Ch.134Otherworld Alliance

Whoosh-!

The heat flowed fiercely without stopping. The boiling heat seemed as if it would melt everything around it. The Fire Dragon Sword’s heat affected not only its user Seo-rin’s mana but also the surrounding environment significantly.

The reddened blade swung rapidly, delivering silent slashes. Clearly, faint flames rose and disappeared in the empty air, following the blade’s path.

Seo-rin unleashed a flurry of fierce sword strikes. As the blade crossed the empty space dozens of times in just over a second, a wall of scorching flames formed.

Suddenly, a transparent wave of energy spread from the Void Lord’s body. That hazy energy instantly dissipated all the slashes Seo-rin had unleashed. Yet Seo-rin did not back down.

Instead, she intensified her momentum. Her cape fluttered greatly behind her, with black smoke rising from its edges. The heat she generated was too much for her clothing, which began to burn.

The heat did not discriminate between friend and foe. Even the mages and elves preparing spells to assist her had to step back. Without using mana to protect their entire bodies, they would suffer burns on their skin.

“Something unpleasant has mixed in.”

The Void Lord’s eyes filled with intense disgust. Though his arms and legs seemed to flail randomly, the impact was far from light. The shockwave created from striking the empty air pushed Seo-rin’s form back significantly.

“Aren’t you the unpleasant ones? Invading a peaceful world and taking over others’ bodies…”

“Ahahahaha!”

The Void Lord laughed loudly at Seo-rin’s words. Rather than mockery, it was as if he had genuinely heard something amusing. Seo-rin frowned.

What’s so funny?

“Do you truly believe that?”

Seo-rin did not answer the Void Lord’s question. Silently, she took a stance for rapid sword strikes. As her two legs firmly planted on the ground to stabilize her body, the ten swords she carried drew themselves out.

Shing-

“Formless Flying Sword Technique?”

As the Void Lord’s voice scattered, both Seo-rin and the Void Lord’s forms blurred. A breath later, the ten swords followed their forms.

It was an intense battle. Neither stayed in one place for more than a second. They moved rapidly, constantly attacking to exploit each other’s openings. The Void Lord’s long, white hands pounded against Seo-rin’s body, but the Sun Force mana barrier formed above her absorbed all the impacts.

“I asked you! Do you truly believe that?!”

Even in those brief moments of fierce clash, the Void Lord continued to speak. In contrast, Seo-rin could not open her mouth. She had to block all paths for the heat to escape to increase her body’s pressure.

The longer she held her breath, the longer she endured the pressure from the intense heat, the more her physical abilities improved. This was the characteristic of the new mana cultivation method she had begun practicing—Fire Dragon-Heart.

Hiss-

As the heat couldn’t escape, white steam rose from Seo-rin’s skin.

“Invasion, you said? You truly know nothing. Those you call reincarnators…!”

Bang-! Clang-!

“This world!”

He stopped mid-sentence to focus on his attack. The Void Lord’s fist strikes and Seo-rin’s sword slashes intermingled in the empty air. As the Void Lord closed the distance, Seo-rin retreated, but his fist strikes came down even faster.

“Summoned them!”

Clatter-!

She blocked and deflected some with the Fire Dragon Sword, but the sudden impact knocked the sword from Seo-rin’s hand. Yet she didn’t panic. She immediately reached out to grasp another sword and swung it without a moment’s hesitation.

Swoosh-!

Behind the white slashes, the form of the White Dragon Sword faintly appeared. Sometimes by choice, sometimes by force. When a sword fell from Seo-rin’s hand, another flew to be caught.

From White Dragon Sword to Ice Dragon Sword, from Black Dragon Sword to Moonlight Sword.

The changes in swords continued endlessly.

The types of swordsmanship Seo-rin displayed were as varied as the number of swords. The Void Lord facing her couldn’t hide his bewilderment. Just as he became accustomed to one sword style, a new one would appear to catch him off guard. It felt like fighting nearly ten different swordsmen in rotation.

Boom-!

With a considerable impact, the two created distance between each other. Seo-rin used this opportunity to exhale her held breath. The pressure that had filled her body escaped along with the heat.

White steam flowing from her mouth rippled hotly.

“Haah…!”

Swoosh-!

Watching this, the Void Lord touched his cheek. Red blood flowed down his white hand before evaporating. It wasn’t just his cheek. Small sword wounds marked various parts of his body.

Seo-rin took a long breath while pointing her sword. Her sharp, gleaming eyes continuously checked the distance between herself and the Void Lord. They were beyond each other’s attack range. It was a kind of stalemate.

Seo-rin used this opportunity to ask:

“What you just said… the world summoned them. What does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Seo-rin frowned. She couldn’t understand. Why would the world summon reincarnators who only harm it? It was also difficult to comprehend that something that wasn’t even a living being could have will.

“Nonsense…”

It was when Seo-rin began to hold her breath again. As white steam started to ripple over her body, the Void Lord smiled lightly.

“Judging by the mark on your shoulder, I see you’re not even a vice-captain. No wonder you don’t know. They must be controlling the truth.”

Seo-rin ignored his words. It was clearly a ploy to plant seeds of doubt and delusion in her mind to cause confusion. As Seo-rin stomped the ground, a hot gust of wind extended in a straight line.

The Void Lord briefly contemplated as he watched. His physical condition wasn’t good enough to fight evenly with a high-ranking member of the Blue Wing. It was a time to focus on recovery rather than direct confrontation. Besides, there were still loose ends to deal with.

His thoughts were settled. It was a bit wasteful to use now, but what choice did he have? There was no other way.

The Void Lord spread his arms.

“Come.”

At that moment, just as Seo-rin’s form reached the Void Lord, the ground beneath them split open.

Seo-rin immediately halted her attack. She withdrew her extended hand to turn her sword and, as her leg that had been extending gracefully struck the air, she stepped onto the White Dragon Sword that had been circling around. Her body moved instinctively in response to the sudden alarm from her instincts.

And that choice was not wrong.

From the split ground, something enormous shot up instantly.

Grooooar-!

The first thing she noticed was the thick scales. As if full of mana, the scales changed color depending on the viewing angle, and their number grew beyond tens or hundreds, becoming uncountable.

A wave of enormous mass began to occupy the space. Seo-rin quickly retreated while riding her sword. If she stayed in one place, she would surely be pushed away by the scales.

“This is…”

Seo-rin’s gaze looked up at the massive creature. It was enormous. So incredibly enormous that no further explanation was needed. As its body covered in scales blocked the sky, a deep shadow was cast.

Sounds of shock and gasps were heard from all directions.

An overwhelming presence. It felt different from the Sword Emperor or other transcendent powers. Its mana was also unusual. Mountains and fields, heat and cold, light and darkness coexisted. Among them, she could also sense the clear mana unique to the elves’ forests.

It was incomprehensible. How could a single living being possess dozens or hundreds of mana attributes?

Suddenly, the shadow above her head deepened. The massive creature had spread its wings to the left and right. This simple movement caused the surrounding mana to react, creating violent storms.

Grrrr-!

And what about its long tail? Following its body larger than a mountain, the extended tail ground up part of the forest. Just by moving, it changed the terrain.

-D-Dragon…?

-Are you saying dragons are real creatures?

-That can’t be. That’s just…

Dragon. The whispers around revealed the identity of the creature. Many characteristics matched what she had read in books. The body covered in scales, the enormous body that seemed to touch the sky, the long tail, and wings that covered the world.

Seo-rin frowned as she glared at the top of the dragon’s head. The Void Lord appeared between its large horns. His presence there seemed very natural.

It was strange. Dragons were said to be the pinnacle of all living species. While their existence hadn’t been confirmed, most records described them that way. There was no way humans could control dragons.

‘It’s fake.’

Therefore, that thing was a fake.

Seo-rin tightened her grip on the Fire Dragon Sword.

Squeeze-

Immediately after, she extended her other hand to grasp the Ice Dragon Sword.

Whoosh-

A white wind swirled over the hot heat.