Chapter 38
Chapter 38
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Unprecedented Existence
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The warriors of the Holy Land whispered among themselves.
"The eighth monarch?"
"The Dragon Monarch, they say?"
The emergence of the eighth Dragon Monarch!
As the results of the monarchs' council were announced, the Pagans reacted with utter disbelief.
"How can a god stand on the same level as a human?"
"Foolish. Utterly foolish."
"It's a mockery of us warriors and Pagans."
For ages, the Pagans had been forced to sacrifice themselves.
To protect the North, the Holy Land, and the people, they had no choice but to court death.
Though they pretended to embrace it, they didn't want to die any more than anyone else.
Yet even as hope arrived of its own accord, these humans claiming to be monarchs tried to interpret the gods through their own lens.
It was a difference in perspective.
They weren't Pagans.
No one except the seven monarchs had ever been forced to face death.
"You don't understand. You can't know what it's like when a single ray of light pierces a world of utter darkness."
From the monarchs' viewpoint, Pagans were nothing more than disposable tools, which was why they'd made this choice.
"...I want to live. I just want to live, like anyone else."
"Pagans! Follow the god!"
In the end, their pent-up rage erupted like a volcano.
All the Pagans of the Holy Land gathered around the eighth monarch.
No one except the seven monarchs had ever been forced to face death.
From the monarchs' viewpoint, Pagans were nothing more than disposable tools, which was why they'd made this choice.
"You don't understand. You can't know what it's like when a single ray of light pierces a world of utter darkness."
"...I want to live. I just want to live, like anyone else."
Their numbers reached a staggering two hundred.
It was no small force, but the other monarchs commanded many Pagans as well.
They were thrown into confusion.
But the Holy Land's Pagans had witnessed the miracle with their own eyes.
Their faith was absolute.
Pagans were holy beings.
The hope of holy beings could not simply be replaced by some mere 'monarch.'
If the Pagans followed him, he had to be a god.
He could only be a god.
At that moment, the seventh monarch removed his black bear mask.
"...Shan?"
"Bigfoot's face?"
Shan's face was infamous. His hideous appearance had earned him the nickname 'Bigfoot' even in the North, becoming synonymous with terror.
It was also well-known that he had lost his right to regeneration upon becoming a Pagan.
Yet.
New flesh was sprouting across Shan's face, once covered in scabs.
"He's regenerating."
"What? Didn't he lose his right to regeneration?"
"Can he really heal Pagans?"
The proof was right before their eyes.
A Pagan was being healed by the divine being's power.
All the Pagans under the monarchs who saw this began to waver.
Pagans lived mere days at best, or one or two years at worst, before dying.
Yet now they were told they could live. That they could be healed.
Pagans were treated like war weapons under the guise of being sacred, then discarded.
They had accepted it as natural.
Even though it wasn't natural at all, they were forced to sacrifice.
This unrest among the Pagans began to affect the other warriors as well.
"Enough."
Kuwoong!
The first monarch stomped the ground.
The earth split, shaking like an earthquake.
The murmurs died down, but he couldn't erase the distrust in the Pagans' eyes.
'...I'must win this no matter what.'
The first monarch instinctively knew this wasn't just a fight between the divine being and himself.
Everything would change based on the outcome of this duel.
From a monarch's perspective, Pagans were merely human weapons.
Weapons weren't supposed to think.
They were to be adored as much as they were adored and hurl themselves at enemies to annihilate them—that was their role.
But the divine being's appearance had given the Pagans hope.
Hope made them think.
Of course, the solution was simple.
'Crush them.'
If he overwhelmed the god's messenger with absolute force, this commotion would settle.
Once he proved it was human, not divine, the Pagans wouldn't dare rebel further.
Winning meant he could claim the divine being anyway.
Claim the divine being and draw in the other Pagans too.
The path to becoming the one true monarch, the genuine overlord!
'Don't think receiving a blessing puts you on my level.'
Mana's blessing.
A realm reached only by those who transcended boundaries and shattered walls.
A state where the body was reconstructed to store even higher-quality mana.
He had experienced it twice.
The man before him, Croft, had likely been through it only once at most.
'He looks pretty strong.'
Others might not notice, but the first monarch clearly sensed Croft's extraordinary aura.
However, that was it.
The first monarch had simply waited.
Waited for the empire's dogs and the monarchs to fight and destroy each other.
He believed he would be the final victor.
Sueup.
Shan raised his spear.
Shan assumed his stance and hurled the spear.
Kwarung!
The exact moment the spear embedded itself at the center between the first monarch and Croft.
Splat!
The first monarch exploded off the ground like a blast, slicing through the air.
Vibrating and detonating mana from without and within to move like lightning.
No matter how skilled the opponent, no one could block his strike that held everything.
Prolonging it was a luxury.
To crush him, he'd end it in one exchange.
Before the sound of kicking the ground even faded, the first monarch closed in and raised his sword to cleave Croft diagonally.
"Hup...!"
But the blade didn't connect.
No, the first monarch instinctively twisted his sword and body to evade.
Coming to a halt behind Croft, the first monarch couldn't help but panic.
'I dodged?'
He had sensed death in an instant and moved.
Croft remained in his original stance.
A mistake?
'No way.'
His senses, honed to the extreme. Superhuman senses surpassing even wild beasts wouldn't err.
That meant his life had truly been in peril for a split second.
Blue aura enveloped the first monarch's entire body.
His muscles swelled as he slammed his sword into the ground.
Kururung!
Kwaaaaa!
The materialized aura surged across the ground in a wide arc toward Croft's position.
It was 'Dragon Ascent.'
It'swallowed hundreds of meters in radius, leaving no room to escape. Even if dodged, it couldn't evade the first monarch's light-speed sword.
'He isn't moving. Planning to get devoured by Dragon Ascent?'
Dragon Ascent boasted absolute destructive power, his unique secret technique.
Extending aura long along the ground and erupting it was a feat no other Swordmaster would dare attempt.
No exceptions.
No one could survive inside it.
"A monster...?"
The first monarch muttered.
Right now, an exception had appeared.
Aura shining like the sun.
The sheer volume rippling over his body was comparable to the sun itself.
Enough to block Dragon Ascent.
'How much aura does he even have?'
Aura was refined mana.
In terms of efficiency, it was naturally inferior to raw mana.
Moreover, defense consumed even more aura than offense.
To wield it like that meant he had an unimaginable amount.
A smile crept onto the first monarch's lips.
'Interesting.'
Interesting. He'd never seen a human like this before.
Srur.
Croft drew his sword.
The first monarch steadied his breathing.
It'seemed best to abandon any thoughts of ending it with tricks.
If aura quantity was overwhelmingly different, he could crush with pure skill.
Soon, like beams of light, the first monarch and Croft charged simultaneously.
*
[Recording terminated.]
I nodded in satisfaction.
I'd successfully captured the battle between two monsters at the pinnacle.
Of course, I couldn't replicate it yet.
But just observing and reviewing would steeply boost my skills.
'Excellent.'
In my eyes, I'd seen about ten exchanges.
That was only thanks to expanding my brain's simultaneous activation zone; the other warriors hadn't even properly seen the sword swings.
They just stared wide-eyed at the now-fallen first monarch.
"W-What just happened?"
"Did the first monarch lose?"
"Hah."
Only the Pagans who grasped the essence were left in awe.
A heaven above heavens. Two heavens had clashed.
[Exactly 76 sword clashes. Total swings: 266.]
I needed to review this properly.
I'd thought alternating between reality and augmented reality had made me strong, but watching them showed I still had far to go.
"..."
The first monarch stared blankly at the sky with eyes of disbelief.
'I lost?'
He was invincible.
The strongest.
No warrior in the North could beat him.
No, not even on the entire continent, he'd been certain.
Yet he'd lost.
In front of everyone.
Shattered without a chance to make excuses.
'What is that guy? Really human?'
Over half a century of wielding the sword.
Time spent with genius talent and overwhelming effort.
'He surpassed the wall I couldn't. The ultimate wall.'
Martial arts had no end.
He'd thought he'd reached the pinnacle, but another world lay beyond.
That man had surely crossed a wall he hadn't seen or surmounted.
Not a huge gap, but from his position, that tiny difference was like infinity.
"Ha!"
A laugh burst out.
"Hahaha!"
Realizing there was more to climb, he let out mad laughter.
He'd have to train again.
Until he reached that realm.
'Foolish, me.'
At the same time, he began to understand the Pagans' unrest.
They'd treated a being commanding such overwhelming strength as just another monarch.
Having lost the wager, he'd even granted him authority over himself.
Now, he couldn't tolerate him existing on the same level as other monarchs.
A transcendent human. Nothing but to call him a god.
Dusting himself off, the first monarch rose and declared.
"I lost. I accept the result and declare my submission to the eighth monarch."
"...!"
It was in front of all monarchs, warriors, and Pagans.
The saint was present too, making this declaration irrevocable.
Reneging would cause everyone to abandon him, stripping his title of monarch.
The first monarch stated it calmly.
And not just that.
"Furthermore, I propose elevating the eighth monarch to the position of 'Divine' and simultaneously 'Great Monarch.' Here and now. Those opposed, raise your hands."
Great Monarch!
Everyone shuddered at the name.
A thousand years ago, the Demon King Gafman had conquered the North and ascended to Great Monarch.
No one since had claimed the title.
There were two ways to become Great Monarch.
Conquer like Gafman, or gain all factions' consent.
The first monarch was pursuing the latter.
But no one could raise their hand easily.
The Pagans were the issue first.
All Pagans, directly or indirectly, followed that divine being.
They'd bound him forcibly as a fellow monarch, but as Great Monarch, he'd truly be worshipped as a god.
However, the first monarch had joined.
The seventh monarch, and even that powerful lion who'd beaten the first—it weighed on them.
No one could raise their hand lightly.
The first monarch deliberately sought dissenters first, not supporters.
The reason was simple.
For the 'branding effect.'
Those who raised hands now would be marked as monarchs opposing the god.
They might even be attacked before leaving the Holy Land.
The wind had shifted.
This wind could not be defied.
"All in favor, then. Eighth monarch—no, should I call you Divine Holy Monarch now?"
A being who was divine and Great Monarch.
No precedent existed for such a title.
The first monarch knelt.
"O God, lead us."
"O God!"
One by one, they knelt.
In an instant, all bowed before me.
They cast strange glances my way.
Expecting some acceptance speech?
It was awkward, but I wasn't flustered.
Being the center of attention was familiar.
Just... these gazes were a type even I wasn't used to.
Anticipation.
After ascending the throne as emperor, not a single soul had looked at me that way.
Much less receiving the anticipation of so many at once—that was a first for me too.
A strange feeling.
But I got it.
This was the feeling.
The sensation of reaching the peak that I'd hoped for, longed for.
This moment was my strongest ever.
Thus, my first words were crucially important.
The one who became god.
Now qualified to lead them all.
Unprecedented.
To them, I was far beyond a mere god—a higher existence.
Such a one's first words would shake the entire North.
Under everyone's gaze, I slowly opened my mouth.
"Those who believe shall live."
Just one phrase.
At once, the Pagans trembled.
That single promise of life was everything, and it was enough.
Because they could see hope.
Because they could truly live.
What they'd lost, what they'd given up—they no longer had to let go.
The Pagans' trembling spread to all warriors. Soon, it would envelop the entire North.
A Great Monarch had been born after a thousand years.
Their god was right here.
It was more than enough reason for all to unite.
*
Everything changed starting with the Dragon Ascent witnessed in the Holy Land.
But the most critical point was the birth of a being to beware.
'A Great Divine Holy Monarch has appeared?'
Great Monarch was one thing—what was Great Divine Holy Monarch supposed to mean?
Without any warning, so abruptly.
Who the hell?
There were no variables. The calculations were perfect.
Yet a third party had emerged from an unforeseen angle.
A Great Monarch unifying the North, and a god at that!
'Who the hell are you?'
Grand Duke Carlos's face twisted involuntarily.
[ Unprecedented Existence (Revised) ] End