LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 55
Chapter 55
With a swift slash, Yan shattered the castle’s outer wall along with Vila, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.
“Ah, truly,” Vila muttered, pausing to touch his chest, furrowing his brows at the long diagonal wound that oozed blood.
Though he couldn’t manifest sword energy or force like those who channel mana through their meridians, his physical resilience was such that he could withstand even the mightiest sword force, capable of slicing through anything.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been hurt this badly,” he noted, as blood continued to stream from the wound.
“Hans, look out!” Hans exclaimed in shock, calling out to Yan.
Yan’s strike was so powerful that even Hans’ signature ice flowers couldn’t inflict such damage. It was astonishing that Yan, whose realm was far inferior, had accomplished this feat.
Yan himself was equally taken aback. Even if he had imitated the Frost Knight Order’s swordsmanship to the fullest, could he truly possess such strength?
He had felt an immense surge of power from Ascalon when he struck downward.
“It’s just the Dragon Slayer Sword’s ability to halt the flow of mana and the burst of accumulated mana. Don’t mistake it for your own skill,” Momon advised, and Yan couldn’t deny it. The vast power he had felt from Ascalon had been exhausted in that single blow.
Silence fell as the intense battle they had anticipated was momentarily paused by Yan’s wild strike.
Vila was the first to break the silence. “That sword… it should have been mine.”
He realized that Ascalon could sever the mana flowing through his meridians and even wound his vital energy.
A sword that cuts through mana – perfect for someone like him who could see mana!
Hans chuckled at Vila’s words. “If that were true, you would have been able to wield it. But it’s not yours, is it?”
From what Hans had seen, Vila had held the sword but ultimately couldn’t lift it. He wasn’t chosen.
Hans then turned his gaze to Yan. ‘But how can that guy wield it?’
The Ascalon in Yan’s hands was no longer the unremarkable sword it once was. Its blade was pristine white, and the grip was neatly trimmed. Despite its simple appearance, it exuded a strange magic that captivated the beholder.
“Not mine, you say?” Vila scoffed at Hans’ remark. “Then I’ll just take it.”
It was the way of the barbarian tribes: the law of the jungle. The weak are eaten, and the strong eat. It was no different now. Even if Yan wielded ‘the Emperor’s Sword,’ it would be his if taken by force.
Vila’s eyes reddened again, signaling the activation of his divine eye. His hefty body stomped the ground, and he lunged towards Yan like a ray of light.
Yan quickly swung his sword, releasing a sword beam.
Chrrrk!
The sound of chains breaking accompanied the sword beam as it shot towards Vila, who didn’t even flinch.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
The result was a spray of blood as Vila’s skin was torn in several places. Yet, he laughed heartily, as if merely tickled. “Hahaha! It’s just a sting!”
While Ascalon’s properties allowed it to leave minor injuries on Vilay’s steel-like body, it wasn’t enough to cause significant damage like before.
“Fall back!” Hans, catching his breath, took a deep inhalation and charged towards Yan.
Boom! Clang!
Vila’s punch, trailing a red arc, was cut short, unable to reach Yan. Vila frowned.
“Tsk.”
Hans had blocked his attack. Though Hans seemed to be internally shaken, coughing up blood, Vila was displeased.
He crouched and spun rapidly, aiming his foot like a mace at Hans’ temple.
Scrape.
Once again, Vila’s target eluded him, this time thwarted by Yan. Although he managed to slightly graze the heel with Ascalon…
Boom!
Unable to withstand Vila’s strength, Yan was flung against the wall.
“Ptui!”
Yan spat out the blood rising in his throat and emerged from the wall, feeling a significant pain in his waist, indicating he couldn’t last much longer.
“Are you alright, Butler?”
Hans raised his hand in response to Yan’s question, but his silence suggested he wasn’t fine.
“I’ll go all out, so please do the same, Butler.”
“Very well.”
Hans closed his eyes and began to breathe slowly. White breath escaped his lips, and a bright light overflowed from his eyes.
Yan, too, amplified all the mana from his Mana Heart, utilizing all three planets.
His face turned crimson as the mana amplified beyond his body’s control.
“Here I go!”
Yan launched himself at Vila.
Clash! Clash! Boom! Bang!
The collision of Yan’s sword and Vila’s fist resounded with a thunderous roar.
“Haa!”
Hans, who had quickly taken position behind Vila, swiftly conjured his ice flowers. Countless petals began to flutter, enveloping Vila’s back.
Rustle. Crunch.
The petals froze upon touching Vila’s back.
‘Now!’
Yan, wielding Ascalon, swung it mightily.
“Oh no.”
Vila’s back was frozen, limiting his range of motion. Consequently, his response to Yan’s attack was momentarily delayed.
With a resounding slash, Yan’s blade carved through Vila’s chest, crossing the previous diagonal wound and etching an ‘X’ into his flesh. Yet, Vila’s lips curled into a smirk.
“This one’s more bearable than I thought.”
‘It was too shallow!’ Yan realized, hastily preparing for a second strike. But before he could channel mana into Ascalon…
Grrrumble.
Vila’s right foot scraped the ground with tremendous speed. Yan crossed his arms in defense, anticipating Vila’s attack, but Vila wasn’t aiming for him.
Thump!
Hans, who had been lurking behind, widened his eyes in surprise as Vila’s foot came flying towards him. It was too late to dodge, and Vila’s foot struck Hans’ abdomen with force, sending him flying backward like a comet.
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
Hans burst through several walls, finally crashing at the edge of the castle. Yan’s face twisted in horror as Hans was knocked out of the fight.
Vila’s eyes, burning with ferocity, now fixed on Yan. Clutching Ascalon tighter, Yan gathered every ounce of mana he could muster.
“Is this your final struggle?”
Vila sneered, stepping forward with his right foot and readying his fists for an imminent strike.
“Dodge it!” Momon’s voice echoed as Vila’s massive form stretched forward.
Swoosh.
“
As Yan chanted his spell, ice surged from the ground with terrifying force.
Boom!
Vila’s hefty body collided with the ice barrier.
“What?” Vila spat out in confusion, staring at the ice wall in disbelief. He had easily broken through iron walls before, but now this mere ice stood unyielded.
Pfft! “You’re the only fool who’d use a sword like a staff!” Momon burst into laughter.
Yan had hoped that Ascalon, which enhanced the sword techniques of Seolhon and the Frost Knight Order, might also boost his ice magic.
‘I was right.’
But Yan’s strategy didn’t end there. Ascalon emitted a pure white light, drawing a magic circle.
Rustle.
The barrier that blocked Vila began to multiply to the side.
“…A prison?”
An ice prison formed around Vila. Inside the thick ice cell, Vila smirked, gripping the icy bars and mocking Yan.
“How long do you think it’ll take me to break out? An hour? Thirty minutes?”
His eyes blazed with fury.
“I won’t even need a minute, you fool!”
His fist, filled with explosive force, struck the ice bars.
Boom!
Vila grinned at the loud impact, but the bars remained unscathed, not even a scratch.
“!”
“I was wrong,” Yan spoke, looking at Vila trapped in the prison. “Ascalon’s power isn’t to cut mana. It’s to halt it.”
Yan had thought until recently that the ‘Dragon Slayer Sword Ascalon’ had the property to cut mana.
‘It was a misconception.’
He realized the truth while reciting the incantations of Seolhon.
It wasn’t cutting; it was halting.
The outcome might seem similar, but the difference was clear.
For example.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Vila, unlike typical mana users who accumulate mana in their dantian, engraves ‘meridians’ into his muscles, bones, and skin to embed mana.
This means he can’t use mana-releasing techniques like sword energy or sword force, but he can create an invincible body.
However.
“What if the mana accumulated between your bones and muscles was halted?”
If it could be bound like shackles.
Yan channeled mana into Ascalon once more.
Ascalon shone with a brilliant white light, drawing another magic circle.
“
Rustle.
Something long and thin extended from a corner of the ice prison.
Click!
It wrapped tightly around Vila’s legs.
“Shackles?”
Vila’s expression hardened as he realized what bound his legs.
He wasn’t foolish; he understood the implications of Yan’s words.
The ice shackles created by Ascalon, which had the property to halt mana, now restrained his feet.
“There’s something irritating about this.”
His body, usually impervious to harm even by the mightiest of superhumans, was now merely exceptionally well-trained.
But Vila didn’t seem cornered.
Both he and Yan knew.
Maintaining magic required more resources than one might think.
From mana to concentration.
Especially to sustain an ice prison strong enough to withstand his punches, how much mana would it take?
“Do you think you can kill me with this? Or do you think you can keep me trapped here?”
Vila snorted disdainfully.
Yan, unfazed by Vila’s taunting, smiled coldly.
“Yes.”
Though he said so, the killing wasn’t up to him.
Someone else was meant to slay Vila.
* * *
Vila settled himself down on the icy floor of his prison, resigned to his fate.
As time ticked by, Yan’s breaths grew ragged and desperate.
“Time is on my side anyway…”
Chill!
Suddenly, a shiver ran down Vila’s spine, and an alarm bell rang wildly in his head.
He looked around frantically.
Yan was too focused on maintaining the prison to notice anything else, and Hans lay limp and defeated in the distance.
‘What’s going on?’
There shouldn’t be anyone nearby capable of causing such unease…
“What are you doing in my house?”
Shiver!
The ice prison crumbled with those words, and Yan fell backward, having exhausted all his mana.
But Vila had no time to deal with Yan. His instincts screamed at him to flee or face certain death.
Crack!
Vila’s attempt to escape was abruptly halted as if caught in a trap.
“…!”
He looked down at his lower body.
‘Ice?’
The stone floor had frozen over, and the ice had gripped his legs, holding firm against his strength.
“Got nothing to say?”
Vila’s eyes slowly turned towards the source of the voice.
The outer wall, previously shattered by Yan’s sword strike, now framed a middle-aged man with icy eyes glaring at him.
The man’s physique was as developed as Vila’s, though smaller in stature.
Yet, Vila felt as if the man towered over him, a giant in disguise.
Whistle.
A cold winter wind swept through the castle.
“So, you have no words. Or perhaps it would be strange if you did.”
Vila, sweating coldly, tried to break the ice binding his feet, but it wouldn’t budge, contrary to its fragile appearance.
“Damn it.”
“Die, trash.”
The middle-aged man muttered to himself as he rolled his foot on the ground.
Domain Expansion.
“Seolhon Final Technique – Perennial Frost”
The chill emanating from the man’s toes spread rapidly, engulfing the castle and beyond, covering the Beowulf territory.
“What?”
“So cold. So very cold.”
“My feet are stuck to the ground.”
“Frozen…!”
“Aaagh…!”
The barbarians swarming over the castle walls were instantly turned into ice statues.
Miraculously, the knights, soldiers, and citizens facing them remained unharmed.
Over ten thousand ice statues, frozen earth, and buildings.
Vila clenched his fists as he witnessed the overwhelming power.
“Domain Expansion?”
Through his divine eye, Vila saw the massive mana emanating from the Duke of Beowulf enveloping the entire area.
He soon realized that this was ‘Domain Expansion,’ a technique only the pinnacle of superhumans could wield.
He growled at the middle-aged man.
In the North, there was only one man capable of such power.
“…Duke of Frost, Beowulf.”
“You’re not worthy of saying that name.”
As the Duke of Beowulf furrowed his brows…
Crackle.
In an instant, the mighty Vila turned into an ice statue.
The Duke of Frost.
It was the return of Bacchus Beowulf.
Yan, who had seemed unconscious, opened his eyes just a slit.
‘I’m not too late.’
Had he arrived even a moment later…
He would have fallen before a rampaging Vila, drained of all mana.
A sigh of relief escaped him.
‘Let them handle it from here.’
I’ve done all I can.
I don’t know anymore.