Ch.233Chapter 233: Fog and Flames (6)

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From the memories of my time before regression.

Adorator, who prided herself as the mistress of the Obsidian Palace and the most faithful servant of Desire, was truly an arrogant being.

She was strong. Though wrapped in only a faint divinity too weak to gain faith, she was still a presence that always displayed the dignity worthy of reigning above others.

And she was someone who naturally considered that no one stood above her except for a single being.

In the timeline before my regression, she viewed me as a thorn in her side for taking the position of proxy to the “Honorable One” she served, and she constantly tried to eliminate me whenever she had the chance.

Because of that, if I had to pick the most detestable being I encountered while living in the time before regression, I would choose Adorator without hesitation.

That “woman” who gave me part of her twisted divinity and made me her proxy was quite formidable too.

But at least she didn’t try to kill me.

She saved a dying man, gave him part of her divinity, and made him her proxy—that was her way of showing favor.

At least she treated me properly, unlike Adorator who would go berserk trying to kill me at every opportunity.

…Needless to say, that doesn’t mean I liked that evil goddess.

Anyway, the thought filling my mind as I observe the current situation is…

[I wonder if she suffered a serious head injury when she fought you last year? She’s always had a nasty personality, but she was never this scatterbrained.]

‘How would I know?’

Just as in this calm conversation with Paphnir in my mind.

What on earth happened to her that makes her so different from my memories?

It’s truly astonishing.

The mistress of the Obsidian Palace, who always needed to be described as proud despite her arrogance and cruelty constantly overflowing.

[Huff… huff… huff… I’m getting tired just from talking. If there’s no response, I’ll… I’ll leave first…]

Even though she’s closer to a fragment than her true self, how can I not be surprised to see her showing such weakness so openly?

If time allowed, I would have liked to commit this different side of my greatest nemesis from before regression to memory or preserve it in some form of record.

[She’s coming.]

But Paphnir’s bored cry echoing in my head made my wish crumble like a piece of paper.

Well, what can I do? I can indulge in contemplation all I want after this is over.

*Grip-!!*

Right now, I need to tightly grasp the dragon sword in my hand and struggle against this quasi-deity flying toward me.

As I steeled my resolve, the figure of Adorator that entered my vision.

“Do not think I am exhausted by this much!!”

Disappeared instantly with her fierce declaration.

After breathing roughly as if she might collapse at any moment.

She had somehow regained her composure and went on the offensive.

Repeating movements at such high speeds that neither my five senses nor my energy perception could track them.

Though it could be described as a simple repetition with no variation other than repeating attacks that wouldn’t work even if I didn’t take a defensive stance.

But as the imperial saying goes, simplicity is most clear.

Even after considerable time, I still couldn’t find a clue to block Adorator’s repeated attacks with this simple pattern through my five senses or energy perception.

“Ahahahaha!!! How amusing to watch! You look like someone frantically trying to catch a flying insect buzzing around your ears!!”

Knowing this, Adorator taunted me with clear provocative intent while moving at invisible speeds in a dazzling display.

But if one is to provoke an opponent, it should be done with a cold self-awareness of one’s current state to be effective.

“Should I take that as you admitting you’re a flying insect?”

Her cheap provocation, lacking such awareness, was easily countered by my reflexive retort, delivered calmly as I received her attacks without even taking a defensive stance.

“G-grrr!!!”

Judging by her exclamation revealing extreme anger, my counter hit the mark.

It hit so well that Adorator’s misty form reappeared in my vision as I had given up trying to track her with my eyes and was simply looking straight ahead.

I had sensed it when I heard the sound of grinding teeth earlier, but.

Adorator’s already red eyes had turned almost blood-colored, and despite her intense movements, unlike before.

Instead of catching her breath, she raised her right index finger, pointing at me.

“Red hair, you! I really don’t like you!!”

She spat out an exclamation filled with the boundless anger directed at me that I had often heard before regression.

Perhaps because it was the first time I’d heard it since regressing, Adorator’s voice filled with anger—which used to make me shudder just hearing it—now seemed almost welcome.

[…If you’re glad to hear it, why not wave at her?]

‘It’s not like she’d recognize the gesture anyway.’

[That’s true.]

As the brief conversation with the restless Paphnir in my head ended.

Adorator, still pointing at me, revealed killing intent in her already crimson eyes.

“You know that even with weak power, when extreme speed is concentrated into a single point, it can pierce through that cumbersome armor of yours, right?”

Finally revealing the purpose behind her flashy but ineffective attacks while intensifying the atmosphere.

“I’ll kill you!!”

With that cry, she released all her accumulated killing intent.

*Paang-!!*

And disappeared from my sight again, creating a sonic boom as she moved at tremendous speed.

With such a declaration, her target would obviously be my heart.

Yet Adorator’s movements toward that target still couldn’t be tracked even with my extended five senses and energy perception.

No, how should I put it? The conventional expression of “unable to track” couldn’t properly explain the dazzling nature of her current movements.

She was fast. The movements Adorator displayed while creating multiple sonic booms were the fastest I’d seen today.

Moreover, despite having enough power to dive into my chest and deliver a fatal blow to my heart.

Adorator, just like before, merely circled around me erratically, creating sonic booms that disturbed my ears.

This was the manifestation of her unique cruelty—showing uncharacteristic leisure while humiliating an opponent she could strike down at any moment.

As images of innocent lives extinguished before that cruelty rose in my mind.

The anger that had been dulled by her somewhat clumsy appearance earlier was sharpened again within me.

And that anger led me to a single thought.

It was punishment for those who disturb the world and force twisted notions that no one could acknowledge.

That was all.

[…It wouldn’t make much difference. Why not just let her hit you and drain more of her power?]

‘I’m getting tired of this. I should end this pretense of taking hits.’

So, setting aside Paphnir’s suggestion to continue playing along with Adorator.

I prepared to end all of this.

As Paphnir mentioned, I was confident I could easily withstand Adorator’s attack despite her confident and killing-intent-filled boast.

But what meaning would there be in just receiving attacks without cutting off their source?

I need to stop her from ever making such attacks again.

That’s why I plan to end this tedious confrontation by blocking Adorator’s attack.

How will I respond when I can’t even see her, you ask?

There are plenty of ways to respond even if I can’t track her with my eyes.

*Inhale*

I carefully removed my left hand from the dragon sword’s hilt.

Just as the sonic booms around me reached their peak after Adorator disappeared from my sight, I extended my left palm toward a specific point.

A heavy weight pressed against my left hand as a moderate sonic boom reached my ears.

[H-how?]

What my senses detected next was Adorator’s voice filled with bewilderment.

The moderate weight and sensation in my left palm.

And…

*Grip-!!*

[Ugh…gah…!]

As soon as I applied force with my left hand, Adorator’s struggling figure appeared with disturbed breathing.

Even with her mist-formed body, her expression clearly showed the pain of being grabbed by the nape and the shock of being caught.

Despite delivering an attack perfectly suited for an opponent who couldn’t read her movements.

Her confidence-filled movements had been read so easily, resulting in the current outcome—her expression was filled with disbelief as I addressed her.

“Reading your movements—someone who always believes in their superiority and takes pleasure in flaunting their skills while humiliating opponents—is simple, even without seeing or feeling them.”

I spoke with slight mockery toward the bewildered Adorator, still gripping her neck firmly with my left hand.

[G-grrr!!]

As soon as I finished speaking, Adorator’s expression contorted to a degree reminiscent of a ferocious demon.

Normally, such an expression would be followed by frenzied resistance, but this quasi-deity was now caught in my grasp, unable to offer any meaningful resistance.

[She’s weak, I tell you. For whatever reason, she’s become too weak. She’s barely at one-tenth of her prime when she fought me extensively.]

As Paphnir remarked dryly about the Adorator in my hand.

I should have expected this when she first created that loose-screwed form of Behemoth from that crimson malicious mist.

The Adorator caught in my grasp, though recreating her original form as much as possible, seemed to possess less than one-tenth of her original power.

Otherwise, there’s no way I could have confronted her in such a one-sided manner.

[…Even so, achieving such a result against a quasi-deity with divinity is because you’ve become excessively strong.]

Paphnir objected to my conviction in a voice that seemed tired.

But I know well. With my current level of power, I still have many shortcomings to face the impending calamity in the not-too-distant future.

Even though I’ve grown stronger through diligent training for three years, even saving on sleep time.

Though it might be inappropriate to call it my true power, I’m still lacking compared to that time before regression when I accumulated unwanted evil deeds as a proxy of an evil deity.

I shouldn’t consider myself strong enough with just this.

“Don’t you agree?”

“…”

“…She’s unconscious.”

…I got lost in thought during the fight and forgot to control my strength again.

Though I didn’t really expect a proper answer to my question.

A wry smile crept onto my face as I saw that the consciousness of the one who should have received my question had been cut off.

I suppose I should end this boring confrontation by burning the unconscious Adorator’s fragment…

“Hello.”

…I correct myself.

“We meet again, cute sword.”

It seems something isn’t over yet.