339th Chapter
Ray tightly bit his lips and steadied his breathing.
It was dangerous for anyone, even Luna, to recklessly step into the realm where communication with transcendental beings was possible.
Ray felt as if his insides were burning, but there was little he could do for Luna at this moment.
“…”
Forcing himself to calm down, Ray turned his eyes toward the darkness covering the pit in a hemispherical form.
The currents of dark energy emanating from Preches showed no signs of weakening or disappearing.
In fact, they grew stronger with each passing moment.
Ramenta observed the scene with bewilderment.
“…He can’t control it.”
The corrupted fusion of powers that Preches possessed was never meant to be handled by mortal flesh.
Even a body blessed by evil deities would only last a hundred years under such strain.
Yet Preches seemed to be expelling all the corrupted power from his decaying body, as if trying to purge it completely.
The most immediate conclusion from this situation was ‘self-destruction.’
Even if there were other intentions, it was clear that Preches was on the verge of self-annihilation.
There was no reason to confront someone wielding uncontrollable and dangerous power who was about to destroy themselves.
Ramenta attempted to create a gust of wind to retreat along with Ray and Anthonyus.
However, at that moment, the wildly swirling corrupted power began to condense.
“…?”
Ray, Anthonyus, and Ramenta, who were about to retreat, simultaneously felt perplexed.
The corrupted power, which until moments ago seemed impossible for anyone to control, started to coalesce into one and then quietly subsided back into the darkness.
The situation was far from ordinary.
Lea and Anthonyus silently adjusted their weapons while Ramenta checked the remaining mana in her circle.
From within the darkness concealing Preches, something began to stagger out on two legs.
A monstrous creature, standing at approximately three meters tall, emitted a grinding metallic voice.
“Crawling into the Demonic Realm… You’ve ruined my nonagram… I will kill all of you.”
Ray stared at the puppet formed by stitching together six pieces that Preches was moving.
Compared to the previous encounter in the Imperial Capital, the final puppet revealed by Preches now had an incredibly grotesque appearance.
It was as if decayed corpses had been collected from various places and forcibly stitched together.
Though truly repulsive, Ray felt a distinct sense of déjà vu from the oppressive aura emitted by the creature.
Given its uniqueness, identifying it wasn’t difficult.
“…Looks like he’s mixed up everything with the remnants left behind by the first hybrid.”
“…!”
If the first hybrid’s flesh was used, handling the corrupted power should have been possible.
But using just the remains of the first hybrid, whose soul had already vanished, clearly had its limits.
As evidence, Preches’ final puppet was already showing signs of collapse.
Similarly, Preches’ own body, which had recklessly extracted corrupted power to animate the puppet, wouldn’t last much longer either.
“Truly…”
Until the end, it was a disgraceful and pitiful retaliation.
Still, the strength of this existence, albeit temporary, was extraordinary.
Preches looked at the world through the eyes of the final puppet he had created and moved his mouth-like organ.
“You’re coming with me.”
KWAANG!!!
In an instant, Preches accelerated, blocked by Anthonyus.
The blade wielded by Preches, swirling with corrupted power, pressed down on the Sacred Sword.
Anthonyus stood his ground against Preches’ attack, but upon seeing the Sacred Sword’s radiance being eroded by the corrupted power and losing its light, he openly frowned.
He had hoped the Sacred Sword would differ slightly, but it too failed to resist the erosion.
The disadvantage was truly overwhelming.
KWAANG!!!
Forcing Preches’ blade away, Anthonyus simultaneously activated the still-functional relics.
Preches made no room for error and attempted to slice Anthonyus, but a golden spear shot from somewhere and fell towards Preches.
KWAGGANG!!!
The nearby relics reacted to the sacred mark Anthonyus had secretly embedded into Preches during a surprise assault and fell consecutively.
The relics embedded around Preches resonated, creating a divine barrier.
During the brief respite provided by the divine barrier, Anthonyus reorganized his equipment.
On the ground where divine energy burned brightly, Anthonyus, now clad in a semi-transparent armor, advanced with glowing chains of light, clinking as he clashed with Preches again.
CHHENG!!!!
The Sacred Sword, wrapped in blessings, swung like a blunt weapon, striking Preches.
With every swing of the sword, Anthonyus, armed with heavy radiance, shook the ground.
The overlapping divine barriers and endless streams of light chains suppressed Preches’ movements, leaving him vulnerable.
However, the divine barrier quickly crumbled under the flow of corrupted power emanating from Preches.
KWAD!!
The moment the divine barrier collapsed, Preches extended his massive hand and effortlessly stopped the Sacred Sword.
He then swiftly severed the chains of light swirling around Anthonyus before kicking him violently.
PWHUMP!!!!!
“…!!”
Unable to counteract the force of the kick, Anthonyus was sent flying far away.
KUUNG!!
Only after crashing into a cliff that had been previously faintly visible did Anthonyus finally stop moving, spitting out blood.
The translucent armor, covered in defensive barriers strong enough to blanket an entire fortress, was already cracked and crumbling.
Despite repeatedly spitting blood, Anthonyus managed a hollow laugh even amidst his disorientation.
“Huff…”
Anthonyus was far from weak.
Although precise close combat might not be his forte, the power of Anthonyus wielding the Sacred Sword undoubtedly reached Lord-level strength.
Still, the disadvantage was truly overwhelming.
All forces based on divine energy were being halved in front of Preches.
Meanwhile, as soon as Preches threw off Anthonyus, he immediately targeted Ramenta, who had been supporting Anthonyus from behind.
Ramenta displayed a slight sign of distress.
Exhausted from prolonged battles, Ramenta’s magic circle was almost depleted of mana.
With the remaining mana, she could easily handle minor enemies, but resisting Preches, who wielded condensed corrupted power, was extremely difficult.
She needed to unleash high-level spells to restrain him, but she lacked the necessary mana.
“…”
Preches rapidly closed the distance.
Ramenta resigned herself to survival and calculated ways to inflict maximum damage on Preches.
However, before Preches reached her, Ray stepped forward to block him.
CHHENG!!!
Ray didn’t budge.
Regardless of whether it was the fused power of hundreds of years of transcendentals or some other great force,
the Spatial Blade could shine without being consumed by any type of power.
The cold aura emanating from Ray suppressed the corrupted power flowing from Preches.
While blocking the blades, Ray noticed familiar fragments among the broken armors covering the puppet controlled by Preches.
Among the crudely connected pieces…
were parts of Harshia’s armor that Ray had seen in visions.
“Hah…”
There, in front of him, were remnants—what could be called souvenirs—that remained even after the destruction of both body and soul.
Looking at the clear evidence that Harshia had been here, Ray felt more sorrow than disgust.
That sorrow was directed not only towards Harshia but also towards everyone present here.
CRACK!!!
Preches began to wildly slash at Ray, venting his anger.
Even the crude slashes were hard for Ray to block, and with each clash, Preches’ movements became increasingly refined.
As Preches grew accustomed to his new puppet, he executed his swordsmanship more perfectly and imbued it with emotion.
The hatred for what he had lost poured onto Ray.
Caught in this storm of hatred, the two swords in Ray’s hands began to lose their light.
GROAN!
Struggling to withstand the recoil of the battle, Ray stumbled backward, his knees buckling.
The sword energies on the two swords Ray held had already peeled off, leaving only a single streak of sword aura remaining.
Trying to forcibly generate sword energy by squeezing his body no longer worked as the mana inside him refused to flow properly.
“…”
Ray realized he had truly reached his limit.
Although the core located in his heart and the circle continued to rotate powerfully, ready to unleash strength, his physical body could no longer support him.
The body, which had endured long-term hardship, was gradually stiffening and no longer responded to Ray’s will.
KWAANG!!!
At the critical moment, Anthonyus rejoined the fight, taking the blow meant for Ray who was about to fall, and shouted.
“Fall back!!”
Retreating was the right choice.
Although the puppet Preches controlled was powerful, it was already visibly breaking apart in various places during the brief battle.
Abandoning frontal assaults, it was better to buy time and induce his self-destruction.
But… Would Preches, who had accepted his death and fueled his movement solely with endless hatred, collapse so easily?
Even using Anthonyus as a shield, escaping from Preches was uncertain.
Even if they succeeded in escaping, there were too many concerns.
“…”
Ray couldn’t retreat.
He couldn’t afford to lose Anthonyus, a powerful ally and future mediator, here.
Luna also needed to be quickly retrieved from the other side of that realm, and it was unacceptable to leave her vulnerable to attacks from Preches when she returned to reality.
Therefore, Ray couldn’t retreat and had to win this final battle.
“…”
Preches was desperate because he had lost everything he wanted to protect, and Ray held onto his sword because there were those he had to protect.
But miracles cannot be achieved by willpower alone.
Ray had few options left, having reached his limit.
‘To me… if I use that…’
He could win this battle.
No.
Ray shook his head.
That choice was unacceptable.
Ray had to return alive.
He had to go back and resolve his younger brother’s issues, confess and apologize for his lies, and he wanted to make an effort, even once, to change Luna’s heart.
So, even if he became a cripple who couldn’t walk or stand alone, he had to return alive.
PUK!
Ray plunged a dagger he had received from the Emperor into his heart.
The divine energy condensed in the dagger reacted with the blood, spreading from the heart.
This dagger could only act as a temporary stimulant rather than a restorative for Ray’s body, which had already reached its limit.
It didn’t matter. This was Ray’s final battle anyway.
The mana swirling in the core and circle flowed temporarily through the rejuvenated body, causing violent tremors.
Ray heard the cries of his collapsing body while amplifying the mana trapped within him once more.
CRACK!!!
Ray blocked Preches’ sword strike aimed at Anthonyus.
Ray’s movements began to falter noticeably.
Crossroads (5)
