Whooosh~
On the rooftop of a high-rise building, the wind idly sways.
Under the already darkened night sky, Hajoon was still waiting for Philaten's words.
Thus, he sat, enjoying the breeze and waiting, if only for a moment.
-Found it.
Philaten's voice reached him.
Hajoon slowly rose from his spot, and Philaten continued to speak.
-There's a massive clash of magical powers not too far from here. Although it's faint, I can sense the old man's magic.
"Lead the way."
-We're going now?
"We have to."
Too much time had already been wasted.
Listening to Philaten, it seemed likely that the battle had already begun.
-Understood. Maharazu will show the way.
With that, Maharazu’s head, as though drawn by some force, began pointing in one direction. Hajoon immediately activated Time Stop (SSS).
He left the high-rise building just as it was and began running toward the direction indicated by Maharazu.
His body, which had achieved over 90 in strength and 80 in stamina, was now practically superhuman.
If he ran quickly with this physique, he would probably reach the location within a few hours.
Hajoon ran at full speed, using all the power he could muster.
Even after stopping time, whether he was late or not was something he would only know once he arrived.
"Choi Jungwon."
In a stark white space.
Inside the enclosed space of a curtain, traces of various spells were vividly exposed.
The floor was stained black from scorching flames, and giant splintered tree trunks were scattered about.
Huge meteorites, expelling hot flames, were embedded in the ground, having created craters upon impact.
It was a scene thoroughly bearing the marks of battle.
In that place, two old men still faced each other, though they presented contrasting states. One still exuded composure, while the other visibly wearied, gasping for breath.
Then, the composed elder spoke.
"In this place, I am a god."
"......"
"No one can kill me. And you’re no exception, Choi Jungwon."
Saan waved his hand through the air as he spoke.
In that instant, all traces of battle cleanly vanished.
The scorched floor returned to its original state, the meteorite-formed craters disappeared, and the divots filled in.
Choi Jungwon simply stared at Saan with a composed expression.
Although he showed signs of fatigue, his eyes still held a measure of ease.
"Saan."
Choi Jungwon acted while directly facing Saan.
Thud!
Choi Jungwon slammed his staff into the ground.
Simultaneously, the blue crystal affixed to the staff began to emit an even more brilliant blue light.
"This will be my last spell."
Whoosh!!
Starting from the tip of the staff, a massive magic circle formed on the ground.
Soon after, the magic circle on the ground began to expand even more.
It expanded endlessly, seeming to intend to fill this space to the brim.
"Choi Jungwon......"
"Let's go together."
For a moment, Saan gritted his teeth.
He had recognized what spell was being cast by seeing the magic circle.
A grand spell, executed by converting life force and expending all energy.
Soon, a bright light began to shine down on Saan from the void above.
What followed was a wide shockwave that would envelop the entire space.
Whoosh! Boom boom boom!!
A light shockwave, containing fearsome energy from the shining light, engulfed Saan's body.
"Aargh!!"
Immediately, his pain-filled scream echoed.
As the shockwave endured, his body gradually turned to ash, slowly scattering and beginning to disappear. Saan raised one arm, deploying a shield.
However, the descending light shattered his shield in a moment, continuing to pour down on him unabated.
"Ugh! Aaaargh!"
Under the pouring light, his arms and legs gradually burned away...
The spectacle of the floor melting from high heat was vividly captured.
Choi Jungwon, who had been watching the situation, collapsed to the floor, catching his breath heavily.
"Heuk! Heuk!"
Choi Jungwon's condition was dire.
His body, now emaciated and lusterless, was the price paid for unleashing a grand magic spell that drained everything, including his vitality.
"Heuk! Haah...."
And just as the magic spell was concluded, Choi Jungwon, feeling something, closed his eyes and began to lower his head.
Despite thinking that Saan had disappeared without a trace, the space itself had not vanished.
Knowing well what this meant, he sighed.
"Was that your last magic?"
"......"
The voice of Saan resonated in front of Choi Jungwon.
His figure was not much different from just before it was hit by the grand magic.
He simply maintained his body.
"Choi Jungwon."
He looked down at Choi Jungwon with a hint of contempt.
“I can’t play along any longer.”
"......"
"Did you think that I would die from that magic?"
With those words, Saan reached out toward Choi Jungwon.
Simultaneously, a magic circle, identical to the one Choi Jungwon had cast a moment ago, began to spread, originating from his core.
Saan spoke.
“Right now, you’re no different from a talking corpse."
"........."
"Go on alone, old friend."
With those words, Saan attempted to activate the magic.
That's when it happened.
Scrritch-
Someone from outside created a hole in this dark veil.
Presumably, the three great heroes had combined their powers to create the hole.
However, that was not the issue.
Although the hole was quickly sealed, disconnecting the outer space,
During that brief moment,
In that fleeting instant, Saan could not help but sense an indescribable energy.
'What is this?'
The moment the tiny hole opened, some kind of energy flowed through it.
A transcendent, alien energy.
And Saan found this energy familiar.
The entity that had given him power also emanated such an energy.
Although he couldn't see with his eyes, he could sense that much had transpired in that short instant. That's when it happened.
Crack- Boom!!
Its hands broke in the opposite direction, the magic aimed at Choi Jungwon stopped its activation, and a giant hole was blasted through its chest.
Its new form flew back, smashing into the inner wall of the veil.
Whoosh!! Thud!!
The moment the situation unfolded, Choi Jungwon, powerless, opened his eyes to look ahead.
There, he could see a boy, kneeling on one knee, calmly looking at him.
"Are you alright?"
"…Hajoon, my pupil."
"I told you to take me with you."
"I didn’t want to drag you into this..."
In an atmosphere filled with the aftermath of the grand battle, the soft words from Kim Hajoon held a different kind of strength, providing a subtle closure and a gentle admonition to his wearied mentor.
His body was already signaling that it was too late.
"There's no need to ruin yourself like this," Hajoon said.
However, Choi Jungwon, lowering his head, gripped Hajoon's hand.
"It's someone we should have dealt with on our turf."
Strength entered Choi Jungwon's hand.
He beseeched with a slightly hoarse voice, full of urgency.
"Run away. His power vastly exceeds our expectations. Even you could die."
'The boy is the future of Korea.'
'Someone needs to take my place.'
Therefore, Choi Jungwon looked at the boy as if making a final request, pleading earnestly.
But Hajoon just gazed at Choi Jungwon impassively for a moment.
Hajoon spoke, "Principal."
"......"
"Trust me," said Hajoon, firmly, as if to tell him not to worry.
The moment he heard those words, Choi Jungwon's eyes began to widen, as if realizing something.
"Please rest."
Hajoon stood again, gripping his hammer.
He could feel the enemy's presence behind him.
"So it's you... the boy called the Irregular by the world."
Saying so, the enemy, Saan, stood before Hajoon, but Saan's expression was breaking.
Only upon standing before the boy could he somewhat feel it.
The center of the energy he had felt just a moment ago.
It was clear that the energy had been created by this boy.
'Why do I feel such power from that bastard?'
Saan stared at Hajoon with a severely hardened expression.
And Hajoon, glaring at him, quietly murmured while holding Maharazu on his shoulder.
"Stop."
The moment that word reached Saan's ears, he felt an indescribable sense of crisis.
However, he couldn't react.
Because the situation unfolded before that.
Tick- Tock-
The sound of the second hand echoed.
At some point, the space welcomed silence, stillness, a pause.
All time stopped at once.
And from there, a situation that Hajoon hadn’t anticipated began to unfold.
Zap!!
The barrier of the white space, colliding with the energy Hajoon emitted, sparked.
Along with the sparks, eventually, the overpowered barrier cracked, shattered, and collapsed.
Zap! Crash! Crackle-
Ultimately, the space that Saan had created was destroyed due to the energy emitted by the boy.
What followed was a total suspension of all objects.
The wind, the trees, and any entity in the surroundings were motionless.
Only the boy who created this space moved with ease.
"......?"
And Hajoon, with a somewhat perplexed face, looked around.
He wasn’t sure what this meant right now, but decided not to worry about it.
What needed to be done was clear.
Hajoon approached him.
Twack!
Once, twice, three times.
When it surpassed a hundred, and then two hundred times.
Hajoon released the Time Stop.
In that moment.
Whooosh!! Thud!! Bang!!
A massive shockwave that swept through the surrounding trees pierced through the bastard's abdomen, shattering the trees and sending him flying far away.
"Cough!"
Blood spurted from his mouth.
But as if that was not the end, at some moment, Hajoon was standing in front of him.
Twack!! Whooosh!!
The second consecutive strike followed.
"Sage, are you okay?"
When Sage Choi Jungwon came to, the surrounding bright white space had vanished, leaving only a dark night sky in view.
He saw his comrades from the past before him.
With considerable effort, Choi Jungwon managed to sit up and survey his surroundings.
A massive boom sounded, and a scene of devastation unfolded as trees around him were collapsing.
Choi Jungwon spoke urgently to his comrades.
"That boy, Hajoon, has arrived."
"Yes, we know."
"To take it to this extent..."
"He's certainly remarkable."
With those words, they slowly rose from their spots.
They spoke, looking at Choi Jungwon.
"You should rest here for a bit."
"With the young one working so hard, we can't just stand by and watch."
At those words, Choi Jungwon nodded, slowly getting to his feet.
"No."
Supporting himself with his staff, he spoke to them.
"There's one last thing I need to do."
