Episode 291:
Upon receiving James Reed’s request, President Herbert personally led a team to Seattle to settle the chaotic situation. There, they focused on moving people on a large scale to crack down on pseudo-religion and quell internal chaos.
And when all was said and done, they headed toward northern Washington and witnessed an earth-shattering collision.
“….”
A huge storm raged non-stop, seemingly going back and forth between day and night, and the successive lightning strikes were so strong that they felt as if they would split the world in half.
Was the creation of heaven and earth like this?
Heavy drinking and weather changes that shook the world to its core humbled humans.
“There is no chaos like this.”
Daniel and James Reed nodded at Herbert’s words. I have seen countless awakenings, but the sight of the aftermath of a natural disaster-level collision was awe-inspiring.
“Dr. Reed.”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“Do you still believe that Head Breaker can win against Shinsu?”
“….”
James Reed was lost in thought. When the president originally came here, he predicted that Choi Jun-ho would win. But when I saw that scene unfolding before my eyes, the words did not come out easily.
A being called a divine beast that causes natural disasters just by colliding with it. No matter how strong Choi Jun-ho is against it, he is ultimately just a human being.
Will humans be able to deal with a divine beast strong enough to call itself a god?
When I saw that scene with my own eyes, I felt like my values were shaken.
James Reed, who had been thinking about it, raised Choi Jun-ho’s hand.
“I will win. But there is no basis for that belief.”
“It would be even stranger to have faith after seeing that sight.”
“sorry.”
“it’s okay. “It’s natural that it’s not easy to make a decision after seeing this scene.”
As the world brightened and darkened repeatedly due to successive collisions, the people of the city were filled with fear, thinking that the end had arrived. If he didn’t know the inside story, Herbert would also have been put on alert.
But he is the president of the United States. Now that Choi Jun-ho and Thunderbird are in conflict, a decision must be made one way or the other.
The problem now was the thought structure of the fanatics.
The pseudo-religionists who worship the Thunderbird have become those who worship the Thunderbird, not the United States, and follow its orders as the top priority.
If we fail to stop this, the entire country of the United States could fall to the thunderbirds.
There is still a chance.
If Choi Jun-ho eliminates the Thunderbird, he can eliminate the enemy who was unable to organize his battle lines.
But what if the Thunderbird wins?
The backlash must be fully borne.
Herbert was at a crossroads with a decision.
“I also think Headbreaker has a chance.”
“President?”
“If there was a conflict, it should have ended, but it hasn’t ended yet. That means Head Breaker is fighting on equal footing.”
If Choi Jun-ho’s strength had not been reached, the confrontation would have ended long ago.
After thinking about it for a moment, Herbert looked at the sight of the storm still raging and lightning striking and made a decision.
“If not for this opportunity, there will be no chance to eliminate the fanatics at once. We will boldly bet on the future.”
“Let’s get ready right away.”
“please.”
Daniel, who was always in a position to stop Herbert, did not intervene and respected Herbert’s decision.
‘Sigh… try to win.’
James Reed, who was still focused on the place where the collision was taking place, hoped for Choi Jun-ho’s victory.
* * *
In conclusion, my plan to deal with the Thunderbird while it was transformed into a human failed.
That too.
Hematoma, who had watched the entire situation, chuckled.
[You confidently said you would kill a human being, but failed in 10 seconds, right?]
“It’s noisy. “Focus on what you’re doing.”
[I’m concentrating on my work. I’m talking like this because I have some free time left. I think you should be the one focusing more now, not me.]
“When the fight is over, I’ll rip that mouth off.”
[If you can survive, try as much as you can. And not only my mouth will be torn apart, but your mouth will be torn as well.]
Just as the hematologist said. This guy read my thoughts accurately and used Mandeuk and others to activate gifts at the right time to assist in the battle.
Thanks to that, I was able to focus on the fight against the Thunderbird.
But the Thunderbird was stronger and more cunning than anything I had ever faced.
This is true even if the fuselage, which would have been hundreds of meters long if incarnated as a main body, was shortened to around 5 meters. With its large body, it can see through many areas to hit, and has changed to a form that can overwhelm me with its moderate weight.
In other words, if I were to attack successfully, I could cause great harm, but the Thunderbird seemed to be full of confidence that it would not allow me to attack.
It carried a storm with its left wing and a thunderbolt with its right wing.
The Thunderbird, which has the power to distort even the climate, used storms and lightning at will, efficiently crushing my offensive and maintaining a certain distance.
like now.
[Coming.]
Pot!
The moment the Thunderbird’s wings moved, its body, which was over 5 meters long, disappeared without a trace. No, it was so fast that I felt like it had disappeared in my eyes.
As if the distance between me and it had been erased, the Thunderbird’s body instantly narrowed the distance and arrived in front of me.
Kwaaaaang!
Immediately afterwards, a dull shock struck my entire body. It feels like I crashed into a dump truck.
“Tsk!”
It was an enormous force that made my whole body tingle. A little while ago, he repeatedly used his powers to activate storms and thunderbolts, changing direction at will, and then attacking me.
If it were a real dump truck, it would have collided with me and shattered into pieces. His approach reached a realm of transcendence that did not affect my senses at all. The best thing to do is to predict it through experience and prevent it.
However, the fragile human body could not fully withstand the impact of the Thunderbird’s determined attack. Even though the outside was fine, whenever the inside was broken little by little, the hematoma moved and maintenance was required.
[His super regeneration is quite impressive, but keep in mind that the greater the impact, the faster your power is consumed.]
I know. And this Thunderbird also knows it. It is a war of attrition with power at the forefront.
When the Thunderbird allowed my attack in human form, there was a reason why it said that the human body was weak.
I tried to grab the wing of the guy who was hitting me, but it split the air in vain. I could see that this was the ‘high-speed flight’ that Yongyong had warned about.
It was a power that was close to spatial movement, meaningless to say that it was a bird’s flight. The distance between me and the Thunderbird was strictly maintained within the range permitted by him.
Unless you can dig into this and maintain a close range, you have no choice but to give up the initiative and be dragged along.
As expected, the aftereffects that I couldn’t deal with when I was still human were hitting me.
When I kicked off the ground and used the force to create a platform to approach the thunderbird, the storm and lightning caused by its flapping wings blocked my path. To close the gap, I fired force bullets with sniping, but it failed to cause any damage.
Instead, lightning struck through the gap and struck the place where I was. I raised mines in both hands and struck back as if grasping a lightning bolt.
Quack! Kkwagwagwang!
As the electric shock spread in all directions, creating terrifying golden sparks, the swept mountainside was shattered and a landslide occurred. I paid no heed to it and swung my hand blades together and cast a storm of blades.
Although it was an attack filled with refining, the wind and lightning twisted the path and it was impossible to penetrate the Thunderbird’s defense.
Fass!
As I watched it disappear without a trace, I felt the need to approach it. Even if you used sniping or bladestorm from this far away, you couldn’t inflict any damage.
The thunderbird flew upward, dissipating all my attacks. Then he looked down at me and spoke to me.
[Human, your future is infinite.]
“What does it mean?”
[It means my offer is still valid. You deserve to be my partner.]
Rather, has it been a test of my skills? The words that seemed to reign above and look down were not enough.
[You are looking down on me. Are you angry?]
This time, I had the same thoughts as the hematoma. Just because he appears in his original body, he seems to mistakenly think that all situations are under his control.
[Don’t be mistaken. Because I’m not taking your side.]
This isn’t it?
Hematoma snorted at my reaction.
But I felt much more at ease.
[Even if you criticize me, I will criticize you. Did you think I would laugh and watch you be looked down upon by such a baseless divine beast?]
What a ridiculous obsession.
I said while looking at the thunderbird.
“You’re good at talking about saving a servant, not a partner.”
[It’s not paper? I would be happy to treat you equally. Of course it’s not free. They say humans have to get paid? I know several ways to help you become stronger than you are now.]
Perhaps the other Awakened tricked you into giving you strength. Those guys who realized the gap in power between them and Shinsu would have readily accepted this offer. In some ways, the cunning tactics of the Thunderbird, which knows how to dig into lip service and what humans desire the most, felt amazing in some ways.
[Still, isn’t it okay to hear what they’ll give you?]
Since even the hematoma guy who was murmuring just a moment ago said that, I guess he said everything he had to say.
It’s even more embarrassing because it’s a joke.
“There is one thing I want.”
[Say.]
“Your neck.”
[…I liked your power, but I guess you weren’t given the ability to understand the subject. It’s unfortunate, but I’m going to keep bothering you, so
I’ll have to end it here.] Acting like it never happened.
[Still, wouldn’t it be better to listen to it once?]
Hematoma This guy keeps confusing me because he can’t understand the atmosphere. Aren’t you working for me now?
[They don’t even let me joke. So mean.]
Either way, the guy I’m dealing with now is Thunderbird.
As I watched the unusual air currents swirling around me, I said to the hematologist in my mind.
‘If I force the Thunderbird to hold on, will it be able to withstand it?’
[Hold on? If I try to hold on, my arm will be torn off.]
But all you have to do is hold on and chase after it. It is impossible to respond to the high-speed flight of the Thunderbird without taking damage. You have to close the distance to him and attack him directly at close range to inflict damage.
[I don’t know. Although the human body is quite tough, when compared to monsters or gods, it is infinitely fragile. I think it might be difficult.]
Even if it’s hard, if you can, try it. There’s nothing I can do if I can’t stand it.
[No, what country is this that tells you to do it somehow just because it’s difficult? Don’t you understand Korean? Are you so crazy that you even forgot Korean?]
No matter what the hematoma said, I prepared to put Thunderbird in my range.
The attack of this guy, who freely used high-speed flight and storm lightning, was simple yet absolutely powerful. It is impossible to break through the perfect combination of three and get within range without taking damage.
[Hey, really, don’t do that…!]
It was when the hematoma screamed like a scream.
The Thunderbird’s body became blurred and it charged at me. This time it was not the front but the right side.
Although they reacted quickly, the speed at which the Thunderbird attacked was much more stealthy and faster.
“Tsk!”
I reflexively stretched out my hand, holding on tightly to the pain that was overtaking my whole body.
This time, it happened almost simultaneously and they succeeded in snatching the wings of the thunderbird. However, the guy who succeeded in the attack tried to fly away at high speed. Considering the damage I will receive, I need to get away from this. The Thunderbird also thought and acted like that.
However, it is impossible to attack Thunderbird if I am not prepared to take damage.
Even if one of my arms is torn off, I have to take the opportunity.
I warned the hematoma.
I’m going to follow him. So hold on no matter what.
[Hey, it’s difficult.]
Even if it’s difficult, you just have to work hard.
I did not let go of the Thunderbird, which was displaying the power of high-speed flight, leaving behind the scream-like cry of a hematoma.
In an instant, the space split apart. And the scenery before my eyes seemed to change, and I felt like everything that made up my body, blood vessels, blood, bones, water, muscles, skin, was disintegrating one by one. It was different from pain. Super-regeneration was activated and it was trying to maintain its form endlessly, and the pressure of high-speed flight collided with the forces trying to scatter everything, entering into a power struggle.
Squeak! Squeak!
It was torn and pasted countless times. At some point, the pain completely disappeared, and all that remained was my will to catch the thunderbird.
After the high-speed flight is over.
The hands that held the thunderbird were completely tattered. Although it was an angel compared to what I thought would completely fly away.
To top it all off, even the hematoma clicked its tongue and told me it was a poisonous tumor.
[You should really be thankful to me. [It’s all my fault that it managed to maintain its form.]
You can just move on and praise yourself. This is a guy who I can’t relate to until the end.
Anyway, I’ll admit it. As long as the body remains intact, the gamble is a huge success. However, not only his arms but also his legs were not healthy. He said that the highest priority was given to protecting the head because hematoma would result in death if the brain was blown away.
That’s a valid opinion.
Even though my body was marked with fatal injuries, the results were sweet.
The Thunderbird was completely within my attack range.
[How…]
Even the thunderbird was shocked this time. I guess my confidence that I couldn’t keep up with the high-speed flight was broken. This unexpectedness creates variables for confrontation.
[But you probably don’t have the right means to attack, right?]
Hematoma is what he said when he saw my tattered limbs.
In general, you can think of it that way. Even if you attack with these limbs, you won’t be able to use 100% power.
But the hematoma was mistaken.
There was a part of him that was left intact to prevent me from dying.
[Where?]
If you don’t know, take a good look now.
To dispel any doubts about the hematoma, I grinned, tightened the hand holding the thunderbird, and brought it to my mouth.
From the beginning, the arms and legs were a throwaway card, and this was the real thing.
He applied the force to his healthy teeth and used his smelting skills to their full potential, biting off the wings of the thunderbird.
Blood shot!
The thunderbird’s skin was torn open and blood spurted out.
[You crazy bastard! I’m going to write it, so write it carefully!]