Chapter 49.
『Armageddon, and Four Years Later』
Clop, clop.
A carriage made its way down a sparsely populated road. Surrounding the carriage, which had an unusual shape as though a pumpkin had been fitted over it, were numerous escorts.
“….”
Stiff, hardened expressions. They turned their heads ceaselessly, as though on guard against something. Just as that tense situation continued.
Creak.
The window of the pumpkin carriage opened.
“Will we be all right?”
A beauty with shimmering golden hair asked worriedly.
Clop.
Noticing her unease, a man in heavy armor riding a white horse at the head of the column approached.
“We will be fine.”
Removing his helmet, he was likewise a man with golden hair—none other than William. The leader of White, a force that had recently begun gaining momentum, and a figure who commanded absolute support within its ranks.
“Since we have vowed to protect you, we shall see you safely to the castle.”
Words filled with conviction.
“…Yes, Lord William. I shall believe in you.”
At those faith-inspiring words, the blonde beauty nodded. Having once again instilled faith in his client, Cinderella, William returned to his position.
“….”
The face that had been smiling moments before had hardened stiffly.
“…They’ll come, won’t they?”
At the question from Jacob, who had drawn near his side.
“One hundred percent.”
He had spoken confidently to Cinderella, but that was merely a consideration to avoid unsettling his client.
“Of all times, who would have thought they’d side with her sisters….”
William, who rarely complained, could not help but complain this time. His heart was currently filled with anxiety and tension. As the leader, he hid it, but in truth, his anxiety was greater than anyone else’s. That was inevitable because standing at odds with them was none other than ‘Kangho.’
An organization that had continued to make a name for itself since the beginning of the Armageddon, still powerful enough to be counted on one hand. The martial artists of Kangho, each known as an elite, had joined forces to create the organization. They were experts that even the recently rising White could not easily face—no, foes against whom White would lose a hundred times out of a hundred. It would be a lie to say he didn’t feel anxious.
“It’s fine, we can do this. We have our trump card prepared too.”
“Right, that’s true.”
That was something no one knew except for William and a few executives. Through a connection made by chance, they had managed to create conditions that made this feasible. Therefore, he had not given up. If they gave up on this escort, White would no longer be able to move forward; it would truly lose its driving force. As it was now, they had to win somehow. Even if their opponents were existing powerhouses called Kangho.
Biting his lip hard, William guided the carriage and advanced to the front. The tense escort continued in that manner. While an atmosphere as though hearts would burst continued.
Thud.
There was a being blocking the carriage.
They’ve come!
The nervous William and all those affiliated with White stared straight ahead.
“….”
“…Huh?”
“…One?”
Bewildered voices burst from here and there. That was inevitable because only one man had blocked the carriage.
A young man with half his face covered in burn scars. He was not a familiar face. Not being a familiar face was tantamount to not being a powerhouse. But then why? Even if the one before them was the Heavenly Demon, the leader of Kangho, taking on this many people alone should have been too much.
“I, I am….”
But his condition was strange. Pupils that darted about without rest, a body trembling faintly. As though suffering from a nervous breakdown, he seemed anxious, as though he would burst at any moment.
“…Uwaaaaaaack!”
Finally, that anxiety exploded. At that moment.
Sss, ssssss-
Green mist seeping from his flesh began to envelop the surroundings. Because of the green mist that dominated the area in an instant.
“Kuk!”
“Kgeuk!”
With death throes, people collapsed on the spot. There were no exceptions. Everyone exposed to the mist lost their lives futilely.
“Fall back! It’s Poison Fog!”
Poison Fog. And it was a fatal fog of poison unlike anything seen before. White quickly retreated from the area of effect, following William.
“Damn it!”
Jacob’s shout filled with rage. The fallen—in that brief moment, hundreds had already been sacrificed. The problem was that the sacrifices wouldn’t end there.
Sssss-
The mist spewing from the man wrapped around the area as though it had a will of its own. There was no opening to escape. And breaking through the Poison Fog was unthinkable because the toxicity was too strong.
They would die. Without a doubt, anyone who touched the Poison Fog would meet their death regardless of who they were.
….
The silence that spread through the area. It also signified an indescribable terror.
‘…I must step up.’
The only one who resisted that terror was William. Looking at the thick Poison Fog on all sides, he took a step forward.
“I shall do it.”
Someone had approached William’s side before anyone knew it.
“Yoonchan?”
He who maintained a calm expression even in this crisis—he was Shin Yoonchan. Until recently, he had belonged to another force. Like the Three Little Pigs, having lost everything precious to the wolf, they had with difficulty persuaded him to bring him into White. Such a man had stepped forward of his own accord.
“But this is….”
“It’s fine. I can do it.”
He answered William’s attempts to dissuade him with conviction. That wasn’t mere words.
Thud.
He passed William and approached the Poison Fog.
“Yoo…!”
The moment the surprised William shouted, a startling sight unfolded.
Sssss-
The thick Poison Fog surrounding the area receded.
“…What?!”
Though the poison shouldn’t have a will, it seemed to flinch away from Yoonchan in fear. Of course, this wasn’t something that happened to just anyone. It was a change caused by the treasure called the Poison-Avoiding Pearl in Yoonchan’s bosom. The Poison-Avoiding Pearl, which repelled the Hundred Poisons merely by being in one’s possession, had been strengthened to become a treasure unaffected by even the Myriad Poisons. No matter how strong the poison the opponent emitted, as long as he possessed the Poison-Avoiding Pearl that repelled the Myriad Poisons, no poison would affect him.
Clutching the late captain’s keepsake, Yoonchan walked out. And.
“Uwa, uwaaaa!”
He could see the one screaming while spewing Poison Fog.
‘How wretched.’
The Poison Fog was not the man’s will. A rampage was occurring due to the poison energy within his body that he couldn’t withstand.
‘Killing him is impossible.’
The man’s current state was like a balloon about to burst from the poison energy. If they struck the man with excessive force here, the barely contained poison energy would spread in all directions, resulting in the annihilation of everyone present.
‘Was this their aim?’
Only now did he realize. Why the man had come here alone. What plans Kangho, those bastards, held. He shuddered at their vicious scheme for only a moment.
“Kuaaaaa!”
With another seizure, even stronger poison energy spewed forth. There was no more time to delay. But the method was….
‘…There is one.’
He couldn’t be certain it would work, but it was the only way.
“….”
He stared intently at the Poison-Avoiding Pearl in his hand. That thing emitting a purple, ominous light was the late captain’s keepsake. A moment of conflict arose, but the hesitation didn’t last long.
‘Yoonchan. Don’t be consumed by the Armageddon. The moment we lose our humanity, we fall to become no different from the monsters over there.’
The captain who had fought to the end with the determination to save those falling into depravity. The seed of great purpose he had planted remained in Yoonchan’s heart even now.
“Poor bastard.”
He stared straight ahead. Revealing his sorrow for the man who had been thoroughly used and discarded.
Shove!
He jammed the Poison-Avoiding Pearl into the screaming man’s mouth. At that moment.
Kwaaaaaaa!
The shockwave caused by the two opposing energies—the Poison-Avoiding Pearl and the poison energy—swept through the area.
*
“Haap!”
His connection with that man, that recollection vanished with a sharp battle cry.
The one who made the first move was Hero. Shooting forward like an arrow, he lunged at a man in beggar’s garb who had awakened the Beggars’ Sect trait.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The opponent was no pushover either. The man who shouted brandished the staff in his hand wildly.
Swish, swoosh!
He didn’t swing it randomly but created elaborate trajectories according to fixed principles.
‘Dog-Beating Staff Technique.’
Despite its name, it was powerful. This was precisely why those who had awakened the martial artist traits of Kangho were fearsome. The power of imagination called martial arts displayed strength equal to warriors who had trained for a long time. That was why, from the early days of the Armageddon, the martial artists of Kangho had made a name for themselves and risen quickly. The fact that the organization called Kangho, formed by their gathering, had grown into one of the most powerful forces was also due to such a growth process.
However.
Thud-thud-thud!
Hero struck down all trajectories heading toward him with his fists. Though the man didn’t possess the elaborate, formal martial arts like the martial artists of Kangho.
‘Fist King. He was different from birth.’
From the moment of awakening, it was a powerful trait bearing the name Fist King. It was a trait that could be counted on one hand when it came to fist fighting; that overwhelming difference couldn’t be covered up by mere martial arts.
Bwack!
A loud sound like a leather drum rang out. Not content with knocking aside the staff, Hero’s fist had before anyone knew it approached close and lodged deep into the beggar’s abdomen.
“Kuhuk!”
A groan filled with pain. His body, which had sprung up once, flopped to the ground. In a single strike, that monstrous attack had sent the bastard’s consciousness flying into the distance.
They might be soft-toy punches to me, but that doesn’t apply to others. The Fist King’s fists are Mount Tai. There probably aren’t many who can endure those savage fists. But unless they take the blow themselves, they don’t realize that fact. That was why the idiots could only struggle futilely.
“You bastard!”
Among those facing Byungma Yong, one who still had some leeway threw the hidden weapons he had concealed in his sleeve.
Shhh!
Flying from various directions and with differing timing, it was quite an elaborate hidden weapon technique.
‘Tang Family.’
He had clearly awakened the Tang Family’s trait that specialized in hidden weapons.
Ting, titi-ting!
But even that elaborate hidden weapon technique was useless.
“Haap!”
William, who had blocked Hero’s front before anyone knew it, began to deflect the hidden weapons with the katana in his hand. It wasn’t a formal swordsmanship with set forms, but it was powerful and fast. Moreover.
Swish!
He didn’t merely deflect them; he returned them to the enemies who had thrown the hidden weapons, creating a startling sight.
Clack-clack-clack!
Instead of the Tang Family man, a Taoist priest and a middle-aged man in a martial arts uniform had knocked down all the hidden weapons.
‘Wudang.’
That uniquely soft suction sword that seemed as though it would pull one in was unmistakably Wudang’s.
“Think you can handle it?”
The enemies, having somehow defeated all the Byungma Yong, now stood to confront us. Looking at them, I asked the two of them, Hero and William.
I had already told them. That I had no intention of intervening in this battle. But if they said so now, it would be different. If they said they couldn’t handle it. If they asked for help. If they said that, I would intervene and end the battle in an instant.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s enough.”
To the repeated question, the two declined, saying it was fine. They had no choice. Though it was their first real battle, their traits were Sword King and Fist King. Talents that could be counted on one hand even worldwide; therefore, dealing with the small fries before their eyes was no trouble at all.