Chapter 224
Chapter 224
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 224
Chapter Title: Realm (1)
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Salik and Varche emerged from the shattered wall. Both wore expressions of shock.
“No matter how careless we were... you sent both of us flying?”
“I heard you only recently became Master Class. Was the information wrong?”
Originally, Demian had planned to hide his true strength for the time being.
There was no grand reason. He simply didn’t want to invite unnecessary suspicion.
But with the opportunity to plant thorns in Sla and the Weapon Master right before his eyes, he couldn’t just sit idly by.
“Still, this feels kinda unpleasant.”
“I never thought I’d see eye to eye with you, Salik.”
Their eyes turned fierce. They looked ready to pounce on Demian at any moment.
“Wait.”
“Just a second.”
Suddenly, they glared at each other instead.
“I’m going to beat that bastard first, so stay put.”
“Who are you to give orders, you kid? You stay back.”
Salik and Varche snarled not at Demian, but at each other.
“Keep acting cocky, and I’ll kill you first.”
“That’s exactly what I was going to say.”
Demian could only let out a hollow laugh as he watched the two on the verge of exploding.
“Did I go too easy on them?”
It seemed neither could grasp the situation.
For Demian, this was unwelcome. No one enjoyed being looked down upon by trash.
“Guess I need to snap them out of it.”
Demian extended Dawn to his side. A blue glow enveloped the blade.
An ominous aura poured from Demian, drawing their gazes to him for a moment.
“Demian Haksen, you stay put. I’ll deal with this guy first...”
Demian’s body vanished. In the next instant, he appeared right in front of Salik’s nose.
“...Huh?”
Demian swung Dawn down toward Salik’s crown.
A blue flash cleaved Salik in half.
* * *
Salik hurriedly blocked the attack with her greatsword.
The Aurablade-formed greatsword exerted physical force despite lacking form.
The moment the two weapons clashed, a sharp sound rang out, and Salik’s body was pushed back.
“Have you gone mad!”
The sudden attack ignited Salik’s rage. But before she could erupt, Demian Haksen’s assault began.
Freakishly precise sword strikes targeted Salik’s vital points. Salik desperately blocked them.
“Y-You bastard...!”
Panic was evident on Salik’s face. Demian Haksen’s strikes were far more refined than expected.
There was no room for counterattacks. Salik was barely keeping up with defense. No, she couldn’t even do that properly.
Demian Haksen’s attacks occasionally grazed Salik’s body. Her clothes and skin tore, blood spraying.
“V-Varche!”
In the end, Salik had no choice but to swallow her pride and call for help.
“Don’t just stand there!”
At her shout, Varche snapped to attention. In truth, Varche had been dazed until just now.
Salik.
The madwoman who had abandoned even the rank of Great Evil to pursue Sla.
Her skill was comparable to any Great Evil.
Yet here she was, unable to even fight back properly, getting pushed around. It was unbelievable, even watching from behind.
“What the hell is going on!”
Varche bellowed as he charged at Demian Haksen.
“Haat!”
Varche swung a massive fist at Demian. Demian leaned back to dodge.
At the same time, he swung his sword to slash Varche’s body. But all that came was the scraping sound of Aurablade against something, and Varche’s body remained unscathed.
“You think a half-hearted attack like that can pierce my ‘Karkas’?”
The Weapon Master’s disciples were all issued magic swords.
In Varche’s case, he received not a magic sword, but magic armor. Of course, even the sturdiest magic armor couldn’t normally block an Aurablade.
But when Aura was infused into the magic armor, it was a different story.
With Aura added to the magic armor’s performance, Varche was practically invincible.
“Haaat!”
Varche’s combo continued. He unleashed punches and kicks at Demian Haksen.
Demian Haksen had no choice but to retreat to evade Varche’s attacks. Thanks to that, Salik got a brief respite from Demian.
“Damn it! To think a brat like him...!”
Regaining some breathing room, Salik’s fury reignited.
Salik clenched her opposite hand. Aurablade gathered, forming a long-handled axe.
“I’ll... I’ll definitely kill you!”
Salik charged at Demian. She swung the greatsword and axe in both hands simultaneously.
Weapons made of Aurablade had no weight. Thus, Salik’s attacks were incredibly light and fast.
Varche stuck close to Demian, swinging fists. Each punch burst the air with explosive sounds.
The pincer attack poured in. Then, Demian Haksen’s eyes moved rapidly.
Demian Haksen blocked the duo’s pincer attack entirely with a single sword.
The evenly matched battle dragged on. Neither side gained the upper hand.
“Damn it!”
“No way!”
For the two, it was humiliating.
They weren’t ordinary Master Class fighters. They were powerhouses on par with Great Evils.
It wasn’t for nothing that Sla and the Weapon Master had sent them to punish Vanexia of the Four Evils.
For such fighters to resort to a “pincer attack” was pride-shattering enough, yet they couldn’t even seize the advantage.
“Let’s see if you can endure this!”
Salik hurled the weapons in her hands. The greatsword and axe curved like boomerangs toward Demian.
Even mid-clash with Varche, Demian easily dodged. But Salik’s throws didn’t end there.
Salik continuously hurled weapons formed from Aurablade.
The weapons relentlessly assailed Demian. Explosions boomed each time they hit the ground.
“Salik! Watch where you throw! Don’t you see me here?”
“You’re wearing magic armor anyway, so you’re fine!”
Thanks to that, Salik could attack Demian Haksen without worrying about harming Varche.
“A bit annoying.”
Demian Haksen muttered softly. But Salik heard it clearly.
“A bit? Let’s see if you say that when my axe embeds in your body!”
Salik shouted arrogantly as she threw. Two axes flew in a straight line.
Demian leaned back to dodge Varche’s attack. Simultaneously, he swung his longsword at the incoming axes.
At that moment, something bizarre happened.
The trajectory of the straight-flying axes twisted, suddenly shooting upward into the air.
“...What?”
Bewilderment crossed Salik’s face.
Throwing was Salik’s specialty. She had honed this throwing art her entire life.
As a result, Salik could cleave cliffs with her thrown weapons.
The title “Tyrant” was given by those awestruck by their overwhelming power.
For such a Salik’s throws to be deflected so easily?
It was a feat impossible with ordinary techniques. Salik knew only one person capable of such.
“No way... you’re a disciple of the Sword Saint!”
Salik bellowed. But Demian Haksen gave no answer, simply facing Varche.
“Damn it! That brat nullifying my technique...!”
Having her signature move so easily dismantled cracked Salik’s pride.
Salik gathered dark mana in both hands. Then she clasped them together.
The dark mana converted to Aurablade, forming a massive axe.
“Let’s see if you can deflect this with the Sword Saint’s techniques too!”
Salik twisted her waist. She threw the axe with her full body’s power.
The axe flew at terrifying speed, piercing the air’s barrier.
“You can’t block this one!”
Just as the Empire investigated Pandemonium, Pandemonium investigated the Empire.
The Sword Saint’s realm that twisted all flows was undoubtedly powerful, but it had limits.
It couldn’t twist attacks that were too powerful.
The axe reached his nose. Demian Haksen laid his longsword flat to receive it.
The moment axe and longsword met, Demian Haksen swung. The axe followed the longsword’s path.
“Huh?”
Demian swung his longsword at Varche. The axe flew toward Varche.
The axe smashed into Varche’s back. Thanks to the Aura cloaking his armor, Varche’s body didn’t split.
“Guh!”
But he couldn’t block the impact. Varche spat blood and crashed to the floor.
“Y-You little shit!”
Salik shouted in great panic. Demian Haksen didn’t miss the opening she showed.
Demian Haksen swung his longsword wide. A blue flash erupted, releasing Aurablade.
There was no time to dodge or leisure to block. The Aurablade severed Salik’s neck and embedded in the wall.
“G-Guh....”
The gushing blood drowned Salik’s scream.
The instant Salik’s head was severed, Varche, who had been sprawled on the ground, rose with a guttural roar.
“Varche! I told you to watch where you...”
Demian Haksen swung his longsword wide. It clashed with the magic armor.
“It’s useless...”
The moment Varche shouted, Demian Haksen’s longsword pierced the armor. Simultaneously, it severed Varche’s neck.
Blood erupted from the split armor’s gap.
* * *
No matter how Master Class, one couldn’t survive a severed neck. At this point, the victor was decided.
If these two were ordinary Master Class, that is.
“Gr-Grr....”
Salik pressed her hand to her head. Moving after her neck was cut was abnormal to begin with.
But the truly bizarre events were just starting. Suddenly, the wound began to swell like rotting flesh.
Soon, the flesh pieces stuck back together. The wound closed in an instant.
“K-Kardas!”
Varche painfully uttered a name. Suddenly, the armor around his neck flowed like liquid.
The liquefied armor sealed the wound.
“W-Whew... that was close.”
“H-Ha... Kardas, you’re the best as always.”
The two spoke in great relief.
Even at the grotesque sight, Demian showed little surprise.
As if he had known beforehand they wouldn’t die from wounds like this.
“Damn it, unbelievable... where did a monster like this...”
“Master... misjudged... that thing... that’s not normal...”
Even escaping death’s door, the two couldn’t recover from the shock.
They had clearly realized it through the exchange of blows.
What kind of existence stood before them. The hierarchy among the three.
“Damn it, me... I, to suffer this humiliation... you think I’ll accept this shit!”
With fierce rage, dark mana poured from Salik’s body. An amount incomparable to before.
“I’ll show you... my true power!”
The dark mana converted to Aurablade. Soon, it formed nine swords.
The nine swords swam freely through the air like living things.
“...Autonomous Flying Swords.”
Varche gazed at the nine swords with awe.
He had heard of it. The Tyrant Salik had reached the rare realm of Autonomous Flying Swords.
Back when Salik was a Great Evil, no enemy could face the nine Autonomous Flying Swords she created.
At that time, Salik was an object of terror not just in Pandemonium, but in the Empire as well.
“I can’t just stand by either.”
Varche drew up his mana. He invoked the realm taught by his master.
Omni-Armament Mastery.
The realm that drew out a weapon’s potential was applied to the magic armor.
The magic armor Karkas pulsed like a living being. Spikes protruded across his body, spewing immense dark mana.
“Impressive.”
Salik gave a short exclamation at the sight.
Omni-Armament Mastery itself wasn’t that remarkable. But combined with magic armor, it exuded tremendous pressure.
Confidence swelled in Salik and Varche’s hearts again. Even Demian Haksen couldn’t handle this...
“What’s its name?”
Suddenly, Demian Haksen asked the two. At the out-of-left-field question, confusion rose on Salik and Varche’s faces.
“What the hell are you...”
“The name of that realm you used. I asked what it’s called.”
Demian looked at Salik and asked. Salik replied with a dumbfounded expression.
“...It’s called Azure Sky Flying Form.”
“Thanks for telling me. Otherwise, I’d have had to name it myself.”
Demian snapped his fingers. In that instant, longswords made of Aurablade formed in the air.
At the sight, Salik’s eyes widened enormously.
“A realm related to Autonomous Flying Swords, first time. Got myself a useful one.”
Demian declared with a satisfied expression.
“Shall we start over?”