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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 247: Daring to Target Samael (2)
[TL/N: THE AURA FARMING IN THIS CHAP, OH MY GODDD]
With a thud—, the mountain-like physique collapsed.
The severed head rolled helplessly onto the ground.
The Divine Clan, Arihama.
For the end of a Guardian Knight, whom none on the continent dared to face easily, it was utterly anticlimactic.
The Commander of that supposedly great Divine Clan's knights hadn't managed even a semblance of resistance.
He collapsed just like a common street thug meeting his end.
His eyes, uncomprehending even of death, held only a nameless question.
"Ah... Ah..."
"...N-No way, he died... Hup."
Someone started to speak but quickly clamped a hand over their own mouth.
"Dark Light did it! It was Dark Light!"
"Dark Light attacked Arihama..."
Screams erupted from the gathered crowd.
It wasn't simply the death of one knight.
Among those present, there was no one who didn't shudder at the potential fallout of the current situation.
Conversely, the eyes of those who had reached the realm of transcendence were still filled only with pure confusion.
The same was true for the Guardian Knights.
The white light source exploding in the sky.
The melted Shield of Heavenly Pressure, and between its gaps, the embers of the meteor split in two, filled the entire Northernmost Point with scorching heat.
No one truly understood the Knight Commander's death.
They had witnessed his head being severed, but no one knew the cause.
Only one person, the Vice-Commander watching from right beside him, instinctively understood the source of the chilling ominousness and raised his heavy shield.
It happened after a fleeting moment.
"Heavenly Preeeeeessure!"
A monstrous roar erupted.
The massively built, highly trained Guardian Knights simultaneously raised their shields towards the man.
Immense strong energy poured from the shields, overlapping to form tremendous pressure.
One layer. Two layers. Three layers. Four layers...
The surrounding view distorted as if space itself was bending, and the bursting pressure focused entirely on the lone man.
"Kraaaaaaak!"
"Kuhk!"
Paaaaaaaang—!
The compressed strong energy was torn to shreds, and the Guardian Knights were simultaneously thrown in all directions.
The shields they held shattered into pieces, scattering into the air.
The Guardian Knights slammed into the ground, simultaneously spitting streams of dark blood.
Through the midst of it all, the man began to walk forward wordlessly.
His steps seemed unwavering, like one advancing towards a great cause, yet also like someone walking devoid of a soul.
"Ah..."
There were certainly many watching.
Every one of them was an elite from the continent's renowned families.
Yet, not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Beneath an atmosphere swirling with enough immense heat to make hair stand on end, no one could utter a single word.
No one was unaware of why Dark Light was furious now, but no one had expected him to directly break through Arihama head-on.
Ruin Samael.
Everyone watched his retreating back.
Everyone held their breath.
The thought that uttering a single word might send their heads flying consumed their minds.
"Halt!"
It was then that a massively built man, clad head-to-toe in black armor, appeared from within.
A Black Knight of Arihama.
One of the rumored five Black Knights existing in the Divine Clan of Protection charged forward, leading with a pitch-black shield.
Black-colored strong energy erupted from the shield, spreading like a net to consume the space and block Ruin's path.
It all happened in a mere instant.
Ruin's afterimage blurred.
Completely bypassing the domain created by the Black Knight, a small sphere appeared and exploded right before the knight's eyes.
Paaaaang—!
"Keok."
Before he could even spit out the blood welling up from deep within, his neck was seized.
Before he could even process the situation, the Black Knight felt despair wash over him from the presence of the man standing before him.
Despair.
There was no other word to describe it.
It completely shook the Indomitable Will the Black Knight had cultivated.
"How..."
The 3rd ranked in Arihama, Siren Arihama.
As someone who had fully stepped into the distant realm of transcendence.
He, more than anyone, could fully sense the gap between himself and the man before him.
The kind of gap he only felt from his lord, Markutan, known as the Guardian Star, was now emanating from the man before his eyes.
Siren thought of death, but Ruin wasn't looking at him.
Suddenly, a golden gleam appeared high above, illuminating the two.
The Seren Clan.
Along with the form of a Golden Dragon, the White Dragon Knight and Dragon Knights looked down on them from the sky.
Ruin's gaze was directed towards them.
Eyes completely filled with black, with no whites visible.
Siren knew better than anyone what Ruin's gaze meant.
Because it was the same look Siren gave to knights from other clans who acted presumptuously.
Paaaaang—!
The moment Ruin raised one hand.
Space exploded.
There was no warning.
The image of the Golden Dragon drawn in the void exploded as it was, and the Dragon Knights plummeted simultaneously.
The White Dragon Knight, barely reacting amidst the chaos, dodged the explosion by a hair's breadth and opened his mana core.
"Keok!"
Another explosion detonated before his eyes, causing the White Dragon Knight's golden eyes to tremble uncontrollably.
This time, he couldn't even react.
He felt it clearly.
If the explosion that just went off before him had been centered on his face, he would have been annihilated without a trace.
"It is the Word of the White Dragon. The Seren Clan had no intention of antagonizing Samael..."
The White Dragon Knight couldn't finish his sentence.
The moment he saw Ruin's eyes, filled only with black, he felt an indescribable chill.
Ruin's gaze wasn't directed at him.
Where Ruin's gaze rested, there was Samael.
Though the waves of light and the heat from the meteor brightly enveloped the entire Northernmost Point.
The very center of the 'Land of Death', beyond that boundary, was still dark.
The Shield of Heavenly Pressure, infused with Arihama's full power, enveloped the boundary.
And in front of it, Baltahar's Swordmasters defended the border.
"Kuuuhk, get out of the way!"
"We will advance!"
Why was it?
Samael's mages, their white robes stained crimson with blood.
And the Elders, relentlessly throwing magic stones to cause explosions.
The White Dragon Knight realized the reason for this frenzied struggle, this continuous charge against the Divine Clans' knights without even knowing what situation had unfolded outside.
Everyone realized it simultaneously.
That the cause of those incomprehensible actions was the man standing before them.
"Enough."
In that instant, a quiet voice echoed throughout the entire space.
Baltahar's Swordmasters simultaneously moved aside.
From beyond the border of the Land of Death, someone slowly walked out.
A chilling sharp aura emanated from him.
It looked as if a giant blade was walking.
The Sword Duke, Julius Baltahar.
His steps headed towards one place.
Only then did Samael's mages, spotting Ruin, also cease their actions.
"Samael."
Step—.
Julius stopped his steps in front of Ruin.
The Sword Duke and Dark Light.
It was a moment as if time itself had stopped.
The two men faced each other, and everyone watched the two men.
"Reason."
Ruin Samael spoke for the first time.
Though his voice flowed out faintly, like air escaping, it contained an emotion too deep to express in words.
"It was inevitable. You must know that."
Ruin's gaze slowly turned towards one spot.
Samael's Head Elder. His right arm was gone.
"As you can see, I refrained from lethal force."
"Did you kill him?"
"..."
Again, the quiet voice flowed out.
In the moment Julius, realizing the meaning, paused.
Ruin spoke once more.
"Baltahar dies today. Every last one."
Instantly, Baltahar's Swordmasters lined up behind Julius simultaneously unleashed powerful presences.
But the Sword Duke merely shook his head. His complexion looked somehow uncomfortable.
"Not yet."
"..."
"We might have misjudged. Look."
Julius turned his head.
His gaze turned towards the boundary of the Land of Death, towards the waves of demonic energy surging in like a flood, encroaching upon the entire sky.
"If... that dreadful energy begins to descend upon the Samael Clan Head. Then it will be certain that he is the traitor."
"..."
"I do not think you are allied with the demons. It was likely the act of the Clan Head alone. Think of the greater good, Ruin Samael. It's not that I cannot fathom your level, but your methods were excessive."
"The greater good..."
"Indeed."
"Then why did you imprison me?"
"..."
"The Ten Thousand Swordmaster. You knew he was one of the Seven Demons, didn't you?"
In that instant, the Sword Duke's gaze turned cold.
"I was merely speculating. A predictable threat is no threat at all."
"Sophistry."
Finishing his words, Ruin slowly began to walk.
Towards the place where Baltahar's Swordmasters were gathered, towards the Land of Death beyond them, one step, then another...
It was a strange gait.
Like a ghost walking, his steps made no sound, yet a suffocating feeling washed over those watching.
At that eerie chill, the moment the thirty Heavenly Swordmasters simultaneously drew their swords from their scabbards.
"Stop."
A quiet voice echoed from behind.
"Stop now. I do not wish to raise my hand against you."
"..."
"Ruin Samael. I warned you. Stop."
Julius's blade-like voice echoed across the land, but Ruin still showed no hesitation.
Another step.
And another step.
"Can you truly not grasp the situation?"
Point-blank range.
As the Heavenly Swordmasters simultaneously aimed their swords at Ruin, Ruin extended one hand.
Just before the black sphere that appeared, bypassing space, could explode.
Faster than that, with the sound of space being cut, an invisible blade annihilated the sphere.
Heart Void Style, 4th Sword, Eye Governing Sword.
"Do you truly need bloodshed to come to your senses! How dare you alone confront the heads of the Divine Clans..."
Julius couldn't finish his sentence.
Because Ruin's afterimage blurred once more, and he felt intense killing intent near his heart.
The moment of perception is too late.
A level exceeding what he had anticipated from Ruin.
Julius immediately unleashed his strongest technique.
Heart Void Style, 5th Sword, Heart Control Sword.
The invisible sword aura, generated the moment will was exerted, once again pierced the precursor to a spatial explosion felt near his heart, but...
"...!"
The moment he cut space, the precursor to the explosion vanished as if nothing had happened.
Julius's pupils dilated wide in disbelief...
"Time control...?"
Simultaneously, the vanished precursor to the explosion reappeared on his right.
Paaaaang—!
"...!"
"...!"
The scene that unfolded next defied everyone's expectations.
Thunk—. Thududunk—.
Without exception, all thirty Heavenly Swordmasters dropped their swords.
Renewed shock filled the eyes of Arihama's Guardian Knights watching from the side.
The head of the Divine Clan of the Sword, Baltahar.
Sword Duke Julius was kneeling on the ground, his right arm blown off.
Ruin stood before him.
"The likes of Baltahar..."
Ruin grabbed the Sword Duke's neck and growled.
"Dare not oppose Samael."
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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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