Chapter 60. Thousand-Handed Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara (Part 1)
“Wh-When did you…?”
Black moons reflected in Cedric’s eyes.
In his moment of death, time seemed to flow slowly for Cedric.
He hadn’t even noticed the approach.
When had they arrived?
Or had there ever been a choice to escape since their first encounter?
A myriad of possibilities and assumptions nearly made his head burst.
And that was it.
Screech!
The final thought that crossed Cedric’s mind in this world.
Boom!
His headless body collapsed onto the ground.
“Kieeee.”
“Kek!”
With Cedric’s death, all the undead he had commanded turned to dust and disappeared.
There were still necromancers alive, but they wouldn’t last long, especially now that the enraged statues were in hot pursuit.
“Ugh!”
“Please, save me!”
The battlefield began to be stained with blood.
The once-predatory necromancers had turned into prey.
And taking advantage of the chaos…
“Uhm. Looks like everyone is pretty busy.”
Jinhyuk approached the loosely guarded four-story stone pagoda.
***
A four-story stone pagoda carved from a giant granite boulder.
Before the vault that contained the key to the inner chamber, three statues armed with spears and swords stood guard.
“Groooar!”
“Growl!”
Considering that there should have been forces ten times this size, the three statues were practically as good as an empty house.
Jinhyuk cracked his joints.
“It’s good not to have a brain, I guess.”
Even after showing such overwhelming power, they wouldn’t be afraid.
Just like puppets on strings, they moved solely on their boss monster’s command.
Somehow, he thought that an army moving without hearts might indeed be the strongest force.
Jinhyuk picked up a spear and shield that had fallen to the ground.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve fought with these weapons.’
Shielding the front with the round buckler in his left hand, he thrust the spear through the gap.
The stance he had practiced relentlessly back during his days obsessed with the movie ‘300’.
Though he couldn’t perform a coordinated phalanx like the 300 in the film, he had trained until blisters formed on his hands to maximize efficiency even when alone.
Ah! Of course, he had practiced one more thing besides spear and shield techniques.
That was the most important thing.
“Should I go? Or are you going to come?”
Jinhyuk slowly repeated a drill of sitting down and getting up in position.
The point here was to bait the enemy by showing a slight vulnerability.
As if asking, “Aren’t you going to come, even though I’ve made it this easy for you?”
Did the taunt work?
The statues simultaneously kicked off the ground.
Bang!
Crash!
They came at him.
Jinhyuk raised his shield at an angle.
The subtlety of shield technique was in its ability to disperse impact.
Scratch!
The statues’ blades and spears scraped past the inclined face of the shield.
‘Now!’
Jinhyuk spun his body around 360 degrees, having channeled the shock away.
Crash!
The spinning spear penetrated the head of a statue.
Almost instantly.
Jinhyuk then swung his spear at the second statue’s leg.
“…Groo?”
The statue’s legs buckled, and its balance crumbled.
Targeting the precise joint made it possible.
“You’re gonna freeze to death.”
Thwock.
The spear hit the statue’s chest.
[Lv2 ‘Ice Sculpting’ activated!]
Crisp!
Frost burst from the spearhead and stuck on the statue’s chest.
The cold rapidly spread, freezing the whole body in less than three seconds.
‘That makes two.’
Now only one was left.
Jinhyuk faced the retreating statue, resuming his core stance.
The spear and shield perfectly divided the roles of offense and defense.
However…
“Grooooooar!”
The statue screamed and suddenly stretched a hand towards the stone pagoda.
It pulled out a golden key from inside.
What?
Was it planning to hand over the key and beg for its life?
Gulp!
The statue swallowed the key it was clutching.
[The key to the inner chamber reacts.]
[The gate is activated!]
[The entity beyond the gate responds to the summoning.]
Status windows appeared one after another.
Wroom!
The air changed dramatically.
“This one’s got some courage.”
To think it would sacrifice itself to open the gate.
Jinhyuk moistened his lips with his tongue.
Just then.
Kukukuku!
A green vortex emerged from the belly of the statue that had swallowed the key.
It was sacrificing itself to summon a higher monster from the inner chamber.
Tingle!
A power quite different from anything thus far surged.
Jinhyuk’s eyes sparkled, not with fear or panic at the unexpected situation.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His body was too excited after a battle that ended too easily, and now…
A proper fight had finally presented itself.
Moreover.
‘I’m grateful if it’s willing to leave its advantageous position and come to me.’
If he had to contend with a named monster, it was better to face it outside the inner chamber.
Soon after, something approached through the flickering gate.
Step.
With the light footsteps, a statue with multiple arms appeared.
[The named monster ‘Thousand-Handed Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara (千手千眼觀音)’ manifests!]
“Hmm.”
The Thousand-Handed Avalokitesvara slowly looked around.
A compassionate smile was tinged with the heavy scent of blood.
Suddenly, its gaze settled on Jinhyuk.
“It’s quite unexpected. Among the intruders, there’s a human who can threaten the key inside the pagoda.”
“What’s so surprising about this? In a few days, I’ll even cut down the boss monster here.”
“Hahaha! Audacious human. I suppose I must acknowledge such courage.”
The Avalokitesvara let out a burst of delighted laughter.
He was sincere, but to it, it sounded like a joke.
Damn it.
It’s annoying to fight with intelligent monsters.
Its skill ‘Empathy’ inadvertently evoked a sense of kinship.
“Enough talking, come on. I want to finish quickly and rest.”
“I would enjoy further conversation with you, but is that not the case for you?”
“I don’t hate talking either, but that requires beer and chicken instead of swords and blood. And rather than a hard-faced statue, the presence of someone with soft skin would be preferable.”
“Cherish even this fleeting moment, young human. When death approaches, you may find even this time to be missed.”
Swoosh!
The Avalokitesvara drew a sword from its back.
With that as a signal –
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Countless hands began to grip weapons.
Swords, knives, and various types of spears and axes were brandished, and even maces and bows appeared.
A walking armory, that’s what this was.
“You’ll pay for your insolence by first losing that left arm. Next, your left leg. Then the right arm. And finally, I will take the remaining neck.”
“Sorry, but I quite like the current location of my limbs. I intend to keep them where they are.”
“Cutting you up will be satisfying. This is why we can never tire of you humans.”
The corners of the Avalokitesvara’s mouth curled up.
Tssss…
Murderous intent crystallized, mixed with magic power.
This entity was not to be regarded in the same way as ordinary statues.
Jinhyuk lowered his stance with his shield raised, ready for any attack.
“Phew.”
Regulating his breath, Jinhyuk awoke all his senses.
Sharpened like a blade.
From this moment on, every blink mattered.
Then.
Boom!
The air was torn apart.
An attack that broke the sound barrier without a propulsion system.
Yet.
‘Left shoulder.’
His body moved before his mind.
Jinhyuk used his shield to deflect the sword strike.
Clink!
Sparks flew where steel met steel.
“Oho.”
A gasp escaped the lips of the Avalokitesvara.
This time, it actually seemed surprised.
“Why surprised? First time seeing an attack being blocked?”
“The ability to react to the realm of sound speed…”
It wasn’t about observing and reacting.
He already memorized the trajectory and timing of such attacks after countless encounters.
Of course, not just anybody could do it.
“Haha. This is getting more and more interesting.”
The Avalokitesvara tried to attack once more.
This time it aimed for both the left arm and right leg simultaneously.
‘Shielding both at the same time is impossible.’
In that case…
[Lv2 ‘Ice Sculpting’ activated!]
A new set of ice shields with snowflake motifs appeared.
Crack!
Naturally, such an attempt wouldn’t withstand the Avalokitesvara’s attack.
But just nudging the trajectory of the attack aside was…
Possible.
More than possible.
Jinhyuk slid between the fully bloomed ice flowers.
Needless to say, the Avalokitesvara didn’t just stand by and watch.
“Stop right there!”
Nine spears were thrown immediately.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ice shields shattered.
However, none of the spears hit Jinhyuk.
“Surely, I hit the target?”
Aimed perfectly.
A direct hit – or so it thought.
“This ice also has the effect of distorting vision.”
The layers of ice, reflecting light, created illusions.
Jinhyuk, now beneath the Avalokitesvara, gripped his spear tightly.
He shortened the range to favor speed over distance.
And the blood-red magic of ‘Blood Demon Energy (血魔氣)’ writhed along the blade.
“Urgh!”
The Avalokitesvara quickly spun around.
A thousand arms moved, attempting to block any attack.
But it was too late.
Thump!
The spear, no longer in Jinhyuk’s hand, pierced the Avalokitesvara’s arm.
“Aaargh!”
The face of the Avalokitesvara contorted gruesomely.
A sensation never felt before.
Pain.
This novel and sharp experience was enough to scatter the Avalokitesvara’s reason.
It desperately wanted to tear apart the human before it, but…
The spreading crimson magic along the arm demanded immediate attention.
“Is this a poison… of sorts?”
“Close enough.”
Although ‘Blood Demon Energy’ was far less destructive than the ‘Tomb of Swords,’ once a wound was inflicted, it could cause continuous damage.
Crunch!
Without hesitation, the Avalokitesvara ripped off the arm with the embedded spear.
Wow.
“It seems you do want to live.”
He had expected some pondering, at least a few minutes.
But tearing off its own arm suggested an uncommon attachment to life.
“Don’t be presumptuous. If you were aiming, you should have gone for the head. What do you plan to do after taking just one arm?”
That’s because…
“I know I couldn’t kill you if I aimed for your head.”
To kill a named monster existing here, ordinary weapons wouldn’t suffice.
That’s why I aimed for the arm on purpose.
More precisely, for the arm holding a ‘Jewel’ among the multitude of weapons.
Jinhyuk extracted a blue gemstone from the severed arm.
And then, he took an item from his subspace inventory, saved specifically for this moment.
