Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Rubia (2)
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Demian's slash cleaved through Rubia's body.
From between her legs, up through her abdomen, chest, and face to the crown of her head.
Rubia's body was split precisely in half. The cross-section was chillingly smooth.
There was no creature in this world that could survive being bisected like that.
But Demian kept his sword drawn, glaring at Rubia with unwavering vigilance.
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, Rubia's hand twitched and swung toward Demian's head.
As if he'd anticipated it, Demian leaned back. Her attack sliced through empty air.
Then, spines erupted from the cross-section of her severed forearm, lunging at Demian.
Demian kicked off the ground and leaped far back. The spines stabbed into the earth instead of him. A thunderous boom rang out as the ground was torn to shreds.
-Oh?
Rubia gazed at him in apparent surprise.
-You're not fooled, huh? Most people would think that was the end of me.
Even split in half, Rubia was still alive. And not only that—she was chatting casually as if nothing had happened.
-By the way, I'm impressed. Not only did you react to my attack, but you even counterattacked.
-It was eerie when my forearm got severed. I'm serious.
-I could accept losing an arm, but my whole body like this?
Even more astonishingly, her two halves were speaking different lines.
-I was wondering how a mere high-class could kill Garrot and Cardac.
-Now I get it. You're no ordinary high-class.
The severed cross-sections began to adhere to each other. Before long, Rubia's body had returned to normal.
-You're not even surprised after seeing all that? How boring.
Demian had already witnessed Rubia's abilities in his previous life, so there was no reason for shock.
'She's already advanced her black magic to a considerable level.'
The Frenzy School used their bodies as conduits for black magic.
To them, the body was like clay—they could mold it into any shape.
That was why ordinary wounds posed little threat.
Just like kneading clay back together after slicing it in half.
-I apologize for underestimating you. Now I'll get serious.
Her muscles began to swell across her entire body. They tore through her skin, fibers bursting forth, and in an instant, her size nearly doubled.
The transformation didn't stop there.
Black mana crystallized like gems, enveloping her arms. It looked just like black iron gauntlets.
Seeing this, Demian remarked with an intrigued expression.
"Mana Sword?"
A Mana Sword was magic that mages had devised by imitating knights' Aura on their own.
It was far more durable and sharp than any ordinary weapon.
But compared to true Aura, it was a flawed imitation riddled with shortcomings.
"You're going to face real Aura with fake Aura?"
-Mana Swords may fall short of Aura, but that's only when they're on equal footing.
Rubia was a Grand Black Mage.
The Mana Sword she created was on another level entirely.
-Here I come again.
Rubia raised five fingers and swung her hand broadly toward Demian.
Compressed black mana burst forth, gouging the ground. Demian swung Yeomyeong to cleave the Mana Sword.
But it didn't shatter—instead, it repelled Yeomyeong.
A heavy impact traveled up his arm, leaving Demian clicking his tongue.
'What raw power.'
Mana Swords were inherently inferior to Aura by nature.
For one to repel Aura—Demian's Aura, no less?
It spoke volumes about the sheer magnitude of Rubia's black mana.
-How is it? Pretty solid, right?
A voice rang out from right behind him. Demian whipped around. Rubia was already there.
-Now stay sharp. Or your head might get crushed.
Rubia hammered a fist down at Demian. He launched himself aside, dodging the blow.
Her fist smashed into the ground. The earth shattered, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
The dust cloud tore apart as Rubia burst through. She closed the distance in an instant, unleashing a barrage of punches at Demian.
Her speed was blinding—one moment her arm bent, the next it was already thrusting. Each swing exploded the air, the shockwaves reverberating across the world.
But every attack Rubia threw whistled through empty air. Demian evaded them all.
-Is he really just a high-class?
Rubia stuck out her tongue in disbelief.
The path the Frenzy School had chosen to combat knights was raw physical enhancement.
Right now, her speed far surpassed that of any high-class.
Yet she couldn't gain even an inch against Demian.
Because Demian was reading her every move.
-Ugh, this is frustrating!
Rubia charged in a fury. Just as Demian moved to widen the gap—
Tendrils suddenly erupted from the ground, coiling around his legs.
-Got you!
Her own ankles had sprouted tendrils that burrowed into the earth.
She'd maneuvered them underground to snare his legs.
-No escaping now, right?
Rubia swung a massive fist at Demian.
At that moment, Demian moved Yeomyeong. First, he swung to block her punch.
No—he deflected it.
The fist's trajectory, aimed at his face, veered sharply off course. It slammed into the ground instead. Rubia's stance crumpled badly.
-...Huh?
While she faltered in confusion, Demian swept Yeomyeong low, severing the tendrils.
He closed in. Rubia scrambled to regain her footing.
But Demian struck first, bringing Yeomyeong down.
'Wave Shatter.'
A strike infused with the realm of the Master 'Wall Destroyer' crashed onto Rubia's head.
The moment Yeomyeong smashed into her skull, Wave Shatter amplified the destructive force several times over.
Her head crumpled, and her entire body was driven into the earth.
* * *
The Frenzy School's physical prowess surpassed that of knights.
It was an unchangeable truth. Unlike knights, who merely trained their bodies, the Frenzy School could warp theirs with black magic as much as they pleased.
Yet people believed knights were far stronger. In truth, the Frenzy School struggled mightily against them.
There was one domain the Frenzy School could never surpass.
Technique.
Knights weren't strong merely because they were fast or powerful.
They were strong because they'd honed their techniques over a lifetime.
-Ah, ahaha...
Rubia forced a laugh as she pulled herself up. Her crushed head began regenerating rapidly.
-Th-this is weird? This can't be happening? No way I lose to some high-class like this?
Unlike her perfectly restored head, her eyes shook wildly with madness.
-I-I'm a Grand Black Mage! I trained under my master staking my life! I've killed more than ten high-class!
A Grand Black Mage was a being comparable to a Master.
Her pride was immense—and now it was being crushed in real time.
-This... this can't be. It shouldn't be possible.
Rubia's arms split apart. What were once two became six.
-Now I'll get really... really serious!
The six arms stretched like whips. They writhed like separate creatures, swarming Demian.
Too many to dodge, too fast.
So Demian didn't dodge. Instead, he activated the Berserk Vitality Elixir.
His body temperature spiked. Muscles throughout his body activated explosively. All his senses sharpened to the extreme.
Rubia's six arms, hurtling toward him, suddenly slowed—then froze in midair.
Of course, they hadn't truly stopped. His hyper-sharpened senses just made it seem so.
"Three Rings."
The three rings he'd formed within him began spinning furiously.
High-output mana surged into his Elixir-enhanced body.
One step.
He advanced, swinging Yeomyeong at the nearest of Rubia's arms.
Her Mana Sword-clad forearm clashed with Demian's Aura.
Moments ago, her Mana Sword had repelled his Aura. But now, with the rings active, it was different.
The Mana Sword and forearm cleaved apart simultaneously. No resistance—just smooth severance.
Demian pressed forward, slicing through her arms one by one.
He didn't stop at once—several swings reduced the elongated limbs to dozens of chunks.
Thus, Demian arrived right before her.
He gripped Yeomyeong's hilt with both hands. He leveled the tip at Rubia.
Demian released the Berserk Vitality Elixir.
His boiling body temperature plummeted. His physical prowess and senses returned to normal.
The frozen world resumed motion. Rubia, statue-still until then, spotted him.
-...Huh?
Disbelief flooded her face.
From her perspective, Demian had been far away—now he was suddenly in front of her.
-Wh-when did you get so close...!
Rubia moved her arms to block him. But her six arms were already in pieces.
-N-No way...
As she tried to regenerate them, Demian thrust the blade forward.
'Annihilation Strike.'
The realm attained by Cheongyeom, one of the Holy Order's Five Saints.
A blow that shattered all struck Rubia dead center.
From the core outward, her muscles tore apart. The bones hidden within crumbled to dust.
-...!
With no time to scream, Rubia's body disintegrated.
* * *
"Hoo."
Demian exhaled deeply as he released the Converging Infinite Technique.
The strain of overexertion brought on crashing fatigue. His body felt limp.
"Good technique, but the stamina drain is too much."
Demian had sat on the ground to rest when—
Rubia's scattered flesh began to reconverge.
The gathered pieces formed a fist-sized lump. Its center split open wide.
-Kyaaack!
A scream like tearing metal erupted from it.
-Y-You did this to me? Some puny high-class! How dare you leave me in this hideous state!
Even with her body utterly shredded, Rubia wouldn't die. She was desperately clinging to life, forcing regeneration.
-Stay right there! Right now! I'll kill you!
The flesh gathered faster and faster. Her form swelled larger.
-I'll kill you! Definitely! Even if it costs my life, you... *cough*.
Suddenly, black fluid gushed from what was Rubia's mouth.
-Wh-what is this... *blegh*.
Her regenerating body began rotting black. She collapsed, unable to hold form.
-Wh-what did you do... What did you do to me?!
"Nothing much."
Demian spoke nonchalantly to the wailing Rubia.
"I just coated the blade with Cardac's poison."