I Became the Youngest Disciple of the Martial God

If I summoned Fourth Senior Brother here, I could easily escape this danger.

That this monster before me was a demon lord didn’t change that.

Of course, the creature before me was a monster on par with Eldest Senior Brother, and Fourth Senior Brother had said that the difference between their martial arts was like heaven and earth...

However, it was difficult for me to believe everything Fourth Senior Brother said. He was the most humble of my four senior disciples.

But ignoring the fact that I was in danger of dying...

In a sense, I might have obtained quite a rare opportunity.

It was usually impossible to communicate directly with a demon lord.

Even the cultists, who knew the most about them, had to put their lives on the line every time they initiated a summoning ritual.

I looked at Tangtata again.

Tangtata touched his fingers together like he was in a predicament.

I considered flattering this monster to get on his good side, but I quickly erased that thought.

I did not believe it would be possible for a human to get on this monster’s good side with just any random act.

If that were enough, Juan wouldn’t be dead.

I need to be more careful of him because dealing with him seems so easy.

I had to stop myself from getting fooled by his ridiculous appearance and stuttering words.

Maybe Tangtata was the most dangerous demon lord among them.

[I-it can’t be helped. Ohoho... E-everyone has their own tastes...]

I looked at Tangtata and slowly said, “Instead of a partnership... how about a trade?”

I was changing the topic.

Trades are different from conversations. There’s no need for one party to perfectly understand the other.

All that mattered were the gains of those involved.

Maybe such calculations were how the cult had formed a relationship with the gods of disaster.

[Trade...?]

“It looks like you’re lacking in toys, so I’ll help entertain you.”

[Ho, hohoho...!]

Tangtata clapped and looked happy.

He then said something completely unexpected.

[A-all right...! Th-then... let’s play tag...!]

Tag?

[Th-then... staaaart...!]

Bang!

After clapping, Tangtata immediately reached out toward me.

“...!”

I barely dodged his rotund hand.

I successfully dodged it, but my arms were covered in goosebumps.

[Oh, ohoho...!]

Tangtata laughed before continuing to reach toward me.

It suddenly reminded me of my master’s grasping palm, and I felt as nervous now as I had back then.

A wave of nervousness swept through me. I felt like if I was grabbed even once, my bones and flesh would be destroyed.

What’s with that movement?

Tangtata wasn’t that fast.

He was relatively agile given his obese body. However, every time I felt him attack me, my stamina and mental strength were carved away significantly.

Perhaps this pressure, which made me feel like I wanted to collapse and fall to the floor, was just the aura Tangtata possessed?

As far as I could tell, he didn’t even know he was emitting such an aura.

[Ohohoho...! Y-you dodge well! Th-then how about this?]

Tangtata’s green face was dyed red. It looked ridiculous, but I remained serious.

As some sort of liquid began to ooze out of his jelly-like face...

[Ohohohohot!]

Splash!

Tangtata began to swing his head in a circle like a madman.

“...!”

The red liquid splashed all around him because of his movement.

For some reason, I felt that it would be dangerous to get hit by even one drop of that, so I quickly put some distance between us.

Splish!

The objects touched by the liquid immediately corroded. It was incomparably more acidic compared to Juan’s green tongue.

The problem happened afterward.

Even though I had dodged everything, that wasn’t enough.

Stumble.

Even though not a single drop touched me, I felt dizzy for an instant and felt my body become slower.

No.

Was it because of the toxic fumes created from the acid?

I held my breath the moment I noticed, but I couldn’t help the little bit I had already inhaled.

[Oh, ohoho...! You can’t run anymore...!]

Bang!

[...?]

I launched a flaming wheel at Tangtata’s face.

Feeling his face become engulfed in flames in the middle of his speech, Tangtata tilted his head.

[U-uh...? It’s still my turn to tag...?]

“There’s no rule that says I can’t attack the chaser.”

[Uh...]

Tangtata thought about it for a bit. Then, still spaced out, he nodded.

[I-I guess we didn’t decide on that...?]

While Tangtata was talking nonsense, I ignited my internal energy in my inner core.

Crack!

I might have just cracked my teeth.

That’s how much strength I put into my mouth as I circulated my true ki throughout my entire body fast enough to create heat.

Fwoosh!

The toxic fumes I had inhaled were flushed away as soon as the flames touched them.

Of course, this only stopped the situation from worsening. It didn’t help return my dulled physical abilities to normal.

I suddenly dodged with lightning-walker steps as Tangtata launched another attack.

Can I attack him directly?

The disgusting liquid that Tangtata had splashed all around him was still flowing down his oily face.

It was too disgusting for me to directly make contact with him.

The only offensive options that remained were to attack it over its clothes or use the Sword of Seven Sins to—

...What if I infuse my fist with ki?

I didn’t know what the result would be.

It was a complete gamble.

I also suddenly had a thought.

If I’d met Tangtata instead of Ahop before my regression, I would’ve trained my defense instead of my evasion.

[Ho, ho, ho...!]

But then the green pig began to move again.

* * * * *

* * * * *

It used its wide hands to clap, but it wasn’t an ordinary clap.

Clap! Clap!

Each clap was so loud that it felt like my ears were going to pop.

Through my ringing ears, I heard his joyful voice.

[It’s so fun...!]

Disgusting bastard...

I swallowed my curse and tried to use lightning-walker steps again, but my foot caught on something and I nearly tripped.

The shockwaves created by those claps were ripping through the air; they were the most likely culprit.

This was a serious problem.

I had been able to use lightning-walker steps to walk through the storming cliff face without any problem, but now I’d been stopped by just a few claps.

The authority of a demon lord...

Just how was I supposed to oppose that power?

Training my mind and body didn’t seem like it would be enough.

Do I have to use my blessing?

Although I knew what my blessing was now...

I didn’t think I could train to handle this ability.

It didn’t seem like I could raise my resistance against demonic energy with just training either.

[D-don’t break...! Don’t breaaaaak—!]

After slurring his words a bit, Tangtata began to destroy his surroundings as if throwing a tantrum.

I’d already been fully aware of the difference in our levels.

If he made up his mind and came at me with the intent to kill, I would die instantly.

After letting go of my pride and accepting the current situation, a question appeared in my mind.

Why was I still alive?

He is treating this like a game.

And all games had rules.

What were the rules that Tangtata was following?

Now that I thought about it, my legs hadn’t moved when he’d first reached out to me.

In that case...

Fwoosh!

Rather than lightning-walker steps, I used flame dash.

I emitted fire ki in all directions as I moved.

My trajectory was simple. I was going to circle Tangtata like a wheel.

[Hohohoho...!]

Even as the buildings around him burned, Tangtata continued to smile.

“Fuu...”

When the toxic fumes and the smoke from the flames mixed, I started breathing again.

The dark green city was now engulfed in flames.

At this point, I changed from flame dash to my stepping technique, lightning-walker steps.

Bzzt!

When the small shot of electricity zapped through my steps, I realized something.

These two are pretty compatible.

The transition from flame dash to lightning-walker steps was quite smooth.

It felt as if they were supposed to be connected.

And for some reason...

Instead of transitioning from flame dash to lightning-walker steps...

I had a feeling that switching from lightning-walker steps to flame dash would be much more natural.

Maybe it was because running after walking was much more natural than walking after running.

They felt a little different.

Lightning-walker steps, derived from bolts of lightning.

White Sun Form, derived from the raging flame.

It was just a feeling I had, but I felt like flames were more comprehensive than lightning.

Maybe that was why flame dash was able to “cover” lightning-walker steps.

Of course, I could be wrong, but that was my theory.

Flash!

The unexpected enlightenment I gained was immediately utilized by my actions.

I used lightning-walker steps to close the distance with Tangtata. When I was about two steps away from him, I threw my punch.

I still didn’t want to touch whatever that liquid was, but neither did I want to ignore the sudden idea that had crossed my mind.

Bam, bam, bam.

The punches I threw while using lightning-walker steps were exactly the same in form as the first technique of the White Sun Form, scorching heat, but their power was completely different.

White Sun Form, Improvised Technique.

Lightning Fist.

Rumble!

The moment my fist touched him, Tangtata’s face exploded like a balloon.

“What?”

Seeing a result I’d not expected at all, my brain stopped for a second.

I quickly jumped away from Tangtata and observed the situation...

[...]

Tangtata’s body just stood there without a face.

Although his face had disappeared, I didn’t get the feeling that he was dead.

The pressure being emitted by his fat body remained the same.

Fwip!

Tangtata’s body suddenly turned toward me before making all sorts of gestures.

[...! ...!]

It looked like he was trying to say something.

I waited for a moment, and green flesh bubbled up from below his neck like a geyser.

[Ho, hohoho...!]

With that, Tangtata’s face regenerated.

“...”

I had prided myself on having witnessed all sorts of oddities in my life, but I couldn’t help my jaw dropping here. This was the first time I’d seen someone regenerate their face.

[Th-that was fu-fun...! Electrifying! Hohohoho...! Th-then...]

Tangtata’s voice lowered for a moment.

[I should entertain you as well...?]

I’m dead.

I couldn’t risk it anymore.

The moment I tried to put my hand into my pocket to take out the coin...

Crackle!

A long spear fell from the sky like a bolt of lightning.

The spear let out a piercing sound as it turned Tangtata into dust.

As the wind and lightning swirled around me, my nervousness calmed for a moment.

Bzzt.

That spear...

I looked at the lightning-clad spear.

The Spear of Wind and Lightning.

A divine weapon that could bring about both great gusts and bolts of lightning.

I—

I knew who that weapon belonged to.

At this moment, a black figure fell from the sky and landed without making a sound.

Their characteristic presence, reminiscent of an ancient oak, was unchanged even in the midst of this dark and suffocating hell.

The martial artist who had made the second greatest impact on my life grabbed the spear—still crackling with lightning—with his bare hand.

“...”

Eldest Senior Brother’s gaze landed on me.