Chapter 255: The Art of Fighting (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 255: The Art of Fighting (4)
"...Angels?"
Permush muttered softly, standing frozen with her head tilted back. Even while she stood dazed, the swirling shadows within the clouds multiplied continuously.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands. Soon, white figures multiplied beyond what the eye could count, descending toward the ground.
The angels' feet hovered a hand's breadth above the ground. Unbound by gravity.
Flutter.
The angels folded their ivory wings inward, then snapped them open with a sharp fwoosh. Feathers scattered into the air—pure-white feathers fluttering down like heavy snowfall. One floated down gently onto the bridge of Permush's nose. Until that moment, her eyes remained vacant. Her laughter had long since ceased, and her face grew pale with terror, turning as white as the feather resting on her nose.
Meanwhile, footsteps echoed in succession. With every step, the chaotic, scrambled world slowly regained its balance, restoring itself to its original state. Earth, sky, and sun returned to their proper places.
Step.
The honeycombed dark clouds parted, shyly revealing the flesh of the sky underneath. Its natural hue—the purple twilight, the hour of crimson mist.
Step.
Angels dual-wielding sashimi knives opened a path to the left and right. Down the middle of what looked like an avenue lined with bleached white trees, Kang Geomma strode forward with steady steps.
Black and white. The polar opposite colors shattered any sense of reality. The blindingly pale background created an optical illusion that sharply accentuated his dark presence.
Permush, her face drained of color, shook her head to dislodge the feather, then bared her teeth fiercely.
"...So it's you. The human who slew Agor and Vesna. The one they call the spiritual successor to that arrogant bastard Balor Joaquin. And not only that—"
Permush spoke, her eyes devoid of calm.
"—you're the little insect hogging all of Lord Kuarne's attention!"
"……."
With his dark eyes, Kang Geomma scanned the hellscape Permush had wrought. Heroes had died. Horribly so. Blown apart, crushed, trampled. Intact corpses were rare.
Grit.
His molars clamped tight naturally.
If only I had been prepared a little sooner... would fewer people have died? The thought passed briefly before he gave his dark head a shake.
This was the best possible outcome. It wasn't self-justification. Through meetings and gathering evidence, this was the single method derived to ensure the maximum number of survivors.
And yet.
Though reason and logic argued so...
It remained a fact that countless lives had vanished.
"Permush."
I am a swordsman.
"I will cut you down."
Therefore, I shall honor their souls through my blade.
"Not a single scrap of flesh will be left. Every last piece."
* * *
Beep—
[Rank of Humanity has increased drastically.]
[The user's rank is still slightly too low for the program to operate perfectly.]
[The worldline's rank is still slightly too low for the program to operate perfectly.]
[However, by using the 'Rank of Humanity' as a catalyst, a portion of 'Divinity' can be temporarily utilized.]
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++++++++++++++++++++
《O Almighty One who became a boy.》
《Set yourself free.》
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* * *
The moment the Sword Emperor's feet finally touched solid ground, he snapped his head up. Far across the elongated horizon stood Kang Geomma, surrounded by a legion of angels. The Sword Emperor rubbed his eyes and looked in that direction once more.
"It is... just like back then with Agor."
No, perhaps it was a bit different from then. The Sword Emperor had now awakened his blessing. As his realm rose, his perspective shifted accordingly. That was precisely why he couldn't help but tremble even more. Now that he understood even a tiny fragment—unlike before when he couldn't fathom it at all—he could clearly realize just how detached Kang Geomma was from reality itself.
Whatever resides within Kang Geomma is no god.
The Sword Emperor was certain.
It is something beyond Divinity.
No substitute term came to mind. A being above gods. A question so absurdly complex that merely pondering it felt audacious. Yet, it undeniably existed. The reality he observed through his awakened eyes was the clearest proof of all.
Just then, the Spear Saint came bounding up the giant titan's arm like a monkey. The moment Kang Geomma unleashed that bizarre power, the giant titan had ceased moving. It stopped working as though its power source had been cut off. Whether that was due to Permush's panic or Kang Geomma's doing remained unknown. Regardless, it gave the heroes a moment to catch their breath and allowed the Spear Saint to arrive at the scene in the nick of time.
"Nibelung!"
The Spear Saint shouted urgently, running over with heavy steps. The Sword Emperor, who was down on one knee, waved a hand to signal he was fine. Then, his gesture quietly pointed toward a specific spot.
The Spear Saint's gaze slid down to the tip of his finger. He blinked a couple of times. Just as the Sword Emperor had done, he rubbed his eyes and opened them wide, the skin around them turning red from friction.
"...What is that?"
"The white ones are angels, and the kid is Permush."
"That's not what I'm asking!"
He already knew about the angels, having received a hint from the Heavenly Sword yesterday. While seeing Permush in the form of a brattish kid was unexpected, it wasn't her that drew his eyes.
An overwhelming presence threatened to erase everything in the vicinity. Kang Geomma was pulling the background and their gazes toward him like an epicenter of gravity.
Space warped under the sheer pressure of his existence, and the road surface beneath his feet rippled softly.
In fact, Kang Geomma's true form couldn't even be perceived directly. One could only catch a glimpse of a human outline, wearing brilliance like a White Robe.
"Myura, I take it you can't see it."
"I can't. That's why I'm asking you to speak up. What on earth is that?"
The Spear Saint was flabbergasted. Unlike the Sword Emperor, he was not yet an Awakened.
"What else could it be? It's the Heavenly Sword."
The Sword Emperor replied, staggering to his feet. The backlash from awakening had left his body in ruins. Still, even if moving was painful, they had to relocate immediately.
"First, let's fall back—as far as possible. If we stay close, our heads will roll."
"...Why does that sound exactly like what I told my subordinate earlier?"
"What...?"
Just as the Sword Emperor was about to ask, the angels broke formation and soared high into the air as one. Floating upward into the sky, they charged down at the golems plaguing the human land. Even the deactivated giant titan had its arms severed by the angels' sashimi knives.
"To think that Two Flying Swords wasn't a preemptive strike, but an attempt to send the sashimi knives into space to hand them to those angels..."
The Spear Saint spoke as he watched the scene unfold.
"He wasn't just looking at the immediate moment; he was looking beyond it. Of course... it took a staggering sacrifice, but by saving his trump card until the absolute last moment, he prevented even greater destruction. The one suffering the greatest mental anguish right now is probably the Heavenly Sword. That's why he's wearing that expression."
Supporting the Sword Emperor, the Spear Saint tilted his head.
"Through your eyes as an Awakened, can you actually see the Heavenly Sword's expression?"
"Not clearly, but vaguely. Yet I can feel his rage even without looking at his face. It makes my entire body tingle."
"The same goes for me... Regardless, it seems the operation was a success. Kang Geomma's words—'Since it's Earth-attributed, we need an aerial interception unit'—were spot on."
"Indeed. On top of that, those angels that the Association President discovered and modified possess astounding power and speed."
The Spear Saint nodded in agreement.
Scattering feathers, the angels flew at marvelous speeds. A single stroke of their wings produced a shockwave. One couldn't help but think this was the absolute limit of speed a living creature could attain.
Yet the moment Kang Geomma took a step, that limit was instantly rewritten.
In the next moment, they witnessed a speed that transcended marvel and reached the realm of the mystical. To be precise, they felt it through their backs.
Wroooom.
The wind pressure shoved the Sword Emperor and the Spear Saint as they retreated. Nearly losing his footing, the Spear Saint regained his balance and managed to stand firm.
Reflexively, the two looked back. A flash of light blinked red. Red-hot, molten slash marks were carved into space itself before sluggishly knitting back together.
The Sword Emperor and Spear Saint felt their lips go dry.
It was not something human sight could track. Kang Geomma's movement was akin to vanishing. He disappeared, leaving behind only a sunken, crescent-shaped indentation where he had been standing. What's more, the flurry of slashes hacking away at Permush melted the surrounding air itself.
――――!
A reverse gale surged over them once more. This time, white noise ruptured their eardrums. Blood trickled down from their earlobes.
All ten of Permush's fingers floated into the air. Dainty cross-sections sprayed blue blood onto the ground.
Having lost all her fingers, Permush stared blankly at her hollow palms.
When were they cut? Before the question could even form, bloody lines appeared across both her wrists. Instantly, jets of blood sprouted where her hands used to be.
Having suffered two consecutive attacks without even being able to react, Permush's eyes finally lost focus. Her brain belatedly registered the severity of the situation. Her lips twisted grimly.
"Don't tell me this bastard..."
Permush couldn't finish her thought or her words. Kang Geomma, who had appeared at her feet out of nowhere, swung his sashimi knife horizontally. The blade dragged a fan-shaped arc of light as it grazed past Permush's forearms.
A burning sensation tore through her. There was no time to scream. Permush swallowed down the surging pain and tried to chant magic by any means necessary. First, build a line of defense, then counterattack—
Instead of casting, Permush could only sputter empty air.
"My magic power... my mana isn't gathering."
Only after dissecting and retracing that split-second gap did she realize the reason.
[Earth Shift] [Thousand-Hand Death Pummel] [Mantra]
She had poured out all her ultimate, lethal spells. In other words, she had drawn upon far too much mana.
Even so, this makes no sense.
This was near the Gehenna Gate, close to the Demon Realm. Though not infinite, the surrounding ambient mana should be close to it, so how could it be depleted? Especially when she desperately needed to siphon mana from the environment after expending every drop within her body.
Could it be?
Permush felt her mind go completely blank. She snapped her eyes around, scanning her surroundings. Mana was sizzled and cooked right along with the air. The onslaught she had assumed to be chaotic had actually been severing the flow of mana. On top of that, he had been waiting for the exact moment the mana stored inside her ran out.
His absence wasn't just to summon those damn angels!
It was a battle Permush had already lost before it even began.
—How to win a fight. The second and most important key is waiting. Wait and keep waiting until your opponent is convinced they've won. Even if you're taking a beating, glare at them, take the hits, and wait for your moment.
The Boss's rambling, lengthy lecture on the fundamentals of fighting.
—And when the enemy wears a face that says they've completely won, slip a knife into... I mean, throw a fist. That's what you call a counter.
The image of him grinning brightly flashed through his mind.
—You might have a nasty temper, but that just means you're tenacious. Don't let people push you around, and don't let them look down on you. The stronger the opponent, the deeper you plant your madness in them. That way, they'll never dare come at you again.
The Boss's face flickered in his memory, ruffling his hair with his remaining hand.
—I'll cover the settlement fees for you.
A faint smile etched itself onto Kang Geomma's lips.
Slash!
The sashimi knife struck her shin. Permush, who was already short and stubby, had her growth plates permanently sealed. Elbows, shoulders, legs, pelvis. A relentless flurry of slashes struck every part of her body, deliberately avoiding her lethal spots.
Just as he had promised, Kang Geomma was slicing her flesh off piece by piece. He was the Nation's Best Swordsman. His expertise lay not only in fish, but in human anatomy as well. He knew precisely which spots inflicted the maximum agony.
Crunch.
Suddenly, Kang Geomma grabbed Permush by the neck and lifted her high into the air. With her limbs severed, Permush was completely incapacitated. Unable to show even the slightest gesture of resistance, she was hauled up by his overwhelming grip.
Kang Geomma slowly met her eyes. Permush's eyelids trembled violently.
Looking down at the Corps Commander with eyes bloodshot red and devoid of whites, he opened his mouth.
"Permush."
Deactivating the [Blessing of Painlessness].
"The pain I feel..."
Manifesting the [Blessing of Transfer].
"...feel it too."
The [Blessing of the Sword God] carved into the demon.