Chapter 88

088. Soaring Dragon of the Sky (3)

Flight.

Anyone born into this world must have once wished to soar through the boundless sky.

Only creatures born with wings can fly through the sky and move freely.

I remember admiring this fact when I was so young that I can barely recall it.

Of course, I soon gave up the dream, realizing it was impossible.

However—

Now, I am flying over Tokyo, having developed wings artificially.

I had tried this ability once in the waiting room of the tower, but the feeling of using it outside was completely different.

In the waiting room, I merely confirmed that I could actually fly.

The sensation I felt then was simply that a lot of magic power was consumed, and it was amazing that I could fly without flapping my wings much.

But now, it's different.

Flying over Tokyo gave me a sense of omnipotence, as if I had become the master of the sky.

To be honest, if it weren't for the buildings collapsing and the explosions all around, I would have burst out laughing.

I could feel the corners of my mouth curling up.

"Why are you standing there so calmly and laughing...!"

Katherine, hanging from my left arm, scolded me with great anger, but there was nothing I could do.

She is a challenger who has the ability to control the rampaging Nam Gung Hyuk without any penalty.

"Laughing was a mistake. It's just amazing to be flying."

I couldn't leave Katherine behind as the fight with Nam Gung Hyuk was about to start.

Due to Nam Gung Hyuk's indiscriminate destruction of buildings in Shinjuku, there was no time to explain.

Of course, I could have waited for the destruction to happen and then fought Nam Gung Hyuk, but the goal was not only to defeat him but also to protect the city.

So, I had to fly directly, spreading my wings.

She seemed to realize this and was much more composed than when she was struggling to be let go.

"You're really... You're not in your right mind. Clearly, something is wrong with you. Who would decide to fly without any explanation in such a situation?"

Of course, she continued to grumble, but I could understand that much.

I poured more magic power into my wings to increase my speed and answered Katherine.

Whoosh—!

"…I couldn't explain and fly at the same time with the city being destroyed."

"…I know. I was just saying. Don't take it so seriously."

Katherine said, sounding exasperated, and then lifted her head to glare at me.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"What else? We need to go to Nam Gung Hyuk."

"No, I mean the battle strategy."

"…?"

"None? You only brought me and left everyone else behind."

"Of course, Katherine, you are an indispensable part of this battle."

However, she frowned in frustration and then sighed deeply.

"We are the only two here, and the others are on the helicopter."

"Sure."

"Then, we need to create an opening for you to use your ability, right?"

"Are you asking if there's no battle strategy?"

Katherine nodded, looking exasperated, and I fell into thought.

As she said, we needed at least a basic battle strategy.

However—

'But there really is no battle strategy.'

I concluded that there was no need for a battle strategy.

Because—

"Katherine, you said you can land properly even if you fall from the sky, right?"

How to deliver the strongest attack to Nam Gung Hyuk through this flight.

I had already decided on this when I came out of the helicopter.

"…?"

"That's enough. There's no need for another battle strategy."

"No, is this guy really messing with me…!!"

"How are you going to land?"

"…It's a skill. 'Leap of Purity.' It makes me immune to all damage from falling."

"That's a really good skill. There's no need to worry."

Katherine, who was angry, stopped and answered when I asked.

I lowered my head and looked at her once, giving a bitter smile.

I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her.

From now on, she would have to land from this height without any help.

"Katherine."

"…?"

"I'm really sorry, but the battle strategy is already decided."

"What…?"

"I'm going to crash into Nam Gung Hyuk with my wings."

"Y-You, what are you saying!? You could die doing that!"

"It's fine. I won't die, just a few broken bones and some fractures."

Given my durability from necromancy, I won't die easily.

As long as my head or heart isn't damaged, it won't be that serious.

With the 'Ashen Blood' skill, the pain will be blocked and I'll recover quickly, so there's no need to worry.

However, Katherine looked at me with wide eyes, as if she couldn't believe it.

"T-That… Why would you go to such lengths…?"

"I guess it's because I only know how to do things like this."

In every battle, I had to risk my life to win.

In the tower, where defeat meant death, I could only risk my life in the early stages.

I had to do impossible things, risking my own life, to survive.

This has continued as I climbed the tower and fought countless monsters.

But Katherine looked at me as if I were a sacrificial lamb.

"You're really out of your mind."

She said this, savoring the words, and then looked down with an empty gaze.

I didn't bother to say anything, just one sentence.

"We'll see later."

When she sees me alive, she will understand the situation.

I released Katherine from my left arm and plummeted toward the center where the explosions were heard.

Since the buildings are being destroyed in the center, Nam Gung Hyuk must be right below.

The speed of my fall increased transcendentally, and soon the air resistance began to push against my entire body.

It didn't matter.

「I use the command of the Rock Serpent to replenish my magic power.」

「I use the command of the Rock Serpent to replenish my magic power…」

「I use the command of the Rock Serpent to replenish my magic…」

I converted all the remaining commands from the 10th floor trial into magic power.

I replenished all the magic power I had drained from the bottom and pushed my speed to the limit.

「The special effect of the Tempered Iron Pendant (B), 'Steel's Blessing,' is activated.」

「A property that absorbs 10% of all physical damage is imbued in my skin.」

For the first time in a while, I activated the property of the Tempered Iron Pendant to absorb physical damage.

「The special effect of the Old Tuxedo of the Vampire Baron (A-) creates a protective barrier by consuming blood.」

At the same time, I created a good protective barrier around my body using the Old Tuxedo of the Vampire Baron.

I didn't stop there; I wrapped my head with my steel wings to protect my brain.

And—

Kaaah!

I landed on the ground with a deafening roar.

***

The Nam Gung Family.

Currently, it is one of the five great families in the martial arts world, known for its great prosperity.

It is also a massive force with a revered sword master as the former head of the family.

However—

—Who would have thought that the young master of the Nam Gung Family would be a dullard. What can I do about this?

Nam Gung Hyuk, born into the prestigious Nam Gung Family, had an unfortunate childhood due to the family's reputation.

When he was six, Nam Gung Hyuk was called a dullard by his father for lacking talent.

Dullard.

In an era where a person's value was determined solely by their martial arts potential.

The evaluation Nam Gung Hyuk received from his father was nothing short of tragic.

He was frail and couldn't speak properly like other children.

His father despised him until he turned ten.

—Is your martial arts improvement blocked at this level?

His father once questioned whether he was really his biological child and oppressed his mother.

Nam Gung Hyuk had to listen to his parents' arguments with an empty gaze, curled up.

Why is the child, who should have excelled as a late bloomer in a few years, in such a state?

His father oppressed him daily, treating him harshly.

But he was not at all lacking in martial arts talent and was not inferior to other children.

—Why can't everyone understand the sound of the sword?

Nam Gung Hyuk was born with the ability to hear the sound of the sword.

It's not that the sword speaks, but he could hear the sound it makes.

Through this, Nam Gung Hyuk learned martial arts from the sound of the sword.

Where to swing the sword, where to draw it to cut the enemy.

Or where to block the enemy's attack and counterattack.

He could understand all of this from the sound the sword made.

Genius.

Nam Gung Hyuk possessed a talent that could be called a gift from heaven.

However, such talent was useless to his father, who believed only in the forms of martial arts.

—I have no interest in an inferior child who can't even follow the set movements.

At ten, he was branded as an inferior child and treated like a burden.

—You are opening the path of the sword before even following the set movements. You are a true genius.

Until he met his grandfather, the former head of the Nam Gung Family and the revered sword master.

From that moment, Nam Gung Hyuk, who was once considered an inferior child, was raised by his grandfather as a sword prodigy with unparalleled talent.

His grandfather respected him, saying that learning martial arts was not just about following set forms.

Or more accurately, he respected the talent Nam Gung Hyuk possessed.

A talent that could be described as almost violent.

The result was simple.

—At thirteen, sword qi… Your achievement is higher than when I was young.

Nam Gung Hyuk reached the level of Sword Qi, where he could injure people with his qi.

He achieved this in just three years after he started learning martial arts seriously.

At that moment, Nam Gung Hyuk felt a sense of freedom for the first time.

Heavenly Blue.

The blue sword qi flowed freely, resembling the flow of the sky.

However, it was only the level where he could injure people with his qi.

Nam Gung Hyuk was disappointed, but his grandfather soon turned his disappointment into hope.

—Martial arts are not just a path to kill people but a path to transcendence.

The sword master taught Nam Gung Hyuk that the sword qi he manifested was not just for killing.

Through endless self-cultivation, one could attain god-like abilities.

He generously informed Nam Gung Hyuk that the level he had reached was just the beginning of this path.

—Qi is a law that exists in a world so small it cannot be seen.

Microcosm.

After condensing the qi, which exists in a world so small it cannot be observed, into the body.

Then, it is brought to the macrocosm, the observable realm, to twist the laws of reality.

—The starting point is sword qi.

The essence of sword qi is to twist the laws of reality to pierce steel like tofu.

It was around this time.

「The Tower of Trials selects suitable candidates from the martial arts world.」

Nam Gung Hyuk was summoned to the Tower of Trials, which he had heard about.

He climbed the tower faster than anyone else, reaching the 20th floor.

It was an unbelievable feat achieved at the age of seventeen, but—

—Why are there only such trivial people in the world?

Instead, Nam Gung Hyuk fell into boredom and spent his time in the tower without climbing it.

During this time, he discovered an interesting element in the tower called 'Floor Invasion.'

After that, he fought with challengers from minor dimensions where no chaos would arise from duels.

Through this process, Nam Gung Hyuk felt his boredom from climbing the tower gradually fade.

It was like his blood, which had cooled, was boiling again.

The challengers from minor dimensions were weak, not even properly registered in the tower.

However, there was something to learn, and Nam Gung Hyuk became stronger.

Because of this, he did not climb the tower properly and only slaughtered challengers from minor dimensions.

The murderer who killed the martial arts alliance elder Baek Sun-hak was also a challenger from a minor dimension.

Nam Gung Hyuk moved to the minor dimension without hesitation to fight the challenger, causing a bloodbath.

But this time, something was different.

"…"

Nam Gung Hyuk, who was destroying buildings in Shinjuku, Tokyo, spat out blood from his mouth.

"Cough…"

He had just been hit by an unknown object falling from the sky.

His internal organs were damaged, and the flow of his inner energy was severely disrupted.

Despite this, Nam Gung Hyuk opened his eyes and looked at the object embedded in the debris of the building he had destroyed.

The object, which had fallen from the sky and was wrapped in wings, slowly restored its shape and became a person.

And—

The man in the red, old tuxedo staggered out of the building debris and spat out the blood in his mouth, muttering to himself with a look of exasperation.

"…Falling from the sky is something I can't do more than once."

It was Han Seung-yoon.