Chapter 324: Something Incomprehensible (4)

Boom!

Boom! boom!

Crash! Crash!

The thundering sounds echoed one after another.

"Ugh!"

Neo was retreating, groaning, moving farther away each time.

Despite that...

"Haha, haha!"

Neo laughed.

"......"

Cale's face tensed. Seeing this, Neo raised his voice in triumph.

"In the end, my time is absolute!"

Neo raised a shield.

"I just have to block!"

Yes. He just had to block.

The heart containing the traits of numerous dragons.

That heart, in its rampage, drew in immense mana power.

Somehow, it blocked Cale’s attacks.

"Hahaha! You want to use your power to the fullest, but you have too many obstacles! Right?"

Yes.

Cale’s comrades, frozen around him, were obstacles preventing him from unleashing his power like a force of nature.

"Hehe, haha, he..."

Between laughs and groans, Neo pushed his heart forward.

"Come on, touch it!"

Another problem.

"If you touch it, it will explode! In this frozen time!"

If that happened...

"Everyone will die!"

It would be a massacre.

- This is madness!

The Fire of Destruction couldn’t help but express its frustration.

Cale’s face tensed even more.

"Haa—"

He exhaled deeply.

Neo had been pushed outside the walls.

But only slightly beyond the walls.

- 2 minutes.

Haa.

Cale exhaled deeply again.

Seeing this, Neo's smile widened.

"It’s my victory."

Yes. In the end, my time is absolute.

"No one can challenge my time."

Neo was ecstatic. At least, he could ensure that the damned Purple Blood Family and those standing before him wouldn’t achieve their goals.

"Haha—"

Then Neo stopped.

"Shut up."

"...What?"

Did he just tell me to shut up?

Neo’s face tensed as he looked at Cale.

Haa.

Cale exhaled as he muttered.

"Shut up."

It was really bothering him.

- No, don’t do it!

- Hold on, you have to hold on.

The Ancient Powers were speaking to Cale persistently.

- ...

Only Super Rock remained silent.

And gradually, the other powers also fell silent.

They had heard what Cale said before.

‘At full power.’

Cale had said he would go full power. That he would use everything he had.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Cale heard the beating of his heart.

Thump. Thump. Thump thump—

The rhythm of his heart began to speed up.

Yes...

"Instant—"

10 minutes?

That’s not Instant.

Yes, the Instant had grown. He could move in this time.

But...

- No, Cale, please—

The desperate voice of the Crybaby echoed, but Cale didn’t hear it.

‘Instant.’

Instant—

"It’s Instant."

Yes. That’s its essence.

Cale decided to use all his power to the fullest.

‘Even the Instant must be used fully.’

Originally, the Instant stretched seconds into long periods of time.

But in the end, it only lasted a few seconds.

‘And that’s correct.’

In other words, what Cale was using now wasn’t a "Full Instant."

Yes.

He wasn’t using his power to the fullest. And that meant one thing.

‘More—’

My time can slow down more.

Thump, thump.

The sound of his heart beating forcefully faded in his ears.

Cale stared intently at Neo.

"Don’t tell me—"

Neo’s words began to sound slow.

"Slower than my time—"

Yes.

My time can slow down more.

"Human—"

Raon’s voice also sounded slow. He felt his head burning. An intense pressure spread through his body.

‘Yes. This is an Instant.’

If Neo’s time was a problem, then Cale could have time slower than his. Even though Neo’s time seemed frozen, it wasn’t completely stopped. In the end, time was still flowing.

In that flow of time, Cale just had to divide it further.

"Haa."

His breath heated up. He felt like his head was going to explode. And his skin felt like it was going to tear apart. But Cale smiled.

‘Yes. I’ve never fought comfortably.’

When he was Kim Rok Soo, he always fought to the limit.

That was the right thing to do.

Comrades are obstacles?

Many obstacles?

‘So what?’

When he was Kim Rok Soo, he also had to fight while considering the ordinary citizens.

There had been more difficult situations.

Even so, Kim Rok Soo always completed his missions, except for one time, and survived.

That was—

- …Yes. Let’s do it.

As Super Rock said, it was only possible because he had tried.

The consequences would be handled later.

‘Just once—’

Cale took a step towards Neo.

His ears were ringing.

"Slower—"

Neo’s voice was slow.

Yes. He was getting ahead of Neo in time.

‘Still, I can’t completely stop Neo.’

Neo’s time was also almost like a standstill.

Even using Instant to the limit, Cale couldn’t completely stop Neo.

So—

‘I need to move fast.’

Finally, there was an opportunity.

Rip—

His skin was tearing.

Cale ignored it.

He only focused on Neo.

‘I’ll catch Neo.’

And using the power of the wind, he would send him as far away as possible.

He wanted to use the wind directly.

But...

‘The wind becomes slower when it leaves me.’

It wasn’t under the power of Instant.

So, he had to grab Neo by the neck, send the wind into his body, and make him fly away in his own time, unable to do anything.

‘Damn it.’

He was infuriated. Because that was his only option. The only thing Cale could do was move faster in a slower time than Neo’s and throw him as far away as possible, away from his comrades.

‘After that, I’ll use the shield.’

To protect his comrades as much as possible. When Neo’s body explodes, time will probably start flowing again. Then, even if it’s not Cale, his comrades will be able to deploy shields and endure the explosion.

‘Damn it—’

Rip—

The sound of his skin tearing.

Cale ignored it.

He was just irritated.

‘Magic.’

If only he could use magic.

He would have teleported Neo.

No.

With the mana out of control, even knowing magic, teleportation would be difficult.

It was one problem after another.

The only thing he could do was move Neo as far away as possible in this frozen time.

To survive.

To save the others.

Whoosh—

The wind formed in Cale’s hand.

His hand was already covered in blood, with the skin completely torn.

Crack—

Cale heard the sound of something cracking.

"Is it my Plate?"

Is it the sound of my Plate breaking?

Ha.

Am I really going to die?

Cale erased the useless thoughts. He couldn’t hear anything anymore.

“@$%-”

Neo was saying something, but he couldn’t hear it well due to the slowness. Or maybe he couldn’t hear it well because his ears were full of blood.

Cale extended his hand.

Whooosh—

Holding the wind in his other hand.

Thump!

At that moment, Cale heard his heart beat again.

And finally.

"Ready."

He grabbed Neo by the neck. He saw his body exposed and defenceless in the slowed time.

Whoosh—

Cale couldn’t even hear the sound of the wind in his hand.

Heat.

His head and entire body were hot.

Or maybe wet. No, what was this feeling?

Cold?

Cale couldn’t determine his state.

The recoil from the growth of Instant seemed to have changed things a bit.

But Cale didn’t pay attention to it.

- It really is the limit, the limit.

At the moment the Crybaby screamed that.

Thump—

Cale heard the peculiar sound of his heart.

Crack—

The sound of something breaking.

Whooosh—

Cale sent the wind towards Neo. Time was still slow. Cale really intended to push Instant to its limit.

He hadn’t let go yet.

"It’s the limit."

But his body had already reached its limit.

"Ah."

Time began to flow again.

"Damn it!"

Neo’s body flew far, carried by the wind.

Wong—Wong—

His ears were numb. But Cale didn’t have time to worry about his ears.

"That, crazy..."

Cale raised his hand. No, he moved his body. But his body wouldn’t move. His vision was blurred by blood. But Cale could see clearly.

Smile~

Neo was smiling even as he flew away.

Cale hadn’t been able to completely stop Neo.

"Yes. I will also sacrifice my life."

Neo really was a wicked guy.

No, a terrible guy.

Cale felt time slow even more.

Neo had sacrificed his remaining life.

Crack.

Neo’s heart cracked. No, it tore. Neo stuck his hand into his own heart and destroyed it. The “time” trait that had been compressed for over ten thousand years began to run wild. Time slowed even further. No, it sped up.

"What?"

Voices were heard.

No.

"-"

The world slowed again.

This time, it really seemed frozen.

Crack! Crack!

Neo’s heart began splitting in two.

The purple mana surrounding him had already vanished.

Neo was still flying.

Even so, he was smiling.

He had stopped controlling time and extending his life.

He used all the mana containing the explosion of his heart.

He launched an attack towards Raon.

Cale screamed.

“Dodge it!”

Neo used the method that would hurt Cale the most, sacrificing his remaining life.

“Ah.”

Cale’s face twisted.

“It’s slowing down.”

He was also slowing down.

“It’s the limit.”

It was true. Even though Neo’s time was unstable. More than that, Cale’s Instant was losing its strength.

He could no longer fully react.

“Human, I’m fine.”

Raon’s voice, trying to shout, was becoming slower and slower. Cale saw, in the increasingly slowed time, that Raon couldn’t dodge the spell.

“The shield…”

And the silver shield was fading. The spell fired was extremely fast, and even though Raon flapped his wings, it was quickly catching up to him.

“Damn…”

That damn bastard. Despicable scoundrel.

“Hahaha!”

Even as he flew away, Neo’s laughter could still be heard. That guy really was despicable.

- No.

Super Rock spoke. But Cale ignored him.

Before it slowed down even more…

Before he lost consciousness…

Thump—Thump—

Before his pounding heart stopped…

“I must do it.”

A silver light shone in Cale’s hand.

The Indestructible Shield.

Before it was too late, he had to deploy the shield in front of Raon. Cale stretched his hand towards Raon.

And then—

Crack—!

The sound of something completely breaking was heard.

“...!”

Cale’s eyes widened. He saw something moving faster than Neo’s time.

“Ah.”

Light.

A dazzling light passed by Cale towards where he had extended his hand.

An existence fast in Neo’s slowed time.

“Yes, light.”

It could only be light.

In his fading vision, Cale clearly saw.

Boom—!

A brilliant silver light blocked the purple mana. And in the center of that silver light, something dark and sinister, something that didn’t fit with the light.

“Ah.”

That’s…

No, that person is—

“Dragon Half-Blood.”

Yes, it was him.

The soul of that guy who resided within the Black Bone Dragon.

He was the only one who could emit that light.

The Dragon Half-Blood with the Light Attribute.

The brilliant silver light, like the figure of a dragon, stood in front of Raon, then pierced through the purple mana.

Cale, unknowingly, opened his mouth.

In the slowed time, he desperately shouted.

“Hey—”

You—

Damn—

Cale understood what the Dragon Half-Blood planned.

The silver light—or rather, the light was fast.

He was heading towards Neo.

Even as he flew, carried by the wind, Neo had destroyed his heart.

The light dragon opened its mouth and grabbed Neo.

“No way.”

Raon’s slow voice was heard. The silver light dragon grabbed Neo and flew. Fast as light.

Far away.

It was moving far from Cale and Raon.

“Crazy bastard!”

Cale was about to go mad.

“—!”

“—”

And at that moment, time stopped. No, it returned to normal.

Neo.

It meant he had reached his limit.

“No.”

The first thing Cale heard as he returned to normal time was Raon’s desperate scream.

And Neo’s rampage came to an end.

His heart exploded.

Boom—!

The first thing Cale saw in the restored time was the silver light distorting with the explosion.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]