Episode 493: Return of the Demon Instructor
Boom!
Eun Gi-ryong was flung like a cannonball, crashing through a building wall with a deafening noise.
“Ugh! Cough…!”
A dark clot of blood spewed from his mouth.
“Master!”
Yeoyoung, having just cut down a goblin, rushed over to him in alarm.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Eun Gi-ryong replied, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and glaring at Javelin, who stood at a distance.
Javelin smirked coldly at Sang Pil-ji and Cheon Se-myeong. “I see you possess something beyond human capability. But… a bug is still a bug, no matter how much it struggles.”
Sang Pil-ji and Cheon Se-myeong’s expressions twitched. Despite their rising anger, a sense of dread gnawed at them. Javelin was indeed a formidable opponent. In fact, they weren’t even sure if they could defeat him. After all, Eun Gi-ryong, a master of the highest order, had been effortlessly knocked aside by a single blow.
Cheon Se-myeong glanced around, sweat trickling down his face. The courtyard, usually a place of peace, was now a battlefield of chaos. Instructors and assistant instructors had rushed to the main gate to fend off the invading monsters, protecting the students who had taken refuge in the main hall. Some fought on with severed limbs, while others, drenched in blood, swung their swords like demons.
It was a scene of utter carnage.
‘But what about Heuk-gwi…?’ Cheon Se-myeong clenched his teeth. He had hoped Heuk-gwi would be a powerful ally after attacking Cassis. But unexpectedly, Heuk-gwi had absorbed Cassis’s dark god and fallen into a coma. According to Sabi-gang, it was a process of digestion, and if lucky, Heuk-gwi might regain his sanity. It was surprising enough that Sabi-gang understood this so well, but even more so that he had appeared at just the right moment.
[Captain Cheon, let’s try the Great Ra-yeon Combined Attack Technique we practiced before.]
Sang Pil-ji’s voice echoed in Cheon Se-myeong’s mind. He nodded slightly. The two of them cautiously widened the distance between themselves and Javelin.
In an instant,
[Now!]
Sang Pil-ji’s voice rang out again. The two of them shot towards Javelin like lightning.
Swish, swish!
Their swords flew like meteors, threatening Javelin’s neck and chest. Javelin twisted his body to dodge, but the swords seemed to follow him like living snakes. It was the hallmark of the Great Ra-yeon Combined Attack Technique, a strategy devised by Sang Pil-ji. When executed by multiple people, it merged their energies, making them fluid. Within the range of this energy wave, the technique naturally tracked the enemy’s movements. It was a seemingly passive technique that paradoxically restricted the enemy’s freedom.
Sang Pil-ji and Cheon Se-myeong’s eyes gleamed with determination.
‘We’ve got him!’
Their swords raced towards Javelin’s throat and heart.
At that moment,
Shing!
A thin, blood-red barrier appeared in front of Javelin, deflecting their swords.
Clang!
Their eyes widened in disbelief.
‘Damn it! What is this…!’
Meanwhile, the blood barrier dispersed into a mist, transforming into sharp arrows that shot towards them.
Thud!
Sang Pil-ji managed to deflect the blood arrows, sliding back several feet before coming to a stop. Cheon Se-myeong, however, was cut on the shoulder, blood flowing freely.
“Ugh!”
As their energies faltered, Javelin spread his arms wide, a triumphant expression on his face.
“Your life force will soon be mine.”
In the next moment,
Bang!
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
Blood erupted from Sang Pil-ji and Cheon Se-myeong’s bodies, the droplets coalescing in mid-air. Hundreds of blood-red weapons formed, ready to strike.
“Squirm all you want, insects!”
The weapons shot out in all directions.
Sang Pil-ji and Cheon Se-myeong summoned their inner strength, forming protective barriers.
Ratatatatat!
The sound of metal clashing echoed as the weapons shattered, blood mist spreading everywhere.
Then,
A shadow darted through the mist with incredible speed.
Javelin chuckled.
“Futile…”
A blood-red sword formed in his hand, slashing at the incoming shadow.
Thud!
But Javelin’s eyes widened as he realized it was a wounded goblin, not an enemy.
At that moment,
Swish, swish, swish!
Sharp sword energies flew in from all directions.
The Great Ra-yeon Combined Attack Technique!
Yeoyoung, Joo Yu-cheon, Sang Pil-ji, and Cheon Se-myeong launched their attack together.
“Fools!”
Javelin roared, spreading his hands to form another blood barrier.
Clang! Clang!
The barrier shattered under the assault, blood mist rising once more.
In a flash,
Swish!
“Fool! The real sword is here!”
Eun Gi-ryong’s voice boomed as he unleashed a blindingly fast sword strike.
Thud!
Javelin’s eyes widened in shock as his heart was pierced.
“How… a mere human…!”
His eyes turned bloodshot.
Eun Gi-ryong glared at him coldly.
“Never underestimate humans.”
With a swift motion, Eun Gi-ryong drew his sword diagonally.
“Argh!”
Javelin screamed, his body twisting as he fell. His upper body was nearly split in half from heart to side, his eyes wide open in disbelief.
“We… we did it…!”
Cheon Se-myeong staggered, barely keeping his balance.
Eun Gi-ryong turned to Sang Pil-ji and Cheon Se-myeong.
“Well done, everyone. Now, let’s finish off the remaining enemies. We must protect the students…”
“Master…!”
Yeoyoung interrupted, her face filled with disbelief.
Eun Gi-ryong frowned and turned around.
To his shock, the blood pooling around Javelin was flowing back into his wounds.
In the next moment, Javelin’s eyes twitched, and the blood absorption quickened.
His wounds healed in an instant, and Javelin sprang to his feet, arms spread wide.
“Argh!”
With a roar, Javelin clenched his fists.
Crack! Snap!
Two more pairs of arms sprouted from his back.
Javelin, now with six arms, exuded a terrifying aura.
“Did you really think you could defeat me so easily?”
He spread his six arms wide, blood coalescing into six blood spears.
In an instant,
Whoosh!
The spears shot out in all directions.
“Ugh!”
Cheon Se-myeong raised his sword, but
Crack!
His blade snapped in two, the spear piercing his abdomen.
Sang Pil-ji was struck in the side, and Joo Yu-cheon was hit in the shoulder.
Yeoyoung’s thigh was slashed deeply, leaving her unable to stand.
Finally, two spears targeted Eun Gi-ryong.
He deflected one, but the other aimed straight for his heart.
Boom!
His hastily formed barrier shattered, blood droplets scattering everywhere.
But the barrier’s collapse left Eun Gi-ryong with severe internal injuries.
“Ugh…! Cough! Cough…!”
Coughing up blood, Eun Gi-ryong fell to one knee.
Already weakened from earlier injuries, his body was in shambles.
Step, step…
Javelin approached him.
The demon they thought defeated now loomed over them with six arms, a harbinger of despair.
“Enough of your antics.”
Javelin raised his six hands, each forming a blood spear, brimming with dark energy.
Just as he was about to strike,
“Hah!”
Sensing a chill behind him, Javelin twisted his body.
In an instant, he dispelled the spears and formed a blood barrier.
Ratatatatat!
With a loud crash, the blood token shattered, releasing a thick, swirling mist of blood.
In the next moment, a shadow emerged, slicing through the mist with a swift, fluid motion.
“What the—!”
Javelin spun around quickly, but the shadow, brandishing a dagger, slipped past him and came to a smooth stop in front of Eun Gi-ryung.
Sssshhh!
Eun Gi-ryung’s eyes widened in shock.
“You, you are…?”
“It’s been a while, Master. Jo Moon-tak from the Special Division, reporting in.”
As Jo Moon-tak bowed with a fist salute, Sang Pil-ji and Cheon Se-myung looked at him in surprise.
In just a few years, Jo Moon-tak’s entire demeanor had transformed.
Meanwhile, Javelin, glaring at the unexpected intruder, scrunched his nose and shouted, “And who the hell are you?”
“I’m their disciple,” Jo Moon-tak replied coldly, assuming a combat stance.
In the next instant, black spikes rose from the hive-like structure at his waist, hovering protectively around him.
“And I’m the one who’s going to kill you.”
Aranius couldn’t make sense of it.
The main headquarters of the Justice League was quite far from here.
There was no way Sabikang had used teleportation magic.
Even if he had used blink magic, it was hard to believe he could arrive so quickly.
Blink, a high-circle spell, was notoriously difficult to cast in succession.
So how did he get here so fast?
Not that it mattered.
After all, his attack on Yongcheon Hall was to capture Vertas.
And now that Sabikang had shown up with Vertas as planned, nothing had changed.
Aranius glanced up at the distant pavilion.
He had moved away from it to avoid any interference.
Fortunately, Sabikang had followed him without issue.
By now, a fierce battle was likely raging at the pavilion, but Sabikang seemed unconcerned.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re Sabikang, aren’t you?”
Sabikang smirked, his voice icy. “Still as arrogant as ever, Aranius.”
“What?”
Aranius’s expression twisted with anger.
Who did this insolent human think he was?
Grinding his teeth, Aranius demanded, “You keep acting like you know me. Who the hell are you?”
“I was once the one who had you under my heel.”
“There’s a saying among humans, isn’t there? ‘The only cure for a madman is a beating!’”
With that, Aranius raised his arm high.