The talisman burned until not even its ashes remained.
Rumble! Thunderous crackles pierced his ears and simultaneously, Chi-Woo’s vision flashed like a fluorescent light bulb reaching the end of its lifespan; his eyes held the reflections of the world in black and white, and amid all that dazzled him in his vision came a howling—like those of beasts on a full moon.
—Woooooooooo!
Rumble! Rummmble!
Soon, the howling was muffled by a series of thunder. When Chi-Woo finally managed to focus his vision, he tilted his head instinctively. In a night sky filled with dark clouds, there was a bright cluster of light. Chi-Woo could see it clearly then: the white thunderbolts that zig-zagged down the sky. Chi-Woo’s jaw dropped as he muttered, “Vajra…!” According to ancient texts, Vajra was a weapon that the Vedic god Indra used to drive out an asura named Vritra.
Crack! Crack! Crack! More explosions. His momentarily settled vision began to waver and shake wildly again. The thunderbolts didn’t simply strike their opponents. After they penetrated through the god’s main body and hit the ground, they scattered everywhere. As countless sparks flew in the air, waves of electric currents flowed over the hills. And there, they called forth more thunderbolts. It was as if the sky and the earth were connected by an ocean of lightning, and Chi-Woo struggled to recover his jaw. The witch, Onorable Evelynn, and the haze, Huk Cheong-Ram, responded similarly.
The two leaders of Abyss looked at the overwhelming battlefield of raining thunderbolts with astonishment. After who knows how long, the quaking quelled, and the thunder quietened. Thunderclouds gradually dissipated until there was not a single trace left. The obscured moonlight hesitantly revealed itself to the land below again, and when the battle finally came into full view, Evelyn gasped.
The Liber god’s army of children was annihilated whole despite the sheer number it boasted. All that was left were holes scattering across the battlefield, showing that each and every one of them had died without exception. What used to be a pasture was now a barren wasteland, charred black with rising white steam. It was as if hundreds of bombs had dropped and exploded, and the sheer scale of destruction that had taken place seemed unimaginable to have been caused by just a couple of thunderbolts.
Finally, Evelyn recovered her senses and gasped. Her eyes widened as she looked down at the center of the area, which had been transformed into a black wilderness. The main body hadn’t been destroyed; unlike its children, it stood rooted to its spot.
“No…”
The main body’s size remained the same, but the intensity of the god’s light was visibly weaker than before. Compared to how they had first appeared while illuminating the whole area like the sun, it looked incredibly shabby now. Furthermore, their hard, bumpy outer shell was splitting. A widening gap started from the top of their head and spread all the way through their body like a spider’s web. Then, like a window cracked by a flying baseball ball, broken pieces drooped down and fluttered harmoniously in the wind.
“…My god…” Evelyn muttered in disbelief. When she first saw the god’s main body, she had immediately sensed that this would be no easy battle; and it was clear that the Sernitas intended to discard Liber’s god after this one-time use. The witch would have personally never made such a decision, thinking it was a pity to waste a god like that, but the Sernitas were always difficult to figure out. It seemed possible that those guys might have pushed things a bit too far and decided to at least make the most out of the god this way.
But whatever the Sernitas’ intention was, it didn’t lessen the danger of the situation. There were too many explosive obstacles blocking the way for one to approach the god’s main body while attacking from afar would allow the main body to attack freely with the beam of light it shot.
And even after one went past all these giant hurdles and managed to reach the main body, there was the problem of cracking the god’s hard shell and attacking their core. This god was truly a difficult opponent in many ways. There was no way to endure until the god exhausted all their energy, either, as they would have kept shooting light beams until their main body exploded and erased the whole region from Liber’s map. And thus, Evelyn had wondered at the beginning of the battle, ‘How is he going to fight this god?’
And somehow, to her utmost shock, Chi-Woo had solved this difficult problem in just one blow. He had basically skipped all the steps that should be necessary. After witnessing what appeared to be a battle of the gods, Evelyn couldn’t hide her amazement. Of course, the battle wasn’t over yet. Although the main body had been critically hit, the core hadn’t been fully destroyed. She didn’t think the core would be intact considering the large-scale attack that had hit the god, and she wondered what would happen now.
“…Huh?” Evelyn blinked as she searched for Chi-Woo. She thought he would be staggering from all the energy he had expended, but he wasn’t where he had been. He was gone.
* * *
Meanwhile, a curled-up mysterious existence was coming into view beyond a grotesque outer skin that had been peeled from the main body. The mysterious existence gradually rose, but when they tried to push themself off the ground, they fell backward. Their entire body shuddered like they were reliving the shock of being electrocuted. As they struggled to get up somehow, they heard a young voice yell at them.
“You need help?”
Boom! At the sound of the explosion, a puff of shining smoke bloomed upward.
—Ahwoooooo!
The existence screamed as Chi-Woo forced them back down again. As soon as Indra’s thunderstorm ended, Chi-Woo realized that the main body wasn’t destroyed yet, and had run towards it without hesitating. He needed to seize the opportunity given to him and didn’t want the situation to overturn while he was taking his time. Thus, when the main body was still recovering from the shock, Chi-Woo struck them with his club.
“Praise the sun!” Without resting, Chi-Woo made another swing. As he hit their side, his opponent pushed backward like they were rolling away. Perhaps they had regained their senses from the shudder-inducing pain. A purplish light sparkled from what appeared to be the existence’s front.
“For the Horde!” Chi-Woo uttered any kind of nonsense to help overcome his fear when the god swung their front leg. Surprised by the sudden attack, Chi-Woo stopped swinging his club and backed away quickly.
He was able to react immediately due to Synesthesia, but he had sensed that he actually hadn’t been quick enough. It was thanks to someone or something suddenly yanking him backward by the neck that he was able to get out of the range of attack. The tremendous pressure brushing past his face was enough to cut a few strands of his hair and left a gash—then he realized the gash was actually bleeding.
‘What.’ Chi-Woo was shocked. Even though the attack hadn’t hit him, a near miss was enough to split his skin open. The resulting wind also sent him flying into the air.
“Ahhburuburuburu!” Chi-Woo fell and rolled on the ground. His face was scrunched up in pain. He couldn’t believe that the god had so much power even after getting hit by Indra’s lightning. No—he knew why it didn’t take the god down. This talisman was originally made to expel evil spirits, and his opponent was a god that could not even be compared to beings like evil spirits. The only reason why the talisman had such a strong effect was that he had poured holy water on it; if he hadn’t, the effect might have been miniscule at best.
“Ugh…!” Chi-Woo quickly got up. Blood dripped from his face. He was hurt, and it was extremely painful, but he had no time to rest. He had learned from his time at the cave that no matter how much pain he was in, he had to be ready for the right opportunity to strike. However, Chi-Woo’s face went blank when he saw lights gathering around his opponent. ‘Is that…?’
“Wait, that’s a bit… Wait.” Contrary to his hope, his opponent immediately made their attack and shot a beam of light at him. This attack was different from the last one that destroyed half of a mountain. It wasn’t very thick, nor was it as fast as before. However, even though the force of the attack had decreased, Chi-Woo knew instinctively that it was strong enough to completely evaporate one person.
He thought about what he should do. Should he evade? Could he even evade this attack? Should he take out more holy water? No—his thoughts came to a sudden halt at that point. There was no time for him to ponder more. His ability, Insight into the Unknown, was telling him that the best way to get out of this situation was not to move left or right, but a head-on confrontation. Chi-Woo’s body moved before he could register the realization.
The god’s beam of light pierced straight through the strong currents surrounding them. Chi-Woo’s face was hot, his breathing was rough, and the blood vessels in his entire body pumped more fiercely than ever. The beam of light was now within his reach, and Chi-Woo scraped every bit of exorcism mana he had left and clutched his club. Then he smacked the beam of light with all his might.
At that moment, Chi-Woo felt a strange sensation; he couldn’t really describe it, but it was not unlike a déjà vu. He couldn’t hear any sound, but then he saw it—a storm of light radiating in all directions as if the beam of light was howling in frustration at being stopped. The club, full of exorcism mana, let out a ferocious torrent of wind at almost the same time.
Then he felt an indescribable feeling in both his hands. “Ugh—! Ahhahahahhaah—!” They seemed to be ripping apart, and he screamed his head off; his whole body felt as if it was going to rip. The energy from Chi-Woo’s club and the beam of light fiercely fought against each other, and surprisingly, Chi-Woo was able to stop the god’s attack for at least a short while. But…
“Ugh…! Aghhhh…!” He couldn’t feel his hands; it felt like they were going to break off. He saw the skin on his hands rip apart; his body couldn’t endure the force of the attack any longer. Chi-Woo frowned at his now bloody hands. At this rate, he would drop the club sooner or later. ‘No—’
His loosening hands tightened their grip around the club again, holding it firm. Chi-Woo couldn’t believe his eyes for a second; he gasped when he saw that the bun had wrapped its own body around his hands to force them into a tight clutch. Moreover—Chi-Woo wasn’t sure if he was just imagining it—he didn’t need as much strength to grip the club as before.
He suddenly felt a warm hand—it was the same hand that had pulled him back by the neck before, and it was now holding the club together with him. Now that he thought about it, even though there was so much pressure coming from the beam of light, his body was not being pushed back. Only then did Chi-Woo notice a strange but familiar sensation firmly supporting his back. He remembered what La Bella had told him before.
—I promise.
—I promise I will always protect and be with you.
La Bella was keeping all her promises and using everything she had to fight with him. Chi-Woo bit his lower lip, which was already dripping with blood. Then he moved one step forward. “Ugh—! Ughhhh!” He forced his trembling leg to take another step. “Ahhhhhhhhhhh—!” Then, finally, he managed to cut the beam of light and swing the club down.
Bam! The beam of light exploded and scattered. “Ack! Aghhh!” Chi-Woo panted roughly; he was completely out of breath. The air coming out of his mouth felt hot. It was as if his entire body was boiling.
But still—he had done it. Even though it was only after the god had gotten weaker, Chi-Woo was successful in enduring the attack of a fearful opponent. Of course, the battle was not over yet. Truthfully, he wanted to stop; in the back of his mind, he thought that he did enough and wanted to run away. However, he couldn’t withdraw now. The bun helping him tightly grip the club and the goddess supporting his back were both silently telling him that he could do it; if he continued to try, he could win.
And if he came out of this unbelievable battle alive and victorious, he would be much more confident in his ability to survive Liber in the future. Thus, Chi-Woo stopped himself from collapsing and looked up, seeing his enemy jumping into the air and flying toward him in the night sky.
Chi-Woo struggled to lift the corners of his mouth to make a smile. “…Yeah.” The shadow lengthened. Chi-Woo infused mana into the club and took his stance. “I’m ready.” He stared at his enemy as they rapidly descended upon him, and his eyes let out a gleam of light.