Chapter 217: Holy Sword (6)
Since ancient times, the sea has been called the treasure of life, and for good reason. The creatures that thrived only in the sea enriched human lives. Even though the sea was gracious, no human ever disregarded it. Instead, they feared it, worshiped the Dragon King[1], and offered sacrifices to the sea daily for when it was angered, the sea unleashed fierce tidal waves that devoured humans with savage force.
What kind of magic is this reckless...?!
The magic aimed at Kai now was very much like the sea. Of course, the issue was that it wasn’t the sea that brought abundance, but one that instilled the terror of death.
Crash!
Three magic circles slowly rotated clockwise next to Zirukan, who hovered in midair. Then, a torrent of dark waves erupted out from them, and surged directly toward Kai.
Splash, splash.
In the blink of an eye, Kai found himself submerged up to his thighs in water as he scrambled to evade the magic. But just as suddenly, the waves rushing toward him stopped, as if someone had turned off a faucet.
“Hehe. Preparations are complete.”
Despite the chaos caused by his water and its underwhelming results, Zirukan smiled. Then, he slowly began casting his next spell.
“Wait, it can’t be...”
At that moment, an ominous thought suddenly flashed through Kai's mind.
It can’t be what I’m thinking of, is it?
But from some point on, Kai’s ominous suspicions always seemed to become reality. And it didn’t seem like this time would be any different.
Damn it, why am I reminded of the Battle of the Bir Plains?
The water now reached up to his hips. By itself, it wasn’t enough to restrict Kai’s movements. After all, his underwater movement adjustment stat exceeded 100%. In some ways, it could even be considered advantageous. But if that water started to freeze, the story would change entirely.
That would literally be the beginning of hell. I know better than anyone the effects of that nightmare combo spell.
He knew because he had once designed and used it himself, flipping a battle against overwhelming odds to win a war.
This is dangerous.
While his thoughts raced, Zirukan completed his casting.
Acting on instinct, Kai shot his Holy Chains into the ceiling above.
“Hrrmph!”
He gripped the chains tightly and propelled himself into the air.
At the same time, Zirukan’s spell was unleashed.
“Reverse Gravity.”
“Huh?”
Kai’s eyes widened at the completely unexpected spell.
Reverse Gravity? In this situation?
As the name suggested, it was a spell that reversed gravitational forces. As a result, the dark water that had reached Kai’s hips floated upward in droplets, defying gravity.
“I assumed someone like you could anticipate at least two steps ahead, even during combat.”
People always enjoyed being highly regarded and treated well. However, when that praise came from an enemy, the situation became a bit more complicated.
“Darn it!”
Due to the Holy Chains, Kai had risen into the air. However, the dark sea that should have remained on the ground had also floated upward.
I’ve been caught.
The dark droplets scattered through the air, and the moment they touched Kai, Zirukan snapped his fingers without hesitation. All the floating droplets began to freeze, and the water droplets clinging to Kai’s body were no exception.
[You have been afflicted by the Slowed status effect.]
[All movements are slowed by 15%.]
Fortunately, Kai didn’t suffer the Frostbite status effect since the number of water droplets covering his body wasn’t significant enough for that.
First, I need to remove the status effect...
Just as Kai was about to activate Sunlight’s Warmth, a spike of darkness erupted from the ground and pierced his abdomen.
[You have been afflicted by the Bleeding status effect.]
[You take 1,500 damage per second.]
“Kugh!”
“I can’t just let you heal so easily, now can I?” Zirukan said.
Kai hurriedly swung his sword, slicing through the part of the spike protruding from his abdomen.
Damn it, my movements are slowed, and the damage over time is worse than I expected.
Kai tried to cast Sunlight's Warmth, but the barrage of spells kept interrupting him.
“Argh, Confusion!”
Kai planned to buy himself time with Confusion and then use Sunlight's Warmth, but...
“I’ve already analyzed that skill,” Zirukan declared.
No matter where Kai appeared, Zirukan’s magic relentlessly pursued him, as if determined not to give him even a moment to heal.
Eventually, Kai had no choice but to change his approach. Each time Kai swung his sword, he destroyed one of the incoming spells. He looked like a batter in a major league baseball game, hitting fastballs from a pitcher. He continuously slashed at the endless rain of magic.
He’s not giving me any chance to heal.
Zirukan truly knew how to torment his opponent.
As Kai bit his lower lip in frustration, Cherantia warned him.
—The Bleeding effect is severe. At this rate, you’ll die within a minute.
That was true. With only 70,000 HP left after being impaled, losing 1,500 HP per second was nothing short of brutal.
I have to create some kind of opening.
However, there was nothing to rely on. Kai’s mind raced as he began analyzing the remaining possibilities.
I still have the Undying Will skill, but...
Even with five seconds of invulnerability, defeating Zirukan in that time was impossible. Considering that he couldn’t even deal damage to him, five seconds—or even fifty—wouldn’t make a difference.
I need to focus on healing first.
Boom!
Kai swung his sword again, destroying another spell, and immediately extended his left hand. “Blue Plague!”
Whoosh!
A blue mist erupted from Kai’s left hand. Even Zirukan, who had maintained a smile throughout, furrowed his brow.
“Hm. How annoying...”
The Blue Plague possessed a poison effect among the highest tier. Even a dark wizard with high poison resistance couldn’t completely ignore it.
Tsk. I guess I have no choice, then.
In the end, Zirukan opted for a compromise. He canceled one of the spells he had been casting against Kai and used an antidote spell on himself.
The absence of one of Zirukan’s attacks created a small but crucial opening for Kai. Kai didn’t miss the chance and urgently cast the skill.
“Sunlight’s Warmth!”
[Slowed status effect removed.]
[Bleeding status effect removed.]
With the two status effects removed, his HP surged as if fresh flesh were regenerating. It was undoubtedly a relief, but Kai’s hardened expression showed no signs of relaxing.
Huff, huff.
His chest puffed up as he gasped for air, feeling as though it might burst.
I have no way to recover stamina because I can’t activate the Reaper of the Battlefield effect.
While his health had been restored, there hadn’t been nearly enough time to replenish his stamina.
A simple Spring of Restoration isn’t nearly enough.
He had long since used up all of Ayana’s special potions as well.
In any battle against a wizard, time was always on the wizard’s side.
I have no choice but to figure out the Holy Sword.
Unable to bear the frustration, Kai swung his sword repeatedly and asked Cherantia, “As you said, I inherited everything from Patrick—his unique skills and sword techniques. But I didn’t inherit the holy sword. What am I supposed to do?”
—I don’t know the specifics either. Hmm... I don’t know if this would help, but would you like to hear more about who Patrick was?
That seemed pointless in this situation, but Kai nodded.
I’ll take any chance I can get.
Once Kai agreed, Cherantia began explaining,
—I may have mentioned this before, but Patrick believed that the best defense was a strong offense, and he subdued the world with a single sword, proving his beliefs to be right.
“So, are you saying that you and Shimizu were wrong?”
—No one was wrong. It’s simply a difference in perspective.
“Different perspectives...”
—Every apostle has their own convictions. We each walked our paths and saw them through to the end.
Shimizu prioritized protecting her allies, Cherantia sought to save the souls of the dead, and Patrick struck down everything he deemed an enemy with his sword.
—He eliminated all who could be called enemies from the continent. Eventually, there was no one left to harm what he held dear. He proved his belief that offense was the best defense.
“Offense is the best defense...”
It was a bold philosophy, but Kai couldn’t help agreeing with it.
—Yet Patrick’s title was not Destroyer, but Radiant. Do you know why?
“Uh... no, I don’t,” Kai responded with a bewildered tone, caught off guard by the question he had never considered.
Now that I think about it, why was Patrick called Radiant?
Even though he had been imitating the title of Radiant Paladin, he had never questioned it before.
Radiance... It means bright and dazzlingly beautiful. But Swordsmanship of the Dawn doesn’t exactly shine.
So why was Patrick called Radiant?
Cherantia provided a simple and clear explanation.
—Patrick was said to possess the greatest holy power in the history of the Order. Whenever he released his holy power, it illuminated entire regions, earning him the title Radiant.
The greatest holy power in the Order’s history, huh...
That was the reason behind why Patrick had been known as Radiant instead of Destroyer or Annihilator.
He cut down his enemies.
He destroyed his enemies to eliminate them, and when new enemies appeared, he destroyed them too. That simple act would only end when there were no more who called themselves his enemies.
Even when I spoke with his spirit, I could feel how uncompromising he was.
However, simplicity had its own appeal at times.
With a sharp gleam in his eyes, Kai stepped forward, slashing through Zirukan’s magic as he advanced.
“Hmm?” Zirukan tilted his head.
Kai, who had been solely focused on blocking the spells, slowly began advancing toward him, step by step. Irritated by this, Zirukan increased the tempo of his attacks.
“Argh...!”
He was truly a top-tier dark wizard. It had been a long time since the boss room no longer contained natural climate. With every blink, fierce blizzards roared, lava boiled, and waves surged. It had become a space where no earthly weather could exist.
Patrick’s sword wasn’t meant to simply cut down enemies.
As Kai moved forward and deflected Zirukan’s magic, he delved deeper into Patrick’s philosophy.
It was about protecting allies by eliminating threats. That’s the key.
Ultimately, Patrick’s sword wasn’t one of destruction but one of preservation. It was swung to save allies, not kill enemies.
That was the path Patrick, the Holy Paladin and Apostle of the Order, walked...!
And it was the path Kai himself had walked and would continue to follow.
The moment Kai realized this simple truth, a burst of light radiated from his body.
Ding!
[You have understood the conviction imbued in the sword of the Third Apostle, Patrick of Radiance, during his lifetime.]
[Your swordsmanship proficiency has greatly increased due to immense insight.]
[Swordsmanship of the Dawn level has increased to Advanced Level 5.]
[You have acquired the Legendary Skill, Sublime Blade of Judgment.]
Something significant changed within Kai.
Realizing this, Zirukan momentarily paused his attacks.
His presence has elevated.
He had been uncertain earlier, but this time, it was undeniable. The novice adventurer before him had shattered a barrier and reached a new state of enlightenment.
Zirukan’s eyes widened and he looked down at his arms. He wondered what kind of barrier had been broken for a person to change so drastically in an instant. What danger was it for his very skin to issue such a warning?
At that same time, Kai was examining the skill window that had appeared before him.
[Sublime Blade of Judgment]
Grade: Legendary
Summons Prius, the Blade of Sublime Judgment.
Consumes 1,000 Holy Power per second.
(This skill can only be used when Swordsmanship of the Dawn is Advanced Level 5 and Holiness Stat is 1,500 or higher.)
The moment Kai read the description, he said without hesitation, “Open stats. Allocate 108 remaining points to Holiness stat.”
As soon as the Holiness stat reached 1,500, Kai felt a cleansing sensation, as though all impurities were being washed away from his body.
Overwhelmed by the euphoria running through his body, Kai slowly exhaled.
After carefully sheathing his sword, he extended his right hand and said, “Summon Sublime Blade of Judgment.
Crackle.
At the same time, the holy power drained from his body like a receding tide began to materialize before his eyes. Moments later, a single sword with an eminent, white blade took shape. Its appearance was identical to the one Zirukan had shown earlier.
So this is the Holy Sword...
However, while the appearance was the same, the aura emanating from the sword was a world apart. If the holy energy from Zirukan’s replica Holy Sword was a lake, then Kai’s sword was an ocean—perhaps even greater.
Watching the return of the true Holy Sword in silence, Cherantia quietly chuckled and prayed,
—Let there be light.
1. In Korean mythology, the Dragon King (용왕) is considered the ruler of the sea and often depicted as a dragon living beneath the waves. ☜