Book 1 Chapter 772
772.
“Hmph!”
The man's huge forearm twitched.
A powerful aura emanated from the huge greatsword clutched in his hand.
Seeing that, Chen Xia quickly closed the distance with the man.
Kiiiiing!
A sharp sound, as if tearing through the air.
‘Quite brave, but a foolish choice.’
The man, seeing Chen Xia charging towards him without hesitation, had no doubt about his victory.
He thought she possessed strength strong enough not to be considered a young girl, but that was all.
Chen Xia felt the Blade of Crushing, which could even tear apart air, lunging at her.
Shhhk-
But Chen Xia closed her eyes and kicked off the ground even harder.
The man's eyes widened! as he saw that.
Whoosh-!
Chen Xia, having plunged into the Blade of Crushing, found an opening and charged straight in.
“Impossible!”
The man, letting out a cry of alarm, hurriedly tried to check Chen Xia as she closed the distance.
But Chen Xia was faster, burrowing into the man's embrace.
‘Her eyes are closed?!’
Seeing Chen Xia like that, the man's face contorted.
Thwack-!
Chen Xia's fist burrowed into the man's side.
It was a small, delicate fist, but the power contained within it was immense.
Water is flow.
The more water flows.
And the longer that flow is held back, the stronger it becomes.
Chen Xia's single blow, which had dammed up the water's aura at her fingertips without letting it flow out like a dike, was heavy and powerful.
In addition.
Whoosh-!
As Chen Xia twisted and plunged her fist in, a tremendous rotational force was generated, like a torrent.
“Urgh!”
A distorted scream burst from the man's mouth.
Kwagagagagagak-!
The man's body, flung back, flew through several buildings.
“Hoo-ah.”
Chen Xia exhaled and opened her eyes.
The reason she closed her eyes was extremely simple.
‘Super-senses.’
That was Chen Xia's way of stepping into the realm of super-senses.
Of course, Chen Xia's super-senses were merely at a very basic introductory stage.
Moreover, the sense that entered the realm of super-senses was also incomplete, limited to ‘touch’ alone.
‘Lord Arion and Young Master Leo… they live in this kind of realm.’
Super-senses that Chen Xia, accustomed to darkness, gained by temporarily blocking her sight.
Even with only these incomplete super-senses, it felt like a new world.
As Chen Xia was marveling.
Thud-! Ku-gu-gu-gung!
The buildings where the man had been flung collapsed.
The man emerged from the rubble of the buildings, appearing before Chen Xia.
The armor he was wearing was torn off like paper.
The man, with his upper body exposed, was smiling with an intact face despite having suffered an enormous impact.
“Quite impressive. But reckless. Charging blindly in terror saved you.”
“If that felt like a reckless charge, then I suppose I know your level.”
“Hmph. Are you showing guts? I like it!”
The man struck his chest with his empty hand.
“But maiden, your attacks cannot pierce this steel-like body of mine.”
The man, speaking boldly, extended his hand to Chen Xia.
“What do you say, maiden? Will you not serve the Goddess, like I, Acatris? You are fully qualified to be chosen as a warrior of the Goddess.”
“Goddess? What’s that?”
“Ah, how regrettable. To think there are humans who have forgotten Nyx, the Freezing of Death…”
“Just by looking, it sounds as ominous as the Flames of Calamity.”
“Lady Nyx is different from a calamity that seeks to burn the world.”
Acatris laughed.
“What she desires is to create an ideal world. To do so, she will beautifully cultivate this world.”
“And after that?”
“She will freeze the world, making time stand still.”
“In the end, it’s destruction, isn’t it? It doesn’t seem much different from Erebus.”
“Yes. But it won’t happen in our time.”
Acatris smiled confidently.
“In her divine grace, you can place the world at your feet and enjoy honor and power until you die. What do you say? Doesn’t that tempt you? Furthermore, I, Acatris, am her favored warrior. I will stand at the pinnacle of humanity. I do not yet have a partner. You are fully qualified to be my partner and bear my successor.”
“I’ll decline your disgusting offer. I’m already taken. My body and heart belong to one person.”
Chen Xia smiled faintly.
However, her eyes were coldly distant.
“It doesn’t matter. In fact, I like it even more. I also enjoy taking things.”
Chen Xia let out a snort of laughter.
“Someone like you can’t possibly do anything to that person. Well, you wouldn’t even be able to speak to them in the first place.”
“What?”
Chen Xia smiled broadly and lightly tapped her own neck.
Acatris, who had an puzzled expression at her action, instantly covered his mouth as something hot surged up from his throat.
“Your body is tough, but your regenerative abilities are amazing. To think it’s only now showing a cut.”
“Wha… *cough*!”
Acatris, clutching his throat with the hand that wasn’t covering his mouth, glared with wide eyes.
Thud-! Clang-!
The heavy body fell to its knees.
Chen Xia approached Acatris.
A dagger was already clutched in Chen Xia's hand.
“When I struck your side earlier, I slashed your throat with a dagger. In that process, I channeled the water’s aura into your bloodstream.”
That water aura became a blade, hacking away at the inside of Acatris's body.
“Normally, this kind of attack would either be felt as pain and reacted to, or detected by aura detection and rendered ineffective… But it seems you have the ability to block pain sensations inflicted on your body. Moreover, you seem to only know how to use power, but are completely unskilled at controlling it.”
“Cow… coward… *cough*!”
“Cowardly? You’re talking about cowardice when you can’t even deal with such a basic attack?”
Chen Xia smiled brightly.
“So, would you like to say that again? Taking whom from whom?”
***
Celia took a deep breath.
A beast-man warrior who moved at an immense, invisible speed using his leg strength.
His powerful claws wounded Celia's body in various places.
Hwarereureuk-!
An aura formed on Celia's sword.
“How foolish. Your slow swordplay cannot cut me!”
The beast-man's mocking laughter was heard.
At the beast-man's mockery, Celia instantly swung her sword.
Whoosh-!
“Huh?!”
The sword was swung, accurately predicting the beast-man's path.
“What a shame. It was a little too fast.”
Celia said dismissively.
She admitted he possessed a speed fast enough to be invisible.
But…
“Your attacks are monotonous. Predicting your path isn't difficult.”
Celia snorted.
Just as she said, the beast-man warrior's attacks were far too simple.
“How amusing! I’ll kill you before you can fully predict my movements!”
The beast-man warrior said ferociously.
At that moment, a light gleamed in Celia's red eyes.
Soon, Celia's vision entered the realm of super-senses.
Then, the beast-man, moving at immense speed, became visible.
Celia kicked off the ground.
Since all movements were visible, predicting the enemy's path was extremely easy.
Swish-!
“Ack?”
Thunk-!
Celia's sword cleanly severed the beast-man warrior's neck.
The neck of the one who was cut, burned by the flame aura, had a cauterized cross-section, and no blood flowed.
“Hmph. What a waste of physical abilities.”
Celia snorted.
***
Before Eiran, there were countless tunnels.
The dwarf warrior who appeared before her was an enemy who moved underground and attacked.
It seemed like an ordinary ability, but his movement speed underground was immense, making him difficult to catch.
Eiran's ears twitched.
Soon, Eiran plunged into the tunnel.
‘How foolish! To enter the tunnel I dug, trying to catch me!’
The dwarf warrior scoffed at Eiran.
This was akin to leaping into the heart of enemy territory.
‘How should I hunt this foolish elf…?’
Tap-tap-
“Excuse me.”
“Huh? *Cough*?!”
Seeing Eiran tapping him from behind, the dwarf warrior was startled.
Eiran slammed the dwarf warrior's head with her shield.
Crash-!
“Ho-how…?”
The dwarf warrior, eyes rolled back, foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
Eiran's pointed elf ears twitched incessantly.
“I can hear everything…”
For Eiran, whose hearing had entered the realm of super-senses, catching the dwarf was no big deal.
***
Chloe was trapped in ice, her entire body frozen.
“To dare challenge me with ice magic. You are a foolish human.”
At that moment.
Crrrack-!
The ice cracked, and Chloe broke free from within.
The elf mage's eyes widened.
“I had high hopes, as it was a magic formula I’d never seen before…”
Chloe sighed.
“It’s an interesting formula with infinite potential for development, but the user’s skill is terrible. Relying solely on vast magical power in combat. It’s an archaic idea.”
“A-archaic, to me, a genius mage?!”
Seeing the elf mage react almost hysterically, Chloe wore an expression of disinterest.
“I’ll show you what ice magic truly is.”
Goooooh-!
A massive magical power surged within Chloe's body.
The sensation from when she had entrusted her body to Licinas before was revived.
At that time, Licinas had used magic of a power Chloe herself couldn't wield, using Chloe's body.
‘It’s proof that my research is still insufficient.’
Saaaaah-!
A chilling aura emanated from Chloe's body.
Crrrack-!
Ice formed from the ground and transformed into Chloe's likeness.
An ice clone.
The clone began to chant a spell.
Chloe layered another spell on top of it.
A fusion magic powerful enough to endanger the caster.
However, the ice clone took on that risk instead.
“Ugh! Do you think I’ll just leave you alone?!”
The elf mage hurriedly tried to use magic.
But Chloe completed her spell faster.
Flash-!
“Gah?! How could she cast such fast magic…?”
“It’s just a simple activation formula.”
Chloe shrugged.
‘Lady Luna and Lord Licinas were amazing even without knowing activation formulas like this, though.’
The two's magical skill far surpassed the common sense of modern magic trends.
Of course, comparing the elf mage before her to those two was rude.
‘A mage intoxicated by their own magical power.’
There was no easier enemy to face than such a mage.
Chloe looked at her clone and said.
“Attack!”
At her command, the ice clone flew forward.
And it collided directly with the elf mage, causing a massive explosion.
Booom-!
The ice clone exploded, and ice particles began to rain down from the sky.
“…Chloe. What kind of magic did you create?”
Celia, who had dealt with her enemy and returned, asked with an incredulous expression.
Eiran, having emerged from the tunnel, also stared blankly with her mouth agape.
In response, Chloe said with an innocent face.
“Self-destruct magic.”
“…Aren’t you uncomfortable with a clone that looks exactly like you exploding?”
“Hmm? Why?”
Seeing Chloe's expression of incomprehension, Celia shook her head in exasperation.
“When I see you like this, I really feel like you’re a true mage.”
***
Enisilia's eyes widened.
She simply could not defeat the elf before her.
“Wh-what the…!”
“Nothing special.”
Lunia withdrew her flames.
And she scoffed, looking at Enisilia, who was swollen beyond recognition.
“Rudely, with fists…!”
“Oh, what about fists! I kicked you too! You cursed woman who serves Erebus’s cousin!”
Lunia kicked Enisilia repeatedly.
“You only care about living well, no matter what happens to future generations? That’s ridiculous! You’re worse than those traitors!”
“Aargh! To do such a thing to me, the Elf King…!”
“Elf King, what! I’m the successor of the Nebula Progenitor! I’m greater than some Elf King!”
“Wow… she’s practically a gangster.”
Lunia, who had been stomping on Enisilia, turned her head.
“Chen Xia. The human you were facing?”
“He was spouting dirty nonsense about liking to take things, so I took his life.”
Chen Xia answered with a faint smile.
“Alright, then, shall we finish off this elf now?”
Chen Xia looked at Enisilia with a bright smile.
At that, Enisilia, seething with malice, cried out.
“The great Saints will not let you get away with this!”
Kwagagagagak-!
The moment those words ended, something flew in with the sound of a massive explosion.
Thud- thud- rolling-
It was none other than the demon with pale skin, the Third Saintess, Pury.
Sssrk-
Pury's head melted away completely.
Enisilia's eyes were filled with horror.
Someone walked from the direction Pury had flown from.
A beautiful face reminiscent of a goddess.
But her presence was so fierce that it made onlookers tremble with fear.
In her hand, she held the Third Saint, Phlegethon, by the scruff of his neck, now reduced to rags.
Phlegethon, too, soon melted away and vanished.
“Ah, it’s a nightmare… This is a nightmare…”
As Enisilia muttered, dazed.
“Is that elf?”
Licinas's chilling eyes turned to Enisilia.
“The one who caused the commotion.”
“Y-yes, yes…”
Lunia answered with a trembling voice.
At that, Licinas growled fiercely and was about to approach.
“Alright. That’s enough.”
Leo, who appeared from behind, put his hands under Licinas's armpits and lifted her up.
“I’ll handle that elf.”
Licinas, with a sullen expression, glanced back at Leo, who was holding her from behind.
And she snorted.
Once Licinas calmed down, Leo put her down and approached Enisilia.
“What are you going to do?”
When Lunia asked with a puzzled expression, Leo said calmly.
“I need to extract information.”
“How?”
At Lunia's question, Leo smiled broadly.
“Usually, when they’re in enough pain to want to die, they confess on their own.”