Whir-!
A blue light spread over the surroundings.
Kim ShiHoon's body shone with a blue light.
The strength of his Qi couldn't be compared to before.
'He really is an Awakening machine.'
Normal people struggled to Awaken even once, but he'd already done it twice.
At that point, it wasn't enough to call him talented.
'But still…'
KangWoo laughed.
They said that you could surpass talent with effort.
In a sense, it was true.
But the wall called talent was so tall and thick that normal people didn't even dare to look at it.
'As long as it’s a human…'
People had a short life span.
It didn't matter how much they tried, they had a time limit.
But…
He was different. He was a demon, an immortal.
He'd made quite an effort to survive for ten thousand years.
Even if Kim ShiHoon had accepted the soul of the Martial God and had a talent given by the skies, it wasn't enough to surpass all the effort KangWoo had made for such a long time.
'Should I call this effort?'
To say it simply, he was desperate.
—Desperate to live.
The natural desire not wanting to die had made him what he was.
It wasn't something pathetic enough to lose against something like a talent given by the skies.
"Ha-ab!"
Kim ShiHoon, while covered by blue light, charged toward him.
He let the sword that was in his hand go. Tap. He lightly flicked his finger. The Authority of Waves was concentrated in his finger.
Paanngg-!
Waves of black light spread in circles. There wasn't a place ShiHoon could escape to. He had no other choice but to try to block it.
Kim ShiHoon quickly raised his sword, and a black wave swept through his body.
"Ugh!"
Kim ShiHoon's knees bent.
It was hard to believe that he had just Awakened again. He had no strength left.
'This is Satan's strength.'
His face became pale.
It was like looking at a mountain.
He felt he was facing an endless Abyss.
He wouldn't be able to win. He became even more sure of something he already knew from the beginning.
He wouldn't be able to surpass that demon with his current strength.
[Not bad.]
"Ugh."
[But a minnow will be a minnow, no matter how hard it tries.]
"Damn…"
He lost strength. The El Quero Blade fell to the ground.
Satan approached him.
[Do you think it's unfair?]
"…"
[Are you about to lose your reason? Do you think your mind is about to turn white?]
"Shut up."
After hearing Satan making fun of him, he cursed him. Satan just laughed at him.
[Good. Those eyes are perfect. Ones that are full of anger and resentment. That's the desire and craving that leads to life.]
"Stop saying bullshit and just—"
[I won't kill you.]
"What…?"
[Why would I kill something so fun?] Satan said in a cheerful voice.
"What does that mean…?"
[I liked it. Your anger and resentment made me tremble. It made me excited and thrilled.]
Satan moved his hands. Alec's body was still trembling.
If he were a normal person, he would've already died a long time ago, but Alec was a superhuman with superb physical capabilities.
Even if he were stopped from breathing for an hour, he would still be able to survive.
"What are you going to do?" Kim ShiHoon asked anxiously.
Alec's face got closer to Satan's.
[Do you want to save this person?]
"Yes…"
He nodded.
Satan's eyes became full of madness.
[You were quite desperate. Your determination moved me.]
"…"
[That's why…]
* * *
Crack-
A horrifying sound spread out.
Alec's head was crushed, his skull splintered, and his brain was turned to mush. Dark blood and brain matter dripped down.
"H-huh…?"
Kim ShiHoon's mouth fell open.
His eyes widened. He couldn't understand what he'd just seen.
Alec had died.
The Sword of Justice, the person he admired and someone who meant a lot to him, had died in front of him.
"Ah, aah."
He couldn't say anything. He struggled to even form proper words.
His body trembled. His head became white.
Anger…
The anger Satan had mentioned controlled his body.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!"
He picked up the sword and tried to stab Satan with all his strength.
But he no longer had strength left in his body; he was even struggling to hold a sword.
Ting. His sword bounced away.
Kim ShiHoon rolled on the ground.
He tried to get up, but he no longer had any strength. He fell to the ground. His body trembled. He tried to crawl at Satan.
[Yes, it's exactly those eyes…]
Satan nodded and spoke in a satisfied tone. Satan laughed at how desperate Kim ShiHoon looked.
Satan approached Kim ShiHoon and picked him up. He slowly opened his mouth while looking at his resentment-filled eyes.
[That anger and resentment will become food for your growth.]
"…"
[Struggle desperately, and think about me all the while.]
Satan's face closed in on Kim ShiHoon.
[I'm Death, I'm The End. I'm Anger and Resentment.]
The red mask tilted.
[I'm Satan.]
"…"
Kim ShiHoon's mouth closed. He tried to engrain the red mask deep into his memories.
[Human, get stronger. Use the anger and resentment as food to grow, and then…]
The demon laughed next to his ear.
[Kill me.]
Paf-
Satan hit Kim ShiHoon's stomach. Kim ShiHoon lost consciousness.
"Oof. What a shitty way of talking."
KangWoo took off the red mask after Kim ShiHoon lost consciousness.
KangWoo couldn't help but cringe at what he had just said.
"What was Satan thinking? Why did he speak like this?"
What he said to Kim was something Satan had really said before.
'Well, it isn't just the way of speaking that was similar…'
The situation was similar as well.
When KangWoo had first fought against Satan, he was defeated by an overwhelming difference. After that, Satan had said something similar to him.
- Human, get stronger. Use the anger and resentment as stepping stones to grow, and… kill me.
'In the end, I really killed him.'
Satan's finale was quite fun.
It had seemed like Satan really hadn’t expected KangWoo to get strong enough to kill him. Satan, who had put on quite the act, became pathetic when faced with true danger.
- H-how could a human…? How did you get the Demonic Energy Sea?!
"That's why you should've killed me when you had the chance."
KangWoo tapped his chest.
The Ten Thousand Demon Core.
Satan was devoured by the bottomless Demonic Energy Sea.
The soul of the most important archduke escaped toward Hell's Equipment, but KangWoo was able to absorb his Authority and huge demonic energy.
'Although I can't control it.'
Even before his Ten Thousand Demon Core had been sealed, he had been unable to control an archduke’s Authority.
Even to KangWoo, who had reached an incredible high in terms of controlling demonic energy, using an archduke's Authority was impossible.
"But…"
He looked to his side.
He looked at Kim ShiHoon, who had lost consciousness. He began wondering if he'd overdone it but shook his head.
'Kim ShiHoon needed some stimulation.'
Kim ShiHoon had everything…
A talent that was given to him by the skies, a great teacher called the Sword King, and even help from the system.
'Desperation.'
Kim YeongHoon and Kim JaeHyun were in prison.
To Kim ShiHoon, all of the weight in his life had disappeared.
His only motivation was to become as strong as KangWoo.
'That's not enough.'
It wasn't kids’ play.
To get stronger, you needed to be desperate.
—That was the only way to overcome future difficulties and use them to grow.
'ShiHoon, I hope you understand me.'
He had no other way but to use a brute-force method.
Even if he’d used the Authority of Subordination to make him become desperate, there would be a difference with really feeling that emotion.
'Your sword needs to get dirtier.'
It had to become a sword that reeked with blood.
It had to become a sword that wouldn't hesitate to cut an opponent's neck.
If he didn't do that, he'd die.
'Just like Alec.'
KangWoo smiled bitterly and approached Alec’s corpse. He extended his hand, and black flames burned Alec's corpse.
"It’s over."
He'd eliminated Alec and given Kim ShiHoon a strong stimulation. His Awakening had been a bonus.
He just had to wait for 'Gaia' to approach Kim ShiHoon.
"I hope my level restriction lifts while I wait."
Leaving the attributes aside, weakening the seal of the Ten Thousand Demon Core was also important.
Thinking about the level restriction made him sigh.
'What can I do to…?'
His thoughts were suddenly cut short. He heard a clear sound, and blue message windows appeared before him.
[You've eliminated a Guardian.]
[The system's energy that was blocking your level has weakened.]
[The level restriction has increased to 69.]
[You've gained the accumulated experience.
[Your level has gone up by 10.]
[You've reached the seventh Awakening!]
[Your Strength Stat (+11), Agility Stat (+9), Vitality Stat (+8), and Intelligence Stat (+4) have increased!]
'Huh?'
KangWoo’s eyes widened. Level restriction lifted… What he'd craved so much had happened when he least expected it to.
'Killing a Guardian was the way to lift the level restriction?'
KangWoo laughed in disbelief.
If he hadn't killed Alec, he wouldn't have been able to lift the level restriction.
KangWoo carefully looked at the system messages.
'I heard that, usually, you get the first level restriction at 59 and then again at 80.'
Usually, people face two level restrictions. The first one was at 59, and the second one at the end of the ninth Awakening.
'But I got another restriction at level 69.'
There was no need to think anymore.
The system was blocking his growth on purpose.
'The way to lift the restriction is to kill a Guardian?'
KangWoo looked at Kim ShiHoon, who was unconscious.
For a short while, for a really short moment, he drooled a bit.
"No."
KangWoo shook his head. He left the desire aside.
"Even so, this isn't it."
Kim ShiHoon was an underling that had promised loyalty to him and someone whose soul was mixed with his.
"ShiHoon…"
‘You trust me, right?’
