Chapter 62

Chapter 62

A violet trajectory carved deeply through the puppet’s chest.

Its clothes were cut open, its chest shattered, and broken shards of metal and red liquid scattered through the air.

The puppet, mortally wounded, was pushed backward as if it were about to collapse.

[Did you just…… manifest Sword Aura?]

Hyeollyeo stared in shock at the faint flames burning from my sword.

[How……?]

“This is not the time to worry about that!”

The amount of Mana draining out of me was truly staggering.

The sense of weakness was so severe that my head swam, as if my knees might buckle at any moment.

But I still could not rest.

The puppet had suffered a mortal wound, but it was still standing.

“Grr…… Grrk…….”

The puppet trembled violently, one hand pressed against the wound crossing its chest.

Beneath the exposed gash, a deep blue light was revealed.

That was the Fragment of the Golden Rule embedded in the puppet.

It pulsed uneasily for a moment, then began to emit a fierce radiance.

“Gaaaaaaah!”

The blue radiance exploded, blazing like Ghostfire.

After letting out a voice that could not be called a scream or anything else, the puppet began firing Disintegration Light indiscriminately in every direction.

WHIIING! KABOOM!!

“U-Uaaagh!”

“The Downfall Order bastard has gone berserk!”

“Dodge!”

Panic-stricken, the people forgot they had been fighting monsters and threw themselves out of the way.

The beams of light, now as large as fists, raked through the buildings of White Cloud Castle as well as the monsters rampaging there, without distinguishing friend from foe.

The puppet was running wild.

[Why has that thing suddenly begun radiating like that?]

“My sword strike was too shallow.”

A puppet died only when the Power Source in its heart was completely destroyed.

I had inflicted a mortal wound with the Sword Aura that had activated for an instant, but I had failed to kill it because I had not reached the Fragment.

Because of that, something inside it seemed to have gone wrong, and the puppet had entered a Berserk State.

─Kreeeeek!

─Kiaaaaak!

Monsters were being slaughtered by the puppet’s indiscriminate barrage.

Buildings collapsed, and the center of White Cloud Castle was being swept away.

“U-Ugh……!”

I shoved away an Adventurer who had failed to escape in time and blocked the Disintegration Light with my sword.

The Repulsive Force pushed my body backward.

The sword, whose durability had no limit, blocked the Disintegration Light, but stray beams that scattered like sparks clawed past here and there.

“Take the people and join Jin Sohwi. Do not come this way under any circumstances.”

“Th-Thank you!”

After sending the man away, I realized I could no longer put proper strength into my hand.

‘The Mana consumption is too great.’

Sword Aura was, by nature, a technique unleashed with Magic Power.

Perhaps because I had forced it into existence through Mysticism, I could feel it burning Mana at an explosive rate.

If it had not been the Mana of Pristine Power, I would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

‘I have only one chance left.’

I had to destroy the puppet in a single strike.

Otherwise, not only I, once exhausted, but Jin Sohwi and Persica as well would be caught up in its rampage.

I swallowed dryly.

Could I do it?

‘No.’

This was not about whether I could do it!

“I will do it!”

I operated Myriad Currents Bond Cultivation at full power.

My activated Core began carrying Mana through my Energy Channels.

More than now.

I did not need flames like a wavering heat haze, but stronger flames of Sword Aura.

‘Recall it.’

The instantaneous operation of Sword Aura, and the connection with the Swordsmanship that unleashed it.

Both of those were in my memories.

The Art that Ishara had displayed in the Selection Grounds must surely have remained somewhere in my mind.

‘Recall it!’

I clenched my sword.

I burned my Mysticism.

[Secret Art: Ethrana]

[Chapter Two]

I brought the Ishara in my memories, the realm she had reached that day, into myself!

“Fix Blade……!”

Once again, the flames of Sword Aura ignited.

Shattering the floor beneath my step, I shot forward like a bullet.

CLANG!

I deflected the rushing Disintegration Light aside and closed the distance to the puppet in an instant.

As I repelled the puppet’s fist, its leg, and the Martial Technique attacks stabbing toward me, I found myself beginning a single Sword Dance.

The entirety of the second chapter of Secret Art: Ethrana was filled with Chants for manifesting Sword Aura.

When the operation of the Core and Energy Channels, which changed with each movement, was combined into one, a single “blueprint” for manifesting Sword Aura through Mysticism was completed.

However, that was not the end of Chapter Two’s effect.

The essence of Sword Aura was a mass of extremely condensed energy.

Since this embodied the blueprint of Sword Aura through movement, while the Sword Dance continued, destructive power identical to Sword Aura dwelled in every motion.

At that moment, both my sword and my body possessed strength that surpassed their limits.

“Haaaaah!!”

I surpassed human speed and swung my sword with ferocious momentum.

Violet flames trailed behind it, embroidering the air.

The pain of my body racing toward its limits and the dizzying vertigo that had stabbed into me both disappeared.

Thought vanished, leaving only tenacity behind.

When I fell into a selfless trance and knew nothing but swinging my sword, I realized why my Sword Aura had failed to completely cut down the puppet.

‘I did not truly understand Myriad Currents Bond Cultivation.’

Had Myriad Currents Bond Cultivation not been created so that I could walk a path that belonged to ‘me,’ without being bound by orthodox methods?

And yet, what had I done when I combined Myriad Currents Bond Cultivation with Swordsmanship?

‘I was too busy unfolding Secret Art: Ethrana according to the Chants of Chapter Two.’

What a foolish thing to do.

After going to the trouble of completing my Cultivation Method, the moment I applied it to Swordsmanship, I had relied on orthodoxy.

At this rate, I had merely forced Myriad Currents Bond Cultivation into the frame called Secret Art: Ethrana.

The Oneness of Swordsmanship and cultivation was not like that.

It was not about one side conforming to the other; they had to achieve balance and become one.

“Thank you.”

Before me stood the puppet, now as battered as I was.

Its clothes were torn in several places, and its entire body was covered with cut and broken wounds.

And part of the Mask that had covered its face was shattered, revealing a pale green “eye” staring at me.

“This is thanks to you.”

It was an Enlightenment I never would have gained if I had swung my sword alone.

Because this fellow had served as my punching bag, I had been able to fully internalize this Enlightenment as my own.

“Grrrr……!”

“Yes, you understand too.”

‘Not at all,’ or something of the sort, was likely what it meant.

For a puppet, it was a considerate fellow.

[……Have you lost your mind from losing too much blood?]

In that case, it was only proper that the first strike I had reached through Enlightenment be shown to this fellow.

I took my Stance and raised my sword.

Now that I knew the mistake, it was time to correct it.

I opened my eyes wide.

Swordsmanship and cultivation. I aligned the two subtle misalignments into one.

At that moment.

The two powers finally achieved true Oneness.

“I will surpass it.”

I would break through my limits.

I would step onto the wall before my eyes and climb over it!

“I will overcome it!”

FWOOOOSH──!!

The Sword Aura that had been nothing more than a wavering haze surged upward as a fierce blaze.

A terrifying torrent of Mana burned brilliantly.

Within that deep violet radiance, the puppet’s eye looked at my sword.

Was it my imagination?

The sword burned with the light of Mysticism.

The eye that reflected it seemed to shine clearly for an instant.

“Eth…….”

It spoke.

“Eth, rana……?”

My sword cut through her heart.

***

Second Floor, the sky above the Landscape Realm.

‘He’ looked up at the ceiling overhead.

[Tsk. He escaped.]

A vast expanse of the ceiling had been scorched black like charcoal.

The entire area swallowed by Descent of the Great Precept had been burned away.

However, Bishop Jurgen had managed to slip away from the Descent of the Great Precept that ‘he’ had unleashed.

[Slippery loach of a man.]

It was unpleasant, but it did not particularly matter.

「Night of Downfall」 had been undone, and there was no longer any need for him to exert himself.

Moreover, his descendant’s body had begun to convulse, and he could feel it reaching its limit.

[Is this all I amount to now…….]

He raised his head and estimated the area of the ceiling he had burned.

Though he had unleashed it through his descendant’s body, it was a pitifully small area compared to the single blow that had blown away South Spirit Mountain.

[I must find him as soon as possible. This is no time to waste in a place like this…….]

He ground his teeth.

If he had learned of it, the others must have learned of it as well.

Enlil, Jin Ryeon, the Cult Leader of the Downfall Order, and the other beings besides.

He must never be taken by them.

He had to find him first.

[……Hm?]

At that moment, his gaze lowered at a strange sensation coming from below.

It was in the direction of the Styxia River, a short distance from White Cloud Castle.

At the dense presence of Aura coming from that place, ‘his’ expression twisted.

[That is…….]

Something was coming.

At tremendous speed.

***

“Hm. This is somewhat unexpected.”

Zenom looked at White Cloud Castle, where the Barrier had vanished before he knew it.

Then he raised his head and took in the ceiling of the Second Floor.

“To think a Master would intervene. Is this not rather against the rules?”

Far above his head.

Part of the Second Floor’s ceiling was scorched black, as if it had been seared by flames.

“How did you coax that madman of Lorentze into this?”

“That is none of your business.”

Jin Baek, who answered, was drenched in blood and covered in wounds from head to toe.

Seeing Jin Baek like that, Zenom smiled brightly.

“You have grown old too, Jin Baek.”

Then he looked around.

Among the warriors and Adventurers who had charged with Jin Baek, almost none were badly injured.

That was because Jin Baek had prioritized their safety above all else.

“Had you attacked me with all of them prepared to die, you might at least have cut off my left arm.”

“…….”

“Did you end up in that state because you insisted on protecting your subordinates? What a softhearted fool.”

The sight of a young boy clicking his tongue at an old man was bizarre.

Zenom truly could not understand Jin Baek.

Jin Baek’s realm was 8-Star.

Though he was aged and not an Aura user, the Swordsmanship he had honed for his entire life was extremely threatening.

If he had used his subordinates as shields and attacked Zenom, he surely could have landed a meaningful blow.

“An old monster like you, who devours people, will never understand what bonds between people are.”

“Tsk. A young whelp dares lecture his elder? Impudent brat.”

When Zenom lightly swept a finger, rake-shaped tentacles clawed through the area.

After Jin Baek barely blocked them and was forced back, the warriors who hurried over began checking on him.

At that sight, Zenom shook his head as if disgusted.

“Very well. I will pass on half-baked bodies like yours. More importantly…….”

The boy’s gaze turned toward the inside of White Cloud Castle.

Where his gaze landed.

Upon discovering Isran, he smiled coldly.

“I shall take that one, at least.”

“You bastard……!”

Before Jin Baek could even rise, a Landworm surged up from the ground and swallowed Zenom.

After racing quickly underground, the Landworm burst through the earth right in front of Isran and opened its jaws wide.

KABOOM!

“……!”

Isran’s eyes widened as he sat collapsed on the ground, panting.

He had not imagined that any of the Downfall Order still remained.

Zenom clicked his tongue as he looked at the puppet split into two at the waist right in front of him.

“Tsk. To think something I made with such effort has been turned into such a rag. Is that not too much?”

“Kh…….”

Isran tried somehow to stand, but his already-exhausted body only trembled violently and would not move properly.

Seeing that, Zenom chuckled.

“Child. I will acknowledge your spirit in trying to fight me even after your strength has faded. However, I have little time to play with you.”

When he reached out, a tentacle extending from inside his sleeve snatched Isran by the neck and dragged him in.

The moment Isran was pulled right before him, he stabbed at Zenom’s neck with all the strength he had left.

CLANG!

“……!”

However, what rang out was not the wet sound of flesh being pierced, but the metallic sound of striking hard metal.

Impressed, Zenom squeezed Isran’s neck even tighter.

“You are a calm one. You used that instant to attack me?”

“Ghh…….”

“But how cruel of you. Where, on this small, delicate body, did you even find a place to stab? What a cruel world.”

The light of consciousness gradually began to fade from Isran’s eyes.

His body had already reached its limit while fighting the puppet.

He would have lost consciousness even if left alone, so enduring even this simple constriction of his neck was difficult.

“I-Isran!”

At that moment, Jin Sohwi, who had finished his battle, arrived with Persica.

“Wh-What is this? A child……?”

“What are you staring at?”

“Attack him!”

Jin Sohwi hesitated for a moment at Zenom’s childlike appearance, but Persica’s sharp shout snapped him back to his senses.

The moment he controlled a Landworm and seized Isran, that thing was a member of the Downfall Order.

Numerous Adventurers gripped their swords and rushed in.

Zenom clicked his tongue briefly and swept his finger once more.

“Noisy.”

KABOOM!!

“Uaaaagh!”

“D-Dodge……!”

The tentacles extending from beneath his Robe swept away the rushing attackers all at once.

Seeing the light that had begun to gather at the tips of the tentacles, which had formed blades, claws, and more, Persica’s face went pale.

“Aura……!?”

An Aura user.

It meant the opponent before them was a powerful foe who had begun to transcend humanity.

Zenom chuckled.

“Originally, I intended to take you along as well…….”

Zenom’s eyes moved back and forth between Isran and Persica.

Recognizing the emotion in her gaze, he snickered.

“It seems it would be more amusing to take only this one.”

“W-Wait!”

“Ha ha ha…….”

Was there anything more beautiful than someone despairing over what had been stolen, then feeding on that despair to grow furious?

She would come after him even if he left her alone.

If he devoured her when they met again, she would make quite an exquisite delicacy.

Persica, who had rushed toward him, was helplessly flung away by Zenom’s tentacle.

Leaving behind her face stained with despair, Zenom gave an order to the Landworm.

At that moment.

“……!?”

Something was coming.

He sensed something rushing toward him at high speed.

The instant he hastily turned and tried to move his tentacles.

His eyes met those of a man.

“So you were here.”

“What……!”

SLASH!

A sharp silver trajectory cut through all of Zenom’s tentacles.

The man, who had even caught Isran, lightly landed beside Persica.

“Ah……?”

“You!”

The smile vanished from Zenom’s face.

In a voice of quiet anger, he called the man’s name.

“Gordon Lansher……!”

Gordon handed Isran, whom he had secured, over to Persica.

She stared at Gordon, her eyes wide as lanterns.

“I apologize for being late.”

“H-How?”

“I am carrying out my mission.”

That was not what she was asking.

The place Gordon had gone was on a far deeper lower floor.

It should not have been a distance he could cover in such a short time, so how had he gotten here?

“Surely…….”

His condition was anything but normal.

His Armor was dented all over, and his left arm dangled, its bones shattered as if something had torn into it.

He had bled so much that his entire body was red.

Above all, he was soaked from head to toe.

“The Styxia River……?”

“Yes.”

At the implication that he had ridden the Styxia River here, not only Persica but even Zenom widened their eyes.

Using the river without even the shortcut of a puppet meant that he had faced powerful Aquatic Monsters one by one along the way.

It was no different from suicide.

Yet despite having done such a thing, he looked at Zenom with cold eyes that did not waver in the slightest.

“You leech-like bastard, you actually chased me all the way here!”

“Of course. It is my mission.”

CLACK—

He raised his sword and aimed it at Zenom.

The silver blade was now wrapped in a clear glow of Aura.

“Damn it…….”

Zenom’s face filled with dismay.

In a little while, those from the Temple would arrive as well.

If that obstinate blockhead began a coordinated attack with them, even Zenom would have no choice but to accept great losses.

“You…… I will kill you without fail. I will tear you to pieces and grind you up to drink!”

“So many people have said that to me that I no longer remember them all. Try your best.”

Grinding his teeth hard enough to break them, Zenom vanished aboard the Landworm.

Gordon lowered his sword.

It was the end of a long battle.