Ch.300Chapter 300: Prevent the Ascension (1)

#

The intensity of Desire’s onslaught was fierce, accompanied by an ominous feeling whose end I couldn’t fathom.

It was threatening enough that anyone facing it head-on would abandon their indomitable will and focus solely on evasion or defense, following their survival instinct.

“Haaah…”

The calmness emanating from Imperfectio, who merely sighed deeply at such a threatening charge, seemed almost transcendent—difficult to explain in words.

Though his eyes were hidden by his helmet, Imperfectio had narrowed his gaze since Desire’s ominous advance began. He waited.

He waited for Desire, who moved with exquisite precision that couldn’t be captured by the word “instant,” to enter the killing distance he had set.

One step—Desire’s blurred form approached her as if being drawn in.

It was a position where swinging the holy sword would bisect her body diagonally, but—

*Grip!*

As if it wasn’t time yet, he merely tightened his grip on the holy sword.

By the second step, he could observe Desire’s form more clearly than before.

Her smile, blooming like a flower for reasons unknown, would have been considered beautiful if not accompanied by such rapid movements.

Though beautiful, it carried a perilous charm—one that would cost you your life if you approached in a trance.

At any rate, she was close enough for her expression to be visible. At this distance, swinging the holy sword would deliver a fatal blow beyond any doubt, but—

“…”

Imperfectio’s right hand remained motionless, his expression unreadable behind his helmet, his brow furrowed slightly more than when he had narrowed his eyes.

In such a situation, even someone maintaining composure should show at least some trace of fear somewhere in their body, but—

*Woong!*

The holy sword in Imperfectio’s hand merely resonated with a powerful hum, as if revealing only fighting spirit without fear.

And matching the sword’s resonance, Desire’s leg finally took the third step.

Now—now was the time to swing the holy sword to deliver a proper blow to the demon god.

In that instant, which seemed to split the blink of an eye into thousands of fragments, Imperfectio calculated the life-and-death distance. As a signal, a golden light burst from his eyes, too bright to be concealed by the helmet’s visor.

“Haaaa!!”

With an incomparably clear battle cry erupting from her lips—

Her right hand holding the holy sword traced a flawless diagonal trajectory from upper right to lower left.

That trajectory was powerful enough to carve a deep, vivid sword wound on Desire’s body, incomparable to the one inflicted earlier.

‘…Got it.’

The moment she swung the sword, Imperfectio…

No, the hero once known as Lilliancis was confident she could inflict a fatal wound on the demon god, just as she had once saved her world.

It was a movement executed while navigating infinitely slowed time, with consciousness accelerated to an unbelievable degree as the battle continued and both body and mind reached their peak.

The path drawn by the holy sword as it swung diagonally from top to bottom seemed to rush forward at normal speed while everything else remained slow, making her confidence understandable.

“Do you know, my daughter.”

Her confidence would have continued if not for Desire’s voice, which shouldn’t have been audible with normal intonation during this slow-motion moment.

Though hearing Desire’s voice, she still didn’t relax the force in her sword hand, but—

“…!!”

It was inevitable that her face, though hidden by the helmet, would momentarily contort with bewilderment.

Danger. Her instinct, which just moments ago had urged her to swing the holy sword without hesitation when Desire entered the fatal distance, now warned of danger.

Not foolish enough to ignore the whispers of instinct that had always guided her correctly through countless life-and-death battles against stronger opponents—

Her right hand was about to hastily withdraw the holy sword she had swung with enough force to cut Desire in half, intending to move away from the approaching Desire, but—

“That there is no being more excellent than a child who sacrifices everything for their parent.”

“…!!”

Before she could complete that thought, she was shocked into rigidity by Desire’s voice behind her, filled with indescribable ecstasy.

She barely restrained herself from blurting out “When did you…?” as Desire’s movement behind her back had occurred beyond her perception.

Faced with such an unimaginable situation, one might lose their composure and collapse in confusion, but—

Perhaps she hadn’t lost the courage and fighting spirit she once possessed as the hero who saved the world.

“There you are!!”

Quickly regaining her composure, Imperfectio twisted her body to deliver a fatal blow to Desire standing behind her, but—

“It’s useless…”

Desire, whose tone was calm despite the undisguised ecstasy within, moved faster, aiming a sharpened hand blade at Imperfectio’s nape.

“…”

Sensing that even the slightest movement would result in that blade severing her neck, Imperfectio halted all movement and began contemplating how to escape the situation.

Already navigating slowed time, her thoughts expanded faster than light could spread, but—

“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop those futile thoughts and stay still. Then I won’t kill you.”

Even that became difficult with Desire’s threat as she brought the hand blade closer to Imperfectio’s nape.

The tension this gave Imperfectio was palpable—that such a heavy threat could be delivered in a voice that couldn’t hide its ecstasy, bordering on frivolity.

“Oh my…”

It was around then that the sword’s lament, which she thought only she would perceive, was heard in the slow-flowing time.

#

Damn it, I’m too late.

The moment I confirmed the divinity emanating from Imperfectio’s body as she prepared to use her trump card in the battle against herself.

The moment I saw Desire with that sinister smile on her face and realized what she was planning to do, I hastened my steps to stop her.

But the situation had already ended before I could even complete a single step.

Imperfectio, who had tried to eliminate Desire with a strike imbued with her divinity through the holy sword, was now caught from behind, unable to move.

“Hehehehe…”

Standing behind Imperfectio and letting out a disturbing laugh, Desire revealed a smile twisted with desire, now holding Imperfectio’s life in her hands with a single gesture.

How Desire managed to get behind Imperfectio and reverse the seemingly disadvantageous situation isn’t that important.

What matters is what Desire will do now that she’s behind Imperfectio.

Having successfully infiltrated the opponent’s rear during a life-and-death battle—

If this were an “ordinary” duel, the situation would end with the immediate death of the one whose back was taken, but—

Despite starting with somewhat ambiguous motives, a confrontation between a demon god and her agent that approaches a life-and-death battle wouldn’t end in such a trivial manner.

…If someone were to argue that ending with the death of one participant isn’t trivial, I’d have nothing to say in response.

But knowing Desire’s habit of making her opponents suffer a fate worse than death, I can’t help but say so.

The worst-case scenario I’m envisioning is that Desire will—

“You’ve struggled so hard to hide that divinity all this time. But thinking I wouldn’t know about it was too naive.”

That damned woman isn’t giving me time to think.

Anyway, having regained relative composure after withdrawing her ecstasy, now confident in her victory, Desire withdrew her right hand blade and caressed Imperfectio’s chin.

Even with the hand blade withdrawn, it wasn’t a situation Imperfectio could escape from.

As soon as she withdrew her right hand blade, she equipped her left hand with another blade emanating enough force to bisect anything from top to bottom.

This made it difficult for me to approach Desire, forcing me to stand still and watch Imperfectio in Desire’s grasp.

It wasn’t a pleasant sight by any means. Thanks to the helmet that completely covered the upper part of her face but left her mouth and chin exposed—

“…Tsk.”

It couldn’t be called a good sight to see Imperfectio’s lips, touched by Desire’s hand, click her tongue as her face contorted with indescribable disgust.

But…

“Then shall we begin, my daughter Imperfectio’s… no.”

From Desire’s mouth, about to begin the worst action I could imagine—

“The extraction of divinity from the body of Lilliancis Proxian, the great hero who defeated me in some timeline and saved the world.”

The moment I heard that name—a name that should never have been spoken—delivered in a playful tone,

*Fwang!*

I charged toward Desire, forgetting my exhausted body, drawing the dragon sword from my waist.