Chapter 213: Residents of a Ruined World (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 213: Residents of a Ruined World (9)
If the incomplete calamity that had seized the Professor’s True Form was a case of possessing power but being unable to utilize it, the man before my eyes was the exact opposite.
His output itself was merely on the superior side, but should I say he was the type to bridge that gap with overwhelming skill?
Beyond simply having excellent technique, the man possessed something perfected through sheer experience.
The way he endured, cutting through the lashing storms and parrying the incoming heavy blows, had already surpassed the level of mere artistry. It had to be viewed as a kind of future sight, born from the experience he had accumulated while living as a Hero.
“Ugh…!?”
However, even that seemed to be nothing more than a way to buy time, as he couldn’t perfectly overcome his disadvantage. Ultimately, failing to dodge completely, the helmet he was wearing was sent flying by Professor Cathy’s fist.
If the blow had landed just a bit more accurately, it wouldn’t have been his helmet flying off, but his head.
A Jack-of-all-trades.
Spirit arts, swordsmanship, physical combat, and adaptability—he was high-level in all of them, but because he had mastered none to their absolute peak, he was called a Hero.
It seemed those words were quite accurate.
At this rate, we would likely win without much trouble. There was a limit to how long he could endure by parrying attacks, and simply calculating by numbers, we were in a much more favorable position.
If the professors had fallen for his provocations, lost their cool, and failed to pace themselves, the story might be different, but they weren’t the type to do that.
And yet, I didn’t feel like it would end that way.
Just as I had hidden the trump card of Multiple Reinforcement, it was obvious that he, too, was hiding at least one ace up his sleeve.
After all, there was no way he could have destroyed a world with just this much.
In the first place, despite being pushed into such a one-sided defensive position, the light in his eyes hadn’t faded in the slightest.
He was looking toward a future where he would ultimately emerge victorious. Since his attitude was closer to conviction than merely seeing a possibility, it was only right to assume he had a hidden move.
I had a premonition.
No matter how well the professors did, I felt that, in the end, he and I would inevitably clash.
When that time came, with the restriction of not being able to use my full power, would I be able to overcome his trump card?
That was the problem.
* * *
Siegfried, once called the most cold-blooded Hero, was currently in a rather difficult situation.
The source of his trouble was that while other spirits still listened to him as easily as they did in his original world, the specific spirit he needed most right now refused to answer, no matter how many times he called.
To be precise, it was as if the spirit intended to respond when called, but then stopped midway, its attention diverted by something else.
No, there was no need to beat around the bush.
Though the boy himself didn’t seem to realize it, every time Siegfried called, the spirits were being captivated by that black-haired youth.
The fact that the power of his spirit arts had diminished significantly and that this fight was dragging on was all because of that boy.
At least the other spirits still reacted to him, allowing him to use spirit arts in some capacity. However, because the most important one, the ‘Spirit of Death,’ wouldn’t even spare him a glance, he was unable to use any techniques that could be called his main arsenal.
Siegfried considered himself someone quite familiar with death due to his own circumstances, so he wondered what kind of hell that boy had seen to receive more attention from Death than he did.
There was a way to force their attention if he had to, but he hadn’t really wanted to show it, as it felt like revealing his hand too early.
However, the other women besides that boy weren’t at a level he could ignore, so it seemed he had no choice but to reveal his card first.
Grasping his worn sword in a reverse grip, he plunged it into his own abdomen.
From the moment he pulled the sword out, a storm swept over his body and a fist slammed into his solar plexus.
Something beyond pain enveloped him, and an impact that felt like it would scatter his consciousness shook his frame. But because of a contract he had made in the past, losing consciousness was impossible. Naturally, every bit of pain was felt in its entirety, rattling his brain.
It hurt.
It hurt like hell, but the effect was certain.
The Spirits of Death, who hadn’t shown him any interest, turned their gaze toward him as they caught the scent of the death they so loved.
Hmm, usually people are taken aback when they see something like this, but seeing them enter a state of high alert instead, it seems the people here are of a higher caliber than those in our world.
He felt like laughing as he recalled the first time he had contracted with a Spirit of Death.
The people in his world had mocked him, calling it the desperate struggle of a Hero who had lost his power, only to have their heads taken.
Of course, being “a bit better” didn’t mean their vigilance would count for much.
The Spirit of Death had a foul personality, but it possessed power proportional to its malice.
An aura of a color that any living creature would instinctively want to avoid flared up. The sword wound and the places broken by the blows began to heal.
Even though it was the healing of a wound, it was far from a warm or pleasant sensation; it was closer to forcibly tearing the concept of death away from the injury. This, too, was accompanied by intense pain, but as long as he could move, it wasn’t a problem.
If anything, this sharp pain seemed to wake up his body and mind, which had been sluggish in actual combat after so long.
Now then, since the preparations are finished, shall we move on to Round 2?
Though, even if I call it Round 2…
“It’ll be over as soon as it starts.”
Because death is a concept that no living creature can ever resist.
If one wishes to escape it, they have no choice but to become a being that has transcended the realm of the living, just like him.
An ominous aura that had devoured his own death settled onto the worn sword. As he swung it, the ominous aura became a disaster that scattered death once more, descending upon his enemies.
* * *
A deathly energy that corroded everything.
No, rather than energy, should I call it death itself?
It was a simple swing, but the worn sword approached, killing everything it touched.
I couldn’t grasp exactly what kind of power it was, but it was certain that the aura coating that sword was something impossible to defend against—a thing infinitely close to the concept of death.
Fortunately, the professors, with their sharp instincts, chose to evade rather than counter. However, that kind of power usually grows more viscous over time, so they couldn’t keep dodging forever.
It was truly a strike worthy of a monster that had destroyed its own world.
The way he effortlessly overturned a disadvantageous battlefield was also very Hero-like.
“Now, shall we see your hand?”
If Seo-ha’s goal was to get her hands on that man, I wanted to stop it somehow. Honestly, without overextending myself, I couldn’t think of a clever way to deal with him.
Then again, a monster that destroyed a world couldn’t be suppressed that easily.
I made my decision.
Facing the bleak wind of death blowing toward me, I used Reinforcement.
Let’s get out of here.
“I’d rather not.”
What I reinforced was the Teleportation Bracelet.
The light of life, the antithesis of death, dwelled within the artifact, temporarily upgrading its rank.
The restriction of only being able to move one person at a time vanished, and the light emitted by the bracelet enveloped the professors and me.
“Huh?”
You didn’t expect me to run away here, did you?
First, we escape and regroup, or just flee entirely—I was about to decide…
In that moment, a ‘skritch’ sound of something being sliced rang out, and the mana I had used to activate the bracelet began to tangle.
Honestly, I let my guard down a bit.
I didn’t expect him to interfere with the activation of an artifact in this manner.
“Ah, was I too late?”
Is he insane?
Just what is that aura that it can affect the mana circuit of an already completed artifact?
The sword he swung didn’t stop the artifact from activating entirely, but since the mana had begun to tangle, the result was bound to be a mess.
I considered trying to stop the activation instead, but preventing the rampage of tangled mana wasn’t my specialty.
The artifact activated halfway.
And when the teleportation finished and I looked around, I had dropped into a certain room inside the dungeon.
Alone.
…What the hell? Where did everyone else get sent?
It seemed we had all been scattered.
* * *
“Dad is in danger.”
The child, who had been making Hamburg steaks with her, suddenly dropped the meat dough and muttered those words.
“So-hyun is in danger?”
At that, Sword Ghost Ha-ni asked back in surprise.
She wondered what this was all of a sudden, but more than that, the words that her ‘Dad,’ Kang So-hyun, was in danger struck her like a bolt from the blue.
Who were the heroes who went with him? Professor Cathy, Professor Park A-ram, and even the Chairperson—weren’t they all heroes ranked among the top in the country, no, the world?
Even with them together, he was in danger? He had clearly promised he wouldn’t put himself in harm’s way.
“This won’t do.”
Just how dangerous a place did he go to? And against what kind of dangerous opponent…?
“Dad might push himself too hard again.”
Huh?
“Mom, let’s go.”
Urgency could be felt in the face of the girl who grabbed her arm with a deeply worried expression.
Of course, Ha-ni wasn’t so slow-witted as to ask “Where?”
However, she had heard that the place he went was a dungeon with special entry conditions.
How on earth were they supposed to get to where he was?
“Mom. That’s not what’s important.”
“Eh? I didn’t say anything out loud…?”
“Do you want to go, Mom? Or do you not want to?”
At the voice filled with conviction, as if the child could take her there this very instant if she only wished it, Ha-ni reflexively nodded.
A beat late, the thought occurred to her: What would change if I went to a dungeon where even the professors are in danger? But…
“Then let’s go.”
The moment the child reached out with a bright smile, for some reason, she felt that such things didn’t matter.
Immediately after grabbing the hand the child offered, she felt a brief sensation of floating. When she came to her senses, she was standing in a place that looked like a field of flowers she had never seen before.
“…Huh?”
Did we really arrive?
Fortunately, she had packed everything she needed, but she couldn’t understand the situation.
“…The mana was scattered all over, so we arrived at the wrong spot. Mom, let’s hurry and find Dad.”
She had been spending so much time close to the child lately that she had forgotten, but she was reminded once again that this child was the mysterious entity who had saved So-hyun’s life.
But then, a question occurred to her.
“But why did you ask to come with me?”
It wasn’t as if there were no people stronger than her within the Academy. She didn’t think the child had asked just because she was nearby and they were in a hurry.
“No, I have to go with Mom.”
“I’m asking why.”
“Because that gives Dad the highest probability of being safe.”
Seeing the child momentarily exude an atmosphere that didn’t seem like a child at all, Ha-ni decided to just go with it.
Honestly, she didn’t really understand, but at the very least, the fact that this child sincerely worried about So-hyun was an undeniable truth. And since they were already here, there was no way back anyway.
And above all else.
If he truly was in a situation where he needed her help, there was no reason to hesitate.
* * *
Siegfried was reflecting on the light he had cut through at the final moment.
A light that was the polar opposite of the Spirit of Death he had summoned.
He recalled the scene where that beautiful light of life, which brightened its surroundings, was converted into power.
In truth, he hadn’t specifically intended to cut through a mana circuit.
Whether they intended to defend or flee, he hadn’t known, but his plan had been to cut through everything with that single strike and finish them off.
However, he couldn’t cut through it.
Part of it was because the spirits of this world hadn’t fully lent him their strength yet, but the fact that he couldn’t cut something he thought he could meant that, in the end, he had been pushed back in a contest of power.
Ironically, as soon as the boy vanished, the spirits that had been so reluctant to gather finally began to show interest.
If a little more time passed, it seemed he would soon be able to fully recover his strength, but it was strangely bothersome that he hadn’t been able to completely sever that light.
Since the boy had seemed intent on fleeing just to buy time, he probably hadn’t been at full power either.
If they were to clash with both at their peak condition…
I wonder which one would fall.
Though he had come to this world half for amusement and started this fight to clear a lingering unpleasant feeling, he thought that perhaps, finally, he might be able to end it.
If it’s that guy, who is so similar to me.
Perhaps he could kill me and end everything?
If he could do that, it wouldn’t be so bad in its own way.
The knight, letting out a small laugh for the first time in a very long while, began to wait slowly for his strength to return.