Chapter 585

“You’re still alive, right? I’ll chop you into pieces, you disrespectful brat…!”

My insides are boiling with rage. Grinding my teeth, I stomp on the guy’s sword. The longsword, now stripped of its dark energy, looks more like an antique than a weapon, rusted and worn.

I stomp on the blade again, and with a clang, the old sword shatters, releasing a burst of magical energy. The light surges toward my left hand, searing a mark into my wrist.

…Did I just steal his rune? It feels like receiving a blank check as compensation. Still, it’s not enough.

I exhale a heated breath and step toward him.

Without his sword, he can’t even put up a proper fight. I plan to beat him until he regrets being resurrected as a wraith, then use him as a test subject for the rune’s power.

[What are you doing?! Fix your clothes right now! Immediately!]

Ah, right.

Hersela’s shout brings me back to my senses. I quickly pull my top back on to cover my chest and leap toward my pants, which had flown off in the distance.

The pants are covered in dirt, but it’s a hundred, no, a thousand times better than exposing my groin. No, a thousand times? It’s incomparable.

After getting dressed, I glance at the Knight of Ruins. He seems too shocked by the loss of his sword to attack, just staring at me blankly.

“Jæja… ég ætlaði ekki að láta þetta út úr mér svona…”

What is he even saying?

It’s still an incomprehensible language. Not that I care to understand it anymore.

“What now? Your precious sword just snapped. Just like your future!”

I sheathe Durandal and charge at him. The Knight of Ruins raises his arms, preparing to throw a punch, but I’ve already lost interest in dragging this fight out.

“Bíddu…!”

“Take this, you dog!”

I channel all my feats, spreading them throughout my body, and amplify my will.

**Reversed Heaven.**

I enter a monochrome world where time flows differently, pushing aside his right arm and pummeling him relentlessly until the technique’s duration ends.

His armor crumples under my fists, and his side, pierced by an ice blade, spills rotten organs that float away slowly.

Not done yet.

I swing my leg like an axe, breaking his shin, then thrust my fingers into his eyes and tear them out along with the sockets. The extracted eyeballs flicker like blue candles.

“Kyaaaaah!”

The relentless barrage of punches and kicks. Each strike sends shockwaves that pulverize the surrounding bricks.

With the overwhelming difference in speed, he can barely land a single hit, helplessly taking the beating until his entire body is shattered.

A few seconds later.

As Reversed Heaven reaches its limit, the Knight of Ruins, with all his bones crushed, collapses like a salted slug.

—

“Haa… haa…!”

I gasp for breath, looking down at the fallen enemy. My body feels heavy, like waterlogged cotton. My arms hang limp from exhaustion. The cut on my calf from his blade stings.

This Heroic Tale technique is overwhelmingly powerful in one-on-one situations, but the stamina and energy drain are immense. Just five seconds of use leaves me completely drained.

“Gyahak…! hvað… hvað er þetta…?”

The Knight of Ruins, crumpled like a car crushed by a dragon, mutters as black smoke pours from him like blood. His tone is a mix of confusion and horror. I can’t understand his words, but the emotion in his voice is clear.

Yeah, you must be wondering what just happened. To you, it must have seemed like I suddenly became dozens of times faster.

Not that I plan to explain it to you. Would you even understand?

“Haaa… Well, time to die.”

You worked hard crawling out of the ground, and I’ll make good use of your rune, so don’t worry and just go back to the underworld.

I let out a steamy sigh and wipe the sweat from my brow. The fight is as good as over.

It was fun, but also unpleasant. Time to end this game. After all, monsters must be exterminated.

I reach out and grab his head, twisted like an old testicle. What did he say earlier? Something like…

“Ke…kena…kenaz, was it?”

Yeah, that’s how it sounded.

– Whoosh!

In the next moment, a vast amount of mana wraps around my right arm, erupting into flames. The firepower is on a whole different level now that I know the activation word. It feels like holding a miniature sun.

Just knowing the name makes this much of a difference? The heat is astonishing. Lacey’s Holy Flame probably couldn’t match this.

“Ghaaaaaaaaaa!”

The Knight of Ruins screams as his head begins to melt.

He tries to resist the flames with his dark energy, but it’s futile. The flames, surpassing even Up-hwa, incinerate all the dark energy.

“One more!”

I grab his torso with my left hand and utter another activation word.

“Hagalaz!”

The Power of Ruin, which I’ve seen so many times, now manifests as my own. The concentrated flow of mana in my left hand emits a sinister light, piercing into the monster’s body.

“Gahaak…!”

The Knight of Ruins lets out a final groan. Dark energy bursts from his entire body.

A last-ditch effort? No, it’s more like a human spitting out all their blood after being punched.

From where my left hand touches, the monster’s body begins to disintegrate into dust.

“Grrrrrr…þetta…er…mistök……”

With a final sigh, the Knight of Ruins collapses. Not a trace of energy remains.

Well, his head is almost completely melted, and only the extremities of his torso are left. If he could still resist in this state, he’d be immortal.

I stand up, pulling back my arms, and look down at the wraith turning to ash and dust.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust… right? A fitting end for a wraith who couldn’t stay dead.

Why did you have to strip my clothes and cause such a scene?

—

I light a cigarette and stare at the corpse for a while, but the pile of ash shows no signs of revival. It just scatters with the wind. He’s definitely dead.

I kick the ash into the air and pick up the broken sword as proof of the subjugation, then head back to Leonor and Rana, who are waiting in the distance.

Since the Power of Ruin has transferred to me, the sword has become a useless relic, its runes erased. It might have historical value, but as a weapon, it’s trash.

“Uh… um… welcome back. That was more overwhelming than I expected.”

Leonor, who would usually tease me, seems to sense that it’s not the time and avoids eye contact, fiddling with her hair.

Her awkward consideration only makes me more embarrassed.

“Sis! Your leg! Your leg is bleeding!”

Rana runs over and heals the wound from the wraith’s sword instead of mentioning my disgrace. Thanks to the blessing, it wasn’t a deep cut.

He was a strong monster, so if we had fought properly, I might have been more injured. But the unexpected situation ended it quickly.

Only after killing him did I realize that he must have been just as embarrassed by my clothes burning off. His reactions slowed, and he couldn’t even show his true strength, just taking the beating.

“Done healing!”

“Ah, thanks.”

I pat Rana’s head and lift her onto Cascador’s saddle.

It was a humiliating experience, but the situation is resolved, so it’s time to head back to the capital. Purifying the path the Knight of Ruins took or repairing the collapsed city walls isn’t my job.

That’s for the priests and lords to handle.

“Let’s head back now. We should stop by a village and rest.”

I’m mentally and physically exhausted from expending so much energy in such a short time. I just want to collapse on a soft bed and sleep.

“Yeah, let’s do that. You did well, sis.”

“Yeah…”

I yawn widely, then turn the reins and start heading back the way we came.

Behind us, black ash scatters mournfully over the ruins of the collapsed city wall, as if bidding farewell.

======[Peirus]======

Peirus was baffled by the report sent by the subordinate tasked with monitoring the subjugation of the Knight of Ruins.

The report, encrypted to prevent leaks, was brief and to the point. Its contents were bizarre.

/Variable, target eliminated. Power of Ruin likely stolen. Holy Mark of Order confirmed. Virginity confirmed. Mission highly satisfactory. Grateful./

The information that Ha-shal-leur bore Astraea’s Holy Mark was shocking enough, but what left Peirus perplexed was what followed.

Confirmation of virginity? Gratitude for entrusting the mission? What on earth happened there to warrant such notes?

‘Did she fight naked or something…? Did I misinterpret the code?’

Peirus was lost in thought. No matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t find an answer.

The night deepened with unanswered questions.