Chapter 788

The trials that couldn’t kill me only made me stronger.

Every time I beat up Damien, I used that saying like a golden rule, and it applied to me just as much.

It’s been a year and a half since I fell into this world. In that time, I’ve faced countless overwhelmingly powerful monsters.

Ryu-rik, Isabella, the Arm of the Evil God, Or-han, Ragnar.

None of them could kill me; instead, they lost their lives to my hands. Every fierce battle I fought has pushed me beyond human limits, into the realm of heroes and monsters.

The feats I’ve accumulated, the proof of those brutal battles, are here.

Unleashed in the form of destruction.

—-

“Grrrrr…!”

A Ghost Knight swings a rusted, frozen longsword at me with a grotesque groan.

“Amateur.”

A blue arc bites through the rusted blade, shattering it, followed by my right foot erasing the knight’s upper body in one strike.

Metal-infused bone fragments scatter like shrapnel, tearing through the surrounding flesh.

“Kieeeek!”

I raise my left arm toward a monster shaped like a mix of a spider, dragonfly, and eagle.

The Life Force Technique, condensed into an icy blade, extends like a tentacle, grabbing the monster and slamming it into the ground.

The monster explodes upon impact, its flesh blooming like cherry blossoms.

“Kenaz!”

I swing my right arm toward the sky, awakening a Rune Engraving.

A swarm of Imps, spraying paralyzing venom, bursts into flames, turning to ash.

“Waaahhh!”

The moment I hear a child’s cry, my left chest radiates heat like a branding iron.

My Demon Resistance and Holy Mark neutralize the Cursed Mother’s mental attack, and a Vacuum Blade slices open her belly.

Greenish fluid gushes out like amniotic fluid, and half-rotten fetuses spill onto the ground.

“Kyaaaah!”

The Cursed Mother frantically tries to gather the fetuses back into her belly.

I pick up a sturdy-looking monster and hurl it at her. The two monsters explode together, their flesh mingling in a pool of blood.

“Groooar!”

A deafening roar echoes above me. I look up to see the shadow of a Grave Devourer descending to crush me.

– Kwaaaang!

I leap aside, dodging its claws as they strike the ground, causing a small earthquake.

“Too slow!”

I kick off the shaking ground, driving my knee into the Grave Devourer’s jaw.

– Kwaaaang!

Its skull shatters, and I swing Durandal, drenched in monster blood, through its exposed neck.

The blade cleaves through the thick vertebrae, splitting the Grave Devourer in two.

The headless monster collapses, crushing smaller monsters beneath it.

The sound of squelching flesh echoes like ripe fruit bursting on the ground.

– Uuuuung!

A storm of black chains, throwing spears, and blades surges toward me as I hover in the air.

Are there magician-type monsters mixed in? Of course, with this many, there would be.

‘Intercept!’

[I told you not to speak in commands!]

Hersela grumbles but extends her Life Force tentacles, slashing through the incoming attacks.

The spells collide with Crimson Blades, scattering red and black fragments like rain.

I locate the magician monster through my Demon Resistance and hurl Durandal, obliterating its upper body mid-incantation.

– Pwooosh!

The lower half convulses before collapsing.

“Kraaak!”

“Kyooooo!”

No time to retrieve Durandal.

Seeing me unarmed, the monsters charge with a mix of joy and bloodlust.

“Uooooo!”

A Valtir warrior, dressed in beast hides, swings an axe, while a plant-like monster resembling Rafflesia extends dozens of glowing tentacles.

“Kroooaak!”

A hybrid monster, a mix of crocodile, toad, and lion with ten human noses, spews Black Flame.

“Kiiiiit!”

A monster resembling a deep-sea creature with flying squirrel and leech traits descends, spreading its arms and exposing five pairs of reproductive organs.

Seriously, they all look like abominations.

Disgusted, I form Life Force blades on my arms, amplifying my Power of Feats and accelerating my muscles and blood flow explosively.

“Kyaaaah!”

What follows is a literal storm of blood.

Dozens of crimson arcs slice through the air, shredding everything in their path.

The Valtir warrior is cleaved in half, the plant monster’s tentacles are shredded, and the hybrid monster’s flames are scattered by the storm of slashes.

The monster descending from above is diced into pieces, raining flesh and organs.

A high-speed flurry of attacks no one in this era could match.

“Ugh… this is hell.”

But instead of satisfaction, I grit my teeth in disgust.

Of course.

My shoulders are draped with rotting intestines, minced flesh is in my mouth, and I’m drenched in the plant monster’s sticky fluid. Who wouldn’t curse?

Even the smell makes my head spin and body heat up—clearly, the fluid is laced with some kind of aphrodisiac.

…I should’ve dodged instead of blocking.

“Just die already!”

I spit out the flesh in my mouth, toss the intestines aside, and unleash Rune Flame at the plant monster.

“Chirreeeek!”

The Rafflesia-like monster writhes in flames. Across from it, a furry crocodile-toad opens its mouth, ready to spew something.

What, fire? Go ahead.

If you can.

I wipe the fluid off my face and charge, melting monsters with Up-hwa as I close in.

“Gweh?!”

The crocodile-toad, startled by my sudden approach, spits out its tongue instead of flames.

A tongue covered in glowing, tumor-like pustules.

“You think this’ll work?!”

I grab the tongue, yank it, and kick the monster with my right foot.

Like a comet wrapped in flames, it crashes and explodes.

– Pwoooosh!

A wave of black Magi blood washes over me, cleaning off the sticky fluid.

Magi blood is still disgusting, but it’s better than aphrodisiac-laced goo.

Any trace of enjoyment is long gone.

The monsters are too grotesque, the stench of rotting flesh and organs is overwhelming, and my body’s reaction is just plain annoying.

“Yeah… fun’s not in my fate. This is normal.”

I spit out blackened saliva, my blue eyes blazing as I bare my fangs.

“You don’t want to die happy, do you?”

On the black ice stained with Magi blood, amidst the scattered corpse fragments.

“Alright, fine.”

I pull Durandal from the ground and glare at the endless horde of monsters.

“I’ll make you regret crawling out of that hole.”

A surge of killing intent erupts like wildfire.

—-

What followed was less a battle and more a massacre by a monster.

Even I couldn’t describe it any other way.

– Kwadddddd!

Life Force tentacles extend from my left arm, becoming a storm of blades that tear through everything. With each step, blood-red stakes pierce and lift dozens of monsters.

– Pwoooosh!

Before the impaled monsters can free themselves, the stakes explode like grenades.

Crimson fireworks light up the sky, raining blood.

– Pwoosh!

My blade cuts through flesh, bone, steel, and scales alike. Monsters struck by my fists and kicks vanish without a trace.

– Whoosh!

Fierce Up-hwa burns the cavern’s edges, melting monsters before they can emerge from the Black Hole. A Crimson Beam erases everything in its path.

“Krr, krrr…!”

“Grooo…!”

The monsters, driven only by slaughter and reproduction, cower in fear.

When I finally pause to catch my breath, realizing my Life Force is running low, fewer than ten monsters remain in the cavern.