Crunch. Crunch.
Han Yugwang walked forward, gripping Shisan Hyulhae in his hand.
The murderous aura emanating from his entire body was so intense that Taeseong felt as if his whole being was being pierced by needles.
“Demon King. Why do you still wander the mortal world? How many more lives must you take before you are satisfied?”
Han Yugwang, born from Lee Taeseong’s memories, seemed to believe that this place was still the real world.
Perhaps due to the oppressive killing intent, Oh Haeyoung’s face openly displayed her agony.
“Te… Team Leader! Who is that guy? Is he an entity? Why is he calling you the Demon King?”
“He seems to be a manifestation from my subconscious.”
“From your subconscious? Just what kind of trauma did you go through for a monster like that to appear?”
Hearing her words, Lee Taeseong smirked.
He had already been curious about how much he had changed compared to his past self.
And now, the perfect test subject had appeared—one that wouldn’t even die in this place.
There was no better opportunity to test his skills.
The same went for Oh Haeyoung.
“Oh Haeyoung.”
“Yes?”
“Give it your all. We can’t die here anyway, so this is the best possible condition for improving your skills.”
Han Yugwang was, without question, the strongest martial artist on the Eastern Continent.
A man whose power was so great that, despite being human, he was called a god.
Just facing an opponent of his caliber would be an invaluable experience for Oh Haeyoung.
And since they couldn’t die here, this was the perfect opportunity to train for the day they had to face such an enemy in reality.
The most crucial thing when fighting someone stronger was to not let fear take hold.
It was human instinct to shrink back when faced with a superior opponent.
But the moment fear took over, one could no longer wield their full strength.
And if they couldn’t even use their own power properly, how could they ever hope to win?
“Now’s your chance to learn how freeing it is to not fear death.”
“…I-I’ll do my best!”
Oh Haeyoung regretted those words almost immediately.
Just because they couldn’t die didn’t mean they couldn’t feel pain.
Slash!
She was torn apart before she could even get close.
She hadn’t even registered Han Yugwang’s sword moving.
Agonizing pain consumed her entire body, yet she couldn’t even scream before she perished.
But since this was a mental world, her body was restored in an instant.
It was a bizarre experience.
“……”
Dazed, she watched the battle between the two men.
Her perception simply wasn’t fast enough to keep up.
All she could see were streams of crimson light weaving through the air, like a deadly dance of swords.
Lee Taeseong and Han Yugwang clashed.
Both wielded Shisan Hyulhae.
With each exchange, slashes rained in every direction.
The twin blades, brimming with murderous energy, lunged at each other, trying to devour their opponent.
Han Yugwang’s every strike shredded Taeseong’s body into pieces.
But Taeseong took advantage of his regeneration, charging in again and again.
Even so, the gap was obvious.
He couldn’t last beyond five exchanges before his body was carved into twenty pieces.
“Demon King. Is this all the strength you have?”
“You tell me.”
No matter how many times he was torn apart—tens, hundreds of times—Lee Taeseong never stopped attacking.
[6 Years Have Passed.]
He used every ability at his disposal, but Han Yugwang was like an impenetrable wall.
Even when Taeseong unleashed forces akin to natural disasters upon him, Han Yugwang repelled everything with a single swing of his sword.
[7 Years Have Passed.]
Oh Haeyoung joined the fight this time.
She lasted less than five seconds before being reduced to a pile of meat.
She realized that before she could even fight back, she needed to adapt to that absurd speed first.
Meanwhile, Taeseong endured ten exchanges.
A satisfying improvement.
[10 Years Have Passed.]
Han Yugwang was astonished by Taeseong’s relentless will.
‘That man is a demon! He won’t stop until my body is torn to shreds!’
[20 Years Have Passed.]
Oh Haeyoung continued to observe the battle.
She hadn’t wasted her time—she was slowly starting to grasp their movements.
She couldn’t see them perfectly, but she could now distinguish between attack and defense.
“…Team Leader. You’re a real monster.”
She admired at his rate of growth.
Having only recently been promoted to Delta-class, she couldn’t even begin to imagine the strength of Alpha-class entities or administrators.
But she was sure of one thing—those two were far beyond that level.
[30 Years Have Passed.]
Lee Taeseong could now exchange over fifty blows with Han Yugwang while maintaining composure.
His martial arts had improved, but his regeneration was the biggest factor.
‘How strong was I back then, exactly? If I could take down monsters like him…’
He couldn’t even fathom what level he had once reached.
His past self had struggled against Han Yugwang, but in the end, he had won.
He had killed him and devoured his core.
Yet even after fighting Han Yugwang for over thirty years, he still couldn’t land a single cut on him.
Only now had he reached the stage where he could keep up.
[40 Years Have Passed.]
[50 Years Have Passed.]
[60 Years Have Passed.]
.
.
.
[100 Years Have Passed.]
“…I finally understand. This place is an illusion.”
Slash!
The blood-soaked blade of Shisan Hyulhae sliced through Han Yugwang’s head.
Thud.
His severed head fell to the ground, and Taeseong muttered under his breath.
“Shit. That was disgustingly difficult.”
It had taken a full century to bring him down.
Now, he fully understood why Han Yugwang had been called one of the Three Gods.
Even though he had only been a phantom, he was the strongest opponent Taeseong had ever faced.
And he knew—his victory wasn’t purely due to his own strength.
Luck had played a part.
Realizing that this place was nothing more than an illusion, Han Yugwang’s composure wavered, creating an opening. Taeseong seized the chance. If they were to fight again, he honestly couldn’t guarantee victory.
“Still, there were gains. It was definitely worth coming here.”
In the meantime, Oh Haeyoung had been training in lightning energy.
She had made significant progress.
Now, she could control it as naturally as moving her hands and feet.
“You’re really relentless, Chief. Aren’t you afraid? Even if you have regeneration and can’t die, the pain is still the same… No matter how many times I get sliced up, I can’t get used to it…”
“I’m the same. No matter how many times it happens, you never get used to it. But you just endure it. If you keep holding on, and holding on, and holding on, eventually, an opportunity will come.”
“That’s really admir—”
Slash!
The blade, imbued with killing intent, cut through Oh Haeyoung’s neck like tofu, and her head fell to the ground with a thud.
“—able?”
Moments later.
Reformed, Oh Haeyoung instinctively reached for her neck with a shocked expression. Thankfully, it was still attached.
“Chief! What the hell was that…?”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Taeseong’s blade came at her again at an astonishing speed. Having just gone through that, she instinctively summoned her lightning energy, barely dodging in time.
“What the hell! Chief! Have you gone insane from being in here too long?”
“You know there’s no better way to get stronger than real combat.”
“No, wait. Stop. Just stop. At least talk— Damn it!”
Even in the most urgent situations, Oh Hae-young had never cursed before. Yet now, the words flew out of her mouth.
Of course, her severed head hit the ground again.
[110 years have passed.]
It took ten years for Taeseong to stop swinging his sword.
In that time, Oh Haeyoung had died an uncountable number of times, which had made her significantly more aggressive.
For example…
“Ugh, damn it. Taeseong, does bullying someone weaker than you make you happy? Huh? Does it? You keep swinging that sword under the guise of training. I mean, damn it, isn’t there a limit? Or do you have some kind of sick fetish for dismemberment? Does chopping me up get you excited or something?”
“…….”
“What? Why are you staying silent? Did you forget how to talk?”
“…Your language has gotten quite crude.”
“And whose fault is that? Who the hell do you think is responsible for this, huh? It’s all your damn fault, you son of a—!”
As Oh Haeyoung threw a fit, lightning crashed down all around them. She had now mastered most of the power within the dragon’s core.
“It’s time to sleep.”
“Son of a—! Son of a—! How long are we gonna stay here?! Let me out! I want to go outside, you bastards!!!”
“Be quiet and sleep.”
Though the concept of sleep didn’t exist in this place, they had begun resting regularly at some point. Simply closing their eyes. It was their own way of preserving their sanity.
Though it was nothing more than a imitation, it at least made them feel slightly refreshed. And honestly, that was all that mattered.
[120 years have passed.]
They trained together.
Oh Haeyoung mastered the ability to compress her lightning energy and fire it in a straight line, while Taeseong learned how to push his regeneration to the extreme, reinforcing his physical body.
[130 years have passed.]
They talked about everything—how they had lived, what they had gone through, what they liked. With nothing but time, their conversations were endless. They spoke about so much, yet Oh Haeyoung never once mentioned her family. Taeseong assumed it was related to some deep-seated trauma. Meanwhile, Oh Haeyoung learned that Taeseong’s first time was at 17.
[140 years have passed.]
They sparred. Oh Haeyoung could now dodge one out of a hundred of Taeseong’s surprise attacks.
[150 years have passed.]
They talked again…
[160 years have passed.]
They sparred…
[170 years have passed.]
……
.
.
.
[300 years have passed.]
Oh Haeyoung’s mind shattered.
