episode_0067

When I wear the battle suit gifted by my lord, my body is enhanced, and my regenerative abilities skyrocket.

However.

This isn’t the power of the battle suit.

It’s the power of fully unleashing the Blood Stone.

The battle suit’s only function is to absorb excess life force to prevent a rampage.

Yes.

In its default mode, that’s all it does.

It merely consumes overflowing life force.

‘But that alone is enough.’

Since there’s no risk of going berserk,

I can wield the full power of the Blood Stone indefinitely.

Taller stature!

Larger chest!

A plump rear—now I can relish this form forever!

That’s the best part.

Because this is the appearance my lord adores.

But.

The true power lies elsewhere.

[MODE CHANGE – SPEED MODE]

Flames surged as red metal clung to my body, transforming into armor.

Agile mechanical armor.

Whirr! Hiss!

A mechanical hum sounded as steam vented.

Whoosh!

The boosters on my back spewed flames, propelling me swiftly forward.

Shoom!

“Huh?…”

Even Lady Alice was slow to react—that’s how fast it was.

Ting!!!

Unfortunately, the ice prevented a proper strike.

But—

Whoooosh!

The moment the boosters on my fists ignited—

Thud!

I shattered the ice and landed a solid blow.

“Ugh!…”

It wasn’t a devastating hit,

but it was strong enough to strike Lady Alice—the strongest in the hero’s party (aside from the hero herself).

Nice.

This level of power is viable in real combat.

“Wow…”

“Didn’t expect to get hit once…”

“Is that so?”

“But you’re not unscathed either, are you?”

“?”

Crackle!

The fist I struck her with froze over as countless ice flowers bloomed.

Ah.

So this is Lady Alice’s ability—Seolhwa (Snow Blossom).

“If I recall…”

“These are ice flowers that take root in their target’s body and drain all their energy, correct?”

“Right.”

“Once they latch on, they’re man-eating flowers that won’t stop until you’re dead.”

“Hmm…”

Whoooosh!

I tried melting them with flames conjured by the suit.

But.

The Seolhwa remained untouched.

“Your firepower isn’t enough, huh?”

“……”

The suit my lord gave me is flame-attribute.

Boosters spewing flames grant immense mobility,

and all its weapons are fire-based.

But.

The weapons I wield are meant to incinerate foes.

I don’t have a dedicated tool to melt the ice on my body.

Hmm…

This is troublesome.

So I tore it off.

Rip!

I ripped off my right hand and tossed it to the ground.

“……?”

The hand regenerated instantly,

and the red suit reformed along with it.

Nice.

Problem solved.

“Wait…”

“You can just tear off your own arm like it’s nothing?…”

“Yes.”

“I don’t feel pain, and regenerating one hand is trivial.”

“Then how about this?”

Slashslashslashslashslash!

Lady Alice struck every part of me with rapid sword strikes.

Crackle!

Seolhwa began blooming across my entire body.

This is bad.

So I used a bomb.

BOOM!!!

I blew myself up, removing all Seolhwa in the process.

“Self-destruct?…”

“Yes.”

“Nothing else removes Seolhwa as effectively.”

“You’re insane…”

“This is how the Saintess fights?…”

“It’s all combat tactics my lord taught me.”

Since he instructed me in the ways of an immortal warrior,

I’m merely following his lessons.

And it’s undeniably efficient.

As expected of my lord.

Now then.

It’s my turn again.

Shoom!

I dashed forward using the boosters and drew my sword.

Beam Sword.

A superheated laser blade forged from condensed flames and energy.

Vwum!

A blade with overwhelming firepower—enough to slice through Lady Alice’s ice in one strike… but,

I couldn’t land a hit.

“I’ll admit the attack power is impressive.”

“But your swordsmanship is so sloppy I can see every move coming.”

Shoom! Shoom! Shooooom!

I charged faster.

Yet.

Not a single strike connected.

“At that speed, you’d cleave through most opponents.”

“But not me.”

“Why not?”

“You’re absurdly fast, but your attacks are too linear.”

“Linear?”

“They’re too predictable. I can see exactly where you’re aiming.”

“Is that so?”

“If you really want to land a hit, try being more unorthodox.”

“Unorthodox…”

My current method is holding the laser sword while charging.

I’m not swinging it—

just gripping it and rushing forward.

It’s not even swordsmanship.

Pure blunt-force momentum.

Admittedly, it’s simplistic.

The attack angle is obvious,

and the range is fixed.

So I thought:

“If one laser sword is too simple,” “What if I wield a hundred?”

I acted immediately.

Whirrr! Whirrr! Whiiiiirrrr!

Countless holes in the suit ejected laser blades.

“Wh-what?…”

“You’d have trouble dodging a charge now, right?”

Shoooom!

I body-slammed her with blades covering my entire body.

Tingdingdingding!

Lady Alice deflected frantically with her sword.

“Lady Alice! Let me hug you!”

“AAAAAAAAH!!! GET AWAY!!!”

A blade-covered charging hug is unavoidable.

Crush! Crush! Crushcrushcrush!

I embraced her tightly.

Grabbing her with both arms, I delivered a warm hug—

directly into my ample chest.

And.

Countless laser blades joined the greeting.

“Victory is mine.”

“……”

Lady Alice, now full of holes, was silent.

Oh dear…

Seems she’s dead.

“I suppose it was inevitable?”

Her body was pierced by laser blades.

Death is only natural…

“Huh?…”

Lady Alice turned white.

And.

My body began whitening too.

“Wh-what’s this?…”

“A snowman.”

“Snowman?…”

“A clone of mine, sculpted from compacted snow.”

Emerging from behind a tree, Lady Alice explained:

“An exploding clone.”

Then it detonated.

BOOM!!!

The snowman exploded, triggering a violent blizzard.

“Got me.”

My frozen body became a garden of Seolhwa.

But.

I’m not done yet.

“Self-destruct.”

BOOM!!!

Another explosion restored me to pristine condition.

“Wow…”

“She just keeps self-destructing to escape the ice.”

Multiple Lady Alices spoke from all directions.

“Then how about this?”

A hundred identical copies spoke in unison.

“Wow…”

“Where’d you learn that magic?”

“Got the idea from a ninja manga Gaius once mentioned.”

“I heard you were a Sword Master… Your magic talent is insane too?”

“My magic teacher is absurdly skilled.”

“I should ask my lord for magic lessons sometime.”

“Then let’s wrap this up quickly?”

“Agreed.”

A hundred Lady Alices charged from all sides, swords drawn.

They likely don’t match the original’s full power…

but even one hit means freezing solid.

Engaging them head-on would be unwise.

‘I can’t self-destruct infinitely either.’

Though close to immortal,

there are limits.

Unsure where those lie,

but wastefulness is foolish.

So I switched tactics.

[MODE CHANGE – POWER MODE]

Whoooosh!

Flames wreathed my body as the suit thickened into heavy mechanized armor.

Too weighty for speed,

but unmatched in firepower.

Whirr! Thud!

I anchored myself with ground spikes,

deploying cannons, missiles, and laser emitters.

[Artillery Mode Engaged]

“Shall we turn up the heat?”

[Firing Commenced]

BOOM! BOOM! KABOOOOOM! BOOM!!!

Every weapon unleashed devastation.

Incredible.

The forest became an inferno.

The heat melted all snow clones,

and even Lady Alice suffered burns.

“Wow…”

“You turned the terrain to ash… Are you a grand archmage or something?…”

“Does this pass?”

“It does.”

“With more experience, you’ll rival me. Frankly, it’s terrifying.”

“If I pushed you this far, doesn’t that make me stronger?”

“Not quite.”

“Huh?”

“This is where it begins.”

Lady Alice removed her ring.

Whoosh!

The world turned white.

The inferno vanished,

replaced by a snowfield.

Crackle!

A garden of ice flowers bloomed.

“So this is Lady Alice’s ultimate—‘Seolhwa Garden.’”

A technique that bends nature to her will,

forging a domain where the world fights for her.

Even the hero, Lady Ria, could die here—my lord once warned me.

But.

Whether it can kill an immortal like me…

Crackle!

“Huh?…”

My body began freezing instantly.

Why?

No attack landed.

Yet.

I won’t succumb.

‘Self-destruct—!’

“!!!!!!”

Even the explosives froze.

The suit, the weapons—all encased in ice.

“H-how…?”

“The very air in Seolhwa Garden is my weapon.”

“The… air too?…”

“Yep.”

Wow…

It’s stronger than the version my lord described.

Already monstrously powerful,

yet still growing…

I’ve lost.

…Or so I thought, accepting defeat—

Thud!

Suddenly, something fell from the sky.

“What’s this?…”

A frozen demon male crashed down.

Who is this?

“Gaius? Who’s this demon?”

“Uh… What the hell?…”

“What?”

“That’s one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“?”

“?”