Chapter 173: True Asura Descent Origin
Along with a violent explosion, the Assault alarm blared.
[Assault Alert! An Invasion by Demons has been detected. All cadets, please proceed quickly to the shelters under the guidance of your assigned instructors.]
Yoo Iseo, who had been reviewing documents in the Student Council Room, rose from her seat.
Seo Da-hee expressed concern at the sight.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been pushing yourself too hard for a while.”
“I’m fine.”
“But you still haven’t recovered from your last injuries. There are plenty of forces at the Academy, so why do you keep…….”
Seo Da-hee’s expression twisted.
Almost as soon as Yoo Seongwoo and the others entered the Fragment, Pandemonium’s Assaults began.
It had been a week since Yoo Seongwoo and the others entered the Fragment.
During that time, there had already been five Assaults by Demons, both large and small.
Pandemonium, which had remained quiet for some time, had begun moving again, throwing not only the Academy but the entire country into chaos.
Parents with children among the cadets were desperately trying to pull them out immediately, and the Academy couldn’t stop them.
That was because the Academy itself knew just how precarious the current situation was.
Even so, the Academy had managed to maintain its current form thanks to the Sword Emperor and Oliver Raiders.
The belief that they would at least be safe as long as those two protected them.
That was the weight carried by the title of Top-ranking Hero.
“The Sword Emperor and the other Top-ranking Heroes can’t move. They’re our final line of defense.”
“There are other instructors too!”
“But none of them are as strong as me.”
At present, excluding the Top-ranking Heroes, Yoo Iseo was powerful enough to rank among the three strongest people in the Academy.
From the beginning, Yoo Iseo had possessed talent comparable to a main character and held the title of Upper-Mid-ranking Hero from the very start of <Become a Hero>.
Not only had she escaped her original Fate and survived, but under Yoo Seongwoo’s guidance, she had continued to develop herself through the Fragments and grueling training.
And the results had been tremendous.
“The Demons attacking us keep getting stronger. Without me, the battles will become much harder.”
“You’re right. Iseo, there might be more casualties without you. But even when you’re there, people still get hurt.”
“But there will definitely be fewer of them if I’m there.”
Seo Da-hee’s expression turned cold at Yoo Iseo’s stubbornness.
It was ironic.
No matter how much Yoo Iseo was the Student Council President and held the title of the strongest at the Academy, they were still relying on a mere cadet.
Seo Da-hee couldn’t stand how the Academy relied on a student for everything while hiding behind her.
Lia trembled at the emotions transmitted through their souls.
‘This is bad. Da-hee is seriously pissed……!’
An enraged Seo Da-hee was like ice burning coldly.
Her voice rose, something that rarely happened.
“Stop making excuses! They’re all excuses in the end. You’re feeling impatient because of the current situation.”
“…….”
Yoo Iseo closed her mouth at those words.
The words of an enraged Seo Da-hee were like daggers.
Seo Da-hee knew her as well as she knew herself—no, perhaps even better.
There was nothing Yoo Iseo could say in rebuttal.
And so, the feelings she had been suppressing finally leaked out.
“I was incompetent and powerless. I didn’t even realize I was being manipulated by a Demon, relied on others, and almost lost everything.”
“But you didn’t lose anything.”
“How can you be sure something like that won’t happen again?”
Yoo Iseo was afraid.
Afraid that she might lose something precious again.
The current situation was the greatest crisis the Academy had faced since its founding.
It was the calm before the storm, just before the outbreak of a second Great War.
In war, there was nothing one could rely on.
To survive and protect what was precious, one had to become strong.
“The juniors will probably be stronger than me by the time they return.”
Time flowed differently inside the Fragment.
It had already been a week since Yoo Seongwoo and his friends entered it.
Several months, perhaps close to a year, must have passed inside the Fragment.
“But I have no intention of falling behind my juniors.”
Her eyes burned fiercely.
She hated being incompetent.
Even more than that, she hated the thought of being swept up in something again, unable to do anything and forced to rely on others.
“I won’t become a supporting character or an extra.”
Seo Da-hee’s expression softened considerably at those words.
She understood Yoo Iseo’s feelings better than anyone.
Lia did as well.
So did Seo Da-hee herself.
They hadn’t been able to help Yoo Seongwoo.
The helplessness of being able to sense his emotions and condition while being unable to do anything about them.
She hated that feeling.
‘That was why I even fought with Seongwoo.’
In truth, Seo Da-hee had demanded that she be included in the search for Baek Hyun-joong.
If Yoo Seongwoo died, they would die as well.
Lia had been bound to Yoo Seongwoo from the beginning, while Seo Da-hee herself remained alive through the Homunculus Heart in which Lia had placed her soul.
Being left knowing nothing, forced to tremble in fear and worry, was enough to drive a person insane.
Seo Da-hee took Yoo Iseo’s hand.
“I understand how you feel. I don’t want to become a supporting character either. But right now, we’re the ones who have to hold the Academy together. Not the Sword Emperor or the other Top-ranking Heroes.”
The Top-ranking Heroes couldn’t move recklessly.
Their very existence served as a Counter Force, but at the same time, if they moved, war would become unavoidable.
“So don’t be too impatient.”
“Okay…….”
“And just as Seongwoo and the juniors were given a special opportunity, we have an opportunity too.”
Yoo Iseo tilted her head.
“An opportunity?”
“Yeah. Let’s ask the Sword Emperor and the other Top-ranking Heroes to teach us.”
Rumbleeeee!
At that moment, the ground shook with a violent tremor.
“What is this……?!”
It was an earthquake powerful enough to make it difficult to maintain their balance.
Yoo Iseo turned her head.
An Aura could be felt beyond the Academy’s Barrier Wall.
It was so unpleasant and chilling that her entire body trembled.
Sure enough, screams erupted everywhere.
“Iseo!”
“Da-hee……?!”
Yoo Iseo turned toward the voice calling her and froze.
Something was wrong with Seo Da-hee, who had been perfectly fine only moments ago.
A massive hole had been punched through her chest, and blood streamed from her eyes and nose.
“Save me…….”
“Kyaaaaaak!”
Her trauma was triggered without warning, and Yoo Iseo screamed.
“Iseo! Yoo Iseo!! Get a hold of yourself!”
When she closed her eyes and opened them again, Seo Da-hee had returned to normal.
“……What the hell was that?”
“Why did you suddenly do that?!”
Yoo Iseo reached out and touched Seo Da-hee in front of her.
After taking a moment to calm herself, Yoo Iseo continued.
“Just now, you looked exactly like you did when Yoo Seongwoo killed you.”
“It looks like we’ve been hit by an enormous Mental Attack.”
“The only ones capable of something like this are…….”
The High-ranking Executives of Pandemonium.
A fierce battle unfolded amid violent explosions.
Helena and Eunha, their entire bodies covered in thick scales, blocked the clone’s attacks.
Even under the clone’s ferocious offensive, the two endured by relying on each other.
“Huaah!”
Dragon Fear erupted with a fierce battle cry, restraining the clone’s movements for an instant.
Park Siwoo and Dan Chun-woo didn’t miss the opening and unleashed their attacks.
Thunderbolt Piercing Serpent (霹靂透虵)
Swift Heaven’s Choice (澤天快)
Their respective strikes shot forward as beams of light.
At that moment, Radiance poured from the clone’s body.
Origin (原)
Having become a star itself, it released its power.
Their formation collapsed beneath the enormous storm of power.
The clone didn’t miss that moment.
Its figure vanished after releasing an explosive burst of power.
This clone was an assassin type.
It possessed exceptional mobility and tremendous attack speed.
Having become a star itself, the clone unleashed a barrage of daggers.
Daggers enveloped in starlight poured down like meteors.
The power contained within each one was terrifying.
“Oh, I don’t think Helena and Eunha’s defenses can withstand that.”
How much time had passed since we entered the Fragment Trial?
I looked at the countless swords occupying the vast trial space.
I had driven another sword into the ground with each passing day, and before I knew it, there were more than three hundred of them.
In other words, we had already been inside the Fragment for nearly a year.
During that time, they had died more times than anyone could count.
They had been dying once every three or four minutes, so that said everything.
Still, the year of training hadn’t gone to waste.
At first, they hadn’t even been able to follow the clone’s movements.
Now, the five of us could fight it evenly in a five-on-one battle.
Of course, that was only when the clone wasn’t using its Awakening Technique, Origin (原).
Even so, it was tremendous growth.
Of course, there had been plenty of twists and turns before we reached this point.
At first, neither their specs nor their techniques were enough to compete with the clone, so I had to fight alongside them.
We began by having me hold it off while they looked for openings to attack.
Even then, they died at the slightest touch like fragile fish.
Throughout the process, they fell into despair countless times and tried to give up each time.
Still, the reason they had managed to endure without giving up until now was all thanks to my painstaking efforts.
This space was the ultimate training ground, but at the same time, it was also the perfect place to drive a person insane.
Why?
Because desire was effectively stripped away in this space.
It wasn’t that our desires were literally removed.
We simply weren’t given the opportunity to satisfy them.
A clone was generated whenever the challengers died, and the revived challengers’ bodies were always restored to peak condition.
What did that mean?
If your body returned to peak condition every time you revived, there was no need to sleep or eat.
At first glance, that probably sounded convenient.
But if you looked at it the other way around, this place was nothing less than an Asura Hell demanding endless battle.
That was why, to manage their stress, I threw myself against the clone and held it off so they could have time to rest.
But even that had its limits.
A daily existence filled with nothing but battle and death plunged them into depression.
It had eased somewhat once their realms rose and they could actually feel themselves growing, but even looking back on it now, those days had truly been nothing short of hell.
The one who had undergone the greatest change over the past year was Eunha.
She could now communicate freely and had even formed friendships with Park Siwoo and the others.
Her range of emotions had also become much richer.
Of course, most of what I had seen were emotions like anger, depression, and despair.
But whenever she experienced growth herself, she sometimes smiled brightly, and whenever the others grew stronger, she showed a determination not to fall behind them.
At that moment, I felt an intense killing intent.
Countless daggers shot toward me.
There wasn’t a single gap in the attack, leaving nowhere to evade.
“What, are you already out?”
Looking to one side, I saw Park Siwoo and the others collapsed on the ground, pierced through by daggers.
It seemed they had once again been unable to deal with Origin (原).
It was impressive that they had climbed this far in only a year, but they still had a long way to go.
I immediately unleashed Discipline Through Punishment and blocked the daggers.
Park Siwoo and the others weren’t the only ones who had grown here.
Throughout my time in this place, I had kept my Demonic Authority sealed and trained nothing but the Asura Divine Art.
And the results had been tremendous.
The instant I willed it, my body and Infernal Flame became one and ignited.
This was my first achievement.
The activation speed of True Asura Descent had become astonishingly fast.
But this was merely a secondary effect of the enlightenment I had attained.
Through endless battles against the clones, I had gained enlightenment and finally succeeded in stepping into a new realm.
Before long, my entire body began radiating the same Radiance as the clone.
Asura Divine Art (修羅神功).
True Asura Descent Origin (修羅降神 原).