The Hero Returns

The "Fafnir" from Su-hyeun's memories was huge.

His height was easily around four meters at the top of his dragon head.

Of course, he was "small" when compared to your regular dragons. But compared to humans, this physique was indeed illogically big. Technically speaking, Fafnir was a bipedal "humanoid."

However, Su-hyeun had encountered monsters that reached dozens, no, hundreds of meters in height lately, so such a physique would have come across as somewhat puny.

But now...

"He must be around eight meters now."

Fafnir was almost eight meters tall, and his actual physical size should be even bigger.

The difference in physique between a person with 170 cm height and another with 180 cm was already considerable. So, it would be safe to assume that Fafnir's actual physique had grown at least five, maybe six times bigger than before, judging from his height that had doubled.

"You, on the other hand, didn't seem to have changed," Fafnir's voice rang around in the surroundings.

His voice sounded louder and clearer than any explosions, so much so that it was almost like someone was speaking directly next to Su-hyeun's ears.

Maybe that was to blame here because, despite the great distance between them, Su-hyeun had a feeling that they were having a face-to-face chat right now.

"Even though my face is completely different now?"

"I'm referring to your size. You seemed to have gotten shorter, actually."

"Well, that's true."

Su-hyeun's current height was a few centimeters shorter than back when he was Kim Sung-in. It sounded like Fafnir was simply talking about the comparative height here.

"But the status of your soul is...It's incomparably greater than your past self."

"At least you can tell that much."

"Where is the Great Sage who Pacifies Heaven?"

The Great Sage who Pacifies Heaven? That title belonged to the Bull Demon King, the name Su-hyeun was a lot more familiar with.

For a moment there, he wondered why Fafnir was searching for his First Brother, but when he thought about it, this wasn't the Predator's second visit to Earth. Indeed, this was the third time.

During his second time, he got chased away by the Bull Demon King and had to run away with his tail firmly tucked between his legs.

"My First Brother is not here, as you can see."

"Your First Brother? I see, so you two were siblings," Fafnir slowly nodded.

While the two conversed, Predators were still flooding out of the doorway.

The ocean split apart by the Thunder Sword didn't close back up and remained split open like the mythic Red Sea.

"I couldn't understand why the Great Sage who Pacifies Heaven suddenly interfered in this planet's matter, but now—"

"By the way," Su-hyeun interjected.

Sliiiice—!

Kiiii-iiiing—!

The energy from the sword strike flew right above Fafnir's head. Perhaps he was already prepared for it because he nonchalantly stood still and scattered away that sneaky attack.

"You think you can overcome me?" Su-hyeun said.

"I don't have a habit of looking back at the mountain that I've already surmounted."

Su-hyeun's eyes gleamed at that reply. He was certain of it now.

"So, the changes to the future weren't all unplanned, is that it?" Su-hyeun thought.

Su-hyeun knew that he wasn't the only one who returned to the past, thanks to the Reincarnation ability. Fafnir also came back, and he, too, retained all of his memories.

Clack—

Su-hyeun glanced at the blade's surface after taking a swing with it.

It had a smooth, unblemished surface, and it had a perfectly adequate weight. Its sharpness transmitted through his grip felt like it could cut his hand open just by holding the weapon's hilt.

This was a good sword. But now that this event was underway, he couldn't help but feel a little rueful.

"I had no idea I'd miss the Palm Leaf this much."

The sword containing the wind of the beginning, the Palm Leaf, was currently stuck inside Kim Dae-ho's workshop.

With its ability to wield winds, the Palm Leaf greatly boosted the blade's sharpness by several folds.

"Not only that," Su-hyeun shifted his gaze over to the Predators that had flooded out from the doorway alongside Fafnir and wondered, "Just how many of them were here now?"

Even if he counted all the Predators he had encountered until now, the total still would be nothing more than a small speck compared to their actual might of in the thousands or tens of thousands.

Seeing how many were still pouring out, their actual number must have been even higher.

Sure, most of them were bottom-ranked Predators, but some hidden among their ranks emitted a somewhat ominous aura.

"So, this is the Dark Realm."

It was the world of the Predators. These creatures, each and every single one of them, had led several dozens, no, hundreds of worlds to their doom.

Meaning, they were like harmful parasites of the universe, and Fafnir had climbed up to a position that was basically their ruler, their king.

"Your standard may have changed, but in the end, nothing's really changed," Su-hyeun muttered as he glanced back at Fafnir in the distance. Fafnir was standing tall with his hands resting behind his back.

Fafnir might have been a magician, but he was also a born knight. However, his true nature, his disposition, was that of an emperor, a conqueror—a ruler.

Fafnir would never join the battle himself.

In the past, Su-hyeun chalked that down to the Predator simply being overly cautious. He suspected that Fafnir was trying to ensure his safety first and achieve complete victory over whatever fight he was involved in.

That line of thought wasn't entirely wrong. However, Fafnir wasn't staying in the back because he lacked confidence in head-on fights.

"It'll not be any different from the past."

"Sorry, but the future has been distorted by a lot now."

Pazzzik, bzzzzik—!

Thick storm clouds rapidly rushed in above Su-hyeun's head. "So, it's time to find out what the real result will be."

Su-hyeun extended his hand upward.

FLASH—!

RUMBLE—!

[Somersault cloud]

[Zeus's Thunder Glove - Rain of Thunder]

Rumble, ku-rururu—

Pazzzzik—!

The whole world was transformed into a white space.

The lightning strike fell right on top of the Predators. Their bodies were charred black, while some were electrocuted and fell headlong into the ocean water.

"How was that?"

"Indeed, it certainly has changed."

Fafnir glanced at the remains of the fallen Predators, then raised up his staff.

"In that case, try your best to stop me this time."

Shu-wuwuwu—

Clack, splaaaash—

The energy that gushed out from Fafnir's staff rapidly enveloped the figures of the surviving Predators.

Su-hyeun instinctively understood what that was for. Fafnir's energy had created a crimson layer over the bodies of the Predators.

"A barrier with physical and magical resistance. Is that a protect-type buff spell?" Su-hyeun thought.

The divine Flame's territory affected every corner of the area it was set on. This technique not only restricted the movements of every opponent caught inside its range but also shaved away the enemies' stamina constantly by affecting them with high temperatures.

Meaning, this technique was one of the very best when dealing with large numbers of enemies. But with this turn of events, those effects were rendered meaningless. The Predators wouldn't be affected unless they were in direct contact with the flames.

"Alright, so you are coming at me with the numbers game again, is that it?"

Su-hyeun gripped his sword even tighter.

RUMBLE—!

Pazzzik, bzzzzzzik—

"Hoh-oh...!"

Fafnir paid attention to the raucous thunderclap going off in the sky. The electrical charge that emitted a blinding light quickly wrapped around Su-hyeun's sword, while his left hand fitted with the Thunder Glove simply grabbed the lightning arcs.

The Somersault cloud enveloped Su-hyeun's figure-like armor, and he stepped on the air to advance forward. "I don't have time to fool around. Let's wrap this up quickly."

Shu-wuwuwu—

More energy leaked out from Su-hyeun's surroundings and fused into the figures of his many summons.

[Gluttony]

[Kali]

[Gyges]

"All of you," Su-hyeun issued an order to his summons next, "Sweep them all away!"

* * *

Pazzzik—, Chwaaaaaah—!

He thrust forward the lightning wrapped around his left hand.

RUMBLE—!

Along with the loud thunderclap, the lightning exploded forth. The bodies of those Predators trying to pounce on him were instantly vaporized into ashes and scattered away.

Fwhooooosh—!

In the middle of the falling ashes, a handful of Predators withstood the lightning strike and managed to pounce on Su-hyeun, with his throat as their target.

Of course, he didn't expect that he would kill them all in one strike. He unhesitantly stepped on the empty air.

[Heavenly Demon's March of Sovereign]

Ku-gugugu—

Massive pressure crushed down on the bodies of the Predators. Their fast movements came to an abrupt halt, allowing Su-hyeun's sword to flash past during that brief window.

"Meteorite Blade!"

Shwa-aaaaah—!

Countless blades—not fakes but all real blades—began raining down.

"Eighth Stance!"

Splaaaatter—!

The bodies of the Predators were chopped apart into dozens, no, hundreds of bloody pieces. That was one of the "stances" of the martial technique Su-hyeun had acquired through Cheon Mu-jin's memories.

Dozens of Predators had been cut apart to death in one go, but that still didn't give him enough room to take a step back.

This had been going on for a few hours already.

He lost count on how many Predators he had cut down so far. Although they weren't some small fry monsters by any metric, they were also not much of a threat.

"Seriously now, so annoying..."

Ruuuumble—

[Flame - Transformation]

[Heavenly Demon's Hundred Steps Fist]

Ka-pooooow—!

Shoots of flames that gushed out from his punch utterly swept away the Predators before his eyes. The attack was meant to strike all those within a hundred steps from him, but it ended up wrecking everything within his view instead.

"I modified the original Hundred Steps Phantom Fist into this, but I guess it needs a name change now, huh?"

This martial stance originating from the Shaolin faction allowed you to punch any opponent within a hundred steps from you, hence, its name, the "Hundred Steps Phantom Fist." Su-hyeun recalled the past memories of him trying to modify that martial technique to suit himself.

"Finally, we caught you!"

Grab—!

Chwa-aaaah—!

Predators appeared behind Su-hyeun and reached out, managing to grab hold of his limbs next.

Almost at the same time, hooks of another Predator tore through Su-hyeun's open back. He staggered precariously, only for a broad smile to spread on his face, "Did you really catch me, though?"

The Predator was momentarily confused.

Buzz, vrrr—

Right below where he stood, a magic circle made of crimson lines suddenly floated. At the same time, his figure morphed into fluffy clouds and vanished from there altogether.

The Predators didn't need a lot of time to realize that this was a trap.

"Run...!"

KA-BOOOOOM—!

Flames exploded, and the Predators that attacked Su-hyeun were all charred jet-black. Other Predators nearby lost sight of Su-hyeun just then, and they hurriedly looked around their vicinity.

"Heavenly Demon's Blade..."

His voice came from above them.

Tsu-tsutsutsu—

Crimson current leaked out from his blade next. This energy coalesced into one lump before shifting into a crimson sphere.

[Meteorite Sphere]

Bang, bababang—!

Splaaaash—

The gigantic crimson current viciously whipped about and utterly vaporized the Predators' bodies right there and then.

Su-hyeun, having performed several powerful techniques in a row, briefly took a break to calm his breathing and scanned his surroundings. "As expected, the numbers game shouldn't be underestimated, is that it?"

Kali, Gyges, Gluttony, and Prince Nezha, plus many other summons, were fighting alongside him right now, but there was always going to be a clear limit to how his summons could deal with all these Predators.

There were just too many of them.

His Death Aura reserve was gradually emptying, too. Unlike him, his summons were not in a position to conserve their strengths during the battle, nor did they have enough wiles to do so.

At a casual glance, the number of Predators didn't seem to have decreased at all. On the contrary, there seemed to be more of them now compared to the beginning.

This indicated that the number of Predators crossing over through the doorway was quite insane to behold.

"This is just endless," Su-hyeun sighed softly under breath, "I might as well..."

Pazzzik, bzzzzik—

Electrical currents leaked out from the tips of Su-hyeun's hands.

His mind was already picturing it; he was looking back to the scene of him borrowing Zeus's strength to kill Uranus.

"Sweep them all away in one shot..."

It was the Thunder Dragon, the strongest technique Su-hyeun currently possessed.

If he could use that skill now, then he might be able to sweep away every Predator that had appeared in this place in one shot.

Not only was the Thunder Dragon's range extensive, but its destructive power should be more than enough for the job.

He didn't contemplate it for long.

Pazzzzik—

"At this rate, I won't get to fight Fafnir properly, anyway."

He would use the Thunder Dragon and deal with the small fries in one go.

But just as he made up his mind...

"Get bigger—!"

Ka-booooom—!

A humongous polearm slammed down in the middle of the Predators.

"Ruyi—!"

Su-hyeun stared at the lengthy pole that had broken through the divine Flame's space.

The electricity he had begun unleashing to create the Thunder Dragon was already extinguished by then. His tension pulled tautly by the continuous battle seemingly softened a little immediately.

"Did I come at a good time or what?"

Fwhoosh—

A truly welcome voice came to him as the divine Flame was scattered aside.

Su-hyeun turned his head and replied, "Yes, it's the perfect timing."

Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King, the two individuals capable of overturning the flow of this battle, had just entered.