Side Story Chapter 178 - Paradise (8)

Twelve pillars of light surged upward as if chasing away the darkness. The people walking out of the pillars of light had white hair and skin. They were wearing white ceremonial garments and a golden Libra scale necklace.

They were the Apostles of Light, those who worshiped Akart and carried out his will. They had crossed the Sun Stairs from the Temple of Truth and appeared in Luceo Pure.

“Hmm.”

Forty-eight apostles had come out from the twelve pillars of light, a group of four in each pillar.

“I expected an epidemic to have broken out in Luceo Pure, but...”

The apostles looked around with narrowed eyes. Their first guess about the drastic decrease in the number of residents heading to the Temple of Light for work was the spread of a severe illness. It was only natural since the reduction had been so sudden as if they had planned it.

“That doesn’t seem to be the case,” said a woman looking around with narrowed eyes.

Since none of Luceo Pure’s houses had doors, they could see what every resident was doing. None of them seemed ill— all they saw was the ordinary and joyous paradise they were used to.

“Hmm, if it’s not an illness, what could it be...?”

A wrinkly old man frowned as he fidgeted with his scale necklace. There was no way the number of people heading to work would plummet if it weren’t because of an illness. Each resident of Luceo Pure strictly worshiped Akart— they were devotees who faithfully followed the rules the Great Akart had created. Considering that, the apostles couldn’t imagine them not coming to work of their own accord.

“This calls for an investigation.”

“Yes, the Great Akart is also worried.”

Forty-eight apostles had been dispatched because of Akart’s command.

“He seemed worried...”

“I think he has been making that expression more often lately.”

Akart had been extremely busy preparing to save the ending world. He had always smiled warmly no matter how busy he was but his expression had been turning dark now and then more often. He also stared blankly into space, his expression filled with anxiety and impatience as if he were reminded of a trauma.

“This is for the Great Akart.”

“We must discover the root of the issue and resolve it as soon as possible.”

The apostles nodded as they exited the pillars of light.

“Hm?”

Just then, they noticed an extraordinarily handsome young man with a white sword enveloped in frost walking their way. The apostles frowned intensely.

“Who... are you?”

As per the Great Akart’s rules, the residents of Luceo Pure were not allowed to possess weapons. Hence, the man in front of them was not a resident.

“I am... the one who will slash this damn paradise apart.”

Kim Si-Hun put the communication orb into his pocket and unsheathed his sword. The sharp bloodlust exuding from his gaze felt colder than the frost flowing from his sword.

“Prepare for battle.”

The apostles calmly placed their hands over their scale necklaces. A golden light flashed and a T-shaped long spear— no, something closer to a balance scale— was formed. The golden dishes shook, ringing like a bell.

“It seems a rat has invaded Paradise.”

“He must have something to do with this incident.”

The apostles’ eyes gleamed as they surrounded Si-Hun in all directions. One could easily deduce the man who carried a weapon despite not being an apostle was related to the sudden changes in Luceo Pure.

“Oh Great Akart, protect us with the Light of Truth. Guide us with your sacred wisdom and set alight our paths filled with darkness so that we are not led astray,” chanted the four apostles.

They simultaneously charged at Si-Hun and swung down their T-shaped spears like a pickaxe, each meticulously aiming for his left ankle, right hip, chest, and head.

“I’ve already seen that martial art,” muttered Si-Hun as he examined the apostles’ attacks.

The apostles were using the same martial arts as the man whom he had fought against during the Church of Radiance incident. The way they swung their spears and the areas they were aiming for were all the same.

“In that case...”

Si-Hun smiled. He would not be bested by a technique he had already seen once.

“It’s pointless.”

He used the Heavenly Dragon Steps to soar like a rising dragon. He then fell toward the ground like a lightning bolt.

“Thousand Martial Storage.”

Flutter—!!

A colossal library appeared in his mind. Countless arcane martial arts techniques flashed before his eyes like a panorama. He instinctively searched for a technique most ideal for this situation.

“Sword of Thunder, Fourth Movement.”

The sword technique, perfected through hundreds of years by the Peng Clan of Hebei, was unraveled by Si-Hun.

“Blossom of Thunderbolts.”

Crackle—!!!

Blue lightning sparked from the white frost of Si-Hun’s sword and was conducted through the spears like a lightning rod.

“Kurgh!!!”

“Kyaaaahh!!”

The apostles wielding the spears screamed, electrocuted by the powerful lightning.

“Kurgh!! We will not be defeated by something like this!”

Boom!!

An adolescent apostle smashed the end of his spear on the ground. He suppressed the pain of electrocution and swung the spear at Si-Hun who landed on the ground.

“I told you, it’s pointless.”

Si-Hun leisurely pulled his hips back to dodge the swing and fluidly jumped back. A golden wave just barely grazed his stomach.

Whoosh!

The spear was swung vertically upward this time. Si-Hun rotated like a top, pivoting with his left foot. He used the rotational force to swing diagonally downward.

Clang—!!!

“D-Dammit!!”

The T-shaped end of the spear was cut off, leaving only the shaft. The apostle clenched what remained of his spear and stuck it into the ground.

Whoooom!!! Whoosh!!

The two scales flew down toward Si-Hun’s head like the edge of a pickaxe.

Clang—!!!

“

Gasp!!

”

“H-How...?!”

Si-Hun did not miss the opening created by the apostle’s shock. He raised his left foot and smashed it down on the crown of the apostle’s head.

“Arghh!!”

The apostle ducked as he covered his head with his arms. Si-Hun fluidly swung his sword vertically upward, severing the apostle’s wrists. The white sword danced as a fountain of blood spewed everywhere.

“Th-This cannot be!!!”

“How can he read our movements?!”

The apostles expressed shock. Si-Hun was dodging their attacks by a hair as if he were foreseeing them. His dance-like fluid counterattacks in response to the apostles was impossible unless he knew exactly when and where the apostles would attack.

“Because I’ve already experienced them.”

Si-Hun smiled widely. He had experience fighting and winning against someone who used the same martial arts. Hence, the essence of their martial arts was already fully organized in his brain, ready to be demolished.

“It’s certainly an impressive martial art,” Si-Hun remarked.

The spear techniques bestowed by Akart himself were on par with— no, even more amazing than Si-Hun’s Heavenly Dragon Sword Technique.

“But in the end, it’s also a martial art.”

Si-Hun’s eyes shone chillingly like a predator looking down at the remains of the prey he had devoured. His eyes did not contain any respect or admiration for the martial art.

‘No matter how impressive a martial art is, it is but mere prey in my eyes as long as it is a martial art.’

Martial arts, which brought one’s limbs, bones, muscles, and joints to their maximum potential, might be impossible for others to figure out but they were far too simple to Si-Hun.

“That’s why you won’t ever come close to defeating me even with that amazing martial art.”

Just like how Kang-Woo devoured demons without much thought, Si-Hun carried no admiration or respect for martial arts.

Slash—!!

“Kurgh, gah!!”

The apostles’ heads were severed one by one.

Clatter, clatter.

The golden scales fell to the ground one by one.

“Fuuu,” Si-Hun exhaled and turned around.

There were still many more apostles to kill.

‘How are the others doing?’

Si-Hun looked around after enhancing his eyesight with Qi. He saw a woman with twelve angelic— no, demonic jet-black wings and the dried-up corpses of apostles under her. She was beautiful despite being surrounded by corpses.

“Looks like Seol-Ah also took care of them already...”

He didn’t want to fall behind since he needed to be the one whom Kang-Woo could rely on the most.

‘Next.’

There were twelve pillars of light and excluding Kang-Woo, there were only six party members. No, since Lilith and Echidna had teamed up because they fell behind the rest in combat ability, there were practically only five.

‘Twenty-eight apostles remaining.’

Since four apostles came out of each pillar, more than half of the apostles remained.

“Let’s go.”

Si-Hun also felt indifferent about Luceo Pure. As Kang-Woo had mentioned, this place had been made this way from the beginning. He simply felt a faint displeasure about the place.

‘But...’

He would not hesitate wielding his sword as long as Kang-Woo told him to.

‘Because my sword is his.’

Kang-Woo had saved him from endless despair and his deeply-rooted nightmares. Si-Hun was ready to cut down anything as long as Kang-Woo told him to, even if it was paradise.

Wham

—!

He jumped upward from the Temple of Light and ran through the air as his hair fluttered in the wind and a trail of frost formed from his sword.

***

“It’s been a while since I’ve just watched from the sidelines.”

Kang-Woo waved his light sticks as he watched from above Luceo Pure. The pillars of light disappear one by one.

‘Let’s see.’

The battle was getting more and more heated. Kang-Woo examined the faces of Luceo Pure’s residents who had come out of their homes due to the noise. They were filled with fear, shock, chaos... and a vivid light of desire gleaming in their eyes.

“As I’d thought.” Kang-Woo smiled widely. He raised his light sticks and continued, “Right, then. It’s time for you to be free.”

It was time for their suppressed desires to burst out at once.