0.01 Second Sword Master

196

—

0.01 Seconds Swordmaster Chapter 196

There was one question that lingered in my mind.

What exactly is Rahal’s true identity?

What on earth is this game?

Isn’t it fundamentally absurd for a game to swallow people and force them to live within it? This game has actually accomplished such an unbelievable feat, and Rahal acted as if he were the administrator of this game.

He was the kind of being who monitored those trapped in the game, stood by as a bystander, and then appeared at the end to impose a choice.

So who created such a being, and who created this game?

Rahal mentioned that countless players, besides me, were trapped within the game.

Who would do such a thing?

The answer to that is,

“You’ll find out if you kill me.”

All the answers to my questions lie with that Rahal.

But no matter how I look at it, I doubt that guy will willingly share anything.

Then there’s no choice but to fight him to extract the answers.

“You’re about to make a wrong choice. You cannot kill me. No, you won’t even be able to touch a single hair on me.”

“Isn’t that something we’ll have to see?”

Without hesitation, I drew my sword from my waist.

Swoosh—!!

At the same time, my sword energy sliced through the ground.

Boom—!!

No one has ever fully blocked my sword energy.

Not even that Lemegaton could escape being cut by my blade.

Yet,

“What a cute struggle.”

Rahal stopped my sword energy with his bare hands.

“I know that humans are creatures of curiosity. But no matter how overflowing that curiosity may be, there are things you should know and things you should not. You are trying to cross that line.”

“Yeah. I know that too. But—”

In an instant, I reached Rahal.

“That line is not yours to set.”

Boom—!!

Lahal stepped back again, blocking my strike.

“Well, it seems there’s no other choice. Regrettably, I must take your life with my own hands.”

As he reached out, black magic screamed and gathered at the tips of his fingers.

Finally, it shot straight toward me.

KWA-aaaH!!

I tried to raise a barrier to block the attack, but—

“······!”

Until now, whenever I had summoned the Shield of Guardian, I could block any attack without so much as a tremor.

But this time, for the first time, my body began to be pushed back.

“You seem quite flustered. Well, it’s understandable. It must be disconcerting that your strongest offensive and defensive techniques are failing you now.”

“No.”

Even so, I refused to show any sign of being intimidated.

Of course, I was scared, but my bravado burned hotter and larger than that fear.

“Today, for the first time, I can unleash my full power without holding back. I hope you can endure until the end.”

“Haha. Are you still posturing even in this moment? Truly, that trait of yours is quite peculiar and fascinating, if I may say so.”

“Do you think I’m posturing?”

I raised my sword, gathering all my strength.

From the sky, black meteors began to fall, and a flurry of sword dances created dozens, hundreds of sword strikes that were too fast to follow with the eye.

They all poured down toward Lahal.

“In my eyes, it seems you are the one posturing.”

The calm and carefree expression on Lahal’s face slowly twisted.

* * *

“Praise Aslan~!”

“Praise Him!”

“He is the Almighty who saves the continent and creates new life!”

“His Majesty Aslan is our Creator!”

The entire continent was singing praises to Aslan’s name.

After completely erasing the name Lahal and deleting all records of him, the people of the continent revered Aslan as a god, regarding him as their Creator.

And rightly so, for Aslan resurrected those who had been unjustly sacrificed in the war against demons, rebuilt the fallen castles, and created new life upon them.

KUUUNG-!

[For the eternal glory and honor of Aslan.]

Guardians created by his power.

The guardians, born from the lifeblood infused into colossal statues, were assigned to each city to protect the people residing there.

Not only that, but the dragons scattered across the continent also submitted to Aslan, obeying only his commands. Once the lords of destruction, they had now become a race that safeguarded the land.

It was only natural that everyone would follow and praise Aslan for such remarkable achievements.

Thus, the continent enjoyed days more peaceful and blessed than ever before.

Until just a moment ago.

Kwarrrr—!!

Kwakakak—!!

The sky trembled, and the ground shook in response.

“An earthquake!”

“Ahhh!”

A quake so severe that cracks formed in the castle walls caused buildings to collapse. But this was not an event confined to just one fortress.

A great earthquake was shaking the entire continent, the sky darkening as it rained down crimson lightning.

“This is…”

Hores swallowed hard.

It was the same phenomenon as before.

Hadn’t such occurrences happened when the end of the world drew near?

The once radiant sky was once again being tainted black.

“Your Majesty…”

What on earth was happening this time?

* * *

Crack—!!

A fissure appeared in the shield of protection.

The crack widened until the shield shattered completely,

Swoosh—!!

Rahall’s sword pierced through my body.

“…!”

Yet, there was no wound on my body.

The sacred protection enveloping me had deflected Rahall’s attack.

“It’s a pity. I could have split that body in two.”

I quickly activated my shield.

“Even if you break through my barrier, there’s a divine protection surrounding that body, so you can’t hit it, and the broken barrier will revive—truly, you have some troublesome abilities.”

Rahall laughed, twirling the sword he held.

“But there is a limit to that as well. Just because there’s no cooldown doesn’t mean your energy is infinite. Besides, I know your stats are pathetic. In the end, it’s a battle of time.”

He wasn’t wrong.

I had lost track of how many hours had passed.

My hand holding the sword was trembling as my stamina reached its limit, and sweat poured down, leaving me completely dry.

I was now holding on solely by sheer willpower.

So, the only method left for me was…

“I will end this now.”

Crash-!

The hundreds of swords created by Rahall slashed at my shield.

Like being trapped in a blender, those sharp blades shattered my guardian’s shield, and some of them aimed to carve into my body.

Swoosh-!!

The divine protection blocked their assault, but,

Squick-!!

A flash-like strike from Rahall pierced through and I ultimately could not defend against it.

“······!”

Crimson blood surged upwards.

Even suffering a fatal wound, this damnable bravado would not allow my body to stagger or fall.

Instead, I just glared at my opponent even more fiercely.

“I’m curious. Just how much can you endure?”

Rahall’s figure vanished once again.

Squick-!

And in the blink of an eye, he appeared behind me.

As a result, my body was slashed by the sword he wielded, causing me to spit out blood.

“······.”

My mind felt cozy, and I wanted to collapse and close my eyes right away, but I stood firm.

I didn’t let go of the sword until the end, and I kept my eyes wide open, unyielding.

Seeing that sight, Rahal burst into admiration.

“Impressive. I applaud your mental strength.”

Applause, my ass.

Standing here feels like I’m dying.

The only relief is that I can recover my body with the power of life.

The problem is that even if I heal my wounds, I can’t regain the energy that has completely drained away.

Chaeeng-!!

I barely raised my sword to block Rahal’s incoming strike.

“But it seems like you’re at your limit now.”

“······.”

I gritted my teeth and held on.

My legs were trembling, feeling like they would give out at any moment, yet I maintained my stance until the end.

“Shall I tell you something interesting?”

Puh-wook-!

“!?”

Rahal’s sword pierced through my abdomen and out my back.

I spat blood from my mouth, my waist bending like a bow.

Still, I did not let out a groan until the end.

“Do you know what happens when a player dies in the game?”

“······.”

“You might think that if you die here, you’ll be trapped forever, but that’s not the case. When you die, you return to your original world.”

Was that the case?

I had a feeling it could be like that.

“However, I will specially kill you here. You won’t return to your original world, and your soul will be bound to this game.”

What did he say?

“Cough, cough. Didn’t you want to stay here? Every choice comes with a price. It’s your choice, so the outcome is yours to bear.”

Rahal’s face darkened, transforming into something demonic.

“You have ruined my plans from beginning to end. You have always acted beyond my expectations. Now, that too is over. I will present you with a fitting end.”

My body returned not as Aslan, but as my original self, an ordinary twenty-something.

Before Rahal could channel his strength into the sword and explode my body, I grabbed his wrist.

“Before you kill me, let me ask you one thing. You can answer that much, right?”

“Go ahead and ask.”

“What exactly are you? Why are you putting people into the game?”

“Hehe. Why, you ask? Why did we put you into the game? What could possibly be the reason?”

Lahal’s mouth split grotesquely, the corners reaching his ears.

“Find out when you’re dead, you idiot.”

And at the moment he was about to channel his strength into his sword to burst me apart.

“······?”

Lahal sensed something was off and tilted his head.

“Wh-why is this······.”

I smirked and said to him.

“Why the hesitation? Go ahead and kill me already.”

Lahal tried to exert his strength once more, but there was no change.

I looked at Lahal.

His pupils were trembling.

“Looks like you can’t muster any power, huh?”

“······W-what have you done?”

“What have I done? I’ve taken away your strength.”

“What!?”

I spread one hand and released a dark aura from it.

“That’s!”

“Yeah. It’s the dark power I had transferred to you. But now it has returned to me. And all the power you had is now in my grasp.”

Lahal wore a look of disbelief.

“If you were your original self, I wouldn’t have been able to take your power, but you unknowingly mixed your strength with the dark power I gave you.”

I showed him the hand that was gripping Lahal’s arm.

“Good thing one of my abilities is the Devourer of Dark Spirits.”

“Th-that’s ridiculous!”

It was only then that Lahal realized that all of his strength had flowed into me.

“Maybe you should have thought it through. Who exactly is calling whom an idiot?”

I pulled out the sword that was embedded in my body.

—

Then my body returned to Aslan’s form once more.

“How dare you—”

That imposing bravado surged to the very top of my head.

“I shall hold you accountable for the crime of insulting me, false god.”

“Wait! I’ll answer any question you have!”

I halted the sword that was about to strike Rahal’s neck.

“Really?”

Rahal nodded vigorously.

And I said,

“No need.”

Swish—!

In an instant, I severed that wretch’s neck.