340 Chapter
Preches attempted to crush Anthonyus.
But a single sword suddenly slipped through the gap and appeared, blocking Preches.
Preches tried to overpower the sudden obstruction with brute force, but the sword’s wielder countered Preches’ blade strike.
Karddeok!!!
“…!”
Preches couldn’t figure out what trajectory the sword had taken to intercept his attack.
Confused by this unfamiliar yet familiar experience, Preches turned to look at Ray.
And then, Preches noticed that Ray’s movements began to appear fragmented within his field of vision.
Preches distorted his facial features and collided with Ray.
Kagagajak!!!
Determined not to fall prey to the same trick twice, Preches swung his sword in an attempt to break through Ray’s bizarre technique.
However, it was as futile as smashing an egg against a rock.
Chwaak!!!
The posture from a higher dimension tore through the process, projecting only the result into this world.
What Ray executed could not be defined as mere swordsmanship.
It was simply grotesque absurdity and unilateral violence.
Unannounced attacks projected from the fourth-dimensional spacetime pushed Preches back in an instant.
Attempting a clumsy counterattack, Preches ultimately had to focus on minimizing the damage, curling up his body.
Facing Ray tearing apart his last puppet, Preches seethed with emotion.
“YOU…!”
Preches had once pitied Ray.
Because he pitied Ray, Preches now harbored resentment towards him.
“WHY…!”
Preches brimmed with anger.
We… weren’t we both in the same situation?
Didn’t we endure terrible pain, having our fates ravaged and choices forced upon us by some existence beyond?
From that horrific injustice, didn’t I lose everything, holding only hatred, while you should have understood my downfall?
Yet even so, Ray stood in front of him, denying Preches’ hatred until the end.
“Will you die as its marionette after all…!!”
Understanding the loathsome aspect of El-Lam yet choosing to submit to fate, Ray was someone Preches could no longer tolerate.
“Does bowing your head like this make you think it will bless you…!!”
The fury Preches originally directed solely at El-Lam now spread to Ray.
Fueling his rage, Preches further concentrated the corrupted power flowing through his body.
This corrupted power, which might as well be called a collaboration between El-Lam and evil deities, held a strong advantage over most forces existing in this world, including divine power.
Not only holy energy but also the magic of great mages and the sword energy of Swordmasters were powerless before Preches’ corrupted power.
However, even Preches’ corrupted power could not erode the cold emanating from the mana imbued in Ray’s core.
Ttudeok!!!
Their energies canceled each other out, scattering into the air.
If one could not gain superiority through compatibility, overwhelming the other with sheer quantity became necessary.
Kkadeukdeukdeuk!!!
Ignoring the rapid collapse of his last puppet, Preches continued to increase the density of his corrupted power.
Ray also accelerated his core and circle, pressing down on his heart to resist Preches, emitting intense cold.
A realm where even Anthonyus, wielding the Sacred Sword, couldn’t easily interfere was formed as the two absolute forces clashed.
In the midst of it all, two swords brightly burned, continuously carving new trajectories without any discernible process.
Unable to withstand Ray’s offensive, Preches was driven back.
Despite swinging his weapon in response, Preches could not properly counter Ray’s strikes that transcended conventional understanding.
Only Preches was being cut and pierced by the blades.
Still, Preches filled the cracks in his breaking puppet with his soul and hatred, continuing to face Ray.
Even as blood burst forth from his body struggling against the recoil of his techniques, Ray did not stop his sword.
These two beings who had already accepted death fought desperately to die in the place they desired.
Kwadeok!!!
With his arm half-torn off, Preches filled the gap with darkness and swung his sword again.
However, his attack failed to reach Ray, whose sword shattered Preches’ knee.
“Servant of El-Lam…!!”
Preches found the figure before him terrifying.
The sight of someone prepared to sacrifice their remaining life to protect something reminded Preches of the past.
Countless kin who submitted to forced destinies, choosing sacrifice—this brought to mind the final moments of that child for Preches.
“I will kill you, make you regret…!! Until the very end, as its marionette, you who chose sacrifice…!! I’ll make you regret that choice…!!”
“…”
Preches vented his hatred towards Ray.
But Ray did not hate Preches; he understood the hatred Preches carried.
Ray too disliked this accursed world, having been forcibly dragged here and compelled to sacrifice. He could empathize with and pity Preches.
Simply because Ray had… unlike Preches, people he needed to protect.
Because those who loved Ray and whom Ray cared for still remained in this world.
Just for that reason, Ray burned his life to stand against Preches.
Among those Preches had lost, there must have been individuals who accepted sacrifice not due to enforced fate but to protect someone they loved.
But for Preches, who had sent everyone away and remained alone, such truths were no longer important.
Ppadeok!!!
The last puppet made by weaving the six pieces of the first hybrid began to crumble.
Struggling to repair the crumbling physical form of the puppet, Preches reached his limit, only creaking sounds emerging.
As Ray prepared to seal the fight by crossing his two swords,
At that moment, the dark currents hiding Preches’ true self violently fluctuated.
Hwarrrrrlek!!!!
Crimson Dragonheart.
Preches’ heart, the power source containing the corrupted power within his decaying true self.
That mass of calamity detached from Preches’ body and floated upward.
Simultaneously, the dark currents filling the area condensed around the crimson Dragonheart.
“…”
Preches aimed the embodiment of malevolence created by consuming all that remained of himself, directly at Ray.
Finally, the condensed malevolence hovering in the air descended toward Ray.
Without retreating, Ray concentrated sword energy at the tips of his swords.
Two spheres of white emerged from the swords in his hands, resonating with each other.
As the two white spheres drew together, aiming to fuse, Ray hurled them toward the condensed malevolence.
Launched forward, the white spheres fused into one and collided with the condensed malevolence.
!!!!!!!!!!
Massive pressure distorting space spread out, annihilating the surrounding area.
Too powerful to exist in this world, the two absolute forces consumed each other, vanishing.
Under the immense pressure and beams of light cascading from that transcendental phenomenon…
Ray and Preches still faced each other.
Both were battered and bruised.
Only the skeletal frame of Preches’ last puppet remained, and Ray’s movements were no longer fragmented.
“…”
Forcing his already exhausted body to awaken and overwork itself, Ray staggered, unable to sustain his presence in the higher dimension any longer.
Before Ray, Preches gathered all the remaining power maintaining his puppet’s skeletal frame into the blade-like protrusions on his arm.
Preches extended his arm.
Tteok!!
Anthonyus briefly stopped the blade Preches aimed at Ray.
Having reached this place by destroying all other sacred artifacts except the Sacred Sword during the explosion, Anthonyus’ body was half-charred black.
Nevertheless, Anthonyus bought Ray a fleeting moment.
During that brief moment,
Ray gripped one sword with both hands and swung it directly at Preches.
Shaking off Anthonyus in one move, Preches redrew the trajectory of the disrupted blade.
Preches was confident that his blade would shatter Ray’s sword, devoid of any sword energy, and pierce him.
But despite the trajectories clearly overlapping…
Ray’s sword didn’t catch on Preches’ blade.
At the moment their trajectories overlapped, Omega Series’ blade entered A-Space.
Converting dimensional repulsion damage into propulsion, the Omega Series’ blade accelerated beyond measure and plummeted toward Preches.
As the Omega Series’ blade shattered into pieces at the end of its lifespan,
The last puppet of Preches, composed of the six pieces of the first hybrid, was severed in two.
*
Luna stepped into the darkened area.
Though worried about Ray’s safety, Luna believed the current situation wouldn’t become perilous.
Preches had already reached his limit and was self-destructing since beginning the ritual to contact the evil deities.
Unless Preches had undergone full hybridization, handling the corrupted power properly was beyond his capacity.
Thus, Luna chose the option ‘to complete the ritual and step into the boundary line alone.’
Had Luna destroyed the ritual entirely instead of completing it, Ray would undoubtedly have tried to withstand the backlash caused by the collapsing ritual on his own.
Leaving Preches to self-destruct would pose less threat than the aftermath and recoil from a collapsed ritual affecting Ray and others.
Luna had judged thus just moments ago.
“…”
There was still much unease.
Luna couldn’t know if Preches had any hidden trump cards left.
Still, during the process of expelling Preches from the ritual, Luna maximized the recoil focused on Preches to deal maximum damage.
The damage inflicted on Preches during this process wasn’t negligible.
So, believing that the executioners would not find it difficult to subdue Preches and that Ray would remain unharmed, Luna tightened her focus to maintain her presence in this domain.
“…”
Luna wouldn’t stay in this domain for long.
But even in this short time, no one in the world could predict what might happen here.
Within this domain, communication with entities beyond the stars is possible.
Although the influence these star-beyond entities could exert on Luna was limited due to the dimensional boundaries, it was still sufficiently threatening.
“…”
Luna remained tense, prepared for anything.
But as time passed, there was only serene silence beyond the stars.
Repeating the same event she experienced when first entering this domain with Ramenta’s help, Luna began to feel slightly relieved.
However, just as Luna exhaled deeply to calm herself,
“Kill.”
A woman stepped out from the void.
“Kill Lea.”
The woman with long blue hair whispered into Luna’s ear.
“I need to… kill her.”
Branching Paths (6)
