Proofreader: Gort
*****
“Sylp…”
Even before the terrified Rubia finished, the figure surrounded by wind covered her.
It was so fast that it was impossible to trace the attack. The wind tried to rip Rubia apart.
At that moment, Rubia didn’t know what would happen to her.
Lee Sungmin stepped forward. With a spear in his hand, he thrust it past Rubia into the wind.
Puakkk!
It ripped. The tens of strips of wind bounced around until they came back to the figure.
“Who is that?”
Lee Sungmin asked Rubia. He could not see the face of the man hidden behind the raging wind.
Even if he said man, only the voice was that of a man. He could not tell if the figure was a man or a woman.
“Sy… Sylphid-nim… is the strongest spirit among the wind-type spirits. He is one of the Spirit Kings.”
“A Spirit King, huh? So a dog of the Spirit Queen?”
Lee Sungmin muttered, stepping forward.
Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth.
These were the main categories of spirits, and the 4 Spirit Kings were the strongest in each type. The Spirit Queen was someone who ruled all these spirits.
[You… are a human? No, definitely not.]
Sylphid looked at Lee Sungmin, gathering the wind towards itself.
All the wind in this vast mountain range gathered around Sylphid. Lee Sungmin grabbed his hair, which flew everywhere around his face. He regretted not cleaning it up earlier.
[Rubia. The Queen had not yet punished you for being unable to protect her lover. But now you decide to betray her.]
“W…wait, Sy.. Sylphid-nim. I wasn’t tryi-”
[Do not make excuses. You have said what you shouldn’t have to that monster, who claimed he would kill our Queen. I have seen what you have said and done. All spirits will know of your betrayal.]
Sylphid mocked, spitting out his words. Behind the wind, the Spirit King raised his entire body.
Besides Lee Sungmin, Scarlett, Baek Sogo, and Yana appeared.
Scarlett grasped her hair with both hands, muttering.
“The Spirit King of the Wind… now we have to fight this guy?”
[This isn’t a fight. This is punishment! Even if I descended here alone, I have more than enough strength to kill you all.]
“So you came here alone, huh?”
The Spirit King explained everything without being asked to. Listening to Sylphid talk, Lee Sungmin glanced at Rubia.
“You should back away.”
“Bu… but…”
“Who are you worried about? Me? Or that Spirit King? No, right now, you should be worrying about yourself. Or are you trying to get yourself killed by that Spirit King of the Wind?”
Rubia was silent under Lee Sungmin’s questions. While she was struggling to talk, Lee Sungmin looked at the other 3.
“Please stay away. I hope you protect Rubia-nim.”
“Do you not need help?”
Yana asked.
Kururururuurururu!!!
The winds surrounding Sylphid had become a giant tornado. The sound of the wind at the innermost part gave everyone the chills.
“I’ll try it on my own for now.”
Lee Sungmin spoke with ease. Baek Sogo looked at Lee Sungmin worriedly, but Lee Sungmin softly smiled.
“There won’t be any problems.”
[You are one arrogant bastard.]
Sylphid, who was listening to their conversation, showed his displeasure. Its body was made of wind, and it had no expressions on its face.
However, Lee Sungmin calmly pointed his spear at the gigantic body whose size rivaled that of small mountains.
Lee Sungmin grasped his spear tightly.
[You are pretty brave. Are you confident?]
‘Yes, but there are other reasons.’
Replying to Heoju, who spoke in his mind, Lee Sungmin lowered his stance.
‘Wijihoyeon…fought against the Spirit Queen….’
[And even after a month, there was no clear winner.]
‘I don’t think that I’m stronger than her. Even if I have the body of the Predator of Massacre, my martial arts have not improved.’
Lee Sungmin knew that for a fact. Even if his body had been perfected and his internal energies had settled down, his martial arts didn’t improve.
It was due to his slumber that lasted for 10 years.
However, Wijihoyeon was different. The 10 years she spent probably shot her skills to an even higher peak.
Ten years after the meeting, they sparred. Back then, Lee Sungmin had won. However, during the time that they had spent in the forest, she had caught up to him.
Now, Wijihoyeon was probably miles in front of him.
‘If Wijihoyeon failed to slay the Spirit Queen, then there is no chance I can. However… I should be able to kill a Spirit King, an existence lower than the Spirit Queen. No, I must kill it.
[To some degree, what you wanted happened, haha.]
Heoju laughed at Lee Sungmin.
[Before, you wanted Wijihoyeon to be stronger than you. You wanted to chase after her, didn’t you?]
‘Up to a certain point.’
[It finally happened after 10 years. Unlike you, who stopped progressing, Wijihoyeon kept running ahead.]
‘It’s good that she has a clear goal.’
Inside the tornado, Sylphid raised both of his hands.
‘I want to jump ahead of her.’
Lee Sungmin kicked upward. In an instant, he flew up high. His speed, which had broken Sylphid’s expectations, surprised the Spirit King.
Instead of panicking, he made the wind surrounding him explode outward. The water in the lake became huge waves and spread outwards, while the Moon Palace, which faced the wind, exploded into pieces.
Yana spread out her nine tails, shielding Scarlett, Baek Sogo, and Rubia. Scarlett did not panic and created a shield surrounding everyone.
Facing the fearsome wind alone, Lee Sungmin grasped his spear with both hands and twisted his waist, spinning the spear in a breath.
KWAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
Thunder rang out as Lee Sungmin struck with his spear. Purple lightning shot out from the speartip, spreading and crushing the wind.
Lee Sungmin ran in the empty air, grasping his spear.
Kikkkkkkkk!
The spear in Lee Sungmin’s hands spun in a circle, collecting the purple lightning back to himself.
In an instant, the art was completed. Originally, the 7th form of the Nine Heavenly Spear Techniques was formed by condensing the energy into one point and spreading it out.
However, it was different now. Lee Sungmin’s overflowing spirit and internal energy moved instantly as he willed, which made it so that if he wanted to spread out his internal energy, it would take an instant for it to do so.
The spear in Lee Sungmin’s grasp shuddered. He pulled back and thrust his spear forward.
KWAANNNG!
The incredible power in the spear shot into the center of the tornado. Sylphid, who faced the attack, gasped and tried to protect itself. The wind surrounding it expanded outwards.
A loud sound, which made the bystanders’ ears stuffy, exploded. The ripped winds slowly faded away, and purple lightning surrounded the peak.
The larger streaks of lightning pierced the surrounding peaks, and the smaller mountains were pulverized.
With one swing and just one swing of his spear, Lee Sungmin managed to crush the Spirit King’s winds.
Unlike the spar with the Spear King, Lee Sungmin did not limit his internal energy.
[WHAT THE FUCK!]
Sylphid’s body shook from the attack. Even though the gap between the winds was closed, Sylphid screamed.
RRRIIIIIIPPPP!
Internal Energy and the Yokai powers worked together in harmony. However, due to the thicker winds surrounding the Spirit King, it could not harm it directly.
Lee Sungmin did not know if Spirit Kings could even be killed.
However, he thought it was possible to reverse-summon the spirit, dealing enough damage so the spirit couldn’t stay in this world.
After surrounding himself with internal energy to protect himself, Lee Sungmin did not hesitate to jump directly into the storm.
[You stupid piece of shit! HAHAHA!]
Sylphid laughed, sure that Lee Sungmin’s body would be ripped to shreds even with the coating of energy.
KAGGAGAAKK!
The winds tried to pierce the coating surrounding Lee Sungmin. It was said that the middle of a storm was calm, but it was the opposite of the storm created by the Spirit King. The winds that were able to cut and rip everything turned towards Lee Sungmin.
However, the internal energy surrounding Lee Sungmin did not break. The endless energy surrounding Lee Sungmin was focused on creating a sturdy shield.
The heavy winds made Lee Sungmin’s body tilt here and there, making it hard to balance himself.
It didn’t matter if he couldn’t stabilize his body; as long as the hands and arms were steady, he could swing his spear.
The spear collected the energy, preparing its attack. Lee Sungmin used the 4th form of the Nine Heavenly Spear Technique, summoning nine dragons, and the Hundred Islands of the Blood Spirits, the 5th form of the Blood Rings Martial Arts; these two spread out simultaneously.
KWAAAAAAAANGGG!!!!!!
In the middle of the storm, a massive explosion rang out. The nine dragons, surrounded by purple electricity, spread out around Lee Sungmin.
The storm calmed, and the winds separated apart. Lee Sungmin calmly prepared his next attack.
The nearby area grew dim. The air was filled with energy and wind, running wildly. Lee Sungmin pulled back the spear. Once more.
6th form of the Nine Heavenly Spear Technique, Lightning Annihilation.
A small hole was created in the direction of where the spear pointed. The gap grew bigger until one could see small currents of purple lightning running inside it.
KWAAAAAAAAA!!!
The lightning exploded, completely demolishing the winds surrounding Sylphid.
Without the wind, the Spirit King’s body shook. Lee Sungmin shot towards Sylphid, who was shocked even to say anything.
[YOU BASTARD!]
The Spirit King opened his mouth, roaring. He raised his hands; even if no one was helping him, he was still the king of all wind spirits. The remaining winds came to his hands, creating a gigantic war hammer. He could not defeat Lee Sungmin by gathering the wind and scratching him. However, he realized that too late.
Yes, he realized that fact too late.
As he swung the hammer, it lifted the ground and the heavens. The world-shaking strike condensed and struck Lee Sungmin.
Lee Sungmin’s eyes saw the surface of the hammer; the coating of energy around him grew thicker and thicker.
Without anywhere to go, he stepped forward. One, two, three steps; Lee Sungmin used Three Steps: Destroying Heaven to clear the wind covering the hammer, and with one more step, created Four Steps: Hundred Thunders of Hell.
The thunder that kept ringing out struck louder than the rest. The hammer in Sylphid’s hands dissipated without a trace.
Without a weapon, Sylphid swung his arms. There was no end to the wind. Even with the slightest movement, the wind answered his call.
The Spirit King of the Wind created small storms with every swing of his arm. The wind in the entirety of the mountain was at his beck and call.
Lee Sungmin only had his body and a spear.
However, he was winning. On the tip of the spear, lightning struck and electricity coursed throughout the rest of the spear, constantly expanding. In the space surrounding Lee Sungmin, he was like the god of thunder and lightning.
The strike that killed Volander resurfaced. With his golden eyes, Lee Sungmin coldly glared at Sylphid.
He had nothing to ask the Spirit King, so he did not hesitate.
The storms were ripped apart by lightning, and thunder filled the air. In the middle of the lightning, Sylphid could not summon any more wind. Lee Sungmin stabbed his spear towards Sylphid, the Spirit King of Wind, and declared proudly.
“Creation.”
And that was the end.
KWAAAAAAAA!!!!
The winds collapsed.
Lee Sungmin stood in the middle of the evaporated lake, looking at the spreading wind.
Was he destroyed or reverse-summoned? Well, it didn’t matter that much. From now on, Sylphid could not appear in this world.
“It was good that Sylphid came here.”
Lee Sungmin opened his mouth.
“It seems that Rubia-nim cannot go back to the Spirit Queen; you will be seen as a traitor. If Rubia-nim wants to commit suicide, I will not see you off.”
Rubia looked at Lee Sungmin with a frustrated expression. She could not believe what she had seen earlier.
The Spirit King of the Wind. No matter how sudden his descent had been, he was one of the strongest beings in the Spirit Realm, right after the Spirit Queen. However, a being like that was utterly destroyed.
“Lee…Lee Sungmin-nim… who are you, really….”
“We will have to move quickly. It will get busy soon.”
Lee Sungmin interrupted her and put his spear on his back.
“Let’s head to the Golden Tower first.”
“Golden Tower? Why?”
“I need to meet Lloyd-nim.”
Lee Sungmin glanced at the ruins and turned away.
*****
TL Notes: hehe, new chapter moment