Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 86
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 86
Episode 86. The Adversary (8)
“Ha…”
The Adversary let out a hollow laugh.
Right.
For someone who had no idea about my plan, he would have no choice but to think I was being unnecessarily leisurely.
“This is truly beyond ridiculous.”
He growled while scratching his neck. His expression as he looked at me was filled with contempt.
“Fine. I’ll acknowledge that you’re quite something. With just one swing of your sword, you can reflect my spells and break through my barriers in an instant.”
The Adversary trailed off and shook his head at me.
“But this isn’t right. Do you truly think you can defeat me now that I’ve obtained a new body? That’s really absurd arrogance…”
Pfft-.
A laugh escaped me without realizing it. Because of that, The Adversary’s words were cut off.
But well, was there any need to listen to more of what he had to say?
‘Even if I told you that all of this is part of my plan, you wouldn’t believe me anyway.’
I was merely pretending to be careless, which was nothing more than an act.
‘So… hurry up and finish the ritual, you bastard.’
I don’t understand why he won’t take the opportunity even when I’m giving it to him.
Is he unnecessarily prideful, befitting an old man who has lived for hundreds of years?
If that’s the case, I have no choice but to provoke him further.
Even if it means making him abandon whatever pride he has left, I need to make it so he can’t stand it unless he kills me.
“Pathetic.”
I muttered in the most irritating voice possible, looking down on The Adversary.
“Arrogance is a word used when someone without skill just runs their mouth.”
“…What?”
“I mean it’s a word that fits you perfectly, not me.”
Crack-.
The Adversary clenched his teeth hard.
Dense killing intent began to cast over his face.
“Fine.”
An expression as if he had made some kind of decision.
The dark red aura swirling around The Adversary grew stronger and stronger.
He was continuing the ritual to inject his soul into the new shell.
“If your wish is death, I’ll gladly grant it…!”
Kwaaaaaa-!
The eerie aura began to grow even more fierce.
The crypt, which was already in chaos, now began to shake as if an earthquake had struck.
Stone dust poured down from the ceiling.
And the floor cracked as if collapsing, with steam rising through the gaps.
“Kahahaha!”
A whirlwind of black magic power wrapped around the altar.
In the increasingly powerful vortex, The Adversary spread his arms wide.
Whoosh-!
The young man’s body began to slowly rise into the air.
The Adversary’s maniacal laughter echoed throughout.
In his eyes gleamed a sickly obsession.
The young man’s body convulsed, and white light leaked from his wide-open pupils.
“I will, through this new body, once again, challenge ascension…!”
Gooooo-!
Thus the ritual reached its climax.
Dark red mist rising from The Adversary’s body.
Like a soul leaving its flesh, that mist slowly seeped into the young man’s body floating above the altar.
“Now it’s over! The moment I return to my complete form, you will all meet your death.”
The ground rumbled.
The cracked fissures in the floor widened further. Deep sounds from underground filled the crypt.
Kugugugugugu-!
And finally, after the terrifying vibrations, everything became quiet.
Slowly-.
The young man’s body slowly descended onto the altar. His entire body was covered in dark red aura, and his eyes were closed.
Crack, crack-.
The young man’s body twitched intermittently.
The reconstruction of blood vessels, muscles, and bones was in progress.
Just like when I first accepted the dragon body… the flesh that had accepted The Adversary’s soul was changing into its optimal form.
Whoo-.
When the young man opened his eyes again, his pupils held a deep abyss.
“Ahhh.”
Hot steam and moans leaked through his slightly parted lips.
“The ritual succeeded. I no longer feel the weight of the ‘rank’ that pressed down on my shoulders, that terrible pain.”
Grin-.
The corner of the young man’s mouth, no… the being who had now become The Adversary, twisted grotesquely.
He looked at me and smiled with satisfaction.
“Now I understand your intention, seeker. You too were similar to the Sword Master of the Raging Dragon.”
“…”
“You were a true warrior who fights powerful enemies and finds meaning in life through that struggle. That’s why you wanted to make me reach this optimal state…”
“No. It’s not like that.”
I cut off The Adversary’s words.
That exaggerated theatrical tone was also cringeworthy and was becoming unbearable to listen to.
Ding-.
Just then, a notification sound rang in my ears.
At the same time, a new check mark appeared next to the private message I had sent to Strawberry Latte.
[Middle Finger] : Tell me when synchronization is finished. ☑
“I simply had something I wanted to experiment with.”
“What? What do you…”
Whoosh-!
My sword moved quickly.
A sword strike without any aura, magic power, or any kind of energy.
The feather sword swung through empty air only cut through innocent air.
“…?”
Witnessing this, The Adversary looked at me with a bewildered expression.
Since it wasn’t even within striking distance to begin with, he stood defenseless without even deploying defensive magic.
He twitched his eyebrows and asked.
“What did you just do? Why did you suddenly swing your sword at empty air…”
“I didn’t cut empty air.”
Shing-.
Cutting off The Adversary’s words, I sheathed the feather sword.
The clear metallic sound that never gets old no matter how many times I hear it.
The Adversary opened his eyes drowsily as if finding it strange, but I continued speaking without concern.
“I’ve slain your soul.”
“What nonsense are you suddenly spouting…?”
Thud—.
Before he could even finish speaking, The Adversary’s body collapsed completely.
His pupils, which had been filled with pitch-black abyss, slowly unfocused.
Crash—!
The sound of his body hitting the ground hard. And dust clouds rising in all directions.
As everyone watched the scene with shocked expressions, new notification windows appeared one after another.
Ding—!
〔You have used the Authority Skill: 【Eternal Slayer True】.〕
〔You have directly attacked the opponent’s ‘spirit body’.〕
〔You have nullified the opponent’s ‘immortality’.〕
‘…I succeeded.’
Eternal Slayer True.
The skill I obtained by defeating the Fallen Sea Goddess in the Forest of the Heavenly Sea.
Through this, I was able to selectively target and cleanly eliminate only The Adversary’s soul without damaging the young man’s body.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
•You can directly attack all types of spirit bodies.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
An effect that allows direct attacks on spirit bodies.
It was the same principle as when I selectively killed only the Fallen Sea Goddess within Dorico Shiro’s 「Soul Separation Barrier」.
However, now I didn’t need to go through the trouble of deploying a barrier.
As long as I had this skill, I could kill multiple egos mixed within one body at will, if I so desired.
Yes.
The reason I deliberately visited the Forest of the Heavenly Sea before stopping by Wintershield Magic Academy. The reason I acquired 【Eternal Slayer True】 there.
All of this was merely groundwork for the ‘plan’ I had right now.
‘Speaking of which…’
Rustle—.
I looked carefully at the young man lying face-down on the ground and thought.
‘…Was the enhancement successful?’
After The Adversary possessed his body, many changes had occurred.
Complete transformation.
A mage of the highest caliber like The Adversary had transformed his own body into an optimal state.
His skeletal structure had changed, and the energy flowing around his body had grown stronger. The internal changes were probably far greater than this.
“Nngh.”
Just then, the young man who had been collapsed on the ground got up, holding his head.
“…!”
Selena’s eyes widened at the sight.
“Be careful! The Adversary is still alive…!”
“No.”
I quickly cut off her words.
Pause—.
Selena, who had been trying to deploy magic by squeezing out even her depleted mana, froze.
“There’s no need to worry. That guy is harmless.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the young man opened his mouth with a bewildered voice.
“Wha, what? What’s this situation…?”
In the young man’s eyes as he looked around with a confused expression, the deep abyss no longer resided.
There was only an ordinary man… no. To be precise, only the soul of the ‘Second Player’ who had possessed this damned world.
Chuckle—.
I smiled faintly and greeted him in my mind.
‘Nice to meet you, Strawberry Latte.’
* * *
“Gasp!”
His eyes snapped open.
Professor Biyolf, who had drawn a sharp breath, bolted upright.
He shouted in an urgent voice.
“Damn it! You disgusting monster bastard! I’ll turn you to ash right now… huh?”
Pause—.
Professor Biyolf, who had been shouting at the top of his lungs, made a dumbfounded expression.
“Where am I?”
Professor Biyolf looked around with a bewildered expression.
Just moments ago, he had been engaged in fierce combat in the middle of the dark 「Abyss」…
“A, a hospital room?”
…When he came to his senses, he found himself lying on a bed in the Magic University Infirmary.
“You’re awake, Biyolf.”
“What! Selena? Were you there too?”
Professor Selena’s voice came from the adjacent bed.
However, there was a curtain drawn, so he couldn’t directly check Selena’s physical condition.
“You! Is your physical condition alright!”
Professor Biyolf shouted frantically out of frustration.
“Why aren’t you answering! Don’t tell me you’re seriously injured!”
“Yes, well… I am injured a bit, but it’s not serious.”
“Phew! That’s a relief!”
“…Your physical condition seems fine too, Biyolf. Judging by how vigorous your voice sounds.”
“I’m perfectly fine! I’m quite serious about health management, after all!”
“That’s impressive.”
“Kahaha!”
Professor Biyolf laughed heartily.
“If you also start each morning with light cardio and eat three meals a day with an anti-aging diet, you can live healthily and long like me until 212 years old!”
Selena sighed and replied.
“That’s more due to racial characteristics than the effects of health management… no, more importantly, Biyolf. Given where we are, how about lowering your voice a bit?”
“Ah.”
Professor Biyolf made an ‘oops’ expression at Selena’s point.
“A, ahem. My apologies. But anyway… what exactly happened? Was that monster bastard properly dealt with?”
Professor Biyolf whispered quietly with his voice lowered. Selena chuckled softly and gave her answer.
“Yes. The monster was properly dealt with.”
“Kuh, as expected!”
Professor Biyolf clenched his fist and exclaimed.
“I knew it! No matter how powerful a monster, it can’t do anything against my ‘killing blow’ and just dies…”
“No.”
“…?”
“The monster was defeated by the Sword Master.”
“…Huh?”
He froze.
Professor Biyolf’s face fell with disappointment upon hearing those words.
His excitement instantly deflated.
“Th, then my magic had no effect at all…?”
“That’s not the case.”
Selena continued calmly.
“The Sword Master said that without your magic, Biyolf, he never would have been able to kill that monster. He specifically asked me to convey his gratitude.”
“…!”
Biyolf’s eyes gleamed with ecstasy.
“Kuhehe, kuhehe!”
He desperately tried to suppress his escaping laughter. If this hadn’t been a hospital room, he would have burst into hearty guffaws.
“So, where is the Sword Master now?”
“He’s in the special ward.”
“…Special ward?”
“Yes. Along with his retainer, and… one survivor who was the sole person to make it out of this disaster alive.”
* * *
Inside the special ward.
I had Isaac Beriloff deploy a “Veil of Silence,” then sent everyone in the room away.
The assistants and healers dispatched from the Magic Academy, and even Adelia who always stayed by my side.
I had no choice.
There were far too many things that Strawberry Latte and I needed to discuss alone.
“So then…”
How much more time had passed? The young man, having heard everything that had happened to me, muttered with a confused expression.
“…After killing Barbarian the Slayer of Men in the tutorial, you convinced Karayan to get the Feather Sword, recruited Adelia as your subordinate, defeated the corrupted Celestial Dragon, replaced the Eastern Merchant Guild leader in Bertas, the Free City, then went straight to the Corpse Exhibition to kill Camillo von Taribas, went to Middle Temple to form a ‘Sacred Covenant’ and obtain Istereg, formed an alliance with Dorico Shiro in the Forest of the Heavenly Sea, normalized Haewolsumo, then came to Wintershield Magic Academy to save me and kill The Adversary?”
“You missed about three things.”
“…”
“In between, you killed Tolong in Labyrinth Village, met the Sword Master of the Raging Dragon to get scales, and survived against Heukgol during the divine trial.”
The young man’s expression turned bizarre.
“Anyway, all of that happened in just one month?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
A long silence stretched between us.
Whew-.
The young man sitting on the hospital bed let out a deep sigh.
Scratching the back of his neck, he soon looked at me and opened his mouth.
“Hyung.”
“What.”
“What the hell kind of bastard are you?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————