Chapter 88
The White Crane of Okinawa (2)
A blind monk held a rosary strung with 108 Bodhi seeds in one hand and a katana in the other.
Miyazaki, the lord of Okinawa, smiled gracefully, just as his alias “White Crane” suggested.
“You’re causing quite the commotion. No matter how much I desire peace, it seems I have no choice.”
At Miyazaki’s gentle words, Ken scoffed in disbelief.
“Hmph, peace my foot. You’re practically oozing with the desire to fight. And do you even know who’s beside me?”
“Well, I’m blind, so I can’t see. But it seems someone is there.”
Miyazaki turned his head slightly toward Sehyun and lifted the corners of his mouth into a smirk.
“It seems you mistook him for an insect, considering his insignificant aural presence. My apologies for the offense.”
So, instead of seeing with eyes, he sensed presence through his “aural power.”
Of course, without artifacts, Sehyun’s actual level wouldn’t even reach a shooting star tier.
And Konoha, using ninja techniques, was also restricting the aura from being detected.
‘But… he didn’t fail to notice, did he?’
The expression at the corner of his mouth was unmistakably a sneer.
It wasn’t that he actually felt threatened—it was more that he deliberately ignored them.
He didn’t even regard them as humans worthy of his attention.
“What? Insect? Are you talking about us?!”
Ignoring Konoha’s outburst, Miyazaki slightly bowed his head and continued.
“So, what exactly do you want to say, Ken?”
“Simple enough.”
Ken rested a hand on Sehyun’s shoulder.
“This one here is under our protection. But your goons provoked him first. Almost got killed by their sword’s energy, right?”
Sehyun nodded in agreement, keeping the rhythm, and Ken smiled briefly.
“So, I came personally to protest. And that’s why…”
Then his expression changed, and he spoke in a low, warning tone.
“Step away cleanly from this matter. While you’re posing as a monk, you’d better not meddle in worldly affairs.”
“Hmm…”
But Miyazaki shook his head with a faint smile.
“Seems you, Ken, are too bound by desire. Haven’t you yet realized the way of ‘form is emptiness’?”
“Hah, and you’re in a position to talk? What about yourself?”
“You’re referring to me?”
Miyazaki’s robe flared as he spread both arms wide.
“It’s different. From you, Ken.”
“…Different, huh.”
Sehyun was growing curious about what words would follow from that mouth.
“Desire is illusion; there’s no need to be bound. Yet enjoying it is also the freedom of sentient beings.”
“….”
“Being free from desire doesn’t mean discarding it. To those worthy, it naturally comes into their hands.”
Miyazaki stretched out his arms and clenched his fists tightly.
“I possess such power. So, I merely wait. For it to come naturally.”
Suddenly, Sehyun recalled what Konoha had said.
This Miyazaki was the type to wait until the crane cried.
‘Seems passive at first glance, but it isn’t.’
That patience stems from confidence.
The arrogance of knowing that if he wanted, he could seize it at any time.
“Now do you understand the difference between you and me?”
“…Not really.”
Ken scratched his ear lazily.
“I’m not old enough to be lectured, am I?”
With that, Ken disappeared and reappeared right in front of Miyazaki, fists ready.
“Just visited 100 meters above.”
“….”
“Try enduring this.”
A light strike landed on Miyazaki’s abdomen.
Wham──!!!
The shockwave was so powerful that even the surrounding space seemed to ripple.
A force capable of crushing a human’s body with ease.
‘He’s using the maximum risk of warp ability like that…’
He had harnessed the impact from rapid descent during warp travel, channeling it into his fist as an attack.
Such a feat required absolute mastery of warp ability and precise bodily control.
Dust flew in the air, temporarily blinding the battlefield.
Ken, confident of victory, smiled brightly.
“You’ll feel some pain, but you won’t die. So back off…”
“Ken, do you remember?”
“…!”
Miyazaki’s voice was calm, yet Ken faltered.
“This very White Crane Temple, I remember vividly how you once held your father’s hand and came here.”
“…Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting?!”
“You know well what divine artifact is sealed in this White Crane Temple.”
Flash──
Among the dust, white light beads shimmered.
The rosary Miyazaki held.
“This is…!”
“Surprised?”
The light beads began to slither like a snake up Ken’s arm.
“What the hell… my arm…!”
It felt as though his arm was immobilized.
At that moment, Miyazaki whispered softly into Ken’s ear.
“You’ve always been impatient, Ken.”
Crack─!
The white beads tightened around his arm instantly.
“Honey, it’s best to rest a little. In the midst of eternal time.”
[Fugaseol Fugaseol Jeon (不可說不可說轉)]
Time that cannot be expressed in words, repeated for centuries beyond measure.
Like a crane that comes once a millennium to drink a sip of seawater—the amount it drinks could dry the entire sea over time.
That was the myth sealed in the rosary.
“You’re slow to learn. Your father should’ve told you what artifact I possess.”
“….”
“Oh, did you die before hearing that?”
“Shut that mouth of yours, damn it!”
Ken’s eyes reddened, veins bursting.
His arm muscles strained, but it was useless.
The artifact embodied the myth of eternal time as a binding power.
No matter how strong one is, they cannot exert force within suspended time.
It effectively restrained even those with space-traveling abilities—a terrible disadvantage.
“No choice, Ken.”
Sehyun drew a spear from his backpack.
“Time to stop pretending weak.”
“Hmph, I don’t want to help that damn lord, but…”
Konoha clenched her fists and joined in.
Thwack─!
“Consider this a favor from your brother, so be grateful!”
She drew a needle from her bosom and swung it like a beast’s claw.
Whirl─
The shining rosary coiled around Konoha’s waist.
A smile appeared on Miyazaki’s face in satisfaction.
Bang─!
A talisman-covered wooden block, entwined in the rosary, fell.
Simultaneously, green leaves swirled in the air.
[Ninja Art: Leaf Crushing]
Konoha appeared above Miyazaki, raining needles like a storm at his feet.
“Useless.”
Miyazaki threw another rosary from his sleeve, glowing as it spun in the air like a halo.
Wham─!
The needles couldn’t pass through the rosary’s circle, freezing in place.
“Kuh!”
Konoha, realizing she couldn’t proceed, retreated beside Sehyun.
“Is he really blind?”
Sehyun answered, calm:
“Don’t underestimate him. He can’t see, but he senses everything better than anyone.”
“What do you mean?”
“He said earlier he thought you were an insect because your aura was weak.”
It was provocation, but Sehyun thought differently.
‘He can’t see, but his aural sense is extremely precise.’
An empty aura meant a physical barrier. Weak residual aura meant empty space. Dense aura meant a player.
The principle was the same as when Sehyun had mapped the Minotaur’s rift.
Unlike the leisurely mapping before, Miyazaki’s sensitivity and reaction speed were extraordinary.
“So it’s simple. Attack without aura, and he can’t respond, right?”
“If it were that simple, there’d be no need to hesitate.”
Miyazaki’s mastery of swordsmanship had grown to a level beyond normal players.
His other senses were also unnaturally developed.
“Damn… so what do we do? Just take it?”
“If there was no way, I wouldn’t have mentioned it.”
Sehyun pointed past Miyazaki’s back.
“What’s over there… huh?!”
Konoha squinted, noticing something, and gasped.
Behind Miyazaki, swords and spears were planted around the battlefield in formation.
“But what… ugh!”
Sehyun shushed her with a finger to her lips.
But Miyazaki smirked, as if already aware.
He walked in a circle, pulling another rosary from his sleeve.
“You noticed quite accurately. You knew I would sense your aura, and that my physical senses are sharp. But…”
He stopped walking.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice your little scheme?”
“…!”
“You even brought ninjas. You hid your presence well, but couldn’t conceal your aura.”
“…?”
Konoha looked astonished.
“What… this guy…”
Sehyun silently nodded and extended his arm.
The chain bracelet glowed, and the swords behind Miyazaki trembled.
He would have felt it as a movement of an assassin.
“Two-second draw.”
[Rear (Ushiro)]
Miyazaki’s feet pivoted in a circle, instantly spinning backward.
Shhrrrr─!
The 108 rosary beads, swung instead of swords, became a long white whip.
“Gotcha.”
The beads ensnared every figure with aura behind him and pulled them in.
Naturally, only the swords were caught.
Miyazaki hissed in frustration.
“Hmph, just the swords. Skill is impressive.”
“….”
Konoha looked at Sehyun, confused.
‘Nothing special,’ Sehyun thought.
He was exploiting Miyazaki’s hyper-developed senses.
‘His aura sense and physical senses complement each other perfectly, so he trusts them blindly.’
While Konoha distracted him, Sehyun arranged artifacts around them.
Miyazaki mistook the aura-bearing weapons as players.
‘Without Konoha, it would have been hard to deceive him.’
Sehyun only used that suspicion to his advantage.
‘…The problem is next.’
So far, they had only bought time by distracting him.
If Ken couldn’t be freed, they had no chance.
‘Only one option left.’
Sehyun recalled the strange sense when he cut Kashiwagi’s sword energy.
Not only cutting it but erasing all traces without leaving a mark.
‘Damn, every move is a gamble.’
Sehyun drew his daito from the backpack, aiming at Ken’s arm.
[Sword Draw (Battō)]
Shhha─!
Seven-colored light wrapped around the blade, bursting in blinding white radiance.
“What…!”
The area lit as if it were noon.
Thud-thud──
The rosary beads binding Ken’s arm fell, powerless.
Even the swords and spears neutralized by the beads crumbled into ashes.
‘Why… I only targeted the beads.’
At that moment, Miyazaki quickly realized the situation and turned toward Sehyun.
“Why… why is that sword responding to you?”
His face twisted in disbelief.
