〈Chapter 276〉 The Undying Human (2)
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The Sword Master, Kuntel.
The once proud knight is already dead. What stands here is nothing but an Undead reeking of decay. However, this Undead was created by the infamous Gletus.
It’s nothing like the Undead made by a mere Necromancer.
The Undead crafted from the bodies of fallen heroes heals its own wounds. Its robust body is unaffected by any holy spells, and Kuntel’s soul is tainted, residing within that body.
It is alive, for it has a soul.
It is dead, for its body is decayed.
The Superhuman, unable to live or die, moves to accomplish the orders given to it. Only the sound of water flowing echoes in the blood-soaked underground sewer.
There is no one alive here.
Confirming this, Kuntel’s steps come to a halt.
His gaze does not face forward. He stares at the ceiling of the sewer. Fixing his grip on his sword while looking at the thick walls, Kuntel has no pride as a knight.
He has no reason left as a human.
He is but a puppet that moves according to instinct and command.
However, that does not dull his blade. A Sword Master is a being that displays perfect swordsmanship at any moment, in any state.
Swish!
Kuntel’s sword carves a silvery-white trajectory.
At the end of that trajectory lies a blade of sword energy, far greater than anything Kuntel could produce in life.
…Originally, Kuntel had a low amount of innate mana, so he couldn’t unleash blade energy on such a grand scale. Thus, instead of increasing its size, Kuntel chose the path of sharpening his blade energy to its utmost thinness.
That alone is already powerful enough, but Kuntel’s body, reborn after death, still retains a vast amount of mana implanted by Gletus. This reacts with Kuntel’s sword.
And thus is born a massive blade of energy.
A fierce flash that swallows all that it touches.
WHOOSH!
Light surged forth.
2.
Krrrk.
Raniael, strolling through Kateron Castle, felt a chill pass down her spine. An unsettling sensation that often accompanied her during battles. And, Rania knew her instincts were usually spot on.
She quickly turned her head.
And there it was.
A colossal silvery-white blade of energy erupting from the ground.
CLANG, CLANG!
“A splendid duel.”
“It is an honor, Galahal!”
“If I may offer a piece of advice, from there…?”
While in the midst of a duel with knights, Galahal abruptly turned his head. The body of a Hero, he senses something that others cannot.
Galahal’s body stiffened.
Something was appearing.
Something akin to a calamity, something was here.
Galahal shouted to the knights behind him.
“Run away…!”
In that instant, a flash swept across the area and shot up into the sky.
WHOOSH!
The knights gathered at Kateron Castle witnessed it.
The scene of a flash bursting forth from the ground, sweeping the area and engulfing their comrades.
GACK, KOFF, COUGH…!
Everything touched by the blade energy crumbled, filling the surroundings with dust. Dust swirling and the bricks that once formed the castle walls lay scattered.
And a long trail of blood.
The ones completely consumed by the flash left no corpses, not even a drop of blood behind, but some who were only partially swept away did. Blood spurted from the remaining bodies like fountains.
Along with the scent of blood, another foul odor wafted through.
The stench of decaying corpses.
There wouldn’t be a foul smell from freshly slain bodies. This stench hints at the emergence of something else. The knights looked towards the source of the foul odor.
Beyond the rising dust, someone was there.
Someone who had emerged from below was holding a sword. As the dust slowly settled, the knights faced the figure’s face.
“…Huh?”
No one could fail to recognize this face.
Anyone who dreamed of the path of the sword would not miss the identity of this being. An entity that should no longer exist in this world was now before their eyes.
It was not good news. Not at all.
THUMP! Kuntel tread upon the debris of the crumbled castle walls.
None dared to rush at Kuntel. The oppressive aura weighing down on them caused the knights’ gazes to waver. Unable even to think of raising their weapons, their teeth clashed madly.
It was as if Death’s Blade had appeared.
Then, does that mean this Death’s Blade also spares those who do not draw their swords?
SWISH!
Kuntel swung his sword, revealing that expectation to be in vain. One cannot expect pride from an existence that moves only according to commands.
ACK…
With a single swing, dozens of knights were sent reeling as blood shot from their mouths. Kuntel stepped over the fallen corpses and moved beyond the debris. There lay a large gathering of knights.
There were many.
Taking them on one by one would only be a waste of time. Kuntel had a mission to accomplish, and to complete it, he selected the most efficient method.
The silvery-white sword saint was enveloped in blade energy.
As the blade energy was about to sweep across the area once more.
“Galahal.”
“Yes.”
The voices of two resonated.
From above, not below the earth.
SMASH!
An intangible shock wave erupted from the sky. The shock wave radiated outward, colliding with the blade energy unleashed by Kuntel.
CRACK!
For a moment, it seemed the blade energy would crumple, but Kuntel’s blade energy sliced through everything it touched. There was no way to stop it with spells. They had only bought a brief moment of respite.
That brief moment was meaningful.
The delayed spear provided a timely opportunity for Galahal as he landed on the ground.
CLANG!
The spear and blade energy collided. Galahal’s arm creaked, and his fingers trembled. With a determined grit, he drove the spear into the earth.
Ugh…!
Even if there existed a blade energy that cuts through everything, it cannot transcend natural laws. The spear Galahal wielded was the sacred weapon known as the Star’s Spear. A weapon that can never be broken.
Using the sacred spear, Galahal succeeded in blocking the blade energy. In payment for this, half of Galahal’s ten fingers shattered. While the Hero’s body was healing its broken fingers, the opponent would not simply stand by.
THUMP!
Kuntel kicked the ground.
The sound of stomping was light, but the speed was anything but. In an instant, Kuntel was upon them with a fierce thrust.
Just as it was about to pierce Galahal’s throat, ash and gray hair floated between Galahal and Kuntel.
“Move aside.”
Raniael shoved Galahal away and caught Kuntel’s sword. SPLASH! Blood splattered up.
3.
To some, he is the Sword Master.
To Raniael and Kyle, he is their mentor.
Raniael vividly remembered Kuntel, who sacrificed his life to save her and Kyle from the Death’s Blade. She respected the trajectory of his life. In the end, she honored Kuntel who achieved his wish in the last moments.
An individual she respected and admired.
That figure now stood before her in its worst form. Gritting her teeth, Raniael reached out toward Kuntel’s sword.
THRUST!
Kuntel’s sword pierced through Raniael’s palm.
Immediately, Kuntel attempted to lift his sword to sever her hand, but Raniael took a step forward and pushed her pierced hand out.
CRACK!
With a chilling sound, her bones creaked and blood gushed forth.
Enduring the searing pain before her, Raniael grasped Kuntel’s hand holding the sword. Just as she prepared for the next attack…
Cough…!
Kuntel, having lost his sword, kicked Raniael in the abdomen. Raniael, propelled backward alongside Galahal, groaned as she raised her head.
Her palm still had the sword embedded in it.
For a moment, it was a joy to have disarmed him, but Raniael grimaced upon seeing Kuntel retrieving a sword from the corpses of the knights.
After all, weapons littered the ground everywhere.
In the hands of a knight of that caliber, even a common soldier’s sword could drop a dragon’s head.
“Damn it, really…”
Watching the now cautious Kuntel, who no longer rushed in, Raniael broke out in a cold sweat.
“Your hand…!”
“This isn’t the problem now.”
Raniael groaned as she pulled the sword from her palm. CLINK, the sound of the sword clattering behind her, and Raniael fixed her eyes ahead.
Kuntel stood a short distance away.
The Sword Master, Kuntel.
The only human ever to touch Death’s Blade, now even stronger than he had been then.
‘It’s different from the night city.’
Kuntel back then was weakened, but he is not that now. He is much faster than he was back then. Grinding her teeth, Raniael realized.
He is beyond his prime.
His body is stronger than in life, and within him dwells the soul of a Superhuman that survived the encounter with Death’s Blade.
Raising her blood-soaked palm, Raniael flicked her finger. Stocked spells began to weave together, unleashing a chain of spells.
SMITE!
A spellburst.
Dozens of reinforced spells unleashed powerful strikes upon Kuntel. Before dozens of beams of light, Kuntel simply swung his sword.
SWISH!
With that alone, the spells lost their light.
The very essence of the spells was cut down in one stroke. Just as Kuntel did in his prime, the Undead before him is the worst match-up against a Mage.
“…What was that?”
“Seems ordinary spells don’t work, huh?”
Raniael staggered as she rose to her feet.
Kuntel discarded the sword he couldn’t withstand and picked up a new one. Raniael gazed around at the chaos.
‘…No sign of Gletus.’
There was no slimy mana that would be present when that damned one showed up. There were no beasts laden with thick mana either.
Kuntel had come alone.
But there was no solace in that.
They were unaware of the opponent’s intentions, and the current Kuntel is a masterpiece of that Gletus. Raniael silently glanced back.
The Holy Spear, Galahal.
Currently, the only individual capable of helping them was Galahal.
Searching the holy site might lead her to Sara and Karioth, but… she had no time for that.
If she left now, everyone here would die.
“…Galahal.”
“Yes.”
Raniael gently brushed her wrist.
Blood poured out from the torn skin, soaking the ground.
“I can’t withstand that insane blade energy.”
The only things that can withstand it are the sacred weapon or spells infused with starlight. Any spells used without sacrificing lifeforce would simply be swallowed up by the blade energy.
“Please.”
Galahal nodded.
“And one more thing.”
As Raniael loosened her wrist, she added.
“Don’t burn your lifeforce.”
“…Understood.”
Galahal gripped the Holy Spear tightly. Raniael began to burn her mana faster. Ash floated around, and from the point of Galahal, starlight ignited.
And Kuntel swung his sword.
Charging forward into the overwhelming flash of white light, Galahal and Raniael leaped in.
*
Swords and magic clashed. The heat seemed to engulf the area before vanishing in an instant. The blade infused with starlight collided with Kuntel’s sword, creating a thunderous sound.
CRACK!
In the aftermath of the battle, the knights stood a few paces away, entranced as they watched. That place had become otherworldly. A domain they could not enter.
The blade energy swept through the area, causing buildings to crumble. Dust rose, and another silvery-white flash sliced through the rising dust.
Flashes sparked multiple times.
In an instant, dozens or even hundreds of spells poured forth.
No one dared to approach that place, yet moved among the knights came someone.
“Stand back, you lot.”
The knights began to step back, one by one.
They glared at the individual pushing past them, someone who had been lingering in Kateron Castle for days.
The Undying Karioth.
Unlike usual, he wasn’t carrying a coffin. In his hand, he only held a sinister red cross-shaped sword.
Over the knights, pushing forward, again and again.
Karioth strode towards the battlefield where flashes danced repeatedly. And at some point, he began to dash, kicking off the ground directly toward the battlefield.
Just as he neared the fray.
Kuntel, who had finally shaken off Galahal and Raniael, seized another sword that had lain on the ground. Even with a broken sword, he pushed against them. The moment he gripped another sword, Raniael’s pupils widened.
As Kuntel wielded the new sword, he unleashed a technique.
Richtena Style, First Form. Absolute Cut (???).
The blade energy condenses to its limit.
The blade, laden with condensed blade energy, would not break anymore. Raniael saw the chain of spells she’d laid out flicker in succession, trying to block Kuntel’s sword, but it severed everything standing in its path.
The endgame, concentrated blade energy, would explode outward the moment it penetrated flesh. Raniael clenched her teeth and prepared to sacrifice one of her arms.
In that moment.
As Kuntel’s sword swung, Karioth threw himself into the path. Raniael’s eyes widened as she watched, the sword plunging into Karioth’s heart.
And then, SLASH!
The blade energy exploded from within, tearing Karioth’s entire body apart. Guts and blood erupted forth, just as Kuntel prepared to swing his sword again.
CLANG!
A blade flew in from behind Kuntel.
Though it was an unseen strike, Kuntel blocked it. However, at that moment, Kuntel’s brow furrowed.
Karioth, once shredded, stood unharmed.
“Sorry about this, Kuntel.”
The ominous crimson blade glowed brightly.
Thorny vines sprouted from that blade, ensnaring Karioth’s body.
“I can’t die without my wife’s permission, you see.”
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