Chapter 73
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Sword God's Clone
Towering mountain ranges encircled the vast expanse of the sea.
It seemed the monsters that had crossed over from the forest preferred the mountains over the ocean.
"Butler!"
As Tsukiyo reached out a hand from atop her wooden horse, Enoch dashed forward.
The goal of this training session was to unify his widely scattered abilities into one. In simple terms, convergence.
And how to achieve that convergence? They decided to follow Tsukiyo's suggestion first.
"Try the First Form!"
The First Form of the Heavenly Slaughter Thunder Divine Art was Brutal Slaughter. He hadn't used it much lately, but since she asked, he went ahead and did as told.
Kwajajajak—!
Countless trajectories slashed through the empty air, grinding the monster before his eyes to pieces.
He'd originally created it as a somewhat defensive technique, but using it offensively left the remains a gruesome mess.
"Hieeek... Isn't that a bit much?"
"No, you told me to use the First Form."
He used it because she said to, so why complain now?
Enoch grumbled as he brushed the blood from his clothes. Feeling awkward, Tsukiyo thrust her hand out again.
"N-Next!"
Enoch unleashed the Heavenly Slaughter Thunder Divine Art to his heart's content while bounding through the mountains with Tsukiyo. She roughly compared it in her mind to what she'd seen during their sparring, then nodded as if she understood something.
"You're starting to get the hang of it."
"Yeah? I have no idea."
"Right. That's it. I don't get it either."
"What."
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Enoch let out a hollow laugh.
"It's just vague. It feels like I need to focus on one thing, but when I try, they're already too intertwined."
"Then just keep doing what you've been doing."
"Hmm..."
—Kueeeek──────!!
Amid the cries of the Noise Parrot echoing in the background, their mountain climb started to feel a bit stymied.
Frankly, focus or whatever was fine, but the path to Grandmaster wasn't clearly visible, which left him feeling frustrated.
When he mentioned it to Tsukiyo, she burst into incredulous laughter.
"What are you whining about? You're not even twenty yet. Your current level is already ridiculous."
As she spoke, she seemed to find it absurd and started recounting stories from the training grounds.
"The elves who at first said we should go easy on the kid ended up just eating, drinking, and cheering by the end. It was so ridiculous."
"Good for them."
Enoch patted his chest and summoned Eri.
[What?]
"Eri, wanna stretch your legs?"
[Hm, sure.]
Eri manifested and wagged her tail. Still just five tails. But she couldn't be underestimated.
After all, she handled the orchestration that even overwhelmed Enoch alone on normal days. Without her, his combat power would drop significantly, so Eri's individual strength was exceptionally high.
Ururung──────!!
Eri rampaged, scattering thunderbolts. Watching his spirit quietly, Enoch suddenly jerked his head up.
"Something..."
"What's wrong?"
"Feels off. Like something bad's about to happen."
"...Don't say ominous stuff like that. It might actually happen here."
"No, I think it's already happening."
His chest stirred uneasily for some reason.
Enoch turned his head toward the mountainside obscured by trees. It should be nothing, but...
His gut feeling was bad.
Hwiiik────!
At that moment, the sound of a flute pierced the air. Enoch's expression twisted into a scowl.
*
Seokeuk──────────
Lione glared at the sword that had whistled over her head, cold sweat trickling down her back.
Even for her, a direct hit would have severed her head clean off—a lethal strike. And its wielder went without saying.
Kyle Estor. Her dad.
"No... For real!?"
The silent sword wove through the space. Lione desperately parried with her own blade, gritting her teeth.
'Is it really because of the Noise Parrot?'
There hadn't been any warning signs. Her dad's clone had suddenly burst in and started swinging wildly.
At least it came for her. It was far stronger than expected—if it had gone after Enoch, it could've been a disaster.
"I won't hold back either!?"
Lione went all out. She fused with Undine in an instant and manipulated the surrounding trees to assault the clone.
Seokeuk────────
But the clone casually swung its sword once, blocking everything effortlessly.
No shockwaves from clashing forces. Every attack simply dissolved like flowing water.
That was the Sword God. The battle between two masters at that realm was eerily silent, without a single extraneous noise.
Kaaang—!
Only the occasional metallic clang of swords clashing echoed through the mountains.
"Lione!"
The Rangers began gathering one by one, sensing the minor disturbance. They must have been nearby, arriving quickly.
[Stay back!]
"But...!"
[You'll just get in the way—hurry!]
At her urgent cry, the Rangers clenched their teeth and maintained only a loose encirclement.
Hwiiik────!
But they couldn't just stand idle. She summoned the flute she carried and gathered her forces.
Kurung—!
Then, out of nowhere, a single bolt of lightning etched across the clear blue sky. A massive purple thunderbolt carrying immense power slammed down onto the mountain.
Ururung──────────!!!
The fight halted abruptly, entering a standoff. The wordless clone stared at the lightning's impact site, while the Rangers gazed at its master with trembling eyes.
'That's...'
'Lione's disciple.'
They'd seen him fight during sparring, but the aura now was on another level. Their hairs stood on end. Legs went weak, as if shoving their heads into a beast's maw.
'What killing intent...!'
Enoch, landing on the ground, set Tsukiyo down and glared at the clone. Even though it wasn't targeting them, his fingertips trembled.
The Ranger captain signaled to pull the men back further, pounding his chest as if his throat were clogged.
'At least he's on our side.'
Their realms seemed comparable. As the Rangers' captain, he'd just entered Grandmaster, so in terms of realm alone, he was arguably higher.
The village had several elves at higher realms, but he'd never seen anything like that. It was pure, overwhelming killing intent, realm aside.
[Whoa, he's pissed.]
Undine, fused with Lione, let out a hollow laugh. Taking that as her cue, the clone resumed its charge at Lione.
[.......]
Enoch watched with sunken eyes, then wove Halo and Pathos to form a third circle.
True Self
With multicolored circles floating behind him, he extended a hand expressionlessly.
'A wound...'
A faint scar etched on Lione's cheek. It was nothing serious, but the moment he saw it, keeping his composure became a struggle.
『Azure Shifting Light Star』
A capricious blue star materialized before the clone.
Seokeuk—
It was dismantled with a single slash, but that was enough.
[Nice one, Enoch!]
Lione seized the opening and pressed the attack. And it wasn't just Enoch and Lione here.
"My matchup sucks, nyang...!"
Gritting her teeth, Tsukiyo slipped between the clone and Lione with her signature fluid, liquid-like movements.
Sword met sword, sword met claws. Knowing getting closer would only hinder them, Enoch silently began casting spells.
Kung—!
He stomped the ground, and hundreds of magic circles unfurled behind him. Plasma rippled through the air, expanding the domain as his fingers danced through the empty air like a conductor's baton.
Ppararak────────!!
Magic poured down, with Tsukiyo joining in. Lione seized the momentum and began driving the clone back.
'Is this the best I can do?'
Enoch knew it too. At his current level, support was all he could offer.
Why? Because he was weak.
He'd rushed, trained hard. But when it mattered, this was it.
Things looked smooth now, but if the situation turned? What could he do besides watch?
[...Fucking hell.]
His rage transmuted into inspiration, taking the form of a massive plasma spear.
Wuuuung──────
The multicolored circles behind him aligned like a conduit, targeting the clone.
『Milky Way』
His foot pushed off the ground. The force traveled through his legs, waist, shoulder, arm, hand, and into the spear.
Puhwaaaak────────!!!
The spear launched,
────────────!!!!
And upon passing through the circle, it reached the target at impossible speed.
"...Not bad."
The clone spoke for the first time, moving its sword. The blade tip traced a single perfect circle. Flawless, without the slightest deviation—an orb that would churn a mortal's guts just to behold.
[What...!?]
Lione cried out in shock.
[I thought he couldn't use techniques!?]
It hadn't used any forms so far, so she'd assumed as much. But the scene unfolding before her eyes was undeniable.
[Fall back!]
With a sharp shout, Lione positioned herself in front of Enoch.
『When Things Reach Extremity, They Must Reverse』
The circle drawn by the clone upended heaven and earth.
Literally. The ground surged toward the sky, the sky plummeted to the earth. Simultaneously, every incoming attack's trajectory inverted.
Kuuuuwuuung────────!!!
Amid the scattering cloud fragments, the clone stood on the sky itself and silently raised its sword.
"Come."
The fallen Sword God's serenity intoned.