Chapter 16 - The Saintess Sheds Silent Tears (1)
Chapter 16 - The Saintess Sheds Silent Tears (1)
[Highly concentrated, pure ‘Corrupted Mana’ flows into the user’s body through their palm.]
[Continuous absorption and purification have completed analysis of this substance.]
[New skill ‘Absorption - Corrupted Mana’ has been added to the skill tree ‘Heavenly Demon Divine Arts’!]
As my dantian continuously fills, the hole in the black sky correspondingly widens, gradually revealing clear blue skies.
[Warning: The amount of Demonic Qi currently stored in your dantian has exceeded the limit.]
Oops. I almost blew up my own dantian there.
Just in time, I swing my sword, releasing the overflowing Demonic Qi as consecutive sword beams.
“T-this is impossible! This can’t be happening!”
Vertus frantically dodges the sword beams I’m firing while flying around.
“How dare a mere human not only absorb mana infused with a demon’s aura—no, a Fallen Angel’s aura—but even wield it against me!”
Seeing how he’s still running his mouth, I guess he’s still got some fight left?
[Activating ‘Heavenly Demon’s Dominion Step’!]
[Excessive Demonic Qi has been invested. Bonus range and power added proportional to the amount invested!]
I channel Demonic Qi into my left foot and stomp the ground.
BOOM!
The Demonic Qi spreads in a dome shape, directly hitting Vertus who had been flitting about like an insect.
“GAAAAAH!!!”
With a single piercing scream, the monstrous bird crashes to the ground.
Just like his underlings, he ends up sprawled on all fours.
Step. Step.
I walk toward Vertus where he fell, activating Heavenly Demon’s Dominion Step with each stride.
THUD! THUD!
[Activating ‘Heavenly Demon’s Dominion Step’!]
[Activating ‘Heavenly Demon’s Dominion Step’!]
…
“Agh! AAAH! S-stop!”
Vertus screams with each wave of Demonic Qi, gradually sinking deeper into the ground.
By the time I reach him, his head is completely buried in the dirt—a pitiful sight.
Whether he’s a Fallen Angel or whatever, this so-called mighty being bowing his head to me feels all too familiar.
Traitors of the Demonic Cult, assassins of the Killing Gate, late-stage masters of the orthodox sects, leaders of the Greenwood Gang, abbots of Shaolin Temple, the Martial Alliance Chief… During my Heavenly Demon days, all the top experts who lost to me looked exactly like this.
“Let me enlighten you. I am no mere human.”
Maybe that’s why my old way of speaking slipped out unconsciously.
Ah, whatever.
Honestly, this is the perfect moment for a cool one-liner.
Can’t I indulge in a bit of flair one last time before retiring my Heavenly Demon persona?
“‘Heaven’ (天) itself overturned (逆) by a ‘Demon God’ (魔神)—the Inverse Heavenly Demon God (逆天魔神). That is the true meaning behind the title Heavenly Demon. You are but a mere demon.”
SHWING!
A vertical sword beam splits Vertus cleanly in half.
Instantly, the surrounding mana clings to his body, regenerating it.
SHWING! SHWING!
In response, I slash horizontally, diagonally, then upward—each time bisecting him again the moment he regenerates.
“GYAAAAH!!!”
Vertus screams in agony with each cut, unable to mount any proper resistance,
while the black mana swirling around him continuously reconstructs his body.
At a glance, this might seem like a meaningless cycle of attacks…
[Absorbing Corrupted Mana.]
[Demonic Qi fully restored.]
But I relentlessly absorb the surrounding mana, replenishing what I expend.
With each absorption, I feel the air purifying against my skin.
“N-no… The sky! My domain!”
Vertus wails as he watches the black aura gradually dissipate, revealing clear skies.
Just as I prepare to plunge my sword into his screaming throat—
“RAAAAAAGH!!!”
BANG!
A deafening roar erupts as Vertus releases a violent shockwave from his entire body.
“Ugh…”
The force pushes me back momentarily.
Vertus regenerates once more and glares at me.
“How dare… how DARE—!”
“Dare what? Speak clearly.”
“RAAAAAAAAH!!!”
Though his face resembles a bird’s, the madness and fury twisting his features are unmistakable.
As he soars skyward, the atmosphere swirls around him, forming a vortex.
But that’s not all.
The black shroud covering the sky gets sucked into the whirlwind.
Soon, a colossal typhoon descends upon the land.
Its sheer size dwarfs mountains; its ferocity足以粉碎一切.
Piercing through the earth-shaking roar,
“DIE!!!”
the monstrous bird’s desperate scream rides the winds.
Now the typhoon advances toward me.
In seconds, it will swallow my body, tearing me apart without a trace.
“Right. I figured you’d pull out some last-ditch ultimate move around now.”
Frankly, this works for me.
I was getting bored of endlessly slicing him up with absorbed mana.
Eventually, I would’ve absorbed all the Corrupted Mana in the area.
Then his domain would’ve fully purified, preventing further regeneration… but that’d take too long.
Him gathering all available mana for one massive attack actually suits me better.
Once I handle this, I can finish him in one strike instead of tediously swinging my sword.
“Hmm.”
Still, since he brought out his ultimate technique, I should respond in kind.
Exhale.
After a brief breath adjustment, I transfer my sword to my right hand.
My empty left hand grips as if holding something.
Eyes closed, I raise an imaginary brush.
The first stroke touches my left palm.
From there, the brush moves upward, painting a sword.
Heart Sword.
A blade existing only in the mind, yet sharper than any physical steel;
Weightless, yet heavier than any mortal weapon.
A paradoxical sword made real by manifesting the unattainable ideal of the sword.
Eyes reopen.
One hand holds an ordinary sword. The other grips nothing—yet holds a peerless divine blade.
As the typhoon looms, I slowly feel the hilts in both hands, twisting my waist leftward to build momentum—
“Heavenly Demon Divine Sword, Empty Stance. Twin Principles Severing Heaven.”
Uncoiling my stance, I spin. Both “blades” swing in unison.
Sssshing—
A faint sound parts the air.
No earth-shaking roar. No overwhelming Demonic Qi sword beam.
Simply because the typhoon existed, I cut it.
The pitch-black typhoon splits into four unrealistically clean sections—like paper sliced by a blade.
“Guh… Kh…!”
The soaring bird-monster similarly divides along cruciform cuts.
Walking toward the typhoon’s former epicenter, I gaze skyward.
Nothing but clear blue skies now.
I stride past Vertus’ quartered corpse.
My target: the faint black mist floating slightly further away.
Now smaller than a fist, so thin I can see through it.
“…No…! Stay back…! Spare me. It can’t end like this…”
Vertus pleads in a voice as feeble as his fading presence.
Time to end this.
Silently raising my hand, I prepare to release Demonic Qi—
[Absorb target ‘Vertus’s Remnant Soul’?]
“Huh?”
The sudden pop-up message confuses me. I reread it several times.
“You want me to absorb this?”
[This object has been confirmed absorbable. Proceed?]
“After telling me what happens. Effects? Side effects?”
[Information unavailable. However, based on the target’s energy levels, adverse effects are unlikely.]
“…Hmm.”
Like a boss drop after clearing?
Feels sketchy, but if the system says it’s safe… It’s been stingy with info but never lied.
“Let’s try.”
[Activating ‘Heavenly Demon Absorption Art’.]
WHOOSH—
“NOOOOOO—”
[Absorption complete.]
[‘Vertus’s Remnant Soul’ stored in dantian.]
“…”
“…That’s it?”
[That’s it.]
Thus concludes the anticlimactic final act of my battle with Vertus.
Fading vision. Blood gushing from her throat.
Yet Saintess Auriel grits her teeth, fighting unconsciousness.
Not for survival.
To etch every moment of the scene before her indelibly into memory.
The Heavenly Demon performed a miracle.
With a gesture, he purified the sky corrupted by Vertus.
With a sword, he overwhelmed the Fallen Angel—then bisected his apocalyptic typhoon in one stroke.
He saved the world.
Today, humanity escaped the brink of annihilation that Vertus had brought centuries prior.
But the Saintess grieves that she alone witnessed this miracle.
So she desperately clings to consciousness.
To bear witness to his deeds, if nothing else.
After calming the typhoon, the Heavenly Demon walks to its eye and erases Vertus’s remains.
Then approaches her.
Even his indifferent steps seem more magnificent than any hero’s triumphant return.
“…Shit! You’re worse off than I thought.”
Seeing her condition, the Heavenly Demon urgently presses fingers to several points on her body.
The agony tearing through her fades. The pulmonary hemorrhage choking her throat slows.
“Emergency acupressure stops the bleeding, but… I don’t know healing arts. Uh… You’re clergy—can’t you heal yourselves?”
After properly laying her down, he rushes to Barkus and the other fallen knights, applying the same technique.
Returning, he scratches his head awkwardly.
“Pressed their Baihui points. They’ll wake soon—get them to heal you. Should’ve invested in healing skills…”
Thank you.
The Saintess tries to speak, but her ruined lungs only produce faint, airy sounds.
“Uh… Anyway.”
The Heavenly Demon hesitates, then speaks again.
“I should get going.”
What?
Horror flashes across the Saintess’s face.