The Sword That Slices Through the World
Man-ryang's body pitched forward. The radioactive poison had already irradiated his internals. Burns and frostbite had warped his skin and muscle tissue, and the neurotoxin that burrowed into those wounds rapidly paralyzed his central nervous system. Soon it robbed him of even the ability to breathe at will. He could not hold up his collapsing frame. The pair of greatswords that had served as his crutches had corroded under the venom, losing their shape and snapping in two. Even the finest blades forged by the master swordsmiths of the fallen Tyrfing Kingdom could not withstand the lethal poison unleashed by a 7-star dark mage.
"Would you kindly die already? My student can't get to the hospital because you're refusing to drop dead."
Compared to the mangled wreck that was Man-ryang, Karlsen looked almost unchanged from the moment he first appeared. The only evidence of exertion was his sweat-dampened bangs and a torn sleeve. For a clash between two 7-star combatants, the result was so one-sided that a bitter smile formed on Man-ryang's lips as he fell.
So that's why they always say you must destroy the inner world when fighting a dark mage.
It was a lesson learned far too late.
"I... lost..."
With those final words, the stubborn breath that had clung to life against Karlsen's poison finally ceased.
"Whew. That was way too close."
The moment the heart stopped, it hardened, stiffened, and could beat no more. Only after confirming the man's death did a sigh of relief slip from Karlsen's lips.
It had been razor-thin. Had the enemy lasted even a few seconds longer, Karlsen's own magic power would have run dry first. The sole reason he had been able to overwhelm Man-ryang was the existence of his inner world. Once his magic ran out and that domain vanished, even a Man-ryang on death's door would have been beyond Karlsen's ability to defeat. At best, they would have dragged each other into mutual destruction.
Ssssss.
Just as expected, Karlsen's inner world could not endure much longer. It began crumbling to ash from the red sky downward. At the same time, his legs—shaking with exhaustion—finally gave out, dropping him hard onto the ground.
"You've done well."
Julia approached slowly, Zeon cradled in her arms.
"I'll take the child to the hospital right away and return."
"Please do. As you can see, I'm in no condition to handle it myself."
After fighting Man-ryang at full strength for the first time in years, both his stamina and magic power were completely spent. In contrast, Julia—who had rested in the rear while Karlsen fought—looked far healthier than before. At this rate, it would be much faster for her to carry the boy to the hospital than for him to do it.
"While you're there, get proper treatment as well. I placed a curse to stop the bleeding, but as I said earlier, it's only a temporary measure."
He had staunched the blood with a curse and dulled the pain with narcotic poison, yet that was not healing. Expecting actual treatment from a dark mage was absurd to begin with. Despite feeling somewhat more comfortable, her physical condition had not improved—if anything, it had worsened.
"It looks like things on this side are nearly finished anyway."
From far away, violent magical power raged like a storm. The sheer aftershock rolling all the way here revealed just how furious the caster was. The ground shook continuously as though an earthquake had struck. Karlsen shook his head secretly and thought,
I must never offend Professor Clara again.
Witnessing that display made him realize just how recklessly bold he had once been. Perhaps ignorance really was bliss. But now that he knew, she—no, he—would never forgive such arrogance. Karlsen made a firm vow to watch his every action in front of Professor Clara from now on.
The other side seems nearly finished as well.
Karlsen's gaze shifted to the opposite direction from where Jealousy fought. Unlike the noisy battle taking place there, this area had shown no presence whatsoever from the very beginning. He could not tell what was happening inside the space enclosed by earthen walls, yet somehow Karlsen knew. He did not know who would emerge victorious, but the fight within was also approaching its final moments.
Lust was a woman who had possessed breathtaking beauty from childhood and grown up bathed in the love of the entire world. Thanks to that beauty, she had lived in relative safety even in the underworld where countless people died every single day. Men and women, young and old—everyone burned with longing for nothing more than a single smile from her.
It was a power that transcended mere appearance and deserved to be called a true talent. And that talent of hers blossomed even more brilliantly after she learned spirit magic.
Her strength, now far beyond ordinary limits, had stepped out of the domain of receiving love only from people. The fiercest hounds would wag their tails furiously and trail after her. Cats that shunned human hands would rub their cheeks against her legs. When she sat in a chair, sparrows would fly down to perch on her shoulders. Wildflowers along the roadside would spread their petals wide just to see her, and trees would present their sweetest fruit directly in front of her. The sky always cast clear sunlight along her path, and raindrops would detour far away rather than risk wetting even the hem of her sleeve, falling instead to the surrounding ground.
A woman loved by every living thing in existence. Upon reaching 8-star rank and awakening the concept of Love, she had become quite literally the queen cherished and adored by the world itself.
"......"
Therefore, to oppose her was no different from turning the entire world into an enemy. Catastrophes surged from every direction. The world itself moved with conscious will to protect her.
Amid that raging natural disaster, Eun Ma-hyun silently stared Lust down and swung his sword.
Swish!
Severing. The concept that most perfectly embodied the nature of a sword—the tool designed to cut all things. It split the rampaging forces of nature in two, and through that gap Eun Ma-hyun's figure shot forward like an arrow.
Stepping on motes of dust suspended in the air, he sprinted freely across the sky. The instant his blade descended toward the crown of Lust's head, the ground suddenly bulged upward and blocked the strike.
"How about it? Think you can break through?"
"......"
That was why she could declare it so confidently. To kill her, one would first have to cut down the world itself.
Troublesome.
An absolute defensive capability rivaling that of Wrath. However, the vast majority of her power was concentrated on self-protection. When it came to individual offensive strikes, she did indeed fall short of other superhumans. Her ability was brutally passive by nature.
A lesser version of the Empress.
It was a downgraded imitation of the Empress, who commanded the world directly and transcended common sense in both attack and defense. In other words, Lust was an existence that possessed the Empress's defensive power.
She had every right to be confident. After all, the only person in the world capable of slicing through such a defense in a single blow was probably Tugwi and Tugwi alone.
But that doesn't make it absolutely invincible.
She possessed the same defensive ability as the Empress. That did not, however, place her on the same level as the Empress. No matter how impressive it seemed, it was ultimately an unconscious defense mechanism that even she could not control. In truth, Lust had not been able to track even half of the attacks Eun Ma-hyun had unleashed so far with her eyes. It was a pearl necklace on a pig. The power was far too much for her own capabilities. Therefore Eun Ma-hyun concluded that cutting through the world surrounding her was not far off.
Without fail...
I will shatter that complacent face with terror.
With that goal burning in his chest, Eun Ma-hyun thrust his sword forward at high speed.
Bang!
Condensed water vapor blocked the thrust. Before Lust could launch a counter, Eun Ma-hyun had already left the spot. This time he swung downward from the opposite angle, only for the attack to be halted by a sudden refraction of space.
Even afterward, the world's interference targeting him continued without pause. Air exploded in midair to shove him back. The earth heaved violently to steal his balance. Lava erupted from fissures in the ground. Lightning crashed from above. Space froze abruptly to restrict his movement. The distance between them stretched endlessly, carrying Lust outside his attack range. Gravity multiplied several times over, crushing his entire body, then suddenly weakened so that he floated high into the sky.
Eun Ma-hyun silently endured the endless variety of phenomena and continued swinging his sword. His movements accelerated faster and faster until Lust could no longer follow them with her eyes at all.
"......"
An explosion roared from behind her. When she turned, the ground to her side was sliced apart. A chilling blade wind brushed past her ear. A sword that appeared without warning halted directly above her head, then vanished—only for its razor tip to reappear right in front of her pupils.
He's getting closer.
Step by step. Steadily. Even at this very moment, Eun Ma-hyun was carving away at the great forces of nature, drawing nearer to her where she stood enclosed by the wall called the world.
There is no ego in this world superior to a human being.
The system's greatest finished product. At the same time, the only entity in existence with infinite potential to reach the seat of the divine. No matter how excellent a spirit mage's created ego might be, it could never surpass human thought.
The reason the Empress is so powerful is that she wields all those phenomena with conscious will.
The same defensive ability as the Empress? Nothing could be more laughable. Even with identical power, the gulf in the practitioner's level was simply too vast. If the Empress herself appeared it might be different, but otherwise there was no reason Eun Ma-hyun could not break through Lust's ability.
All I have to do is keep attacking without giving her ego a chance to keep up.
He would continue moving so that the egos Lust had embedded in nature could not match his speed, then crush her power head-on.
"......"
Magical power coiled around Eun Ma-hyun's blade. The concept of severing hovered at its tip. He treated his own body as a single sword. The concept that had been concentrated at the blade's point spread throughout his entire form, sharpening his aura to an even keener edge.
Bang!
Eun Ma-hyun pierced the space under Lust's control and accelerated once more. The world cut by the blade named Eun Ma-hyun shed its outer veil, revealing the hidden mysteries within to his eyes.
A gentle energy permeated the interior like the soft flesh of a woman. Seeing her eyes widen in shock, a smirk formed on Eun Ma-hyun's lips.
"Go on, keep talking. What was it you said before?"
That he would never be able to wound her until the fight was over? Laughable.
"Don't get cocky, whore. At least you're not in a realm beyond my ability to cut."
The sword that had already sliced through the world swung once more toward Lust on the other side.
Shaaaak!
But faster than the blade could fall, the world repaired its wounds and moved to block Eun Ma-hyun's path as though shielding her.
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Eun Ma-hyun retreated.
Still a little early?
It was fine. Now that he had opened the path once, reaching the destination a second time would be far simpler. Thinking that, Eun Ma-hyun swung his sword again toward the storm flying straight at him.