A beast that devours the cult’s plans.
A devil that creates variables.
A human not mentioned in the prophecy.
The sun of this world, the one true god, and the master of the end.
An existence even Lilith couldn’t observe.
Such a beast with such a splendid alias was…
Endlessly weak.
Contrary to what the cult feared, it was weaker than the challenger sprawling over there.
The sword swung with power felt light, and the swordsmanship was monotonous.
There was no technique; it was a sword that relied solely on instinct.
It could be struck down at any moment, and I could kill it whenever I wanted.
So I slashed.
I ripped through flesh.
Broke bones and tore apart innards.
Displayed overwhelming power.
Without killing, I showed the brutal scene of its comrades right before its eyes.
I made the challenger, who should have been killed, into a cripple.
And tortured the shaman, who was closest to it.
But why…
Why does it rise without breaking?
Without showing anger?
Without despair?
It sends chills down my spine.
An unknown fear rises.
My instincts scream to sever its neck immediately.
But my body rejects it.
I can’t move.
Cold sweat runs down my back.
Since becoming a master, is this the second time I’ve felt like this?
A hollow laugh escaped.
The first time was also a small girl wielding a great sword, wasn’t it?
To think it would be like this again.
I collected the shadows I let drift into the air and wrapped them around myself.
I watched the staggering girl catch her breath.
Her legs, grounded on the earth, creaked as if they might break any moment.
The hand holding the great sword seemed barely attached due to the leather.
From the wound I inflicted, blood continuously gushed out, and she was also coughing up blood from internal injuries.
At a glance, she seemed in a state that I could subdue with bare hands.
However…
I could not approach.
I couldn’t move carelessly.
That was not human strength.
Nor was it the strength of a beast.
It felt almost like a goddess’s blessing, eroding my body.
After a short while…
The beast, fully standing, charged at me with a smile.
I swung to deflect the oncoming great sword.
SWOOSH-!
I couldn’t deflect it.
I was slashed.
“Ha.”
Blood gushed out from my torn chest.
This is not the sensation of a goddess’s blessing.
It’s the opposite power.
A sinister force, akin to a curse, clawed at my chest.
A wholly different, incomprehensible power rushed in.
I steadied my stance and spread my energy perception.
I swung my sword at the beast charging at me again.
CLANG-
Our swords clashed.
They didn’t bounce apart.
They didn’t push away, nor did they slip off.
They just met quietly, staring into each other’s faces.
Eyes that seemed to hold a bottomless abyss gazed at me.
An emotionless expression.
A gaze that felt nothing looked at me.
I shook off the beast with my sword.
Its blood-soaked body plunged into the ground.
Yet it rose.
Staggering, it walked back toward me.
Charging anew.
With a heavy swing from above.
The movement was wide.
There were many openings.
My right side was exposed.
I swung my sword, cloaked in shadows, that way.
With just that power in front of it.
With the heavy great sword.
This attack should be impossible to block.
I saw the future where the beast’s body would be split in two.
However.
CRUNCH- SNAP-
I was slashed.
My body was slashed.
My arm bent at an impossible angle; the great sword cut into my lower back.
It twisted its own arm.
The red energy undulating in its body twisted its arm.
A bizarre act only possible if one were insane.
The beast’s blood-red bones pierced its flesh.
My spine was exposed through the split skin.
I raised my knee and kicked into the beast’s abdomen.
I felt the sensation of ribs shattering.
Blood spewed from its mouth, splattering everywhere.
I swung my sword again.
CLANG- Once more, bones broke as it blocked my sword.
“Are you mad?”
I shook off the sword and widened the distance.
Wrapping shadows around my back, I pressed down on my injuries.
This time, it’s my turn.
I took a step.
In an instant.
I arrived before it.
Simultaneously, our swords clashed.
The strong recoil pushed my sword away.
I gripped the sword with both hands.
Adding strength, I pressed down with shadows.
The beast’s right hand slipped from the great sword.
The momentary decrease in power drew my body forward.
The sword slashed into the beast’s left shoulder.
Its fingers swiped at my right eye.
Then.
A ghastly aura invaded my mind.
The red energy that flowed from its finger stirred inside my brain.
The pain felt like my brain was being crushed.
My body convulsed with the sudden pain.
My vision spiraled, and nausea surged.
“Ugh!”
I pulled out the sword lodged into the beast’s shoulder and swung it.
Its body twisted.
It bent at an impossible angle.
At such an angle, a human would immediately become crippled, its spine contorted.
Because of that, my sword sliced through the air.
I kicked at it to push it away and caught my breath.
The pain subsided.
The swirling shadows replaced my torn eyes.
The bleeding stopped.
The beast rushed at me.
It must not touch my body.
I cannot allow the power disrupting my magic to invade.
I widened the distance and deflected the swinging sword.
Dozens, hundreds of exchanges followed.
Each time.
My strength grew even stronger.
My speed quickened.
My momentum sharpened.
The red energy that flickered gradually darkened.
It writhed with intent.
Dozens of tendrils swung at me.
They tangled, caught, and twisted.
They flailed and bent with the flow, creating wounds once more.
As they seeped into my injuries, they disoriented me.
Producing unspeakable agony.
They dulled my senses.
The more I fought.
The longer it dragged on, the more I grew.
I am becoming stronger.
In contrast, my body weakens.
The red energy rampaging within tears my veins apart.
It paralyzes muscles and blurs my senses.
It is devouring the magical energy within me.
I gathered the shadows wrapped around my body into my sword.
Formed points and drew lines.
The endlessly condensed shadows were shot into the beast’s mouth.
However.
Just like the calm demeanor it had shown earlier.
It deflected again.
This gave it an opening.
I stabbed my sword into its abdomen and twisted.
I slashed and pulled it out.
A chunk of what appeared to be intestines came with it.
However, at the same time.
The beast that clasped my sword opened its mouth.
Its teeth sunk into my neck.
My sword pierced the beast’s hand.
SNAP-
“Guhh-!”
A dizzying pain overwhelmed me.
I elbowed its solar plexus.
It didn’t let go.
Once more.
Again.
Continuously.
The beast’s ribs shattered completely.
Until all sensation disappeared.
I relentlessly pressed down.
At that moment, I had torn away half of my neck.
The beast fell.
Plummeting onto the ground.
The beast, with its feeble body, spat out my flesh.
And…
HA HA HA! grinned as it charged at me.
It deflected my sword.
But this time, it was not like the parrying it had shown before, pushing away.
It was a parry that drew inward.
The center of its body tilted.
The beast’s teeth bit into my shoulder.
I deflected and swung my sword.
I sent forth the shadows.
The body, cut and overwhelmed by the sword and shadows, staggered to its feet.
The red energy supported the beast’s body.
And yet again, it charged.
It lunged, biting into my body.
Wielding the great sword, it sliced my skin.
Repeated hundreds, thousands of times.
The beast did not stop until dawn broke and the sun rose.
It still laughed.
Covered in blood, it grinned.
Despite its limbs being contorted, it struggled across the ground, giggling.
Its belly tore open, spilling intestines, yet it blocked it all with red energy.
It laughed.
It laughed.
It laughed.
It was an eerie sight.
I couldn’t understand.
I didn’t want to understand.
Ultimately.
Neither human nor beast, nothing at all.
Watching that sight made me feel like I would go mad myself.
Since becoming a master, have I ever felt this cornered?
No, perhaps this cannot even be called a corner.
Every swing of my sword feels like I could cut its neck at any moment.
But it is impossible.
I don’t know why.
Clearly, I touch it.
My sword touches its body.
But I cannot kill it.
I can cut it, but cannot sever its life.
The world’s coercive power does not wish for its death.
I cannot kill it.
If time continues to pass like this.
My body will weaken further.
And that thing will grow stronger.
If I flee this spot and promise to return.
I might no longer be able to handle this.
So, if I give up?
The blessing lodged within me will not leave me alone.
There are no remaining moves.
I must take a risk.
With this being the second…
After finishing my contemplation, I extracted all the magic power from within.
Deflecting the charging great sword, I filled the space with shadows.
From the corpse of the beast.
From the dead beasts.
From the corpses of humans I killed along the way.
From the remnants of divine power floating in the air.
From the blood that turned the ground into mud.
Within my body.
Even twisting my life force.
I gathered the shadows.
The flickering shadows became clear.
They took shape and clung to my body.
A fierce wave surged.
The beast crashed to the ground.
I stepped back and dropped my sword.
The sword rose into the air, embedding itself into my heart.
The embedded sword seeped into my body.
Slowly.
I opened my mouth.
I hoped.
Wished.
And prayed.
“Give me strength.”
Transcending the limits of humanity.
Not the reverse heaven, but the obedient heaven.
The power that only the master can wield becomes manifest.
In my mind…
[What can you give me?]
A mocking voice echoed.
“Ten years.”
[Hehe… That’s nice. It’s half of last time, but not bad.]
The source of the world stirs.
In an instant.
Unfathomable power.
I felt the power.
Slowly, I raised my arms.
I swung.
The sky tore apart.
The sun split open.
The black sun revealed itself.
