[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 220: Incarnation(3)

—Incarnation Form? Are you saying that’s an Incarnation Form? When the hell did you acquire that power?!

Kwon Hyuk shouted in a panic. His agitation was unmistakable.

—I already explained earlier, didn’t I? You attain Incarnation by overcoming anguish.

—Don’t give me that crap! I’ve endured more than my share of anguish! And yet I never gained that power—how could you, of all people?!

—Uncle, do you know what I’ve endured in the Hyukcheon clan?

From the very first day, he was insulted as the son of a traitor. Kwon Cheon—one of Hyukcheon’ most renowned masters—had tried to kill him. He had to fight with everything he had just to survive.

—*And recently… I learned the truth about my parents. What they went through. And just how disgraceful I’ve been. *

After witnessing past memories through the Vessel, Kwon Hanul had been shaken to his core. No one knew how deeply he had fallen into reflection, or how long he struggled to overcome that shock.

The truth was—Hanul had met the conditions for Incarnation long ago.

The only reason he hadn’t attained it earlier was because his body and skills had not yet caught up.

But that was a thing of the past. Now that all his attributes had reached SS-rank, Hanul could use the Incarnation Form freely.

—This is absurd… There must be some other reason! There's no way you could reach Incarnation just like that!

—Believe it or not, that’s your choice. But how much longer are you going to stand there and whine?

Hanul moved. The massive dragon’s body stirred.

—I didn’t come here to chat with you, Uncle. I came to avenge the Chairman and my parents.

His killing intent surged like wildfire. Kwon Hyuk swallowed hard.

—Then let’s begin.

—Yes… That’s what I wanted!

Kwon Hyuk and Kwon Hanul charged at each other, two dragons baring their fangs and claws.

—KRAAAAH!

Hyuk struck first, swinging a massive claw at Hanul’s head.

But Hanul barely staggered—taking almost no damage.

He spun his body once and slammed his tail into the back of Hyuk’s neck. The scales there shattered, and flesh was torn.

—Grahh!

Hyuk screamed and reeled back. But Hanul didn’t miss a beat.

He lunged in, seized Hyuk’s head—and slammed it into the ground.

—Let go of me!

Hyuk tried to pry Hanul’s claws off, but he couldn’t overpower him.

—Why did you hate my father? He genuinely respected you.

Hanul smashed Hyuk’s head into the ground again and again. The whole world seemed to shake.

—When you killed my father, how did it feel? Was it fun? Did it make you happy? Did you feel accomplished?

Hyuk clenched his jaw, summoned every last ounce of strength, and slammed his tail into Hanul’s head. With the grip weakened, he broke free.

—Hah! Huff! That’s what you wanted to know so badly?!

Half his face was covered in blood as he gasped for air.

—I only did what the Chairman taught me! Prove your worth! If you think you’ll lose it—take it first! If you’re going to fall behind—use any means to get ahead!

—A pathetic excuse.

Hanul cut him off coldly, as if his words weren’t worth hearing.

—You’re the one who did it. You killed my father—your own brother—with your own hands. Don’t you dare spout excuses.

Each word struck Kwon Hyuk’s pride like a dagger. He gritted his teeth and summoned his mana.

The Dragon Pearl appeared in front of him, radiating a crimson glow.

—You’ve got a big mouth for the son of a loser!

Hyuk’s mana shot skyward. Thunderclouds thickened in the once-blue sky.

Flashes of lightning streaked between the clouds—oddly, the lightning was violet.

—You miss your daddy that much? Just wait—I’ll send you to him myself!

The lightning bolts increased in number and intensity.

—STRIKE!

The heavens blazed.

A storm of lightning slammed down onto the battlefield.

Thunderstorm.

A rain of lightning bolts descended—focused solely on Kwon Hanul.

In dragon form, his large frame made evasion impossible. He had no choice but to take the brunt of it.

Just then, Hanul drew out his own Dragon Pearl. But it was quite unlike any other.

Where others were jade-green or white, his Dragon Pearl was a deep, obsidian black.

The orb glowed with a quiet, ominous luster.

The “Dragon Pearl” activates its power.

The falling lightning converged toward a single point. It condensed into a sphere.

Then Hanul’s Dragon Pearl infused the sphere with mana—and the form began to change.

A dragon made of violet lightning began circling Hanul.

—What… what did you just do?!

Kwon Hyuk screamed in disbelief. Hanul had completely taken control of the technique Hyuk had just unleashed and transformed it into his own.

It sounded simple—but in practice, it was anything but.

To hijack a technique forged through a Dragon Pearl, a treasure among treasures? That required monstrous control over mana.

—That’s not something a normal Dragon Pearl can do!

—You're right.

—What?!

—This is a Black Dragon’s Dragon Pearl.

Kwon Hyuk stared at the obsidian sphere, stunned.

—Black Dragon…? You don’t mean—the one the Founder supposedly met?!

Hanul didn’t answer. He chose to show instead.

Flames ignited around the lightning dragon. A fire dragon joined it. Then droplets of water gathered—forming a crystalline water dragon.

Three dragons entwined, their majestic power overwhelming.

But to Hyuk, it was nothing short of a nightmare.

He could feel their immense power pressing down on his entire body.

—Let’s see you try to survive this.

The three dragons were unleashed. They surged toward Kwon Hyuk.

Hyuk summoned the full power of his Dragon Pearl to shield himself.

But the incoming force was too overwhelming. The shield shattered instantly.

And Hyuk was struck by the combined power of thunder, fire, and water.

—GRAAAAAAGH!

Lightning pierced his bones. Fire boiled his blood. Water pounded his body from every direction.

With just one attack, Kwon Hyuk was utterly wrecked.

—Hahh… huff…!

He managed to endure it—but just barely. As he looked up, panting—

He saw that Hanul’s obsidian Dragon Pearl had vanished.

At the same time, Hanul returned to human form.

“Still not used to it yet,” Hanul muttered wearily.

Hyuk’s face lit up.

Clearly, Hanul’s base power wasn’t yet strong enough to fully control both the Incarnation Form and the Dragon Pearl.

While the Incarnation Form was one thing, Dragon Pearl usage typically required a cooldown period after use.

Which meant Hyuk still had a chance to strike back.

“I guess I’ll have to use something else now.”

Just as Hyuk had that thought, Hanul’s mana surged again.

But this time, it wasn’t the energy of the Black Dragon Bloodline.

It was darker. More sinister. More lethal.

From where Hanul had stood, something began to rise.

Smaller than the Black Dragon—yet still towering over any human.

A crimson body.

Six arms.

Each wielding a different weapon.

That form—

—No… Is that… the Incarnation of the Shura Bloodline…?

Hanul assumed a stance. All six arms moved in unison.

Six weapons slashed through the air—

And in that instant, hundreds of thousands of strikes rained down on Kwon Hyuk.

Scales were sliced off his entire body.

Flesh beneath was lacerated.

Muscle fibers were torn.

The strikes reached bone.

Wounds split open, and blood burst forth.

A rain of blood fell upon the world.

—…Khuh…

Not even a scream came out. Any attempt to move would tear open the wounds further, unleashing even more agony and blood.

At that moment, Kwon Hanul's body returned to its original form. The Shura King's Incarnation faded, and he became human again—just like when he used the Black Dragon Bloodline Incarnation. He still couldn’t control it fully.

‘Now’s the chance.’

Gritting his teeth, Kwon Hyuk forced his body to move. The wounds covering his flesh screamed with unbearable pain.

But rage and humiliation fanned the flame of his feral will.

Kwon Hyuk swallowed the pain and charged toward Kwon Hanul.

—Kwon… Hanul!

Spraying blood with every step, the dragon swung his foreleg to crush Hanul where he stood.

But before the strike could land, Hanul vanished.

And in the next instant, something massive appeared right in front of Hyuk.

It had a soft, cloud-like form—but its size was absurd.

Even in his Incarnated state, Kwon Hyuk barely reached the thing’s navel.

The soft, misty giant clenched its fist. At that moment, a crushing pressure bore down on Hyuk’s entire body.

—…Don’t tell me—that’s the Superhuman Bloodline now?

Hanul gave no answer. Instead, he swung the giant’s fist.

Unbelievably massive. Unbelievably fast.

The blow came crashing down like a thunderbolt, smashing into Hyuk’s back. His spine snapped.

—Keurghk!

Hyuk howled in pain. But before the scream could even end, Hanul’s fist struck again.

This time, it came from below, slamming up into Hyuk’s jaw. His jaw joint shattered—upper and lower teeth crushed at once.

—S-Stop!

Hyuk screamed in desperation. But Hanul didn’t flinch. He swung his palm.

The giant’s hand smacked into Hyuk’s face, driving it into the ground like a ping pong ball.

—Ugh… uuuhhh…

Hyuk’s body began to shrink, slowly.

In seconds, he had returned to human form.

“Cough, cough.”

Even as a human, the wounds remained. Blood gushed from his mangled body.

Kwon Hanul stood before him—also in human form. But unlike Hyuk, Hanul was completely unscathed.

“Damn it… Me, Kwon Hyuk… reduced to this…”

Hyuk muttered with bitter self-loathing. The fire in his eyes had already been extinguished.

“Just kill me already. No—you're the victor. Do as you please.”

Whether it was humiliation or torment—he didn’t care anymore.

He slumped as he spoke.

“Let me ask you just one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Did you truly hate my father?”

“Hah. That’s what you want to know?!” Hyuk sneered and shouted, “I hated him with every fiber of my being. Even if I went back in time, I’d do it all again. No—I'd make sure to eliminate you too, so no loose ends remained—”

“My father respected you.”

At that, Hyuk fell silent. His dazed eyes slowly looked up at Hanul.

“You’re still spewing bullshit. How the hell would you know that?”

“Exactly. I wouldn’t know. But you do. After all, you were his only brother.”

Hanul already knew everything—he’d seen the past through the Vessel. That’s why he could say it with certainty: his father had truly respected Kwon Hyuk.

But he couldn’t explain all of that here and now.

So this was all he could do—ask.

“What do you think? Was my father someone who would hate you or resent you?”

Kwon Hyuk remained silent for a long time.

Eventually, he gave a bitter smile and spoke.

“Cut the crap and kill me already. You never intended to let me live, did you?”

Hanul asked no further questions. Instead, he clenched his fist.

Dragon Demon Aura began to condense around it.

With overwhelming power in his grasp, Hanul looked straight at Kwon Hyuk.

“Then, Uncle… may you rot in hell.”

With those final words, Hanul threw his punch.

The eruption of Dragon Demon Aura engulfed Kwon Hyuk.

And just like that, another life came to an end.

Hanul slowly unclenched his fist.

He let out a long, deep breath.

“Lord Kwon Hanul!”

From afar, people were running toward him.

Joo Hayun, the Dark Shade Unit—and even Kwon Seonwoo.

“Hanul, you bastard…!”

Kwon Seonwoo’s voice trembled with emotion as he reached him.

“You defeated that wretch! You’ve saved Hyukcheon!”

At his words, Hanul gave a quiet smile.

“Chairman.”

“Yes, speak!”

“I’ll leave what comes next… in your hands.”

As soon as he said it, Hanul collapsed flat on the ground.

“Ugh… I thought I was going to die from exhaustion…”

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]