Chapter 91: Halo (9)
Hyun Suho had directly and indirectly experienced the transcendent power of level 9 several times.
Elder Lich, Demon Kraken, and most recently, the rampaging Soul Spear...
All of them had achieved a lower form of divinity.
Although their races and methods of using power differed, they all possessed vast authority capable of influencing the laws of the world.
Even Lakshmi had said it.
Rising in level meant getting closer to the ideal utopia that all living beings ultimately strive for.
In other words, obtaining divinity.
Compared to that, Tang Tianqi was just big for no reason, with no substance at all.
Power obtained without any contemplation or effort.
To Hyun Suho's eyes, Tang Tianqi looked like a balloon monster, flailing helplessly, unable to control its suddenly inflated size.
"Still, I'll admit you're at least on par with a Ranker."
At least the size of his aura was that of a regular(?) Ranker.
Of course, it was surprising that he had obtained such power solely through drugs, but it wasn’t impressive beyond that.
Hyun Suho knew all too well how futile easily gained power was.
When Tang Tianqi realized that Hyun Suho’s words weren’t bluffs or arrogance, but sincere, he gritted his teeth in rage.
"You bastard!"
He had finally obtained absolute power.
No one should stand confidently before him, especially not like Hyun Suho.
Just as he was about to attack Hyun Suho in his fury... he hesitated and stepped back.
"Kill him!"
He decided to send his subordinates to drain Hyun Suho’s strength first.
Despite being drunk on power, he felt an uneasy sense of foreboding, so he cautiously retreated a bit.
Hyun Suho snorted in disbelief at the sight.
"Seriously? How petty."
Even though he claimed to hate the Tang clan, his actions hadn’t escaped the clan's way of thinking — doing anything for victory.
At Tang Tianqi’s command, about a hundred hunters, a mix of his original unit and others bought with money and connections, rushed towards Hyun Suho.
Just as it seemed he was about to be completely surrounded... Hyun Suho grinned and pointed to the sky with his finger.
"Just as I expected, I called in reinforcements too."
From the distant sky, a massive aircraft appeared, rapidly approaching their location.
Vroom!!
In a world where monsters filled the skies, the use of planes was extremely limited.
Naturally, there was no runway in Vladivostok.
Yet the plane was flying at an incredibly low altitude, heading straight for them.
It looked like it would crash if it didn’t pull up soon, but the plane showed no fear and only accelerated further.
“Is it trying to commit suicide?!”
The hunters surrounding Hyun Suho hurriedly retreated, thinking the plane was going to crash into them and blow everyone up.
Then it happened.
The plane, which had been diving straight for the ground — no, crashing — began to disassemble as if all its screws had come loose.
The wings, fuselage, and even the engines split into pieces of uniform size.
“What?”
Even after breaking into pieces, the debris continued to fly toward them without losing speed.
The fragments suddenly curled up and transformed, becoming soft and jelly-like, almost like slime.
Splat!
The sticky masses hit the ground, stretching and sticking to the surface, like dough spreading out.
As the goo elongated along the ground, it started to clump together, gradually taking on a distinct shape.
Shhhh!!
Finally, it completed its transformation, revealing the shape of a person.
Not just any person — they were fully armed with guns and battle suits.
Everyone, from Tang Tianqi and his subordinates to the General’s soldiers, was stunned by the sudden appearance of these figures.
The soldiers grinned at them and said, “Beep beep! Boop!”
Hyun Suho was the only one who understood the meaning of their words.
“That was a great landing. Now, take care of the rest.”
“Beep beep! Boop!”
After responding, the soldiers began shooting at the people who were still standing there, bewildered.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!
“Ahhh!”
After a few were hit by bullets and fell, the hunters finally screamed out.
“They're enemies! Fight back!”
As the Bipo unit engaged the hunters in battle, Tang Tianqi stood there speechless.
In the Hunter era, he’d seen all sorts of bizarre things, but this was the first time he had witnessed such a dramatic entrance.
From becoming gooey lumps in a plane to fully armed soldiers in the end.
Tang Tianqi, who had thought of Hyun Suho as just a simple(?) magician, now felt like he’d been smacked in the back of the head.
“What kind of trickery is this?”
“What do you mean? It’s my summoning magic.”
It wasn’t a lie.
The Bipo unit was Hyun Suho’s summoned force.
This was the method he had developed after researching how to move the Bipo unit over long distances quickly.
They had already completed several test runs.
There were times when powerful flying monsters attacked, but they had devised a strategy of leaving behind a decoy tail.
Hyun Suho shrugged and said, “If you’re scared, you can run away now. Don’t worry. Unlike someone, I keep my promises.”
At those words, Tang Tianqi felt as if he heard the sound of his rationality snapping.
The immense power he had finally obtained through years of hard work.
He had even been confident he could overthrow the Tang clan, who ruled like kings over the Sichuan region.
"You're not allowed to mock me, you lowlife from this backwater!”
As Tang Tianqi released his energy, a pink aura burst forth, scorching the surroundings.
Hyun Suho casually blocked it with a protective shield and added a comment.
“You know your stuff. Real men wear pink.”
“Shut up!”
Enraged, Tang Tianqi charged forward, swinging his fist.
Whoosh!
It wasn’t that Hyun Suho had stepped back, yet Tang Tianqi’s arm flailed uselessly in the empty air far in front of Hyun Suho.
In short, it was a futile attack.
Just as Hyun Suho frowned, wondering what Tang Tianqi was up to, pink energy followed Tang Tianqi’s motion and struck toward Hyun Suho.
This attack, unlike Tang Tianqi's initial move, swept across the space where Hyun Suho stood.
Crash!
The mana shield Hyun Suho had quickly conjured shattered into pieces, scattering everywhere.
A 6-class mana shield is strong enough to withstand something like a small meteorite.
But that powerful shield was broken in a single light attack, like a jab.
Although Hyun Suho wasn’t hit, if he had taken the blow directly, it would have caused significant damage.
As he watched the shattered shield scatter, Hyun Suho focused mana into his eyes, activating the Doom Eye, which allowed him to clearly see the flow of power.
A giant, pink figure loomed over Tang Tianqi’s body.
“A pink giant? Isn’t your love for pink a bit over the top?”
“You bastard! Still running your mouth, I see!”
The towering figure moved naturally in sync with Tang Tianqi’s movements.
Hyun Suho realized what it was.
“An incarnation? An avatar ability?”
Avatar.
It refers to a skill that calls upon a divine entity from ancient times or another dimension, overlaying it onto one’s body.
Even Gula, who used the power of Aphos, could be considered to have used an avatar ability.
It’s a skill that only sorcerer-type hunters can acquire upon reaching level 8 or higher.
And now, Tang Tianqi was freely wielding that kind of power simply by taking a drug.
Realizing this, Hyun Suho was visibly surprised, and Tang Tianqi, now full of confidence, said smugly:
“Now do you understand?! There’s no way you can defeat me!”
Having obtained the power he had long desired, there was nothing to fear.
Right now, he felt as though he could easily grasp the world in his hands.
Hyun Suho acknowledged this.
“You’re right. I can’t beat you.”
“Haha! It’s too late for regrets now.”
“Yeah, magic alone won’t cut it.”
[Your magic act ends here.]
At that moment, something wriggled on Hyun Suho’s arm like a worm, and soon a sleek gun appeared in his hand.
It was the Genocide, summoned through the transformation of nano-particles.
[Genocide, charged at 75%.]
“Fire.”
Crackle!
A powerful plasma beam shot forth, and Tang Tianqi instinctively crossed his arms in a defensive stance.
Following his movement, the pink giant mimicked him, standing in the beam’s way.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
Tang Tianqi’s body was pushed back several meters by the plasma beam, but surprisingly, his body was unharmed.
The only noticeable change was that the pink giant had shrunk slightly.
Seeing this, Hyun Suho was able to gauge his opponent's strength.
“Your durability is about on par with an ancient dragon’s. Not bad.”
Tang Tianqi was initially startled by the sudden plasma attack, but quickly recovered. He shouted angrily at Hyun Suho, who was now evaluating his abilities as if critiquing a performance.
“That’s all you’ve got?!”
Tang Tianqi swung his arms wildly toward Hyun Suho, unleashing a powerful attack.
An attack strong enough to shatter even a 6-class mana shield.
Meaning there was no way to block it by ordinary means.
‘Then I’ll just dodge it.’
The pink giant’s movements were clear to Hyun Suho.
Fast, but simple.
No matter how powerful it was, Hyun Suho, who had once fought evenly with the Heavenly Demon, wasn’t going to get hit by it.
There was no need to even use any special movement techniques.
Hyun Suho moved leisurely, carefully observing Tang Tianqi’s actions.
And then he reached a conclusion.
“Well... there’s nothing here worth stealing.”
At first, Hyun Suho thought he could glean something from the martial arts of the Tang family, but there was nothing special.
Maybe his standards had gotten too high after mastering the Suho Swordsmanship.
“If that’s all you’ve got, should I wrap this up?”
Hyun Suho remained calm and composed.
Watching Hyun Suho toy with him, Tang Tianqi screamed in frustration.
“Why! Why won’t my attacks land?!”
His earlier confidence was now gone, and sweat was dripping down his entire body as he cried out in desperation.
His strength hadn’t waned, but the mental toll was enormous.
Seeing his pitiful state, Hyun Suho asked:
“Why aren’t you throwing your daggers? Could it be... you can’t?”
The avatar ability was indeed impressive.
It allowed Tang Tianqi, who was only level 6, to briefly attain the offensive and defensive capabilities of a ranker.
But simply swinging one’s arms wouldn’t mean much in a real fight.
“I was actually more scared when you were throwing daggers at me.”
Hyun Suho’s words seemed to strike a nerve.
Tang Tianqi suddenly stopped his frenzied attacks and stood still, his expression unreadable.
Then, out of nowhere, he started laughing.
“Ha! Hahaha!”
His laughter was so loud that even the soldiers fighting nearby and Tang Tianqi’s men turned to look.
As Tang Tianqi laughed like a madman, Hyun Suho scratched the bridge of his nose, feeling a bit guilty.
“Uh... did I go too far?”
In truth, Tang Tianqi was simply outmatched.
Unlike him, who only possessed ranker-level strength, Hyun Suho’s combat power far surpassed most rankers.
Unless Tang Tianqi had been planning to face Hyun Suho with a team or by using every drug at his disposal, he stood no chance.
As Tang Tianqi’s crazed laughter finally began to subside, he once again erupted in rage.
“Damn it! This can’t be happening! If only you weren’t here...!! Die!!”
Tang Tianqi, using his last ounce of strength, launched one final attack at Hyun Suho.
But Hyun Suho was no longer willing to give him another chance.
[Genocide, transforming into a beam saber.]
Whoosh!
Hyun Suho and Tang Tianqi passed by each other.
While Hyun Suho was unharmed, Tang Tianqi was not so lucky.
As the long beam saber slashed through, both Tang Tianqi and the pink giant were sliced diagonally.
Tang Tianqi's bisected corpse collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
Thud.
Having finished the fight, Hyun Suho turned to the onlookers and shouted:
"Anyone else?"
The first to move were the hunters who had been hired with money.
Even Tang Tianqi, who had displayed such terrifying strength, had been easily dealt with by Hyun Suho.
Realizing they had no chance of winning, they ran away.
Hyun Suho could have caught all of them if he wanted, but he let them go.
'No need to kill them all...'
The only ones left were Tang Tianqi's subordinates.
They exchanged glances before they too began fleeing in a hurry.
Once again, Hyun Suho didn’t pursue them.
"Of course it ends like this."
Hyun Suho then checked on the status of the Bipo unit.
With General’s forces having been of little help, they had effectively dealt with over a hundred hunters on their own.
Around 20% of the unit had been destroyed, but considering the circumstances, it wasn’t bad.
Still, there were clearly some areas that needed improvement.
Next, Hyun Suho turned his attention to General’s faction.
In front of them, who had gathered in formation to protect Tatiana, stood someone he hadn’t seen before.
He had already seen Bayets transformed into a bear. But now, beside him stood a tiger of equal size.
“No way... Is that Alexander?”
“...Yes, it is.”
It seemed he was a shapeshifter too.
The son was a bear, and the father was a tiger.
Since General had been pretending to be an alchemist, he probably hadn’t been able to use this form freely before.
Lastly, Hyun Suho turned to Tatiana. She hesitated for a moment before winking playfully and said:
“Hehe, sorry.”
“Don’t think you can get away with cuteness!”
Hyun Suho felt overwhelmed, unsure where to even begin sorting things out.
Even though he had defeated Tang Tianqi, the problems weren’t over.
The Tang clan still remained.
They were a major force supplying the raw materials for 'Halo'.
Even though Tang Tianqi had been a traitor, he was still a member of the Tang clan.
There was no telling what kind of issue they would raise over his death.
"Things are getting complicated."
He had come to wipe out drugs, but had gotten entangled in all sorts of problems.
"Still, I’ll have to tackle them one by one."
With that thought, Hyun Suho was about to speak to Tatiana when—
“Huh?”
Suddenly, he felt an enormous presence behind him.
The first thing he saw was Tatiana's shocked expression.
He quickly turned around, only to witness an unbelievable sight.
The supposedly dead Tang Tianqi was moving again.
As his body twitched, the pink giant, which had been cut in half, slowly started to rise as well.
'No, that's not Tang Tianqi. There's no way that's him.'
As if to confirm his thoughts, Tang Tianqi's twitching corpse once again lost its strength and collapsed to the ground.
Now, the only thing moving was the pink giant.
It moved far more fluidly than when Tang Tianqi had controlled it... even stretching as if it was waking up from a nap.
And then it shouted:
“That was fun! So much fun! Hahaha!”
The pink giant exaggerated its movements like a cartoon character.
Its upper body stretched out as it approached Hyun Suho.
Startled, Hyun Suho quickly assumed a defensive stance, but the pink giant just twirled around, dancing.
“Hahaha! It’s been so long since I’ve had such an exciting story!”
It stomped its feet in delight, as if thoroughly entertained.
Though it displayed no hostility or intent to attack, Hyun Suho couldn’t bring himself to relax.
Not even when Tang Tianqi had attacked had he felt this tense.
“Uhaha! Hehehe!”
As the pink giant continued to laugh foolishly and dart around, Hyun Suho cautiously opened his mouth.
“You... you’re not...”
Though he tried to deny it, logically, this was the only explanation.
There were only a few beings in the world capable of exuding such an overwhelming aura.
“Are you... the Drug King?”
