Chapter 95 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: The Heavenly Demon Chooses a Martial Art
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As the Heavenly Demon's gaze shifted, the shadow that had been standing in front of the exit vanished into thin air.
"How dare you!"
The Heavenly Demon bared his fangs and moved to pursue the shadow, but Nameless blocked his path.
[Lord Heavenly Demon! Dealing with the Bubiston comes first!]
"This seat will crush that irritating bastard first."
[You can't!]
Nameless, who knew the Heavenly Demon's temperament all too well, clasped its hands together.
[Please, Lord Heavenly Demon. If we fail to stop the explosion, the people of this city... no, the food you'll enjoy from now on will drastically decrease.]
At the word "food," the Heavenly Demon paused for a moment, and Nameless fired a green guiding line toward the bottom of the display shelf.
[This part, Lord Heavenly Demon.]
Crack.
The Heavenly Demon ripped out the entire display shelf and tore up the floor tiles beneath it, revealing a large safe buried in the perfectly square hole in the floor.
When the Heavenly Demon pried open the safe, Nameless peered inside and spoke in a dazed voice.
[My God. It's not just one Bubiston...]
The safe was packed with roughly 300 pieces of Bubiston. About half of them, around 150, were glowing red-hot like burning coals.
At this scale, it wasn't just the building at risk—the entire area would be obliterated.
[Lord Heavenly Demon. Judging by the white smoke rising, the explosion won't wait even a minute.]
Why were this many Bubistons in such a small Awakener shop?
What organization did that Awakener who appeared earlier belong to?
What reason did they have for hiding a massive stockpile of Bubiston in this Awakener shop?
Was it calculating, or was it in shock?
Mechanical noises echoed through Nameless's processors, and its visual sensors blinked repeatedly.
[300 Bubistons...]
This was a bustling district teeming with people. Nameless's voice, having calculated the potential casualties, carried a hint of despair.
[At this rate, everything within a 500-meter radius will be reduced to dust.]
"Doesn't this city have the Earth God?"
[The Earth God doesn't interfere in human affairs. Ah, maybe we should contact Manager Jang Chaewon quickly...]
"No need."
The Heavenly Demon extended his hand and unleashed the Cold Spirit Ice White Divine Art.
Whooooosh.
But its power was far too weak to extinguish the massive quantity of Bubistons that had already ignited.
Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh!
At that moment, blue flames began erupting from all 150 Bubistons. They had ignited without giving any time to escape.
[The explosion...!]
As Nameless sensed the end and cried out to the Heavenly Demon.
[Lord Heavenly Demon----!]
Zzzzzzzzt!
The Heavenly Demon's body was suddenly bathed in yellow light. It was the pure true energy from when he had achieved one jiazi days ago.
"A single severed meridian has been solidly reconnected, so through this channel, I can now use the full authentic demonic martial arts I couldn't before."
Recalling what the Heavenly Demon had said then, Nameless murmured.
[You've... chosen a martial art.]
Thanks to the inner energy filling one jiazi, the Heavenly Demon had restored a single meridian. This allowed him to deploy one more world-shaking martial art using Reverse Extreme True Energy, which could harness both yin and yang energies.
Krrrrrrackle! Bzzzzt!
Yellow light like lightning wrapped around the Heavenly Demon's body.
Rumble rumble...
Suddenly, the building shook as if struck by an earthquake, vibrations rattling the foundation, while gale-force winds howled from all directions.
The Heavenly Demon had mastered not only the 180,000 demonic arts but also the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic martial arts scattered throughout the murim. Among them, he was about to unleash the supreme pinnacle art that could be executed with Reverse Extreme True Energy.
'Can it be done? Lord Heavenly Demon?'
That's what Nameless wanted to ask.
No matter how one denied it, the Heavenly Demon was human. The explosive power of 300 Bubistons—how could human strength possibly contain it?
Crack crack.
Suddenly, the sound of twisting bones emanated from the Heavenly Demon's body, and his eyes turned pitch black.
"Divine Demon..."
The black energy flowing from his pupils gathered in his hands.
Wooooong.
At the same time, all 300 Bubistons in the box began floating into the air.
Clatter clatter clatter.
The airborne Bubistons gathered into a spherical mass like a ball, hovering between the Heavenly Demon's hands.
"Annihilation(滅)-Heaven(天)-Palm(掌)!"
With a thunderous shout, as the Heavenly Demon clapped his hands together, an immense flash burst outward.
Flash!
It was like a miniature sun. From the dark void pouring from the Heavenly Demon's hands came tremendous heat and light.
"Grraaaah!"
The Heavenly Demon's hair shot skyward, Blood Flame Radiance blazed from his eyes, and worm-like veins bulged across his body. The floor beneath him began to crumble.
"Graaaaaah—! Heavenly Demon Supreme Ability!"
Boom!
Intense red light exploded from the Heavenly Demon's body.
The Divine Demon Annihilation Heaven Palm unleashed with one jiazi, combined with the Twelve Meridians' Heavenly Demon Supreme Ability.
Boom boom boom!
Yet even so, the concentrated explosive force in his hands couldn't be fully contained. At this rate, the Heavenly Demon would vanish without a trace. But.
"Eeeeee—Haaaaaaaap!"
With a colossal shout, the Heavenly Demon hurled the sun-like mass above his head.
Rooooooar!
The pouring Divine Demon Annihilation Heaven Palm tore through the air in the form of a black dragon, piercing the building's ceiling and soaring infinitely into the sky.
—BOOOOOOM!—
A massive explosion erupted in the heavens, another sun radiating fierce light. The ceiling pierced by the Divine Demon Annihilation Heaven Palm had melted away, revealing the clear sky.
[...]
Nameless stared at the scene of millions of lights pouring down, speechless.
Was this the power a human could wield? No, was the Heavenly Demon truly human?
[This is Lord Heavenly Demon's authentic demonic martial art...]
Nameless murmured lowly. To think an authentic demonic martial art could display such tremendous might. And adding one jiazi to it allowed for the use of such arts?
Spurt.
At that moment, pitch-black blood poured from the Heavenly Demon's mouth and ears. Having poured out every last drop of his strength, he had suffered severe internal injuries from extreme exhaustion and tangled meridians.
Even the "Our Clothes," crafted from top-grade divine fabric, were more than half torn. His eyes had rolled back white, and the thick veins covering his body were charred black.
"Urgh."
[Lord Heavenly Demon!]
"Don't make a fuss."
Tremble tremble.
The Heavenly Demon, gritting his teeth and enduring while blood flowed from all seven orifices, finally.
"This seat... is the Heavenly Demon."
Thud.
He left those words and collapsed.
* * *
A faint light filtered through his eyelids.
As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw a descending light fixture and a ceiling engraved with familiar patterns.
"Improved Tex ceiling."
The moment the words "improved Tex" came to mind, Lee Seok-gi's head filled with the knowledge he had studied.
'It's the highest-quality product among Tex materials mainly used for commercial ceiling finishes. It's a Class 1 flame-retardant non-combustible material that produces no heat or residual flames even when heated to 750 degrees for 20 minutes...' As he murmured this to himself.
"Oppa! You're awake?"
The door opened, and a young woman with a short bob rushed toward Lee Seok-gi, who had opened his eyes.
It was his wife, Song Kyung-ah.
"Kyung-ah."
"Oppa!"
Song Kyung-ah threw her arms around Lee Seok-gi and burst into tears.
"Do you know how worried I was? Everyone said you wouldn't make it... I'm sorry... sob sob sob."
As Lee Seok-gi blinked at his wife sobbing uncontrollably, memories of deploying to the fire scene finally resurfaced.
The interior of the Awakener shop filled with flames. Dozens of Bubistons glowing red-hot...
"Am I... alive?"
"Yeah. Yeah!"
Patting his wife as she wept in his arms, Lee Seok-gi felt something odd. It was like holding a cold chunk of ice in his palm.
"Wait? This is..."
Looking down at his palm, he saw transparent ice shards actually stuck there, with faint white smoke rising from them.
"What the hell is this? Why is smoke coming from my hand?"
As Lee Seok-gi stared at his palm, Song Kyung-ah wiped her tears and said.
"Oppa, you're an Awakener."
"What?"
"Even more, one who can absorb moisture from the air to create ice... an S-rank ice manifestation skill Awakener."
Stunned as he listened, Lee Seok-gi bolted upright.
"What? I'm an Awakener?"
As he sat up, white smoke and chilling cold spread rapidly, turning the hospital room as frigid as if the AC was blasting.
"What are you doing? It's cold."
"Oh, sorry."
Lee Seok-gi looked at his palm and spread both hands. The cold air filling the room was sucked back into his hands.
"What the hell happened? Why did I become an Awakener?"
"According to the doctor, you were an Awakener all along. You just awakened at the fire scene this time."
"But I clearly tried to block the Bubiston..."
Then Song Kyung-ah started crying again.
"I heard the story. You stayed behind alone to stop the explosion and halted the Bubiston detonation."
Looking at his wife, who clutched his hands and sniffled, Lee Seok-gi suddenly recalled the silhouette of a massive man.
'Who was that?'
As he focused on the faint shadow in his memory, a sharp pain stabbed his temple.
"Ugh."
"Oppa. Does it hurt?"
"No, no. Just a headache..."
"Wait. I'll get the doctor!"
Forgetting the call button in the room, Song Kyung-ah rushed out the door.
Rubbing his temple as he sat there, Lee Seok-gi suddenly remembered crimson eyes flashing within the shadow.
"Huh?"
At that instant, the temple pain vanished, along with the shadow's form in his mind.
"What was that?"
Lee Seok-gi looked at his palms again. His body felt at ease once more, but it was as if something precious in his head had slipped through his fingers.
Something irreplaceable, though he couldn't say what.
* * *
One week later, inside the Heavenly Demon's rooftop room.
The Heavenly Demon had set out a folding table and was hunched over, eating takeout rice.
—...A fire broke out at an Awakener shop selling illegal artifacts. Twenty-eight-year-old Kim is in critical condition from this fire...
The TV screen switched, now showing a bean-sized transparent stone: Bubiston.
—...And in this fire incident, there's a hidden hero. Firefighter Lee Seok-gi.
—This is the Bubiston that firefighter Lee Seok-gi risked his life to prevent from exploding, hidden inside the shop. It was originally a red-tinted artifact, but...
—...Unable to extinguish the ignited Bubiston, he soaked it in his own blood to avert what could have been a catastrophe. And thanks to that, he awakened?
The TV showed a beaming firefighter's face.
—That's right. It turns out firefighter Lee Seok-gi was a latent Awakener. To block the Bubiston explosion, he absorbed the heat, and suddenly manifested the S-rank multi-skill 'Steam Freeze'...
Click.
The screen changed again, this time showing a massive explosion in the sky like another sun.
—This is the explosion at the fire scene. Authorities are investigating this mysterious blast...
Slurp.
Silently watching the TV, the Heavenly Demon scooped up his bowl with a spoon and gulped down the broth.
After downing the spicy beef head soup broth refreshingly, the Heavenly Demon spoke to Nameless on the table.
"Change the channel."
[Understood.]
Nameless switched to the food exploration program the Heavenly Demon had been enjoying lately. After finishing his soup while watching TV, the Heavenly Demon picked his teeth and headed to the door.
"Buuuurp."
A cool autumn breeze brushed the Heavenly Demon's cheek as he let out a satisfying belch.
It had been spring when he arrived here, but autumn had now swiftly arrived.
[Lord Heavenly Demon. I'm glad your body recovered so quickly.]
The Heavenly Demon had opened his martial art through the severed meridian and blocked the explosion with all his power.
The injuries from collapsing at the fire scene were far from minor. It had taken six full days of rest in the rooftop room to barely recover.
[Manager Jang Chaewon and Kim Chanwon don't say it outright, but they're both proud of you, Lord Heavenly Demon.]
"Hmph. This seat merely didn't want the inns he'd visit in the future to disappear."
Though the Heavenly Demon replied coldly, the light in Nameless's visual sensors was warm.
[By the way...]
As Nameless cautiously spoke from atop the clothes chest, the Heavenly Demon waved his hand.
"If it's about that bastard who tried to take the Bubiston, drop it."
Did even an incident that could turn the city to rubble and claim thousands of lives stir no emotion in the Heavenly Demon?
[This isn't just dungeon-related. It's a major crime that happened within your living area, Lord Heavenly Demon.]
Though a mechanical lifeform, Nameless loved humans and wanted to protect this society. And while in this world, it hoped the Heavenly Demon would live as a citizen of this city, as a human.
[If those kinds of people cause trouble again, it could bring great harm to you as well.]
Perhaps moved by Nameless's earnest plea, the Heavenly Demon spoke coldly.
"Those trading in such dangerous artifacts won't stop at one offense—they'll strike again soon enough."
Gazing at the distant sky with murderous eyes, the Heavenly Demon murmured lowly.
"And anyone who disturbs this seat's mood will pay the price without fail."
[I see.]
Nameless's voice brightened.
No matter what, he had declared he wouldn't let those who would destroy the city streets go unpunished.
[Speaking of that firefighter. At first, he clearly manifested a flame skill, so how did it change to an ice creation skill?]
As Nameless, in good spirits, changed the subject, the Heavenly Demon answered flatly.
"Because of the Reverse Extreme True Energy this seat injected."
[Pardon?]
"Reverse Extreme True Energy is a timeless inner cultivation method that allows simultaneous use of yin and yang energies. In other words, it can freely switch heaven and earth, reverse yin and yang, and manipulate meridian flow at will."
Suddenly, the Heavenly Demon recalled one of his subordinates collapsed and gasping before the Demon Vault.
A man whose body, despite being male, had become womanly beautiful from cultivating the True Yin Mysterious Heaven Art. The sight of his subordinate, Ma Gi-ja, writhing in agony as his yin and yang energies reversed.
"In the past, this seat used Reverse Extreme True Energy to convert decades of accumulated True Yin Mysterious Heaven cold ice true energy into blazing fire true energy."
[...]
"A terribly frail fellow."
[To be called 'fellow' by you, Lord Heavenly Demon. He must have been someone very close and dear.]
For a moment, an unfamiliar emotion flickered in the Heavenly Demon's deepened gaze.
"You're wrong. He was a pathetic subordinate who yapped useless nonsense just like you."
As the Heavenly Demon grumbled, Nameless whispered lowly.
[...You always say the opposite of what you feel, Lord Heavenly Demon.]
But the voice was too soft to reach the Heavenly Demon's ears.
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