Chapter 79
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Soul Shackle Magic
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"Soul Shackle magic? Just from the name, I'm not sure what it..."
At the junior mage's question, another senior mage continued the explanation.
"It's simple. It's a defensive spell that shackles your soul to prevent instant death for a set period. Necromancers are dreamers of immortality, after all."
In other words, Leon couldn't escape the poison unscathed either, so the spell prevented instant death while Luna healed his crumbling body.
Meaning Leon wouldn't die from the poisonous smoke until the Soul Shackle wore off.
"But it consumes an enormous amount of mana while active. Plus, it doesn't reduce pain or injuries at all. And it won't block high-level magic beyond the caster's circle."
In short, Leon was enduring the excruciating pain of that deadly poison with a perfectly calm expression.
"Do not approach within ten meters of the barrier under any circumstances."
"If I join in, we can safely take it down."
As Osberg Mielephon grabbed his sword to enter the fray, Luna shook her head.
"Right now, no one inside can endure it except Leon. Your body might hold up, but without any preparation, you'd suffer severe aftereffects."
The subjugation team hadn't anticipated the Kraken pulling a trick like this, so they had no countermeasures.
"So just wait."
With that, Luna strode toward the barrier. Osberg asked with a stiff expression,
"Just what are you, exactly?"
"What do you mean?"
"To these old eyes, you hardly seem human."
Luna gave a wry smile at Osberg's grim tone.
"Merely a fallen one."
Leon wasn't normal either, but to the others, Luna seemed far from ordinary too.
Not to mention, neutralizing this vicious poison in an instant was something even a saintess of the Holy Kingdom would struggle with.
"Hah. Those two... the more I see them, the less I understand."
While preparing for the Kraken subjugation, I'd agonized over a strategy for this exact situation—the monster's final trump card.
With the Machine God's heart, I could brew an antidote or create something to withstand its attacks.
A high-circle necromancer wouldn't even need to take hits directly.
The Sword Hall and Fist Hall were the same.
But cold analysis showed that at my current level, no power from any hall could make it possible.
All I had was overwhelming fuel and experience.
I could reach Sword Master somehow, but anything beyond required time on my end too.
So my conclusion: maximize what I currently possessed to the extreme.
Block instant death with the 6th-circle Soul Shackle magic.
Soul Shackle was originally for averting sudden death, demanding massive necromantic mana throughout—using it like this was sheer madness.
But I had necromantic mana to spare.
No issue at all.
Output limits meant I couldn't burn more mana at once, but sustaining it was effortless.
And for my disintegrating body, borrow Luna's power for real-time recovery.
With her freakish healing, even if half my body got torn off by its tentacles, she'd patch me up in no time.
She could save anyone short of outright death, given a moment.
When I first laid out this plan to Luna, she vehemently opposed it.
As Luna said, the agony of my body breaking down from the poison smoke would defy imagination.
No way to fight through that level of torment.
So I used every ingredient Misha the maid had gathered to brew two elixirs.
A pain-suppressing anesthetic.
And the other: a poison to hyper-activate the body.
Both would wreck the flesh reliably, but I had the perfect elixir.
Pop!!
The corks popped, and I poured both elixirs into my mouth at once.
Crash!!
I tossed the potion bottles aside without hesitation and grinned coldly.
The horrific pain vanished in an instant.
"Ahaha... hahahahaha!!"
As I laughed freely, the Kraken's massive eyes twisted in eerie confusion.
Why? Isn't this fun? More joy in finally ripping this damned squid apart than any pain.
"Alright, round two."
The creepy aura made it hesitate for a split second, but soon it roared in rage over its lost spawn and charged.
At the same time, a false Aura Blade—a pseudo sword aura—rose over my sword.
It was burning its own life for power. I still lacked the strength to match it head-on.
So I chose to grow stronger by wrecking my body too.
Dope the aura-enhanced flesh even further for extra reinforcement.
Boom!!!
I flew back from the sonic boom of its massive tentacle tip, but wore a satisfied smile.
My mangled body parts regenerated in seconds.
The bolstered durability pleased me too. Though Soul Shackle and Luna's healing wouldn't last forever.
The Kraken visibly shook at the instant recovery.
But it attacked again.
One hit was enough—no need for a second.
I shot forward like kicking off the ground, gripping my sword tighter.
In the end, this dogfight was a battle of endurance.
Who collapses first.
Who drains the other dry first.
Luckily, I had my spirit sword.
Experience battling this thing.
And vast energy to sustain it.
The issue: my current swordsmanship couldn't kill it, so I needed to fully surpass the wall into Master realm.
That would cost me dearly.
'I wanted to perfect it more before breaking through...'
I aimed my blade at it.
A crimson-flame-like pseudo sword aura flickered along the spirit sword.
Nameless Sword
[Self-Rotation]
I closed the distance in a flash and swung my sword in a wide circle.
Riiip!!!
The sword energy spread like a massive spinning sphere, carving a huge gash into its tentacle.
With defenses weakened, it worked—but no more gains.
Not enough.
I dodged its incoming counter by a hair's breadth, then thrust deep. My sword flashed again, leaving crimson afterimages.
How about this?
I pointed the tip downward, then raised it, channeling necromantic mana into my thumb.
And swept the flat of the spirit sword.
Rune Inscription
[Kallith]
A glowing strange rune etched onto the blade, resonating with the sword aura.
Probably not true runic script.
These characters compressed everything I'd amassed as a high necromancer, slapped with a "rune" label.
Sensing something ominous, the Kraken tried to pull back—but my feet were already pushing off.
Sproing!!
I accelerated to insane speeds, swinging once more.
Of course, as a formidable foe, it whipped every tentacle to block my paths.
Objectively, no escape—an oppressive press.
But my eyes caught the tiniest gaps.
No one's perfect. I chained those slits into a path and dove in.
Whiiiiiish!!!
Dodging tentacle tips at point-blank with speed outpacing sound, I burrowed deeper. It desperately condensed poison smoke into liquid form and spat it.
Can't take that hit.
Sealing my only route—dodging while advancing was impossible now.
Then...
Brute force it is.
Nameless Sword
[Orbital Rotation]
Multiple circular sword energies from before spawned, orbiting and slicing at it.
The shockwave upheaved and split the surrounding ground.
"Tch!"
Poison smoke invading my body caused periodic spasms, but Luna's healing spells flew in each time.
Glancing back, Luna had her eyes shut, face full of undisguised displeasure.
The rest of the subjugation team mirrored her—shock and awe etched on every face.
Not important now.
The Kraken's regeneration exceeded my expectations.
But that proved it was cornered.
My firepower shortage showed too.
Pseudo sword aura merely mimicked true Aura Blade.
As combat dragged, massive wounds bloomed and faded across its body repeatedly.
My flesh did the same from poison and attacks.
Yet neither yielded an inch—we traded blows intent on tearing each other apart.
Then it happened. Its colossal frame swayed violently for a moment.
The signal.
It had hit its absolute limit.
In our test of attrition, the Kraken broke first.
Knowing this, it went all-in.
It shoved me back with a huge tentacle, then gathered them into one point.
High-Heat Beam.
Blocked once before, but not this time.
Aware of that, it aimed to incinerate me precisely.
Power amped up—no half-measures would cut it.
After deliberation, I dispersed the pseudo sword aura stored in Electra.
Thinking I'd given up, it bellowed triumphantly.
Soon, the clustered tentacle tips began flashing with light.
I raised my sword tip to the sky, hilt at chest level.
If Expert wasn't enough, become a Master.
Dong... dong... dong...
The aura coiling around me forcibly bloomed.
"Sword Saint!!"
Osberg Mielephon, sword drawn and poised to charge at my call, widened his eyes.
"When I signal, slice its magic just once."
If short, borrow power. The distance to the Kraken was far, but projecting sword ki once was trivial for him.