Ch.576Why Is This Dying?

My vision shoots upward as if racing. A faint floating sensation through my clothes, and a dizzying feeling of falling that climbs from my toes to the crown of my head.

My heart pounds, spreading excitement throughout my body. The pleasure of the fall escapes as a smile across my lips.

I take a deep breath as if swallowing the wind while looking down at the approaching nape of the Tomb Eater’s neck.

Then, exhaling completely, I shout a warning to the knights struggling with the Tomb Eater.

“Imperial Knights! Fall back-! Don’t get involved-!”

A thunderous roar echoed throughout the canyon walls.

“That voice…!”

“The Sword of the Starry Sky! Is it Lord Median who has arrived?”

“Everyone retreat! Retreat! Don’t get caught in a hero’s battle!”

The knights scatter like ants hit by a splash of water. Their movements were coordinated yet swift. It was less a tactical retreat and more a desperate flight.

…They seem faster than when they were fighting the Tomb Eater.

But it was the right decision. The momentum of my fall was now concentrated in my toes as I approached the Tomb Eater.

As usual, I left the control of my Karma of Murder to Hersella while raising the Karma I had accumulated myself to protect my body.

In the past, I would have needed to decelerate repeatedly to reduce the impact, but now I was an entirely different being from back then.

The blessing of Great’s Twelve Knights had eliminated my only weakness.

[Hmm. Shall we go for something a bit more flashy this time?]

‘Flashy, huh. I like that.’

– Whoosh…!

From the tips of my feet pointing downward, tendrils of Karma of Murder rise like flames, wrapping around my entire body. Like a crimson lotus bud.

Concealed within dozens of petals, I drove my right foot straight down into the Tomb Eater’s spine.

– Kuuuuung!

A sound like a comet’s impact shook the canyon.

My right foot burrowed deep into the creature’s body. The flesh beneath my foot burst outward in concentric waves. Bones and flesh alike were completely pulverized and scattered like dust.

Then, the tendrils of Karma of Murder surrounding my body spread out as if dispersing the impact of the collision.

– Hwaaak!

A crimson flower bloomed fully.

Containing a whirlwind of blades.

[An application of Jinyelyun. More useful than I expected.]

Hersella laughs with satisfaction. I too grinned, baring my teeth.

‘Yes, it’s certainly flashy!’

“Kuuueeeeeeeh!”

The Tomb Eater let out a death cry as if responding to my admiration.

The Karma of Murder petals whirling like a vortex tore and shredded the creature’s body. Like a rotten tomato thrown into a blender.

The monster’s flesh, reduced to pulp, splashed like waves.

—-

– Splash.

I stepped onto the ground that squelched like a black swamp, wiping away the blood and flesh that had splattered on my face. My right leg ached as if it had taken a hit.

In other words, I had jumped off a cliff and only ended up with an aching leg.

With my much stronger Karma of Murder and Good Karma directed toward defense, plus the added power of the blessing, I could pull off such insane stunts without a single injury.

“My God…”

“What did I just witness…?”

The knights who had been retreating toward the defensive line stopped in their tracks, staring blankly at me.

Or more precisely, at what was behind me.

The single strike combining the impact of the fall with the technique of Karma of Murder. The result lay behind me.

– Kuung!

A heavy noise shook the earth. The Tomb Eater, having lost its upper body, collapsed helplessly onto the black swamp that had once been its torso.

I drew Durandal to finish it off and turned around.

“……”

Strangely, the creature remained silent in its collapsed position, showing no signs of regeneration. I hadn’t cut it with Durandal, nor had I attacked it while blessed by a priest.

Half its body had been blown away with a single strike, but considering it was merely physical impact enhanced by Karma of Murder, it should normally have started regenerating, albeit slowly.

A hybrid monster would die from this alone, but undead types could typically regenerate from ordinary attacks that weren’t infused with purifying blessings.

However, the Tomb Eater, with only its lower body remaining, wasn’t regenerating—instead, even its remaining flesh was slowly melting away.

What’s going on? Is it because of the Stigmata of Astraea?

No, I’ve never heard of the stigmata having such an effect…

I tilted my head in confusion as I glared at the creature. It was truly baffling.

“Gwoeeeerk!”

But now wasn’t the time to be lost in thought. The remaining four Tomb Eaters were all roaring at once, displaying intense hostility toward me.

Right. Let’s kill them all first. I can worry about the reason later.

I tapped the ground with my toes to shake off the numbness in my leg, then kicked off the ground and charged toward the monsters.

“Gaaaah!”

A massive forelimb swung down vertically, trying to crush me. The huge claws at its end flashed with a sharp gleam.

Not even worth dodging.

I swung Durandal toward the creature’s arm. Vacuum Slash. The vacuum blade technique that had become so familiar to me cut through the air and severed the monster’s arm.

Black blood poured down like rain.

“Graaaack!”

The now one-armed monster let out a terrible scream. Its voice was so powerful that the winter armor I wore trembled slightly.

“So noisy.”

Another vacuum blade swung out.

Even while screaming, the monster must have sensed something, as it raised its other arm to protect its head. The Vacuum Slash cut through its arm and dissipated.

…Being able to attack from a distance is nice, but this technique is still a bit weak.

Well, not something to be disappointed about. If it sacrificed an arm to block, I just needed to swing once more.

– Kwadeuk!

The third vacuum blade split the monster’s head in half. Again, there was no sign of regeneration.

“Gieeee!”

“Gwoeeeerk!”

“Gaooooo!”

After eliminating two of them, the remaining three monsters all pounced at once.

Two from the front, one from behind. They tore through the narrow canyon walls with their bodies and claws, charging like bulldozers fitted with blades.

“Do you think attacking together will make any difference?”

I swung my sword toward my back with a sneer.

There’s a saying that three can take on one, but that only works when the fighters are of similar caliber.

These creatures would need thirty, not just three, to stand a chance against me.

– Kwadeuk!

A low vacuum slash cut off the legs of the Tomb Eater approaching from behind. It stumbled greatly and collapsed.

I continued charging forward without even glancing in that direction.

Two monsters approached side by side like loving partners. They swung their arms and intestines that had burst through their abdomens at me.

“Gaaaaaaah!”

Tentacles as thick as human torsos whirled with enough force to crush rock.

However, compared to the arms of evil gods, these attacks were so slow and weak they made me yawn. All their trajectories were clearly visible.

I ignored those that wouldn’t reach me and cut down those that would. With each swing of Durandal, chunks of the monsters’ innards were severed.

Before the echo of the monster’s roar had even faded, I had already broken through all their attacks and reached their vicinity.

‘I’ll draw on some Karma of Murder!’

[Do as you please. Since when did you need my permission?]

I pulled back my left arm and pointed my fingertips. Frosting, infused with Karma of Murder, emitted an ominous resonance.

I visualized a thorny lightning bolt and shaped the power I had drawn. Crimson energy crackled like lightning, carrying an intensely ominous aura.

“Kyaaaah!”

With a passionate shout, I twisted my waist and shot my left arm forward. My fingertips, launched like a bullet, penetrated the Tomb Eater’s body.

My left arm sank in up to the elbow. The lightning of Karma of Murder flowing through Frosting spread into the monster’s body.

Tearing apart flesh, muscle, bone, and organs.

Hwibyek

The technique with the deadliest intent among all the Karma of Murder arts I had mastered. A thorny lightning that could bring death with just a single strike.

“Kuwoeeeeerk!”

The Tomb Eater twisted its entire body and screamed.

Like thousands of parasites burrowing into the skin and devouring flesh, the inside of its hide writhed violently before rupturing and spraying a fountain of blood.

Of course, that’s just what must have happened. The moment the Karma of Murder energy spread into its body, I had already withdrawn my arm and leaped toward the next monster.

Unlike other techniques, Hwibyek would move on its own to slice up the enemy and cut off their breath, even without my direct control.

Similar to injecting deadly poison.

Against human-sized enemies, it would be a waste of energy, but against giant foes, there was no more effective technique.

From their perspective, a tiny wound no bigger than a needle prick would cause them to writhe in agony until death.

That’s three down.

“Gr, graaaah!”

The fourth monster was pinned down by the convulsions of its comrade who had fallen victim to Hwibyek, unable to move properly. Why on earth did they charge so close together?

It desperately swung its ribs, extending them like claws, but I wasn’t one to fall to such desperate flailing.

Actually, I didn’t even need to respond.

[How dare you!]

Tendrils of Karma of Murder extended from behind me, grabbing each of the monster’s ribs and blocking them.

With Rotholandus’s blessing, I could have taken the hit without much problem, but Hersella seemed unwilling to allow even that. She blocked it without me having to ask.

The Karma of Murder tendrils could only hold back the monster’s ribs for a brief moment, but that was more than enough time to swing my sword.

I gripped Durandal with both hands, raised it high, and brought it down.

“Haaaah!”

A blue-silver arc split the monster’s skull in half.

Four.

—-

The Tomb Eater with its head vertically sliced fell dead, and the other one that had been writhing from Hwibyek also collapsed beside it, seemingly having exhausted its strength.

That one too showed no signs of regeneration, just like the others.

What could be the reason? Seeing how the one struck by the vacuum blade also died, it couldn’t be due to the power of Karma of Murder.

But attributing it to the stigmata didn’t feel right either, as there was no reaction from my chest where the stigmata was engraved. The chest area always heated up when the power of the stigmata was activated.

Still puzzled by the unanswered question, I turned and approached the last remaining monster. It was crawling along the ground, unable to regenerate its severed legs.

Hmm…

Should I experiment with this one?

I swung Durandal to cut off both its arms, then studied why my attacks prevented the undead from regenerating by dismantling the monster, now reduced to just a torso, in various ways.

I tried crushing it with pure strength while suppressing my Karma, stabbing it with Karma of Murder tendrils, striking it with only Good Karma.

Later, I even lifted knights’ swords or boulders and dropped them to test physical attacks based on height.

“Kuuueeee…!”

The Tomb Eater, reduced from a terrifying monster to a test subject, let out a mournful groan.

“My God… Lord Median is torturing the monster!”

“As expected of the Empire’s First Sword…! Are monsters mere toys to him?”

The watching knights uttered nonsense that could have been either admiration or shock.