novelraw Chapter 194 : Where You Are (1)
Chapter 194 : Where You Are (1)
Where You Are (1)
Owen McGregor had been special since childhood.
He could see many things. He could observe the internal workings of the human body as if viewing it through an X-ray, perceiving everything from the movement of muscles to the flow of blood and respiration.
He could even discern the condition of magic power and mana halls.
He could know everything he saw, and he possessed a body capable of making use of that knowledge.
"Park Jung-woo."
Owen narrowed his eyes at Jung-woo and smiled.
"You're a ticking time bomb."
His judgment was not simply because Jung-woo possessed overwhelming strength.
From Owen's perspective, Jung-woo was in a highly unstable state.
'Demon King's Heart'—something otherworldly so called—was parasitically inhabiting Jung-woo's heart.
At any moment, it seemed poised to destroy his heart and claim his body.
'How is he not dead?'
The first time Owen saw Jung-woo was when the Korean representative entered at Odyssey.
Then, Owen was scrutinizing each of the S-rank participants at Odyssey.
After all, it was unknown which among them might be colluding with the demons.
As he tuned his senses to detect demonic energy, Owen coincidentally saw Jung-woo.
'What is that?'
There was something inside Jung-woo's body, something fundamentally different from the demons Owen had encountered countless times before.
If it were a normal human body, it would not have been surprising had it exploded like a bomb right then and there.
It was a mystery: What exactly was that thing, and how was he alive?
When Owen realized that he was the 'Park Jung-woo' whom the demons often talked about, he made a decision regarding him.
"If left alone, you'll definitely die."
As Owen spoke these words, Jung-woo deflected the greatsword flying toward his shoulder.
With a heavy shock, the direction of the greatsword changed and smashed into the ground.
That alone caused the entire dungeon to shake as if struck by an earthquake.
"Thanks for worrying, but I'm not going to die."
"You're trusting the other power inside your body?"
"... Wait, can you see that, too?"
Jung-woo knew Owen was special.
But he hadn't expected him to possess eyes that special.
"It's a truly extraordinary power, isn't it? That's what's sustaining your life."
A power that absolutely prevented Jung-woo from dying.
The miracle left by Estella. And perhaps that miracle originated from Shin Ah-yeon's hands.
"But it's not infinite. It's being consumed little by little. You feel it, don't you?"
His neck, chest, waist, and legs—
Jung-woo parried all the consecutive swings of the greatsword.
Seizing the openings created each time, he counterattacked Owen's body.
His punches had the power to blow apart an intermediate-rank demon in a single strike, but Owen withstood them with toughness.
'That endurance isn't Owen's alone.'
Perhaps it was the demon's power he had absorbed.
If that were the case, it wasn't hard to infer which demon Owen had absorbed.
There weren't many demons who could withstand his punches without magical defenses.
"That shouldn't be something for you to worry about."
"But if you're devoured by that heart, it's a different story."
At Owen's response, Jung-woo clicked his tongue.
In Owen's eyes, Jung-woo was a ticking time bomb who could be consumed by the Demon King's heart at any moment.
So, kill him before that happens.
A simple conclusion.
'Is that why?'
Lately, Jung-woo, too, had felt the power of the 'miracle' within him weakening.
Thinking back, it was only natural.
Ultimately, the miracle housed in his body was the Saintess's power.
With the Saintess no longer present, it was inevitable that the power would gradually fade.
There wouldn't be much of a problem if he refrained from using the Demon King's power, but if he did use it, there was no guarantee the situation Owen feared wouldn't occur.
'But, that's only if Ah-yeon isn't around.'
From the start, the authority imbued within his body belonged not to Estella, but to Ah-yeon.
Although they were reincarnations and shared the same power, unlike Estella, Ah-yeon could barely manifest her power as a Saintess.
Even when the Stigmata appeared, it faded quickly, so the authority within his body was continually depleted.
If Ah-yeon could fully recover her power as a Saintess, the problem would be solved.
'Though... that isn't exactly a welcome prospect.'
In any case, there wouldn't be any big problems as long as he didn't use the Demon King's power to a dangerous extent.
And resolving this issue didn't necessarily require Ah-yeon's help.
'Didn't Yeon-ji say it?'
That he could become one with the demons.
If, just as she'd said, he could fully make the Demon King's power his own, he might be able to overcome all the problems.
Additionally, most of the issues regarding the demons could also be resolved.
It would mean that he could use the 'Demon King's' power as his own.
"Owen McGregor."
I watched Owen as he rushed at me, streams of dark magic power pouring out of him.
I fixed my gaze on the massive greatsword being swung at me with savagery.
At the moment the gale imbued in his sword approached, intent on shredding me to pieces—
"Don't consider yourself so special."
Kuooong!
My punch shot out, shattering that gale.
"What you know, and what you choose, aren't always right."
There was no need to use the Demon King's power.
In the first place, I had pierced the Demon King's heart with nothing but my own power.
The sword of a swordmaster, the spell of a great mage—none of them could pierce the bastard's chest, but my fist had ripped it open.
KWA-AAAAAAANG!!!
With an explosion like dozens of bombs going off, my punch struck Owen along with the greatsword he had swung.
Owen withstood my punch.
He hadn't used any special power or magical law to block it.
He was simply tough.
So tough, in fact, that an ordinary punch couldn't do a thing to his body.
In that case, the way to overcome it was very simple.
Stronger.
Simply blow away his defense with overwhelming strength.
"Kugh?!"
For the first time, a groan escaped Owen's lips.
Owen's figure, struck by Jung-woo's fist, was slammed against the dungeon walls and crashed all the way in, smashing through them.
'What the hell...'
Did he use the Demon King's power?
No. He was fighting with only his own strength.
'How can such impossible strength exist...!'
Jung-woo's attacks were fully visible.
There was no special technique involved.
He just threw his punches extremely fast and hard.
But—
Bang! Bang! Bang! KWAKWANG!!
Owen swung the greatsword with all his might at the fierce onslaught of Jung-woo, who chased after him.
He had innate talent.
A skill honed with the great talent said to have been chosen by God; he parried Jung-woo's attacks with it.
He clad himself completely in demonic energy, and enhanced his physical abilities further using the power absorbed from the demon.
Even so, he could barely hold his own.
"And Owen, you haven't fully absorbed the demon."
It was a misunderstanding.
Watching the fist coming right at his nose, Owen thought.
As his defense was pierced and the fist closed in with breathless closeness, it all seemed to move in slow motion.
"You just put it to sleep."
And that, only because the demon was already exhausted, was it possible.
KWA-AAAAAANG!!
Jung-woo's fist struck Owen's face, and twisting the direction of his punch, he slammed it down toward the ground.
Any more shock to the dungeon, and it might collapse, endangering everyone inside.
Of course, that didn't really reduce the damage much.
Just that impact cracked the floor like a spiderweb and sent tremors throughout the entire dungeon.
'My god.'
The S-rank hunters gaped at the sight.
Just how much force did it take to physically destroy a dungeon?
'Owen McGregor... is he even... alive?'
Not only surviving, but whether he could even maintain a human form was questionable.
Seeing Owen's form almost buried in the ground, he still looked intact.
Truly worthy of being called the pinnacle of the world.
"No effect, my ass."
Jung-woo muttered as he checked the unconscious Owen.
He was indeed special, but perhaps he'd have been stronger if he hadn't absorbed the demon's power.
'He didn't even use his Conceptualization Technique.'
Facing Owen's sword during the fight, Jung-woo sensed that Owen couldn't unleash his full ability. Physically, he was stronger; otherwise, he couldn't have withstood Jung-woo's punches like that.
'But probably wouldn't have been hit so miserably, either.'
Was it because he absorbed the demon's power and couldn't use the Conceptualization Technique, or because he chose not to? It was a mystery.
What set him apart from Sol Mayer?
"Hmm?"
Catching his breath, Jung-woo was about to tell the other S-rank hunters to hurry up and escape the dungeon, when---
Something unpleasant brushed past him; he could distinctly feel it.
And that unpleasant sensation was, by coincidence, something Jung-woo knew very well.
"... Henate!"
The Butcher Henate. King of the Banshees, and the only demon able to exist in a spiritual form.
I instinctively swung my hand at it. I barely managed to rip apart the edge of the red wind, but I couldn't block all of it.
Owen's previously unconscious eyes snapped open at that very moment.
***
Ah-yeon was looking out over the desolate Grand Canyon, constantly checking for places where a rift might open.
So far, all discovered dungeons were unstable, but none showed signs of a rift opening. The problem was Jung-woo.
"Owen McGregor and Manager Park Jung-woo-nim appear to be fighting."
"Really? Did he knock him down?"
"They're still fighting, I hear..."
Owen was much stronger than expected.
Jung-woo was not the type to dally gauging a foe's strength.
If he could take them down quickly, he'd overwhelm them with full force.
'I'm worried.'
Still, she didn't think Jung-woo would lose.
He was a Returnee.
A man who'd returned after killing even the Demon King among those mightiest demons.
No matter how strong Owen might be, there was no way he could beat him.
Even so, Ah-yeon felt uneasy.
She didn't know why.
Was it because she thought a rift incident was about to break out?
No, there was a more fundamental reason...
"One of the dungeons is collapsing! Everyone, brace for impact!"
At that moment, a hurried report came from an agent, who shouted urgently.
Ah-yeon was about to ask which dungeon was collapsing when an ear-splitting explosion sounded first.
KWA-AAAAAANG!!
With a massive roar, something shot into the air.
The shock was so great that the entire Grand Canyon shook, and Ah-yeon barely managed to keep her balance as she looked up.
From above her head, she could feel astoundingly powerful demonic energy.
"... Demon?"
Black magic power billowed out in streams, a single horn protruded from the forehead.
The appearance was unmistakably Owen McGregor's, but the feeling was entirely different.
Swathed in black demonic energy like a cloak, he oddly resembled a knight of the night.
'Somewhere...'
Ah-yeon felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
She didn't know why, but just sensing that aura made her whole body tremble.
"Cade Barel...!!"
At that moment, as someone shouted out, that black figure fell to the ground.
More precisely, it would be accurate to say that the one who shouted had slammed it to the ground.
Cade Barel.
Ah-yeon muttered that name absentmindedly.
Most likely, the one who shouted it had been Jung-woo.
He was the only one there who'd know the name of a demon.
"So you're the one occupying Owen's body!"
After blowing apart the dungeon and sending Cade soaring into the sky, Jung-woo slammed Cade down to earth and struck him with his fist.
Once, twice, three times.
Any ordinary demon would have died several times over, but there was no real impact to the opponent's body.
With defenses stronger than Owen's, the now-mightier defense withstood Jung-woo's punches.
As the fourth punch was about to hit his face, Cade's right hand moved, thrusting the broken greatsword toward Jung-woo's neck.
"This..."
Jung-woo reflexively leapt back to avoid it.
If it were Owen's sword, he would have swung his fist to meet it, but with Cade's, that was not a wise choice.
"... Isn't this an overly grand welcome?"
It was a small voice, but everyone in the Grand Canyon could hear the sheer presence.
Jung-woo had met several top-rank demons in this world, but most of them had been unable to unleash even a fraction of their original power.
But Cade was different.
Whether Owen's body was a good fit, Cade was releasing power even greater than in his prime.
"It's been a while. I never imagined I'd fight you again."
Though it was Owen's voice, it was different.
Another tone was mingled in with Owen's.
Only now did Ah-yeon realize why that man felt so familiar.
"Did you not desire it? The moment to take revenge on the humans who imprisoned you for a thousand years."
The blade of malice.
The sharpest sword of the Demon King, who once hunted humanity.
And the one who tried to lead Saintess Estella to the demons.
Cade Barel.
That was his true identity.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】