Chapter 375. Everyone’s Circumstances
Chi-Hyun’s hand swung down, and the wounded girl tightly shut her eyes. That was why she didn’t witness what happened next, but all the others did—before Chi-Hyun’s hand could crack the top of the girl’s head, a white figure suddenly entered like a ray of light and stood between the two.
Thud! The earth and sky shook. The mere clash of Chi-Hyun’s hand with the figure’s leg was enough to crack open the land and make the shards thrust heavenward, and even the sky tremored. It was truly a formidable force. The aftermath of the collision swept through the surroundings. The girl clenching her teeth flinched and trembled. She opened her eyes automatically at the sudden strange phenomenon. When she raised her head without thinking, she saw the back of a young man blocking Chi-Hyun’s hand by raising his leg.
“Are you all right?” Chi-Woo turned around and smiled. The girl couldn’t say anything and looked up blankly with her eyes shaking relentlessly. She wasn’t the only one staring at Chi-Woo—the same went for Bael, Boboris, the Last Dragon, and Chi-Hyun. They had thought everything was over and hadn’t expected the intervention of a third-party. The man really popped out of the blue, and there was no other way to explain his appearance except that he fell from the sky.
Chi-Hyun’s eyes briefly moved toward the leg that blocked his hand. He had attacked with what was close to his full strength, but his opponent had blocked it without much difficulty. This newcomer was no ordinary person. “…What is this?”
Chi-Woo slowly dropped his leg.
Chi-Hyun then asked, “Who are you?”
“What do you mean?” Chi-Woo turned back to him and smiled. “I’m your younger brother.”
“…What?” Chi-Hyun, who had been calm this whole time, immediately scowled. “Are you crazy?”
“?”
“I don’t remember having a younger brother who looks older than me.”
When Chi-Hyun snorted like he found the idea preposterous, Chi-Woo blinked in realization. Chi-Woo was meeting his brother when he was working as a hero in the distant past with no knowledge of the future. Chi-Woo had thought Chi-Hyun might be a bit startled at his younger brother’s sudden grown-up appearance and hadn’t expected Chi-Hyun to completely fail to recognize him. Judging by Chi-Hyun’s reaction, it didn’t seem like his brother was faking it either; he really hadn’t recognized him.
Chi-Woo wondered how this could be, and after pondering for a bit, he got an answer while considering his brother’s face. Chi-Hyun looked much younger than when Chi-Woo last saw him on Liber. He seemed to be around his late teens; in other words, Chi-Woo was about six or seven years old on Earth at this point. Thus, it made sense that his brother couldn’t recognize him, since a person could change a lot between childhood and adulthood.
“I’m asking again. Who are you?”
It was fine even if his brother couldn’t recognize him. Chi-Woo could explain the situation and reveal his identity. Although it would be difficult for his brother to accept everything immediately, he would have no choice but to believe Chi-Woo after Chi-Woo showed him his user information. However, before turning on his device, Chi-Woo fell into thought. ‘Is it okay for me to reveal it like this?’ Interfering with the past needed to be handled with extreme care. If he revealed who he was, his brother in Chi-Woo’s original time period would remember that Chi-Woo had appeared in front of him at this time. Chi-Woo had no idea what his brother would do when he returned to Earth after this.
His brother might say, ‘It’s better for you to stay here than come to Liber,’ and forcibly lock him up. If things went really wrong, Chi-Woo might end up on Earth instead of Liber when he returned to his original timeline. Thus, it didn’t seem like a good idea to just reveal his identity.
Chi-Hyun asked, “Are you not going to answer?”
“…I guess it can’t be helped.” Chi-Woo decided to test the water for a bit and said, “I’m an inspector from the Celestial Realm.”
“Then I’ll consider you my enemy—” Chi-Hyun stopped mid-sentence and slightly narrowed his eyes at Chi-Woo’s unexpected answer.
“…Inspector?” Chi-Hyun asked again with suspicion, “I’ve never heard of an inspector from the Celestial Realm.”
“Of course you haven’t. We have to move in secret.”
Chi-Hyun looked dubious. Although Chi-Woo had mentioned the Celestial Realm, it didn’t seem like Chi-Hyun believed him. There was an easy way to confirm that though.
“Can you really prove that you came from the Celestial Realm?”
“Yes, of course. You’re talking about this, right?” Chi-Woo immediately raised his left wrist and called forth his device. Chi-Hyun’s face became sullen as he stared at the hologram in the air.
“How about it? Do you believe me now?” Chi-Woo said with a cheery smile.
With a stiff expression, Chi-Hyun took a few steps back after putting his hands together. “I don’t understand,” he asked with slight confusion. “What happened all of a sudden?”
“It’s nothing much,” Chi-Woo shrugged and replied. “I merely came here to correct a wrong choice.”
Then Chi-Hyun’s eyes narrowed. “You’re here to correct a wrong choice?”
Chi-Hyun stared at Chi-Woo for a while and called forth his device, “Laguel.” As soon as he called, numerous sparks shot up and soon, the translucent figure of an angel appeared.
Laguel was an angel that Chi-Woo had met in the Celestial Realm.
“What happened?”
—Sir, what are you talking about?
“I’m talking about that guy.” When Chi-Hyun quickly relayed what Chi-Woo told him, Laguel frowned.
—It’s my first time hearing about such a position. Although there is a department in charge of monitoring in the Celestial Realm, it’s not operated in secret, and there is no record of a Celestial Realm personnel being dispatched to Liber except you recently.
Chi-Woo’s appearance was very sudden for Laguel as well; at her testimony, Chi-Hyun’s gaze on Chi-Woo became even more intense.
“Of course you haven’t heard of me,” Chi-Woo quickly said. “I told you. I’ve been sent here in top secret. It’s natural that Ms. Laguel doesn’t know and that there’s no record of me.”
—What…!
“And my duty doesn’t fall under Ms. Laguel’s jurisdiction.” Chi-Woo quickly made up an excuse, but it worked unexpectedly. Although it was true that Laguel held a high position in the Celestial Realm, there were angels above her as well. It was not a far-fetched story if one of the angels above her had colluded with other families to keep the Choi Family in check. Of course, it didn’t change the fact that this turn of events greatly angered both Chi-Hyun and Laguel.
“That’s what he says. What do you think?” At Chi-Hyun’s question, Laguel was left briefly speechless, and that alone was enough of an answer. When Chi-Hyun let out a deep sign, she was at a complete loss.
—I’m sorry. I don’t recall getting a heads-up in any way… If you just give me a bit more time, I can quickly…
Chi-Hyun waved his hand in annoyance, so Laguel quickly disappeared, saying she’d find out the truth as soon as possible. Then a moment of silence fell between them. Chi-Hyun flicked his index finger with his head slightly lowered and then suddenly said, “…So.” After a pause, he continued, “What are you going to do after suddenly stepping in? O great, self-proclaimed secret inspector.” His sarcasm made it clear that his attitude toward Chi-Woo wasn’t favorable.
“It’s simple.” Chi-Woo smiled bitterly and took a step back. He gently put his hand on the wounded girl, who was still shaking while sitting down. “I’m here to save Liber’s World.”
The girl’s pitiful eyes stared up at Chi-Woo.
“You have the same goal as me.” Paying no attention to the wounded girl, Chi-Hyun continued flatly, “Then I’d appreciate it if you could just step back and cheer me on quietly.” He was telling Chi-Woo to quietly back away without intervening further. However, Chi-Woo couldn’t do that because—
“No, it’s different.” Chi-Woo shook his head. “You’re about to kill this World.”
“That is the only way to save Liber.”
“It may seem like that right now, but not in the long run. You won’t be able to save Liber later on no matter how hard you try.”
“You’re talking about a definite future. How funny.” Chi-Hyun snorted. “You speak as if you’re from the distant future.”
“And what if that is the case?”
“Seriously—I don’t know how far you want to go.” Chi-Hyun sighed deeply and turned around. “But since we’re in the same boat, I don’t want to kill you—” There was no need for him to hear further. Chi-Hyun raised his hand and continued, “So move back. If you don’t want to die.”
“You’re not going to wait for Laguel’s answer?”
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re lying or not.” Strong dark energy began to rise from his hand. “This is the last warning. Get out of my way.”
A glint appeared in Chi-Woo’s eyes. “…Can’t you just go back to the Celestial Realm? And leave this matter to me?”
“Nonsense,” Chi-Hyun retorted like he was done with Chi-Woo and said, “I’m the one who’s going to save Liber.” His tone was more intense than before.
Chi-Woo smacked his lips with regret. He had thought he might be able to solve this problem through conversation, but his brother was more determined than he’d expected. It was as if his brother believed he must save Liber, that he had no choice but to save Liber.
As soon as he made the decision to oppose his brother’s decision, Chi-Woo had expected resistance to some extent. His enemy this time was neither the Demon Empire nor the Sernitas—it was his older brother. He needed to surpass Chi-Hyun, who was revered as the legend. Although Chi-Woo had fought Chi-Hyun a few times before, he wasn’t so stupid that he wouldn’t notice that his brother had gone relatively easy on him because he was his younger brother. Chi-Woo wouldn’t get beaten one-sidedly like before, but it would probably still be difficult for him to beat Chi-Hyun if he fought for real.
Chi-Hyun didn’t know that the opponent in front of him was his younger brother. Thus, he would show his full strength without hesitation, and Chi-Woo’s prediction hit right on the mark. When Chi-Hyun began to gather his energy, Chi-Woo felt cold sweat run down his back. The pressure was no joke even though they were just facing each other; it was even more intense than when he faced the queen in the Hala Forest and the aggregated Sernitas at the Sky Castle.
‘Rather…’ Should he just reveal the truth now? Although this thought came to mind momentarily, Chi-Woo vigorously shook his head. When he first entered Liber, his brother had been extremely displeased to say the least. To the point that their brotherhood almost broke, and ever since then, Chi-Hyun had been desperately trying to send Chi-Woo back. He didn’t think Chi-Hyun would be much different now. On the contrary, he didn’t know what Chi-Hyun would do in the future to prevent Chi-Woo’s entry into Liber. Rather than skewing the situation by revealing his identity, he needed to win this fight to earn the outcome he wanted.
Chi-Woo raised both hands and got into a stance. This was the end of their conversation, and their fight began—one side was trying to save Liber by killing the old World, and the other side was trying to stop him.
The darkness rising from Chi-Hyun split into dozens of pieces and shot out, and Chi-Woo’s whole body was awash in light. The two men who had been watching each other kicked the ground at the same time as if they had rehearsed it beforehand. They narrowed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, and the moment light and darkness intersected, the sky and ground shook with an explosive sound once again. Before long, Chi-Hyun’s eyes widened. Since Chi-Hyun had intended to finish this fight with a single blow, he wasn’t able to immediately comprehend the following situation.
His vision began to tilt to his confusion. He felt as if his whole body was hit by a huge iron hammer. By the time he managed to come to his senses, Chi-Hyun realized that their collision had sent him rolling across the ground like he was riding on a slide, leaving a long trail—not his opponent, but him.
Having slammed into the ground with a loud noise, Chi-Hyun quickly got to his feet and fixed his stance. Although he looked calm, his subtly trembling eyes betrayed how shocked he was. It was shocking that in matters of power, quantity, and strength, there was no aspect where his opponent was inferior to him. Normally, his opponent should have been immediately crushed the moment the battle started. However, once they actually fought, the result was the opposite. His opponent crushed him and pushed him back instead. Although it was a ridiculous outcome, this was the reality of the situation.
‘…I was pushed back?’ He, the eldest son of the Choi Family who was moving towards the peak in the Celestial Realm and unrivaled to all heroes? Chi-Hyun’s eyes grew cold; he couldn’t admit his defeat.
Bam! Chi-Hyun stomped with his foot so hard that it made a loud noise. The ground split, and fierce winds blew in all directions. Then Chi-Hyun quickly reduced their distance in a zigzag pattern with precise and complicated footwork. As he moved closer, one, two, four, eight, sixteen… Chi-Hyun’s afterimages began to increase until there were dozens of him pressuring Chi-Woo from all directions, lunging at him like a gust of wind. At that moment, light emanated from Chi-Woo’s hand. The beam lengthened like a magic staff and spun in a circle, smashing all of Chi-Hyun’s afterimages. When most of the afterimages had disappeared like this, Chi-Woo flinched because he suddenly felt a strong wind behind his back. The move had merely been a feint. The real Chi-Hyun was aiming for Chi-Woo’s blindspot, and he had been waiting for the right moment to strike. It was a perfectly planned attack. If everything went normally, Chi-Woo would have died from getting his neck pierced.
Unbeknownst to Chi-Hyun, however, this was a trick he’d already pulled when teaching Chi-Woo. Chi-Woo had experienced the same attack and had even gained a decisive clue to grow stronger and reach a new level because of it. As a result, although his conscious mind had failed to catch Chi-Hyun’s attack, Chi-Woo’s body remembered and automatically reacted. He attacked and defended at the same time, and his body shook as if it was twisting. His fingertips shot out like an awl and stabbed Chi-Hyun’s afterimages nonstop.
Then Chi-Woo propped himself up with his hand on the ground as the axis and immediately spun around. Rotating like a windmill, his heel immediately hit Chi-Hyun’s temple, forcing a groan out of him. Chi-Hyun had sensed an abnormal airflow near him and managed to barely block the attack in the end, but he couldn’t stop himself from stumbling and falling to one side while being pushed back. Dropping to one knee, he grabbed his left forearm. It had gotten numb. He couldn’t even feel the part where he was hit.
In the end, Chi-Hyun looked up at Chi-Woo with one arm lying limp by his side. Staring blankly as the fight unfolded, Bael, Boboris, and the Last Dragon gulped at the same time; they all looked at the scene in disbelief. However, they had no choice but to believe it. The best hero they knew—the legend had been pushed back, and even more unbelievably, the other party was overwhelmingly stronger.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m