Part 2, Episode 245.
[The Holy Sword, Asbaon’s third power, ‘Sanctuary Descent,’ is activated.]
[Explodes divine power down to the roots of the ground to sanctify the surrounding area.]
[It inflicts fatal damage on those directly struck by the explosion, and the owner of the Holy Sword gains greater divine power and physical abilities in the sanctuary.]
The power that could not be fully displayed during the battle with Kaiser.
One thing is different now.
To be precise, it had to be seen as having evolved even further than back then.
“As long as I am within this realm, I can exercise transcendent power as the Goddess’s representative.”
The moment I decided to stand on the side of the executor as the goddess’s representative.
Because the Goddess’s revelation dwells in the Holy Sword, and the power of all authority has increased greatly.
The first of them is… … .
[Sanctuary Descent perceives everything that exists in the Sanctuary.]
[Player ‘Shina’s’ ‘Demon Slayer Annihilation’ is detected.]
[Stealth is disabled.]
“uh?”
“Right, so you were there, Shina.”
“W-Wrong! My stealth isn’t even detectable by legendary level, so how…! Wait a minute. S-Surely not?”
Shina, who was leisurely assassinating executioners when she was suddenly caught.
She, who had been arguing in embarrassment, suddenly paused and asked with wide eyes, and Arthur nodded.
Yeah, since this isn’t legendary.
To be precise, it wasn’t a skill.
The Holy Sword is a weapon that borrows the power of the goddess through itself.
And ahead of this war, the Holy Sword was truly completed through the revelation.
In other words, this is… … .
“It is the goddess’s ‘power’ itself. In terms of skill… well, I suppose you’d have to consider it equivalent to a mythical level that exists only in theory.”
“crazy…….”
I have to run away.
It was the moment Shina, with that thought the only thing stuck in her mind, was about to use a backstab on the person as far away as possible.
“Where are you going?”
A chilling voice that feels somewhat gloomy yet exudes high self-esteem.
A deep shadow cast at the same time.
“you……!?”
When I looked up, what I saw was something huge.
A giant-sized skeleton soldier and a figure wearing a robe perched on his shoulder.
“……King of Death!”
“I’m really angry, you know? Don’t bring a nobody like you, bring Myeolsal. I’m going to kill him.”
Speaking in a voice full of anger, she roughly pulled back the robe, revealing the face of a woman with deep dark circles matching her gloomy voice.
A peculiar impression, looking like a mad researcher or a sleep-deprived child.
What is clear is that an appearance that would normally be quite pretty feels somewhat unsettling.
But what is even more surprising than that is… … .
“……You, you. You were a woman……!”
“asleep.”
BANG-!!
Leaving behind Sina, who had been crushed by the Grand Corps Commander’s greatsword before he could even finish speaking, the Demon King extended his two hands.
[Activates the Transcendence Trait ‘Ruler of Death’.]
[The rank of the Commander-in-Chief is overwhelming. The soldiers under his command overcome death and rise up to the present world.]
[I succeeded in overcoming death.]
[It is reconstructed into the form of a skeleton soldier capable of exerting greater power.]
Then, skeleton soldiers burst through the ground headfirst.
However, they were more diverse and powerful than before, and their numbers had also increased significantly.
Chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck.
From skeleton soldiers to knight-type undead called Death Knights, wearing pitch-black armor and riding horses.
Corps commanders boasting massive pelvises like the previous supreme commander.
Up until this point, they were the very embodiment of the Legion of Death, but there was something that particularly stood out…
—-!!
It was a Bone Dragon over 30 meters tall that let out a silent roar.
With a flick of the hand, the Bone Dragon soared into the sky, fell like a meteor, sweeping away the challengers, and repeated the process of rising back up into the sky.
Nothing but bones remain, so I can’t even use breath or magic, and I can only engage in such brutal hand-to-hand combat…
That alone was enough.
“I made it by combining the bones of a dragon, a drake, and a wyvern!”
Because monstrous physical strength is a weapon in itself.
Besides, it even flies around, so do I need to say more?
“I couldn’t bring him last time because I was busy with experiments, but this time it’s different. This time, I can definitely defeat Annihilation. Hehe.”
“……Just do not enter the sanctuary. Your legion will be weakened.”
“Hehehe, don’t you dare block my path.”
Arthur muttered as he watched the retreating figures of her and her countless legions as she disappeared with a sinister laugh.
“……Ominous fellow.”
… … No, is it a year.
Arthur added a quiet remark and turned his back sharply.
As she said, she and I were in a relationship where we walked different paths.
It was a matter of not getting in each other’s way.
Grrrr-!!
“Aaaargh!”
“Ugh!”
Whether it is a blessing or a curse.
The war was going in his favor.
Because the scales that had been struggling to maintain balance were tipping in this direction due to the appearance of the Four Kings and himself.
If there is a variable, it is whether Gaon, Lephias, and Siana hold out well…
Since the Sanctuary Descent has already been activated.
At least in this area, there was nothing they could do.
[Significantly weakens everything contrary to divinity.]
[Attacks directed at the caster apply double the effect.]
In effect, they have lost a portion of their territory.
Losing territory in war is not merely a hassle, but acts as a fatal disadvantage.
Because we are bound to be late in every aspect, whether it is escaping or coordinating.
It is also easy to use in strategy.
“Oh, this sanctuary is awesome. If I just shoot arrows from here, the opponent can’t do anything.”
“Wow, really? This was a total scam skill.”
Is power also a skill?
“Don’t know? First off, I’m the ADC! Everyone, come over here!”
“Tanks, come over here too! You just need to block the ranged attacks.”
“Nice~ Easily getting contribution points, so sweet!”
Just looking at the bunker strategies users are currently using, it would be incredibly difficult for the opponent to exploit them.
The real problem here is that the Evil King’s undead legion is lurking if you move away from the sanctuary.
The Legion of Death that endlessly revives even after being killed.
If we fight here, we are at a disadvantage, and if we go to the other side, we must exhaust our strength against a legion that revives even after being killed.
What an unreasonable structure this is.
It is no exaggeration to say that the dynamic between the executor and the opponent has collapsed with this.
That is probably why.
Arthur, who should have been focusing on the battlefield, inadvertently looked up at the sky.
A man was floating leisurely there.
That person is Cardium… … .
Just looking up gives off a chillingly ominous vibe.
Why would the goddess tell us to help such a person?
It’s none of my business.
He is the master of the Holy Sword.
For a Holy Knight wielding a holy sword, the option to defy the Goddess did not exist in the first place.
All he has to do is win.
In a future where half of the top 10 guilds disappear and the positions of countless users change.
He would probably still be in his current position.
That person will be at the center of it.
Is it because Cardium, still looking down at the battlefield with indifferent eyes amidst all this chaos, feels so alien?
Or perhaps it is because that sense of ease feels eerie.
It was just as Arthur, having shaken off his needless distracting thoughts, gripped the holy sword again and was about to take his eyes off it.
Goooooh!
“……!!”
Feeling a sudden heavy pressure, Arthur instinctively aimed his holy sword and looked left and right.
Inside the heavy armor.
I can feel cold sweat running down my spine.
Hana Arthur kept a watchful eye on his surroundings without diverting his attention in the slightest.
‘A tremendous energy… … Who on earth?’
Just what kind of person is it that I can feel such a massive energy?
It didn’t take long to find out the true nature of that energy.
A few seconds passed as the pressure grew heavier and weighed down my entire body, and my heart pounded as if it were about to burst.
Paat-!
Because something that flew in from somewhere headed toward Cardium at high speed, as if being shot.
It was so fast that the moment he felt something flying toward him, he was already on the verge of reaching Cardium.
—–!
And the intense shockwave that followed.
Rumble—!
A sound like thunder shook the heavens and the earth, and the sky split in half due to the aftermath.
No, it wasn’t the sky that split.
[Swordsmanship at its peak slices through even space.]
What split was space itself.
There was only one person in Abtartel who could use such swordsmanship.
A member of the Seven Strong and a master of swordsmanship.
-… … You are the Sword Saint of this era.
“Hmph, how strange. Sword Saint, that child is my top disciple.”
Ah, I got confused.
Back when we reigned as kings, there were only Sword Saints and Sword Demons.
It wasn’t cadmium that was being asked.
Surprisingly, someone else intervened and blocked the sword that could even cut through space.
A swordsman outside of humanity with horns on his forehead.
We are the King of the Oni.
-Kisen Uraku… … What is your name?
Are you talking about me?
At that question, the old man slowly met my eyes.
A murderous intent so cold it was hard to believe it came from such a benevolent impression. The refined killing intent was actually as chilling as a sharp sword blade.
“Garfield Drew.”
-… … Hmm?
“I have come to behead your leader.”
It was the moment the Sword Emperor joined the battlefield.
And the Sword Emperor was not the only one to appear.
Boom!
“What, what is it again!”
“Over there… isn’t that where the winged monster is?”
“What? Did someone else show up?”
A commotion broke out on the opposite side along with a violent shockwave.
It wasn’t that difficult to figure out the cause.
“It’s the Empress! The Empress has arrived!”
There’s a Sword Saint too!
Two people are holding back the black monster!!
Because an urgent voice announcing the situation was heard just then.
“I, I survived…….”
“Can the two of them stop it……?”
“Now that the Sword Emperor is here, isn’t it worth doing?”
“It’s none other than the Sword Saint and Empress duo. Won’t you do it?”
“Damn it, that opponent is a monster that even all those high-rankers couldn’t damage once by ganging up on him! What are you two going to do?”
Caution and relief, worry and ridicule flowed out mixed together, but one thing was clear.
The fact that the reactions are diverse means that it is garnering everyone’s expectations.
Concern for the executors, hope for the opponents.
The two women, who appeared to a violent reaction from everyone, paid no attention as if it were no big deal.
“Why are you following me? I told you I was going first.”
Don’t blame others for your slowness.
“What? Do you want to die first?”
“Tsk, can’t you even tell friend from foe anymore? How pathetic.”
“This won’t do. Draw your sword. Let’s settle the hierarchy while we’re at it.”
I won’t refuse.
They are just busy tearing each other apart as usual.
Ironically, what brought those two back to their senses was the giant with black wings, who was on the enemy’s side.
… … What noisy gnats.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“It is unpleasant to be treated like a bomb.”
—… … Humans are strange. Wasn’t Dakan the only one like that?
The exact name is Volcarne Black.
[The Bloodline Factor has been opened, and ‘All Things Return to One’ has been manifested.]
[You can consume the five elements, and your physical strength increases as you devour the elements.]
[When physical strength reaches its maximum, the subject’s body is reborn into its true form.]
A giant monster that does not exist now, but is said to have lived long before the gods.
A monster of the Black clan who inherited the blood of the sin of gluttony as a bloodline factor.
It doesn’t matter.
The black-winged monster who has seized the title of the strongest, ‘Bargan’… … .
No, behind the two women who blocked Volkarn.
He continued speaking while lying face down, having been rescued just before death, watching the humans whose eyes were sparkling as if they were seeing a savior.
Crunch, crunch-
-It seems you are their hope… … .
At the same time, Volkarn’s body began to twitch and transform.
[‘Volkarn Black’ fulfills the conditions and awakens the source of the bloodline factor, the ‘Sin of Gluttony’.]
[The subject’s physical body is reborn into its true form.]
[Please be careful.]
If I kill you guys, that unpleasant feeling will subside, too.
An overwhelming presence that stiffens the skin all over the body and sends shivers down the spine.
“Ugh, ugh…….”
“W-what is this…….”
“You want me to deal with someone like that?”
At the warning conveyed by instinct, even users standing far away were paralyzed with fear, their feet frozen, but… … .
“Hoho, is that him? The monster-like guy Kaiser was talking about.”
It seems so.
That tingling sensation feels good. It’s going to be fun to fight.
I agree.
The two women were stretching their bodies in a pleasant manner, as if they were actually enjoying themselves.
Looking as if they are dying to fight right now.
The strange thing is that even the Sword Saint is showing the exact same reaction as the Empress, and it couldn’t be helped.
Because both of them were actually itching to get up.
“The flesh being reborn… interesting, isn’t it? I’ve learned something similar myself.”
As the Empress, laughing fiercely like a white beast, clutched the area near her heart, she could feel her heartbeat growing stronger.
Exhilaration? The excitement of entering battle?
It wasn’t like that.
It’s not that I don’t have those feelings, but that wouldn’t make my heart beat at such an absurd speed.
This was… the heartbeat of liberation.
[Activates Signature Trait ‘Heart of the Empress’.]
[The Empress’s heart, having reached the pinnacle, releases temporarily latent energy.]
[As stamina decreases, you become stronger, and your attack, defense, and speed increase.]
[When stamina reaches the minimum, stamina consumption is removed. If you continue fighting for a certain period of time in this state, the next liberation will proceed.]
… … .
[Due to two liberations, additional abilities are granted, allowing you to use ‘Shatter’.]
[Unleash the third latent energy.]
Abnormal pumping that occurred by continuously releasing the next area.
Thump, thump, thump.
Can I run any faster than this?
When the heartbeat became so fierce that it could even be heard by those around.
The sound stopped as if by magic.
Hana Volkarn was convinced.
[Current Liberation Stage: 4 times]
[I have unleashed all the energy latent in my heart.]
[All abilities increase explosively.]
[The rank is temporarily raised.]
[Additional abilities have been granted due to the unlocking of all potential.]
[Casting ‘Extreme Gate Opening’.]
[Transcending the limits imposed by the human vessel, it unleashes power in the impossible realm.]
Now is the most dangerous time.
