Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Two Arts as One
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“Do we have a chance of winning?”
The Master Teacher, who must have overheard our conversation, rose from his seat.
It wasn't easy to overcome his sense of shame in such a short time, but it seemed he had managed to steel himself.
“Seren has an ace up her sleeve. I don’t know if it will work on the High Priest, but since we have no other options, we have to bet on it.”
“Then I’ll take the front. You protect Seren.”
“Let’s do that.”
Just as Junian nodded, dozens of demons that had been circling the sky descended at once.
*Roooooaaar—!*
The forest trembled.
I felt a pressure as if dozens of grim reapers had come to claim my life all at once.
I was overwhelmed, that much was true.
But I was not afraid.
Just as in the Jewel Mountains, no matter how many enemies there were, only a limited number could attack at the same time.
*Thud!*
The moment the boulder-like creatures landed simultaneously, the ground shook from the impact.
Junian charged into the horde of black demons without hesitation.
He had willingly thrown himself into the most dangerous part of the battlefield.
*Craaack!*
Junian’s weapon was a morning star, a vicious-looking thing with a round head and sharp spikes protruding like thorns.
Wielding such a heinous weapon with his monstrous body, it didn’t take long for Junian to be drenched in the blood of demons.
‘Oops.’
*Whoosh.* I dodged a demon’s fist by a hair’s breadth.
This was no time for idle observation.
I countered the beasts’ assault with the White Sun Eclipse, but I soon felt that this alone was not enough.
‘…Did he say that demons have nothing in common?’
Advice the Iron-Blooded Duke had once given me.
Fighting them myself, I now understood what he meant.
Aside from their size, the beasts mostly looked similar, but their temperaments were all different.
Some acted purely on instinct.
Others cunningly watched for an opportunity.
Even though I was surrounded by several, one attacked only with its snake-like tail, while another tried to ram me with its horns.
There was even one that spat fire without a care for the fellow demons it might hit.
‘This is a headache.’
In such a situation, not only did I have to kill the demons, but I also had to protect Seren. I felt as if I needed a second body.
My methods were insufficient.
‘Besides the White Sun Eclipse, what else do I have…?’
As I was considering various options.
[Draw your sword.]
The Martial God suddenly spoke.
The man truly only awakens at the most unpredictable moments.
‘My specialty is in fist techniques, not swordsmanship.’
It wasn’t that I had no knowledge of the sword, but in this situation, it was clearly a bad move.
I was only holding on because I was using the familiar White Sun Eclipse. If I had used a sword from the start, wouldn’t I have become a corpse long ago?
[I am aware.]
‘And you’re still telling me to draw it?’
[Indeed. Besides, I never once said to stop using the White Sun Eclipse.]
Feeling my mind go a little numb, I said.
‘By that, you mean…’
[Use both the White Sun Eclipse and your swordsmanship.]
A hollow laugh escaped me at the absurd demand.
‘Unfortunately, Martial God, my skill is not so profound that I can execute two different martial arts simultaneously.’
To execute different martial arts at the same time, one had to master the principle of dual concentration.
My master had told me that this was a technique impossible to learn through simple training alone, and that a certain innate disposition was also important.
[I did not say to execute them simultaneously.]
‘This is no time for wordplay…’
[Successor, whether this becomes advice or a mere string of words depends on your mindset.]
‘…’
[What is important is the speed at which you switch between the different martial arts. For instance, if you can rapidly switch between swordsmanship and fist techniques in less than an instant, it would appear as if you are performing both simultaneously.]
What kind of nonsense is that?
If it weren't for this situation, I might have scoffed.
Maybe I was going crazy, or maybe it was because of the circumstances—strangely, the Martial God’s words seemed to hold a sliver of truth.
And I was the type of person who had to try something if my heart was moved.
*Shing!*
I drew the Seven Sins Sword like a flash of lightning.
‘…Right hand for the White Sun Eclipse, left for the sword.’
Wielding a sword with my left arm was familiar to me.
In my life before regression, after the tendons in my right arm were severed, I had trained with the sword as a left-hander.
‘Not simultaneously, but a switch so rapid it feels that way…’
I slowly mulled over the Martial God’s words.
Fortunately, in this extreme situation, my concentration was razor-sharp.
I thought I understood what the Martial God meant by a [rapid switch].
‘Divide my focus.’
I couldn't allocate the same amount of concentration to both arts.
In terms of ratio, it would be about 7 for swordsmanship.
And 3 for the White Sun Eclipse.
The White Sun Eclipse was the art I was most familiar and confident with.
I had trained it to the point where I could use it even if woken abruptly from sleep, so there was no need to obsess over it more than necessary.
Next, I considered which sword style to use with my left hand.
The first I performed was a style I often used during my mercenary days.
This nameless, third-rate swordsmanship was an adaptation of my family’s secret sword art, modified so I could use it with my left hand.
Truthfully, it had many clumsy aspects to be used now.
It might work against low-level monsters, but it was sorely lacking against demons.
‘…’
The scene that flashed through my mind at that moment was the edge of a sheer cliff.
The sudden appearance of mud monsters.
A single boy walking calmly toward them.
What unfolded next was a sword style filled with killing intent, pursuing only efficiency.
I immediately replicated the swordsmanship the Iron-Blooded Duke had demonstrated.
[Hoh…]
The most crucial thing about this nameless sword art was the mindset of a fatal strike.
It wasn't about killing the enemy in one or two blows.
It was half a breath.
Within that time, you could attack as many times as you wanted, but you absolutely had to kill them within that half a breath.
If there was even a single hitch, a still-living demon would inflict a fatal wound on me.
‘…What an arrogant sword style.’
The swordsmanship exuded a confidence that it could finish any enemy within half a breath.
In many ways, it was a style beyond my current body's capabilities.
At this rate, I would collapse before I could kill all the demons.
‘What’s next?’
I had used the third-rate sword style from my mercenary days.
I had also used the anti-demon sword style demonstrated by the Iron-Blooded Duke.
Then, what was left for me was.
‘—Ah.’
The next thing I recalled was the martial art the Martial God had shown me at the forgotten god’s altar, the symbol of the Nameless King.
The Galaxy Sword.
If I could even imitate that divine majesty.
[…]
They say ignorance is bliss.
That was my case right now.
If I had truly understood the profundity of the Galaxy Sword, I would never have dared to think of performing it alongside the White Sun Eclipse.
Because it was a sword style I had only seen over someone’s shoulder,
Because it was nothing more than a clumsy imitation.
Thanks to that, I was able to at least mimic the Galaxy Sword.
And then I experienced a strange moment.
This was a chaotic battle.
The transition between martial arts couldn't be seamless every single time.
Sometimes, I struck a demon with the fist that held my sword, and other times, I executed the Galaxy Sword with my hand shaped like a blade.
In that moment, for some reason, the difference between swordsmanship and fist techniques didn't feel so great.
I realized that, depending on my will, I could perform the Galaxy Sword with my bare hands, and the White Sun Eclipse with a sword.
If so, in what exact way were swordsmanship and fist techniques distinguished as martial arts?
‘A sword.’
I looked at the Seven Sins Sword.
A sword was certainly convenient.
It was fundamentally harder than the body, shaped for offense, and had a longer reach.
‘The body.’
But the body was not without its own advantages.
Naturally, it was far more flexible than a sword of fixed form, and it offered various ways to respond.
There was also the fact that, unlike a sword, any problem with it was immediately apparent.
‘If that’s the case…’
Perhaps the latter half of the White Sun Eclipse's forms had been unnecessary from the beginning.
Then why did my Master tell me that the White Sun Eclipse was a half-complete art?
‘Did he not want the White Sun Eclipse to be my only martial art?’
This was just my speculation, but perhaps he was worried that this art would become my limit?
[A single pivot born from the flames. It is more than worthy of aiming for the Crimson Heavens.]
The Martial God spoke in a voice tinged with laughter.
[Congratulations on your initiation into the Galaxy Sword, Successor.]
***
My body was hot.
Indeed, both the White Sun Eclipse and the Galaxy Sword were advanced arts, and performing them alternately was putting an incredible strain on me.
To be honest.
That physical overload was something I had somewhat hoped for.
My body, moving beyond its limits, creaked as if it would break at any moment, but conversely, it gradually grew hotter.
It was slowly changing into the optimal condition for using the Flame Arts of the Greatest.
The moment my body felt nothing but heat, I momentarily forgot even the influence of the demonic energy, and…
I finally entered the state of White Fire.
*Splaaat!*
I sliced through two beasts with the edge of my hand.
It wasn't as clean as when I used a sword; the cross-sections of their wounds looked as if they had been torn apart.
It was hard to describe my current state in words.
Normally, entering the White Fire state would make fatigue and pain disappear, replaced by a sense of euphoria.
But right now, my head was still dizzy, and my stomach was nauseous.
It seemed the Calamity God's curse could not be overcome even with White Fire.
*Uwaaaaaaah—.*
At that moment, I heard a sickening cry.
‘A banshee?’
The wail of the low-level demon Hector had mentioned had at some point turned into a scream.
*Screeeaaaaaak—!*
The moment the piercing scream reached my ears, my body grew slightly sluggish.
Was it meant to dull the body rather than be a direct attack?
*Swish!*
‘I take that back.’
That wasn't all.
Following the scream, the banshee's long tongue shot out at me like a spear.
I dodged the attack and, while I was at it, snatched its tongue.
The tongue was quite sturdy; despite pulling hard, it didn't tear, and the banshee's body was dragged along with it.
I swung the banshee's body like a windmill to drive away the surrounding beasts.
It wasn't easy, as I had to be careful not to let it affect Seren.
‘Just a little more—.’
The number of demons had noticeably decreased.
I didn't have the leisure to look, but from the occasional sound of flesh being pulped, Junian was still alive.
I was actually quite surprised at myself.
Despite my big talk, I never thought I could fight to this extent.
Was this the importance of real combat?
I had no intention of belittling my training on Spirit Mountain, but if I had stayed cooped up there, it would have taken me years to realize such principles.
‘But…’
My body was slowly but surely reaching its limit.
How much longer could I hold on?
And the mastermind, the High Priest, hadn't even joined the fray yet—.
“……!”
At that moment, I spotted a demon approaching Seren from behind.
Seren was concentrating so hard that sweat was beading on her brow in this cold weather, and she didn't seem to notice its approach.
In my haste, I threw the Seven Sins Sword.
*Thunk!*
The sword pierced the demon’s head, killing it instantly.
But the absence of my sword caused the precariously balanced battle to collapse in an instant.
*Screeeaaaaaak—!*
Did the demons realize this was their golden opportunity?
The flock of banshees that had been watching from the sky shrieked as if in a chorus.
This time, it didn't just make my body sluggish.
*Click.* For a moment, my body stopped moving altogether.
*Fwoooosh!*
And from the palm of the High Priest, who had been observing until now, a pitch-black storm raged.
I gritted my teeth so hard they felt like they would shatter and forced myself to move, but I was a step too late.
*Slice—.*
A wave of pain washed over me.
An emptiness I had never felt before.
*Splat.*
I saw a part of what was once my body fall to the ground.
My right arm had been severed.