Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.41 – Until My Heart Beats (5)
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...Wrapping sword aura around one's body was something that defied common sense.
What was the reason there were so few bare-handed martial artists like Kwon-sa?
It was because they couldn't envelop their bodies in power like sword energy.
The density of that energy was too much for fragile human skin to handle.
That was why wrapping qi around fists or feet was just a fantasy—something imaginable but impossible in practice.
Your body would melt or burst otherwise.
But Lee Han's body...
Whooooosh!
- My body's tougher than most armor or greatswords, right? So it doesn't matter!
Trusting the durability of his own body, Lee Han attempted protective aura without hesitation, and then...!
Boom!
He charged forward.
He ignored the soil threatening to engulf him from behind.
Crackle!
Every time it collided with him, it was shaved away.
No, vaporized was the more accurate term.
Crunch!
He advanced.
As if personally proving that this much couldn't touch him.
Crushing and shattering it all!
A charge without the slightest hesitation, not even dodging.
Roooaaar!!
However, what targeted him wasn't just the upheaving ground—there were also surging geysers.
A tornado sweeping the entire area, whipping up snow instead of seawater.
Crashing into that would send even Lee Han with his protective aura flying, by all logic...-
'No, it won't!'
Lee Han trusted his protective aura, the culmination of his efforts.
He wouldn't arrogantly claim he could blow away or erase that massive geyser.
He still had many shortcomings.
But if he dared to say it, his power...!
━━!
"H-He... pierced it...?"
A mage who had somehow survived the thunderbolt muttered in stunned disbelief.
Even against an enemy he loathed to the bone, it drew admiration from him—the knight who had finally broken through the geyser.
He hadn't destroyed it, but like a deeply rooted tree, he hadn't been blown away, piercing through the geyser at last.
With nothing but the potential of his infinitely weak flesh compared to the might of nature.
A knight who hadn't defeated the tornado but overcame it.
It was the birth of a feat no one would believe even if epic poems were sung of it.
"──."
But Lee Han paid no great mind to overcoming the geyser or achieving a feat for the history books.
He simply gritted his teeth and charged forward with terrifying speed.
What mattered to him now wasn't stacking achievements—it was finally facing the monster he'd aimed for.
Crackle!
Lee Han gripped his axe tightly and leaped high into the sky, spinning his body forward like a somersault to add momentum to the axe.
"-It reaches."
Declaring his will, he swung the axe at the monster.
Kuuung!
Schluck!
And his will finally severed the "monster's arm."
......A hush fell for a moment.
"Wha? ...Wha... Wha...??"
They said that when people experienced something surreal, their language skills deteriorated like fools—and the mages of the tower were currently losing theirs badly.
To that extent, what had just happened was unbelievable.
"Th-The Tower Lord's... a-arm!?"
"It... got cut off...?"
"...Th-This is a dream, it has to be a dream—."
The prelude to panic.
They tore at their hair, their eyes bloodshot.
Though Tuur was a madman who slaughtered them indiscriminately and unfit even as leader of their group...
He was still an archmage.
One who had stood at the pinnacle of the central continent for the past four centuries, no less.
To mages, he was their king—and in the tower, akin to a [god].
Yet that arm had been severed.
Was this what it felt like to witness blasphemy and a nation's downfall with your own eyes, like a common citizen?
No, perhaps even worse.
It was natural for mages to refuse to believe reality.
It was none other than "Tuur de Seigan."
The king of magic who wielded impossible spells as easily as breathing!
Yet that king of magic was injured.
...No, he had lost an arm.
The king of magic losing an arm was something that shouldn't exist, shouldn't happen.
His followers falling into panic was the natural course.
...And yet.
"Impressive, really. This is the first crisis like this I've ever had!"
The king and god of mages, even with his arm severed, wore a bright smile as he looked at it.
No matter how much of a monster he was, pain must be hard to endure.
"Ah, I modified my body in various ways before, so I can't feel pain. Even if I do, it's just a slight itch or sting? So yeah, this is really dangerous. Can't regenerate it either, haha! ...Hmm, is it because that destructive energy seeped into my arm? What a headache...."
Tuur's demeanor—taking the loss of his arm not as pain but mere curiosity—seemed almost possessed at a glance.
But the knight facing Tuur knew better.
"Lost all sense of reality from being too insane, huh?"
"Spot on. Live four hundred years, and emotions, memories, senses—all of it breaks down. You know what? Almost nothing in my body is originally 'mine' anymore. Everything but my brain has been transplanted! Comes with some side effects like getting a bit dumber, though!"
"......"
"Huh? Why the look?"
"......"
"Come on, let's chat."
...It wasn't possession—it was because he was no longer "human."
Boom!
The knight, Lee Han, saw no value in conversing with this monster.
What was there to discuss with someone who boasted of plundering others' flesh?
No need. Better to carve into its body with every second spared from talk.
If possible—
'Head or neck!'
He planned to smash one of them into pulp completely.
To prevent regeneration.
Lee Han charged again.
Protective aura.
The ultimate shield and spear that had pierced the monster's magic barrier charged once more.
Using Divine Arrow Flight, Lee Han rocketed forward, axe raised high like chopping firewood.
Target: the head!
This time, to turn not the arm but the head to mush.
However...
Thud! —A powerful resonance blocked Lee Han's attack.
"...Unbelievable. You think you can break through a hundred on your own?"
Hundreds of defensive spells simultaneously barred him, and a massive [labyrinth] formed around Lee Han.
Shrrr!
Tuur, who had memorized tens of thousands of defensive spells, unleashed them all at once, creating an unnatural phenomenon that formed the labyrinth.
Innumerable traps and defensive spells intertwined—a prison of death you couldn't escape even if you tried.
It was like the labyrinth of Daedalus from ancient myths, sealing the cursed prince Minotaur.
"You're too dangerous."
Tuur dropped all carelessness.
His spatial manipulation had been countered, and no other powerful spell could fell that knight.
So Tuur chose.
"I'll seal you away."
Whoosh!
Tuur poured every one of the tens of thousands of defensive spells around his body into the labyrinth.
Facing that dangerous knight head-on wasn't wise—sealing him like this was right.
"Let it self-destruct."
No matter how strong, one couldn't solo-break a labyrinth stacked from tens of thousands of spells.
As long as Tuur lived, the labyrinth's magic would keep regenerating, making escape a pipe dream.
A true seal.
"Shame. I prepared this for the Ogre King originally..."
The king of trolls who had lived a millennium.
A trump card to capture that [Demon King-class beast] for experiments.
Unfortunately, the Ogre King would have to be abandoned.
"...So, what now?"
"......"
"Hmm, I wondered what you'd do—you killed all the old fogeys? Bad taste, heh."
"They blocked my path. Only natural."
Drip, drip.
Blood dripped from Rak's short staff.
Not his blood, but from the three mages he had bludgeoned to death.
Precisely, the three called archmages.
They had strained to block him from intervening while Lee Han fought Tuur, but surrounding Rak in crimson flames proved insufficient.
Rak had single-handedly erased three archmages.
Thus, all five of the tower's archmages met their end at this moment.
"Hmm..."
Tuur tilted his head.
The Sky Citadel collapsed.
The bronze giants, guardians of the tower, annihilated.
Over 85% of the tower's mages, including archmages, dead.
The tower was effectively obliterated.
Yet.
"Sigh, when will I fix all this?"
Tuur was merely annoyed, dismissing the aforementioned damage as trivial.
"Well, squeeze the Empire for three years, and it'll be fine."
"......"
As long as he lived, the tower could be rebuilt endlessly—stronger than its prime, he was certain.
That was Tuur's conviction.
Moreover, the vast intellectual property slumbering in the tower.
Not material wealth like gold or jewels, but knowledge accumulated over ages—that was the tower's overwhelming advantage and greatest asset.
With that, mages could be replenished endlessly.
As long as mages instinctively craved forbidden knowledge, they'd flock to the tower.
"Just gotta deal with you, then work nonstop for a while. Sigh, my fate. What hardship at my age."
"...Cut the bullshit."
"Hehe, tried talking like an old guy—how was it? Good acting?"
"......"
"Come on, let's stop. You know you're a threat, but you can't take my head either. An eye or arm at best?"
Rak resumed his stance, and Tuur waved him off.
He wouldn't underestimate them anymore.
Especially that red "crimson flame."
It could smash his magic barrier, sure—but it couldn't kill him.
He still had thousands of spells left.
'Well, only about five ways to definitely kill that knight.'
Thinking that, it was absurd.
Being cornered by knights far younger than him.
"Guess I'm getting rusty, heh."
To some, self-deprecating—but Rak knew it was just talk.
Proof: he still looked amused.
And then.
"You two are [Pendragon Knights], right?"
He guessed—no, ascertained—their identity.
"No, definitely Pendragon. In this era, only they could boast knights of this caliber. A kingdom overflowing with mystery, loved by dragons and fairies. Sigh, so envious. The Empire and other continents are all shunned by mystery."
Pendragon.
Their name had been renowned for four centuries, always boasting mighty knights.
How many times had the Empire tried to conquer them, only to fail?
Countless.
And the cause of those defeats...
"Even now, they have Aura Users? Those superhumans transcending mortality? Incredible. How can such 'beings' exist? Even more wondrous: in continental history, Pendragon never once lacked an Aura User. Fascinating."
"......"
"If Aura Users weren't hated by the central continent's 'gods,' they'd have come for my head countless times. Makes you think gods are useful sometimes."
Kuhuhu, he laughed with a sinister edge as he eyed Rak.
"Yeah, decided! I was gonna let you go earlier, but change of plans. I'll just kill you both. Too dangerous. Then order the Empire to war with Pendragon, capture their knights en masse as slaves! Surely some with 'potential' like you among them."
Tuur could see it.
The knights called Lee Han and Rak had the [potential] to become Aura Users—one among those qualified.
Of course, barely meeting two or three of dozens of conditions.
But those who met even that had dealt him this blow, so dangerous indeed.
Better to enslave less risky ones with mere potential.
No sense risking repeats of today's fiasco.
"Terrifying, right? War between Pendragon and the Empire because of you! They won't win, of course—Aura Users and all, haha!"
Still, the blow would be heavy, and Tuur would get his specimens aplenty.
His goal achieved without him lifting a finger.
Tuur laughed, anticipating the future.
As if eagerly awaiting what was to come...-
"-Do you know the Ogre King is dead?"
"...Huh?"
"Figures you don't. Shows how long you've holed up in this tower. Cockroach."
"What died...?"
Tuur lost his smile a bit, blinking in question.
Wondering if he'd heard right.
But Rak stated facts only.
"Dead. To the knight you sealed."
"N-No way...? Even so..."
He knew the knight's strength well, but not enough to kill the Ogre King.
Killing it required annihilating every cell without trace.
And that knight didn't seem capable.
So how...?
Tap tap.
"Brute force isn't all a knight has."
"??"
Rak tapped his temple.
Yes, for a knight, raw power mattered.
Skill with the sword, combat prowess, human weapon traits—all essential.
But a knight's foundation was as a soldier, a battlefield commander.
Thus, even those with ailments rendering them combat-inept became knights through stratagems occasionally.
Meaning: those called knights could think.
"That rogue looks dumb, but he's cunning."
Same with capturing the Ogre King.
He hadn't witnessed it, but witness accounts from investigations showed the rogue fought in advantageous terrain, holding out until reinforcements.
Same now.
"Thanks for staying arrogant to the end. For underestimating us to the end."
"...?"
Rak expressed not contempt but gratitude to Tuur for the first time, who pondered the meaning—
[-Kyahaha!]
"......"
...But soon understood why.
Fwoosh.
A girl trailing aurora...
Laughing prettily, illuminating the surroundings—and Tuur gaped up at the sky.
[-Kyahaha!]
A 'fairy' was laughing.
"-The rogue called this a diversionary tactic: feint east, strike west."
A smile finally graced Rak's lips.
For the sealed 'Fairy of Spring' had descended.
They had done it.
Swish...
"I-I'm gonna die..."
"......"
"Y-Young master? Y-You're not dead, right?"
"......Not dead."
Revealing the fierce battle, two men and a woman lay sprawled amid wreckage, golems and fallen mages scattered.
Yet the knight cadets still stood—the mages defeated.
The tower's core thus destroyed, the three collapsed, too exhausted to raise hands.
Covered in sweat, blood, dust, feeling grimy and pained...
"No scolding from the instructor, at least."
"Indeed."
"Hehe, maybe some praise?"
They smiled contentedly, satisfied.
──For spring would return to this land once more.