Possessing Nothing
chapter-396

TL: Yul, xLordFifth

PR: Gort

The Spear King forced himself up from his crumpled position. His legs trembled as he felt an awful sensation churning in his stomach.

No matter how much he swallowed, the blood surging up his throat seemed endless.

With his ribs shattered, propping up his torso felt cumbersome.

His left arm was nearly immobile. Most of his muscles had been torn to shreds.

The real problem, however, wasn’t the wounds – it was the poison. The Spear King clicked his tongue as he glanced down at his left arm.

The creeping black venom was writhing, making its way further up his arm. This venom could be purified with Teresa’s holy power.

But now was not the time for that. Far away, Juwon was getting to his feet.

That monstrous fiend.

He had driven a spear into that body numerous times. He had smashed his heart and crushed his skull repeatedly.

Yet, the creature stood up, unscathed.

The Spear King couldn’t help but scoff as he glanced at his left arm. Continuing to wield a spear with it was out of the question.

Leaving it be, however, meant the venom kept advancing. The toxin had made its way up to and over his upper arm, reaching his shoulder.

The pain was excruciating. His experience with pain in the mountains of Mush made it tolerable, but if the venom spread from his shoulder into his body, it would complicate matters.

Resolutely, the Spear King grabbed his left upper arm.

With a crunching sound, he ripped out his arm right below the shoulder and immediately sealed the blood vessel to stop the bleeding.

The dizzying pain made his head buzz, but he could endure it. He had no intention of fleeing to seek Teresa and treat the venom.

The thought of fleeing this fight had never crossed his mind. The Spear King was committed to a relentless advance.

To him, Juwon was the strongest adversary he had ever faced. Stronger than the Martial God from a decade ago. The Spear King bared his teeth in a gruesome smile.

Juwon, facing the Spear King who had just amputated his own arm, smiled back.

Since Howon’s death (TL: this was the previous head of the lycanthropes), he had lived steeped in ennui and monotony, but fighting with the Spear King made him forget all that. Just as the Spear King recognized Juwon, Juwon acknowledged the Spear King.

“Too good a foe to kill, really,” Juwon chuckled under his breath.

Crack… crack

Juwon narrowed his eyes as he cracked his thick fingers.

“Geniella told me to subdue you and bring you to her. She said it didn’t matter if you were barely alive.”

“And you used poison against me?”

“If your weapon is a spear, mine is poison. What’s wrong with making full use of one’s weapon?”

To him, the concept of cowardice was non-existent. The Spear King had no intention of condemning Juwon for using poison.

Use whatever you can. This was not some petty squabble between neighborhood kids nor was it a formal duel held before a judge.

This was a duel to the death.

“No, there’s no issue,” responded the Spear King with a sly grin. With his only remaining hand, he gripped his spear.

Having become a one-armed fighter, his balance was off. He swung his spear a few times, testing it out.

Juwon maintained his distance, not rushing in. Enough enjoyment had been derived from the battle.

Juwon knew the end of this fight was nearing. The Spear King had been a formidable enemy.

Even more than Howon, the former leader of the Lycanthropes, and even more than Howon’s loyal retainer, Brock.

Juwon was the victor of the fight. It was obvious to any onlooker. The Spear King, having lost his left arm, was exhausted, while Juwon was not. Though he was a bit tired, he was otherwise unscathed.

Juwon felt a pang of regret realizing the Spear King was but a frail human. Had he been a non-human entity, they could have fought longer and more enjoyably.

The Spear King wasn’t considering defeat.

No one knew better than the dire state of his body.

Having cut off his poisoned arm, he could no longer wield his spear with two hands. The heavy blood loss made his head spin. Due to several broken bones, it was difficult to move my body.

However, this did not lead to defeat. He could still fight more. Although the pain was intense, he felt no fear.

He did not feel despair either. he only felt joy at the fact that he could still fight more. The Spear King lifted his foot and walked forward.

He used all the skills he had.

Based on the principle of One with the Spear, he used all the skills he had mastered throughout his life, which he could handle perfectly.

Though the Spear King’s body was frailer than Juwon’s, the skills he had honed bridged the gap between their physical abilities and allowed him to fight on equal footing with Juwon.

Had Juwon not possessed an immortal body, and had a human body like the Spear King, this fight would have already ended in the Spear King’s victory.

“Insufficient.”

The Spear King muttered, lips twitching. The skills he had perfected and mastered throughout his life were not enough.

He gripped the spear in his right hand tightly.

Toward a place further ahead.

Toward a place farther beyond.

A smile formed amidst the pallor of his face. He knew. He knew that it was still something he could not handle.

He had been chasing after it.

For 10 years straight.

The fight between the Martial God and the Lord of the Sama Order was of such a high level that the Spear King dared not intervene.

The techniques used by the Lord of the Sama Order to overwhelm the mighty Martial God shattered the framework of martial arts the Spear King had studied all his life, showing him a far wider world.

He wanted to reach it.

After chasing for 10 years, he had barely managed to get a glimpse of its tail. That was all – a glimpse. He hadn’t reached an equal standing, nor had he surpassed it.

It was the same now.

“Trying to chase a crane as a sparrow will only tear one’s legs apart,” the Black Dragon mockingly told the Spear King, who had suffered a minor Qi deviation.

It was true. Different legs meant one couldn’t catch up. Yet, he still had to pursue it.

He became the sparrow trying to chase after the crane’s single step. To chase the crane, he continuously connected his short strides without rest.

The spear he held felt heavy.

It was time to end it.

KWANG!! KWAAAANGGG!!!

A loud explosion sounded from not far away. It was the sound of Geniella fighting. Juwon should not interfere in that fight.

But before the fight between Geniella and the Ghost Spear was completely over, he wanted to witness it.

Juwon was approaching. His vision was blurry. The Spear King didn’t bother to wipe the blood-soaked corners of his eyes.

Seeing meant nothing to him anymore. His senses were wide open. The cool breeze touched his skin.

The smell of blood tingled his nose. From the spear, the scent of metal and oil arose. It was heavy.

The familiar weight of the spear felt new to him.

“Were you this heavy?”

The Spear King was the spear. Reasons like why he first held the spear didn’t come to mind anymore.

The reason wasn’t important. The Spear King continued his stride. The pace of the sparrow was slow, and its stride was short. By this time, the crane would have gone far ahead.

One could not chase a crane with mere steps.

‘He probably thinks he won.’

The Spear King was accustomed to fighting. A human body was not as durable as a monster’s. There were no instances of regenerating after one’s head flies off or one’s heart bursts.

Juwon fought making full use of the fact that he was a monster. That is something the Spear King, having fought Juwon and reached this state, knew well.

He almost never defended.

If there was no escape, he would brazenly take hits with his bare body. He was accustomed to hunting humans. For humans, it might be a method of mutual destruction, but for a monster that revives even after death, it was an efficient hunting method.

Juwon knew that the Spear King’s spear couldn’t be fatal to him.

No matter how strong or fast, a body that didn’t die simply regenerated. The Spear King’s spear couldn’t kill Juwon.

He had given enough time. He pushed his body to the brink of death and even cut off his left arm.

The enemy was certain of victory.

That’s exactly what he needed. He had been fighting to instill that absolute confidence in him. Spear King desired two things.

Juwon had to be certain of victory, and Juwon had to recognize him as a worthy opponent.

He came nearer. The Spear King continued to walk forward without stopping. He held up the spear he was clutching tightly.

Certainty? No such thing. It would be nice if it worked out, but if not…

‘I have no regrets. I did my best.’

The Spear King twisted his lips into a smile. I wonder how far the crane had gone.

Where would I be walking? No, do I even need to walk? The Spear King’s foot stomped the ground.

A sparrow spread its wings and flew. To the Spear King, the straight path aiming for Juwon appeared as a long, solitary road.

The scenery twisted. The Spear King’s heart yearned for only one thing. The object in his hand felt heavy. And then, the weight disappeared.

The Spear King couldn’t momentarily recognize what he was holding. Is this a spear?

What else could it be? It was so obvious.

With his only hand, the Spear King thrust forward the object, unclear if it was a spear or not, yet firmly believed to be one.

Juwon did not dodge. He was confident in his victory and joined in the final struggle of a formidable opponent, bored and weary. Juwon’s fist, charged with terrible force, attempted to shatter the Spear King’s spear.

The wind died.

The Spear King looked down at his body. Only barely was his right arm still attached. Juwon’s strike had blasted away more than half of his upper body.

Pain disappeared. The Spear King’s legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground.

He looked at his outstretched right arm, the spear still in his grasp, and beyond.

The path he had seen for a moment had not disappeared; it remained.

The Spear King twisted his lips, now dripping with blood, into a smile. Did you see that well? The question that came to mind was kept in his heart. There was no need to vocalize it.

At the entrance to the path, not the end, only Juwon’s lower half stood starkly.

“Bastard.”

Juwon’s body staggered and fell backwards. Juwon could not regenerate anymore.

The Spear King’s spear, which jumped over the realm of transcendence, had completely obliterated Juwon’s soul. The Spear King chuckled, shaking his head.

“You should have dodged, you fucker.”

‘Though I made it impossible to dodge.’

The Spear King closed his eyes comfortably, feeling a sense of relief. Even though it was a mutual destruction, still…

Juwon was the first to die. That pleased the Spear King. Yes, the victor of this fight wasn’t the monster Juwon, but the human Spear King.

‘But still, it was quite good.’

It wasn’t about the life he had lived. Mulling over the recent fight, the Spear King smiled with satisfaction.

Last time, I couldn’t even wield it properly and kept vomiting blood. Now, I didn’t vomit blood and swung till the end. My legs didn’t get torn apart. Black Dragon, that bastard, should have seen this…

Yes. That was a bit regrettable. I was much stronger than you, beautifully accomplishing what you mocked me for, saying I would tear apart like a sparrow’s legs.

‘It was fun…’

It was a satisfying and enjoyable fight.

I regret not being able to avenge against the Martial God and not being able to finish the fight with Lee Sungmin

Still, those things didn’t leave me with lingering regrets. It couldn’t be helped. Because I knew it wasn’t over.

Before obliterating Juwon’s body, my spear was advancing towards a path. Juwon was standing in front of it; and a long, solitary road lay behind him.

The Spear King felt his consciousness fading. At that moment, he realized how small this world was.

‘How insignificant were those struggling within it, and how insignificant was I just moments ago?’

‘This is the greatest hell…’

The Spear King closed his eyes and smiled. He saw the place where ‘real’ monsters, transcending human bounds, frolicked.

‘I am going there.’

The Spear King did not let go of the spear until the very end.

At the entrance to the solitary road, the Spear King slowly stepped forward. Far ahead, a large crane spread its wings and greeted him with laughter.

The endless road was wide and far. The Spear King was small.

It didn’t matter.

The Spear King, holding the spear on his shoulder, walked the path alone.

With small steps, without stopping, moving forward continuously.

TL: Goodbye Spear King! One of my favorite characters in the entire series, may you reach that crane…