Chapter 323

〈 Chapter 323 〉 Part 1, Chapter 14

The awakening of Spirits fundamentally stems from love, but in RPG terms, conditions for such awakenings also exist.

Rusalka Seok Harang awakened as a Spirit through the love shown by comrades who were like family. During this process, a condition was attached to ensure that Seok Harang’s health didn’t drop below a certain level to prevent death.

Hwanryong awakened through the will to live and renewed desire to love someone while living on. In this process, while trying to persuade Hwanryong in the spiritual world, outside forces had to raid against an SS-Rank Monster named Chaos.

So, how does Gaechonkwang Karna awaken?

Through a one-on-one battle of life and death.

By giving Karna, who has never known defeat, the taste of it.

Karna feels love towards those stronger than themselves, and this strength manifests in various forms. While syncing with Yun Yuhwa, Karna was moved by the sight of battling global financial elites alone. Of course, Karna loved the protagonist too.

But there’s always the easiest and fastest way, which doesn’t need to be bypassed.

Smash them!

That was my chosen method, and it was also what Karna welcomed most.

POW! BAM!

I hooked Karna’s jaw with a punch, snapping their head back. I grabbed Karna’s neck and kicked off the ground, soaring into the sky.

“Hmph!”

Karna tried to crush my gauntlet with their hands. Up in the air, I infused Karna’s body with flames, causing them to struggle fiercely to break free.

“Ugh…!”

Sweat drenched Karna’s face. Though their skin wasn’t burned, my fiery magic power heated their protective barrier intensely, rendering them powerless.

“Haaa!”

Karna’s earrings and golden armor began to glow. Whenever they felt endangered while I held them, Karna would immediately unleash a self-destruct attack, forcing me to evade the explosion radius of Brahmasutra each time.

[But you can’t keep running forever.]

“What?! You don’t mean—?!”

I didn’t let go of Karna. Their magical energy surged dramatically, and above the Taj Mahal, a golden magical explosion occurred.

BOOM!!!

In the midst of the explosion, I grabbed Karna’s neck. Despite seeing me endure the blast, Karna’s face showed both excitement and worry.

[Why? Are you scared I might fall?]

“…No way!”

Karna feared I might collapse or that the fight would end. Perhaps during Karna’s life, they had never reached their limit—an SS+ Rank level of power.

I can say with certainty, it has never happened. And Karna’s full strength can only be received by me, just as my full strength can only be handled by Karna in this world.

No elemental advantage here. This was a clash of pure raw power. After enduring Karna’s explosive burst with my body, I gripped Karna’s collar and pushed forward.

“Heh.”

Karna smirked even while being held by me. Despite knowing I could throw them down like a suplex again, Karna was lost in ecstasy and joy.

“Why didn’t you show up sooner?! I thought I’d die out of boredom!”

[What would you have done if I hadn’t appeared?]

“At that point, secrets and all else would’ve gone flying!”

Karna attempted to kick me with their knee. I caught their leg mid-air and pulled Karna close, embracing them face-to-face.

[Why? Were you planning to kill even the world’s strongest human?]

“E-Excuse me? Let go of me!”

CRUNCH!

I tightly embraced Karna’s waist. Realizing what I was doing, Karna violently thrashed their limbs in resistance, but I paid no heed and released my magical energy.

WHOOSH.

“Ughhh!”

My flames penetrated through the cracks in Karna’s golden armor. No matter how sturdy the defense, fire naturally seeps inside any armor.

“Haa… haa…”

Karna exhaled hot breaths and tilted their head far back. Biting their lips, I also tilted my head back.

WHAM!!

Our heads collided. Karna’s headbutt was meant to escape, and I took the blow head-on.

Drip.

A streak of red blood trickled down Karna’s forehead. It was the first time Karna had ever bled.

“I-I…!”

Karna was angrier than ever before. At least externally, my helmet remained unscathed.

“Let go, let go now!”

[Escape by force then.]

CREEAK, CREAK!

Karna twisted their waist, desperately trying to break free from my grip. But pinned at the chest above and hips below, they couldn’t escape.

“Brahmasutra—-!!”

Karna gathered their magical energy and self-destructed. I endured the small nuclear explosion caused by Karna.

SWOOSH—

Part of my armor bent, but I didn’t release Karna. Karna buried their face in my chest, panting heavily.

“H-Haa…”

Karna’s breathing was sticky, like a woman reaching orgasm. Lifting their head lazily while still in my arms, Karna smiled groggily.

“To think you could withstand this… you really are strong.”

[We agreed to use ‘Full Strength.’ Just as it’s hard for me to pierce your armor…]

I poked Karna’s lower back with my fingers, and Karna tried to crush my shoulder with their hand.

“Right. It’s hard for me to take you down too. But—”

While still in my embrace, Karna twisted their waist and swung a fist at my face. Karna’s punch carried sharp magical energy like an arrowhead.

[Another Brahmasutra?]

POW. I didn’t dodge Karna’s punch. Their full-strength blow hit my face, and I directly received the nuclear explosion triggered by Karna.

BOOOOOM!

The atmosphere trembled from the explosion. A brief vacuum state formed due to the shockwave. Karna frowned, silently demanding an answer from me.

How can you remain so solid without injury?

I endured another Brahmasutra. From the very first battle until now, apart from severing my own ankle, I had sustained no damage. Even while enduring Karna’s nuclear explosions with my body, I experienced no pain severe enough to kill.

I wrapped one hand around Karna’s lower back and loosened the hug to grab their neck with the other.

[You can’t recklessly mess with someone else’s house when you’re just a tenant, right?]

“Huh…?”

[Someone told me not to get hurt during the fight.]

If I had a face, my lips would’ve curled slightly upward. Grabbing Karna, I soared into the sky, lifted them up, and slammed them into the ceiling of the barrier.

“Guh…!”

Karna’s skull collided with the barrier. The wound on their forehead, torn earlier by my helmet, split open again, streaming fresh blood.

[You should’ve noticed this earlier.]

“Brahma—”

[It’s useless.]

I grabbed Karna’s chin with the hand holding their waist. With their jaw and neck squeezed, Karna stretched their legs backward and kicked my stomach, but it had no effect.

Flash.

Something blue glimmered from my body, and Karna finally realized the true nature of my overwhelming defense.

“You… don’t tell me!”

[That’s right.]

I released the hand gripping Karna’s chin and pointed to the protective barrier enveloping my armor.

[By lowering my offensive power, I maximized my defensive capabilities.]

“You crazy bastard!”

[If I wanted, I could break this armor anytime.]

CRUNCH!

I crushed Karna’s shoulder armor with my fingernails. The magical energy surrounding the armor dissipated, and I attempted to tear it off with brute force.

“AAAAHHH!!”

Karna’s earrings started glowing again. Without time to create a defense, I kicked Karna’s stomach and spread my wings to distance myself.

WHOOSH—!!

Another Brahmasutra exploded. But before its aftermath could reach me, I had already recreated my protective barrier. All the golden magical energy was deflected, and I plummeted toward Karna falling to the ground.

[I won’t miss.]

I grabbed the back of Karna’s head as they fell. Karna extended their arm and struck my side, but both of us knew—

There is no damage dealt between us.

It wasn’t an elemental advantage; Karna’s attacks couldn’t penetrate my defense. Likewise, while my ability to deal damage to Karna was limited, I was gradually accumulating slight injuries.

[Have you ever kissed the ground?]

KA-BOOM!

I rammed the back of Karna’s head into the dirt. Karna was slammed into the ground, and I spread my wings to create some distance.

Thud.

I folded my wings and landed on the ground. Karna effortlessly lifted their head, which had been smashed into the dirt, and stood up firmly without any wobbling.

“Huff—”

Karna, covered in sweat and mud, took a deep breath and—

“The best ever——Ah!!!”

Cheered wildly, celebrating as if the world was ending. Blood flowed from the wound on their forehead, yet Karna laughed and rejoiced with a face smeared in blood.

“I’ve never fought like this before!”

[Of course not.]

When has Karna ever fought as “Karna” against an SS-Rank opponent, especially at max level? They battled countless times during their days as Gaechonkwang, but as a brainwashed officer, this was likely their first real challenge against Earth’s strongest.

[Had I not been here, you would’ve surely sought Gawein.]

“……Perhaps?”

Karna gave an ambiguous answer. Frustrated by meaningless battles, Karna challenged the supposedly world’s strongest, Gawein, resulting in a satisfying draw after elevating Gawein to SS-Rank.

[But there are already many stronger than Gawein.]

“Heh, right!”

Karna picked up the spear lying on the ground.

“I was waiting for Suhwaryeong, but you came instead! Never expected it!”

[Not just Suhwaryeong.]

I wagged my finger at Karna.

[There are two more Suhwaryeong-level powerhouses. Maybe even more.]

“Whoa…!”

Karna showed great interest. Sweaty bangs dripping with blood were swept aside by Karna, who looked genuinely happy even in imagination.

[But now, you can’t do that anymore. You can’t escape this barrier.]

“What?!”

I destroyed the canvas of Karna’s joyful daydreams.

[You’ll spend the rest of your life trapped within this barrier. You’re an obstacle to my grand plan.]

“Obstacle? Phoenix, what are you scheming?”

[Only one thought.]

I pointed at the sky with my index finger.

[Burn Seongju and rip the head off the god of the other realm afterward.]

“…Damn.”

Karna’s face contorted. As an officer of the Dark Legion, they expressed anger at my declaration of overthrowing the leader and the deity they served.

But.

[Will you join me?]

“Hahahaha!!”

Karna burst into hearty laughter, loud enough to make me feel awkward for suggesting it. Tears even welled up in Karna’s eyes from laughing so hard.

“So that’s it! You plan to overthrow Lord Seongju after defeating me?!”

[Think whatever you want.]

As a traitor to the Dark Legion, I’m already considered a mysterious entity possessing the Phoenix of Chang-yeom, controlling others’ bodies at will. Even if Karna hadn’t met Chang-yeom twenty years ago, they were still an officer of the Dark Legion.

[But let me clarify one thing. In the battle against Seongju, Karna, you’ll be quite an impediment.]

“…Then I must give it my all for Lord Seongju!”

BOOM.

Golden light erupted from Karna’s body. The golden armor covering their body, earrings, and spear in their hand merged into one mass.

“Haa—!”

Karna enveloped their body in the golden light. The full-body gold armor disappeared, leaving only a simple golden dress on Karna’s body and a crude spear in their hand.

[Finally.]

It was time to kill Karna. The fastest and most accurate way to awaken Karna as the Spirit Gaechonkwang of the Dark Legion.

[Are you ready to use your ultimate move?]

“Of course!”

Karna readied their stance with the spear in one hand. Golden currents began to gather around the spear, turning it into a sharply luminous javelin radiating bright golden light.

“Go ahead! Knock me down! Otherwise, my spear will forever point at you, Phoenix!!”

[If I win, your spear will rip off Seongju’s head.]

“Absolutely!”

I also gathered maximum magical energy from the sky into one spot. The barrier might not hold, but ultimate moves must be countered with ultimate moves. I condensed the glowing blue magical orbs in front of my chest into one.

A golden sun on the ground, a blue sun in the sky.

Ignoring the consequences, we squeezed our magical energies to their limits, expanding the size of our respective suns. Now, all that was left was to aim at each other.

I grabbed the condensed orb with one hand and let it drop.

[It’s over.]

The blue sun began descending toward the ground, and Karna shifted the spear over their shoulder.

“‘Vasavi Shakti’—–!!”

Karna hurled the spear. The ultimate technique that once erased the Australian continent from the map shot vertically toward me. We watched as our ultimate techniques clashed, me looking down at Karna and Karna looking up at me.

□□□□□□■■■■!!!

The two suns collided.

The world was bathed entirely in blue light.