Book Eater

Chapter 247: The Rightful Heir (3)

In the end, Lee Joonyoung’s fighting spirit rose as he was driven to the edge. “That arrogance, I will make you regret it!”

Wind had pushed clouds since ancient times. Likewise, Lee Joonyoung started swinging his arms around Theo. The wind howled as Lee Joonyoung palms whipped through the air. Lee Yoonsung looked at it with interest.

This truly was the 3rd hidden technique, Fierce Wind and Rain. It was a hidden technique filled with destructive power, and it was impossible to get rid of the force akin to a storm.

“You managed to use that hidden technique alone. It is wonderful that you have reached that level without the ‘cloud’ or ‘rain.’”

This was a hidden technique which was completed only after forming a cloud with the first technique and rain with the second technique. As such, Lee Yoonsung’s evaluation of Lee Joonyoung went up two notches. The completion and power of Fierce Wind and Rain weren’t enough, but this accomplishment was worthy of praise.

However, Lee Joonyoung cried out angrily at the praise, “Don’t look down on me!”

Lee Joonyoung didn’t know about the existence of Lee Yoonsung inside Theo, so Theo was just a young Westerner to him. But a foreigner was praising and looking down on him? A scorching heat rose inside Lee Joonyoung, and his aura flickered in response to those emotions. The turbulent wind had long dispersed the clouds.

Lee Yoonsung gracefully moved back two steps and changed his posture. It wasn’t the posture for Moon Breaking through the Clouds. Moon Breaking through the Clouds was effective for one-shot attacks, but it wasn’t suitable for going against Fierce Wind and Rain.

Fierce Wind and Rain wasn’t just a single gust of wind.

Fairy Dance’s Direct Transmission; Four Major Hidden Techniques; Rain like an Axle.

Clouds couldn’t resist the wind, but what about rain?

“What? The axle?” Lee Joonyoung cried out with shock as Lee Yoonsung clenched his fists and moved.

It wasn’t an overflowing river. These were raindrops piercing the rocks. Based on the enlightenment of ‘penetrating through stone,’ Lee Joonyoung’s storm was devastated by Lee Yoonsung’s hands.

Pang! Papang! Pang! Papapapang! Paang!

In a breath, dozens, possibly hundreds, of raindrops entered the storm. Fingertips struck the fist which was heading toward them.

The 2nd and 3rd hidden techniques collided.

If the two people were on par with each other, then Fierce Wind and Rain would’ve won. However, Lee Joonyoung was going against a great man who had once devastated the Fairy Dance Lee family.

At that moment, the momentum of the storm weakened.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwak!

Lee Yoonsung’s fingers didn’t miss this gap and struck Lee Joonyoung’s upper body. Amidst rain and lightning, Lee Joonyoung’s bones broke with a terrible sound. He barely managed to hold himself up as blood emerged from his lips.

“Haaaap!”

Nevertheless, he didn’t stop. Rather, he took one step forward and threw a punch at Theo’s face.

Peok!

Even that was pointless, as ether blocked it. Theo’s skin was a little bruised, but that couldn’t even be called damage. However, it was the first time that Lee Joonyoung had managed to hit Lee Yoonsung.

“... Good.” Lee Yoonsung laughed. He acknowledged Lee Joonyoung’s pride in maintaining the strength of Fierce Wind and Rain despite being in this state. Lee Joonyoung could be reassured that he had managed to hit his opponent.

“Rest assured. I won’t allow it twice.”

“Kuack, w-what does that mean...?”

“You don’t need to know. But I won’t take your life.”

Finally, Lee Yoonsung took a stance which Theo had never seen before. Simultaneously, the elders of the Fairy Dance family sprang up from their seats. They had seen that stance before.

“S-Surely, that isn’t?”

“This is a hidden technique from the distant past...!”

“I heard it was lost a hundred years ago!”

There were a few among them who had memorized this stance from the moment they had seen it as children. This was the Boundary of Heaven and Earth.

The first three hidden techniques were the foundation of their training before acquiring the final hidden technique. Only those who could use Boundary of Heaven and Earth were recognized as a true successor.

Lee Joonyoung recognized it as well. If this wasn’t the middle of a duel, he would be asking many questions.

- Junior.

Lee Yoonsung ignored the astonishment and spoke to the master of the body he borrowed.

- Don’t miss it. I will only show this hidden technique once.

Huh? What does that...

- There is no time to explain. There isn’t much time left.?

Lee Yoonsung spoke in a voice that was different from usual. Lee Yoonsung had borrowed Theo’s body without using Overwrite, so he was reaching his limit. His soul was screaming, and his consciousness was starting to fade.

Using this hidden technique would hasten his collapse. However, he didn’t show it. Lee Yoonsung had an obligation to pass this onto his descendants and disciple.

- Here goes.

One step... The moment that Lee Yoonsung took a step forward using the stance of Boundary of Heaven and Earth, Lee Joonyoung’s heart stopped for a moment.

The sky itself seemed to be bearing down on him. At the same time, it felt like the earth was rising to fight it. The two opposing pressures clashed, bearing down on all of Lee Joonyoung’s five senses. It was the feeling of death. Lee Joonyoung’s five senses screamed, causing him to pour everything he had into Fierce Wind and Rain.

Kuooooh!

It was literally a dragon of wind. The wind dragon roared as it clawed at the air. Lee Joonyoung’s Fierce Wind and Rain formed a wind dragon around his hands and rushed toward Theo with enough force to tear steel.

However, it wasn’t wind pressure. It was a storm made with aura which had the power to cut flesh down to the bone.

“Wonderful,” Lee Yoonsung praised as he demonstrated the Fairy Dance technique that was passed down through the heads of the family.

Four Major Hidden Techniques; Boundary of Heaven and Earth.

And the world was cleaved in twain.

***

It happened in an instant.

“... Eh?”

Theo was in a daze.

What happened?

He remembered Lee Joonyoung’s Fierce Wind and Rain which had taken on the appearance of a storm dragon, but he couldn’t recall what had happened after. However, those graceful hand movements were engraved on his retinas.

That was the Boundary of Heaven and Earth. Lee Yoonsung had moved his arms, and the whole world was overturned. No, it had just felt like that. As Theo remembered the feeling in both hands, Shim Samho’s voice rose from outside the stage.

She was performing her role as a notary.

“Victory!” She declared while pointing at Theo with her fan, “Since Lee Joonyoung is out of the arena and unable to fight, the winner of this duel trial is Theodore Miller! The authority of the Fairy Dance family will belong to the mountain’s keeper. Please note that this trial is notarized by His Majesty the Emperor. If you disagree with this result, you are guilty of treason!”

The silent audience started to become noisy.

Somebody shouted angrily while others cheered Lee Seol’s name, and another anticipated Lee Inyoung’s fall. The duel trial had an unexpected result, and there would be great confusion before the Fairy Dance Lee family became one.

The reversal of a situation always excited people. The downfall of Lee Inyoung, who had tried to take control of the Fairy Dance Lee family through coercive means and make the Baekun Mountains his property, had to be talked about in many ways.

But, in the midst of all this, Theo wasn’t listening to anyone else.

... I see. Have you been consuming your soul since you started teaching me Fairy Dance?

- Well, something like that.?

Lee Yoonsung’s voice sounded just the same as usual despite the fact that his soul was dying. The only difference was that his voice was a little cloudy.

Theo’s eyes blurred as he talked to Lee Yoonsung. If Theo had known this, he wouldn’t have allowed it. He knew that separation always came when it was unexpected, but this wasn’t what he had wanted.

Why do you have to leave this way?

There was still a pile of regrets. Theo knew this because they were sharing his body. Lee Yoonsung felt responsible for the family that had fallen due to his own selfishness. It was why he had tested Lee Joonyoung’s spirit.

Lee Yoonsung didn’t hesitate as he responded.

- No, this is enough.

Senior!

- I met my favorite descendant. I found out about the status of my family that I was so curious about. And I even found a disciple to pass on my martial art. For a ghost like me, this is enough.

The dead had their own paths to take, so Lee Yoonsung comforted Theo. It was as if their positions were reversed. It felt like a skit where a dead man who would soon disappear was comforting the living, but Theo couldn’t laugh.

Before Theo asked any more questions, Lee Yoonsung spoke quietly.

- Thank you.

They were short words, and Theo was filled with a deep sadness which blocked his throat. This was the weight of a sincere goodbye.

Lee Yoonsung stopped talking for a moment, before continuing in a dimmer voice.

- I told you not to miss it. Did you see the technique?

... Yes.

- Don’t be discouraged if you can’t use it right away. It is an area visible only to those who have reached the highest level. You can only use it perfectly when you go beyond that. It is literally the boundary between heaven and earth.

Theo had yet to master the highest degree of Fairy Dance, even though Lee Yoonsung had shown it to him. However, it was a success as long as the sensation remained.

The Boundary of Heaven and Earth seemed to be in the same area as the great magics, Abraxas and Supercell. Theo’s understanding of Fairy Dance was still far below Lee Yoonsung’s. It was an area Theo wouldn’t be able to reach unless he devoted himself to it.

- Well, this is the last one.

Theo realized that Lee Yoonsung’s ego was fading away. It felt like solid ice melting into water and then scattering like mist. In the end, Lee Yoonsung left only two words.

- Be well.

A good man lost his life, and his end was dull compared to Satomer’s. However, the empty space which formed in Theo’s chest was big and empty.

[The disappearance of the object fragment ‘Lee Yoonsung’ has been confirmed.]

[The completion of the quest has been confirmed. I will begin the transmission of object name ‘Lee Yoonsung’ in thirty seconds.]

Lee Yoonsung’s memories and experience flowed in. As the records of Lee Yoonsung’s existence filled Theo’s mind, he looked up at the sky and engraved these pieces of Lee Yoonsung, which he couldn’t forget, into his mind.

The cloudless sky felt young.

This is good for you… Damn it.

Despite winning the battle, Theo clenched his fists sharply and stared at the sky.

If the virtue of a good man was to accept life and death, then Theo probably wasn’t a good man. There was a bitter taste in his mouth every time a person, who wasn’t actually still alive, left.

A person who hadn’t been acknowledged in life but returned to his home after his death...

This was the end of Lee Yoonsung.