Chapter 172: Origin
Park Siwoo couldn’t take his eyes off the scene unfolding before him.
Everyone there watched the spectacle before their eyes, forgetting even to breathe.
Fists and spear intertwined in a dazzling exchange.
The afterimages of flames and light were like falling cherry blossoms.
And at the center of it all, two figures moved without pause.
Yoo Seongwoo, his entire body dyed red after unleashing True Asura Descent, and the clone enveloped in light fought fiercely.
As crimson and white light intertwined, their eyes began to ache.
The moment they lost focus, even for an instant, they could no longer follow their movements.
Had they ever witnessed a battle of this caliber from such a close distance?
‘It’s like watching a lesson from the best instructor at ten times speed.’
At first, Park Siwoo and his friends hadn’t even been able to follow the clone’s movements.
But now, they could keep up.
They could follow the movements of powerhouses who seemed to move in a different flow of time.
Every single person there exercised their concentration to the absolute limit.
Their repeated deaths and minds driven to the brink had already pushed them into a state of extreme awareness.
The longer they maintained their concentration, the more clearly and precisely they could see the movements of the clone and Yoo Seongwoo.
Those movements were gradually being engraved into their minds.
When it came to growth in martial arts, the first organ to develop was none other than the eyes.
Seeing and feeling the opponent’s movements.
Growth in specs and enlightenment came afterward.
They had finally reached the starting line for growth.
And among them, Park Siwoo was the first to try to break out of his shell.
His pupils narrowed to their limits as he entered a state of extreme concentration.
‘Beautiful.’
Park Siwoo unconsciously thought that as he watched their battle.
At first glance, the battle appeared evenly matched.
But the reality was different.
‘Seongwoo is gradually being pushed back.’
Every technique displayed by the clone contained extraordinary principles.
Principles of martial arts that he normally shouldn’t even have been capable of comprehending entered his eyes.
But Park Siwoo instinctively felt it.
The martial arts displayed by the clone were extremely similar to his own.
The thrusting spear vanished for an instant.
Power compressed to its absolute limit accelerated within a fragment of divided time.
‘It’s familiar.’
A strike that accelerated the thrusting spear to the extreme and precisely targeted an opponent’s vital point.
That technique had originated from a form Park Siwoo created in the past while trying to catch a Lightning Spirit that had toyed with him using its tremendous speed in the Trial Tower.
Yoo Seongwoo’s hand traced a circle as he attempted to redirect the attack.
The Infernal Flame enveloping his entire body became like flowing water, diminishing the spear’s force.
Clang!
But his defense failed.
It was because the spear tip rotated and generated a repulsive force.
The released Mana scattered the Infernal Flame.
Yoo Seongwoo’s body was hurled far away.
‘Amazing! By developing that technique like that, even its destructive power……! But why does that clone know my techniques……?’
Park Siwoo, unaware of the trial’s purpose, had no idea that the clone before him represented a possibility in which he had achieved his most perfect growth.
Even so, he greedily devoured the principles and techniques of its martial arts.
At that moment, the clone’s body shot forward as a beam of light.
A speed impossible to follow with the naked eye.
Park Siwoo didn’t lose track of its movement.
That was because its target was obvious.
Sure enough, an enormous pillar of fire surged upward in the distance.
It was in Yoo Seongwoo’s direction.
When Park Siwoo focused his eyesight, he could see the two of them.
Enormous pillars of fire erupted from the ground, obstructing the clone’s path.
Then, the clone’s spear tip shone brilliantly.
‘What is that?’
Sword Aura?
No, it was on an entirely different level from Sword Aura.
Sword Aura was originally a technique that refined one’s Aura and drew it out into a complete form.
As an analogy, it was like the moon, which shone by receiving power from the sun that was one’s energy core.
But the power displayed by the clone was different.
The Aura contained within the spear tip was complete in and of itself.
In other words, the Aura condensed at that spear tip was itself the energy core and the sun.
Seeing it, Yoo Seongwoo felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
It was a technique that could only be acquired after reaching the pinnacle of Star Sword Summon, the technique that served as the origin of his own True Asura Descent.
Origin (原).
That was precisely why Park Siwoo was regarded as the character with the greatest potential among all the characters in <Become a Hero>, and the one closest to being the Protagonist.
The two streams of light collided once more.
But from the moment the clone displayed the pinnacle of Star Sword Descent, the precariously balanced scales began to tip.
The fiercer the clone’s attacks became, the more helplessly Yoo Seongwoo was pushed back.
‘As expected, the Asura Divine Art alone isn’t enough.’
The clone was undoubtedly strong.
Even if he used Demonic Authority, Yoo Seongwoo couldn’t be certain of victory.
But precisely because of that, his fighting spirit boiled even hotter.
The certainty that he could become even stronger.
The flames of Infernal Flame surrounding him intensified.
The challengers here were immortal.
That meant he could push his body as hard as he wanted and test his techniques without restraint.
The color of the flames surrounding him changed.
The Infernal Flame of True Asura Descent gradually brightened before finally turning blue.
The temperature inside the Trial Fragment changed drastically.
The air distorted from the intense heat.
Horrendous pain followed as his body was eaten away.
Park Siwoo’s eyes gleamed as he watched the battle.
The scales that had tipped to one side were returning to equilibrium.
“Uaaaaaaaagh!”
A monstrous cry burst from Yoo Seongwoo’s mouth, impossible to tell whether it was a battle cry or a scream.
The sight was so desperate that it was difficult to watch, yet no one could bring themselves to frown.
Actions sometimes reflected far more than words.
Among them, combat and fighting were the rawest means through which a person could express themselves.
That was the path Yoo Seongwoo had walked until now.
A recklessly foolish way of fighting that disregarded what came afterward.
He always struggled desperately and used every means available to him.
Even if doing so meant wearing himself away.
Because every situation he had faced had been one where failing to do so meant death.
Yoo Seongwoo fought by burning himself away.
Merely watching his battle was enough to send ripples of enlightenment through those who witnessed it.
Fire was hot and greedy.
Because it devoured even what stood beside it and made that burn as well.
Their exhausted and worn-down minds once again filled with determination.
The battle continued.
The two figures, their balance restored once more, collided.
Every time they clashed, powerful waves of heat and fragments of light whirled outward in the aftermath.
The clone leaped into the air, its spear rotating in a wide arc.
Aura gathered along the spear tip.
The launched spear strikes split apart.
Their momentum resembled a swarm of meteors plummeting from the heavens.
Against them, Yoo Seongwoo unleashed Discipline Through Punishment.
When the cluster of starlight collided with the flames, dazzling fireworks decorated the dark interior of the Trial Fragment.
Yoo Seongwoo realized he didn’t have much time left.
A burning flame was destined to eventually go out.
His body had already reached its limit.
As though aware that the end was approaching, Yoo Seongwoo made his flames burn larger than ever before.
With another battle cry, his Aura transformed completely.
A ferocious Aura incomparable to anything from before.
The Demonic Authority he had refrained from using until now finally revealed itself.
The Infernal Flame that burned away sin became tainted by karma so immense that its end could not be fathomed.
His entire body, which had shone brilliantly like the sun, gradually turned black.
“!%#@$!”
What emerged from Yoo Seongwoo’s mouth could no longer be called language.
Power began condensing into his outstretched hand.
It was a black sun.
Asura Divine Art Ultimate Technique (修羅神功 極意)
Abyss (奈落)
At the same time, the clone unleashed its full power as well.
Origin (原)
Its body, having become a star itself, radiated brilliant light.
Gripping its spear, the clone threw itself toward the black sun.
The black sun swallowed the tiny star.
---!
Then a soundless explosion erupted.
Light burst from the pitch-black sun.
Before long, dazzling radiance drove away the black sun.
No one could utter a word at the surreal sight.
‘That’s…… the realm we have to reach…….’
An enormous mountain stood before them.
A towering mountain so high that they couldn’t even estimate its height.
Standing before it made them realize just how insignificant and small they truly were.
Through hundreds of deaths and witnessing a single battle, they came to understand the emotions known as despair and helplessness.
At that moment, Wol-ah’s growl broke them from their thoughts.
“Grrrrrr!”
“Eunha?”
Her gaze was directed toward where the black sun had exploded.
“Don’t tell me……?”
It was still standing after taking an attack like that?
Sure enough.
The White Clone could be seen in the distance.
One of its arms was gone, and its previously radiant body had lost a considerable amount of its light.
Seeing this, Helena raised her weapon.
“It looks like it somehow endured his attack, but it doesn’t seem unharmed. If we kill it…….”
Her words didn’t continue to the end, but everyone understood what she meant.
It had suffered severe injuries.
Severe enough that they could defeat it if they attacked together.
If they did, they wouldn’t have to continue this hellish trial any longer.
Their gazes crossed.
Dan Chun-woo was the first to act.
He drove his sword into the ground, then walked toward the clone.
There was no one here foolish enough to kill the clone just to take the easy path after witnessing Yoo Seongwoo’s battle.
The clone’s spear pierced Dan Chun-woo’s heart.
Eunha was next.
She raised her Demonic Energy and burst her own heart.
Eunha had no interest whatsoever in searching for Baek Hyun-joong or anything of the sort, but Yoo Seongwoo’s battle had given her quite a fresh shock.
More than anything, she felt something intense from this place.
She couldn’t tell what it was, but one thing was certain.
Yoo Seongwoo was the guide leading her toward it.
That was why she decided to respect his intentions.
And just like that, they threw away their opportunity to clear the trial.
Helena asked.
“Do you want to go first, or should I?”
“You go first. There’s something I want to try separately.”
Park Siwoo’s eyes burned with intense desire.
The clone’s movements still lingered before his eyes.
Its figure was, quite literally, the ideal he needed to pursue.
That was why he wanted to test himself.
Who knew when another clone wielding a spear would appear?
Helena shook her head at the sight and approached the clone.
“Be careful not to overdo it. It looks like that thing is at its limit too.”
“Got it.”
Park Siwoo gave an awkward smile and tightened his grip around his spear.
The cold sensation of metal flowed through his hand.
Had watching the previous battle made him too excited?
It felt as though he were holding a weapon for the first time.
The gazes of the clone and Park Siwoo crossed.
With only one arm remaining, the clone raised its spear and took aim.
“Inhale, exhale.”
Park Siwoo lightly drew in a breath and took his stance.
Brilliant starlight gathered at his spear tip.
A power surpassing the Sword Aura the clone had used.
Trying to manifest Origin (原) in a single attempt would be greed.
‘I’ll start with what I can do.’
He clearly remembered the clone’s movements from its battle against Yoo Seongwoo.
Its techniques undoubtedly shared the same roots as Park Siwoo’s, but they were far more complete.
And by directly witnessing this battle, Park Siwoo had completely learned their forms.
His own martial arts, which had yet to be properly completed, had been perfectly and completely corrected.
Of course, he couldn’t execute them perfectly from the very beginning.
Even so, for some reason, he felt like he could do it now.
Park Siwoo assumed his stance.
As expected, the clone also took the exact same stance as Park Siwoo.
The technique Park Siwoo was about to unleash was the hypersonic thrust that had first landed a clean hit on Yoo Seongwoo.
Thunderbolt Piercing Serpent (霹靂透虵)
Then, as both of them pushed their concentration to the absolute limit, their spears crossed, and for an instant, the spears vanished.