Chapter 42
Deiodeun opened his eyes wide in surprise.
Keureion had occasionally shown himself, but he had never been this distinct.
He had always been hazy, like a faded photograph, yet now he was perfectly reproducing his appearance from when he was alive.
“Is it because I absorbed Akarukeu’s sword?”
―That’s right! In exchange…….
“In exchange?”
―My durability has dropped significantly.
“Is it because I overdid it?”
―Rather, I suppose you could say the time allotted to me is nearly at an end. I transplanted my soul into the sword while defying the laws of nature, after all.
“Mmm!”
―My friend! We do not have much time left. Now we must truly see this through to the end.
“I know.”
Deiodeun nodded heavily.
The issue of not having much lifespan left was not Keureion’s alone.
He, too, could feel that his own time was almost at an end.
He was over one hundred and thirty years old.
Had he been an ordinary human, he would have already returned to the earth long ago.
It was only because he was an Awakened that he had survived until now; in truth, his insides were rotted through and through.
Battling countless enemies had made him strong, but on the other hand, it had stacked up damage within him, bit by bit.
Yet Deiodeun had never once regretted his life.
He had lived solely for the sake of revenge, and he had walked a path befitting that resolve.
Thanks to that, he had become strong enough to prepare for a decisive battle with a dragon.
“Haieltun is not far. Perhaps that bastard is watching even now.
―He is a cunning sort; it is entirely possible.
“We must move before he prepares.”
―Speed is life.
“Exactly!”
―The end truly is not far now.
Keureion’s eyes, speaking of the ‘end’, turned toward Jeon.
Even now, Jeon sat with his eyes closed, lost in a world of his own.
―Meeting that child was a stroke of luck. Thanks to him, we were able to cross the barrier and come this far.
“He is quite a useful cripple.”
―Your venomous tongue hasn’t changed. He is not that sort of brat.
“Once a cripple, always a cripple. Just like me.”
―Are you still blaming yourself? What happened to me is not your fault.
“It is all my fault. If I had been strong, my wife and daughter would not have died, and your soul wouldn’t have been sealed within a sword.”
Deiodeun’s face was filled with the light of remorse.
Though a hundred years had passed since the incident occurred, his memories were as vivid as if they had happened yesterday.
His wife and daughter, overjoyed at the long-awaited trip.
His old friend, who was their older brother and maternal uncle.
New York, which his wife and daughter had so wanted to visit.
The Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Broadway, and Times Square.
They had seen and enjoyed to their hearts’ content the things they had always wanted to see.
Seeing his wife and daughter smiling, he couldn’t have been happier.
The joy of sharing a beer with his one and only friend. Back then, it had felt as if he possessed the entire world.
But their happiness did not last long.
A gigantic dragon appeared, tearing through the Manhattan sky.
It had merely made its presence known, yet New York was reduced to a wasteland, and more than half the population lost their lives.
His wife and daughter had also lost their lives then.
Even now, he could not forget the sight of his wife and daughter dying tragically before his eyes.
His one and only friend, Keureion, had also suffered a fatal wound and was dying.
At the brink of death, Keureion had awakened. Even so, his life could not be saved.
Keureion had used his ability to seal his soul into Deiodeun’s sword.
In doing so, Keureion had inserted himself into the sword and managed to survive until now.
Had Keureion not been there, Deiodeun might have already taken his own life, unable to forgive himself.
Conversely, Keureion had also been able to continue his hellish life by relying on Deiodeun.
But now, that end was not far away.
The lives of the old man and the sword had now reached their limits, and the end was visible as clearly as if it could be grasped in hand.
“I ought to take at least one dragon with me as a companion to the afterlife before I die. That way, I won’t be ashamed when I see them in the netherworld.”
Haieltun was not the main culprit of this situation. But that did not mean he was free from responsibility.
After all, he was one of the culprits who had instigated Keurasiaseu to terraform the Earth.
It was then.
Swoosh!
The sand floating around Jeon began to clump together into one with a strange sound.
Keureion spoke.
―It seems you have awakened a new skill.
Countless sand beads formed around Jeon.
The sand beads rotated around Jeon like satellites.
Bababang!
The sand beads, which had been rotating like that, shot out at terrifying speed as if a trigger had been pulled.
Coin-sized holes were blasted clean through the sandstone wall, causing it to collapse.
It was as if a Claymore had detonated.
And so, the new skill’s name was also Claymore.
It detonated sand clumped as hard as steel balls like a Claymore.
If the range was limited to the front, its destructive power doubled, becoming a powerful anti-personnel skill; if detonated widely, the explosive power weakened, but it became an area-of-effect technique.
It was a skill befitting the name Claymore.
It wasn’t perfect yet, but he had grasped the concept for now.
There was ample room to develop it further, and if used well, it seemed capable of sinking an ordinary Awakened in a single blow.
Jeon opened his eyes and rose from his spot.
By then, Keureion had already hidden his form.
Jeon asked Deiodeun.
“How is it, does it seem usable?”
“It is still far from enough.”
“Tch!”
“But you did somewhat well.”
“Ooh! What’s the occasion? I can’t get used to this? Just call me a cripple.”
“You’re talking nonsense. Just because I praised you a little doesn’t mean you’re not a cripple.”
“This is better. Heh heh!”
Jeon snickered.
＊＊＊
The two remained in the Valley of Death for a while.
During that time, Jeon honed his newly acquired skill, while Deiodeun also spent his time in meditation.
Deiodeun said nothing specific, but Jeon could tell that he was preparing for the final decisive battle.
Jeon spent his time alone without disturbing Deiodeun.
Bababang!
Coin-sized holes were blasted clean through the sandstone.
They were the marks left by Claymore.
Now he could deploy the new skill quite naturally.
Each time he used the skill, a huge chunk of mana disappeared, but it couldn’t be helped.
It was only natural that the stronger a skill’s power, the more mana it consumed.
Although the amount of mana had increased greatly upon reaching C-rank, it was still insufficient.
It was fortunate, at least, that he had Elrura’s Tear.
Had he not had Elrura’s Tear, he wouldn’t have been able to fight properly, as he would have been too busy calculating his remaining mana every time he used a skill.
It was when Jeon was about to use Claymore once more.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, a terrifying killing intent and immense pressure bore down on him.
Surprised, he turned around to find Deiodeun standing there.
“Deiodeun?”
“You’ve become quite usable by now.”
“What?”
“But you are still far from enough. You know that, right?”
“Yes!”
“At that level, you will be of no help.”
“So what?”
“You must become stronger.”
“How?”
Jeon made a puzzled expression.
Jeon had run frantically enough to be out of breath.
Among all the Awakened who had appeared on Earth, Jeon was probably the only one whose rank had risen this quickly.
Having followed Deiodeun, he had never once let his guard down or rested.
Thanks to that, he had reached C-rank. But even that was not enough in Deiodeun’s eyes.
Deiodeun drew Keureion and spoke.
“Survive.”
“What?”
“Survive by my hand. Then you will become stronger than you are now.”
“What? Are you crazy!”
Only then did Jeon realize the meaning behind Deiodeun’s words.
Shuaack!
Deiodeun swung Keureion.
In an instant, tremendous wind pressure engulfed Jeon.
Without thinking any further, Jeon instinctively created a sand wall.
Crack!
But the sand wall couldn’t block even a single strike from Deiodeun.
The sturdy sand wall burst apart in an instant, exposing Jeon. Deiodeun swung Keureion at Jeon.
“Damn it!”
Jeon hurriedly retreated using Sand Step.
Deiodeun charged at Jeon.
An immense pressure and killing intent that he had never felt from any demonic beast swept over Jeon.
Under Deiodeun’s gaze and killing intent, his whole body seemed to cringe.
Shwack!
Keureion came crashing down at Jeon once more.
A graze would mean a serious injury; a clean hit would mean certain death.
It was a merciless attack.
Jeon, too, had to struggle desperately to survive.
“Chaat! Claymore.”
Jeon unleashed his newly acquired skill.
Sand clumped into beads, and countless beads flew toward Deiodeun like bullets.
Tatatatat!
But all the sand beads were blocked by the massive Keureion and fell away in clumps.
“Damn it!”
He had never imagined that Claymore, which he had prided himself on as a perfect anti-personnel attack skill, would crumble so easily.
Even if his opponent was Deiodeun, he had thought it would fluster him at least a little, but it seemed he had been underestimating him after all.
If not that, then he had overestimated himself.
Perhaps it was both.
Shhk!
The massive sandstone was split in two by Deiodeun’s sword strike.
And he hadn’t even used any sword skill.
Jeon felt chills run down his entire body.
He had known Deiodeun was beyond monstrous, but actually fighting him surpassed imagination.
Each simple strike possessed more power than the skills of ordinary Awakened.
It wasn’t that he didn’t use skills because he lacked them; he didn’t deploy them because there was no need.
Jeon opposed Deiodeun with all his might.
Sand Blaster, Sand Missile, and even Claymore—he used all his anti-personnel skills.
But none of the skills could inflict a meaningful blow on Deiodeun.
Deiodeun asked.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Slash!
Keureion flew in as if to split his body in two in an instant.
Jeon narrowly dodged Deiodeun’s attack.
A chill ran down his spine.
Because he could feel the immense power contained within Keureion.
Deiodeun was serious.
He thought Jeon’s growth was insufficient and intended to forcibly drag him up to the level he desired.
He was facing Jeon with true intent.
If he didn’t reach the desired level, he would die.
Deiodeun was someone who always followed through.
Chills ran across Jeon’s entire body.
He stoked his will to fight.
He knew he was not yet at a level where he could dare contend with Deiodeun. But that didn’t mean he intended to sit still and take Deiodeun’s sword.
Hold on somehow, find a way, and attack.
That was the secret to survival he had learned while following Deiodeun.
Raising his sand dominance, he shouted.
“Fine! Let’s do this, you old dog!”
“Come at me, cripple.”