Quit The Hero Party

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EP.522 Genius (Natural Disaster), Yormun (3)

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From ashes to ashes.

Holding Yormun’s wrist, Raniel recited a spell. In an instant, her ten fingers sparkled, and a powerful explosion engulfed both Yormun and Raniel. A gust from the blast sent Raniel soaring into the air, twisting her body.

Woosh.

Touching down smoothly on the ground, Raniel looked up. As the smoke from the explosion slowly dissipated, Yormun’s figure emerged, unscathed despite being so close to the blast.

Tsk, Raniel clicked her tongue, frowning.

Constellations stretched out from Yormun’s left arm. That constellation was undoubtedly part of some type of spell, but even Raniel couldn’t decipher it. It felt similar to seeing a knight wielding the unthinkable sword.

Inexplicable, unfathomable, beyond comprehension.

However, it wasn’t entirely lost on her. The sensation she felt when her reverse lightning connected with that constellation was unforgettable.

‘The reverse lightning was swept away by the flow.’

What should have resisted the flow ended up being consumed by it instead. It lacked in completeness and power. This simply meant that the constellation Yormun held was a step beyond the reverse lightning.

That single step, just a single step forward.

If she could close that gap, she could seize the advantage. But how? Responding to her own question, Raniel answered.

‘How indeed.’

She would need to observe and learn.

If she could see how Yormun used that constellation, she could fill the gap in her own abilities.

“…Huff.”

Letting out a long breath, Raniel closed her eyes momentarily before opening them wide.

Having disrupted her original plan, she opened her mouth.

“Kyle.”

Raising her hand, she pointed at Kyle, who stood opposite her with Yormun in between. She tapped her temples with her lifted hand.

A brief exchange of glances and a single gesture.

That was enough to change the plan.

Having worked together with Raniel for nearly a decade, Kyle understood the meaning of that movement instantly. A difficult request, he muttered to himself, tightening his grip on his sword. Exhaling deeply, he shifted his stance.

“For now.”

Kyle stomped the ground with his foot.

Crack, the earth split as he exhaled. One breath and one step was all it took to swing his sword.

“Bow your head.”

Raniel lowered her stance and swung her fist toward the ground.

At that moment, as layered spells combined, her fist struck the earth.

Smash.

Crack, a fissure appeared in the platinum shrine. The ground shook as the crack spread. Just when Yormun furrowed his brow and tried to step toward Raniel…

Galatrick’s first technique, initial kill.

Chaotic sword, the net of blades.

Slice, the sharp sound echoed as the sword energy shot out. The energy crashed into Yormun, making a bang, yet… it wasn’t just one burst of energy. Out of one swing, dozens of sword energies erupted.

Fwoosh!

The sword energies aimed to slice at what they first intended.

From the beginning, the target was the shrine’s floor. The sword energies struck the fissure once more, making it deeper and wider, spreading throughout the shrine like roots of a tree.

And then, boom.

First, the slanted ceiling was sliced off.

As the shattered ceiling came crashing down to the floor of the shrine, everything collapsed. The pillars, the floor, the statues, and even the throne. Everything fell apart.

Just before the shrine crashed to the ground…

Grip, Raniel grasped the air.

Chains surged from thin air, binding fragments together. They formed a path. And what was completed was a stage favorable to Kyle.

A clear view, a widened battlefield, and a springboard.

Standing on the chained springboard, Kyle let out a long exhale. He surveyed the scene. He looked at Raniel across from him, and at Yormun placed between them, gripping his sword tightly.

Raniel made a request.

To buy time.

‘And…’

To draw out Yormun’s full power, she had asked. Kyle forced a smile as he steadied his breathing. He had slain ancient liches who lived for a thousand years. He had cut down the raging black dragons, the rogue gods, and the strongest knights.

Now, what remained was the largest constellation.

Once, it had bestowed blessings upon him, made him a special being, allowing him to reach this point. Staring at that constellation, Kyle exhaled the breath he had taken. The final barrier granted to humanity stood before him.

What Ganikalt van Galatrick was unable to cut.

The stage that the strongest knight couldn’t reach when he had to stop before the Demon Lord. Now, standing on that very stage, Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle.

Thud.

Kyle kicked off the ground and leaped.

At the same time, Raniel dashed toward Yormun, stepping on the chains. Both ran with the same speed, gazing at the same target.

In their sight was…

Once, the brightest star of all.

Yormun watched the two humans.

He felt bitterness as he watched them rushing toward him, genuinely trying to surpass him and move on to the next stage.

Once upon a time, he had run like them.

Charging into the battlefield, which everyone claimed was impossible, he had seized victory. He had defeated the war general of the gods and extinguished the flames of the war sparked by the myriad gods as he raced across the continent.

Once, he had lived like them.

He intended to define the world with unwavering justice. To ensure that the people living on this land could live freely, to prevent them from being mere puppets of the gods, and to change the world so they could do so.

“Let’s go, Yormun.”

“To the next battlefield.”

“To the place that calls for us.”

Captivated by Gletus’s conviction, he once dreamed the same dream and moved forward, striving for the next goal—such was the period in his life.

Once, once, once…

The brilliant past flickered to life, only to fade away.

In the end, what remained was a pitiful version of himself. A dusty, aged man obsessed with the past after losing everything. Yormun was fully aware of this truth.

He knew, better than anyone else.

He understood he had already shattered, that the star was already broken, that the world was falling apart. He knew that what he was doing now was merely holding onto what should have flowed away.

Would clinging to it keep it from flowing?

It would surely flow away.

It would trickle through his fingers.

Though the myriad gods had rejected change, the world had inevitably changed. The Guide was a being that signifies this change in the world. The appearance of a Guide meant it was time for the world to change.

‘Is that so.’

Yormun smiled bitterly.

He had unwittingly become a being he once despised more than anyone. No, he may not compare to those who were perfectly crafted from the start. Yormun was human, after all.

What was here was a pitiful human.

An aged, haggard hero who had once shone brightly.

Though he knew he was wrong, the pitiful human couldn’t back down. He desperately clung to what he had achieved, to what little he had left. Yormun gazed at the constellation wrapping around his body.

The traces of his life.

The remnants of her journey.

All of that was etched in this one constellation. That was why he could not let go of it. When humans can’t let go of something precious, they inevitably plummet further. Yormun gestured.

The eyes of the gods revealed themselves through the rending space.

If one truly wished to surpass him, they should try to exceed the stage he himself had overcome that day. In that way, Yormun unleashed the divine powers. To the common eye, the scene was invisible.

However, to the Guide…

It was visible in Raniel’s eyes.

The world screamed; the fabric of space tore apart, and the laws of nature twisted within her gaze. Brilliant colors shone brightly. Eyes that had been forgotten by the world glimmered in vibrant hues from behind the torn sky.

Looking at this, Raniel smiled.

“Ah.”

She gasped.

“I’ve wanted that for a long time.”

The one who had toppled the myriad gods.

Seeing her title to be decorated with her own name, Raniel smiled and snapped her fingers. She kicked off the chains and leaped into the air. Emerging beyond the torn sky were the powers Yormun possessed.

Unquenchable fire, trumpets that herald war, the defiant, the wandering wind in a maze, and lightning falling… countless nameless powers glowed in the form of eyes.

All of them were Yormun’s weapons.

But those were things taken from others. What Raniel wanted to see was not those glittering eyes. Raniel glanced at Yormun.

‘What I need to see is…’

The things only Yormun possessed.

The constellation he was currently holding in his left hand, which he had used to release those eyes, was what she truly needed to witness.

‘But.’

At present, that constellation wasn’t displaying its full strength. It seemed to hide its form and structure, as if warning her not to gaze upon it. That was why Raniel had asked Kyle.

To draw out Yormun’s full potential.

To let that constellation unleash its power fully, with no leisure to be wary of her. Responding to that desire, Kyle had begun to rush toward Yormun.

“I’m counting on you, Kyle.”

Muttering that, Raniel reached towards the sky. First, she aimed to bring down all the forgotten gods that obstructed their path.

A loud roar resonated from the sky.

Flashes of lightning that occurred multiple times in one second, the booming sound echoing, and the colorful flames and lightning that lit up the sky. The sky was screaming. And it wasn’t just the sky screaming.

Once a ruler of the heavens, now incapable of flying freely with broken wings, a dragon had descended to the ground. Planting its feet firmly, the ancient dragon unleashed the fury of the gods.

Fire swept across the land.

The storm shook the city of ancient dragons.

A whirlwind of fire engulfed everything, causing the earth to scream. The ground and sky cried out in unison. Amidst this upheaval of heaven and earth, two figures raced across the landscape.

Holding a broken spear, Destel dashed forward.

Charging toward the ancient dragon. Cutting through the flames and braving the heat, he mounted the dragon, weaving in and out with agility.

With electricity crackling, Raniel threw herself into the sky. As she hurled her body upward, she tore apart the eyes of the gods. As if devouring their screams, the lightning coiling around her turned the sky a crimson hue.

The blood of the ancient dragon splattered up to the heavens.

The gods’ screams from the sky flowed down to the earth.

In the place where the blood of the ancient dragon met the screams of the gods, Kyle surged forth. He soared through the exploding space, slicing through countless spells as he rushed ahead. With wide eyes, he exhaled forcefully.

The god appeared to be at ease.

But he still hadn’t revealed all his cards.

To take away that ease, Kyle tightened his grip on his sword. An infinitely sharp edge of sword energy surged forth. How does one break down an opponent who cannot even be scratched by a normal sword strike?

Kyle knew the answer.

There was no need to overthink it. If the opponent doesn’t reveal their hidden cards, then let the other side show theirs first. Kyle narrowed his eyes. He gazed at Yormun standing amidst the crumbling shrine as he drew back his sword.

The rumbling roars, the dazzling flashes, the firestorm erupting from the ground…

Everything froze in an instant. Thus, in that moment of stopped time, Kyle saw ahead. A single path revealed itself. The singular sword path entered his vision. Following the path reflected in his eyes, Kyle swung his sword.

No, he intended to.

Thud.

Something wrapped around Kyle’s sword.

Kyle opened his eyes wide. The constellation was entangling his sword. Switching his view, he saw Yormun reaching his hand out toward him. In this frozen time, Kyle wasn’t the only one moving.

“An attack that defies destiny is not solely your privilege. It wasn’t your first accomplishment either.”

Yormun gestured.

“I was the first to create that.”

The constellation flashed instantly.

As time resumed, Kyle’s wrist twisted painfully while holding his sword. His arm was bent, flesh tore, and crimson blood sprayed forth.

From the heavens, the gods bled.

From the ground, the blood of the ancient dragon surged.

Between heaven and earth, human blood spurted forth long and hard.