Chapter 191 – Demon vs. Chaos (3)

A total of five divine artifacts, excluding the Ink Dragon Sword, had begun to resonate, acknowledging each other’s existence.

And both Yu-jin and the Heavenly Demon knew well that artificially accelerating this resonance would destroy the artifacts, even if they were the Twelve Treasures.

But Yu-jin had never used this method before, despite possessing the Ink Dragon Sword. He knew it wouldn’t work.

“Every one of the Twelve Treasures contains its own soul. These souls are what maintain the artifacts’ forms. But Asura, though formless, possesses the greatest soul of them all. Even if I resonated the Ink Dragon Sword to shatter it, I couldn’t completely annihilate Asura. But Heavenly Demon, what about five divine artifacts? Do you truly believe Asura can withstand this resonance?!”

*Wooooooooong!*

The divine artifacts began to tremble faster and faster. Cracks appeared on the five treasures, and Asura started to ripple. The souls of the artifacts could not withstand the accelerating resonance. And when that resonance reached its peak!

*KABOOOOM!*

A massive explosion erupted, and everything—Asura and the five divine artifacts, excluding the Ink Dragon Sword—vanished. The explosion was so immense that it even dissipated the Ink Dragon protecting Yu-jin’s body and the Demonic God shielding the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon glared at Yu-jin, his eyes devoid of all emotion. Asura had been with him since he first emerged in the martial world.

In other words, it was no exaggeration to call it his soulmate, a companion of hundreds of years. For such a sword to be destroyed by Yu-jin’s petty trick, even the cold-hearted Heavenly Demon couldn’t help but be enraged.

“Well now, you can never use your precious Asura’s Dance of Heavenly Destruction again!”

“I can kill you without it. It will simply take longer!”

As soon as the Heavenly Demon’s shout ended, the Demonic God reformed. Not to be outdone, Yu-jin summoned the Ink Dragon as well. The Ink Dragon and the Demonic God clashed once more.

When the Ink Dragon bit into the Demonic God, the Demonic God fiercely struck the Ink Dragon’s body.

*BOOM! KABOOOOM!*

Each time the Ink Dragon and the Demonic God collided, a massive shockwave spread out, obliterating the clouds in the sky.

Thunder roared from a clear, dry sky. Their battle was affecting the very atmosphere, changing the weather itself.

However, the true contest was not between the Ink Dragon and the Demonic God, but the fight within them.

*Crack!*

Yu-jin’s sword struck the Heavenly Demon’s chest. In a single motion, the blade sliced through his chest and shattered the ribs within.

But with a single breath, the Heavenly Demon’s wound healed completely.

This time, the Heavenly Demon’s fist slammed into Yu-jin’s face. It was a powerful blow, nearly breaking his neck and twisting his head halfway around. But by the time Yu-jin turned his head back, the injury was almost fully restored.

Their fight was no longer a battle between humans. Nor was it a battle between supreme beings. It was a battle of those who had reached godhood in human bodies. A battle of god versus god—that was a more fitting description for these two entities.

“The Realm of Life and Death…”

Watching their fight, the Martial Alliance Leader, Supreme Sword Emperor Hyeon Cheon-ja, murmured. For these two beings who, by their own will, would not even permit themselves death, the term Profound Realm was no longer fitting.

The Profound Realm could not fully describe them. Observing these two who had transcended human life and death, Hyeon Cheon-ja had coined a new term: the Realm of Life and Death.

No other words suited those two beings better.

*KABOOOOM!*

But the creation of a new term to describe their realm was of no importance to Yu-jin or the Heavenly Demon.

The two swung their swords and fists with all their might, seeking to break one another. But as time passed, Yu-jin began to be pushed back. No, to be precise, the Ink Dragon Sword could no longer absorb all the impact.

*Crack! Crack!*

The soul within the Ink Dragon Sword cried out, unable to bear the agony, and cracks began to form on the sword’s black blade.

The power of the two beings was so immense that the soul maintaining one of the Twelve Treasures could not handle it.

Yu-jin unleashed a powerful palm strike with his left hand and simultaneously used the repelling force of his Suction Arts to push the Heavenly Demon away.

“As I thought, I cannot cut you with the Ink Dragon Sword. To think that the Ink Dragon Sword, ranked third among the Twelve Treasures, cannot withstand the force of our clash.”

“From the beginning, no weapon with a physical form could endure our battle. Only Asura could have withstood it. Of course, you took it, so it is no more.”

At the Heavenly Demon’s pointed words, Yu-jin smirked slightly. Then, he spoke again.

“Even in this state, overwhelming you is impossible. And I created the Ink Dragon specifically to counter your Demonic God. It seems an imitation cannot defeat the real thing after all.”

“Did you not realize that long ago and create a new martial art?”

“Of course. But I thought the Ink Dragon would be different. It seems it’s of little use. But don’t you worry. The real fight starts now. If you can block this too, then I will be the one to find rest.”

*Kuuuuooooooh!*

As soon as he finished speaking, the Ink Dragon began to roar, its formidable energy spreading in all directions.

But this phenomenon did not last long. The energy that had spread out began to flow back into Yu-jin, drawn by his Suction Arts.

The more power entered Yu-jin’s body, the larger the cracks on the Ink Dragon Sword grew. And when the Ink Dragon’s form completely vanished and its power fully settled within Yu-jin’s body…

*KABOOOOM!*

A massive explosion erupted as the blade of the Ink Dragon Sword was completely destroyed. With the destruction of its blade, the Ink Dragon Sword vanished without a trace.

In this single battle, seven of the Twelve Treasures had been destroyed. The very same Twelve Treasures, any one of which was said to be capable of making its owner the greatest martial artist in the world.

However, neither the Heavenly Demon nor Yu-jin cared about such a fact. Although they had the help of the divine artifacts, it was their own efforts that had turned them into god-like beings.

They were not men who relied on weapons. That was why they only felt a slight sense of loss at the artifacts’ destruction, showing no further emotion.

“Is that your true form?”

The Heavenly Demon asked, looking at Yu-jin, who was now enveloped in a gray aura. There was no dramatic change like with the Ink Dragon. He was simply surrounded by gray energy. But the Heavenly Demon could feel an even greater power emanating from him.

“Yes. This is my true power. However, I have only wielded it once, so I might be clumsy in its use.”

“For someone of your caliber, once is enough to master a power. Is it not?”

Yu-jin merely smiled at the Heavenly Demon’s question. Then, he once again took his stance.

Seeing this, the Heavenly Demon also dismissed the image of the Demonic God. He had decided to use all the power maintaining its form for his attacks.

The battle was heading towards its finale. The two of them charged at each other once more.

***

Yu-jin and the Heavenly Demon threw their fists at each other. They no longer needed technique.

What they needed was the will to crush their opponent and pure power. Anything else would only invite defeat.

The two beings fought and fought, burning everything they had to destroy their opponent.

*Crack! KABOOM!*

As Yu-jin’s fist struck the Heavenly Demon’s face, the Heavenly Demon’s fist struck Yu-jin’s chest.

Flesh burned, bones broke, and blood splattered. Both possessed incredible regenerative abilities, allowing them to quickly recover from even fatal wounds, but the moment a wound healed, a fist would land there again.

Each blow that landed on their bodies progressively destroyed the flesh of Yu-jin and the Heavenly Demon. A slugfest, foolishly simple and foolishly filled with raw power.

It lacked elegance, but for that very reason, it was a more spectacular fight.

“Kuhahahat!”

Yu-jin threw a punch and a kick at the approaching Heavenly Demon. The Heavenly Demon’s chest caved in and his leg broke from the impact.

But the Heavenly Demon paid it no mind, striking Yu-jin’s solar plexus with his elbow and delivering an uppercut to his chin. Yu-jin sharply planted his fist into the staggering Heavenly Demon’s face, and the Heavenly Demon’s body plummeted to the earth.

*KABOOOOM!*

When the Heavenly Demon emerged from the crater, his expression was gradually etched with pain.

Even for him, with his near-infinite power, Yu-jin’s divine demonic energy was slowly eating away at his life force from within.

Because of this, his fearsome regenerative ability, which could heal any wound in an instant, was gradually slowing down.

But the same was true for Yu-jin. His body, too, was slowly collapsing from within due to the Heavenly Demon’s pitch-black demonic energy.

It had reached the point where his own life force was being consumed each time he regenerated.

*“Haaaaaaah!”*

But the Heavenly Demon didn’t care. Stomping hard on the ground, splattering blood, he rose to his full height and let out a roar.

Watching him, Yu-jin felt a sense of elation. A fierce emotion swirled inside him.

‘If I was born into this world for this excitement, then it was well worth coming!’

A man trapped in solitude for being different from others since birth.

A man despised as a half-breed, who chose power and fell into solitude.

The two, who had fallen into the abyss of solitude and had no choice but to build their own strength, were alike in many ways, as if looking at each other through a mirror.

The commonality between them was that their souls had darkened in the abyss of solitude.

It was true that this commonality gave them a strange sense of kinship. But for that very reason, both firmly believed they had to kill the other.

*KABOOOOM!*

The Heavenly Demon, soaring into the air again, struck Yu-jin’s face. At the same time, Yu-jin also planted his fist in the Heavenly Demon’s face.

They had lost count of how many times they had struck each other’s faces and broken each other’s necks. But neither of them fell. No matter how many times they struck, Yu-jin and the Heavenly Demon did not fall, continuing to throw their fists.

*BAM! BAM! BAM!*

Even the supreme masters of the Profound Realm would not be able to withstand a single blow from either of them. The mere clash of their fists made the world scream.

Yet, even as they landed such attacks on each other, they did not stop. They simply continued to destroy each other’s bodies.

*Crack!*

Their skin split and tore, and from the ruptured flesh, demonic energy and divine demonic energy flowed out. If this continued, both of them would lose their lives.

But neither of them stopped swinging their fists. They destroyed each other, rushing towards death.

Their flesh was torn and ruptured beyond recognition, and their white, broken bones were exposed.

Then, finally, the two of them felt that they had reached their limits. It was an obvious conclusion, but still, they did not stop.

“Tahahat!”

Yu-jin shouted as he drove his fist toward the Heavenly Demon’s heart. The punch, which he firmly believed to be the final blow, destroyed the Heavenly Demon’s chest and his heart.

Of course, destroying his heart was not enough to finish the Heavenly Demon. A destroyed heart would only regenerate. But it was enough to stop him for a moment, and Yu-jin, instead of pulling his arm back, injected his divine demonic energy.

“Keeeeuk!”

The divine demonic energy interfered with the regeneration of the Heavenly Demon’s heart, and he felt immense pain. His once-mighty body began to collapse from within, crumbling away.

But Yu-jin felt pain as well. To prevent the Heavenly Demon’s regeneration, he had absorbed the pitch-black demonic energy into his own body.

The pitch-black demonic energy, which had been trying to move to repair the Heavenly Demon’s body, was forcibly drawn into Yu-jin, pushing his already mangled body to the brink of ruin.

“I’ll end this!”

Having exhausted almost all his remaining divine demonic energy to stop the Heavenly Demon’s regeneration, Yu-jin drew upon his human life force, his primordial ki, and threw his other fist.

*KABOOOOOOOM!*

A colossal explosion occurred. It was an explosion so tremendous, like a star bursting in the sky, that many martial artists within its range died without even a chance to scream.

No, they didn’t just die; they were annihilated, leaving not even a corpse behind.

When the people recovered from the aftershock of the explosion and opened their eyes again, the Heavenly Demon and Yu-jin were still floating in the sky.