After Ten Millennia in Hell

"If you wanted to kill the dog after the hunt was over, you should've known how to differentiate a dog from a lion," Oh Kang-Woo said mockingly.

Fujimoto Ryoma's face turned red in anger. He breathed heavily and raised his hands. In the blink of an eye, a spear wind was created and shot toward Kang-Woo.

Wham!

Kang-Woo used the Authority of Invulnerability, and the black barrier that was created around him destroyed the wind spear.

Ryoma said, "I'll kill you. I'll tear you apart. I'll give you a death more painful than any!"

"Haaa… I'm honestly a bit disappointed."

"Disappointed… you say?"

"To be honest, I had my hopes up a bit. I thought the character you were playing wasn't all that bad."

"What are you talking about?" Ryoma asked in a low voice.

Kang-Woo leisurely began warming up.

"The kind of villain that acts kind and courteous but actually controls everything from behind the scenes. I really like people like you, but"—he clicked his tongue—"I'm disappointed. Your mask fell off too easily. Baek Kang-Hyun did a far better job than you."

"The idea was okay. The intentions weren't bad, either, but you're far too lacking in brains. Blockheads aren't cut out for this sort of thing."

"You motherf—"

"You always curse when you have nothing to say. That's also disappointing. I'm getting sick and tired of your plain reactions. Honestly… Sigh. Yeah, I'd rather have that Akiyama guy over you."

Kang-Woo was really truly disappointed. It was as if he were asking Ryoma if this was the best he could do.

"You're disappointed…?"

Ryoma trembled, and he felt his mouth become dry. It was as if his insides were about to turn upside down. He felt miserable and wretched.

His plan to use Kang-Woo had been trampled to the point that its former semblance couldn't even be seen, to the point that the person whom he had tried to use was asking him why he couldn't do better.

Uncontrollable anger spread through his body.

"Ugh, agh."

Fujimoto couldn't even speak properly. All that came out of his mouth were fragments of words. Everything in front of him turned blank.

The Eye of Susanoo, his left blue eye, flashed.

Rumble!

A storm raged. Heavy and powerful energy spread out from his eye.

A piece of Mythic-grade equipment revealed its true power.

"Raaaahhhh!"

Ryoma roared. Dozens of wind spears targeting Kang-Woo were created.

Kang-Woo smiled. "Yeah, this is better. Don't try to act as if everything is okay and end up looking more pathetic."

Kang-Woo waved his hand, and a black curtain made of demonic energy appeared and deflected the wind spears.

"I have to go eat dinner, so let's wrap this up quickly. Oh, right. Do you know any good sushi restaurants? I came all the way to Japan, so I wanted to eat some at least once."

"How much more will you make a mockery of me?!"

"No, I'm asking in all seriousness because I really wanna know. You're extremely popular here in Japan, so you must know tons of good restaurants, right? The price doesn't matter. I'm rich."

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you so painfully that you'll regret being alive!"

"Dude. Man, this guy's super pissed. Alright, fine. I'm sorry. Your plan was scarily perfect. I only barely managed to win. I admit it. You were more perfect than any other opponent I've faced until now. Right then, about that sushi pla—"

"Raaahhh!"

Ryoma charged toward Kang-Woo. Highly concentrated wind gathered around his fist. He twisted his body and threw a punch. A cannonball of condensed wind flew toward Kang-Woo.

It was an attack that not even Kang-Woo could take lightly.

'If I hadn't achieved the Ultimate Demonic Body, that is.'

Kang-Woo leaned back as if he were falling, and concentrated the Authority of Titanic Might on his right leg. He kicked the wind cannonball up as if he were doing a bicycle kick, deflecting the wind cannonball with a boom.

He then twisted his body and regained his balance before he fell onto the ground. Kang-Woo raised his hand, concentrated the Authority of Waves into it, and shot the wave forward. The attack tore through the air.

Boom!

An explosive sound akin to a sonic boom rang out as their powers clashed with each other.

"Kurgh…!"

Ryoma was pushed back, and he flew into the air. With the Trait that allowed him to control wind and his overpowered item, Eye of Susanoo, he was effectively able to attack in midair where his opponents could not reach him.

But for Kang-Woo, this didn't make any difference.

"I never thought I would have a midair battle on Earth."

He used the Authority of the Sky and took flight. He was used to fighting in the air since there were many demons who could fly.

"Urgh!"

Ryoma started to become desperate.

He threw many wind spears toward Kang-Woo, but not even one could hit him.

"Fuck!"

Ryoma's eyes widened. He was so shocked that his mouth fell open. He had not missed because he was firing randomly but because Kang-Woo's movements were too erratic. It was as if inertia didn't exist for Kang-Woo—he easily changed directions at right angles.

"You don't have a chance against me in midair," Kang-Woo said as he closed in on him. Kang-Woo could ignore inertia in midair, so there was no way Ryoma would be able to fight against him.

Kang-Woo kicked the air and flew toward Ryoma. He clasped his fingers together and swung his fists down with the Authority of Titanic Might.

"Kurgh!"

Ryoma's left eye shone.

At that moment…

A giant hand appeared in the air and smacked Kang-Woo.

Bash!

Kang-Woo was flung backward, and the impact shook his body. He used the Authority of the Sky again to stop himself from falling and then looked up.

A wind giant had appeared behind Ryoma.

"Well, well."

He looked at it with great interest. The upper half of the wind giant easily exceeded twenty meters, and powerful mana emanated from its body.

'No, it isn't just made of mana…'

It felt a bit different from the mana he'd felt up to then.

An energy slightly different from mana was mixed within it.

'Is this the power of the gods of mythology?'

It was a type of power he'd never felt before. Unlike the destructive demonic energy or the embracing mana, it felt mysterious and overwhelming.

"Interesting."

A thick smile appeared on Kang-Woo's face.

If one was forced to give it a name, something like Divine Power seemed appropriate.

Kang-Woo boiled in excitement and clenched his fists. The demonic energy in his blood rose intensely.

A different world from Hell.

A power that came from a world where the gods of mythology resided.

He wanted to see how far he could go against a power like that.

"Huff! Huff!"

Ryoma panted heavily and felt a searing pain in his left eye.

"Kurgh…!"

Deific Manifestation—a technique that allowed him to summon Susanoo to the modern world through the Eye of Susanoo.

Summoning a God through Deific Manifestation had power befitting its name, but maintaining it consumed an astronomical amount of mana.

'I have to end this quickly…!'

He wanted to kill Kang-Woo slowly, but he no longer had the time to do it. He could only maintain Susanoo for a minute with the mana he had left. If he couldn't kill Kang-Woo in that time frame, his life force would be drained instead and he would die.

"KILL THAT BASTARD!!" he ordered Susanoo.

Susanoo, who was summoned to the modern world, looked at his opponent.

[You…]

His voice trembled. Susanoo realized that Kang-Woo wasn't a simple human being but an extra-dimensional being who had escaped from the wheel of mortality.

Susanoo focused his gaze on Kang-Woo's chest.

[A-Ahhh…]

A thrill…

A wave-like thrill made Susanoo tremble. He'd seen the deep energy within Kang-Woo's chest.

[I see. You are the one that Lord —— has spoken about.]

Susanoo raised his hand, and a giant spear made of wind appeared in it. He kept talking with a voice full of thrill.

[I will put to the test the power possessed by the master of the Demonic Sea right here and now.]

A strong fighting spirit leaked from Susanoo.

Ryoma, who was desperately maintaining Susanoo's form, vomited blood.

"What is he talking about?" Kang-Woo frowned. It seemed the giant made of wind was saying something, but he was speaking in a language he couldn't understand. Kang-Woo thought about using the Authority of Language, but he shook his head.

'This isn't time to be chitchatting.'

Judging by how Susanoo was exuding fighting spirit, it seemed peace wasn't an option—and that was also what Kang-Woo wanted.

"I never thought the day would come when I'd have to fight a god."

His expectations surged.

Of course, Ryoma probably hadn't summoned the god's true form. He was only able to summon the upper half, and most of it was made of mana. But even so, the thought of fighting a god made Kang-Woo's heart beat faster.

Susanoo raised his spear. As if he didn't want a long-winded battle either, he used an enormous amount of mana to pull all the wind in his surroundings to his spear.

"A spear, huh?"

Kang-Woo smiled. A spear was one of his main weapons. He extended his right hand, and the Authority of Hellfire and the Authority of Dark Spears merged.

'Bident.'

A two-pronged spear was created.

It wasn't enough.

'Gáe Bulg.'

The Authority of Spallation merged into it. After the three Authorities merged, a dark red spear showed itself.

'Still not enough.'

He was thirsty for more. He felt his mouth go dry.

The demonic energy within his blood began running wild. Kang-Woo added a fourth Authority to Gáe Bulg.

'Authority of Storms.'

It was an idea he'd come up with after looking at Susanoo.

A powerful spinning wind appeared on Gáe Bulg's spearhead.

A spear that was made by merging four different Authorities… It was a combination that he hadn't tried before.

'What should I call it?'

He gripped the spear tighter and began to think of the names of various mythological weapons. He then thought of a good one.

"Gungnir."

Rumble!!

Riiing.

[You have learned the skill 'Gungnir.']

[Techniques registered as skills can be used more easily and precisely.]

The spear, which now had a name, started to tremble. Although it looked different from the real Gungnir in mythology, that didn't matter. After all, naming it was just a way to make the image clearer while creating it.

[Come!] Susanoo shouted.

Although he couldn't understand him, Kang-Woo felt he knew what Susanoo wanted.

"Sure."

Kang-Woo had no intention of dodging. He gripped Gungnir tighter and stepped forward aggressively.

Susanoo's spear and Gungnir clashed.

As two terrifying powers clashed, a sound loud enough to make one's eardrums explode rang out.

And…

Boom!!!

Gungnir pierced the heart of the giant that appeared in mythology.