Heavenly Slaughter Star Is a Genius (No, It's Not)
A halo floated above Enoch's head. The moment he truly unleashed his presence, the entire area stirred with unease.
"Ugh...! M-Master?"
"How can a backwater place like this have two Masters...!"
Purple lightning crackled through the eyeholes of the mask. The lord frowned at the sight.
"A Master, no less, pulling a stunt like this."
"Didn't you swing first?"
Enoch, true to form, only said what he wanted to say before taking a single step forward. At that exact moment, lightning surged from the ground.
Crackle!
The lord kicked his horse into a leap to dodge. The horse left behind simply tilted its head in confusion. The rising bolt had deliberately avoided the animal and targeted only the lord.
"Insolent."
Realizing he was being toyed with, the lord poured power into his blade.
Whoosh! Bright light clung to the sword.
Yet Enoch's eyes as he watched were strangely calm.
"So you're not a Master."
"Shut your mouth."
"Gang Qi without a star inside is just a slightly denser clump of sword energy."
Enoch flicked his hand lightly.
Boom! The lord swung to meet it. But the instant he sensed the flow of mana in the air, he yanked his body back.
Crackle! The lord swallowed a groan as lightning flashed through empty space.
Enoch casually cracked his knuckles. Pop. Pop.
The gloves were pretty decent after all.
He had left them behind when he stormed out of the house, so Enoch was bare-handed now. He hadn't noticed while wearing them, but their absence left him feeling oddly incomplete.
As he stared quietly at the lord, a thunderous shout suddenly erupted from the mercenaries.
"Treason! Protect the lord!"
Max patted the shouting man's shoulder like a proud coach.
That the kid was a Master was outside my calculations. In that case, I need to help the lord and eliminate him here.
Max already had a bad feeling about this. He hadn't thought there was any real reason for it, but the way that brat looked at him felt distinctly ominous. If so, it was better to deal with the threat before it dealt with him. Plus, it would put the lord in his debt. Two birds, one stone.
Besides, once entangled with a Master in a grudge, half-measures would only get him killed. No matter what it took, even if it meant dragging the lord into it, he would end this here and now.
Max raised his axe in response to the cry.
"Protect the lord!"
Countless mercenaries lifted their weapons. Max's subordinates. Those temporarily siding with the lord. Others simply caught up in the frenzy. In an instant, Enoch stood alone.
He suddenly realized something.
Come to think of it, I still don't know the name of this city.
I'll have to look it up later.
Enoch drew up the mana within his body.
Crackle! Lightning erupted across his entire form.
A slowly rotating halo hovered above his head as he took a careful breath.
Thunder God Mythology only up to this point. Any higher output and my body will take damage.
The current state, where the halo flickered faintly between presence and absence, was ideal. And it was more than enough.
The realm of Master. The senses of the Heavenly Slaughter Lightning God Technique were beginning to return.
Thud! The moment his foot came down, lightning spread outward like a fog.
The mercenaries faltered and retreated. At the same time, acceleration.
Swish!
Enoch appeared before the lord in the blink of an eye, both hands curved like claws.
Massacre. Countless slashes descended upon the lord.
The lord grit his teeth and responded, swinging his sword without pause to deflect every strike.
But Enoch's attacks were not mere martial arts. He had been using it since the beginning, but only now was he truly accustomed to the Heavenly Slaughter Lightning God Technique. His movements were the incantation. The mana flowing through his body was the magic circle itself.
Using the countless strikes of massacre as a trigger, countless spells activated at once.
"What...! Simultaneous casting...!?"
The shocked lord gasped and gathered his strength. His sword blazed with light. Then a blade dyed deep indigo swept forward as if to erase everything before it.
BOOOOOOM────────!!!
Thick smoke rose. Chaos was the mercenaries' favorite playground.
"Get him!"
"Waaaaah!"
Mercenaries with shields charged forward. Spearmen lined up behind them. From further back came flying lassos and nets.
"Eri."
"Beneath a single bond,
becoming a single star,
I shall tear apart and kill everything before my eyes."
⟨ Heavenly Slaughter Lightning God Technique ⟩
At Enoch's call, the materialized Eri knocked every incoming attack out of the air. He extended his hand, and she quickly scampered up to sit on his palm.
"Good girl."
"[Kyun!]"
Enoch tucked her against his chest. Leaving control of his middle dantian to Eri, he delicately adjusted the Thunder God Mythology and focused on the phrase now engraved in his mind.
It felt a little embarrassing to read now, but it was the most honest realization he possessed. The foundational mental method of the Estor family had melted into the Heavenly Slaughter Lightning God Technique, and this new first line summoned the star within Enoch's heart.
"Ah..."
A star settled into the mana coating his hand. That star was his heart toward Rionne, and at the same time, it was proof of himself. The star he had raised was himself. Therefore, Gang Qi was the image. The form of the heart transforming into a star and dwelling within one's own mana—a brilliant miracle.
Sssss... The wild lightning quietly subsided. Within that calm, it took clear shape while embracing the star.
This was true Gang Qi. A star manifested on an entirely different level from crudely condensed clumps of mana.
At the same time, Enoch realized something. Gang Qi infused with one's own image was akin to a small authority. True Masters each possessed their own unique authority, equal in number to the countless crossroads drawn by the trajectory of their lives.
And Enoch's authority was...
"Wait. This isn't the time."
The state of no-self shattered. It was a realm he could enter whenever he wished, but the unpleasant sensation of descending from that floating state was the same. Enoch glared at the lord.
"Didn't you hear? The monster wave is right in front of us. We don't have time to fight each other."
"What do I care? Can't even escape from mere monsters?"
"Then who will protect this city? Who will protect its people?"
Enoch snorted. "You have to protect your own body yourself. You can ask for help, but that isn't a right."
"I am the lord. I have a duty to protect them, and they have the right to be protected."
"I'm not the lord, though."
The lord fell silent for a moment, unable to argue with the logic.
"...Surely you have some love for humanity. Let's settle our score later and stop the monster wave first."
"I don't like humans."
If they were elves, maybe. But did he really have to step forward to protect humans? Enoch voiced the question with genuine curiosity.
"Besides, you attacked first."
"......"
The lord's brow furrowed deeply. He didn't bother explaining that it had been to maintain discipline, or that Enoch's response had been the abnormal one. Further conversation would only run in parallel lines with no meaning. Since their values differed, persuasion was pointless.
In that case...
"Whatever. The mood's ruined. This is annoying."
Enoch withdrew his killing intent. The lord blinked, but Enoch simply clicked his tongue.
"There are plenty of other opponents even if it's not you."
One step. Lightning clung to his footfall. The mercenaries scrambled backward as Enoch's form flickered and blurred with impossible speed.
"Hmm."
Enoch now stood before Max and tilted his head. Max smiled while cold sweat poured down his face.
"W-why?"
"......"
"No matter what, he's the lord of our city. I can't exactly not take his side, right?"
"......"
"A-and I didn't really do anything! Let's be civil about this, yeah?"
Enoch's hand moved. Max twisted desperately and swung his axe, but he was too slow.
Slap!
Enoch's palm smacked the sweaty bald head.
"Oh."
Max's legs gave out and he collapsed on the spot. Enoch wiped the sweat from his hand on a nearby mercenary's clothes and nodded.
"Satisfied."
Whether Max was the mastermind or whatever else didn't interest him nearly as much as that shiny bald head. After all, the man didn't seem like he'd become a threat no matter what he tried. And if he did become a threat... well. Wouldn't that be more interesting?
Blink. Enoch's form vanished from the spot.
*
On the city wall, the lord infused his voice with mana and roared.
"Everyone hold your positions! If every person fulfills their role where they stand, the wall will never fall!"
A pitch-black wave approached from afar. Every tiny dot was a monster. The lord had only witnessed such a thing a handful of times in his long life, yet he could not shake the suspicion surrounding this sudden monster wave.
What is happening here?
Dungeon outbreaks had grown frequent lately. That meant the flow of mana was anything but normal. It might stop at this level for now, but would it truly remain that way in the future?
The lord did not think so. Of course, he never considered that this might be beyond the control of the demigods who ruled the continent. It was either something they had allowed, or the aftermath of one of their actions. To those lofty beings, insignificant lives were no different from bugs underfoot. One should not expect their acknowledgment.
Then the bugs could only survive in their own way.
"Everyone raise your weapons! Our home—"
Rumble────────!!!
Thunder roared across the clear sky. Purple lightning streaked through the blue expanse. Every eye turned toward that single bolt.
"That is..."
The lord was no exception. He glared at the purple line cut across the heavens.
What on earth is he thinking...?
The lord ground his teeth. Even though he himself was a Master, the sheer number of monsters meant he could not stop that horde alone. But if that unidentified Master chose to help, the monster wave could be dealt with easily.
Should they open the gates and charge? How could he trust that madman? Above all, the soldiers' casualties would be far too heavy.
Having made his decision, the lord shouted.
"All units, standby! Do not lower your guard until I give the order!"
*
Enoch leaped toward the distant swarm of monsters. The omnipotent sensation from maintaining Thunder God Mythology overflowed uncontrollably.
There's still plenty of time.
At this output, he had roughly two hours. In that case, there was no reason not to dive straight in.
[No! What the hell are you doing, you crazy idiot!?]
"What?"
[Why are you deliberately crawling in there!? Can't you hear the sound of Rionne's heart shattering!?]
Enoch's body stiffened. But it was fine. Rionne had said so herself.
"It's okay as long as I don't lose. She'll praise me for doing a good job."
[Are you a genius or what!?]
"Yes."
[That wasn't a compliment, you moron!]
Could spirits even get high blood pressure? Undine had finally put an end to that long-standing question.