CHAPTER 76
What a Sight**

The blood of monsters splattered.

A bear-like beast charged at him. It was even larger than the bear he had met in the first Gate. Such a beast was cut down in a single stroke, spilling its blood.

The bear's heavy body collapsed, crushing the smaller creatures around it. Those creatures died, cut down before they could even properly attack.

There were also cunning monsters that took advantage of that opening to strike at Jinwoo's blind spot. But such a surprise attack wouldn't work on Jinwoo, who could detect the movement of all Blue Flames. The creatures that came at him from his supposed blind spots were all cut down.

‘The smell of blood.’

A thick, metallic scent hung in the air. Combined with the gamey smell of the beasts, it was a dizzyingly unpleasant odor.

[Who in the world are you?]

It was then that the God of the Sky spoke to him. Jinwoo, already filled with displeasure, didn't feel it was worth answering.

Ignoring the Lord's words, Jinwoo cut down another monster. The Blue Flame from the slain monster was not reabsorbed by the Erosion but was instead absorbed by Jinwoo.

[…]

And he could feel the displeasure of the God of the Sky at that.

The monsters here were monsters that had fallen to its Erosion. Their bodies and souls all belonged to the God of the Sky.

The monsters killed by Shin Do-woong had everything reabsorbed by the Erosion. They might be immobile for now, but after some time, they would regain their original bodies and be able to move again.

But the monsters killed by Jinwoo had their Blue Flames stolen and were rendered permanently immobile. They had escaped the God of the Sky's control and merged with Jinwoo's soul.

[Which Lord's subordinate are you?]

The being probed Jinwoo once more. He had no intention of telling it. Let it think whatever it wanted.

Then, he remembered what had happened in the 3rd Floor. As the Sky Temple collapsed, the island began to fall, and a giant tree that grew from the Moonlight Forest supported it.

Considering that, wouldn't it think he was a subordinate of the World Tree?

[No… it did not see.]

The God of Moonlight Forest said that wasn't the case. From the moment its divine object was taken, the God of the Sky had lost all authority to interfere in the 3rd Floor. Its eyes to watch the 3rd Floor, its connection to Lin Shenlin and others—all gone.

‘So it really doesn't know anything.’

Just then, a massive shadow rapidly approached. A Drake. A draconic monster that looked like a wingless dragon. A beast whose size was comparable to a real dragon charged forward to crush Jinwoo and Shin Do-woong.

Magical power gathered in Jinwoo's sword, emitting a faint glow. The light leaking out was small, but the power contained within it was not to be ignored. When he swung the sword, now fully charged with mana…

Krr…!

The drake's upper body was cleanly sliced by the projected sword energy. It had noticed it midway and tried to dodge, but it couldn't escape due to its own charging speed and weight.

"Wow."

Shin Do-woong let out a small exclamation of admiration. A swordsman who could cut down such a massive creature in a single blow.

‘So this is why those Hong Kong guys were so fanatically analyzing Jinwoo-dongsaeng's swordsmanship.’

Jinwoo's short video clip that had been released on the internet. Shin Do-woong was well aware that sword-wielding Hunters were going crazy over it.

When it came to sword-wielding Hunters, Hong Kong was the prime example. Among the S-classes, there were people like David, but he was now known to have defected to Hong Kong.

Not only that, there was Lin Shenlin, and over 70% of Hong Kong's Hunters were swordsmen. That's why he knew that Jinwoo's video was being analyzed more passionately in Hong Kong than in Seoul.

Since he used a spear, he wasn't that passionate about it, but he still thought Jinwoo's martial prowess in the video was amazing. But seeing it in person, it was even more than that.

‘I can see why the sword-freaks would lose their minds.’

If there were a spearman with skills similar to Jinwoo's, he might have been the same. Chuckling at the thought, he stabbed and killed the monster in front of him.

"Are you okay over there?"

"No problem."

Answering Jinwoo's question, he stepped on the monster right in front of him and leaped, plunging his spear into the eye of an ogre behind it. He scrambled its brain, retrieved his spear, and jumped down.

Thud. A few creatures were crushed to death by the falling ogre, and behind it, five or six more monsters had their hearts pierced by Shin Do-woong's spear.

There were monsters whose heart location was difficult to tell just by looking, but Shin Do-woong's spear pinpointed their hearts as if possessed.

"Do you have some kind of technique?"

"It's nothing special. I just stab where I hear it. The sound of a heartbeat feels different from other sounds."

That in itself was an incredible technique. The opponent wasn't standing still, and the surroundings weren't quiet, yet he could instantly catch the sound of the enemy's heartbeat and strike.

That ability shone brightest when dealing with a bizarre monster that looked like a cross between a snake and a worm. He immediately located where its hearts were beating along its long body and pierced through them.

‘His movements are concise and brilliant. I was right to bring him along.’

Even with monsters constantly swarming from all directions, he felt secure. Perhaps because he was an S-class Hunter, they worked well together without any special training. They had reached a level where they could understand what the other wanted and adjust accordingly.

‘This reminds me of when I explored the Original Forest with Rona back in the day.’

Back when he lived in the waterfall cave with Rona and Bulkar.

Bulkar never left the cave, busy hammering away at iron, so Jinwoo explored the Original Forest with Rona. She, too, was a swordswoman on the level of an S-class Hunter and an excellent companion.

However, back then, Jinwoo's skills weren't up to par.

‘I was completely carried.’

It wasn't that Jinwoo didn't fight, but it felt less like they were fighting together and more like Rona was just watching his back.

It was like a practical application of his usual swordsmanship training. He would learn swordsmanship and sword theory from Rona and then test what he had learned during their explorations. He was strictly in the position of a student.

But somehow, he had grown this much. A lot had happened since then, and he had also recovered many memories of his past life. But the biggest factor was…

‘The Island incident.’

The memory of his past life that surfaced while stopping the Island that appeared in New York. That was probably the biggest turning point.

Recalling that memory, he felt even more invigorated. His mana, and his Blue Flame, blazed even more fiercely, as if to say, This is nothing.

Just by sinking into that memory, Jinwoo entered a state close to munyeom (no-thought). The sword he swung became even more stable, and the sword energy he shot out was imbued with a sharpness that seemed to make the air tremble.

Just then, a Black Flame was caught by his senses. A flame different from the core, their destination, was approaching them. It was aiming for Shin Do-woong.

Turning around, he saw that Shin Do-woong, much like himself, was lost in battle. Every monster that entered his range died with its head or heart pierced.

There were so many monsters that they were being crushed to death, yet within his range, there was nothing but monster corpses.

A lizardman holding a spear approached him. It wore the same shabby armor as the other lizardmen nearby, and the spear it held was old and worn.

The creature positioned itself far away, so as not to enter Shin Do-woong's range, and…

"Watch out!"

"…!"

Simultaneously with Jinwoo's shout, Shin Do-woong reflexively ducked. A javelin thrown by the lizardman tore through the air where he had just been.

Even though he had dodged it, the sheer wind pressure tore apart the surroundings. The aura that Shin Do-woong had spread over his entire body to protect himself was torn to shreds like a ragged cloth.

Not missing the opening, the lizardman shot forward like a bullet and attacked Shin Do-woong. With a sword picked up from another monster, it stabbed, aiming to split his face.

Shin Do-woong quickly raised his hand and blocked the tip of the sword with the shaft of his own spear.

But the force was incredible. Even though Shin Do-woong also possessed extraordinary strength, he was pushed back and ended up on his back on the ground. The fact that he was still in a crouched position from dodging the javelin was one of the reasons for his disadvantage.

‘Dammit!’

When facing so many monsters pouring in from all directions, you must not stop your feet. You have to constantly move, find advantageous footing, and step on it to catch the horde off guard and break through.

But he hadn't just stopped; he had been knocked flat on his back. In a normal situation, it wouldn't be strange for him to be crushed to death instantly.

Schlick—

Just then, the lizardman's head flew through the air. At the same time, the pressure on his spear shaft vanished in an instant.

Blood gushed from the lizardman's headless neck, and some of it splattered onto the face of Shin Do-woong, who was pinned beneath it.

"Are you alright?"

"Thanks, dongsaeng. You took ten years off my life."

Shin Do-woong, while relieved, quickly got up and stabbed at the oncoming monsters. Just because he was saved didn't mean he had the luxury of resting.

They had cleverly hidden among the other ordinary monsters to approach. Since they looked no different on the outside, it was impossible for Shin Do-woong to notice.

But Jinwoo had the ability to see flames. A Black Flame, hiding and approaching among the Blue Flames, stood out far too much.

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Chapter 76: Leave None Behind
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Thanks to Jinwoo’s warning, Shin Do-woong wasn’t caught off guard as easily as before. The first time, he had been truly careless and was ambushed, but with preparation, he was more than capable of overwhelming them.

Jinwoo’s situation was even better. Before his blade, there was little difference between a Blue Flame and a Black Flame.

The only distinction, perhaps, was that the Black Flames had the ability to dodge or block a sword aura attack. Even so, all he had to do was cut them directly, so they never managed to disrupt his movements or throw him off balance.

In the end, deploying the Black Flames only served to feed them to Jinwoo.

[You wretched worms…! Don’t get cocky just because you’ve killed a few grunts!]

The Sky God's furious roar was so loud it felt like his eardrums would burst. Jinwoo winced. He glanced at Shin Do-woong, who didn't seem to have heard it.

It meant the god was targeting only Jinwoo in this space.

[What a lovely sight.]

In contrast, the God of Moonlight Forest was beaming with delight. She seemed to find the Sky God’s predicament immensely satisfying. It was as if the thought of Jinwoo losing had never once crossed her mind.

Just as she had commanded him to devour them all, Jinwoo cut, and cut, and cut again. He absorbed not only the Blue Flames but every last Black Flame, preventing the Erosion from reclaiming them.

The battle was dragging on, but the longer it lasted, the more the enemy was consumed, and the more Jinwoo accumulated.

Soon, the two of them were able to approach the core: a pillar that stood before them.

It was an ominous pillar, far larger and darker than the countless others that had been spewing out monsters across the area.

“Is that it? It’s the size of a building.”

Shin Do-woong grumbled when told it was the core. It didn’t look like destroying it would be an easy task.

Worse, they would have to do it while fending off the incoming wave of monsters, making the job even more arduous.

Jinwoo, on the other hand, wasn’t particularly worried.

‘Was the Heart of Ireland a little smaller than that?’

The Sky God's pillar looked bigger than the Heart of Ireland, but not overwhelmingly so. Since he had cut down the Heart of Ireland in a single strike, he could probably cut this one too.

Just then, an arrow flew toward them. A single black arrow, flying without a sound. But its impact was tremendous.

KWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWANG!

The arrow, which had plowed through the surrounding monsters, shot toward the space between Jinwoo’s eyes. Jinwoo’s eyes widened as he parried it, a sharp pain jolting his wrist as if it would sprain.

He had never felt such a powerful recoil from swinging his sword before. Not even when he’d blocked Rona’s blade.

—Give… it… back.

An Elf with cracked skin all over her body was floating in the air ahead. From those cracks, a black energy flowed out like threads, connecting her to the pillar that was the core of the Erosion.

Like a puppet controlled by strings. From her position in the sky, she aimed her bow at them.

—Give me back… my scabbard.

The voice that came from her mouth was not an Elf's.

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