Chapter 276
Chapter 276
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 276
Chapter Title: The Undying Human (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The superhuman of the sword, Kuntel.
The proud swordsman had long since died. All that remained was an undead creature reeking of decay. Yet this undead was no mere product of some lowly necromancer.
It was crafted from the flesh of ancient heroes, a being that could heal its own wounds. Its sturdy body shrugged off any holy spell, and within that flesh lingered Kuntel's corrupted soul.
Because it possessed a soul, it lived.
Because its flesh had rotted, it was dead.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The superhuman, neither fully alive nor dead, moved solely to fulfill the command given to it. In the blood-scented underground aqueduct, only the sound of flowing water echoed.
Nothing living remained here.
Confirming that, Kuntel's footsteps halted.
His gaze did not face forward. Instead, he stared at the ceiling of the aqueduct. Gripping his sword tighter as he eyed the thick walls, Kuntel readied himself.
He held no pride as a swordsman.
Nor any reason as a human.
He was a puppet driven by instinct and orders alone.
Yet that did not dull his blade. A superhuman of the sword delivered perfect strikes in any moment, any state.
Shing.
Kuntel's sword traced a silver-white arc.
At the end of that trajectory gathered sword aura, far larger than any he had ever unleashed in life.
...
In life, Kuntel had been born with scant mana, unable to produce massive sword aura. Instead, he had honed it to razor-thin sharpness and precision.
That alone made it devastating, but the body reborn from death now brimmed with the vast mana injected by the Apostate. It resonated with Kuntel's sword.
The result: an enormous blade of aura.
A fierce flash that devoured all it touched.
Chaaaaaaaang!
Light flooded the area.
2.
Raniel flinched briefly as she walked the halls of Cateron Fortress. A chilling sensation crawled up her spine—a battlefield instinct she knew well. And she trusted her instincts; they rarely failed her.
Her head snapped around.
And there, she saw it.
A massive silver-white sword aura erupting from beneath the earth.
Clang, claaang!
"That was a fine spar."
"The honor is mine, Sir Garahal!"
"If I may offer a bit of advice, right there...?"
Mid-spar with the knights, Garahal whipped his head around. Possessing the Hero's body, his near-superhuman senses detected what others could not. His body went rigid.
Something had appeared.
Something on the scale of a calamity was here.
Garahal spun back to the knights and shouted.
"Run now...!"
In that instant, a flash swept the area and shot skyward.
Chaaaaaaaang!
The knights gathered at Cateron Fortress witnessed it.
The flash bursting from underground, engulfing their comrades as it ravaged everything.
"Kuhuk, guk, kuhuk...!"
All struck by the sword aura crumbled. Dust choked the air amid the scattered bricks of the ruined walls.
And long trails of blood.
Those fully consumed left not even bloodstains, but others had lost only parts of their bodies. Blood fountained from the remnants.
Along with the stench of blood came another foul odor.
The reek of rotting corpses.
No freshly slain body would smell like that. This stench heralded the arrival of something else. The knights stared toward its source.
Beyond the rising dust, someone stood.
The figure emerging from below clutched a single sword. As the dust slowly cleared, the knights faced its visage.
"...Huh?"
No one there failed to recognize that face.
Anyone who had ever dreamed of the sword's path would know this figure instantly. A being who should have died long ago now stood before them.
It was no good news. Far from it.
Thud. Kuntel stepped onto the rubble of the collapsed wall.
No one dared charge him. The overwhelming pressure rooted them in place. Their gazes wavered; they couldn't even raise their weapons as their teeth chattered wildly.
It was as if the Sword of Death itself had appeared.
Then, would Kuntel, like that Sword of Death, spare the unarmed?
Slash.
Kuntel swung, shattering that vain hope. One could not expect pride from a creature moved only by commands.
"Kuhk...!"
One swing felled dozens of knights, vomiting blood. Kuntel trampled the corpses and advanced toward the gathered survivors. Their numbers were vast.
Wasting time cutting them one by one was inefficient. With his mission in mind, Kuntel chose a swifter path.
Silver-white aura coiled around his blade.
As it prepared to sweep the area once more—
"Garahal."
"Yes."
Two voices echoed.
Not from below, but from above, in the sky.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Smash Intangible shockwave unleashed from above
Formless shockwaves poured from the sky, radiating outward and clashing with Kuntel's sword aura.
Creeeak!
For a split second, the aura seemed to buckle, but it sliced through all it touched. No mere spell could block it— it had only bought a brief moment.
That moment proved crucial.
It gave time for the spear hurled next to reach the ground. Garahal landed with it and swung with all his might.
Kaaaaaaaang!
Spear shaft met sword aura. Garahal's arms creaked, his fingers trembled. He slammed the spear into the ground, gritting his teeth to hold.
"Ngh...!"
Even if the aura cleaved all else, it could not defy divine providence. The spear Garahal wielded was the Star Lance, an unbreakable divine weapon.
With it, he blocked the aura. Half his fingers snapped as payment. As the Hero's body mended them, his foe did not idly wait.
Thump.
Kuntel kicked off the ground.
The sound was light, but his speed was not. In an instant, he closed in and thrust fiercely.
As the tip neared Garahal's throat, gray ash scattered between them. Gray hair of the same hue followed.
"Out of the way."
Pushing Garahal aside, Raniel parried Kuntel's sword. Blood sprayed with a splash.
3.
To some, the superhuman of the sword.
To Raniel and Kyle, a master.
Raniel clearly remembered Kuntel sacrificing himself to the Sword of Death to save them. She respected the path he had walked, revered him for achieving the impossible at the very end.
A figure she had respected and revered.
Now, he stood before her in his worst form. Gritting her teeth, Raniel reached out to intercept his thrust.
Stab!
Kuntel's sword pierced her palm.
As he moved to slice upward, Raniel stepped forward, thrusting her impaled hand ahead.
Grrrrrind!
Bones creaked with a horrific sound, blood spurted.
Enduring the sparking pain, Raniel seized Kuntel's sword hand. He prepared his next attack.
"Kuhk...!"
Kuntel kicked her abdomen, dropping his sword. Raniel flew back with Garahal behind her, groaning as she looked up.
The sword remained embedded in her palm.
Her brief joy at disarming him faded as she saw Kuntel pluck a new sword from a knight's corpse, her expression souring.
Of course—weapons littered the ground.
In the hands of a swordsman like that, even a foot soldier's blade became a dragon-slaying legend.
'Damn it, for real...'
Raniel sweated coldly, watching Kuntel now approach cautiously instead of charging.
"Your hand...!"
"That's not the problem right now."
Groaning, Raniel yanked the sword free with a clang, letting it roll away as she faced him.
Kuntel stood at a short distance.
The superhuman of the sword, Kuntel.
The only human to reach the Sword of Death... and now stronger than ever.
'This isn't like the City of Night.'
That Kuntel had been weakened; this one was not. His speed was double. Grind. Raniel clenched her teeth.
Beyond his prime.
His body sturdier than in life, housing the soul of a superhuman who survived that clash.
Raising her dripping palm, Raniel snapped her fingers. Stocked spells chained into activation.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Stock → Smite → Spell Barrage Dozens of reinforced Smite spells unleashed
Dozens of reinforced Smite spells poured toward Kuntel. Faced with the barrage, he swung lightly.
Slash.
The spells lost their light.
He severed their foundations in one stroke. Like prime Kuntel, this undead was a mage's worst matchup.
"...Just now?"
"Average spells won't work."
Raniel staggered to her feet.
Kuntel discarded the broken blade and seized a new one. Raniel scanned the surroundings.
'...No sign of the Apostate.'
No sticky mana from that wretched woman. No mana beasts laced with it either.
Kuntel had come alone.
But that brought no relief.
His goal was unknown, and this Kuntel was the Apostate's so-called masterpiece familiar. Raniel glanced behind her wordlessly.
Star Lance, Garahal.
The only one fit for battle now was him.
Sara and Kariot lurked in the sanctuary, but no time for that.
Leave now, and everyone here died.
"...Garahal."
"Yes."
Raniel flicked her wrist lightly.
Blood burst from torn flesh, soaking the ground.
"I can't block that mad sword aura."
Only the Star Armament or starlight-infused spells could. Any other spell would be swept away without burning lifespan.
"I'm counting on you."
Garahal nodded.
"And one more thing."
Raniel added as she flexed her wrist.
"Don't burn your lifespan."
"...Understood."
Garahal regripped the Star Lance. Raniel burned mana faster. Ash scattered around her; starlight bloomed from Garahal.
And Kuntel swung.
Garahal and Raniel charged into the oncoming pure white flash.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Sword clashed with magic. Heat seemed to engulf the area before evaporating in an instant. Starlight blade met sword edge with deafening roars.
Splaaaash!
From a safe distance amid the battle's aftermath, knights watched slack-jawed. That place was another world, beyond their reach.
Sword aura razed buildings. Dust rose, only to be cleaved again by silver-white flashes.
Flashes flickered repeatedly.
In split seconds, dozens, hundreds of spells rained down.
As none dared approach, someone pushed through the knights.
"Out of the way, you lot."
Knights parted one by one.
They eyed the approaching figure—a guest at Cateron Fortress these past days.
The immortal Kariot.
Unusually, he bore no coffin. Only a sinister red cross-sword filled his hands.
Over knights, forward, further forward.
Kariot strode toward the flashing battlefield, accelerating to a sprint, straight on.
The moment he closed in—
Having shaken off Garahal and Raniel at last, Kuntel seized another sword from the ground. Even with a broken blade, he had pressed them. As his new grip tightened, Raniel's pupils dilated.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Lichtena Style, First Form: Severing Sword Sword aura hyper-condensed; unbreakable blade
The sword aura condensed to its limit.
The blade bearing it would not break. Raniel's spells flickered desperately to block, but the sword severed all obstacles.
The tip's aura would explode on contact, shredding from within. Raniel gritted her teeth, ready to sacrifice an arm.
That instant—
Kariot threw himself into the path of Kuntel's swing. As Raniel's eyes widened, the sword plunged into his heart.
And splat.
The internal aura tore Kariot apart. As Kuntel swung again over the spraying flesh and blood—
Clang!
A blade flew from the unseen rear.
Kuntel parried even that, but as he did, his brow furrowed briefly.
The shredded Kariot stood intact.
"Sorry, Kuntel."
The ominous red blade gleamed.
Thorn vines extended from it, wrapping his body.
"I can't die without my wife's permission."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇