TTAS 24

Chapter : 24. To Protect What’s Precious, One Must Become Strong (4)

“Lightning Strike!”

The rune language of the magic circle flashed rapidly, generating magic.

The enemy’s sword strike was blocked with my body.

Because the distance was so close, I could feel the sword in his hand brushing against my back.

At the same moment, a yellow bolt of lightning struck the enemy’s chest.

Zzzzzzt!

“Kieeeeeek!”

His scream of pain tore through the battlefield.

The power contained in the yellow lightning didn’t just burn through his chest—it momentarily stopped his movements.

I could instinctively tell that although the electrified body was now stiff, it wouldn’t stay that way for long.

“Lightning Prison!”

As a yellow magic circle formed, rune language once again burst with light.

A quickly-formed yellow sphere flew straight into the melting chest of the enemy.

Since the explosion-type magic <Lightning Prison> did not distinguish friend from foe, I pulled my body away immediately after casting it.

BOOOOM!

Zzzzzzt!

“Kieeeek!”

His chest had melted away, exposing bone, yet he did not lose his fighting spirit.

‘A warrior among warriors, huh.’

Just as I was preparing another spell, I sensed something unusual.

‘What?’

A powerful wave of energy was coming from him.

More precisely, from the sword he was holding.

‘So it was a demonic sword.’

In the otherworldly continent called “Marbelua,” countless demonic swords existed.

Some were created with malice from the beginning, while others became demonic swords after absorbing endless blood.

Sometimes humans who formed contracts with demons received demon-forged swords from the Demon Realm, and sometimes sealing swords that contained the souls of powerful monsters or demons became corrupted and turned into demonic swords.

The demonic sword <Veradion> was originally a sealing sword that had imprisoned the Demon King.

Demonic swords gained special powers through long accumulation of demonic energy—this was called the “Authority of the Blade.”

The abilities I could now use after synchronizing with <Veradion>—<Soul Absorption Conversion>, <Super Sense>, <Marriage Oath>, and <Spiritual Eye>—were all part of this Blade Authority.

The Gobrik warrior in front of me was now trying to activate that power.

The blade, now turning blood-red, radiated an ominous aura.

The Gobrik warrior gripping it seemed to have forgotten pain altogether.

He looked as if he was being filled with overwhelming power.

‘Where have I seen this before…?’

It felt familiar.

Even his body began to turn red, matching the blade.

His magical energy grew denser and more violent.

And then another change occurred.

“Red…?”

The battle power number above his head changed.

Its color shifted from orange to red.

Gobrik Warrior

7,999 (B)

Both the number and rank changed.

From 6,999 (C) → 7,999 (B), a full increase of 1,000 combat power.

A C-rank dungeon boss monster had instantly evolved into an elite B-rank dungeon monster.

“Kieeeeeek!”

The force in his roar was completely different from before.

The pressure crushing the surroundings had intensified drastically.

Because of the magical pressure in the roar, several magic-type hunters from the JangAn Guild collapsed, bleeding from their ears.

‘Crazy.’

It was Berserk.

The sword’s ability.

A power that explosively increases the user’s strength for a short time.

A phenomenon where the sword’s demonic energy is transferred into the wielder, pushing them beyond their limits.

The red blade and his transformed body were the prelude to it.

‘I’ve definitely seen this before. Is my memory failing?’

Just when I thought it was over, the battle began to shift in an unexpected direction.

The empowered enemy immediately moved.

My <Battle Prediction> foresaw his movement.

‘He’s not targeting me?’

His semi-transparent figure flashed past me.

Heading straight for the magic-type hunters of the JangAn Guild who were still disoriented.

‘I have to stop him.’

Even though I had no weapon in hand, I intended to block him with my body.

Whoosh.

Squelch.

A chilling sound of slicing flesh cooled the battlefield.

Thud. Thud.

“No!”

“Sangmyeon!”

“Minsoo!”

The screams of the JangAn Guild members explained everything.

I turned around after my empty hand swung through the air.

Three magic-type hunters from the JangAn Guild were now headless corpses on the ground.

“Damn it.”

I thought I could stop him.

I misjudged—believing my strengthened body could handle his speed.

What I gained from absorbing souls was only a hardened body. I had overestimated it.

I tried to block an enemy who required full power while hiding my true strength.

‘I need 3rd-circle magic. I should finish him with stronger magic.’

The enemy who had just beheaded the hunters was already moving toward more JangAn Guild members.

‘Hold on a little longer.’

I quickly sat down and began controlling the mana inside my body.

This was already my third time, so guiding mana to the core was not difficult.

Perhaps because time was short, my concentration reached its peak.

I could feel every strand of mana.

‘Gather into the core.’

Scattered mana converged around the core, forming another ring.

The newly formed ring slowly began to rotate.

As its speed increased, its shape became clearer.

‘Just a little more!’

The flowing mana rushed toward the new ring.

The ring absorbed it, growing thicker and denser.

Eventually, it became identical to the existing rings.

Then a voice I had been waiting for sounded.

Ding.

[The third “Ring of Mana” has been created.]

[3rd-circle magic matching your attribute can now be used.]

‘Success.’

I had never even considered failure.

All I wanted was to prepare 3rd-circle magic before more casualties occurred.

There was no time to waste.

The Gobrik warrior was still harvesting the heads of JangAn Guild hunters.

Watching another one fall, I gritted my teeth.

‘Do everything you can—that’s enough.’

“Lightning Strike.”

I invoked one of the 3rd-circle spells with determination.

A blank magic circle formed in front of my outstretched hand.

I quickly visualized the spell and filled the empty circle with rune language.

Inside the hexagram, a lightning pattern descended from the heavens.

Everything was ready to hunt the Gobrik warrior.

I stood up and moved toward him.

“Let’s see if you can endure this.”

I extended my hand toward him.

“Lightning Strike!”

Unlike before, the magic circle appeared directly above his head.

Rune language flashed rapidly.

And a massive bolt of lightning struck down.

KRAAASH!

With a thunderous roar, the lightning pierced the Gobrik warrior’s skull.

BOOM. ZZZZZZT!

“Kieeeeeek!”

The monster who had been cutting down JangAn Guild members dropped to one knee with a scream.

I sprinted toward him while he was frozen from the impact, picking up a longsword dropped by a normal Gobrik.

“One more time. Lightning Strike!”

Another magic circle formed above the kneeling warrior.

KRAAASH!

BOOM. ZZZZZZT!

Even after the lightning melted his body again, there was no scream.

His consciousness was clearly fading.

“It’s over!”

Using my momentum, I swung my sword toward his neck.

“Full Moon Slash!”

The blade of <Full Moon Slash> guided the longsword.

Swish.

With a clean horizontal cut, the Gobrik warrior’s head flew into the air.

Thud.

After spinning several times midair, the head hit the ground and rolled.

The body, now headless, finally collapsed.

“Even in death… still a warrior?”

The battle was over.

A full clear of a C-rank dungeon break that had occurred in the middle of downtown Seoul.

The surviving JangAn Guild hunters cried as they held their fallen comrades.

The casualties were tragic, but considering the sudden dungeon break, the damage was relatively minimal.

It could have resulted in hundreds of deaths—but it was contained with minimal loss.

“Phew.”

As the tension faded, I let out a breath of relief.

While surveying the battlefield, my gaze landed on the sword in the Gobrik warrior’s hand.

“It really was a demonic sword.”

The sword that had used the power of Berserk had already returned to its original color.

“This… I can take it, right?”

Dungeon breaks also provided materials from monsters that would normally be impossible to obtain.

However, the problem was that corpses and loot legally belonged to the state.

Of course, hunters were compensated financially, but something like this felt too valuable to hand over.

“A demonic sword, no less.”

I looked around cautiously.

The JangAn Guild members were busy with the bodies of their comrades, and the Dungeon Control Agency’s security hunters hadn’t arrived yet.

I carefully reached toward the sword in the Gobrik warrior’s hand.

Finger by finger, I loosened his tightly clenched grip and pulled the sword free.

The blade was black and gleaming—a fine sword.

“It’s more of a claymore than a longsword.”

I had initially thought it was a longsword because of how the massive Gobrik wielded it, but it was much longer.

I held it carefully.

The grip was wrapped in some unknown leather, giving it a good hold.

It was heavy, but my strengthened body could handle it easily.

Ding.

[The demonic sword <Veradion> senses the presence of demonic sword <Furaxel>.]

[The demonic sword <Veradion> desires to absorb the demonic sword <Furaxel>.]

“…What?”

I was slightly startled by the voice saying a demonic sword wanted to absorb another demonic sword.

First of all—how does a demonic sword even absorb another?

And more importantly, it was strange that <Veradion> had expressed desire.

A demonic sword was supposed to be me—or rather, something acting as my core inside my chest.

<Veradion> should not have its own will.

There were too many strange points.

As I kept thinking, the voice continued.

[The Blade Authority <Sovereign of Swords> has been unlocked for absorption.]

[The Blade Authority <Sovereign of Swords> will absorb the sword possessing authority.]

“What is this now?”

It was an ability I had never heard of.

At this point, I was even starting to doubt whether I was a demonic sword myself.

As far as I knew, <Veradion> did not have such an ability.

An authority that absorbs the powers of other swords—this made no sense.

Demonic Sword <Furaxel>.

A demonic sword possessing the ability <Berserk>.

Now I remembered.

It had once been used by the chief of the brown-maned Orc tribe, ruler of the Balsraten Mountain Range.

I recalled meeting the mercenary who had obtained that sword after slaying its owner.

The image of a crazed man swinging a blood-red sword while cutting down enemies was unforgettable—even after a thousand years.

That must have been why I had forgotten it.

‘Anyway… how do I absorb it?’

As if sensing my question, another voice spoke.

[Absorption is performed in the same manner.]

‘Same manner? Have I ever absorbed a sword before?’

This was the first demonic sword I had seen since arriving on Earth.

And yet it said the same method applied.

“Don’t tell me… no way.”

I lowered my head and looked at my chest.