The World's Greatest is Dead

How should one describe an existence known as a spirit beast?

I thought about that for a moment, but there was too little to define it by.

I used to describe them as vessels of gods that were not human.

And Chief Baek—

They’re just monster bastards. Big as hell, too, and nasty-tempered.

He said that while dealing with a spirit beast that had burst out of the Han River.

Grandmother’s words were not all that different.

What foolish god would covet the body of a beast? But if it truly was that dull-witted and foolish, and truly coveted a beast’s body, there could be nothing more pitiful.

It is the flesh of a god bearing the head of a beast, so calling it a monster is exactly right.

Something that could not dare be called a god.

Beasts and monsters that had chosen a stupid path.

That was what they saw spirit beasts as.

No, but.

Couldn’t it be a little different?

It was hard to see them only that way, because there were also beings born with divine energy from the very beginning.

If spiritual energy remained in a human body, they could be born with Ghost Eyes and see gods and spirit forms.

But when it remained in the body of a beast, they tended to change like that. It might have been a difference in whether or not they developed an identity as they grew.

There must be cases where it wasn’t because a god entered them.

Well, to humans, would they look like monsters all the same?

[Kyaaaaaaaaaa—!]

Just look at this one.

How could anyone describe that as a mere beast? Though a supposedly noble and magnificent god dwelled within it, it was ignorant and faithful to instinct.

It was perfectly suited to be called a monster.

Creak.

Radiant Moon Flash Aura erupted over the Divine Sword in my grip. The brilliantly shining blade struck its scales.

Booooom—!!!

With a rough crash—

[Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!!!]

The body of the thing called the sea god shook. Rumble—!! The deep river heaved. A pillar of water shot into the sky like rain.

Streams of water poured back down into the river like a downpour, and I landed atop them.

“......”

I gathered energy at the tips of my feet and controlled it so I would not sink. So this works. Good thing I learned it.

I checked my sword. There was blood on it, but not much. That meant it had not cut very deep.

“Suuu.”

I steadied my breathing. Radiant Moon Flash Aura wrapped around my entire body.

Moonbolt.

The moon became me.

Tap.

The falling droplets slowed to an extreme. I entered a state of complete absorption.

Wooooong—! As the trembling sword cry dug into my ears—

Rumble—!!!

I shot through the current and rushed toward the sea god.

Booooom—!!! The sound that rang out was not of a sword cutting, but of one striking.

[Kyah—!]

I did not leave its body, bending like a bow, alone.

Great Moon.

I unleashed the sword form. Having reached a state of complete absorption, I swung my sword like mad. First Form. Second Form. Third Form.

I struck again and again, finally arriving there.

Great Moon.

Kuaaaaaaaaaa—!!!!

Energy burst out, and the sea god screamed. The energy stored in my middle dantian erupted madly.

[Kiaaaaaaa!!]

Its body was huge, so there were more than enough places to hit. However, because it was that massive, its durability was outstanding. I kept beating it. I did not care how much inner qi was being drained.

The thing’s resistance was no joke either. It kept rushing in, and that was far from ordinary. It had taken that and was still fine?

It really is a monster.

As I grasped that, my gaze sank at the same time. If it possessed that much durability and strength—

“How long has it been doing this?”

And just how many had it eaten to become like that?

They really are unreasonable.

Gods were truly unreasonable existences. While they devoured so many souls as offerings and grew like that, what were the heavens doing, not dragging them out and taking them away?

Do they not see it as wrong?

Because it was something a god had to do in order to survive.

Perhaps those high above did not dare judge it as wrong.

What complete bullshit.

It was a world of their own. I hated that so much it made me sick.

Now, and in the past too.

Kyaaaaaaa!!

The sea god shot toward me, and I leapt into the air to avoid it. But I overdid it slightly. It was my first time fighting on water, so I failed to control it properly.

I had floated up a little too high. Wasn’t I screwed like this?

Just as I thought, Oh, no, the sea god opened its mouth wide and lunged at me. How was I supposed to dodge this one?

Just as I felt slightly troubled—

“What kind of situation is this?”

Along with a heavy voice, someone grabbed my ankle. I looked down and saw Peng Dojun. He pulled me down.

Whoooosh—!!! Thud—!! With a blast of wind pressure, I landed back on the boat.

“You were doing something fun. Would’ve been bad if I’d come out late, huh?”

“......Are you done inside?”

“Done. Very thoroughly.”

There was a faint scent of blood coming from Peng Dojun’s martial uniform. It was obvious how he had ended things inside.

“But what is this situation?”

“It seems they were feeding women to that thing.”

“......Oh...... really? To something like that? Things like that still existed?”

He looked at it with fascination. The reason he said still was obvious. Spirit beasts had openly existed in the history of the Central Plains.

Things like some enormous spider holed up in a cave.

Or a giant snake like that, or a dog with three heads, and so on.

I had heard they existed. Historically. But supposedly, they were almost never seen now.

“It’s big. Way too damn big. If we tear something like that apart, doesn’t that mean there’ll be a spirit pill inside?”

“......Ah. That’s true.”

Right. If it was a monster that had contained a god for that long, there had to be something inside.

Was that what they called a spirit pill? Greed appeared in Peng Dojun’s eyes. A martial artist was still a martial artist, then.

“Whoever kills it first gets it?”

“......Do as you like.”

Spirit pill or whatever, my priority was killing that thing.

Rumble—!!! Black energy flooded over Peng Dojun’s body. It condensed, and the force of its compression was tremendous.

It meant he had not been neglecting his training all this time.

“I’m going.”

Whoosh—! His body shot forward toward the sea god. The thing sharpened its fangs and flew at Peng Dojun.

As soon as I saw that, I swung my sword.

Crack—!!

[Kyaaa!]

I thrust it out as a check. Sword Aura shot out in the shape of a crescent moon and struck the sea god directly. The gap made by that led into Peng Dojun’s attack.

Booooom—!!! Ink-black blade aura began hammering the sea god.

“Hahahahahahaha—!!!”

Peng Dojun laughed, as if he found it entertaining. That bastard was definitely insane too. How could anyone enjoy fighting a monster that much?

He was crazy. Absolutely crazy.

Shaking my head, I joined the fight as well. Should this even be called a fight? Strictly speaking, it was closer to a hunt.

No, it was a hunt.

Hunting a god that possessed a body.

This is convenient.

For me, this side was easier. What was contained in the flesh of a beast could not be called a god.

And karma did not build from killing such an existence. I was not removing a soul, but removing a body.

Booooom—!!

On top of that, my coordination with Peng Dojun was better than expected.

If an attack looked like it was coming in, he checked it for me, and I also created openings for him so his attacks could land.

The sea god’s body gradually accumulated more wounds.

[Grrrrrrr!!!]

It thrashed in pain. Was it almost over? Peng Dojun’s energy grew stronger, and I also gathered power to end it.

Wooooong.

Letting the sword cry rumble fiercely, I entered body-and-sword unity.

The speed of my body remained the same, but sound slowed. The streams of water flying here and there were the same.

I stepped into the anomaly. Moon Eye found the sea god’s weak point, and I thrust my sword toward it.

The point of the sword wrapped in Radiant Moon Flash Aura pierced into the sea god’s body.

Puuuuk—!!

[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!]

I heard a scream. If I cut and split it open like this, it would be over—

Whoosh!

“Kh!”

My body shook. The sea god, pierced by my sword, thrashed.

Swaaah!!

“Bang Seongyeon!”

Peng Dojun shouted. I did not hear the end of his voice. Because the sea god, still pierced by my sword, dove into the river.

Damn it.

I tried to pull the sword free, but it would not come out. The thing had deliberately tensed its strength and sealed my movement.

Did it aim for this?

It seemed to have used the fact that I had targeted its weak point against me. Underwater, my breathing was cut off.

[You fell for it!]

The sea god’s voice reached me.

[You arrogant bastard. How dare you touch this body to such an extent!]

Its voice was filled with rage.

[It does not matter. I will kill you and covet everything you possess.]

Should I let go of the sword and escape? Fighting underwater was not good. The thing would not go above the water either, and if I let go now, I would not be able to recover the sword.

This is a total disaster.

What should I do? It was not a space Peng Dojun could enter either. At this rate, it was dangerous.

[Kyarururu!!]

The thing’s curled body turned. It seemed to intend to push me into an even deeper place.

Damn it.

What should I do about this? While I frowned—

Whooooosh—!! Wooooong!!

My chest itched again. The level of it was strangely high. No. It was not at the level of itching.

It hurts?

It tightened as if it were about to tear apart. I clenched my teeth. The pain was far from ordinary. Was this supposed to be happening? Just as I was flustered by the sudden event—

Whooooooosh—!!!!

Something moved as if surging violently, then slowly revealed its form.

Fwoooosh—!

What?

It became flame. The flame burning from my chest began wrapping around my entire body. Radiant Moon Flash Aura? No. It was not the energy of the Azure Moon Heart Art. It was similar and mixed with it, but fundamentally different.

Spiritual energy.

This was closer to spiritual energy.

Soul energy.

Why is that—

Why was it flowing outside and becoming flame? It was an incomprehensible situation.

And even more than that—

Fwoooooosh—!!!

The flame rode along my hand and caught onto the sword. Then it clung straight to the sea god.

Fwaaaaaaaaaa!!!

[Kyaaaaaaaaaa!?]

And burned it.

[What...... what is this!!]

The sea god screamed even worse than before as it burned in the flames. Its voice was full of panic.

[What are you......! What exactly are you doing! You bastaaaard......!]

How would I know? Even if it asked, there was nothing I could know.

This was the first time a phenomenon like this had happened to me. The sea god writhed as it burned.

[Kyah...... kyaak......! Th-this...... this is......! How...... how can this......!]

The thing that had been burning so fiercely soon lost both sound and movement.

Its flesh burned away, and not even bone remained. That enormous body.

“......”

What had just happened? Leaving aside my bewilderment, something remained where the sea god’s body had disappeared.

A huge blue bead.

That.

Was it a spirit pill? The thing supposedly found inside the body of a spirit beast?

Just in case, I reached out. The instant my fingertip touched what looked like a bead—

Whoooosh!!

“Khup!”

A tremendous energy surged into my middle dantian.

And the burning flame erupted even more deeply.

Like the moon rising in the night sky.

Light exploded across the dark river.

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