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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 95
Since ancient times, all humans have feared the darkness.
No, to be precise, they feared what they could not grasp.
They feared everything that was beyond their perception, beyond their understanding, and beyond their power.
Darkness was like that very concept.
Unable to see an inch ahead.
Unable to feel.
The fear of floundering in the vast ocean of darkness engulfed the entire world.
The world, filled with darkness, stole all light, making it impossible to distinguish anything.
In a world filled only with darkness, there was not a single speck of light, and it eroded everything around it.
The fear that even one's own existence might have vanished.
As if to devour that fear, the darkness grew darker and deeper, and at last, it concentrated and condensed in one place.
All the darkness of the world began to be contained within Seonghyun's sword.
If one were to give form to darkness, would it be like this?
Undulating, viscous, and heavy.
'Is this the power of an Almighty-grade skill?'
Even Seonghyun couldn't hide his surprise.
He was astonished by the appearance, which was extraordinary from the effects alone.
But if Seonghyun was surprised by the external appearance, like these effects.
Those who were watching were terrified by the power contained within.
Beyond the overwhelming appearance, they could feel the power of severance, capable of cutting off anything.
"...Wh-what... is this!?"
Nocturnium, facing that, forgot even his pain and stared, mesmerized, at Seonghyun's sword.
He manipulated the darkness as if he were the master of all the darkness in the world.
It wasn't just the aura contained in the sword.
Nocturnium didn't know, but Hindel could tell at a glance.
From the grip on the sword to every single posture.
He could glimpse the profound depth of the swordsmanship.
A form of swordsmanship he hadn't seen when fighting him.
No, he had seen it.
He had known that his skill in handling the sword itself was outstanding.
But he hadn't revealed any swordsmanship skills.
'He had a swordsmanship skill!?'
A swordsmanship he hadn't shown to him.
But he wasn't disappointed or frustrated.
‘Look at that unfathomable darkness contained in the sword.’
If he had used that, it might have been even more dangerous than the fierce explosion he had seen before.
So Hindel was relieved.
He was grateful that the blade was not directed at him now.
'My Galaxy Sword Dance is also a supreme swordsmanship, but...'
A very threatening swordsmanship, comparable to his own.
No, perhaps.
'It might even be superior to the Galaxy Sword Dance.'
Even if they were both categorized as Almighty-grade, their depth and the power they contained were on a different level.
Undoubtedly, the Galaxy Sword Dance, passed down through generations of heroes, was also one of the best swordsmanships in the world.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't imagine a scenario where it would win against the swordsmanship Seonghyun was using.
Another sky above the sky.
To Hindel, that was Seonghyun.
'Perhaps he possesses power similar to the master of this Dark Fortress...'
He unconsciously thought of the correct answer.
But he didn't know it was the correct answer.
"A-all the darkness is gathering..."
"I-I can't believe that's possible. Perhaps it's even more... than Hindel's swordsmanship."
"...Strong."
Besides Hindel, the other members of the party also expressed their admiration, bordering on awe.
But Nocturnium, towards whom the tip of the sword was pointed, shuddered in fear.
Master of darkness?
That couldn't be.
As far as he knew, the only one who could truly manipulate darkness was his own master.
Then what on earth was this swordsmanship before his eyes?
Nocturnium had thought Hindel's swordsmanship was excellent, but it wasn't to this extent.
He glared at him with eyes full of fear and a furious expression.
Seonghyun lightly leaned forward, towards Nocturnium who was glaring at him.
"...!!!"
His form disappeared.
He hadn't moved quickly or increased his speed.
A deep flow of mana could be felt.
Nocturnium quickly prepared himself.
He swiftly read the flow, as if predicting where he would appear.
Soon, he realized.
It was right in front of him.
Seonghyun, appearing as if swaying within the darkness, swung his sword.
The jet-black sword, becoming pure darkness itself, surged and cut between Nocturnium and Seonghyun.
Slash!
"Guhk!"
The sword was swung before he could even prepare, and he couldn't avoid it.
A terrible pain engulfed his body, and he tried to retreat.
But only then did Nocturnium notice something strange.
The world had disappeared.
As if he had entered a realm of pure black, he could feel nothing.
He could clearly see Seonghyun and the jet-black sword that had cut him.
He could feel the sound of the wind, the earthy smell rising from the surroundings, and the fresh scent of the forest.
Not only that, but he could even hear the sounds of birds nearby, fluttering as they fled, and the various sounds of the forest.
But he couldn't feel it.
"How is this..."
He felt as if he were floating alone in a vast ocean of darkness.
Up and down were indistinguishable, unfelt.
He could see that he was moving his body, but he couldn't feel it moving.
If he hadn't seen it, he wouldn't have known he was moving.
While Nocturnium was floundering in confusion, Seonghyun saw a message in front of him.
[Swordsmanship Skill 『Darkness』 is used.]
[『Nocturnium』 is engulfed in darkness, and his sense of touch is severed.]
[This will continue as long as the sword is imbued with darkness.]
'Hooh?'
Nocturnium appeared bewildered and quite confused.
Seonghyun could clearly feel its power.
Severing the sense of touch was tantamount to severing a significant portion of all senses.
While smell, hearing, sight, and taste provided rather limited information.
Touch was a sense distributed throughout the entire body, encompassing the other four.
But if that were to disappear?
Smell would be perceived, but confusion would surely arise as to whether it was real.
Sounds would be heard, but something would feel muffled.
Sight was the same.
The loss of touch would make one doubt the other four senses as well.
"Wh-what have you done to me!!!"
Nocturnium rushed forward, enraged.
But Seonghyun calmly observed Nocturnium and moved.
Nocturnium, charging forward recklessly, was engulfed in confusion, unable to even think about tending to the damage from the Doomsday Clock and the recent slash, and began to attack blindly.
The earth around him followed his will.
Heeding his will to attack Seonghyun, a small mountain became an arm and moved.
The mountain's arm moved to crush Seonghyun.
But Seonghyun, as if unconcerned, stretched out his hand and used the swirling blood.
A vortex of blood, even larger than the mountain's arm, was created and shattered the arm.
As a dark red mist of blood, with its pungent, metallic scent, spread thickly, obscuring vision,
Nocturnium, once again, tried to find the flow of mana, almost obsessively.
Because Seonghyun was certain to attack him.
But he couldn't feel the flow of mana, and at some point, he felt something appear behind him.
And when he felt it, it was already too late.
Slash!
Slash!
Two consecutive sword strikes.
[Swordsmanship Skill 『Darkness』 is used.]
[『Nocturnium』 is engulfed in darkness, and his sense of taste is severed.]
[This will continue as long as the sword is imbued with darkness.]
[『Nocturnium』 is engulfed in darkness, and his sense of hearing is severed.]
[This will continue as long as the sword is imbued with darkness.]
Two senses disappeared.
Taste didn't have much significance, but with the loss of hearing.
"...Ah?"
He couldn't even hear his own voice.
He could see with his eyes, but he couldn't hear any sound, so a sense of incongruity arose in everything.
The feeling of floating alone and silently in a vast ocean.
That terrible loneliness enveloped Nocturnium.
The loneliness of being alone in this place.
But even greater than that was the growing fear that his senses were being gradually cut off.
He tried to escape somehow.
But he couldn't.
Seonghyun's movements, which had even stolen his hearing, had been difficult to avoid even when all five senses were intact.
With another consecutive sword strike.
[『Nocturnium』 is engulfed in darkness, and his sense of smell is severed.]
[This will continue as long as the sword is imbued with darkness.]
His sense of smell was taken away.
And finally.
[『Nocturnium』 is engulfed in darkness, and his sense of sight is severed.]
[This will continue as long as the sword is imbued with darkness.]
Even his sight was taken away.
All his senses were gone.
He couldn't feel anything.
Not being able to see was frightening enough, but sound, smell, even touch, all had disappeared.
He couldn't even perceive that he was moving, nor could he know if he was being attacked.
In the moment he was shuddering with fear of Seonghyun, who had taken everything.
Suddenly, everything returned.
Seonghyun, having dispelled the sword of darkness and with a relaxed expression as if he had finished his business.
He had taken away all of his senses and then returned them.
And seeing Seonghyun looking at him as if he were merely a test subject, fear took root deep in his heart.
A sensation similar to when he had faced his master, Helena, long ago.
He wanted to shout that it couldn't be.
He wanted to struggle, saying that no matter what, there could be no being equal to her.
But he couldn't.
The fear that bloomed deep in his heart only made Nocturnium tremble.
"Hu, huh..."
"...The guy we were fighting with all our might..."
"To be defeated like that. It's simply astonishing..."
"...Empty."
Hindel and his party were drained of strength, feeling a sense of emptiness.
The guy they were desperately trying to hold off with all their might.
To be neutralized so easily.
Even though it was Seonghyun, they hadn't expected him to do it so easily.
But seeing it in person, a sense of emptiness spread throughout their bodies.
They couldn't help but feel drained.
But that was only for a moment.
All the members of the hero's party thought that for a moment, then shook their heads.
It was a fact that Seonghyun was strong.
But they also had things they could do, didn't they?
Just as they were about to step forward and act.
"Hmm, that's some impressive swordsmanship~"
A voice, seemingly mixed with coquettishness and a soft, alluring tone, was heard.
The one who appeared with that voice was a woman with luscious red hair, a captivating smile, who tore through space and appeared.
Her appearance, leisurely strolling through the air as if taking a walk, was the epitome of incongruity.
No power, no oppressive feeling could be felt from her.
But because of that, the survival instinct deep within their hearts was screaming.
Run away.
You'll die.
You can't oppose that woman.
But unlike that survival instinct, their bodies were frozen and unable to move.
'Wh...at... is... th...is...?'
'Th...oughts... are... sl...owing... down...?'
'I...m...p...ossible...!!!'
'...Fe...ar...'
Unlike when she had appeared earlier, it was clearly felt now.
A woman from whom nothing could be felt, seemingly.
But conversely, everything was felt.
That if this woman willed it, their lives would be forfeit.
Everyone held their breath and watched the woman's actions.
She looked at Seonghyun, admiring him again, and said.
"With that swordsmanship, even I would have a hard time~ So, I'd better run away before things get dangerous~"
The woman, a being who inspired terror in the world, said this.
But the way she spoke was a bit strange.
It was as if she were making some kind of advertisement, but those within Helena's domain couldn't perceive that.
They were simply thinking that the swordsmanship was truly impressive.
Of course, Seonghyun could sense everything.
He could even see Helena winking and giving him a thumbs-up, visible only to him.
He covered his face with his hand, wondering why she was going so far.
But, well, nobody else noticed.
Saying that, Helena grabbed Nocturnium, who was on the verge of collapse, and rose high into the sky.
"Then, shall we run away?"
"N-no! I-if that person grows stronger now...!!! M-Master!!!"
Helena frowned at Nocturnium, who was shouting as if having a seizure.
She had no harsh words for her own disciple.
Naturally, it would be good if Seonghyun surpassed her.
But there was no way Nocturnium could know that.
Helena shook her head and said.
"Yeah, it doesn't matter. Anyway, that kid doesn't seem to want to be our enemy. The proof is that you're still alive, aren't you?"
"...Ah?"
"Anyway, I'm leaving. Don't bother me anymore. Especially you, Hero! Don't come looking for me because it's annoying!"
Helena gave that cute warning and then clenched her hand as if grasping the air.
Then.
Riiiiip!
The place where the Dark Fortress was located was torn away, space and all, and floated in the air.
They couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Not just the Dark Fortress, which was atop a massive mountain rather than a small hill, but the mountain itself was ripped out and made to float in the air.
Just how strong must one be to make that possible?
While doing this, Helena looked at Seonghyun and said.
"I have to run away so you don't know where I'm going."
Helena's smiling face as she spoke.
But Seonghyun could clearly see it.
A huge hole into which the Dark Fortress, tearing through space and disappearing, was being sucked.
No, a turquoise portal.
'That's...?'
While Seonghyun was thinking of something inwardly.
Helena waved lightly at Seonghyun and said, with eyes full of lingering regret.
"Goodbye."
It wasn't a long farewell.
But the regret and reluctance contained within it were palpable.
Seonghyun felt it and felt a similar regret.
As Helena's play came to an end.
Numerous reward messages, like ending credits, began to appear.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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