Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Hilda Ragnar (5)
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‘It feels like I’ve thrown a spark into an oil drum.’
It was hot.
The combination of the Thunder Dragon Inner Method and the Heat Resonance Formula was far more effective than Theo had anticipated.
Mana resonance linking from the Dragon’s Heart to his dantian.
Then heat piled on top, blazing even fiercer.
On top of that, the purity of his mana had improved thanks to the Azure Clarity Pills and Azure Light Pills.
If he didn’t vent it out somehow, his body would burn up.
‘Hot. Too damn hot.’
So Theo rode the heat onto the waves leaking outward.
The result? A terrifying form wrapped in hot winds, steam, and lightning.
‘Still not enough. I need to release more……!’
He should have been worrying about his martial prowess growing too rapidly.
But the mana was boiling up faster than he could release it, so he had to do something.
Only one method came to mind right away.
- Push back the guys in front of him, fast.
‘There must be documents related to Troyvan or Ed in the vaults around here. Let’s shove them all the way there.’
Fortunately, the surging heat naturally carried destructive power.
Theo moved based on memories from his past life.
Back then, he’d been nothing but a lowly pawn taking orders, but now he moved by his own will.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
The Dragon’s Heart throbbed wildly.
With an enormous pulsing sound, the spreading waves mixed with heat, enveloping the underground in scorching temperatures in an instant.
Boom!
Screeech—
“Block it!”
Where Theo fiercely kicked off the ground, a black scorch mark lingered, followed by white steam trailing long in the air like a tail.
A streak of light shot up from skimming the ground into the air.
Drake’s blade began rampaging ferociously.
[Dragon’s Five Claws – Shredding]
‘Five trajectories in a single breath.’
Theo decided to make full use of everything he’d learned from Julius and the Plum Palace Lord during this time.
Straight lines and curves.
Speed and illusion.
Hardness and softness.
Destruction and harmony.
The Demon Dragon Six Arts and the 24 Plum Blossom Sword seemed as incompatible as water and oil.
Yet these two shared one singular point of connection.
- Streaks of light.
The single sword that Kyle had bestowed upon each of the Nine Dragons, granting them unique enlightenments.
Theo sought to unpack the heart sword Kyle had shown during the third Awakening Ceremony in the style of One Branch Plum.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
The sword strikes pouring out like a gale weren’t just fast.
Loaded with hot winds and immense power, they boasted tremendous destructive force.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Everything in Theo’s path shattered and scattered.
Cracks spiderwebbed across walls, dust rained from the ceiling.
Assassins were flung back with their bodies smashed.
Yet Theo’s strikes didn’t slow; they accelerated even more.
Thanks to that, two more claws could be added to his strikes.
[Dragon’s Seven Claws]
Seven destructive sword strikes unleashed in a single breath were already a calamity unto themselves.
“Who the hell is this guy……!”
The assassins’ faces paled in an instant.
‘There it is.’
Finally, Theo reached his target spot.
“We have to block this place!”
“Damn it! Don’t let him through! Hold out somehow!”
The assassins guarding the vault grew frantic.
A wave of swords rose to sweep them all away.
Flash—
Kwaaaang!
For the first time, Theo’s sword strike was blocked.
A middle-aged man draped in a blood-red himation over his upper body.
He grinned savagely as he gripped Drake’s blade with his pitch-black ‘bare hand.’
“Priest!”
“Priest…….”
The assassins brightened at the middle-aged man’s appearance.
But all his attention was fixed on Theo.
He exuded the unique aura of a monk.
“Oh, what a calamity. Enlightenment gained amid slaughter. A seed of Magoni. Today, I must reluctantly open the precept of killing.”
Theo’s eyes sank deeply.
“Blood Priest.”
“You seem to know who this monk is, young patron?”
“Isn’t it awkward to say that while draped in the Holy Demon Church’s robes?”
“Ah, indeed. Haha. Quite perceptive, young patron.”
Holy Demon Church.
A cult preaching that the end of the world was near, a savior would descend from the heavens to establish a millennial kingdom.
By sheer force alone, they rivaled the empire’s great families, or so it was said.
In the future, they would be the masterminds behind the [Great War] that drove the empire to collapse.
Their sudden appearance might seem unexpected.
But Theo had anticipated it.
‘I heard they were already active in various places long before the Great War. Their ties to Troyvan were especially close.’
The connection between Troyvan and the Holy Demon Church wouldn’t be revealed until long after the empire’s fall.
But now, things would be different.
Theo planned to expose Troyvan’s collusion with the Holy Demon Church and Ed’s schemes to the Ragnars.
Ding!
[A quest has arrived.]
+
[Scenario Quest #2]
You have encountered a grudge from your past life. Thwart their schemes and claim victory.
· Difficulty: A+
· Reward: 10 Coins
· Failure: Death
+
‘A grudge from my past life…….’
Theo narrowed his eyes.
‘Was there something between me and Troyvan that I didn’t know about?’
His mother Cecilia’s false accusation.
His own death after leaving the family.
He was getting closer to the truth that still eluded him.
Theo regripped Drake’s blade.
The bubbling mana exploded, seeping into the blade.
Ziiing!
With a clear sword resonance, steam rose faintly from the edge.
At the same time,
[Skill: Lesser Drake Phere activates, sharpening the blade with killing intent.]
Whoooosh—
The dragon-slaying aura, now even sharper like a blade, enveloped the Blood Priest.
The Blood Priest narrowed his eyes.
“But foolish as well, young patron. You recognize who this monk is, yet still intend to fight to the end. Youthful bloodlust consumes you. This too must be the divine will……!”
In that instant, a blood-red glow flared in the Blood Priest’s eyes.
“Become an offering to the god!”
The Blood Priest twisted his upper body swiftly.
His himation fluttered in the wind as his black bare hand tore through the dragon-slaying aura, aiming straight for Theo’s nape.
The Blood Priest was a rank in the Holy Demon Church permitted to proselytize.
As a natural-born martial artist, he was far stronger than most of Ragnar’s combat swordsmen.
No opponent to take lightly.
Kwaaaang!
Crackle—
Drake’s blade clashed with the black hand, sparks flying.
“What a wondrous sword. Few weapons can withstand this monk’s Black Iron Hand.”
The Black Iron Hand was a secret art unique to the Holy Demon Church, forged by training in iron sand mixed with special herbs.
It created skin far tougher than average weapons, making exposure dangerous.
“Too perilous for a young patron to carry. This monk will keep it safe for you.”
Theo ignored the man’s chatter and focused on attacking.
‘Demon Dragon Six Arts.’
He recalled Julius’s sword.
What he needed now was the Demon Dragon’s power to herald the apocalypse.
In an instant, the killing intent surrounding Theo turned as ferocious as a Demon Dragon’s.
“Hm……?”
Before the Blood Priest could sense it and voice his doubt, another barrage of sword strikes poured forth.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
As he deflected the Black Iron Hand aside, hot winds swirled.
A vortex from ground to ceiling.
Lightning bolts arced upward through the gaps, unleashing thunder.
Kraaang! Kraaang! Kraaang! Kraaang!
“Hup!”
The Blood Priest’s hands and feet blurred to deflect the assault.
His robes tore, wounds multiplying across his sturdy flesh.
Then, four Thunder Dragons pierced his blind spots.
Deathbite.
Kwaaaaaang!
Rumble—
With a massive explosion, the Blood Priest was pushed back hard.
His bloodied state made it hard to believe this was the Holy Demon Church’s Blood Priest, terrorizer of the world.
“I thought you were just a child, but you truly are a Ragnar? Hah……! Leaving you alive would only hinder the divine cause time and again!”
Yet the Blood Priest didn’t seem troubled; he looked delighted.
Theo sensed the need to press him harder from that savage grin.
But this time, the Blood Priest moved first.
As if to prove he hadn’t earned his place lightly, the mana leaking from him sharpened.
The blood-red glow that had lingered around his eyes now enveloped his entire body, shining brilliantly like a halo.
His straight punch thrust forward like a battering ram piercing castle gates.
Kwaaaang!
The ground beneath Theo and the Blood Priest cratered deeply from the clash with Drake’s blade.
As if by agreement, they spun in opposite directions for new attacks.
Theo’s trajectory swept from left to right; the Blood Priest’s fist stamped down from above.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-boom!
In rapid clashes, Theo realized the aura surrounding the Blood Priest was gradually changing.
‘[Blood Light Harmony]? As expected, it’s a pain up close.’
What made Blood Priests fearsome wasn’t just their mad fanaticism that disregarded life—it was their martial prowess that rose continuously in battle.
They called it <Possession>, invoking the god’s spirit and flesh into their bodies. The longer the fight, the less they tired; instead, stamina and mana increased.
He didn’t know the principle.
He just assumed it was power gained in exchange for their souls offered to the god after death.
Theoretically, as long as mental strength held, they could wield near-infinite stamina and mana, so most factions avoided direct clashes.
Theo applied [Spirit] to his eyes to observe the changes in the Blood Priest’s mana.
Mana leaking from the Aura Hall surged up the spine to the head.
‘Pounding the brain gate? Strengthening thoughts? But normally, that would drive you mad?’
Theo couldn’t readily grasp the principle of Blood Light Harmony.
He’d peeked hoping the quest would hint at mind·energy·body ascension.
But the details were baffling.
The brain gate was a mysterious realm still largely unknown.
Thanks to the grimoire Amon, Theo could utilize it, but understanding it fully? Not yet.
And they just pounded it with mana?
Suicidal.
Yet the Blood Priest did exactly that, amplifying his stamina and mana as a result.
There must be a secret there.
‘Using the brain gate to control rampaging mana instead…… Could be useful for me. Something to learn?’
Theo briefly considered mimicking it exactly, but shook his head at the risk.
Perhaps tampering recklessly with the brain gate was what bred such fanaticism.
‘Still, I might glean a hint.’
Mana amplification could link to venting his own heat buildup.
Lost in thought, another idea struck him.
‘Wait. Strengthening thoughts means I can peer in from my side, right?’
With Hatchling Synchro, couldn’t he uncover something about Blood Light Harmony?
Maybe even glimpse their aims.
‘Let’s try.’
With that, Theo pushed his body even harder.
Shiiiik!
In an instant, he shifted from Demon Dragon Six Arts to 24 Plum Blossom Sword essence.
Plum blossoms bloomed thickly in the air.
The Dragon’s Claws quickened accordingly.
“Foolish patron. Do you think such tricks will change anyth……!”
The Blood Priest sneered, assuming Theo’s desperate last struggle from his inner disadvantage, but jolted when Theo’s form vanished.
His vision blurred by heat winds and lightning had missed the movement.
[Investing 10 additional stats into Agility.]
[Agility: 79 → 89]
[Movement becomes smoother.]
[Attack speed increases.]
Theo dumped all additional stats from the first scenario quest level-up into Agility for explosive speed.
And,
[Wind Thunder Formation – Gale Shadow]
Fierce winds wrapped around Theo.
By the time the Blood Priest located him a beat late and turned, Theo was already closing in.
Crack!
His lightning-fast hand seized the head.
What are you doing!
The Blood Priest’s eyes screamed that through the gaps in his fingers.
“What else?”
But Theo smirked coldly first.
“Gonna crack open your skull.”
[Skill: Hatchling Synchro reads latent thoughts.]
Their gazes met.
In that moment,
Fwaaaash!
Theo felt himself sinking deep into the consciousness beyond the Blood Priest’s pupils, into the world of awareness.
And in that instant,
In the deepest recesses of the man’s unconscious.
From that profound abyss, something enormous lifted its head.
Thud……!
Theo’s heart sank.
An existence that vast.
It felt like facing Kyle or Hilda.
『What are you? What dares disturb my deep slumber?』