Chapter 58
I realized it belatedly.
That Baekho’s condition wasn’t entirely normal.
My eyes naturally narrowed.
“If you’re struggling, you have to say something.”
Even now, Baekho’s body was trembling faintly.
I didn’t need to ask why.
Anyone could tell — it was the aftereffect of using divine power to change his form and then reverting back.
The evidence was right before my eyes, so Baekho couldn’t deny it and finally confessed the truth.
‘My muscles are just a little shocked. There’s nothing seriously wrong with my body.’
“Are you sure there aren’t any other problems?”
‘Other than a bit of fatigue, I’m really fine.’
He said he was fine — but words alone aren’t trustworthy.
I walked up to him.
Then, with just enough strength that he could easily withstand if he was truly fine, I pushed his shoulder lightly with my palm.
The result was miserable.
Baekho couldn’t even resist and fell flat on his back.
“……”
Even Baekho seemed flustered; he said nothing.
All I could do was sigh.
“It seems I should hold onto this for now, and only lend it to you when it’s absolutely necessary.”
It was obvious that if Baekho used it recklessly, the aftereffects would be far worse than this.
He seemed to understand that too. Though reluctant, he agreed.
‘Understood. But shouldn’t we at least test whether it functions properly? If we observe the changes after using it, we can clearly identify the extent of the aftereffects.’
He wasn’t wrong — and I could see he was determined.
So, I decided to take one step back.
“Fine. But if something feels off while using it, I’ll stop it myself.”
As I gave way, Baekho also yielded a step in return.
Finally,
“Shall I tell you how to use it?”
Baekho shook his head.
“The moment it touched my body, I instinctively knew how to use it. Please just confirm if I’m correct.”
“Alright.”
There wasn’t much to explain anyway.
The Jahaok — or rather, the spirit Jaok dwelling within it — only required one thing: will.
Sending your will to Jaok would activate the divine power stored within the Jahaok, just as I had designed it.
It seemed Baekho had already understood that instinctively.
The Jahaok glowed briefly, then violet divine power flowed out and seeped into Baekho’s body.
When enough divine power had entered him, it happened again —
Baekho transformed into the same form he had taken when fighting the Imoogi.
“No matter how many times I see it, you truly look like a guardian deity.”
Even though I’d seen it before, I couldn’t help but be amazed.
Originally, I only intended to check whether the Jahaok could activate properly and allow transformation, but seeing this made me want to watch him fight again.
Still, noticing that his trembling had worsened, even if only slightly, I abandoned the thought.
The test was done; now it was time to cut off the divine flow, as promised.
It wasn’t difficult.
Although the Jahaok had responded to Baekho’s will, it recognized me as its true master.
A single command to Jaok would end this situation.
But just before I did—
Baekho made a request.
“Before I return to my original form, please allow me to swing with all my strength just once. I beg of you.”
For a moment, even I was tempted.
After all, I had wanted to see him fight in that state earlier.
But I had already decided not to.
So, I was about to refuse when—
Something unexpected happened.
Rumble…!
“An earthquake?”
That’s what I thought at first.
But watching closely, this was much worse than a mere quake.
It felt as if the entire mountain would collapse—
And then it did.
Crack! Boom!
The ground beneath us shattered, crumbling downward.
The mountain was literally caving in.
Naturally, I fell along with it.
By sheer coincidence, I ended up experiencing something I had wanted to learn from Saheun — flight.
Well, more like falling through the sky than actually flying, but success is success, right?
I might have laughed at my own joke if the situation weren’t so dire.
‘What on earth is going on?’
A whole mountain collapsing without warning?
A mountain so tall it nearly pierced the clouds?
Ridiculous.
But there was no time to dwell on that.
Before figuring out why this was happening, I needed to survive the fall.
A single misstep could be fatal.
‘One wrong move and I’ll be crushed to dust.’
From this height, anyone would die instantly upon impact.
Straight to the afterlife — and I doubted the King of Hell would welcome me again.
‘Even if I begged, I doubt he’d save me twice.’
Getting revived once was nearly unheard of.
Twice? I’d probably be the first case in history.
Not that it was an achievement I particularly wanted.
I was perfectly content being alive, thank you.
So my body fought desperately to stay that way.
Tatak! Tatatat!
I kicked off falling rocks, using them as stepping stones.
It slowed my descent considerably.
But things still weren’t looking great.
There weren’t enough rocks to keep going.
“At this rate, I’ll run out of footing soon.”
Whether you fall from the summit or halfway down — splattering on the ground ends the same way.
If I wanted to live, I needed another solution.
That’s when I saw it.
Baekho.
I had forgotten about him for a moment.
Flash! Flash-flash!
At first, it looked like he too was leaping from rock to rock, just like me.
But when I looked carefully — there were no rocks near him at all.
That could only mean one thing.
“Walking on air?”
He was performing the legendary technique that made it look as if one walked upon the sky itself.
Baekho’s divine power was visible, but that alone shouldn’t make such a feat possible.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t true “Air-Walking” as known in martial arts.
That technique relied on ultimate mastery of inner energy — but Baekho’s movement had nothing to do with that.
“Incredible…”
I forgot my peril for a moment, simply in awe.
I had realized the truth.
The secret lay not in technique, but in pure physical power.
Even with divine power aiding him, half of what he was doing was purely his body’s raw strength.
He was literally kicking the air.
I didn’t need to see him fight to know — Baekho, in that state, was terrifying.
But then…
“Why is he coming toward me?”
Where I was falling, there were barely any rocks left to step on.
There was no reason for him to approach.
“Go somewhere else!”
I shouted, but—
Even though his ears twitched, proving he’d heard me, Baekho kept coming closer.
Then, suddenly—
Grab!
He caught me and lifted me onto his shoulder.
Like a child being carried on someone’s back.
‘Hold on tight so you don’t fall!’
I tried to protest, but Baekho moved faster than I could speak.
Once again, he pushed off the empty air, leaping forward with me on his back.
Even carrying me, he easily performed that impossible feat.
My jaw dropped.
Sure, divine power strengthened him — but this was beyond unfair.
And then a thought struck me.
‘Could I ever be like Baekho?’
Could I use divine power to strengthen my body like that?
Honestly, I doubted it.
‘I can enhance myself a bit, but transforming like him — becoming almost a different species — is impossible.’
If it were possible, it would’ve happened already.
I had always overflowed with divine energy.
Then what was the difference?
The answer wasn’t far.
‘What if divine power doesn’t enhance the body, but awakens its dormant potential?’
If that’s the case, everything makes sense.
No human could match Baekho’s physical potential, after all.
‘Thanks to him, I’ve learned something new.’
Baekho had helped me form a new hypothesis:
Divine power can awaken latent potential — depending on the being.
‘It’s worth testing.’
Conveniently, I had two candidates.
One was Geumdu, Gildang’s partner.
The other — the Imoogi we’d just separated from.
Naturally, I was more interested in the latter.
‘The Imoogi should have immense latent potential.’
After all, an Imoogi is a creature that can ascend into a dragon.
If I used divine power, it might transform much like Baekho had.
Geumdu, on the other hand, being a mole-type spirit beast, didn’t seem as promising.
Though, if later the results proved otherwise, I’d owe him an apology.
For now, the Imoogi was the more intriguing subject.
That’s when something felt off.
‘Wait… why did the mountain collapse in the first place?’
A mountain this massive shouldn’t crumble without warning.
Impossible.
That meant someone had done this intentionally.
And who else could it be but the Imoogi?
He was the only being here capable of such power.
Of course, even the Imoogi couldn’t just bring down an entire mountain on a whim —
But what if this was a trap?
Something he’d long prepared to use against Baekho, the master of this place?
Then it all fit.
Yes — this was a trap, and the Imoogi had just triggered it.
“Of course. What’s a snake without a bit of treachery?”
Now that I realized, I could only laugh.
I didn’t think he’d betray us so soon.
Then again, I had taken half his yeouiju (dragon pearl); that’d drive anyone mad.
And to be fair, setting a trap like this was actually a smart move.
His only mistake was bad luck — he hadn’t expected me to be here.
Anyway—
Thud!
Roar!
Baekho finally landed safely on solid ground and let out a long, triumphant roar.
He seemed satisfied with his own performance — and deservedly so.
Still, praise could wait.
I hopped down from his shoulder and quickly surveyed our surroundings.
‘He must’ve been nearby to trigger the trap.’
And I was right.
About thirty jang (roughly 90 meters) away, a patch of bushes was shaking violently.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The moment I spotted it, I hurled the Myeorak Divine Sword like lightning.
A brief scream echoed from beyond the bushes—then silence.
When I approached, as expected, the Imoogi lay there, lifeless.
The sword was embedded right in the center of its forehead.
