Chapter 1433: Side Story 42
Chapter 1433 - Side Story 42
Philos still hadn’t gone home after she ran away to the Gaia Continent. She was playing with Hera, her self-proclaimed mother, when the Mythical Bird that Cries Sadly For You flew in.
The Mythical Bird that Cries Sadly For You relayed the words that Minhyuk said. It said, “Chirp! Chirp, chirp! (Philos, oppa was wrong. Please come back home now~)”
Philos just harumphed. Then, the Mythical Bird that Cries Sadly For You handed over the delicious things that Minhyuk got for her.
“Chirp! Chirp, chirp! (Eat this and let go of your anger, our dear Philos.)”
Philos’ eyes sparkled when she saw the black pork samgyeopsal, the red banded lobster, and the omegitteok!
“Chirp! Chirp, chirp! (I’ll send you more later!)”
Philos’ heart sank. She would never take something delicious from him! Really!
Nonetheless, Philos grilled the black pork samgyeopsal, and when she ate it, it was utterly divine. The taste was so delicious that she could not find the words to describe it. ‘Huh? Why does it feel like my anger is being washed away?’
She even listened to the annoying and troublesome notifications that she had been hearing every single day.
This time, she turned her attention to the red-banded lobster. The lingering sweetness and the outstanding flavor that spread in her mouth the moment she took a bite made her smile.
‘Huh? Why do I feel like I want to go home now?’
Finally, the long-awaited omegitteok. Philos’ eyes grew wide when she took a bite of the tteok. And as she expected, the notifications rang once again.
‘At this point, I think I really should go back?’
Ah! But it was not because she ate anything delicious from them! No, she must not be swayed by delightful food! Never!
‘Now that I think about it, I don’t think I should go back yet!’
Hera smiled wryly at Philos. At this point, Hera had already realized that she had raised both Hephaestus and Ares wrongly, especially Ares. She had learned a lot of things after seeing how wrong and how crooked Ares’ personality became when he grew to this age. No matter how hard she looked at it, she was the cause of it. This was the fault of the mother.
And she did not want Philos to walk that crooked path.
“Philos. I can’t say that I understand what your oppa feels. Nonetheless, he must have had a hard time getting those precious and special things, no?”
Hera could tell how amazing these ingredients were. Philos might not know about this, but she could tell that it was impossible for her and the Gods of Olympus to obtain such items.
“Is… that the case?”
“I can tell that he loves you a lot. You’re a good child. And as a good child, you have to repay others when you get something from them, no?”
Of course, Hera did not want to let Philos go. Nonetheless, she wanted Philos to walk the correct path. So, the only thing she could do was to cheer for her and help her.
Philos nodded. After hearing Hera’s words, she thought, ‘Oppa’s having a hard time because of me?’
At that moment, it suddenly occurred to Philos. What had she ever done for her oppa? She realized that she had never done anything for him. The only thing that she ever did was to accept things from him. She finally learned how silly she had been.
“Birdy. I also want to go to that continent called the Grania Continent.”
Alas, the Mythical Bird did not know the exact way. Regardless, even if the bird did not know, others were there to help her. In just an instant, the Gods of Olympus gathered around Philos with small smiles on their faces. It was not that difficult for them to find a path to that place.
Thus, with the help of the Gods of Olympus, Philos began to look for a way to enter the Grania Continent.
***
Even the kings of the Grania Continent had to bow down and make way when an Immortal appeared in front of them. Was it because they were like gods and were the object of their worship? No. Not at all. It was just because they were as strong as gods.
They were so strong that even the Legends, the continent’s certified powerhouses, the hundreds of thousands of troops raised by the kingdoms of the continent, and knights who had held swords since they were children, dared not step forward and fight against them.
There had been a kingdom that tried to rebel and fight against the Immortals. In response, the Immortals sent one of the Five Skies and made an example out of the kingdom. It was First Sword Won-Hoo. How long did First Sword Won-Hoo take to eliminate the entire kingdom and all of its troops? He took less than four hours to do so.
People did not yield to the Immortals because they believed they were divine and spiritual entities. Instead, they yielded to them because the Immortals possessed strength that went beyond common sense. People yielded to them because they were the object of their fears.
“I will pay it back by offering you this man.”
‘You’re going to kill an Immortal…?’
A memory of the man’s image flashed in Ok-Chun’s memory. The man looked naive yet was strangely courteous. From her point of view, behaving in such a way made the man look a lot less distant.
‘Ah!’
At the same time, she remembered what he said while he ate the ramyeon that she made.
–The seafood ramyeon tastes even better after I came to the Grania Continent!
At this moment, Ok-Chun realized that the young man did not know what kind of scary existence the Immortals were. He did not know that anyone who went against the Immortals’ will would be met with demise and would be trampled on like bugs.
“You… have to… run!!!” Ok-Chun cried out, her voice trembling with fear.
She did not want to see the death of an innocent young man. She did not want him to die because he wanted to repay her grace and kindness.
Meanwhile, the injury to Won-Hoo’s thighs recovered quickly.
“Who? This lord? Are you saying that you’re going to kill this lord?” Won-Hoo cackled.
When he glanced down, he caught sight of the sword in the man’s hands. He could feel the intense energy emanating from the sword. It was a good sword. However, having a good sword did not necessarily mean that the owner could cut his enemy. No matter how good the sword was, if they could not use it to cut the enemy, then it would be useless.
“Reckless courage.”
Reckless courage was something that was derived from a wild sense of foolishness and heroism. Won-Hoo believed that this man was working on nothing but reckless courage. He thought that he was just playing as the hero swordsman who wanted to fight for the sake of a poor and pitiful haenyeo. Nonetheless, that reckless courage and heroism would be split apart before Won-Hoo’s sword.
Won-Hoo felt a twisted excitement. Cutting down and killing those haenyeos who did not even resist him had been boring. After all, he derived pleasure from mocking and trampling on someone who held and wielded the sword.
Won-Hoo raised his sword and held it vertically as he said, “First Sword. That’s what the people call me. I was born among the celestial dwellers, was recognized for my sword, and eventually became an Immortal. You, swordsman holding that sword, let’s fight. A noble’s duel.”
He appeared to be acting out of courtesy, but that was not the case. He was hiding behind courtesy to mock his opponent. How dare this man cut himself, he who was called the First Sword?
[The Sword’s Great Battle has begun.]
[The one who successfully lands thirty blows will be the winner.]
[The loser will be deprived of the sword they are wielding.]
It was a coercive force, a power that could not be avoided.
He would take away the sword that his opponent had held all his life for all eternity. It would be both a shame and a disgrace for a swordsman. Won-Hoo enjoyed this process. He would let the opponent suffer such shame before splitting them with their sword. Yes, he would kill the opponent while they were being subjected to the most painful experience.
“I have never lost to anyone in the Grania Continent with my sword.”
Won-Hoo strode forward, arrogance evident in his steps as he narrowed the distance between them.
Someone had blocked his sword once in the past. Unfortunately, the opponent was stabbed by the second strike. For the third strike, the opponent had already realized that something was wrong. When the fourth strike came, he was already shouting, ‘Stop!’ And by the fifth, he was screaming in pain.
The battle always started with him striding forward and narrowing the distance between them. Then, the opponent would raise his sword and make a flashy and brilliant move, and send countless attacks at him. Just like always, he would easily evade the attacks and cut his opponent’s arms.
Swoosh!
Unfortunately, this time, he wasn’t able to dodge.
[The opponent has successfully landed one attack.]
‘What?’
Won-Hoo was confused. He had seen the trajectory of the sword. Then it seemed like the sword’s trajectory changed in a blink. Won-Hoo comforted himself that he had only allowed the attack because he could no longer chase after the sword in that split second.
‘No. I allowed it because I want him to land an attack once.’
Won-Hoo was confident that there would never be a second time.
Shwaaaa!
[The opponent has successfully landed two attacks.]
The flat side of the opponent’s sword slapped him right on the cheek. Won-Hoo, with his stinging and red cheek, looked stunned and puzzled. While he was still trying to figure out the situation…
Thud!
The flat side of the opponent’s sword struck the back of his neck. Won-Hoo swallowed the groan that almost escaped his mouth. He gritted his teeth and turned around to stab his opponent.
“Absolute Defense,” the man said as a mysterious and unknown blue barrier wrapped around his body.
“F*ck, for real? Why does everyone always say that no one will ever be able to beat them? That they are always the best and the greatest in the universe?”
The man, Minhyuk, had experienced this scenario plenty of times. A wager where the winner would be determined if they could successfully hit their opponents. And the enemy would say, ‘If you can beat me,’ or ‘If you can win against me,’ every single time.
“You know, I was able to grow further because of those guys.”
Thwack!
Minhyuk raised his sword and slapped Won-Hoo with the flat side of his sword.
[The opponent…]
“Hey! Have you ever sparred with the strongest Transcendental in history, Transcendental Bender?”
‘Transcendental? What the hell is…’
Thwack!
[The opponent…]
“Have you ever sparred with the greatest Battle God in history? The same Battle God who has authored and created two of the greatest Battle God’s Swordsmanship in existence?”
Thwack!
[The opponent…]
“You haven’t, right?”
Won-Hoo gritted his teeth as he gathered the power of the Immortals on the blade of his sword. A wild and bloody red haze appeared around his sword as the power increased his sword’s accuracy, speed, and cutting power by 1.5x.
Won-Hoo, whose confidence was bolstered by this power, was sure that his pinnacle secret skill would eventually tear this bastard apart.
Five.
Four.
The blue barrier that protected the bastard was slowly disappearing. Won-Hoo continued to evade the man’s attacks.
Two.
One.
Thud!
Won-Hoo stabbed the man on his acupoints, the attack effectively stopping his opponent from moving.
‘I commend you for successfully landing several attacks on me.’
[You have been hit on your acupoints.]
[You will not be able to move your body for three seconds.]
‘But that’s all.’
“Today, with this sword, I will…!”
“Have you ever experienced eating dirt every single day as you sparred with the Sword God? Have you ever known what it felt like for the greatest Sword God in existence to run to you every single day to ask for a spar?”
Won-Hoo, enraged like a berserk lion, swung his sword madly at Minhyuk.
Ping!
Just then, an unknown and mysterious sound rang in his ears.
Shwaaaa!
[The opponent…]
A cut appeared in Won-Hoo’s chest, the force of the attack forcing him to step back.
“Keheok!”
“Did you say that you have never lost to anyone in Grania?”
It was true. He has never lost a single battle. Or… It was more like no one dared to go against him.
“Ah, what can you do? Many monsters are on par with or perhaps even stronger than you in the Western Continents. Do you know what’s even more funny?”
‘What?! What the hell are you talking about?!’
“Those monsters raised me. Because of them, I was able to become stronger.”
“...”
Minhyuk raised his sword and hit him with the flat side of his blade once again.
[The opponent…]
[The opponent…]
Thwack!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
He kept on hitting Won-Hoo with the flat side of his blade. Of course, several of Won-Hoo’s attacks landed on Minhyuk, too. Unfortunately, he had already grown exhausted. There was only one thought in his mind, and that was: he had seen a talent that he could not dare to reach.
Thwack! Thwack, thwack, thwack! Thwack!
Won-Hoo was beaten black and blue by the flat side of Minhyuk’s sword. Nonetheless, the hits were heavy, and the blood had already started trickling down his chin.
Then, Minhyuk swung his sword and sliced Won-Hoo’s Achilles’ tendon. The only reason why Won-Hoo was able to remain standing, albeit barely, was because he had used his sword to prop himself up.
Won-hoo hurriedly increased his regenerative abilities. This meant that he was no longer playing. Now that his opponent was exhausted, he was hoping to overpower him with a single move. But Minhyuk broke that hope when he pulled out another sword.
‘Double sword…?’
Now, instead of using a single sword, Minhyuk wielded two swords and beat Won-Hoo until the bruises on his body grew darker. Won-Hoo, who was being beaten nonstop, eventually heard a series of notifications in his ears.
[The Sword’s Great Battle has ended.]
[Your opponent has successfully landed thirty attacks.]
[You have successfully landed eight attacks on your opponent.]
Won-Hoo was deprived of his sword. He turned to Minhyuk in a daze. Minhyuk simply threw his sword away and continued to beat him up.
“Keheok! Kghhk! Urk!”
Thud, thud, thud!
“You… You f*cking bastard!” Won-Hoo shouted, unable to understand why this man was still hitting him like there was no tomorrow.
Since he was hitting him with the flat side of his sword, it meant that he had no intention of killing him right away.
“Just kill me already! Kill me! Why the hell are you not killing me?!”
“...”
The man’s cold eyes landed on him. He said, “I have pretty good hearing, you know? I heard the reason why you killed those haenyeos earlier.”
‘What did I say?’
The shock of the hits that constantly landed on him made Won-Hoo forget what he had said earlier for a moment.
“I was so bored. That was what you said. And right now, the reason why I’m not killing you right away is because I’m bored. Since I’m bored, I’m going to play around with you for a bit before killing you.”
Now he remembered. When Ok-Chun asked him why he killed those haenyeos, he said…
–Well, the reason’s simple. I was so bored waiting for you to come. When I asked them about you, they stubbornly kept their mouths shut. So, I killed them one by one.
He clearly said that he was bored.
Thwack!
“This is fun. This is interesting. I feel like my boredom is slowly fading with this.”
Thwack!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
“Ah. So this is how you get rid of your boredom, huh? By beating up people~”
Won-Hoo, who could only receive Minhyuk’s beatings, felt an unbearable shame wash over him.
‘Please… stop.’
Minhyuk saw the way Won-Hoo’s expression shifted into one of pleading. Then, the Immortal said, “It was my mistake. So, please. Enough with this. Just kill me…”
‘Oho?’
Minhyuk stared at Won-Hoo in amusement. Then, with a faint smile on his face, he said, “I don’t want to.”
That was when Won-Hoo realized what was waiting for him.
“Didn’t you do it too? They must have asked you to spare them, but you must have said that you did not want to, right? You probably were even thrilled seeing the look of terror on their faces? So, I’m going to do the same. I’m going to play with you until I get sick and tired of your face.”
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Thwack, thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Won-Hoo, who had boosted his regenerative abilities to go beyond common sense in advance, suddenly found himself unable to regenerate his wounds.
His bones were broken after being repeatedly hit in the same place. The worst part was that Minhyuk was constantly hitting all the areas that had turned red and purple.
“Pl… Pleaaaaase…!”
“But I don’t want to?” Minhyuk, who kept on hitting Won-Hoo, said, “Are all Immortals like you? Well, I’ll treat them the same way later. So, you don’t have to worry about anything.”
In the end, Won-Hoo’s body sagged. His breathing had grown weak, and it seemed like he had already reached the point where he could no longer feel his pain. He was already dying.
Won-Hoo, who realized that he was already dying, could not help but complain weakly, “I wasn’t originally like this.”
He began to tell his story while he was being hit.
“I was born as a lowly celestial dweller. I was even used and trampled on by those humans. So, I grabbed my sword and wielded it, vowing never to be used by anyone ever again. Then, I became one of the Immortals.”
Won-Hoo’s last moments were filled with remorse and regret. He finally realized his mistakes.
“Indeed. I made a mistake. I did something wrong and had crossed a line…”
Minhyuk stared at him, who was now on his way to Hell, and said, “I can already tell that everyone in your group is similar to you. Yeah. That’s just plain emotional manipulation, you bastard. What’s the difference between you and a guy who had committed a crime while drunk on alcohol? You have killed more than 30,000 underwater sea creatures just to get a single piece of information. You even killed more than fifty haenyeos.”
Minhyuk grabbed Won-Hoo by the back of his neck and threw him straight into the sea.
Won-Hoo might have lost his ability to sense physical pain, but that did not mean that he lost all of his senses. He, who was thrown into the sea, was now being subjected to the greatest fear a human could have, the fear of drowning. And right now, he was starting to suffocate.
Minhyuk looked down coldly at him from above the sea and said, “Go. Die a painful death.”