The Hero Returns

* * *

Baaaang—!

Buzz, ache—

Hercules smacked away the spear that flew toward him with his club. The power behind the throw was quite considerable, and the impact force transmitted through his hands was just as great as a result.

“There you are!”

Crush—

Hercules kicked the ground and rapidly shot up into the sky. By flying up like that, he was able to reach where Su-hyeun was in an instant.

Whoooosh—

Rumble—

He swung the club mid-air, but Su-hyeun’s figure simply turned into a flame and vanished from the spot after barely singeing Hercules’s poor lion hide.

However, Hercules, who was still in the air, quickly spun his body around and took another swipe with his club.

Baaaang—!

He deflected a spear that was aimed at his shoulder.

However, right at that moment…

“Rain?” Hercules discovered purple-colored “rain” falling from above him.

“No, wait. This isn’t rain but…”

Rumble, ruuuumble—

It wasn’t water but fire.

Thousands, no, tens of thousands of spear fragments permeating with the divine Flame were raining down from above.

Grit—

Hercules clenched his teeth tightly and continued to swing his club mid-air. As he smacked away each spear bit that fell toward him, his feet finally touched the ground below.

But suddenly…

“Blow away…”

A voice came from a distance.

Shudder

A creeping chill washed over Hercules, and while he was urgently pulling down on the lion leather to cover himself better, he hunkered down.

“Palm Leaf.”

Fwhooooosh—

Slash, chwa-rararararak—

A powerful squall began whipping up.

Unbelievably sharp wind blades instantly blanketed Hercules’s surroundings. To Hercules, it felt as if countless blades were hacking away at his body, but he could do nothing to shake them off.

It would’ve been more preferable if he was being attacked by actual blades instead because, then, he could simply swing his club and shatter them.

However, no matter how strong he was, he still couldn’t destroy the formless winds.

Trickle—

Drip, tumble—

A round of squall passed by, and blood began trickling down from all over Hercules’s body.

He stopped hunkering down and quickly evaded a sharp sword light that flew in toward his back.

Su-hyeun, who swung his sword in a big arc, could only be impressed by that reaction and checked the status of Hercules’s body. “You sure are sturdy.”

“For a while now, you’ve been gnawing at me like an insect. Is that how you originally fight?”

“Yes, it’s always been like that.”

Swiiiish—

Grab—

The spear that Hercules had smacked away returned to Su-hyeun’s hand.

While spinning the spear in his hand, Su-hyeun finished making the rest of his reply, “The best method to win—I fight while caring only about that.”

“Mere petty tricks…”

“Think of it however you want.”

Su-hyeun’s torso cocked back.

Fwhoooooosh—!

Almost at the same time, a single spear flew in, and Hercules powerfully swung his club once more in response.

Baaaang—!

Buzz, ache—

His hand continued to ache after smacking the spear away.

He had deflected the spear several times already by now, yet it kept returning to Su-hyeun’s hand. The weapon’s tip was so strong that despite being struck by the club, it didn’t bend out of shape at all.

Swhoooooosh—

Grab—

Su-hyeun rapidly collected the spear again.

Hercules clenched his teeth as he watched Su-hyeun got ready to throw the spear once more.

“His throws are getting stronger,” he thought.

At first, he thought he was mistaken, but after deflecting the spear a couple of times, he became certain of his findings. The power contained in the spear was getting greater.

“Well then, how about…”

Bulge, squeeze—

Thick veins bulged on Su-hyeun’s arm that was gripping the spear.

“One more throw?”

Fwhooooosh—!

The spear containing flames flew toward the target.

The throwing spear now permeating with the divine Flame containing godhood was at least twice more powerful than if it was thrown with only physical strength. No matter how strong Hercules was or how excellent his durability was, he simply couldn’t brush aside this spear attack and rush forward.

Ta-dack—

As soon as he threw the spear, Su-hyeun leaped back to create more distance. While doing that, he pulled out yet another spear and gripped it tightly. It was the Dragon Slaying Spear this time.

The situation repeated itself.

After throwing a single-use spear that could be recovered later, he would retreat to a distance, and then load the Dragon Slaying Spear that specialized in AOE attacks which force was enhanced by the divine Flame.

Then, he would throw that Dragon Slaying Spear to tie down Hercules’s movement, collect the spear, and get ready for the next round.

Whenever a gap presented itself, he would unleash an attack that relied on the Palm Leaf Sword.

Su-hyeun had already repeated these processes 10 times.

“I only have 10 spears remaining.”

The number of Dragon Slaying Spears he had in reserve wasn’t that great. He originally had 20 after purchasing some through the store using his points or asking Kim Dae-ho for a favor and had a few similar items crafted. That was about it.

“But these should be enough.”

Slowly, while shaving away Hercules’s stamina, Su-hyeun continued with his sure-fire strategy to win.

* * *

Slash, pi-pipipipik—

Ruuumble—

The spear that split apart into numerous pieces scratched past Hercules’s skin, and purple flames seared his wounds.

The demigod couldn’t smack away every single piece of the divided Dragon Slaying Spear; hence, wounds continued to accumulate on his body.

Only one spear remained now.

“Now that’s creepy.”

Su-hyeun stared at Hercules who was currently glaring back at him like some kind of a wild beast—a wild beast that was prepared to rip him to pieces at any time, all the while baring its sharpened claws and fangs. Not only that, he was a beast that didn’t care about his wounds and only got more vicious the more he got injured.

Hercules was already so full of injuries, and several spear pieces were actually sticking out of his body as well. His flame-scorched skin had darkened so much that the flesh underneath must have been cooked by now, too.

Even then, Hercules showed no signs of moving from his spot, just like how he was at the beginning.

“You’re hesitating to throw that spear.” Hercules smiled for the first time in a while. “Looks like you’ve run out of your spears, except the one that you keep collecting back.”

That smile was a victor’s smile.

“I, on the other hand, can easily deal with you as long as one of the two spears are no longer in play. So, what will you do now?”

“You’ve suddenly become talkative.”

Squeeze—

Ruuumble—

A humongous flame enveloped the tip of the spear that Su-hyeun held in his hand. It was the hottest and most intense flame that had permeated the spear so far.

“As long as I block that…” Hercules thought as he pulled down the Nemean lion hide more securely on his head and grasped his club even tighter.

[Dragon Slaying Spear]

[Flame]

[Wave Spear – Explosion Style]

Rumble—

A huge fireball swallowed up Hercules. Spear pieces carrying considerable power were mixed in among it.

While enduring that flame with his body, Hercules tirelessly swung his club around.

Bang, baaang—!

Bang, bang—

The countless individual spear pieces weren’t strong by themselves, but there were so many of them, and they were fast, too. As such, it was easy to miss them completely.

Staaab—!

A spear piece Hercules didn’t smack away in time stabbed deeply into his shoulder.

At the same time, his posture crumbled, which caused him to stagger. It looked as if strength would abandon his legs right away, yet he somehow sent more power to his hands instead.

BANG—!

Then, he swung the club hard to knock away three more spear pieces that flew toward him, and following shortly after that…

“Here it comes.” He braced himself.

Fwhooooosh—

A huge spear with the divine Flame swirling around it flew in amid the other pieces.

Graaab—

Hercules had been biding his time for this spear to arrive and extended his free hand to grab it when it did.

Sizzle—

It didn’t matter to him that his hand would be seriously burned because the moment he successfully grabbed the spear, he became sure of his victory in this battle.

Crunch, crack—

Hercules used his hand grip to crush and fold the spear shaft. The spear, which was heated up by the fire, continued to melt his palm flesh, but he was already used to the heat by now.

Stab—

He stabbed the twisted spear on the ground. With how contorted it was now, that spear could no longer be thrown around anymore.

Not just the throwing Dragon Slaying Spear but even the spear Kim Dae-ho crafted using a mixture of adamantium was broken now.

The only weapon remaining in Su-hyeun’s hand was the sword. Meaning, there shouldn’t be any more annoyances left.

“Although, I must keep an eye out on that bastard over there…”

Hercules glanced at the Bull Demon King who was spectating the proceedings from a distance.

The Yogoe had been simply observing the fight and had done nothing else. He hadn’t displayed a single hint of entering the fray so far.

Maybe he was the type that didn’t enjoy fighting but liked to observe.

“That bastard is too dangerous.”

“I know already.”

Hercules no longer rejected the voice. Rather, he completely accepted it now. He even made the power afforded to him by the voice as his own.

“Kill the one before our eyes and quickly leave this area. Snatching godhood away will have to come after that.”

Ache—

Why was this, though?

He had been feeling fine until now, but his head ached a little after he heard that voice. However, the pain lasted only for a second, and Hercules nodded his head.

“Alright. Now then…”

Grip—

He gripped the club even harder as a wider grin spread over his face.

“Is it my turn now?”

The spears were gone.

Although the flame containing godhood was a worry, Su-hyeun wasn’t able to perfectly wield that yet.

If it wasn’t used to add flames to the spears to increase the spears’ power, then it would be only around the level that Hercules could easily withstand with his durability alone.

Crunch—

Hercules’s foot stomped down hard on the ground, and at the same time…

Ka-boooom—!

Hercules’s hulking figure kicked the ground and rapidly flew in toward Su-hyeun. When he smashed down with the club, Su-hyeun also kicked the ground and retreated from the spot.

Craaaack—!

Ku-gugugu—

The descending club tore the ground apart, and the earth below was split in half. Just as hot energy gushed up from underneath him, Hercules kicked the ground again and flew up.

Powpowpooow—!

Purple-colored flames exploded near the surface. Hercules chased after Su-hyeun’s figure and smirked confidently. “It seems that without your spears, you have no other way to keep me in check, do you?”

Griiip—

Claaang—!

His club collided with the sword.

Su-hyeun defended against the swung club and was shoved far back from the impact. However, right at that instant, Hercules reached out and grabbed Su-hyeun by his nape.

Grab—

Whoooosh—

The demigod then threw Su-hyeun into the air.

The latter’s stance crumbled from the instant acceleration caused by the sudden explosion of power.

And then suddenly…

Smaaaash—!

Hercules’s club powerfully smashed into Su-hyeun’s chest area as he floated up in the air, sending him far away.

Swiiiish—

Ka-boooom—!

Su-hyeun loudly crashed in the ground, his figure deeply embedding in the ground.

Hercules stared at the destroyed ground but began frowning at the strange sensation that came from his hands earlier.

“I didn’t feel anything.”

Without a doubt, he sent his target flying with a direct hit.

The strike contained enough power, too. Even his posture was planted and stable when he swung the club.

But then…

“Is it that cloud again?”

He guessed that the white cloud that instantly wrapped around Su-hyeun’s body had absorbed most of the impact.

Tap, tap—

Su-hyeun, who was flung away and had crashed into the ground from the club strike, simply dusted himself and stood right back up. He didn’t seem to be greatly injured at all. As expected, the impact force hadn’t been transmitted to him properly.

Su-hyeun more or less finished dusting himself off, picked up his sword, and while walking up to Hercules, spoke up, “You asked if it’s your turn now, didn’t you?”

“…?”

Indeed, Hercules did say that.

“No. I don’t think it is.”

“What do you mean, you don’t—?”

Hercules was about to rebuke his opponent, accusing the latter of spewing rubbish, but he stopped himself and scanned his surroundings.

His view out front had turned hazy.

“Isn’t this…?” he thought.

It was definitely the white cloud that wrapped around Su-hyeun to stop his club a few seconds ago, but now, that cloud had spread out all over his surroundings.

Something didn’t feel right, and the sense of danger exceeding that feeling of incongruence rapidly filled his head.

“This…this is dangerous.”

Hercules quickly looked back to Su-hyeun. Even though their surroundings had become hazy and indistinct, he was clearly visible.

“It’s still my turn. And also…”

A bluish light began swirling within Su-hyeun’s eyes.

Crack—

And at the same time…

“Huh?”

A crack had appeared on the club that Hercules still had in his hand.

“Your turn will never come.”