Splash!
Thick blood erupted into the sky, falling like rain.
Amid the damp, sodden mud, the remains of the proud knights and priests of Erden lay scattered.
Some were missing arms and legs.
Some were left with nothing but bones.
Some lay sprawled, leaving behind pools of blood.
And across from them…
The demon who had created this carnage was muttering to itself, adjusting its hair.
The exact level of its power was unknown.
Just expected based on rumors.
At least, upper Master level.
Humans who hadn’t awakened their unique abilities could never reach that level.
However, weaknesses were also clear.
Blind.
Of course, it was reported that, while it could see the surroundings through a sense of presence, it could not spread that sense without the great sword.
It was confirmed that this was indeed true.
This meant that without the great sword, it could be treated however one pleased.
But…
That crazy girl just threw the great sword.
She threw the great sword, shattering Mern’s penance and killing him.
Even if it wasn’t her weakness, no swordsman would engage in such madness of throwing their sword.
“Throwing a sword…? No. What on earth?”
Thanks to that mad act, the bowstring Barret was pulling loosened.
“I can’t understand it either…”
Galra, who had stuck the great sword into the ground, answered with a bewildered voice.
“What… a new method of suicide? Or is she trying to take one down with her since she’s already screwed?”
Barret sneered as he cast a sidelong glance at what was recently Mern.
A few shreds of skin.
Shattered bone fragments.
A pair of eyes with tails, and a still-thumping heart.
“Can you really burst a Master like that by throwing the great sword, Galra-hyung?”
“…I can’t guarantee it.”
“I’m not confident either.”
No matter how much Mern was a ‘crafted Master,’ a Master is still a Master.
Moreover, Mern had a body that had its durability and regeneration forcibly enhanced by the divine power extracted from the shaman.
Now, even though the body was torn to shreds,
the heart was furiously thumping, blissfully unaware.
But could such a being be shattered just by throwing a great sword?
“There must be something to her. That girl.”
“Indeed.”
Galra pulled out the great sword again.
Barret also stepped back and fitted a new arrow onto the bowstring.
“I’m going to suppress her as much as possible. I’ll at least cut off her limbs without killing her.”
Thwack!
Barret responded not with words but by releasing the bowstring.
A pure white arrow shot out, bursting through the air.
At the same time, Galra dashed after the arrow.
In that tense situation, Noah leisurely stretched out their hand.
And simultaneously,
A pitch-black sword appeared in Noah’s hand as if coated with darkness,
the sun’s light unable to illuminate its shape.
Seeing this sword, Galra felt something crawling inside him.
The flow of air stopped.
The flow of magical power warped.
He could see it, yet not see it.
He spread his sense of presence but felt nothing.
The ‘blessing’ within him shrank in fear.
This is dangerous.
I have to kill her.
I must erase that existence from this world as soon as possible.
The sword he had intended to swing for suppression was filled with killing intent.
Galra’s red magical power infused the sword with the notion of ‘slaughter.’
His unique ability activated, stretching time.
The movement of the falling leaves slowed.
The thumping of Mern’s heart and the falling red droplets also slowed.
In the stretched time, Galra’s great sword swung, tearing through space.
Barret sensed something strange and created a platinum arrow imbued with the vision of ‘pinnacle.’
Activating his unique ability, he bridged space, then shot it off.
In an instant, a distance of over 300 meters closed, and the pinpoint arrow appeared before Noah’s forehead.
As he set another arrow on the bowstring…
The world turned black.
Crack!
A crack appeared on the grassy bracelet that hung on his arm.
“Yuck… Wek… Phew… Ugh, Aaaah…!”
He spat out blood that had surged from within and pulled out the arrow lodged in his side.
[Hey, you crazy girl! Who pulls out arrows like that?]
He finished staunching the bleeding while hearing Cartia’s nagging.
[My word… What kind of absurd first aid is that?]
“Gag… I… I tried it once, and it worked quite well…”
He tapped his head to shake off the dizziness.
That aside,
just now, the movement of the man with the great sword had seemed extraordinarily fast.
And the arrows… suddenly appeared right before me.
[That’s probably their unique abilities. For now… the guy with the great sword seems related to time, and the arrows seem related to space?]
Time and space…?
Totally dlupa and prul…
[What?]
“Oh, nothing.”
He steadied his staggering body and spread out his sense of presence.
At that moment,
Whizzzzz!
“Haah!”
Clang!
He batted away another arrow that suddenly appeared before him.
Then, dodged to the side as the great sword lunged for his neck.
He sprang up, gritting his teeth, and swung Frey.
Boom!
The ground he was standing on erupted.
It was heavy. He couldn’t afford to lose strength.
An arrow lunged at him. He couldn’t escape.
If he relaxed, his head would be severed.
If he didn’t dodge the arrow, his body would explode.
The formless energy that rose from his body infused into the great sword.
Then, letting strength flow from his legs, he plunged Frey into the ground.
Crackle! KABOOM!
A massive wave transmitted through the ground, causing it to collapse.
The great sword that had been swung at his neck brushed past his hair.
The arrow that had flown toward his heart whizzed by his ear.
He maximized his sense of presence.
He found the position of the arrow-wielding scum.
He swung Frey toward its right arm.
The unstable sword wave shot through the dust, slicing the leg of the arrow-wielding man instead of his arm.
The inertia sent him crashing down onto the ground.
The wound on his side, which had just about stopped bleeding, opened.
The already scarce air in his lungs rushed out all at once.
He forced his screaming body upright and turned Frey upward.
Crack!
The great sword-wielding man stepped back, startled.
Ignoring that, he charged at the archer.
“Damn it!”
The man who had been slumped on the ground reached out with his arms.
The rope fired from his outstretched wrist snagged a tree, lifting the man up.
Just as he was about to follow…
[Behind!]
His nape tingled, and rough wind pressure approached.
In an instant, he twisted his body and deflected the charging great sword.
Thwack!
The ringing sound of swords clashing burst his eardrums.
Ignoring the pain, he snatched the arrow shot at his head with his left hand and plunged it into the thigh of the great sword-wielding man.
Immediately stepping on that thigh, he leaped toward the archer again.
“You crazy girl!”
Dozens of arrows were fired at him.
Hit? No, with the slowing speeds, it wasn’t possible. He had to dodge or deflect them.
He focused entirely on his sense of presence, determining the trajectories of the arrows.
He couldn’t dodge. He had to deflect.
He sketched the optimal sword path to deflect them all at once, lowering his blade and swinging wide.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Each arrow was heavy. But it wasn’t beyond his capability to deflect.
The speed slowed just a bit. No problem. They were already in range.
Twisting his waist, he swung Frey.
The wave shot along the sword path, exploding the man’s side.
Swallowing back the blood that surged within, he followed the arrow’s recoil to spin his body around.
He was falling. The man’s great sword swung through time toward his falling position. Other arrows were on their way too.
An arrow, piercing through space, embedded itself in his thigh.
He bit his tongue, gathering all his strength.
Crackle! The grassy bracelet emitted a scream,
but he ignored it and continued to channel power.
Just before the bracelet broke…
[GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAA-!!]
Carpen’s roar echoed throughout the world, and the fragments that had been distant merged with his body.
The blood aura infused with Carpen’s essence wrapped around him for protection.
