Chapter 674

Reversed Heaven.

A world devoid of color, sound, taste, and smell—my own world—unfolded before me.

In this world where everything moved infinitely slow, I kicked off the ground and charged at Ragnar, swinging Durandal.

A calculated provocation to shake his focus, closing the distance, and then unleashing Reversed Heaven in a surprise attack to strike first.

Hersela complained that it was more of a thief’s tactic than a warrior’s, but this was my specialty.

A technique that was impossible to counter unless the opponent could withstand a single strike or match my speed.

Though, given the enemies I face, this “ultimate technique” gets blocked more often than I’d like.

…But I thought it would work this time.

—

I clicked my tongue, glaring at the platinum shield blocking Durandal’s blade. Though no sound of impact was heard, Durandal’s edge was perfectly halted by his shield.

A fluid, seamless defense. Surprisingly, even under the effects of Reversed Heaven, he didn’t freeze like everything else. Instead, he moved his arm to block my strike.

He was slightly slower than me, but his reaction speed was enough to raise his shield against Durandal’s trajectory.

[ ᚱ ]

The Rune of Acceleration on his hand glowed with a colorless light, just as Knut had described.

But it wasn’t just the Rune of Acceleration.

[ ᚷ ᚢ ᛜ ᛒ ]

Gebō, Ūruz, Ingwaz, Berkanan.

Runes that amplified other runes, granted strength like a bison, boosted stamina, and healed wounds. Five runes protected him, scattering remnants of mana in all directions.

…I didn’t give him time to chant an incantation. Did he force the activation?

It wasn’t impossible.

Before I gained knowledge of rune magic, I too had forced runes to awaken by pouring my Life Force Technique into them. I just didn’t expect him to counter Reversed Heaven that way.

Thinking about it now, I’m glad I didn’t name my heroic tale “The Sword That Always Kills.” Given my track record, I’d have to rename it “The Sword That Occasionally Kills.”

Whatever. I’ve already uncovered one unexpected trick from him, so I’ll take that as a win for now.

Feeling the twisted timeline return to normal, I pressed down on his shield with Durandal and thrust my left hand sharply toward Ragnar’s solar plexus, hidden behind the shield.

– Crackle!

The restored Ice Blade, charged with the Life Force Technique’s lightning, shot forward like a deadly bullet.

Ragnar twisted his torso in a panic, swinging the crimson longsword in his right hand to counter. A slash aimed at my arm from the side. The cursed claw missed, piercing through the air.

“Ambushing during a conversation? How barbaric and rude!”

Ragnar, having narrowly dodged the Ice Blade, snarled with a mix of anger and confidence, his voice clear now that we were out of Reversed Heaven’s world.

Now that color had returned, I could see the rune engravings on his body glowing with a grayish divine light.

Just as I had forcibly used the Rune of Fire with my Life Force Technique, he had awakened the rune engravings with the power of divine light.

…Knut couldn’t do that.

Well, that’s why he remained a vice-captain despite having ten runes embedded.

Anyway, with this, ambushing him with Reversed Heaven won’t be very effective. As long as my movements don’t surpass his reaction speed, he’ll just accelerate to counter.

He probably can’t maintain that hyper-acceleration for long, though. The gray light from the five runes faded quickly.

Considering he even activated the Rune of Recovery, it seems even a brief acceleration would be unbearable without healing magic.

Even a momentary acceleration surpassing the speed of sound—no human bones or muscles could withstand that, even for a heroic holy warrior.

So, I don’t need to worry about being overwhelmed by his speed.

“Barbaric? Like you guys?”

I swung my left hand, now spread like a claw, toward his head as I retorted. Who’s the barbarian here?

“Primitive savages offering human sacrifices to a decrepit god!”

“Insolent!”

Ragnar snapped, swinging his shield. I blocked it with my shoulder and countered with Durandal, aiming for his collarbone.

– Clang!

A sharp metallic clash. Ragnar, having deflected Durandal’s tip with his blood-red sword, twitched his lips, and a storm of lightning erupted around him.

The Rune of Lightning.

Even with Jin’s Silver Sword and Demon Resistance, I couldn’t withstand being electrocuted, so I had no choice but to retreat out of range.

“Got a nerve, huh?”

I smirked, raising the corner of my mouth as I pointed my index finger at him, gripping Durandal’s hilt.

“Kenaz!”

Compressing the fiery heat of the Life Force Technique again and again, I focused it at my fingertip. A crimson Up-hwa formed like a bead at the tip of my outstretched finger—

– Whoosh!

The next moment, it shot out as a superheated beam of light.

A beam of Up-hwa that could melt steel just by grazing it. Inspired by the fire-breathing of the Red Dragon, I developed this technique with Knut’s advice.

Due to lack of practice, it took time to activate, making it hard to use unless the enemy gave me time to focus the Up-hwa’s power.

[ᚲ ᛉ ᚷ]

“Kenaz, Algiz, Gebō!”

Lightning can’t block fire.

Ragnar retracted the lightning around him and activated the Runes of Fire, Defense, and Reinforcement simultaneously to block the Up-hwa beam.

A crimson mana barrier, burning like fire, spread like a curtain.

– Crash!

But it couldn’t last even a second, shattering into pieces.

– Roar!

The Up-hwa beam, having shattered the mana barrier, grazed his raised shield and pierced through the castle walls, stretching into the sky beyond.

If the castle hadn’t been built on a hill, but in the middle of a flat city, that strike would have caused a catastrophe.

“To produce such firepower with just the Rune of Fire… How much blood did you pour into it?”

Ragnar muttered in disbelief, having barely dodged the beam.

“I wouldn’t know.”

While Ragnar retracted the lightning and cast his barrier, I had already closed the distance.

Durandal’s blade, gleaming with a blue light, swung down like a guillotine.

“Not a chance!”

Ragnar raised his soot-blackened shield to block Durandal’s blade. As the blade struck the shield, it emitted a faint light and trembled slightly.

– Clang!

A dull metallic sound, considering the strike was strong enough to challenge even a heroic knight. I frowned slightly, staring at his shield.

The moment of impact didn’t feel like striking metal, but rather like hitting a soft sponge with a foam bat. As if all the force I exerted returned to zero upon contact.

It wasn’t just my imagination. Despite blocking my attack in an unstable stance, Ragnar didn’t stagger or fall—he stood perfectly unharmed.

Thinking back, it was the same in the Reversed Heaven world. Back then, he perfectly blocked my strike just by raising his shield.

I thought he used the Rune of Strength to offset my power, but that wasn’t it.

“That shield… Is it a divine artifact?”

“In Dane, only those who ascend the throne can wield the national treasures. This sword and shield are among them!”

Ragnar tilted his shield to deflect Durandal and swung the blood-red sword in his right hand.

Though, compared to an imperial longsword, its blade was shorter, so I could easily dodge by leaning back.

[ Retreat! ]

If Hersela hadn’t hastily pulled out her Life Force Technique tentacles, I would’ve dodged just like that.

The moment I reflexively stepped back at her shout, his blade, which should’ve been out of reach, suddenly extended, grazing the front of my robe.

For a moment, I thought of Joshua’s heroic tale, but I soon realized this was a completely different kind of attack.

The blade, which had momentarily doubled in length, turned into a liquid and spilled onto the ground.

“Blood…?”

A blade made of blood. Like the Ice Blade, it radiated a deeply unpleasant aura, as if cursed.

“…You dodged. A beast’s instincts, I see.”

Ragnar, having shaken me off with his sword, touched the tip to the ground, and the pool of blood rose up, flowing back into the blade.

A sword that absorbs blood to create a cursed blade. Truly a demonic sword worthy of cultists.

“A demonic sword as a national treasure? Your country was rotten from the start.”

“The blood-drinking sword, Dainsleif. Unlike the leash Elpinel gave her dogs, this is a true divine artifact.”

“What about the shield?”

“Randalin, the shield imbued with the tears of Aslaug, Valkyrie’s descendant. A divine artifact to protect the king.”

I didn’t expect him to answer. Perhaps the stress of hiding for so long made his suppressed pride burst out.

Wait, more importantly—

“A shield imbued with tears and a sword that drinks blood… So, what about armor that drinks poison or a helmet that drinks water?”

“…I’ve never heard of such equipment…?”

Why not?

If there are tears and blood, shouldn’t there be poison and water too? Why not?

I felt an inexplicable anger.