Chapter 119: Hwa In (2)
Hwa In couldn’t understand the scene unfolding before him.
He widened his eyelids which did not exist physically, and looked at Kim Shin-hwa who was still standing in front of him.
To Hwa In, Kim Shin-hwa was just a young mage whose name he had never even heard of. Yet, he was perfectly blocking the flames that Hwa In had summoned, the precious flames gifted by a god.
This is… impossible…!
His opponent was the one foretold, the feast’s offering.
He already knew this wouldn’t be an easy opponent.
Therefore, he had gathered the burnt blood, flesh, and souls of his disciples to create the flames.
Even that wasn’t enough, so Hwa In poured in the magical power, life force, and his very spirit required for his survival and resurrection.
It was an extreme magic created to burn not just air or matter but the space itself. Though it was limited, it was the ultimate secret art designed to shake the very laws of physics and the order of nature.
By this point, it was less of a magic spell and more of a miracle to manifest the will of the god he served, the [Living Flame], in the present world.
But despite all this, Kim Shin-hwa still stood steadfast at the heart of the flames created by Hwa In.
It wasn’t a magic with opposing attributes nor a magic honed for defense. Kim Shin-hwa was blocking his flames with a strange magic circle made entirely of fire runes.
Hwa In had already given up on survival. This flame was the culmination of his entire soul, the talent he had honed over decades, and the final flame he could produce in his life.
He could understand if someone tried to block it with a different attribute. But blocking his fire with fire?
This was impossible.
Yet it was happening.
Is that really a human? Really? A soul born in the same world as me, a body made of the same matter as mine?
The masked mage, whom he considered a messy mosaic created by embedding the powers of various gods and fragments of multiple demons into his body, did something he couldn’t imagine.
Magic? No, it’s not. What exactly is it?
It was certainly magic. The runes and magical lines extending from Kim Shin-hwa’s body were moving in a way Hwa In couldn’t comprehend and were attempting to construct some kind of magic.
magical lines extending in all directions, magic circles forming without meaning, just straight lines, ordinary curves, particles of magic gathering from all directions, and glowing shapes.
But he couldn’t understand how that magic worked at all.
– What? What? What is this? What are you doing!?
Perhaps it was a technique from another world, a world he couldn’t understand. If so, he could accept it. A bizarre magic functioning in an alien way, a strange technique fundamentally different from the magic system of this world.
He had no choice but to think that way. However, when the fragments of the incomprehensible magic came together to form a single meaning, he could only be astonished.
The magical lines, shapes, and runes he thought were scattered meaninglessly and tangled chaotically came together under a single logic, a single system, and a single law to create a certain magic.
It was a beautiful method that he had never imagined.
The enemy, that masked mage whose name he didn’t even know, was creating magic—no, it was a miracle, in a way he had never seen before.
What was created by that method was truly an unexpected magic.
[Flame Manipulation]
Though of a different lineage, Hwa In knew that magic.
It was a spell even a half-wit aspiring mage rolling around in the back alleys of Paju could use. The most basic of basic spells taught to anyone trying to learn magic.
It was just a spell that enhanced or moved an element slightly.
At best, it allowed one to control natural flames that burned without a master.
– Are you trying to block my flame, the flame gifted to me by my god, the flame of my soul created to rewrite the laws of this world, with such a low-level spell!?
The flame Hwa In had created, the flame of another world approved by the name of his god, a realm he had never built so strongly in his life.
– Th-That’s impossible!
And yet it collapsed.
Hwa In’s flame, the extreme flame, that had formed a single massive body, began to collapse.
All that mage had done was to thrust something into the heart of the flame.
– Urk!?
It wouldn’t move. What? The expansion stopped. The magic? It stopped? Move! The flow of magic had ceased. Collapse? A foreign object? What did you do? The power to burn and sublimate halted. It reversed! My power isn’t moving as I wish. Why? My magic, wait! Don’t take it! What are you doing? No! Don’t collapse! Flow! Stop! Stop it! This is absurd! Don’t do this!
It had the shape of a human, but it was an alien, unpleasant, and bizarre entity. What on earth is that?
Those eyes! Those eyes! Don’t look at me with those eyes! A monster with four blue glowing eyes! Stop it, my magic, my power, my god! Please! Give me strength! Mercy! That demon! The demon with four eyes! Grant me the power to defeat that demon! Please! God, lend me your strength! Burning soul from Fomalhaut! Please, the power to incinerate that demon who seeks to destroy your glory! Burning! Blazing! Purify everything with your crimson fist! Purification! Purification! Purification! Purification! Divine purification, please! Please! Please!
|At this moment, I speak to you.|
– Ah! Ahhhh! Ahhhh!!
Blazing flames, enormous fire, passed endlessly before Hwa In’s eyes. He saw a tremendous explosion, no, more than that, far away, burning the distant universe with billions of lights, flames, fire, heat, anger, will, explosion. He saw the holy flame beyond the galaxy, purifying the entire universe, the truly enormous, the truly holy, the truly beautiful one! That one! That one descends into reality through me! Through me! Through me! Through me! Through me! Through me! Through me! Through me! Through me! Through me! Through me! Through me! Through me! To burn that demon!
The being of the abyss, the [Living Flame], whispered.
But Hwa In’s soul could not hear the whisper.
Why?
|No need.|
His enemy, the demon he needed to burn, was saying something absurd. Wait, what? No need? What is?
The being of the abyss, the [Living Flame], whispered something again.
But he still couldn’t hear anything.
Hwa In finally realized.
For some reason, his god, the will of the [Living Flame], was not speaking to him.
Instead, the strange creature standing before him which resembled a human but was fundamentally different, lifted the appendage attached to its left side. If it were human, it would have been called a left arm. And it said,
“This ring is mine, taken by rightful means, and I desire nothing more from you. I ask for nothing more than is required by the covenant, so stand still.”
What is it saying?
Why isn’t my god burning this being, and what is happening right now?
Now, Hwa In had nothing left to give. His remaining life force and even his spiritual body were faint.
In his fading consciousness, the last thing he saw was the terrible figure of the mage who had stolen and imprisoned the flame he created, all his fire, and every miracle.
What is happening? After decades of training and decades of prayers, the god that descended…?
Why isn’t it looking at me?
Could it be, not at me, not at me, not at me?
That was Hwa In’s final thought.
All that was left was the residual heat, a handful of ashes, and a tiny trace of something that once existed.
“Ah, I thought I was going to die.”
I really almost died.
Terrible high-temperature magic was seething everywhere. It was the magic of the [Living Flame] that Hwa In had expelled. The [Living Flame] suddenly tried to descend through this magic, and I almost died because of it.
Fortunately, it wasn’t fully intent on descending, so I was able to stop it.
Anyway, I can absorb all this magical power.
[Absorption]
I had done similar things before. This time it was much easier. I raised my left hand and absorbed all the heat using the [Ring of Corrupted Flame].
Back then, the lump of flesh did it, but this time I have to do it myself.
***
[The unique effect of the L-rank accessory ‘Carcosa’s Mask’, ‘Madman’s Dexterity’, has been activated.
// Madman’s Dexterity: You can unlock the hidden abilities of an artifact or attempt modifications to bestow other powers. You get a +100% success rate in invention, repair, research, and development.]
Paaaaat!
[Residual Heat of the North Star (SSS-rank accessory): Ring. Call upon me whenever you wish. I will come to you.
Flame Chain: Grants the owner the traits ‘Spell Enhancement: Explosive’ and ‘Spell Enhancement: Chain Explosion’.
Beacon’s Crusade: Forces a sanity check when worn. If you fail the sanity check triggered by this effect, you will be afflicted with ‘Mental Illness—Pyromania’.
Trace of Extreme Flame: Increases the effect of all fire-type magic by 100%.
Incarnation of Fire: Strength +4.
Legacy of Fire Knowledge: Increases understanding of ‘fire-type magic’.]
“Oooh, strength!”
Additionally, the spell enhancement options are very appealing. These are excellent abilities with no drawbacks
[Achievement unlocked! You have defeated the successor of Hwa In, the one who serves the ‘Living Flame’. You have obtained the ‘Advanced Achievement: Destroyer of the Beacon’.
As a reward for the achievement, you gain the unique trait ‘Soul Flame’ and the title of ‘Hwa In’, along with additional experience points.]
“Wait a minute. Don’t give me stuff like that!”
Who are they trying to turn into a living firefly by giving such a title!
Moreover, the Soul Flame trait is the exact skill Hwa In used to turn his soul into a will-o’-wisp after he died.
“Oh well, whatever. If it’s given, I’ll take it.”
Actually, having this ability couldn’t hurt.
[Quest complete!
Reward: 1,450,000 XP + bonus based on mission performance]
[You have accumulated enough experience points to advance to the next level. Your level increases by 1.]
[You defeated the ‘Successor of Hwa In’. Your understanding of beings of the abyss has increased.]
[You exerted strong influence over numerous ‘Cultists —Descendants of Fomalhaut’. Your understanding of cultists has increased.]
[You defeated numerous ‘Gangsters’. Your understanding of the Triad has increased.]
[You defeated numerous ‘Outlaws’…]
[You defeated numerous ‘Thugs’…]
There were many of them, but not many were direct subordinates of Jeok-du.
Except for a few cultists, they were probably just random recruits gathered from here and there. Thanks to this, the list of personal details of all sorts of people seemed endless.
At this point, these small fry probably won’t even give me any experience points.
[You have accumulated enough experience points to advance to the next level. Your level increases by 2.]
[Experience Bonus: You have achieved a total of (1) achievement in Cheong-ho’s mansion.]
[You have accumulated enough experience points to advance to the next level. Your level increases by 1.]
Oh, it went up quite a bit.
[You have reached level 37!
As a reward for reaching this level, you have gained (1) stat point to distribute freely.]
I allocated the bonus stat point to mental strength as planned.
Kim Shin-hwa
Class: Mage Gazing into the Abyss
Level: 37
Magic Order: Third-Order Mental Illness: [Mask Obsession], [Ichthyophobia]
Strength: 5 + 4 (Residual Heat of the North Star)
Health: 7 + 3 (Great Justice Tiger Sword (Nokjon))
Agility: 8 + 2 (Winged Robe of the Night Veil)
Intelligence: 30
Mental Strength: 16 + 2 (Body Snatcher’s Necklace)
Charm: 18
[Achievement unlocked! You have destroyed a curse with your own power!
You have obtained the ‘General Achievement: Curse Breaker’.
As a reward for this achievement, you have formed a firm alliance with Park Kwang-lim and gained additional experience points.]
“Huh? Curse Breaker?”
[Quest complete!
Reward: 150,000 XP + 2 billion won]
[System: Meet Park Kwang-lim to receive the remaining reward.]
Ah, right, that one wasn’t an ordinary summoner.
The person who had cursed Park Kwang-lim turned out to be none other than Hwa In. And since Hwa In had completely vanished, the curse was lifted.
“Unlucky Park Kwang-lim. He missed his chance to go to the Thousand Gold Temple.”
If he could have included that he visited the Thousand Gold Temple on his business card, his standing in Paju would have doubled. Well, at least the curse was lifted, so that was fortunate. I’ll let him know about the curse being lifted slowly so he can keep running for a while.
In any case, Park Kwang-lim’s curse was lifted, and I no longer had to give him a bus ride to the Thousand Gold Temple for no reason. Cheong-ho’s faction managed to fend off the attacks, and Jeok-du would be happy not to pay the money owed to Hwa In.
It’s fortunate that everyone involved became happy.
Hwa In… Well, Hwa In… Would Hwa In be happy in his own way?
The cult claiming to be descendants of Fomalhaut is a cult that teaches self-destructive doctrines. They taught their followers that dying in battle against heretics was the ultimate happiness, so Hwa In would have been satisfied.
Instead of continuing a wretched life, Hwa In got to die for his god as he so desperately wished in life. How wonderful for him. Namo Amitabha.
No, it was a joke, it was karma. Hwa In was the central figure who taught and imposed such doctrines on his disciples. Although no one should be told they died well, Hwa In was an exception. He was an evil person of the worst kind.
Just for today’s battle alone, he must have killed at least a hundred people.
Summoning that Ashen Wraith alone killed dozens, and the large-scale climate changes caused dozens more.
“Well, it seems like this is settled.”
Jeok-du’s subordinates and the descendants of Fomalhaut were fleeing. If Cheong-ho’s faction had more people, they might have attempted a chase, but there were too few people for that.
“So now… what’s left is the aftermath?”
Let’s see. I briefly turned to assess Jeong Hyeon-ah’s condition. I didn’t cast a blessing spell on her for nothing.
Jeong Hyeon-ah was still okay, but… oh, the bodyguard friend? The life force of the bodyguard who was stationed next to Jeong Hyeon-ah was decreasing.
It seemed something had happened to Jeong Hyeon-ah.
And at this timing, there was only one person who could be the culprit.
TN: Hwa In I think means the origin of fire as in the catalyst. But I’m not sure, so I’m leaving it Hwa In.
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