The Hero Returns

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Crack, slam—

Bang—!

Su-hyeun's sword pounded on the steel cage.

Only after he kept hitting it for three minutes straight did the cage finally give way and shatter. He had injected quite a lot of magical energy on the blade and swung it as hard as he could to have such an outcome.

"I was wondering if you could, but man, to think that you'd really break the eight-way trigram Crucible."

Sun Wukong, whose arms were still bound behind him, jumped up from where he sat and strode outside the wrecked cage.

Quite different from his initial expression, his face was now a reflection of shock.

"Can you do me a favor? If you go over there, you'll find a big dude with a key to take off this thing. Can you steal that key for me? If you do me this one favor, I'll grant any wish of yours."

The initial request Sun Wukong made to Su-hyeun wasn't to break open the eight-way trigram Crucible.

However, Su-hyeun didn't hesitate to unsheathe his sword after hearing it. Not only did he not want to complicate things by trying to steal a key, but he also wanted to find out if he was strong enough to break the Crucible.

In terms of results, he was confident he could destroy it after he pounded on it once. Of course, it had not been easy at all. The eight-way trigram Crucible was tougher than any mineral Su-hyeun knew, after all.

Which could only mean…

"To think that it's a prison made of such material," thought Su-hyeun.

That this eight-way trigram Crucible was crafted out of adamantium.

Of course, adamantium would be called by a different name in this world. Besides, the Crucible wasn't purely made of that metal.

"Something else has been mixed in, too. The prison was designed in such a way that when flames touched it, the surface temperature would become even hotter than the flames themselves."

Su-hyeun observed the internal structure of the Crucible and thought to himself.

"So rather than an actual prison, it's more like an execution chamber, isn't it?"

This indeed couldn't have been a mere prison.

If the aim was to simply imprison, then there wouldn't be a reason to construct a cage such as this one. And rather than focusing on other properties, the person who made it enhanced its toughness and hardness in order to make sure that the prisoner couldn't escape at all.

Having realized that, Su-hyeun accepted that he needed to sweat quite a bit for the eight-way trigram Crucible. Even if it was him, he certainly wouldn't want to stay stuck in a cage like this one for several days straight.

"Are you alright now?" he asked.

"Ah, yeah. I'm alright. In any case, thanks, man." Sun Wukong grinned and turned around. "While you're at it, can you break this one too? It's really uncomfortable, you see."

"Those shackles are also crafted out of the same material as the Crucible. Breaking it might be a little tough, actually. And if I make a small mistake with controlling my strength, there's the danger of amputating—"

"Nah, it's fine. If something gets chopped off, I'll just reattach it."

"…"

Su-hyeun could only sigh and shake his head from that reply.

If something gets amputated, it only needs to be reattached? This would be the first time he heard such an absurd reply.

Su-hyeun began thinking that in some ways, Sun Wukong aka the Great Sage Heaven's Equal before his eyes could very well be the most dangerous existence he had come across so far.

"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony."

Swish—

Su-hyeun swung his sword once more.

Clang—!

The blade and the shackles collided and issued a hard clangor. However, other than a small nick, the shackles didn't come undone from that single hit.

Clang, clang, claaang—!

"Hey man. Are you really a human?" Sun Wukong asked Su-hyeun who was currently trying to cut the shackles off from behind him. "This is so strange, you know? You don't smell like the Heavenly World's gods. It's definitely a human's scent, but…How can you possess this level of strength?"

"Please don't move. You might get injured."

"It's fine if I get hurt a little. In any case, you really are a human, right?"

"Yes, I'm a human being. But besides all that, what's up with smelling me to figure out whether I'm a god or a human? You aren't even a dog, you know."

"Well, I always had a sensitive nose, you see."

Claaang—!

As they exchanged banters, Su-hyeun was able to cut the shackles about half-way.

Those things were surprisingly resilient. The shackles that bound Sun Wukong's arms behind him were several times tougher than the eight-way trigram Crucible.

"Hurry up and cut it off already. This thing keeps sucking out my powers, so I've been powerless for the past 500 years or so."

"Have you been stuck like this for 500 years?"

"Yeah. I sneaked a few Heavenly Peaches and ate them, and that's why I can't die of old age anymore. So I've been wondering if I'd be stuck in there for the rest of eternity or something. Those seriously petty bastards, though. I mean, how can they imprison me when all I did was steal some peaches and set a small fire in their front yard?"

"Now, normally, those would've been enough to have you executed."

"You think so? Well, whatever. I can't die, anyway."

Sun Wukong laughed as if they were chatting about someone else's business. His current demeanor made it hard to believe that the guy had been imprisoned for the past 500 years in that cage.

"Oh well, he's not even a human, to begin with," thought Su-hyeun.

Clang—!

Su-hyeun suddenly stopped swinging his sword and turned his head. Around the same time, Sun Wukong also turned his head and looked behind them.

"Well, that guy sure discovered us quickly enough, didn't he? That snail-like bastard."

"Is that the Heavenly World's god that you talked about?"

Su-hyeun could sense something massive behind him.

It wasn't that the being seemed to give off a powerful presence. No, it was that Su-hyeun really did sense something as large as a mountain over there.

It seemed that the presence belonged to the "big dude" Sun Wukong asked him to steal the key from not too long ago.

"Well, it's a bit over the top to call that guy a god. He's not really a god."

"Okay, then what is it?"

"Should I say, he's more like a god's pawn? The Heavenly World's bastards observe and assist the mortal realm in place of the real gods. Well, you humans still doggedly believe that they are the real gods, but whatever."

"In any case, they are the gods of the Heavenly World as we know, correct?"

"Sure, that's not incorrect. Should I call him the gatekeeper? He's tasked with monitoring me but must've slacked off on the job when nothing happened in the past 500 years."

Thud, bang—

Loud footsteps could be heard now.

At the same time, they could see the head of their incoming opponent.

"Well, it's too late to notice now."

"Sun Wukoooong!"

The voice was so loud that it completely blanketed the heavens.

It hadn't been amplified through magical energy; the actual voice itself was loud enough to shake the entire mountains. Su-hyeun frowned and covered his ear with one hand.

"What a noisy bastard, right?"

"I'll go and take care of him."

"Well, sure thing. You can do that, but before you go, finish undoing the shackles first. Looks like you only need to do a bit more."

As Sun Wukong said that, he beckoned with his hands still bound by the shackles. Su-hyeun let out a groan and began swinging his sword once more.

Claaang, clang—!

Clank—!

Large sparks danced. The speed of his swings grew faster and faster.

In the meantime, the owner of the loud voice got closer and closer.

Boom—

A massive shadow loomed over the heads of Su-hyeun and Sun Wukong. It was from a giant with a physique as big as a small mountain.

"Your crimes would have been forgiven if you stayed there for another 500 years, yet you couldn't help but add another crime to your list, Sun Wukong!"

"I told you, what a noisy bastard he is. Hey, you fool, if it were you stuck in there, you think you'd be able to endure 500 years? You just wait and see. As soon as I get out of these shackles, I'm gonna properly show you Heavenly World folks what chaos is…"

"Please be quiet and stay here." Su-hyeun stopped swinging his sword and turned around. "I'll be back shortly."

"Eh? H—hey man! Hold up—"

Swoosh—

Su-hyeun's figure shot up into the air, and only by leaping up several hundred meters like that did he finally reach the eye level of the giant.

The large eyes that glared at him seemed to burn in anger. The giant must've been seriously enraged with him for aiding Sun Wukong.

"A measly little human dares to interfere in the matters of the gods? You shall receive divine punishment!"

The giant stretched his hand toward Su-hyeun.

A palm as large as a mansion that was closing in on him certainly looked quite intimidating. The physical strength coming from such a huge physique should definitely be sizeable.

However…

"Well, I'm sorry about that, but…"

[The first trial will now commence.]

[Assist Sun Wukong and defeat the gatekeeper.]

"I, too, have my own circumstances, you see."

Su-hyeun raised his fist as well and then threw a punch at the incoming giant's palm.

SMASH—!

When his fist beat back the giant's palm, the humongous physique rivaling a mountain staggered backward.

The giant, thoroughly stunned by the fact that it lost to a human in the contest of strength, hurriedly tried to regain its balance.

"I lost in strength…?" the giant thought, disbelieving.

In the meantime, Su-hyeun's figure had disappeared from the gatekeeper's vision.

"Where did he go?"

Clink—

A soft little metallic noise could be heard.

The giant quickly turned his big head in the direction of the noise. At the same time, he realized that the key that he secured on his waist had vanished.

"Dammit!"

Click—

The giant's eyes then caught the sight of Su-hyeun undoing the shackles with the key and Sun Wukong's arms finally gaining their freedom.

From the get-go, Su-hyeun's goal wasn't to clash against the giant. His aim had always been to steal the key on the giant's waist and undo the shackles that bound Sun Wukong's arms.

And he pulled off his goal quite successfully.

"Now I can relax a bit."

Sun Wukong raised his head. The moment their eyes met, the giant quickly pulled out a lengthy staff mounted on its back.

"Oh, so you wanna fight?"

Crack, crack—

Sun Wukong shook off the numbness from his hands and stared straight into the giant's eyes. "You know, I'm feeling pretty good right now. So, if you want to run, I'll let you. I won't kill you."

"A mere little bald monkey dares to provoke a Heavenly World's god…?!" the giant answered in a booming voice.

"Get bigger, Ruyi Jingu Bang," he ordered.

Fwoooosh—!

Gu-gugugugu—

The lengthy staff in the giant's hand suddenly enlarged by several dozens of times. It became big enough to fill up their view of the heavens completely, and the giant found its weight just too much to bear.

"Heo-urhk!"

"You've had that staff for 500 years and yet still failed to be acknowledged as its master? You're truly hopeless, ain't you?"

Creak, crrrr—

Even then, the giant's strength was not to be scoffed at.

The giant used both of his hands to prop up the massive staff and stood his ground. Now that was power befitting the title of the Heavenly World's god.

"You know, I've never been a fan of your elitism since we met a long time ago."

Boom—

Sun Wukong's body flew up.

Squeeze—

He then lightly clenched his fist, and…

POOOOW—!

The moment his comparatively small fist smashed into the giant's head, the massive skull that was as big as a mansion exploded and became blobs of quickly scattering blood.

Tumble, drop—

The blood fell like raindrops toward the ground.

Su-hyeun spread out his magical energy over his head to shield himself from the blood and observed Sun Wukong who was slowly making his descent.

"In that short amount of time, he…His hand contained a unique aura," Su-hyeun thought.

It was an aura that seemed similar to magical energy but somewhat different at the same time.

"Was it called the Sage Arts?"

Sun Wukong from the Journey to the West learned the Sage Arts from a Taoist practitioner. And with that strength, he even fought off against the gods of the Heavenly World.

His physical attributes were already considerable, and even his mastery over the Sage Arts was pretty much perfect, so much so that Su-hyeun had a hard time believing that there was a gap of 500 years.

"He's incredibly strong," he concluded.

While he was climbing past the 59 floors, Su-hyeun got to meet countless people.

And, sometimes, not only people.

Among them were an angel, devils, and even dragons. He even ran into entities often referred to as heroes.

However, none of them could even be compared to Sun Wukong before him.

The famed Monkey King was never a hero, to begin with. No, he started off as a being who fought against the gods of the Heavenly World.

"Of course, the giant didn't feel like a real god," Su-hyeun internally scoffed.

According to what Sun Wukong had said, the gods of the Heavenly World were not really gods at all. They were nothing more than proxies that subbed for the gods to manage the mortal realm.

Even with that, though, there's no denying that those creatures had already far exceeded the boundaries of humans.

Tap—

Sun Wukong landed back on the solid ground and, while smiling brightly, opened his palm. That hand was already holding a lengthy staff.

"Been a while, Ruyi."

Giii-iiing—

As if to reply to Sun Wukong's greeting, the Ruyi Jingu Bang finely hummed.

"It doesn't seem like now's a good time to be lost in sentimentality," Su-hyeun told Sun Wukong who was still stroking his Ruyi Jingu Bang with one hand. "More of them are coming."

Boom, boom, thud—

Bang—

More sounds of footsteps resounded.

Giants like the headless one just now—the gods of the Heavenly World—were rushing toward them.

Sun Wukong wasn't flustered at all. Just like how Su-hyeun had sensed it, he too had already noticed that the gigantic Heavenly gods were approaching them.

"That's just about perfect to warm up my body that got stiff from 500 years of inaction." He turned toward Su-hyeun and asked, "Besides all that, human, can you fight?"

"Now, usually, it's me who gets to ask that question," Su-hyeun replied, already holding a sword in one hand and a spear in the other. "Well, why are you asking me something so obvious?"