Chapter: 972
“Kwaaaak!”
The young man collapsed, and his scream echoed throughout the area.
Blood trickled from his eye, soaking his body.
“Your Majesty!”
As those around hurriedly tried to approach him, I lightly tapped the ground with my toes.
Boom-!
Hooooooooo—!!!
Pressure spread, sealing off their movements.
“Ugh!”
“Cough…!!”
Those who had been moving closer flinched and fell down. I ignored them and slowly knelt down to look at the fallen guy.
“Ugh… Huuuuuuu!!!”
He trembled, clutching his left eye that had been gouged out.
I bent my knees at the sight.
Slowly, I met his gaze. He looked at me and trembled with his remaining right eye.
“…Heuheu… Kkeu… Why…?”
I paused for a moment, caught off guard by that sight.
Oh, I messed up.
I shouldn’t have pulled it out, but my hand reached out instinctively.
The eyeball rolled around in my palm.
It had a distinctly gross, sticky feel, as if pulled out neatly.
Hmm. That’s disgusting.
Recalling that, I clenched my fist tighter.
Pop-!
I burst the trapped eyeball with a flick of my hand and shook it off.
Watching his own eyeball get squished, the guy’s expression crumbled. I said while viewing his horror.
[I don’t like your eyes.]
“…Huuuuu…!!”
It was a mistake, but it doesn’t matter. I wanted to break it anyway.
The one who heard that felt terror.
He seemed to want to unleash his anger but couldn’t.
It can’t be helped. His father, the leader of this place, is lying behind me, unable to die, so he wouldn’t dare charge at me.
Seeing that, I spoke to his comrades behind him.
[Are you just going to watch? Your leader is dying over there?!]
“…!”
Those who heard my words froze.
Only then did they notice the blue leader collapsed behind me.
At a glance, he looked unwell, but they couldn’t approach him.
The reason is likely because of me again.
[Tsk, tsk.]
With that sight, I turned my back on them and walked away.
Across from the entrance. I had already made a hole.
It was a spot made when I pummeled their chief. I walked toward it.
Glancing at the downed chief, I spat out a few words.
[The performance was okay, but just a performance. Disappointing.]
Cluck, cluck.
The chief’s body trembled as he gasped for air. It seemed his pride was hurt.
I continued speaking while looking at him.
[I hope the next time I meet you, you’ll be a bit better.]
“…!”
Before he could react to my words.
I jumped away and escaped.
—-!!!!
As I moved a bit further away, noise erupted from the direction of the mansion, sounding like people had been waiting for me.
The incident took place at night, and time passed.
Before we knew it, the sun was dawning.
Dawn, with the moon setting and the sun rising beyond the fading backdrop.
I walked around to the back of the building to check for any signs of life.
Nothing. No feeling at all. Even when I concentrated my senses, it was still the same. Thinking about it.
Hiccup.
Only then did I release the cough I had been holding back.
A bit of blood flowed.
I roughly wiped it with the back of my hand and clutched my chest.
This freaking hurts.
‘It’s hurtin’ so bad.’
It seems the aftermath of battle wasn’t small.
Pain shot through my whole body.
The internal injury isn’t deep, but the pain is definitely there.
I must have overdone it.
‘I had to use more since I needed to finish quickly.’
I threw all my might into it. Considering the state I was in, I wanted to end it as quickly as possible.
‘…He was stronger than I expected.’
That guy’s level was higher than I anticipated.
Especially.
‘His body is way too hard.’
When I punched, it didn’t go in as deep as I thought.
I initially thought only the lower half had gained muscle, but from what I could see, it was indeed his lower half that had gotten the strongest.
Yet, other areas seemed similarly reinforced.
‘Muscles getting stronger means not just durability but grip strength changed too.’
He was a martial artist who heavily utilized leg attacks.
Especially, the power of the kick he threw was pretty strong.
Not knowing, I blocked it with my arm, and it seems that my left arm got seriously cracked.
With this, it should heal soon.
‘If I’d used less force there, it would have broken.’
If I hadn’t reinforced my muscles for a moment, I would’ve looked pretty ugly.
Thud, thud. I shook my left arm. It hurt with every shake, yet it was bearable.
‘What’s important isn’t this body….’
I clenched my fist and checked.
‘I’ve got tons of energy.’
The energy in my heart was completely gone.
I had used up everything in the recent battle. Still, the smile didn’t leave my lips.
If someone asked why I was smiling after draining it all.
‘It feels good.’
The energy I consumed didn’t match my expectations.
Normally, I should be panting heavily by now.
I felt a difference from the fight with him.
I could endure a bit more additional energy usage.
‘It doesn’t seem like I gained more energy.’
Maybe it’s a difference in technique?
I’m not sure what exactly it was, but there’s definitely been a shift.
I just can’t pinpoint what.
‘You could say it’s a shift. But it’s merely a difference in my sorcery.’
What I learned from meeting that turtle.
And nailing the Heavenly Demonic Sect technique successfully once. That’s all there was.
Does that really change anything?
I couldn’t be sure, but it wasn’t a bad thing for me.
‘Thanks to that, I could end the fight quicker.’
Using the same energy now produced different levels of might.
It’s not that I leveled up or gained more energy, but my power somehow increased.
‘Is sorcery aiding my martial arts?’
Maybe the higher my sorcery level, the stronger my martial techniques?
The only reason I could think of at the moment.
I became stronger.
When my sorcery grows stronger, my level rises too.
This ultimately gives me even more reasons to immerse myself in sorcery.
‘…I guess I should pester the turtle a bit more?’
For some reason, that old man seems to dislike me. Yet, I now have a reason to cling to him.
No matter how much he disapproves, I must get him to spill his knowledge.
While making that resolution and taking a deep breath.
“Tsk, tsk.”
My eyes widened at the sound of a clicking tongue.
I immediately turned my head.
Stab-!
Something pierced my neck. It wasn’t a blade.
Was it a finger? A dry finger poked its way into my throat.
I quietly looked up at the owner of that hand.
In the shadows, crimson eyes met mine.
“What is it…?”
“You foolish guy.”
It was Shin Noya.
He looked at me like he was displeased about something.
I hadn’t even noticed him approach. Realizing this, I bit my lip.
“Just because you’ve widened your sense of perception doesn’t mean you should let your guard down. Are you being too careless now that the fight is over?”
Noya poked me at that point like a ghost.
“…”
“If what I was holding just now was a sword, you would be dead.”
“…If it were Noya, it’d be fine.”
“Ha.”
Noya let out a laugh, finding my blunt response ridiculous.
“You know that’s an excuse, right?”
“…”
I didn’t reply. I just stayed silent, confirming his statement.
“Be careful.”
“…Yeah.”
His tone was more a warning than a reprimand. That scared me even more.
I awkwardly smiled, nodding, and Noya withdrew the hand that was on my neck.
“Did you handle your business well?”
“Yes. I did enough-!”
Before I could finish, Noya jabbed at my chest. I quickly covered my mouth.
I nearly screamed.
“…Ugh… This maniac…”
“It’s amazing how you can talk so casually about that.”
Noya’s expression reflected half-repulsion as he spoke.
“You crazy bastard. If something hurts, show it!”
“…Who’s the crazy one here? Can’t you just ask instead of poking to check?”
“If I had asked, would you have answered honestly?”
“…”
I probably wouldn’t have.
So, I had little to retort.
“Tsk, tsk. You should handle your body as you please, but… keep it moderate.”
“…I think this is okay enough.”
Holding back groans, I straightened myself again.
As it stands, it is okay.
I’m in a state of recovery, and nothing’s ripped off.
Crack.
I moved my limbs, adjusting my bones.
Seeing that, Noya clicked his tongue again.
“…What a remarkable guy.”
“How did you get here? Shouldn’t you return now?”
“I should go back, but I suppose I’ll wait until the sun rises.”
“That’s true.”
He nodded in agreement.
Thinking back, didn’t he mention not being able to travel at night?
“Is there still work to do?”
“No. I’ve done everything I had to do, but….”
I turned my head, eyeing a spot. The location of the Blue Clan.
“I’d like to watch how they respond.”
When daylight breaks, activities will unfold.
I need to confirm that before checking the next agenda… It’s too soon to act.
Especially.
“Do you know where the Sacred Tree is? It doesn’t seem like it’s over there.”
Another thing I urgently wanted to know was the location of the Sacred Tree somewhere in the night sky.
I truly wanted to know that.
According to Noya, it surely exists somewhere in the night sky. However, the Blue Clan showed no signs of feeling anything about it.
No, is it even possible to feel it in the first place?
‘It’s essential to know the location to determine what to do.’
Whether to break it.
Or try something else.
That can only occur if you ascertain the location.
Thus, I wanted to figure out where the Sacred Tree was.
“Oh, that. I know.”
“Yeah?”
Noya replied nonchalantly.
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