Chapter 168 Devil Slaying Hour

"Esoteric Domain: Devil Slaying Hour."

Those words were the embodiment of his resolve; all of his trust went into this supernatural cultivation of himself; his life was in the very hands of his System.

[Merciless Proficiency: +1 | 1/10]

[Spirit: -2000 | 1000/3600]

Stretching out from where he stood, a veil of darkness stretched across the space around them, dragging the perplexed Baek-Hyeon into the shadowy depths in which the young assassin outstretched.

Reality shifted to just the two, taking away the crimson horizon and the surrounding city, leaving only what Jeong-Hui himself wished for.

"What's this…?" Baek-Hyeon whispered.

Eunji was exempt from being pulled into the odd, separate dome of reality that revealed itself at last:

It was an endless-seeming space with no walls; melted down and forged together into pillars that reached infinitely towards the cosmos above, with more swords, spears, and daggers protruding from each side.

The floor itself was a graveyard of blades, stuck into the scarlet dirt below as a wind pushed through the enigmatic domain.

A land free of death, yet interlaced with it so deeply.

It held endless malice, begrudgingly so.

The soil beneath held withered grass and flowers, long since tarnished beneath the cosmic horizon above.

It was the heart of Jeong-Hui; the soul which had swirled with both light and dark; a manifestation of what lay within him, given form, power, and conceptual authority.

"The Devil Slaying Hour."

"This is my personal realm," he explained, keeping his daggers held.

A gargantuan, world-sized clock existed above as if acting as the sky itself of the alternate space, made of a smooth, stygian steel with hooded figures engraved along its size; the hand forged of a platinum blade, not beginning to tick until–

"The 'Devil Slaying Hour' begins–" He said, snapping his fingers, "--Now."

By his command, the massive, sharp hand of the world clock began ticking, and immediately–it shifted something inside of the confused traitor.

As Baek-Hyeon looked up towards the clock, the hand seemed to move slowly towards the next point as the large, clunky sound it released reverberated against his ears slowly.

Opting to move his hand towards his blade, his own thoughts seemed to move many times faster than his body as his hand only responded to the signals from his brain seconds after.

What's…? Baek-Hyeon thought.

He remained convicted, keeping his merciless, emerald eyes on the perplexed traitor.

"Devil Slaying Hour," I just acquired it from the battle against Dae-Mon once I raised my assassin proficiency again. But, I understand it perfectly already. It's similar to the "Bowels of Hell" that Dae-Mon used; a personal realm of my own.

Within it…the reflexes, perception, and movement of my enemies are slowed down tremendously. In addition–my attacks are unmatched; my blades can pierce anything! He thought.

Just then, he blinked forward, using his daggers to lay a few cuts onto the body of the burly, tall man who was ensnared in the snail-like reflexes imprinted on him by the mystical domain.

"Gh–!"

Baek-Hyeon felt the pain seconds after the cuts actually came, attempting to defend himself by drawing and swinging his blade, but by the time he did–the red-haired young man was already long since out of his range.

"Helpless?" He said.

Appearing behind the angelic-powered man, who had no way to know he was there yet, he slashed his back with both daggers, leaving large slashes on his back.

"--I'd say you're far more helpless than I am," he spoke.

The words that left his lips only traveled to Baek-Hyeon's ears seconds after, who winced and spun around to slash the figure, but again, he was already gone from that position.

Even to Baek-Hyeon, the most who boasted a level as gargantuan of "50", he was still somehow being sliced like butter.

Normally, this would be an impossible result–if somebody tried attacking one who was double their level, their weapons would likely shatter just as their hopes did.

Yet, he was hurting the traitor.

"Devil Slaying Hour," it was the space in which he reigned absolute; his weapons were indiscriminate in their sharpness–no matter what level his opponent sat at.

That much was proven by the fact that Baek-Hyeon possessed the very same, sturdy constitution as the Destroying Angel, a once immutable foe he faced, yet–his blades were not stopped this time.

I'll kill you, Baek-Hyeon! It's because of you…that I broke my promise!--I couldn't save them! But…I'll put an end to it here! He resolved.

Again and again, through his swift moments, he laid slashes across the angelic man's body, leaving his grandiose opponent helplessly turning side-to-side as he outpaced him greatly.

This is the cultivation of my journey so far–the esoteric ability I've crafted from my march forward! He thought.

Tick. Tock.

The next movement of the hand caught his attention, causing him to hasten his approach as he went for another strike of his daggers before–

FWOOSH.

"--!"

He managed to blink away from the range of the seraphic blast, but was left shaken by how close it came to landing.

How did he…? He thought.

Looking towards the man ensnared in the "Devil Slaying Hour", Baek-Hyeon had his eyes closed, holding his hand out with a smile.

"I've got it now; the timing," Baek-Hyeon said.

It sounded ridiculous. Such a thing seemed impossible–and he proved it to himself as he rushed in, leaving a series of cuts on Baek-Hyeon's body before the much higher-leveled man could react.

It was just a bluff, then, he thought.

But by the next attack that he attempted, it happened again–SWOOSH.

He was forced to lean backwards to avoid a sharp slash of the crimson, japanese-style blade that the assimilator wielded.

…He was bluffing about having it done, but he's adjusting, isn't he?! He thought.

Baek-Hyeon remained silent now, seeming to focus entirely on adjusting to the multiple second day between his reflexes and body as he held his blade in preparation.

Wait, is he predicting where I'll be by the time his body responds to his commands? Is that possible? He questioned.

Trying to think about it, he remembered one thing: the man he was fighting against was by all metrics, not normal. One who possessed the constitution of an angel, Baek-Hyeon wasn't somebody he could apply logic to.

Tick. Tock.

–Another turn of the giant clock hand.

This made him hasten once more, pushing forward with his daggers held tightly.

I have to end this quickly–before the "Devil Slaying Hour" is up! He resolved.

Using Sage Period, he opted to create a spell, utilizing "Devil Slaying Hour"'s ability to allow him to bypass defense, that would be capable of landing a lethal blow on the treacherous man.

Black Edge plus Ripper, he thought.

[Black Ripper]

[Spirit: -200]

[Black Ripper]

[Spirit: -200]

[Black Ripper]

[Spirit: -200 | 1100/3600]

–Three times he repeated it, unleashing a series of shadow-edges strikes swiftly, opting to leave no chance for his afflicted foe to counter, but alas–

"Hmpf!"

Pushing through the few slices that actually cut Baek-Hyeon, leaving gashes on his left bicep, his right thigh, and his left hip, the reflex-afflicted man nearly bisected him with an unexpected swing that aimed towards his midsection.

"Ghh!"

Though he spun his body around and evaded being cut in half from the blade, a deep gash was left across his stomach.

[Health: -600 | 1400/3250]

Acting quickly before any blood loss could occur, he used "Flesh Temple" to clench his abdomen, moving swiftly without batting an eye at his own wound as he prioritized simply killing the man in front of him.

Baek-Hyeon remained standing in the same spot, holding no guard as he remained unpredictable. Somehow, it felt as if the tables had turned, as if the halted reflexes of the angelic-empowered man actually made for a disadvantage against himself.

Tick. Tock.

Gritting his teeth and steadying his painful breathing, thanks to his bruised chest from the debris that fell on him earlier, he prepared for his next attack, flipping through the air and fainting—landing back down and dashing around his white-haired foe, springing forth earnestly this time:

I'll end this now! Hassan: First Mountain: Nazar Doctrine plus Ripper! He thought.

"Ripper of The First Hassan!"

[Spirit: -600 | 400/3600]

As he spun around, gaining momentum as he left a trail of azure flames around his temporary, ethereal form, he unleashed the fiery phantom slashes towards the angel with full killing power behind each strike.

"--I see it."

At that very moment, Baek-Hyeon looked directly at him.

He felt his heart drop, but he pushed through–unleashing the blazing slashes against the man as the impact resulted in an explosion of azure, howling flames.

While Baek-Hyeon was inflicted with the burning slashes that created an "X" shape across his chest, burning the garments around his torso into dispelled fabric, the man managed to reach out and halt the attack with a swipe of his blade.

It forced him back before he could finish the job, and with that last attack–

Tick. Tock…

He looked up above, seeing that the bladed hand had reached the twelfth hour on the world-sized clock.

It had only been but a couple minutes at most, but it was part in due to his inexperience in manifesting his innate realm, and how tremendous of an effort it surprisingly was.

Crap…! He thought.

The domain he manifested then crumbled, shattering from its inexperienced, first usage, returning both of the men to the back of the still-moving centipede.

But, it wasn't a fruitless effort.

As he huffed and caught his breath, on the brink of passing out from the extensive night, he witnessed the Assimilation System wielder fall to a knee, bleeding profusely from the massive array of slashes embedded into his chest.

"....Huff…"

Baek-Hyeon breathed heavily as multiple points of his cut body were still on the receiving end of the azure flames.