Chapter 142
The air shattered as Seong-jun Lee's hand rushed towards Retar. Retar confidently extended his fist to counter the attack.
Just before collision, Seong-jun Lee's eyes flashed as he twisted his shoulder and joints, diving low.
In that brief moment, a red sphere formed in Seong-jun Lee's hand, concentrating destructive power capable of shattering flesh at any moment.
It was a feint and a calculated move that perfectly exposed an opening.
"You...!"
Retar's eyes widened as he shouted.
BOOM!
A massive explosion rang out, shaking his vision. His body instantly turned to ash and vanished.
But it was all just a momentary sensation.
The power of immortality he had gained by ascending to Emperor of the Dead did not permit death, quickly regenerating his body.
"What? He's regenerating even after I did all that...? He's tougher than I thought."
A wry smile crossed Seong-jun Lee's face at Retar's abilities exceeding expectations.
However, this could be considered a favorable reaction.
"Really, really..."
Retar's eyes shook greatly as he muttered to himself, clearly feeling considerable confusion and surprise.
As Emperor of the Dead, he had achieved transcendence and gained immense power.
In fact, before arriving here, he had been able to overwhelm beings who called themselves kings.
But now, what was this situation?
In the brief five-minute skirmish, he had already been killed over five times.
Especially from the second time onwards, his body and even his soul had been completely annihilated without leaving even the slightest trace.
"Are you truly human?"
Thanks to his immortal power constantly regenerating him, he hadn't suffered any particular damage.
However, that didn't mean he felt no threat.
'...This guy is dangerous.'
The senses he had unlocked through transcendence sent warnings, allowing him to instinctively realize just how dangerous the human before him, Seong-jun Lee, was.
This human was on a different level.
He was more powerful than any being Retar had ever encountered.
No, the power currently felt wasn't even his full potential.
Those deep eyes, like facing an abyss, indicated that this human called Seong-jun Lee could potentially wield even greater, more immense power.
As Retar's eyes narrowed at the steadily rising sense of unease, Seong-jun Lee was also scrutinizing Retar's body with narrowed eyes.
"Hmm. Looks like the regeneration method is completely different from what I thought."
Retar's instincts sent even stronger warnings as he faced Seong-jun Lee's unpleasant gaze.
Given this unfamiliar sensation he had never felt before, he normally would have chosen to retreat temporarily.
That would have been the right decision.
But he couldn't bring himself to step away.
The reason was simple.
He was overcome with greed.
'If I could make this human, Seong-jun Lee, my loyal subject...'
He could reach a divine existence beyond that of an emperor.
In other words, he could achieve transcendence once again.
By now, Retar's gaze was filled with avarice.
'It means I could create the world of the dead, which could be called my lifelong ambition.'
Of course, Retar wasn't indulging in unreasonable greed.
"...I didn't expect you to use this power so quickly."
Retar's eyes flashed blue as he stretched out his hand.
RUMBLE!
At the center of a world screaming in agony, demonic energy began gathering in Retar's outstretched hand.
"Consider it an honor. You'll be the first to face Nark, the Emperor's sword."
As the gathered demonic energy swiftly amassed an immeasurable amount of power, a blade finally took shape.
"Indeed... it's something worth boasting about."
Seong-jun Lee's usually relaxed expression hardened.
Seeing this, Retar nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Are you afraid? No, you can't help but be afraid."
The sword in his grasp, Nark, was a blade that had accumulated demonic energy flowing from Jagang-do, the territory of the dead, over decades.
In other words, it contained an unimaginably vast amount of demonic energy.
"Bow down before the power of the great emperor."
As Retar muttered these words like a chant and pointed Nark towards Seong-jun Lee, massive demonic energy along with a chilling aura of death spread throughout the area, transforming it into a barren land of death where the living could not survive.
At the center.
Retar stood with a noble bearing, his blue eyes blazing as he stared at Seong-jun Lee.
* * *
A world of nothing but death.
Gazing at it, Jazan muttered to himself with a dazed expression.
"What... what is this...?"
When he first encountered Seong-jun Lee's power, he was able to hold hope in his heart.
In fact, Retar had been helplessly overwhelmed by Seong-jun Lee's successive attacks.
However, it didn't take long to realize that it was all in vain.
Retar was the Emperor of the Dead who had achieved transcendence and gained the power of immortality.
No matter how powerful the attack, it couldn't bring death to Retar.
This meant the battle would have to continue endlessly.
Unlike the undead Master Lich Retar, the human Seong-jun Lee had clear physical limits, making this a difficult and troublesome situation.
But suddenly, an enormous amount of power and demonic energy surged from Retar's entire body, extinguishing the flicker of hope that was Seong-jun Lee.
Naturally, deep despair settled on Jazan's face.
'...It's impossible to win.'
The demonic energy flowing from Retar's body felt like facing a vast ocean.
It was so overwhelming and enormous that one couldn't even begin to guess its extent.
Even Seong-jun Lee couldn't possibly stand against such a monster.
No, even the members of the Guardians, known as the world's protectors, wouldn't be able to stop this.
"Ah... Is this truly our fate?"
Faced with Retar's overwhelming power that could be called the end of humanity, words mixed with resignation flowed from Jazan's mouth.
* * *
Power surges through him. The immense demonic energy rising from his entire body grants endless power and exhilaration, giving him certainty.
'...Now I can subjugate this human, Seong-jun Lee, before me.'
Retar shot a murderous glance as he stepped forward, swinging his hand.
Though it seemed like an insignificant swing, it carried more threatening demonic energy than any attack Retar had unleashed so far.
WHOOSH!
Sensing mortal danger, Seong-jun Lee wrapped his entire body in vital energy and accelerated like lightning.
SWOOSH-
The massive demonic energy that passed by, literally paper-thin, left a red line of blood on Seong-jun Lee's cheek.
Finally, as his certainty became reality, a sinister smile bloomed on Retar's lips.
"Now, accept your death. No one will blame you. You fought well and put up an admirable struggle. You simply had to succumb to an insurmountable difference in power, didn't you?"
"..."
Faced with Retar's relaxed expression, Seong-jun Lee couldn't utter a word.
It was an undeniable reality.
The fight against Retar was simply too unfair.
Not only did Retar possess a body with transcendent regenerative abilities, but he also wielded Nark, a sword imbued with vast demonic energy. He appeared to have infinite power at his disposal.
In contrast, Seong-jun Lee could feel his strength and energy constantly depleting, approaching his limit.
'If this meaningless exchange continues... I'll be the one to collapse in the end.'
If possible, he needed to settle this quickly.
While he could make quick calculations in his head, it wasn't something he could easily accomplish.
There was no clear method to annihilate Retar.
Of course, this didn't mean he believed Retar had truly gained an immortal body.
'...Perfect immortality doesn't exist.'
Even the monstrous beings who had terrorized the world, as well as the sages who wielded the mysterious powers of sorcery and immortality techniques, hadn't been able to achieve a perfectly immortal body.
It wasn't an ability that a mere lich could possess.
That's why even as he delivered successive deaths, he continued to read the flow of energy, trying to find Retar's hidden true body.
However, despite continuous tracking, he couldn't detect any energy signatures.
'Does the true body really not exist?'
It was unthinkable.
It must be hidden in some special way.
But what method could he be using?
How could it be hidden in a way that made it completely undetectable?
As endless questions kept arising in his mind, one thought struck him forcefully.
'Why did I assume it only existed nearby?'
Clearly, the beings claiming immortality that he had faced on the Thousand Continents had hidden their true bodies, their source, not far away.
But this was Earth, which had undergone a great cataclysm.
It was a world where mysterious powers that defied conventional wisdom had taken root.
This meant that not only humans but also monsters could wield extraordinary powers.
'...I was too confined by preconceptions.'
As he acknowledged his own foolishness, the information he had gathered quickly fell into place, and scenes he had witnessed when first rushing here came to mind.
'Certainly... Retar appeared along with the black rift.'
No, it wasn't just Retar.
The army of corpses was also summoned from the black rift.
The interior of the black rift was Retar's perfect territory.
Of course, this information alone wasn't particularly special; the black rift could have been used simply as a passage.
'But if it was just a simple passage, he would have closed the rift after summoning the army of corpses.'
However, the black rift in the sky was still there.
This meant it still had a purpose.
And in the current situation, there was only one reason to keep the black rift open.
'He must have hidden the phylactery, the liches' source of immortality, beyond that black rift.'
It made sense why Retar called himself an immortal being.
Who would think that the phylactery could be hidden in another dimension or space?
Even if someone did think of it, it wouldn't matter.
As mentioned earlier, the interior of that black rift was Retar's domain.
No force or being could pass through without Retar's permission.
But this time, he had picked the wrong opponent.
'To think he was boasting before me with just this level of ability...'