with the know-how of Cheon Inho learned in the 40th Round.

The 'Heart of a Low-level Dragon' that I swallowed one day was beating like crazy.

A scenario exile with the blood of a dragon.

The attributes matched and dramatically increased the assimilation rate of [Incite].

Anna's blood flowed through my veins. The probability required for [Incite] was being realized by consuming Anna's blood.

I am the best swordsman of Goryeo.

The best warrior of Goryeo who cuts everything with only one sword.

The lines he had said, the lines he would have said. The history he had lived and the history he would have lived were tied together and embedded in my right arm.

The moment the magical power that had swelled to the point of bursting inflated, the tentacle legs of the 'Dream Eater' were right in front of me.

—Youngest.

"I am Cheok Jungyeong."

Kim Dokja's story activated right on time. It was the very tale that Kim Dokja had obtained when he hunted the 'Dream Eater' in the Dark Castle.

With my heart pounding as if it was going to burst, I swung my sword at the tentacle.

Please, please—

Tsk tsk tsk tsk.

And the scenery before my eyes began to ripple. It was clear what it was a sign of.

First Form, One Sword That Cuts Thousands.

A trajectory in the air collided with the falling tentacles along with a burst of magical power.

Kudududud!

But as expected, an Outer God is an Outer God.

A shockwave that even Cheok Jungyeong's single sword could not block was pushing First Form back.

—One more time!

I immediately activated the second sword.

Second Form, Two Swords That Cuts a Mountain.

Cheok Jungyeong's second sword to cut down a mountain. As the sword strike of a different dimension from the single sword was added, the shockwave emitted by the tentacles was canceled out in an instant.

An ecstatic sensation surged through the fingertips holding the sword.

A supreme realm that only those who have shed their mortal skin and ascended to the Transcendent Realm can sense.

I thought for a moment. What if I could re-enter the '40th Round'?

If only I could experience that re-experiment over and over again, like Yoo Jonghyuk and other Transcendents who entered the Time Fault.

How strong could I become?

Kkuddeok.

That was when I instinctively felt something was wrong. A terrible pain seemed to run through my right arm, and then something rattled under my shoulder.

—Damn, it broke.

The frail incarnation body couldn't withstand the shock from the two swords.

To make matters worse, even [Incite] was canceled. I smiled bitterly as I watched another tentacle descend from the air.

—Not yet.

I thought I could use the Three Swords. Even if 「Staging」 is activated, I can't use the stage to kill that 'Dream Eater' right now.

In the first place, the 'Dream Eater' wasn't killed by Cheok Jungyeong's sword.

"Still, this is enough."

This is enough.

Instead of trying to resist death, I closed my eyes while watching the falling tentacles. And I imagined Cheok Jungyeong's three swords that I couldn't use.

The Third form, the Three Swords That Cut the Sea.

When I slowly opened my eyes while imagining that infinite sword power.

I heard the tentacle flying toward me split in half with a cool wind.

With a sound of "Oooooooooh," the 'Dream Eater' burst out his mantra.

A man who didn't give in to that terrifying mantra stood before my eyes.

He was a Constellation who didn't Fear Outer Gods. The last passenger on the 'Subway Home', and a great disaster who caused the 'Crime Zone' and wiped out all other incarnations.

All my 'stages' up until now have been an action to draw out the interest of that person that is somewhere in the Fear Realm.

"Goryeo Swordsman. It is an honor to meet you."

Cheok Jungyeong looked back at me.

His three swords are not a beginner's technique, but a technique created through thorough enlightenment.

It was familiar to me who was familiar with the story, but it was a martial art that ordinary martial artists could not imitate even if they tried.

But a mortal, who he was seeing that martial art for the first time, used it.

Oh, it's not the first time you're seeing it?

Come to think of it, I had forgotten that the confrontation between Cheongae and Dragon Head Arc was broadcast on the Star Stream.

"It's an honor to be with you."

What was it about my words that made him feel good? Suddenly, Cheok Jungyeong burst into a grand laugh.

If it were an ordinary warrior, it would be right for him, who knew his own unique martial arts, to question me.

I listened to him a little nervously.

A philosophical and precise analysis, but his tone was strangely gentle.

Fortunately, Cheok Jungyeong didn't seem offended by my imitating his martial arts.

No, to be exact.

He seemed to be feeling a little better.

The best warrior on the Korean Peninsula lightly patted his chest and declared.

Huh?

I heard the 'Dream Eater' shouting, "Oooooooh."

Before I could answer, Jungyeong moved. He cut down a thousand lives, and a mountain.

The warrior who cut the sea again swung his sword at the Outer God.

A martial art that was truly shocking. Cheok Jungyeong's sword slashed mercilessly at the 'Dream Eater', and the 'Dream Eater' also repelled all of the attacks with incredible agility.

Kim Dokja, who had been silently watching the spectacle, left a short comment.

—I didn't expect this.

"That's right."

—I didn't want it to turn out like this.

"Why on earth did you say something like that?"

Usually, they would have first investigated the circumstances of the leak of the Dokmun martial art or gone through some complicated procedure. However, that bold Constellation immediately took me as its disciple.

— Cheok Jungyeong is a Constellation that has never taken a disciple. His martial art cannot be learned through ordinary training.

"Ah."

A martial art that cannot be learned even if taught. But a human who mastered that martial art himself appeared.

—Well, there’s nothing wrong right now. At least as long as Cheok Jungyeong thinks of you as his disciple, he won’t let you die in vain in the Fear Realm.

Is this really a situation where I can just think that way and move on?

—Why, is there something bothering you?

The moment I was about to answer, someone’s cold hand grabbed my wrist. It was Anna Croft.

"Cheon Inho."

"Yes. You want to run away?"

"Then you plan on dying here?"

"You said I won’t die."

"I didn’t see what happened next."

Anna’s advice was right. Now is the time to retreat. While our master fights hard, we can quickly run away to the Industrial Complex and plan for the future.

—What a great disciple.

"Who did I learn from?"

—You know that even the best swordsman in Goryeo can’t defeat the 'Dream Eater', right?

"Then this will be the last meeting between the master and the disciple."

I briefly bowed to the master who was fighting fiercely for his disciple from afar, and then turned back toward the Industrial Complex with Anna Croft.

But.

—This will definitely be our last meeting.

When on earth did he appear? The Outer God 'Yeongasi' who had been guarding a different direction until the war was blocking the way to the north.

It seemed that he had seen our fight with the 'Dream Eater' and had already approached us.

Anna Croft, whose face had turned pale, slowly hid behind me and said.

"I don't like Yeongasi."

I didn't have much magic left anyway. So.

I quickly turned around and shouted loudly.

"Master! Your disciple is in danger!"

Then the master replied.

Hmm, it seems that the new master is the type who pushes his disciple into the tiger's den.

I started to slowly back away with Anna.

"Is there another plan?"

"No."

Anna Croft tilted her head at my desperate answer.

"That's strange."

"What do you mean?"

"It wasn't the Goryeo Swordsman."

"What do you mean?"

"What I confirmed in the future was that it wasn't the 'Goryeo Swordsman'."

While I was wondering what that meant, I heard a conversation from somewhere. It was on the rooftop of a nearby building.

"Hehe, the Captain of the Third Division fights with the Dream Eater every time he comes here."

"What a pitiful guy."

"Let's subdue him first. We'll attack the Dream Eater together, and who will fight Yeongasi?"

"I'll do it."

The moment the Yeongasi monster rushed in with a "Kwaeaeaeaek," a blue sword strike rippled before my eyes.

I knew what that martial art was. The blue of the sword resembling the clear and bright sky.

—Wow, it's been a really long time.

Baekcheong-ganggi. But that wasn't my Baekcheong-ganggi. A sword much more noble and even beautiful than my Baekcheong-ganggi.

"That's him."

As Anna spoke, I looked at his back as if I was possessed. His sky-blue hair, which matched Baekcheong's swordsmanship, was blooming brilliantly in the dazzling light.

As I watched the Yeongasi Outer God running away screaming, I suddenly recalled the description of him when he first appeared.

If I were to express my emotion right now, Yoo Jonghyuk's cheek would be gone.

I finally ran towards the 'real master' who had appeared.

But the expression on the master's face as he looked back at me was unusual. Now that I think about it, why is that? Master's appearance was a little strange. No, it wasn't just a little strange.

That... what is that?

Was Kyrgios originally that big?

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