I Became a Disaster-Class Newbie by Stealing Abilities - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 21. Amy von Bastian (2)
The blood of House Bastian was extraordinary.
And yet…
Among them all, the blood that flowed through Amy’s veins was in a class of its own.
Thump… thump!
Her heartbeat quickened, pulse by pulse.
[The trait Hundred Demons Night Procession awakens the target’s latent potential.]
Black shadows began to writhe and gather around Amy.
As though drawing in everything in their path.
“Aaaaaah…!”
The Guardian sensed the anomaly at once.
The moment he felt that ominous presence, every undead turned its gaze upon Amy.
The priority target had been decided.
“Roooaarrr!”
“Shrieeeeek!”
She had to be killed before the awakening was complete.
Rotted corpses and skeletons surged forward in a wave toward Amy.
“Seolgi!”
Ju-sang shouted.
“Leave it to me.”
Clang-clang-clang!
Baek Seolgi met them head-on, her blade singing through the air.
Snow blossoms scattered in all directions as the biting cold became a tempest, howling across the field.
With each stroke of her sword, the limbs of the undead separated from their torsos and vanished.
“Damn it. How many of these monsters are there?”
Kang Su-hyuk bellowed as he watched the army being sliced apart like a blender at work.
A suppression force composed of knights and regular soldiers should have been enough to hold the line.
The fact that a single person was struggling against them made no sense.
‘If this ends like this, I’m dead.’
The Church will purge me.
But if that’s how it goes, then perhaps…
Whoooosh!
[The Guardian of Kabalado unleashes the power of the Sacred Relic!]
Opening the relic’s power would consume seventy percent or more of all the accumulated life force.
It meant repeating all the tedious grinding he’d done up until now, starting from scratch.
But losing everything was far worse than this.
Squelch!
The blade embedded in the Guardian’s palm was slowly drawn free.
Blood dripped in thick drops as a grotesque blade revealed itself.
This was one of the Demon God’s Sacred Relics.
The demonic sword Kabalado.
The space around it was tinted blood-red.
From the massive wings that sprouted on either side of the Guardian’s shoulders, black feathers fell like rain.
[Due to the Sacred Relic, the Guardian’s Divine Rank is elevated to 9-Star.]
The Guardian’s elevated status would be maintained until every last point of accumulated life force was spent.
It was a glimpse of just how absurdly powerful a Demon God’s Sacred Relic could be.
And at the same moment.
Whoosh!
The Guardian moved.
Before her eyes could register the movement, his blade carved through empty air.
Crack-thwaaang!
Despite the strike transcending perception itself, Baek Seolgi responded.
A brutally overwhelming series of attacks followed, each one threatening to shatter her head entirely.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
The Frost Fire Divine Sword answered with sweeps of pure white fire.
Snow and flame painted her vision in white and red.
It was as though only two colors existed in this entire world.
Dozens of exchanges passed, yet neither found an opening.
“Shrieeeeeeek!!!”
At last, the Guardian called all the undead surrounding him to his side.
Even if they ground through hundreds of them, it would be enough if they could just open a small crack.
That judgment had been correct.
For Baek Seolgi, who specialized in small-scale skirmishes against one opponent or a few dozen at most, a war measured in thousands was entirely unsuited to her strengths.
Worse still, she was drawing Mana from the Sovereign, and her reserves were depleting rapidly.
“How tiresome,” Baek Seolgi muttered.
She wet her lips with her tongue.
She had maintained perfect distance control throughout the fight, but pinning down the Guardian and the Undead was all she could manage.
A few minutes at best.
After that, this overwhelming mass would turn its attention toward the Sovereign and the Vatican survivors.
It was the moment of ultimate crisis.
Crash—crash—crash—crash!
A black cross plummeted from the sky.
* * *
Siiiiigh….
Smoke billowed upward.
Standing in its center was Amy, her eyes gleaming blood-red.
The entire atmosphere had transformed.
In place of her warm and innocent demeanor stood a girl intoxicated by a new sensation, her gaze fixed on the void.
And very slowly.
Her crimson lips parted.
“Come,” she commanded.
Her voice, imbued with an incomprehensible power, blurred the line between command and entreaty.
And then, in that instant.
The impossible occurred.
“Grrr—eeee?”
“Krrrrr….”
Black crosses rose above the heads of some of the Undead.
[The dead swear fealty to their new sovereign!]
[All attributes increase by 20%!]
The calamity known by the epithet “Black Death Saint Mother,” which transformed the entire Balkan Peninsula into a land of death.
This was the power of Amy von Bastion.
Whooooom!
The number of Undead crowned with black crosses continued to multiply.
10%… 15%… 30%.
By now, roughly a third of them had fallen under Amy’s dominion.
“Destroy them all,” Amy commanded.
With the raising of Amy’s finger, the tide of battle shifted catastrophically.
Crash—crash—crash—boom!
Crunch—bang!
Army clashed against army.
Undead tore into Undead.
“Now we can see the end in sight. The Guardian is too occupied with Baek Seolgi to interfere, and the Undead are blocked by Amy. That leaves just you.”
“The situation’s pretty grim, sure… but aren’t you the one taking it easy right now?”
Thud!
Corpses over three meters tall rose up around Kang Su-hyuk.
They were armed with long scythes and shields.
They radiated a far more formidable presence than ordinary Undead.
“The Immortal Cult really does treat its people well. Assigning bodyguards to a kid like you.”
“Come on, cut the tough-guy act. I know you’re running on fumes ever since you summoned that skeleton knight.”
Yeah, that was true.
After overexerting himself earlier, he had almost nothing left—just a handful of Mana remaining.
But.
“Like I said. Don’t judge me by your petty standards.”
The Sovereign drew another skill.
[Skill “Show Time” activates!]
[Cooldown: 24 hours.]
An ability that reduced the consumption cost of skill usage to zero for a set duration.
Fzzzzt—fzzt!
The first form, Moonlight, and the second form, Lightning—abilities with no cost—unleashed an incalculable barrage of sword strikes.
The so-called Infinite Annihilation Style.
[Activation Time: 5 seconds]
Time is but a fleeting instant.
Yet in that span, it was more than enough to cut down Kang Su-hyuk and all the undead protecting him.
Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!
The descending Lightning clashed with the moonlight that heralded the Empire’s night.
The honor guard undead wielding scythes scattered to nothing without so much as a proper resistance.
Splat!
Severed flesh scattered haphazardly across the ground.
“Wait, wait! I—I beg you, sir. Please spare me, and I swear I’ll be useful. I know what the Holy Church plans to do next. I can tell you about that jester too, where he is, everything—”
Kang Su-hyuk collapsed where he stood, clawing for his life.
He spilled out everything he knew, desperately trying to prove his worth.
But.
“Not necessary.”
My response was cold.
I agree that one must cling to survival with ruthless determination to succeed.
But there is a line that must not be crossed, even for that.
There’s no point talking to someone who would sacrifice defenseless people as offerings.
Thrust!
I drove my blade forward.
“Hhgh—”
As the cold steel bit through flesh, the pulse of his heart reached my ears.
Bright red blood soaked my hand.
This was my first time committing murder so directly—not indirectly, but with my own hands.
……
The light of life slowly fading.
His labored breathing gradually subsided.
I bit my lip hard.
I’d steeled myself a hundred times over, made this resolution countless times.
That’s right. Before coming here, over those two and a half years, I told myself again and again—
But it’s harder than I imagined.
Even when someone’s a villain, taking another person’s life—
Still, I have no regrets.
I won’t change my mind.
To survive.
To see the end of this cursed world.
I’ll carry this karma forward.
Thud.
Kang Su-hyuk’s body fell to its side.
With that, the battle came to its end.
* * *
[Emergency Summon has been used.]
About an hour passed before I reported the matter to the Empire.
After coordinating the story and tidying the battlefield, Benermorph and the soldiers under his command finally arrived.
“General Benermorph. Here is the blade you sought.”
“Well done.”
Benermorph examined the sword the soldier presented.
The blade called a Sacred Relic of the Evil God—the Kabalado Dagger.
It was undoubtedly the sword the intelligence division had described.
And yet.
For some reason, what should have been a mass of calamity looked presentable only on the surface.
As if its core were hollow, leaving nothing but an empty shell.
Benermorph’s gaze turned toward me.
“You reported that you discovered Starfield was their headquarters but couldn’t contact them due to strange rumors and undead, and that you barely defeated them with the help of Holy Knights from Vatican. Is this statement accurate?”
“That’s correct. I honestly thought I’d die ten times over. I’m just glad I’d read so many horror stories beforehand. Phew.”
I drained a potion while laying on the dramatics heavily.
My body was covered in wounds from head to toe.
Anyone looking at me would see someone who’d barely escaped with their life after running for it.
“The God of Light smiled upon us, and a miracle occurred—infighting broke out among their ranks.”
Amy’s words reinforced my account.
As she spoke, she tended to the unconscious Antonio and the rest of our companions.
Nine in total.
Fortunately, thanks to getting there in time, no one had died.
“The Empire will remember Vatican’s support.”
“Please, it’s only natural that the Holy Church aids in driving back the darkness.”
Amy bowed respectfully.
‘Hmm.’
Benermorph’s eyes narrowed slightly.
There were a few points that didn’t quite add up….
But if a Holy Knight from Vatican had said as much, it must be the truth.
Either way, the purpose of coming to this remote region had been achieved.
“Go to the administrative office for the official record. I’ve already spoken to them.”
“Thank you.”
“Well then, I’ll seal and transport this sword.”
As Benermorph left, Ju-sang finally released the breath he’d been holding.
“Phew.”
He’d managed to talk his way through it all somehow.
Knights really were a nuisance — always poking and prying into every little thing.
A soft whisper of cloth.
What emerged from his pocket was a black dagger.
Everything about it was jet black, yet along the blade ran long crimson ripples like flowing water.
An utterly beautiful and refined aesthetic emanated from it.
And for good reason.
‘This is the real Kabalado Dagger.’
Normally, when you killed a Guardian, you were guaranteed to obtain one item.
Using that, you could transplant the Kabalado Dagger’s essence into a new blade.
[Kabalado Dagger – Set Item]
[Acquisition Difficulty: AAA]
[Attack Power: 3,000]
[Durability: 15,000 / 15,000]
[Attack Speed +4.5%]
[Special Effect: Creates ‘afterimages’ of the blade, dealing additional damage equal to 5% of attack power.]
The Sword of Punishment he’d obtained from the military warehouse had an attack power of 100.
Yet this dagger, despite being just a dagger, had an attack power of 3,000.
And it came with two options.
All of them excellent.
His chest swelled.
Just looking at it was satisfying enough.
What pleased him most, though, was the passive ability inherent in the blade itself.
[Demonic Power Manifestation (Passive): The wielder of this blade can partially manifest the authority of the Dark God.]
Demonic power was used like sword energy — overlaid onto weapons and armor, or wielded through an ominous aura to break an enemy’s morale.
In short, the ability to wield a force that absolutely reeked of theatricality.
It was an ability you could only obtain by changing your class to one related to the Dark God — yet he’d gained it for free.
‘And it’s a Set Item, too.’
Ju-sang stared at the green text inscribed on the dagger, savoring the moment.
Generally, high-tier Set Items were treated as equivalent to or even greater than Sacred Relics.
For good reason.
The more pieces of a set you collected, the more powerful additional options attached themselves.
As the endgame approached, victory often hinged on which situation-appropriate Set Items you possessed….
Their importance couldn’t be overstated.
Of course, the Immortal Cult would certainly be searching for such pieces with equally fierce intent, so collecting an entire set would be tremendously difficult.
‘But comparing them to me makes no sense.’
The Immortal Cult was merely one of several mountains he had to climb.
Not an insurmountable wall.
But at that very moment.
Wee-eee-eee!!!
An air-raid siren suddenly blared across the entire city.
Once.
Wee-eee-eee!!!
Twice.
Wee-eee-eee!!!
And three times.
‘Three sirens means…. No, surely not.’
The Archduke’s mouth slowly fell open.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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