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[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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Chapter 114: The Sanchez Family (4)
[A Lesser Superhuman Bloodline stands in your way! The True Superhuman Bloodline burns with fury!]
From the moment Kwon Hanul spotted Maria Sanchez, the Superhuman Bloodline reacted.
[Authority “Hierarchy” has been activated!]
[Powers of any Lesser Superhuman Bloodlines within range are temporarily weakened!]
[Strength temporarily boosted to SS-rank when fighting a Lesser Superhuman Bloodline!]
[Warning: Your strength level exceeds safe thresholds!]
[Caution: Excessive strength is damaging your body!]
[Alert: Strength will be momentarily capped!]
Even restricted, his strength remained SS-rank.
Kwon Hanul easily caught Maria Sanchez’s punch. Then he gripped her hand and completely overpowered her.
“I’ll explain everything later.”
After all, a Higher Superhuman Bloodline can't kill a Lesser one.
“But first, this.”
He reached for Maria’s head—
To brainwash her using Bloodbound Control, direct contact was required.
Just before he could grab her, Maria seized his wrist.
“You… what are you trying to do to me?”
There was no need to explain. He was going to take control anyway.
Kwon Hanul tightened his grip, intent on forcing her head into his grasp.
But his hand didn’t move.
His own hand.
“…So you’re not planning to answer, huh?”
Maria was holding firm, her grip unshaken.
It was hard to believe.
Her abilities had been weakened by the Authority Hierarchy, and Hanul currently had SS-rank strength.
Even with some of that power suppressed, Maria Sanchez shouldn’t have been able to resist.
“What’d you do—steal some high-grade drugs or something? I never thought a Lesser Bloodline from the Hyukcheon could overpower me.”
Maria’s strength kept rising. An ominous pressure radiated from her.
“But that’s still not enough!”
Suddenly, she threw her head back—
—and slammed her forehead straight into Hanul’s skull.
He flew backward from the impact.
A headbutt.
It may seem comical, but it’s not.
The human skull is one of the densest bones in the body. And Maria’s was reinforced by the Superhuman Bloodline.
Her skull had just slammed into Hanul with force even his SS-rank strength couldn’t hold off.
“…You’re not dead, right?”
Maria looked down at the fallen Hanul and asked— her voice oddly cheerful.
“I haven’t even repaid you for the humiliation I suffered. You can’t go down already.”
Her energy surged. Her skin flushed a deeper red.
The enhancement drug she’d taken was intensifying.
Then, to her surprise, Kwon Hanul stood up.
Even after that reckless headbutt, he looked fine—aside from a slightly red nose.
“…How are you still standing?”
Maria frowned at the absurdity of it—then smiled.
Good. She could go all out now without worrying about holding back.
“Marcos Sanchez. Please take care of Ms. Hayun.”
Hanul said calmly, touching his nose. Marcos obeyed instantly.
Maria gave him a look of disbelief.
“You… When we get back to the family, you’re going to regret this.”
She wanted to half-kill him right there, but held herself back.
Her true opponent was elsewhere.
“Tch. My nose still stings.”
Hanul was still rubbing his face.
Maria didn’t wait. She launched herself forward, feet tearing into the ground.
As she sprinted, the earth cracked beneath her.
She hurled a punch at Hanul—no technique, just raw power to crush the target in front of her.
But before her punch could fully swing, Hanul’s elbow snapped up.
Black Dragon Ascension Art: Basic Form
Deflecting Claw Technique
A technique that counters attacks using sharp joints like elbows or knees.
Maria’s punch deflected with absurd ease.
“Not bad!”
But she responded instantly, spinning into a brutal back kick straight to Hanul’s head.
A surprise finisher. She was certain his skull had burst.
But—
“Really now.”
Hanul’s head remained perfectly intact. Her foot had stopped cold.
“That could’ve gone badly.”
No, it should have gone badly.
“How…?”
“I used a technique.”
Black Dragon Ascension Art: Basic Form
Deflecting Iron Tree
A defensive move that absorbs incoming attacks while standing still.
It wasn’t the strongest technique, but it was perfect in a pinch.
“You expect me to believe that…?” Maria muttered in disbelief.
She was under the effects of a special enhancement drug. Her powers were at their peak.
And he blocked it bare-handed?
Impossible.
Or… something was wrong.
“And how long are you planning to keep your foot on my face?”
Hanul motioned toward her leg.
“If you keep that up, I’ll hit you.”
Maria hastily pulled her leg back.
That instant, Hanul moved.
Both his fists flew—delivering a barrage of strikes at her.
“Trying to take me head-on?”
Maria counterattacked, her fists crashing toward him with overwhelming force.
Countless strikes collided midair.
Both fighters had strength rivaling SS-rank.
Each clash sent shockwaves through the air.
Hanul’s fist slammed into her jaw.
“You’re pretty good. This is fun!”
Maria grinned and charged again.
But as she stepped forward, Hanul swept her shin.
She staggered, off-balance.
He immediately kicked her in the head.
She tumbled back, clutching her temple.
“…You’ve got good timing, I’ll give you that.”
Maria stomped again. The clash resumed.
They exchanged blows for a long stretch.
Then Maria realized—
She couldn’t overpower him.
Strength, agility, magic, experience, technique—she outclassed him in every area.
Yet she couldn’t win.
Hanul was reading her movements, countering as if he’d seen them in advance.
“…No way.”
She was losing at the level of strategy.
A Pandemonium councilwoman—being outplayed by a no-name hunter.
He hadn’t even landed a clean hit yet.
She, meanwhile, had been struck multiple times.
“…Don’t you dare mock me!”
Her rage exploded.
Maria screamed, clenching her fists.
Suddenly, a giant white figure appeared behind her.
It mirrored her pose—fist clenched tight.
Partial Giantification, one of the Superhuman Bloodline’s higher abilities.
“You think you can stand against me?!”
The giant’s image grew sharper and more solid.
Hanul muttered under his breath, “…There’s no way I can dodge that.”
It was too massive to avoid.
His only option—fight back.
Hanul clenched his fist. A surge of Dragon Demon Aura exploded around him.
This giant was an upper-tier Superhuman ability. The pinnacle of their power.
To counter it, no ordinary skill would do.
“…Hoo.”
The aura intensified—so dense it nearly swallowed him whole.
“Just die already!”
Maria struck.
So did the white giant.
Just before the punch landed, Hanul moved.
Black Dragon Ascension Art: Advanced Form
Dragon Ascension Fist
Dragon Demon Aura detonated—
A black dragon roared skyward, maw wide open.
In the next instant, the giant’s arm was ripped clean off.
The black dragon swallowed not just the arm, but its entire upper torso.
The upper half of the giant dissolved into the air.
Maria Sanchez stared, stunned.
“…Thanks.”
Suddenly, Hanul spoke.
“Thanks to you all, I finally learned the Advanced Form.”
Advanced Form—
The most powerful of the three forms of Black Dragon Ascension Art.
Learning it required complete mastery of both the Entry and Basic Forms.
Until now, Hanul couldn’t use it— ecause he hadn’t mastered even the Basic Form’s Deflecting Techniques.
Ironically, his own strength was the reason.
His superior tactical insight, gained from blending bloodlines—
His countless powers that could reverse any situation—
He never had reason to defend.
No need meant no practice. His skill with defensive forms was weak.
But during his recent travels with Kwon Myung-woo, and this battle with the Sanchez family— He finally mastered Deflecting Techniques.
“You, especially, helped a lot. I had no choice but to block so many of your dangerous attacks.”
With that breakthrough, the Black Dragon Ascension Art restructured itself in his mind.
The foundation for the Advanced Form was set.
“…All you do is talk shit, nonsense, and delusions.”
Maria’s face twisted more with every word.
“But one thing’s clear. You… you have to die here.”
Her instincts and experience screamed it.
If she didn’t kill Kwon Hanul now, there would be no stopping him.
While he was still weaker—she had to end it.
The moment she resolved that, her aura flared again.
If her earlier energy was a campfire, this was gasoline dumped onto it.
“…Didn’t think it would come to this.”
The enhancement drug she took had a unique trait—
Its effects grew stronger the longer it went without an antidote.
The stronger it became, the more power she gained—
But the side effects worsened too.
She had planned to wrap things up and take the antidote right away.
“…But no helping it now.”
Her energy surged. So much that even Hanul’s expression stiffened.
“…Guess I’ll have to bring out my last card too.”
Maria scoffed.
Last card?
What could he possibly pull out now?
Right now, under the peak effect of her drug, Maria Sanchez was invincible.
She’d traded her life force for power. Of course she was unbeatable.
That belief shattered in the next moment.
Golden energy enveloped Kwon Hanul’s body.
“…Gold?”
At first, it was faint. But it grew—
and grew—
until it shone like a halo behind his back.
It was dazzling.
Maria had never seen anything like it.
But the energy… felt familiar.
She whispered without realizing, “…Guardian Aura?”
Impossible.
Guardian Aura could only be used by those with the Superhuman Bloodline.
A defensive force that protected the user in any situation.
So how was he, someone from the Hyukcheon, using it?
And more importantly— why was it gold?
Then, a word surfaced in Maria’s mind.
Something the elders always spoke of.
A phrase she’d read many times in the family archives:
“True Blood.”
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[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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