Surviving Restructuring

“Eun-Ho! That’s hot, don’t touch—aaah!” his mother had screamed.

When he was young, he once pressed his hand against a pot boiling furiously on the stove. At first, he had not even realized it was hot. Only after the skin of his palm had blistered and peeled did he finally recoil in shock. The heat was so intense it took his skin and brain a moment to register the danger.

The reason that twenty-year-old memory surfaced now was simple.

“Ghk!”

It felt as though fragments of the sun were slamming against him.

“What the hell?!”

At first, there had only been light. Dodging the pouring meteor shower, he squeezed his eyes shut and raised his right arm to shield his face.

Boom!

Then, comets with blazing tails collided midair with the woman’s meteor storm.

Craaack! Craaaack!

Fist-sized and head-sized light clusters smashed into house-sized meteors, shattering them into blazing debris that rained down in every direction.

Fwooosh—!

Then, the fragments poured over him. It felt as though molten gold, heated to a furious boil, was being meticulously draped all over him.

[The Armor of the Sun, Kavacha, accepts its new master.]

The sunlight engulfed his head and became a helm. It cascaded over his shoulders and formed pauldrons. Then, it wrapped around his arms and hardened into gauntlets. Finally, it struck his chest and solidified into a breastplate.

This is...

It fit him perfectly, as if it had been tailor-made. However, it did not stop there.

[The Solar Armament, Kundala, heralds the birth of a hero.]

A thin, sharp-tailed miniature comet shot toward him.

“Ugh!”

It pierced his earlobe like a bullet. Raising his now-heavy arm, he gingerly touched the burning spot. He felt a small emblem embedded in his ear, as if fused into flesh.

[Congratulations!]

[You have acquired the Sun’s Armament.]

Thus, the Sun’s Armament was complete.

“The Sun’s Armament, huh.”

What an absurdly grand name.

“Acceleration.”

The meteors slowed to a crawl, moving at one-fortieth their original speed. After sidestepping another falling star, Eun-Ho took the chance to examine the armor. golden shimmer flickered before him.

[Sun’s Armor Set]

- An armor set forged from the Sun God’s remaining power. Composed of the full-body armor, Kavacha, and the golden earring, Kundala.

- Warning: as this item is engraved upon the soul, it cannot be removed.

It cannot be removed? Would daily life even be possible in this situation?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a voice echoed.

—Is that really suitable for everyday life?

It did not enter through his ears, but resonated directly within his soul.

—It looks terribly uncomfortable.

—Hah! Are you complaining already? Then hand it over at once!

—Nevermind. I’ll wear it gratefully.

That was not his voice. It sounded unfamiliar yet strangely familiar at the same time. Anyway, if he was the new master, there had to be a previous one. The previous conversation likely belonged to the memories lingering within the armor itself.

One sounded like a young man while the other sounded older.

He was about to follow that line of thought when a massive meteor blotted out the sky.

“This is no time to be distracted.”

Eun-Ho flinched. “What?!”

“Forward deployment!”

The heat scorched his hair. Before he could even finish the thought, red and blue flames engulfed his vision.

Thuuuud—!

The house-sized meteor slammed into his helm. At that very moment, the roaring flames, the crashing stone, and the vicious spray of sparks all slowed down.

Thooom—

[Caution!]

[The host’s physical durability is insufficient to withstand divine armament.]

[Part of the armament will be sealed.]

[Unlock Rate: 30%]

Thirty percent?

Yet it could already stop a meteor?!

[Activate!]

[Kavacha Form 1 - Shock Absorption]

A blinding radiance erupted, overwhelming even the infernal flames. The world turned white.

“Ugh!”

He was engulfed in flames, as if he had become a living furnace. Scorching embers fell like heavy snowfall. The meteor melted, absorbed into the gold, which burned even hotter than the sparks.

[Kundala Form 1 - Release]

He felt as if he was swelling like a balloon about to burst. His eyes, his skull, his heart—everything expanded to the brink of rupture.

Craaaaack—!

The meteor exploded. A vast curtain of surging golden light swallowed everything.

“Heh.”

[Congratulations!]

[You have successfully declared your will for revolution to the masses.]

[Special reward for the Revolutionary will be granted.]

He did not know who the nameless gods or the true owner of that voice were. However, if they were protecting him because they wanted something from him, then three facts were certain.

[Unknown gods rage at the Revolutionary’s peril.]

First, the so-called nameless gods did not like the company and the current state of affairs. Secondly, something had happened in the past. For whatever reason, they could not intervene directly now. Thirdly, they referred to Eun-Ho as a Revolutionary.

[Special reward has been modified.]

They had even altered the predetermined reward to give him a divine-class weapon. If that was the case, he ought to live up to their expectations!

“How could this be?!”

After all, one should make good use of a gift.

“Well, that works out nicely.” He grinned beneath the golden helm. “Shall we have some fun then?”

***

“There is something you must do for me.”

The chief secretary was not a position given to just anyone, requiring more than administrative competence that spanned the entire company. After all, carrying out the chairman’s unofficial and often unspeakable orders required sufficient combat strength.

No matter the assignment, she handled it faster and more precisely than anyone else. There was no room for error for matters that had the chairman’s full attention.

“Could you give me five more potion bottles of Transcendence?”

“Pardon? You’re already well beyond the daily limit.”

“I just want to be prepared.”

“Even so, this is—”

“I’ll just take them with me. Thank you.”

“S-Secretary!”

She had swallowed the prohibited elixirs to push her abilities to their peak.

“He used Acceleration. I’ll apply a speed buff, so let’s go after him all at once.”

“I’m going to use Soul Burn, which increases the healing output.”

She had led the combat unit, layering them with every enhancement available.

“Meteor Fire!”

She had even unleashed a technique capable of dragging wandering meteors from the heavens. On top of that, she also wielded the Karmic Fire, which was quite literally a fragment of hellfire. Long ago, she had been awarded the finishing move for successfully assisting the chairman

“This ends now!” she had shouted.

However, even a meteor shower falling directly on Lee Eun-Ho’s head wouldn’t end it.

Rumble—! Craaaack!

A radiant barrier materialized out of nowhere. It obliterated the meteor shower, swallowed the shockwave whole, then hurled it back the way it came from.

No way! The Karmic Fire is coming back this way! the chief secretary thought.

Her remaining subordinates’ frantic cries rang through her skull.

—Chief Secretary! It’s dangerous! Keugh!

—It’s too powerful! Evade immediately!

However, she did not have the luxury of responding to each of them.

“Soul Recovery!” she shouted desperately.

A thick wave of green light burst from her palms, enveloping her. Not even the blindingly dense luminous particles could hide the brilliance pouring from beyond.

“That is...”

Golden armor covered Lee Eun-Ho from head to toe. An ancient divine relic she had once seen in dusty, half-forgotten records was shining before her eyes.

The chief secretary faltered and instinctively took a step back. “The Sun’s Armament...”

Something’s gone wrong.

How absurd! She had never heard that he possessed an item of such caliber! Of course, the company’s intelligence could’ve failed to detect it. Either that, or he had obtained it by sheer coincidence at this very moment.

However, there was one undeniable reason why this situation should have been impossible.

He met the qualifications? Lee Eun-Ho?

The ancient gods granted power only to those who met their strict standards. Among their weapons, the Sun’s Armament was said to be notoriously selective in choosing its wielder. Those unqualified yet coveted that power were rewarded with despair equal to their greed.

Yet Lee Eun-Ho was nothing more than a mortal doomed to perish.

So how could he possibly... Wait. Was he acknowledged?

A chill crept up her spine, raising goosebumps along her arms and the back of her neck. Her trembling fingers moved.

Crack.

She broke the seal of another bottle and poured it straight down her throat.

[Transcendence - Second Use]

The potion forced her Stamina and Spiritual Energy into overdrive at the cost of long-term vitality. It was officially prohibited and unofficially limited to one bottle per day. However, she had just consumed two in succession. When this battle ended, she would likely be ruined, perhaps beyond the recovery capabilities that made her the company’s finest.

[Transcendence - Third Use]

[Transcendence - Fourth Use]

[Transcendence - Fifth Use]

Despite knowing that, she stacked them again and again. She had to bring down the enemy and fulfill her mission!

“All units, simultaneous assault!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Three! Two! One! Now!” She poured every last ounce of strength she possessed into the attack. Gathering the last shreds of her soul, she hurled them forward with the rising fear of that unknown mortal. “Spirit-Flesh Freeze!”

The frozen ground surged upward. Ice crawled up Lee Eun-Ho’s legs, swallowing his entire self.

“Blade Command Art!”

Dozens or even hundreds of blades rose into the air. Dark violet swords, nearly black, crashed into the frozen figure.

“Falling Star Detonation!”

The hovering meteors exploded, each possessing enough power to obliterate a fortress instantly.

“Finally it’s ove—”

However, her premature relief never reached completion.

Rumble—

Black hands erupted from across the battlefield, surging through the frozen earth like grasping tendrils of death.

“Keugh!”

Eun-Ho’s Death Hand seized her by the throat, then twisted behind the subordinate. The latter’s body turned as black as a rotting mummy, before crumpling to the ground.

“Two,” Lee Eun-Ho said.

He appeared, wrapped in hundreds of swords connected to him by shimmering threads of light. The ice that had supposedly bound him had long since shattered and melted away.

“How are you still alive?!”

With a flicker, the Sword Thread sent every suspended blade flying at once.

Swoosh—!

“Keugh!”

A subordinate collapsed, skewered by the very swords he had launched. Several blades punched clean through his body and embedded themselves in the dirt beneath.

“T-that’s impossible...”

Blood burst forth like a ruptured pipe. Then, amid the exploding meteors and the spray of gore, Lee Eun-Ho stood unmoved.

He met the chief secretary’s eyes directly and calmly announced, “One.”

There’s one remaining. So prepare yourself.

She flinched because there was no rage, excitement, or agitation in his gaze. His eyes were as still as a tranquil lake.

What’s up with this man?

The combined detonation of five stacked Transcendences vanished without a trace. Instead, Lee Eun-Ho unleashed a surge of golden radiance.

In the next moment, a red wave swept through the forest, swallowing everything in its path.

Craaaack—!

The inferno roared, as though threatening to devour the entire woodland. At that moment, it occurred to the chief secretary that they couldn’t win. Not unless the chairman himself stepped in. The rookie employee had, at some point, become a monster.