Chapter 50: Demonic Beast Subjugation (6)

The demonic beasts growled fiercely as they surrounded Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Grrrrrr!”

“Kheee!”

His expression hardened as he scanned his surroundings. As unbelievable as it was, he had a pretty good idea of what was happening.

Damn it.

So this was the trump card he was hiding.

Choi Jong-Cheol had been cocky because he could control these vicious monsters.

And he got that power through the Black Star Society.

The orb in Choi Jong-Cheol’s hand was releasing the same dark, ominous energy Kwon Oh-Jin had sensed back at the gate in Mokdong—this was another Astral Relic imbued with the power of the Black Star.

He must be using that to control the demonic beasts. Fuck.

What were the odds? The very target he had planned to kill for the Stigma of Aquarius turned out to be a member of the Black Star Society. Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t shake the feeling that someone else was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

“

Haha,

what's with the frown? You knew about this all along, didn't you?” Choi Jong-Cheol mockingly asked.

Kwon Oh-Jin gripped his spear tighter, and his expression darkened.

Seeing how things are flowing, this isn’t all that bad.

At the very least, he had earned Vega’s trust and wouldn’t need to fabricate any evidence later. The real problem, however, was that there were just too many demonic beasts.

“Graaaah!”

“Karrrrk!”

He could have handled it easily if there were only a dozen, but reality wasn't so kind.

He let out a sigh. The situation was as bad as it could get. But this was exactly why he had prepared a backup plan.

“I’m counting on you, Vega.”

“Alright,” the Weaver replied.

Kwon Oh-Jin knew that granting him a blessing placed a heavy strain on Vega, but he had no other choice at the moment.

“Go ahead, my child,” she said softly, placing a hand on his head. A radiant silver light poured from her palm, flowing into Kwon Oh-Jin.

Woong!

“Rewrite the pages of fate with your might!” Vega declared as blue lightning erupted around him.

Crackle!

A hot breath escaped his lips as an intoxicating surge of power welled up from deep within. It had been a while since he felt such overwhelming omnipotence; the menacing demonic beasts now felt like mere sickly dogs.

But this is different.

The feeling was worlds apart from when he had previously received Vega's blessing at the Mokdong gate.

Probably because I’ve grown stronger since then.

His intense secluded training had pushed him to new heights that even the prideful Riarc had acknowledged. The effects of the blessing had intensified to match his progress.

He smirked and said, “Well then, I’ll be back soon.”

With a long, steady breath, he kicked off the ground and struck down with his spear, surging up a storm of blue lightning.

Crackle!

“Graaaah!”

“Kraaak!”

The lightning had obliterated everything in his sight, reducing two demonic beasts to ashes.

Some of the mantis-like demonic beasts spread their wings and took off into the air, screeching.

“Karaak!”

“What’s flying gonna do, huh?”

Kwon Oh-Jin casually stretched out his hand, creating bolts of lightning that struck down the airborne creatures.

Kaboom!

“Kheee!”

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled. Creating tangible lightning out of thin air was something he wouldn't have even dared to attempt under normal circumstances, but in his current state, it was as effortless as breathing.

“This is insane. I could get used to this.”

Kwon Oh-Jin leaped up, baring his teeth as he gripped his spear and turned toward the swarm of demonic beasts.

With his right arm drawn back, he twisted his waist, gathering momentum for a throw.

“Fire in the hole!”

Whoosh!

The silver spear tore through the night sky like a comet and embedded itself into the ground. In an instant, the compressed lightning within it detonated.

Crackle!

“Kaaaa!”

“Krrr!”

The electricity spread like a ferocious whirlpool, charring the trapped demonic beasts. The acrid smell clawed at his nostrils.

“

Ugh

, they smell surprisingly nutty,” he observed.

The moment his feet hit the ground, he rolled to the side just in time to avoid a massive claw that crashed down where he'd just been.

Slam!

“Kheee!”

Suddenly, the ground beneath him shook as something clawed its way up from below.

Rumble!

Kwon Oh-Jin quickly jumped up high.

“Hup!”

A monster creature erupted from the earth, its massive maw splitting into eight grotesque sections as it lunged straight for him.

At the same time, the demonic beasts that had escaped the lightning storm let out a deafening roar as they charged at him.

“Krrr!”

Mantis-like beasts flew up into the sky once more. Kwon Oh-Jin was surrounded in every direction.

“Tsk.”

This was the worst situation he could be in. However—

“Good try.”

With a sly smile, he spread his arms wide, and six wires shot out like a net.

Bang!

“You just made things easier for me,” he uttered.

Crackle!

Wires charged with lightning covered the demonic beasts attacking from all six directions, immediately scorching them to ash.

His breathing grew a little rougher.

Even with the blessing, unleashing this much mana at once is tough.

He steadied his breath and looked at his final opponent.

“Th-This can’t be...” Choi Jong-Cheol trembled with his mouth hung open. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, utterly horrified.

“Th-This doesn’t make sense! How can a three-star Awakener be this powerful...?!”

I’m a four-star now, you idiot. Not that a four-star is capable of this, though.

Kwon Oh-Jin was already much stronger than other four-star Awakeners, but it was all thanks to Vega’s blessing that he could display such overwhelming might here.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” Choi Jong-Cheol shrieked. Blood trickled down his face as he hysterically scratched his cheek like an old virgin who had failed their fortieth blind date.

He thrust the black orb forward, screaming in rage. “Kill him! Rip that bastard apart now, you useless motherfuckers!”

The bald man ran over and hurriedly grabbed Choi Jong-Cheol. In an attempt to stop him, he urged, “M-Mr. Jong-Cheol! Please, calm down! If we continue like this... our plan will—”

“Fuck the plan! Can’t you see that bastard laughing? Look at him!”

Grinding his teeth, Choi Jong-Cheol extended his arm covered in black energy and grabbed the bald man by the neck.

“K-Kugh! W-Wait...!”

Crack! Crunch!

With a sickening sound of bones shattering, the bald man’s head snapped in a grotesque angle.

The bald man’s entire body crushed as if caught between an industrial press.

“Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly,

quickly

!” Choi Jong-Cheol screamed, glaring at Kwon Oh-Jin with bloodshot eyes. “Kill that

bastard!

”

Screams of madness echoed through the ruined city.

Kwon Oh-Jin frowned as he watched Choi Jong-Cheol's antics.

“... What’s wrong with him?”

He's definitely not sane. Is it because of the Astral Relic?

The black orb in Choi Jong-Cheol’s hand was seething with a sinister energy that was slowly consuming him.

“I should probably take care of that first—”

Boom!

More demonic beasts suddenly emerged from the rubble of the collapsed building.

“Kraaa!”

“Kheeee!”

There were even more now than before. With all the demonic beasts locked in on him, approaching Choi Jong-Cheol was nearly impossible.

“Damn it,” he mumbled.

“

Agh...

My child... A-Are you... alright?” Vega asked in a strained voice, bearing the weight of the Celestial restrictions. She looked even more exhausted than him.

“Sorry. Looks like it’ll take a little longer,” Kwon Oh-Jin said. He retracted his wires and extended his hand, retrieving his spear. Blue lightning streaked between all the demonic beasts charging toward him.

“Karrkh!”

Two or three demonic beasts collapsed or turned to ash every time he swung his spear, but the wave of demonic beasts showed no sign of dying down.

There’s just too many of them.

Are all the demonic beasts in the city gathering here?

Biting his lip, Kwon Oh-Jin swung his spear backward and killed the demonic beasts behind him.

His breathing grew more ragged as the battle continued.

“Haa... haa...”

No matter how much the blessing had strengthened him, there were limits to his stamina and mana.

Shit.

After using Azure Lightning dozens of times, he stepped back, creating distance between himself and the beasts.

“Ugh...”

Perhaps having used so much mana at once, an intense headache crashed into him, like an ax splitting his skull open.

I can endure the pain.

The real problem was that his massive mana reserve was now running dry. He looked worried as he thrust his spear forward again.

If only I had overflowing mana like last time...

Unfortunately, that wasn’t something he could recreate at will.

“Haa! Haa! Haa!”

He was running out of breath. More than dozens or over a hundred monster corpses lay strewn around him, piling up with every passing second.

A demonic beast somehow passed through his lightning storm and sank its teeth into his shoulder.

Crunch!

It tore away a chunk of his flesh, causing blood to gush out.

“Fuck!”

In that split second, three more demonic beasts forced their way through and opened their vicious maws.

“Krrr!”

“Kshaaa!”

“M-My child!” Vega's voice ran in the background.

“

Ugh...!

”

Kwon Oh-Jin swallowed hard and raised his spear, but his blood-slicked hands made his grip unstable, slipping against the shaft.

This isn’t good...!

Just as he desperately and hopelessly tried to pull back from the incoming swarm—

Whoosh!

Red flames engulfed the three demonic beasts, leaving them twisting in agony.

“Khaaaa!”

Fire...?

Kwon Oh-Jin snapped his head toward the source of the flames.

There stood Song Ha-Eun, her face twisted in fury as she glared at his wounded shoulder.

“Oh-Jin, didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t get hurt?”