Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Haken Wert
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A silent city where not even the chirping of insects could be heard. The blood-red night sky burned quietly, gazing down upon the scorched earth—a dead land swept by flames, where no life drew breath.
"Not bad."
Nameless shook off his sword, pristine without a single drop of blood. It was a long-held habit. He sheathed it silently into the scabbard at his waist, adding the sound of his footsteps to the silence he himself had wrought.
He had honed his blade in preparation for the clash with the Sword Sovereign. A sword tempered with human blood and flesh was sharper than any famed blade, and using an entire city as a whetstone had left his cherished weapon keener than ever.
Thud. Corpses kept snagging at his feet. Annoying. He kicked aside the obstructing bodies and pressed on.
The Sword Sovereign. A once-in-a-generation genius swordsman said to have ascended to the Harmony Realm—a realm also known as Grandmaster, something truly extraordinary.
The final realm a mortal could reach, transcending the limits of one's birth as a mere beast to become a true transcendent.
As a warrior who had himself reached the Harmony Realm, Nameless had long wondered about the Sword Sovereign's prowess, preserved at that pinnacle since time immemorial.
"Can you make my heart race?"
It had to be so. A Sword Sovereign counted among the Ten Supremes of the world should surely make this wretched swordsman's heart pound fit to burst.
Perhaps even her disciple? He considered it briefly, but no, impossible. Word was the boy had only just etched a star onto his qi reinforcement—hardly enough to withstand even a single strike from him.
Yet surprisingly, the Sword Sovereign's disciple had put up a satisfactory showing.
"Hmm, dodged it? Sharp instincts."
Even if it was a casual strike without drawing his sword, to evade it entirely. He had aimed for the throat, yet the boy had sacrificed just one eye to save his life.
Not a bad warm-up before facing the Sword Sovereign. Nameless strolled onward leisurely.
"Coming at me with an attack right off the bat! You're clearly some vile villain!"
Until the madman blocked his path.
*
His boiling rage paused for a moment. What could he even say? It was all because of the lunatic before him.
"I'll be your opponent, Zikfline le Demisto—urk...!"
The head looked a bit sore, but he wasn't a bad guy. Enoch grabbed Zikfline by the head and slammed it into the ground.
Slash—!
If he hadn't, that last attack would've taken his neck clean off.
"So you can see me after all."
The man who revealed himself raised one eyebrow. Enoch realized now—the guy hadn't even drawn the sword at his waist. His instincts raced through the calculations. No chance of winning. None.
He kicked the unconscious Zikfline far aside and stepped forward.
An opponent he absolutely couldn't beat. He'd already lost one eye, and his life could be next.
"Interesting."
He unleashed his full power. Best to open with something fierce.
"Take steady form, manifest shape."
He chanted swiftly, eyes locked on the man. No sign of movement.
"Railgun."
The projectile dropped into the barrel. The reaction was instantaneous the moment they connected.
Fwoooosh─────────!!!
Hundreds of rounds fired off. Even with mana reinforced by Pseudo Thunder God Transformation, it was all he could do to track their speed. The man casually raised a hand.
"I have no name to give, but if I must call it something, Nameless. Hurry up and die, then fetch your master."
His finger flicked. That simple motion cleaved every single projectile. As the lightning scattered into the air, Enoch's gaze sank.
'Of course...'
Before the thought could finish, the world slowed. He could see it. The man had drawn his sword at some point.
When had he swung? He realized his mistake immediately. It was already swung. His senses screamed as the blade strike closed in on his throat.
Could he dodge? No. Too late.
Could he block? No. He'd just get sliced along with it.
Then? A torrent of thoughts exploded in his mind like the lantern show said to flash before death.
Trying plasma now was futile. He was too weak for whatever he could produce in this split second to save his neck.
So, death it was? Well, no real thrill or anything. If he died, that was that. Only regrettable thing was Lione grieving.
Unfulfilled dreams. Futures he'd hoped for. All severed by a single blade.
Regrettable. That he was this feeble. Maybe he should've trained harder—a twinge of regret.
A past conversation surfaced. What is love? How's it different from friendship? Naming the indefinable human heart—what use was that?
What was Lione to him? Mother? Sister? Master? Lover?
She gave meaning to his colorless life, poured out the love he thought he'd never receive—like parents.
A father whose face he didn't know. A mother who died selling her body. People around him worse than slum rats.
No one ever offered a kind word. No regrets now. Thanks to that, he met Lione.
The reason for his life. Proof of his worth. Her desires were his, her happiness his own. A touch greedy, he just wanted to stand by her side.
If that was what people called love, fine. That was his love.
He let go, emptied himself, and felt it fill anew. Enlightenment at the last moment.
Satisfied. He knew himself now. One regret: not telling her. Well, his head was coming off—nothing for it.
Kaaaaang─────────!!
Not quite. A bit embarrassing.
"Hoo, what's that?"
No idea. He checked where the power came from. Just a ring.
"Lione..."
Saved by her again. Then he'd make it count.
Boom────────!
He stomped the ground. The earth plasmized, dying the surroundings. He was certain he could do it now.
Crackle──────
He knew himself. Whatever he crammed into his core, he could control it now. Maintaining was another issue, but not important right now.
"Huu..."
Deep breath, then action.
Thump—
His heart beat. He overlaid the controlled plasma ring upon it.
Thump—
His heart pounded like it would burst. No—
Splurt—!
It just did. He replaced the burst heart with the plasma ring. Ignited fusion he barely understood in theory. Vast energy filled him to the bursting point, excess plasma rippling across his body.
Pseudo Thunder God Transformation僞雷神化
The body-bursting energy all sucked into the heart ring. It amplified, and more was born anew.
Whumm—
Plasma filled the empty eye socket. No eye anyway; he etched a tiny ring inside.
Thunder God Transformation雷神化
Power overflowed his body. Through the hollow socket, he glimpsed the world's truths. Right now, he could crush that man... nah, no chance.
'What the hell is that.'
Elevated as he was, he could see it. Monster. A gap still impossible to close.
"Showing me something fun. Well, the Sword Sovereign didn't take you as disciple for nothing."
Nameless laughed and swung his sword. Right eye saw the blade strike; left thunder eye saw the line etched into the world.
Kiiiiing──────────!!
The halo spun, gathering plasma at his fingertips, and he swung with full power, layering magic atop it.
Boom──────!!!
He barely blocked the strike at its end. The shock made his whole body ache.
"...Fucking hell."
Now hundreds of such strikes flew at him. Could he block? He had to. Enoch gritted his teeth.
Craaaack────────────
And all the strikes vanished. Riven space. Nameless and Enoch both stared at it.
[──────────]
An eerie resonance shook the space. From the shattered void, massive tree trunks burst forth. They seized and tore at the rift.
A colossal arm of wood braced against the ground, and finally, something emerged.
[...Enoch.]
A slender elf. Writhing tree trunks around her formed shapes.
[Those eyes... what are they?]
The elf's gaze turned to Nameless. He laughed at the chilling pressure.
"Sword Sovereign!"
He shed his casual demeanor, unleashing full power. The world quaked at the sword in his grip. Soon it swung,
Kuuuung────────!!
A massive hand smashed down on him. The elf's eyes, filled with contempt, looked down at where he had stood.
[Know your place.]
At her gesture, his own drawn sword hung in the air. Simultaneously, it swung.
Slash──────────
Space split along the blade's path. The momentary glimpse of pitch-black void mended itself. And there, in its place, Nameless stood—bereft of one arm—baring his teeth.
"Excellent...!"
The stump writhed, regenerating. The elf raised her hand. A colossal hand of intertwined trunks gripped an equally massive sword of wood.
[Today.]
The sword blotted out the sky. Even the sun could not peer down. The elf, standing at the boundary of mortal and immortal, declared.
[I will erase the name Haken Wert.]
Kuuuung──────────!!!!
The sword fell.
*
"Y-Young master! Are you alright!?"
"Ugh... wh-what... is this..."
Zikfline opened his eyes. It had been daytime, hadn't it? Why so dark?
He lifted his head slightly. A massive tree monster loomed, enough to drive anyone mad just looking at it.
"Huh?"
Kuuuung──────────!!!!
The descending sword obliterated the ground.
Whoa, whoever that was, getting hit by that. Wouldn't hurt, though. Instant death.
He fought the urge to pass out again and scanned his surroundings. First thing he saw: Heavenly Death Star. Violet mist rippled around, looking insanely dangerous.
If not for that tree monster in front, he'd have fainted from shock. As it was, nothing else registered.
"...Th-that's the Sword Sovereign. I-I never imagined she'd be this much..."
He felt Jatun's body trembling. His eyes were gone, at least. Looked ready to faint just from seeing her. What kind of monster was the Sword Sovereign that the captain of the guard was about to keel over from a glance?
He glanced at the tree monster again.
'Ah, eye contact.'
For some reason, the elf's hazy, fog-shrouded form. The moment he thought their eyes met, Zikfline's consciousness snapped.