Reunion (1)
Chapter 76
In the space painted stark white, Ray looked down at the girl.
A smirk escaped from Ray’s lips as they stretched into a grin.
“Stop messing around and hand over what you’ve prepared.”
“Oh? But I’m not lying~”
“There seems to be some misunderstanding…”
Ray grabbed the girl by her hair and brought his face closer.
The playful expression on his face quickly hardened.
“I don’t care about your world.”
There’s no Cola, no smartphones, nothing decent for entertainment.
Technology levels are either worse than Earth’s or any advanced parts aren’t widespread.
However, even disregarding these societal infrastructural aspects…
“The incomprehensible characters wielding power in this world, overflowing with lunatics like you… This accursed world that forcibly dragged me here and pushed me this far…”
Ray’s hands gripped the girl’s neck.
Intense emotions surged, infusing strength into his grip.
“I despise it.”
Sometimes.
Perhaps often.
He was plagued by an impulse to crush everything within reach.
He had no intention of listening to some transcendent being’s request to save the world.
He didn’t want to lift a finger for this cursed world.
But eventually, the love and devotion of one woman moved Ray’s heart.
Even so, while Ray felt attachment to a few people, he still harbored hatred toward this world.
“I have no plans to linger uselessly in this cursed world.”
Pushing the girl against the wall, Ray tightened his grip on her throat until her face flushed red.
As their foreheads touched, Ray ground his teeth.
“So, hand over everything you’ve prepared.”
“Kekekeke…”
A harsh laugh escaped the girl’s lips.
Crunch!
The moment Ray’s grip snapped the girl’s neck completely, her form began to blur and slipped out of his grasp.
Bang!
Cracks spread across the white ceiling.
The walls collapsed entirely, revealing a brilliant white band of light.
The blurred figure of the girl spread her arms wide.
“Fine, I’ll give it to you.”
A white band exceeding a meter in radius began to rotate around Ray.
“This is a Circle finely tuned to control only the Core of a Spatial Blade, created by refining fragments of my soul.”
Squeal!!
The rotating white band around Ray started compressing.
Feeling an oppressive pressure squeezing his chest, Ray gritted his teeth.
The fading image of the girl waved her hand.
“I’ll give you all the arrangements I’ve made…”
Crack!!
As the space imprisoning Ray shattered, the girl’s final voice echoed like a lingering sound.
“Go. Go and achieve what you desire.”
*
BOOM!!
A part of the cliff that had collapsed earlier crumbled again with a deafening roar.
The cold air dispersed as Ray emerged from the wreckage.
Crunch crunch
Ice shards crunched underfoot.
Ray, calm and collected, was about to sheathe the sword in his right hand when, as the dust settled, his expression twisted slightly.
The destroyed and sunken ravine came into view.
Blood splattered everywhere, and familiar faces lay scattered.
Suppressing his wildly beating heart, Ray spoke.
“Ropheiren.”
A deep voice emanated from Ray.
“Take care of the survivors.”
Many were gravely injured but not dead; if applying pressure with cloth doesn’t work, freezing or supporting the wound with magic would be necessary to stop the bleeding.
Ropheiren regained his senses and hurriedly stood up.
“A- alright.”
“…”
Passing Ropheiren, Ray wrapped his sword in Sword Aura and reached for his waist with his left hand.
Hummm!
The Core inside Ray’s heart began to surge.
The Circle rotating outside his heart tightly constricted the restless Core.
Due to the resistance from the Core being compressed, the mana within the Circle scattered violently in all directions.
Drip drip!
The ground where Ray stepped began to freeze.
Mouse, witnessing this scene, let out a hollow laugh.
“What a lunatic…”
Two swords. A Circle. Whirling coldness.
It was clear who Ray was imitating.
Were there only a few madmen like this in the history of the Empire?
Countless individuals had tried to reach the level achieved by Harshia.
They mimicked Harshia by creating Circles around their hearts but fell before reaching the Expert rank.
With the exception of extraordinary techniques like Spatial Blade,
the coexistence of a Core and a Circle leads to extreme inefficiency.
This fact is known even to neighborhood children, yet Ray had encircled his heart with a Circle.
‘Having the talent to handle Sword Energy at such a young age… Yet ruining his future by succumbing to arrogance.’
It was utterly pitiful.
Still, one had to admit that it looked impressive on the surface.
Ray’s stance perfectly matched the sword forms of Harshia-style Spatial Blade, which now only existed in name within the Empire.
And naturally, Harshia-style Spatial Blade was the Empire’s highest secret.
Yet Ray was flawlessly reproducing it.
“…”
Mouse’s expression stiffened abruptly.
At the same time, Ray began spinning the swords in both his hands.
Each time the swords completed a rotation, the Sword Energy adhered to them flickered.
The Sword Energy, flickering.
Mouse felt an itch.
It was hard to endure the chilling sensation spreading across his skin.
To shake off the irrational unease, Mouse forced himself to take a deep breath.
That instant.
BOOM!!!
The upper part of the ravine exploded.
It was the area where the Mages had been waiting.
What had hit them?
Mouse, who had unconsciously turned his head toward the location of the unexpected attack, immediately twisted his waist.
From a great distance away, Ray had appeared instantly right in front of him and swung his sword.
KRAK!!!!!
The clash of Sword Energy and Sword Strength.
No matter how compressed the Sword Energy might be, it was supposed to shatter upon colliding with Sword Strength, but Ray merely took a step back to dissipate the impact.
Whirl
Ray’s sword spun once more in place.
The Sword Energy flickered.
After a brief hesitation, Mouse followed his instincts and swung his sword behind him.
BOOM!!
Mouse managed to intercept the Sword Energy descending through the air just in time.
That instant, Ray’s figure vanished from the spot.
Snap!!
Ray’s sword pierced straight into Mouse’s throat.
When Mouse deflected the attack, Ray spun his sword once and slashed downward with both swords crossed.
The entire process happened in a flash, and the air was being torn apart once again.
[Behold.]
Ropheiren’s voice, which he had ignored earlier, rang in Mouse’s ears.
[The pinnacle of Imperial history has returned.]
“You…!!”
BOOM!!!
“Who exactly are you?!?”
Mouse, barely managing to counter Ray’s sword strike, gripped his Core almost to the point of making it go berserk.
Mana spread in all directions, carving grooves into the ground.
The nature of the Decomposition Blade that Mouse had mastered resembled a curse.
It weakens the bonds between materials, causing structures to collapse.
Crack!
The skin on Ray’s body, caught in Mouse’s mana, began to split roughly.
Just as Ray was about to advance without concern, a storm of Sword Energy engulfed Mouse.
KRAK!!
Although Mouse easily defended against the attack, Hercules had already surrounded Ray’s body by then.
Saria, who had barely mustered up mana, panted heavily as she knelt down.
As Mouse, filled with rage, was about to unleash a Sword Strength attack toward Saria,
the surrounding space tore open.
Mouse felt terror rising in his throat.
Sword Energy poured in from all sides.
Clang clang clang!!
Swinging his sword wildly couldn’t defend against all the incoming Sword Energy.
The top-tier armor provided by the royal family barely protected Mouse.
For users of Spatial Blades, giving them any distance or time was unforgivable.
Realizing this, Mouse immediately charged at Ray.
Clang!!
Their swords clashed.
Mouse glared at Ray.
An unauthorized user of Spatial Blade within the Empire.
His very existence was treason.
Was there room for negotiation?
No, they had already crossed the line.
Thus, he had to kill him here.
This was the last chance to eliminate him before he grew stronger.
Zzzt!!
All the mana Mouse had accumulated over his lifetime surged out uncontrollably.
The force that decomposed matter went berserk, starting to harm each other.
The protective power of the armor Mouse wore was superior.
As time passed, Ray would become increasingly disadvantaged.
However, that was assuming Mouse could endure for enough time.
Clang clang clang!!
The void kept tearing apart.
Brilliant Sword Energy charged from all angles.
The armor, having endured several hits from Sword Energy, finally gave way and broke.
Mouse’s lips, which had been trembling, gradually curled into a sneer.
The peak of Imperial swordsmanship, Harshia-style Spatial Blade.
Now Mouse could fully comprehend the terror that the enemies of the Empire faced hundreds of years ago.
‘Thus, it is even more imperative…’
to kill him.
The remaining rational thought concluded as much.
If a traitor to the Empire had leaked the secrets of Spatial Blade to teach this youth, there was no way Ray and the Empire could maintain good relations regardless of this incident.
Mouse recalled a sense of duty he had long forgotten.
“Aaaaaaaah!!”
With a scream bordering on a howl, Mouse crossed his two swords left and right.
The moment Ray blocked Mouse’s attack, the void tore apart.
Falling down, the Leaping Sword Energy was absorbed by Mouse’s body.
Crack!!
The defensive function of the armor ceased completely, and the leather covering Mouse’s back burst open.
Blood flowed profusely from Mouse’s mouth as he clenched his teeth to bear the pain.
Mouse stared at Ray with bloodshot eyes.
What advantages did Mouse have over Ray?
Strength, physique, and the quality of the swords and armor.
Creak!!
Mouse pressed Ray down with his sword.
Despite stepping into the Sword Strength-infused blade, Mouse exerted all his strength to prevent Ray from escaping.
Pouring all the remaining mana into the Sword Strength.
Ray’s Sword Energy could sufficiently withstand Mouse’s Sword Strength, but the weapon couldn’t.
Squeak!!
One of Ray’s swords, continuously abused by the swirling Sword Strength and Sword Energy, began to scream.
Ray’s gaze shifted to the sword in his right hand.
The original cracks engraved on the sword spread further, drastically reducing its strength.
Mouse unleashed a monstrous roar with his final strength.
“GHAAAA!!”
Mouse’s powerful blow descended onto Ray’s head.
Mouse wasn’t sure if he could cleave Ray in two, but he believed he could inflict a fatal wound.
That instant.
The void tore apart, releasing a stream of light.
Mouse initially thought it was Leaping Sword Energy but soon realized his assumption was wrong.
Sssss!
Through the rift in space, a silver-white sword hidden in A-Space revealed itself.
An inscription in strange characters was etched onto the blade.
Though Mouse couldn’t read the inscription, he knew its meaning.
“To the Empire…”
Glory.
Passed down from the First Emperor and lost after Harshia used it, the Imperial Divine Sword ‘Moros’.
Blinding flashes of light filled Mouse’s vision.
