Ch.863But what am I supposed to use this for?

The collision of forces that cut through space.

Though there were slight differences in their implementation, two longswords containing the same power clashed against each other, carving deep scars in the void.

――――!

A thunderous roar as if everything in all directions was collapsing.

The space-severing blade that tore apart and shattered everything in its path collided with an identical force, canceling each other out and scattering the aftermath in all directions.

In the form of a catastrophic destruction that erased everything within a radius of dozens of meters.

The entire space caught in the aftermath shattered into pieces like thrown glasswork. The air in the void, the thick smoke, even the ground covered with debris.

All of it was consumed by the dispersing destructive force as if devoured by the jaws of an invisible giant beast. Like a mythical creature had taken a bite out of the earth.

A sight that seemed straight out of myth or legend… hard to believe it was the result of two swords colliding.

It was enough to make everyone who had been fighting freeze in momentary shock. Not just the warriors, but even the Champions and Masters, and those who had transcended the Wall.

—-

“Heh, I did it. I really did it-!”

I burst into joyful laughter as I stared at the ground that had transformed into a massive crater. Even as I was flying through the air, thrown back by the recoil of the collision.

I couldn’t contain my laughter.

Unlike before, when blocking with an unbreakable sword was my limit, I had finally succeeded in countering and neutralizing the “Sword of Severance.”

Not defense, but neutralization. It was proof that the power imbued in the sword I wielded was of the same nature as the “Sword of Severance.”

[ I can’t believe it was truly possible. I have to admit, this is impressive. ]

Even Hersella couldn’t help but praise rather than mock.

[ To be able to copy such a transcendent mental technique—a Tale of Heroes—just by seeing it. ]

Yes.

I had finally obtained the power of spatial severance!

How could I not laugh?

For the past few months, I had endured so much training and trial and error just to obtain this power.

Even then, I couldn’t find the answer… yet after directly facing and fighting for merely twenty minutes, I had grasped its principles and could now wield it. They say seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times—how true that was.

There were a few issues since this was my first time using the technique, but nevertheless, I had acquired an attack method that was nearly impossible to defend against.

…Come to think of it, even before obtaining spatial severance, there weren’t many who could defend against my slashes.

Anyway, I continued flying until I crashed into the residential district’s houses, demolishing them with my back.

– Crash!

The impact of a human projectile weighing dozens of kilograms.

The walls of baked earth and wooden pillars couldn’t withstand the impact and burst apart. Broken furniture scattered like smashed eggs.

A scene of family ruin—no, enough to make three or four households lose their homes and end up on the streets.

“Ow, my back… How many houses did I just destroy?”

I looked around, brushing off the wooden splinters and dirt piled on my shoulders.

Three or four tiled houses were shattered like abandoned ruins in the middle of a battlefield… ah, this actually was the middle of a battlefield.

Right. Befitting a war zone, they were demolished as if hit by a barrage of tank shells.

At least there didn’t seem to be any civilians killed under the rubble of their own homes. That was fortunate. Since quite some time had passed since the battle began, non-combatants appeared to have completed their evacuation.

“……”

In that case….

I briefly rubbed my jaw while thinking, then nodded and walked out of the collapsed house through the gaping hole in the wall.

An idea had appeared in my mind like a revelation. I tried to anticipate what results my seemingly best course of action would bring.

—-

Dozens of seconds later.

“—Everyone looks like they’ve been through a lot.”

I reached the palace entrance, which was about ninety percent collapsed. I appeared before my companions who were panting heavily, apparently exhausted after piling up mountains of enemy corpses.

“Good heavens, it’s that woman! The patricide Haschal has returned!!”

“The Knight of Ka’har…! This is the worst. Of all times, in this situation…”

The Ka’har warriors who had partially surrounded my companions recoiled in shock.

Some warriors tried to rally their fighting spirit instead of retreating, but they were clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel, so I wasn’t even interested.

Therefore, I didn’t even glance at the Ka’har forces and only looked at my allies.

“Still, it’s fortunate that no one seems seriously injured.”

Joshua had a hole pierced through his left shoulder, and Nigel, Jahan, Frider, and Leonore were covered in stab wounds, burns, and bruises, but none appeared life-threatening.

The five or six arrows stuck in their armor were honestly more decoration than injuries.

Despite being at an overwhelming numerical disadvantage, they had managed to sustain only this level of injury because…

“Thanks to Lacy? Or perhaps the winter armor? Either way, that’s good.”

It was probably thanks to Lacy’s protection and healing, as well as the performance of the armor I had provided them.

—-

“Haschal?!”

“Lady Astika!”

“Miss…?”

My companions raised their voices with wide eyes upon seeing me. Their expressions suggested they were wondering if the grueling defensive battle was finally coming to an end.

“Since Lady Haschal has returned… is it finally over? Then, what about former Empress Meiharin…?”

It is time to end this. Though we haven’t achieved a single strategic objective yet.

“Never mind that, what was that tremendous roar just now, miss? What on earth did you do to make such a sound…?”

“Just a moment.”

Instead of answering Leonore’s question, I raised my right hand toward the sky, activated the Kenaz seal, and shot a thin, long stream of fire into the air.

– Whoosh!

It was a beacon, a signal.

“Everyone prepare to board. I’ll hold them off here while you get on the airship. It’s not over yet, so don’t let your guard down.”

A signal to lower the altitude of the airship so my companions could board.

“Not over? Wait, then why did you come here? What about Meiharin or whatever her name is?”

Frider tilted his head in confusion as he pulled arrows out of his coat.

Yes, it’s understandable to be puzzled.

The reason my companions had been desperately holding the palace entrance was to prevent other warriors from joining the battle against our main enemies like Meiharin or Sahakal.

According to the original plan, they should have continued holding out here rather than boarding the airship.

Meiharin and Sahakal were likely still alive, and even Shengjangshi, whose existence my companions probably weren’t even aware of, was perfectly fine.

“Explanations later. For now, get on board and protect the airship. Understand? I’ll join you with Demian.”

Of course, I had long since abandoned the original plan.

The enemy’s strength—specifically, the power of the cards Meiharin had prepared—exceeded my expectations, making it impossible to stick to the original plan.

If we continued fighting, we might win… but who knows how long it would take?

In my estimation, it would take quite a while. Judging by my companions’ condition, they probably couldn’t hold out that long.

To be honest, right after I figured out how to cut space, I thought ‘I’ve won!’… but thinking about it carefully, the fight with Rotholandus wouldn’t be resolved so easily.

Perhaps because I forcibly recreated someone else’s Tale of Heroes. The spatial severance swordsmanship I had realized had clear limitations despite its power.

First, it consumed an enormous amount of Karma. Second, the rotating saw blade of Karma put tremendous pressure on the central axis, making it impossible for any sword other than Durandal to withstand it. Third, the time required to manifest it was considerable.

Of course, it was a power so formidable that these drawbacks were worth accepting.

Even if Orhan, whom I had personally cremated, rose from the dead smelling his wife’s scent, one hit would be enough to chop him into pieces regardless of his Unyielding Flesh, sending him back to his grave.

The problem was that the name of the enemy likely pursuing me right now wasn’t Orhan, but Rotholandus.

Come to think of it, the severance power I had learned wouldn’t work on him. It was his ability to begin with.

If my spatial severance was at the level of a child just learning to walk, his was already at a sprinting level. If I tried to counter with the same technique, he would have the advantage.

I might be able to neutralize his attacks when our swords met… but nothing beyond that.

He could wield the power of severance with his arms and legs, literally chopping space into pieces, and if I tried to imitate that, my limbs would be severed before the space.

So despite having realized the power of severance, I still had to counter an enemy who used his entire body as a weapon with just a single sword. Just like in our previous fights.

…What about the Sky Slash, you ask?

Yes. That does exist.

Now that I had obtained the power of severance, I could probably recreate that slash by simultaneously manifesting Defying Fate’s time compression and spatial severance. Though it would consume all my remaining Karma.

But what good would that do? The moment I manifested the Sky Slash, Rotholandus would slash the sky just as I would.

That would surely be catastrophic.

A simple spatial cutting slash collision had already erased everything within a twenty-meter radius. What would happen if slashes that reached the sky collided and neutralized each other?

I couldn’t even dare to imagine the result.

If the collision of two Sky Slashes caused the palace to vanish, my companions who were fighting well would be caught in it and die tragically.

Given that possibility, I had to keep the Sky Slash sealed. I couldn’t possibly annihilate my allies with my own hands.

In summary, learning spatial severance was good, but against Rotholandus, there was no way to use it effectively.

Even if I spent Karma like water to unleash the Sword of Severance, the only advantage I would gain was being able to neutralize and deflect his slashes, which previously I could only block with Durandal.

That’s why, instead of facing Rotholandus, I had abandoned her temporarily and rushed here.

To try a more certain method that I couldn’t choose earlier.

A very, very flashy method.

—-

Since I hadn’t given a detailed explanation, my companions all wore expressions of incomprehension, but they faithfully followed my orders without protest.

As soon as the airship lowered its altitude and dropped chains like anchors, they immediately jumped up, grabbed them, and began climbing.

Truly befitting Masters and Heroes. Their climbing speed resembled that of cockroaches on stimulants.

“They’re escaping to the sky! Stop them! Shoot them down!”

Of course, the Ka’har warriors weren’t going to just stand by and watch.

“After committing such atrocities, how dare you flee! Cowards. Come down! Come down and fight me!”

In particular, two men covered in blood were raging furiously.

Two warriors covered in wounds from spear thrusts, lightning burns, and long sword cuts.

Judging by their aura that surpassed Champions and how other warriors obeyed their commands without question, they were likely the war chiefs of Sahakal’s army.

Garun and Hadar, whom the confused warriors had been desperately searching for during the early stages of the assault.

They had definitely transcended the Wall, but seeing how their injuries were worse than Joshua’s despite their overwhelming numerical advantage, their skills seemed merely adequate.

No, perhaps they weren’t that weak after all. Since Lacy and Millia had also transcended the Wall, these two had managed to hold their own against three Hero-class opponents.

“…What are you looking at? I’m right in front of you.”

Well, either way, they weren’t my match. Unlike that insufferable monster Rotholandus.

“Huk…!”

One down.

Shocked by the voice whispering in his ear, the war chief’s head slid off his neck with a thud as he desperately tried to turn toward me.

A staggering body. Blood spurting like an old man’s urine. It was such a pathetic end for a warrior who had transcended the Wall that it almost made me snicker.

Well, he was clearly severely injured, so it was a natural result. Though I doubt the outcome would have been much different even if he had been in perfect condition.

“Garun…?! Good heavens. He was definitely over there just a moment ago…!”

So this one was Garun.

Then that one must be Hadar.

“He was, a moment ago.”

That’s right. While they were looking up at the airship and roaring, I had already reached their side.

At a speed that made it difficult for these war chiefs, weakened by injuries and fatigue, to even perceive me, let alone respond.

【 Defying Fate 】

While this Tale of Heroes was ineffective against opponents of my caliber, against weaklings like these, there was no better technique.

If used well for surprise attacks, it could finish in one strike enemies who would normally take at least dozens of seconds to defeat.

“Not anymore.”

I kicked away the falling head, shattering it, then turned toward the direction of Hadar’s shocked voice and thrust Durandal.

“Damn it…!”

Hadar hurriedly raised his greatsword like a shield to block Durandal’s tip, but unfortunately, his weapon was clearly only about black iron level in hardness.

– Clang!

The bluish silver tip extended like an awl, piercing through the side of the greatsword as if it were paper. And beyond it, Hadar’s heart.

“Kuhek…!”

Hadar collapsed without even leaving any last words, vomiting a basin of blood.

Simple.

A surprise attack utilizing the strengths of Defying Fate. It took only about ten seconds for the two war chiefs to become corpses.