Chapter 41
‘It’s similar to back then.’
When the Watcher threatened me in the Divine Temple.
A pressure similar to the divine power that had crushed me at that time was emanating from this aura.
I didn’t know for sure, but it meant this being was also a transcendental existence that my current self could not handle.
“Huu…….”
I took a deep breath and focused all my consciousness on <Iron-Blood Heart>.
Even if I still had a long way to go in terms of pure power, my mentality was already complete.
Losing my mind here would ruin everything. I coldly calmed my heated thoughts.
‘Soul Eater that Swallowed the Martial God… wait, Soul Eater?’
I paused while rereading the system message after seeing a familiar name.
Soul Eater was a monster that parasitized other people’s bodies and devoured their souls.
However, there was one clear criterion it used when choosing a host……
It had to be ‘extremely strong.’
It was a vile creature that took over the body and soul of the strong and acted as if it were its original owner.
‘……According to the setting, it was supposed to have been exterminated 10 years ago from the game’s timeline.’
I knew about the Soul Eater, but this was my first time seeing that stele.
That’s right. According to the setting, the Soul Eater was a monster that no longer existed by the start of the game.
Because Oliver Ran, the father and master of the martial artist character Sylvia, had killed the Soul Eater in the past.
But why was the Soul Eater, which should have been exterminated 10 years ago, suddenly alive?
It wasn’t the first time I had encountered such variables, so the reason was obvious.
‘……The timeline has twisted.’
According to the original game setting, the Soul Eater should have been killed by Sylvia’s master, Oliver Ran, 10 years ago.
However, in the world I possessed, Sylvia was a person from 500 years ago.
Naturally, her master Oliver Ran was also a person from 500 years ago.
In short, the man who should have killed the Soul Eater had already passed away in the distant past.
‘Ha, fuck.’
Whenever things seem to be going well, a huge wall like this always appears.
Do I have some invisible bad luck stat or something?
Anyway.
<What are you going to do? Will you fight?>
“No. I’m retreating for now.”
According to the setting, Oliver Ran barely managed to kill the Soul Eater after a bloody battle that lasted three days and nights.
The leader of the continent’s top martial faction fought for three full days and nights.
There was no need to even think about what the outcome would be if I fought it now.
Whether it was the Fierce Dragon or the minerals, it was wiser to retreat for now and plan for later.
<It’s already too late to retreat.>
“What?”
<The moment you set foot in this place, a 9th-tier barrier field was deployed.>
Goddammit. If it was a barrier that distorted space, then even the <Barrier Destruction> skill probably wouldn’t work……
Right then.
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!!
The stele, which had been shaking madly, exploded with a tremendous roar.
Beyond the wildly burning green flames of destruction,
-Haaa……
A man with a terrifying presence rose, his black long robe fluttering.
Soul Eater.
No. More precisely, the being who had been reborn as the Martial God.
-You’re the one? The one who smelled so delicious.
A face as pale as a corpse grinned at me.
***
I’m sick of this body now.
That thought came to the Soul Eater exactly 300 years after it had obtained its current host.
After devouring the human called the Martial God, the Soul Eater wandered across the continent, massacring the strong.
The history of struggle built upon a powerful body was incredibly sweet. It was like a dream.
But there was no bottom to its greed. One day, the Soul Eater felt boredom.
It wanted to switch to a fresher, stronger host.
It had already done everything it could with the current host. Now it was time to find a new host and taste something new.
But it couldn’t find one.
It wasn’t that there were no hosts stronger than the Martial God. Two hundred years after that feeling arose, the Tyrant of the North and the one called the Demon Lord were, even in the Soul Eater’s eyes, comparable to the Martial God.
However, while they were strong, they were not fresh.
They were already old and had reached the limits of their potential, unable to advance any further.
It was obvious that it would quickly grow bored with them as well.
The Soul Eater wandered and wandered in search of a satisfactory host, but……
There is still no host in this era that meets my standards.
Tired of the endless wandering, it decided to rest for a while.
It found a suitable place deep inside a mountain and sealed itself.
And so it waited.
Until a host that met its standards appeared……
***
And now.
-How surprising. So surprising that I woke up with a start. You… you’re really strong, aren’t you?
The Soul Eater felt an exhilarating thrill shoot up to the top of its head.
The fresh and powerful soul it had so desperately craved had appeared so soon.
Not only had it appeared, but it had walked right into this place on its own. What a stroke of luck while sleeping.
-Even the one called the Martial God. The one called the Tyrant of the North. The one called the Demon Lord. The one called the Water King. None of them possessed endless potential like you. My goodness, it’s truly astonishing no matter how many times I look.
The Soul Eater could see the nature of a person’s soul with its eyes.
And the soul he saw in Ruth was…… something he couldn’t fully see.
It was too vast to take in at a glance.
Like facing an ocean.
-I’ve been waiting for someone like you for a very long time. Now then, shall we begin?
‘Begin my ass…….’
While the Soul Eater was ecstatic, Ruth was simply losing his mind.
Fwoooosh—!!
A blazing long blade rose from the ground and settled into the Soul Eater’s grip.
‘Judging by the way he’s burning with killing intent while smiling with clear eyes, he’s a crazy bastard who won’t listen to a single word.’
This was on a completely different level from the Night Fiend or the clone of the Poison Demon. He couldn’t even entertain the thought of being able to fight it.
This was already beyond the point where levels could be discussed.
He had to escape from this monster no matter what it took.
‘I need to buy as much time as possible until I can destroy the core of the barrier field.’
The moment Ruth finished his judgment.
Swoosh—.
Behind the Soul Eater, who was walking forward step by step, the Fierce Dragon quietly raised its head.
Ruth had secretly commanded the Fierce Dragon through the Demon God Stone.
To kill the man in front of it.
Of course, he wasn’t expecting much. If even the current Ruth could easily defeat the Fierce Dragon, how could it possibly handle the Soul Eater?
It was simply.
‘Time.’
Even if it was just one minute, as long as it could buy him time until the barrier was released, that would be enough.
And then.
Boom—!!
Without a roar or any preparatory movement, the Fierce Dragon kicked off the ground and charged at the Soul Eater.
The charge was so explosive that even Ruth, who was controlling it, was momentarily surprised.
And then.
-There was an uninvited guest at this precious occasion?
Shiiiing—!!
A flash of sword light exploded.
The blade, drawn so violently it scraped the sheath and scattered sparks, drew a red trajectory.
Riiiip—.
With a single strike, a red line was drawn across the Fierce Dragon’s massive body as it charged with great momentum.
The moment its heavy body was cleanly split in half, it turned to ash and vanished.
[You have completed the ‘Sub Quest – Savior of Riter’!]
[10,000 BP has been awarded as a reward!]
Thanks to that, the quest was cleared, but he felt no joy at all.
“…….”
He had only thought it wouldn’t buy much time, but he hadn’t expected it to be instantly killed.
With this, the option of breaking the barrier and escaping had effectively disappeared.
-Why aren’t you drawing your weapon? ……Well, never mind. Then I’ll go first.
The moment the Soul Eater finished speaking and raised the long blade in both hands into a proper stance,
Chiiiing—!!
Explosive aura poured out and covered the silver blade, which then began compressing into a round orb like a sphere.
‘Sword Orb…….’
An ultimate technique that could only be performed after reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship, along with Sword Heart.
Dodging was impossible.
The moment the Sword Orb was completed, this entire space was already within the Soul Eater’s range.
Whether it hit or not.
The moment that orb exploded, the compressed energy would sweep in all directions and tear Ruth apart.
If that was the case.
‘I’ll cut it.’
Cut it and reduce the destructive power even a little.
It might sound like a crazy idea to take a fatal attack head-on instead of dodging, but to survive, that was actually the better choice.
“Entur.”
<……Speak.>
“I’ll buy time. Use that opening to release the barrier.”
<I’ll say it again, this is a 9th-tier barrier field. Even for this body, I don’t know how difficult it will be. Especially with this insignificant servant’s body.>
“I know. So I’ll buy as much time as possible, and you release it as fast as you can.”
<…….>
Entur glared at Ruth with an expression that seemed to ask if that was even possible.
<You have a promise to keep with this body. Don’t die.>
Leaving only those words, she went off to find the core of the barrier.
At the same time, as Ruth summoned his blood sword, the Soul Eater widened his eyes with interest.
-You make weapons out of your own blood? I’ve fought countless martial artists while traveling the continent, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a unique technique. As expected, you don’t disappoint my expectations.
“You seem curious how I use it.”
-Yes, I am curious. So I’ll have to take your body and find out for myself!
“Looks like your goal is my body. Are you sure that’s okay?”
Ruth glanced at the violently pulsing Sword Orb that looked ready to fly at any moment.
“If you get hit by something like that, the body you want to possess might get completely torn to pieces.”
-That’s fine! As long as I properly seize the soul, I have the ability to regenerate a destroyed body as much as I want!
‘Fuck.’
He tried a half-hearted threat, but it didn’t work at all.
It seemed the Soul Eater had also noticed why the opponent kept trying to have such meaningless conversations.
Whoosh—.
In contrast to his talkative attitude until now, he silently swung his long blade.
However, what followed was anything but quiet.
Kwaaaaaaaa—!!
The Sword Orb, having left the blade, drew a spiral like a vortex as it flew toward Ruth.
He had been determined to cut the Sword Orb from the very beginning.
And as if responding to that resolve,
[Blood Link Skill, ‘Black Radiance Divine Sword’ is activated!]
[A great dignity that loses no light even in darkness descends upon your blade!]
Fwoosh—!!
Dark red blood ki overlaid the blood sword like a beacon illuminating the darkness.
The more desperate the situation. The more overwhelming the gap with the opponent.
The <Black Radiance Divine Sword> sharpened not only the sword in the caster’s hand, but the caster’s own capabilities as well.
It allowed him to cut what could not be cut and swing the sword at speeds that surpassed his limits.
However,
‘It’s not enough.’
<Black Radiance Divine Sword> alone was not enough to completely block it.
He could cut it, but only that far. He had no way to deal with the explosion that would follow after cutting it.
The only method was to bisect the center of the Sword Orb with a single strike.
‘If I cut through the center.’
The Sword Orb would rapidly lose power and vanish.
What sword art was most suitable for cutting an object in the shape of a sphere?
Ruth already knew the answer.
[<Frost Fang> Third Form]
[Falling Stone]
Whoong—!!
A silver frost slash descended with enough force to split even the sun.
The moment the blood sword, combining two ultimate techniques, collided with the Sword Orb and pierced its precise center,
[You have perfectly dismantled a sword art of high realm!]
[Hidden conditions of the <Blood Link> system have been satisfied!]
[A new Swordsman skill has been unlocked!]
An unexpected path had opened.
Slice—!!
The Sword Orb split into two branches and brushed past Ruth.
Instead of feeling relief at having survived,
As soon as the skill was unlocked, Ruth infused the new sword art’s principles that flooded into his mind into the blood sword.
Hwaaaak—!!
Without closing the distance, he swung his sword from where he stood.
The dark red energy of the <Black Radiance Divine Sword> scattered like cherry blossoms and poured toward the Soul Eater.
‘This is…….’
The Soul Eater, who had been marveling at Ruth cutting the Sword Orb, hardened his expression.
With the eyes of the Martial God, he instantly saw through the identity of the unknown sword art Ruth had just used.
‘Every single one of those tiny scattered energies…… is sword ki?’
They were rotating.
All of those dark red energies, which looked like mere small grains at first glance, were spinning madly.
Chiiiing—!!
Carrying terrifying cutting power.
[Black Radiance Divine Sword Secret Art]
[Sword Wind]
No matter how overwhelmingly strong the opponent was, they could not avoid a typhoon that suddenly struck without warning.
The storm made of sword ki swallowed the Soul Eater in the blink of an eye.
‘Still, it’s just sword ki spinning like tops, neither Sword Orb nor Sword Aura. There’s no way it can wound the Martial God’s body—.’
Kagagagak—!!
Blood sprayed wildly.
Beyond the black long robe being torn to shreds, countless wounds were carved into the Martial God’s body, which should have been harder than steel.
Feeling pain for the first time in decades, the Soul Eater’s eyes widened.
-Keuk……!
He belatedly raised his aura for defense and swung his long blade to deflect the sword ki.
He hadn’t suffered a fatal wound, but the leisurely demeanor he had shown earlier was completely gone.
The one who had suffered a fatal wound was Ruth instead.
Even though he had perfectly dismantled the Sword Orb, he couldn’t do anything about the shockwave from the exploding sphere of condensed energy.
The aftermath of the Sword Orb had grazed his vital points and torn his flesh.
It looked less like he had defended and more like he had barely endured a massive blade storm.
‘This is no joke, seriously.’
After receiving the attack, his thoughts became even firmer.
There was absolutely no way he could win against this thing at his current level.
However, there was one thing.
The thought that he couldn’t even buy time had changed.
Achievement Information
<God Slayer>
Grade: Legendary
Effect: The greater the gap with the enemy, the less fatigued you become and the stronger you grow.
The achievement effect he had gained as a reward for killing Belgious during <Trial of Entur>.
As long as this was in effect,
“Let’s keep going. Parasite.”
He thought that maybe, just maybe, he could hold on for a little while.
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