Chapter 200: Each Walking Their Own Path

For a long time, no one spoke.

In the red world surrounded by flames and magical storms, two girls stood facing each other, one silent and the other quietly wiping away the remnants of tears from her eyes.

“So, you started on the path to find Min Chen, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. To others, the Gatekeeper is a great hero, a legend. But to me, he’s nothing but a coward who abandoned his responsibilities and descendants. His departure was the beginning and source of my mother’s misfortune. I… absolutely cannot forgive him.”

“I see…”

It seemed there was no need to ask further.

After waiting a long while, Miss Vilyric softly spoke.

“I won’t kill you, but I cannot forgive everything you’ve done in the name of revenge. I believe your mother wouldn’t want to see you traversing mountains and rivers seeking his traces, only to become enemies… Fortunately, a great error has not yet been committed, and the truth regarding this matter should indeed be clarified.”

The Priestess raised her hand, and golden chains coiled out like a spirit serpent, binding the girl who had given up resistance due to her self-proclaimed failure. Sylvania frowned but did not retaliate.

“Don’t misunderstand; I say this only because I acknowledge your strength and actions, not to evade anything by playing the pity card, nor do I need your sympathy. I understand well the things I’ve done and have long been psychologically prepared; defeat is defeat. Vilyric, put away your mercy. What’s the harm in dying?”

At this, the White Robed Girl simply smiled.

“Don’t get me wrong; I’m not the kind of person who changes her mind due to sentimentality. Your previous actions and certain behaviors are indeed cruel, and you can say that you’ll do anything to achieve your goals… But death is never a perfect solution to punish the guilty. To me, life and death are merely transitions of states, once so, and now likewise.”

“Watch closely, Sylvania. I will end this matter in my own way.”

“You won’t die, nor will Aileen.”

…

“Clang!”

The magic sword and the long blade intersected in the air, instantly turning into afterimages, like a dense curtain of rain. Aileen unleashed ten strikes, yet Min Chen blocked each one with his long blade.

“Ahhhhhhhh!!!”

The sword blades transformed into a whirlwind, as the girl’s magic surged around her. She screamed and relentlessly attacked, yet she could never break through the solid and steady defense of the Gatekeeper, which left her, after fighting in the air for over half an hour, feeling somewhat perplexed.

Both had naturally seen the reversals and changes happening in the distance, but while Min Chen seemed unfazed, Aileen grew increasingly anxious amidst their battle.

“Why! Why can’t I win?! I’ve gained so much magic power from the gods, and you’re just a demigod!”

“Clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang!”

The sound of weapons colliding rang out again, dense as raindrops. Despite Aileen’s wild and chaotic assault, Min Chen, while defending, maintained control and composure, even taking the time to give pointers.

“It’s simple, child. Your level and attributes, although indeed above mine, don’t reach a crushing level. Combat is not just a game of size comparison where you take turns. Skill proficiency, experience, reaction speed, and even willpower and determination have a huge impact on the final outcome.”

He sidestepped Aileen’s heavy kick, blocked the girl’s powerful swing with his blade, and ghosted behind her, patting her unguarded shoulder.

“See? This is footwork, one of the important factors influencing close combat. While your speed and strength are indeed strong, you merely chop with your sword stubbornly, charging with magic. You don’t know how to control your breathing or retreat. Your movements are filled with openings; I don’t think even a priestess would display such childish maneuvers in battle.”

“Get away!!!”

Aileen angrily swung her sword backward, but Min Chen had anticipated this, lightly stepping back, causing the girl’s magic sword to swing empty, momentarily throwing off her balance due to her excessive force.

With the magic arm bearing the blade, Min Chen stood on the void, his robes billowing in the wind, drifting as if transcendent, but with no hint of mockery or disdain on his face, he spoke gently, like a kind elder.

“In life-and-death struggles, one must avoid impatience and anxiety. Besides what I just mentioned, you have a significant weakness: you lack sufficient resolve and willpower. Swinging your sword with no intent to kill and not for protection—child, your strikes are too weak. They may seem fierce, but they are actually filled with confusion. You hesitate; you don’t know for what you are fighting.”

“All weapons and blades, regardless of their nature, lead to the same path. To enter the realm of the sword, one must first cultivate the heart. A weak blade cannot defeat a truly powerful enemy; remember this.”

“Nonsense! Nonsense, nonsense, nonsense!!! Who says I lack the intent to kill!? Don’t be so self-righteous, you bastard! Do you really think I wouldn’t dare kill you!!!”

Before the girl, seemingly on the verge of losing control, Min Chen merely chuckled lightly, as though speaking from experience.

“If you truly had the intent to kill, you would have severed me with your first strike, and wouldn’t have dragged this out. You have remained unwilling to unleash your destructive killing blows, choosing instead to fight in close combat out of fear of harming the innocent below in that city, right? Aileen, you are ultimately a kind child, and I am rather pleased.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! Shut up!!! We are the bad guys plotting war and disaster! Stop sickening me with your fake sympathy! You say I won’t dare to use it, huh? Well, I’ll show you!!!”

The girl’s face flushed red, revealing an unhealthy tone as she angrily lifted her magic sword.

A torrent of magic surged upward, transforming into a colorful storm. Endless elements gathered above the girl, condensing into a massive sword nearly a kilometer long, ready to cleave the world. Aileen’s gray hair rose in the fierce wind, and terrifying airwaves had almost solidified into black flames around her—like a returning god.

“Let’s take this filthy city down to hell, Gatekeeper Min Chen!!!”

“Zzzz… zzzzzz…”

Countless colorful lightning coursed through the giant sword, crackling. It seemed that using this spell with the relatively thin magic of the present world placed a heavier burden and pressure on Aileen than on Min Chen, yet even as blood seeped from the corners of her mouth, the girl stubbornly controlled the overwhelming magic, ready to strike the earth-shattering forbidden spell.

“God-slaying sword!!!”

“God-slaying… huh.”

Faced with a strike that would change the heavens, while Min Chen spoke lightly, his expression grew noticeably serious.

Taking a deep breath, he sheathed his long blade, as if disappearing into the void, using the earth and sky as his sheath, and then, seemingly slow yet as swift as a lightning bolt, drew his blade to strike.

“Void Essence · Lamentation.”

There was no flash of light, no explosive flames or airwaves, but as the motion of the blade crossed the sky, everything was cleaved into two segments.

With one strike, all things perished.

Including the terrifying giant sword that threatened to collapse the heavens, the clouds, the storms, even the fabric of time and space itself, were sliced open and frozen in that moment.

Until the figure in robes re-sheathed his blade once more.

“Boom!!!!”

The magnificent giant sword, now in two halves, exploded into a skyful of colorful light, yet even the remnants of the explosion were divided like the sky, as though an undetectable yet massive chasm had been carved in the middle.

“Did I fail… I’m sorry… Sylvania…”

Aileen’s consciousness was cleaved along with her body, plunging into darkness.

“I’m sorry, child.”

She heard him say this.

Within Demon Town.

“!?”

Having just concluded the battle, a man carrying a crookedly broken giant sword, one arm injured as his companions cleaned the battlefield, suddenly looked up in shock at the sky.

The clouds there were split in two, but as a mortal, he could never know what transpired above.

“What’s wrong, Cyril? If your injury is severe, you should rest first. Have you been pushing yourself too hard lately? Even if you want to learn medicine to save others like Miss Vilyric, you can’t expect to be an expert overnight.”

The leader of the Black Knight Mercenary Corps, Lester, bearing a pitch-black shield that matched his title, smiled as he patted the shoulder of the young man who was fine on the other side. His heavy shield had protected many of his comrades’ lives during this sudden and inexplicably ended brutal battle.

The young man, Cyril, whose bangs covered one eye, didn’t explain anything but looked once more at the distant sky, then turned around and picked up the medicine box beside him.

“It’s nothing; just a small injury. Let’s go, Captain. There are still many injured who need treatment. Let’s do what we can; we mustn’t… let down their efforts.”

Volume Four: Seeking the Tracks of All Demons Complete.

   

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