Chapter 410

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 26, 2025

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Do you know what it feels like to be electrocuted by lightning? I’ve felt that quite often.

My vision gets filled with a color that’s neither black nor white, and my ears are overwhelmed with a shrill sound.

I’ve grown accustomed to the sensation of electricity coursing through my body, but it still hurts just the same. It feels like my whole body is being fried to a crisp.

*“Cough! Cough! Ugh.”*

I hacked out a rough cough. It seems I briefly lost consciousness when a massive lightning bolt crashed down above me.

It’s rare for me to faint, but that lightning was seriously powerful, like a tree trunk.

Thank goodness it’s me; if it were an ordinary person, they’d be charred black all over. What’s more concerning is the audience.

That thing was big enough to cover the entire dueling arena, so the audience must have taken some damage too.

*‘If Gulrak had any sense, he would’ve only targeted me.’*

But aside from that, I’m honestly disappointed in Hector.

*‘What a wimp, seriously?’*

How could he request divine punishment from Gulrak at that moment?

And he had a good reason too, which made Gulrak unleash a far stronger lightning than usual.

I would have understood if he’d asked for strength. But instead, he begged for me to suffer direct damage like a coward.

*“Hah…”*

I shook my head. Being hit by that lightning felt like a direct strike, and I was left with a ringing in my ears.

I healed pretty quickly thanks to my regeneration abilities, but the dizziness lingered.

Eventually, I looked around, still slightly dazed.

*‘Thank goodness, it looks fine.’*

It seems the lightning bolt hit right near me and Hector, leaving the arena relatively intact.

Instead, everyone was covering their eyes or ears from the bright flash and noise.

Kara seemed to be the least affected. Being favored by Gulrak, she was calmly looking our way.

Even if it wasn’t Kara, the others would snap back to reality soon enough. The priority is Hector.

*“Hmm. This is quite nice.”*

Hector was massaging his shoulders with a satisfied look. But there was something more noticeable.

He had zero injuries. Despite getting beaten to a pulp, he looked just as unscathed as when I first landed a hit.

Some people were knocked out by the lightning for a while, while Hector emerged with no wounds at all. It’s just not fair.

*‘He should feel embarrassed if he loses even after all this.’*

My inner Gulrak and Hector’s evaluations were gradually dropping in real-time. Still, I wasn’t entirely dissatisfied.

Watching him made me feel like I had gained some answers. I trudged forward.

I spotted Mjolnir just sitting there. It may be called Mjolnir, but it’s just an ordinary one-handed hammer.

*“… Did you find the answer?”*

In response to my question, Hector shrugged his shoulders and replied smoothly.

*“I realized this whole dilemma was pointless.”*

*“Really?”*

*“Let’s just live our lives to the fullest. That’s all I’ve been thinking about.”*

*“… …”*

What kind of carefree answer is that? Is he out of his mind after just getting hit by me?

As I was expressing disbelief, Hector reached back and opened his hand.

His gesture seemed like he was calling for Ragnarok. I silently waited.

*“… …”*

*“… Is it not coming?”*

No way. What are you doing saying stuff like that? This guy is really starting to act foolish.

I shot him a cold stare. Almost dying seemed to have made him more frivolous.

*i>-Whooosh! Thud!*

Fortunately, nothing awkward happened. From afar, Ragnarok flew and landed in Hector’s hand.

With Ragnarok in his grasp, Hector beamed with a smile. It was a truly satisfied grin.

The fact that Ragnarok answered his call meant that Chaos recognized Hector too. I couldn’t help but smirk.

*‘There’s no way this will end badly.’*

Who knows what epiphany he has had? I have no idea what he’d get up to next.

At least the possibility of a worst-case scenario seemed to have vanished.

With this, Kara won’t fall out of the storyline either. We can stick together moving forward.

*“Alright. It’s time to start again.”*

*“The one who almost killed me.”*

*“I received an extra life.”*

*“… …”*

What is this, some sort of game? I couldn’t help but chuckle.

But chances are this is just how Hector is naturally. He’s likely joking around now that he has a breather.

If that’s the case, then I’ll do what I want. Since Ragnarok is now in his hands, I have no reason to hold back.

*“I won’t go easy on you.”*

*“I won’t either.”*

Hector smiled as he gripped Ragnarok tightly with both hands. It was a grin full of competitive spirit.

At the same time, a terrifying aura began radiating from Hector. I flinched at that energy.

I know he’s become stronger through whatever realization he had. But he feels much stronger than I expected.

*‘At least he’s not at the level of a fairy tale hero.’*

He merely recognized his identity as a human; his skill level hasn’t risen.

If he had jumped to that fairy tale hero level, I’d have thrown in the towel ages ago. That would definitely be too much favoritism.

-Crackle!

Lightning started to converge around Ragnarok in Hector’s grip. At first, it glimmered with a blue hue.

Gradually, as the lightning clustered together, it transformed to a pure white and blue.

The immense power could be felt just from looking at it. It seems like it’s time to tense up.

-Fizz!

Red lightning began to gather around my hammer as well. Unfortunately, my throwing skills with lightning aren’t as good as Hector’s.

Instead, I could compensate with the sheer massive amount of magic power and the powerful output characteristic of red magic.

It’s a battle of quantity over quality. Hector seemed to notice that as he marveled.

*“It’s always fascinating to see that red magic of yours. I’m more curious about its nature every time.”*

*“I don’t even know.”*

*“Right. That’s why Chaos seems to like you.”*

-Whooooosh!

The blue and white lightning swayed like it was about to burst. At the same time, everything around us shook.

Simply put, the lightning was shaking the ground. Bits of earth that had been blasted away in our fight were soaring upwards.

It wouldn’t be a full-on attack from us. It’d likely be more like we were just slamming our fists together.

-**Thud!**

Finally, Hector charged at me with Ragnarok held with both hands.

I too rushed at him, gripping my one-handed hammer with both hands. This one strike would gauge our full powers.

As we closed in on each other, we swung our weapons without any notion of who would do it first.

-Clang!

The pure white and blue lightning clashed against the ferocious red lightning. The opposing forces collided.

The results of that clash, which included the conflicting natures and massive strength, were destined to be explosive.

-Flash!

For a moment, a powerful light that mixed red and blue blazed forth.

-KABOOOOOOM!!

A huge explosion, loud enough to deafen, erupted at the center.

“*Cough…!*”

I was knocked back from the recoil. My body was tingling from the overwhelming power.

As I tried to regain my balance while flying, my body wouldn’t listen due to the electric shock.

Even I can’t completely resist lightning. Only Hector poses a real threat.

-Thump!

It was only after colliding with the wall that I finally stopped soaring through the air. I immediately lifted my head.

The first thing that caught my eye was a familiar sight.

*i>-Whoooosh! Whoooosh! Whoooosh!*

Ragnarok was spinning rapidly and coming straight at me.

It looked like it was charged up with blue lightning and thrown with full intention.

-Thud!

I deftly turned my head and narrowly dodged. Given its nature as an axe, its throwing speed can only be slow.

That being said, I could use that to my advantage. Hector surely knows, but I can wield Ragnarok too.

-Swish!

Now I have Ragnarok and Mjolnir in both hands. I smiled to myself and glanced at Hector.

Hector was frozen in a posture where he reached out. His expression looked like, “Huh?”

*“Oh, right.”*

The realization came late. Was it the lightning hitting me that scrambled my brain?

Yet that couldn’t be it; he came charging at me with all seriousness.

Given his size, it looked like a rampaging elephant. An elephant, no less, cloaked in lightning.

If I got hit by that, some parts would surely break. Yet I couldn’t block it with my weapons in hand.

-Whoosh!

In an effort to free up one hand, I threw Mjolnir instead of Ragnarok.

I was confident in my throwing skills, and unlike an axe, a hammer would fly much faster.

-Thud!

But perhaps I underestimated it, or maybe Hector is just that strong.

Hector caught Mjolnir mid-air, gripping its handle and spun around with it.

With a fluid motion, he tossed it up after completing a full turn. It was a smooth action like flowing water.

-Zzzzzt!

From that single motion, a massive wave of lightning surged. The wave came crashing toward me.

I barely managed to kick off the wall and soar upwards. The lightning wave struck the wall, scattering currents everywhere.

Thanks to Hector managing to grab Mjolnir right after, I was spared, or else I’d have been done for.

*‘Just like grandpa said, I won’t get hurt if I follow his advice.’*

Rod had stressed the importance of moving my legs, regardless of whether I was attacking or defending.

“Focus on one thing, and the rest will slip!” he taught me, emphasizing the need to keep my legs moving no matter what.

The usefulness of that lesson just became evident. In the past, I would’ve been struck down.

I floated in the air, glancing down. Just then, I locked eyes with Hector.

By now, Hector was cloaked in blue and white lightning. He surely became stronger.

-BANG!

As I fell, I struck down hard with Ragnarok. Hector lightly parried it with Mjolnir.

When our weapons clashed, blue and red lightning just barely flickered off.

-BAM! BAM!

The ensuing battle, or perhaps street brawl, continued. We exchanged blows with no words spoken.

Occasionally, our weapons would swap places, but we didn’t care. All we had on our minds was to take each other down.

But perhaps due to a defining difference in skill and experience, my body was accruing more and more injuries.

I was covering myself with my regeneration ability, but regeneration consumes a lot of magic.

-Cut!

“Ugh, damn it.”

In fact, losing my hand due to careless strikes from Hector’s Ragnarok was becoming increasingly common.

Fortunately, I was quick to recover, or else it would’ve been pretty dangerous.

*“It’s always… peculiar. Are you even human?”*

*“… …”*

I didn’t answer and swung Mjolnir. As soon as my hand restored, I delivered a proper blow.

*i>-Whoosh!

Sadly, my attack missed. But there was one noticeable change.

Maybe it was due to draining stamina, but Hector’s movements seemed slightly slower.

Being wrapped in lightning all over would do that. That was originally meant to be a last resort.

In the long run, the advantage seems to be on my side. But I can’t let my guard down.

Each cut on my body chipped away at my magic power.

To make matters worse, the lightning made me flinch. That flinch became a golden opportunity for Hector.

*‘Then…’*

I just needed to eliminate that flinch. I leapt back quickly.

Hector, assuming I had retreated for a regroup, left me be. He seemed to feel the need to regroup himself.

*“Hah… Hah…”*

In that moment, I calmly gathered my breath. Typically, gathering breath reduces the heartbeat.

-Thump! Thump! Thump!

But not right now. The sound of my heartbeat grew clearer, and my body became hotter.

I could vividly feel the blood coursing through every part of my body. It felt like I was burning alive.

That burning sensation seemed to overshadow the pain. My head too began to grow hotter by the minute.

*“My eyes…?”*

Noticing my change, Hector muttered quietly. At the same time, he assumed a guarded stance.

Normally, when my life is in danger, my ‘Berserk’ mode activates on its own, turning everything around me to ashes.

Hector almost died trying to contain my berserk state, saved only by Porori’s assistance.

Since then, after training with Rize, I learned to control my berserk state. The technique was named ‘Rampage’ instead.

-AHHRRAAA!!!

I screamed as I charged at Hector. My whole body felt as if it was on fire, but I didn’t care.

Feeling something was different about my state, Hector gripped Ragnarok tightly with both hands. Blue and white lightning surged around him.

Then, he shot that amassed energy at me. Jagged spears of sharp lightning shot forth from the axe.

-Zzzzzzt!

The lightning spear pierced straight through my abdomen. It wasn’t a physical stab, but it was because it was lightning.

Normally, I would have hesitated due to the lightning, but not right now.

It didn’t hurt one bit as I bulldozed straight through.

*“What?!*”

Hector seemed awfully surprised. He hurriedly reclaimed Ragnarok.

As my shoulder came dangerously close to his, he slashed in a diagonal line.

*b>-Zzzzzzt!*

The axe’s blade buried into my shoulder, snaking down to my chest. My shoulder dangled loosely, exposing a nasty wound.

If it had gone in any deeper, it would have hit my heart. But I was fine.

*i>-Thunk!*

“Urgh?!”

I was still able to grab Hector by the neck with my intact arm. I could reattach the half-severed shoulder.

-BANG!

I slammed Hector down into the ground. No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t help but lose grip on Ragnarok.

Ragnarok remained embedded deep in my shoulder down to my chest. My other hand secured around Hector’s neck.

For an ordinary person, options to attack would be limited. But I still had another tactic left.

Right on my head. With a body tougher than most steel, my head should be quite solid too.

As I lifted my head to execute a headbutt—

*“I surrender!”*

*“… …?”*

*“I surrender! I’m surrendering! Can you hear me?!”*