Episode 262: Return of the Demon Instructor
“What the…?”
Sabikang furrowed his brows and glanced up at the giant statue.
He had already walked nearly twenty paces into the barrier.
Yet, the statue showed no signs of moving.
“Why isn’t it moving?”
He wondered if the barrier was broken, so he tried to channel his inner energy, but he couldn’t feel even a trace of it.
The barrier was intact.
Step by cautious step, Sabikang moved forward, holding his breath.
When he was about ten paces from where Vertas was, he glanced at the statue again.
Still, it didn’t budge.
“Maybe this is my chance!”
He was already deep inside the cave. It was too late to turn back.
With a swift motion, Sabikang dashed toward Vertas.
Of course, without his inner energy, he couldn’t use his light-footed technique.
But then—
Creak!
“Damn it!”
The statue began to move.
It was as if it had been waiting for Sabikang to get close to Vertas before springing into action.
Whoosh! Boom!
“Ugh!”
Sabikang quickly threw himself to the ground, rolling to avoid the debris that flew at him.
Under normal circumstances, his protective aura or shield would have prevented any injury.
But now, his body was covered in wounds.
He continued to roll and run, finally grabbing Vertas.
“Damn it!”
He turned to dash toward the exit, but—
Whoosh!
Thud!
To his shock, the statue leaped and landed, blocking the entrance.
Sabikang’s eyes widened.
“Does this thing have intelligence?”
It hadn’t moved until he picked up Vertas, but now it was blocking his only escape route!
“Damn it, who the hell designed this twisted barrier?”
He muttered in frustration, but there was no way out.
He had no choice but to confront it.
After all, his goal wasn’t to escape with the hammer.
“Thanks for reminding me of my purpose.”
Sabikang smirked, though he knew it was a reckless thought.
He couldn’t even think of a way to survive, let alone steal the hammer.
“Come on, then! Can’t even squash a bug, can you? Hahaha!”
As Sabikang taunted, the statue’s eyes shifted from blue to red.
In an instant—
Whoosh!
“Gah!”
Sabikang leaped aside as the hammer crashed down where he had been standing.
Crash!
He deflected the flying debris with Vertas, but without his inner energy, it was impossible to fend off all the fragments.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Ugh!”
Several pieces cut his forehead, and others slammed into his abdomen and shoulders.
Thud!
Sabikang was thrown back, rolling across the ground.
“Ugh, damn it!”
He spat out blood but had no time to wipe his mouth.
The statue swung its hammer at him again.
“Damn it! This time, I’m really going to die!”
There was no way to dodge.
Sabikang could only watch as the hammer descended upon him.
A laugh escaped him.
“Did I come back just to die here?”
The absurdity of the situation made him laugh.
In an instant—
Crash!
The hammer struck down.
But…
“I’m not dead?”
Sabikang looked at the hammer embedded in the ground beside him.
If it had landed just a bit closer, he would have been crushed to death.
“Did it miss?”
Looking up at the statue, Sabikang realized that wasn’t the case.
“You bastard…!”
The statue had deliberately missed, its blue eyes fixed on him, head tilted as if mocking him.
If it could express emotions, it would be a clear sneer.
“Someday, I’ll find the face of the bastard who made this barrier!”
Sabikang gritted his teeth and slowly stood up.
He looked the statue straight in the eye.
“You’ll regret not killing me now, you blockhead.”
Creak.
The statue lifted its hammer again, its eyes glowing red, as if to say it wouldn’t hold back this time.
Sure enough, the hammer came down with greater speed and force than before.
Whoosh!
“Gah!”
Sabikang leaped aside as the hammer crashed down where he had been standing.
Crash!
The hammer buried itself deep into the ground and wall, sending debris flying everywhere.
Sabikang didn’t even try to block it with his sword.
It was better to take the hits and keep moving than to waste time deflecting a few pieces.
Thud! Thud!
“Damn it!”
A shard tore through his thigh, causing him to stumble and slide to one knee.
The statue didn’t miss the opportunity and swung its hammer again.
Crash!
If he had been a moment slower, he would have been crushed.
The ground shook violently.
Rumble…!
The entire cave seemed to tremble as if in pain from the repeated impacts.
Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling.
Even the mightiest of natural formations couldn’t withstand such force.
Crash! Crash! Boom!
The statue hammered the ground relentlessly, like trying to squash a rat.
It blocked Sabikang’s escape with its massive body.
“Damn it…! At this rate, I’ll just tire out and die!”
Sabikang panted heavily, glaring at the statue with half-closed eyes.
Then—
Crack…!
A fissure appeared along the cave wall, widening into a large crack.
Sabikang instinctively looked up at the ceiling.
Dust and debris continued to fall.
“Damn it, if the ceiling collapses, it’s over…!”
That would be the worst-case scenario.
Even if the ceiling collapsed, the barrier wouldn’t break.
This type of barrier extended vertically almost infinitely.
Even if he could fly, his inner energy or mana would be useless within this domain.
If the ceiling collapsed, Sabikang would be crushed to death.
The chances of surviving under such massive rocks without any inner energy were slim to none.
Whether the statue knew this or not, it charged at Sabikang again.
Thud, thud, thud!
“Damn it! Doesn’t care about noise complaints, does it?”
Feeling the ground shake beneath him, Sabikang turned and ran.
Whoosh!
The statue leaped into the air.
Seeing it coming, Sabikang also leaped.
“Think I’ll die that easily?”
With a desperate shout, the statue’s hammer narrowly missed him again, striking the ground.
Crash!
This time, strangely, no debris flew.
Instead, an unknown sound echoed from all around.
“What the…?”
Sabikang panted heavily, looking around in confusion.
Crack…! Crack!
The cracks spread like a spiderweb across the floor, climbing up the cave walls.
“Damn it, if the ceiling collapses, I’m screwed…”
But it wasn’t the ceiling.
Crack…! Crack…!
The problem was the floor.
“Damn it! If the floor collapses, it’s the same thing!”
Rumble…!
The floor in the center of the cave began to give way.
“Damn it!”
Sabikang kicked off the ground and started running.
But the cracks spread faster than he could move.
Rumble!
“Ahhh!”
If he could use his light-footed technique, he could have leaped from the falling rocks, but that wasn’t possible now.
Sabikang began to fall with the collapsing rocks.
The statue was falling too, flailing beside him.
Splash!
Thankfully, there was water below.
Sabikang plunged into the water and quickly swam to the surface.
Without his inner energy, he couldn’t stay submerged for long, so he had to hurry.
The heavy statue sank deep into the water, clutching its hammer.
“Ha!”
Sabikang emerged, gasping for air, and swam to the shore.
“Huff, huff, huff…!”
Sabikang lay sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily as he stared up at the collapsed ceiling.
Should he consider himself lucky or unlucky?
At least he was still alive…
“Damn it, how am I supposed to retrieve that hammer?”
The giant, who didn’t need to breathe, wouldn’t drown underwater. And just because they were underwater didn’t mean the barrier wouldn’t activate. He still couldn’t think of a way to deal with the creature.
Should he just give up?
But that tool was too valuable to abandon. It was absolutely essential. At the very least, he had to prevent that hammer from falling into the hands of the demon legion. Besides, even if he decided to give up, he had no internal energy left to escape. He was trapped, destined to die here.
“Damn, this is giving me a headache!”
Sabikang staggered to his feet, scratching his head in frustration. The trials he’d faced without any internal energy had left his body aching all over. After taking a moment to steady his breathing, he slowly surveyed his surroundings.
The cave was so dark that it was hard to distinguish anything. The faint light drifting through the air, a result of the barrier’s influence, was the only saving grace. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, objects began to take shape.
As he absentmindedly scanned the area, Sabikang suddenly froze and slowly turned his head.
“What is that…?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.
“Am I seeing things?”
He blinked several times, doubting his own eyes.
“My God…!”
What he saw was real.
Just as Sabikang was about to move, a heavy rumble echoed from the water.
Thud… Thud…
The ground trembled slightly.
“Damn it, what’s that thing up to now?”
Clicking his tongue, Sabikang approached the pool of water. The faint light from the barrier wasn’t enough to see deep into the dark water, but from the shadows he could make out, it seemed the creature was using the hammer to break down the walls.
“That crazy thing… Is it trying to build a staircase?”
If that was the case, he had to admit its intelligence. But more importantly…
“I have to act before it climbs up!”
Sabikang spun around and strode purposefully toward the spot he had noticed earlier. Finally, a triumphant smile spread across his face.