Great Labyrinth – Part 2
“Huh? What do you an by that?”
I didn’t do anything special.
We had just flown here casually while training.
But from what he said next, I realized why he was reacting this way.
“Did you stumble upon so great fortune? Your entire presence has changed. Back then, you were clearly just a warrior. But now…”
His sharp eyes scrutinized
from head to toe.
It was as if he could see through my very soul.
The Blood King was also an 8th-level transcendent.
He was probably examining the mana circuits inside my body.
“You don’t look like a warrior anymore. You look like a seasoned fighter. No, more like a battle-hardened veteran. How did this happen?”
I understood what he ant.
The last ti we t, I had Tiger King Sword Technique traits equipped.
Thanks to that, and the Black Tiger Sword at my waist, I had managed to decline his offer to beco his disciple.
But now?
[Giant’s Strength] [Vajra Body] [Undying]
[Mars Swordsmanship] [Thor’s Cultivation Technique] [Close-Combat Mastery]
A full Mars Build.
If anything, it was closer to a traditional warrior setup.
Once my mana was strong enough to sustain Mars Swordsmanship without Thor’s Cultivation Technique, I planned to swap it out for Grand Assault.
I could also add Sword Expert, Shield Expert, or even Weapon Master.
“I had a fortunate encounter.”
“Oh? A fortunate encounter? But to my eyes, it looks like you’ve strayed far from tradition. You’ve gone completely down the demonic path.”
Nonsense.
There were many warriors in Arcane Seoul, but the most common were traditional warriors.
There was a reason they were called traditional.
I couldn’t help but laugh, and the Blood King’s eyebrow twitched.
“You dare laugh?”
Then, slowly, he clenched his fist.
Krrrnnng.
A strange resonating sound.
His fist was howling.
Fiery red Sword Qi surged like boiling blood.
It felt as if the entire area was being subrged in a river of blood.
I quickly called out to my disciples.
“Get as far back as possible! Prepare to defend yourselves!”
We were standing on the deck of my skyship.
I had docked it, reducing its size to that of a destroyer, when the Blood King had shown up.
Shiiing!
I drew the Black Tiger Sword.
The clear ring of the blade steadied my mind.
I had expected this from the start.
All three of the Heavenly Demon’s disciples were the sa.
If they t warriors below Level 5, they tried to recruit them as disciples.
If they t Level 6 or 7 warriors, they boasted and showed off their skills.
And if they t an 8th-level warrior? They challenged them to a duel.
I pointed the Black Tiger Sword at the Blood King.
The grin on his lips deepened.
“Excellent!”
Without hesitation, he swung his fist downward.
A fist imbued with Sword Qi ca crashing from above.
It felt like the sky itself was collapsing.
As if a massive mountain was tumbling down to crush .
The air evaporated, making it hard to breathe.
My knees were about to buckle under the pressure—but I resisted.
Gritting my teeth, I instinctively swung my sword.
Slaaash!
Blazing Sword Qi!
A naturally flowing heavy strike, followed by a chained attack!
I wasn’t using Bright Eyes.
I didn’t even have Sixth Sense equipped.
But Mars Swordsmanship, the Sword of the God of War, told
exactly where and how to strike.
I followed that intuition and stabbed forward.
Dozens, no, hundreds of thrusts unfolded in a single breath.
A barrage of radiant strikes overlapped like a sculpture of light.
This wasn’t just repetitive stabbing.
It was a single cohesive form—
A monstrous entity forged from overlapping Sword Qi.
Kzztzzzt!
There was no way to counter it head-on.
This was an 8th-level transcendent’s strike.
I had defeated an old and weak Level 7 master, and even Massacre Empress, a perfected Level 7, but the gap between an 8th-level transcendent and a 7th-level master was enormous.
Like heaven and earth.
Even with my full-strength counterattack, all I could do was slightly push back the crimson destruction.
Boooom!
The Sword Qi struck just beside .
The once-indestructible deck, the ship’s hull that had withstood even the mory Giants, shattered, sending fragnts flying.
I could feel wooden splinters embedding into my skin as I gasped for breath.
My whole body felt like it was breaking apart, but the Blood King seed even more excited.
“Excellent!”
He clapped his hands, then brought his index and middle fingers together, extending them forward.
Was he serious?
“Take this as well!”
A crimson beam shot out.
A precise, lightning-fast attack.
The mont I registered it, it was already aiming straight for my forehead.
Was he insane?!
I couldn’t block this with my current traits.
I needed traits ant for warriors—specifically for combat!
[Giant’s Strength] [Mana Soul] [Sword Qi]
[Mars Swordsmanship] [Thor’s Cultivation Technique] [Sword Expert]
I instantly swapped out three traits.
Then, I swung my sword.
The Black Tiger Sword spun in a perfect arc.
A razor-sharp Sword Qi slashed at the crimson beam.
Just before it could pierce my forehead—
I barely managed to redirect its trajectory.
“Ahhh!”
“Mother of—!”
Unfortunately, the attack was now heading straight for my disciples.
They scread.
Thankfully, no one was hurt.
I retrieved my sword and caught my breath.
The Blood King was staring at
as if he had just seen a ghost.
“You… You’re…”
I had done that on purpose.
Because the Pontiff of the Thor Cult had once described the Heavenly Demon as a Transcendent God.
“Heh… Hahaha. So that’s it. That’s what’s going on.”
The Blood King let out a hollow laugh.
Then, suddenly, his expression turned predatory.
Striding forward, he grabbed my hand and shouted.
“You’re a Heavenly Demon’s Body!”
The hell was that?
“What do you an by Heavenly Demon’s Body?”
“What do I an?! It’s the ultimate physique! A body that can master any martial art, wield any supernatural power—a body as vast as an ocean!”
“Isn’t that Heavenly Martial Body?”
“Completely different. Heavenly Martial Body is limited to martial arts. It lets you learn martial arts ten tis faster than normal, but it can’t absorb supernatural abilities.”
The Blood King looked at
with greedy eyes.
The eyes of a predator eyeing its prey.
Instinctively, I tried to shake off his grip, but I couldn’t.
His steel-like hand was clamped tightly around mine.
“This isn’t the ti for this! We must go to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains at once! We need to et Master!”
“The Heavenly Demon?”
“Yes! Now I see it—you’re not soone I can take under my wing. You were ant to be my junior disciple! Hah! A Heavenly Demon’s Body! After the First Heavenly Demon and my master, you’d be the third! We must go imdiately, so you can pay your respects and officially beco my junior! My master will accept you as a disciple the mont he lays eyes on you!”
It was an enticing offer.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
An attack technique, a defense technique, a movent technique, and a mana cultivation thod all in one.
A truly unparalleled and supre trait.
Everyone who had been listening was completely stunned.
They blinked at
in disbelief.
Baek Sorin gave
an urgent nod, and my other disciples, while shocked, were looking at
with eyes practically begging
to accept.
But I slowly shook my head.
“I’m deeply honored, and I sincerely appreciate it. But if I go to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, will I actually be able to et the Heavenly Demon?”
“Hm? What do you an by that?”
“You ntioned before that the Heavenly Demon may have ascended to immortality.”
“Well, that’s…”
Checkmate.
In the ga, once you completed the personal quests of the three disciples of the Heavenly Demon, an event would trigger where you traveled to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
A complete trap.
The three disciples would spend an entire in-ga year waiting to et their master, only to return to the squad empty-handed.
They never got to et the Heavenly Demon and wasted their ti in vain.
It would be the sa here.
In the ga, you could fast-forward ti, but in this world, that wasn’t possible.
If I wasted a year waiting, Episode 2 would pass, and the mont I returned, Episode 3 would begin.
That would be the end of .
“I have my own responsibilities and people I need to take care of.”
“Hah, so you’re refusing?”
“Of course not. If the Heavenly Demon himself calls for , I’ll drop everything and go. But I can’t go to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains just to wait indefinitely, can I? You yourself said it’s been a long ti since you last saw him.”
“Hrmm.”
The Blood King didn’t seem pleased.
He made a noise like he was clearing his throat, but it was more like a growl.
But what could he do?
The one who’s desperate has to make the move.
For , Heavenly Demon Divine Art had alternative replacents in the Big Three Sword Arts.
But for the Blood King, unless he himself beca the Heavenly Demon, I was his only option.
If he wanted to reach greater heights, if he wanted even a taste of Heavenly Demon Divine Art, he had no choice but to introduce
as the youngest disciple.
Eventually, the Blood King nodded.
“Fine. But rember this. If you ever disrespect my master, I will never let you live.”
“If I even get to see the Heavenly Demon’s shadow, it would be the honor of three lifetis. If he calls for , I will drop everything and go. That, I swear.”
“As you should.”
Hearing my firm response, the Blood King, while still dissatisfied, accepted it.
“Now then, what was this request of yours?”
It seed he had finally rembered the original reason for coming.
Impatient as always.
If this were under normal circumstances, we would have t in his office.
But he had gone out of his way to track
down on my skyship.
“I want to use the Dinsional Railroad.”
“The Dinsional Railroad? Hm, for you, I suppose that’s fine.”
The Dinsional Railroad.
A passage that connected the depths of the Great Labyrinth to the labyrinth city of Aachen.
The Great Labyrinth was essentially a massive restricted zone—an alternate dinsion.
The inside and outside were completely cut off from each other.
Even radio waves didn’t work, so if you wanted to communicate with the Fortress of Beginnings on the 10th floor or any of the lower fortresses or forward bases, you had to wait for couriers to deliver ssages.
But necessity breeds invention.
The Protector Alliance had a special passage they only used in ergencies.
That was the Dinsional Railroad.
A makeshift path, patched together from alternate dinsions and subspaces, allowing for rapid travel to locations like the Fortress of Beginnings on the 10th floor, the Guardian Citadel on the 20th, or even the Cannon Fortress on the 50th.
It was just incredibly dangerous.
“Use it as you wish. Any official Protector has the right to use the Dinsional Railroad. But you do know what lurks inside, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Then handle it yourself. If you get devoured by dinsion beasts, that just ans I misjudged you. Rember—your fate lies in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I neatly folded my skyship and stored it in my pocket.
As we made our way toward the Dinsional Railroad, my disciples all looked like they had a million things they wanted to say.
Baek Sorin, in particular, could never hold back in situations like this.
Once we were far enough from the Blood King, she imdiately leaned in.
“Teacher! What was that about? Heavenly Demon’s Body? Are you a Heavenly Demon?”
How the hell did she jump to that conclusion?
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I guess my body type is similar to the Heavenly Demon’s. Even the Thor Cult ntioned it.”
“Huh? The Thor Cult?”
“Yeah. Their Pontiff apparently saw the Heavenly Demon once. He said I was the sa.”
Divine Annihilation Star. Omnipotent One. Heavenly Demon’s Body.
Different places and groups seed to have different nas for it.
Though, there was sothing bothering .
‘The Thor Cult described it as a soul phenonon. Why is it a body here?’
Was it because this was a warrior-based organization?
No, that didn’t make sense.
The Heavenly Demon Cult was primarily made up of warriors, but it was still fundantally a religious sect.
“It makes sense now why you’ve been getting stronger so fast.”
“Are you going to beco the Heavenly Demon one day, Teacher?”
“If you do, you can’t forget about us!”
“Stop getting ahead of yourselves.”
“But Teacher, shouldn’t you at least visit the Ten Thousand Great Mountains?”
“No. If I don’t intend to beco a real disciple, there’s no reason to go there. The Blood King may want to take
in as his junior disciple, but Divine Lord and Demon Marquis won’t.”
Especially Divine Lord.
If I were officially recognized as possessing the Heavenly Demon’s Body and inherited the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, it would only be a matter of ti before I was nad the next Young Cult Master.
That would make Divine Lord nothing more than a dog chasing chickens.
Of course, he’d try to eliminate .
Erase
from existence.
‘I need to be careful.’
Today’s events would soon reach Divine Lord’s ears.
I had to get stronger before he moved to suppress .
Would it have been better to keep this quiet?
No.
By making an enemy of Divine Lord, I had also gained the potential to beco the Heavenly Demon’s disciple.
That ant my reputation and status were growing.
Right now, I needed to expand my influence as much as possible.
I already had an enemy in the Old Father’s Cult, so Divine Lord was an acceptable risk.
As we talked, we arrived at the Dinsional Railroad.
It was a three-dinsional railway.
Ordinary railroads lay flat on the ground in a straight line, but the Dinsional Railroad had tracks laid at the vertices of a square.
The train itself spun as it moved, operating in a capsule-like form.
No, calling it a capsule wasn’t quite right.
It was more like an amusent park ride.
There were only safety belts—no roof, no enclosure.
Completely exposed.
The station master gave us a warning.
“Be careful. It takes three hours to reach the Cannon Fortress on the 50th floor. During that ti, you must fend off dinsional creatures.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
“Well, considering you might beco the Cult Leader’s disciple… I suppose you’ll be fine. We’re departing now.”
Clunk.
The dinsional train started moving.
Soon, we passed through a blue dinsional gate and entered the Dinsional Corridor.
“Oh my!”
“Wow!”
It was a truly bizarre world.
Giant gears spun in every direction.
Scenes of the Industrial Age flickered past, followed by visions of feudal lords waging war.
Strange monsters, supre dragons, gods and demons, beautiful fairies, and nightmarish hellscapes drifted by like bubbles.
This was why it was called the Dinsional Corridor and the Dinsional Railroad.
A thin, unstable seam that stitched together different worlds and eras at random.
“Stay alert. They’ll show up soon.”
“Yes!”
Everyone drew their swords.
Almost simultaneously, a bubble of light shot toward us from the front.
Zzzuuuaang!
A beam of energy.
I expanded Aegis to its maximum, deflecting it.
Claaang!
A soft vibration spread through my body.
That was a powerful strike.
I could block it, but even soone as strong as Baek Sorin would struggle against it.
“Ugh!”
As expected, I heard a suppressed groan from behind .
I had no choice.
I slashed through my safety belt with the Black Tiger Sword and leaped out.
“Teacher!”
“I’m fine!”
I had Bright Eyes, Sixth Sense, and Grand Assault.
In an ergency, I could even use my skills for triple jumps.
I practically flew across the train, ignoring the mind-bending scenery while parrying one attack after another.
[Keekkk!]
[Guaaagh!]
The dinsional creatures shrieked.
Their bodies were like larvae, with root-like tendrils and bat wings.
They opened their mouths and fired energy beams.
The attacks struck the mind, body, and mana circuits simultaneously, but it didn’t matter.
With Vajra Body and Star Spawn, the damage was halved, and Undying restored the rest.
I didn’t use my sword.
I deliberately relied only on my shield.
Instead of simply deflecting or redirecting attacks, I blocked them head-on.
I could have used my sword to parry or absorb the impact, but that would have been a waste.
I knew exactly what trait I could easily obtain in this section.
“They’re increasing in number!”
“They’re chasing us!”
More and more dinsional creatures sward in.
I waited for the right mont.
Then, the signal ca.
Wuuuuung.
Aegis vibrated, letting out a clear chi.
I imdiately raised Aegis and aid at one of the creatures.
As an energy beam struck the shield, I infused it with mana.
Instead of absorbing it—
I reflected it.
Zzzzuuunng!
The energy beam rebounded, shooting back at the dinsional creature.
A rainbow-colored fla erupted, and the creature disintegrated into dust.
[Kiieeekk!]
Acquired the trait: [Magic Reflection]
Now, only one thing remained before I could get Shield Expert—Shockwave.
“Whoa!”
“That was aweso!”
“Teacher! How many should I take down?”
“Huh? Absolutely not! If you leave the train, you’ll fall into the dinsional rift. Do NOT step outside!”
Kali nearly blurted out sothing dangerous.
No matter how broken Shadow Step was, that wasn’t happening.
I continued moving between the train cars, wielding Aegis.
One Magic Reflection, one dead dinsional creature.
In the ga, this had practically been a mini-ga.
A warrior with Magic Reflection could clear it effortlessly, while mages and priests had an incredibly difficult ti.
Either way, we had no trouble.
Three hours later, we arrived at the Cannon Fortress.
After a night of rest, we departed.
About an hour into our descent into the Great Labyrinth, we found it.
A giant, 10 ters tall.
A fallen angel with shriveled wings and a grotesque face.
The one who possessed the Nephilim’s Sword.
A Level 7 Raid Boss.
Anak.
–TL Notes–
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