In the back of the village.
Ertarn and Lady Lily face each other in a patch of grass where people rarely venture.
In the distance, the villagers huddled together, cautious in case anyone got hurt.
“Here. Let’s do this.”
“That’s a bit questionable.”
Sre.
“What is?”
“You need to prove whether you’re dangerous or not, yet you want to fight? Shouldn’t we showcase a peaceful aspect instead?”
“Hmph.”
Thud thud…!
Rocks scattered around start to rise, a potent energy swirling around Ertarn.
The rocks, now filled with energy, become even harder and sharper.
“If you just stand there, nothing will happen.”
“So, you intend to take me down?”
“I won’t kill you.”
The rocks are launched.
With a sigh, Lady Lily’s blade slices through a rock just as another one comes crashing down on her.
As she splits that one too, dozens of rocks lift into the air.
“I’ll show you.”
“…Well, it is a bit rough.”
This side is indeed faster.
Woooom.
The Silver Sword emanates aura.
As the blue aura slices through all the attacking rocks, the shattered rocks once again target Lady Lily.
Thousands of fragments, all moving in different directions.
It’s an excessive attack for someone who claims not to kill, but Ertarn isn’t wrong.
“Hmm.”
‘This woman wouldn’t die even if she took all of that.’
The light of the aura creates dozens of trajectories, forming a single swordsmanship style.
It takes shape like a lion’s mane.
That’s… dangerous.
“…!”
Kwahrahrahk!!
The aura trajectories turn the powered fragments into dust.
As the uncontrolled dust of fragments scatters, Lady Lily quickly approaches, nodding slightly.
Kagak!!
“This is nothing.”
A stone hand blocks her sword.
Though the momentum behind the sword is sufficient, it isn’t enough to cut through Ertarn’s body.
At best, it can only slice through a rock raised for offense.
‘That was a momentarily chilling feeling… was it just a misunderstanding?’
Kuuuuuu…
“Are you hiding your strength?”
“Who knows?”
“…So cheeky.”
Thwack.
When Ertarn’s hand touches Lady Lily, it’s as if the earth pulls at her, violently pushing her back.
A power that existed long before he had self-awareness, still present now.
Everyone within Ertarn’s domain is influenced by the ‘earth.’
Lady Lily, a strong warrior, was hardly affected but in this direct contact, the story changes.
Bound by the earth’s power, she tilts her head in uncertainty.
“Do you still need more proof?”
“Do you need more?”
“It looks even more dangerous. What do you think?”
“If it was dangerous, I would be dead.”
She is tied up, losing her balance.
If Ertarn had malice, the moment she lost balance, she would have attacked with a rock or something to finish it off.
But instead, she just tied her up and took no further action.
“It could be a deception. This doesn’t prove anything.”
“No. It proves.”
Whoosh!
“…!”
Lady Lily’s shoulder was pierced.
Though not as much as Ertarn, her pretty solid body spilled blood, and the white shoulder epaulet made of lion fur turned red.
At first glance, it seemed like a serious injury, but it wasn’t that bad.
“…Still holding on?”
Even tied up and off-balance, she managed to raise her sword to block the rock.
The rock continued trying to pierce Lady Lily, but perhaps due to the force behind the sword, it remained stuck in place.
How could she respond so quickly when she couldn’t even take a stance?
There’s no doubt that she’s not an ordinary life form.
“I won’t kill you. But I don’t like it.”
“……”
“So, just lie down for a bit. When you wake up, you’ll understand.”
“More than I expected…”
“More than you expected?”
Hmm.
“More than I expected, it’s taking a while.”
“?!”
Crack!!
The rock split in two.
Ertarn’s eyes widened, and the trail of aura sliced through both of her arms in an instant like lion claws.
As she flinched and retreated, the regenerating arms were cut off again, then the neck was targeted.
The situation flipped in an instant.
From afar, the villagers’ gasps could be heard, but Ertarn had no time to care about that.
“…What. How?”
The recent events were shocking enough.
“Truly impressive. To use royal family techniques in a place like this.”
“How. Did you do that?”
“It’s a swordsmanship that only the direct descendants of Lyons can use. Its defensive ability is quite decent, but it can’t stop the royal techniques.”
Originally, it wasn’t a technique permitted here…
“Considering the circumstances, it can’t be helped—”
“…That’s a lie.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s not a technique.”
Boom!
The earth trembles.
A level of shaking completely different from earlier as she threw some rocks was continuous, causing the villagers to tremble in shock.
Swish.
Ertarn covered the trembling villagers with rocks for safety, then glared at Lady Lily with vigilant eyes.
I glared at Lady Lily.
“Knight. I know. I don’t know why, but I know.”
I had seen it.
Surely, I was seeing the Knights for the first time in ‘this era’ of Ertarn, but for some reason, I knew.
Even if the attire and appearance of the Knights were similar, the power they possessed was completely different.
Above all, I had never used techniques like that.
“I know. I know a knight. Techniques. It doesn’t look like that. Actually. It’s not a knight, is it?”
“…It’s a bit ridiculous. To think that I would have my knightly honor questioned by a monster.”
“I won’t be fooled even if you avoid it. Just say it.”
“That’s right. It’s not just any knight.”
Uwooong.
The light of the aura turned pure white.
Ertarn’s neck was cleanly severed without any resistance, and a slightly larger Ertarn, about 2 meters and 20 centimeters tall, sprang up again from the ground.
Ertarn does not die even when its body is whittled away.
“Even if it is ‘the neck.'”
“I’m a bit of a special knight.”
“…You’ll have to speak.”
Creak!
Ertarn’s fist clenched roughly, and the Silver Sword also emitted a sharp aura.
The second round has begun.
■
As planned, I successfully entered the dream of the Celestial Being.
The more detailed I modified the dream, the more immersion I experienced, and ultimately I thought I might even be able to enter the dream entirely.
It was just a hypothesis, but it actually worked, and the more actions I took, the better the immersion, so I intentionally provoked a fight.
It was Ertarn who started the fight, but it was me who wrote down that situation.
Anyway, while pretending to fight as fiercely as possible, I even offered my shoulder, and only then could I barely get in…
Kwagagagagaga!!!
[Wow]
[The Celestial Being is strong?]
[What the hell?]
[Is it impossible with just a sword?]
[Isn’t it stronger than the Kraken? Haha]
[This is intense]
“Deceiving with a sword is impossible.”
With my hastily crafted and clumsy swordsmanship, I couldn’t deceive the Celestial Being.
“Right now,” I didn’t know anything yet, but the Celestial Being’s dream had already looped thousands, tens of thousands of times.
Each time, it would have seen the Knights coming, and it had probably unconsciously remembered the swordsmanship, appearances, and reactions they used.
While appearances and reactions varied from person to person, swordsmanship could not be bypassed like that.
“This is the downside of coming in.”
Before entering, I could directly modify the situation, so I naturally transitioned to “Lady Lily uses the Knights’ swordsmanship!” but in reality, it was different.
I had never learned the Knights’ swordsmanship.
I could manage to imitate it, but I was not primarily someone who uses a sword, and I couldn’t escape the Celestial Being’s gaze that had seen the same swordsmanship thousands of times.
So I tried to deceive it with tricks… but, after all, there were limits.
[Just use a spear or a hammer]
[Why not use a spear?]
“The Knights aren’t very good with spears.”
The level of the Silver Lion Knight Order is so low that if I used it, it would be immediately obvious.
Of course, I could pretend to be a complete ‘beginner’…
“Are you saying pretend not to be able to use a ‘spear’?”
I’d rather use a sword I’ve barely touched than do that!
I’ve never even touched a hammer.
Kaboom!!!
“The mountain is crumbling.”
“Running away… is useless.”
Every time I throw a punch, the earth flips and trees and dirt explode.
It’s a strength that cannot even be compared to before.
If I was at the level of Jeokhye and the giants just a moment ago, now it feels almost like I’m on Nokju’s level.
The reason this happened is simple.
“Phew…”
Until just now, my relationship with Ertarn was ‘Knight and Monster.’
Since there were roles and interests involved, Ertarn’s level matched that times but now it’s different.
“As expected, a monster indeed.”
“A fake…”
Right now, I’m something that destroys the ‘natural dream.’
I can’t be expelled since I’ve entered the dream itself, but I’m using the power of the future god at will.
‘But the dream hasn’t completely shattered. The collapse isn’t changing.’
Is it because there’s still no clear evidence?
Ertarn’s subconscious uses power but simultaneously recognizes that it’s a dream strongly.
In other words, if I still act as a ‘knight’ wielding a sword, there’s a chance.
‘Spears, hammers, and holiness are mostly excluded.’
I have to defeat an opponent of Nokju’s level, the ruler of an entire world.
As the crumbled nearby mountain disappears, sunlight shines on the silver sword I hold.
‘Silver Purifier.’
Drak’s masterpiece and a transcendent-grade sword like Kraken’s Spear.
[The Silver Purifier awakens from its ancient slumber.]
[The Silver Purifier despises non-living things.]
[The Silver Purifier shows animosity towards the non-living in front of it.]
[The Silver Purifier ignites the ‘Soul of Purification.’]
[The Soul of Purification is sufficient.]
[Consuming the Soul of Purification to borrow one of the great swordsmanship techniques…]
The method of use seeps into my mind.
The corresponding power also flows into my body, and the trajectory of the sword is drawn.
‘This… is that thing?’
“…Huh?”
‘Cutting the Sky.’
The sky was split open.
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