Chapter 124

“Sword… Sword God…! The chains, the chains…!”

Damn it. As I thought, they’ve come…!

“Do you have the leisure to look away with me right in front of you?!”

Sensing the momentary lapse in my concentration, she swung her sword again.

Actually, calling it a sword might be an insult to the craft. What had been a dainty blade at the start of the battle had now intertwined with the aura of dark-crimson mana surrounding it. It had become something akin to a skyscraper, measuring nearly 200 meters in length.

‘Ah, hell. I’m not used to the scale of the fight suddenly exploding like this…!’

Of course, that didn’t mean it was an attack I couldn’t handle. If I couldn’t repel a crude strike that relied purely on brute force, Yuribel wouldn’t have classified me as a Martial God in the first place.

I met the attack—which descended not as a line, but as a crushing plane—with Astraphe, tilting it sideways.

KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAK!!

An overwhelmingly dense pillar of pure-white mana carved into the violently surging wave of red energy, wrenching it off course.

KWA-AAAAAANG!!!

The mass of mana collided with the earth, erupting in a gargantuan shockwave. The ground split apart all the way to the horizon, and the air within a several-kilometer radius was displaced, creating a vacuum before rushing back in to form a terrifying gale.

Monsters caught in the vicinity collided with the scattering mana fragments and were reduced to blood-mist, leaving no trace behind.

Furthermore, the assault didn’t stop at a single strike.

KU-HWAHAK! KU-HWAHAK! KWAGAGAGAGAK!

As if ignoring the very concept of inertia, red trajectories over 200 meters thick filled the entire space.

‘Insane…!’

Even if her mana wasn’t as clean or densely refined as my white mana, that vast, overwhelming quantity was a threat in its own right.

‘In that case…!’

In a split second, I slashed at the air dozens of times. With every stroke, space itself fractured, forming a massive shield of rifts with a radius of about 30 meters in the void.

Immediately after, the pillar of mana she swung collided with the rifts. The fractures began to suck in the mana with frightening momentum.

“Spatial Rifts?! Against this!! Hmph!”

Suddenly, the thickness of the dark-crimson pillar—half-sucked into the rift—seemed to swell by half its size, and more than double the previous amount of mana began to pour out from it.

The rifts, which had been absorbing the energy, began to fluctuate violently until, eventually, her mana started to overflow back out of them.

‘An overflow…! You’ve got to be kidding!!’

CRASH!!

The rifts finally shattered.

Having forced the rifts back into normal space by flooding them with mana, she laughed fiercely and hoisted the pillar of energy once more.

I let out a bewildered laugh.

“Do you just have mana to burn?!”

To be blunt, even by the standards of a Potestates-class Transcendent, that was blatant waste.

“The power of my kin is my power! If you thought I’d be affected by a lack of mana, you are gravely mistaken!!”

“Dammit. How annoying…!”

“Sword God! Sword God!! The chains!!!”

Shia’s voice, echoing in my mental image, grew increasingly urgent.

I grit my teeth, kicked off the air, and lunged toward her. I swung a pillar of pure-white light—similarly extended to nearly 100 meters—to break the trajectory of her crimson violence.

KWAKWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAK!!

In a brief moment lasting less than a second, dozens of sword strikes intersected.

Her mana capacity might be overwhelming, but her skill as a swordsman was child’s play compared to mine. Therefore, what I had to do wasn’t much different from before the seal was broken.

Block, parry, cut, and shave away.

I fashioned hundreds of mana swords; using some to keep Disis in check while using the rest to absorb the successive shockwaves.

By the time the number of collisions reached triple digits, a rupture finally appeared in her mana, which had been overflowing like a tsunami.

The supply speed could no longer keep up with the consumption, and the density of her mana pillars thinned.

‘An opening…!’

KWA-ANG!!

Finally parrying her sword with raw strength, I seized the momentary gap and brought my blade down with all my might.

JJING…!

And then,

KWA-AAAAAANG!!!

The strike I was certain would land was blocked in mid-air by something else.

“…What?!”

“Heh. Why so surprised? You’re the one who said I wasn’t a specialist in close-quarters combat, weren’t you?”

Two Elves stood in front of Disis, blocking my path. Surprisingly, three pairs of light-wings were shimmering behind the backs of both Elves.

“Dominion-class Transcendents? Looking at their race, they’re Precursors… Such beings existed here on Kion?”

This made no sense. According to Yuribel’s official data, the Precursors on Kion were low-level… no, there were only a few Common-class ones at best. And even they were all in hiding.

If such beings existed, the Ordeal wouldn’t have dragged on like this. They would have wiped out the monsters long ago and established a Great Anti-Demon Front in the Demon Realm.

‘Yuribel and the other angels wouldn’t have had to run around like crazy trying to recruit labor, either.’

I let out a low groan as I looked at the two of them.

“What are those things?”

“I believe you already know the answer.”

“…Wasn’t a doppelganger’s limit just imitating others? How can you create beings that don’t exist?”

“They aren’t ‘non-existent’ beings.”

“What?”

“The green-haired Elf on the left is known as ‘Kikar.’ About 150 years ago, she was a Master-class internal energy user who died in the depths of a labyrinth… Her talent as a swordsman was immense. Had she lived another 250 years, she would have undoubtedly reached the level of Transcendence. It was such a waste that I had a doppelganger eat her corpse.”

“…So, even if the original dies, the doppelganger can continue to grow?”

“Correct.”

“But even so, she should only be Common-class. That thing right there is Dominion-class.”

“True. That is a stage that cannot exist in reality. For Kikar to reach that level, she would have needed perhaps another 2,000 years of training.”

“…So, using the original data as a base, you manifested the Kikar from 2,000 years in the future?”

“Exactly. As long as I have the resources, I can do such things. I’m not called the Progenitor of Doppelgangers for nothing.”

“And those resources are…?”

“Other doppelgangers, of course. The Western Continent is likely in an uproar right now. After all, 30,000 people must have suddenly dropped dead.”

While looking for a flaw to break through the two Dominion-class Elves, I asked Disis again.

“…Then was the blue-haired Elf on the right made the same way?”

“Yes. Though this one is a bit more unique.”

“Unique? How?”

At that, Disis smiled and gestured with her chin.

“My child. You have permission to speak.”

At those words, the blue-haired Elf brushed back her bangs, which had been partially covering her face.

I stood frozen in shock at the face revealed beneath.

“Orabeoni. It has been a long time.”

“…Kelly?”

“It’s been 1,344 years. I am truly happy to see you. Though I didn’t expect our reunion to be like this.”

“…1,344 years?”

Kelly gave a faint smile and tilted her head.

“Yes. From my perspective, it has been. Ah, of course, I know these are fake memories. But… to me, they are also reality.”

“Your memories… what happened in them?”

“I went to the Demon Realm with you and the rest of the party… everyone died, and I was the only survivor. I swore revenge against the Demon King and returned to the Moon. After that, I lost track of time and devoted myself entirely to training. About 190 years later, I reached Transcendence… and another 550 years after that, I ascended to the seat of Archangel, and about seven years ago, to the seat of Dominion.”

“……”

“Ah, as I said, I’m fully aware that all of this is fake. It wouldn’t make sense for me—who grew strong fueled by a desire for revenge against Disis—to be her kin in the first place.”

“……”

As I remained silent, unable to find words to respond, a single tear finally rolled down Kelly’s cheek.

“Even so… I’m so happy. Because in my world, you were a dead man.”

“…….”

“I really missed you. Orabeoni.”

“Whew….”

I let out a long sigh and turned my gaze back toward Disis.

“So… this is a doppelganger manifesting Kelly as she would be 1,300 years in the future?”

“That’s right. I got lucky. I captured her simply to lure you here and copy her… I never imagined I’d get my hands on data for such a talented individual. Even though this unit, ‘Kelly,’ hasn’t been fed the original like Kikar over there, she’s already at this level. Impressive, isn’t it? Though I suppose she’s still no match for you.”

“…Good grief. You truly have a talent worthy of the title Demon King.”

“Does it look useful to you? Then it’s not too late. Abandon Akathastasia and choose me.”

“No matter how many times you ask, the answer is no.”

Grit….

She displayed her knack for grinding her teeth while maintaining a smiling face and raised her hand.

“Well then, I guess you’ll have to die. Kikar. Kelly. Begin.”

At her command, the Elf named Kikar placed a hand over her heart and offered me a respectful bow.

“O Martial God. It is truly an honor to have the chance to experience that lofty realm, even if it is with this false body.”

“…….”

“I would wish to continue receiving your teachings… but I suspect this will be the last time we meet, whether you emerge victorious or my Mistress does.”

“Your Mistress seems to think she can devour me and create a new version of me.”

“An entity created that way could never be the same as you. Even if one copies the original perfectly, a fake can never become the truth.”

“Kikar. Shut up and draw your weapon.”

At that, the Elf named Kikar let out a low sigh and fell silent. Following her lead, Kelly raised her halberd and gave a faint, bittersweet smile.

“Orabeoni. I never once managed to beat you. I hope… that remains true this time as well.”

I watched the two Elves as they spread their spiritual pressure, mana flames erupting from their respective weapons.

To be honest, if it were just these two, winning wouldn’t be that difficult. But considering Disis, who would be hiding behind them to harass me…

‘This is troublesome.’

Worse yet, I was out of time. The Chains of Providence had realized that Shia’s essence was inside my mental image and were already starting to erode their way into my mind.

‘Is there no way? A way… a way…’

“Ah…”

At that moment, an idea flashed through my mind.

I quickly ran a simulation in my head and realized that my brainstorm was actually feasible. Just before the two Elves and Disis could launch their assault, I spoke to Disis.

“You know what?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m a genius. And not just your average genius—a spectacular one. In fact, a certain Archangel Y even called me a ‘Universal Super-Genius.’”

“What kind of nonsense are you suddenly spouting…?”

“I was thinking… it doesn’t make sense that someone like me wouldn’t be able to do what a mere Demon King like you can do, right?”

“…What?”

Using the same technique I use to create mana swords, I squeezed out every drop of mana to mold five human figures.

I then encoded my own techniques and combat logic into each of them as algorithms. Finally, I breathed in sentient thoughts to move these mana constructs.

Oh, and don’t ask me how that’s possible. You just have to be “good” at it. Very good.

Since I was already “good” at it normally, imagine how much “better” I am now that I’ve broken the seal and reached the Potestates-class.

“Clones? Are you seriously planning to mimic my kin? Good heavens… this is absurd. In my case, this was only possible because of a special authority… for ordinary people, making a clone is nothing more than creating a moving scarecrow, you know?”

“Ordinary? Who? Me?”

True, as she said, these are downgraded versions of myself.

I transferred what I could, but they’re still just hastily assembled algorithms. Their skill and judgment probably wouldn’t even reach a fraction of the original’s.

However, even so. The original of these things is ‘Me.’

They are downgraded versions of this ‘Me.’

“Move.”

At my command, the five pure-white mana entities raised their heads and drew swords that looked almost identical to Astraphe.

And then… three pairs of light-wings bloomed behind their backs.

Vroooooom…

Disis’s jaw dropped at the sight.

“…Dominion-class? You’re telling me these are Dominion-class? Clones made of pure mana without any special authority? And five of them at that?!”

Even while feeling intense fatigue from squeezing out my mana, I shot her a smirk.

“Now then, have your second round with those guys. I have other business to attend to.”

“Wh-What?!”

I immediately tore through space and threw myself into the rift.

CRACKLE!

It would have been impossible before, but for the current me who has ascended beyond the Potestates-class, higher-dimensional space is no obstacle at all.

“See you in a bit.”

“Pursue him!!”

Disis let out a scream-like shout and lunged forward as I disappeared beyond the space. However, the five clones blocked her and the two Elves simultaneously.

KU-KWA-AAAAANG!!

One of the clones, having blocked Disis’s attack, spoke as if it were the real me.

“Where do you think you’re going? If you want to leave, you’ll have to catch us first.”

“You miserable, half-baked things…! Attack!!”

Inside the rift, ignoring the surrounding space where up, down, left, and right were indistinguishable, I quickly accessed my mental image.

“Shia!”

“Wh-Sword… Sword God!?”

“Are you okay!?”

“Ah, yes. F-For now.”

“Phew… you called me so urgently, I thought it was a dire emergency.”

“No, it was urgent… I mean, it really was a desperate situation… but….”

“Yeah?”

With a somewhat dazed look, Shia raised her hand and pointed toward the far side of the sky.

“Sword God, your mental image is… truly incredible. Look at that.”

When I looked where Shia was pointing, my jaw dropped at the sight unfolding in the distance.

“Wait, what on earth is…”