Ch.10Chapter 10: Climax and…

As I responded to the call, I grasped Lumen with my right hand as it appeared, slicing through the air.

Shizu’s movements to eliminate the calamity of humanity that appeared before her eyes were precise and without waste.

She threw her practice sword, still in its scabbard, high into the air.

“Taaaah!”

With a powerful shout, Shizu leaped toward the blood-red pentagram, her right hand holding Lumen making a light downward slashing motion from above.

“Gwangmyeongcham!”

She called out the secret technique of the Ranos family’s lost sword style, “Gwanghwi.”

From a distance, it might look like a simple downward slash, but I knew better.

That simple motion was one of the deadly sword techniques that Shizu from the previous timeline used to judge Mains and demons.

Lumen had already responded to Shizu’s will, intensifying the luminosity it had when it first appeared.

It was bright enough to purify and erase any corrupt and wicked existence with just a touch.

【…Kugh!】

Laplace, who had been composed until just now, must have sensed something ominous. He desperately tried to evade Shizu’s strike by moving his symbol around.

But once Shizu’s sword strike was initiated, it wasn’t something that could be avoided just because one wanted to avoid it.

Nor was it an attack that could be blocked just because one wanted to block it.

Swoosh

The radiance emanating from Lumen’s blade touched the blood-red pentagram gently.

The moment Lumen’s blade made contact with the pentagram, all sorts of malevolent energy flowed out from the already ominous blood-red symbol.

Thud

Around that time, the practice sword fell to the floor with a sound that conveyed its appropriate weight.

It was a clean movement.

After moving Dan, who had collapsed unconscious after being controlled by Laplace, to a safe place.

During the brief time it took to move Professor Maximilian, who had frozen in the middle of the training ground, outside the arena, I could tell.

The sword strike that Shizu had just delivered, though less powerful than the perfected version from the previous timeline, was still a decisive blow sufficient to cover malevolent and wicked energy with light.

This strike should have ended everything.

I was certain that even the Main, who had been emanating an overwhelming presence of concentrated malice until just now, would not have withstood this blow and would have either been banished to its original dimension or had its very existence erased.

That was my conviction, but unfortunately, it didn’t take long to realize that I was mistaken.

By now, Shizu should have landed, but she still hadn’t. Puzzled, I looked up to see:

【…I underestimated you because you’re young, but that was a complete miscalculation.】

A being who had easily caught Shizu’s Lumen with just one hand was speaking in an androgynous voice.

“Ugh!!”

Shizu’s voice revealed her bewilderment as she faced the being who had caught her Gwangmyeongcham with just a palm.

She tried to either cut through the right hand that had caught Lumen or pull her sword away, but the dark energy-surrounded being, presumably Laplace, thwarted her attempts.

Just when it seemed like the tedious standoff would continue endlessly:

【I apologize for my arrogance in thinking I could end this easily without bringing out my true form.】

As soon as these words ended, the being that appeared to be Laplace flicked his right hand forward, sending both Lumen and Shizu crashing to the ground.

“Aah!”

Already airborne and unable to maintain proper balance, Shizu was about to fall with her back hitting the ground.

“Shizu!!”

Of course, I wasn’t going to just stand by and watch.

I launched myself toward the corner of the training ground where she was falling.

With perfect timing:

“Hup!”

I successfully caught Shizu carefully with both hands.

“Are you okay?”

She didn’t appear to have any visible injuries, having just been thrown down.

Shizu met my eyes, nodded slightly to indicate she wasn’t hurt, then immediately fixed her gaze on the Main hovering in the sky.

“Gwangmyeongcham… didn’t work…”

Her voice was filled with bitter disappointment, clearly shocked that the best sword technique she could currently use had been ineffective.

“Cal. I’m fine, you can let go now.”

“…Alright.”

After leaving my arms, Shizu tried to position herself to prepare for Main’s next attack, but:

Rumble

Laplace, the Main who had introduced himself, seemed unwilling to give us any time, as he once again emanated the overwhelming presence he had displayed earlier when he had only brought out the blood-red pentagram.

“…!!”

Shizu, holding Lumen, withstood Laplace’s emanating presence without much difficulty.

“Nngh…!!”

But for me, who had just awakened and taken only one step on the path of a superhuman, this concentrated malicious presence was hard to endure.

Thud

One of my knees hit the ground.

“Cal!”

Hearing the sound of my knee hitting the floor, Shizu reflexively turned her head and called out to me with a worried voice.

“Focus on the Main in front of you, not me.”

At my calm instruction to focus, delivered with a slight shake of my head to indicate I was fine, Shizu was barely able to compose herself.

At that moment, the pitch-black energy surrounding the Main began to dissipate.

【Hehehe.】

With a disturbingly calm laugh:

Tap

The Main, Laplace, who had been emanating an overwhelming presence, landed gracefully on the training ground floor.

I saw his appearance, with his entire body, including his face, covered in pale-colored armor.

【Let me introduce myself again.】

Laplace, clad in armor, adopted a respectful posture, placing his right arm against his chest and bowing his upper body, speaking with a surprisingly courteous voice.

It was an extremely polite attitude for someone who had been emanating such an ominous aura and pressuring Shizu and me.

【I am Laplace, the right hand of the Great Demon God Renium, the invincible and indomitable battle commander.】

His androgynous voice was filled with pride as he emphasized the terms “invincible and indomitable” while introducing himself with the name and position he had already disclosed.

After his self-introduction, something changed around Laplace.

The murky malicious energy that had been piercing the skin until just now disappeared without a trace, as if the clear sky had opened up.

In inverse proportion, a fierce flow of fighting spirit, characteristic of a warrior revealing his eagerness to fight, took its place.

If it weren’t for the initial aura he had shown, he could have been mistaken for a skilled awakened hero specializing in combat techniques rather than a Main.

From that fighting spirit, I could easily gauge his abilities by comparing them with memories from the previous timeline.

A super-Main who had abandoned his humanity by being tainted by demonic energy and had delved so deeply into that power that, on the surface, one couldn’t tell he was a Main.

He appeared to be at least at the level of such a super-Main.

Dangerous.

This guy is genuinely strong.

He might not match the Shizu I last encountered in the previous timeline, but at this current point, even Professor Maximilian, who remains frozen in the corner of the training ground, would struggle against him.

But simultaneously with confirming his strength:

Why had such a powerful being, who had only revealed his presence at almost the very end of the previous timeline, begun his activities as soon as I returned through time?

【My lord, who resides in a unique space outside the time axis, observes a future that won’t come at this point, and is extremely wary of you, the invincible radiance, whom he will eventually face.】

As if reading my thoughts, Laplace revealed why he had appeared in this timeline.

As mentioned earlier, his target was Shizu.

【Other demon gods strongly opposed distorting events in a predetermined timeline, but my lord thought differently. Believing that we must easily crush and eliminate the seed of a hero who would surely become our obstacle in order to establish a new order on this land, he gave me an order.】

Snap

Laplace’s right index finger pointed at Shizu.

【To kill you when you’re too young, not when you’ve grown adequately, but when you’ve just become the owner of the holy sword and can’t fully utilize its power, and then to steal the holy sword, whose ownership is ambiguous, from humanity’s grasp.】

Dangerous.

I kept swallowing dry saliva at Laplace’s words, which contained a truly dangerous plan.

I was swallowing because my mouth had dried up due to the danger of the plan he revealed, but:

【I pay my respects to the invincible radiance who, despite not yet being a fully formed hero, has forced me to reveal my true form.】

The confidence in the super-Main’s attitude, calmly stating such a plan and showing composure, suggested he wouldn’t lose to anyone here, and that anxiety was also mixed into the dry saliva I was swallowing.

Whether aware of my burning anxiety or not, Laplace retracted the finger pointing at Shizu, clenched both hands into fists, and began warming up with rhythmic movements of his upper and lower body.

【I’ll send you off with as little pain as possible.】

As soon as he finished speaking:

Boom

Laplace, in his pale armor, stepped forward with all his might, approaching Shizu with fierce momentum.

The spot where he had first stepped on the training ground floor was left with a hole too large to be called a footprint.

Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Shizu tried to respond by holding Lumen with both hands and deploying the Gwanghwi stance, but:

Slap

【What a pity.】

Uttering words filled with some regret, Laplace struck the flat of Lumen with his palm.

Seeing Shizu lose her balance due to the unexpected attack:

Swoosh

Laplace’s right leg drew a magnificent arc and struck Shizu’s left side.

“Gah!”

Shizu’s body crumpled to the floor from the pain in her side, which she had no chance to defend against.

Though she had awakened as the owner of the holy sword and was beloved by the divine beings watching over this land, Shizu was still inexperienced. She lacked the strength and experience to defeat the super-Main before her.

“Shizu-!!”

As soon as I saw Shizu fall to the ground, I screamed and tried to approach her, but:

Thud

Laplace, who had instantly closed the distance between us, this time struck my solar plexus with his elbow.

“Guhk-!”

I let out an unseemly sound and tumbled disgracefully on the training ground floor.

“Nngh!”

Looking at me groaning involuntarily due to the pain that wouldn’t easily subside even with my super-regenerative ability:

【Don’t think about interfering with the sacred… well, that might be a bit unfair, but don’t think about interfering with the duel, weakling.】

Laplace dismissed me, calling me a weakling, and tried to proceed with his task.

“Do you… think I’ll let you… touch Shizu?”

Of course, if I were to succumb to such intimidation, I wouldn’t have approached him in the first place, given his intent to harm Shizu.

Though the pain still pierced my entire body vividly, I gritted my teeth.

‘I have to get up somehow.’

Since it was difficult to stand using just the strength of my arms and legs, I looked for something to support my body.

Fortunately, I spotted the practice sword that Shizu had put down when she brought out Lumen, and using it as a cane, I was barely able to raise my body.

As I staggered to my feet, Laplace’s eyes, hidden behind his helmet, showed a peculiar light.

【I aimed that attack to just knock you unconscious since you’re not my target, but you didn’t lose consciousness even after taking it.】

Though I was getting up in quite an unseemly manner, in his eyes, it seemed more surprising that I hadn’t lost consciousness and was pulling myself together despite his deliberate strike.

The light in his eyes, visible through his helmet, had a similar hue to the fighting spirit he had shown when facing Shizu earlier.

【What a regrettable shame.】

What had he felt looking at me to express such regret?

【If time permitted, I never would have expected there to be someone who could shine as brightly as the invincible radiance I’m targeting now.】

…I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but:

【It’s a pity, but I don’t have the luxury to defy my lord’s orders just for my own pleasure….】

With these final words, Laplace approached me as I staggered, spread his right hand like a sharpened blade, and soon, a bluish energy gathered in his hand.

Seeing the energy gathering in his hand, Shizu gasped, quickly rose from the ground, and rushed to where I was, but:

Laplace didn’t even turn his head and casually swung his left arm in the direction Shizu was approaching.

Boom

With a fierce roar, the training ground floor in front of Shizu turned to dust, creating an obstacle that halted her steps.

‘He’s absurdly strong.’

Seeing his skill, where he didn’t even seem to be using his full power yet could handle me as easily as twisting a child’s wrist, even my fighting spirit began to wane.

【Since your wounds seem to heal quickly, this time I’ll pierce your head painlessly!】

Swoosh

The sound of cutting through the air rang in my ears.