Ch.215EP.49 – The Most Dangerous Creature in the World…(2)

In the sudden standoff, Ihan wasn’t flustered at all.

Hadn’t he predicted this from before entering this place?

‘I knew they would definitely show up.’

It was already absurd that anti-humans were disguised as Holy Knights in the Grand Temple, so suspicious figures appearing now wasn’t a major variable.

However, if there was one thing that puzzled him…

“Hollow-eyes, let me ask you something.”

[What?]

“Didn’t you say you were a gatekeeper? Shouldn’t you prevent things like that from passing through the gate?”

It was an inevitable question.

He genuinely wondered how such creatures could be allowed in here, and began to suspect that this Hollow-eyes might be incredibly incompetent.

[Ah, that? Of course I didn’t want to let these guys in either. But what could I do? Unlike you, those ominous things came in legitimately with a ‘key.’ That’s why they entered without going through the gate like you did.]

“……”

[The fortunate thing is that they can’t touch the sacred relics without my permission. The problem is that I’m just a gatekeeper here, not an administrator, so I can’t arbitrarily harm intruders.]

“…This is maddening.”

[S-sorry.]

“No, I’m not blaming you… Haa, forget it.”

The key, that is, the fact that those things entered this place with the ‘authority’ to access the sacred treasures managed by the Grand Temple was truly maddening.

That statement meant:

‘So the temple bastards are openly siding with those things?’

It would be strange not to feel like cursing in this situation.

“…There will be many people to beat up when I get out of here.”

Ihan muttered with disgust, and hearing his words:

“That’s assuming you get out alive.”

“……”

“What? Do we seem that easy to you?”

“……”

“How arrogant. Well, I suppose you’ve earned the right to be.”

A woman with impressively bleached white hair and eyebrows smiled with her eyes. At first glance she was beautiful, but strangely, her facial muscles seemed stiff, making her smile appear awkward.

A face that seemed like it wanted to smile but couldn’t.

And Ihan knew this awkwardly smiling woman.

…She had been his senior at his previous workplace.

“Number 7…”

“So you do know me? Correct, hehe! Ah, but let me clarify something, my name is no longer Number 7, but the 7th Apostle. Call me that, understand?”

“……”

“And tell me, how is he doing?”

“…?”

“Don’t play dumb… Number 8, that traitor is with you, right? Hehe, I’d like to see his face. He was such a cute kid back then, I wonder how he’s grown up.”

“……”

“Could you call that adorable one for me? Ah, it’s better not to lie. The [Prophet] has already told me everything. That he’s here.”

“Hmm…”

“You won’t sell out your comrade? That child has found a good companion, hehehe.”

“No, that’s…”

“We don’t need to talk anymore. —Kill him.”

Whoosh!

No sooner had the 7th Apostle’s order fallen than the anti-humans charged, and Ihan, still speechless, felt wronged.

I mean, what…

‘Why?’

Despite standing right in front of her, she couldn’t recognize him, which made Ihan feel strangely wronged, but he had no time to dwell on this feeling as he had to swing his sword against the anti-humans.

Still, the question remained…

‘Have I changed that much?’

That Number 4 from before was the same, why can’t they recognize me?

…I haven’t changed much since I was young.

Ihan felt particularly wronged because he hadn’t even tried to hide his identity.

* * *

“—That knight is strong.”

The 7th Apostle trembled as she witnessed the knight’s formidable power.

He was strong.

Extremely so.

Crack!

…Could a human head be shattered so easily?

And not just anyone, but an anti-human.

The strength of an average anti-human exceeded that of thirty strong men combined, and with additional combat techniques, various swordsmanship and skills, they were truly worth a hundred men each.

Yet, they were being crushed helplessly.

Even if there had been a hundred instead of fifty, they wouldn’t have been able to handle this knight.

Overwhelming martial prowess and strength!

The 7th Apostle, Daina, nodded her head.

“No wonder the 4th Apostle was defeated. He’s an opponent we can’t handle.”

She knew that this knight had subdued the 4th Apostle in the tunnel, and additionally killed the anti-humans and the large Mother Worm that the Black Moon had painstakingly raised.

And furthermore, he had destroyed the magic tower…

In conclusion, Daina assessed:

This knight was…

“…a monster.”

It was clear that no one except an Aura user could handle him.

However.

“Are you scared before even fighting?”

“11th Apostle…”

“Start calling me Yan now, Daina.”

“Sorry, I’m still used to the number game.”

“Same here, so no need to apologize.”

The 11th Apostle Yan approached with a smirk, and others followed with their comments.

“Sister, don’t worry too much. I’ll make sure you return safely.”

“Besides, our goal isn’t to kill that knight, right? Let’s stick to the plan, the plan.”

The 6th and 5th Apostles spoke in turn.

Hearing this, Daina found herself smiling.

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Their purpose wasn’t to defeat the opponent.

She had ordered the fifty anti-humans to kill him, but the hidden meaning behind the order was:

‘Block him with your lives.’

It was a shame to waste the resources and time spent raising them, but…

“A necessary expenditure, I suppose?”

She smiled cruelly.

* * *

Crack!

‘Ah, this?’

Boom!

‘…Hmm.’

Crunch!

‘Am I being set up right now?’

Ihan didn’t hesitate to hit, pound, and cut down the creatures attacking him, but he furrowed his brow.

This situation didn’t sit well with him.

‘I’m being led around.’

To a third party, it would certainly look like Ihan was dominating the battle, but as the combatant himself, he was truly displeased.

There were two main elements that bothered him.

First:

Crunch!

‘Speed.’

His fists weren’t landing proper hits on his opponents.

Normally, his fist should pierce through the enemy’s side, but it was only causing severe injuries instead of fatal ones.

He needed two strikes to kill instead of one.

‘…The surroundings are heavy.’

The intense energy emitted by the sacred relic was still weighing him down, causing slight errors.

It was pressure he could endure, but it undeniably hindered him when facing enemies.

A consistent 0.5-second error meant he had to hit an opponent two or three times instead of finishing them in one blow, which dramatically increased his stress.

Beyond physical stamina, mental stress depleted both energy and concentration, which wasn’t a good sign.

[Ah, sorry for only telling you now, but since they entered with a key, unlike you, they’re not affected by the sacred relic’s pressure. Keep that in mind.]

“……”

Slash!

‘You’re telling me this now?’

Ihan was dumbfounded.

No wonder these creatures were moving strangely fast…

“Huff!”

But Ihan didn’t get angry at Hollow-eyes.

Getting angry wouldn’t change anything.

Besides, he had experienced such pressure and stress hundreds of times on the battlefield.

What this meant was:

Boom!

“Aaaaargh!”

“…Yes, that’s it.”

Given enough time, adaptation didn’t take long.

An anti-human who had charged at him had its back blown out, and Ihan, finally achieving a satisfying impact, gauged how much force he needed to apply.

…But just as he was adapting:

“For our god…!”

Whoosh!

Without hesitation, or rather disregarding their lives, an anti-human charged at him with tears of blood.

Ihan thrust his sword toward the creature, and it…

Squelch!

“??”

…willingly offered its chest, and in that state, impaled on the sword:

Grip!

“Heh, hehehe!”

“……”

It grabbed the blade and hilt tightly and began to laugh maniacally.

As if ensuring he could never escape.

…Yes, this was the second thing that bothered him.

These creatures.

‘Aren’t they afraid of dying?’

Whether brainwashed or simply devoid of humanity, they behaved unnaturally.

Realizing they couldn’t win conventionally, they didn’t hesitate to sacrifice one of their own.

As if they would use any means necessary to defeat him.

Slash!

And seeing their comrade grasp his sword, the anti-human horde rushed toward Ihan.

Not missing the opportunity to land a blow.

However.

“—Why so predictable?”

Ihan had no intention of moving as they wanted, and decided to vent his displeasure, if only for a moment.

Whoosh!

“!!?”

“If you wanted to catch me, you should have used a thousand-pound weight technique!”

Crunch!

Ihan roughly grabbed the wrist and hilt of the creature that was gleefully holding his sword and swung it with all his might.

Truly with all his might, and additionally:

Woong!

The sword vibrated greatly, releasing power, and turned red.

Boom!

The sword energy spread like a plum blossom bud in full bloom.

The blooming petals exploded like fireworks, releasing power more powerful than ever before!

Plum Blossom Sword.

And not just any Plum Blossom Sword, but one whose power had grown incomparably since the previous day.

And so—

Slash!

The petals pierced through the necks and chests of the approaching anti-humans.

Slice, slice, slice!!

They cut through their weapons like paper.

Swoosh—!

The next moment, their bodies were sliced into pieces.

People probably didn’t know that human bodies and weapons could be cut like colored paper.

But now, if they had seen this sight, they would know. Human bodies can be cleanly sliced.

…However, if there was a drawback:

Drip, drip…

The only color of this paper was red, which was quite a problem.

Thud.

As the sword, its power spent, turned to dust and disappeared, and even the hilt transformed into sand, a single human hand rolled on the floor.

“Lucky.”

At least one hand remained.

Crunch!

Ihan stepped on the paper-like remains that left no trace except for the hand as he moved forward.

There was still more paper to shred.