Ch.297Chapter 297: Sudden Change (5)

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While observing the slow flow of time, my thoughts had begun to drift languidly when Fafnir’s seemingly casual yet pointed advice demanded quick action from me.

It was simple. Disrupt Desire’s concentration to weaken or remove the barrier of fighting spirit she had instinctively deployed to block Imperfectio’s fierce attack.

The proposition was clear and straightforward, but executing it in my current condition was challenging. My head could barely move, and though my arms could function, any movement would clearly cause such shock that I’d need to push my ultra-regeneration ability to its limits just to endure.

Even if I prepared myself for such penalties, my legs remained completely immobile.

I hesitated, knowing that if I moved to create that momentary opening, my body would likely be incapacitated for quite some time afterward.

…But was that really important now? When someone is exerting their power to land a blow on a demonic god that needs to be eliminated, what matters is helping them succeed.

Grrgh-!!

With that thought, I forced strength into both arms and struggled to raise my body.

Though my legs couldn’t move properly due to the physical force Desire had unleashed, making this an extremely difficult process…

I managed to raise my body at what would be called lightning speed in normal time, though here in the slow-flowing temporal stream where Imperfectio and Desire were drifting, it felt different.

The price for this violent action taken to overcome the physical pressure exerted on me came immediately.

It started in my lower body.

“Ughk…!!”

I suppressed the scream that threatened to escape, transforming it into a somewhat refined groan.

But while the sound might have been refined, the pain tormenting my body hadn’t disappeared.

Just standing there—not even taking a step, but merely maintaining my position—caused incomparable agony that mercilessly tormented everything below my knees.

The pain was so severe that I was confident I’d lose consciousness if someone came and kicked my shin. Actually, I might faint just standing here.

Passing out might have been the best way to endure this pain, as losing consciousness would temporarily free me from physical suffering.

But helping facilitate what needed to happen was more important than surrendering to mere bodily pain.

Crunch-!!

Gritting my teeth hard enough to crack molars, I gathered my wits.

Thanks to having raised my body, I no longer needed to support it and could move my right hand freely.

Though I called it “freely,” pain still shot through me with every movement.

Fighting through the agony, my right hand successfully reached my left waist where I had intended to go.

It was just a simple movement of bringing my lowered arm to my waist.

But as soon as my right hand touched my waist, a different kind of pain washed over me, following the moderate discomfort I’d felt while moving.

This time it was a burning sensation, like being scorched by fire, spreading from my shoulder to my wing bone.

In my current state, unable to easily turn my head, I could only speculate, but I sensed it instinctively.

This burning sensation came from lacerations caused by forcibly moving my shoulder and back while ignoring Desire’s physical force.

I was certain that if I removed my coat and upper garment, such marks would be visible on my back.

Without needing to examine it closely, I knew that tiny muscles had ruptured—if I was lucky, it would just be bruising, but if unlucky, the skin might have split like being cut by a blade.

Fortunately—though I’m not sure if that’s the right word—despite the pain striking my body like salt poured on a wound…

Thanks to my diligent physical training, no blood stained my clothing despite the pain I was experiencing.

Trembling

Even with my thoroughly trained body, I couldn’t stop my brain from screaming at me to cease all movement, alarmed by the shock of external injury.

Based on countless experiences from my memories, including those before my regression, ignoring this signal and forcing my body to move would result in severe consequences.

Most likely, it would leave permanent aftereffects—perhaps my right arm would never rise above my shoulder again, or I might lose the ability to perform simple actions like bending and straightening my elbow.

Even before my regression, when I cared little for my life, I would hold back when sensing such a situation.

The hesitation came from knowing that even when recklessly trying to help someone, destroying my body in the process would help no one.

But unlike then, I now had the special advantage of ultra-regeneration, allowing me to ignore my brain’s pain signals and continue extending my trembling arm toward my waist while controlling only my breathing.

After continuing this steady movement, I finally felt the distinctive coldness of metal against my fingertips, cooling my sympathetic nerves that had heated from the lacerations.

I opened my slowly extending right hand wide and grasped the handle of the dragon sword that had offered me that cold sensation.

Clank-!!

As soon as I gripped the handle, the locking mechanism of the dragon sword disengaged.

[Go!!]

With Fafnir’s spirited roar, having already understood what I intended to do, I moved my right hand holding the sword’s handle to draw it from its scabbard.

Normally I would need to draw the sword in the proper direction, but needing to draw it quickly with my injured body, I pulled it in reverse grip.

Shing-!!

The clear metallic sound that should accompany drawing a sword rang in my ears.

Having successfully drawn the dragon sword, I barely managed to suppress the smile trying to form at the corners of my mouth.

Then I got to work.

Well, it wasn’t much of a “work.” As I mentioned earlier, it was just about causing minimal physical harm to remove the barrier of fighting spirit that Desire had instinctively deployed.

First…

Whoosh-!!

I brought my arm into position to throw the dragon sword with all my might.

“Take this!!”

My battle cry erupted from my mouth, resonating powerfully through the silent arena—the only thing moving at normal speed in this space where everything drifted slowly in my accelerated consciousness.

Whirrrr-!!

The dragon sword, thrown with my shout, spun through the air toward Desire.

If the spinning sword were to embed itself in Desire’s body, that would be the best possible outcome.

But despite throwing it with all my strength, its speed was pathetically slow compared to the trajectory of Imperfectio’s hand strike moving at full power in the slowed time, so there was no way it would hit Desire.

But that wasn’t what I was expecting anyway.

I just needed Desire to notice the blade I’d thrown, become startled, lose focus, and have the barrier of fighting spirit she’d instinctively deployed either weaken or disappear.

Whirrrr-!!

And judging by the trajectory of the dragon sword, which maintained a consistent speed even in the slowed time, that possibility seemed quite high.

Satisfied with the result of my arm swing performed through the pain, I finally allowed myself a slight smile.

In this slow-flowing time, Desire’s head, which had been almost motionless, began to move very slowly.

Creeak-

I could see her head turning gradually, making a loud noise like rusty machinery in motion.

While her instincts had responded to Imperfectio’s golden fighting spirit-infused hand strike, it was her reason that responded to the dragon sword I’d thrown.

[Hmm, quite a good reaction.]

Fafnir, who watched this with me, expressed dry but genuine admiration for Desire’s response.

Fafnir understood it well.

In our shared accelerated consciousness, only I could move normally.

Among those in my sight, no one had shown movement comparable to even Imperfectio’s level, let alone mine.

Desire’s ability to react to the approaching sword, with only its sound echoing emptily, was beyond ordinary.

It was evidence that despite being a twisted being who hid her ugly nature behind a mask of frivolity, she possessed power and abilities befitting someone who had stepped into the realm of transcendence.

Fafnir’s attitude was quite distinctive—despite his intense dislike for Desire, he impartially appreciated her power as demonstrated by her impressive movement in this extreme situation.

…I suppose this shows his strict separation between personal feelings and objective assessment.

Well, that’s probably why he earned the nickname “Red Tyrant” yet still joined my ancestor in hunting demonic gods.

While these thoughts continued, the distance between the flying dragon sword and Desire narrowed.

Desire’s body, having reacted to the sword, began moving not just her head but other parts as well.

Her right arm. And not with the initial rusty machine-like slowness, but…

Clang-!!

With enough agility to deflect the dragon sword flying toward her shoulder.

The trajectory of the sword, having missed its target, hung in the air momentarily.

Thunk-!!

Then it embedded itself in the obsidian floor.

This meant that the dragon sword I had desperately thrown while enduring pain had not pierced Desire’s body.

Shuuu…

But it also meant that Desire’s consciousness, which had been consumed by the instinct to protect herself, was now diverted elsewhere, causing the barrier of fighting spirit that had been protecting her body with steel-like firmness to dissipate.

Woooong-!!

And it signaled that Imperfectio’s right hand, which had hesitated in its trajectory due to the dangerous feeling from Desire’s protective barrier, could now resume its normal path.

Barely having time to feel relief after blocking the sword I’d thrown…

“…!!”

Desire had no leisure for calm reflection as she reacted to Imperfectio’s right hand with its golden fighting spirit sharply approaching her crown.

In the extremely slow flow of time, words couldn’t properly emerge, but as Desire turned her head back toward me and then to the opposite direction, her face showed a distinctly pale complexion.

Her two arms, extending upward with proper speed even in the slow time flow, showed her unwillingness to abandon efforts to protect herself even in such an urgent situation.

Whack-!!

A powerful impact sound broke the silence pervading the cold space filled with obsidian, announcing something unfortunate for Desire but fortunate for Imperfectio and me watching.

It didn’t just break the silence.

“…Uuugh!!”

Desire’s scream rang out as she felt the full weight of pain transmitted from Imperfectio’s right hand, which had reached her crown faster than she could extend her arms to block it.

The accelerated consciousness that had shown me the slow flow of time finally disengaged, signaling a return to normal temporal flow.

The first act of the simple yet unfathomable movements displayed by Imperfectio and Desire, who had moved in defiance of the seemingly frozen time, had ended in the blink of an eye.

“Eek…!!”

What followed was an irritated groan from Desire, who, having taken a hit to the head, finally set aside her mischievous playfulness and began to get genuinely angry.