Episode 53/Chapter 3: The pursuers (3)
TL: Tsubak
ED: SlowAsLightning
The basis of winning was breaking the stance of the opponent.
A fighting style using a spear and a shield prioritized a solid defense.
That’s why he took away his shield. He made him change his style forcefully.
But the moment their spears exchanged blows and his flood of blows ws blocked Tae Ho realized.
It wasn’t weakening due to the change of style.
Phase two.
The moment Achilles dropped his shield his attacks became faster and more ferocious.
Kwagagagagang!
Tae Ho concentrated even more inside the loud explosions. Meanwhile Achilles increased his speed even more.
‘This crazy.’
Cuchulainn cursed out. He, the strongest spearman in Erin, could know.
An offensive spear technique that neglected defense through attacking.
This was the real spearmanship Achilles learnt from the great master of Olympus Chiron.
Cuchulainn didn’t know of this but Achilles had obtained the shield of Hephaestus before he participated the war of Troy.
It was because his mother Thetis was really worried about him going out to war so asked Hephaestus to make a shield to protect him.
Achilles thanked the love of his mother and developed his own style using a shield.
He kept obtaining victories in succession even though he sealed his original spear techniques and thanks to his genius like talent made a new spear technique of his own while massacring heroes.
But this was certainly lacking compared to his original techniques.
Your movements could only become static in a battle to protect yourself with a shield.
But Achilles was the hero with the fastest feet in Olympus.
A static battle didn’t suit him. What really suited him was a fast exchange.
Faster.
Like the wind of Zephyr.
Like the lightning of Zeus!
Kwagang!
Achilles’ attack became increasingly fast after throwing his shield. In addition, his spear wasn’t the only fast thing.
Achilles continued to move. He poured down attacks from the front but then got behind Tae Ho and made a surprise attack.
Tae Ho barely blocked his attack and at some point the attacking and defending ones changed.
Spears flew from the sides. It wasn’t only limited to Achilles’ stab. All kinds of attacks you could execute with your spear poured down in an irregular pattern.
Cuchulainn knew.
Achilles’ spear techniques was better than Tae Ho’s. In addition he was also above in speed and strength.
Blood flowed down from his body. They were from the wounds that flowed down from the attacks he hadn’t been able to block completely. Most of them were just grazes but even so if you accumulated small injuries they would become big at some point.
But Cuchulainn shut his mouth. He didn’t give any advice to Tae Ho.
It wasn’t because he was worried about his concentration breaking.
‘He’s catching up.’
Wounds were still being created in Tae Ho’s body but the speed they were being generated was dropping. Achilles’ attacks were blocked or dodged.
Achilles was still superior in speed and strength but regardless of that the reason there was a change was because Tae Ho’s spear techniques had started to catch up to Achilles’.
Achilles felt bewildered through the tip of his spear.
‘Well, it’s unavoidable.’
Even Cuchulainn was surprised before.
Tae Ho had experienced death more than a thousand times in the tower of shadows for 2 years and accumulated a lot of battle experience.
How could he do that?
Even if he was given time, he didn’t spend time on eating and sleeping and you were reborn even after you die.
Would everyone be able to do what he did?
It was impossible. It wasn’t enough with having an indomitable will. No matter how strong your will was, if your abilities couldn’t catch up you would keep dying without being able to advance to further floors.
It also wasn’t because of Scathach’s techniques.
In the first place, the tower of shadows was a place for the practitioners of her techniques to train. But there was no one like Tae Ho.
The spear clashed against the spear.
Only ten minutes had passed but the number of blows passed the thousands.
Meanwhile Tae Ho’s spear techniques developed. He grew while fighting.
‘No, it’s not like that.’
It wasn’t only his spear techniques. You couldn’t bring such a dramatic change just with the growth of your spearmanship.
Tae Ho was different to Cuchulainn.
If you just saw at the talent for the spear Cuchulainn was above him. That’s why he could be sure of it.
What would have happened if the weapon Tae Ho was holding wasn’t Gae Bolg?
If he was holding Caliburn or executing a two sword technique with Gallatin and Arondight?
The result would have remained the same and that’s why Cuchulainn kept silence.
The spear and the spear clashed again. No, they crossed. At some point the tip of Tae Ho’s spear took a turn and Achilles’ attack stopped with that. It was the result of the flow of his attack having been cut off perfectly.
Tae Ho tilted his head because he was surprised at himself. Achilles gritted his teeth unconsciously.
He would see with the ‘eyes of the dragon’.
And grasp with Scathach’s style insight.
It didn’t matter what weapon he was holding. He would use everything he had and fight.
A dark blue divinity arose in his body. His divinity started to flow faintly when he first exchanged blows with Achilles but it was different now. It had become stronger, clearer.
Bang!
Achilles executed an attack. He felt anxiety from the tip of his spear but he was still fast and strong. He executed overwhelming consecutive attacks to try to scatter Tae Ho’s concentration but then swung his spear widely and changed the flow. After that he took a leap and stabbed down his spear.
All of this happened in an instant. His attack was so fast you could describe it that way.
But Tae Ho reacted to that. He read the flow naturally.
The spear falling down at his head.
He placed it lightly to his spear that resembled lightning.
[Saga: His pocket is connected to a treasure vault]
There was no sound.
The shield of Achilles that popped up from the air blocked his spear.
Achilles kicked the air and clenched his left hand. His shield tried to leave Tae Ho’s hands and return to Achilles.
Tae Ho let go of the shield. He swung his hand which he let go of the shield towards Achilles, that was making a somersault after retrieving his shield, instead of stabbing with his spear.
The back of Tae Ho’s hand shone. Caliburn, that appeared by ripping the air, stabbed Achilles’ waist.
Achilles dodged it. He twisted his waist and dodged it but it was enough with that.
Tae Ho extended his spear towards he who had his stance broken.
The shield that landed on Achilles’ arm flew up once again but it was late. Gae Bolg grazed Achilles’ waist.
A groan was heard. Achilles kicked his shield to create some distance with Tae Ho instead of falling down.
But Tae Ho didn’t miss him. This time Arondight flew towards Achilles. Tae Ho retrieved the shield that floated up with his saga and yelled.
“Gant!”
A strong shock swept over Achilles. Thanks to that Achilles landing became unstable. Tae Ho charged towards the staggering Achilles.
Kwagagagagang!
The attacking and defending side changed once again. Tae Ho’s attack became faster. The dark blue divinity covering Gae Bolg became stronger with time.
Achilles let out a roar and brought up the divine power of Zeus. He faced the spear of death with his hero killer spear.
An exchange between Zeus’ golden divine power and the dark blue divine power that would devour everything.
Part of their surroundings were destroyed just by the aftershock of their battle.
Tae Ho concentrated even more. He didn’t stop pouring attacks at Achilles.
At that moment Achilles realized one thing.
He was the one giving more strength to Tae Ho. It wasn’t only in techniques.
Divinity.
Achilles was a great hero.
And the enemy in front of him was also one. A top ranked warrior of Asgard- he was someone equivalent to a great hero in Olympus.
But that wasn’t the case now. It was changing more and more.
Break out.
Change.
Promotion.
The divinity was becoming stronger and a new God was being born in front of him.
How and why in this moment?
It was simple.
Achilles also knew it.
He would put everything he had and grow through battles.
Use everything he could use and acquire victory.
It was like that even before he entered Valhalla.
And has been like that until now.
And all that process, and everything that would happen from now on became one for this moment.
Cuchulainn knew it now. He smiled bitterly and admitted.
The God of battles.
The name of the God that had the dark blue divinity.
Zeus’ divine power exploded. Achilles glared at Tae Ho in the middle of the golden light breaking down. He glared at the God that has just awakened and poured down everything he had at him.
One attack.
Tae Ho didn’t dodge it. He also executed the best attack he could right now.
After that, blood surged up from Tae Ho’s body. It was the result of Achilles’ spear reaching Tae Ho’s body.
But Tae Ho didn’t collapse. He covered the dark blue divinity in his body and faced the opponent that was pierced with Gae Bolg.
Achilles looked at his chest being pierced by Gae Bolg. He looked at his surroundings with eyes that were losing light and smiled with his lips dyed with blood.
So that’s it. This is the end.
It was a humble end. There weren’t many people watching like in the war of Troy.
Only his opponent and himself.
But Achilles didn’t lose his smile. He looked at Tae Ho that was in front of him once again.
The God of battles.
And at the same time the God of conquest.
He possessed two deities even though he awoke only now. But this wasn’t all. Achilles realized one more thing.
What Deimos grasped coincidentally when he was about to die. What he wanted to tell Ares however he could.
That was also awakening. The cogwheels started to spin with the obtaining of a deity.
Achilles vomited blood.
But he didn’t stop smiling.
Was this also fate that was decided by the Gods?
It was good whatever it was. At least in this moment, his actions would have been solely his.
Achilles vomited blood once again.
It was the result of Tae Ho’s dark blue divinity having destroyed Achilles heart and also his divinity.
But thanks to that, Achilles could get out of the control of the Gods. He cut off Zeus’ divine power and stated his will from the first time he became a hero.
Patroclus.
His mother Thetis and father Peleus.
Please.
He wished his last hope could be transmitted to Tae Ho. The great hero, that had to turn as someone wanting to destroy the world because the Gods destined that for him, transmitted his last strength to Tae Ho through Gae Bolg.
Achilles’ divinity that broke to pieces.
It wasn’t an attack. Tae Ho conquered his divinity naturally as if conquering a dragon.
[Synchro rate: 87%]
Achilles collapsed. The last piece of his divinity started to release a certain kind of strength. It gave more speed to the cogwheels that had just started to spin.
Tae Ho breathed roughly. He had defeated Achilles and obtained a deity but he had lost too much blood. The strength contained in the hero killer spear acted like poison. He wanted to collapse right now and fall asleep.
But he couldn’t do so. Tae Ho retrieved Gae Bolg and glared beyond the darkness.
He could feel a divinity breaking down another divinity.
The God of war Ares.
He finally destroyed the wall of Hades.
< Episode 53 – Legend of a Hero (3) > End
TL note: Thanks for reading~