Chapter 29: A Giant Slayer

Not long after, all the members of the extermination squad who were still alive lost their lives.

An overwhelming gap.

Taehoo felt, without any filter, the power he had drawn forth from within the Sanctuary.

‘Hmph, so that’s it for the pursuit team. There’s nothing I can do about the one who went for reinforcements. It’s too late to chase him now.’

Catching up wouldn’t be difficult, but if he did, he might lose track of Kurom.

The one who escaped hadn’t seen the Fallen Flower Sword, so there wasn’t much need to chase him down.

‘Kurom comes first.’

Taehoo made his decision, and at that moment, Juhyeok finally caught up to him.

He rubbed his eyes in disbelief at the scene before him, unable to comprehend it.

“Did you… do all this?”

“Stop talking nonsense. Just handle the cleanup for me.”

Leaving those words behind, Taehoo turned away without hesitation.

He had no more time to waste, and Juhyeok wouldn’t be much help in a head-on battle like this, rather than in an assassination.

It hadn’t been long since he awakened his powers, so putting him into actual combat was still a bit much.

That’s why he left the cleanup to him.

All there was to clean up, after all, was the corpses.

So Taehoo set off in pursuit of Kurom once more, and before long.

“Huff… huff…”

He found Kurom hiding behind a rotting tree stump, gasping for breath.

“So, you were here.”

Thanks to Ba’al, Taehoo could pinpoint Kurom’s exact location.

Even the enhanced version that had crawled out of the sewers.

The abandoned land was already covered in mutated trees, transformed beyond recognition.

It was a good place to avoid people, but on the other hand, it was also the perfect spot to deal with someone.

“There’s no time. There’s a lot you have to tell me.”

He’d set traps for his escape, dragged civilians into it without a second thought, and used countless people.

Taehoo had absolutely no reason to hesitate when it came to interrogating him.

‘First, an arm.’

Having used Intimidation before, he knew there was nothing as effective as a weakened spirit.

Losing an arm wouldn’t be fatal. He swung his dagger.

Kaang!

Kurom barely managed to block Taehoo’s merciless strike.

It was proof enough of his level—around level 10, fitting for someone who managed the Stray Dogs of Dantalion.

‘Even if the level is similar, it means nothing.’

Taehoo’s stats already far surpassed those of anyone at the same level.

Just as Taehoo was about to swing his sword again.

Shweeeek!

With a terrible piercing force—

Kaaang!

A bloody spear flew in, making Taehoo’s arm tingle.

‘Reinforcements already?’

Taehoo was inwardly shocked.

“Huk!”

Kurom gulped a breath of cold air.

A giant man, wielding a massive blood-red saber, stood before the two.

‘The power from that single strike—about level 15. His stats must be impressive.’

A crisis atop another crisis. Reinforcements, at the worst possible timing.

Could they have predicted this situation?

“If you block him for me, I’ll tell you everything I know!”

Kurom screamed at Taehoo, almost begging.

“Heh, begging for your life from a brat like this?”

The man with the saber scoffed, as if it was pathetic.

“It’s a given that you’re going to talk. Don’t even think about changing your tune.”

Taehoo focused his mind. Soon, a sword formed in his hand.

Fallen Flower Sword.

Once more, he resolved to defeat his enemy here and now.

The man’s face hardened.

‘Fallen Flower Sword? That’s the symbol of the Sword God Family.’

He hadn’t heard anything about this from the one who requested reinforcements.

‘I’ll have to teach him a lesson when I get back.’

The man made a decision.

No matter how gifted the Sword God Family was in Korea, this kid was still just a child.

“You really met the wrong opponent, brat.”

Taehoo ignored the third-rate bravado and took his stance.

‘Capturing him alive is impossible. I have to go all out. He might know more about the Belial House, but it’s nearly impossible to take him alive.’

Taehoo made his decision swiftly.

[Black and White Aura is activating!]

Taehoo infused the Fallen Flower Sword with his prideful Aura. On top of that, the effect of the Shadow Blade was added.

The man’s saber began to glow an even deeper crimson in response.

The veins on the back of his hand, gripping the saber, bulged as if about to burst.

He was absorbing blood into the weapon.

So, he also had a way to strengthen his weapon.

‘He might be a tough opponent right now, but I can handle him.’

A battle to the death.

A fight with the intent to kill.

It had been a while since Taehoo had felt this.

He tightened his nerves to the limit.

Both sides closely watched each other’s movements, ready to strike at any opening.

Taehoo moved first.

He aimed for the saber’s blind spot, where the bulky weapon would move slowest.

‘First, I’ll seal his legs.’

With his low agility, hitting his legs would cripple his movement completely.

Kaang!

The man swung his saber as if he’d predicted it.

Swinging a blade as large as two adults with one hand as if it weighed nothing—it was overwhelming.

Blood and Aura clashed, sparks flying.

Their mana was being chipped away.

Taehoo’s hand ached from the force.

He could feel the strength behind the man’s attack.

He dodged the saber aimed for his head, then lunged forward to get behind the man.

He aimed for the Achilles tendon.

A spot that was hardest to guard with such a massive blade.

But the man, over 180 cm tall and weighing more than 100 kg, hopped like a rabbit.

He leapt right over Taehoo’s sword like skipping a jump rope.

‘How does a pig move like that?!’

The man shifted all his weight into the next strike, bringing the saber down toward Taehoo’s head like splitting firewood.

Taehoo hastily raised the Fallen Flower Sword to block.

Boom!

The ground under his feet caved in. A strong shock vibrated up through his arms.

“Kuh!”

A groan escaped him.

Fighting people was on another level from fighting monsters.

There was so much more unpredictability than with monsters.

Even now, this pig of a man was using his stats to move so swiftly.

With a burst of strength, Taehoo forced the saber aside.

Kang!

Sparks flashed as the saber was pushed away.

The man also seemed surprised at Taehoo’s strength.

“So you really are from the Sword God Family. What’s your name?”

To be matched by such a young opponent—it hurt his pride.

Of course, he didn’t know that Taehoo was a direct descendant of the Sword God Family.

“Nam Taehoo. The youngest of the Sword God Family, and the future head of the clan.”

He revealed his name plainly.

The man’s eyes widened, as did Kurom’s, who watched the fight breathlessly from behind.

“Wahaha! A descendant of the Sword God Family! I see! Only someone like that could fight me, Cheolgo, on even terms!”

The man announced his own name.

‘Cheolgo?’

[Another one you know?]

Ba’al asked.

Cheolgo.

A man who, twenty years later, would rise to the position of executive in Dantalion.

Cheolgo of the Blood Saber.

‘So he started from the bottom like this, too.’

Taehoo smirked.

He deflected Cheolgo’s saber, then channeled Aura fiercely into the Fallen Flower Sword.

To think he could cut down Dantalion’s power so early.

On top of that—

This incident would only accelerate the conflict within the Belial House.

Judging by the situation, if he could extract information from Kurom, it would be easy to seize the initiative.

With that in mind, Taehoo mapped out the path his sword would take.

The first form.

Rain Thunder Origin Dance.

He moved his sword. Swung it. With a speed the saber couldn’t catch up with, he pressed Cheolgo relentlessly.

Ka-ga-ga-gang!

With the added effect of the Shadow Blade, his sword’s edge grew even sharper, but Cheolgo still managed to block it.

The bulging veins on his arms writhed.

The blood, heated in his veins, surged toward the blade.

But with this, Cheolgo’s veins were overloaded, causing intense pain.

Cheolgo groaned inwardly.

‘Damn… But if I don’t do this, my sword won’t last.’

That’s how strong Taehoo’s attack was.

His silent sword strikes left Cheolgo’s body covered in more and more wounds.

At first, there were only scratches, but soon, blade wounds overlapped atop them.

Shraaaak!

He cut deeply enough for it to be considered a meaningful wound.

‘Is this the Sword God Family’s secret technique?’

Cheolgo was inwardly astonished as he parried Taehoo’s sword.

Of course, this form was Taehoo’s own creation.

Gradually, Cheolgo’s sword was being worn down.

If he supplied any more blood to the blade, he’d die from blood loss before the sword broke, so he couldn’t repair it either.

All he could do was desperately defend.

His grip on the sword weakened.

[The Shadow Blade and Black and White Aura show signs of evolution!]

As Taehoo struck, these messages echoed in his mind.

For Cheolgo, on the other hand, the bells of death rang loudly.

[Skill Single Stroke Severance merges into Rain Thunder Origin Dance!]

The last two forms.

The Aura infusing the Fallen Flower Sword exploded in power once more.

Kwaang!

Once.

The great saber’s edge was sliced off.

Kwaang!

Twice.

Cracks began to form along the great saber.

Thrice.

Like a glass window shattering, the blood-forged blade broke apart.

Through the shattered saber, Taehoo’s sword slashed a deep, horizontal line across Cheolgo’s chest.

Blood gushed out.

The fragments of the broken saber flew everywhere, embedding themselves in Cheolgo and Taehoo’s bodies.

Kurom was no exception.

Already weakened from the previous battles, he simply took the flying shards.

That final blow had used every last ounce of strength.

He didn’t have the stamina left to even try to defend against those tiny fragments.

All three were now so wounded they could barely move.

“Kuhek!”

Cheolgo coughed up blood.

Taehoo planted the Fallen Flower Sword in the ground, barely holding himself up.

Cheolgo’s towering body fell to his knees.

And then—

“A… not yet…!”

Suddenly, Cheolgo let out a blood-curdling cry.

At the same time, he thrust his hand into his chest, which was gushing blood like a waterfall.

Soon, his hand emerged holding a dagger—barely clotted with blood, and laughably small for his frame.

Even so, he seemed to lack the strength to even grip the hilt; it was nothing but a bare blade.

Blood dripped from his fist as he clenched it around the little blade.

“Let’s be companions on the road to the afterlife!”

Cheolgo’s will to fight burned with desperation.

‘If I can just find a single opening.’

Taehoo supported himself on the Fallen Flower Sword stuck in the ground, coldly watching the scene unfold.

To not give up to the very end.

But his body wouldn’t move. The wave of exhaustion meant this was the best he could do—standing here, feet planted.

‘Damn it. Move!’

Taehoo stared fiercely, not letting the blade out of his sight.

The instant the dagger lunged for Taehoo’s head—

Puk!

The sound of a blade stabbing into flesh rang out.

But it wasn’t from Taehoo.

Cheolgo’s blade, forged at the cost of his own life, stopped right before Taehoo’s face.

It never reached its target, turning instead into a spray of blood on the ground.

“When did you get here?”

Taehoo, his voice drained of strength, spoke to the one who stabbed Cheolgo from behind.

“A descendant of the Sword God Family? I think I’ve learned an amazing secret here. You’d better explain it properly.”

It was Juhyeok.

Taehoo let out a weak chuckle and slumped to the ground.

The Fallen Flower Sword vanished as soon as it left his grip.

[You have defeated a formidable enemy!]

[You have overcome an opponent you shouldn’t have been able to! Achievement unlocked!]

[Title ‘Giant Slayer’ acquired!]

[The Sword God takes even more interest in you!]

The messages came one after another, not letting him breathe.

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Skill evolving!]

Messages that should have brought joy kept appearing, but Taehoo didn’t act rashly.

His mission wasn’t over yet.

“I’ll explain later…”

Taehoo’s gaze turned to Kurom, who was wounded and gasping for breath.

“Kurom. Or rather, no. Your real name—why don’t we start with that?”