Chapter 225

Chapter 226. The Strongest Shield and the Strongest Spear (2)

A strange coexistence began.

“It’s delicious!”

Hyperion, who ate the meals prepared by Keter every day, always reacted differently, praising the taste.

Keter, sitting with Hyperion, didn’t do anything particularly noticeable. He wasn’t always glued to Hyperion’s side and occasionally left his seat.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed.

Hyperion came to know Keter’s hand skills and cooking prowess. Keter, in turn, learned about Hyperion’s daily routine.

Out of 24 hours a day—

12 hours, sleep.

7 hours, meditation.

5 hours, hunting monsters from the Demon Realm.

For someone who was supposed to be the successor of Kwonhwang, one of the Nine Strongest in this world, the Four Emperors and Five Sovereigns, this routine was shockingly mundane and bizarre.

Why was he living in the middle of nowhere, hunting monsters from the Demon Realm?

Others might not understand, but Keter was different. He realized why Hyperion was doing this.

‘He’s paving the way to become a Prime.’

7-Star Prime.

A realm beyond human reach, said to be unattainable by mortals.

Some say that to reach the realm of Prime, one must abandon something precious. Those who reach this realm are essentially madmen.

“Kwonhwang is ruthless. Out of all the ways to become a Prime, he chose the path of Soul Ejection.”

Humans desire to record everything. Even the transcendent realm of Prime is no exception.

Thus, there are four methods to become a Prime:

Annihilation.

Finitude.

Shedding.

And Soul Ejection.

Annihilation discards emotions, leaving only reason.

Finitude discards reason, leaving only emotions.

Shedding discards the human body, transforming into a pure spiritual form.

And finally, Soul Ejection, which Hyperion is undergoing, discards one’s self and gives birth to a new self.

It’s impossible to say which method is safer or faster. No one knows how the results will turn out. It’s just said that these methods are the quickest and easiest paths to becoming a Prime.

‘No wonder the atmosphere felt different from his past life. It seems he’s succeeded in Soul Ejection.’

Soul Ejection doesn’t erase memories. It just changes the person inside completely.

This isn’t a side effect or drawback unique to Soul Ejection. The other methods also demand that one step beyond the bounds of humanity to become a Prime.

So, in any case, the ultimate training method for Soul Ejection is to repeatedly do what one hates the most. Until one starts to like it.

By doing so, one distances themselves from their old self. They create a new personality that loves what they once hated.

And if that succeeds, they can enter the realm of Prime.

“It doesn’t seem to be working well now.”

A Grandmaster can survive for a month without eating or drinking. Yet, Hyperion enjoys gourmet food and hunts monsters from the Demon Realm.

Eating and fighting. These are likely Hyperion’s favorite things. He must be struggling with meditating all day, which he hates, and is thus indulging in these distractions.

“Even if he’s indulging, the fact that he became a Prime means that if he hardens his heart, he could become a Prime even faster. What a monster.”

Keter clicked his tongue and muttered. Once again, he felt the existence of so many monsters in this world.

He thought there was no one more of a genius than this guy, but there is. Just when he thought there couldn’t be a more overpowered ability, someone else pops up somewhere.

“Where are they all hiding, seriously?”

*Chop chop.*

It was while he was preparing corn soup and sparrow meat for dinner.

“Ah, damn it!”

Hyperion, who had been meditating in a cross-legged position, suddenly opened his eyes and shouted in anger.

“Hey! How long are you going to stay here? I can’t concentrate because of you!”

“Hmm, it’s true I’ve been here a while. Yukbaek, how many days has it been since we arrived here?”

“It’s been ten days and seven hours.”

“Ten days already? I guess it’s time for me to leave too.”

Keter, who had been preparing the ingredients, stood up from his seat. Hyperion’s body twitched.

“Y-you’re leaving?”

“I have to. Like you said, I can’t stay here forever. There’s nothing more to see here.”

“…You said you’d kill me. Are you giving up?”

For some reason, Hyperion sounded regretful. Keter shrugged and answered silently.

*Clang!*

Hyperion kicked the pot on the ground, venting his frustration.

“Fine, go! I didn’t want to see your face anyway!”

“I’m leaving.”

Keter left immediately. He didn’t even bother to pack the utensils.

Hyperion, who hadn’t expected him to leave so abruptly, reached out belatedly but couldn’t bring himself to speak.

What could he say? Come back.

“…What are you doing? Hyperion. Get a grip.”

*Slap!*

Hyperion slapped his own cheek and shook his head vigorously.

“I’m Kwonhwang. I’ll become the strongest martial artist in this world.”

Reminding himself of his goal, Hyperion resumed his meditation posture. But he couldn’t focus on meditation more than ever.

* * *

“The detectable distance seems to be up to here, huh?”

Of course, Keter hadn’t left.

The reason he hadn’t fought Hyperion during the past ten days wasn’t because he had grown attached or because Hyperion was too strong.

“A surprise attack is only a surprise if the opponent doesn’t expect it.”

After observing Hyperion, Keter realized that Hyperion never let his guard down. Whether eating, fighting, or even snoring in his sleep, there was no opening to exploit.

So, Keter created one.

A situation to break Hyperion’s perfection.

Right now.

Keter had tested hundreds of times to see how far Hyperion could detect living beings. The result was that Hyperion’s detection range was roughly 800 meters.

Keter positioned himself on a cliff, 2,000 meters away, with a clear view of Hyperion meditating.

*Deep breath.*

Keter stretched out his right hand. In it appeared the black bow, Amaranth.

Then, he pulled out Baeklin from his left palm and nocked it on Amaranth.

Hyperion wields ‘Ain.’ Not the incomplete Ain I had in my past life, but a complete ‘Ain.’ He must have learned it from his master, Kwonhwang.

In any case, a perfect Ain is a combination of Aura and Mana, amplifying their strengths.

On the other hand, I haven’t obtained Ain yet. Of course, I have the martial art Cheonji Mugung, which can explode the body, but Hyperion also possesses a martial art comparable to Cheonji Mugung.

That is—

Clear Sky Thunder Fist.

And Iron Blood Divine Technique.

If Clear Sky Thunder Fist is the strongest spear—

Iron Blood Divine Technique is the strongest shield.

Hyperion is the embodiment of contradiction.

So, I must squeeze out everything. If I don’t kill him with this strike, I’ll die.

‘Heavenly Power, Stage 5.’

*Crackle!*

Opening his Heavenly Power, Keter’s strength and senses explosively increased.

*Creak.*

He drew the bowstring with enough force to shatter Amaranth. To hit Hyperion from 2,000 meters away, not even a speck of dust’s worth of error was allowed.

On top of that—

“Tusk.”

The technique that instantly killed the Queen Ant, Tusk, was layered onto Baeklin.

Compressed to the limit, Aura and Mana wrapped around Baeklin. Even without firing, it was five times more powerful than the Tusk he had shot at the Queen.

But even this wouldn’t scratch Kwonhwang’s Iron Blood Divine Technique.

“Mana Arrow.”

*Whoosh!*

The corrupting power of Mana Arrow swirled and infused into Baeklin. He used all 30 Mana Arrows he had accumulated.

At that moment, Amaranth trembled, and a voice echoed in Keter’s mind.

[Stop, Keter. This is madness.]

Amaranth, who had never spoken first before, spoke to Keter.

“Huh? What’s so mad about it? I don’t get it.”

[Hyperion is an Ain wielder. You know about Ain. He’s not someone you can defeat. No matter what you do, you can’t win.]

“You know so much about Hyperion, but why don’t you know about me? Hearing that just makes me want to do it more, like a rebellious frog.”

[You madman! If you die, I’ll be exiled here too!]

As Amaranth spoke with anger, Keter smirked and replied.

“That’s why I told you before. You’ll have to do your best too. If you use that hidden power of Mana Arrow’s Sniper, the chances of defeating Hyperion might increase a bit, right?”

Amaranth’s true ability isn’t Mana Arrow, but becoming the Sniper of Mana Arrow.

Wrapping the entire body in corrupting power, becoming both offense and defense. Moreover, the corrupting power is greatly enhanced, making each Mana Arrow shot by the Sniper a one-hit kill.

[You want to use the Sniper for free? Even though you’ve been using one Mana Arrow for free every day? And you’ve accumulated 30 of them!]

“You can curse and swear all you want. So, will you lend me the Sniper?”

[Five years. Give me five years of your lifespan. Then I’ll become the Sniper and save you in this battle.]

It was an incredibly generous offer from Amaranth’s perspective. While Mana Arrows are one thing, becoming the Sniper requires a massive amount of divine power.

In that sense, five years of lifespan was the minimum line where Amaranth wouldn’t lose out.

“No.”

[What?!]

“Just let me use it for free once.”

[Your greed is hotter than the sun and more bottomless than Leviathan’s stomach!]

“In return, if I die, I’ll give you my body.”

[……?!]

“Even if I kill Hyperion, I’ll give it to you.”

[…Are you serious?]

Keter shrugged.

“I’m always serious.”

Amaranth suddenly had an idea.

‘Anyway, defeating Hyperion is impossible. Keter will die. But if I step in, at least I can leave a corpse.’

Death is inevitable. So, if I make sure the corpse is as intact as possible and take over the body…

‘I have no reason to fight Hyperion. If I just escape and take this guy’s body… *slurp*.’

The wait was worth it. Amaranth thought this was the only chance to seize Keter’s body.

[…Just this once, brat. I’ll lend you the Sniper.]

*Whoosh!*

Black flames erupted from the black arrow.

Then Keter shouted.

“Not now. Transform when I give the signal.”

[Sigh, fine. I’ll wait for the signal.]

Amaranth was annoyed by Keter’s demands despite getting to use the Sniper for free, but he decided to endure it.

‘After all, it’ll soon be my body. *Heh heh heh*.’

Having secured Amaranth’s cooperation, Keter focused back on Baeklin.

Hyperion always meditated in the same spot. He should be there now.

Calculating the coordinates, Keter adjusted the angle slightly, anticipating the arrow’s trajectory to be affected by gravity and wind.

*Creak!*

Just before firing Baeklin, infused with Tusk, Keter drew the bowstring with enough force to shatter Amaranth. Amaranth bent as if screaming—

*Click.*

Baeklin was fired.

Only the small sound of the bowstring releasing was heard, with no sound of the arrow flying. Despite its immense destructive power.

‘1.5 seconds.’

In this short time, Baeklin flew 2,000 meters and reached Hyperion’s forehead.

Hyperion was indeed a monster. Even while meditating in the psychological chaos caused by Keter’s absence, he sensed Baeklin’s stealth effect and opened his eyes.

But it was a little too late.

Hyperion opened his eyes and felt Baeklin just before it hit his forehead.

*Thud—aaaaah—uuuwaaah!*

How could this be the sound of an arrow hitting a human forehead? It sounded like a giant bell being struck.

Multiple shockwaves spread in all directions. Trees and plants were swept away, and space distorted.

*Crackle!*

Tusk, layered with Mana Arrow, spun at high speed, trying to pierce through a human forehead.

The Tusk that had pierced the Queen’s five-layered armor couldn’t pierce human skin. Only strange sounds were heard.

The first arrowhead of Tusk failed to penetrate Hyperion’s defense.

But Tusk struck twice.

Using the recoil from the first strike, it accelerated the second arrowhead.

*Screaaam!*

A sound like a woman’s scream echoed, and Hyperion’s head jerked back. Baeklin shot up into the sky, becoming a dot and disappearing.

*Pshhh…*

Smoke rose from Hyperion’s forehead.

“……”

Hyperion touched his forehead.

It hurt.

Then he felt something bulging. A lump had formed from Keter’s Baeklin Tusk.

After being hit by the strongest strike, infused with 30 Mana Arrows, all it did was create a lump.

*Whoosh.*

Hyperion raised his head and glared somewhere. It was towards the hill where Keter was.

“It worked, the sneak attack.”

*Crack, rumble.*

Just by lightly clenching his fists, a menacing sound was heard.

“Now die.”

*Thud!*

Like a gorilla, Hyperion punched the ground and leaped. In a single leap, he closed hundreds of meters in an instant.

Keter could see it clearly. Hyperion, with a small lump on his forehead. The rage, like a gorilla covered in scars, was palpable.

[Shouldn’t you run away now?]

Amaranth asked, sounding anxious.

Keter nocked Milky Way on the bowstring and said.

“There’s no paradise where you run to.”

*Whoosh!*

Twenty Milky Ways spread out to Keter’s left and right, lining up like wings.

“Only those who believe in their path… can shine someday.”

In the blink of an eye, Keter fired a total of 21 Milky Ways at Hyperion, who had halved the distance.

*Boom!*

As the area was devastated by the bombardment of Milky Ways, the true battle between the two transcendents, Keter and Hyperion, began.