Is it over?
I focused my gaze on the severed head of the Blood Demon. I had definitely cut off the head, but I never thought the Blood Demon would die that easily. There must be some hidden trick.
As expected, the detached head effortlessly returned to its place. Blood slithered up from the severed neck to form the head again. Regeneration must be a given.
The problem lay in the limits of that regeneration. Even with regeneration, there are cases where you die if your head is chopped off. There are indeed instances where cutting the neck or heart doesn’t kill you.
And unfortunately, it seemed my opponent belonged to the latter. Somehow, it finally started to make sense. I had been too relaxed with the enemy in front of me. That was the reason, after all.
However, there was still something that didn’t add up. It was the attitude of that Blood Demon. At first, it said it had shared its power with the poor souls.
The war between the Demons and the continent had been going on for quite a while. Initially, I thought the Demons had shared their power after descending upon the land. Listening to the Blood Demon’s tone, though, something felt off.
“It sounds as if you’ve been sharing power from the very beginning.”
“Of course. I have been here from the start?”
“That’s ridiculous. You descended upon the continent, didn’t you?”
“Hmm? Ah, right. That was the setting, wasn’t it?”
“What?”
“No, it’s nothing. This is rather an important issue.”
For now, I didn’t know anything else, but it was clear that the creature deliberately brought it up. If it truly had no intention of mentioning it, it wouldn’t have reacted like that. So, what did it mean?
The Blood Demon was hinting at something to me. I didn’t know why it was giving that hint, but for now, I would just focus on what I could do. I gripped my sword tightly.
Even though I only had one hand, using Time Acceleration meant I had enough attacking power. However, the biggest problem remained: how to kill the Blood Demon. No matter how much I sliced, it wouldn’t die.
“This… the time is almost up.”
“Is it really over?”
“Yes, as it happens, I am but a clone right now.”
“A… clone?”
You sent a clone to attack the Lionheart Fortress? Are you serious? As I looked at it in disbelief, the Blood Demon nodded with a smile. That crazy bastard.
“Sending a clone in this situation? What madness.”
“Surprisingly, it’s a rational decision. If by chance I get taken down, the Demons would lose that much firepower, you know?”
“……”
I found myself nodding unconsciously. The Blood Demon wasn’t just its name, but also a mid-tier Demon. And they said this guy created all the Blood Demons.
In other words, if I killed this guy, it meant no new Blood Demons would appear. For the Demons, that would be a significant loss. And there was another reason.
“You determined that sending just a clone was sufficient.”
“Yes, it’s not like the greatest era of your kind is upon us.”
“……”
“But I never expected you to be this strong.”
That was true. If I hadn’t been holding this creature back from a distance, then perhaps all three of the Blood Demons would have been annihilated. They had that level of power.
Other Demons might not know, but the Blood Demon I was holding had that much power despite merely being a clone. But one thing remained unclear.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because the time is almost up.”
“What? Time?”
“My clone has limits to its regeneration. And I have just reached that limit.”
Sure enough, while it had been maintaining a human form at first, now it was starting to look like it would collapse any moment. So, could I win just by stalling for time?
No, it wouldn’t be that simple. The proof was that the Blood Demon’s body was slowly inflating. Like a rubber balloon. With just under three seconds of time.
In that short span, its size had already become comparable to the Lionheart Fortress. The moment I witnessed that, I realized what this creature was aiming for.
“This has been a surprisingly enjoyable time. I hope we can share even better moments next time.”
“Damn it.”
“Of course, that’s if you can survive here.”
My head felt like it was about to split open. It was as if someone was scraping the inside of my skull with glass shards. But I gritted my teeth and activated my ability. I had no choice but to use it right away.
If I didn’t…
Everyone would die.
That eventually exploded. The crimson tempest that emerged tried to sweep through everything, but due to Time Deceleration, time slowed down dramatically. I could continue to block it like this.
That explosion wouldn’t last forever. I had to maintain Time Deceleration until the explosion ended. But that wasn’t easy. I raised my hand to wipe my nose.
I couldn’t hold back the blood from my nose, and it kept flowing. I grimaced. The headache was getting worse. But I couldn’t retreat like this. Just a little more.
Even if I fainted here!
*
A girl with red long hair, Helia, reacted. In the distance, she saw the abnormally slowly rotating crimson tempest. Instinctively, she realized.
Her teacher was suppressing it. The slowly flowing crimson tempest was a greedy monster that seemed ready to devour everything. Helia shouted with all her might.
“We don’t have much time! We need to wrap this up as fast as we can!”
“What’s with the sudden talk… What is that?!”
“That’s the direction the Commander dragged the Blood Demon!”
Cluna was quickly assessing the situation while fending off the Demons in front of her. But at the same time, she was slightly shocked. She never expected Helia to catch on faster than her.
Objectively, in terms of skill and experience, Cluna overshadowed Helia. Yet Helia’s quick realization was simple: her only thought was of her teacher.
Because her teacher was here, she was here. Because her teacher was the enemy, Helia had fought against the Demons. She had forgotten all the memories and emotions she once had.
To her, her teacher had become the sole reason for living. However, that didn’t mean the bonds she had formed here were something Helia wished to lose.
At first, it didn’t matter.
Yeah, it must have been that way.
How did it end up like this?
Helia’s body moved like lightning. Her speed was sufficient to contend with a Blood Demon. That was the power of the Thunder Dragon Sword Technique. But that was as far as it went.
“You look quite young, yet that’s impressive?”
“Tch…!!”
The speed of the Thunder Dragon Sword Technique was beyond imagination. A young human moving on par with a Blood Demon. That alone was more than enough to eliminate any doubt.
But the most considerable issue was herself. Due to her shallow experience and lack of power, she couldn’t clear away even the trash before her with the strength her teacher had granted.
Helia thought that way. However, the Blood Demon, Raveka, facing off against Helia was secretly impressed. A young human…
While she may be slightly slower, who would have thought she could follow her this far? Surely, she would become the ultimate rival to the Demons in the future. So, she had to ensure she dealt with her now.
“I won’t let you go!”
But that wouldn’t be an easy task. The two little nuisances had been constantly interrupting her for a while now. However, blocking Raveka’s movements was also a daunting task for them.
Raveka’s swift spear crashed into Clara and Cluna. They barely defended against the attack, but soon after, they realized it was a trap. From a distance.
The attack was not one aimed to kill, but rather to force them away. And they had fallen right into it. Right now, no one was left to protect Helia.
“Die!!!”
“……”
The attack of the Blood Demon had strength that could rival a grim reaper. There was no way to dodge or block it. That would have been the case. However, in Helia’s eyes, that movement was all too clear.
[I’m going to stop being the Commander.]
From that statement, Helia felt a shiver. Perhaps, she had sensed it long before. The day her teacher would leave. And that was true.
Hans prioritized returning to his original world. Of course, Helia hadn’t realized that part, nor would she ever. But she understood the atmosphere.
Helia would continue to follow her teacher. But what if her teacher went somewhere unreachable? No. She didn’t want that. So, she had to hold on here.
“I must dodge, trash.”
“What…?!”
Everything from speed to experience was in Raveka’s favor. Even with her lack of experience, she had been overwhelmed at every turn. But all of that was a trap laid by Helia.
She accurately predicted her opponent’s movements.
Evading by the narrowest of margins and countering.
It was a counter attack that couldn’t be evaded.
In a fleeting moment, Raveka saw it. Helia’s sword, which had been slowly moving, suddenly sped up as if it had accelerated…
Thunder Dragon Sword Technique – Second Sword: Thunder Dragon’s Vow
Soon, the Thunder Dragon devoured one of Raveka’s arms.
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