Chapter 493

"…Even when fighting the Red Administrator, my beard stayed intact."

Swoosh.

Dongbang Sak stroked his half-cut beard.

"This is the first time my beard has been cut like this in my entire life."

As he spoke, his hand moved toward the injured area behind the beard—his neck.

"It's also the first time I almost had my neck cut."

"Is that so? That's unfortunate."

Seong Jihan swallowed his disappointment.

Though his Taiji Sword had severed Dongbang Sak's beard and injured his neck, it did not deliver a killing blow.

'I took the shot perfectly when his formation collapsed…'

Enduring his limbs being severed dozens of times over 5 minutes had been solely to seize this opportunity.

He waited for Dongbang Sak to fully deploy his formation and attempt to suppress him, only to counterattack using his Administrative Authority.

'The plan worked flawlessly, but he evaded the critical strike.'

Watching Dongbang Sak's beard quickly regenerate to its original length, Seong Jihan furrowed his brow.

When his sword had made contact, he was certain he had struck true.

'He's incredibly quick to react.'

He had even forgotten his objective to draw out the Taiji Sword, aiming for a decisive strike instead.

"But how exactly did you manage it? My power suddenly diminished."

Dongbang Sak expressed his suspicion, noting that his light swords had reduced to 40.

"And this sensation… it feels reminiscent of the restraint I experienced under the Martial God."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Seong Jihan shrugged with a nonchalant face.

Swoosh…

Meanwhile, the snake's form projected from Dongbang Sak's head again.

"Did you do this…?!"

The Martial God's voice thundered in fury.

"I suspected all along… you interfered with my attempts to erase traces of Blue!"

"I don't understand what you're saying."

Seong Jihan denied with a shrug.

"Because of you, I wasted my efforts and power…! Dongbang Sak, take him down!"

The Martial God, already convinced Seong Jihan was the culprit, gave the stern order.

"Understood."

Dongbang Sak, whose hand had been stroking his once-divided beard, now focused his gaze on Seong Jihan's Taiji Sword.

"Can you keep using the Taiji Sword?"

"Of course. It's more than enough for an old man like you."

"Good."

Swoosh!

The 40 light swords hovering behind Dongbang Sak started to merge.

"What…?"

"It's not merging into one like the Taiji Sword."

The 40 swords combined to form a colossal beam of light.

As Dongbang Sak quietly observed it,

"Let's fight with this."

In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance to Seong Jihan, who raised his Taiji Sword to block the attack,

Crackle…!

Although the beam's attack was blocked,

"Tsk…!"

The light energy surging from the beam threatened to overwhelm him.

Seong Jihan quickly retreated, expanding the reach of his Taiji Sword.

Swoosh…

A black sword emerged, effectively shielding him from the attack.

'At least the Taiji Sword can hold them off.'

Dongbang Sak's power was still formidable, but,

The situation had slightly improved with the Taiji Sword and reduced distortion of the Martial Soul.

-Oh…

-He's holding his ground!

-Can he win? Can he do it?

-It's too late to board a plane and escape; he has to win, no matter what..

-I just cleaned out the convenience store, please win so I can get a refund …

-So that's why; all the ramen was gone when I went to the store.

The viewers, noticing Seong Jihan's resilience, started to harbor hope.

The clash between the two was equally intense.

Swords clashing against light beams countless times,

The sea level dropped dramatically from the evaporated seawater.

If this were on land, everything would have been annihilated.

To the casual observer, it seemed like an even battle where neither side held an advantage.

'…This isn't easy. Truly.'

While exchanging blows with Dongbang Sak, Seong Jihan realized he was outmatched.

Even with the Administrative Authority reducing his power, the Star Buff activated, and using the Taiji Sword to its fullest,

The opponent only grew stronger as they continued to exchange blows.

Despite feeling increasingly outmatched, Seong Jihan pressed on.

On the other hand,

"Aren't you going to use Blue?"

Dongbang Sak asked, with a composed expression.

"Well… you have to keep some trump cards in reserve."

In actuality, Blue's destructive power had not yet surpassed the Taiji Sword, so he hadn't used it.

As Seong Jihan feigned nonchalance, Dongbang Sak's lips curled up slightly.

"Is that so? Then I'll use mine first."

[Martial Soul's distortion increases by 3.]

As soon as the message appeared,

Flash…!

A sword formed from blue and white light shot towards Seong Jihan.

'No…!'

Cutting through the void of the Taiji Sword, the light beam struck Seong Jihan's face precisely in the left eye.

Slash!

As the blue and white blade pierced his left eye,

Crack…!

Seong Jihan's already fractured face began to crumble and disintegrate.

* * *

'…Completely shattered.'

Swoosh…

Seong Jihan felt the void surge from his destroyed face.

The dam he had barely managed to hold had now burst all at once.

His surroundings filled with a purple mist.

'It helped block Dongbang Sak's attack, though.'

His left face, the sealed void processer, had absorbed Dongbang Sak's sword, leaving only darkness behind.

Fortunately, the void had not yet consumed Seong Jihan's entire body.

But he knew if he let his guard down, it could easily spread and dissolve his form.

'My left eye, how can I still see?'

Despite his face being engulfed in darkness, strangely, his vision remained unimpeded.

While Seong Jihan was pondering over this,

Swoosh!

Dongbang Sak's next attack swiftly targeted his left face again.

"Would hitting the same spot again be acceptable?"

Chiiik…!

When Seong Jihan blocked the attack with his sword, Dongbang Sak observed him with curiosity.

"Even with no eye, you seem to see just fine."

"Indeed. I see clearly."

Seong Jihan's vision bizarrely remained intact despite the void engulfing his shattered eye.

While he pondered this,

Dongbang Sak pointed at Seong Jihan's ruined eye with a finger.

"But that void. What'll you do about it? It'll devour your body if you leave it as is."

"You're quite considerate for an adversary."

"It would be a pity to end the fight like this."

"There's no need to worry."

Chiiik…

Around Seong Jihan's void-filled eye, a blue border began to appear.

An aura of Blue formed a boundary.

Possessing the power of severance, it effectively prevented the void from encroaching further upon Seong Jihan's body.

"I just need to redraw the boundary."

"Is using Blue as a boundary your trump card?"

"Not quite."

Seong Jihan then commanded the system.

"System, lock the Marital Soul's distortion at 40. Continuously."

At his command,

Swoosh…

The stream of power started to drain from the beam of light.

And upon seeing this, Dongbang Sak's brow furrowed.

"So it was you. Is this an administrative command?"

"Just a little something I have."

"40… That's my power before I trained. So, confining it to this level is your strategy?"

He was sharp. Not just skilled in martial arts, but quick-witted too.

Seong Jihan was somewhat taken aback by how swiftly Dongbang Sak pieced together the puzzle.

How was he to win against someone like this?

-Oh no…

-Seong Jihan's face is gone?

-I was already on edge with the cracks; now it's completely swallowed by darkness…

-Is he about to die?

-Hey, he hasn't lost yet…

-Damn, can't you stop with the jinxes?

-But it's looking so grim ㅡㅡ;;

Many viewers seemed to share the same feeling, acknowledging the odds were against Seong Jihan.

The shattered face and the encroaching void, now barely held in check by Blue, seemed like a sign of impending defeat.

However.

"Since my face is already broken, I'll use the void to its fullest."

Flash…!

The power of the Taiji Sword surged, pushing against the beam of light.

"Indeed. The sword has grown stronger!"

This time, Dongbang Sak retreated for the first time in the clash,

His eyes gleaming with interest.

"But your movements are still slow…!"

Before he even finished speaking.

Swish!

Again, the Taiji Sword sliced through Dongbang Sak's beard.

Swoosh!

Blood spurted from his throat as the sword brushed past it.

"Hooo…"

But as Dongbang Sak retreated and rubbed his neck,

The wound healed instantly.

His regeneration ability was impressive.

'No apparent weaknesses.'

As Seong Jihan pressed on with the Taiji Sword,

"Remarkable. Your movements have improved!"

Dongbang Sak calmly parried the attack.

However, unlike before,

The strengthened Taiji Sword, enhanced by the void, started to gnaw away at Dongbang Sak's light.

For a moment, Seong Jihan held the upper hand.

'Dongbang Sak, it's thanks to you.'

The Martial Soul distortion increased by 3 due to Dongbang Sak's earlier empowerment.

At that moment,

[Martial Soul and Blue form a strong connection.]

Seong Jihan's Blue advanced further, increasing the efficiency of Martial Soul.

'You trained me at Tuseong, and you're doing it again here.'

Of course, it had come at the cost of his face being shattered this time.

But the battle now felt more manageable.

Just when the gap seemed to narrow, thanks to Dongbang Sak,

"Hmm… I think I can compress this now."

Swoosh…

The beam of light held by Dongbang Sak began to shrink.

What formed was a gigantic light sword.

Though it was smaller than when it was still a beam,

The precision and concentration of energy within it were greatly enhanced.

And then,

Crackle…!

Dongbang Sak, who had been pushed back, began to deal with Seong Jihan more effortlessly.

'Real-time comprehension.'

Was this what talent in "Martial Arts" recognized universally looks like?

Instead of recklessly unleashing his Taiji Sword, Dongbang Sak comprehended and compressed his own light to create a formidable weapon.

Just as Seong Jihan was contemplating how to draw out the Taiji Sword,

[Martial Soul's distortion increases by 4.]

[Martial Soul and Blue form a strong connection.]

A message indicating the increase in Martial Soul's distortion appeared.

'Is it… like before?'

Reacting on instinct, Seong Jihan infused his sword with Blue.

Then,

Boom!

A combined burst of blue and white light exploded right in front of his Taiji Sword.

"You blocked Blue with Blue."

"This is my ability. Such ambushes won't work again."

This time, two blue-white light swords had been blocked.

Thanks to the distortion message, Seong Jihan had managed to defend against an attack similar to the one that had shattered his face.

However,

"It doesn't seem entirely ineffective… The void on your face is expanding."

With Blue being used to block, the void continued to encroach upon Seong Jihan's face.

Now, it had spread beyond his eye to his cheek.

[Even if left alone, it will soon disappear… Blue Administrator, this is the result of your choice.]

The previously vanished snake head reappeared, mocking Seong Jihan.

Those who understood the gravity of the void saw Seong Jihan as nearing his end.

However,

"My body feels lighter, though."

Seong Jihan calmly amplified the power of his Taiji Sword, pushing Dongbang Sak back further.

With Martial Soul's distortion increased by 4, the connection with Blue strengthened, the battle which had been evenly matched began to favor Seong Jihan once more.

"Your movements have indeed improved… albeit suddenly…"

Noticing this, Dongbang Sak's eyes shone,

[It's his final struggle. Dongbang Sak, continue this way and finish it.]

The Martial God dismissed Seong Jihan's newfound power as mere desperation.

"Continue this way…?"

Dongbang Sak gazed at Seong Jihan with an enigmatic expression.

"…Understood. I will do so."

He nodded in agreement.