Chapter 73
Chapter
The vast sea was surrounded by quite high mountain ranges.
Perhaps it’s because the monsters came from the forest? It seems most of the monsters chose to enter the mountains rather than the sea.
” Butler!”
As Tsukiyo reached out from atop her hobby horse, Enok rushed out.
The goal of this training was to converge the widely spread capabilities into one. In simple terms, it could be called convergence.
So, how would they achieve this convergence? First, they decided to follow Tsukiyo’s suggestion.
“Use the first technique!”
The first technique of the Heavenly Carnage Thunder God Technique is Carnage. I hadn’t used it in quite a while, but if they said to show it, I went ahead and did as instructed.
[Kwajajak-!]
Countless trajectories drawn in the air literally shredded the monster before my eyes.
Originally, this was supposed to be used defensively, but using it for attack left quite a messy aftermath.
“Hieeek… isn’t this a bit too much?”
“No, you said to use the first technique.”
So, I used it as instructed, and isn’t it just too much?
Enok brushed off the blood stuck to his clothes, while a flustered Tsukiyo quickly reached out.
“Next!”
Tsukiyo and I dashed around the mountains, unleashing the Heavenly Carnage Thunder God Technique without reserve. Tsukiyo compared what she had seen during the duel with the Heavenly Carnage Thunder God Technique in her mind and nodded as if she understood something.
“I’m starting to get the hang of it.”
“Really? I don’t know.”
“Yeah. That’s it. I don’t really get it either.”
“What?”
What on earth does that even mean? Enok let out a hollow laugh.
“It’s just ambiguous. I feel like I need to focus on one thing, but when I try, it’s already too mixed up.”
“Then just do it as you were.”
“Umm….”
– Kweeek──────!!
As I climbed the mountain with the background of the Noisy Parrot’s cries, I started to feel a bit overwhelmed.
Honestly, focusing would be fine and all, but I felt a bit frustrated since the path to becoming a Grandmaster wasn’t clearly visible.
Of course, when I mentioned this to Tsukiyo, she burst into laughter.
“What is a kid under twenty talking about? Your level is already pretty strange.”
As she spoke, possibly realizing how silly it sounded, she began to recount the stories from the duel.
“At first, the elves said I should cut him some slack since he was just a kid, but later, they just ate and drank while cheering, and that was just too ridiculous.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
Enok patted his chest and called out to Eri.
[What is it?]
“Eri, do you want to loosen up a bit?”
[Hmm, should I?]
Eri, who had manifested, waved her five tails. But she shouldn’t be underestimated.
After all, it was Eri who usually handled tuning all on her own, which was quite overwhelming for Enok. Without Eri, Enok’s combat power would considerably drop, yet Eri alone was still immensely strong.
[Rumbling──────!!]
Eri burst forth, scattering Ki as she jumped around. Enok, watching his spirit, suddenly looked up, startled.
“Something feels… strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“It feels odd. I think something bad is about to happen.”
“…Don’t say such ominous things. It might really happen here.”
“No, I feel like it’s already happening.”
For some reason, my heart started racing.
Enok turned his head toward the mountain hidden by the trees. It shouldn’t be anything serious… but somehow, the feeling wasn’t good.
[Whoosh────!]
At that moment, a flute sound rang out. Enok’s expression twisted into a grimace.
*
[Seok──────]
Rionne, sweating coldly, glared at the sword that passed overhead.
No matter how skilled Rionne was, a direct hit would definitely take her head off. The owner of the attack was none other than—
Kyle Estor. Her father.
“No way…! Really!?”
The soundless sword filled the air. Rionne desperately blocked the blade, gritting her teeth.
‘Did I really get woken up by the Noisy Parrot?’
There had been no signs or any premonitions. Suddenly, her father’s clone appeared and began to swing his sword without warning.
Was it fortunate that it came at her instead? It was much stronger than she thought, and if it had faced Enok, it might have ended in disaster.
“You’re not cutting me any slack either!?”
Rionne gave it her all. In an instant, she fused with the Undine and manipulated the nearby trees to attack the clone.
[Seok────]
However, the clone effortlessly wielded a sword, blocking everything without a care.
There was no impact at all from the collision of strength. It merely flowed smoothly, dissipating all attacks.
That is the Sword God. The battle between two exalted swordsmen was, paradoxically, silent.
[Kaang-!]
The only sound echoing through the mountains was the occasional clash of their swords.
“Lady Rionne!”
Having sensed the small commotion, Rangers began to gather one by one. They must have been nearby since they arrived quickly.
[Stay back!]
“But…!”
[You’re only a hindrance, be quick!]
In a frantic shout, the Rangers gritted their teeth and maintained a loose encirclement.
[Whoosh────!]
But they couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. They blew into the flute they had on hand to gather personnel.
[Kurung-!]
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning carved its way across the blue sky. A massive purple Ki descended upon the mountains.
[Rumbling──────────!!!]
At that moment, the battle halted, entering a brief lull. The silent clone gazed at the spot where the lightning struck, and the Rangers stared with frightened eyes at its master.
‘That’s…’
‘Rionne’s disciple.’
They had seen her fight during the duel, but the aura they felt now was on a different level entirely. Every hair on their body stood on end. It felt like they had put their head inside the jaws of a predator, and their knees trembled.
‘What a murderous intent…!’
Enok landed and set Tsukiyo down on the ground, then glared at the clone. It wasn’t even staring at them, but his fingertips still shook.
The captain, who signaled the Rangers to fall back a bit, clutched his chest, feeling a suffocating weight.
‘It’s good that it’s on our side.’
The levels were certainly similar. As the captain of the Rangers, he had just recently stepped into Grandmaster rank, so in fact, his level was even higher.
There were elves in the village who were at a higher level, but he had never seen a presence like this. Purely overwhelming murderous intent, regardless of rank.
[Wow, she’s furious.]
Rionne and the Undine in fusion let out a hollow laugh. This seemed to prompt the clone to make a decision as it charged again towards Rionne.
[…….]
Enok, who watched this with calm eyes, entwined Halo and Pathos to create a third ring.
[True Self]
With several colorful rings floating behind him, he reached out expressionlessly.
‘An injury…’
A thin line of a scar etched across Rionne’s cheek. It was undoubtedly a simple wound, but from the moment he saw it, his rationality slipped.
『Blue Color Changing Star』
The capricious blue star revealed itself before the clone.
[Seok-]
It was cut through with one slash, but that was enough.
[Nice, Enok!]
Rionne jumped into the offensive as she received a turn. And it wasn’t just Enok and Rionne present here.
“I have a bad match-up…!”
Gritting her teeth, Tsukiyo weaved through with her uniquely liquid-like movements between the clone and Rionne.
Blades clashed with blades, claws met swords. Knowing it would only be a hindrance to get closer, Enok quietly began casting magic.
[Kuwung-!]
As his foot rolled across the ground, hundreds of magic circles spread behind him. The air shimmered with plasma, and Enok’s fingertips danced gracefully in the air like a baton.
[Flash────────!!]
With the pouring of magic and Tsukiyo joining in, Rionne seized the momentum and began to corner the clone.
‘Is this the best I can do?’
Enok understood. At his level, there was nothing he could do aside from support.
Why? Because he was weak.
Even though he rushed and tried hard, when the moment of importance came around, this is what he ended up with.
Right now, everything seemed to be going smoothly, but what if things went wrong? What could he do then other than just watch?
[…This sucks.]
His anger transformed into inspiration, taking shape into a massive spear made of plasma.
[Woooooo──────]
The multi-colored rings floating behind him aimed the spear at the clone like a tunnel.
『Milky Way』
His feet pushed off the ground. The power surged from his legs, through his waist, shoulders, arms, and finally into the spear.
[Puhwahhhhh────!!!]
The spear was launched, and—
<──────────!!!!>
The moment it passed through the ring, it reached its target at a speed that defied common sense.
“…Not bad.”
For the first time, the clone spoke and moved its sword. The tip of the sword drew a perfect circle. For an ordinary person, just seeing it would be enough to twist their stomach with the slightest error— a flawlessly perfect circle.
[What…!?]
Rionne exclaimed in shock.
[I thought you couldn’t use it!?]
Since none of the techniques had been used until now, they thought it was impossible. However, they could hardly deny the scene unfolding before their eyes.
[Get back!]
Rionne shouted briefly and stood in front of Enok.
『The principle that all extremes must return』
The circle drawn by the clone flipped the world upside down.
That was quite literal. The ground soared into the sky while the sky fell to the ground. Simultaneously, all trajectories of the attacks directed at it twisted in reverse.
[Kuuwuuuuu────────!!!]
Amidst the swirling fragments of cloud, the clone stood quietly, raising its sword.
“Come.”
The calmness of the Sword God murmured.