I Obtained Sword God Level Talent

28 – 028. Snow Flower (4)

“aaahhh!”

It was an attack that neither of them could even react to. Lancelot and Ariel collapsed with wretched screams.

“Lancelot! Ariel!”

“Heh heh, don’t worry. They’re still breathing. They have to see you die, sprawled out there, don’t they?”

The Blood Lion sneered, taking slow, confident steps. It was a scene dripping with the arrogance that I was no match for him.

“……!”

The hand gripping the sword trembled violently. But, sadly, I had few means to defeat him. Unless a 7th-circle being was careless, victory seemed truly remote.

“Kyahahaha! The world you and I live in, from the start, breathes different air!”

SWISH! CRASH!

With a harsh roar, the Blood Lion charged. Immediately, crimson mana consumed the space. I raised my sword, barely blocking the rough blade, but the mana scattered from the blade burrowed into my body once again.

SHWISH! SHWISH!

“Kuh……!”

From head to toe. A random flurry of blood spray added to the wounds. A full-body hemorrhage that would have felled any ordinary person was gradually blurring my vision.

CRUNCH!

I gritted my teeth hard enough to draw blood, squeezing out mana, fighting back against the overwhelming force. This way, I’d surely lose. Something, a powerful… a powerful trump card is needed.

“It’s over. Die!”

FLASH!

A blood-red blade descended on me like lightning. I quickly twisted my body, but there was a clear difference in speed from the start.

SLASH!

“……Ugh!”

It wasn’t a fatal wound. But it was an attack that shattered my will to fight.

A long gash appeared on my side. The immediate rush of blood proved that this was not a wound to take lightly.

PATTER!

I quickly created some distance, steeling my mind.

‘More strength.’

I need strength.

Strength.

‘Strength powerful enough to protect everyone!’

*Sssshiiiik!*

The Blood Lion’s blade comes hurtling, spraying blood. I hastily dodged, away from the pool forming from the dripping blood.

* * *

*Scratch!*

“Krrrgh!”

“Hahaha! You never tire, do you? I’ll give you credit for your tenacity!”

The Blood Lion slowly savored Frey. Victory in battle wasn’t his aim from the start. It’s the Blood Lion’s hobby to make his prey writhe in pain until death.

*Swish!*

“Hehehe!”

Bright red blood burst out again. The Blood Lion smacked his lips. Just the way it looked, it seemed rather tasty. His mouth couldn’t help but water.

“Don’t give up. Who knows? Maybe this very moment, you’ll reach enlightenment?”

“……Huk! Huk!”

His body, strengthened by mana, cried out. His body felt like it weighed a ton, even talking to the b*stard felt like a waste of energy.

‘……Enlightenment?’

*Drip, drip*, Frey thought, as he breathed raggedly with the bleeding.

What is enlightenment?

If such a thing existed, could he win this desperate fight?

“Huk! Huk!”

“Hehe. Looks like we’re nearing the end. The scene I like most.”

Frey, ignoring the Blood Lion’s sneering, thought again.

Enlightenment. That enlightenment separates one tier from another. Then, if he could reach that enlightenment, would he be able to defeat him? Where in the world is there such a preposterous, paltry setup?

“Enlightenment, enlightenment…”

Frey’s eyes sank deep. There was only one thing he could expect in this situation.

.

.

.

Enlightenment.

Frey’s legs moved wildly. Resisting the onslaught of blades and mana. Yet, his indomitable will awakened his mind, sharper than ever.

“Enlightenment, enlightenment is…”

Moving forward, shattering one’s past. Like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, blooming magnificently upon the ashes of a miserable old story.

And.

“Mindlessly destroying my own world again. Not being bound by reality.”

*Whoosh!*

In an instant, a torrent of emotions ripped through Frey’s mind. Like a tidal wave of feeling, it brought back memories of all the time that had passed.

The despair of being dropped into an unfamiliar world.

The fear gifted by monsters called Orcs.

The tension born from challengers.

A mother’s love.

The bond of friendship.

The expectations of unconditional supporters.

The affection of a strange childhood friend.

The malice of assassins.

The affection of the hermit who had given him guidance.

The powerlessness before an enemy he dared not defy.

And… naturally, rising anger. Or perhaps despair. Hatred. Those similar emotions.

“Furthermore– not averting your eyes from any of those feelings.”

*Swish*–!

Despite the excessive bleeding that pushed him beyond his limits, his darkened vision began to clear.

A sensation, as if a filter had been applied to an image, expanded.

Sensation wasn’t simply an extension of the previous feelings. The world, Frey’s world, was losing its color. As if a monochrome world, where only black and white existed, was shaking violently.

*Crack!*

Frey felt it.

Something breaking. Shattering into tiny pieces. Becoming a faint dust that could never again be collected.

“Destroying the world. Yet keeping what is precious.”

A curious fact came to mind.

The previous, outdated world was full of vibrant colors. Vividly unfolding before his eyes, like a photo printed in full color.

But the world that had opened up was different.

The world before Frey was monochrome. But for some reason, that fact didn’t feel unfortunate. The reason was simple. He knew who was going to paint the colors onto the black and white world he saw ahead.

‘Me, and everyone beside me, painting it together.’

Crack… crackcrackcrack!

The unbelievable happened right then.

The sword Frey held in both hands shook. It wasn’t just from his depleted stamina. Cracks, a massive fissure, covered the sword.

Sssshhh…

“Wha, what? What the hell is this?”

The Blood Lion’s eyes, previously brimming with composure, went wide.

He hadn’t even the slightest grasp of what was happening. He’d never even imagined a freak occurrence like achieving ‘enlightenment’ during a battle.

The one thing he’d overlooked.

His opponent was Frey. A vessel imbued with a blessing thicker than any hero’s. Moreover, at this moment, he was a man who desired to become stronger than anyone on earth.

Clang–!

Frey’s heavily shaking sword shattered into pieces. Like glass against rock. The dark, jet-black blade instantly spilled onto the floor.

“Th, this! Y, you son of a b*tch! Where did this monster come from!”

Clack, the Blood Lion, face contorted in terror, raised his blade. He knew what this scene meant.

This was the butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, the transcendent being breaking free from the world, the hero drenched in blood revealing himself to the world. So…

…Enlightenment.

That mocking voice of his, that endlessly abstract something, that monster had actually achieved it.

“Die! You freak!”

His face pale with shock, the Blood Lion hurriedly rushed at Frey.

In a fleeting, split-second moment, he knew instinctively. Now, now was his last chance. Otherwise, eventually, that formless sword, its blade already broken, would pierce his heart.

Whoosh!

“————.”

The blood-red blade descended upon his unguarded head. Despite the imminent crisis, Frey’s lips, barely moving, radiated an unnerving serenity.

“Embrace the sky and sun, heaven. Embrace the mountain and sea, earth.”

And, freely walking between the two boundaries, a drifting cloud, the Heavenly Cloud Step.

Swish!

And.

Non-existent, thus, nothingness. Yet, desiring to exist, eternity. The sword, the tool of that desire’s release. In the end, the sword technique of legends materialized into the Formless Sword.

“————.”

Destined as fate.

Destiny, a necessity.

Fate, a predestination.

A divine mandate to resist it.

Pshhk!

“Wha, what is this…?!”

Frey dodged the falling blade, leaping back. The crimson lion’s mouth stretched wide, as if about to tear, witnessing that uncanny agility.

Left foot, a mountain.

Right foot, the ocean.

Left arm, darkness.

Right arm, light.

And.

Universe in both eyes.

A bond in the sword in his hand.

A story whose light won’t fade, in his head.

Zzzzzzzt…

Clearly nothing should exist on Frey’s sword but the handle, yet a dark energy began to gather there.

“Bu, but just now…!”

The crimson lion pointed a finger at Frey, who had evaded his attack. His trembling finger was grasping at this reality. It was because his eyes had seen something they should never have.

Clink!

Frey gripped his sword tightly.

A clash between the 5th Circle and the 7th Circle. A battle that shouldn’t be possible, by common sense.

“I’ll burn everything I have. Even my life…to break you.”

Liquid flowed from Frey’s eyes. His tears were not clear. Tears, stained with emotions he wouldn’t discard, were a vivid crimson.

Kugugugugu…

Each and every emotion creates a massive whirlwind.

And. Now, to the black color that was everything, a pure white flash of light was added.

Zzzzzzzzzzing——!

Black and white. Dark mana and pure, innate chi. The germination of a sublime will, staking everything to break the enemy.

“I—! Even if I fall, even if I’m destroyed, even if death awaits at the end, I cannot be defeated!”

Kwadudududuk!

The darkness-filled earth shuddered, unable to withstand the raw power. Fray, executing the footwork etched into his mind, launched forward, his blade erupting in light.

Flash! Flash!

The Blood Lion, stunned by the bizarre spectacle, was struck dumb. He wore a vacant expression, as if his soul had been snatched away.

“Th-Thousand Demon Army…”

Whooosh—————!

A light, forged from jet-black and pure white energies. It engulfed the Blood Lion.

…

..

.

Shwiiiiish!

[An impossible achievement has been born.]

Shwiiiiish!

[A Trait upgrade is underway.]

[Trait: Swordsmanship Body is enhanced.]

[Trait: Prodigy is enhanced.]

[Trait: Heavenly Sword Record has been acquired.]

Shwiiiiish!

[A ‘Myth’ grade Saga is being written.]

[The target’s ‘Unique Trait’ is being inscribed.]

[Fray ■ ■■■■■■]

[Unique Trait ＜■■■■＞]

[8% until inscription is complete]

Shwiiiiish!

[Warning! Consumption rate of Innate True Qi has exceeded 99%.]

[You will soon die.]