Chapter 96
Before Libra could counterattack, I readjusted my grip on the sword hilt and swung upward. Ziiing— A piercing white noise devoured my eardrums as a flash burst forth, and a blood-red sword trail cleaved the scene in half. The deafening roar that followed at immense decibels swallowed even Libra's scream.
"World boss my ass—your vitality's tough as snake skin, for no damn reason."
"Kuhk! Krhk!"
In front of the kneeling Libra, my blood-red pupils, laced with frost, gleamed coldly.
"You didn't seriously think some half-assed trick like that would beat me, did you?"
Libra's shoulders twitched under my killing glare.
As I tightened my grip on the hilt, Blood Eater's blade exploded outward. Libra's face drained of color as she staggered to her feet in a panic. A spark of survival instinct flickered over her desperate expression.
"This is my world. There's no way a worm like you could stop a god!"
Ripples spread through the space around her, and transparent bullets floated up. Invisible attacks with unpredictable trajectories. But I focused on the sky.
The transparent bullets were a feint—the real concentration of her mana was in the heavens.
"Plenty of god wannabes today."
I drew mana from my dantian in response. Time seemed to freeze in silence, tension the only thing flowing through the stagnant air.
After a brief probing exchange.
"Die!"
Libra's bullets sliced through the air. Mana-formed projectiles rushed in silently and swiftly, without a trace. I countered by swinging my sword wide and charging.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-boom!
A storm of blood raged, sweeping every direction. Libra's fragile bullets crumbled to dust in the furious blood-red tempest.
"Krut, you damn bitch! All you've got is brute strength!"
"What, aren't you a god? Shouldn't you block something like this easy?"
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Sword winds that shattered space surged out like a brutal tidal wave. Libra shot into the air with agile speed. Hundreds of invisible hands unfurled behind her.
"Whew, that sent a chill down my spine. But you can't block this, right?"
Hundreds of transparent hands swam through the air like sea serpents. Libra knew I could detect invisible attacks, yet she kept sending these obvious patterns?
The attacks are too straightforward. If you're gonna trick me, at least put some effort into it.
I leaped into the air, lightly infusing mana and swinging my sword in a wide arc. The sky split in a fan shape, and the incoming hands burst apart.
"Hahat! Got you, you rat!"
In that instant, the sky blazed bright as thousands of meteors rained down. Blue meteors with luminosity nearing hundreds of thousands of candela burned with flames over thousands of degrees, incinerating the surrounding air.
"Wh-what is this...?"
Elena gaped at the sight, mouth agape.
A battle between transcendent beings that tore the heavens and shook space. It was beyond the realm of mere mortals.
"I really... couldn't do anything after all."
Awe like facing a god buckled her knees to the ground.
Libra's declaration echoed across the sky.
"I'll sever that annoying lifeline of yours!"
"Hah."
I let out a scoff of ridicule.
You think a mana ambush works on someone who can see mana?
I'd already pinpointed where the mana was gathering.
At the landing point of the meteors streaking blue tails, I summoned thousands of blood-thread swords.
"Intercept."
With my calm command, thousands of blood-thread swords rocketed upward like missiles. Meteors met swords.
A ripping roar tore through as stars exploded in the sky. Unprecedented energy lit the mana space like broad daylight.
"Kuhhhh! No way! You bitchhhh!!"
Libra's bloodshot eyes flashed as she extended sharp claws.
"I'll end your life with these hands myself!"
She sucked in surrounding mana like a vortex, her body swelling enormously. Her size surpassed a car, rivaling a dump truck.
"Is that head just for show?"
I gripped the blade with both hands, piercing Libra with cold eyes.
"After getting your ass kicked earlier, you should've stayed down. Can't even endure a little breather?"
"Shut up, shut up! I'll rip out that filthy heart and feed it to the monsters!"
Losing all reason, Libra charged at full power.
Chaeng! Kbang! Kwa-gaga-gak!
Hundreds, thousands of attacks clashed in an instant. Blinding sparks and metallic tang filled my vision. Explosive shockwaves burst outward.
"Why."
Libra's voice colored with bewilderment. Not a single one of her thousands of strikes had grazed me.
"Why won't it hit! Why, why, whyyyyy!!"
Her scream of anguish echoed through the air.
In that moment.
Chaeng!
The mana-forged fake claws shattered, unable to withstand Blood Eater's fury.
"Hey."
I lowered my voice and slashed her wrist.
Shwaaak!
"Seems you overlooked something."
I immediately swung upward, carving a long gash across her torso.
"Kuhuk!"
Libra clutched the gaping wound, staggering back.
"You're not the only one pissed off right now."
Paak!
Her guard dropped on her lower body. I roundhouse-kicked her shinbone to splinters.
"Kiyaaaaaah!!"
The chilling scream stabbed straight into my eardrums.
Back to her original size, Libra plummeted to the ground and collapsed. I landed too, stepping forward as I spoke.
"You're... scared, aren't you?"
"Wh-what?"
Libra's wide eyes bulged. Rage and terror swirled within them.
"In a world that feeds on fear, what happens when you feel fear?"
That instant, Libra's pupils quivered violently.
"Especially as the master of the dream."
I curled my lips slightly.
As Libra said, this was a dream world. A half-dream tethered to reality, built from gathered human fears. But the moment she felt fear toward me...
Control shifted to me.
"Power condensed from fear... right?"
I began dominating the mana across the entire space. Libra's mana, tainted by her fear, was devoured by the space—tied like a marionette to my will.
"N-no way! This mana is mine alone! It's all mine!"
Libra screamed in disbelief.
"Who says it can't be?"
I clenched my fist, compressing the mana into a black hole at one point. The dream world contracted rapidly, crushing her body.
"No! Don't do this!"
Libra wailed. The pressure intensified over time, binding her immobile.
"Kuhk, stop! Stop it now!"
Pure mana compression bore down; she vomited blood. Muscles burrowed into bones, organs squeezed alive—pain beyond imagination.
"Aak! Aaaaaaah!!"
Flesh twisted, throat clogged.
In her final moment, Libra glared with burst veins reddening her eyes.
"I'll curse you. I'll definitely curse you... Kiyaaaaaah!!"
Wooduduk.
A gruesome crunch, and her body crumpled unrecognizably. Her death cry was swallowed by the contracting space.
"Curses from a corpse mean nothing."
I floated the marble-sized remnant of Libra on my palm and blew. It crumbled to dust and scattered on the wind.
Alright, Libra's dealt with. Next up...
"S-Sertina... ma'am..."
Then, Elena, slumped on the ground, looked up at me with effort. A hint of fear mixed into her cowed expression.
"Th-thank you for helping..."
"No big deal."
I shrugged it off. But Elena's face seemed somehow downcast. Half-lidded eyes formed a self-deprecating smile before she bowed her head and muttered.
"I... I guess I'm no help at all. If you hadn't come, France would already be..."
Her sniffling choked her words.
Come to think of it, Elena tried handling everything alone. Pushed her mental stress to the brink.
A girl fumbling in darkness without solutions. I'd brought her here to show her the light.
The path forward.
"Elena. You—"
As I placed a hand on her shoulder and opened my mouth.
Kurururung!
The ground shook violently, like a bomb had dropped. Dust sifted from the sky.
"This is...!"
"Hm?"
Elena and I looked up in unison.
Jejeok, jjeok— A sound like living flesh tearing, and cracks split the mana space. With Libra gone, the dream barrier was collapsing.
"Sertina ma'am. What happens when that disappears?"
Elena pointed at the widening gap.
This is insane... We're 100 meters underground here.