<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 129>
There was always one saying that the master emphasized.
That learning has no end.
“Talent? Effort? Let’s put it frankly. Whether it’s you or me, including those of us born into this lineage, and the people outside whom others call geniuses – talent and effort are constants for them. It’s as natural as breathing.”
As natural as breathing.
That was a phrase the master used often.
Are we aware when we breathe? No. The master said that the efforts of geniuses are just like this act of breathing.
It’s about acting unconsciously and naturally, and that, in itself, is the effort.
“The biggest obstacle to the growth of a genius is satisfaction. When one is satisfied with what they have achieved and determines that they cannot reach any greater results…”
“Genius comes to a halt. What halts begins to rot, and what rots inevitably meets a disgraceful end.”
“Therefore, disciple. Always chase after learning. For the sake of remaining eternally brilliant.”
Having received the master’s teachings, I always aimed to approach learning with an open attitude.
Even if I were to learn from a child, I would humbly bow if there was something to be learned, and if I saw learning in children’s play, I willingly accepted it.
It was, in a sense, reasonable that I followed Giant’s lessons with seriousness.
Indeed, the knowledge of extrahuman existences like Guardian Spirits is vast, and after a long time, I was truly learning something new.
“Uh… I’ve already understood the concept… beyond expectations… What, what?! Don’t get cocky! Optimization is absolutely not going to be easy!”
It wasn’t empty boasting.
It wasn’t easy. Optimization was genuinely difficult.
Summoning the parts of the War Armor separately and combining them into a single ‘technique.’
It was a technique infused with Giant’s essence, and even for me, it wasn’t something to master easily.
Of course, that meant putting in worthy effort…
I cut my sleep in half.
“Marathon training? Seriously… Have you ever tried building a War Armor? You know the ‘Alpha Gear’, right? Personally, I dislike the term ‘Alpha Gear,’ but you’ve probably heard of it. So, how exactly do you make this?”
War Armor. Alpha Gear.
The pinnacle of Giant mage engineering.
Especially for the sake of the ‘Dragon Armor’ I was constructing, I had to focus extra on this section.
So, I decided.
At this moment, I would forego sleep.
Sleep can wait till d*ath. Coffee is what keeps you awake instead, isn’t it?
I threw myself fiercely into the task. With the mindset that if today’s work wasn’t completed, tomorrow wouldn’t come, I desperately trained.
“Already made it? No way… No, it’s really true? You actually made it? This is absurd.”
“Tell me. Aren’t you human?”
When there’s something to learn.
Even if it’s a meaningless story, I refuse to let it pass without listening.
“That… Today, let’s talk about the ‘Alpha Gear.’ I hate that term. The ‘Alpha’ in Alpha Gear comes from the first War Armor I ever created, ‘Alpha.’ That guy… he betrayed me…”
With earnestness.
“Why do I create homunculi! To explain this, first, one has to understand Guardian Spirits’ physiology. Guardian Spirits aren’t supposed to leave their designated ‘territories’…”
Always with seriousness.
“Ta-da, this is a ‘cloak.’ What do you think? Isn’t it awesome? When I wear this, my Giant form is complete! What? It’s not sacred treasure? How would you know?! What? You do know… really?”
I embraced it eagerly.
Now I understood.
“Nothing more to teach you?”
“Aaaaah! Exposed!!!”
Running forward with Demons trailing behind him – Park Ki-hyuk.
His instincts as a Sword Master were already awakened, so his body is marked with magic arrays resembling black manes, and his eyes, imbued with the Demon Lord’s power, bear Hexagrams.
Fully awakened.
He plunged into the fight with full power from the start.
“Guardian Spirits basically have extremely high magic resistance. In fact, for us, it’s close to immunity. Ahem! In other words, trivial magic won’t work. Might as well conserve that mana and attack with everything you’ve got from the start; it’s more effective.”
It was a fact taught by Giant, and Park Ki-hyuk was an excellent student who knew how to apply what he learned.
Ki-hyuk’s Demon slashed through the air.
An Armor-clad Giant ran forward to meet him, surrounded by Hexagrams.
“Hmm?”
No time to react.
Immediately.
Apocalypse.
Apocalypse unfolded.
Toward the sky, flames surged.
Pitch-black, murky flames surged upward like it bore the weight of all the ominous fires in the world, transforming into a giant spear piercing the heavens.
Destruction.
Flames that consume everything.
I assert confidently, any existing fire magic would be less powerful than this.
But Park Ki-hyuk moved directly to the next action.
“By the way, adding on, Guardian Spirits are nearly invincible within their territories. Avoid unnecessary attrition at all costs. Remember this. This is crucial.”
Guardian Spirits can draw mana instantly within their territory, making their mana supply practically infinite.
They also receive abnormal regenerative powers, a gift from their creators, the Gods. That’s why Guardian Spirits don’t d*e.
Even if they d*e, they resurrect.
So, to incapacitate the Giant before my eyes…
‘A trivial attack won’t work.’
Swinging the Demon again, ‘Moonlight Slice’ enveloped the ground, and as he swung again, another ‘Moonlight Slice’ was created.
Cutting, and cutting… Cutting while rotating, cutting while advancing.
Ki-hyuk aimed to widen the gap created by Apocalypse and continuously fired ‘Moonlight Slice’, immediately initiating a second Apocalypse.
This time, it was the opposite of before.
If the previous was a fireball, then this was water. If before it shot upwards, this time it came plunging down from the sky.
Gurgle!
A massive burst of water pressure engulfed the Giant.
Barely countering the ‘Moonlight Slice’, the Giant’s knees buckled, its stance collapsed, and the succeeding ‘Moonlight Slice’ struck its War Armor continuously.
“Hey! This is insane!!”
If it’s chaotic, then it’s working. He didn’t expect it to crumble quite so easily, anyway.
In truth, Giants were not entities created to be bested by humans.
They were made from the start as superior beings and were akin to natural disasters, set in place to maintain the balance of the world.
If Park Ki-hyuk were facing the Giant without possessing the power breaking order — like he once did as a previous Demon Lord relying solely on his human capabilities…
Ki-hyuk would have lost the fight.
Because humans’ strength simply doesn’t reach such entities.
However, the power within Ki-hyuk now all defied rules.
As ‘Moonlight Slice’ continuously unfolded, even the heavens above were encircled in a cross-shaped sword energy, followed by a bombardment. Simultaneously, using ‘Landslide’, the surrounding terrain was molded like clay.
In the midst of this chaos, ‘Apocalypse’ detonated, putting the Giant at its wits end.
‘Keep it up.’
More pressure was needed!
Bang-!
Stomping his foot forcefully into the ground, the earth trembled momentarily like a tidal wave before exploding like a volcano.
A combination of the Sword Master technique ‘Landslide’ and Apocalypse.
At the same time.
Sword Master Destruction
Black Hole
Using the Black Hole to counter Giant’s retaliation while simultaneously enhancing it with Apocalypse, Ki-hyuk detonated it.
Black Hole & Apocalypse
Combo Move
Big Bang (Bigbang)
This was different from the Black Hole.
It simply erased all traces.
Like erasing a painting of the world with an eraser, transcendent flashes wiped away everything they touched.
“AAAAAHHHHH!”
It was dangerous. Even as a Guardian Spirit, being caught up in that would be unbearable.
“Absolutely incredible!!”
Of course, Giant paid no regard to such things.
But still, as a mentor, it was embarrassing for Giant to keep being pushed back.
“I won’t go easy on you!”
A mechanism appeared in mid-air, and from its center, a colossal mechanical giant’s fist descended.
When the giant’s fist reached the center of ‘Big Bang’…
Phwhoosh!
It disappeared absurdly easily.
It wasn’t War Armor. Neither was it Alpha Gear.
It was literally her, the Balance Guardian Giant’s true form.
In short, she was also taking the battle seriously.
The fist lunged again. This time directly towards Park Ki-hyuk.
Ki-hyuk rolled hurriedly on the ground.
KWAHHHHH!!
A long crater formed in the spot where he had been standing.
“Smart. If you had used a shield, you would’ve been injured.”
“…”
Giant was not allowed to use magic among the Guardian Spirits. As such, it is immune and ignores all magic.
So, Guardian Spirits were particularly difficult.
Had Park Ki-hyuk tried to block the punch with a shield, he would’ve been overwhelmed by the Giant’s punch and would now lay battered at the end of the crater.
“Huh, don’t worry. If you get hurt, I’ll patch you up. Hmm? Maybe that’ll let us play longer, hehehe!”
Maybe it’d be even better, hahaha!
With a characteristic touch of madness, Giant generated arms on both sides.
One, two… a pair of arms circled Ki-hyuk, pressing the attack.
Already in the air, a leg was poised on standby. A mechanism was locked onto Park Ki-hyuk, ready to stomp down.
“Show me.”
Show me everything you’ve got.
Responding to the Giant’s words, Park Ki-hyuk rose to his feet.
For a fleeting moment, the lesson from the Giant passed through his mind.
“What if it isn’t perfect? Machines, once activated, can be adjusted later, right? You can fix things later. Was your magic perfect when you used it for the first time? Of course not.”
“There’s no such thing as a perfect design. Start by creating it. If it’s operational and can move, that’s fine. Regarding future issues? They can be improved upon later.”
“Remember. Nothing can be perfect the first time. Even Gods can’t do it.”
Yes.
He had let that slip.
Park Ki-hyuk had seen the end of the field of magic and assumed he could quickly conquer this giant power too.
It was arrogance.
Sometimes it’s correct to use first and then grow accustomed to it.
“Stop overthinking. Just use it. The more you use it, the more you’ll grow.”
A simple truth relearned.
Just use it recklessly.
Park Ki-hyuk unlocked the seal.
Whooshhh-!
Above Park Ki-hyuk’s head, a shadowy arm appeared.
A single arm.
Though smaller in size than the Giant’s mechanical arm, this arm looked stronger and sleeker.
Then,
“Apocalypse.”
In front of Park Ki-hyuk, Hexagram magic arrays intertwined chaotically, forming a massive sword. A house-sized great sword, resembling the Demon’s deep darkness.
Park Ki-hyuk gripped the Demon again. The giant arm held the sword.
As Park Ki-hyuk whirled the Demon, so did the giant arm whirl the sword.
Finally, they became one.
Using an arm forged by the Giant.
With a sword created by the Demon Lord.
He performed techniques of the Sword Master.
This was Park Ki-hyuk’s most ideal attack form.
The look on Giant’s face became dazed as she watched.
It was fantastical. How could it be this perfect? She felt like falling in love.
Thinking that she had a part in creating this form made her feel inexplicably smug.
She excitedly called out.
“Are you ready?!”
Ki-hyuk nodded.
“Let’s gooo!”
Colliding Giants.
Splitting heavens.
Shattering earth.
With the battle of these transcendental beings, the world crumbled.
And thus ended Giant’s lesson.
Meanwhile, at the same time.
Across the sea, at Optimum’s headquarters.
Kim Yeon-hee was lost in thought while reviewing a report.
“…Hmm.”
The content of the report wasn’t much. A common ‘Trade Proposal.’
A request to trade artificial spirit stones, something Kim Yeon-hee received several times a day.
But why was she deep in thought now?
The reason was the name on the proposal.
“Why is Red Dragon personally asking for artificial spirit stones?”
Red Dragon.
The Guardian Spirit of the Western United States had personally signed this request and sent it here.
There’s more.
On the back of the proposal was a lengthy letter in an elegant handwriting. To summarize it briefly: “There’s an important trade. I wish to speak with you.”
“It’s hard to believe the arrogant Red Dragon wrote this.”
What’s the hidden intention here?
In the midst of deep thought, the Secretary-General, who had gone out for an inquiry, rushed back in.
“It appears to be true. It seems Red Dragon wishes to meet with the president.”
“Hmm? What connection do we have with them? Red Dragon, isn’t that High Castle’s domain? We don’t have much of a relationship with them, or with Gear School’s.”
“It seems… it’s due to Young Master.”
“Youn…?”
A fleeting moment of realization.
“Ah~.”
The situation became clear.
“They’ve noticed that my little brother is in contact with Giant and want to meet him, haven’t they?”
“It seems they have information that he’s currently in contact with Giant. As you know, they’re…”
“Arch-rivals.”
In truth, not even ‘arch-rivals’ did them justice.
Deadly foes? Arch-enemies?
“Of course, it’s not just that.”
“There’s more?”
“Yes. It appears the Chandler Family also expresses interest in meeting Park Ki-hyuk.”
Kim Yeon-hee frowned.
“Why suddenly? Do they plan for some foolish revenge?”
“It doesn’t seem like it. Instead, they wish to apologize.”
“Didn’t the compensation we gave before settle that?”
Isn’t the Ice Essence they received long ago still stored in Optimum’s warehouse? They were even planning to have it processed by the youngest child once he returned.
“Still, they wish to speak.”
She considered it.
The Western United States.
Red Dragon.
Chandler Family.
“Hmm…”
Deep in thought, at that moment,
Clonk-!
A timely notification sound.
Looking at her phone, a photo taken by Spring and Jin Yu-ri greeted her.
Mother~ Have you eaten? We’re having dinner. (Emoji of a smiling bear)
A chuckle escaped her.
How adorable.
Both charming and considerate. After dealing with grumpy Min-ji, seeing Jin Yu-ri’s charm like this truly warmed the heart.
Perhaps that’s why an impulsive remark slipped out unconsciously.
“Since you’ve worked so hard, why don’t we go on a trip together?”
This marked the final destination for Park Ki-hyuk’s journey.
