Possessing Nothing

TL: xLordFifth

PR: Yul, Gort

Episode 383: Descent (4)

The spear thrust by the Spear King buried itself in the Queen of the Spirits’ abdomen. She did not dodge but instead received the spear with her bare body.

Her eyes widened as she grasped the spear in her abdomen with one hand while stretching out her open right hand towards the Spear King.

Yet again, the Queen of the Spirits’ attack failed to launch.

Alone, there are limitations to what one can do. Unless one possesses the strength to sweep away multiple enemies at once, one has no choice but to deal with incoming attacks one by one.

The Queen of the Spirits frowned, sensing the Black Dragon’s punch streaking in from the side.

She released the spear and twisted her entire body, her clenched fist unfurling as her fingernails bent.

Crack!

The Black Dragon’s strike tore deeply through the Queen of the Spirits’ body as if to bisect her. Her body, spewing blood and reeling, was engulfed by a purple current.

Crackle!

With roaring winds, the Queen of the Spirits’ body shattered into pieces. However, she did not die.

Keeing!

A milky-white barrier unfolded. Within it, the Queen of the Spirits rapidly healed her wounds, her eyebrows twitching in annoyance.

She had just descended. Her power was too lacking. If this had been the realm of spirits, she would have slain them all easily, but not here.

Even if each individual was inferior to Wijihoyeon, their numbers compensated for their lack. Even for a near-immortal Queen of the Spirits, incessantly receiving attacks with her bare body was irritating and troublesome.

More than the pain, what came after was the problem. What if she couldn’t withstand it and was forcefully summoned back?

A forced reverse summoning would deal a blow that would take at least a hundred years for the Queen of the Spirits to stabilize her existence.

This could not happen. Even if she couldn’t bring about the end of the world, she desperately wanted to kill the human before her.

If only that human had not existed. If that human had never encountered Envirus, nothing would have arisen.

There was no need to hurry.

Her body was far from death. Time was on the Queen of the Spirits’ side. Although irritations would accumulate, the longer the fight dragged on, the more power the Queen of the Spirits would gain.

The same was true at this moment. Sarahenne, the Queen of the Spirits, had personally descended into this world.

For now, the forest’s barrier prevented the spirits from entering, suppressing the Queen of the Spirits’ power.

[If you fight too roughly here, the one maintaining the forest’s barrier might suffer.]

Heoju warned. Lee Sungmin also kept that in mind.

[[If you go beyond the barrier, the power of the spirits will increase.]]

This advice came from Rubia. The barrier of the Sleeping Forest blocked the entry of spirits, suppressing the Queen of the Spirits’ power.

Once the Queen of the Spirits moved beyond the barrier and began to receive the power of spirits, it was uncertain how much stronger she would become.

‘As quickly as possible.’

Lee Sungmin was well aware that time was not on his side. He had to end the fight with the Queen of the Spirits swiftly before the forest was destroyed.

He would target what he could first. The two magicians below were not directly leading the fight but continued irritating the Queen of the Spirits.

Except for their initial attack, they did not attack but only targeted the Queen of the Spirits’ movements.

However, magicians were a breed that should be cut down when possible because they could unleash unimaginable and hard-to-counter spells. According to the Queen of the Spirits’ judgment, now was the ‘right time to cut them down.’

The advancing spear thrust towards the Queen of the Spirits’ barrier, which scattered at that moment.

The Queen of the Spirits became a massive wind. The Spear King’s spear partly tore her body, but she paid it no mind.

The wind plummeted downwards. Sharp storms sought to engulf Scarlett and Lloyd.

Unlike Lee Sungmin and the Spear King, who actively joined the attack, and Lloyd, Baek Sogo remained motionless.

Everyone had their roles in the fight against the Queen of the Spirits. If Scarlett and Lloyd were in charge of long-range support and sealing, Lee Sungmin, the Black Dragon, and the Spear King were responsible for pressuring the Queen of the Spirits.

Baek Sogo’s role was to protect the two magicians.

Not far from Scarlett and Lloyd, Baek Sogo’s foot lifted silently.

Lee Sungmin closely observed Baek Sogo’s movement, curious about her power and the martial arts she would display.

Baek Sogo’s epithet was Silent Flash.

Baek Sogo taught Shadowless Steps, contributing to Lee Sungmin’s survival thus far.

In fact, the Shadowless Steps Lee Sungmin used now had deviated too much from its original form.

Like the Nine Heavenly Spear Techniques, it was infused with much of the comprehension from the Lord of the Sama Order.

What Baek Sogo could provide was inevitably shallow compared to the depth of Yang Il-Chun’s insights.

If one were to merely compare the depths of martial arts, Lee Sungmin’s Shadowless Steps would be superior to Baek Sogo’s.

However, all Baek Sogo had was Shadowless Steps.

Unlike Lee Sungmin, who had also trained in the Supreme Heavenly Force (TL: 자하신공, assuming it’s from the Shaolin), Nine Heavenly Spears Techniques, Blood Body Demonic Art, and Dark Heavenly Storm Arts, among others, Baek Sogo devoted herself solely to the Shadowless Steps. In the mountains of Mush and the spiritual world of Denir, the only thing Baek Sogo delved into was the art of Shadowless Steps.

Her extended foot touched neither the ground nor the sky. Baek Sogo had already moved far ahead with the mere act of reaching forward.

Her foot leaped through space, her body piercing the wind. The Queen of the Spirits, stretching out her hand amidst the storm, was startled. Before she knew it, Baek Sogo was right beside her.

“Two Steps: Calamitous End.”

Baek Sogo muttered, barely moving her lips. Following this, her right foot stepped into the air.

Whoosh!

The storm scattered. The Queen of the Spirits, her eyes wide, gazed at Baek Sogo, shocked by the divine power of her seemingly unnoticeable opponent.

“She must have thought the Queen seemed too easy.”

Scarlett muttered with an annoyed expression, casting a glance at Lloyd.

As their gazes met, Lloyd slightly nodded. He was responsible for the sealing, so he couldn’t take direct action.

But Scarlett was different. Her gloved hand traced through the air, leaving runes hanging. Without writing them specifically, these runes formed sentences on their own.

The runes shone brightly. Baek Sogo, having dispersed the wind with her breath, kicked the Queen of the Spirits’ form.

Just before the contact, the Queen of the Spirits raised the earth to block the direct hit. That alone was insufficient. She condensed her magic to create a barrier.

A tiny dot touched the barrier, and Scarlett’s magic destroyed it. The magic released turned into hundreds of spikes.

The spikes simultaneously assaulted the Queen of the Spirits as Scarlett clenched her extended hand. There was no respite for the monarch.

Crack!

The hundreds of spikes shredded the Queen of the Spirits’ body. Before her regeneration could complete, the embedded spikes exploded.

“Ah… Argh…!”

For the first time, the Queen of the Spirits let out a groan. It wasn’t just an explosion; the reversed magic delayed her body’s regeneration.

Even though it seemed effortlessly cast, the spell belonged to the realm of grand magic. Within the sizzling currents, the Queen of the Spirits couldn’t reconstitute her physical form.

At that moment, Lee Sungmin seized the opportunity. The heavy spear he gripped in both hands pierced through the struggling Queen of the Spirits within the electric current. Her physical form was not reconstituted, yet the Queen of the Spirits was undeniably present.

To an Ascended being, the physical body is just a vessel. Even if the body is destroyed, the contained spirit doesn’t scatter but remains in place.

The Nine Heavenly Spear Techniques: 7th Art – Genesis

A tiny point of light gathered and exploded.

Aaaaaah!

The Queen of the Spirits screamed. The physical body could die any number of times without concern, but damage to the spirit was unacceptable.

“How could you? A mere human like you…!”

The Queen of the Spirits’ eyes rolled back in fury. The pain made her rage.

A lowly human. Such an attack from a human couldn’t impact the spirit.

Such an attack should have passed right through the spirit without touching it.

‘This attack is knocking on the door of Ascendence?’ ‘

It was unbelievable. Such might was not permitted for humans in this world, and the Queen of the Spirits knew this better than anyone.

The Queen of the Spirits, grasping the spear piercing her spirit with both hands, groaned. The pierced spirit started to bind together.

An Ascendant did not die this quickly. To kill an Ascendent, the spirit itself must be annihilated.

‘What’s the guardian doing?’

At that moment, the Queen of the Spirits sought the guardian. In this world, mortals were not allowed to reach Ascendence.

If one were to attain such excessive strength, they must be stripped of it or banished from the world.

‘It’s barely there.’

But it was superficial. The spear, imbued with Genesis, pierced the Queen of the Spirits’ spirit, but it didn’t accomplish complete annihilation.

Having removed the spear from her body, the Queen of the Spirits staggered back. The physical form covered the spirit again, and she glowered at Lee Sungmin with horror.

‘With Martial End, it might be possible.’

Gradually, confidence dawned. The Queen of the Spirits wasn’t as invincible as he had worried and feared.

Indeed, Lee Sungmin alone would have struggled. But the present Lee Sungmin wasn’t alone.

“Aaaaah!”

The Queen of the Spirits screamed.

Kooouuum!

Tremendous power flowed into the Queen of the Spirits’ body. The space quivered as it convulsed.

With an unceasing scream, the Queen of the Spirits advanced. As fast as she stepped on the ground to advance,

Even faster, Baek Sogo jumped into action. The ultimate form of Shadowless Steps was silent and swift.

Baek Sogo, having come unnoticed by the Queen of the Spirits’ senses, kicked the Queen of the Spirits’ body.

Awaiting the Queen of the Spirits as she was flung into the air was the Black Dragon, whose arms were covered in dark scales. As she soared through the air, the Queen of the Spirits swung both hands toward the Black Dragon. Flames burst into existence in the space where she had waved her hands.

However, the Black Dragon, with his scales covering his arm, easily tore through the wall of flames and approached the Queen of the Spirits.

The Queen of the Spirits’ body, torn apart, fell. A physical form began to reconstruct her spirit. At that moment, Scarlett’s magic assaulted the Queen of the Spirits.

With a clattering noise, chains sprang from nowhere, tightening around the Queen of the Spirits’ neck.

“Gah…!”

Struggling, the Queen of the Spirits grasped the chains with her freshly regenerated hands. It was a horrifying experience.

Though weaker than the Wijihoeyeon, her enemies made the fight one-sided and brutal.

It was inevitable. Here, the Queen of the Spirits was far too weak. Her current strength was even lesser than Geniella’s.

Lee Sungmin found this to be a relief. If he hadn’t foreseen the Queen of the Spirits’ descent from the Weiss, the situation would have been much more difficult.

With bloodshot eyes, the Queen of the Spirits glared at Lee Sungmin.

With a snap, the chains holding her neck broke into pieces under her grip.

“If it weren’t for you…”

“Just stop,” Lee Sungmin finally replied, unable to bear it any longer.

“What exactly did I do wrong? I’ve never wronged Envirus. On the contrary, he misunderstood and betrayed me. I never forced him to break the Mana Oath, so why are you blaming me?”

“If only you weren’t here…!”

The Queen of the Spirits screamed, blood spattering. Lee Sungmin gave up on reasoning with her.

He lacked the confidence or the need to persuade her. Sighing, Lee Sungmin looked at the Queen of the Spirits’ curse with indifference as he readied his spear.

The forest trembled.

The Queen of the Spirits looked down at the spear in her chest. Lee Sungmin felt a slight dizziness as he exerted force through his eyes.

Trying to speak, the Queen of the Spirits’ lips twitched, but no sound came out.

Lee Sungmin’s spear, imbued with the power of the 9th technique, was piercing her and had created a massive hole in her spirit. The Queen of the Spirits’ face contorted.

“Ah… di…”

She couldn’t finish her words. Unlike Genesis, Martial End had obliterated part of her spirit.

“So shallow…”

Lee Sungmin’s eyes saw beyond the Queen of the Spirits’ physical form to the enormous injury inflicted by Martial End at the center of her vast spirit. But it wasn’t enough to completely annihilate an Ascendant like the Queen of the Spirits.

She grasped the spear with trembling hands, anger and resentment filling her eyes. Lee Sungmin chose not to ponder what the Queen of the Spirits might be thinking at that moment.

Rather, he felt disappointment that even Martial End was insufficient for a complete defeat.

Lee Sungmin extracted the spear. Now, he could either seal the Queen of the Spirits with Lloyd’s help or continue attacking her spirit in hopes of annihilation.

There was no need to choose.

The Queen of the Spirits’ body shook violently, her mouth agape.

“Ah…”

Such a sound came from her. Disbelieving, she looked down at her own body.

It wasn’t because of the hole in her chest. The disintegration of her spirit had begun at its periphery. She flailed as her body began to disperse.

“Ah… Why? Why me? Wait… What is… Stop…!”

The Queen of the Spirits’ screams were laced with terror.

“Why is this happening…! Divine Spirit… I…”

Her cries grew fainter. Unable to twist her body, what was left of her physical form crumbled to dust.

With her spirit gone, her corporeal body ceased to exist.

“Enbi… Cain…”

With only half of her head remaining, the Queen of the Spirits mumbled.

“Why…”

The Queen of the Spirits could speak no more.