Chapter 28: Plague Eruption: The Fall of the Yokai Sage

-Weakness

1.

Evolution.

Living organisms evolve, adapting their characteristics to be more advantageous for survival.

Monsters, or yokai, are a species that thrive from an evolutionary standpoint.

They use spiritual energy or nature’s essence, transforming it into yokai power to drive their own evolution.

Some yokai desire bodies that are invulnerable to anything.

Some crave bodies capable of absorbing women.

They yearn and long for such changes and realize their desires.

That is what a yokai is.

The yokai sage, Mihura, also had a direction he longed for in his evolution.

He craved a massive body, one that could stand against the mightiest of yokai.

Of course, evolution requires energy, and the greater the transformation, the larger the distance to the final goal, the more energy or yokai power is consumed.

“I’ve gathered energy for 20 years.”

From the entire expanse of this vast forest.

By killing off all of nature.

He gained an astronomical amount of yokai power and achieved an evolution so massive that it could only be described as colossal, surpassing mere increases in size or level.

“I can feel it, the overwhelming power.”

Just as an elephant, without effort, can crush a mouse underfoot, Mihura viewed humans in the same way.

To him, they were insignificant, fragile beings that he could crush at any moment if he wished.

Small and insignificant.

Posing no threat at all.

Just squirming insects beneath the earth.

That’s what he always believed—until he encountered the Silent Swordsman.

Her speed—slipping out of his attack range before his enormous body could even land—was unmatched.

“Could that human… be a half-yokai?”

No. That couldn’t be.

There was no way he, as a yokai, could fail to detect the presence of such a small amount of yokai energy.

She was human.

A pure-blooded human, completely untainted by any yokai blood.

That’s why her speed, her sharp reflexes, were so unnerving.

Like a buzzing insect flying around, she stirred up a sense of visceral disgust in him.

Boom!

She dodged his strike that crashed into the ground, and he swept his massive centipede tail across the earth, as if swatting a fly.

His body thrashed, shaking the entire forest field, causing a cataclysm akin to a natural disaster.

And in the midst of this chaos, a sharp sting pierced into his back.

[How dare this pest!!]

Even among insects, there are those considered pests.

The cursed spirits that plague the forest and the tribesmen they feast on are the pests.

She wielded her sword, thrusting it into his massive body, causing him pain—this human was clearly a pest.

‘It’s fine if she’s just a pest. But she must not become a venomous insect.’

Evolution does not always come with benefits alone.

When muscles increase, and the body grows larger, the basal metabolic rate rises, meaning more energy must be consumed to maintain it.

Finding prey becomes difficult, and more time is wasted on hunting.

Naturally, the predators of large animals aren’t even bigger monsters.

Instead, they are parasites that drain energy or small predators that reduce available prey.

And then there are venomous insects, so tiny yet capable of inflicting significant harm without being touched.

[No matter how sharp that little toothpick of yours is,]

[It can’t compare to the power I’ve accumulated over 20 years!]

He swung his enormous tail wide, launching an all-out attack that swept through the entire forest field.

Even if a yokai’s body could endure, a frail human would be torn to pieces, reduced to a mere lump of flesh, just by being caught in the debris.

[This is the end!!]

[No way! Friend, hold on tight to me!]

With a powerful leap, the half-yokai, Inmyeon Jiju, carried the human on its back.

The foolish and weak half-yokai glared at Mihura with venomous eyes as it sprinted forward.

Over uprooted trees, smashed rocks, and rivers of flowing earth, one of its legs got swallowed by a landslide and pulled out, yet it continued.

Even as the debris crushed its soft body, it endured the pain and swallowed its screams.

Standing 2.5 meters tall and 4 meters long, it looked as small as an ant compared to Mihura, who towered at 20 meters tall and 100 meters long.

Despite Mihura’s field-wide assault, they managed to survive—barely—through the onslaught.

—

2.

[Story Mode]

[How pathetic. Is this what becomes of a puppet once its purpose is exhausted?]

[What meaning could there be in those desperate struggles? Even if the impending end is delayed, what could possibly be achieved in a mere minute?]

The yokai sage Mihura mocked their efforts.

But despite his taunts, the half-yokai Inmyeon Jiju neither despaired nor lamented.

With eyes burning bright, it resolutely shouted back:

[You think wielding power beyond your means makes you invincible?]

[You’re far too scared.]

[And overly cautious too.]

[Even when facing a tiny creature, you don’t hold back your strategies. And when it’s time to crush something, you put all your strength into it, desperately trying to stomp it out.]

There was no sign of fear—only a resolute gaze, almost inspiring a sense of determination.

A sense of alarm rang in Mihura’s mind.

[Human! Where is that little creature?!]

[Sage! Do you think you can keep moving that massive body without getting tired? How long can you last? Aren’t you already fatigued?]

The Silent Swordsman had chosen a battle of attrition.

The yokai sage Mihura—though this creature was infuriatingly strong—was now growing weary.

Even a precise strike aimed at his bones had merely caused him mild discomfort due to his overwhelming durability and massive frame.

‘Only a fool would engage in a direct power struggle against such a strong opponent.’

If the enemy takes pride in their overwhelming strength, counter with flexibility.

If they attempt to crush you with overwhelming weight, respond with speed.

Just like the interaction of the Five Elements, martial arts have attributes that counter one another.

The four fundamental elements—Strength, Flexibility, Speed, and Weight—are intertwined.

From these arise specialized attributes like Transformation, Explosion, Absorption, Impact, Recoil, Curve, Bend, and Fusion.

Four Great Wheels, Eight Great Paths, Sixteen Great Gates.

She had mastered the principles of martial arts, opening four wheels, eight paths, and sixteen gates.

For someone like her, no matter how large the opponent was, it would not lead to despair.

[You want me to buy you some time, right?]

Though the more she hid, the more pressure the half-yokai Inmyeon Jiju would have to endure,

The half-yokai was more than willing to understand her intentions and accepted them.

[Leave it to me. I’ll find a way to create an opening.]

With that, the first phase, <Great Rampage>, came to an end.

Mihura, the yokai sage, puffed up his massive body and began to emit poison.

Puhwaah!

[When I wield my strength, I go all out. That statement is half right, and half wrong.]

[This power was meant to stand against great yokai.]

[It wasn’t meant for insignificant beings like you… But now that I’ve used it, I won’t let it end smoothly.]

[The power of 20 years of plaguing this Great Forest…]

[No matter where you hide,]

[No matter where you run,]

[If this plague blankets the entire forest, it won’t matter!]

[Let’s see if you can survive it with that tiny body of yours!!]

[Player Mode]

Now entering the second phase, <Plague Breath>.

Mihura, the yokai sage, unleashed a level of power and attacks far beyond a simple boss fight, resembling a full-on boss raid.

His speed in gathering energy, the range of his breath attack, and the fact that the ground melted wherever it touched—everything about it was extraordinary.

The Su-gwi’s toxic gas could be resisted by holding one’s breath, but this Plague Breath was an instant death move. Entering its range meant one would melt away, leaving no trace.

– What the hell? An instant death move?!

– Is this a different game genre now?

– The range is huge too!

– Can you even dodge this by jumping out of the way?

– Wait, where did the Silent Swordsman go?

– LOL

– I turned off first-person view, and now the Silent Swordsman has disappeared from my sight.

The viewers, engrossed in this action-packed boss fight, watched the spectacle unfold like an epic action movie.

– Found her! She’s clinging to his back!

– Wait, when did she get all the way up there?

– She’s scaling his body like it’s nothing, straight up vertical!

– Rock climbing expert!

– Isn’t that the technique they talk about in martial arts, Wall-Climbing Technique or something?

– Wow, you know about Wall-Climbing Technique! It’s super useful!

– But seriously, what’s Wall-Climbing Technique, you old-school martial arts nerd?

– It’s a technique for climbing walls. If you want to become Spider-Man, you’ve got to master it.

– Did Peter Parker learn Wall-Climbing Technique?

– O O

– If Inmyeon Jiju is male, does that make him Spider-Man?

– O O

– LOL, seriously, people are just throwing jokes around like it’s nothing since it’s not their problem.

– Next Spider-Man, please.

While the viewers watched with great excitement, the yokai sage Mihura grew increasingly anxious.

‘They’re not just simple pests, are they?’

Even if he couldn’t catch them by swinging his limbs, he thought of them as mere insects that could easily be exterminated with some pesticide.

But what if, despite being hit by the poison, they survived, appearing again like a tenacious, giant centipede—a toxic insect with extraordinary persistence?

‘That can’t be. No, it mustn’t be.’

The yokai energy he had accumulated over a long time,

His Plague Breath attack, which he used by dividing that power,

Even his wide-range attacks that rivaled a dragon’s breath—if they couldn’t capture a human…

His energy consumption was accelerating, and at this rate, he wouldn’t even be able to maintain his current form.

Could a yokai be called a yokai without strength? Without divine power, a yokai would merely become human.

No, that couldn’t be.

Thus, if he were to use his power, he had to ensure it was effective.

Determined to end it in one fell swoop, he gathered the largest amount of Plague Breath he could muster, with the greatest suction force so far.

The second phase:

<Plague Breath>

The final pattern of this phase:

<Plague Eruption>.

Like a volcano filled with magma and gas on the verge of eruption,

His body swelled up massively.

The Silent Swordswoman, clinging to his neck, drew her sword once again.

Eruption.

This attack was a combination of the Art of Explosion and the Art of Fire, focused on wide-area destruction.

Anyone caught in its range would never survive, leaving nothing but devastation, as if the gates of hell had opened.

Although it was a technique fueled by the yokai’s energy, humans could also perform it using their internal power.

‘Ganun Hyeolhae. The ultimate secret technique of Hyeolmokrin, the Blood Cult’s leader.’

At one point, it was the technique that subdued her and turned her into the Hyeolgangshi of the Blood Cult.

The leader of the Blood Cult and its greatest master had used this very technique.

Invading the clouds and summoning a sea of blood,

It was a devastating wide-area technique born from deep internal power.

In her first encounter, she had been struck down without being able to respond.

But after enduring through time, when she once again faced Hyeolmokrin,

She had realized the countermeasure for the seemingly invincible Ganun Hyeolhae.

‘The only opening is the moment when the energy is condensed before it is unleashed.’

If the technique were fully unleashed, the only way to survive would be to use a wide-area counter-technique or engage in an internal power showdown.

But before the power could be unleashed, if she could sever its flow…

[!!!]

The power would explode internally,

Burning the caster’s blood vessels, organs, and energy core before it could spread externally.

Kraaaagh!!!

The enormous body twisted violently,

As the reversed energy coursed through the yokai sage Mihura,

The terrifying momentum that had once been reminiscent of the dreaded Ganun Hyeolhae

Shattered Mihura’s internal body, leaving him with no yokai energy to maintain his massive form.

[No, this can’t be happening!]

[My plan, which I’ve built over 20 years, my power that could challenge the great yokai strongholds…!!]

Mihura’s gigantic body shrank, folded, and compressed,

Until, at last, he reverted to a frail, naked human form.