Chapter 141
"Haa!"
A smile spread across Luteon's lips as he climbed the stairs.
It was because he had already reached the fifth floor in less than a day and a half.
Even he thought it was a fairly fast pace.
Not to mention the princess, the duchesses who set out after him were still on the third and fourth floors.
Overwhelmingly fast.
Being fast was no different from proving his strength.
"The fifth floor is bright."
It seemed to be a resting floor.
Several magic arrays were drawn on the floor, seemingly gathering the ley lines of the holy land to concentrate divine power.
In short, the recovery rate of consumed divine power was faster here.
"Will you be dining?"
Meals were available too?
Luteon nodded and held up a gold coin.
But the cook smirked and pointed at the signboard.
"One Low-grade Holy Stone? What!"
A Holy Stone for a single meal!
This was utterly absurd!
"Don't eat if you don't want to."
The proprietor didn't say anything else, as if used to the reaction.
Just as he was about to leave without eating,
he realized that there was a complete lack of restaurants nearby to sate his hunger.
They were absolute daylight robbers.
But he was hungry.
He had no choice if he wanted to climb higher up the tower.
"Did anyone else climb up besides me?"
"They did. Many pilgrims."
Did that mean it was hard to specify?
He understood.
And while waiting, as Luteon looked around the peaceful floor, his face twisted the moment the meal was brought out.
"Tsk, it can't be helped."
Simple soup and bread.
And a small chunk of meat in the salad was all there was.
Outside the holy land, these were things that could be bought for a few silver coins.
To charge one Low-grade Holy Stone for this.
They weren't pilgrims, they were swindlers.
"Are you heading up right away?"
"I am."
"Brat speaking informally... since you bought my meal, I'll give you a tip."
"A tip?"
"From the sixth floor onward, sight and hearing will be useless, so be careful."
On the previous floors, he had only felt the puppets getting stronger.
Relying on sound rather than sight.
Or sensing the flow of energy.
'So from the sixth floor, I won't even be able to rely on sound.'
Muttering that it made sense, Luteon immediately opened the door to the next floor.
To catch up to that bastard, it was only right to save every second, even mealtime.
'You probably didn't even get advice like this. Since you're such an insolent bastard.'
I will definitely surpass you.
...A few hours later.
"A meal."
"Here you go."
"What? A Holy Stone? Are these guys crazy?"
The princess and the duchesses went through the exact same process, cursing the holy land as they coughed up a Holy Stone.
* * *
Creak.
The movements of the Death Knight Vladie, who was swinging his greatsword with the imposing aura of overturning mountains, came to an abrupt halt.
The reason was the shield that appeared in his sight.
It was because of an old, worn-out shield.
Deep within his subconscious, a scene overlapped.
The agony of someone precious having their hands torn apart because of the shield he had handed them surged forth.
A shield that seemed like it would shatter at the slightest touch.
He could not bring himself to touch the shield.
And so,
Crunch!
Boom!
He allowed his opponent's attack.
He allowed Callius's attack to land.
The iron armor at his flank was torn apart, and Vladie's figure was slammed into the cavern wall.
But Callius, who had landed an effective blow, had a deeply contorted expression.
'If this were a game.'
If only this were a game.
Then I wouldn't be feeling this awful.
Having to despicably exploit a weakness against someone who was suffering even in death...
But it couldn't be helped.
Only by doing this could he defeat the [Weeping Fall],
and further his own growth.
"Haa-"
Callius let out a heavy breath.
Perhaps it was because he had experienced Titeo's emotions and come to deeply understand the friendship between him and Vladie.
The depths of his own emotions seemed to have deepened as well.
"I'm not one to be handing out petty sympathy. Let's focus on what's most important."
The most important thing.
That is my survival.
My growth.
Nothing else.
Emotion vanished from Callius's eyes.
All that remained was a clear resolution of what had to be done.
His gaze turned toward Vladie.
He then sheathed his sword.
Shring, click.
Gripping the sheathed sword tightly, he spread his stance and leaned his upper body slightly forward.
His left hand on the scabbard.
His right hand grasping the hilt, he thrust forward.
Silver Flower Sword - Hundred Severing Blossoms.
Shwaaak!
An invisible sword aura shot out diagonally, targeting Vladie.
A sword that severs a hundred necks in a single stroke.
Crash!
However, it was ineffective against Vladie, who had tempered his swordsmanship against dragons.
'I expected as much.'
The shattered sword aura of the Hundred Severing Blossoms scattered into fragments.
The scattered fragments began to take the shape of falling petals, and Callius's sword became dyed in the mystic art of the Higanbana.
Tap!
He kicked off the ground.
The scenery blurred just as Vladie's greatsword rained down from above.
It was a strike falling so fast it was difficult to even perceive.
But at that same moment,
Callius thrust his shield forward.
Flinch.
The greatsword noticeably slowed down.
The wavering blade was no longer a threat to him.
As Vladie's greatsword swerved to avoid the shield, Callius's Roas was swung.
Shwajajajajak!
Roas's swift sword strikes, swinging faster than a ray of light.
But Vladie was also veteran.
He suppressed Callius's swift sword, which struck four times per exchange, with but a single strike of his relatively slower greatsword.
"Keugh...!"
Boom! Crash! Boom!
The fangs of the Predatory Sword - Roas, reinforced with the aura of the Higanbana, were gradually being chipped away.
Yet Vladie's sword remained unscathed.
Compared to the rather chaotic aura of the Predatory Sword, the Sword Force flowing on Vladie's sword...
The Sword Force radiated a brilliant, fluid light.
There existed a gap between them that normally would be impossible to bridge.
Unless Callius used the Lord's Banner to construct a sanctuary, it was only natural that he stood no chance of winning.
Whoosh.
The fact that the battle was being held at bay with a single old shield made all the difference.
Craaash! Boom!
He swung his sword until the atmosphere resounded with deafening booms, but when in true danger, Callius aggressively thrust his shield forward.
"Haa, hoo. Hah! Hahh!!"
Had he not done so, six times.
He would have died six times over.
Callius's breath grew ragged and his heart pounded as if it would burst, but his mind was clearer than ever.
Vladie's swordsmanship was that of a perfect heavy swordsman.
But even so, he used his elbows and shoulders.
He appropriately mixed in martial arts utilizing his knees and other joints to compensate for the greatsword's weaknesses.
However, the overarching swordsmanship itself was so rock-solid, dominating all directions while being swung with indiscriminate ferocity that it left one speechless.
'That is exactly why it feels so rewarding to fight.'
Though he had no right to say such a thing.
Just by fighting a powerhouse from a thousand years ago, Callius was gaining many insights.
The explosive force and flow of Qi.
The perfection of his physique.
Vladie, who wielded both with complete freedom, had gifted Callius with profound enlightenment.
A rare powerhouse.
Yet one who could control himself.
Such an opponent was precious.
Crack! Boom!!
Rumble.
"Keugh..."
Drip.
Swallowing the fresh blood flowing down, Callius pulled himself out of the cavern wall.
Roas had taken significant damage.
Even though he had protected it by wrapping it in the Higanbana and shielding it with Sullivian's divine arts, every single one of Vladie's strikes was highly lethal.
A direct hit meant instant death.
Even after clashing multiple times, that thought remained unchanged.
As expected of a hero who had endured the Dragon-Demon War.
Even though it was clear that his power must have been halved after becoming a Death Knight, he was still strong and mighty.
But even so, Callius had to defeat him.
Because growing stronger was the only way.
The only way to survive in this world.
Thump!
Callius's figure shot forward as he forcefully stomped the ground.
Compared to the beginning, Vladie's armor had also been heavily destroyed.
It was about time to end this.
Seeing Callius charging at him, Vladie swung his greatsword.
With a single swing, Vladie's greatsword appeared to triple.
It was unclear whether it was due to his unique swordsmanship or the sword's own ability.
Callius immediately thrust his shield forward.
Shrk.
Vladie's greatsword bypassed the shield and bore down on Callius.
"……!"
In a split second.
Callius's eyes narrowed, and his left hand, having released the shield, invaded the space before him.
What he drew was Bitan.
Whoooooosh!!
A fierce gale swept forth alongside a coldness that chilled him to the very bone.
Crackle crackle crackle!
Along with the freezing floor, Vladie's feet and body were frozen solid.
Whoosh!
But the three greatswords were still closing in on Callius.
He swung Bitan.
Craaack!
Bitan's trajectory shattered one of the greatswords, creating a frozen tidal wave in a single strike.
Simultaneously, the Predatory Sword moved, dyed in the mystic art of the Higanbana, and clashed with the greatsword.
But then,
Whoosh!
"!"
Both of the remaining greatswords were illusions.
The real one was elsewhere.
With goosebumps erupting down his spine, a greatsword appeared from Callius's blind spot.
He couldn't dodge it.
A chilling sensation of death engulfed his entire body.
Was this a life flashing before his eyes?
It felt as if time itself had slowed down.
In the slowed time, he saw something faint before the incoming greatsword.
Looking up, he saw a cloak.
He saw long hair, and a sword.
And, he saw flower petals.
Grind.
Callius ground his teeth as his sword twisted.
He forcibly distorted its trajectory to strike.
『……!』
Vladie's green glow wavered.
Unnoticed amidst their exchange, silver petals had spread throughout the area.
In that fleeting moment where time seemed to stop.
He recalled a scene from the past.
The woman who had led the charge on the battlefield amidst the petals.
Stella's figure.
『...Stella.』
Callius's sword and Vladie's greatsword collided.
Craaaaash!!
Along with an earth-shattering boom that shook the underground floors, hundreds and thousands of sword auras engulfed Vladie.
It was like a storm of petals.
The Shattered Flower Path of a single strike blanketed Vladie and filled the cavern.
The mystic art of the Higanbana residing within each petal triggered a fierce explosion.
Crunch!
"Keugh! Aaaaaaaargh!!"
Vladie's greatsword shattered Callius's shoulder. Even with his shattered shoulder, he squeezed out every ounce of his strength and thrust his sword.
Rumble! Boom!
"Haa, haa. Keugh."
The only person left in the cavern was Callius.
Grasping his shoulder and dropping to one knee, Callius looked at the devastation he had wrought with a pain-stricken face.
The entire cavern had been destroyed.
Overwhelming power.
It was an attack potent enough to be considered a Master's strike.
Even Callius felt a chill down his spine at the sheer intensity of the blow.
A tremendous strike so devastating that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it had obliterated everything.
That was the Shattered Flower Path.
"It's still... only half-complete."
The excitement was brief.
Compared to Stella's Shattered Flower Path that he had seen in Titeo's recollection, it was still vastly lacking.
Had it been Stella's Shattered Flower Path, it would have been enough to blow away the entire tower.
Yet all he had managed was slightly wrecking the cavern.
But precisely because of that, he felt like he understood.
What he was currently lacking.
'The tower tempers the mind, qi, and body.'
His body was nearly flawless, if not fully complete.
It wasn't perfect, but it was close.
The same went for his qi.
But one thing.
His mind was not.
To achieve the true Shattered Flower Path, he had to grasp the broad concepts he had yet to master and the flow of compressed qi, and on top of that, he had to awaken the concept of the mind that permeated everything.
That was why he couldn't break through his wall.
Stella's swordsmanship could only unleash its true power when the mind, qi, and body were fully perfected.
It was still only half-complete.
That was Callius's conclusion.
Gripping the Predatory Sword tightly, Callius stepped through the half-destroyed door.
Between the ensuing staircase.
A Death Knight lay half-buried among the rubble.
Vladie creaked as he raised his head.
Broken bones clattered across the floor.
"...I'm sorry."
Callius's sword severed the skull.
The skull tumbling among the rubble crumbled into dust and vanished.
The Predatory Sword, gleaming with an eerie light, finished devouring the soul. Instinctively, he knew it would be complete after devouring just two more souls.
As he stanched the bleeding from his shoulder, Callius picked up Vladie's greatsword.
[Four Directions Sword - Raituba]
Grade - Spirit
Imbued Soul - Jiaroos
Unique Ability - Four Directions.
-A sword that dominates the four directions.
It was a sword that projected illusions, making it appear as if it was striking all four directions simultaneously.
Though it was merely a Spirit-grade sword, it could be quite powerful depending on how it was utilized.
Having stored the Four Directions Sword, Callius confirmed that his shoulder had stopped bleeding.
Harboring the Light Dragon within him and possessing the Fusion Bone constitution, his wounds healed quickly.
It seemed the potion Beatrice had made also played a part.
It was originally an injury that would have required a full month of rest, but his bones were mending and the wound was closing, so there was no need to linger.
Concentrating his divine power to focus on healing soon left him famished, but his wounds began to heal rapidly.
Callius sat down in the spot where Vladie had vanished and ate his meal.
Having finished his meal, he went back down the stairs.
In the spot where he had been,
a single piece of bread lay left behind.
As if in tribute to him.
* * *
In the heart of the abyss.
There sat a figure upon a throne.
Candles mottled with an ominous green glow illuminated the surroundings, revealing a figure who seemed to barely hold himself up by gripping a single sword in a reverse grip.
A knight clad entirely in black full plate armor, his face concealed within a helmet so valiant it bordered on devout.
[Ah.]
Black tears streamed down his cheeks.
The tears spilling from within the helmet soaked his armor and drenched the throne.
And eventually, they dyed everything at his feet black.
Rattle, rattle.
[Vladie...]
Everything at his feet began to writhe and move.
Bony hands reached out.
Skulls lifted themselves up.
Letting out inhuman shrieks, they seized their weaponry.
Their hollow gazes were stained with verdigris, and as they encased themselves in armor forged from the king's tears, an army of thousands instantly resurrected.
Drip. Drop.
Yet even so, the king's tears showed no signs of stopping.
The skeletons' rage reached its zenith.
[Weeping Fall]
His tears empowered the warriors who had risen beyond death, making them stronger.
Even though it was unintentional.