Kwaahaaaang!
It was no longer the noise a fist could produce. The Divine Being’s Sword, caught off guard by a sudden attack, skittered across the ground and fell after bouncing away. Angie followed up and proceeded to beat the fallen Divine Being’s Sword.
The master of magic had unleashed an explosion and stacked damage.
An opponent who, under normal circumstances, could have been overwhelmed through skill due to evenly matched stats.
However, now, the sudden increase in ability and his own weakened state prevented the Divine Being’s Sword from overwhelming Angie.
With his broken arms, he had no means of subjugation left. Yet he did not give up. The Divine Being’s Sword let out a shrill roar and struck down with Victory.
“Ugh!”
A blow capable of cleaving a human in two. Angie’s arms intercepted the attack. Though they broke, they did not sever.
As she watched her arms begin their rapid regeneration, Angie paused momentarily due to the pain, as did the resolute Divine Being’s Sword.
Angie soon recalled Aslan’s words:
No matter what happens, do not stop moving forward.
So Angie acted. Her move lacked any technique—just a simple push-off powered purely by brute strength, which shoved the Divine Being’s Sword backward.
Tzheeeeng!
A retreating figure. Following the receding form of the Divine Being’s Sword was another swift one. The moment it stopped, a fist was raised.
Kararak…!
Accompanied by the sound of clashing metal.
The special trait of ‘Tenacity’ was not something flashy like luck or mana. But it was powerful.
Reaching the realm of superhuman tenacity granted its owner an indefatigable body.
In battle, there was no faltering, no weariness.
It bestowed a body that would not break under any fight or hardship.
Its name was ‘Indomitability.’
During combat, this special trait nullified all forms of movement restriction and action constraints imposed on its owner, rendering ineffective any stat reductions, level absorption, or status ailments.
Moreover, it doubled the usage limit of existing martial arts traits, making it exactly what Aslan needed at this moment.
An exhausted, near-collapse body. Despite the heavy blood loss clouding his mind, Aslan moved as if nothing were amiss.
On this battlefield, Aslan never stopped.
Karararak! Clenching his fists, Aslan assumed his stance.
A strike impossible to replicate without enhancements.
But with the use of the special trait, it became possible.
His stance resembled that of the Dragon King.
An ancient martial art cultivated by dragons over millennia.
Though it appeared to be a simple straight punch, it was the culmination of centuries of experience wielded by the Dragon King.
Given enough acceleration, it could be replicated.
And Aslan had just that—acceleration.
His dense metallic muscles tightened, and the mana flowing through his prosthetic limbs enhanced his strength.
For a brief moment, his stats reached near-superhuman levels.
Just for that instant, Aslan became the Dragon King.
Wooowooooong—!
The turbine roared violently.
‘Summon Thunder.’
An unfamiliar voice reverberated in the minds of both Aslan and the Divine Being’s Sword.
Kwarrrrrroooong!
And with the thunder, a dark trajectory surged toward the Divine Being’s Sword.
Wrapped in thunder, the reimagined straight punch of the Dragon King launched forth.
The coiled dragon’s fist pierced the back of the myth slayer.
“―!”
A mouth agape in agony, a cracked exoskeleton scattering, fractured vertebrae, and a bent body.
――!
With the shockwave rippling outward, the body flew. Fragments of the shattered exoskeleton were flung into the air. Waiting for the flying body was Angie.
Kwaahaaaang!
A high kick sent the body soaring into the air.
Under the sunlight, the Divine Being’s Sword was perplexed.
He couldn’t comprehend how he, a mere human, could be subjected to such treatment.
Being the Divine Being’s Sword, the inaugural grandmaster of combat, and the last emperor, he couldn’t understand why he was being driven into such humiliation.
Even after burning his life force and divine power, preparing to relinquish everything,
he was the one dying now.
Having lived over four thousand years as the Divine Being’s Sword, he couldn’t comprehend dying at the hands of such insignificant beings.
Yet, what he overlooked was right there:
Human strength.
Hundreds of soldiers repeatedly charged, burning their lives to chip away at him.
Through enduring those relentless attacks, he grew weary and depleted.
His techniques were analyzed, his resources exposed.
Amidst the countless lives and deaths of heroes, he was gradually stripped bare and consumed.
The deep gashes carved by hundreds of soldiers slowly tightened around his neck.
It was the moment when, fueled by unwavering resolve,
those who valued something more than their own lives, even accepting death, finally transcended and sank their teeth into him.
Kwaahaaang!
The Divine Being’s Sword embedded in the ground didn’t understand this power.
Thus, he met it head-on with his own.
The purity held by Aslan and the victory grasped by the Divine Being’s Sword clashed, representing the will of humanity and the malice of the priest.
Clearly, the Divine Being’s Sword had the upper hand in strength.
But Aslan did not yield.
With the miracle in his hand and the relentless burning of his own life force and will, he stood against the Divine Being’s Sword.
The clash of descending victory and rising purity erupted amidst sparks. Between flashes of red and white light, lives were exchanged multiple times.
Between the blooming and fading flames, they clashed sharply several times. The collision of malice and will split the line between life and death.
The echoing space. The spreading roar. In the midst of staggering steps, a thrust was caught by the arm of the Dragon King, pushed aside as Aslan turned his body. A long arc was drawn.
‘Mooncutting.’
Aaaaaaak, tzheeeek!
A splitting face. A falling cheek. The suffering Divine Being’s Sword faced Angie charging recklessly.
Her natural move was a dropkick—a method to naturally release immense force. With the added acceleration, the dropkick hit the back plate, causing the myth slayer’s body to bend as blood spewed from his mouth.
As the fractured vertebrae shifted further, the sword slipped from his grasp, rolling on the ground.
Kurrrr, amidst swirling dust, the Divine Being’s Sword swung another reckless punch, but Angie stepped forward to meet it.
Though Angie’s strength was only slightly superior to the Divine Being’s Sword, it wasn’t enough to overturn the technical gap.
She couldn’t defeat a high-ranking priest who burned life and divinity.
Still, despite all this,
Angie did not retreat.
Blocking the incoming wild punches with the back of her hand and deflecting them with her shoulder, she landed ten punches in quick succession.
Even with only one arm, her overwhelming martial arts flourished, and ten punches rained down on Angie’s face from different angles.
Yet she didn’t fall. Instead, after receiving those ten punches, Angie delivered one punch in return.
Kwaahaaaaang!
A powerful blow accompanied by a thunderous sound. Blood surged as the punch connected, bending the myth slayer’s body.
Attempting to recover while vomiting, the cycle repeated itself.
She didn’t fall. She wouldn’t die. That was the impression given.
Technically, the Divine Being’s Sword was dominant.
Strength was nearly equal; it was a difference that could be bridged by skill.
But she wouldn’t retreat. Regardless of the odds, even as blood poured, internal organs spilled, eyes, arms, and legs were lost, she still raised her fists.
The Divine Being’s Sword watched Angie and felt fear.
A chilling terror gripped him.
He perceived an indestructible, uncompromising monster.
To erase that fear, he forced himself to push Angie back while defending the attacks. It wasn’t an offensive push but a defensive shove. With the forceful blow, Angie was pushed back, and the Divine Being’s Sword roared.
“――!”
A mournful roar. There was no response. Angie caught her breath and immediately charged again.
Her high-raised fist and blazing golden eyes reflected a certain man.
The Divine Being’s Sword turned his body convulsively to see that presence, Aslan.
Aslan holding purity and victory in each hand.
The radiant ancient deity’s sword and the greatsword soaked in blood shone crimson as if lying were impossible.
A brilliant light as if recognizing its true master.
The Divine Being’s Sword screamed.
Four thousand years.
All the time he had lived.
That was his sole solace.
Screaming as it was stolen away, the Divine Being’s Sword raised his fist, while Aslan tilted his sword, seemingly ready to swing both simultaneously.
And then, a single slash.
Swinging swords simultaneously.
At the last moment, the Divine Being’s Sword raised his arm to block the incoming blade path.
Though he would lose his arm, he could bite the neck and kill afterward.
There was a large opening in that attack, and a fleeting moment would suffice to tear it apart.
If the Dragon King hadn’t used his arm to hold a weapon, this tactic wouldn’t have worked, but now that terrifying fist was wasted on holding a weapon.
Anticipating victory, the Divine Being’s Sword noticed something unusual the moment he collided with Aslan.
‘Knight Slayer.’
Ka-ga-gak!
The sword slicing through the arm’s exoskeleton revealed the truth—it was just one sword.
Victory was absent. And the Dragon King’s arm had turned darker.
The Divine Being’s Sword realized the situation upon seeing the hand.
Before the collision, the Knight Slayer was deliberately chosen, sacrificing Victory.
Naturally, the next move was an attack. When the Divine Being’s Sword turned his remaining eye, Victory was there.
The woman standing tall with no technique, wielding the sword high. The crimson-haired woman swung the sword with full force.
He had to resist. If he took this sword now, everything would end. As the Divine Being’s Sword tried to react, Aslan twisted his wrist.
The pure iron sword reverted to its original plain form as it pierced deeper, tilting and destabilizing the balance.
Tilting, the body leaned.
Victory came crashing down.
Eejijijijik!
Splitting exoskeleton, a massive gush of blood, and a body impaled into the ground.
As the Divine Being’s Sword helplessly endured the powerful slash, Aslan dropped his sword and clenched his fist.
The target was the Divine Being’s Sword.
The stance resembled the Dragon King’s.
But it was slightly different.
A posture devised by Aslan to replicate it without a tail, wings, or acceleration.
A stance achieved through 12 years of struggle and battles, forcibly blossomed through sheer determination.
‘Thunder Summoning.’
As Aslan assumed the stance and locked eyes with the Divine Being’s Sword, his body vanished faintly.
Kwarrrrrrrroooong!
Vanishing with the thunder. The surging sword trajectory. At the end of that trajectory, the fist glowed white.
It was a punch lethal enough to kill even a ferocious beast.
A strike created by the gods to pierce the thick heart of a dragon.
‘Heart Piercing.’
The martial arts trait, Heart Piercing.
Unleashed atop the Dragon King’s iron fist, the whitened scale-covered fist shattered the chest of the Divine Being’s Sword.
The body instinctively bent backward, and the residual force accompanied by thunder swept the Divine Being’s Sword away.
The completely crushed heart trembled and spurted blood, while blood and soul erupted from his mouth.
While flying, the Divine Being’s Sword suddenly remembered something.
A childhood scene, far from anything resembling a life review.
A portrait hanging, declaring him the most noble descendant of the imperial bloodline.
The god of war and knowledge.
His young self admiring it with longing.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga!
The momentum carried the Divine Being’s Sword scraping across the battlefield covered in blood. A trench carved by the myth slayer’s body crossed the battlefield.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu…!
When the momentum finally waned and the Divine Being’s Sword came to a halt, he was staring at the sky.
The sky that once split and forever changed the world.
The sky that remained open ever since that day.
Even amidst sorrow and death, the sky remained open for the last emperor.
The chest was cleanly pierced.
The heart lay shattered, cold on the ground.
Lying flat, facing the sky, the last emperor, the high priest imitating the god of war and knowledge, opened his mouth.
“―.”
As the light slowly faded from his eyes, the sky that had finally opened closed once more.
