The Twisted Pride of Paris
Another barrier? These wretches truly show no development whatsoever.
“It’s a little different from a barrier.”
The new space created by those gaunt branches.
The city where the Klyphoth Tree had taken root—the scenery of Paris—was manifested at our feet.
A mirror world crafted by inverting existing concepts.
The massive tree born from swallowing the Eiffel Tower, the sky that reflected the mirror world as the dimensional walls grew faint, the twisted buildings, and even the monsters were all absent.
The City of Light, Paris, had been reproduced exactly as it once was.
“What a perverse taste.”
Rene’s imagined vision of Klyphoth.
Of all possibilities, he had chosen Paris as it was before World Severance warped it.
I never expected him to record the city’s shining form before he destroyed France’s pride with his own hands, then recreate it in reverse.
“Beauty must be preserved, after all.”
Rene Davis sat atop the restored Eiffel Tower, chin raised in arrogance as he looked down at me with haughty eyes.
“What exactly are you preserving after you smashed it yourself?”
“By recording Paris’s radiant form within this mirror world, I preserve it in an eternal, immortal state.”
“What a load of crap.”
I let out a heavy sigh.
Conversing with a madman was exhausting.
“You didn’t call me here just to argue with your mouth, did you?”
“This space has no interferers like in Alsace-Lorraine. Therefore, I can unleash my full power.”
“Full power? When all you’re doing is borrowing strength from Klyphoth?”
“Kuk. I’ll make you regret those words.”
Multiple Chant
Lightning Shower & Sonic Bomb
Fusion Qigong
Lightning Wave
A shockwave spread at the speed of light.
Reacting after you saw it would already be too late.
Thanks to my senses being honed to their limit, I defended using the Metal Reflection Gloves and Explosive Demon, lightly redirecting the lightning-infused shockwave.
Quite the flashy display, yet it lacks any real substance.
“If I had stayed still, my insides would have been roasted crisp.”
A sound-wave attack that ignored defense.
Fused with lightning to scorch the target’s internals—an utterly vicious technique.
If I hadn’t wrapped myself in Explosive Demon, the outcome would have been ugly.
As expected of Fusion Qigong.
The unique ability that symbolized the Almighty.
Rene Davis had climbed all the way to Monarch—the pinnacle of humanity—using Fusion Qigong.
Still, he was no match for me.
“Your skill is quite impressive. However, how long can you endure before overwhelming power?”
Gugugugugung!
The Eiffel Tower began to rise.
I wasn’t sure if “rise” was the proper word for a steel structure or whether it even had a “body,” but it was the best description I could manage.
The four pillars supporting the structure were ripped free, granting it movement.
Portions of the steel frame detached to form arm-like shapes, while the sharp spire transformed into something resembling a knight’s helmet.
“Didn’t you say earlier that you were preserving a beautiful view?”
“That is correct.”
“I fail to see what’s beautiful about this grotesque thing.”
“To witness the living pride of Paris and feel nothing. How truly lamentable.”
The Eiffel Tower, now resembling a centaur, took a step.
Boom!
A massive shockwave rippled outward, just like when I used White Tiger’s Dominion Step.
“Shall we begin?”
Hehe. You take the lead, my partner.
I stomped forward as well.
Earth Dragon Out of Water
The ground heaved and bit into the Eiffel Tower’s leg.
The tower staggered.
“How dare you touch the pride of Paris…!”
“Aren’t you getting a little too immersed in a fake made by Klyphoth?”
I deployed Earth Dragon Out of Water once more.
Shaking the tower’s center of gravity forced Rene Davis, who sat atop it, to snap his gaze downward.
Kwaaaaang!
The Eiffel Tower’s whip-like arm slammed into the ground.
The destructive force was enough to reshape the entire terrain.
“What tremendous power.”
Can you really afford to comment so casually?
“No. Whoa!”
Blink
Kugugugung!
The spot where I had been standing a moment ago was reduced to rubble.
“Where did all that confidence go? Are you only going to run away?”
Rene’s mocking voice lingered in my ears.
Boom! Boom!
Lightning rained down in succession.
It was “lightning that pursues the enemy,” created through Fusion Qigong.
Deflecting or dodging was impossible.
I had to redirect or cancel it with Explosive Demon.
You cannot keep retreating forever.
“I know.”
The whip-like arm descended toward my head once more.
Dark-red wings unfurled behind me.
I fired Thorned Missiles using Dragon’s Wings, formed from dark fighting spirit.
Hundreds of projectiles stronger than a 2-star Ice Spear rained down every second.
Tingtingtingting!
The Thorned Missiles tore into the Eiffel Tower monster’s forearm.
With such a large surface area, precise aiming wasn’t necessary.
The monster’s arm was instantly shredded into rags.
『……』
Then, as if time were reversing, the damaged area began regenerating.
0.5 seconds.
Considering the tens of meters of destroyed surface, the recovery speed was absurd.
“This thing is way more monstrous than I thought.”
I scratched my cheek.
The monster created by transforming the Eiffel Tower possessed combat power one—no, two—ranks above the Eldritch Dragon I had faced in the DMZ.
Its appearance was ridiculous, but its size was several times larger.
It didn’t use magic or martial techniques, yet the sheer power radiating from its body overwhelmed the Eldritch Dragon.
The enormous mana output drawn from the Klyphoth Tree.
That alone granted it strength surpassing monsters from the 70th or even 80th floor.
But the real problem was something else.
Since it was a monster created by granting “concept” to a structure, its life force equaled its mana.
To defeat it, I would have to reduce the mana composing its body to zero—and that was easier said than done.
Fire Pillar & Ice Pillar
Fusion Qigong
Eternal Resonance
The enemy wasn’t alone, which made it even more threatening.
Flames and cold fused through Fusion Qigong.
The opposing energies repelled each other yet moved according to the user’s will.
The repeatedly amplified fire and ice intertwined in bizarre shapes, binding my movements.
Both spells were instant-cast once their arrangement finished, activating at the designated coordinates.
There was no way to dodge.
Truth Eyes
I read the flow of mana.
The intense mana currents tangled by Fusion Qigong.
If the two energies could be artificially fused, then interfering with that flow to restore their original forms was also possible.
I could see it.
Rene’s mana linking Fire Pillar and Ice Pillar!
I thrust my finger forward rapidly.
Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts, Fifth Form.
Light Flash Strike pierced the clump of mana.
The essence of Fusion Qigong that had bound the two repelling forces was shattered.
The two spells collided once more.
Crackle! Fwoooosh!
The simultaneously activated Fire Pillar and Ice Pillar slammed into each other.
Standing at the center of the spell manifestation, I couldn’t completely avoid it, but the Metal Reflection Gloves covering my skin absorbed the remaining energy.
“How about that?”
What are you asking? A contractor of the Night should be able to do at least this much.
“It is tricky.”
Rene kept designating coordinates and launching instant-cast skills, trying to bind my feet and finish me with the Eiffel Tower monster.
Each time, I used Truth Eyes to read the mana flow and crushed the Fusion Qigong before it could exert its full power.
“Do you know about Fusion Qigong?”
“My eyes are pretty good. Vision’s 2.0, you know.”
“If you won’t tell me, I’ll find out myself.”
Once his instant-cast techniques were repeatedly destroyed, Rene changed his attack pattern.
Dark Cannon & Solar Beam
Fusion Qigong
Chaos Ray
The moment I sensed a sinister light flashing, the gray beam had already reached me.
Chaos power drawn out through fusion.
A cheat-like attack type that possessed no attribute yet could damage every attribute.
Tsk. I thought I could suck a little more honey.
The effect of Truth Eyes was still valid.
Even a straight-rising beam had its own grain.
Internal energy lingered in my hand.
With Winged Great Peng Strike, I lightly pushed the chaos power away.
A long scar appeared beside me—the desolate sight left by Chaos Ray.
“As I thought, you cannot destroy emission-type attacks.”
“So you think you can win?”
“Kuk. This is as far as your bravado goes.”
Rene continued firing spells from atop the Eiffel Tower monster.
Even if I deflected the magical barrage, the three-hundred-meter steel colossus swung its arms.
The overwhelming destructive force was closer to a natural disaster than an attack.
Its accuracy wasn’t high.
The problem was that even a graze would be fatal.
This sovereign shall step forward.
“Wait. Not yet.”
The Paris manifested by the Klyphoth Tree.
This wasn’t the pattern I had predicted.
In my previous life, the method Rene used was to erode the world.
He had never isolated a specific area and dragged it inside the tree.
Just because it was an action outside my calculations didn’t mean I would stand still and take it.
Thanks to Nyx, I had realized that knowledge from my regression wasn’t omnipotent.
Therefore.
Accurately gauging the combat strength of both the Eiffel Tower monster and Rene came first.
It might look like I was being pushed back one-sidedly right now.
Rene’s power.
The Eiffel Tower monster’s combat ability and reaction speed.
I had roughly grasped the important points.
Then now…
“Time for a modest counterattack.”
I circulated internal energy through both legs and stepped lightly.
Cloud Flow Steps, the movement art that felt like walking on clouds, unfolded like flowing water.
The steel whip struck the ground a beat too late.
Even though it hadn’t hit directly, the shockwave made my skin tingle.
If I were the type to retreat from this much, I never would have started the fight.
The Eiffel Tower’s attack speed, destructive power, and reaction time—I had calculated them all.
Blizzard & Squall
Fusion Qigong
Ice Stacker
Ice rain poured down like a deluge.
It was a dense barrage that couldn’t be individually blocked or avoided.
I drew out the power of Polar Night.
The night energy residing in shadows exploded outward.
It deflected the countless falling ice needles.
“Excellent. Eiffel Tower! While that fool’s feet are bound, finish him!”
『……!』
This time the left arm swept low across the ground as it approached.
Friction with the floor slowed it compared to before, but the steel frame’s height exceeded that of a small hill, making evasion difficult.
The pressure felt like a tsunami closing in.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
The Eiffel Tower’s upper body had lowered while its arm swept the ground.
Rene, riding atop it, had also drawn closer to my position.
Avalanche
Solar Explosion
Immovable Heart.
A skill obtained by devouring the essence of the Twin Head Ogre.
A powerful effect that allowed magic casting even during intense movement.
It carried the penalty of consuming concentration and reducing arrangement speed by fifty percent, but I had plenty of time.
A powerful explosion detonated at close range.
The world flashed white.