Chapter 138: Piercing the Devourer's Heart
Gazing intently at Ashytara's face, Ludenberg Lavante shook his head once before speaking to her.
"Anyway, thank you for real. It feels like my eyes have been opened."
"I'm glad it helped. Don't forget to grant my request later."
"Of course."
Watching the soft curve of Ludenberg's lips as he smiled, Ashytara felt her heart skip a beat once more. Just seeing him smile like this made her pulse race. It was a stark reminder of how deeply she had fallen for him. Pushing aside her lingering reluctance, she said to Ludenberg,
"I hope you conquer the trial. It pains me that I can't help you directly, but if I did, it would hinder your growth. So... all I can do is cheer you on."
"...It's fine. Your feelings alone are enough to make me grateful."
"Heading out right away?"
"Not yet, but I need to prepare. I'll probably be living in the training grounds for a while."
"I see. Anyway... do your best."
It was a short encouragement, but it was more than enough. Ludenberg waved to Ashytara and headed to the training grounds. He needed time to organize his thoughts and solidify his conviction in his beliefs. Consciously recalling what he had instinctively known all along was harder than expected—even a seemingly simple belief like having no limits...
Acting in accordance with that belief was incredibly difficult. No matter how much he told himself he wouldn't tire while swinging his sword, his body would inevitably wear out. So he steeled his mind and worked to firmly grasp his conviction.
Even as he swung his sword, Ludenberg kept pondering his belief. The idea that he had no limits and could advance endlessly began to root deeply in his mind. It was the start of a form of self-suggestion. It wouldn't reflect in reality right away... but in the world of the trial, things might be different.
Ludenberg didn't rashly ask Raha to open the trial yet. He didn't think he could beat the Devourer in his current state. Instead, he poured tremendous effort into integrating his belief with himself. During classes, during training... he imprinted the word "conviction" into his very being. It wasn't something visible to the eye, and seeing himself tire with every action, yet he firmly believed he had no limits.
Trusting in himself, Ludenberg continued his grueling training. Through persistent self-suggestion, the vague belief he harbored began to take strong root in his heart. It didn't take long for vagueness to become certainty. He had gone through this process since childhood—throwing himself into training, forgetting everything to prove himself. Just like back then, he set aside his feelings for Ashytara, cut off all interactions with others, focused solely on his conviction during theoretical classes by just taking notes without truly listening, and devoted himself entirely to it during training.
Finally, after a week, Ludenberg was able to request that Raha open the trial.
"...Are you sure you're ready?"
Raha, facing Ludenberg once more, asked cautiously.
"I can do it."
Ludenberg replied to Raha with eyes infused with unshakeable conviction. Confirming it, Raha smiled and led him into the world of the trial.
Ludenberg opened his eyes. Once again, the Devourer appeared before him. This was the third time. He had no intention of dragging out the battle endlessly this time. Today, he was determined to break through the final gate of the first trial.
The Devourer recognized Ludenberg in Liberatus's body and entered combat stance. To eliminate the threat that had challenged it before, it swung its hand just like last time. A monstrous shockwave erupted from its gesture, and the surrounding ground exploded in unison. The once elegant training grounds had long been reduced to rubble.
Since the opening was identical to before, Ludenberg had anticipated the attack and stepped back early. He wasn't yet confident in fully infusing his belief into his sword, so caution was necessary.
Seeing Ludenberg retreat, the Devourer swiftly closed in. It seemed intent on pressing without giving him a chance. Refined punches began pouring in at bizarre angles. As expected, only the initial attack was the same; the subsequent developments unfolded differently. The more cautiously Ludenberg acted, the bolder the creature became.
Boldness could turn poisonous if overdone, but without it, one couldn't corner the opponent—so its judgment seemed sound at first glance. Ludenberg himself was struggling to advance, merely parrying the punches. Confident it had seized the advantage, the Devourer pressed even harder. As its punches blanketed Ludenberg's front, its foot slammed into the ground.
Boom!
The earth cracked, amplifying the power behind the punches, and shock began accumulating in Ludenberg's sword as he countered. But this was exactly what Ludenberg had aimed for. From past experience, he knew forcing distance was pointless against it, so he focused on receiving and countering the punches while simultaneously pouring his belief into Liberatus's body.
Conviction. Faith in his ideals. The trajectory of Ludenberg's life began infusing vitality into Liberatus's flesh. The belief that he had no limits started dwelling in the body once called humanity's strongest.
'As expected, Liberatus's body makes it possible.'
He felt an omnipotence incomparable to before surging through him. It was like—no, greater than—the vitality he'd felt repelling Jepita with his own body. Being a perfected vessel, it could accept even lofty ideals.
The punches clashing against his sword no longer felt heavy; his parrying strength grew stronger. It didn't take long for the triumphant Devourer to sense something amiss. It began feeling the shift in battle flow skin-deep.
-Grrk?
Sensing something ominous, it suddenly leaped back. Seeing this, Ludenberg felt a twinge of regret.
'If one more had come, I could've dealt serious damage. But as a erosion beast... of course it can regenerate, so maybe it wouldn't matter.'
But it was just regret. Having fought countless battles, Ludenberg realized the moment he fully infused his conviction into Liberatus's body that the tide had turned in his favor—and he needed to maintain it. He stepped forward. For the first time in this battle, after being on the defensive, Ludenberg switched to offense. He swung his sword.
The blade, laden with conviction, hurtled toward the Devourer with unmatched momentum. Sensing the threat, it thrust out its fist to parry—but
Swish.
The soft sound of flesh parting rang out. Far too quiet for metal or its tough hide clashing. Like slicing paper, a clean sound echoed amid the fierce clash.
He had cut it. The Devourer's hide split effortlessly, and Ludenberg's strike pierced its fist, cleaving it in two.
'Got it.'
But both Ludenberg and the Devourer knew it wasn't over. Right after bisecting the fist, Ludenberg swiftly twisted his sword free near its wrist. Simultaneously, the severed arm began regenerating and reattaching. Had he kept slashing, he might have been countered. Its regeneration was incomparably faster than a highest-grade erosion beast's—embarrassingly so for the same species. Ludenberg was dumbfounded.
'I expected it, but the regen is way faster... Still, success in landing a direct hit is a relief.'
The Devourer retreated again immediately after regenerating. It felt a massive threat. Its body, hardened beyond compare through evolution, had been sliced so easily by that bizarre sword. Danger. Danger. Danger. Facing that monster bare-handed, its heart wouldn't last. It needed a new approach. Erosion beasts inherently clung desperately to life. Detecting the threat, it began evolving differently.
The creature that had relied solely on punches drew a sword from its body—similar in form to the one Liberatus wielded. Ludenberg's eyes widened at the sight.
'...A sword? No way...!'
His hunch was correct. It raised the sword and perfectly mimicked Ludenberg's stance. In crisis, the Devourer began imitating the most threatening thing that had endangered it. Instead of retreating, it stepped forward.
Thud.
The ground cratered again. Then it swung its sword. It was slightly imperfect, but eerily similar to the swordsmanship Ludenberg had honed to perfection. It wasn't mere mimicry of form—it seemed to grasp the principles too.
'Insane...!'
In that moment, Ludenberg experienced the irrationality others felt watching him. The injustice of perfectly assimilating a sword art after seeing it once. His own swordsmanship now dwelled in the already-tough Devourer's body, unleashing a horrific wave of strikes upon him.
'Stay calm. No need to panic.'
Ludenberg suppressed his shock and calmly observed the Devourer. The whirlwind of slashes was ultimately his own; the sword paths it traced were the same he always drew. Stance, strikes, power distribution—all highly similar. But then, Ludenberg realized one crucial fact.
'It's sloppy.'
The Devourer's mimicry of his swordsmanship was crude. Potent, yes, but freshly mimicked—it couldn't help being imperfect. Unless he panicked and showed an opening, Ludenberg wouldn't yield to it easily.
'My understanding of the swordsmanship is far superior. If I stay calm, I can beat it more easily than before.'
He had practiced it thousands, tens of thousands of times. He could predict every trajectory and movement in his mind. Ludenberg began blocking the flow of the Devourer's sword one by one. Swordsmanship was about creating flow with the blade to efficiently stab the opponent's heart. Sever the flow, and the sword couldn't claim victory.
As Ludenberg predicted, the creature's sword began to waver. With each clash, its hide-forged blade chipped, and its feet were pushed back repeatedly. And finally.
As the retreating Devourer lashed out in frenzy, Ludenberg stepped forward instead, slipping into its guard and evading the sword's path.
The instant its blade missed, the Devourer instinctively sensed defeat. And the next moment.
Ludenberg's sword plunged straight into its heart.