TL/Editor: looloo
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri (changing schedule from Wed-Sun)
Illustrations: Here
The next day.
Hajoon was in a conference room at the association, watching a video on a screen.
It was footage of the attack by a swarm of sea creatures that had occurred the previous night in the East Sea near Ulsan.
"You are not of my level! Call forth the king of this place by sunset tomorrow! Otherwise, I will annihilate all humans in this vicinity!"
The video ended with static noise.
It showed a humanoid sea creature, which had massacred the heroes and association agents guarding the beach, delivering this message before returning to the depths of the sea.
Kim Jeongyong, watching this, sighed deeply with a sunken face and continued.
"It's truly shameful... a sea creature that can articulate human language to this extent..."
It was an unprecedented situation.
Many heroes and association agents had been sacrificed in confronting the creature.
The monster that suddenly appeared on the Ulsan coast was clearly of the kind that could exist in a mythic-grade dungeon. The chairman of the association grimaced at the tragic outcome, washing his face with his dry hands.
"The creature was skilled in controlling mana. Before it made its move, we couldn't detect even the slightest bit of mana. Here's the data that quantified it. The mana of this single creature matched what could be detected in a mythic-grade dungeon. We were helpless, I'm sorry."
With those words, the chairman, wearing a sorrowful expression, bowed his head.
Honestly, there was no reason for him to apologize to Hajoon.
It wasn't his fault, nor was there any reason for Hajoon to receive an apology.
This was something beyond what the chairman could handle.
In fact, it was something Hajoon should have resolved himself.
"It's not your fault, Chairman."
With that, Hajoon stretched his stiff neck, loosening up his body.
A faint anger was simmering in Hajoon's expression.
The King of Merfolk, Orgon.
She was definitely one of the traitorous five kings, as mentioned by Philaten.
Such a creature had dared to massacre in search of Hajoon.
Although they were people Hajoon had never met, it was clear that the damage was caused because of him.
"Please open the gate."
At Hajoon's request, an agent standing beside Kim Jeongyong opened the gate to that location.
Kim Jeongyong looked at Hajoon for a moment before bowing his head deeply, as if apologizing.
"I'm sorry. Please take care of this."
Hajoon nodded at his words and continued.
Upon hearing his next words, the chairman's eyes widened.
"Tell any heroes you've deployed to retreat."
"What? You mean...?"
"Don't worry."
With that, Hajoon, gripping his hammer tightly, twisted his lips roughly and added,
"It will be over soon."
In the deep sea near the East Sea of Ulsan.
The King of Merfolk, Orgon, was quietly lying beneath the surface, her eyes closed, waiting for the arrival of the old king.
Just a few days ago, a massive wave of mana was felt.
The aura of that mana was familiar, yet it carried a wavelength of power that instilled fear in her.
The King of Destruction, Horton.
She sensed the aura of a king who should have perished.
'Horton's aura was definitely felt on this land. Could he be alive?'
Such a thought crossed her mind, but it seemed impossible.
The five kings had witnessed his death firsthand.
There was only one plausible explanation.
A new king, inheriting Horton's aura, had been born.
That's why Orgon thought and decided.
She would kill the newly born king and seal that power.
The mana of the past King Horton was dangerous.
If a reckless individual tampered with a power that could shake the very foundation of the world, it could lead to a catastrophe beyond what the kings could handle.
That's when it happened.
"......"
Orgon's gaze quietly shifted to the surface of the sea.
More precisely, she sensed what was happening on the beach.
Several powerful humans were guarding the shoreline, but their energy began to fade unusually.
And the moment all humans disappeared.
[Show yourself.]
Whoosh!!
“?!”
A massive wave of mana swept past Orgon and the surrounding sea creatures.
It conveyed a certain will to Orgon.
The intent within the mana was clear.
'Show yourself before me, now.'
The oppressive meaning in this command was unimaginably immense and ferocious.
That was how Orgon knew.
The being emitting this mana wave was enraged.
'It's him!'
Orgon promptly led his sea creature subordinates towards land.
It was Orgon who appeared at the site where humans had been slaughtered the day before.
However, the surroundings were eerily quiet.
Only one person.
A human sitting calmly on the sandy beach, staring at him, was the exception.
"Have you come?"
Undoubtedly, he was alone.
Yet, he exuded a massive presence that overwhelmed their numbers.
For a moment, Orgon's body shivered.
The human sitting alone on the beach, quietly staring at Orgon.
The hammer in the human's hand was all too familiar to her.
'Maharazu...'
The weapon of the king.
The hammer of the Destroyer, Maharazu.
It was held in the hand of a human.
'Then, could it be that this human...?'
Her gaze shifted to the boy holding Maharazu.
It was unbelievable and astonishing that a 'human' of all beings had inherited the power of a king.
An utterly perplexing situation, as it was not a power mere humans could handle...
However, contrary to her dismay, the corners of her mouth slowly rose.
If a human had inherited the king's power, it wasn't a bad situation for her.
After all, it was unlikely that a mere human could fully handle such immense power.
The moment arrived.
The human in front of Orgon slowly rose, clutching Maharazu.
And in just an instant.
Orgon lost track of the human's movement.
Splash - Thud-
“?!”
What transpired in that moment left Orgon in shock.
After the human stood up and then sat back down in the same spot, all 100 of Orgon's underlings, who had emerged on the beach, simultaneously had their necks severed and sank into the sea.
“What in the world?!”
Her pupils began to quiver as if an earthquake had hit.
The power displayed by the human in a split second was not the power of a king.
It was merely the inherent strength of the human.
Without even using the power of destruction, the human had decapitated the necks of 100 underlings in a moment so fleeting that even Orgon couldn't react.
Golden mana began to flow from Hajoon's body.
That mana slowly crept toward Orgon and began to constrict around her neck.
Hajoon glared at Orgon and spoke.
[Speak.]
“……”
There was a royal authority in his voice.
That's when Orgon realized.
The being in front of her was no mere human.
[I have come as you wished.]
His power was a testament to the existence of the 'new king.'
[If you do not answer, I will simply kill you.]
With a flicker - Orgon's beastly eyes widened.
At that moment, an indescribable, immense mana flowed from her body, shielding her.
She slowly emerged onto the shore, setting foot on the sandy beach.
She began to walk slowly towards Hajoon.
"You've inherited Horton's power. It's clear now."
An unbelievably immense mana formed from her.
Her massive mana engulfed and neutralized the mana emitted by Hajoon.
To Hajoon, her mana felt truly immense.
It was like the power of a vast sea.
The scale of her mana was so immense and deep that even Hajoon couldn't fully perceive it.
"But, I too am a king."
The sea around them began to ripple slowly.
In an instant, it rose into a massive tidal wave that stopped in its ascent.
Just before the tidal wave crashed over Hajoon, Orgon looked down at him and spoke.
"This vast sea is the proof of my existence. O human who has inherited the power of a king."
Her expression twisted violently.
She bared her teeth savagely, looking at Hajoon with anger.
"Rise! I will show you a power incomparable to a mere king who has inherited strength!"
With those words, Orgon stretched her hand towards the sky.
From her grasp, the sea water gathered to form a gigantic trident.
The amount of mana was incomparably greater than Hajoon's.
Indeed, her mana was vast beyond comparison to his.
Yet, Hajoon's expression didn't waver while gazing at her.
It was for a simple reason.
Her vast mana didn't feel threatening to him at all.
Hajoon rose slowly from his seat, his expression calm.
"You!"
In that moment, Orgon unleashed a burst of mana, thrusting her trident towards Hajoon.
Simultaneously, the huge tidal wave that had been looming behind Orgon began to surge towards Hajoon. However, in such a situation,
Thwack!! Whoosh――――!!!
Hajoon simply swung Maharazu lightly from side to side.
“Argh!!”
Orgon's form was flung across the sand, helplessly tumbling away.
As she flew away from where Hajoon stood, showing no signs of slowing down,
“?!”
Suddenly, Hajoon, who had appeared in the direction of her flight, was seen raising his hammer high.
Thwack!! Boom!!
As he brought the hammer down from above, striking her mid-flight,
The surrounding sand scattered in all directions due to the impact.
Hajoon, gripping Orgon's neck as she was pinned in the sand, hurled her upwards.
Whoosh!!
At that moment, explosive mana erupted from Hajoon.
The rising mana began to converge into Maharazu, held firmly in his grasp.
As Orgon soared upwards, Hajoon timed his strike with her descent, swinging the hammer once more.
Thwack!!!
Whoosh!!!
“Arghhh!!!”
Spewing alien blue blood from her mouth, Orgon was sent flying back towards the distant shoreline.
But Hajoon's eyes narrowed in dissatisfaction.
His hammer strike, intended to finish her in one blow, had not pierced her body.
Apparently, her body boasted a durability tougher than he had anticipated.
‘I've never tried this before...’
Narrowing his brows, Hajoon activated Time Stop.
He stepped onto the water's surface.
As he stepped onto the water, the corners of Hajoon's mouth slightly lifted at the result.
Splash! Splash! Swish- Splash!
Orgon's form skipped several times across the sea before coming to a stop.
Coughing up cerulean blood, she dived into the depths of the sea.
She couldn't face him right now.
She had to escape.
Her current thought was to flee from him and alert all the kings.
‘Alone, it’s impossible.’
She had to acknowledge her misjudgment.
The man possessed a might like the past Horton.
Facing him alone was naturally going to be an overwhelming challenge.
His power was vast enough to threaten the kings.
“Argh!”
Orgon winced from the pain in her abdomen.
A faint golden mana flickered, disintegrating parts of her body.
Orgon immediately raised her mana to protect herself.
The clinging golden mana gradually peeled off her body and rose to the surface.
That was when.
“?!”
Orgon's eyes widened in shock.
She was certain she had been in the depths of the sea, but suddenly she found herself back at the site where the standoff had taken place.
"You're more durable than I expected."
"What, what is this?!"
At that moment, Orgon's body jolted at the sound of a voice coming from behind her.
As she turned her head to look at the boy holding the hammer,
Thwack!! Boom!!
Her form, struck by a blunt force, crashed into the sandy beach.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to keep hitting you until you die."
