Eat The World Tree-Chapter 332: Black And White Flower (3)

It was an exceedingly emotional act.

When the name Baekdo escaped his lips, I couldn’t simply stand by and listen.

Since returning from the past, I knew better than anyone that I would become a target.

I must not reveal the bottom of my bowl so easily.

I had planned to slowly build my strength and influence for at least three years.

Thus, I couldn’t understand my reflexive action.

-“Next is Baekdo. I’ll kill her.”

-“No, I won’t just kill her. I’ll savor it slowly. Gag her mouth and violate her!”

Blood dripped from the nails digging into my fist.

The unknown future always made me anxious.

It was a tragedy waiting to happen, no matter where or when. Even in my sleep, I woke up to the smallest alarm from my phone.

It felt like I’d been struck hard on the head.

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

My pounding heart pumped wildly. The growing sound of my heartbeat rang loudly in my head.

My irregular breathing was torturous. Something went pop in my head.

Unable to control my emotions, my face stiffened with a chilling expression. My brows twitched, and veins bulged on my forehead as the world before me turned crimson.

My fist throbbed with strained veins.

I swept my lukewarm face upwards, pushing back the troublesome hair and clearing my view.

“…….”

I couldn’t open my mouth.

Standing one step back, I simply stared down at Maehwa, who had collapsed.

“…Huh?”

Maehwa, still unable to grasp the situation, let out a dazed sound.

Hidden in the shadows, I never took my eyes off him.

The emotions that should have burst forth from me couldn’t escape my lips.

Yet, a brief surge of anger sank deep within me, becoming a driving force that propelled my resolve.

‘This man.’

He must not be left alive.

Flinch.

The hand that hadn’t moved an inch twitched slightly.

Dark magic surged from Lee Shiheon’s body.

Under the night sky, within Maehwa’s field of vision.

He was consumed by fear, unable to move even a finger.

“…….”

The man’s face, hidden in the shadows, wasn’t fully visible.

Even so, his bulging, bloodshot eyes pierced through, etched deep into Maehwa’s bones.

…….

It felt as though two eyeballs were staring at him from utter darkness.

Looking at them brought a wave of nausea.

The overwhelming aura in the air pressed down on his muscles.

In that lightless space, Maehwa endured an indescribable mental anguish that no one else could perceive.

“…Gulp, hic.”

Suppressing the rising bile, Maehwa’s throat convulsed repeatedly, and sour liquid trickled from the corner of his mouth.

“After coming this far….”

A defiant spark rose from his diaphragm and climbed steadily up to his throat.

Maehwa’s trembling pupils turned fiery red, pulling his mind back into focus.

“Ha, haha.”

Yes. This is how it should be.

Forcing down his fear, Maehwa unleashed his latent potential without restraint.

A pure white power oozed out and enveloped his body.

“…It’s going to feel good to kill you.”

From the ground, radiant white energy erupted.

The scattered petals engulfed Maehwa entirely and then extended toward Lee Shiheon in an instant.

This power, refined in his own form, surpassed anything owned by Baekdo—or so he believed.

As Maehwa’s attack bore down on Lee Shiheon, the latter calmly raised his hand and wrapped it in his own magic.

A faint layer of dark energy coated his palm.

-Boom!

A storm broke out.

Peach blossoms and Maehwa’s power extended far, reaching the distant skies and spreading even to nearby hotels.

From atop the mountain to the furthest reaches visible…

Petals rode the surging whirlwind, sparkling as they reflected the moonlight before scattering.

The falling petals drifted downward toward Saku and Suyeon, who had been watching with hardened expressions.

-Whoosh!

Under the cascade of petals, two fists collided.

Maehwa stared at his fist.

Lee Shiheon’s right hand effortlessly intercepted Maehwa’s punch, shattering it.

From his fist to the inside of his arm, black lacerations spread.

“Ah, aargh!”

For the first time, a scream erupted on the battlefield.

Despite his familiarity with pain, Maehwa’s mind faltered under this excruciating agony, foaming at the mouth as he clenched his fist tightly.

This sight was witnessed by the National Tree.

Maehwa, who had once ridiculed any attack, now appeared utterly pathetic.

Lee Shiheon continued to stare at him with an unyielding expression.

“…Unbelievable.”

Watching this unfold, Suyeon voiced her feelings.

Though her tone hinted at relief, it also carried a trace of awe that couldn’t be ignored.

‘No.’

Maehwa rejected the reality before him.

His trembling right hand failed to gather energy.

His tissues were ruptured, and regeneration was out of reach despite his remarkable healing abilities gained by sacrificing countless trees.

His energy channels were completely sealed.

Sweat dripped from his chin and fell to the ground.

-Crack.

Maehwa’s teeth ground against each other. Trembling with anger, his jaw and eyes betrayed his fury.

‘This… is nothing.’

Grasping his injured right arm with his left hand, Maehwa let out a crooked smile.

When strength entered his left hand, his right arm was severed entirely.

-Thud!

The severed hand fell to the ground, twitching briefly before dissolving into petals.

At the moment Shiheon’s fist pierced Maehwa’s heart, Maehwa’s eyes turned crimson.

A single strike.

Without withdrawing his arm, the white energy lingered, solid and palpable.

A second burst of Shiheon’s energy struck the heart that had already endured the first shock.

【 Heavenly Demon Divine Art · Baekdo (White Peach) 】

-Boom!

Heaven and earth trembled.

A spirit soaring to pierce the sky.

It engulfed Maehwa’s entire body, and his form was flung with such force that it could have penetrated a mountain, demolishing the hotel’s outer wall.

-Rumble!

The violent impact caused the building to sink.

One-third of the grand hotel’s structure shattered into pieces, with steel beams and concrete burying Maehwa’s body.

White peach blossoms scattered along the path.

The delicate petals stretched across the ground, forming a long carpet.

-Creak, crack.

From the debris of the collapsed structure, tree roots and petals began to rise.

His body broke through the rubble.

“Shiheon!!!!”

The severed hand was covered with a wooden shell, forming a new one.

Roots extended into both corners of his mouth. Maehwa’s crazed eyes locked onto Shiheon.

-Thud!

Before he could recover from his injuries, Shiheon rushed in and delivered a direct kick to Maehwa’s head.

The wooden shell cracked off once more, sending Maehwa’s body hurtling into the air.

‘I can take that power.’

Maehwa’s eyes fixated on the spot where Shiheon had stood.

By reading the technique and imitating it, he thought he could overcome even this moment if he slowly built his strength.

But Shiheon was no longer visible.

-Grab!

Before Maehwa could react to the presence behind him, Shiheon’s hand seized his head.

Maehwa’s head was lifted upward. Shiheon’s heel remained firmly planted on the ground.

-Boom!

With a strike from above, Maehwa’s body was driven back into the debris.

Momentarily losing consciousness from the pain, Maehwa quickly regenerated his sightless eyes, glaring at the spot where Shiheon stood.

“Baekdo. Shiheon!”

Blood gushed from his mouth as a rough metallic rasp escaped.

The man gave no response.

He simply continued to unleash his martial arts.

One form flowed into the next.

Black magic fused with his energy, swelling throughout his body and converging into a single point.

【 Heavenly Demon Divine Art · Form of Five · Sweet Peach 】

A solid shockwave, as sharp as the slash of a blade.

When it struck the hotel ruins, the remaining structure split cleanly in two.

-Slash!

A long, straight groove formed on the ground.

Maehwa’s body, including his heart, was sliced in half, marked again with black lacerations identical to before.

“I can… read…”

Just a bit more, and he could grasp that power.

Maehwa’s trembling eyes turned blood red.

He had to do it. Balancing on the edge of death, Maehwa ignited his latent potential once more.

-Creak, crack.

Tree roots wrapped around Maehwa’s body. His bisected corpse fused together in an instant, and Maehwa rose to his feet.

By now, his form could no longer be called beautiful.

-Drip, drip.

Thick blood dripped as Maehwa shamelessly lifted his distorted face.

Fueled solely by the determination to defeat his opponent, he glared at Shiheon.

A bitter smile lingered on his lips.

The white petals of Maehwa were stained with blood.

“I can do this.”

A dry, pain-soaked voice escaped.

His legs wobbled.

Maehwa’s energy surged grotesquely, and he began to follow Shiheon’s movements.

“I can—”

He thought he could grasp the technique, that he needed only to move his hands.

-Boom!

His body refused to cooperate.

Maehwa, frozen in place, allowed Shiheon’s attack to land once more.

Shiheon’s punch gouged into the ground.

Black energy erupted endlessly, and the same lacerations that had marred Maehwa’s body now appeared on Shiheon.

A relentless series of blows followed at point-blank range.

【 Heavenly Demon Divine Art · Form of Six · Dragon-Eye Peach 】

-Flash!

A black peach blossom appeared before Maehwa’s eyes, blurred by the rain.

The ground was carved into a hemispherical crater, as though the earth had softened from the start.

The pit’s size was vast enough to form a lake, with Maehwa at its center.

His body was torn to shreds.

Muscles failed to maintain their structure and burned away.

Fractured bones, despite their desperate attempts to mend, proved futile.

His heart stopped, and scorched nerves blinded him.

“Ugh, cough,”

Unconsciously, Maehwa let out groans.

His body, covered in black lacerations, seemed barely alive.

The man grabbed Maehwa’s twisted neck and lifted him.

Black sleet filled the crater.

The rain grew heavier, pouring like a storm.

The water pooling in the pit rose to submerge Maehwa halfway.

The once-beautiful Maehwa blossoms continued to fall from above, their radiance now a cruel reminder.

The flame of life dimmed.

“I… will win.”

Muttering the short phrase, Maehwa tried to lift his unresponsive body.

For a fleeting moment, his eyes brimmed with blood instead of tears.

The man, still silent, clenched his fist and stared coldly at Maehwa.

“Baekdo. Baek—Baekdo—”

His dantian, veins, heart, brain—every fiber of his being.

The man analyzed it all and determined every organ had ceased functioning.

He threw one final punch.

No trace was left behind.

-Boom!

Maehwa’s head exploded, and the energy crushed his body, erasing it entirely.

There would be no chance for him to think of anyone again.

The last remnants of Maehwa’s tree trunk and roots withered away. The man gradually withdrew his power.

-Swoosh!

The storm raged on. Heat dissipated.

The man stood over the crater for several minutes, staring at Maehwa’s remains.

-Thud!

He punched the ground repeatedly.

Blood-covered, he swept his face upward.

“Huff, huff….”

The black spots that had spread across his body began to fade.

Trembling lips. His body shivered as if struck by a fierce cold, yet he continued to stare at Maehwa’s unrecognizable corpse.

Shiheon clawed at the dirt with bloodied nails.