Chapter 596. Overwhelmed (1)
It was like watching a dream come to reality.
'I've been getting this feeling a lot today for some reason...'
Lee Seong-Taek tried hard to get a grip on himself. The wise old 'they' said one would have a chance at survival even if a tiger dragged them into its den as long as they kept their wits about them.
Of course, that example only applied when dealing with a tiger.
If one got dragged away by a pure monster... No matter how much wits one kept about them, surviving that encounter was still impossible!
Indeed, Lee Seong-Taek had to admit it. This was a monster's den. A place where the monster named Vator leisurely hunted its prey for his amusement!
'Right... This feeling's been with me the whole day.'
Didn't Lee Seong-Taek feel this way while being driven in his old, creaky car earlier? That vague unsettling feeling as if he was in a movie?
He thought that feeling stemmed from his nervousness. However, as it turned out, his thoughts had been wrong. No, his instincts had been sensing something else. And that would be... Today being his last on Earth.
His head hadn't figured it out, but his heart did. It knew that a grim reaper he could not avoid no matter what would come to visit him today.
Since that grim reaper's scythe was pressing tightly against his throat, how could Lee Seong-Taek not feel something was off? And that grim reaper looked quite different from his imagination, too!
BOOOOOM!
That was only one strike. Yet the destructive power contained in that strike was more than enough to utterly disintegrate Lee Seong-Taek's common sense in all things related to martial arts.
'We were frogs in a well...'
He thought his horizons were broad. And he also believed that South Korea's martial society was definitely not weak. If it hadn't been for the geopolitical situation of South Korea, where it was sandwiched between two of the mightiest martial nations on Earth, it wouldn't have been underestimated so badly by everyone. He honestly believed that, in terms of global ranking, South Korea would put up a very competitive showing.
However, he was proven wrong. Lee Seong-Taek and his peers had been stuck in a well all this time.
No matter how large a well was, it was still a well at the end of the day. There was no way to widen one's horizons in such a confined space. Vator's attack was enough for him to realize this.
'We should've known from the get-go...!'
Lee Seong-Taek and the rest should've known that such incredible realms of martial prowess existed!
What a funny situation this was. Lee Seong-Taek felt his horizons were finally broadening while witnessing Vator's impressive fist arts. An example of lofty realms of cultivation he never imagined possible was standing right over there!
'If... If only I had known about it sooner!'
If he had known such realms existed, Lee Seong-Taek wouldn't have ended up in this state. Instead of wasting his precious time on useless political squabbles, he'd have focused more of his being on polishing his martial arts!
After all, politics and whatnot meant nothing in the face of such overwhelming power!
Pooooooow!
The physical bodies of the elders were simply too frail to withstand Vator's punches. As if to prove that point, Vator's fist punched right through an elder's torso. The fist went through so easily that Lee Seong-Taek momentarily wondered if that elder's body wasn't made of flesh and bones but cotton candy.
Driiiip...
Blood gushed out of the elder's mouth like a raging waterfall. His disbelieving eyes stared in horror at Vator's arm buried to its elbow in his gut. His lips parted as if to say something before the last remnant of life abandoned him.
“Tsk...!” Vator shook his head in disapproval while pulling his arm out. “Their physiques are not trained at all.”
His menacing growl echoed in the room.
“Zhongyuan's older experts can easily overpower their younger counterparts. If you haven't been lazy with your cultivation, you wouldn't be this powerless against me. So, you are not martial artists. You probably used to be one, but not anymore. To all those calling themselves martial artists despite giving up on the path of cultivation... I only have contempt for you!”
Vator finished growling and charged ahead like an enraged boar. No elders and directors could withstand Vator's momentum and got swept away.
Would a field of reed in front of a bulldozer operating at full tilt resemble this scene? Nothing seemed to work against Vator.
A dagger containing qi flew rapidly toward Vator's face. However, the big man didn't even bother to block or dodge. He only charged forward.
As if pouncing forward and sweeping everything away in his view was his life's mission, Vator continued to charge ahead at full power. Again and again!
Clang!
The dagger was supposed to stab into Vator's face but couldn't even penetrate his skin and bounced off.
“Heok?!” The director responsible for throwing the dagger gasped in sheer shock. How could he not be surprised, though? When a dagger containing what he considered was a lot of cutting power failed to leave a scratch on human skin!
Wasn't this the same as a full-blooded sword strike from him failing to slice through a sheet of paper?
Unfortunately, it was still too early to get shocked.
“Hooooo-aaaaaht!” Vator released a deafening roar while swinging his arms.
RIIIIIIIP!
The atmosphere itself tore apart. Vator's abnormally long arms swept through the surroundings and caught the torsos of the Assembly elders in their path. As for the result... It was as horrifying as one could imagine.
KA-BOOOOOOM!
Lee Seong-Taek honestly thought the victims would be flung away.
Humans couldn't help but imagine what might happen shortly after the event itself. It was a part of human nature, after all. So, Lee Seong-Taek thought the elders would react like baseballs struck by a large bat.
However, Vator's arm was much, much stronger than a baseball bat. And the elders and their physiques were comparably too frail to withstand the strike.
The end result was... an explosion. Those elders who 'permitted' Vator's attack to land on them all exploded like fireworks.
“Kkuwaaaahk?!”
“Aaaaaahk!”
The exploding bits of human flesh and bone showered the elders and directors behind them like shrapnel from a Claymore mine.
“Heuh... euhh...?!”
“Heeeiiik!”
Vator must've possessed stronger attacks in his arsenal. His realm meant he could easily do it many times over. However, would those attacks be as shocking and debilitating mentally as watching your comrades, whom you were cracking jokes and sharing booze with moments ago, explode into pieces before slamming straight into your face?
These elders and directors had gone through a fair bit of trials and tribulations in their lives, yet this indescribably horrifying situation still left them as sobering wrecks, their complexions whiter than snow.
They kept whimpering while something wet continued to soak their eyes to blur their view.
“Stand up!” Vator roared like a beast. “You bunch of trash! What did you say you'd do? Who did you say you'd oppose?!”
Genuine anger spread on Vator's face. Humans needed to know their place. But these arrogant yet pathetic fools dared to raise a fuss about rebelling against his master! This issue went beyond his loyalty at this point.
“Insects like you can never face up to my master! Even if there are a thousand of you! No, ten thousand! It's time to pay the price for forgetting your place. And that is death! You will all die by my hands tonight!”
Lee Seong-Taek faintly smiled while watching Vator's rippling muscles.
'It's like I'm watching a scene from a mythical tale...'
This scene reminded him of a hero sent by the heavens, or maybe a heavenly deity, meting out grave punishment to corrupt and insidious humanity.
No, rather than a mythical tale, it...
'Yes, it's like a scene from an opera...!'
Either way, it still lacked a sense of realism.
Lee Seong-Taek was there to witness Kang Jin-Ho massacring the Yeongnam Group. He also saw a realm of martial arts he could never hope to breach that night, but... But the feeling he got back then wasn't the same as now.
Yes, he was being serious. That was because he never considered Kang Jin-Ho as the same 'existence' as him or his peers. Rather than an abnormally powerful human being, Kang Jin-Ho seemed different from everyone. Not exactly human. As if... As if an actual devil had descended on Earth!
If a human being saw a devil, how would they react? Would they suddenly be taken over by a competitive spirit? Would they want to compare themselves to the devil?
No, of course not. And that was what Lee Seong-Taek felt that day. It was as if he witnessed an enormous lump of evil he'd never dare to confront. So, he didn't even think about comparing himself to Kang Jin-Ho. However, how should he describe his feelings toward Vator...?
Yes, it must be 'awe'. Lee Seong-Taek was awestruck by how far a human body could be pushed. By how far a human body could be strengthened! This was actually beautiful and wondrous to behold in Lee Seong-Taek's view.
“Elder, sir!”
The crumbled exit burst open, and many young men kitted out in smart black business suits rushed inside. It seemed one of the elders had brought his personal guards along.
The awareness and readiness to bring their own personal guards should be commended if this had been a different situation, but Lee Seong-Taek couldn't respect that choice right now. No, all he could do was shout urgently at these young men.
“Get back! Don't come! Get back!!!”
This was like hitting a boulder with eggs. No, wait. Even that comparison seemed laughable at this point!
BOOOOOOM!
The moment of a human body colliding against Vator's fist was commemorated by the deafening noise of a massive bomb going off. The only positive for all those dying from Vator's attacks was not needing to choose between a burial or cremation. Since they didn't have an intact body left, to begin with!
Like mobs in video games disappearing into pixels after dying, people who definitely existed a moment ago were obliterated into tiny pieces right before Lee Seong-Taek's eyes.
“You rat-like bastards!” Vator roared while punching with both fists. And that signaled the beginning of a calamity.
BOOM! BANG! BOOM!
Every time Vator punched, someone disappeared. In this crazy situation, getting completely obliterated was a better outcome for everyone. Those trying to dodge only got a part of themselves obliterated, after all. And that meant the 'shrapnel' from their own bodies were now pelting down viciously on their allies!
Common sense rapidly went out the window. This was not how people were supposed to fight, at least according to Lee Seong-Taek's logic!
'Just what... What have I been doing until now?'
The shock felt by the regular, powerless civilians when witnessing a martial artist was now felt by Lee Seong-Taek. The gap between Vator and the Assembly's elders was even greater than the gap between them and regular people.
They couldn't fight back. They couldn't even resist! In that case, what other options remained?
“...! Run! Run away!”
That sounded like a wise decision. Even if it came a bit too late.
Unfortunately, Vator was as swift as the storm winds. His massive figure looked quite dull and slow, yet his agility was just as shocking as his physical strength.
The end of those who dared to show their backs was far too obvious.
BOOOOOM!
Vator's punch obliterated the spine of one of the fleeing men. Broken bits of spinal bones burst straight out of this man's gut like projectiles. It wasn't just this one man, though.
Those who saw their own bones tearing out of their guts all stopped breathing even before falling to the ground.
RUUUUMBLE!
And humans weren't the only things being subjected to Vator's viciousness. As if it could no longer endure the abuse, the building issued a scary scream before gradually crumbling down.
“Hmph!” Vator suddenly crouched lower. And then... With incredible force, he punched right above his head!
KWA-AAAAAAAHHH!
That noise was as loud as a waterfall pouring down. The wind pressure shooting out of Vator's fist quite literally disintegrated the falling ceiling. He didn't deflect it or try to withstand the falling mass. No, he simply stood his ground and destroyed a massive falling mass of reinforced concrete like a wall made of sand!
Actually, that was slightly incorrect. Sand particles were too big, after all. The more-apt description would be dust particles!
The dust storm billowed into the night sky before falling back along with the pelting rain. And now, muddy-brown rain fell on the party venue.
Lee Seong-Taek dazedly took in this spectacle.
No one could say anything. Meanwhile, the insistent noises of falling rain, something Lee Seong-Taek hadn't noticed until now, dug sharply into his hearing.
Was this because the ceiling had collapsed? No. It was probably because no one dared to open their mouths.
It was as if a tropical storm had swept through this place. The eerie silence soon passed, and pained moans and whimpers from some people broke through the noises of falling rain. And Lee Seong-Taek could even hear some people desperately praying, too.
'You're praying?'
To whom, exactly? Who were they praying to in this situation?
To God? To that oh-so-mighty God?
'Don't make me laugh!'
At the very least, the god in this place... was Vator. He was the God of Combat!
The God of Combat was present, so what was the point of praying to another god? What good would that do?
Lee Seong-Taek absentmindedly raised his hand to touch his rain-soaked face. His fingertips came away with crimson streaks. It seemed a piece of debris had brushed past his facial skin earlier.
When he raised his head to look... Lee Seong-Taek saw it. He saw Vator staring straight at him. All the people between him and Lee Seong-Taek were gone.
Which meant...
'Is it my turn now?'
Lee Seong-Taek smirked bitterly while witnessing Vator close the distance like a grim reaper about to claim his victim's soul.
'Well, I guess... Today isn't such a bad day to die, then?'
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