Chapter 014 — Order of the Golden Bull (6)
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Mikael asked a question as well.
“Answer my question first! What the hell did you do to the sacred altar of the Great One?!”
Bloodshot eyes blazing, Taedeung glared at Mikael as though he wanted to tear him apart.
Seeing that the other man had already given up on having a proper conversation, Mikael snorted.
Doesn’t look like he’ll tell me anything even if I ask right now. I can just beat it out of him slowly.
Perhaps because he was merely Haagenti’s subordinate rather than Haagenti himself, Mikael had been looking down on him a little.
Still, the enemy standing before him was roughly on the level of a high-ranking demon.
He’s probably the strongest opponent I’ve faced since waking up.
Mikael had no idea what kind of abilities Taedeung possessed, so he needed to be careful.
If he wanted to gauge his opponent’s strength, a little provocation was necessary.
“Bullshit. Haagenti isn’t great or sacred. He’s just a damn livestock bastard. Does a creature like that really need all those fancy titles?”
Mikael deliberately provoked Taedeung, who was already furious.
Provoking an angry opponent had produced rather good results for him in the past.
“You have committed the unforgivable sin of speaking recklessly. Agility Transformation.”
Apparently the provocation had worked perfectly.
Taedeung bared his teeth as his arms and legs began to transform.
Crack. Crack.
The sound of twisting bones echoed through the chamber.
His arms curved into sharp, sickle-like blades, while his legs stretched long like those of an ostrich, their joints bending slightly into a structure designed for speed.
As expected of Haagenti’s subordinate. He can use the power of transformation.
Still, does it end with changing his own body?
If that was all, it was manageable.
When the power of transformation was pushed to its extreme, it could even alter objects.
Mikael had only ever seen one bastard capable of wielding it to that level.
If he could use even half of Haagenti’s power, this would've been dangerous.
Well, once I recover my own strength, I’d be able to break through even that.
While Mikael casually assessed Taedeung—
Taedeung, overflowing with killing intent, moved first.
“You will be executed on the spot.”
Taedeung lowered himself slightly.
His bent legs compressed like springs, putting him in a position similar to a sprinter waiting for the starting signal.
He was ready to launch himself at Mikael at any moment.
“If decapitation could kill me, I would’ve died a long time ago, asshole.”
Mikael began drawing up his Aura in preparation for Taedeung’s attack.
But—
Shhk!
Huh?
In the blink of an eye, Mikael’s right arm was already spinning through the air.
Taedeung had crossed the distance before Mikael could even realize it and severed his arm in a single strike.
Blood splattered across Taedeung’s face.
He licked it away.
“I’ve changed my mind. Looking at that filthy mouth of yours, the Golden Bull will only be satisfied if you die in agony.”
Taedeung stood proudly, convinced that Mikael must now be terrified.
But—
“That one hurt a little.”
Mikael simply looked down at him with the exact same arrogant expression as before.
“Keep bluffing. I’ll make your other arm look the same soon enough.”
“This arm?”
Mikael casually pushed forward his empty right shoulder.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Flash!
New bone suddenly burst from the severed stump.
Muscle grew around it.
Blood vessels filled.
Then skin spread across the surface.
The entire process took less than ten seconds.
It was the same regenerative power Mikael had displayed when he fought Joon-gon at the cathedral.
“…Your arm grew back? That quickly?”
Taedeung frowned, horrified by the grotesquely fast regeneration.
“I told you. If something like that could kill me, I would’ve been dead a long time ago.”
Mikael flexed his newly regenerated arm, which somehow felt even firmer than before, then snapped his fingers.
Snap!
“You landed one on me, so how about you take one in return?”
It was the same technique he had used at Valefor’s pub.
The white flames scattered throughout the stone chamber began floating freely through the air.
“Libértas [Libertas].”
The moment Mikael spoke the technique’s name, the white flames surged toward Taedeung.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Mikael seemed to have increased the output compared to last time.
Every place touched by Libértas erupted in an explosion of white flames.
A cloud of dust rose and filled the chamber.
Whoosh!
A gust created by a swing of Taedeung’s arm blew the dust away.
His body had taken on a completely different form from his Agility Transformation.
“Fortitude Transformation.”
Thick hide resembling rhinoceros armor covered his entire body.
Hard turtle shells covered his arms.
His legs had become huge and powerful like an elephant’s.
It was a form that could truly be called an iron fortress.
Even that wasn’t enough?
For the first time since awakening in the modern age, one of Mikael’s techniques had been completely blocked.
Just as expected, Taedeung possessed strength comparable to a high-ranking demon.
“This power… You were sent by the Exorcism Association.”
Taedeung had realized that Mikael’s power resembled the power used by the priests they had captured.
“Huh? Who sent who? The Exorcism Association sent me?”
As though wondering if he had heard correctly, Mikael scratched inside his ear in disbelief.
“Are you saying they didn’t?! That disgusting white power of yours is exactly the same!”
“Ugh. Forget it. There’s no point talking to you.”
Explaining himself to someone already trapped in a misunderstanding would only give him a headache.
Mikael snapped his fingers again.
Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!
This time, he didn't stop after one snap.
More than four times as many white flames as before floated into the air.
“If the shield is tough, I’ll just keep stabbing it until it breaks.”
Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh!
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
It was like a clash between a spear and a shield.
Explosions large enough to shake the entire stone chamber erupted one after another.
Cracks spread across the ceiling, and chunks of stone began falling.
The chamber had reached a point where it could collapse at any moment.
“UAAAAAAH!”
Taedeung burst out of the explosions.
He crossed the shells on his arms in front of him and charged straight at Mikael.
THUD!
Mikael had no time to brace himself before the collision.
BOOOOM!
Driven by Taedeung’s overwhelming strength, Mikael was slammed so deeply into the wall that his body carved into the stone.
Crushed between Taedeung and the wall, Mikael was reduced to a bloody mess.
“Cough, cough. You damn… blockhead.”
Mikael coughed up blood and gave him a twisted grin.
“You’d be better off shutting that useless mouth of yours.”
Mikael’s mangled body began regenerating once again.
“Not a chance!”
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Taedeung figured that if Mikael regenerated, he simply needed to deal more damage.
So he never stopped punching.
Every fist he threw was powerful enough to make the air explode.
The wall behind Mikael, already deeply damaged, sank farther inward every time another punch landed.
How long did that continue?
Thud. Thud.
“Haa… Haa…”
Taedeung’s movements had slowed considerably.
He had been punching for so long that he was now gasping for breath.
“Haa… No matter how absurd that ability is, this should be the end of it, right?”
He didn't know exactly how extraordinary Mikael’s regeneration was.
But using any ability required some kind of resource.
By now, Taedeung believed Mikael must have exhausted whatever resource powered his regeneration.
More importantly, if he kept going, Taedeung himself felt like he would collapse from exhaustion first.
