âSo, what's the plan?â
The one who started up the conversation was Iliya.
It was the question she couldnât help but ask Dowd every time things like this happened. Everyone who hung around him to some extent would be able to relate to this due to his personality.
But, this time, he didnât really have a decent plan for the situation.
The best thing that he could do was think of something close to common sense or basic principle.
âDefeat them all and advance.â
â...What a nice and easy plan to understand.â
Iliya said while glaring in the direction in front of her.
âTeach.â
âHm?â
âThose Devils⊠Are they originally that brutalâŠ?â
â...â
Dowd let out a bitter smile as he stared in the direction she was looking at.
Aside from the column of fire that burned the surroundings and the heat it produced, there was one other thing that stood out.
Influenced by the red flame, âBlack Soulsâ emerged one by one from the ground.
Those things werenât the life forms that came out of the Dimension Gates. They were only âbyproductsâ of the Red Devilâs Demonic Aura.
HoweverâŠ
The Spirit Forms were beings that were powerful enough to leave a mark on the Material World even after their deaths. So, the fact that such beings were showing their âtrue formâ just because of the Demonic Aura just showed the degree of the threat the Aura possessed.
To put it in other wordsâŠ
The Devilsâ status was high enough to cause such a phenomenon just by the sign of their âawakeningâ.
Just by seeing dozens to hundreds of those Spirit Forms coming out already made people feel nauseous, since even one of those could cause a whole catastrophe if it was released in a populated area.
â...This is just the beginning of phase one. Still bearableâŠâ
âWhat?â
âNothing.â
As she saw him muttering something puzzling while seeing the scene, Iliya let out a sigh internally.
This person could not be more calm even in this situation.
Actually, she wondered if she could call it as him being calm. Because nowadays, it felt like he had lost any human-like emotions.
â...You said to defeat them all and advance, right?â
Iliya muttered, looking nervous.
The Spirit Forms that were growing in number glared at them with hostility. Seeing how their eyes were bright red, it was safe to assume that they had gone crazy due to the Demonic Aura.
Which meant that those beings would be hostile towards them even if they didnât provoke them.
âI donât think we can achieve that with any ordinary means. There are not many ways for a living human to cause damage on Spirit Formsââ
âGive it to me.â
Dowd said while pointing at the Holy Sword that Iliya was holding in her hands.
âI canât do this a lot of times, so watch carefully.â
â...Huh? What does thatââ
Before she could finish her question.
Dowd snatched the Holy Sword from her hands.
In that instant, Iliya started freaking out.
âW-Whaâ! T-Teach! H-Have you gone nutsâ!â
Her words were cut off as she let out a âHeupâ.
The fact that his body didnât âexplodeâ right away shocked her.
He isâŠokayâŠ?
Does that mean he is the master of the Holy Sword?
â...â
Wait.
No.
Just like her a while back, the bright light that was supposed to come out when the Hero held the Holy Sword was nowhere to be seen.
Besides, he wasnât even okay in the first place.
The great power that came out from the Holy Sword actually tried to travel around his body, but it was âblockedâ by something in the way.
On his chest, the seal that was engraved there was shining darkly.
It was a strange explanation, but there werenât many ways to express such a scene.
Like a sticky black soot that stuck on the bottom of a dark abyss. Like the darkness of rotten things that melted together as they were clumped up together.
Such an insidious aura was flowing out of his chest.
The aura of the Holy Sword and the aura that came out of the seal collided with each other in the arm that he used to hold the handle of the sword. As if it was under the stress of holding such power, his arm turned black from necrosis.
âNormal humans would explode as soon as they hold this thing, but as long as you know the âprincipleâ behind it, youâd be able to deal with it to some extent.â
Even though his body began to rot before he could tighten his grip on it with his left hand, he kept on explaining it in a peaceful voice.
âThe aura of the Holy Sword came out from its core. By extension, its âpurifyingâ properties that could cut off all kinds of special powers also come from there.â
After thatâŠ
-!
-!!
Towards the Spirit Forms that were rushing towards them with ear-splitting screamsâŠ
âEven without the bright light of the chosen one, itâs still possible to âutilizeâ that property.â
He swung the Holy Sword.
After thatâŠ
-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The area.
Was compeletly âpurifiedâ...
The aura that came out from its core, which was embedded in the center of the sword, emitted a light that brightened everything nearby.
This was the bright light that could only be emitted by the one who was acknowledged as the Hero. That same light was scattered around them..
And that was enough to make all the Spirit Forms surrounding them disappear completely.
Without leaving a single trace.
âŠOh my goodness.
Iliya watched the scene with her mouth wide open.
The Holy Sword of the First Hero, mankind's most powerful weapon among the things that a human being could touchâŠ
She was well aware of the swordâs reputation, but she did not expect it to be this powerful.
The bright light of the Holy Sword was an âalways-on effectâ.
What Dowd did was only a crude imitation of it.
Yet, such a crude imitation held this much strength.
It allowed him to easily draw the power that was only possessed by the humans who were called Saints.
â...â
Yet, the most ridiculous thing about this whole thing wasâŠ
The existence of this man, who had arbitrarily created such a phenomenon.
Iliya looked at Dowd while gulping dryly.
Those who were not qualified would die once they touched the Holy Sword due to its transcendental power that was bestowed by the Seraphim.
This was almost like a law. To only âpartiallyâ suffer damage and even âutilizeâ its properties like this was almost miraculous.
Her Eye of Truth made it possible for her to see through the principles behind all kinds of phenomenons, so she could analyze what exactly had happened just now.
âŠNo wayâŠ
What she saw wasâŠ
This man in front of her contracted the Holy Swordâs power with the âother powerâ planted inside his body.
With the âDevil's powerâ that was accumulated inside the seal engraved on his chest.
He used the other Devilâs power that he had been gathering so far.
To put it in different wordsâŠ
âŠHow far has he gotten?
This person had already become something that was far from a âhumanâ.
She gulped dryly as she looked at Dowd.
And from now on, how far is he going to get?
Greater, further, higher.
This man was constantly changing himself that way.
Someone who stored âseveralâ powers of the Devils inside his body. This was unheard of in history. freŃnovelkiss.com
This alone could already explain why the higher-ups of the Holy Kingdom, Tribal Alliance and even the Empire expressed their big interest in each one of this manâs actions.
But...
Even soâŠ
â...â
In truthâŠ
She was afraid.
There was no way he could gather the powers of such transcendental beings inside his body without experiencing any side effects.
The viciousness of the aura that she saw just now was beyond imagination, and if he were to continuously keep such things inside his bodyâŠ
She knew that was how he grew his strength.
But at one pointâŠ
The side of him that she âlikedâ was gradually fading away.
His upright selflessnessâhow he used to do things in favor of people around him. To the point he looked like a fool.
The empty laughters he used to let out at times, his unique and awkward way of evading things whenever he was taken aback.
Those things that made her fall for this manâŠ
The things that used to make her heart flutter as if she was choking up whenever she heard his voiceâŠ
The coziness and warmth she used to feel from the human called Dowd Campbell.
All of those were gradually becoming faint, fading away.
It felt as if he was changing into âsomethingâ mechanical and purpose-driven.
â...Um, Teach.â
That was why, even after witnessing the miraculous exploit that had just unfolded before her eyesâŠ
Her vocal chords produced words that were filled with anxiety.
Because she felt that at this rateâŠ
She would become completely distant with this person.
That was what she felt.
âLet me ask you something, Iliya.â
Dowd said as if cutting off her words.
He tossed the Holy Sword in her direction to return it.
âDo you know why you didn't get âacknowledgedâ by the Holy Sword?â
There was one obvious fact.
Dowd was not the master of the Holy Sword. She had just seen how the Holy Sword attempted to burst his entire body while rejecting his existence.
The master of this sword was Iliya. It was just that she had not been acknowledged by it yet.
While receiving the Holy Sword, she replied in reluctance.
â...Is it because I'm weak?â
âNo.â
Dowd answered while letting out a sigh.
âItâs because you're dependent on me.â
â...â
Iliya's eyes shook greatly.
âBecause everything that has happened so far, every crisis⊠Youâve only been solving it under my command.â
â...â
âBut this time, it wonât be the case anymore.â
â...â
âYouâll have to finish it yourself.â
In that instant, Iliya choked on her breath.
Her shaking eyes were fixed right on Dowd.
Most of the things that happened so far had been solved by this man himself.
However, this time, he seemed to be drawing a clear line.
As if this time was an exception.
âIt's okay. You can do it.â
â...â
Hearing that, Iliya looked down at the Holy Sword in her hands while biting her lips.
She definitely looked anxious.
â
[...She's feeling burdened. Itâs obvious.]
Caliban said with a chuckle.
He was probably talking about Iliya.
âNot that she has any choice, though.â
I replied with a sigh.
âItâll be over for me too if she canât use it.â
If Iliya canât wield the Holy Sword, then I wouldnât be able to clear this chapter. Even if a miracle happened and I somehow cleared the chapter, it would be practically impossible to proceed afterwards.
At the end of the day, this was a necessary measure for the both of us.
[Are you okay?]
â...Do I look okay to you?â
My whole body felt as if it was crushed.
I wasnât a stranger to pain, but holding the Holy Sword while my body was being eroded by the Demonic Aura was quite the experience, I gotta say.
The Iron Man Mastery couldnât even block the intense pain, so it felt like my whole body was being chopped off.
[No, not that.]
â...?â
[I was asking about your mental state.]
â...â
[You also feel how your sense is different from usual, right?]
ThatâŠ
I couldnât refute that.
Because I knew best that my âemotionsâ were gradually becoming faint.
â...I'm okay, for now.â
However, it was still bearable.
For now, at least.
It did feel as if I was barely holding on to the last of my âhuman natureâ, though.
âLetâs just say that I believe in myself.â
[I believe in something too.]
â...Pardon?â
[Why do you think I brought all of the Devilâs Vessels although I knew you wouldn't like it?]
â...â
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I didn't know what he was talking about.
As I tilted my head, Caliban replied with a smirk.
[Donât worry, youâll find out soon that you donât need to do everything.]
â...What the hell are you even on about?â
I replied with a sigh.
The enormous column of fire was gradually growing larger.
âLet's go, Caliban.â
I used the torn clothes and wrapped it tightly around my arms as a bandage.
This wasnât enough even as first aid, but it was better than nothing.
Because if I didnât do this at least, I might not be able to hold on at all from now on.
âThis is the real beginning.â
Phase 1, Column of Fire. Dimension Gates summoned. Spirit Forms summoned.
From this point onwardsâŠ
It would be the part that made all the players screaming towards the developers, asking if they were crazy.
This was the main reason why the Crimson Night Incident was repeatedly referred to as the Empireâs worst disaster.
âŠPhase 2.
The part where the âDevil's main bodyâ would be /genesisforsaken