Chapter 180: Going All Out (2)
Chapter 180: Going All Out (2)
He cleared his cluttered mind completely.
The moment he entered battle, he immersed himself solely in the means to defeat his enemy.
Perhaps this was Patrick’s most terrifying trait.
Even amidst a confusion that shook his very soul, everything became clear the moment he gripped his sword and charged forward.
“First… take this!”
Twin Dragon Eight Sword Styles.
Third Form.
Flash Dragon Strike.
Patrick’s body turned into a bolt of radiance, flying toward the Living Calamity.
Flash! Boom!
Patrick’s strike landed precisely on the flank of the massive target.
It was an attack with enough destructive power to shatter a thousand-year-old boulder, but the Living Calamity didn’t even flinch.
Thump! Thump!
It continued to move forward, ignoring him as if nothing had happened. Then…
“Hoh…”
Patrick gritted his teeth and leaped onto the Living Calamity’s shell.
Standing atop the creature as if he were on a massive mountain, Patrick spread his dual swords wide.
Then, with eyes wide open…
Twin Dragon Eight Sword Styles.
Fourth Form.
Twin Dragons’ Chaotic Dance.
The Fourth Form was the technique that unleashed the fastest continuous attacks among the Twin Dragon Eight Sword Styles.
Patrick concentrated those countless slashes onto a single point.
Skreeeeeeeech!
An unpleasant noise, like glass scraping against iron, echoed as sparks flew beneath Patrick’s feet.
When Patrick performed the Twin Dragons’ Chaotic Dance at full power, his swords became invisible.
Only the faint, flickering glints and the brilliant sparks blooming from the surface proved that an attack was being unleashed.
It didn’t matter how hard the Living Calamity’s shell was.
Go ahead, keep ignoring me.
Even a thousand-year-old rock is eventually pierced by falling drops of water. Patrick’s attacks were slowly creating cracks in the Living Calamity’s shell.
Crack.
Finally, a hairline fracture appeared on the shell. Then…
Grooooooan…
As if annoyed, the Living Calamity moved its long neck to look back at its own shell.
“What are you looking at?”
Patrick didn’t back down for a second.
However, the attack wasn’t coming from that direction.
Swish!
Something flew toward him rapidly from the opposite side.
The snake that served as the Black Tortoise’s tail bared its sharp fangs and lunged at him.
It was the only part of the generally sluggish Living Calamity that moved with speed and agility.
“Hmph.”
But that didn’t mean it was faster than Patrick.
Patrick snorted and evaded the attack.
The tail of the Black Tortoise snapped shut on nothing but Patrick’s afterimage.
Hssssss!
But the creature didn’t give up after one try and attempted to strike again. Patrick kept his feet moving to stay out of its reach.
Patrick’s form accelerated again, becoming a blur. And…
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Even while dodging back and forth, Patrick’s swords never stopped hacking at the Living Calamity’s shell.
Dozens of strikes fell every second, sending sparks flying and fragments of Aura scattering.
It looked as if a brilliant firework display was unfolding on the Living Calamity’s massive back.
It seemed as though Patrick was leading the battle at his own pace, but…
“Tsk.”
The Living Calamity’s shell was much tougher than Patrick had anticipated.
He had to strike the same spot hundreds of times with his Aura Blade just to create a tiny crack.
And above all…
A battle of attrition is disadvantageous.
The Living Calamity emitted a freezing chill just by being near it, tormenting Patrick.
He had to constantly circulate his internal energy with Scorching Yang Energy to resist the cold.
Despite his efforts, this persistent chill was slowly encroaching upon Patrick’s body.
If things continued like this, it was obvious who would collapse first.
Sssssss!
The Living Calamity’s tail tried to attack Patrick again, and he moved quickly to dodge, but…
Roaaaaaaar!
The moment the Living Calamity let out another thunderous roar, an even more intense wave of cold swept over Patrick.
“Ugh…”
Crack!
It was a frigid cold that felt like it would freeze his lungs solid with a single breath.
Patrick endured the attack by radiating Scorching Yang Energy with all his internal energy, but that only protected his body.
He couldn’t stop the cold from freezing the surface of the shell beneath his feet.
“Damn it.”
For a split second, Patrick’s feet stopped.
He had paused for just a moment after dodging, but in that brief interval, the space between his boots and the shell had frozen solid.
The Living Calamity did not miss that opening.
Hssssss!
The black snake of the tail lunged at Patrick, its purple venomous fangs glinting. And then…
Snap!
The giant snake swallowed Patrick whole in a single bite.
Thick, purple venom overflowed from its tightly shut mouth.
Sizzle.
The venom dripping onto the ground emitted a pungent smoke.
It was a potent toxin that would melt an ordinary person in less than a second. However…
Vroooooom.
Something began to swell inside the head of the snake tail.
And the moment that energy expanded to its limit…
Twin Dragon Eight Sword Styles.
Sixth Form.
Nine Dragons Under Heaven.
Hssssssss!
Boom!
The snake’s maw was forced open as nine dragons made of Aura erupted from within.
It was the manifestation of Intent-shaped Aura he had shown back in Arcana.
An attack that elevated the dimension of power by infusing Intent into the Aura.
The most destructive attack Patrick could currently use exploded inside the creature’s mouth.
Under that overwhelming force, even the Living Calamity’s tail had no choice but to open its mouth. From between those parted jaws, a sharp venomous fang and a man came flying out.
“Cough… hack… I thought I was a goner.”
Patrick was in terrible shape.
The venom was so potent that his skin was melting in places, and his face was stained a deep purple.
He had been poisoned.
“What a mess.”
Patrick struggled to his feet, staggering.
Normally, he would have used his internal energy to expel the poison, but even that wasn't easy now.
He was already consuming a significant portion of his internal energy as Scorching Yang Energy just to resist the cold emitted by the Living Calamity.
Expelling the poison on top of that was too much of a strain on his reserves.
Barely suppressing it was his limit.
As a result, most of Patrick’s internal energy was being spent just to stay alive in this moment.
“I see. So this is what an apostle of Kalaron is like.”
He now understood why the mighty Roman Empire had no choice but to fail.
He had already consumed about eighty percent of his internal energy.
The powerful venom had melted his skin and invaded his muscles, and the poison that had entered his body was already seeping into his internal organs.
Since being born into this world, this was the first time he had been pushed this far in a one-on-one fight.
Defeat.
The moment that word crossed his mind, the look in Patrick’s eyes changed.
“Defeat, huh…”
Patrick laughed. Then, looking at the massive and infinitely powerful being before him, he spoke.
“Hey, giant turtle. Want me to teach you something good?”
He forced his battered body to move.
“Losing. That is the third thing I hate most in this world.”
He redirected the internal energy that had been resisting the cold and suppressing the poison into his offense.
Immediately, his skin, exposed to the extreme cold, began to freeze, and his internal organs, invaded by the poison, began to melt.
Despite the horrific pain of his skin cracking and his organs dissolving, the fighting spirit in Patrick’s eyes did not fade.
And then…
“From the single digits onward, it’s no joke.”
In an instant, the Aura Blade surrounding Patrick’s swords began to change its form.
The sword of light that had been shining brilliantly vanished.
In its place, a translucent sword of Aura revealed itself.
A sword that looked as if it were made of luminous glass, emitting a clear yet radiant light.
A sword that existed yet did not exist.
Two of the clearest and most transparent swords in the world were held in Patrick’s hands.
This was a realm beyond the Aura Blade.
The absolute proof that could only be wielded by those who had realized the state of ‘The Heart is the Sword, The Sword is the Heart.’
Grit.
“Consider it an honor.”
Formless Sword.
It was the final realization that Jincheon, the Radiant Dragon Hero of his past life, had reached just before his death at Nakbongpa.
With this, Patrick unleashed the strongest secret technique he was capable of.
In truth, this was a technique he wasn't yet supposed to be able to perform.
He had reached it once and had a vague grasp of it, but it was a realm he had not yet fully internalized.
Using this in reality would surely lead to Qi Deviation, causing him to die while bleeding from seven orifices. However…
So what? I don’t need to be picky right now, do I?
This was a virtual world anyway.
Patrick scraped together every bit of his Innate True Energy to execute the sword form.
His strongest technique…
Twin Dragon Eight Sword Styles.
Eighth Form: Ultimate Secret Art.
Dragon God’s Reign.
The manifestation of the Unity of Selflessness.
Forget the self…
Forget the sword…
Forget the world…
Just forget.
The two Formless Swords drew patterns in the air as if dancing.
The sword paths carved into the void transformed into a massive dragon.
The dragon within Patrick’s heart.
He manifested a true Divine Dragon, embodying solemnity, nobility, and absolute majesty.
Rumbleeeee.
In that moment, Patrick’s body and soul transcended human limits and soared into the sky.
Ascension.
The majestic dragon surged into the heavens, coiling its complex body to fill the sky before looking down upon the earth.
The manifestation of the Divine Dragon that rules over all.
This was the final secret art of the Twin Dragon Sect.
The ultimate technique that embodied a realm beyond humanity.
Dragon God’s Reign.
Grrrrrrr…
The moment it faced the Divine Dragon looking down arrogantly from the sky, the Living Calamity stopped in its tracks for the first time.
As if it had encountered a threat of equal standing for the first time.
Then…
Groaaaaaaar…
The Living Calamity opened its mouth and inhaled.
All the air in the vicinity was sucked in with a ferocious roar, and extreme cold was condensed.
So you want to do this?
Patrick’s sword, situated within the Divine Dragon, moved.
As his sword pointed upward, the Divine Dragon also raised its head and ascended even higher into the sky.
And having reached the limit, the Divine Dragon…
“Go!”
As Patrick’s sword swung downward, it plummeted toward the earth.
And simultaneously…
Kaaaaaaaah!
The Living Calamity also unleashed its ultimate breath toward the sky.
The moment those two massive beings collided with all their might.
KABOOOOM!
That power blanketed the entire world.
* * *
“W-What in the world…”
“Isn’t there still time left?”
“There’s no mistake. But this…”
“Uh… Uh-oh?”
The Seven Sages were in a state of great panic, flustered.
Even for the great Seven Sages, who boasted the continent’s greatest knowledge and wisdom, this situation was beyond their common sense.
A powerful warning sound erupted from the artifact Patrick was inside…
[Warning! Warning! Overflow occurring. Nearby personnel, please evacuate immediately.]
This was a first.
They hadn't completely deciphered this ancient artifact, but they hadn't known it even had such a function.
In this rare situation, a few of them remained true to their instincts as mages.
“W-We have to record this.”
“Let’s decipher that character pattern.”
“We must accurately record the state of the artifact as well. Is anyone saving the image?”
Mages will be mages…
Meanwhile, the Second Sage, the only one who had regained his senses, roared.
“No, it says to evacuate! You crazy old fools!”
Only after he shouted did the other Sages snap out of it. However…
“…Evacuate?”
“From here?”
“N-Nooooo!”
“Protect the nearby treasures first!”
“Cast shields! Shields!”
“Aaaaaah!”
How could they evacuate from a secret storehouse filled with precious items?
They had to protect it somehow.
The Seven Sages hurriedly began casting, layering shields around the artifact.
The layered shields cast by seven Sages should be able to block even a Dragon’s Breath.
So they could rest easy…
BOOM!
“Gah!”
“Aaaargh!”
“Cough… hack…”
“Ugh… urgh…”
The moment the artifact finally exploded.
Four of the Seven Sages collapsed, coughing up blood.
It was the result of a mana backflow caused by their full-power defensive magic being forcibly shattered.
And after everything was over.
Pshhhhh. Clang.
Patrick, emerging from the artifact as the lid opened, said, “Huh? What are you guys doing?”
“……”
Seeing Patrick’s nonchalant expression, the Third Sage wiped the blood from his mouth and spoke.
“You… brat.”
Thud.
After leaving that single remark that represented everyone’s feelings, he finally collapsed as well.
And Patrick shrugged his shoulders and said, “What did I even do?”