Fallen Lightbringers' Return

Chapter 52: Fight Between Affinities I

Lee Dojin grumbled. He lifted his hand, realizing it was shaking. Was he nervous? No, that was wrong. This was excitement. Finally, he did not have to fight the lifeless shadows or ordinary humans.

"Will you start," he asked, getting into a fighting stance, "Or do you want me to start?"

Do Jiwoon appeared unbothered, but the shadows beneath him rumbled, almost bubbling, preparing to lift off. Smoke escaped outside, forming a few loose souls, but they quickly dissipated into nothingness.

"Are you sure we can't just talk this out," Do Jiwoon asked (to Dojin's surprise), lifting his hands. He'd have looked sincere, was it not for the tormented souls surrounding him, crying in despair. "You, are you a player too?"

He couldn't see the stars conjured by Lee Dojin.

Lee Dojin squinted his eyes. He didn't believe a word from that snake, but he obliged, wanting to know where this was going. He answered, "Yes, that is right."

"Is that so." The smog beneath Do Jiwoon simmered down. "As you can guess, the same goes for me." A smile as gentle as a summer breeze appeared on his face. "Say, instead of fighting, why don't we team up?"

"What?"

"You may not know," His voice turned serious, "But soon, this world is coming to an end. No really. I mean it. Earth, the way we all know it, will not be here anymore. So, facing such great calamity, do we really need to fight amongst each other?"

Lee Dojin's eyebrows shot up. A great deal of astonishment overwhelmed him. He asked, "How do you know that?"

As of now, no one but him should have known. No, there was maybe one who did, but it should not be Do Jiwoon. Even for him, that was impossible. Unless, just like Ji-ah, his future had changed?

He shook his head. "I saw it all. It is part of my ability, you know. I've seen about you too. Lee Dojin, right? I know where your future lies. I'm not telling you to believe me, of course not. But you'll see for yourself. You'll know tomorrow."

Lee Dojin's brows furrowed. This was an unexpected development. One, where he wasn't sure if it was good or bad. "Why me?"

Do Jiwoon smiled. He found it nice to see Lee Dojin be accepting. He walked forward, talking. "I told you. I know about the future. Soon, you will be part of many tumultuous battles. You will win many, but your losses weigh even more. I wish to be by your side, for one, to be part of your wins, but also to prevent your losses," Jiwoon explained. "You see, right now, there's no one with more potential than us two. Me who knows what routes to avoid, and you who can walk the ones left." The boy opened his arms. "Together, we can save this godforsaken world."

Was it possible that this Do Jiwoon differed from the one he knew? Lee Dojin's expression turned strange. He could feel it. That guy wasn't lying. In the first place, he had never met Jiwoon in this world. Maybe that guy had changed too. Lee Dojin approached him, lowering his fists.

Jiwoon stretched his hand out. At the same time, he bowed, as if a servant, "I swear on it, I will protect your back. And when the need arises, will you have mine too?"

Lee Dojin looked at the boys' hand. Then, he looked around. He saw, for one, the horrified Oh Sanbaek, but that was uninteresting. No, what mattered was the girl next to him, asleep, her eyes closed. Was that Ah Yeurong? The darkness made everything hard to see.

He opened his mouth, asking, "Say, if you know the future, then tell me: What's my title?"

Do Jiwoons eyes flickered from surprise, but soon after, composed himself. He answered, "Of course, it's The Lightbringer."

Lee Dojin didn't answer. His eyebrows shot up. A sneer appeared on his mouth.

Do Jiwoons felt something wrong. His hand fell. He sighed. "It would seem like negotiations have broken down." He swung his arm, the cry of despairing souls shot toward Lee Dojin.

Lee Dojin turned his head, dodging the attack. There was one that almost hit him, but he swung it away, the soul crumbling in the air. Within this warehouse, it was hard to see the smog.

"Not yet," Jiwoon said, swinging his arms in the air, created innumerable more souls, coming out from the darkness. Lee Dojin dodged them one by one, but it was getting close.

As he jumped over two, Do Jiwoon flanked him, in his hand gray smoke, hitting Lee Dojin, enveloping the place in smoke. It exploded, like a bag full of flour.

"Is that all? Looks like I overestimated him huh?" He settled down, his shadows simmering. However, when he tried pulling his hand back, he realized he had been stuck.

Lee Dojin peeked through the smoke. He had caught Jiwoons hand. "Come on, leaving already? We are just getting started."

"You!" From his other hand, another smoke bomb appeared, and he aimed for Dojin's face, who then let go and teleported away. Jiwoon felt his skin turn numb, as the boy had suddenly disappeared. He cocked his head back but was immediately hit in his face, sliding back a few meters.

"With such weak techniques, you won't ever be able to reach me," Lee Dojin said, shaking his fist, and smiling lightly.

Jiwoon spat out some blood. His face turned serious. "It looks to be that way." He lifted his hand, souls rose from below again. "Is that your ability? Highspeed? I thought you were based on light?"

"That's old news." Dojin laughed. "If you want I can explain it to you."

Do Jiwoon wiped the blood off his lips. He grinned widely. "No need." He swiped his hands. Souls that found no rest attacked Lee Dojin again. "You know," he said, "I like this place because quite a lot of people have died here. The whole warehouse is filled with ammunition."

"Shouldn't you be able to store souls in your shadow anyway?" If he remembered Jiwoons ability correctly that is. He lifted his arm. "Didn't I say? You won't hit me with this attack." however, the souls stopped right in front of Lee Dojin. He first felt bewildered, but upon recalling the past Jiwoon, it quickly evolved to alarm.

Do Jiwoon watched Dojin. He clenched his hands into a fist and said, "Purgatory: Soul Flash."

The souls exploded in Dojin's face, changing into a haze that enveloped him. Inside, he was shown innumerable sounds, smells, visions, and tastes. They came all at once, overloading his brain, catching him off-guard. Those were the past memories of the dead, which all came at once.

Jiwoon felt a headache creeping in. This attack had still been too harsh on him. Still, he appeared elated. "How does it feel, living through the many lives in a fraction of a second? They say when you are close to dying, life flashes past you. Experience the cold despair of death." He laughed loudly. "Sink into the abyss of fear."

"To be honest, I've had enough of that already."

Jiwoons cut his laughter short, as he heard the voice appear again, coming from behind his back. He turned around, but there was no one there.

"Stuff like this, at one point just doesn't affect you anymore." Lee Dojin appeared behind him again. However, every time Jiwoon turned around, Dojin vanished from existence. It was like he had never been there. No portal, no slowly phasing away, no line of teleportation. He was simply gone. It drove Jiwoon to insanity.

"Stop running," he screamed.

"Fine." Lee Dojin appeared before him. He grabbed Do Jiwoons hand. "I'm here." The two were now interlocked. Dojin punched out, hitting Jiwoon in his stomach. He spat out some blood.

However, it was like the guy didn't feel pain. No, instead, his smile grew bigger. He knew he could not escape Dojin's grip, so he obliged, hitting back.

The two, while holding hands, continued to punch each other, neither showing signs of dodging.

Oh Sanbaek, through his delirium, could only see two monsters both grinning wildly, bashing into each other. One looked like a wild animal, while the other like an abyss. "They're insane," he muttered, full of fear.

Jiwoon, after a while, fell to his knees. He gasped for air, his white hair was disheveled. He couldn't believe it. Was that person made from iron? Jiwoon knew he wasn't the strongest. But seeing the boy standing there without any damage was rather discouraging. He was not only strong, but also fast and resilient. Was such a human even allowed to exist?

Dojin untangled his hand. "I guess that is it." He took a step back, but not to escape. Rather, as Jiwoon fell, Dojin kicked with all his might, hitting that boys' face straight, who then flew back, doing a parabola of an arc.

Jiwoon landed on the ground, but not without bouncing once or twice. He looked at Lee Dojin, though his vision was blurry. "I guess you never can trust the future." He coughed out black blood. "You are way stronger than I was told." He pushed himself up again.

"I could say the same thing about you," Dojin laughed dryly. How was it possible for Jiwoon to already be this proficient with his ability? Not even he himself knew much about his new Affinity. He had a lot of question to ask

"However, at the very least. I'll take you down with me." Jiwoon placed two fingers up.

The surrounding gray smoke gathered into a giant ball. Collecting everything, it then floated to Jiwoon. As he touched it, the ball started glowing, and rapidly assimilating with him.

Dojin whistled in amazement. "That is certainly new." He didn't remember this from the past life.

Jiwoons bones started creaking, his lost blood gathering back within him, and his wounds closed. He stood up once more, this time in full health. However, now, there was a hazy smoke with faces surrounding his arms and legs, as if it was armor. Blood spurted out his nose.

"Purgatory: Soul Symbiosis." He took a fighting stance. An incomparable pressure oozed out of him. "I'll be honest, this is my last resort. I advise you to die quickly."

Dojin cracked his neck. "Thank you. Then, let me show you my own strongest attack." He crossed his hands into an X-form. "Fair warning. It's a martial art I learned from someone incredibly strong, so I can't control it with my current body. I guess, the person, you can call her my other mother? Though I won't ever acknowledge it."

Jiwoon lunged forward, creating almost a shockwave blowing away the walls on the warehouse.

Lee Dojin put his fingers into an X-Form too. He muttered

"Day of Judgement, First Trumpet: Scorched Earth."