Ch.954The Art of Tag Team Matches

## Field of Mortality

The power of Murder Karma reaches within its domain, instantly killing all life forms inferior to her—the most terrifying Tale of Heroes ever.

A death sentence that cannot be avoided or blocked.

There was only one way to counter the death bestowed by the Field of Mortality: to build up enough status comparable to the caster’s power and endure the curse of Murder Karma.

For beings of equal status, it would end with just energy damage, and even those below her level would survive if they had crossed a certain threshold.

Of course, except for the original Hersella, there were only a handful of beings in the entire world who could be considered equal to the current Hersella.

The original Hersella was a boss who raised an army and was defeated before the appearance of the dragon, but because Heaven’s Wall burst so quickly, her current power had long surpassed her original strength.

Moreover, through her fierce battle with Meiharin, she awakened the technique of Unyielding Flesh, transforming the Murder Karma she possessed into an even more alien form.

The Murder Karma, which had once been simply crimson, had transformed into something like a nebula full of stars, resembling some void creature.

Even I couldn’t predict what specific effects this strange transformation—something I’d never seen in the original—would bring.

Well, what did it matter if I couldn’t predict it? The change clearly looked like something significant, and it would only make her stronger, not weaker, right?

That was enough.

All I needed right now was that strength.

– Gooooo…!

The blood scent thickened to the point of suffocation.

The ceiling, ground, and surrounding debris—everything in all directions was swallowed by the erupting red nebula.

It was like being thrown into the middle of a cosmic space with the wrong colors. Red currents swirled in all directions, with small malevolent stars twinkling like the Milky Way within.

It was an eerie sight, devoid of even a trace of beauty, enough to make one’s skin crawl.

“Is this the ‘Sword of the Starry Sky’…? No, this is, this is something different…!”

Jeirpalos, realizing something was wrong with the situation, muttered with a hardened expression.

“Different? Well, that depends on how you look at it.”

At the center of the unfolded nebula, Hersella, enveloped in the swirling red galaxy, raised the corner of her mouth and sneered.

“Look. Here, the starry sky is spread out before you. So, there’s no reason this can’t also be called the ‘Sword of the Starry Sky.'”

Just because the color was a bit red, stars were overflowing everywhere, so wasn’t this also a kind of Sword of the Starry Sky in its own way?

“So, try to block it if you can. With that pitiful distortion field!”

The next moment,

– Kwajik!

The Murder Karma nebula, hanging like a mist, tore into everyone trapped within it.

Like a wolf devouring its captured prey alive. It was a fierce, cruel, and merciless predation.

—-

“Kuhek…!”

A blood spray erupted.

A Guardian spitting blood fell to the ruined ground and convulsed, while another Guardian who was loading a spirit arrow was struck by the bow they had dropped and knocked away.

The Fairy Guardians, who would have endured with only light injuries or exhaustion under the previous Field of Mortality, groaned and staggered before collapsing.

All with parts of their bodies missing.

Wounds as if they had been roughly torn away in the jaws of a beast. Some lost arms, others legs. There were even Guardians who had their sides or heads bitten off.

Those who lost limbs ended up losing balance from the intense pain and falling, but the Guardian whose side was torn off collapsed and trembled violently.

An undoubtedly fatal wound. Though still breathing, with 40% of their internal organs gone, even that wouldn’t last long.

As for the Guardian who had their head torn off, well, there was nothing more to say.

If they had been torn elsewhere, they might not have died instantly, but unfortunately, it was their head.

It seemed unfair even in death. While other Guardians of the same rank lost just an arm or a leg, why did they have to lose their head?

Well, what could be done about it? If there was anything to blame, it was their own misfortune.

The effect of the Field of Mortality, which had transformed into a nebula and grown stronger, was to randomly tear off and annihilate parts of the enemy’s body that would have ended with minor injuries before.

The reason he lost his head wasn’t because he was weak, but simply because he was unlucky.

“My, my. That was more bland than I expected. Rolling on the ground just because a limb flew off.”

Hersella, withdrawing the Murder Karma back into her body, pulled her curved blade from the ground and stood up.

“Strength cannot be achieved by power alone. You have power but lack the spirit to match it. A half-baked strength.”

She mocked the mass-produced Guardians who were rolling on the ground just because they had lost parts of their limbs.

After the blood-red nebula that had covered the entire palace disappeared like a mirage, there was only one fairy still standing on two feet.

The rest had all staggered and fallen, and were now barely struggling to get back up.

“What, this…!”

Jeirpalos, the only Guardian who hadn’t suffered any noticeable injuries, glared at Hersella while catching his breath.

With a face that had turned not just pale but blue, as people often do when confronted with unfathomable terror.

It was a power worthy of such fear.

The star-infused Murder Karma mist suddenly spread out, and in the next moment, before anyone could react, two Guardians were dead and four had lost parts of their limbs.

The spatial distortion they had deployed was meaningless against the Field of Mortality, which was close to a wide-area curse, and all seven high-level spirits that had manifested it were completely devoured and annihilated.

Truly overwhelming destructive power.

“Haak…! Haa…! This sensation, undoubtedly will energy… but how…?”

Though Jeirpalos had no visible wounds, his strength seemed greatly diminished as he sweated profusely and breathed heavily.

“Your will energy was clearly an acceleration-type ability. How can you have two different will energies…?”

“Why would I answer that? You are my enemy.”

Hersella rested the back of her curved blade on her shoulder and smirked, then wrapped the red galaxy around her entire body to greatly enhance her physical abilities.

Not using Unyielding Flesh?

No, she probably can’t use it. The Field of Mortality just now demonstrated astonishingly powerful destructive capability, but it also consumed a massive amount of Murder Karma.

Well, there was no need to manifest Unyielding Flesh anyway.

All five surviving Guardians, including Jeirpalos, were clearly much weaker than before after just one use of the Field of Mortality.

“You don’t need to know the answer. Just accept it. That such a person exists in this world. Right here, as your enemy.”

Hersella took a step toward Jeirpalos and lowered the curved blade from her shoulder.

– Jjeoeok!

The swirling galaxy of Murder Karma. The ground where its starlight brushed past cracked and scattered fragments.

The air rumbled and created turbulence, and the human and fairy blood soaking the ground spread in all directions, pushed by the air pressure.

A thick, dark, bloodthirsty aura filled with the scent of blood filled what remained of the Thousand Sword Corps’ quarters. Jeirpalos swallowed dryly and gripped his crescent blade.

“Impossible, for one human soul to possess two completely different wills…”

With a trembling voice carrying quiet conviction, he refuted that such a human could not exist.

“My, you talk too much. Don’t you realize how meaningless this is? Or…”

Hersella lowered her posture slightly by bending her knees, then nodded lightly as if she finally understood.

“…Ah, I see. I understand now. So that’s what it was.”

A smile like that of a carnivore facing its prey.

“You’re afraid. A being you cannot comprehend with your common sense. A monstrosity you’ve never witnessed even once in your unnecessarily long life. I understand.”

Her clenched teeth parted to release sharp mockery.

“Hmm. Or perhaps you need sympathy rather than understanding? That would be difficult. Even if you sold your life, you couldn’t pay a price worthy of it.”

“How dare you…”

Having struck a nerve, Jeirpalos’s face contorted like a kobold who had its dinner stolen.

“A Guardian of Alvheim knows no fear!”

Jeirpalos charged forward with an angry roar, kicking off the ground and swinging his crescent blade.

“Then you must not be Guardians!”

Hersella countered with mockery, likewise kicking off the ground and thrusting her dragon-scaled curved blade like lightning.

Their blades collided like comets, scattering sparks and flashes in all directions.

—-

Thus resumed the bloody battle between Hersella and the Guardians.

The mass-produced Guardians who had fallen after losing their limbs joined one by one, and what had been a one-on-one fight soon transformed into a battle of one against five.

Neither side was at full strength.

Hersella had consumed much of her power with the Field of Mortality on top of the injuries I had sustained, while the fairies had all become disabled and couldn’t exert their full strength.

Even if they summoned spirits to replace their lost limbs, the performance of these artificial limbs couldn’t compare to their original flesh.

“Haaaap!”

“Ahahahaha, yes! That’s it! It seems your hundreds of years of life weren’t in vain after all!”

Nevertheless, the scales of victory remained close to balanced.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems you can’t use your original acceleration-type will energy!”

“Oh? You noticed? I’ll praise you. To only notice that now, I’m astounded by your dullness!”

Jeirpalos, who had been cautiously testing with single strikes and immediately retreating to guard against Defying Fate, was now swinging his crescent blade with all his might.

A flurry of slashes adding rotation upon rotation like a dance.

So this is what hundreds of years of age amounts to—swordsmanship so refined and precise it wouldn’t pale in comparison to any of my knights.

Even Hersella, who had wielded Murder Karma like a tsunami of tentacled blades to slaughter two more Guardians, couldn’t overwhelm him and continued the fierce battle.

The desperate struggle with the three remaining Guardians. The curved blade forged from dragon scales and the crescent blade. The two blades clashed madly, scattering explosive sounds mixed with blood.

It was around that time.

‘Get ready.’

When Hersella spoke to me.

[Ready? Suddenly what…?]

‘What else? What you did before.’

And then, she threw my consciousness, which had been watching like a spectator, to the forefront of awareness as if grabbing me by the collar and tossing me.

“…Huh?”

Suddenly regaining my body. With the intense sense of reality suddenly pouring in, I blinked and let out a groan.

Yet I reflexively moved my body to parry, deflect, and block Jeirpalos’s crescent blade.

Wait, what is this? We were fighting well, why suddenly…?

Ah.

I get it. So that’s what it was.

My brain, heightened by the excitement of battle, provided the answer before the question.

She told me to prepare for what I had done before.

What else could that mean?

“Wait, this power…!”

“Too late.”

This is it.

Jeirpalos had become accustomed to the fierce battle with Hersella and forgotten to guard against Defying Fate. However, his opponent had already changed from Hersella to me.

【 Defying Fate 】

As he recoiled in shock at the sudden eruption of achievement power and tried to pull back, the world lost all color and slowed infinitely.

At that moment, the outcome of this battle was decided.

I admired Jeirpalos’s face as he retreated at a turtle’s pace, and brought down the curved blade I gripped toward his crown like an axe.

Naturally, he couldn’t dodge it.