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Chapter 67

The Doppleganger wrapped around my right arm released itself and transformed into the shape of a sword. I had to approach with caution; that guy was already solidifying his territory.

Fortunately, even amidst this whirlwind of snow, I could identify the boundaries of his realm with Yeon-woo’s keen sight.

Thinking of Shar fighting behind me, I realized I had to manifest my territory with my own will, not through dragon magic. A sense of rooting deep into the waiting space around me. Only after completely claiming the area around my body did I move slowly.

On the other hand, the man approached me leisurely, as if enjoying a stroll, a smile plastered on his face.

Around him, snow spiraled up and cascaded down. That was the base martial art of Ice Palace, a technique that uses internal energy to cover the area with his domain.

‘Is this my first time meeting an opponent from Ice Palace?’

I had encountered foes who utilized simple coldness before, but Ice Palace practitioners were exceptionally unique.

‘He seems weaker than Baek In-hwa, for sure…’

However, he was the one who killed Baek In-hwa before my regression. I had to be cautious about any hidden tricks he might have up his sleeve. I had some guesses, but…

Most importantly, if he became a demon, it meant he made a contract fitting of that status. The hatred that Toyo’s Demon King had for Ice Palace was no joke, so who knew what kind of power he might have instilled in Baek In-hwa’s direct lineage?

As the two of us faced each other, we took slow steps forward. I moved cautiously, while the young man approached with a bouncing step. The realms of both collided, creating surges of mana around.

The question of which was stronger, my martial arts rooted in a third-rate technique or his based on overwhelming internal energy combined with enlightenment, was a question every martial artist pondered at least once.

In that sense, it could be said that our fight was directly addressing that debate.

We invaded each other’s territories.

At that moment, I thought the world around us had gone silent. The gusts that slapped my cheeks and the loud noises from Shar’s fight behind me had disappeared. All that remained was me and the enemy right in front.

The murderous intent that had been gleaming in my eyes just moments ago faded away. The atmosphere of the battlefield shifted.

The one pushed back was the Ice Palace’s dominion. However, I wasn’t sure if I could say it was fully pushed back. The Ice Palace’s greatest strength lies in its broad area of influence, and rather than intruding, it opted for a strategic retreat.

‘It’s cold.’

Of course, there was a certain chill inherent to the Gate itself. I managed that with protective spells from my uniform and my aura. But the cold emanating from the realm of Ice Palace was on a whole different level.

Staying here too long would obviously hinder me in battle. I had to end this quickly. If not…

Our movements were almost simultaneous. I was just a tad quicker. Frost spiraled up from the spot I just occupied.

As I stepped forward, an ice chunk shot straight from the man’s outstretched palm. It was too heavy to deflect. I sidestepped two steps, but he glided forward effortlessly.

‘Come on, bring it on.’

I could perform long-range combat, but the essence of Ice Palace was to limit movement with cold and blizzards before engaging in close combat. If he had continued to flee from afar and attack, it would have been tough, but luckily, he seemed overly confident.

“Why is it that the betrayer of his clan has so much confidence?”

“Hah, the useless one can’t move yet his tongue’s wagging hard!”

Seeing an opportunity, the man leaped forward in an instant. Both his hands were enveloped in pure frost. Not every practitioner of Ice Palace used divine artifacts, so this was the martial art of Ice Palace itself.

How monumental that original divine artifact must be for a mere imitation to still be called divine technique! I wouldn’t know until I tried it, but I definitely knew I couldn’t get hit by that.

I had to dodge with all my strength. If I had to block with my sword, I needed to minimize the contact. Allowing the cold to invade my body would be disastrous.

The man landed right in front of me and twisted his wrist to unleash his martial art. As I tilted my head to dodge, my hair brushed against his fingers and froze, shattering into pieces.

‘My hair!!!’

Instinctively choking back a scream, I clamped my mouth shut. The man was swinging both hands together. I managed to deflect with my sword, but the environment was too unfavorable. If this struggle continued, I’d perish from the cold creeping in past my sword.

Instantly, I concentrated my aura. It wasn’t from any specific part of my body, per se. It wasn’t something I should usually do in this situation, but I had a foothold in the realm of swordsmanship. If that was the case, surely I could do something.

With a swift motion, golden aura burst from my waist. Floating on the aura was a rust-red spirit bead.

“Wanna snack on some spirit?”

“What, you, are you out of your mind…!?”

Boom!!

His voice was drowned out in a thunderous explosion. The sensations in my lower body, which had been numbed by the cold, were awakened by the pain. My face felt flushed. It was as if a burning bug was crawling on my skin.

The shockwave from the explosion lifted me partially off the ground, and I slammed my feet down onto the ground.

In this moment, the opposing elemental forces collided and exploded, free from the dominion of any realm.

In essence, this space was a tiny rift within the realm of Ice Palace. If such a thing existed, then there was much I could do.

As I stepped into that colorless space, it transformed into a golden hue. I pounded, pounded, and pounded my mana into the ground like planting a flag. I hammered it down without pause, like a relentless assault. I was declaring this land as mine by erecting a tower of mana beneath my feet.

Finally, the biting wind parted, revealing me once again within broad sight.

“Hah, haha! I’ll acknowledge that you surprised me, bug!! But what’s with that look? Haven’t you just scuffed up your body with wounds?!”

“Well, that’s how it turned out.”

“Enough, it’s too late to act unfazed now! That was your hidden ace, was it? From now on, I’ll take you out from afar without getting close!!”

“Oh, I didn’t know you’d blab about your plans like that… But that’s done now.”

“What do you mean done!? Are you ready to die!?”

With one shoulder shrug, I stepped off the mass of concentrated mana I had built up.

“That’s quite boring now.”

Fwip!!

Suddenly, the environment surrounding us tore away, as if its texture had been erased, or like the very surface had been ripped apart. Specifically, it was the snow. The blizzard that had perpetually hung in this Gate exploded and vanished in an instant.

“Wow, impressive performance.”

“Wha, huh…!?”

The man who had been swept away with the domain maintained through his martial art bled from his mouth.

In this month, I had spent most of my time focusing on enhancing my skills.

Swordsmanship, magic, physical prowess. Among those, I had devoted the most time to swordsmanship, yet ironically, what consumed the most concentration and mental energy wasn’t even swordsmanship.

If all the aforementioned abilities belonged to ordinary humans, what I trained was my draconic abilities.

If I had to put it into words, it would be termed ‘tuning ability’. It was the reason why dragons were called tuners. This ability was not something mere dragons, the lesser forms of draconic power, should wield, but my heart was different.

If one possesses a genuine, living Dragon Heart, then using tuning is not impossible.

The storm of mana I unleashed just now was that ‘tuning’. But the issue was that this tuning ability, contrary to its peaceful name, had a remarkably violent nature.

Just by looking at the man bleeding over there, you could tell that quite well. Of course, he was bleeding because the domain created by his martial art had instantly been stripped away, causing a backlash of his internal energy.

This tuning ability, as long as the user clearly understood it, could easily cause such phenomena.

It allowed for the complete removal of magical elements, including aura, from the area, or rather, it was suited to the extent of forcefully peeling them away.

True, the name “tuning” might seem peaceful since it was given by humans, but for Yeon-woo, who understood that, having mixed feelings was inevitable.

That said, it wasn’t easy to use, but in this environment, Yeon-woo decided it was fully possible.

The result of everything aligning like gears was happening right now.

My mana was nearly depleted, but my aura remained, charged toward the now incapacitated man who had suffered from the backlash despite having ample internal energy left.

“Ugh, this bastard…!!”

“Hey, I have no grudges, you know!?”

I hastily caught the sword swinging toward me with my palm. The sword sank into my now weakened palm, slicing right through my upper body. The shredded edges of my clothes fluttered, exposing what was hidden beneath.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but grin sinisterly. I could hear Baek In-hwa breathing heavily in distress.

“Looks like Saturday couldn’t handle it here, either.”

“Damn it…!!”

What was revealed was not the upper body covered in skin of a human, but a skeletal frame riddled with numerous holes.

Even though his right hand was partially severed and dangling, he did not scream nor utter a single groan; that was because the undead’s body had lost all functions except for movement.

“Hah, a Death Knight? That demon is pulling some strings. Wonder how much Ice Palace must hate him to have polluted that soul.”

“What do you mean…? Why is my brother in that state!?”

That scream-like question erupted from Baek In-hwa.

Ah, so he was your older brother. Guess he was older than me. As I thought that, I dodged a palm strike lacking any internal energy and swung my sword at the man’s head. He didn’t faint.

I sat on top of the collapsed man, naturally entangling his arms with my legs, while placing my sword against his neck, ready to strike at any moment.

“See, I told you. It’s all Saturday’s doing. One, he was forcibly resurrected and then modified. Two, not wanting to die, he betrayed humans and clung like a parasite. Which version of your older brother do you know?”

“That, that’s… he’s already… eight years ago…”

“Then that’s the former one, huh? This is no longer the brother you knew. He’s been patched with all kinds of random souls, turning into a pitiful heap of bones that prefers being a damned skeleton.”

“Why…?”

“Why, you ask?”

Do I really have to explain all this?

I thought Baek In-hwa had experienced enough to understand without me needing to say it, but I rummaged my empty pockets. Ah, I had no cigarettes.

Tch, I clicked my tongue.

“You didn’t do anything to this guy, did you? You must be quite the treasure, son of Ice Palace, to earn Saturday’s scorn like this.”

“What, nonsense…!”

“Dude, what do you expect from a Demon King? That’s just how they are. Can I send him off now?”

Just beheading doesn’t kill an undead, but it’d at least prevent him from moving.

I spoke with annoyance, feeling a vacant space in my expression, and Baek In-hwa stared at me in shock.

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

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