***
***
Longinus’s God Slaughter.
To the eye, it was an all too simple stabbing.
The vigor that had gathered at the tip of the spear was now being absorbed into the spear itself.
The blood spear, glistening with a bloody sheen, was slowly extending towards the Iron Blood Cross.
Its movement, considering the enhanced physical abilities of Longinus just moments ago, was laughably slow, to the point where one might wonder if it was some kind of a joke.
‘Is this really the God Slaughter?’ one might doubt, but just when such thoughts arose.
“Kuk…!”
The physical form of Avatar Vladimir, extending the spear, was melting rapidly from the tips of his feet.
“… Is this your limit…?”
With that being his last word.
Longinus, turning instantaneously into blood, was absorbed by the blood spear.
[All players of the opposing team have fallen in battle.]
[The game will end soon…]
Subsequently, a message popped up indicating the opposing team had all perished, ending the game.
‘What? Over already?’
No way, is this a joke?
Seong Jihan was left dumbfounded.
He had anticipated witnessing Longinus’s version of the God Slaughter,
Only for it to be thwarted right in front of his eyes.
‘Nevertheless, the spear is still coming.’
Even with the disappearance of Longinus’s main body.
The blood spear was leisurely flying in his direction.
At a glance, it seemed far from what you’d call a spear capable of killing a god.
‘I’ll have to confront it, nonetheless.’
Before the game concluded, Seong Jihan decided to step forward himself.
However,
‘My body…’
When he tried to take a step, his body had hardened, completely out of control.
And it wasn’t just Seong Jihan who had stopped,
‘…Even the system has halted.’
‘The game will end soon. You will be logged out,’ should have appeared, but,
The system messages… no further progress was made.
In a world that had come to a halt,
Only Longinus’s spear leisurely floated in the air.
‘Time stop… Does this have to do with his God Slaughter?’
Seong Jihan pondered, trying desperately to find a way out of the current situation by contemplating inwardly.
There were many kinds of powers, including those with martial soul and void,
‘It barely moves at all…’
It was as if he had lost control.
Seong Jihan’s body was not responding.
At best, the only thing trying to move was the energy of Martial Soul and void.
Even though he tried his best to regulate just that,
The slowly approaching blood spear was already drawing near.
And then,
Thud!
As the tip of the spear dug into the cross,
Ffft, ffft, fsshh…
A bloody mist rose from the point of impact.
And above it, faint purple letters appeared.
Not Korean, not English, they were entirely new characters.
‘…Why…can I read it?’
For some reason, Seong Jihan could read them without difficulty.
[Target conditions, partially met.]
[Extinction code activated.]
And as those letters disappeared into thin air.
Whoosh!
A huge hole was blasted through the center of the Iron Blood Cross,
As the blood spear burrowed into the gap.
Thud!
And like that, the tip of the spear pierced Seong Jihan’s body.
Shwooosh…
The power flowing from the blood spear instantly erased his physique.
As this unfolded, one energy in particular seemed to resist dissolution, the energy of Martial Soul.
Pierced by the spear, Seong Jihan instinctively felt,
‘This power… completely opposes Martial Soul. On the other hand, the void… it’s trying to use it for itself.’
The God Slaughter spear, erasing the energy of the martial soul but moving the void to its own will.
Initially, Seong Jihan had retained control over the void but,
‘No, I need to see how this works out.’
To see how the blood spear intended to utilize the void, he decided to follow its movement.
As the void merged, the blood spear inside him showed a peculiar flow.
‘Huh…’
Even as his upper body was blasted more than half open,
Seong Jihan was preoccupied with analysing the movements of the blood spear.
The blood spear was nibbling away at Martial Soul in a completely new way,
Yet its movement held a consistent pattern.
‘Is this related to the extinction code…?’
The term ‘Extinction Code’, which he could inexplicably read.
Intuitively, Seong Jihan realized that this peculiar flow suppressing Martial Soul in combination with the void was linked to the Extinction Code.
‘Good.’
Even as his body was being erased,
Seong Jihan was engrossed in analyzing the spear of God Slaughter.
[You will be logged out.]
When the time stop of the blood spear ended,
He could feel the flow of time returning.
‘What a shame.’
If only he had more time to analyse.
Even with his torso gone, leaving only his head and limbs,
Seong Jihan lamented that he did not completely understand the ‘Extinction Code’.
‘However… I did uncover something.’
Even with a gaping hole in the middle of his body,
Seong Jihan’s eyes were clearer than ever before.
The spear of God Slaughter.
It was worth experiencing
* * *
Meanwhile, on South Korea’s Channel 0.
=Ah, both players. What are they talking about… Unfortunately, we can’t hear them from the broadcast.
=Ah, player Vladimir has created a spear with his hand! The blood is gathering at one point… looks like he’s preparing for a major move!
=Player Seong Jihan! Are you just going to stand by and watch?
As the conversation between Seong Jihan and Longinus was muted,
Their clash was being broadcasted.
-Today’s broadcast has been full of incidents;
-Vladimir is just standing there, gathering blood on the spear, it clearly looks like he’s about to use a killer move, why is Seong Jihan waiting??
-It’s a tradition to wait in situations like this lol
-No, he was completely pushed back just now. Now is the chance to counterattack. What will he do if he misses out on a win?
People who couldn’t hear the conversation couldn’t understand why Seong Jihan was standing by.
However, such concerns vanished as soon as Vladimir’s body was absorbed by the blood spear.
-Huh??
-What’s going on. Vladimir… Why is he being absorbed by his spear?
-lol!! Failed ultimate skill?
-Look at that. Do you think Jihan had a premonition? He was waiting because he knew it.
-For real lol!! Why are there so many doubters? Seong Jihan has it all figured out, let’s just follow him lol!! I think Seong Jihan was just standing to experience Vladimir’s death.
To those unaware of the circumstances, it looked as if his premonition had been activated again.
=The game will now end.
=Korea… wins 3:1 against Russia!
=The final confrontation ended somewhat anticlimactically…
=But, what does it matter! Victory is what’s important!
As the broadcast concluded,
The scene where Seong Jihan was pierced by the blood spear amidst the halted world was not captured.
Could that be why?
“Wow, did you wait until the end knowing Mr. Jihan? Did you expect Vladimir to get absorbed into his weapon?”
“Your premonition is really amazing… Have you dreamed of anything good again?”
The players approached Seong Jihan, speaking only of the premonition.
No one mentioned the scene that unfolded after the game ended.
“Premonitions aren’t something you can just have as you wish. You have to see more for what’s to come.”
Seong Jihan responded lightly to the players,
“Coach. I’ll be heading home right away.”
He informed Coach Noh Youngjun that he was leaving.
“Right now? Even though there’s still the MVP interview…”
“Please handle that in my stead. After dealing against Vladimir, it made me think of something I need to train on.”
“About… training?”
“Yes.”
Noh Youngjun looked at Seong Jihan with a face full of dismay.
‘What kind of training demon is he?’
It was already the talk of the town that he’s always cooped up at home for training.
But should there not be a moment to at least make a victory speech?
“Is it because you don’t like the interview announcer, maybe?”
“No? I don’t even know who it is. I’ll be going now. See you later!”
“Why? Let’s go together.”
“I’m faster on foot.”
Whoosh!
With that, Seong Jihan vanished, using his Flashing Sky Thunder Steps technique.
Noh Youngjun watched him disappear, dumbfounded.
“…Sejin. Can you do the interview instead?”
“I guess if it’s for my brother-in-law.”
Yoon Sejin nodded.
For anyone else, he might have hesitated, but if it was for his brother-in-law’s sake, He would willingly stand in.
“Thank you. But, what training is so urgent?”
From the coach’s perspective, it was a relief to have a player who strives to become stronger so autonomously.
But one also had to take breaks.
Noh Youngjun coach shook his head, preparing for the interview with Yoon Sejin.
* * *
On the star of martial gods, Tusung.
“…He endured it.”
In the broadcast, Longinus, who had witnessed the last scene that was not captured, let out a disappointed smile.
Although Seong Jihan’s body had completely vanished except for his neck and limbs,
Which would have been almost certain death if it had been in reality,
[His whole body didn’t disappear in an instant.]
“….That’s right. Master. He resisted the power of the God Slaughter.”
Typically, if one were directly struck by the God Slaughter spear, their entire body would vanish immediately.
Yet Seong Jihan persevered until the time stop was lifted and time flowed anew.
Maintaining his physical form for an extended period.
[Not bad at all.]
Rarely does sentiment come across in the voice of the Martial God, but a sense of satisfaction was detected.
[However, merely enduring is insufficient. He will need to show evolved strength.]
“…”
[Longinus, next time, I will permit you to use the spear against him. Bring out his limits.]
“Thank you, Master.”
The Wandering Martial God who typically did not allow the use of spears, Was permitting it freely against Seong Jihan.
Longinus bowed to the Martial God and then withdrew.
“Are you… alright?”
Beside him, walking with a vacant expression, Dongbang Sak made his way over. He approached Longinus, stroking his beard.
“Dongbang Sak, did you see it?”
“Yes. I too must test him through my avatar. I watched the game for reference.”
“Phew…”
Longinus let out a deep sigh.
“My spear being blocked by a mere human… Originally, I didn’t find the taste of victory appealing, but today, it’s even worse.”
“You destroyed his torso, didn’t you? If any more time had passed, the rest would have crumbled as well.”
“Dongbang Sak… Why are you doing this, knowing full well? He is human. When the spear touches him, his body should disappear instantly. Yet he endured it…”
“A human…”
At the lamentation of Longinus, Dongbang sak uttered in a significant tone.
“Do you really think so? Do you consider him a human?”
“What do you mean?”
Swoosh!
Dongbang Sak took out a bottle from his waistband.
“Let’s go inside to talk.”
He opened the bottle’s cork and,
Whoosh!
Dongbang Sak and Longinus were both sucked into it.
“Who on Tusung would hear us that we had to come in here…”
Longinus complained, but Dongbang Sak replied quietly,
“Isn’t the Martial God listening?”
“…So he can’t hear us here?”
“Just for a moment.”
This bottle is immune to the gaze and ears of the Martial God?
Longinus looked around curiously, and then asked Dongbang Sak,
“Why should we avoid talking about whether Seong Jihan is human or not in front of the Master?”
“Well… It’s just my one-sided guess.”
Dongbang Sak glanced around and then whispered softly,
“From what I see, that boy, Seong Jihan… might be a ‘kin’ to the Martial God.”
***
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