Above Your Head

"That's correct."

I imagined going back to the surface world after eating on the temporary channel. The food that was ingested through the mouth and down the esophagus to the stomach would disappear with a 'Biyunnggg' as soon as the human returned to the surface world...

'It would be a big issue,' I thought. As soon as the ingested food disappeared, the place where the food was at would be in a momentary vacuum state. The stomach that had turned into a state of vacuum would shrink with a 'Huaaaaaaak'. What if it was a little later? Complications would occur in the small intestine or large intestine. However, even that would not be too much of a big deal. If it occurred even later than that, what would happen if the ingested food was already absorbed as nutrients all over the body?

There was no need to look far. The brain was an organ that would greedily absorb the sugar that was present in the food. Since it couldn't use the fat or protein that came out as bodily waste as an energy source, it could only use sugar, which was a clean source of energy. However, if it absorbed the sugar just like that, what would happen if the absorbed sugar suddenly disappeared? What if a very tiny empty space was formed in the brain because of this one incident?

Seon-ae spoke seriously, "If you eat food, and get out of the parallel world right away, you would end up with a minor stomach ache or injury, but... If you ate food and bounced back to the surface world after a long time had passed, you'd end up with a severe disability at best and death would await you most of the time. This happens even to ability users with strong vitality, so you must always be careful."

"It's like the Netherworld or something," I muttered to myself.

In the East, there was a folklore stating that if the people of this world ate the food of the netherworld, they would become the people of the Netherworld and depart from this world. Similar customs existed in the Greek and Roman mythologies, and it was said that Persephone[1] became an existence that belonged to the Netherworld after eating only three pomegranate seeds.

However, I was slightly worried because it was a troubling story. And if I ever became involved in such a tale, that made it even worse… I asked, "Then what do I eat to live on?"

Seon-ae sighed softly. "You're in the temporary channel to avoid pursuit, not to live here for a long time. Anyone can easily create a temporary channel, but the duration it can be maintained increases proportionally to the 'number of people who entered the parallel world'. There are less than 10 of us now, but even if we want to stay for a long time, there's a limit to it."

Kriekkkkk! Once Seon-ae's explanation reached that point, the car we were in finally stopped. We arrived at a secluded residential quarter, and our car entered the parking lot of a moderately-sized private mansion within it. Clunk clunk… Wiiiiingggg! Surprisingly, the unassuming floor of the parking lot began to sink down.

Then, Mountain Sword, the warrior of the Lee Family, who had been driving silently, spoke, "This is one of the first-rate safe houses that the Lee Family possesses. It's a place that only the Great Elders of the household know of, and it's also pretty spacious. Furthermore, it has a physical and magical defense system that cannot be breached even by a missile bombardment."

"Are you saying I'm being treated like some sort of important figure?"

"...Yes, you are no different from the Lee Family's weakness now, so we intend to do our best to protect you. Let me introduce myself again. I am Mountain Sword, one of the Ten Guardian Swords of the Lee Family."

The surrounding atmosphere instantly changed as Mountain Sword spoke. From the outside, nothing had changed at all, but the bubble had burst and we had returned to reality. Then, at that moment… Craaaaaash! Schlooook! Thud thuck!

"Kuuuughh?!"

"Keukk??"

"Keok!"

The window was smashed as if someone had been waiting for this moment. Five or six spears whipped through the insides of the car. As those in the car were ability users who had trained their spiritual power, they were able to assume a defensive posture, but they were not able to block the single blow that had been prepared and planned beforehand.

"Keukkk! Why is the enemy here?!" Mountain Sword, the only one in the group that succeeded in evading, groaned and pulled out a sword that was lying under the seat. However, the next spear attack was already coming. Moreover, this particular spear attack was of a different level from the one just before.

Kwakkkkk! The front of the sedan, which was laced with all kinds of defense magic, was smashed altogether, and Mountain Sword was blasted away like a baseball that was hit by a bat. He was a master strong enough to respond to the unexpected surprise attack, but the opponent was an even stronger being.

"Yes, yes." In a situation where rampant screams sounded out, I was the only one who was not attacked. I clicked my tongue and shook my head. "I knew this would happen. I..."

The situation was already over when I forced my way through the half-broken door. The warriors who came to protect me had collapsed all over the ground, and Mountain Sword, who was blasted far away and crashed into the wall, had both his arms broken. Then, my classmate as well as my desk partner, Lee Seon-ae panted, "Huff... huff... What the hell is this..." Thump. She fell down and passed out just like that.

I was baffled and said, "No, you only got stabbed in the arm. So why did you faint?"

"Why else? Because the coma has started circulating in the blood." The man who blasted Mountain Sword away to the wall as a defensive measure came towards me while swirling the spear with a deep blue blade.

"Hmm?" I blinked. I thought he looked familiar. No, wait, there was no way a person from this world was familiar.

Blackmoon Sect

Level 9 

Spear Arts Master, Magon

"Ah! You're the one who attacked me before, aren't you?"

"Oh~ You have a good memory. You're still full of life even in this situation."

It was a memory from a long time ago. He was someone that came from the parallel world, and ambushed me when Bo-ram told me about my mother being an extraordinary existence born with the talents of a Great Witch… It was just before I went into the universe and was thrown into all kinds of situations.

They were mercenaries. They were hyenas from the parallel world who worked for money. However, they failed in completing what they were commissioned to do… I then blinked and asked, "Ah! Though it's useless now, can you perhaps tell me what were those weird monsters that got in our way back then? Androids? Or was it a golem?"

The reason their mission had failed was because the Slaughtering Machines that went to Earth to kill Celestia had appeared. In other words, the ones who attacked me and the ones who attacked Celestia clashed with each other, and neither could achieve their objectives.

"If I had to describe, I guess it would be an android," I hazarded a guess.

"Ohh! As expected, you knew, huh! If it's android, then it's the United States, right! You went to the United States, huh! You bastard! Do you know how much of a hard time I had back then?! Our Blackmoon Sect had a 100% success rate for all requested commissions, but because of that incident, it made me completely lose face! It was really baffling! Perhaps because you disappeared deep into the ground or flew into the skies, I couldn't find you even when I mobilized the wizards who were tracking experts!" He replied with a big grin. It was a very cheerful attitude, despite the fact that he stabbed multiple spears into the bodies of others.

I did not know his real age, but he looked to be in his early to mid-30s. He was wearing a common suit and tie, which allowed him to pass off as a regular office worker if one excluded the two-meter-long spear.

"Well, that was probably the case because I went far away."

"Oh! You went farther than the United States?"

"A lot farther."

Magon and other men came close, taking up the positions to surround me. However, it did not feel like they would attack me. But then again, as far as I had guessed, there was no reason for them to kill me. No, rather, it would be a big deal if I died.

"Keukkkk... What in the world? How the hell did you guys enter the safe house of the Lee Family?" Although both his arms were broken, Mountain Sword screamed with his seemingly fine mouth and assumed a battle stance. Whoooosh! Along with a howl, his neigong was revealed and the surrounding air vibrated. It was quite an intense energy, but it seemed that the warriors of the Blackmoon Sect did not care at all. The courage to fight with broken arms was admirable, but that was all. The tip of his sword was shaking without rest. After suffering serious internal and external injuries due to the unexpected ambush, he was no longer in a position to carry out combat.

"How else? Are you perhaps a slow-witted man?"

"Do you perhaps think we came after you guys because we were chasing you all?"

"Y-You bastards! It's no use trying to deceive me-!"

Claaaaank! The spear handle struck the sword of the blabbering Mountain Sword. It was an instantaneous attack, so he couldn't even respond properly and dropped the sword. He growled, "Keukkk, you bastard."

"Why are you being like this when you already know? We don't intend to kill you, so surrender nicely. Don't you know that we would be able to kill all of you if we made up our mind during the first ambush?"

Mountain Sword's expression distorted upon hearing Magon's words. He must have noticed the underlying meaning behind Magon's words. "This is...not possible. Really, is there really a traitor among the Great Elders? In this crucial situation with the fate of the Lee Family on the line?"

"If not, how else would we be able to wait here for you?"

"Don't be ridiculous! A member of the Lee Family! There is no way someone with the Lee surname would do something like that!"

"Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt in the middle of a conversation, but..." I was keeping quiet and listening in, but I couldn't help but chime in, "Lee Wan-yong is also of the Lee Family."

"..."

"..."

"..."

In an instant, a death-like silence fell. Mountain Sword looked at me with a flustered expression, and even the attackers, who were warriors of the Blackmoon Sect, looked at me with a baffled expression.

"P-Puhahahaha!! Wow, this is really amazing! You said you're the brother of the Dragon Devouring God Blade, but you really have a lot of nerve! Yes, that's right! Lee Wan-yong is also one from the Lee Family! Kahaha!" I didn't know what was so funny, but Magon was grabbing his stomach in a fit of laughter. Following him, his subordinates burst into laughter too.

"Kaha! Is that dude crazy?"

"Puhaha! Wah! I've been through a lot, but I've never seen such a wacky person before!"

"Ah, I'm going crazy! Kahaha! You just understood the truth of Hell Joseon in one fell swoop!"

I looked around at the warriors of the Blackmoon Sect who were laughing and clapping loudly. There were exactly ten of them. I then glanced at the floor and noticed all the fallen warrior guards were alive. Seeing that they all suffered injuries that were by no means light, it seemed that Magon spoke the truth when he said he never intended to kill anyone.

Thuuuck. Then, Magon stopped laughing. As if they had agreed to do so beforehand, the warriors of the Blackmoon Sect also stopped laughing at once. Then, Magon finally said with a severe expression, "What are you all doing standing still? Make him kneel."

"Yes, Sect Leader-nim!" One of the warriors of the Blackmoon Sect ran toward me. Moreover, he was the person with the highest level among all the subordinates. Needless to say, he did not think of me as a threat, but I think he wanted to quickly deal with the situation before Magon's mood worsened.

'Will I be able to do it?' I focused my mind and, at the same time, my body assumed a battle stance. My heart began to beat at a tremendous speed, and that alone slowed down my perception of time.

Swhackkkk! A spear was thrusted at a tremendous speed, but it was not a speed that could break away from my accelerated perception. 'Left side!' I raised my left arm while lowering my posture at once. However, at that moment… Thackkk! "Argh!" I hurriedly took a step and fell back at the dizzying pain. Smoke was rising from my right temple. "Owww, it hurts!"

"Ohhoo? Would you look at this?" The warrior who swung a spear at me widened his eyes, as if surprised. He must have been flustered to see me standing fine even though his attack definitely hit the mark.

"What are you surprised about?! Haven't you already heard the information that he has learned Life Energy?!"

"But hyung, no, Sect Leader-nim. Hasn't it only been a few days?"

"He's probably a genius just like that hyung bastard of his! Don't look down on him and quickly get him down on his knees!"

"Yes!" While he answered, he ran towards me again.

I lowered my posture again. "Wah, that startled me. That's what they call Instantaneous Spear Change, right? It was definitely on the left but during my short exclamation, he actually struck the right side."

"You need to get hit a little to get serious, huh!"

Thwip! The spear thrust forth much more stealthily than before. I looked straight at the tip of the spear while in my accelerated perception. 'Left side!' Rather, I charged and swung his left hand. Although I have never learned martial arts professionally, I have been training my body lately, so it was a pretty clean movement. However, at that moment...

Shiiiiingg! The tip of the spear blurred and disappeared from sight. I boosted my senses further. 'Right side!' Unlike before, the spearhead's movement accelerated. Perhaps because he was not trying to kill me, he aimed at my head with the spear shaft and not the spearhead. 'Alright, blo-...!'

Thackkk! However, at that moment, I staggered again and was pushed back. Smoke rose from the crown of my head. It was the process of my damaged body recovering. "It hurts!!" I stepped back and groaned. My head was ringing.

"Hey! Didn't I tell you not to give him a handicap?"

"I didn't! Hyung! This brat is extremely sturdy! How did he train his Life Energy to this level in the span of a few days? No, does it make sense that he is not losing his mind even though I'm strengthening the spear with neigong?"

I massaged the crown of my head that was still stinging as I looked at the man who was baffled. "Hiyaaah." I stared at the spearhead until the very end, but I still got hit. I was beaten by the opponent's unorthodox Spear Style. I trained only the physical body, so the defeat was due to the lack of combat experience. "I tried my best."

"What do you mean you tried your best? Aren't you looking down on martial arts too much? My attacks were a result of my daily training for 30 years, and you want to stop that despite only having trained a few days?!"

"You're right. I was too arrogant," I commented. Of course, I had the spiritual arts and I also knew how to use Aura. However, my Aura was a spiritual study for the purpose of production, and my spiritual arts was set up in such a foreign method. In fact, my body's only fighting ability was Life Energy. "Well, even so, I can't be captured."

Chwararak! As if it was a scene from a sci-fi movie, a stylishly designed metal watch that was shining in a black luster turned into a revolver.

"You... What the, what is that?"

"Huh? A gun? Did that bastard just pull out a gun?"

"Ha! This is ridiculous."

"No, but it's kind of fascinating. The watch turned into a gun. There wasn't any Mana reaction, so is it like some sort of mechanism?"

I scoffed at the sight of the warriors who were talking amongst themselves without showing any signs of nervousness, and they seemed to be disregarding whether I was holding a gun or not. No one cursed my cowardice for bringing out a gun during a physical fight. Just like how an ignorant ghost would fail to recognize a talisman, no one criticized me for taking out a violent and cowardly weapon in the world of martial artists.

"Ah, this is embarrassing." To think that I had to use the fruit of the Stage IV Civilization on these primitive men. With a deep sigh… Clack. I pulled the trigger.

1. Persephone is the Greek goddess of vegetation, especially grain, and the wife of Hades, with whom she rules the Netherworld. In the Greek myth of Persephone's abduction by Hades, lord of the underworld, the pomegranate represents life, regeneration, and marriage. It was said that by eating a few pomegranate seeds, Persephone tied herself to Hades—the pomegranate being a symbol of the indissolubility of marriage. This was how she became stuck in the Netherworld.