Ch.128128. Operation Gehenna

Kamila ran frantically down the corridor, constantly checking her communication device. The device remained dead, still affected by the jamming signal.

Please! Please!

She resented herself for not being able to run faster. She loathed herself for seemingly fleeing to request backup while leaving her comrade, her friend, alone in danger.

Rationally speaking, it was better that Kamila escaped. Had she stayed, she would have been defeated in an instant—making the term “facing a God-Machine” seem laughable. But Gilbert might be able to buy time against the outdated God-Machine. That’s what she wanted to believe. Otherwise, her heart felt like it would tear apart.

Even now, she regretted her decision countless times.

If only she had stayed behind and Gilbert had escaped alone, would he have survived?

Of course, it was a meaningless hypothetical. The Gilbert she knew wasn’t someone who would abandon his comrades and flee alone. He would have stubbornly insisted on dying together if it came to that.

That’s why Kamila had rushed out to request support.

To call for reinforcements as quickly as possible.

Kamila’s breath now reached her throat, feeling like her lungs were being stabbed with knives. Her body screamed for oxygen, but she didn’t stop running.

Finally, upon reaching the entrance where they had first entered, her communication device began working.

“What’s going on? Why are you panting like that? More importantly, where’s Gilbert?”

Brynhild, who had been waiting outside with her arms crossed, demanded answers as she saw Kamila’s pale face.

Her special skill, Intuition, began to react violently.

She had felt uneasy when entering the central headquarters, but it seemed there were even more terrifying things lurking inside.

“Gilbert… is in… danger!”

Kamila shouted while gasping for breath.

Brynhild’s expression crumpled. Her intuition began sending stronger warning signals.

“Tell me what happened, quickly!”

“Inside… there’s an outdated God-Machine. There’s no time. We need to help Gilbert now!”

As soon as Brynhild heard Kamila’s words, she dashed toward the entrance. Hans followed behind her, his expression contorted like a demon’s.

Kamila was about to follow them but thought they would need more support, so she connected her communication device.

“This is Sparrow Squad! Please respond!”

[This is Polaris. Report.]

“Outdated God-Machine discovered in the Slaves’ Central Headquarters building! Sparrow is engaging alone!”

[What did you say?]

Seraphina’s voice hardened.

The news of an outdated God-Machine appearing clearly alarmed her.

[I’ll alert the knights on standby! Support Sparrow!]

“Communication is impossible inside the central headquarters due to the jamming signal emitted by the God-Machine!”

[These vermin are up to something!]

Kamila ended the transmission and immediately rushed into the central headquarters where Gilbert was. Having somewhat recovered from her brief rest, she could run faster than before.

Kamila ran desperately.

The worst scenarios kept forming in her mind, but she tried her hardest to push them away.

Gilbert will be safe.

He must be safe.

After repeating this to herself over and over, Kamila finally reached the place where she had encountered the outdated God-Machine.

“Gilbert! Is Gilbert safe?!”

“…See for yourself.”

Brynhild replied in a strangely deflated tone.

Kamila tried to hide the creeping anxiety as she passed by Brynhild.

“This is…”

Kamila collapsed to her knees, strength leaving her body.

Fortunately, what she had feared hadn’t happened.

But she couldn’t say he was unharmed either. He stood with his back to them, holding his sword in his left hand.

His academy uniform was torn in various places and completely covered in dark red blood.

Despite this, his broad back remained unbent, standing tall.

If there was one strange thing, it was that he stood completely motionless.

“Ha. Just how much of a monster is he?”

Brynhild shook her head. Her eyes were looking at something beyond Gilbert.

Kamila’s gaze followed Brynhild’s.

“That’s… impossible.”

Kamila could now see what she hadn’t noticed while examining Gilbert.

Beyond Gilbert’s shoulder, the entire weapons storage had been sliced diagonally by a long sword strike, and at its center lay the outdated God-Machine, split in half.

***

It was right after Kamila had left to request support.

Despite his bold declaration to the outdated God-Machine, Gilbert was struggling.

Understandably so, as he was facing a God-Machine. Even though it was an outdated model and significantly smaller than current-generation God-Machines, it was still much larger than a human.

In combat, size comparison often determined advantage. Even in modern martial arts, weight classes existed because, given equal fighting skills, the heavier fighter always had the advantage.

This was a fight between a human and a God-Machine. No matter how close Gilbert was to superhuman territory, he couldn’t directly match swords with a God-Machine several times his size.

Even a glancing blow would cause serious injury.

Gilbert focused on evasion, exploiting the fact that his opponent was unskilled in God-Machine operation.

[Die! Die! Diiiiie!]

The way it swung its sword wildly showed a complete lack of fundamentals. Perhaps its unskilled piloting prevented it from executing proper swordsmanship.

Either way, this was fortunate for Gilbert.

If his opponent had been skilled in God-Machine operation, even this precarious evasion would have been impossible.

How long had this game of tag continued?

Gilbert had now poured all the mana he could muster into physical enhancement.

As time passed, the God-Machine’s movements became more precise, as if the pilot was becoming accustomed to it. It seemed the exoskeleton-type God-Machine allowed for quick adaptation.

Can my luck get any worse?

Gilbert inwardly cursed several times as he rolled his body. The iron sword that swept past where he had been completely demolished the outer wall of the armory.

[This is it. This is what a real God-Machine is.]

His opponent laughed maniacally while displaying increasingly systematic swordsmanship.

Gilbert, who had been evading with ease at first, now had to move his body with extreme caution. The skill of the man piloting the God-Machine was far superior to what he had anticipated.

Not a mercenary, but perhaps an excommunicated knight.

From Gilbert’s assessment, the man’s swordsmanship wasn’t like that of mercenaries who learned through countless real battles. It had a consistent system, and his level was judged to be that of a 4th-grade knight.

Because of this, as the man began adapting to the God-Machine, Gilbert found himself rolling on the ground more frequently. There was a limit to evading a God-Machine’s high-speed shifts with a human body.

It was only because Gilbert’s physical abilities approached superhuman levels that he could hold out this long with his limited magical power.

However, that didn’t mean he could evade forever.

– BOOM!

When the heavy iron sword came flying, Gilbert instinctively channeled all his mana into his sword to defend.

“Ughk!”

The violent repulsion sent his body flying, crashing into a wall and coughing up a mouthful of blood. The impact felt like it would shatter his body, making his vision blur.

It was just once.

This was the price for momentarily losing track of the God-Machine’s movement. Even with all his mana poured in, blocking the swung iron sword was impossible.

Gilbert continued coughing while pinned to the wall. Whether his internal organs were damaged or not, clotted blood kept rising with each cough.

“Khu…”

After finally stopping his cough, he looked at the sword in his hand. The sword that had directly clashed with the iron sword was completely shattered. Nothing remained except the grip and guard area.

He tossed aside the sword’s remains and picked up another sword lying nearby.

“Kuk!”

Excruciating pain surged as he tried to stand. He seemed to be already combat-incapable.

But lying there meant certain death. The only reason he had time to collect himself was because the excommunicated knight piloting the God-Machine hadn’t immediately attacked, choosing to mock him instead.

If he had remained sprawled on the ground, his head would have been severed in an instant.

[Yes, that’s it! You can’t fall yet. You must keep getting up until I return all the pain I’ve suffered to you imperial bastards!]

That son of a bitch.

Gilbert gripped his sword tightly, his anger rising. He always felt sick when he saw people like this playing the victim.

Did he really think his actions were justified?

It was something Gilbert would never understand until his dying day. And simultaneously, something disgusting.

Gilbert took a breath and assessed his condition.

First, breathing felt somewhat uncomfortable, suggesting that several ribs had cracked during the collision.

His right wrist, which had blocked the iron sword, couldn’t exert proper strength, indicating it was broken. Various other bruises and wounds were visible as well.

But considering he had blocked that massive iron sword, he’d gotten off lightly. Normally, every bone in his body could have been broken.

– Ptui

Gilbert gathered the blood in his mouth and spat it onto the floor.

Honestly, he wanted to turn and run without looking back. No matter how experienced he was, facing a God-Machine with just a sword was too reckless.

He was in this state even though he hadn’t taken a direct hit and had deflected as much force as possible with his sword.

In this situation, defeating a God-Machine wasn’t even a joke.

Yet he didn’t choose to flee.

Instead, Gilbert began circulating his mana slowly.

And at that moment:

[Physical ability has increased by 1.]

[Skill ‘Hundred Beasts’ has been activated by meeting hidden conditions.]

Golden mana began to envelop Gilbert’s body in a regular pattern.

Skill: Hundred Beasts (百獸).

Despite being a growth-type skill, it had the absurd starting grade of Legendary, but it was a double-edged sword that couldn’t be used unless physical ability met the activation conditions.

But perhaps because he had survived a near-death experience, his physical ability increased by 1, meeting the activation condition.

The sub-skill “Super Regeneration” registered under Hundred Beasts began healing his body. His cracked ribs and broken wrist bones mended, and all minor injuries were completely healed.

That wasn’t all.

As the passive effect of the Hundred Beasts skill activated, golden mana scattered like threads, beginning to readjust his body’s durability to match his abilities.

His bones and muscles were fundamentally reconstructed. The strength of his skeleton and elasticity of his muscles increased, raising his body’s durability and stamina to a completely different dimension, while the mana within his body began to compress extremely.

When the body’s reconstruction was complete, he felt something hot piercing through the center of his body.

[Due to the effect of the Hundred Beasts skill, your mana core has fully bloomed.]

[With the blooming of the mana core, your magical ability has increased by 10.]

Gilbert’s red eyes began to emit golden mana.

The mana core, which only forms when mana cultivation reaches a certain level, was created, spreading mana throughout his body.

It couldn’t be compared to the metamorphosis experienced when reaching superhuman ranks, but he had undoubtedly gained a far superior physical body than before.

Gilbert felt the overflowing power and glared at the God-Machine still standing motionless.

He thought he might be able to defeat it before reinforcements arrived.

[What are you doing?]

The man in the God-Machine asked, perhaps sensing danger.

But Gilbert, feeling no obligation to answer, simply ignored the question and raised his sword.

It was the basic stance of the Winter Sword style.

[Insolent bastard!]

Perhaps annoyed that a mere human dared to confront a God-Machine, the man gripped the God-Machine’s iron sword and swung it at Gilbert.

Gilbert precisely tracked the movement of the descending iron sword and twisted his body to narrowly avoid it. Some of his hair was cut off as it flew by, but with his now lighter movements, he aimed for a counterattack.

– BOOM!

However, breaking through the God-Machine’s mana barrier was still impossible. Despite swinging his sword with all his mana pushed into it, it was blocked by the God-Machine’s mana barrier.

Gilbert clicked his tongue and quickly stepped back. The God-Machine’s massive fist came flying immediately after.

Judging from the previous exchange, his opponent seemed to have confidence in sword wrestling as well.

What now?

He thought he could defeat it, but he didn’t think it would be easy. It was merely that the possibility had increased from nearly zero to about 5 percent.

But even that dropped back to 1 percent when his attack was blocked by the mana barrier. It was still better than when it was practically zero, but he had no idea how to overcome this obstacle.

First, Gilbert decided to exploit the God-Machine’s greatest weakness.

The older the model, the more delay exists between the pilot and the God-Machine.

Gilbert thoroughly exploited this point, predicting the God-Machine’s movements and moving his body one step ahead, striking at the mana barrier.

Each strike contained all his mana, delivered with full power.

– BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

After delivering three consecutive sword strikes, Gilbert ducked low to avoid a horizontal slash. Given the great length of the greatsword, he didn’t even consider retreating backward to evade.

Seizing the momentary gap before the next attack, he drove his sword into the mana barrier once more. Following the Winter Sword style’s form, his combo flowed like water.

– BOOM! BOOM!

The result was the same this time too.

After that, the nerve-wracking evasions and attacks continued. Though it was only a few minutes, to Gilbert it felt like an endlessly stretching time.

– WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Meanwhile, the man in the God-Machine seemed to have fully adapted to it, as he began unleashing even sharper attacks. Forgetting they were underground, he didn’t hesitate to deploy mana armaments.

Gilbert felt his breath becoming labored and his stamina depleting.

While his opponent was riding a God-Machine, Gilbert was giving his all every moment, so despite Hundred Beasts being active, his physical limits were quickly approaching.

“Ugh!”

He raised his sword to block a greatsword coming at an angle impossible to dodge.

Though he was slammed into the wall again, thanks to his increased durability, he could get up immediately.

However, his right arm was shattered again, forcing him to switch his sword to his left hand.

Super regeneration had already reached its limit, so the healing of his right arm proceeded slowly.

[This monster…]

The man who had been threatening to tear him limb from limb now muttered in a frightened voice. He never dreamed there could be a human capable of facing a God-Machine bare-handed.

Thinking that reinforcements might arrive if he delayed any longer, he drew up all his mana and concentrated it into the iron sword. He would have liked to enjoy this more if conditions allowed, but now it was time to leave.

Gilbert also noticed all of his opponent’s mana gathering in the iron sword and bit his lip.

One way or another, the next exchange would be the final one.

He finally pulled out the last card he had been saving.

“Limit Break.”

[Initiating Limit Break.]

[Warning! Activating Limit Break may cause permanent stat decreases.]

As Limit Break activated, his perception of time began to stretch.

Like taffy being pulled, the surrounding scenery began to droop, but as Gilbert exhaled one breath, everything returned to normal, and then everything began to slow down.

The “Domain” that all swordsmen so desperately yearn for—to deliver the perfect single strike.

Gilbert instinctively knew this was that domain.

He slowly drew his sword and gripped the scabbard with his partially healed right hand.

Gently closing his eyes, he concentrated everything he could muster into his sword.

“Huu”

As he exhaled, a cold chill emanated from Gilbert’s mouth.

His mental image began to form.

A bitterly cold winter.

A clear, piercing blue winter sky.

His mana output, enhanced by the Hundred Beasts skill, explosively surged.

At that moment, Gilbert’s eyes opened.

Winter Sword – Gathering Force

Winter Sky Cleave

In the winter where cold winds rage,

The sky was split in two.