WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 157: Dark King 5
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Rumble!
The exact same thing that had happened when Yuri took hold of the Banner of Reversing the Death Realm in Gangyu happened again. The instant he grasped the flag, a tremendous tremor and sound struck him, followed by thump, thump, thump. The shaking sank into his entire body.
Having experienced it once before, he understood the phenomenon more clearly this time. This tremor was a sign of descent. Red currents crackled around the banner, and space split open as though someone had seized and torn it apart.
The absurd presence and power distorted the area around the widening rift. Fragments shattered like glass poured down, and brilliant light spilled from within.
[Hmm!]
A deep male voice rang out. Yuri tried to grimace at the sound, but once again, his body would not obey him.
While the Banner of Reversing the Death Realm was active, the world stood still.
[What have we here? The Banner of Reversing the Death Realm... Hmm?! It is you!]
He wore splendid full plate armor. The lights visible through the slits of his helmet widened into circles. Shaking his head in apparent surprise, the God of War spoke.
[You overcame your previous Death Realm alone? You are truly a warrior who turns the tide!]
‘This son of a bitch.’
His body could not move in the frozen world, but his thoughts had not stopped. Yuri glared at the God of War as fiercely as he could.
[If the Banner of Reversing the Death Realm has activated, you must be standing at the fork between life and death. No, your body must already be tipping toward death itself... Hahaha! I am terribly curious how you overcame that Death Realm!]
The God of War's lights narrowed. Yuri could not see anything resembling eyes beyond that glow, but goosebumps rose over his body as he felt the god's gaze sweep over him.
[I see... You are an external spirit summoned by Chaos. Hahaha! I have many exceptional external spirits among my followers. I have seen many external spirits offered to me as well. Yet among all the external spirits I have seen, you are particularly magnificent!]
External spirits must have meant Transmigrators. Even the Sect of War, which was hostile to and captured Transmigrators, had Transmigrators among its ranks?
‘And what the hell does it mean to be offered?’
The God of War continued even as Yuri reeled.
[When that fool Chaos first began summoning external spirits as it pleased, I wondered what the hell it was doing. Hahaha! Thanks to it, the world has become much more entertaining. Yes, the flames of war can only burn bright when there is a clear enemy!]
The God of War chuckled and pointed at Yuri.
[External spirit, what do you say? I like you, exceptional one. You overcame the Death Realm alone, and now you stand before it once more! You are close to me. You carry the strong scent of war.]
‘No way.’
[If you wish it, I will Baptize you at once! Offer your soul and spirit to war. Will you serve me?]
In Alderan, the High Priest at Union's Grand Temple had offered to perform his Baptism. Now, a god himself was trying to convert him.
He could not open his lips or make a sound. How was he supposed to answer?
For now, Yuri had no intention of becoming a follower of the God of War. The god had personally said that there were Transmigrators in the Sect of War, but there were far too many things about that place that left a bad taste in his mouth to decide on faith so lightly.
‘If I become a follower of the God of War, Lady Lorelia might kill me.’
Lorelia had nearly beaten him to death just because he had received a Divine Relic of the God of War. It was entirely possible.
[Hmm...? Order's mad dog, that insane mortal?]
The lights in the God of War's helmet flashed. Yuri had not made a sound, yet the god reacted. It seemed his thoughts had been read, and Yuri involuntarily flinched.
‘Did he hear me cursing too?’
The God of War did not scold him for it.
[That insane mortal destroyed my Grand Temple alone. You have a connection to her? Hah...]
The sigh he let out held emotions far too complicated for a god.
[Why does a fighting dog of that caliber serve something like Order? I will not force faith upon you. If you keep close to war, you will seek my Baptism someday.]
The God of War reached out. His hand emerged from the open rift.
Crackle! Though only a single hand had emerged, the distortion of space spread wider and fragments rained down.
[External spirit. Though you have encountered the Death Realm, you do not yield to death. You wish to fight. Therefore, according to the divine covenant inscribed upon the Banner of Reversing the Death Realm, I shall grant you a miracle.]
‘More.’
Just looking at the hand that had entered this world made Yuri's mind reel. Yet he did not buckle under the pressure. Instead, he forced out his thoughts.
‘A bigger miracle.’
The God of War himself had said that the next time Yuri used the Banner of Reversing the Death Realm, he would add the miracle he had failed to grant in Gangyu. Surely a god would not go back on his word.
[Hahaha, hahahaha! Yes, I did say that. But you, external spirit, mortal, are too greedy. What shall descend upon you is a miracle of defying Heaven, one that overturns the death bound to follow the Death Realm. Even one miracle will be more than you can bear.]
‘Not enough.’
[Hahaha! You do not even know what miracle it will be, yet you already call it insufficient! Very well. I shall grant you a miracle. But remember this, external spirit. The Banner of Reversing the Death Realm exists to overcome the Death Realm. And overcoming it does not mean preserving your life and fleeing, nor does it mean ending the battle in a draw.]
The lights in the God of War's helmet blazed.
[It means victory. It means bringing down your opponent. You must offer me a complete victory, without the slightest room for doubt. If you fail to offer victory, even should death release you, the miracle I grant you will become your death.]
Fleeing?
Ending the fight in a draw?
Neither was worth considering. What Yuri wanted was exactly what the God of War wanted.
Complete victory.
He had risked his life because he wanted to beat the shit out of Tang Yu-shin. If he had not intended to defeat that bastard himself, he would have asked the Sword Emperor, Baek Eun-mu-hu, or Cruel Mayhem to fight for him from the beginning.
[The divine covenant is fulfilled. A miracle shall descend.]
The God of War's hand gripped the staff of the Banner of Reversing the Death Realm.
Rumble!
A tremor incomparably greater than the first was drawn into Yuri's body.
Thump, thump, thump!
His heart pounded as though it would burst.
The snake of Gebra heated Yuri's body from within. His three dantians bound together, and a scarlet light exploded from his Upper Dantian. At the same time, his Intent expanded exactly as he wished.
Everything happening now was impossible for Yuri at the sixth tier. Even putting aside the fact that he had mastered the divine art known as the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, the impossible was becoming reality.
[Think of the future you will one day reach. The miracle shall embody it.]
The shattered fragments rose back up and began to fill the rift. The overflowing radiance did not return with them. It was drawn into Yuri's body.
A miracle was something beyond human common sense. At this moment, the God of War's miracle dwelled within Yuri.
Yuri had worried that the god might leave again after making some absurd excuse, but now, at the center of the miracle, he understood why gods were gods.
Frozen time began to move.
“...?”
Estor, drenched in blood, raised his head to look at Yuri. The moment Estor saw the red banner in Yuri's blood-drenched hand, he nodded.
Yuri had told him about the banner in advance. The Banner of Reversing the Death Realm, a Divine Relic of the God of War. Estor gave Yuri's shoulder a light pat and asked,
“Will you be all right?”
Yuri nodded silently.
Opening his mouth and producing a voice was difficult.
His body was too hot. It felt as if a raging fire would burn him whole.
“...What did you do?”
Tang Yu-shin's face was hidden beneath the Dark Battle, Strange Night Garb that covered his body. Yet a trace of bewilderment could be read in his exposed eyes. Yuri's current state was that unnatural.
‘His Intent... is growing.’
To Tang Yu-shin, Yuri looked like a blazing fire. And it was still growing larger. Intent this intense, powerful enough to appear that way, could never belong to someone at the sixth tier.
‘Whatever it is...’
He could not leave Yuri alone. Tang Yu-shin felt that instinctive warning. It was strange enough that he felt this way even after unleashing Conceptual Apotheosis, but Tang Yu-shin moved his hand.
Countless black scales split apart and became concealed weapons of different shapes. The instant they transformed, they surged toward Yuri.
At the same time, Yuri drove the banner into the ground.
Rumble!
Scarlet currents spread outward from Yuri. The incoming concealed weapons tangled and scattered. Intent clashed against Intent.
Tang Yu-shin's eyes widened.
Right before his eyes, Yuri's wounds healed. Broken bones fused back together. The blood that had soaked his entire body flowed back into his wounds, and new flesh grew.
Everything felt light. He felt as if he could turn anything he wanted into nothingness.
It was an alien sense of omnipotence. Even if it was temporary and born of a miracle, Yuri was certain that he had reached martial prowess worthy of being discussed alongside a Martial Apex Venerable.
Now, he could unleash the martial prowess he had always wanted.
The sixth tier was the stage of preparing to rise beyond the ordinary. It was where one opened the Upper Dantian, entered the realm of Intent, and added Intent to the martial arts one had cultivated throughout a lifetime.
Preparation required a desire to improve. The desire to perfect what one did well and make up for one's shortcomings formed the vision.
The seventh tier was where one completely understood every martial art one had learned, added one's own insights, and manifested them through Intent.
But that realm still touched upon the domain of humanity. To go beyond it, one had to surpass even the improvements one desired but that seemed impossible for a human being. Only then could one achieve apotheosis through Intent.
‘What I do well.’
Yuri was a martial artist. His martial arts focused on fighting barehanded at close range.
His foundation was the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil. His strongest martial art was Sacred Flame Release, but the one he had used most was still the Fist of the Rending Cloud. It was the martial art he was most confident in, and Whirlwind Cloud Steps was paired with it.
He had created Crimson Stream Kick after realizing he needed a leg technique.
It was a martial art he had created in a time when he was lacking in many ways compared to now, but because he had made it himself, he improved it every time. By now, Crimson Stream Kick was more than worthy of being called a peak martial art.
‘What I lack.’
Blood Wheel Soul-Locking Palm was a divine art. He had read it over and over and understood it, but he still could not perfectly execute every aspect of it.
For now, the only move Yuri could properly unleash from Blood Wheel Soul-Locking Palm was its first form, Blood Wheel Shattering Strike.
He had taken the three formulas of the Heinderga Magic Formula Elena gave him, added them to his martial arts, used the advantages of magic, and manifested them through Intent. That was Thunder Orb.
Thunder Orb itself was a technique that could be called exceptional even within the sixth tier, but Yuri wanted more.
Sealing Thunder at the Gate of Death. He had optimized it for his current attack style, but it was originally a technique of an incredibly high level.
The original spell was an automatic counterattack formula that struck with lightning the moment it detected something. Yuri had given up the automatic counterattack and used it as an external sense instead, so its purpose was different.
The same was true of the Transcendent Sight he had integrated with it. In fights against masters, there were often times when he could sense and see everything but could not respond effectively.
There were also things he knew but could not use. Si Seonryeong's Eternal Thirst. He had memorized the spell completely, but his Soul Power could not bear the magic.
It was such a high-level spell from the start that he would likely need to surpass the seventh tier before he could even dip a toe into it.
All of it.
‘Everything.’
Crackle, crackle...!
The currents that had flowed around the banner converged upon Yuri. His black hair fluttered, and a flame lit in his eyes.
The Sacred Domain activated, and the miracle manifested.
‘What is this...?’
Tang Yu-shin shivered. He had meant to press forward with a barrage of attacks as before, but he hesitated without realizing it. It felt as if he were facing an entirely different person.
Tang Yu-shin swallowed at the tension he had not felt from Cloud Dragon before the banner appeared.
‘The banner, the regeneration of his wounds... I do not understand. Did he gain some insight and rise in tier?’
A bodily transformation could heal wounds, but not like that. And the presence he felt now. It was as though...
Craaaash!
Naturally, sound could not keep up with the movement, and Tang Yu-shin did not hear anything like that. What he heard was a sharp crack.
He could not even see it properly. The attack had already arrived the instant light flashed.
The bloody taste rising in his mouth twisted Tang Yu-shin's face. The blow had not ended with impact. Flames overflowing from Yuri's fist were consuming him.
Concealed weapons burst from Tang Yu-shin's entire body. He managed to shake Yuri off, but Tang Yu-shin could not hide his shock. The concealed weapons he had detonated at this distance had failed to hit properly.
The instant the concealed weapons exploded, Yuri was already outside their range, as if he had seen that future and every trajectory of the attack in advance.
‘This is different.’
The external sense Yuri had used before had a slight delay before he could react. Now, Tang Yu-shin could not sense that delay at all.
Tang Yu-shin bit down hard enough to crush his lips and scattered black scales. At the same time, lightning and flame erupted around Yuri.
A current so faint it was nearly invisible followed Yuri's killing intent. It fluttered like dense webs of deadly threads. Every thread created a flow, twisting the paths of concealed weapons that touched them.
That was not all. When Yuri extended his hand, all the qi around him was drawn into his palm. Eternal Thirst. The absorbed qi became fuel for the flames and concentrated into a single point.
The Thunder Orb formed that way could not be compared to the earlier one.
Tang Yu-shin instinctively understood the Thunder Orb's power. Without hesitation, he unleashed Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain to counter it, but the exploding Thunder Orb scattered lightning and flame in every direction.
‘What the hell is this...!’
Instead of retreating, Tang Yu-shin charged straight ahead. Every movement he made spawned countless attacks and changes.
The feints and realities he had been unable to see through were visible now. Dozens of Blood Wheels formed in an instant and wrapped around Yuri's right arm.
It was not a vortex being driven straight into the target. The violently spinning crimson rings overlapped and became one, then expanded massively.
Blood Wheel Realm-Breaking.
Boooom!
As Yuri thrust out his hand, a thunderous roar like Mount Tai collapsing shook the world.
Faced with an attack that seemed to shove space itself forward, Tang Yu-shin thrust both hands out. Shrrrk! The Dark Battle, Strange Night Garb changed shape.
Thousands of concealed weapons became a single blade connected to his forearm.
Crunch!
His swung strike split the palm force of Blood Wheel Realm-Breaking in two, but that one blow was not the attack's end.
Bang, bang, bang!
Yuri had thrown one palm strike, yet the overlapping rings fired palm force one after another.
Not even Tang Yu-shin could cut through all of them. Unable to withstand the impacts, he was driven backward.
Before he could judge his next move, Yuri had already reached his side.
The path of Yuri's foot raised a crimson wave.
Tang Yu-shin's kicked body flew into the sky like a ball.
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