Chapter 118
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Master of Will
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*Splat!*
The demonic beasts’ blue blood splattered.
Screeching, the demonic beasts rushed violently toward Chris.
In an instant, he was surrounded by their attacks. With blade-like instincts, Chris dodged, deflected, blocked, and countered.
Every moment was a brush with death.
On the boundary between life and death, his will was honed to an infinite sharpness, but…
‘It’s not enough.’
Chris recalled the question.
What exactly was the perfect will he desired?
No, more fundamentally.
What is will?
Chris mulled over the question he had repeated countless times over the past fortnight.
A mental image, almost within reach, yet untouchable.
Chris knew by instinct.
He wouldn't find the answer like this.
‘I have to make a move.’
Chris bit his lip and made an unexpected choice.
He threw off the ‘Cloak of Nine Deaths’.
It was like casting away his final lifeline.
A reckless choice.
Not even Chris could possibly survive in a situation like this.
But.
‘I just need to achieve it before I die. I can do it.’
As soon as he discarded the Cloak of Nine Deaths, Chris felt his will sharpen to an incomparable degree.
His body moved in ways that would normally be impossible.
Amidst the splattering blood of the demonic beasts, his consciousness began to sink.
On the precarious edge of egolessness, he formed a mental image.
‘Perhaps it's impossible to define what a perfect will even is.’
It's meaningless.
With that thought.
The will imbued in his Aura Blade began to faintly change.
It happened without Chris even realizing it.
*Flash!*
The Aura Blade flashed, and a demonic beast's arm flew off.
It was strange.
The beast he'd just struck was a 5-Ma Class, possessing a tough hide that even Chris's aura couldn't sever. Yet, it had been cleanly cut.
The incomprehensible events didn't stop there.
‘A perfect will doesn't exist. To be precise...’
The illusion magic Chris cast settled upon the demonic beasts.
The beasts shrieked.
It was as if the illusions had materialized and were inflicting real pain.
‘The form or type of will doesn't matter.’
*Fwoosh!*
Destruction black magic flared up.
Fire, ice, and lightning.
The three elements mixed and scattered around him.
But then, another strange sight unfolded.
Chris had only used low-power, 2 and 3-Star destruction black magic intended for harassment.
Yet the demonic beasts took heavy damage, collapsing or retreating.
It was as if he had cast high-level magic.
But Chris was unaware of this strange phenomenon.
His consciousness was no longer focused on the demonic beasts.
His gaze sank deep, deep within.
Into his own inner self.
‘What's important is *who* holds that will.’
There are countless types of will in the world.
The will to become stronger.
The will to survive.
The will to protect someone precious.
And so on.
It is impossible to determine the superiority among these many wills. No, it is meaningless.
What's important is who the master of that will is.
‘The state the Old Master showed during our spar not long ago.’
Back then, Nordian had twisted the laws of nature with his will alone, imbued with the very dignity of his existence.
It was possible because the dignity of Nordian's existence had reached a lofty state.
In other words, the power of a will changes depending on who holds it.
‘In that case, my will can become perfect. Because I, who am more perfect than anyone, am the master of that will.’
An absurd thought.
But it wasn't an arrogant delusion; it was an objective fact that no one could deny.
Because there was no one in this world more outstanding than Chris.
If so, wouldn't the will held by such a Chris also be capable of becoming more perfect than any other will in the world?
For the will I hold is the very manifestation of my existence.
-As the master of will, I am self-existing and vast; therefore, the will I hold shall also be perfect.
This was the answer Chris had reached.
At that moment, an unbelievable miracle occurred.
Chris's perfect ego was projected onto his will, and his ego and will became conceptually identified as one.
Will, which was merely a manifestation of intent, was elevated to a higher dimension of power through its unification with his ego.
A sight that would have astonished Nordian.
It was similar to what Nordian had demonstrated—imbuing his will with the dignity of his existence.
Of course, the technique Nordian had shown was of a much higher dimension, but the fundamental principle was the same.
*Fwoooooosh!!!!*
A brilliant light erupted from Chris's sword.
The familiar Aura Blade.
But it was different from before.
Unlike its previous form, which had a lingering imperfection, this was a solid radiance that didn't waver in the slightest.
5-Star Middle, Elder Middle Level.
He had reached the stage where he could manifest an aura with will alone, without any technique.
Naturally, its power was incomparable to when he was at the Lower Level.
*Slice!*
The radiance sliced through the demonic beast's neck.
Normally, he should have felt strong resistance, but it was as clean as cutting through paper.
That wasn't all.
Chris sheathed the holy sword and drew another.
*Fwoosh!*
His will was imbued into the Black Sword.
Again, *slice!*
The demonic beast's hide was once again cut like paper.
It was an unbelievable sight.
The beast he had just cut was a 5-Ma Class Kelpington.
It was a demonic beast that couldn't be physically damaged without an Aura Blade, yet he had cut it with the Black Sword alone.
The meaning of this was clear.
It meant that the Black Sword, imbued with Chris's will, now possessed power comparable to an Aura Blade.
‘The Alliance's Aura Blade has become much stronger, too. It's incomparable to the Aura Blades wielded by other typical 5-Star Middle Elder Class users.’
It was thanks to his will becoming that much stronger.
‘The power of this will is going to grow even stronger as I do.’
What Chris had achieved was the unification of his will and himself.
From now on, as Chris's stature grew, the power of his will would strengthen accordingly.
He had succeeded in laying the best possible foundation, just as he had aimed.
‘As a Majin, I've approached 4-Star Upper. Though, this doesn't really mean much.’
In terms of enlightenment, Chris had more than met the conditions to reach 5-Star.
However, he remained at 4-Star simply because he hadn't solidified various other fundamental elements as a Majin.
These were all problems that would be resolved with time.
‘…Now, is it time for the next step?’
Chris narrowed his eyes.
Was it just a feeling?
His surroundings had grown quiet.
The demonic beasts that had been roaming about had vanished, leaving only a desolate silence.
Along with a chilling tension.
*Clap, clap.*
“Wow, magnificent. How on earth did you make the power of your will so strong?”
Sherard appeared with a bright smile.
“Especially that aura. If I faced it head-on, even my Blood Aura Blade would have a tough time, I think?”
“……”
“No matter how I think about it, it's a shame to kill you now. Ah, what to do? I can't disobey Father's orders. To think I have to say goodbye to such an interesting little brother already.”
Sherard made a sad, regretful face.
Chris scowled in disgust.
“Shut up. I don't want to hear it.”
“Heh heh. Still, I'm glad it's shaping up to be a satisfying banquet. I suppose I'll have to go all out, too? Though I'm not quite used to Will-Thought yet.”
Will-Thought.
A chilling statement.
It meant Sherard had reached the 6-Star realm.
‘So he was a Master Class, after all. Probably Lower Level.’
Even with his new enlightenment, the gap was too wide for Chris to win.
However.
‘It doesn't matter. He's the one who dies today.’
He had already finished all his preparations.
“Wait. I have something to say. Can you give me some time before we fight?”
“Hmm?”
“Yes, to recover my strength. I'm exhausted, so it would be difficult to fight properly. You wouldn't want to compete against me when I'm drained of energy, would you?”
Sherard nodded.
“Fine. I'll wait as long as you need, so recover to your absolute best condition.”
Chris sat down and closed his eyes.
He looked defenseless, but he didn't need to worry about Sherard launching a surprise attack.
With a relaxed expression, Sherard waited for Chris to recover his magi and mana.
He even hummed a little tune, seemingly in a good mood.
He seemed as excited as a child for the upcoming banquet.
“You have no idea how long I've waited this past month for this moment. It's been a long time since I've met an opponent as interesting as you.”
“……”
“So recover to your absolute best condition and entertain me. Hurry, hurry.”
Chris scowled inwardly.
‘So noisy. I can't concentrate. Anyway…’
Chris quietly narrowed his eyes.
‘Thankfully, it seems he hasn't noticed my little trick.’
Recovering his strength was just an excuse.
Chris was quietly setting a trap.
To be precise, he was preparing to activate a trap he had been secretly installing over the past month.
Finally.
“I'm ready. Let's begin.”
“Hmm? You don't need more time? I can wait.”
“This is enough.”
Sherard bared his teeth in a grin.
“Good. To be honest, it was hard to suppress my desire to kill you. Shall we begin, then?”
With that declaration.
Sherard's body dissolved into a blood-red mist and vanished.
Chris instinctively dodged to the side.
*Swoosh!*
The mist slammed into the spot where Chris had just been.
Reforming into his original body, Sherard burst out laughing and stretched out his hand.
“Haha! Please, entertain me for as long as you possibly can!”
“!!”
Droplets of blood bloomed from Sherard's fingertips.
Each one was a Blood Aura Blade, imbued with the power of an Aura Blade.
A technique from the 5-Star Upper realm, capable of transforming the shape of an Aura Blade according to one's will.
But Chris was no pushover either.
*Clang!*
The Aura Blade channeled into his broken holy sword struck down the blood droplets, and the Blood Aura Blades they contained lost their power and vanished.
He wasn't pushed back in the slightest by the Blood Aura Blades wielded at the 5-Star Upper level.
That was how powerful the will Chris had awakened truly was.
Sherard grinned.
“Just as I expected. I wonder how long it's been since I had a fight like this. Excellent. Then, how about you try this?”
Sherard grinned slyly and drew upon his power.
Sherard's silver hair swayed with a blood-red energy.
The surrounding view shimmered like a heat haze, and Chris felt his stomach churn.
‘Blood Reversal!’
It was a Blood Art that resonated with the opponent's blood, disrupting its flow.
A high-level technique that could incapacitate an opponent in an instant if they were even slightly slow to react, but…
‘It won't work on me.’
Chris quickly drew up his magi to calm his roiling blood.
The blood flow had reversed in dozens of places, but he didn't miss a single one.
“Excellent counter! I love it!”
This time, Sherard raised his hand.
*Fwoosh.*
A blood-red energy billowed like flames.
“Catch. This time… it might be a little difficult.”
Like a raging wave, the crimson flames surged toward Chris.
‘That Blood Flame is made of Aura. I can't face it head-on.’
The moment he tried to dodge, the crimson flames changed.
It swelled up in front of him, then *whoosh*, it coiled around Chris like a snake wrapping around its prey, burning in a complete circle.
A situation where he was surrounded by a wave of Aura.
Sherard playfully snapped his fingers.