Chapter 225
Chapter 225
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 225
Chapter Title: Realm (2)
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Salik stared at the spirit swords Demian had created, his eyes trembling.
While his own had a blackish-gray hue, those gleamed with a blinding blue light.
Even so, Salik could tell. They were spirit swords forged through the exact same realm as his.
Impossible.
Yet Salik denied it. He desperately tried to reject the fact that those were born from his own realm.
Demian Haksen was undoubtedly using the same realm as a Sword Saint.
No master-class swordsman possessed two realms. That was beyond common sense. It was simply too obvious.
It had to be a trick.
No matter what method he’d used, it was surely some vile prank. A cheap ploy to break his will to fight....
“I can see exactly what you’re agonizing over.”
At that moment, Demian Haksen’s voice rang out. Salik looked at him with a dazed expression.
“Don’t bother denying it. What you’re thinking is spot on.”
Salik stared at Demian Haksen in utter bewilderment.
“What... Nonsense....”
“I have a handy talent. Any technique or realm I see with my own eyes, I can generally make my own.”
Salik tried to process Demian’s words. Then rage began to boil up inside him.
“You think a lame lie like that will fool me?”
There was no need to deliberate. No such person could exist.
“I’ll kill you right now so you can’t spout any more nonsense!”
Salik thrust his hand toward Demian Haksen. His spirit swords shot toward Demian Haksen.
Nine black streaks pierced straight through Demian Haksen in an instant.
Just before they struck, the spirit swords Demian had created moved.
Blue light blocked the black. The spirit swords from both sides clashed repeatedly.
Soon, a massive roar echoed as the spirit swords shattered. Fragments of the aurablades rained down to the ground and evaporated away.
“......”
Even after witnessing that, he couldn’t keep denying it.
Demian Haksen was using his realm. At the exact same level as his own.
In that instant, an overwhelming sense of loss engulfed Salik’s chest. Despair etched itself across his face.
“No... No way... You stole... stole my realm...?”
To a knight, a realm was akin to their pride.
It was the culmination of a lifetime honing their skills.
To have such a precious treasure stolen right before their wide-open eyes...
“Something like that... There’s no way something like that is possible!”
Salik’s face twisted like a ghost’s. Thick despair filled his eyes.
“A familiar expression.”
Demian remarked as he gazed at Salik.
Back in his Death Knight days, the knights who fought Demian and had their realms stolen all wore that same look.
The problem was that Demian’s enemies back then were solely knights fighting on humanity’s side.
Those noble souls had fallen into shock and despair because of him. Every time he saw it, Demian was wracked with guilt.
Now, being able to return that despair to the mongrels of Pandemonium filled him with immense joy.
“How long do you plan on just standing there stunned?”
Demian charged at Salik. Only then did Salik snap back to his senses.
“You dare... use my own realm against me!”
Demian and Salik clashed weapons. They swung their swords to kill each other.
“Die!”
Demian and Salik unleashed their spirit swords at one another. The spirit swords collided in midair.
Just like the spirit swords, Salik and Demian smashed into each other. They swung their weapons with lethal intent.
The two men and their spirit swords tangled in a complex frenzy. In the blink of an eye, thousands of slashes flew back and forth.
“......!”
With every exchange of blows, the shock Salik felt grew.
Spirit swords were not a realm easily controlled. Even he, the original owner, had needed time to wield them proficiently.
Just maneuvering the spirit swords was challenging enough, yet fighting hand-to-hand at the same time? That multiplied the difficulty several times over.
And Demian Haksen was handling it with effortless mastery.
As if he’d always possessed the ‘Formless Heavenly Bow’ realm.
“Bullshit!”
That realization poured oil on Salik’s fury. A gap formed in his control over the spirit swords.
Demian didn’t miss it. He immediately commanded his own spirit swords.
Salik’s spirit swords shattered to pieces. Bewilderment flashed across his face.
“W-Wait...!”
Salik hurriedly tried to summon new spirit swords. But before he could, Dawnstrike slashed toward his neck.
At that moment, someone charged at Demian Haksen.
“You can’t forget about me!”
The intruder, Barche, drove his fist straight into Demian Haksen’s face.
Demian Haksen retracted his slash and leaped back. Barche’s punch missed.
“Damn it! Dodged again!”
Barche bellowed as he pressed the attack on Demian Haksen.
Thanks to Omni-Affliction Embrace pushing his magic armor to its limits, Barche’s movements were phenomenal.
Explosions boomed with every attack. Black lightning crackled.
But Demian Haksen dodged Barche’s assaults as if it were only natural. As if he could foresee the future.
“Magic armor combined with Omni-Affliction Embrace. More annoying than I thought.”
“Omni-Affliction Embrace? How do you know my master’s realm....”
Demian Haksen pointed his index finger downward. In that instant, spirit swords plummeted from the sky.
The falling spirit swords hammered into Barche’s body.
“Argh!”
They didn’t pierce, but he couldn’t block the impact. Barche had no choice but to flee from the spirit swords.
But the spirit swords were relentless. They pursued Barche, slashing at him.
“Salik!”
Barche shouted loudly. Salik immediately conjured spirit swords and launched them.
Salik’s spirit swords blocked Demian’s. Only then could Barche catch his breath.
“Damn it! What the hell is going on? Why is Demian Haksen using spirit swords?!”
“I don’t know! Don’t ask me, shit!”
The two hurled curses at each other. But contrary to their words, they cooperated seamlessly.
“Enough, let’s go! We have to kill that bastard here!”
“Got it!”
The two charged at Demian Haksen.
Demian’s spirit swords were occupied by Salik’s.
With greater numbers on their side, they held the advantage.
“...This won’t do.”
That was the moment the thought crossed their minds.
“Guess I’ll need to make a few more.”
Seven new spirit swords materialized around Demian Haksen.
“What?”
“Huh?”
Shock spread across Salik and Barche’s faces at the sight.
Demian pointed at Barche with his finger. Instantly, the spirit swords swarmed him.
“W-Wait...!”
Spirit swords rained down from the sky, smashing into Barche. Explosions and roars erupted in sequence. Barche was buried deep into the ground.
The spirit swords pierced the dust cloud and soared back into the sky.
Demian pointed at Salik. The tips of the spirit swords turned toward him.
“......Damn.”
Salik sensed his fate and spat a short curse.
Seven streaks of light pierced through his body.
* * *
“Cough.”
Blood burst from his mouth.
Salik looked down at his body with a pale face.
Seven spirit swords had impaled him.
Cunningly, they’d pierced not just his limbs but all his vital organs.
Even the black magic Sla had cast beforehand was useless. Aurablades destroyed anything in their path.
“Cough, cough....”
Salik glared at Demian Haksen even as blood poured from his mouth nonstop.
“H-How....”
Just moments ago, Demian Haksen had created even more spirit swords.
Even Salik, the original owner of the realm, had nine as his limit. Yet Demian Haksen had made sixteen.
“Asking pointless questions.”
Demian Haksen dismissed the query casually.
“I’m just using it better than you.”
Salik let out a hollow laugh at those words. He didn’t even have the energy to get angry. His situation was too dire to rage at that.
“Ha... If I’d known scum like you existed... I never would’ve come here....”
It was then, as Sla smiled bitterly in self-mockery.
Immense black mana erupted from above. Both Demian and Salik looked up.
Barche, who they’d thought dead, stood there in tatters. The areas hit directly by the spirit swords had his magic armor and flesh mashed into pulp.
“Demian Haksen!”
Yet Barche was alive. Not only that, he was gathering a massive amount of black mana.
“You can’t let your guard down!”
Barche kicked off the ceiling. He plummeted straight down toward Demian.
At the same time, he swung his fist down at Demian. In that instant, the aurablade expanded massively.
“My victory!”
Barche’s ultimate technique smashed into Demian Haksen’s body.
Demian Haksen’s clothes tore to shreds. And what lay beneath was revealed.
Pitch-black armor, like the abyss itself, covered Demian Haksen’s body.
It was so thin that even hidden under his clothes, no one had noticed.
For a split second, Barche’s gaze was stolen by the armor.
Disciples of the Weapon Master all had deep knowledge of armaments. That’s why he could tell.
Just how extraordinary the armor Demian Haksen wore was.
“I let you be out of curiosity what you were scheming, but it was nothing special.”
Demian had long sensed Barche was alive.
Even so, he’d left him alone. It was a luxury he could afford thanks to Hemeira.
One of Hemeira’s main functions was absorbing all external impacts.
Even the technique Barche had unleashed with all his might was fully absorbed by Hemeira.
Of course, Hemeira’s abilities weren’t limited to shock absorption.
Demian Haksen placed his hand on Barche’s chest. Barche, entranced by the armor, didn’t notice.
“Hemeira, spit it out.”
Hemeira writhed. The next moment, Barche’s body—and his magic armor—shattered to pieces.