Chapter 24

Ancient Desert (4)

A storm raged in a certain desert.

The monster… no, the being denied the right to be considered human finally realized.

What it had to do to live, to avoid suffering.

Whoosh!

It swung its spear.

Swung it relentlessly.

It shoved blades into chattering mouths and tore out tongues that didn’t know their place.

Blood splattered, and organs spilled.

The more it wielded violence.

The more it committed slaughter.

The chattering faded away.

Became quiet.

‘Ah.’

The child was satisfied.

It thought its judgment was right, after all.

If it killed all the humans existing on this desert, the negative malice directed at it would also disappear.

‘You guys bullied me first.’

‘You guys rejected me, so don’t resent me even if I’m rough.’

Flap!

The dark Wings on its back twitched as if excited.

Thus, the child gradually became intoxicated with slaughter.

While naturally hunting humans, its combat skills also developed.

From town to city, from city to kingdom, from kingdom to empire.

The wider its hunting range, the more fluid and sharp the spear moved.

A force began to gather in the spear-

Humans called it Spear Art.

The force dwelling in the weapon contained something it had yearned for.

The child imbued the blade with the scene it had witnessed when it was first born. The scenery.

The day it lost its sight.

The sun blazing in the sky.

A spear containing the sun!

The spear imbued with Tae-yang punished humans.

It burned, stabbed, and pierced its opponents.

‘It’s so funny.’

The child laughed.

Why?

Because the more it killed its opponents, the more the resentment and malice towards it grew.

It wasn’t logical.

Humans were strange beings; the more they were tormented, the more their negative emotions disappeared.

Instead, they turned into admiration and longing.

Turned into fear and awe.

As if they were telling it to torment them more.

‘Stupid things.’

Many people began to follow the violent child.

There were even those who worshiped it and massacred their own kind.

“……”

Tae Yang-chang.

The alias given to the child at some point.

“Tae Yang-chang!”

“The great hero and warrior born of the desert empire! We will follow you!”

“Lead us, the pitiful! Save us!”

The child accepted such humans.

To lead them? To save them?

Far from it!

The child knew well.

Humans were inherently wicked, and could not be saved without violence.

What was needed to revive the ecosystem of the sandy desert was.

‘Death.’

The child ruled the desert empire, aiming to exterminate all humans.

If all humans died.

There would be no more victims like itself.

There would be no more denial of life as soon as one was born.

‘Raise your spears!’

The followers of Tae Yang-chang raised their weapons.

Their eyes were filled with madness, like cursed heretics.

‘From now on, kill each other! Mercilessly massacre your own kind! Burn them like the arid sun!’

The child became a monster, just as humans had said.

[Skill, ‘Memory Recreation’ (S-Rank) is terminated.]

Flash!

In a bizarre and dark space.

Judging from the internal structure, in a triangularly angled place like the top floor of a pyramid.

[‘Tae Yang-chang’ is staring at you.]

A being was looking at me.

No, it couldn’t look at me.

Its eyes were hideously gouged out.

‘That guy is Tae Yang-chang…’

I shuddered.

The presence emanating from the dark Wings it possessed made it hard to breathe.

‘Is this really B-Rank?’

Although I had never experienced B-Rank.

It was too much.

The activation of the Memory Recreation skill, and this intense pressure.

‘It’s almost like the Mansul Old man?’

It was then that its mouth opened.

“Filthy and hideous human.”

It exuded a terrible murderous intent.

Its primal malice and resentment towards humans coldly pierced my heart.

“Have you come to deny me as well?”

Whoosh!

The ‘spear’ it was holding flashed.

It felt like being swallowed by the hot sun.

“……!”

I squeezed my eyes shut at the awe-inspiring attack that I couldn’t even dare to block.

‘Huh?’

However.

Even after time passed, I felt nothing.

I cautiously opened my eyes.

‘Did it miss?’

The spear that had clearly been swung at me was deflected to the left.

As if I had instinctively dodged it.

Just as my head was filling with bewilderment.

“Tsk tsk, can’t you come to your senses?”

A familiar voice was heard.

“Old Man?”

Surprisingly.

The Mansul Old man was standing behind me.

In that short moment.

The Old Man had grabbed my sleeve and avoided it.

“How?”

I was flustered.

Clearly, my mana was 0.

I didn’t have the energy to summon the Skeleton or the Old Man?

“……You dare evade my attack?”

Tae Yang-chang’s voice was filled with anger.

“Do you think a mere human can withstand my Spear Art that has commanded the desert empire for hundreds of years!”

At the same time, the sun flashed once more.

But.

[‘Master of Supreme Art’ uses skill, Absolute Shield (Lv.MaX).]

Whoosh!

The gently surrounding energy faced Tae Yang-chang’s spear.

Clang!

Due to the tremendous physical force, I was thrown back as I was and crashed into the wall.

Pain surged in my back and ribs.

“Ugh!”

It was fortunate that the Old Man used a skill.

Otherwise, I would have died instantly.

“Tsk tsk, you stupid fool.”

“Old Man?”

“Can’t a disciple even distinguish between illusion and reality?”

“Illusion and… reality…”

I frowned.

At the same time, I looked down at my body.

A body that had become transparent like a hologram.

The appearance of a ghost like the Old Man.

That meant.

“It’s not reality.”

“Yes, you fool. This is inside your mind. That Tae Yang-chang brat has invaded you while you’re unconscious.”

The Old Man had said before.

That I and the Old Man were connected by mind, so there was no problem in giving pain.

That’s why he was able to appear without mana.

“Tsk, now you look like you’ve come to your senses.”

The Old Man smiled.

Then he looked at Tae Yang-chang.

“That guy.”

“Yes?”

“He’s not your opponent yet.”

“Yes.”

I knew.

Because I had read that monster’s memories.

A monster that had massacred tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of humans.

I knew how strong the monster was.

I understood what kind of ‘Grievance’ it had.

But that was it.

I didn’t feel sympathy.

From a human’s point of view, that was a monster, nothing more and nothing less.

“So, step back for now.”

Swish!

The Old Man said as he drew his weapon.

An enormous fighting spirit flowed from the Old Man’s body.

“A monster that ruled a world. Interesting, interesting.”

The Old Man was making an expression he had never made before.

A very interesting expression.

“Indeed, it was a good thing to choose you as my disciple.”

The absolute being of another world, who had not had an adversary for hundreds of years.

He was curious about the absolute being of another world.

“……Are you okay?”

I asked for no reason.

Because the energy felt from that monster was also formidable.

The Old Man chuckled at my question.

“Okay? Well, it’s definitely a great Spear Art. It’s several times stronger than me.”

“Gasp, is it that much?”

“You fool. What do you think the power of Myriad skills is? That’s just when looking at Spear Art. When looking at it comprehensively, it’s far below me.”

The Old Man’s Spear Art was just one of the Myriad skills.

The Old Man had ten thousand such skills.

When those ten thousand skills were connected and synergized and Amplification.

The true Myriad skills was born.

“Hehehe, anyway, I’m excited. To find the plaything I’ve been searching for so long after death! How can I miss this opportunity!”

The Old Man’s fighting spirit reached Tae Yang-chang.

“Strong. Is he a human who has transcended his limits?”

Had Tae Yang-chang, who had been angry, also felt a sense of crisis?

He was wary of the Old Man.

‘This.’

I swallowed.

I don’t know why it turned out like this.

Maybe, I can solve it without lifting a finger?

[‘Master of Supreme Art’ is staring at ‘Tae Yang-chang’.]

[‘Tae Yang-chang’ is staring at ‘Master of Supreme Art’.]

The breathtaking confrontation between the two absolute beings began.

Rumble.

The space shook.

Sand flowed down from the ceiling, and the stone fragments scattered on the floor soared into the air.

All I could do was.

‘Old Man, win!’

Just cheer.

I moved to the corner with the Old Man’s shield around me.

Crash!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The air was torn, and the space collapsed.

The pyramid area could not withstand the collision of the two absolute beings.

“Do you humans even know my Grievance?”

“I’m not interested in your past! I just want an opponent who can handle me.”

Hundreds of exchanges.

Until my eardrums became muffled from the sound of the collision.

The two fought.

One absolute being wanted someone to know its resentment.

The other absolute being simply pursued the fight.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

The monster roared.

“I just wanted to live! I wanted to see the world! I wanted to capture the hot sun, the warm sand, and the lush forest in my sight.”

It deflected the Old Man’s attack with the light emanating from the spear.

“But, you humans ruthlessly took away my authority. You restricted my rights. You gouged out my eyes for no reason!”

Tae Yang-chang.

The cry of the owner of the voice was desperate.

My skin tingled from the terrible murderous intent emanating from the child.

“That’s why I massacred the humans of the desert! I conquered a world through the followers who wielded spears!”

“…….”

“Because you also have to know the pain I experienced! Because I can’t be the only one who suffers unfairly!”

The Old Man, with a distorted face, took a step back.

“Terrible Grievance.”

The Old Man muttered.

“I admit it. The Grievance I had is ridiculously trivial.”

He said that, but the victory was already leaning towards the Old Man.

Even I, who was a complete novice compared to them, could feel it.

Tae Yang-chang looked precarious.

“But, that’s it. If you can win with Grievance alone, wouldn’t the most resentful guy be the strongest?”

This time, the Old Man held a bow.

Creak…….

Just by pulling the string, hundreds of magic arrows were created around him.

Even though it was a skill that anyone could see was amazing.

Tae Yang-chang’s momentum did not die.

Even after killing so many humans, was it not enough to relieve his anger?

He raised his spear and rushed in.

“…….”

I silently watched the two fight.

But one side of my chest felt stuffy.

I felt like I was missing something.

‘The difficulty of this Dungeon is B-Rank.’

Although I haven’t experienced a B-Rank Dungeon.

It’s not this tough.

Is it because it’s been modified?

My head spun.

‘Come to think of it.’

When I entered the Dungeon, this message also popped up.

[The correlation between the Dungeon and Hunter Ju Dong-hoon’s job has been discovered.]

A stage related to my job.

What is it?

What on earth is pressing down on my chest?

I was groaning for a few minutes.

“Ah?”

Suddenly, something flashed through my mind.

The dead, the spear, the Skeleton.

And something related to me.

“Could it be.”

My heart pounded.

Come to think of it, Tae Yang-chang’s appearance fighting against the Old Man.

It was very similar to someone I had been seeing for over 3 years.

“Could it be that guy…”

Even if I overlapped the body shape… it was the same.

“Bone Story…?”

As if in response to my question.

It was then that a message popped up.

[Ding!]

[Stage: Grievance of the Sun Spear]

[Difficulty: Unmeasurable]

[The ‘Tae Yang-chang’s resentment towards humans is enough to pierce the sky.]

[Subdue Tae Yang-chang to achieve the true awakening of ‘Bones2’.]

‘Unmeasurable!’

Crazy difficulty.

And a stage only for me to achieve the true awakening of ‘Bones2’.

Ah.

A thrill ran through my body.

At the same time, I knew exactly what I had to do.

“Old Man.”

Step.

I took a step.

Towards the realm of the two absolute beings.

“What are you doing?”

The Old Man frowned.

“Stop it, it’s dangerous if you step in. As I said before, that guy is not your opponent yet.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“You said, this is inside my mind.”

“……Did I?”

Come to think of it, it doesn’t make sense.

It’s my job quest.

It doesn’t make sense that I can’t clear it without the Old Man.

“Look at that child.”

I pointed to Tae Yang-chang.

Black eagle Wings and black gouged eyes.

Unlike when he was a child, the body of a fairly grown adult.

A shape that anyone would find creepy.

‘But.’

Maybe it’s because I know it’s Bones’s past life.

I felt sorry.

If it was just a monster, I wouldn’t have felt anything.

‘Is it because it’s my baby?’

How hard must it have been?

How painful must it have been?

I began to understand a little of the pain it felt.

“He was just having a hard time. He wanted to get rid of his Grievance.”

“So what are you going to do.”

“This is my mind… so I will accept it. Until all that Grievance is exhausted. Until he gives up on his own.”

“…….”

The Old Man, who was about to stop me, paused.

“He is my summon. He is my baby. Whatever his Grievance is. If I can’t handle it, how can I handle him?”

“…….”

“Yes, this was my stage from the beginning, not the Old Man’s stage.”

Step, step.

I kept walking.

Tae Yang-chang’s gaze, which had been directed only at the Old Man.

Finally turned to me.

[‘Tae Yang-chang’ is staring.]

“……!”

Tremendous murderous intent and pressure pressed down on my whole body.

But still, I kept walking silently.

Towards him, towards Bones.