Chapter 386: The Appearance of the Divine Bow (4)
Vector’s sword had originally aimed to sever both of Jordic’s arms at once. However, Jordic thrust out his left arm to protect the right arm holding the spear, and with that right hand, he cleanly cut off Vector’s neck.
Vector was a powerful opponent, strong enough to instill fear even in Jordic, who stood at the peak of a six-star Grandmaster. He was clearly a seven-star Transcendental. Jordic judged that if he could trade one arm to kill such a being, it was not a loss. It was also a decision born of urgency; he knew that in a normal exchange of blows, he could never win.
Even after severing Vector’s head, Jordic did not show any sign of joy because there was a worst-case scenario he didn’t even want to imagine.
“That spear is an artifact. Relying on a weapon… How disgraceful for a warrior.”
Vector was able to speak, despite clearly having his head cut off. The worst-case scenario Jordic had imagined had become reality.
Squelch!
Tentacles burst out from the severed neck and, in the blink of an eye, reattached it to the body, restoring him.
Jordic, stopping the bleeding of his severed left arm with an elixir, replied, “Becoming a monster that doesn’t die even when decapitated.. Is that the path a warrior should pursue?”
“Heh. Not every transformed being becomes immortal like me. Those who can’t handle it end up like them.”
Vector pointed at the monsters. They looked nothing like humans anymore, but they had originally been human. They were those who had failed in their transformation.
Jordic tightened his grip on Gungnir, his beloved spear, and prepared to fight, but cold sweat ran down his body.
They deployed a Transcendental here… Does the crown prince hate Sefira that much?
Vector was a well-known figure on the crown prince’s side. Over ten years of war, he had killed tens of thousands of soldiers and thousands of knights.
Asura of Eight Swords was his new title. Originally a practitioner of the four-sword style, he had reached the level of an eight-star Prime. After becoming a monster, he now wielded eight swords. He should have been supporting Demon King Rukan in the final battle. After all, war ends when the supreme commander dies. And yet, Vector was here, despite being such a valuable resource.
Whoosh.
At first, it sounded like a faint gust of wind, but Jordic moved his spear instantly. His body reacted before his mind.
Jordic’s Moonlight Spear Style: Moon Greeting.
Originally, the Moonlight Spear Style had been adapted from the spear techniques of the Moon Rabbit Tribe for human use. In the process, it had been degraded, losing much of its power and efficiency.
Jordic had never been told this, nor given any hint, but he realized it on his own that there was a flaw in his spear technique. So, he boldly reconstructed the entire style into what he believed to be the ultimate spear technique.
The tip of his spear curved softly. It wrapped around Vector’s killing intent-filled blade and redirected it. His Moon Greeting, perfectly embodying the principle of overcoming strength with softness, seemed to handle Vector’s sword with ease.
But that was only for one of Vector’s swords; Vector wielded eight. Then, he struck with the second.
Shhk! Shhk!
Two swords targeted Jordic’s entire body. Not a single one could be safely ignored. Jordic increased the speed of his spear even further, enough to counter both. Then Vector used his left leg as well. That was his third sword.
Slash!
If both arms had been intact, Jordic might have endured up to three swords, but having lost his left arm, he couldn’t withstand the third. And so, sword aura sliced deeply across his thigh.
Jordic managed to keep himself conscious through sheer willpower, but his body could not endure. His neck had already been cut, causing heavy bleeding. Now, with his thigh also deeply slashed, blood poured out enough to form a pool beneath him. A monster might survive decapitation, but it was fatal for a human to lose a liter of blood.
An ordinary knight would have collapsed long ago. Jordic remained standing only because he was on the verge of becoming a Transcendental and because the artifact Gungnir was protecting him.
Vector, confident of victory, relaxed. It was clear he intended to toy with Jordic before killing him.
With all his remaining strength, Jordic shouted, “Retreat!”
The appearance of a monster-human had been expected, but not a Transcendental monster-human. They had to flee, no matter what. At the very least, Vector would want to kill Jordic, so if he could survive and stall, more allies might escape.
However, his allies did not retreat. The archers fired volleys at Vector, while the spearmen surrounded Jordic to protect him. A medic rushed forward, stopping his bleeding and pouring an elixir into his mouth.
Slash! Splatter.
Hearing the sound of flesh being torn from the front lines, Jordic clenched his spear so tightly his hands bled. His command to retreat had been meaningless, as no one could escape from a Transcendental. And even if they somehow did, Vector wouldn’t just leave. He would hunt down every isolated soldier and kill them all. They had to kill Vector, or at least buy time.
“Move aside!”
The moment his bleeding was stopped, Jordic returned to the front lines. He had only rested for a minute, but over fifty allies had already died.
Vector, drenched in blood, looked delighted.
“Jordic. If I had a mirror, I’d show you how ridiculous you look right now.”
“You speak as if you won with your own strength, when you rely on a monster’s power.”
“Hah? Even without this power, you were never my match. The only reason you cut off my head was that I let you. I haven’t even used my Authority yet.”
“Heh. Then use it. Go ahead, try killing me with that so-called power of yours.”
“I’ve decided. I’ll cut off your limbs, kill all your subordinates, and then kill you last.”
Crack. Creak.
Vector began to swell grotesquely, growing until it was ten times larger. And that wasn’t the end of it. Twisted horns like a mountain goat sprouted from his head, and three additional arms grew from his back and sides.
Already overwhelming before, Vector now resembled an evil god itself. His mere presence made the world tremble.
Asura of Eight Swords: true to his title, he now wielded eight swords in eight hands, each one a divine sword formed from godly power. Though his appearance was monstrous, his mastery of the sword was undeniably real.
“I’ll start by cutting off your right arm. Try and stop me if you can.”
As his body grew, so did his sword, now as large as a house.
Whoosh…
A heavy gust of wind roared. Jordic knew exactly where the attack was coming from, yet he could not dodge. If he did, his allies behind him would die.
“Hyahhhh!”
With a shout, Jordic unleashed his ultimate spear technique—Jordic’s Moonlight Spear Style: Waning Full Moon.
Boom!
The house-sized sword and spear collided. A shockwave kicked up a massive cloud of dust, but only for a moment.
When the dust settled, only two things remained in sight: a single sword embedded deep into the ground and a lone spear lying discarded across the battlefield.
* * *
Jordic died. Without leaving even a trace of his form behind, only the spear he once wielded remained. Despite his victory, Vector clicked his tongue in irritation.
“More disappointing than I thought. I held back as much as I could, and he still died in a single blow.”
Swoosh.
His ominous gaze turned toward the relief forces.
“I’ll just have to vent my frustration by executing the rest of you.”
Though they should have despaired before Vector’s overwhelming power, the relief forces simply tightened their grips on their weapons in silence.
At that moment, someone shouted from within the crowd, “Is it really that fun, bullying the weak?”
“I don’t know who you are, but come say that to my face.”
Vector assumed no one would step forward, but a single figure walked out from the crowd. His face was hidden under a hood, but for some reason, Vector found him deeply unpleasant.
“I asked if it’s fun, bullying the weak.”
The mysterious man spoke boldly, even before a being that looked like an evil god.
Vector pointed his sword at him.
“Yeah, it’s fun. I’ll make you understand why.”
Thinking of how Jordic had been obliterated without leaving even a form, Vector thrust his sword while holding back as much as possible.
Boom!!
Another massive shockwave erupted, kicking up a cloud of dust. But even with the dust rising, it was clear what had happened.
“…?!”
“Th-that…?!”
The watching relief forces were stunned. The mysterious man had stopped Vector’s house-sized sword with his bare hand. Not even the flat of the blade, but the sharp edge itself.
Vector doubted his own eyes. Even if he had held back, how could someone block his sword with bare hands? And when he tried to pull it back, it didn’t budge at all.
What the hell is happening?
Vector had already done his research. There were only two Transcendental beings left in Sefira: High Elf Endymion and Elder Gasilius, and both were currently with Sefira’s main force, meaning there should be no one capable of stopping him here. Even those two wouldn’t be able to block his sword with their bare hands.
Vector was confused, but rather than thinking, he moved first. One sword had been stopped, but he had eight arms. The remaining seven arms all swung toward the mysterious man.
Even if you block one, you only have one arm remaining. How will you stop the other six? And if you dodge, everyone behind you dies.
Vector was certain the man would evade. That was why he prepared to use his Authority for the next strike. He held nothing back, and that was how he had survived countless battlefields. But something completely unexpected happened.
The mysterious man grabbed the sword with both hands and lifted Vector up into the air. Vector was the size of a small mansion. Lifting him purely with strength was shocking enough, but even more unbelievable was the fact that, despite resisting with all his might, he was still lifted.
Naturally, all of Vector’s remaining attacks missed. At the same time, caught off guard, his planned second attack using his Authority fell apart.
I need to counterattack.
Putting aside his curiosity about how such monstrous strength could come from such a small body, Vector raised his sword and swung downward at the man, even while upside down. To an observer, it looked like he reacted instantly. But in reality, Vector had hesitated for 0.4 seconds. In the realm of Transcendentals, that was an eternity.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Arrows flew in from all directions, piercing Vector’s entire body. They were not arrows fired by the relief forces.
“Guh?!”
If they had been ordinary arrows, Vector would have felt nothing more than a tickle. But now, an unbearable groan of pain escaped his lips. Among monsters, Transcendental monsters had skin harder than orichalcum and regeneration surpassing ancient trolls. And yet, his skin had been pierced, and his regeneration failed to activate.
Slowly, the mysterious man removed his hood. The moment Vector saw his face, his eyes widened drastically.
“K-Keter?!”
The mysterious man was Keter. Vector, shocked, tried to activate his Authority, but…
“I don’t have a hobby of bullying the weak.”
Whoosh, bang!
Keter flung the sword aside. Still holding onto it, Vector was slammed into the ground along with it. Vector hurriedly got back on his feet, but Keter was already aiming an arrow at him.
“Just die.”
Tap.
Keter released a single arrow. Vector tried to counter it with his Authority, but the arrow pierced his forehead faster than he could react. He felt dizzy for a moment, but he relaxed upon seeing the arrow lodged there. Among a monster’s body, the head was the toughest part. Even Keter couldn’t kill him. This was proof.
“I’ll kill…”
Those were Vector’s last words.
Booom!!!
The arrow lodged in his forehead wasn’t just any arrow; it was Milky Way. The moment Vector opened his mouth, it exploded. The explosion was enormous—so powerful that both the relief forces and the monsters were blown away.
A crater formed so deep its bottom couldn’t be seen. There was no trace of Vector left. He hadn’t even had the chance to use his Authority nor to demonstrate his monstrous regeneration. He was completely obliterated, without even a speck of dust remaining.
If he had used his Authority from the beginning, he wouldn’t have died so futilely. However, Vector had planned to use it on his second attack, and that decision became his downfall.
Vector, the Asura of Eight Swords and the very symbol of terror to the world alliance army, was killed in an instant.
Keter scratched the back of his head.
“That guy earlier… his face looked familiar… but whatever, it’s done now.”
As he killed the remaining monsters in a single blow, Keter once again proved that he truly had no interest in bullying the weak.
