Chapter 242 : Awakening of Divinity (5)
Chapter 242: Awakening of Divinity (5)
♠ ◆ ♥ ♣
Within the fabricated world.
A powerful force clashed.
Jjeoeong!
Unlike the Heavenly Thunder Sword imbued with bluish aura, King’s sword showed no energy at all.
It was proof that his mastery of suppressing his power had reached its peak.
Yet, it released a denser sonic burst than any enemy Carl had ever faced, aiming directly for his throat.
Ka-ga-ga-gak!
Barely deflecting the diagonal slash, Carl’s eyes focused on King’s sword.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t using aura at all—it was a method of keeping the sword protected by revealing it externally only when necessary.
‘An extremely efficient combat method.’
It was a technique suited for conserving strength when facing multiple opponents.
Perhaps it was an old habit passed down from the past that still manifested on his blade.
Since it was Carl’s first true battle against King, it was also his first time learning this.
“But isn’t that actually inefficient?”
“Why do you think so?”
“It's an efficient method below the level of a Sword Master. All you had to do was conserve mana. But at a higher level, mental strength and mental image also become crucial.”
Even without conscious effort, mental imagery naturally infused a sword.
If one's mental power wore down, all that remained was a shell of an aura blade.
Though it seemed efficient to deploy it only when necessary, in reality, it was more of a tedious task that required constant toggling.
“You’re right. For swordsmen who’ve reached that level, it’s highly inefficient. Realistically, using full power to eliminate the enemy as quickly as possible is a more efficient method.”
“And yet, you still choose to fight that way…”
There must be a reason.
As previously mentioned, it could be due to ingrained habit, or perhaps it was a sword technique that drew out true power through such a warm-up.
Seeing Carl’s expression, King smirked and raised his sword.
“You figured it out. This sword, whose name I’ve long forgotten. It’s been a while since I revealed it to the world.”
Paaaah!
Up until now, King’s aura had been like a candle flickering in the wind, but now it swelled like a fire drenched in oil, instantly engulfing everything nearby.
The impact was enough that one could mistake it for magic rather than aura.
Houses crumbled and buildings began to collapse.
Watching that, Carl let out a bitter smile and raised his sword.
‘Good thing I set up a barrier.’
If not, he could’ve accidentally burned Flick to the ground.
He never imagined King’s sword would take such a form.
Paaah!
Like a conductor leading an orchestra, the swing of King’s sword unleashed a blazing flame that surged toward Carl.
The Divine Art's power began to dwell upon the Heavenly Thunder Sword held forward, but for some reason, Carl withdrew it and only used the usual piercing divine light.
Kung.
The wave of fire collided with the domain formed by divinity.
Standing behind the overflowing flames, King watched Carl with a satisfied expression.
“You’ve already reached the point where you can freely form a domain.”
“I’ve known about the concept of domains for a long time.”
Strike range, cross-range, absolute territory, and so on.
Once reaching a certain level, one gained absolute dominion over the space around them.
Carl had understood that concept even before entering the Realm of Transcendence and had used it consistently despite being unworthy of that level.
‘I haven’t fully understood it yet. Still…’
For a swordsman, manifesting a domain was still difficult.
The amusing part was that, thanks to acquiring Kylos’s divinity, he awakened the concept of ‘domination’ first.
The domain currently blocking King’s flame also drew upon the power of divinity.
Having blocked the attack without even a single strand of hair burned, Carl raised his sword again, and King asked with curiosity.
“This power is different from what I’ve seen before. Did you acquire something new?”
“More or less. I’m still not used to it.”
“It seems similar to divine power. Rumors say that a hero is beginning to appear behind the scenes. As the Demon Realm’s forces grow more rampant, it’s only natural for the hero’s existence, as a counterbalance, to slowly surface. Perhaps…”
Carl might be the one to become the hero.
Under King’s gaze filled with such implication, Carl gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
“That kind of troublesome title doesn’t suit me.”
“Considering your personality, that does make sense. But wouldn’t it be useful to have a legitimate identity in the light?”
“There are too many constraints. Not to mention, I’d become the prime target of the Demon Realm. The best scenario is to put the hero at the front while I eliminate the Demon Realm’s leaders one by one from the shadows.”
Let NOX, moving in the darkness, continue striking down the Demon Realm while everyone’s attention is elsewhere.
That scenario allowed Carl to fully utilize his abilities without bothersome hindrances—it was the best-case situation.
‘Though, nothing ever goes so conveniently.’
As with all things in the world, unexpected variables were bound to arise.
Even if he did become the hero as King implied, he had no intention of revealing it honestly.
He could simply hand someone a random holy sword and have a decoy stand in as a shield.
"Then this will be the last."
"…Just when my body was starting to warm up, and you're stopping already?"
At Carl's remark, King gave a bitter smile.
"Unfortunately, my sword is structured to heat up endlessly. The more I use it, the stronger it becomes. Probably just one more time."
Swinging his sword slowly as if gauging something, King nodded and continued.
"If I swing it any more than that, this space itself will break apart."
"Hmm."
Carl narrowed his eyes at King.
It was well known that even within the Realm of Transcendence, there were further levels of mastery.
Even if this was his Second Life, a swordsman who had reached such a state decades ago would be standing at a much higher peak.
‘I tried to make up for that with Divine Art and Divinity, but…’
Carl’s capabilities were still only at this level, whereas King clearly had more left in reserve.
At the very least, it meant there was room to refine himself up to that point.
Now that he had experienced it, if he focused from here on, he could likely close the distance with King quickly.
"Fine then. Since it’s the last, let me show you something proper."
"Good."
King nodded with a pleased expression and raised his sword high into the sky.
"Ignis."
"Ten Thousand Waves."
Two different voices rang out, and at the same time, two domains activated to their peak, occupying the same space.
Kiing.
Just from the manifestation of force alone, the barrier rippled and screamed at its limit.
But neither Carl nor King seemed willing to stop until this clash was settled.
Tzzzzt.
The ground cracked, and lava began to erupt.
King’s domain, formed from his mental image, had begun to interfere with reality.
Srrk.
In contrast, Carl's side was eerily quiet, aside from the Heavenly Thunder Sword floating upward from his hand.
A single sword and an erupting volcano.
When both forces reached their peak, each launched an attack toward the other’s heart without hesitation.
Swaaaeeek—!
The Heavenly Thunder Sword shot forward like a beam of light.
A perfected form of the Technique of Sword Mastery Over Weapon.
Unlike the previous times when he’d used the technique mixed with rough execution, this time the perfected swordsmanship in the Realm of Mastery bloomed with searing light at the tip and pierced the air.
What stood in its path was a stream of lava that had erupted, shaking the earth.
A supreme technique once created by a famed swordsman of old to confront an invading army had returned, unleashing overwhelming mass.
Kwa-jik.
The two forces collided.
But the disturbing cracking sound that followed forced both Carl and King to pull back the power they had released, wearing bitter smiles.
"That’s unfortunate. I thought it would hold up to at least this point."
"I’ll ask Seven to reinforce it. There are still quite a few rough spots."
"That kid must be exhausted too. Every time I see her, the shadows under her eyes seem to deepen. At this rate, her whole face will be covered."
"She does it because she likes it. But as King said, it’s probably best to let her rest a bit."
Saraaak.
At the same time, the surrounding barrier dissolved, revealing Flick once again.
Beyond it stood NOX’s members surrounding the area, and Seven, rubbing her forehead with a troubled expression.
"…Master. I did say it was mostly complete, but I never said it could cover a monster-level fight."
"That just means I trusted you that much. Still, this is an excellent result."
Unlike what he said to King, Carl offered praise as he handed her the crumbled box.
To think the first prototype could endure the power of two masters in the Realm of Transcendence—wasn’t that remarkable?
King, who had withdrawn his sword, also nodded in agreement with Carl.
"Amazing. The kingdom I was from had some expertise with artifacts, but even there, a spatial design capable of withstanding power from two masters didn’t exist."
"Please continue with this."
Even as Carl and King showered her with praise, Seven didn’t relax her expression and spoke with a sulky face.
"I heard everything you talked about before the barrier broke, you know."
"……."
"Well, I’ve got things to do, so I’ll be going now."
Carl immediately turned around and left the scene.
King instinctively reached out as Carl vanished like a mirage, but the master of NOX had already long disappeared.
Only King remained, scratching his cheek awkwardly in front of Seven.
The midterm exams for Bayern's second semester had ended.
As expected, Carl took the top score in theory, and with only a slight margin, the rankings among the top tier varied significantly.
However, the overall first place, regrettably, went to Nerian.
"Hmm."
Though not one to obsess over grades, he couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction at taking the integrated top rank for the first time in a while.
Laysis was penalized for her attendance due to the incident in Alforam, and Carl had also lost points due to NOX and other matters.
Focusing solely on Bayern, Nerian received no deductions and achieved the highest scores, earning him the indisputable title of top overall student.
"…Tch. So close."
Second place went to Lewis, who trailed just by one or two questions' worth of points.
The narrow gap left Lewis fuming.
Had luck been slightly more on his side, the top spot could’ve been his.
Watching Lewis react that way, Nerian let out a soft chuckle.
"That tiny difference is an unbridgeable gap."
"Don’t be ridiculous. If Carl had gone all out, you would’ve been the one in second place."
"That’s true."
"…You admit that pretty easily?"
"I’m not an idiot to be consumed by petty jealousy. Carl’s skill is the real deal."
The time for things like envy and resentment had long passed.
What remained was simply to follow after him.
"I’ll prove that during this Walpurgis."
Nerian’s eyes shone with a fierce light as he looked toward Carl.