Ch.1224Why did you come?

======[ Haschal ]======

The ultimate technique that would be fatal to anyone if properly struck, the Sky Slash.

After cutting through the sky at the bottom of the abyss with a space-severing strike, I kicked off the ground and unleashed the flames of Karma, soaring toward the massive crack carved into the ceiling.

– KWAAAA!

High-temperature steam rose like mist, then scattered explosively, leaving white rings in the air. Rock fragments rained down like meteors.

The falling rocks shattered against my pauldrons, and the heat of Karma burning beneath my back and feet boiled into a crimson rain that flowed down.

Thus, I shot upward, scattering droplets of melted earth and stone, and within a few deep breaths, I burst through the crack into the sky beyond.

And the scene I looked down upon was.

“Kuk…! I never expected you to appear from that direction…!”

“Grr, GROOOOOO…!”

Kaljarath with his left and right halves completely shattered, wobbling like a roly-poly toy, and a mysterious giant with its upper and lower body cleanly separated, crawling on the ground.

“How so quickly… Could it be you pushed yourself too hard… to save me?”

And there was the rock monkey, his eyes rippling with emotion, thinking I had come all this way to rescue him.

He looks more intact than I expected. I wasn’t hoping he’d be half-dead, but I thought a prisoner would at least have broken limbs.

Quite the cooperative prisoner, weren’t you? To the point where that brutish orc didn’t even feel the need to break your limbs for torture or restraint.

Well, anyway, now’s not the time to worry about that. What matters now is the dying giant and severely injured half-god beneath my feet. In other words—

[ It’s an opportunity. Strike! ]

‘I know!’

This was a golden opportunity to claim the power and lives of two formidable enemies.

– HWAAAAK!

The sacred vestment of the dawn sky unfurled like an aurora. The blue cross star blazing white-hot. The halo of the crown of thorns hanging behind my head.

“KYAAAH!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the power of divinity extended toward the enemy. In the form of a hazy golden slash that tore through space.

“GRWOOOOO-!”

Kaljarath, with a sword hilt in his mouth, let out a suppressed roar and swung his greatsword as if throwing his entire body into it.

The purple energy coalescing on that blade stretched out and collided with my space-severing slash, and an explosion swept across heaven and earth with a flash like the rising sun.

“Tch…!”

So he blocks it after all. Annoying bastard.

“Cowardly, how dare you, human!”

As I clicked my tongue in disappointment and raised Durandal again, the giant crawling on the ground flipped its upper body and swung an axe at me.

– WHOOOONG!

An ominous sound of air being torn resonated.

The handle was broken and the blade was full of cracks, looking like it would shatter at any moment, but the power within it could clearly crush even a dragon’s scales.

I couldn’t block it perfectly. Having made that judgment, I used the minimum output of Defying Fate to slow the world and extract my body from the trajectory.

– KWAOOOOO!

Just as the wind pressure strong enough to tear off my hair tie swept past my back, a purple radiance filled my vision and rushed in. It was Kaljarath’s slash, striking at the opening.

You two are supposed to be enemies, so why coordinate attacks only at times like this? Such cowardly bastards. No matter what you do—

“I can see through everything, you little shit!”

I swung Durandal like lightning to counter.

– KWAJIJIJIK!

Something like lightning burst from the point where the slashes met.

The collision of forces that shattered space. The shockwave tore through the air, carving spider-web-like scars in the void.

“Grrrr…!”

Kaljarath growled through gritted teeth. My sword was still blocked by one of his greatswords, unable to cut through. My space-severing slash that could cut even dragon scales.

…I see, since we’re using the same technique, our space-cutting abilities cancel each other out?

Then how about a simple contest of strength?

“KYAAAAH!”

With a roar, I pushed Durandal forward with both arms, shaking off the mountain-like pressure transmitted through the blade in one breath.

– KIGIGIGIGIK!

My arm muscles swelled. The gauntlets screamed metallically under pressure from both inside and out. The divine power of the stars burned in my arms along with the blood of the baleful star.

“Kugh…!”

Kaljarath lost his balance and was flung back by the suddenly amplified force.

– KUDUDUDUK…!

The orc, pushed back dozens of meters in an instant while digging up the earth with his heels, finally stopped after stabbing his sword into the ground to brace himself.

“Keu, ha, it’s no use…!”

He immediately regained his posture, pointed his sword tip at me with a grin that revealed his tusks, and said:

“Do you think I, Kaljarath, would fall so easily…!”

His severed arm had already formed a translucent prosthesis with coagulated purple energy, and his muscle and internal injuries had been roughly patched up with those light threads.

…That looks like the same technique I use to stitch wounds or create auxiliary arms with the power of Karma of Murder. He’s first-rate at copying, I’ll give him that.

“You talk big. With stolen techniques!”

I shouted as I turned my body, maintaining the momentum of my swing, simultaneously parrying the giant’s axe that couldn’t wait to strike again.

– KWAAAANG—!

A roar so massive it carried physical destructive power. The center of the giant’s axe blade shattered like glass and was deeply gouged.

Wow, the axe is so big that even when hit by a space-cutting sword, it’s only half-cut. Truly ridiculous.

“KRAAAAP!”

“GROOOOO!”

My near-laughing amazement was brief. His attack—no, their attacks didn’t stop there.

The legless giant lifted its upper body by supporting itself with its left arm and brought down the axe that had bounced back, while Kaljarath, not to be outdone, kicked off the ground and charged.

It was a coordinated attack with the determination that if one was blocked, the other would cut me down in that opening.

Are you two actually best friends? Your coordination seems better than Nigel and Jahan’s. You could film a love story that transcends species.

– WHOONG—!

– KWAJIJIJIK!

A broken axe and two cracked greatswords. These massive pieces of metal, imbued with tremendous power, extended from front and back with heavy sounds of tearing air.

“…Ha, but what do these creatures take me for.”

I accelerated with a short but intense burst of Karma flames. The axe blade rapidly approaching. The blade tip’s aura penetrating ahead, stimulating my sense of danger.

“Do you think I’m easy prey? Daring to charge at me in that state?”

Just before that aura reached me, I spun around, throwing Durandal at the orc, and immediately condensed and released Karma flames in my right hand.

– KWAANG!

The trajectory of my charge abruptly changed with the recoil from the throw and explosion.

Thus, deflecting the axe blade sideways, I simultaneously awakened the rune “Hagalaz-!” and wrapped its mana around my left arm like a snake before striking.

Too massive to cut completely?

Then I’ll shatter it.

– KWADUK.

The moment Frosting, wrapped in blue coils, touched the side of the massive axe blade.

– JEOOOONG!

With a death cry like frozen metal, the giant’s axe exploded into countless fragments.

【 Defying Fate 】

Engraving that sight in my eyes, I used Defying Fate at minimum output again. I didn’t use time stop. If I did, the orc’s slash might also become a Sky Slash.

This was enough from the start.

– WHIOO…!

Kaljarath deflected Durandal with his left greatsword and aimed for my back with his right.

I countered with time gained through Defying Fate. Using Frosting as a sword to implement a space-severing slash, I received his greatsword with the edge of my hand.

– KWADUDUK!

Kaljarath’s eyes bulged.

“With bare hands…?!”

Not bare hands. These gauntlets are better weapons than your greatsword, fool.

“One without arms, one without legs. Why don’t you two combine?”

I taunted at close range while extending my right hand sideways to summon Durandal.

The sword hilt flew into my grasp like a hunting falcon. The moment the familiar sensation touched my fingertips, I grabbed it like a talon and swung.

– KWAGAGAGAK!

Frosting’s claws and Durandal’s blade crossed in succession like intertwining lightning against the two greatswords, and the next moment, Kaljarath was flung back, spraying blood.

“You’ve… gotten faster…!”

“And you’ve gotten slower.”

He muttered, twisting his blood-covered face grotesquely. Hideous sword marks were carved into his thighs, chest, and even his face.

“I don’t understand.”

I charged forward, avoiding the giant’s attack with what remained of his axe handle. Kaljarath hurriedly raised his greatsword in a defensive stance.

“Why did you come? What for?”

Durandal, swung with both hands, struck Kaljarath’s greatsword and sent it flying, and my left foot, thrust as I twisted my body, buried itself in his empty side, smashing him into the ground.

– KWAAAAANG!

“Kuhek…!”

Amidst the rising dust and rock fragments. The wounded orc groaned, spitting blood. A miserable sight. Had he not been my enemy, I might have felt pity.

But you are my enemy. Though perhaps no longer a worthy opponent.

“If you were lucky enough to escape with your life, you should have fled somewhere I couldn’t find you. What madness possessed you to seek me out in that condition?”

I asked, directing flames backward with my right hand to stop the crawling giant charging from behind, while firing a space-severing slash at the fallen Kaljarath with Durandal in my left.

Why did you come?

I didn’t ask out of genuine curiosity; it was half provocation and mockery.

“If you were targeting me before my power recovered, I might understand, but why now, when you’re far too late.”

In other words, half of my question was indeed out of genuine puzzlement.

“Did you think I’d still be groaning in pain? More than you?”

If you had come just a week earlier, the situation would have been dire, but to come only now, when my power has largely recovered.

And you didn’t even properly reach my hideout where I was recuperating, but instead wasted your strength fighting the giant somewhere in between.

“Th-that’s thanks to me leading them to this state, sir.”

Either his luck was terribly bad, or this orc was more foolish and reckless than I thought.

Either way, that audacity brought him the worst outcome.

If it’s the former, I could at least mock his bad luck, but if it’s the latter, I should seriously ask if he had a death wish, given such a miserable defeat.

“Are you listening? I risked my life to buy time for the alliance—”

“Ah. I got it, I got it. I understand, so stay over there.”

So noisy, really.

Strange noise kept mixing into my thoughts, so I waved my hand lightly, instructing the owner of that voice to keep quiet.

How inconsiderate, can’t you see I’m busy fighting and thinking?

I’ve almost won, but anyway, if you don’t want to get caught up and die, hide far away. I have no intention of taking responsibility for such a pointless death.

After chasing Turangkai far away like that, I looked down coldly at Kaljarath, who was staggering to his feet, and the giant, who had lifted the rocks to clear away the flames.

Estimating in my mind how much stronger I could become after killing these creatures and taking their power.