Chapter 498

The Guide, Diraid.

Despite his lowly appearance and crude fighting style, his combat abilities were quite strong, befitting the leader of the cult. His attack power was inferior to Ryu-rik, but his defense was much higher, and thanks to the variety of attack methods using his monstrous body, he was still a tricky opponent.

Seeing even these lowlifes beginning to surpass the realm of masters, it was clear that the world was changing rapidly. Though a proper upheaval hadn’t occurred yet.

Recalling Valenstein, who couldn’t wait a few months and started a rebellion, I ducked to avoid the greatsword and used the Ice Blade to overturn the ground, blocking the venomous liquid spraying from his lower abdomen.

– Sssssss!

The emerald-green liquid scattered in all directions as it hit the marble. I thought it was acid because of the color, but when I threw a cultist to block it, I realized it was poison. A disgusting fluid mixed with paralyzing venom and aphrodisiacs. It seemed the base monster was one that used humans for reproduction.

The smell of the venom was unbearably foul, so I had been fighting with the purification device Asha made, covering my nose and mouth.

“You dodge well. But how long do you think you can keep running?”

“Hmm. Until you grow old and die?”

The massive figure charged at me. His elongated left arm tore through the ground like a plow, swinging like a curved sword drawn from its sheath.

Though the third arm had been torn off, unlike before when only claws grew, now blades sprouted all over the left forearm.

I bent down to dodge the claws, severed the following blades with the Ice Blade, and then blocked the greatsword coming from the right arm with Durandal.

– Kwaaaaang!

The marble beneath us shattered in concentric circles, spewing fragments. The clash of swords had already turned into a deafening roar. The collision of a superhuman and a monster. Both had long surpassed human limits.

Of course, unlike Diraid, who had stitched together a monstrous body, I was still purely human.

“More and more, I desire it. A transcendent body that surpasses human limits while still maintaining a human form! I will devour your body and take another step forward!”

“Dream big, why don’t you!”

I swung Durandal to knock away the greatsword and threw a dagger to sever the approaching tentacles.

Pink blood gushed out. Though it wasn’t Jin’s silver, it would regenerate soon. But if it grew back, I’d just cut it again.

“Gaaaaah!”

Diraid, momentarily castrated, roared and charged at me even more fiercely.

The greatsword swung like a storm, slicing through the walls and floor of the prayer room like paper. Repeated collisions. The remnants of the attacks tore through the surroundings, turning Shaulite’s prayer room into ruins.

“Haaaaah!”

“Kyaaaaah!”

Diraid’s left arm tore through Ryu-rik’s hide, and in retaliation, Durandal’s blade left a deep gash on his scales.

His defense was as tough as dragon scales, strong enough to block even Jin’s silver sword. I blocked and deflected the greatsword while looking for an opening to strike.

If I used the full power of Reversed Heaven like last time, it would be simple, but since Belcus and Eljure were likely just as strong, I had to conserve energy.

Seilon and Lacey were also fighting while conserving their strength. If we used powers like Judgment Day or Holy Flame recklessly, we’d be exhausted by the time the final enemy appeared.

So, it was more efficient to conserve energy and ambush when an opening appeared.

Or… create an opening myself.

**Like this.**

“…You call yourselves the Ascendants? The more I see, the more pitiful you are. So pathetic that I almost feel sorry for you.”

I stared at Diraid with a look of pity, as if I were looking at a shivering puppy in the rain. His brow furrowed instantly.

“Pity…? What nonsense are you spouting…?”

Hmm, good reaction. Let’s shake him up more.

“No, really. The look of inferiority in your eyes, the way you talk. It’s obvious you’re talentless weaklings desperately imitating others’ power.”

I didn’t stop talking even as I swung my sword. The mouth is a door that brings calamity, and the tongue is a sword that cuts the body. In a way, isn’t this also dual-wielding?

“No matter how much you envy, what’s the point of forcing yourself to imitate others while turning into such a grotesque form? The limits of incompetent fools are obvious. You’re just wasting your effort.”

“Shut your mouth!”

The greatsword swung even more wildly. Attacks driven purely by strength, without any technique. His composure was crumbling.

[Fighting with your mouth again? At this point, you might as well have two techniques.]

‘So what? It’s effective, isn’t it?’

Religious fanatics usually have a fit when you mock their doctrines. Cultists are even worse.

I deflected the greatsword falling like a guillotine with Durandal, twisted my body to dodge the following left arm, and then raised my left hand to point at my chest, smirking.

“See? You can’t even surpass a nineteen-year-old girl. Pathetic. Dreaming of ascension? Even if you give wings to a worm, it won’t become a dragon.”

“You dare mock the path of ascension!”

Diraid’s greatsword grew half again in length and thickened.

A slash that even his right arm alone couldn’t wield, so he gripped it with his left arm and swung down. The air screamed as it split under the sword’s momentum.

A true hero’s strike, and the opening I had been waiting for.

“Idiot.”

I smiled fiercely and leaped forward in a low stance, like a wolf pouncing on its prey’s neck.

– Whooooosh!

The greatsword roared past above my head.

The lower body drew closer. The tentacles, now regenerated, reached out towards my face. The familiar but unwelcome tips glistened with moisture.

With the purification device covering my nose and mouth, the grotesque thing wouldn’t enter my mouth, but just touching it might rot my skin.

“If you want to ascend so badly…!”

I wedged Durandal’s blade into his neck and shoulder, fixed it, and then pushed off the ground with both hands, twisting my body sideways. My vision, which had been facing the ground, flipped to face the ceiling.

The blue blade drew a circle. The tentacles that missed were sliced like tofu by Durandal’s blade.

“Gweeeek!”

The last of his attack methods, the goat-like head, sprayed venom mixed with aphrodisiacs. I pushed off the ground with both legs and my left hand, leaping like a frog to dodge.

The green fluid sprayed too late, scattering uselessly on the shattered ground.

“I’ll send you to ascend!”

In an instant, I closed the distance and leaped. His crown came clearly into view as I looked down.

“Try it! If you can pierce the dragon’s scales!”

Diraid’s head was covered in black scales. The same material as the scales covering his body. He was confident he could block Durandal’s strike.

Yeah, he had every reason to be confident. After all, his scales had been blocking Durandal’s slashes.

Instead of answering, I took a deep breath and gathered all my strength into my arms.

No matter how tough, it was still a monster’s body. It didn’t have the power of invincibility. It was just a bit lacking in destructive power.

So, I could pierce it.

There’s no way I couldn’t.

If the strength wasn’t enough to break it, then I just needed to hit it harder!

I spun Durandal around, gripping it in a reverse grip, and placed my left hand on the hilt’s decoration. The Power of Feats ignited. My arm muscles hardened like steel, swelling as the Ice Blade let out a creaking groan.

The scaled head was right in front of me. I poured all the pulsating power into the blade’s tip and struck down with all my might.

–

The cathedral’s windows shattered.

“Kuh, gaaaaah…!”

Diraid let out a bizarre groan and staggered. The shockwave from the collision shook the air. My left arm tingled as if electrocuted.

“See? You can do it.”

I stood on his shoulder, exhaling the breath I had been holding, and laughed.

Diraid didn’t answer. No, he couldn’t answer. His head must have been spinning. Durandal’s tip, slightly off from his crown, had pierced his scales.

Only about 2 cm, but it had pierced nonetheless.

…Really disgustingly tough scales. If a dragon’s scales are this tough, how strong must a real dragon’s be?

I let go of Durandal’s hilt, placed my right hand over my firmly gripped left hand, and raised my arms high. And then,

– Kwaaaaang!

I hammered down on Durandal’s hilt with my fist. Once, and then again. Like a pile driver breaking through the ground, endlessly.

Durandal, embedded in Diraid’s head, tore through his skull and emerged from his jaw.

“Guh, gweeeek…!”

With the blade cutting through his brain, Diraid let out a weak groan and knelt. Foamy saliva mixed with blood dripped from his gaping mouth.

“Geeeeek…!”

His pupils rolled around. His gaze swept the battlefield. His left arm, which had been limp, convulsed and twitched madly.

An instinctive reaction, not rational judgment. His body seemed to be searching for a sacrifice to replace his damaged brain. Most of them had already been turned into mincemeat by Seilon, Leonor, and Nigel.

But still, about twenty were left alive. Two of them were high-ranking members. If he caught them and regenerated, the wounds I had inflicted would heal.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I kept Durandal embedded in his head, climbed down, and firmly grabbed his left arm.

Perhaps because part of his brain had been sliced off. The arm I held thrashed like a fish on a cutting board, but his resistance was pitifully weak.

“Now, it’s time to ascend!”

I planted my feet firmly on the ground, swung my hips and arms like hitting a baseball, and hurled his body into the air.

Diraid flew upwards, defying gravity.

Even with a monstrous body, his height was only about three meters. His entire body wasn’t made of steel, so his weight was only a few hundred kilograms. Worth a throw.

Diraid’s left arm, searching for a sacrifice to regenerate, flailed helplessly in the air.

Even a stretchy arm has its limits. His arm had already reached a height where it couldn’t grab anything.

And so, Diraid’s body touched the cathedral’s ceiling.

– Kwaaaaang!

The marble roof shattered instantly, raining down fragments. Diraid, having broken through the ceiling, soared into the sky. For a brief moment, he had achieved ascension!

Before Diraid got too far, I pulled my feet out of the ground and leaped into the sky, shattering the ground beneath me.

My body shot upwards. After several leaps off the fragments, the distance between us closed rapidly. The runes on Durandal embedded in his head were clearly visible.

“Guh, this, this way…!”

Perhaps he had regained some rationality, Diraid flailed his arms to knock me away. But it was just the flailing of a wingless creature.

– Whoosh!

The greatsword missed entirely, and only his left arm reached towards me. Instead of blocking or deflecting, I focused the Power of Feats into my left arm and extended the Ice Blade.

Reversed Heaven.

My left hand, compressed in time, grabbed the blade on his forearm before his arm could reach me.

I yanked my left arm, climbed onto his forearm, and ran up to his head. I needed Durandal to completely cut off his breath.

Grabbing the hilt, I pulled Durandal out. As the blade scraped his brain, Diraid’s pupils convulsed again.

“Gweeeek!”

“Ha, groaning again. Ascension is over, now it’s time to go to hell.”

I pressed Durandal against his neck and placed the Ice Blade against the opposite side of the blade. Like pressing down on the back of a kitchen knife to slice through meat and bone.

“I’ll guide you!”

My weight added to Diraid’s upper body, tilting his head towards the ground.

And then, the fall began.

Hair and clothes fluttered in the wind, rushing upwards. The howling wind echoed in my ears.

Diraid tried to swing his arms to attack me, but my legs pressed down on his arms, making it impossible.

“Gaaaaah! Ai-shan Gi-orrrrr…!”

With both arms pinned, Diraid desperately extended tentacles to wrap around my body and tear me off, but the damage to his brain must have been too great. It was just disgusting, not threatening.

Honestly, it was really damn disgusting.

“Stop flailing and just die quietly-!”

My roar echoed like a reverberation. The ground was close now. Like a comet falling to the earth, with a beastly scream, the cathedral’s floor welcomed us.

– Koooooong!

Diraid’s neck split like firewood.