Chapter 114

“Scorching Bomb… I see.”

Kim Do-jin nodded.

However, his face was alight with an undeniable competitive spirit.

“Then, I’ll shatter it.”

Deep green flames erupted from Kim Do-jin’s entire body.

At a glance, it seemed he intended to use his full power.

Kang Yuseong looked at him and smiled bitterly to himself.

‘Things just got serious.’

The main reason he’d wanted to fight Kim Do-jin was to meticulously observe his abilities and find an opportunity to evolve his own. The second reason was to gauge how much Kim Do-jin’s skills had grown. He had planned to stop after achieving his objectives, but Kim Do-jin seemed to have been thoroughly provoked, now drawing out his ultimate power.

However, Kang Yuseong had no intention of backing down either.

No, a craving to truly experience Kim Do-jin’s full power surged through him, making his entire body tingle with excitement.

‘Alright, then.’

Kang Yuseong’s eyes sharpened with cold resolve.

And another man.

A massive aura also emanated from Gil Hyeok-jun’s twin axes.

Without a word, the three slowly began to move.

A breathtaking tension, never seen in a one-on-one duel, stretched taut between them.

*Thump—*

Suddenly, Gil Hyeok-jun moved.

He pushed off the ground, leaping as if flying, and extended both hands forward.

At the same time, an axe, imbued with a fierce blue aura, was brought down upon both of them, one in each hand.

He was, astonishingly, attacking both men simultaneously.

And that attack was terrifying, utterly impossible to ignore.

A brutal surge of energy erupted, as if axes were crashing down right before their eyes, forcing both men to swiftly dodge.

*Whoosh—*

*Clang!*

Kim Do-jin stomped his foot and retreated, while Kang Yuseong blocked the axe with his sword.

But the next moment, something even more astonishing happened.

*Wham!*

Gil Hyeok-jun violently kicked off the ground once, then threw an axe straight at Kim Do-jin, before forcefully bringing his other axe down on Kang Yuseong again.

His movements were so fluid that even the Hunters behind them couldn’t help but marvel, a graceful flow that no one could possibly imitate.

*Swish swish swish!*

The axe flying towards Kim Do-jin spun wildly in the air, seemingly intent on splitting his forehead.

Kim Do-jin frowned and deployed a flame barrier.

*Boom!*

At the same instant, the axe thrown by Gil Hyeok-jun collided head-on with the flame barrier, causing an enormous explosion.

“Gasp!”

Kim Do-jin’s eyes widened.

*Crackle!*

Even with the flame barrier, Gil Hyeok-jun’s axe was still pushing through.

What was even more frightening was that the axe had lost none of its speed or destructive power.

*Boom! Bang!*

Kim Do-jin hastily summoned multiple layers of flame barriers to block the axe.

*Whump—*

But even that proved insufficient, and he barely managed to deflect the axe by launching a fireball.

At that moment, Kang Yuseong was in a similar predicament. Just by witnessing this scene, one could tell how terrifying Gil Hyeok-jun was with an axe.

*Whoosh!*

*Clang clang clang!*

Only a single swing of the axe was heard, yet the sounds of impact followed in rapid succession, sending sparks flying everywhere.

And Kang Yuseong, blocking Gil Hyeok-jun’s axe, was steadily being pushed back.

Destructive power, attack speed!

It was a perfectly tyrannical assault from Gil Hyeok-jun.

Even the experienced Kang Yuseong couldn’t launch a proper counterattack against the storm-like onslaught.

Or rather, he seemed unable to.

Until one saw the faint smile playing on his lips.

Gil Hyeok-jun, pouring out a furious barrage, gritted his teeth upon seeing that smile.

‘Ugh!’

He realized that his all-out attack was not affecting Kang Yuseong.

Of course, his true attack began when he wielded both axes, but Gil Hyeok-jun was capable of instantly crushing an opponent with just one axe.

Furthermore, the strength of a sword was incomparable to the destructive power of an axe.

The more he pressed, the more likely a sword would break under the strain.

Moreover, the centrifugal force behind the axe could even break the arm of the swordsman holding the blade.

That was how fearsome an axe was as a weapon.

Yet, Kang Yuseong’s sword moved as lightly as ever, showing a clear sense of余裕.

Others might not have noticed, but Gil Hyeok-jun, facing him directly, saw it clearly.

*Whirl!*

*Thunk!*

At that moment, the axe that had been thrown at Kim Do-jin was deflected by his counterattack and returned to Gil Hyeok-jun.

Now, Gil Hyeok-jun was in his complete state.

“Hwaaaah!”

*Boom boom boom boom boom!*

The moment he grasped his twin axes, an immense barrage of attacks rained down on Kang Yuseong, like colossal thunderbolts relentlessly striking the ground.

Sparks, incomparable to before, flew, and a fierce blade-wind swept through the air.

With simple actions of bringing his axes down and swinging them up, Gil Hyeok-jun was generating a massive storm.

His assault was so ferocious and powerful that none of the Hunters properly saw how he was swinging his axes.

They shivered at the thought that if they had stood before those axes, they would have been shattered into dozens, even hundreds, of pieces.

Yet, Kang Yuseong was blocking every single one of those overwhelming attacks.

His ability to fend off those axes with a sword, a weapon generally considered inferior in raw destructive power, was truly astonishing.

“Gasp!”

However, one Hunter, who had been intently watching him, gasped.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

A nearby Hunter asked him, seeing his horrified expression.

“Did you, did you see that?”

“See what?”

The Hunter who had gasped pointed at Kang Yuseong.

At that moment, the other Hunters also swallowed dryly.

Kang Yuseong.

He was no longer being pushed back.

Standing firm on the ground, he was enduring Gil Hyeok-jun’s relentless assault, and strange flames were rising from his entire body.

They hadn’t noticed it before because the flames had been faintly flickering.

But now, as the deep green flames clearly enveloped and surged around his entire body, the Hunters couldn’t help but look shocked.

The flames billowed and rose, as if they were the gaping maw of a colossal beast, ready to swallow Gil Hyeok-jun whole.

*Clang clang clang!*

Even then, Gil Hyeok-jun’s twin axes furiously descended upon Kang Yuseong.

*Thump—*

But then, a peculiar flame suddenly erupted in the air between Gil Hyeok-jun and Kang Yuseong.

It was a small flame, barely noticeable unless one looked closely, but the Hunters, who had been intently observing the fight, managed to spot it.

*Thump— Thump—*

And another, then another flame, rose in quick succession.

That was the beginning.

*Boom boom boom boom!*

Suddenly, countless flames erupted, surging from below and striking Gil Hyeok-jun.

*Crash crash crash crash!*

It wasn’t just one or two.

Dozens, hundreds of flames pummeled Gil Hyeok-jun’s entire body, lifting him into the air.

“Cough, h-huh! Cough!”

With each burst of flame, Gil Hyeok-jun let out a painful gasp.

“My god…!”

Hundreds of deep green flames!

As that dazzling fireworks display unfolded, Gil Hyeok-jun suffered extreme damage across his entire body and was sent flying backward, crashing down.

*Thud!*

Though he was protected by his armor, his visibly severe injuries made the Hunters gasp in disbelief.

Gil Hyeok-jun’s incredible axe-wielding had utterly shocked them.

That crazed, frenzied axe work had sent chills down their spines, terrifying them to the point of breaking out in cold sweat.

But the fireworks display Kang Yuseong just showed them left the Hunters unable to even breathe.

Without giving Gil Hyeok-jun a chance to react, he was battered and utterly crushed.

*Whoosh—*

As the smoke from the flames briefly rose and then dissipated, Kang Yuseong’s figure stood tall in the center.

“Are you alright?”

He was looking at Gil Hyeok-jun.

Gil Hyeok-jun grimaced fiercely under that gaze.

It was a complete defeat.

A perfect one, at that.

“How could I be… alright?”

He trembled, trying to get up.

But he slumped back down right where he was, then collapsed backward.

“There’s no way…”

Gil Hyeok-jun gasped for breath.

It had been an immense attack.

When those flames erupted before his eyes, Gil Hyeok-jun’s honest feeling was a sensation of all the blood draining from his body. It was fear.

As the dazzling and beautiful flames exploded, that fear became reality, and Gil Hyeok-jun couldn’t help but feel a terrible sense of powerlessness.

This was a power he absolutely could not contend with.

He felt it to his very core.

His physical condition was utterly shattered, but even more severely broken was his spirit.

Despite his relentless assault, he couldn’t defeat Kang Yuseong.

No, far from defeating him, even making him retreat was beyond his strength.

‘Damn it…’

To think he had fought against such a man…

This was simply a monster.

He hated losing to anyone, but now he had to admit it.

‘A terrifying man…’

What if this man were an enemy?

Just thinking about it sent shivers down Gil Hyeok-jun’s spine.

He would rather jump into a fight with SS-rank monsters.

At least they didn’t make him feel such powerlessness.

“Shall we stop here, Kim Do-jin?”

Kang Yuseong smiled at Kim Do-jin, who was staring intently at him from a distance.

The green flames emanating from Kim Do-jin’s entire body had visibly receded.

“Phew… Truly, you are terrifying. Captain.”

After staring at Kang Yuseong for a long time, Kim Do-jin finally lowered his eyes and shook his head.

Then he looked up again at Kang Yuseong.

“I can’t figure out what kind of person you are. You, the Captain.”

He pulled down his fedora, emitting a cold glint in his eyes.

Kang Yuseong, with a faint smile, entered his view.

Kim Do-jin realized his body was still subtly trembling.

That tremor was nothing else.

It had arisen from seeing the flames that had poured down on Gil Hyeok-jun earlier.

More precisely, after realizing the true nature of those flames.

‘Truly… a terrifying man, Captain.’

The true nature of those flames was clearly one of Kang Yuseong’s sword techniques: Meteor Stab.

No, it was Meteor Stab, yet it wasn’t.

To be precise, it was an attack that combined Scorching Bomb and Meteor Stab.

He knew that Kang Yuseong could use both Magic User and Chakra User powers simultaneously, but he never dreamed he could blend those powers in such a way.

When the formidable destructive power of Scorching Bomb merged with the exhilarating attack of Meteor Stab, a terrifying technique was born.

It was so fast and powerful that a skilled individual like Gil Hyeok-jun couldn’t even lift a finger and was simply battered down.

But what sent shivers down Kim Do-jin’s spine right now wasn’t just that technique.

Kang Yuseong.

He had grown significantly at least twice during this fight.

Before the fight began, Kim Do-jin believed he could defeat him if he fully unleashed his power.

But Kang Yuseong, as if mocking him, instantly grew to a level that overwhelmed him, and Kim Do-jin was shocked when he realized it.

At that moment, Kang Yuseong, as if reading his mind, asked,

Shall we stop here?

If he hadn’t asked that, Kim Do-jin might not have known what he would do.

Defeat.

That’s right.

This was defeat.

Kim Do-jin closed his eyes tightly.

‘This is… unbelievable.’

He was a genius. A genius who worked incredibly hard.

Even if no one else acknowledged it, Kim Do-jin himself knew it best.

But that man, Kang Yuseong…

Kim Do-jin opened his eyes again.

He adjusted his fedora and nodded.

“It was enjoyable. Well, since you’re the Captain, of course you’d win. That’s only natural. The Captain should naturally win. Because that’s what a Captain does.”

Kang Yuseong chuckled at Kim Do-jin, who was trying to rationalize his defeat.

Kim Do-jin scratched his head and said,

“See you next time.”

And then he walked away, step by step, heading somewhere.

Gil Hyeok-jun had also managed to get up with difficulty.

He brushed the dust off his body, then looked at Kang Yuseong with a serious expression and said,

“Today was a good experience. As expected, I knew you’d win since you’re the Captain.”

Then he, too, turned his back expressionlessly and walked toward his room.

Kang Yuseong chuckled again and shrugged his shoulders.

“Alright, if you’re done watching, let’s head inside.”

The Hunters also looked at each other, murmuring, and then walked back to their lodging.

Kang Yuseong watched their retreating backs, standing alone there for a moment.

The technique he had used to attack Gil Hyeok-jun was not something Kang Yuseong had even thought possible.

In the heat of the moment, as he exchanged blows with Gil Hyeok-jun, he had thought that fire and his sword would merge, and unconsciously, as he unleashed both simultaneously, an incredible technique was born.

‘Evolution…’

He was evolving.

Stronger than before.

And faster.