NOVEL NEXT Chapter 120 - Absolute Declaration
Chapter 120: Absolute Declaration
Yujin immediately realized that the open entrance to the Hunter Association was a trap.
It would have been foolish not to notice.
A gatekeeper opening the door for an approaching enemy? It was undoubtedly a trap.
However, whether it was a trap or not, the fact that Lady Sophia was on the top floor of this building was practically certain.
“I’ll play along with that tune.”
“…!”
“Madam, I’ll be on my way.”
Rolling, who knew Jin-ah Lee very well as his former partner, thought that she must have had some plan for doing something so reckless. With no choice, he stepped aside to let Yujin pass.
As Yujin entered through the automatically opened door…
*Clench…!*
*Click!*
*Slash.*
He anticipated the sight of various ranked hunters waiting in the first-floor lobby.
“Sigh… I really don’t want to fight against guys who are forced to fight against their will.”
This kind of battle was far from his preference.
“But, well, I guess I have no choice?”
There wasn’t much time to fuss over such matters now.
With that thought, Yujin transformed his entire body into sharp blades once more and charged toward the hunters from the past.
***
“Ughhh…”
“Oh, you’re still holding on even after getting hit by that flame?”
“Raaahhh-!!”
With an ordinary flashlight that could be bought at a stationery store, he unleashed a flame of national power level.
Yet, despite being hit by such a flamethrower, only a slight scorch mark appeared, and Han Jae-won managed to escape by forcibly tearing through the air he was being restrained with.
He immediately lifted the black holy sword like a club and charged toward Leon.
However…
“The ground we’re standing on…”
“?!”
“…has no friction.”
Leon, who suddenly sat on the ground, placed his hand on the surface and ‘declared’ this.
Following those words, Han Jae-won, who had been running, stumbled and fell, his head smashing into the now more slippery-than-ice ground, and he had no choice but to stop.
*Thud!*
“Ugh…”
“Your appearance… You really do resemble Father.”
“Ugh, heh, huff! But doesn’t this mean you can’t stand up either?”
“Well, let’s see about that…”
“…?”
While still seated, Leon drew the twin swords from his waist.
So, he was a swordsman.
However, there was still a distance of about ten steps between Leon and Han Jae-won, even if they were to clash swords.
Unless the blades could stretch…
“From now on, the two swords I throw…”
“You can’t be serious…?”
“…will definitely hit you.”
Damn.
His ability was really something.
On the seemingly impossible-to-stand ground, Han Jae-won finally managed to plant his hand down.
Only then was he able to get up, but at that moment, the sharp twin swords began flying toward him from above.
*Clang! Clang!*
“Woooaahhh!”
Even though he had struck them several times, the swords kept coming back, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.
“For the record, it’s not a good idea to try to withstand getting hit. Those two swords are called ‘Durandal’ and ‘Arohan Sword.’ They’re mystical swords used by historical greats.”
“Tch!”
It finally made sense why they remained intact even when clashing with Arondight.
From the start, they were mystical swords of the same legendary caliber, so no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t break them.
‘Then how about just timing it right and grabbing them?’
*Snatch!*
“?!!”
“Tch, timing is a bit tricky.”
However, no matter how powerful a mystical sword was, if it didn’t hit, it was just a lump of metal.
As time passed, Jae-won’s monster-enhanced senses seemed to be adapting to the speed of the rapidly flying swords. He even almost grabbed one just now.
‘He’s able to react to those increasingly faster movements…?’
Not just in appearance, but he even inherited Father’s talents?
That was Han Jae-won.
The only favored prince that Father truly desired.
A blessed one born from such a favored prince and a revered queen.
“…Mother.”
Leon’s ability, “Absolute Declaration,” allowed him to change up to two realities of the world with his words.
He could remove the friction from the ground they stood on.
Or give elasticity to the invisible air in front of him.
Even impossible phenomena could become reality once he ‘declared’ them.
However, simultaneous declarations of two phenomena had a significant impact on the user himself.
“I originally planned to use this only once in the past, but it can’t be helped.”
Seeing Han Jae-won, who looked like he might soon grab his swords, Leon decided to deal with him ‘seriously.’
“Return.”
“…!”
With his words, the two mystical swords returned to their sheaths.
“Why give up already?”
“Well… it seems that even with auto-hunting, I can’t catch you.”
Despite having heard his various declarations, Han Jae-won still stood up.
Recognizing his brother’s skill, Leon gave a short round of applause with both hands…
“All the light in the world…”
…and issued his next absolute declaration.
“…will be caught in the form of a spear in my hand.”
*Snap!*
With those words, a radiant golden spear, capable of burning even its user, formed in Leon’s clenched hand.
Seeing this, Han Jae-won felt something was wrong and immediately tried to distance himself to avoid it.
However…
“This spear of light is impossible to dodge and will definitely hit its target.”
“…What?”
This was followed by his second absolute declaration.
At the same time, without even striking a pose, the spear, which had absorbed all the light in the world, had already pierced through Jae-won’s abdomen.
“I’ve been… injured?!”
Before he could even register the pain…
*Crackle!*
Lightning roared from the area struck by the spear, and as the brilliant light faded in an instant…
*Plop.*
The fight was over.
Han Jae-won, who had passed out with the whites of his eyes showing and emitting black smoke, collapsed on the ground, his monster form dissipating.
Black smoke was rising from his body.
“Huff… Huff… Mission accomplished.”
Approaching his brother, Leon checked his pulse and, upon confirming that he was alive, declared his victory with a sigh of relief.
“Phew… I shouldn’t speak for a while.”
With that, Leon looked around for something to put Han Jae-won in for safekeeping.
As for Yujin…
That guy was the type who could definitely succeed if someone gave him a push from behind.
Most importantly, he was a ‘family’ he could trust, so there wasn’t much worry.
If anything, he was more concerned about his two younger sisters who weren’t here.
‘Even though Yulian is a smart kid, Shin-ah is the real problem…’
She hadn’t even graduated from the academy yet and was still a greenhorn. He worried that she might run into trouble somewhere.
In fact, they had insisted on coming to the past for various reasons, despite his objections.
Given that he already had a lot of younger sisters who shared his bloodline, it was almost a habit to worry about them, even if they were daughters of different queens.
“…Should I go look for her?”
After securing the unconscious Han Jae-won in a safe place, Leon was about to start searching for Shin-ah.
“Brother Leon…?”
“Hmm? Yulian, is that you?”
Behind him, he heard the reliable voice of his sister…
“What happened to your appearance?”
“Well, I got captured…”
“Captured? You, of all people?”
Leon was momentarily confused, wondering if he had mixed up the names of Shin-ah and Yulian, as he looked at Yulian, who was tightly bound by blue magic threads.
Then, the woman who had brought Yulian appeared.
“Is she another one of Shinwoo’s children?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. This is Prince Han Leon, the First Prince of the kingdom.”
“…?! Lady Riverine, is it?”
In the future, she was the unfortunate queen who suffered from a madness that required her children to constantly monitor her to prevent self-harm.
Leon was momentarily surprised to see the Fourth Queen, Lady Riverine, walking calmly. But the real shock was yet to come.
“Then, who is her mother?”
“Pardon? Oh, well, that…”
“?!!?!?!!?!”
A fair-skinned girl walked out, clinging to Riverine’s side.
No matter how much she had aged, how could he not recognize her?
He had thought he might encounter her when coming to the past, but actually seeing his mother as a child made Leon break out in a cold sweat.
“Why aren’t you answering? Who is her mother?”
“Oh, well, that’s…”
Should he say it or not?
Feeling conflicted, Yulian glanced at her brother, hoping for a hint.
Over there, Leon was pretending to stand calmly, waving his hand subtly, signaling her not to say anything.
“Brother Leon… is… right! An orphan! He’s an orphan!”
“Huh?! He has no mother…?”
“Uh… well…”
*nod* *nod*
“…!! Yes, yes! She passed away when he was young!”
“Oh, I see…”
Rather than awkwardly facing his mother as a child, this seemed like a better option.
Realizing what her brother was thinking, Yulian reluctantly made him an orphan on the spot.
And so…
“I-I didn’t know… I’m sorry, brother.”
“…! Oh, it’s alright… It could happen…”
Though he unintentionally
received an apology from his mother, Leon tried to respond as calmly as possible.
Then he quickly turned to Yulian and asked the main question.
“Anyway, Yulian, what exactly happened?”
“Oh, I’m sorry…”
“I’m not asking to scold you. What I really want to know is who captured you.”
Leon knew Yulian’s combat abilities well.
She was a princess who barely missed inheriting the Han family name.
However, even without the Han family name, she was a genius among Han Shin-woo’s children, possessing top-tier skills.
She had been recommended as the next Imperial Defense Commander due to her ability to endlessly resurrect an army of bones, like a necromancer hunter.
“No matter how peaceful this era is, there’s no way Lady Riverine could have defeated you.”
“…!”
“And… oh… um… that little girl over there doesn’t even need to be mentioned.”
“You…!”
“Are you mocking us right now?!”
“No, I’m just stating the facts…”
Anyway! So!
“Where is the real strong person who defeated you?”
“Oh, that person…”
Yulian suddenly looked up at the sky as she was speaking.
Leon tilted his head in confusion but soon realized why his sister reacted that way.
“…! Could it be above?”
Just as he said that.
*Boom!*
Rampaging in the city in his monster form would have caused all sorts of chaos.
So, using the nearby tall buildings, Shinwoo had leaped and leaped until he reached the front of the Hunter Association building.
“I see… This makes sense.”
“Krurrr?”
‘Who?’
“No matter how long it’s been, the Emperor is still the Emperor, huh?”
Just as Shinwoo landed in front of Leon.
Without even a greeting, Leon instinctively drew his sword, thinking that after all, it was the same guy from 20 years ago.
“From now on, this sword…”
“Krur?”
‘Huh?’
“…will definitely pierce Han Shinwoo’s heart.”
But then.
*Grab!*
“W-What?!”
“Krur. Krur.”
‘Whoa, you startled me. You flew right at me, so I just caught it.’
Han Shinwoo casually caught Durandal’s throw, which even Han Jae-won could only barely time correctly, as if it were a game of catch between father and son.