Epilogue Chapter 66 - Excursion (4)

Oh Kang-Hyun’s mind felt searing hot as if a hot iron was stuffed into his brain. His pounding heart was deafening. He stared at Kang-Hee, dangling from her neck by Yeong-Woong’s hand. He felt like he was in a nightmare.

“Why... are you...”

‘Why is Jeon Yeong-Woong here?’

No, it was not weird for him to be here since he had also come to the excursion, but Kang-Hyun couldn’t understand why Yeong-Woong was here with his unconscious sister.

“Why are you so surprised? Didn’t you come here in search of your sister?”

“...”

Countless questions swirled inside Kang-Hyun’s head but he was sure of one thing as he stared at Yeong-Woong shrugging with a nasty smile.

“Did you... do that to Kang-Hee?”

Kang-Hyun gritted his teeth as he looked at the unconscious Kang-Hee. She did not seem to be greatly injured at a glance but Kang-Hyun could see a few puncture wounds on her pale skin. They were clear signs of a battle— a one-sided one at that where Kang-Hee could barely resist.

“Hehe. She was a little hard to handle at first, but... she wasn’t that tough.”

“What?”

That was not possible. Although Kang-Hee was a year younger than Kang-Hyun, she could control several times more demonic energy than him.

‘She’s as strong as Si-Ah... or even stronger.’

Hence, she could never be treated like a weakling to Yeong-Woong when Kang-Hyun had defeated him overwhelmingly.

‘It’s impossible.’

No matter how little practical experience Kang-Hee had, she could never lose to Yeong-Woong. It was not like a person who had never once fought in their life would lose to an ant. Kang-Hyun stopped himself from scoffing and turned to the unconscious Kang-Hee.

“Oh Kang-Hee. You’d better get up if you joking ar—”

“Oh, but I have to admit, she was far stronger than you,” Yeong-Woong interjected.

“What...?”

“I was pretty shocked. That strange power you used against me... she could use it too.”

‘Wait, he knows Kang-Hee is stronger than me? Then could it be Kang-Hee really...’

“But well... she was no match against me after I got my hands on

this

.”

Yeong-Woong smiled and tapped on his left chest with his finger.

‘That’s...!’

It was a stigmata shining with impure blue light. Kang-Hyun couldn’t mistake the mark that looked like a constellation.

“How do you have that...?”

Kang-Hyun stared at Yeong-Woong tremblingly. The events at the resort flashed in his mind like a panorama. He recalled his powerless self— the memory of being powerless against overwhelming strength suffocated him.

“I was chosen,” Yeong-Woong answered.

“Chosen?”

“Yes, by God.” Yeong-Woong pointed at the stigmata on his chest and nodded. “You see clichés like this all the time. A hero is chosen by God to defeat the demon. It’s similar to that.”

“What a load of bullshit...” Kang-Hyun scoffed exasperatedly. Yeong-Woong would be the last person to be graced by God. “Do you seriously think what you’re doing is heroic?”

No hero would subdue a girl younger than him by force and shake her in front of her older brother like a trophy.

“I’m just saying it’s similar to that. I’m not a

hero

, just like how you’re not a

demon

, right?” Yeong-Woong smiled nastily and continued mockingly, “You’re just a lowly honor student you see in every other school in the world.”

Yeong-Woong gritted his teeth and glared at Kang-Hyun.

“...”

Kang-Hyun narrowed his eyes and drew out his demonic energy in silence to activate the Authority of Blades. He wasn’t sure how much power he had received from the Celestial but a battle couldn’t be avoided.

“What? You wanna fight? Haha, that’s a bit troubling... You’re not my target for today.”

“What...?”

‘What the hell is he talking about after taking my little sister hostage?’

“The one

he

ordered me to bring isn’t you... but that bitch.”

Yeong-Woong’s gaze shifted to Si-Ah. Si-Ah frowned in displeasure after seeing Yeong-Woong’s eyes gleaming wickedly.

“You were ordered to take Si-Ah?”

“Yeah.” Yeong-Woong smiled and shrugged. “But well, I suppose it can’t be helped. I’ll squash you into a pulp first and then take Kim Si-Ah. It’s not like you’ll sit back and watch as your girlfriend is taken away, right?”

“Jeon Yeong-Woong...”

Kang-Hyun gritted his teeth as he glared at Yeong-Woong.

‘So this was his plan from the start.’

The Celestial ordered Yeong-Woong to bring him Kim Si-Ah but Yeong-Woong found it a waste just to kidnap Si-Ah since the target of his rage was Kang-Hyun.

‘So...’

Yeong-Woong had used Kang-Hee to lure Kang-Hyun, knowing Si-Ah would follow him.

“Quite a clever plan for a braindead brat,” mocked Si-Ah in a cold tone as she stepped forward. She unsheathed her bamboo sword from her waist and glared fiercely at Yeong-Woong. “Who the hell do you think you are, thinking you can take me on?”

She pointed her bamboo sword at Yeong-Woong with her usual elegant and confident expression, exuding pure blue sword energy unlike Yeong-Woong’s impure blue light mixed with black.

“Pfft, bwahahahaha!” Yeong-Woong burst into laughter as he stared at the blazing blue sword energy. “Haaa. I’d bet no one could have ever imagined it.”

“Imagine what...?”

“That the Martial God’s daughter is terrified of mere

insects

.”

Yeong-Woong smirked and snapped his fingers. A black Rift formed in midair and countless maggots and flies poured out of it.

“Ngh...!”

Si-Ah stepped backward in pallor as she stared at the maggots and flies. They weren’t massive like the fly monsters attacking people in the park but there was more than enough to stimulate her fear.

”A-Aaaahh.”

She managed to endure facing the fly monsters because she treated them like monsters but the maggots and flies were the normal size that she was terrified of, which only amplified her fear.

“M-Maggots... F-Flies... Urgh... S-So many...”

“Si-Ah! Kim Si-Ah!”

Kang-Hyun grabbed Si-Ah’s shoulders and shook her to snap her out of her panic state, but she couldn’t easily regain her senses after completely falling into panic.

“Hahaha! Unfortunately for you... your reliable girlfriend has been incapacitated!”

“Jeon Yeong-Woong!”

Kang-Hyun had no leeway to retort that Si-Ah wasn’t his girlfriend as if this were some immature romcom. He roared as he sprinted toward Yeong-Woong and swung his black blade at him.

“Yeah, there you go!”

Yeong-Woong smiled crazily and extended his arm toward Kang-Hyun.

Swoosh—!

The maggots and flies that poured out of the Rift formed a giant wall to protect him.

“Ngh...”

It was so hideous that even Kang-Hyun who had no fear of insects flinched, but only for a moment. He aggressively swung the blade at the wall of insects between him and Yeong-Woong.

Slash—!

The black blade went through the wall but the speed of the slash gradually slowed down and the blade got stuck in the wall.

“Kurgh!”

The flies making up the wall grabbed Kang-Hyun’s blade. Although they were merely flies, the blade didn’t budge as if it were being pressed by a hydraulic press.

“What do you think? It’s different from before, isn’t it?”

Yeong-Woong smiled nastily and pointed his palm at Kang-Hyun.

Whoooom!

Condensed psychokinetic energy sucked in the air and insects around it and spun rapidly. It was the trump card Yeong-Woong had used against Kang-Hyun in their previous battle. However, one thing was different.

“Psychokinesis Ball, automatic mode.”

There was more than one psychokinetic ball.

Wham! Boom Rumble!

The psychokinetic balls smashed into Kang-Hyun, making a thunderous boom, and sent Kang-Hyun flying and tumbling across the ground.

“Kurgh, urgh!” Kang-Hyun vomited blood. “Guh...”

He felt like his intestines were scrambled. He groaned in agony as he staggered back up.

‘He’s on another level compared to when we fought last time.’

Yeong-Woong had been exhausted after firing one psychokinetic ball in their last battle but now, he had not even broken a sweat after firing dozens of them like an automatic rifle as if he possessed an infinite store of mana.

“What’s wrong? Are you done already?”

“...”

“Pfft, hahaha! Yeah, that face suits someone like you who wasn’t

chosen

!”

Yeong-Woong burst into laughter as he charged toward Kang-Hyun. The psychokinetic balls formed around his hands spun rapidly, making frightening sounds.

Bash!

Yeong-Woong punched Kang-Hyun’s stomach, his fist enveloped with a psychokinetic ball.

“Kurgh!”

A gut-wrenching blow shook Kang-Hyun and he collapsed. Yeong-Woong looked down at Kang-Hyun and burst into laughter.

“Pfft, hah... Hahahaha! Do you get it now? Huh? These are the rightful positions you and I should be at! Got it?”

A chosen individual like Yeong-Woong should always be looking down on others.

“Insects like you only deserve to crawl and squirm on the ground! That’s the only role you can play!”

Bash! Smash! Punch!

Yeong-Woong laughed ecstatically as he trampled on the collapsed Kang-Hyun.

“The only insect here is you, Jeon Yeong-Woong.”

Slash!

A blue sword energy wave fired at Yeong-Woong.

“Kurgh!”

He quickly formed a wall of flies and maggots to block the wave but it easily went straight through it to cut him.

“Arghhh!” Yeong-Woong screamed pathetically as he clenched his bleeding chest that was cut by the sword energy.

He stumbled backward and glared in disbelief at the unwelcome guest of his battle against Kang-Hyun.

“K-Kim Si-Ah? How can you be...?”

He was sure Si-Ah had collapsed from fear of the flies and maggots.

“Jeon Yeong-Woong.”

Si-Ah lightly swung his bamboo sword at the swarm of flies flying around her. The flies instantly fell to the ground.

She glared coldly at Yeong-Woong and remarked, “Don’t you dare lay your hands on my boyfriend.”