episode_0039

ㅡFlap flap flap!

“Sh, shit!! Damn it!!”

The yellow-haired man, who was stepping forward with a fancy Mana technique, contorted his face.

The ground was relatively soft because it was the cave floor, and

when Eugene swept it with an enormously large greatsword,

a considerable amount of dirt flew at the yellow-haired man, obscuring his vision.

ㅡWhoosh!!!

Feeling that his setup had worked, Eugene immediately darted out and swung his greatsword at the yellow-haired man.

ㅡClang!!

As a result, a gruesome striking sound erupted inside the cave.

‘Tch, he blocked it.’

However, Eugene’s expression wasn’t good, despite the refreshing striking sound.

Sword met sword.

If it were the sword of a Sword Runner, Eugene’s heavy greatsword would have broken through the sword and split his body, but

the yellow-haired man’s sword was that of a Sword User, so it endured due to a certain amount of Mana reinforcement.

ㅡThud!

“Ugh!”

However, the yellow-haired man

couldn’t overcome the repulsive force created by Eugene’s huge body and heavy greatsword,

so he flew all the way to the opposite cave wall and collided with it.

“Come here, Jeanne.”

ㅡThump!

ㅡWhirr whirr whirr!

He failed to finish them all off, but Eugene succeeded in temporarily neutralizing the two Users, securing enough time for reorganization.

He then hugged Jeanne and moved her to a place where she could lean against the wall.

“Umm…”

The moment she leaned against the wall, Jeanne felt her consciousness returning slightly.

‘Jeanne’s getting a fever, I need to finish this quickly.’

To be precise, her body began to convulse because of the fever.

Jeanne’s complexion turned pale, and she was pouring with cold sweat.

Not only were her lips gradually fading, but their color was also deteriorating.

Whirr…!

Having re-assessed Jeanne’s condition, Eugene

turned back towards them and took up an attack stance again, intending to bring the battle against the Great Sophists to a conclusion.

‘But this is kind of…’

At that moment,

Eugene, who had just flipped past the first chapter like a storm, had a focused look in his eyes.

‘There’s an unfamiliar feeling inside my body.’

It was a reaction to the considerable sense of incongruity he felt within his body.

‘Clearly my mind is maintaining a state of composure, but my body feels strangely excited. Is this, excitement?’

A discrepancy between mind and body.

Eugene maintained his composure, only exuding murderous intent because of the thought of saving Jeanne.

And in the ensuing battle, he was effortlessly leading the opponent.

But his body felt like it was heating up as if in a panic.

Especially since the heat didn’t seem like ordinary tension or aggression,

Eugene felt a sense of déjà vu, wondering if a sudden anomaly had occurred in his body.

Soon, Eugene began to get a vague clue about what was changing his body.

‘Blood…’

Blood.

‘The blood of the Sophists who died by my greatsword.’

It was the blood that had pooled on the floor of the Sword Runner Sophists, whose heads had been split by Eugene’s greatsword

and whose abdomens had been pierced by the thrown sword.

‘Could my body be reacting to that blood?’

As it came into view, Eugene could feel the strange excitement inside his body soaring even higher.

“Wow… is this hunch of mine gradually turning out to be right?”

Thud, thud, thud.

Just as Eugene sensed the strange change occurring in his body,

the white-haired man, who had already gotten up, slowly walked towards Eugene and Jeanne.

“You bastard, are you really someone with demon blood mixed in?”

Despite experiencing the overwhelming difference in power,

the white-haired man’s face became even more mad.

With that look, the white-haired man mentioned demons while looking at Eugene.

‘Demon… blood.’

Until now, Eugene hadn’t paid much attention to the white-haired man’s other words.

However, because it was the word demon that he heard at the point when he recognized his body’s situation,

Eugene showed a more agitated state of mind than ever before.

“Not only is he immune to the Crimson Sorcerer’s debuff spells, but his unbelievable movements and combat style that destroys common sense, heh heh heh, that guy’s body isn’t normal. We shouldn’t face a guy like that while we’re in pristine condition either. Hey Lucas, chug the potion!”

Swoosh!

On the other hand, Eugene didn’t show it outwardly.

However, as if unconcerned with Eugene’s reaction,

the white-haired man rattled on with a mad mouth and took out a vial of potion from inside his armor pocket.

“I already took it out, Jason.”

Pop!

The yellow-haired man, Lucas, also took out a vial of potion and opened the lid.

Afterwards, the two Claymores drank the contents of the potion vial at once, and

“ㅡKREEEEEEEAAAK!!!” “ㅡWOOOOOOOAAAAAH!!”

They screamed as they clutched their heads and howled like beasts.

‘Dangerous!’

Jason and Lucas roared after taking the potion,

and Eugene’s eyes flashed at the ominous feeling he got from them.

ㅡFlash!!

Therefore, he took a dash to launch a preemptive strike, taking advantage of the opponent’s disorganized stance.

ㅡWhoosh!!

Eugene’s greatsword was swung vertically at the white-haired Jason,

ㅡClang!!!

But the attack missed and slammed straight into the floor.

“!!!!”

Immediately after slamming into the floor, Eugene’s eyes widened.

ㅡStab!

‘Already?’

Jason had not only dodged Eugene’s greatsword, but

had already thrust his sword towards his nape.

Jason’s physical abilities had risen to an extent that was incomparable to anything before.

ㅡSwoosh!!

Eugene ducked his head to nullify Jason’s stab.

ㅡFlash!!

ㅡWhoosh!!!

Then, while stepping back with the Mana technique,

he continuously rotated his greatsword to completely block the opponent’s approach and tried to secure a safe distance.

ㅡWhirr!

The action worked, and Eugene stopped about 5m behind, having shaken off Jason’s additional attacks.

“Huh…”

However, Eugene’s expression soon stiffened slightly, mixed with a soft sigh.

Crackling…!

“Heh heh heh… I can see your flustered state of mind, and the frantic beating of your heart that it causes.”

Jason was radiating a strong red glow, showing off his pupils that had turned into Sharingan.

‘He has red eyes like a demon.’

Even to Eugene’s eyes, which had demon blood mixed in, it was clearly a form reminiscent of a demon.

“But he’s definitely a suspicious guy. Usually, they’re even more startled when they see our changed appearance.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Lucas, who had become the same form as Jason,

began to walk to the opposite side of Jason in order to carry out a pincer attack.

Lucas’s appearance, with red blood vessels and purple blood vessels starting to appear all over his face while flashing a red glow,

resembled the demon tribes who had settled in the Iskander Perpetual Snow Mountains

during the days of the continent’s overlord, when the Demon God’s demonic energy was overflowing.

‘But he’s not a demon.’

However, Eugene affirmed that he was not a demon,

and Eugene’s hardened facial expression was consistent with the reason why Lucas was reacting with a puzzled face.

It was because Eugene Schneider didn’t seem to be startled enough to freak out after experiencing an unidentified being,

but rather seemed to feel a sense of familiarity somewhere.

‘He just looks like a demon and can exert a certain level of ability like them.’

As if something was being drawn before his eyes,

as if reading a rising memory as it was,

Eugene Schneider tried to define the strange phenomenon before his eyes.

‘Right, I’ve seen an existence like that before. I definitely saw it. That face that faced my past with that appearance, for some strange reason, only that face doesn’t come to mind.’

However, Eugene, who was drawing in his head,

suddenly felt like he was blocked by a huge wall.

It was because the root of his memory had disappeared.

While clearly knowing what that appearance, filled with madness and stained with murderous intent and bloodlust, meant,

the origin of the memory that made him know it doesn’t come to mind in Eugene’s head.

To put it precisely, it felt as if it had been intentionally cut out with scissors

and was struggling not to stand at the forefront of Eugene Schneider’s thoughts.

“Heh heh heh! I was just going to taste a little blood, but my body in this state can’t be satisfied with just that. I’ll cut off one of your arms and legs, defile that bitch, and then kill her. After that, I’ll slaughter the rest of your comrades outside.”

Swoosh…!

Trickle…!

Jason took a stance to charge and deliberately grazed his cheek with his sword.

The crimson blood that flowed down as a result

showed the desire of a killer who couldn’t suppress his murderous impulses.

“Give me your blood, black-haired greatsword warrior!!!”

ㅡFwoooooooosh!!

A killer.

Jason charged in, flashing his eyes like a rabid dog that had tasted human blood.

‘Right, blood, our house turned into a scene of carnage with blood and butchered corpses.’

Then, as if something had been caught, Eugene

stared at Jason’s mad figure with unfocused eyes.

‘The blood-stained killer who discovered me.’

It was because he was seeing something different from the scene at the site.

Eugene’s eyes were the eyes of someone whose unconscious was gradually restoring a part of the memory that it was desperately struggling to keep from surfacing.

ㅡClang!!!

At that moment, the sound of metal clashing echoed inside the cave.

Eugene, who was standing blankly and hadn’t even taken a stance,

had somehow moved his greatsword and blocked Jason’s sword.

‘My father, Ulysses Schneider.’

Eugene’s eyes, which regained focus and looked at Jason in front of him,

also had the root of his revived memory.

“Heh heh heh! Now you have good eyes again!”

Jason was somewhat disappointed that Eugene Schneider’s murderous intent had subsided after the change in himself and Lucas.

Then, not only did he perfectly receive his attack, which had greatly increased his physical abilities through the power of the potion, but

Jason raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction when Eugene’s eyes, full of light, flashed again.

Whirr!

“A struggling prey is more fun than a prey with a stupid expression, huh?”

The moment he tried to change his pivot foot with the purpose of engaging in a full-scale battle,

Jason’s eyes widened.

Grab…!

“What the hell, this crazy bastard, is he crazy? What are you doing, you son of a bitch!”

It was because Eugene had grabbed Jason’s sword blade with his left hand.

“If I pull it out as it is, your fingers will be cut off and blood will burst out! Damn! Won’t you let go? Won’t you let go of this?”

Jason, who was acting confident but was noticeably flustered, took a stance to try to recover his sword.

However, his sword didn’t budge from Eugene’s grip, and in the end, Jason’s momentum crumbled.

Afterwards, an even more bewildering situation unfolded.

ㅡSnap!!!! Clang!!!

Eugene’s left hand ended up breaking his sword, which he was struggling with.

“!!!?????”

Astonishment. The mad dog’s eyes lost their identity and widened.

It was because the sword, which was strengthened by the Mana projected by the Sword User,

had been broken by a hand wearing a gauntlet as if it were a wooden sword.

“I’ll return your sword.”

ㅡThwack!!!

As a result, Eugene

stuck the upper part of Jason’s sword, which he had just broken, into the shoulder of Jason, whose body had stiffened.

“ㅡKREEEEEEEAK!!!”

A desperate scream burst from Jason’s mouth.

ㅡFwoooooooosh!!!

“Fall back, Jason!!!”

Then, Lucas on the opposite side belatedly narrowed the distance by utilizing the Mana technique.

ㅡThwack!

“Worry about yourself, idiot.”

Recognizing the situation, Eugene kicked Jason with his left foot and sent him flying, and

ㅡWhirr!!

immediately slid towards Lucas, stepping on the Mana technique.

“No way!!”

ㅡSwoosh!!

Lucas, whose specialty was zigzags and left-right changes of direction,

had predicted Eugene’s current linear attack, so

he tried to grab a blind spot by stepping on a 90-degree rotation Mana technique as if he had been waiting.

ㅡThump!

Eugene, who watched Lucas’s appearance, reacted by effortlessly coping with it, as if achieving a response with his unique beast-like athletic ability.

Eugene Schneider suddenly stopped his forward step like that,

and took a stance to swing his greatsword at Lucas, who had moved to the side.

‘That monster! But this is a situation where your power can’t be fully exerted, you bastard! I’ll block this on my end and go in for a stab!’

Eugene’s reaction speed, which was reminiscent of a monster, was also within Lucas’s prediction range to a certain extent.

In particular, if he was able to break Jason’s sword with his bare hands,

Lucas’s sword would be miserably shattered if he tried to fully receive Eugene’s greatsword.

Therefore, he induced a structure in which Eugene’s power would be reduced, and

on that basis, he intended to block Eugene’s first strike and then aim for a one-hit kill.

ㅡWhoosh!!!

Eugene’s greatsword was swung horizontally, cleaving through the wind.

ㅡSwoosh!!

Lucas raised his sword in the direction Eugene’s greatsword was flying, according to the roadmap he had created himself.

‘What… is that!!!!!’

At that moment, Lucas’s expression became one of disbelief in his own eyes.

Crackling crackling crackling…!!!

Eugene’s greatsword, which had begun to fly quickly,

had a faint blue heat haze rising from its entire body.

‘Sword, Expert!’

Sword Energy [劍氣].

That was clearly Sword Energy, a phenomenon in which Mana was manifested externally through the medium of a sword.

ㅡCrackling crackling crackling!!!

‘Sword, Expert!’

The realm of those chosen among the Awakened,

a symbolic skill of the Expert, also called the 2nd Awakening.

Lucas clearly watched the scene of Eugene Schneider’s Sword Energy-filled greatsword, which had become a Sword Expert,

breaking his sword and coming in.

His eyes were as if he had been possessed by the Demon God’s black fire, losing his heart and soul as blood spurted out.

ㅡThwack!!!

With that expression, Lucas’s head was separated from his body.