0.01 Second Sword Master

188

0.01 Second Swordmaster Chapter 188

‘Well, I’ve come, but…’

Is this right?

—

—

The thought came to me first.

[Quest Completed.]

And the quest completion message appeared before my eyes.

[The Temple in Peril]

– Go save the temple that is under attack by Terkan.

– You will receive 10 gold as a reward.

There were two reasons I had come to the temple, riding the pillar of light.

One was that I urgently needed that 10 gold; I could only open the shop with it.

There was something I absolutely had to buy in the shop.

The second reason was that my reason had been momentarily paralyzed by my anger towards Terkan.

Think about it.

How could I possibly confront Terkan, who had absorbed the power of the Lemegaton, with my current strength?

But without thinking too long about it, my body reacted first.

The problem was that once I got here, my reason, which had briefly stepped out, returned swiftly.

“Aslan Your Majesty?”

“Ah, Aslan Your Majesty has arrived!!”

“Aslan Your Majesty has come to save us!!”

“Wowww!!”

From what I could gather about the situation, it seemed I had arrived at a rather exquisite moment.

Just look at how happy they are.

‘What am I supposed to do now?’

As I fell into a brief silence amidst the strange atmosphere, Terkan stepped forward.

“Aslan.”

Beside him, Rehena was staggering, engulfed in dark magic.

That damned b*stard had reduced Rehena to this state as well.

I felt the anger that had momentarily subsided begin to rise again.

“You’ve come to an uninvited place.”

“Didn’t I say? I will definitely kill you.”

Terkan laughed like a madman.

“Indeed. I already knew you had the power to kill me. But if you wish to kill me, you must also kill Rehena here, and the original owner of this body, Lailakan.”

—

Who could be the devil but that guy, cowardly holding hostages?

What on earth did that foolish Lailakan get caught up in, and can Rehena truly return to normal?

Look how much that once beautiful Rehena has changed into something grotesque.

It seems like she is under some sort of mental control due to the devil’s magic······.

‘Wait. Mental control?’

Suddenly, something came to mind.

What is currently controlling Rehena’s mind is Terakana’s magic, and if I can break that magic—

“On top of that, you came here alone without a shred of fear. Aren’t you a bit too confident?”

Though she came alone in a hurry, the knights must be crossing over to this side through the portal by now.

Terakana waved his hand, spreading his magic everywhere.

Then, people who had been fine began to scream and gradually transformed into demons.

That is the power of darkness.

No matter how tightly one holds onto their sanity, the moment they touch that magic, they turn dark and become demons.

“There is no one left in the temple to call your name.”

Terakana continued, smirking viciously.

“Go ahead and take the lives of those who once praised you as a hero.”

That psycho b*stard.

People were approaching me like zombies, consumed by Terakana’s magic.

But there is no need to kill them here.

Because I have—

Thwoong-!!

A wave of purification that spreads far and wide with just a flick of my finger.

“Ugh!”

“Ah!”

Those who came into contact with the wave of purification returned to their senses, and Rehena also began to regain her consciousness, retching.

“What is this······!”

At that, Terakana showed an abnormal reaction as well.

“Cough!”

From the magic that had been flowing darkly, a blue current sparked, and he soon staggered, letting out a painful groan.

“Another strange trick you’re pulling.”

—

But unfortunately, Lailakan did not return.

Terakana spoke while regaining balance in his staggering body.

“But if I cast magic again, they will become my slaves once more.”

That is indeed true.

The wave of purification has the effect of dispelling all magic, but once it’s undone, it’s over; if I cast magic again, there’s no helping it.

Thus, I had to see this through before he could pull any more tricks.

Srrrung—

“Dirty demon.”

I slowly drew my sword from my waist.

“Now I will cut off your breath.”

Due to the wave of purification, the momentary power I can wield is only once.

So I must see this through, no matter what.

“Ha ha ha. Have you forgotten? This body is Lailakan’s. If you wish to kill me, you must kill Lailakan as well.”

“I trust Lailakan.”

In truth, I do not.

“What?”

“He will endure somehow.”

Even if Lailakan dies, as long as the body remains, it will still serve as the key.

“Die.”

I lightly swung my sword from above.

Kwaaah—!!

Then, a massive beam of light pierced through the ceiling and floor of that temple, charging towards Terakana.

Kwaaang—!!

Terakana unfurled a black barrier to block the incoming attack.

“With just this much, you think you can—…ugh!”

At first, he acted nonchalant, but upon feeling the overwhelming power of the beam, he was startled and began to raise both hands to defend.

Yet, I could see his body being pushed back gradually.

“Guh—!”

Yes. Hang in there, beam.

Just break through the barrier and pass through his body.

—

—

I must quickly split Terukana’s body within the effective range.

Kwah-kwa-kwa-ck-!!

Terukana gritted his teeth, trying to fend off the blade, but ultimately was pushed back against that wall.

“Uaaah!”

Kwah-kwa-kwa-ck-!!

Did I take him down?

“······Kuh.”

Thick smoke.

Seeing the wall of that temple crack, I wondered if Terukana had not split in the same way.

But he had avoided a fatal wound.

Aside from his left shoulder being tattered, he seemed to be fine.

In fact, even his left shoulder was regenerating on its own.

‘This is the problem.’

The blade, forged with a momentary surge of power, displayed tremendous might, but if he dodged the attack or merely grazed it, there was nothing I could do afterward.

I would have to wait quietly until the cooldown was over.

If a fatal attack were to come in that time…

Kwah-aaa-!!

It was right then.

As Terukana reached out, a black maw lunged at me in the blink of an eye, enveloping my body.

It was an attack I couldn’t even react to, yet the divine protection shielded me.

Had it not been for the divine protection, I would have died from that last attack.

“A decisive blow, yet it didn’t even work? You truly are a monster, Aslan.”

I wiped my astonished heart clean in silence.

On the outside, I pretended to be unfazed.

“Perhaps because you’re a demon, you can only throw out such trivial attacks.”

“Indeed. To you, even my powerful magic-infused attacks must seem trivial.”

Terukana rose from where he had fallen.

As his black blood dripped, the ground began to melt away.

“But don’t think this is the end. My power grows stronger with each passing day, and that trivial strength will soon swallow you whole.”

He let out a disturbing laugh and threw himself backward.

—

—

When it was made, the portal beneath swallowed him whole and then vanished.

“Ah, the demon has fled.”

“The King of Hell has escaped!!”

“His Majesty has defeated the King of Hell!!”

Seeing this, the people erupted in cheers of joy.

And although the situation was already over, the subordinates and knights who had just arrived let out sighs of regret.

“Oh dear. We let Terakana slip away.”

“What a swift one. To have fled in the meantime.”

“It’s unfortunate, but next time we will surely catch him.”

I looked at them with cold, hardened eyes before dismissing my thoughts.

‘It’s a relief that it ended like this.’

If Terakana had even the slightest inkling that that single blow was all there was, he wouldn’t have retreated so easily.

Had I not bluffed and driven him away, we, along with the subordinates who just arrived, would have been obliterated by Terakana.

‘This time, I got lucky.’

Since Terakana is still alive, we will inevitably meet again, and when that time comes, we won’t be so easily defeated.

He will use today’s defeat as a mirror to prepare even more thoroughly.

That was the nature of the game.

‘I can’t just sit back and do nothing.’

I quietly gazed at the shop window opening before me.

And there, the item I was searching for appeared at the very top.

[LeBron’s Pendant]

It was the last, sixth pendant I was looking for.

* * *

Kuwung-!

Barely emerging from the portal, Terakana found it difficult to move his body properly.

Struck by that strange purifying wave, his body initially reacted abnormally, and then he sustained a fatal injury from the incoming sword energy, nearly losing his life.

Fortunately, his body was recovering, but the problem was that the power of light infused in Aslan’s sword energy was suppressing his recovery.

“Khuhuh. Even with the power of darkness, I can’t even withstand a mere sword energy.”

He found his own state laughable.

“But where is this place?”

She had just opened the portal haphazardly and fled, not even knowing where she had landed.

“What are you?”

“Why is an outsider here?”

At that moment, two elves approached Terukana.

Seeing the overflowing magical power emanating from them, Terukana licked her lips.

“Looks like there are some good meals here.”

“What?”

“Come here.”

“Ugh, aaah!”

Soon, the screams of the elves began to echo through the forest.

* * *

[LeBron’s Pendant]

-An ancient artifact created to repel the forces of evil.

-It is said that gathering the six divided pendants into one grants legendary power.

-It is the pendant blessed by the God of Life, LeBron.

Finally obtained the last pendant.

Now all six pendants were gathered.

[All six pendants have been gathered.]

As soon as she obtained the pendant, a new window appeared, and the six pendants soared into the air. They began to merge in the center, emitting a strong light.

[Omnipotent Pendant]

-Maintains all effects granted by the pendants while adding new effects.

The six pendants came together to form a single pendant.

It was the pendant in its original form before Rahal split it and distributed it to the gods.

“They say that if you gather all these pendants, you can drive all the demons away.”

It grants players deceptive options to make it easier to deal with demons.

The problem is,

“If the Lemegaton awakens, it’s all for nothing.”

It was not a pendant created to confront the Lemegaton.

And above all,

“The options need to come out well.”

Other than that, the options to be granted were the most important.

[New options are being granted.]

And I didn’t know how many options would be granted.

That was purely random.

[1 new option is granted.]

“Ah······.”

Insane.

Just one?

Wouldn’t even a hundred be enough?

I stood there in shock and checked the option granted to the pendant.

And,

[Power of Destiny]

– You are destined to become a hero.

– Eliminates the cooldown of all skills.

“······?”

An option I had never seen before was granted.