Chapter 541
In the darkness, the only visible thing was Davey. The faint voice that had been audible at first had now completely faded away. The attack had been powerful, but due to the overwhelming influence of the surrounding mist, defeating him in one blow was impossible.
Damn, dispel doesn't work on transcendental magic types, Davey thought.
With Perserque's absence, Davey had no one to exchange opinions with.
"Cough...cough cough!"
The only sound audible in the darkness was the man's voice.
Black Mist was fundamentally an ultra-wide range magic. Its range could spread from a few meters to several kilometersa magic used by the Deathlord Rho Aias to forcibly stop chaotic battles of war. Rho Aias's transcendental magic was essentially unusable by anyone but her, and likewise, no one but her could dispel it. Such was the transcendent structure of her magic. This was the point that intrigued Davey.
Squash!
Facing the opposite direction of the voice, Davey reached out his hand and summoned Blue Ribbon, slicing through the black mist with its blue blade.
"Hmm, this seems to work."
He had never had the opportunity to test such magic before. With Blue Ribbon's power stronger than ever, it made sense to see some effect, even if momentary. Davey looked at the young man slumped against the wall, coughing up blood. Though his name was unknown, he bore the title Decent.
"Truly, you're like a monster..." The man seemed utterly baffled by the attack. "How did you find me in this mist where everyone except the caster, me, should be isolated?"
"Once you experience it and understand the principle, you also learn the weakness."
Of course, one would need a level of skill beyond that of the Sword of the Mind to implement this. Black Mist was Rho Aias's magic, unfolded to protect herself from potential harm during the melee of heroes in the corridor, a battle Davey had not participated in. He had wandered through her magic several times before fully mastering the Sword of the Mind.
"That's nonsensical." Staggering to his feet, the man backed away from Davey. "You speak as if you know of the Deathlord's existence and this magic."
"Is that a problem?"
"Yes. You shouldn't know of the Deathlord. You shouldn't and mustn't," the man calmly stated as he pulled out a small orb and threw it into the air. "However, your statements are quite interesting. You must tell me everything here."
Sheer nonsense, but clearly, he has something significant up his sleeve, Davey thought.
A knight in black armor emerged from the void, clanking as it moved. It appeared to be a simple Dark Knight, but something dangerously twisted seemed to lurk within.
"The Deathlord prepared a grand undertaking for all humanity during her lifetime. But foolish humans never understood her will and only hesitated."
Sssshhh Slash!!
As he spoke, the knight drew its sworda light blade formed from darknessslicing through the air. A faint line appeared on Davey's cheek, tearing through his protective aura and mana shield.
"We will continue the Deathlord's will to return the world to its pure beginnings, to cure the present humanity covered in desire and sin," the man continued, pointing the light-formed sword at Davey.
"This knight is a Dark Knight directly created by the Deathlord, a being we discovered with difficulty from the ruins of the Deathlord. Originally a loyal servant to protect the Deathlord, but now it's set to protect me. Even if you are strong, in this place where nothing can be seen or felt, you can't survive against such a powerful being."
His confidence was immense. Indeed, the gap created by Blue Ribbon's condensed power had begun to close as if it had never been there, and soon Davey would be thrown back into the impenetrable darkness. In an area where dispel did not work, endlessly fighting a knight with the power of a Sword Saint was akin to begging for death. Even Davey had limits.
Seeing Davey silent, the man regained his composure.
Screech!!
Simultaneously, something sinister flew toward Davey.
Clang!
Davey reflexively swung his sword to fend off the attack, but due to his dulled senses, the defense was less than satisfactory.
Woosh!
A sharp stinging sensation on his arm indicated a minor cut.
Davey remained silent as the pain from the cut tingled, with the afterimage of the black light sword left by Decent attempting to devour his flesh.
[Where did your confidence go? I would gladly listen to your scream induced by pain.]
Decent's voice changed into a deep, echoing sound as the mist thickened again. Simultaneously, Davey's senses became muddled once more.
While Decent, not particularly strong, managed to leave some trace to be found, this Dark Knight was a different story. Appearing and disappearing like a wraith, squeezing through gaps to launch attacks, Davey found himself continually dodging.
The only faintly detectable thing was the knight's murderous intent. Normally, even the touch would be distorted by Black Mist magic, but this was not as perfect as the Black Mist deployed by the Deathlord. Davey's mind grew cluttered as he instinctively sensed and retaliated against the sharp murderous intent.
This magic was supposed to be exclusive to Rho Aias. The fact that Decent, not even a high-circle mage, could manifest this power likely had something to do with the strange object he had shown earlier. What exactly was that object? Davey's thoughts grew more complex.
Kaang!
Chak!
Another significant cut appeared on his hand, unable to fully block the attack. There was no way to know what had transpired on the continent of Peslisa. Davey couldn't simply be contemplating in front of such a powerful enemy.
'First, let's deal with this annoying mist.'
Black Mist was not a magic one could just decide to use. It required thorough preparation. Decent must have known Davey would come here and prepared in advance. Now it made sense why there was a drastic decrease in elemental energy in the royal capital. Black Mist was a transcendental magic that distorted balance, highly antagonistic to the most harmonious energy, elemental energy. Decent knew that an abundance of elemental energy would make the magic harder to manifest, which explained the induced climate anomalies to disrupt the balance and weaken the elementals' power.
Clever bastard.
Swoosh Kaang!!
An overwhelming force pushed Davey back, unable to defend properly.
Both Perserque and Baris might have been caught in the mist, but the fact that there hadn't been any trouble with them yet suggested that Decent was overly confident in his power and the situation. That meant there was only one chance.
[Once Black Mist is activated, nothing can stop it. Not even a god!]
"Laughable," Davey retorted.
[You still don't understand! Try then, try to dispel this magic!]
Decent evidently believed Davey could not dispel the magic. Davey was thankful for the assumption. He gripped Blue Ribbon more tightly. While Decent's magic might be derived from Rho Aias's Black Mist, it was not perfect, and Davey could find a gap.
Swiftly wielding Blue Ribbon and drawing Red Ribbon with the other hand, he threw both swords into the air and clapped his hands together. The weakness of this imperfect Black Mist magic was clear only because Davey understood the magic better than Decent. That was enough.
"Come forth, arsonist."
Responding to Davey's will, flames like elemental mana flickered all over his body. A vast magic circle materialized around him, summoning a presence of immense aura.
"Just for a moment. Burn the mist while unleashing all your power. I'll direct you."
Black Mist was a vast field magic and also a giant array. Like any magic, it had its weak spots and pillars maintaining it. Normally, these would be impossible to find, but its imperfection made it traceable. No matter how dangerous Rho Aias's transcendental magic was, if it was not her own perfect spell, there was no reason to fear.
Manifesting the giant of flames, a sword of fire unique to the arsonist, the Sword of Beginning that burned the primal land, Lavatein, flickered with flames, causing fissures in the magic.
[What... What?!]
"I've researched this magic hundreds of years more than you have, you bastard."
[Dark Knight! Kill him, kill him now!]
Realizing something had gone awry, Decent ordered the black knight to attack.
Davey could only sense the presence connected to him, and only Decent's voice was audible since the Dark Knight made no sound. Even the murderous intent momentarily vanished.
Whoosh!
However, as Arsonist Ifrit's Lavatein began to shake the foundation of the magic, a faint noise, like disturbance, started to emanate from the Dark Knight's presence. Davey detected the knight swinging its black light sword toward his neck from behind.
The speed was too fast to react conventionally, but Davey had caught Supper Ribbon, which was the merged version of both Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon, still in its scabbard. He held the scabbard down with one hand and gripped the sword with the other.
[Moonlight Steps]
[Back Hit]
Swoosh!
With a swift motion, the eerie sound of the light sword tearing through the air aimed to bisect Davey. But no blood flowed from him; what the knight had cut was not his flesh but a smoky figure bearing his form.
A different black smoke, distinct from the Black Mist, dissipated and disappeared as soon as it was sliced by the black light sword.
[What?!]
Decent's astonished voice echoed, but Davey was already behind the knight, perfectly aligning him and the hidden Decent in a straight line. There was no room for error. Concealed and ready in a stance of unsheathing swordsmanship, Davey, with an expressionless face, tensed his grip on the scabbard.
[Demonic Sword]
[72nd Unsheathing Technique]
[Black Thunder Daybreak]
The technique, said to split the sun with black lightning, was none other than the ultimate secret of Dokgo Jun, the Heavenly Destroyer. While it never literally split the real sun, the idea of a human cleaving the sky with swordsmanship was a tremendous feat.
Crackle!
Instantly, Super Ribbon's blue-red blade was unsheathed from the scabbard, and black lightning mingled with its blue-red aura. No one saw the sword being drawn, but the long tip of Supper Ribbon had already traced its trajectory toward the sky.
By weakening the elemental mana to manifest this magic, using the power of the spirit king and Lavatein, Davey created fissures in the Black Mist and poured elemental energy into it. With the magical interference temporarily gone, there was nothing to fear.
The sword imbued with black lightning was slowly sheathed back as Davey gradually stood up.
Crack!
Something split, and soon the light-formed blade of the Dark Knight's sword vanished. Then, as it turned to track Davey, hundreds of fine lines appeared.
Clink...
And then, based on a brief moment of fissure, the Dark Knight's armor crumbled into fragments. The aftermath did not end there; the ceiling where Davey and the Dark Knight stood was sliced off, leaving a strange pattern in the clear sky. The sword burst caused a change in the weather, a beautiful yet curious afterimage captivating to any onlooker.
If Daveys power and Supper Ribbon's strength were enough to slice high clouds, it was a testament to their immense strength. The Dark Knight, a robust being, would not easily perish unless thoroughly dismantled.
[What... Impossible! It was a Dark Knight with Mind Master level power!]
Mind Master... a classification from the continent of Peslisa, a level above Sword Master. Davey was aware of the Dark Knight's strength, so it was not surprising.
"Surprised? Shouldn't you be wondering why the mist you just cut isn't restoring itself?"
Davey posed the question, and Decent fell silent. Indeed, not only the Dark Knight but also the ceiling and clouds sliced by the sword energy remained unhealed. It was rather slowly dispersing.
"I guess what you should be worrying about isn't that," Davey added.
Crash!!
Following that, something shattered, echoing loudly as the Black Mist that filled the surroundings completely dispersed. The magic, manifested through the artifact he possessed, made that artifact its only weakness. And that artifact had been shattered to pieces when Davey sliced it along with the Dark Knight in a straight line.
If I can't interfere with the magic, I just need to exploit the weakness he overlooked and destroy it.
"How did you...?"
"Don't overthink it. You all were under the illusion that you knew the most about the Deathlord."
Davey's smile caused Decent's body to crumble. His limbs, severed without him realizing, turned into black smoke and oxidized away. As soon as the flesh was cut, it oxidizedanother dummy body.
"I just knew more about the Deathlord than you did and had seen your magic more than you thought."
Had Davey not understood the structure of this magic better than him, it might have been a major setback for him. If Decent had not been so arrogant and targeted Baris first, perhaps Davey could not have protected him perfectly.
The danger was greater than anticipated. Knowing traces of Rho Aias and being able to mimic her transcendental magic meant they could not take the Illuminati lightly anymore.
As the mist cleared and Perserque and Baris' stunned faces appeared, Davey focused his gaze on the crumbling Decent. Sounds of someone running in the distance reached his ears. The knights exposed to the Black Mist had come this quickly to assess the situation? That seemed unlikely. Meaning, despite his claims of controlling the entire castle, Decent had only covered this hallway with Black Mist.
"Remarkable. I thought it was all bluff."
It was apparent to anyone not foolish that Davey had not just been boasting about his knowledge of the existence and magic of the Deathlord.
"If I play tricks carelessly, I might be the one to suffer."
"Don't worry. I'll come to kill you soon enough."
"That's impossible. You'll never find me."
His physical body was fake, after all. Davey knew that Illuminati was a cell organization with a bizarre structure. Otherwise, it would not be so hard to track.
"We'll see. I've prepared a big surprise for you in the Contas Empire."
Decent's expression hardened at Davey's words. "You think I'll fall for your obvious trap?"
"That's up to you." Davey smiled teasingly. "Even if you know it's a trap, you might have no choice but to spring for it."
The very existence of the trap could shake the foundation of their organization. Davey's blue-red sword energy split Decent's neck. The head, floating in the air, crumbled into black dust as if it never existed. And just before his voice completely dissipated, it reached Davey's ears.
[Boltis King's life will be taken by us. Leaving it to you would be too great a loss for us.]
They never left any trace of themselves till the end.
Boom!!
And as if on cue, an explosion came from the direction of the dungeon, and the mana Davey had implanted in the Boltis King scattered. It was proof that the king's body had been completely destroyed.
Davey, looking back at the summoned Arsonist Ifrit with a dissatisfied face, waved dismissively at the infuriated flame giant.
"The job's done, you can go back, Arsonist."
[This... This damn human!]
It was only natural for Ifrit's rage to erupt.
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