Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 312

Weapon-Devouring Bastard – Chapter 312

In the pure white space, the Apostle of Kabbalah gazed at Lee Cheol.

How long he had anticipated this moment, this encounter.

Of course, even he, who prided himself on understanding all the principles of the world, could never have imagined meeting Lee Cheol in the Sky Citadel in such a state.

He hadn’t actually wished for it either.

He had dreamed that when the day came for them to meet, Lee Cheol would be a little more mature and seasoned.

However.

‘Even now, he is ripe enough.’

A deep smile spread across the Apostle’s face.

When Michael was severely injured and the planted soul was activated, he felt a sense of dismay.

But looking at it now, even that might have been a favorable turn of events orchestrated by causality just for him.

‘A masterpiece of potential that I thought was a failure. In the end, you have returned to me.’

Now, only one thing remains.

To kill Lee Cheol.

By doing so, he would become the master of this castle, understand all the truths of the world, and reach the end of both spirit and flesh, achieving true transcendence….

The old monster smiled.

* * *

Pure white space.

In that space, I noticed the change in the old monster’s appearance.

‘It’s not Michael’s body. Is that the Apostle’s real body?’

Like looking at a mummy or dry firewood, there was no elasticity in his skin.

There was a shriveled, black body that seemed impossible to move, and a pair of eyes with only the whites remaining were set in his face.

“You seem confused. You hide your expression well, but there’s a slight distortion in the corners of your mouth.”

“……”

“Hehe, child. The reality you see is futile. Shouldn’t you abandon color, empty your mind, and see the essence?”

The old monster’s voice echoed and reverberated in the pure white space.

It was a heavy, deep voice, as if an old monk were preaching the truth.

“Don’t resist so much. I hold the truth of what you are curious about. Child, I only ever speak the truth. Ask me anything. I have the answers.”

The old monster didn’t do anything first; he just stood there and spoke.

In fact, he sincerely wanted to have a conversation with Lee Cheol.

No, he had to.

That would be the ‘first button’ [referring to the initial step or key to unlocking something].

Meanwhile.

‘What the hell is this place? No, what is that old man’s power? Magic, body, everything is normal. The Mystic Eyes [a rare ability to perceive the true nature of things] are working too. My senses should be fine… but I can’t detect anything.’

I didn’t listen to the old monster’s words and considered all sorts of possibilities to grasp the situation.

But I couldn’t figure it out.

No clear answer came.

‘What’s certain is… it’s no longer time to conserve what I have.’

I couldn’t get drawn in any further.

Without hesitation, I placed my hand on Eunhan’s jeogori [a type of traditional Korean jacket], where I keep my sword.

Kiiiiiiing!

The long sword forged to slay the primordial monster, Black Night, is grasped in my hand.

The moment it was drawn from its scabbard, it emitted a strange wail, activating on its own without even containing magic.

“A pitiful resonance… child. Can’t you see how much karma [the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate] is accumulated in that sword?”

Even with Black Night in front of him, the old monster merely wore a serene smile.

No, it only deepened.

Sincerely, the old monster felt no emotion at the annihilation residing in that sword.

Thud!

Lee Cheol rushed at the old monster.

A sword cry like a scream followed.

The old monster didn’t even flinch.

Looking at the sword rushing towards him, he simply opened his mouth again.

“Surely, it has eliminated all obstacles that have stood in your way until now. But….”

Black Night was swung.

It stretched out without hindrance, aiming for the old monster’s upper body.

One more swing and it would cleave his torso.

However.

“…it is meaningless to me.”

Kiiiik!

A sight that defied belief unfolded.

Black Night was not swung.

As if blocked by something, Black Night was fixed in front of the old monster’s eyes.

Crack!

At that moment, an ominous noise was heard.

It was cracking.

Not any other weapon, but Black Night itself.

‘This is…!’

I quickly pulled my hand back to retrieve Black Night.

However, the speed at which the cracks spread on Black Night was faster.

Boom!

A small explosion was heard, and the weight in the hand holding Black Night was lost.

Black Night lost its form and scattered like sand into the air.

For a moment, the fragments of Black Night floated in the air, then dissolved into the pure white space as salt dissolves in water.

I widened my eyes.

‘No way….’

“…it can’t be. You must have thought so. It’s understandable. But aren’t you curious? What my power is.”

The old monster saw an undisguisable shock taking root in Lee Cheol’s expression.

Even that expression on his face was pleasing to him.

“I don’t know what kind of trick you used….”

“A trick? It is not a trick. It is simply that everything you have has lost its power because this place is not reality.”

In the old monster’s eyes, he saw Lee Cheol pausing for a moment.

The old monster slowly walked towards Lee Cheol and continued.

“Are you surprised? Child, isn’t it strange? Your power, all the achievements you have built up. How could a mere commoner like me stop them without effort?”

Those words seemed to acknowledge Lee Cheol.

The old monster actually acknowledged Lee Cheol’s power.

No, he acknowledged Lee Cheol better than anyone else.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Why didn’t your great power work? As I said just now, it is because this place is not the material world but the spiritual world. Didn’t you look into my eyes as soon as the seventh trial began?”

The Apostle of Kabbalah, that old monster’s eyes.

Unsettling eyes filled with only the whites, without pupils.

I felt a familiar sensation there.

‘…Mystic Eyes!’

The old monster saw Lee Cheol’s pupils widen.

The old monster nodded.

“You’ve noticed. It is these eyes. The power of these Mystic Eyes, which I have painstakingly created over a long time. Didn’t I tell you? The truth lies within us, so this place is a world filled with pure truth.”

The old monster continued in a kind voice, as if teaching a clumsy disciple.

“I have drawn you into this world with this power, combined with a bit of suggestion and hypnosis. In this world, the spirit governs everything, so what you have built up has been powerless.”

Whether it was the material world or the spiritual world, it was hard to understand, but I could understand why my power didn’t work.

But there was one suspicious part.

“What’s your intention in telling me that?”

The old monster and I are enemies.

Enemies who must compete with each other for their lives.

There’s no reason to tell me this. Rather, he should have done something before I realized it.

To my question, the old monster smiled again.

“Didn’t I already tell you? I just wanted to have a conversation with you. And since I promised to only ever speak the truth, I must give you sincere answers.”

Since conversation has long been the best way to explore the truth.

The old monster was going to give Lee Cheol enlightenment.

That way, Lee Cheol would know the truth.

“I see, is that so….”

Lee Cheol trailed off, looking at the old monster who was walking towards him.

“Hoo.”

Then he bowed his head and took a deep breath.

Even Lee Cheol, who had been raging like an angry bull, seemed to have realized that he couldn’t use his power here.

It couldn’t be helped.

In this place, the height of power is meaningless.

Perhaps only monks who have cultivated for a long time, or sorcerers who train their spirits and minds more than their bodies, can exert power.

Of course, even if they did, they would only be resisting to some extent.

A world where all reality disappears and only concepts move.

Everyone was bound to become powerless in this world.

“Have you finally decided to talk?”

The old monster looked at Lee Cheol, who didn’t even flinch.

Finally, Lee Cheol was ready to talk to him.

At that moment, the old monster heard Lee Cheol’s muttering voice.

“…I see. Is this how it’s done?”

Suddenly, Lee Cheol snapped his head up.

On that face… instead of embarrassment and shock, there was coldness.

It was the moment the old monster flinched and stopped walking.

Swoosh!

By a hair’s breadth, a sharp sword energy passed by the old monster’s front.

At first, he thought he was launching another meaningless attack, disbelieving his words.

It wasn’t.

That attack was different from anything before.

The old monster widened his eyes.

Zzzt!

The old monster’s front was torn and fluttered.

Lee Cheol had cut the old monster with a sword made of Black ki [a type of energy or life force].

‘An attack reached? Me?’

For an attack to reach in this world meant that the person’s mental strength had encroached upon him.

But that was impossible.

The old monster’s mental strength, which he had cultivated over a long life, was like an iron fortress.

Even if Lee Cheol’s mental strength was more amazing than he imagined, his attack could not reach him unless he adapted to this world.

However, there was a fact that the old monster did not know.

“It’s been a while, so it was a little awkward. But it doesn’t seem much different after all.”

Woo웅!

Centered on where I was standing, the pure white world began to change.

As if painting over a canvas, the white world centered on me began to be covered in jet-black.

‘I’ve got the hang of it.’

I smiled and twirled the sword in my hand once.

The old monster seemed to think that I would be immune to this kind of space.

Far from it.

I had already experienced this kind of fight once, no, hundreds of times.

Kugugugung!

The black color that spread out from me gradually increased in size, and soon the white and black worlds collided in the middle, creating a boundary line.

“Child. How on earth did you do that?”

“It’s a simple story. I’m used to this kind of fight.”

I had experienced a world similar to this to the point of being sick of it.

Goblin wrestling.

The consciousness of the goblins I experienced in the Milky Way Village.

And.

‘I fought and won against a hundred goblins.’

Old monster. He said he had lived for hundreds of years.

I fought goblins who had lived even longer than that.

Not just one or two, but a hundred.

Without resting once, I fought them all in a row and received their recognition.

“I see. So that’s what it was. Haha!”

The old monster bared his teeth and burst into laughter.

To think he was going this far.

The immensity of karma and achievements accumulated in Lee Cheol came to him as too great a joy.

“Truly… satisfying. The state of forgetting oneself. So you were already complete not only physically but also mentally.”

The old monster said that and took a step forward.

Pajijijik!

The white color dug into the black color I was standing on, causing cracks.

Immediately after, the world distorted.

The old monster’s presence began to grow rapidly.

“Then, there’s no need to talk with words. I just need to show you the truth directly.”

Kwaaaaa!

The white energy exploded, centered on the old monster.

The white energy instantly created countless phenomena.

It was a sight that could not be achieved in reality.

Dark clouds that spat out flames instead of lightning soared from the ground like fountains, and rain of poison poured down from the sky.

“Try it if you can.”

A spear was created behind me.

Starting with that, countless weapons began to be created as if splitting.

It was a little different from what I made with Black ki in the outside world.

What I held in my hand were weapons made of my mental strength instead of Black ki.

Charrrrr!

Soon, countless weapons filled the air like the Celestial Net in the real world.

This was my power.

No matter how much you can do everything with mental strength, this was the fighting style I was most familiar with.

“Then I’ll show you, so realize it yourself. The truth.”

Starting with those words from the old monster.

Kwaaaang!

The pure white energy and the jet-black energy collided.