Ch.585Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

“I’ll still be alive, right? I’ll cut you into pieces. You disrespectful bastard…!”

My insides were boiling with rage. Grinding my teeth, I stomped on his sword. The longsword, now revealed as the dark mana dissipated, looked more like an antique than a weapon—toothless and rusted, showing its age.

I stomped on the blade again with more force, and with a clang, the worn blade shattered, releasing a flash of mana. The beam of light surged toward my left hand, burrowing into my wrist and leaving a distinct burning sensation.

…Had I stolen the seal he was using? It felt like receiving a check filled with zeros as compensation. Still far from enough, though.

I exhaled hot breath through my clenched teeth as I approached him.

Having lost his sword, he wouldn’t be able to put up a proper fight. I planned to beat him until he regretted being resurrected as a ghost, then use him as a test subject for the power of the seal.

[What are you doing! Fix your clothes properly! Right now!]

Ah, right.

Hersella’s shout brought me back to my senses. I quickly pulled up my top to cover my chest, then lunged toward my pants that had flown far away.

The pants I grabbed were covered in dirt, but they were a hundred, no, a thousand times better than exposing my crotch. No, what am I saying? There’s no comparison.

After getting dressed, I turned toward the Knight of Ruin. Rather than attacking me, he just stared blankly, apparently shocked at having lost his sword.

“Jæja…. ég ætlaði ekki að láta þetta út úr mér svona….”

What is he saying?

Still an incomprehensible language. I don’t even care to know anymore.

“What now? Your precious sword broke just like that. Just like your future!”

I sheathed Durandal and charged at him. The Knight of Ruin desperately raised his arms to throw punches, but I had already lost interest in prolonging this fight.

“Bíddu…!”

“Let’s see how you like being beaten like a dog!”

I channeled all my karma throughout my body, adding the will of my soul.

Defying Fate.

I entered a colorless world where time flowed differently, pushed away his right arm reaching for me, and pummeled his entire body until the duration of Defying Fate ran out.

His armor caved in under my fists, and rotten entrails spilled from his side where Frosting had pierced him, slowly floating in the air.

Not enough yet.

I swung my leg like an axe, severing his shin, then raised my fingers to pierce his eyes before pulling sideways to tear out the entire eye socket. The extracted eyeballs flickered like blue candles.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Endless punches and kicks. With each blow, shockwaves pulverized the surrounding bricks into powder.

Faced with the overwhelming difference in relative speed, he could barely land a single hit, unable to properly resist as he was one-sidedly beaten. Until his entire body was completely shattered.

After several seconds.

When Defying Fate reached its limit and deactivated, the Knight of Ruin, with all his bones crushed, collapsed, writhing like a salted slug.

—-

“Haa… haa…!”

I looked down at the fallen enemy, breathing heavily. My body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton. My arms hung limply from exhaustion. My calf stung where his sword had cut me.

This Tale of Heros was overwhelmingly powerful in one-on-one situations, but it consumed too much stamina and energy. Just five seconds of use drained all my strength.

“Gyahak…! hvað…hvað er þetta…?”

The Knight of Ruin, crumpled like a car mauled by a dragon, spat black smoke like blood while muttering. His tone mixed with question and shock. Though I couldn’t understand the words, the emotions in his voice were clear.

Yes, he couldn’t understand what had happened. To him, I must have seemed to suddenly move dozens of times faster.

Of course, I had no intention of explaining it to him. Would he even understand if I did?

“Haaa…. Well, time to die.”

Thanks for the effort digging yourself up, and don’t worry, I’ll make good use of your seal as you return to the afterlife.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, exhaling steam-mixed sighs. The battle was already as good as over.

The game, both enjoyable and unpleasant, was time to end. Dark mana beings must be destroyed.

I reached out my right hand and grabbed his head, which was distorted like an old testicle. What did he say earlier? That is…

“Ke…kena…kenaz, was it?”

Yes. That was definitely the pronunciation.

– Whoosh!

The next moment, vast mana enveloped my right arm, swirling into flames. A firepower of a completely different dimension compared to when I didn’t know the activation word. It felt like holding a small sun.

Just knowing the name made this much difference? Astonishing heat. Even Lacy’s holy fire probably couldn’t match this level of firepower.

“Ghaaaaaaaaaa!”

The Knight of Ruin let out a terrible scream as his head began to melt.

He tried to resist the flames by drawing dark mana, but it was futile. The flames, exceeding even karma fire, were burning away all the thick dark mana.

“One more!”

I held down his torso with my left hand. Then the activation word:

“Hagalaz!”

The power of collapse I had seen many times now manifested as mine. The mana concentrated in my left hand emitted an ominous light as it penetrated the monster’s body.

“Gahaak…!”

The Knight of Ruin let out a death rattle. Dark mana burst from his entire body.

I thought it might be a final struggle… but it was more like a human hit by my fist spewing all their blood.

Starting from where my left hand touched, the monster’s body began turning to dust.

“Grrrrrr…þetta…er…mistök……”

With a final sigh, the Knight of Ruin went limp. Having lost all strength, not even a thread of dark mana could be felt from him anymore.

Well, his head had mostly melted, exposing the inside of his skull, and his torso barely had any extremities left. If he could still resist in this state, he’d be immortal.

I withdrew my arms and stood up, looking down at the ghost turning to ash and dust from head to toe.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust… isn’t that how it goes? A fitting end for an undead who rose again.

That’s what you get for stripping someone else’s clothes.

—-

I took out a cigarette, put it in my mouth, and stared at his corpse for a while, but the pile of ashes showed no signs of revival. It just scattered slightly with the wind. He was definitely dead.

I used my toe to send the pile of ashes flying into the sky, then picked up the monster’s broken sword as proof of subjugation and returned to Leonore and Lena, who were waiting for me in the distance.

Perhaps because the power of collapse had transferred to me, his sword had transformed into an old piece of junk with even its seal erased. It was closer to useless trash as a weapon, though it might have historical value.

“Uh…um…welcome back, miss. That was more overwhelming than expected.”

Normally, Leonore would have teased me, but sensing that teasing now would lead to unmanageable consequences, she just twisted her hair and averted her gaze as if being considerate.

That half-hearted consideration made me feel even more embarrassed.

“Sister! Your leg is bleeding!”

Instead of mentioning my disgraceful state, Lena rushed over and treated the wound where the ghost’s sword had cut me. Thanks to the blessing, it wasn’t a deep cut.

He was quite a strong monster, so if we had fought properly, I might have been injured more severely. But due to the unexpected situation, it ended more quickly than anticipated.

Only after killing him did I realize that he too must have been perplexed by my clothes burning off. Judging by how his reactions slowed afterward, causing him to be one-sidedly defeated without showing his true abilities.

“Treatment complete!”

“Ah, thank you.”

I patted Lena’s head lightly before lifting her onto Cascador’s saddle.

Despite the unseemly experience, the situation was now resolved, so it was time to return to the mainland. Purifying the path the Knight of Ruin had traveled or repairing the collapsed wall wasn’t my job.

That was for the priests and lords to handle.

“Now that it’s over, let’s head back. We need to stop at some village and rest.”

Having used so much power in an instant, I was quite tired both mentally and physically. I wanted to collapse onto a soft bed and sleep right away.

“Yeah, let’s do that. Good job, miss.”

“Indeed…”

I yawned widely, then turned the reins to head back the way we came.

Behind us, black ashes scattered mournfully over the ruins of the completely destroyed wall, as if bidding farewell.

======[ Feirius ]======

Feirius was bewildered by the dispatch sent by the subordinate he had ordered to monitor the subjugation of the Knight of Ruin.

The report, written briefly with only essential points and even using code to prevent potential leaks, contained bizarre content.

/Variable, target annihilated. Theft of collapse power suspected. Order stigmata confirmed. Virginity certain. Mission extremely satisfactory. Grateful./

The information that Haschal possessed the Stigmata of Astraea was shocking enough, but what perplexed Feirius was the content that followed.

Confirming virginity? Expressing gratitude for being assigned this task? What on earth had happened there to warrant such comments?

‘Surely they didn’t fight naked… Did I misinterpret the code?’

Feirius fell into contemplation. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer.

It was a night of deepening, unsolved questions.