Chapter 275
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 275
Chapter Title: Chapter 275
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 275
Chapter Title: Sur Awakens
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The immense heat blanketing the entire area was so intense it even affected Ktugr himself.
Because of this damned heat, I couldn't fight properly. Even the slightest slip-up messed with my senses.
At the very least, I needed to do something about this heat.
That said, it was clear as day that it wouldn't be easy with the tools I had on hand.
So.
I decided to turn his heat against him.
I offered up every bit of the violent heat carpeting the area—and still pouring down like a waterfall in this very moment—as a sacrifice to forge a spirit contract.
It wasn't like the lowliest fire spirits that summoners typically bond with first.
The entity that emerged amid the blistering heat was a chick glowing with crimson light.
How do you even describe something manifesting in the midst of a brutal battle, surrounded by heat that could melt anything?
Truly... what a pitiful appearance.
But that hardly mattered.
What counted was that its looks—and nearly everything else—matched the heat spirit Sur I'd contracted in Labyrinthos, power aside.
It couldn't be the exact same being, of course.
But this little one's true worth would create a massive turning point in my fight with Ktugr.
"Nice to meet you, Sur."
At my call, it let out a short, sharp peep.
Of course, there was no time for chit-chat like that.
Ktugr's massive flaming fist came hurtling in, Sur or no Sur.
-How dare you use my heat to craft such a pathetic toy!
He seemed irked by Sur's presence, unleashing his fury as he charged.
My hearing was already damaged in one ear, and my body was a mess all over, but whatever.
If Sur possessed the same abilities as the one from Labyrinthos...
Its traits were perfectly suited to this situation, really.
"Sur. He's calling you a toy."
-Peep!!
At my words, the tiny chick—barely a handful—boldly turned its back to me and faced him head-on.
The standoff between the colossal fire giant and the minuscule chick was downright comical.
It looked like it might roast in an instant under the torrent of heat pouring from Ktugr, but Sur flapped its tiny wings nonchalantly before curling up its body.
And then.
Kwaaaaaaaa!!!
A deafening shockwave erupted from its tiny beak, crushing the entire area under unimaginable pressure.
It was a roar so colossal I could scarcely believe it came from that little chick.
Whoa. Way stronger than expected. All that heat it'd slurped up from Ktugr must've been prime fuel.
-What is this?!
Ktugr betrayed his shock at the sheer magnitude of the shockwave from what looked like a single poke would shatter it.
But the real reason for his surprise wasn't Sur's unexpected ferocity.
-My heat...
Sur had vacuumed up Ktugr's overwhelming heat—the very thing that forced me into a defensive posture—the way one might scarf down a tasty snack.
A fire spirit? More precisely, Sur was a spirit of heat.
Practically all heat in existence was just food to Sur.
Ktugr's authority worked by using heat to incinerate aura blades, senses, and the like.
With Sur devouring every last bit of that heat, his conduits for power were gone.
A spirit born of ordinary flames might've burst from trying to ingest Ktugr's insane conflagration, but this one was birthed by absorbing and assimilating his heat from the start.
Having filtered out all the authority and will woven into Ktugr's flames, it was practically royalty by birth, in a way.
The Sur from Labyrinthos had started with the power of a matchstick flame and grown gradually.
But with this origin story? No way such a workaround wouldn't fly.
My senses were still shot, but with Sur slurping up all the heat, the pressures bearing down on me vanished.
The flames scorching Ktugr's own flesh had dissipated too, but who cared.
Now that things had come to this, all that was left was killing the bastard.
[Godly Overpower]
[Great Burst Fist]
[Heavenfall]
I channeled intent into my fully operational aura, wrapped it around my fist, and met his head-on.
Creeeeeenngg!!!!!
Our fists collided, unleashing an overwhelming physical shockwave—and yielding a different outcome from before.
With proactive power surging through my strike instead of passive defense, his massive frame reeled badly.
-Guhk!
"Tastes different, huh?"
If past strikes packed maybe two units of firepower, now without restraints I could pour in all ten without issue.
Since Sur was endlessly sucking up the heat he emitted.
Of course, Sur's stomach had limits too—if this dragged on, it'd collapse first. But with this much time bought, I had to make it count.
I unleashed a blitz of devastating blows amid speed-focused aggression against his hulking frame, and wounds began blooming across his flesh.
The flames cloaking his body looked menacing, but with no heat radiating from them, there was nothing to fear anymore.
Normal fire would've guttered out upon losing its heat, but his wasn't ordinary flame—it stemmed from authority.
"What, just for show? Nice cosmetic effect."
-How dare you!!
Kwaaaang!!!
I rocketed in like lightning and slammed my fist into his solar plexus. He staggered back hard before collapsing flat.
-Guhk... Khek...
Not letting up, I kicked off the walls and ceiling—now hardened solid without the heat—and hammered every vital point.
"Sasir."
[Confirmed.]
"This thing. How big is its main body?"
Sasir fell silent for a moment at my question.
[Information access. Approved. Defining Ktugr's true form size requires astronomical figures as baseline units.]
"How big we talking?"
[Even the minimum estimate surpasses planetary scale as you know it.]
What a lunatic.
Something that massive meant no matter what I did, victory was impossible.
"For something like that, you're awfully small. Considering the penalties you took to get here, pretty underwhelming."
[The conditions for crossing over are that stringent, requiring extensive preparation. Entity Nyarla managed flawlessly through long-term setup, meticulous groundwork, and suppressing most of its power. Entity Ktugr, however, came unprepared in every way, staking its life just to bring this much strength.]
So basically, it barged into an anthill with barely more power than the ants and called this a fatal wound if it lost.
Would those guys really go to such lengths just to cross over here?
I didn't hide my curiosity even amid repeated clashes with him.
"What the hell's worth invading this land for?"
The outer gods were already extradimensional entities. What reason would they suddenly have for coveting this place?
The question bubbled up.
-Grr... Still too much of a loss.
That was when it happened.
As he reeled from my attacks, he glanced down at the caved-in pit in his chest, then ignited his entire body in flames.
With Sur gobbling up all the heat, those flames held no real punch anymore.
But that didn't mean the power itself vanished.
"Hm?"
The massive blaze engulfed his whole form, and soon its shape began to shift.
The giant wreathed in flames started shrinking, morphing into a humanoid figure roughly my height.
-Conditions met. Now we can really heat things up.
His appearance stayed giant-like, but now sized to match mine.
Yet the power radiating from him felt far denser.
Like he'd been flinging around vast might haphazardly before compressing and refining it fully.
-Let's have some fun again.
With those words, we both ditched the fancy tricks and charged straight at each other without restraint.
I snatched up my demon sword from where it'd lodged in the floor and dove in like a streak of light, seizing first strike.
A single swing left dozens of sword trails, carving countless gashes not just in his flesh but across the surrounding ground.
The downsized Ktugr tanked them all barehanded with absurd toughness, then rewarded me with a brutal ram.
Kwaaaang!!!!
My body flew back, smashing into the wall.
"Hmph..."
I eyed the crimson sword in my grip with puzzlement before prying free.
I bounced lightly on my toes to shake it off, then blasted forward.
Kaaaang!!!
I swung again to test.
But even intent-infused slashes bounced off his flesh.
Cuts won't work? How about thrusts?
-Petty tricks!
Kwaang!!
Dozens of lightning thrusts later, all I got was a counter.
Slashes and stabs seemed ineffective. Fine, then.
Kang!!
Instead of blocking his demon sword parry, I let it flow.
I abandoned the flung sword without regret.
Instead, I rerouted the sword-optimized aura flow—like switching tracks—into bare-fisted mode.
Kwaaaang!!!
His fist buried into me at the same instant mine cratered his solar plexus.
-Kuhk!
The heavy impact sent us both staggering back to reset.
As if by agreement, we rocketed toward each other, fists flying.
My hand-to-hand leaned toward infighting.
Close in faster. Hit more.
Ktugr seemed cut from the same cloth.
We went at it like wild animals, unleashing nonstop at point-blank.
Unlike him tanking everything, I dodged what I could and used the momentum to pummel his whole body.
Kwaang!!!!
-Kuhk!
Seeing my hits land true gave me certainty.
Nearly immune to slashes and thrusts, yet blunt impacts hurt. Selfish bastard.
Thankfully, close-quarters brawling didn't lag behind swordplay, so I hammered him relentlessly.
Shockwaves from our clashes spiderwebbed cracks through everything nearby, pulverizing it all.
In our unyielding slugfest, I gradually gained the edge.
-Unbelievable! Such refined movement! Worth the heavy price!
"Yeah? I'm disappointed, myself."
-What?!
Seeing bewilderment twist his face, I hooked his leg mid-stride to topple his balance and stomped him down.
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