Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Overwhelming Difference
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***
As I thrust my spear, I had anticipated two possible responses from Leteia.
She would either block the force imbued in my spear with her own, or she would evade it entirely.
I expected one of the two.
But Leteia's actual reaction was neither of the two I had predicted.
With a sudden grasp!
...The spear, around which a spiral current was raging.
Leteia caught my spear and brought it to a dead stop.
As if it were nothing. She had raised a violet hand and simply caught the spear, halting it.
“...!”
Without even a moment to be shocked, I poured all my strength into retrieving my spear.
Whoosh!
The spear came back more easily than I expected, causing me to momentarily lose my balance, but I managed to create some distance.
As I leaped back to widen the gap, Leteia simply watched me, making no move to attack.
It felt incredibly strange… and a flood of emotions washed over me.
Thud!
Landing on the ground, I righted my spear, a cold sweat breaking out across my entire body.
Thump, thump!
My heart pounded as if it would burst, and an immense pressure, the likes of which I had never felt in this world, made alarms scream in my chest.
...We had exchanged a single move.
And in that one move, I felt it. The enormous gap that existed between me and an Apostle.
‘No... way.’
In 'Groa', the significance of an Apostle was incredibly varied.
—The enemy of humanity. The greatest foe in the story, and Leonhardt's sworn objective.
There were countless types of Apostles, and their strength varied wildly from one individual to another.
Furthermore, the damage the Apostles inflicted upon humanity in the story was beyond words.
In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the entire story of 'Groa' revolved around Leonhardt and the Apostles.
...And I was realizing the reality I now faced.
The thought that I could stand against a mere clone of an Apostle, not the main body...
How utterly absurd it had been.
“...”
Biting my lip hard, I forced myself to tighten my grip on the spear.
'Don't think.'
I cast aside the thoughts that kept weakening my resolve.
I couldn't just stand here frozen.
I had to press the attack relentlessly against Leteia, who was merely watching me with what looked like curiosity.
Thrust!
Kicking off the ground, I drastically reduced the amount of mana cloaking my body.
Instead, I channeled that mana into the spearhead.
‘It was caught because its destructive power was too weak.’
Leteia had clearly reacted as if she had read my every move.
In that case, there's no point in just moving faster. Even with the power I used before, my spear was caught.
So, I have to be stronger. Wield the spear with more destructive force.
I'll catch Leteia off guard with power that surpasses her expectations.
The moment I had that thought, a more powerful spiral current began to rage around the black shaft of the spear in my hand.
Ssssss…!
Even so, the power I was using was not a concept that had reached the level of a skill.
—Pierce a single point and twist.
It was a concept meant to neutralize an opponent's overwhelming power, a force meant to be used to protect someone.
In short, it wasn't a concept suited for offense. But having understood the principles of spirals and circulation, I was simply applying it to my spear in a new way.
Thrust!
Once again, just a few steps away from Leteia.
I thrust my spear with all my might straight toward the chilling gaze fixed on me.
––––––––!!
Just as a storm of blue spirals shot forward, distorting even the surrounding darkness.
I saw it clearly.
Shaaa…
Leteia, raising her hand in the darkness, just as she had before.
And that hand was positioned precisely in the spear's trajectory.
"...!"
At my peak concentration, I forced myself to twist the hand gripping the spear shaft.
Screech!
The movement was clearly beyond my limits, and it felt as if the muscles in both my arms were tearing.
Still, I had to alter the spearhead's path somehow.
As a result, the storm of blue spirals seemed to momentarily escape Leteia's grasp at the last second.
Bang!
As an unprecedented, bizarre sound echoed, I found my body flying violently through the air.
“Gah!”
...Along with the sensation of my grip being torn apart, I couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
I had thought that even if I couldn't pierce her face as intended, by changing the trajectory, I could at least inflict some damage.
But.
‘Leteia's hand moved.’
The moment she swung her hand, not to catch the spear, but to swat it away, I couldn't properly see the motion.
The instant I perceived her hand moving, a powerful force transmitted through the spear I held, and I was sent airborne.
Thud!
As I was thrown to the ground and rolled, an immense pain that left me unable to even groan shot through my entire body.
Despite that, I managed to position my arm and hand holding the spear to lessen the impact.
Rip, tear!
Though my academy uniform was torn by sharp, gravel-like stones, inflicting countless stinging pains, I barely managed to push myself up from the ground.
Breathing heavily, I immediately fixed my eyes on Leteia to prepare, but no attack came.
She hadn't moved a single step from her original spot.
Could I call that fortunate?
“...”
I bit down on my lip, forcing myself to swallow the blood that welled up.
‘She's playing with me.’
Or she's using her power like she's testing me, or she has some other purpose. Whatever it is... it doesn't seem to be with good intentions.
As I assessed the situation, I came to a grim realization.
All the power I had honed over the past period was woefully insufficient in this world.
Shudder.
As I forced strength into the hand gripping the spear shaft, my arm trembled uncontrollably.
"..."
Was it trembling from the pain, or from the fear of facing Leteia's power? Even I didn't know for sure.
From the moment I thrust my spear at Leteia, I had already been fighting with all my might.
Yes. This was my full power.
The strongest force I could currently muster. I hadn't thought of holding back even for a second.
But my spear didn't even reach her. The reality of the situation became even clearer.
“...”
I shifted my gaze slightly to take in the sight of Karite, who had collapsed limply to the ground.
‘At this rate... we'll both die.’
I don't know if Instructor Vermont has noticed our disappearance outside.
There was no response from this space filled with darkness. So I couldn't count on outside help.
Feeling my resolve begin to waver again, I let out a hollow laugh.
“Haa.”
I let out a deep sigh and steadied my heart.
This was no longer... a time to be cautious. I couldn't afford to be picky about the means to fight Leteia.
Death was already looming before my eyes, so what was I afraid of?
When I thought about it, the answer was already there.
‘Full power…’
Was I really facing Leteia with my full power?
If I truly thought about it, no.
I could definitely produce more power than this.
It's just... I was afraid.
Of breaking myself.
Of my own body collapsing under the force I unleash.
“You hesitate.”
Then, a strange voice suddenly reached me.
***
“You hesitate.”
As I spoke, I kept my eyes on the human named Han Cheon-seong.
One who possessed a great foreignness, much like us. Yet one who existed as a human and stood on the side of humans.
Even his appearance felt alien compared to the other humans I had encountered in this world. However, knowing he would soon become my sacrifice and provide me with power, his struggles were worth observing.
Curiously, the humans of this world exhibit greater strength when faced with a crisis.
An absurd concept where will, where spirit, could be converted directly into power existed here.
That was why the human named Han Cheon-seong was too precious to kill right away.
If I could squeeze the human, I could witness even greater power. Then, the human who would become my nourishment would offer me an even greater power as a sacrifice.
The sacrifice to draw out that greater power was already prepared.
I lightly raised my hand and gestured.
Swoosh.
Watching the human female blankly get to her feet, I curled my lips into a smirk.
No matter how much she resisted with her will, a human was still a human.
Click. Clack…
As I watched the human female approach me in a daze, I turned my head and saw what I expected.
“Leteia!!”
I saw the human, his hesitation now completely gone, rushing toward me at high speed.
‘Han Cheon-seong.’
And I gladly accepted this human's challenge.
Clang—! Clang—!!
I continued to parry his spear, ensuring his life was not extinguished.
Now, so as not to break the human's will, I no longer caught his spear to stop it.
And the more I did, the more fiercely the human burned, clashing his spear against me.
The destructive power of his spear was now markedly stronger than before.
Even the density of his mana.
Seeing all of this, I was pleased.
Because the human who would become my nourishment was unleashing even greater power.
Besides, I too was once human, so I knew their habits.
When humans unleash their greatest power. When they most strongly manifest their will.
At the same time, my gaze was drawn to the strange current of mana imbued in the spearhead.
‘How curious.’
My form, which covered my skin, was slowly being worn away.
Considering the amount of mana in the spearhead, it should have been impossible. It seemed a peculiar mana creating a peculiar current was achieving this.
But I deemed this insufficient.
I could feel that the human named Han Cheon-seong was capable of unleashing even greater power.
…
Booooom!
As an explosion even larger than before erupted, sending Cheon-seong flying through the air like a puppet with its strings cut,
Shaaa…
Leteia immediately swung her hand.
Her hand was no longer aimed at Cheon-seong.
Swoosh!
It was aimed at Karite, who had been standing frozen. Then, as if being sucked in, Karite began to float through the air, pulled toward Leteia.
That sight. It entered Han Cheon-seong's eyes clearly, even as he was suspended in mid-air from the shock.
In that moment.
––––––––––––––––––––––––!!
An incomparably powerful phenomenon occurred.
And it came not from Leteia or Karite...
but from Han Cheon-seong.