His wounds hurt and the sky was high above him. It was only after Hangyeol fell in a ragged state that he became aware of a fact he had taken for granted. Even so, he didn’t want to admit it. It was because he was a god.
“…This is a foreign realm.”
The Red Phoenix Breath was constantly emitting flames. The red phoenix was a god who governed over fire and life. The flames of life restored the seven fatal wounds engraved on Hangyeol’s body. Hangyeol’s body disappeared with a roar. The blue dragon was a god who governed over wind and lightning. Hangyeol was surrounded by lightning and gusts of winds and eliminated the notion of space.
“I won’t be beaten by a human like you!!”
Hangyeol’s sword shrieked as it emitted thick smoke. The power of the black tortoise, who governed water and death, revealed itself. Hangyeol, who hadn’t built up faith, was unable to completely control the violent power of the black tortoise. However, at this moment, he transcended his boundaries. He was trying to break the barrier with his willpower for the first time since he was born and he waited for the black tortoise to surrender.
Hangyeol had a gut feeling. The human in front of him was a trial that the gods had given to him. He would overcome this trial and face a turning point.
The soft sword that soared behind Grid’s back moved like a rope and twisted its trajectory. Like the tail of a scorpion, it struck at Grid’s neck. Grid belatedly turned his head and Hangyeol smiled as he met Grid’s eyes.
‘Die. Your flesh and blood will be a soulful requiem…!’
Hangyeol’s eyes widened. Four black-gold hands suddenly blocked his attack. Hangyeol shook when the attack, aimed at the perfect human blind spot, was blocked. He raised his hands nervously, saving his face.
‘He owns four treasures with such a powerful ego?’
Just like the strength of the ego varied from person to person, a treasure also had ratings. Treasures that could move on their own and fight for their owner was classified as the best items, along with a treasure sharing their vision or experience with the owner.
‘He is definitely a tricky guy.’
Hangyeol’s vigilance was amplified. He couldn’t easily evaluate the man who used Pagma’s Swordsmanship more skillfully than Pagma, simultaneously cast magic while swinging his sword, and possessed the power of the sacred creatures, the evil eyes, and the treasures.
Grid used Link and Hangyeol blocked the first blow. Dozens of energy blades pressed steadily at his defenses but Hangyeol managed to avoid all attacks because he entrusted his body to the wind. The problem was the anomalous and powerful magic mixed in with the sword dances.
However, Hangyeol’s specialty wasn’t swordsmanship or physique. Amulets spread around Hangyeol, blocking the magic. Braham’s spells embedded in the sword dances couldn’t easily penetrate Hangyeol’s amulets. It was the limit of basic magic.
“Kuek…!”
However, the buff-magic, Enchant Weapon, worked well despite being basic magic. Braham’s magic reinforced Grid’s sword and Grid used the sword dances developed from Pagma. As a result, Hangyeol continued to be on the defensive and was hurt.
“Ah, I can’t see…” The rabbits on the ground blinked their eyes. Grid’s offensive, with fighting energy at the maximum, and Hangyeol’s steady movements to stop it, were so rapid that it wasn’t visible to their eyes. They only recognized that colorful lights were colliding. Tosun was in a similar situation since she had continued to weaken since the Four Auspicious Beasts were sealed.
‘I never thought there would be a human who could fight on an equal footing with a yangban…’
What type of life had this human lived? The moment Tosun questioned it, blue petals exploded and Grid and Hangyeol, who had been entangled for a long time, finally separated from each other.
“Pant… Pant…”
Blackening had been released a long time ago and Grid was breathing roughly. His hands trembled as he took out potions.
“Cough, cough!” Hangyeol vomited blood while maintaining his breathing. His belt was released so a hard upper body with black marks was revealed between his loosened robes. However, he didn’t use the Red Phoenix’s Breath. No, he couldn’t. It was the aftermath of using the Red Phoenix Breath during the process of attacking and defending against Grid.
He needed a moment of mental recovery as he struggled to control his rough breathing. In short, his mana had fallen.
“I’m sad to lose precious things.”
Hangyeol wiped the blood from his mouth, looking relaxed. The Black Tortoise Breath was a poison that corroded objects and withered life. It was impossible for Grid and his treasures to be safe when they exchanged hundreds of blows with Hangyeol inside the Black Tortoise Breath’s fog.
‘It will be advantageous to me as more time passes.’
Hangyeol was convinced. The world that was three seconds in the future unfolded in his mind. The four black-gold hands would completely weather and scatter like dust. The battle would soon be in his favor. Hangyeol was preparing for an airstrike when he soon became flustered. “What?”
The black-gold hands, which had been constantly exposed to the Black Tortoise Breath, were completely fine. This was different from Hangyeol’s expectations. Rather than weathering, they didn’t rust at all as they floated in front of the human to protect him.
‘What is that material?’
It was outside the expected range. Anxiety rose. Hangyeol broke out of the airstrike position and retreated again. He checked to see if Shunpo was reusable. At this moment, the dark sword in the human’s hands let out a loud noise. The sword, which had constantly emitted flames during the battle, started to crack with a scream. It was the same for the crown full of arrogance, the gloves filled with swiftness, and the cloak that let out a bloody smell…
All the items worn on the human’s body started rapidly weathering because they couldn’t withstand the Black Tortoise Breath. Hangyeol was curious because the armor and shoes that should’ve been broken first were fine, but he soon dismissed it as trivial. He was convinced that he had already won.
“Hat…! Kuhahahahahat!”
Was it so sweet to triumph over a human? For the first time, Hangyeol felt joy in the rights he naturally enjoyed and burst out laughing.
“Ignorant human! Get down on your knees and beg me! Tell me, how did you acquire the sword dances of the loser? What happened to the loser? Tell me everything that happened with Garam! I won’t take your life as long as you speak! Hahahahat!”
“……”
Grid was silent. In fact, he couldn’t afford to answer. This person used the Blue Dragon Breath to fly in the sky. No matter how he was hit, he recovered using the Red Phoenix Breath. Fatal injuries were blocked with the White Tiger Breath or avoided with Shunpo…
Grid was exhausted as he faced the monster, Hangyeol. In particular, he felt a significant threat from the Black Tortoise Breath, which dealt a curse of corrosion. Grid’s concentration was exhausted.
‘It would’ve been much easier if the success rate of the Castration Eye is 100%.’
The primary effect of the Castration Eye was to delete ‘some’ of the target’s beneficial effects. This had a success rate of 100%. However, the effect of ‘deleting all of the target’s beneficial effects’ wasn’t always helpful because it was a probability trigger.
‘I’m not a manhwa character.’
It was a really tough fight. Hangyeol was a truly fraudulent character. This guy was growing throughout the battle. He was overcoming the weakness of his lack of skills and experience as he kept fighting. Grid’s prediction—that the yangbans with no faith would surpass Piaro and Mercedes in terms of stats and skills, but the overall performance would be on par with the two—was shattered. His stats, level, and abilities, were similar to Teruchan, he had a power comparable to Mercedes, and he was now growing to Piaro’s level in technique.
‘If I drag this out longer then I’ll lose.’
Growing in real time. It was like the hero of a manhwa fighting for a long time. The determined Grid pulled out a portable furnace and a blacksmith’s hammer. The legendary blacksmith’s ability instantly increased the firepower of the furnace and he quickly repaired the items that had been damaged.
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
“…?”
Hangyeol was dumbfounded for a moment. He didn’t understand the behavior of the human who sat down and started hammering. Then suddenly…
“Crazy!”
He shuddered and swore as he confirmed that the human’s battle gear were being repaired at a tremendous rate. He was blocked by the God Hands. Rather than the corroded swords, the God Hands pulled out Mjolnirs and tangled around Hangyeol in a dizzying manner. It was a meteor-like momentum but Hangyeol wasn’t threatened. He was able to move faster than the God Hands and he had already become accustomed to the intentions of the God Hands.
“Stop this meaningless struggle!”
He lightly broke through the God Hands’ defense line and swung his sword at Grid’s side. It wasn’t just swinging the sword. It was a powerful swing based on the awareness he gained during combat. The soft sword folded and unfolded. It was as fast as lightning as it aimed for the gap Grid revealed.
“Kyak kyak.”
It greeted the Overgeared Skeletons rising from the ground instead of Grid.
“Hah! You’ve really mastered many things!”
He made a funny expression as he recovered the sword and stabbed it again. The soft sword oscillated and there seemed to be hundreds of them as he thrust his sword at Grid.
“How rude, nyang!” Noe appeared like a flying squirrel and used Lightning Discharge to nullify the attack. He was just attempting to use Soul Ingestion when Noe’s face became like this (XㅅX) as it was hit.
“Hahahat!” Hangyeol laughed despite the fact that several attacks had already failed. Every time Grid pulled out a new move, he trembled with joy, convinced that he had won. The next attack followed. Unlike the previous attacks, it was a powerful strike without any finesse. Hangyeol would cut Grid completely, no matter what Grid did. Yet it failed.
“Revolve.” Randy appeared in Grid’s form and hit back.
“Keuk!” Hangyeol was cut by his own sword and shivered with shame. “This human…! Damn human!”
How many times had he been humiliated? The furious Hangyeol gritted his teeth and viciously cut Randy and Noe, killing them. Even in this dire situation, he aimed his sword at Grid who was focusing on hammering.
[You have received catastrophic damage!]
“Keuk…!”
Blood flowed from Grid as he hammered at the anvil. Nevertheless, his hammering didn’t stop and he didn’t die. Blacksmith’s Patience increased his defense and the shield of the First King title and the health recovery of Tiramet’s Power allowed him to endure it.
“Tricky guy!”
Hangyeol swung his sword again. Then…
Ttang!
Grid raised his hammer over his head and prevented the attack. As he held the repaired Enlightenment Sword in his hand, he gazed at the black tortoise’s fog around him and questioned, “Why do you guys look down on humans every time?”
“…!”
Clearly, Grid looked terrible, like a dying man. However, Hangyeol shrank back. It was the impact of Divinity.
[Show off the virtues of a blacksmith who deserves to be praised as a god. The casting time and cooldown time of all blacksmithing skills will be removed. It is applicable up to two times whenever the skill is used.]
‘W-What is this?’
The shadow of the Five Seniors could be felt from in front of him. Deity—a holy dignity that couldn’t be touched. Hangyeol felt the power of a god from Grid at this moment. He couldn’t acknowledge it.
“A mere mortal human… isn’t it natural to regard weak humans as inferior?” Hangyeol wondered with a trembling voice.
He was denying reality. The human being in front of him. He constantly denied that the trivial human in front of him who used the sword dance of a loser could have a god’s qualifications. Grid’s gaze on him was cold and heavy. “Aren’t you also mortal?”
“Nonsense!” The word ‘mortal’ touched on Hangyeol’s pride. He overcame his fear with anger and attacked Grid. The sword looked like the gorgeous tail of a peacock as it swept across Grid’s chest and finally penetrated his heart. It felt like the tiring battle plagued with humiliation had finally come to an end.
…No, it wasn’t over.
“…!”
The human whose swordsmanship was handed down. Hangyeol didn’t know what was going on. His heartbeat became louder and louder as he stepped back with a pale face.
Step. Grid walked forward and pursued him. Grid had entered the enlightened state while repairing the items and witnessed this moment like it was eternity. It wasn’t just himself who was tired. The proof was that the wounds on Hangyeol’s body weren’t recovering.
“Item Combination, Item Transformation.”
The Enlightenment Sword was combined with Grid’s Greatsword. Greed emerged from the inventory and copied the exact form. Two swords, exactly like twins, were held side by side in both of Grid’s hands.
“Storm Demonic Energy Field.”
The dark clouds that emerged replaced the fog of the black tortoise. As lightning fell, the shadow of Grid moved through the fog and pierced Hangyeol’s heart. It was like the prelude to a new myth being recorded in the world.
“Ah… Uwahh…”
Tosun and the rabbits witnessed a scene they couldn’t even imagine and their ears moved up and down repeatedly.
[An unknown person has killed a half-god.]
A short, powerful statement, emerged as a world message.
