Chapter 87 28. Unfeigned Sword
The Unfeigned Sword
Chapter 88
At the far end of the cave, where light and shadow flickered unpredictably, four streaks of swordlight bloomed.
KAKAKAKANG!
Sparks erupted violently from the clashing blades.
There was no deception in the strikes aimed at each other. Because of that, the sword hilts were gripped so tightly they might shatter.
『Skill 「Unfeigned Sword <Normal (99%)>」 proficiency has increased.』
The Unfeigned Sword was a swordsmanship that embodied the principle of 「existing unshaken」 alongside the blade itself.
A sword art meant to remain steadfast, unswayed by illusions in any circumstance. That was why its foundation was unbreakable.
SHWOOSH!
A single straight line flashed through the dimly lit interior, shooting toward me. But beyond the thrust of the sword, Tirpe's other hand was already weaving the sigil of Black Magic.
To cast magic with just her fingers while wielding dual swords—it felt underhanded, but this was a spar meant to simulate real combat, forcing the Unfeigned Sword to adapt to any situation.
Fundamentally, the Unfeigned Sword was designed to account for every possible scenario, its purpose being to grasp any chance of survival, no matter the circumstance.
Still.
『Tirpe activates 「Black Magic - Stake of Sudden Death (Heroic)」.』
Heroic-grade was crossing the line.
I immediately channeled mana into the black longsword in my left hand. A surge of mana flickered across the metal's surface.
WHOOSH!
The weapon 「Thorn Tip of Sin Absolution」 dissolved its form, writhing like flames before reshaping into slender needles that slipped between my fingers.
『Skill 「Hidden Weapon Mastery <Normal (7%)>」 activates.』
With just a flick of my wrist, I hurled them. But this was exactly what Tirpe had intended. The Black Magic sigil she had been weaving with her left index finger vanished without a trace.
A feint—meant to bait and waste my movements.
Unlike mindless zombies, human thought was difficult to read in battle. Still, I could roughly grasp the outline. And Tirpe's feint was something I had anticipated.
GRRRR—!
The hidden weapons I had thrown to disrupt Tirpe's magic circle fused together like liquid metal. The speed of their connection was noticeably slow, but this had been prepared from the very start of our spar.
The 「Thorn Tip of Sin Absolution」, mid-flight, transformed into a hook.
A moment later—
THWACK!
Tirpe awkwardly deflected the tip of the hook with her blade.
And before she could recover, I closed the distance.
『Skill 「Nimble Movement <Normal (43%)>」 activates.』
『Skill 「Shadow Stepping <Rare (14%)>」 activates.』
A shadowy effect rippled across my vision as my body instantly shifted behind Tirpe.
But she had already turned her crimson eyes to lock onto me. The tip of her sword had been chasing me all along.
I used Shadow Stepping again to evade sideways, recalling the 「Thorn Tip of Sin Absolution」 to my hand.
The unsettlingly fluid metal writhed in my grip before reforming into a longsword, its edge gleaming. My right hand's holy sword overlapped with it.
Tirpe crossed her wrists, swinging both blades. Lowering her stance, her slashing strikes aimed for my vitals.
KAKAKAKANG!
Curved and straight swordlights crisscrossed between us.
This was a battle that should have been impossible.
Tirpe was a Climber who had just cleared the Tutorial.
If her stats had barely surpassed 200, it would have been a miracle.
And this was close combat.
My Strength stat had long breached 1000—Rank G-.
There was no way Tirpe, whose Strength was especially weak, could stand against me.
No matter how many skills she retained as a regressor.
Early Climbers hadn't yet fully assimilated their skills into their bodies.
That was why battles were often decided by raw stats.
Tirpe hadn't avoided fighting me for no reason.
Because she would lose. Every time.
And yet, right now, she wasn't being overwhelmed despite crossing blades with me.
Because she had become a Fallen Angel through the mythic-grade skill 「Fallen Angel Incarnation」.
『Tirpe's Stats』
[Strength 721] [Agility G-] [Stamina 117] [Mana G]
She had traded her lifespan for power through the blood-drinking cross, then burned herself in cursed flames with the skill 「Mark of Twisted Conviction」 to forcibly reshape her body's vessel.
That was how she laid the foundation to become a Fallen Angel.
In the end, through sheer gamble, she had succeeded in mastering the forbidden dark arts of the Fallen Angels—knowledge only a handful in the future had possessed.
And she had done so by incorporating the most unstable yet most powerful chaotic 「Record」 circuits as her foundation.
It was a state where only the strongest, most forbidden powers had been distilled and realized.
There was no better way to manifest power so intensely, so briefly.
Except she wouldn't have survived even two minutes in that state.
Had it not been for 「Rewind」.
Fortunately, by rewinding only her lifespan, she had barely managed to sustain this form.
『Tirpe's Lifespan - 1 year 26 days』
I'd have to find some opportunity to extend her lifespan later.
In that instant.
Creeeak!
Her crimson eyes, as if split by a thin blade, seemed to cleave apart. The cross-shaped pupils of a Fallen Angel, unnaturally deep, as though they could swallow one whole.
『Holy Eye』
Eyes like these—capable of rendering a person dumbstruck, evoking the primal fear one feels toward an unknown creature—were rare indeed.
A divine and deceptive pair of eyes, said to grant the vision of a god once mastered.
But my Muwi Sword remained unshaken even by such illusions.
The heat in my eyes intensified, and so did the force pushing him back. I steadied my breathing as much as possible, consciously tensed my muscles, and thrust my sword. A guttural shout, unbidden, burst from between my tightly clenched lips. The tip of my blade swept past Tirpe.
Sshhk—
The slash I delivered with one hand held no high-level technique like Sword Aura. I wasn't specialized in the sword like Hayase, nor was I skilled enough to refine Sword Aura. But the edge of my blade was solid and relentless.
And so, with a single stroke, a clean line was drawn.
At the same time Tirpe's twin swords were split in half—
"Congratulations."
Tirpe turned to look at me.
『Skill 「Muwi Sword (Normal 100%)」 has been perfected.』
I lowered my sword behind Tirpe.
Finally, I had perfected the Muwi Sword.
And then.
"Ugh! Blegh!"
Tirpe retched.
"......."
A glowing mass, now even more distinct, was visible inside Tirpe's stomach as she collapsed onto the ground.
『Tirpe: 3 Months Pregnant』
『A hybrid of a pure human and a Fallen Angel without origin.』
At twenty years old, I had impregnated two women.
My head spun in genuine disbelief.
#
By the time the storm showed no signs of abating,
I was growing restless.
If I couldn't enter Earth's Tower, I was doomed.
To suppress that anxiety, I threw myself into training.
Tirpe, too, was visibly uneasy, so I couldn't afford to show any sign of weakness myself.
Living together in the cave, Tirpe and I had become practically like a married couple.
We talked every day, cooked and ate when hungry, and whenever our eyes met, Tirpe would spread her thighs and we'd have sex. Probably every one or two hours. Honestly, we had sex more often than we trained.
By the time Tirpe's pussy had been thoroughly broken in—
"U-um... It's, it's my cycle... We shouldn't..."
Tirpe got pregnant.
Unable to hide her unease, she watched me hesitantly, waiting for my reaction.
The woman who had once been the greatest villain was now carrying my child.
She must have assumed no one would bless this child—not even me, the one who had impregnated her.
"I-I think... I might be pregnant..."
Tirpe's expression visibly darkened.
Shaking off the complicated emotions I'd already anticipated, I spoke.
"That's great."
Only then did relief brighten Tirpe's face.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she threw herself into my arms, clinging tightly.
...And so, I had impregnated two women.
Of course.
『This is your child with a Fallen Angel. There is no issue with continuing intercourse.』
I couldn't just leave her pregnant pussy untouched.
And so, our days passed—sword training, skill refinement, and daily lovemaking.
Whoooosh—
The storm subsided.
『Estimated remaining time until Earth's return: 4 days (Outer Dimension average time).』
Luckily, there was still time to return to Earth.
But after all that sweat-drenched training, I couldn't help feeling a little regretful.
Aside from Muwi Sword, I had only learned my other skills to the point of 「Skill Manifestation」—far from true mastery.
There was one skill I had desperately wanted to learn this time, so I had even attended classes diligently, but...
"Ugh... I guess spatial manipulation is still beyond me."
The 「Low-Grade Subspace Storage」 skill would have been incredibly useful in adventures.
If only I had subspace storage, I wouldn't have needed to carry my belongings separately—but it was impossible.
Spatial skills were either innate 「Abilities」 or something only those who had climbed past the 15th floor and specialized in spatial-type skill trees could barely manifest.
The fact that Tirpe could do it at all was abnormal.
Unable to let go of my lingering desire, I even studied the magical theories behind it, but before I knew it, I was lying down, sucking on Tirpe's nipple.
"Ah, subspace is achieved through precognition..."
Tirpe, too, gave up explaining midway, as the process was too arduous. The conclusion was simple: it was too difficult to learn in a short time.
In the end, I abandoned the 「Subspace Skill」.
Which meant having someone who could produce similar effects nearby would be ideal, but...
'Other than Park Ha-rin and Tirpe, there's no one...'
Park Ha-rin possessed the ability to store objects.
Just the thought of her dangerous face made cold sweat trickle down my spine, my back prickling with dread.
Traveling with my own sister, a woman so terrifying it defied reason?
The moment I let my guard down, I'd be imprisoned.
And if anyone approached her with goodwill, it'd be a miracle if it didn't end in murder.
'Park Ha-rin is out of the question...'
Then that left...