Childhood Friend of the Zenith

Kwahhh—!!!

A sea of flames swept across the ground.

It was an enormous amount of blue flames.

Kwaddddd—!!

The force contained within the flames was so strong that the ground in their path began to sink.

There was no attempt at control whatsoever.

I poured all the strength I had into it.

I knew.

The opponent was not someone I could simply control the power against.

I unleashed everything with the intent to burn the trees and earth down.

This was something I had done only during the massacre in my past life.

Not caring about what happens to the surroundings.

In this life, I usually avoided doing such things.

But this time, there was no hesitation.

As I said earlier, the opponent was someone I couldn't afford to leave any room for.

Also...

‘Even if I don’t do this...

’I believed that there would be no harm to the surroundings.

And it proved true.

Hwaaa—!

At the end of my flames, petals slowly began to rise.

It was as if they were scooping up the flames with a net to catch fish.

The wide-spread petals were absorbing all the flames.

They looked thin and light, as if they would burn at any moment.

How could they contain so much energy?

As I watched, I couldn't help but laugh.

Giiing—!

The rings entwined around my heart spun faster.

Roughly, violently.

And destructively.

I didn’t care about compression or rotation.

I poured it all out at maximum power.

"Tsk.

"A short click of the tongue came from the front.

"Doing such pointless things.

"Faa—!!!

With those words, the plum blossoms bloomed fully.

In an instant, a gust of wind blew, and the petals shot up into the sky.

The shape of that wind pressure was a perfect vortex.

The entangled leaves in the vortex seemed to drag all of my flames and sucked them up into the sky.

It was immediate.

The flames that had been all around scattered and rose into the sky.

Once all the flames were extinguished, I could clearly see that my body had reached the intended destination.

The flames were nothing but a distraction, a hostage to hold my enemy in place.

My body was already mixed in with the flames, the master of the gust.

I had moved behind Shin Noya.

‘I’ve marked the location.

’Two things were important.

The first was to make sure that Shin Noya, who considered this place important, wouldn’t allow my flames to cause harm.

That was probably the reason he had called me foolish.

And the second was...

‘To draw attention while erasing my presence.

’I hid my presence as much as possible and concealed myself in the flames to take my position.

The priority was to make sure that Noya didn’t notice.

This was the moment I made that happen.

‘Now.

’Guuu—!

The flame I had gathered in my hand took form.

Flame Jade Holy Spear.

The spearhead, formed of intense heat, stood sharp, and I threw it with extreme compression.

If it exploded at this distance, I would certainly take some significant damage, but I knew I had to give it all up.

The spear flew at high speed as soon as it left my hand.

The moment the spear left my grip, Shin Noya reacted.

He casually looked back.

It was already too late.

At least, that’s what I thought.

But...

Shu—!

"...!

"To my surprise, the spear didn’t explode.

Instead of exploding, it simply pierced right through Shin Noya.

It was purely a piercing attack.

What on earth happened?

For a moment, I felt a bit stunned, but my eyes narrowed at the unfolding situation.

The body of Shin Noya, which had been pierced, looked strange.

Inside the hollow chest, something was stirring.

Petals.

Plum blossom petals were gathering inside.

And that wasn’t all.

Paaa—.

From the hole that had been pierced, petals slowly began to scatter.

Noya’s very body was turning into petals, disappearing.

I was stunned for a moment by what I saw.

"Too slow.

"I immediately reacted to the voice that came from behind.

I quickly twisted my waist and gathered strength in my hand.

I tried to swing faster, but...

Thak—!

"Damn!

"My wrist was grabbed.

It was a large, thin hand.

That was all I could see.

By the time I realized it, my view was already turned toward the sky.

The feeling of floating took over.

Shin Noya had caught me and thrown me.

What was the angle?

Which direction was I heading?

Giiing—!

I gathered my energy.

I needed to prepare for landing.

I had to get ready for the next move, but...

"Is this how slow your reactions are, kid?

"Bang—!

"Cough—!

"A punch landed squarely on my face.

My flying body slammed into the ground with the impact.

Krrzzzzz—!

I bounced once on the ground before rising again.

I exhaled a deep breath.

It had been a long time since I felt such physical pain.

Clenching my teeth against the pain, I exploded flames in my hands.

Hwaaarrrrrk—!!!

The flames erupted, and my body slightly lifted.

I barely managed to shift my angle.

At that moment...

Kwahhhh—!!

A punch drove into the place where I had been moments before.

Rock fragments flew toward my face.

I barely avoided them.

Had I been a little late, my skull would have been shattered.

I rose to my feet and immediately looked ahead.

From the broken ground, Shin Noya pulled his fist out and dusted his hands off.

Thud, thud.

As he wiped his hands and looked at me, a chill ran down my spine again.

‘...

When...?

’When did he create that illusion with the petals?

I was sure I had sensed his presence?

I couldn’t understand it.

Moreover...

‘His speed is faster.

’It was almost impossible to read his movements.

The Shin Noya I had seen before was clearly different.

Whether he had allowed me to see him or if this old man in front of me was someone else, I didn’t know.

I never imagined I’d be in this situation without him even drawing a sword.

Staring at Shin Noya, stunned, I couldn’t believe it.

"Hmm.

"Shin Noya tilted his head and spoke to me.

"That wasn’t much of an amusement, was it?

""...

""Is that all you’ve got?

If so, it’s quite a letdown...

"He smirked, and his words were incredibly infuriating.

"Ssshhh...

"I stood up and exhaled deeply.

It was as if my breath had become a catalyst, causing my energy to spin faster within me.

He deliberately pushed it in faster.

Thud—!

My heart violently thumped once, and the power surged into my muscles.

Once again, I created the flame jade on my palm.

A sphere was instantly formed.

I grabbed it all at once.

Crunch—!

The flame jade shattered and exploded outward.

While maintaining the flames that had exploded, I carefully controlled them.

Soon, the shape of the flames stretched long, and longer still.

It resembled a rope in its form.

Crack—!

I grabbed the rope with one hand and applied force with my shoulder.

Flame Rending Strike (炎劙亂打).

Kwahgaaaaaa—!!!

I swung the flame rope madly.

Each time the rope sliced through the air, the heat left a trail.

It shattered trees and struck the ground, leaving flames in its wake.

Being able to change the form and use it like this was possible because I had reached the tenth star.

Thanks to that, I could handle the flames with more finesse.

The energy consumption was considerable, but I was still satisfied with how it felt.

If I got a little more familiar with it, I could use it much more powerfully and diversely.

The problem was...

‘It doesn’t reach.

’No matter how wildly I swung it, it wasn’t going to hit.

Noya was nonchalantly dodging my attacks, without any rules or patterns.

He wasn’t avoiding every attack, though.

He parried some and changed his angles.

The fact that he was parrying like that was ridiculous.

He was just wrapping his hands in powerful energy and deflecting everything.

‘Is he crazy?

’The fact that he could casually deflect it like that.

The fact that he was doing it with an expressionless face was equally ridiculous.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

I had expected the energy consumption to be high, but I hadn’t thought it would be this draining.

I couldn’t keep this up for long.

But even if I could, it would be meaningless if it didn’t work.

I already knew there was a wall.

However, I didn’t expect that wall to be this thick and high.

It was honestly absurd.

‘What the hell.

’How the hell did he reach this level?

‘...

Is he stronger than the Three Celestials?

’The only Three Celestial I’ve fought properly was Paejon, but still...

‘Even so.

’This was the first time I felt like there was no chance of winning.

No matter what I did, I couldn’t win.

That feeling of helplessness surged up within me.

“Hah!

”Rather than retreating, I chose to push forward, putting strength into my legs.

Crunch—!

The moving rope was grabbed by Shin Noya.

Chiiiiiik—!

The sound of burning echoed from the rope.

There was no smell of burning flesh, though.

It was the sound of energy scorching the rope.

I couldn’t believe he just grabbed the rope.

Tight—!

In an instant, the rope became taut with force.

As soon as I felt that, I released my energy.

Kwah—!

Shin Noya pulled the rope with all his strength.

The pressure was immense.

If I hadn’t released the rope, I would have been dragged along with it.

As the energy was released, the rope disappeared from mid-air.

I didn’t try to reclaim it.

In fact, the pressure of being pulled allowed me to use that force to dive in.

I charged forward, grabbing the flame jade in my hand and throwing it.

As soon as I threw it, I detonated it.

Kwah—!!

The flames spread, momentarily obscuring my vision.

It wouldn’t last long.

It would only be a brief moment.

I had to use that moment.

During the brief obscurity, I turned my head.

Kwah—!!

A fist shot out from the midst of the flames.

It was Shin Noya’s fist.

I sensed it through the flames and avoided it.

I quickly dove into the space I had created.

I created more flame jade in my hand.

I gathered the scattered flames and compressed them into my hand.

Giiing—!

I compressed the energy tightly.

Sshiiiing—!!!

I added more rotational speed.

As the flames completely disappeared, Shin Noya’s figure came into view.

I twisted my waist and extended the flame jade forward.

Noya had already thrown his punch.

It would take time for him to pull back.

I had to make use of this opening.

I knew I couldn’t win.

That was obvious.

‘At least, I’ll make him draw his sword.

’I thought that I’d at least force him to draw his sword and then shoved the flame jade into his abdomen.

Ggrrrk—!!

"...

Huh?

"I exhaled in shock at the situation.

The flame jade had entered his abdomen, but it hadn’t gone all the way through.

Sssrrrr—!

Plum petals were blocking the flame jade.

Was I not able to pierce this weak, small plum petal?

I widened my eyes in disbelief.

"Your compression and rotation have improved compared to before.

"Shin Noya spoke to me with a slight smile.

"But, you focused too much on that.

You missed what’s truly important.

It’s meaningless like this, isn’t it?

"Instinctively, I tried to pull back quickly.

Doonshil—.

A single plum petal floated in front of me.

I couldn’t help but fixate on it.

"Your focus is slipping.

Focus, kid.

"Kwah—!

Noya grabbed the flame jade and crushed it.

It was the same form as when Cheonma did it before.

The difference was that Noya didn’t just destroy it, but stopped it from exploding with the plum petals.

Thud—!

"Ugh!

"Then, his knee dug into my abdomen.

My body floated once again.

The shock sent my body flying across the ground.

I rolled twice and grabbed the ground to push myself up.

"Cough...

"I clutched my abdomen and let out a shallow breath.

"Hah...

spit!

"I spat out blood and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

I stumbled as I rose and looked at Shin Noya.

He had thrown me far away, but was now standing still.

He was intentionally staying still.

‘I could have finished it just now.

’I could have followed him and ended it right there.

He just didn’t.

"...

This is damn hard.

"I thought I had grown stronger, but the difference was this great.

Could using demonic energy change things?

‘No.

’Even if I used it, it wouldn’t guarantee a win.

Besides, I didn’t want to use demonic energy against Noya.

"Is it over?

"Shin Noya spoke in a slightly gruff voice.

"Are you really done?

That wasn’t much of an amusement.

""...

""You seemed so confident, yet you didn’t amount to much.

"I knew he was trying to provoke me.

I knew it all too well.

"Quite disappointing.

"Still, I couldn’t help but feel angry.

"Hah...

"I sighed deeply.

What should I do?

How could I land a hit on that old man?

I thought quietly.

There was no answer with regular methods.

Then...

‘...

Maybe I should try something unconventional?

’The decision came quickly.

"...

""You’re done now...?

"Shin Noya stopped mid-sentence, noticing my posture.

I was slowly closing my eyes, fingers interlocked.

"You...

What are you trying to—.

""Ssshhh...

"I ignored whatever Noya was about to say and focused.

Whoosh.

A fire ignited in my heart.

Thud—!

Within it, the pain of Tua Pacheonmu was embedded.

And then...

Sssrrrr—!

The four rings that had been rotating around my heart shot out and began to bind the two senses together.

At that moment...

Kkkiii—!!!

A violent disturbance occurred in my lower abdomen.