1338——————==

Soul of the Evil God

I already knew how to deal with that huge monster, Halchi Olleifra. Normally, I would be hesitant against an unfamiliar opponent and run a probing battle, but not this time.

‘I know the abilities of that guy. There are just two!’

Petrification!

Substitution!

The ability to turn things to stone and the ability to [swap].

At first glance, it seemed like a simple psychic ability, but being able to use these two abilities freely, wielded by an alien-level powerful apostle, changes the game. I knew how Halchi Olleifra used its powers, so I had a strategy in mind.

‘The petrification ray is deadly, but it’s direct enough to dodge physically. The real threat is its substitution ability!’

Having enough combat experience, I quickly figured out what needed to be done in this situation.

‘I have to step up.’

The opponent before me was too strong to allow individual improvisation. Every moment, every strike could be fatal. Against such an opponent, wasting opportunities was not an option.

If my thoughts were correct, the battle with it would flow slowly like a game of Go.

So I shouted to Gong Gong and King Dae Jo Young beside me.

“Gong Gong! King Dae Jo Young! That one is the celestial apostle Halchi Olleifra. Its powers are emitting petrification rays and have substitution abilities. Dodge the petrification rays and be cautious with its substitution skills!”

[What! You already knew its abilities?]

“Of course. Lord Fuxi foresaw future fragments containing information about that being!”

[……!!]

They seemed flabbergasted. Mixed within their shock was disbelief, which was understandable given the circumstances so far. How could they possibly trust a ‘stranger’ like me who seemed to know everything?

I gritted my teeth and said, “Please, listen! Even if I can survive alone in the worst-case scenario, there’s no guarantee you both can!”

[Hmph! My strength hasn’t fully recovered, but do you think you can underestimate me!]

Gong Gong erupted in anger, but King Dae Jo Young thought for a moment before speaking.

“Let’s at least try to believe each other. So, when you say substitution, do you mean swapping [space]?”

“If that’s all it does, it won’t be that scary. The real terrifying part is that it can manipulate [time].”

“……!! So, it can pull past time into the future or the other way around. Within that range, it would be similar to the abilities of the Old Ruler.”

“Y-Yes.”

I was taken aback by King Dae Jo Young’s intuition. He had grasped the horror of the substitution ability just from my one comment.

‘That’s some great combat experience!’

While his output wasn’t transcendent, Dae Jo Young seemed to have accumulated combat experience comparable to or even surpassing mine. No one could make such precise judgments without having repeatedly fought monsters wielding psychic abilities.

Dae Jo Young glanced at Gong Gong and proposed, “Gong Gong, then let’s focus on defense with divine strength. That would be the most effective strategy.”

[…….]

“Against substitution, if we attack separately, we might be taken out one by one.”

Gong Gong calmed down a bit and thought deeply as he raised his giant sword.

[So, we’re making Baek Woong the main attacker while we take the hits and create opportunities for him to strike?]

“You’re not completely foolish. Even if we only defend, I’ll create opportunities for a counterattack, so just endure persistently.”

[Hmph… Do you know how many times we’ve fought over the past millions of years? Just do your best.]

Kugugugu!!

Moments later, a powerful divine energy erupted from Dae Jo Young and Gong Gong. Seeing them, I felt relief.

‘Fortunately, everyone here has divine power! We can handle this!’

In my 28th past life, the reason my companions struggled so much against Halchi Olleifra was due to the lack of divine power. Humans alone couldn’t deal with an apostle’s psychic abilities; divine energy was necessary to easily block psychic powers. By mere coincidence or fate, King Dae Jo Young and Gong Gong were both strong holders of divine power, meaning they could handle Halchi Olleifra’s petrification and substitution abilities to some extent.

Chiririring!!

I immediately pulled out all of the Five Luminaries from my wooden armor and infused them with my will. They started floating in the void and emitted a divine light. I focused my mind on the luminaries, swallowing my saliva.

‘Even if the Seven Luminaries are half the strength they used to be… Can I do it?’

Five Luminaire Resonance!

Only the Celestial Sage had accomplished this up till now, and I had previously reached the limit of Three Luminaire Resonance. Since then, I’ve united with my companions for Four Luminaire Resonance or used it in a dream world, but I’ve never succeeded in doing it alone. My primary method has been using the Twin Luminaire Resonance, which was the most stable way to amplify my strength.

However, my capabilities have increased significantly since then, and perhaps I might pull off the Five Luminaire Resonance now. Plus, since the Seven Luminaries’ binding has worn off, the backlash might be reduced, right? I began to concentrate slowly and channel power into the Seven Luminaries.

Woo-oo-oo

Moon Sovereign, Fire Sovereign, Water Sovereign, Wood Sovereign, Earth Sovereign –

One by one, I felt each of their colors illuminating and emitting spirit energy. I sensed a pearl-like nucleus, the center, from each of the Seven Luminaries and noticed a faint line linking each of their energy together, like a bug crawling slowly.

‘So this is how it feels to resonate all at once.’

There’s no mistake. Once these lines of spirit energy connect, the moment it begins, the Five Luminaire Resonance will start.

But was it because it was my first time? The progress of the Five Luminaire Resonance was agonizingly slow, and I could feel immense energy and divine power draining away. The consumption was at an unprecedented level compared to the Twin Luminaire Resonance, and my fear grew.

‘What the hell! It seems like I’m going to use more than half my divine energy before it even activates! My whole body feels weak…’

The basic condition for the required capability was absurdly high!

Without a doubt, if I aimed for the ideal Five Luminaire Resonance in the original world, I would have given up halfway through!

If half the strength of the Seven Luminaries leads to this much pain, just how powerful was the Celestial Sage who accomplished the Five Luminaire Resonance alone in the past?

Wiying

But as my divine power began to deplete, the Seven Luminaries started responding clearly. The Moon Sovereign radiated white light, the Fire Sovereign red light, the Water Sovereign blue light, the Wood Sovereign green light, and the Earth Sovereign black light. The stronger the luminary energy became, the faster the connection speed of the lines increased, and I could feel the spirit energy throughout my body continuously amplifying.

‘All types of latent abilities are rising…!!’

It wasn’t just an amplification of physical abilities.

All latent [powers], such as divine power, physical strength, energy, and psychic abilities stored within my body had their limits lifted, and I felt like I was elevating to a higher dimension. Even when I used Twin Luminaire Resonance, I had never felt this profound transformation, sending shivers down my spine.

Bright flash –

Just as I was accumulating power using the Seven Luminaries, Halchi Olleifra suddenly opened its mouth wide and shot out a petrification ray.

[Hooaaah!!]

Kwahwa Kwang

Responding to the petrification ray, Gong Gong dashed in and struck down with his giant sword, creating a massive shock wave that interrupted the path of the petrification ray. However, Gong Gong stood still in the air, seemingly unable to move as he braced against the petrification ray, his fingertips starting to turn to stone.

[Ugh, this guy is really strong…!]

“Don’t move, Gong Gong!! If you mess up, I die too!”

With a roar and a spirit call, King Dae Jo Young kicked off the ground alongside the Black Horse and leaped into the sky. He immediately began to spin his spear and charged towards the suspended petrification ray.

“Great Heavenly Spirit Haemosu! Grant me the strength of the Seven Stars!”

Absolute Realm

Starry Emperor

In that moment, I could see a shimmering cluster of stars forming around Dae Jo Young’s Black Horse and his pitch-black spear. It was a fleeting moment, but there were a total of seven stars, and as the stars enveloped Dae Jo Young’s entire body, his spirit energy amplified absurdly.

Kuwah!

Like the great fire of spirit energy!

Transforming into a knight riding a fiery horse for that brief moment, Dae Jo Young accelerated his spear and pierced through the petrification ray.

Paaah…

And just like that, the petrification ray that had been suspended in the air vanished as if it had never existed in the first place. The Seven Stars swirling around Dae Jo Young danced like orbs igniting the fog around them even more.

Kuuu—

“……!!”

What the heck is that?

It was definitely a technique of the Absolute Realm, evidenced by the activation of the Intent Heavenly Pillar. But does such an Absolute Realm technique exist that can so efficiently destroy psychic powers?! Among the techniques I knew of the Absolute Realm, none had such peculiar properties!

‘Wait, that’s not martial arts; it resembles a power…’

Wiying

While I was still in shock, I suddenly felt a [space] opening somewhere beyond me, far away.

‘Ah!’

I sensed it with the unique perception of the Absolute Realm and swiftly pulled out my dagger from my robe, launching it towards that direction. The dagger flew straight through the air like a laundry line and pierced the [something] that had appeared in that spot.

Puh-wuk!

Even after getting hit by my attack, the being that had appeared behind me casually looked at the dagger sticking out of its palm and spoke.

[It’s rare to see all of the Five Luminaries in one place. Who are you?]

Unlike the massive figure in front of me, this one had shrunk down to human size.

But the moment I caught sight of that dry, bizarre shape, I immediately recognized it.

“Halchi Olleifra. Are you guarding the Earth Sovereign?”

[You’ve come knowing everything, huh. Heh… I never expected the Three Sovereigns to send a new apostle like you.]

“How did you know?”

[The great beings who sent me to this world just relayed the information. Fuxi’s disciple, huh… Quite impressive.]

It seemed that this guy was indeed directly connected to the [Old Rulers], who would be its patrons.

Halchi Olleifra responded by illuminating its eyes.

[Fuxi’s disciple! Do you wish to gather all Seven Luminaries? Is that the will of Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen?]

“…….”

For some reason, it appeared that this being didn’t completely grasp the relationship between Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen and myself. Sensing its intention to engage me in conversation here, I calmly replied.

“You and I are merely pieces in the hands of the great ones. You probably know I cannot answer that question.”

[Ooh… Indeed… Although I appear as a lowly human, you are a great being… The immense power flowing through your form speaks of that fact…]

Admiringly, Halchi Olleifra pressed its palms together at its chest.

[Adversary! Use your divine arts… I have long wanted to shatter that new form of magic created by the great dragon Fuxi.]

“……..”

It seems the alien apostles consider sorcery as another form of ‘magic’.

Not entirely an inaccurate statement.

[You can attack all at once…. Guarding the Earth Sovereign is my mission!]

For some reason, Halchi Olleifra seemed full of pride. I could tell that it held pride for the divine arts of Lord Fuxi as well. It seemed that if I used divine arts, it would want to break them with its substitution ability and petrification curse.

‘Hmm… I thought since we could talk, we’d avoid fighting.’

Even if I can hold a conversation, it seems a fight is still inevitable?

Feeling troubled, I answered honestly.

“I can’t use divine arts.”

[What? Fuxi must have created divine arts; are you saying the disciple doesn’t know?]

“Well, that’s…”

[That’s foolishness. Use your divine arts at once!]

Ah, damn it, this guy is annoyingly persistent.

‘This guy’s too strong. I don’t want to fight him for a long time…’

Previously, he came to talk, and I had avoided an ambush by chance, but if he truly aimed to assassinate me with substitution and petrification, there’d be no guarantee I could block it. Even if I use the Five Luminaire Resonance to strengthen my power, this wouldn’t be an easy battle at all. That guy also possesses nearly infinite magical power backed by the [Old Rulers].

It’s almost like fighting an [Old Ruler]!

Considering the prowess that nearly wiped out my previous companions, I had no wish to resort to direct confrontation.

‘Is there no way to take the easy route?’

As I pondered with a sigh, a thought suddenly struck me.

‘Oh, wait!!’

I cautiously opened my mouth.

“There are cases where a disciple doesn’t master everything taught by their master. Instead, I know of a much greater magical art; care to try and experience it?”

[A greater magical art?]

At Halchi Olleifra’s question, I nodded.

“Just take one hit from me. If you can withstand it, I’ll accept defeat and hand over the Seven Luminaries.”

[Oh…?]

“You’ll truly know by taking just one hit. Oh, but do you have the Earth Sovereign on you?”

I crossed my arms and provoked Halchi Olleifra.

With its characteristic arrogant tone, Halchi Olleifra replied, [Do you think this tiny body is my true essence? I possess a formidable core that even the Old Rulers fear. So… Let’s see what you’ve got.]

“You’re promising to take the hit, right? Oh, and do you have the Earth Sovereign?”

[Hah hah hah. It’s impossible to defeat me with a single attack like that! Only truly great beings from this universe could even think of doing that! No matter how much of Fuxi’s disciple you are, you won’t possess such powerful magic!]

There it goes.

[Then, go ahead!]

Halchi Olleifra approached me brazenly, arms wide open as if inviting me to hit him. It was full of opening.

“So, you do have the Earth Sovereign, right?”

[You’re stubborn. I do have it.]

Halchi Olleifra summoned the Earth Sovereign above its palm for a brief moment before putting it back in its subspace.

While I was confirming, Gong Gong and Dae Jo Young had arrived beside me, their worried expressions apparent.

[Don’t do it…!! That little body is merely a material manifestation. The true spirit could devour even a star’s core.]

“It’s true. There’s no way a single hit could inflict a deadly wound on it. It is a cosmic existence, so stop this before it’s too late.”

They seemed to genuinely believe I shouldn’t try. They saw Halchi Olleifra as one of the strongest apostles and practically indistinguishable from an [Old Ruler].

‘Yeah… If I were normal, I’d have to think that way in this situation.’

Even if I perform the Five Luminaire Resonance, it wouldn’t be complete, so my strength would be halved. Moreover, if I were to use the Great Destruction, I might be able to defeat Halchi Olleifra, but that would mean I would be left with no power afterward, rendering the act meaningless.

Should I use the Four Great Spirit Deities instead?

Using the Four Great Spirit Deities might take down Halchi Olleifra in one strike. But I knew that doing so would leave me completely drained and vulnerable, especially since the people who made me an apostle, Jeon Wook, Shao Hao, and Jeogok, were all witnessing this. If they learned of the existence of the Four Great Spirit Deities, their reactions would be less than favorable. Plus, I couldn’t waste the Four Great Spirit Deities without seeing Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen’s face first.

‘There’s no rule saying I have to go head-to-head.’

Starting from here, the method I was going to use wouldn’t be straightforward.

For hundreds of years, I recognized that you couldn’t just beat a monster down through sheer brute force.

I stared at Halchi Olleifra, pondering before saying, “Then I’ll do it.”

Gooooo!

I maximally drew out the power of the Seven Luminaries, connecting the lines all the way to the end. In that moment of connection, the Five Luminaire Resonance began, and I felt considerable strength amplifying within me.

‘Okay. This is doable. Under normal circumstances, targets that can’t even be seen, especially those existing across dimensions, would be impossible.’

If I focused all the power of my spirit onto just one technique of the Absolute Realm, I would become exponentially stronger.

I confirmed that when I watched Dae Jo Young’s technique execution just a moment ago.

Naturally, my technique of the Absolute Realm can exceed its usual limits as well.

[You’re going to get the Five Luminaries easily…!!]

“Just stand still there!”

The next instant, I lunged at Halchi Olleifra, moving my hands rapidly.

Technique of All Things

Tshaaah

My hand passed through the dark space and touched another dimension’s void, one entirely undetectable to any ordinary human. Under normal circumstances, this would have been impossible, but thanks to the amplification from the Five Luminaire Resonance, my Technique of All Things seamlessly pierced through dimensional boundaries.

A hard sensation gripped my fingertips. I caught that sense and resolutely curved my hand like a hook, pulling it towards my body.

Swish

[……]

I found myself behind Halchi Olleifra in no time. The creature, bewildered, turned to face me, and I subtly revealed what I had stolen with my earlier Technique of All Things, resting it on my palm.

[What did you just do…?]

“Can’t you see? I stole what I needed.”

[What…?]

While Halchi Olleifra stood there dumbfounded, I began to tuck the items into my robe.

“Oh, and I never promised to give you the Seven Luminaries. I said I might give them to you. Get it?”

[You little…!!]

As Halchi Olleifra unleashed the petrification rays, I quickly raised my wristwatch and shouted.

“Mephisto!! Transport us back to where we came from!”

Paaah!!

Just before the petrification rays could hit, I succeeded in returning with Dae Jo Young and Gong Gong to the Heavenly Altar. Letting out a sigh of relief, I muttered.

“Phew.”

Somehow, I’ve done it!

And so, Dae Jo Young, who was glancing at me, muttered in disbelief, “Ah, even though it’s a cruel apostle from the otherworld, is it acceptable to deceive like that?”

I replied bluntly to Dae Jo Young, “What are you talking about? Why go all-out fighting such a tough guy using my life as a wager? Getting the Earth Sovereign is just a mission given to me by the Five Sovereigns, and all that brute force would only hurt me.”

“True, but…”

Gong Gong looked at me with a skeptical eye.

[It seems that after being ambushed, Daji only now feels the impact with that guy. Daji’s focus on fighting will make it hard for him to come after us right now. Did you perhaps intend this?]

“……”

[It seems you hadn’t thought that far ahead.]

“What does it matter?”

I pulled out the Earth Sovereign from my robe, grinning widely.

“All that matters is that I got what I wanted.”

That’s right.

I obtained the Earth Sovereign while successfully avoiding a big fight.