Chapter 272
Chapter 272
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 272
Chapter Title: Blood-Stained Despair (4)
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***
—Blood-Stained Despair.
The Apostle of Frenzy from the third episode, who possessed a unique howl that could drive other monsters berserk.
Because of this trait, its own physical power wasn't as great as that of other apostles.
Nevertheless, the apostle was confident.
Confident that it could easily swallow the two humans before it…
But the apostle's gruesome act of cannibalism had ignited a cold flame in Cheon-seong's heart.
—!
Cheon-seong reached the apostle in an instant. As he thrust his spear, his gaze was nearly emotionless.
No, it was so filled with killing intent that the intent itself was no longer visible.
There was only the pure desire to kill the apostle.
In that moment, Cheon-seong had no thought of protecting anyone, no other consideration for the situation.
—*Kill*.
*Swish!*
The spear's trajectory, like a beam of light, was perfectly straight. He was certain that even if the apostle reacted to its speed, it couldn't be easily deflected.
Cheon-seong had unwavering faith in his spear.
*Clang!*
However, a metallic clang, like striking massive steel, rang out as a great shower of sparks erupted.
It was the apostle's forearm that had blocked the spear.
The apostle knocked the spear aside with its hard forearm and instantly created distance.
A quick glance.
Gazing at the long gash on its forearm, the apostle narrowed its eyes fiercely.
"...Strong."
But even in the instant it muttered those words, Cheon-seong had already closed the distance again.
The first exchange was a frontal thrust, like a flash of light.
—!
And now, he was striking from an angle, a diagonal thrust aimed at the apostle's neck.
*Swoosh—!!*
A colorless current burst forth, shattering the apostle's stance as it tried to parry the spear. A flash of bewilderment crossed the apostle's eyes.
It couldn't understand.
A colorless current, neither visible nor palpable.
Yet, just before it could block the spear, a strange power had erupted, as if to neutralize it.
"...How dare you!"
Nevertheless, the apostle managed to parry the spearhead from its broken stance.
*Screech!*
The spearhead grazed past the apostle's body even more viciously than in the first exchange.
The blade barely missed its chest, and the apostle gasped, narrowly escaping death.
"......."
*Gulp.*
The throat that had swallowed human flesh now swallowed a nervous gulp.
Its tough skin was being torn apart far too easily.
Any thought of leisure, any intention of toying with the human, vanished in an instant. The apostle now recognized the human before it as a threat.
And even in that moment.
Cheon-seong was already assailing the apostle like a storm wrapped in a stream of energy.
*Screeeeech!!*
A horrific metallic sound, unbelievable for a clash between a spearhead and flesh.
The ensuing exchange erupted in a brilliant display of light that dominated the darkness. Sparks flew from the constant friction between the spearhead, wreathed in a colorless aura, and the apostle's hard skin, obscuring the vision of both.
A spear thrusting to pierce and kill.
An apostle moving to evade the spear and create distance. Their movements clashed, creating a strange festival of light.
And the result clearly showed the state of the battle.
Cheon-seong, thrusting his spear, never defended.
No, there was no need. He pushed his body to its limits to maintain an overwhelming offense, never once pausing for breath as he thrust his spear.
Before the apostle could even attack, Cheon-seong's relentless, one-sided assault left no openings.
He had already realized it naturally.
If he could maintain an offense that reached the pinnacle, he could deny his opponent even the chance to strike back.
And so, the Apostle of Frenzy could no longer hide its deep bewilderment.
Even as it blocked and deflected the spear, deeper and larger wounds were carved into its tough body, the damage accumulating.
'*...Just what is this human!*'
It understood that the human's spear held a strange power.
So it tried to avoid meeting the spearhead head-on.
All the while, it met the human's gaze, searching for an opportunity.
The human was far stronger than it had anticipated.
Still, being human, an opening was bound to appear. Knowing this, it had accepted the damage and waited for its chance, but…
'*There are no openings.*'
It had already blocked and deflected the spear dozens of times.
But not once had an opportunity to attack or unleash its power presented itself.
...The relentlessly attacking spear felt as if it were strangling the life out of it.
And... one more thing. It couldn't understand the human's eyes.
'*Why isn't he wavering?*'
A human's weakness. Their greatest flaw was their heart.
That was why it had deliberately devoured a human right before his eyes, yet this one showed no sign of agitation.
*Swish!*
Then, its train of thought was severed by the spearhead, which suddenly veered in a strange trajectory.
*Thwack!*
In the end, unable to dodge, the spearhead pierced straight through its hand. As the sharp blade, losing none of its force, aimed for its head, it widened its eyes and violently twisted its neck.
*Whoosh!*
As it narrowly evaded the spear, the shockwave from the current struck its skin.
...Furthermore, a bizarre pain from the spear that had pierced its hand, a twisting agony that felt like its flesh was being gouged out, warped its mind.
"Die—!"
Despite this, it reflexively tried to crush the human's torso with its other arm.
*Shlick!*
"Guh!"
The spearhead that had pierced its hand then sliced through it as it was withdrawn, and its arm ended up clutching at empty air.
*Tap, tap!*
Hate swelled within it as it watched the human retreat out of sight with a light hop.
A fundamental killing intent, the desire to kill the human.
Still, it spread its power throughout its body to somehow regenerate.
The hand, tattered from being pierced by the spear, and the body, covered in countless wounds, began to slowly recover, but it could feel its power draining significantly.
'*This is not good.*'
This was not good at all.
The human's strength was completely different from what it had expected.
Nevertheless, it now had a moment to catch its breath.
"Haaa..."
A ragged breath escaped its lips.
And it saw the human, also catching his breath.
Yet, it could see an even stranger current swirling around the hand that held the spear aloft.
The darkness of the space distorted around the current, and it could clearly feel that the human was preparing an even stronger attack.
'*...I can't let this continue.*'
It couldn't face a spear imbued with even greater power.
It couldn't even find an opening to attack the human with killing intent.
As it searched for an answer.
Its gaze suddenly fell upon the other human. The one beyond the spear-wielder.
It was surrounded by an aquatic current, so it understood the human possessed a unique power, but it seemed far weaker than the one with the spear.
*Smirk.*
A corner of its mouth curled up as it decided to act first this time.
Its opponent was a 'human'.
And there was a way to deal with humans.
***
—I can kill it.
I can completely overwhelm the apostle.
Cheon-seong felt a sense of certainty, no, of reality.
"Hoo..."
Having created distance, he took a shallow breath.
*Swoooooosh...!*
As he gathered the even greater power of the Asura Spiral Spear into his spearhead, he tried to calm his seething heart.
The apostle's demeanor, now in his sight, was completely different from before.
"Haaa..."
He could hear its wet, ragged breathing.
The apostle that had flaunted its viciousness by chewing on human corpses, the one so arrogant at first, was now breathing heavily, clearly struggling.
I could see it all—even the way its cold, red eyes had lost their intensity, as if it were terrified.
'*Is this the true power of the skill?*'
When the powerful current from the Asura Spiral Spear broke its stance, the apostle couldn't react properly, as if it didn't know what to do.
And I could also feel that my proficiency with the skill had increased significantly.
But still... I was puzzled.
Amidst my boiling killing intent, a single doubt arose.
'*For an apostle that can manifest a unique domain of this scale...*'
It wasn't that strong.
That's how it felt to me.
Even for the Apostle of Frenzy, one with the power of howling, to be this helpless against me...
I couldn't tell if I had gotten stronger or if the apostle just felt weak.
"..."
So, while narrowing my eyes, I refused to let my guard down.
Whatever the apostle was, all that mattered was ending its life completely.
*Swoooooosh......!*
The colorless current enveloping the spearhead raged more fiercely as I fully accumulated its power. I believed I could now end the apostle's life within a few more exchanges.
The moment I was about to leap forward again.
*Whoosh.*
The apostle suddenly moved first, and I reacted instantly, lunging forward.
—!
As I pursued the apostle's movements like a flash of light.
The apostle suddenly turned and swept its arm across the ground, sending countless chunks of human flesh and bone flying into the air.
*Swish!*
"...Pathetic tricks!"
I scowled, batting everything aside as I closed in.
—!
A strange chill ran down my spine.
The apostle's arms, which it always raised to block my spear... weren't aimed at me.
The apostle had definitely turned towards me for a moment.
Throwing the debris as if to shake me off.
'*But why?*'
Why wasn't the apostle facing me now?
Even its movements were strange.
If it were targeting me, it should have lunged at me, but it didn't.
As I thrust my spear, my eyes inadvertently followed the direction of the apostle's hand.
In that instant, my eyes shot wide open.
"Karite!!"
As I screamed her name, my heart seemed to sink into ice.
Suddenly, time seemed to slow down.
If I continued my thrust, I could catch the apostle and end its life.
I had condensed the energy of the Asura Spiral Spear to the point where it could pierce even the apostle's tough hide. I was sure I could finish it by destroying its head.
But...
The crimson energy now erupting from the apostle's hand...
It made it impossible for me to make that choice.
I unleashed the current of the Asura Spiral Spear held in my spearhead, letting it explode outwards.
***
"Karite!!"
At the apostle's unusual movement and Cheon-seong's horrified cry, Karite's eyes widened as she hurriedly raised her hands in front of her.
While watching the exchange, she had been constantly reminding herself of what Cheon-seong had said.
The tide of battle had already turned.
Cheon-seong was unilaterally overwhelming the apostle, seizing victory.
She believed that, as he'd said, all she had to do was play her part well, so she had been focused solely on protecting herself.
*Fwoosh!*
The strange wave of water enveloping her body surged according to her will.
Following her raised hands, a powerful current raged forth, instantly beginning to form a solid wall of water.
*Fwoooooosh!*
And in that instant, a massive spray of water erupted madly, further solidifying the strange, high-pressure wall blocking her front.
Watching the apostle's ferocious blast of crimson energy, she wasn't the least bit afraid.
—What she had to do.
The moment she unleashed her full power to block the apostle's attack.
"...Ah?"
She let out a dazed sound without realizing it.
*Thwump!*
It was... a truly horrifying sound.