[An opponent from the lost âDream 113,223,188,489â has appeared!]
[This is a being that cannot exist in this âDream.â Judgment is being made regarding this existence.]
[System error.]
[System error.]
âŚ
[The system judges the being again.]
âŚ
[After confirming multiple conditions, the system has successfully updated information regarding the being.]
[The system displays new information with the updated data.]
[A scenario quest has been created!]
[Scenario Quest / Opponent Resistance]
Description: After roaming around in countless dreams, you have succeeded in returning to the dream you desire and postponing the âsleep.â However, it appears it will be difficult to achieve your wish in this dream. It is because âOpponentsâ who have been bothering your other egos in other dreams have appeared here.
Opponents have gained greater enlightenment than gods and demons, and obtained a uniqueness. Through this, they have successfully managed to keep their identity after escaping their dreams. But because they have failed to completely escape, they are still unstable. They wish to create their own safehaven in a new world to overcome this.
You have the materials to make the safe haven. It is because Quirinaleâs legacy is fated to be given to you. The Opponent of the other dream will have to fight against the Black Kingâs ego in this dream as well.
From now on, protect Quirinaleâs legacy from the Opponent.]
[Time Limit: -]
[Qualifications: Black Kingâs ego]
[Rewards:
1. Full ownership of Quirinaleâs legacy
2. Secret history of Quirinale]
A new quest was created with the information Yeon-woo discovered.
The concept of âOpponentâ was one that Yeon-woo was familiar with. When a dream reached its end, the Black Kingâs ego always brought forth the end of things, and the being who attempted to stop this was given the nickname âOpponent.â
There could be one or multiple Opponents in a dream, and they were chosen by the Heavenly Demon. If not, they usually had the Heavenly Demonâs blessing, so it would be a repeat of the fight between the Black King and the Heavenly Demon.
âThe war the Black King made me fight as he woke up was something that happened at every end of things.â
But of course, no one had ever been able to stop the end of things. There were rare cases when the end of things occurred without Opponents. It was what had happened in this dream where Yeon-woo was.
âThat was a bit strange. I thought Vivasvat, the Heavenly Demonâs son, would be the Opponent⌠But he wasnât. How come?â Since it was impossible to read the Heavenly Demonâs mind, Yeon-woo wouldnât know.
Anyhow, the Opponents disappeared with the end of things. As they were a part of their dream, when the dream was over, their existence naturally disappeared as well. This was what Yeon-woo had thought, but according to the quest description, a few had survived. They had risen to the emperor-level and gained independence and uniqueness. They were small existencesâpieces of the dream.
âWe are battling like this, but I didnât want to fight you.â
Dududu! Scythe and Mjolnir, both divine weapons that were among the greatest in their dreams, trembled. They werenât backing down for each other.
Thor continued to speak with a composed expression, âOur resentment against the Black King is great, but this isnât our dream anyway. How about making a deal to let us leave this place in peace?â
âHm. You want me to trust you after creating such a situation? Thatâs some creative bullshit.â Yeon-woo snorted. He couldnât possibly trust the bastards who had made such a messy situation while he was asleep. It would be stranger if he did trust them.
âThatâsâŚâ Thor mumbled with a regretful face, but he used more holy power.
[Holy power is expanding!]
[The beingâs faint existence has been confirmed.]
[The world begins to properly perceive the being.]
Crackle! Dududu. Lightning sparked in all directions. The black-red lightning tore up the Illusory World, and the golden lightning made recovery impossible. The Illusory World had been destroyed and re-created multiple times already.
ăYour fire powerâŚis about the same.ăKronos was surprised as the clash became rougher. He realized Thor was stronger than the egos they had seen inside of the Black King.ăHow can that be? Even if heâs an emperor, heâs a failure who wasnât able to stop his dream from ending.ă
If Thor wasnât able to stop the Black Kingâs ego, he shouldnât be able to fight on equal ground with Yeon-woo, who had defeated the Black Kingâs ego.
âHe mustâve trained himself harder because of it.â Yeon-woo could guess the reason. The holy power that the being exuded gave Yeon-woo glimpses into the beingâs battle-filled history.
The being had probably trained himself intensely to stop the end of things and continued to train after it. No, after he had fallen from his dream, the being had probably trained himself more persistently. This place wasnât his motherland. Because he had become a nomad without a home, there probably wasnât anything he could do but train himself.
Although Yeon-woo didnât know what their purpose was, he could tell they had fought over and over again to achieve it. However, that didnât mean Yeon-woo would let the suspicious beings off easily. He was confident his history of battle didnât lack anything compared to theirs.
[7th-step Dragon Body Awakening]
[Release all powers]
[Sky Wings]
Yeon-woo contained fight in his left wing and opened death in his right wing. When he finished transforming into a dragon human with Sky Wings, he rapidly swung Scythe. âIf our fire power is similar, I can just raise mine.â
Swish! Yeon-woo pulled up more Sword Thunder. Heat was added as his blade swung in the air, amplifying the force.
Crash.
[Eight Extremes of Sword Thunder]
Whoosh!
[Eight Extreme Swords New Path]
[Extreme Direct Motion]
Scytheâs direction was ever-changing. When it seemed to be turning left, it was already right, and when it appeared to be drawing a circle, it slashed up in a line. The Sword Thunder that was being created made a giant storm of firepower. The atmosphere was split several times and Thor was repeatedly flung out⌠It was similar to what Yeon-woo had one day seen from the Martial King, but different.
What is martial arts to you?
To me, itâs Mugeuk, having no extreme. Why? Duh. Because Iâm that strong. And since Iâll continue to become strong, itâs Mugeuk. Likewise, the Head Elder is Blood Lightning. Look at his face. He looks like heâd like blood. And heâs quick as lightning too.
Sheesh! You have damn good hearingâŚ! Okay, okay, stop with the nagging. Anyway, youâll also⌠In a hundred years? In a thousand years, youâll be on the same level as your respected teacher. Youâll realize that martial arts is a path. To some point, everyoneâs on the same level, but after that, itâs completely different.
Only you have to step this path and develop it. You have to continue making a road that doesnât have a visible end⌠Itâs fucking frustrating.
The Eight Extreme Swords was composed of eight steps, and when they were all complete, eight secret skills would appear. Then, when those were complete, they would combine into one to open the mysteries of the art.
For Yeon-woo, this path was the Yin Sword and Sword Thunder. However, Sword Thunder was made of multiple skills he collected over time. After the Monkey Kingâs exuviae touched it, it had changed a bit as well. In other words, it was his power, but it wasnât really his power at the same time.
So in the repeating dreams, Yeon-woo ceaselessly activated Eight Extremes of Sword Thunder. Part of the reason was because if he didnât do something, heâd fall apart, since all he was doing was fighting for eons. But it was also because of what the Martial King had shown him before he died.
Did you see it?
Yeon-woo wanted to replicate it. No, he wanted to go beyond it. In the dream, he repeatedly polished his Sword Thunder. Then, Sword Thunder began to mix with Yin Sword, and the Yin Sword combined with the Eight Extreme Swords. That was how âEight Extreme Swords New Pathâ was created.
Clang!
Of course, Yeon-woo wasnât one to stop there. Since he had reached his target, the Eight Extreme Swords New Path, he was able to use the Yang Sword, which hadnât been something he could combine with his body type⌠It wasnât easy. If it was possible, the Martial King would have obtained the Bright Tai Chi Pangu Sword for himself. However, Yeon-woo had something the Martial King didnât.
âDream.â Yeon-woo had seen new possibilities and choices that werenât in his universe. The knowledge he gained provided a new path for him, and Yeon-woo studied them vehemently. It wasnât hard to apply them, since he was surrounded by things to fight. Thanks to that, Yeon-woo was able to complete it.
[Bright Tai Chi Pangu Sword]
The sword that Yeon-woo was only able to complete after artificially giving Kronos the Yang Sword was finally finished by his own hand. Fwoosh! His blade cut, crushed, and split through laws. The martial arts Shaohao Jintain had left for his descendents, the One-horned tribe, was done.
However, it didnât look like the Bright Tai Chi Pangu Sword Shaohao Jintain had left behind. Because it was based on Eight Extreme Swords New Path, it had a different nature. Its force and steps were completely different.
Boom! But Thor wasnât an easy opponent either. He had been famous as a military god from where he was from. His martial arts was top-class since he led battles to victory. The way he controlled Mjolnir was an art. It wasn't enough to deflect the amplified Sword Thunder, but he was filling in for what he lacked with his capability.
Thor swung up, to the side, and down. When Scythe was near his waist, he pushed it aside, and brought Mjolnir up to explode lightning, changing the trajectory of Scythe. When he found an open spot, he pushed Mjolnir in. Crash! Mjolnir instantly landed on Yeon-wooâs right shoulder. A column of yellow lightning shot down from the sky and exploded the right side of Yeon-wooâs body.
[âUniversal Recoveryâ is activated!]
However, Yeon-woo didnât seem to be affected. He had already experienced his entire body and head being blown away in the fight with the Demonisms. His data was backed-up in Idea. As long as his real body was safe, he could maintain his polymorphed form.
Rather, Yeon-wooâs body being crushed right now could be an opportunity. Since Thor would think he was injured, Yeon-woo could attack when he was off guard. Flash! Using Shukuchi, he quickly arrived behind Thor.
Before Thor was able to look back, Scythe was already swinging for his face. Pwesh! Scytheâs blade cleared through his forehead. The black-red lightning emanating from the blade burned his body. Boom! Thorâs body exploded like a balloon. Heat expanded as lightning poured down. Black ashes were heavy in the air. Anyone would think he was dead.
ăAbove!ă
Yeon-woo looked up at Kronosâ urgent shout.
ăEven the Black Kingâs ego that fought me wasnât able to push me to this edge⌠Youâre amazing.ă
There was now an impossibly giant being, comparable to an otherworld god. Yeon-woo could feel the beingâs aura from where he was. It looked like a massive elephant or cow, with its mammoth tail. It was Behemoth, one of the three creatures that came with the end of things here. Yeon-woo could tell it was Thorâs real body because he had the Eye of the Heavens open.
ăAn Opponent whoâs supposed to stop the end took the form of a creature of the end of things? Does that make sense?ăKronos muttered to himself in disbelief.
ăI didnât want to look this gruesome either, since it costs a lot of laws of causality⌠But oh well.ă
Thor widened what seemed like his mouth, and hot breath spilled out from a black void.  Whoosh! The yellow breath melted everything it touched, including the Illusory World that was barely maintaining its shape.
Crash, crash!
[The instance dungeon âLightning of Darkness and Goldâ wasnât able to withstand the pressure and has collapsed.!]
[The being descends into reality.]
ăYouâreâŚgone? Thatâs not good.ăIn the middle of space, Thor narrowed his eyes and stopped his breath only after countless stars were melted. He searched for Yeon-wooâs presence, but he felt nothing. He belatedly regretted his decision. From what heâd seen of Yeon-wooâs power, he didnât think his victory was easy, so he used his full power in the end⌠But he didnât know Yeon-woo would die like this.
Since Yeon-woo was the Black Kingâs ego, he wouldnât disappear completely, but it would take a significant amount of time for him to restore his ego. Either that, or Yeon-woo would be in a coma.
Thor needed to take Quirinaleâs legacy, so he was wondering how he should explain the situation to his other companions.
ăWeâre already short on laws of causality, but you made more trouble?ăWhen an annoyed voice suddenly came from behind him, Thor turned around with chills running down his back. But the owner of the voice was already biting Thorâs neck.
It was a dragon⌠No, it was a beast larger than Thor, who was already bigger than a galaxy. It was a creature Thor had heard about from the leader of his organization. It was the beast that always arrived at the final end among the many ends of things.
âThe End Dragon!â
Crack! Crack! Thorâs flesh was torn and his bones cracked. His soul was crushed. Thor screamed at the pain of his legends burning. ăAaaack!ă