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Wargen
“Duel? Are you talking about a duel with the Celestial Demon?”
“No. Was his name Wargen? With your dad.”
“…!”
Tearing Wind Sword was listening to the conversation between Kim Bongpal and Warg with a bewildered expression. It was because he didn’t think Kim Bongpal would say he wanted to have a duel with Wargen, and a duel wasn’t supposed to be held spontaneously like this.
It was an act of fellowship conducted to check the level of each person’s martial arts while building a friendship. That was the common sense of Moorim.
“S-Sword Phantom.”
Tearing Wind Sword hastily called Kim Bongpal to inform him of this courtesy. However.
“Oh! With my father? All right. I’ll tell him right away. My father will probably like it, too.”
“Really? That’s nice. Then let’s go right away.”
“…?”
Tearing Wind Sword looked between Kim Bongpal and Warg as if he didn’t understand. According to his standards, Kim Bongpal was hard to understand, but he also couldn’t understand the Werewolves’ race.
* * *
“Take care.”
“Yes! Just leave it to me!”
The bodyguard werewolf who handed the smartwatch over to Warg replied to Kim Bongpal. Warg called him because he didn’t know when the Captain and other members of Shadowless Squad would wake up and needed someone to watch them.
“Is it here?”
“Yes.”
Before long, Kim Bongpal’s party had arrived at their destination: the werewolves’ territory and Warg’s residence weren’t too far.
Gulp-
Tearing Wind Sword swallowed as he saw the werewolves giving them a blank look. It was also the first time Tearing Wind Sword, who had lived in Purple Clouds for a long time, was visiting this place. Rather, he didn’t visit it because he knew it quite well.
Most people who lived here in Purple Clouds were confident in their skills, but there were some places they didn’t really visit. Such as this one.
Tearing Wind Sword turned his head and looked around. Now he couldn’t find another human like him, only werewolves.
Kim Bongpal was walking around the place as if it wasn’t a big deal, but this was definitely a burden for Tearing Wind Sword. They didn’t come here to pick a fight, but he couldn’t help but be nervous. Moreover, they were on the way to meet none other than Wargen, one of the two strongest people in the city of Purple Clouds besides the Leader of the Evil Alliance.
If he told Tearing Wind Sword a few weeks ago that he was about to fight Wargen, he would have dismissed it as insane. After all, Wargen wasn’t an easy person to meet.
And then.
Thud-!
A man who Tearing Wind Sword recognized appeared. Wargen, in the flesh.
“Oh. Did my son bring some guests?”
He landed with a heavy thud. He was a solid head bigger than Warg or the other werewolves. A menacing aura emanated from him, followed by a powerful energy. How could one not think of Wargen’s name when faced with this?
“Ugh.”
Tearing Wind Sword let out a groan. Compared to Wargen, Tearing Wind Sword was a Master who’d been knocking on the door of Transcendence. Yet facing Wargen’s aura was a great burden.
“Are you Wargen?”
“That’s right. And you are? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”
“Me? I’m Kim Bongpal.”
Kim Bongpal said so to Wargen with a carefree look.
* * *
Kim Bongpal didn’t want it to take too long. He never knew when Maya would wake up, and there was still more to be heard from those Shadowless Squad guys. Besides, he didn’t like the Werewolves’ territory very much. Warg didn’t smell that much, but the other werewolves stunk like dogs. Hence, Kim Bongpal wanted to leave this place as soon as possible after doing what he had to do.
He didn’t say much to Wargen. That he was Sword Phantom, how he had fought the Monstrous Immortal, how he wanted to know how strong he was compared to Celestial Demon, and so on. The original duel of the Moorim people omitted such a complicated process.
However, he just-
“I heard you’re quite good at fighting. Let’s fight.”
…said that. There was a moment of silence that followed Kim Bongpal’s words.
“Hahahah!”
The thing to break it was Wargen’s cheerful laugh. And with that laughter, Wargen stretched out an arm.
Whoosh!
Wargen threw the first punch.
“It feels so good!”
He stepped forward without hesitation. No one could catch Wargen’s movement except for Kim Bongpal. However, he didn’t completely let go of Wargen’s attack. Kim Bongpal’s belatedly extended fist and Wargen’s came into contact with each other, and he felt a slight impact. However, it was only a very small loss.
Kim Bongpal boosted his mana and, simultaneously, drew his sword, making Wargen take a step back.
‘What?’
The fight started abruptly, but Kim Bongpal did not panic. Rather, he smiled when Wargen threw his fist without saying anything. Kim Bongpal was always the one who hit first, so wasn’t it the first time someone else had done it to him?
He even liked how his opponent fought; those attacks based on instinct flew without special techniques, and they flew relentlessly toward his vital points.
A dog fight, no, in this case, a wolf fight.
Kim Bongpal played with the sword in his hand with such thoughts.
Clank-clank-clank!
Kim Bongpal’s sword, surrounded by a dense Trail Force, was blocked by Wargen’s arms. The werewolf didn’t use any weapons. However, he blocked Kim Bongpal’s sword with a sharp Trail Force wrapped around his forearms.
“Haha! This is more than expected….”
Wargen said so and eventually shook off Kim Bongpal’s attack. Then he slammed off the ground.
“Let’s make it more fun!”
Intense Trail Force surrounded every single punch and every kick. His body also finished the beastification process at some point, so his power was now formidable. It was also Kim Bongpal’s first experience to be pushed back by sheer power.
Of course, it was natural. Although Kim Bongpal wasn’t that short in height, he couldn’t be compared with Wargen after transforming. There was a difference between humans and werewolves by birth, a gap mana could not fill.
Dash!
However, Kim Bongpal was a little ahead in speed. He avoided Wargen’s rushing fist and, at the same time, dug forward, aiming at Wargen’s armpit. If he went in just like this, one of Wargen’s arms would fly away. But, as if he was okay with that kind of thing, Wargen rushed forward without pulling back.
Kim Bongpal drew back.
‘Come to think of it, he wasn’t just an asshole.’
It wasn’t a full moon now, and he didn’t have something with full moon energy stored like the vampires, but this opponent was a werewolf. A strong werewolf who was also the leader of their pack. It was natural that his body’s basic regenerative power would go beyond humans.
That was why such a move was possible without fear of losing an arm.
“Hehehe. Did you say your name was Kim Bongpal? I didn’t expect that there was a person in Purple Clouds who had reached the Transcendental point that I didn’t know!”
A few seconds of battle was enough time to guess each other’s level. Wargen recognized that the guest his son had brought was no mere Master.
“Then why don’t we stop playing around and try to do it properly?”
Wargen grinned as he asked. Playing around? Kim Bongpal didn’t understand what that meant at first. However, he learned what Wargen was talking about in the subsequent attack.
Baang!
Kim Bongpal’s sword collided with a powerful force from the air. It was an attack that flew in the space that Kim Bongpal had learned by fighting the Monstrous Immortal. In other words, an attack as a Transcendent beyond space. It wasn’t just a duel but a battle between those who had transcended existence.
* * *
The battle as Transcendents began. During that short time, Wargen finished understanding his opponent. This human named Kim Bongpal was one step below himself. If he wanted, he could beat his opponent and win any time. However, Wargen didn’t because Kim Bongpal was the first proper opponent he had faced in a long time.
Baang!
Wargen’s attack and Kim Bongpal’s sword collided in mid-air. The power was almost the same.
Boom!
Wargen’s follow-up struck Kim Bongpal. He intentionally fired them in secret while increasing the speed. This time, Kim Bongpal reacted a little slow to it.
‘…He’s strong but weak.’
Seeing how he reacted, Wargen further solidified his opinion. Being strong was natural because the opponent had also reached transcendence. Being weak meant his way of battling was immature because he had only recently reached that level.
Kim Bongpal’s sword was sharp, fast, and powerful. However, it was too honest. It was either his first battle as a Transcendent, or it hadn’t been long since he crossed the wall. Wargen made that guess, and both were true in Kim Bongpal’s case.
On the other hand, it was a few years ago that Wargen had reached this level properly, contrary to what was known to the public. The reason for that was the duel with the Celestial Demon. Wargen could take a step further with the realization he gained through that duel, and now it had been several years since he trained himself using the Celestial Demon’s martial arts as his teacher.
In other words, he was more proficient than Kim Bongpal, capable of using techniques the Celestial Demon mastered. That made the difference between them. Otherwise, they were at an equal level.
Baang!
The two had exchanged a dozen blows in a matter of seconds. As a result, Wargen seemed to relax.
“What do you think? I’m pretty good, right?”
While the battle briefly paused, Wargen asked, showing his fangs.
The fight right now was helpful for him. He embodied many techniques that Celestial Demon had shown, but how painful was it because there was no one to use them on? It had been a while since the Leader of Evil Alliance shut himself away for training, and the Monstrous Immortal wasn’t a warrior. That’s why he couldn’t help laughing.
“Yeah. You’re quite good. No, you’re pretty good.”
Kim Bongpal was also smiling. Wargen was greatly pleased with it. It was now clear which of the two had the upper hand. Others who hadn’t attained transcendence might not recognize it, but he and his opponent must know it clearly for him to smile like that.
It was fun. Regardless of victory or defeat, he was an opponent who enjoyed the fight between two strong people!
“The Monstrous Immortal was a dick.”
“…?”
Wargen’s face twitched at Kim Bongpal’s remarks that came out of the blue. Now, the question he had been asked recently was correct. The Monstrous Immortal suddenly disappeared from Purple Clouds, and he wondered if this man was the cause.
“But you’re not a dick.”
“Haha. Is that so?”
A pleasant laugh flowed through Wargen’s fangs.
“Yes. Rather the opposite. I like you.”
“Haha! I like you, too! You’re a true warrior!”
Wargen said so, along with a peal of loud laughter. However.
“…Warrior?”
Kim Bongpal asked. A true warrior? What was this doggy talking about?
‘Well, I’m sure it’s all right.’
Swoosh-
Kim Bongpal gave strength to his grip. As expected, it was a good choice to visit Wargen. He was a very strange guy when he talked about being a true warrior and stuff like that, but the skill of his technique was undeniable.
“Is this how you do it?”
“…What?”
Bang-!
Kim Bongpal’s fired his sword. The flash of explosive Trail Force crossed the air and reached Wargen. The werewolf stretched out his fist in a straight line to block it, but Kim Bongpal’s sword wriggled again.
And one more time.
Bang!
Wargen blocked the second one, but…
‘This is what I showed him earlier, isn’t it…?’
He couldn’t block the third one, and it was because the Trail Force suddenly slowed down.
A rapid deceleration.
“Huh?!”
Wargen moved his arm in a panic. But at that moment.
Whoosh!
Kim Bongpal’s attack cut his fist.
“Oh. Fuck. It’s working, huh?”
As expected, he liked him. Indeed, there was no other training aid like this.