chapter 41 abyss brand
The sword edge screamed amidst the clash of greatswords, and the abyss turned into continuous storms, tightly pressing against Ig’s body, and then he suddenly slashed down into Hodrea’s cold pupils.
“Rumble!”
As if every inch of his bones was trembling, about to break under the unbearable burden. The blade of End let out a faint cry, and all the sword techniques and demonic power attached to it were completely crushed, even annihilated, by the slashes of the dark blade and the erosion of the dense abyss!
With a rumble, Ig’s body was sent flying by the greatsword, crashing into buildings that were already covered in cracks.
Under the twilight, the battle with the dark swordsman, terrifying demonic power overflowed everywhere, shattering the earth and almost destroying half of the small town. Countless elf residents were panicked and fled in all directions, but no one dared to approach.
— Even the strong ones of crystal, approaching this level of battle, even if they were only hit by the aftermath, they would definitely be severely wounded!
Ig crawled out of the collapsed wall, his hair disheveled, and his clothes torn by the debris.
He had no time to worry about how many innocent people were caught in the battle between himself and the dark swordsman. From the very beginning, the black-clothed swordsman’s attacks had never stopped. The terrifying attacks stirred up by the greatsword, like storms, made it difficult for Ig to breathe, and he couldn’t even count the time.
However, this time, the dark swordsman surprisingly ceased his attacks. Instead, he seemed to be watching him silently.
Pressing his aching wrist, which trembled slightly from bearing terrifying demonic power time and again, Ig tightened his grip on End, and the long sword gleamed with a hint of light, trembling slightly.
“Xiao Yan, cough… are you okay?” Ig asked.
If it weren’t for Rufina helping him bear the majority of the attacks, Ig would probably feel that his arm had already broken.
The sword spirit girl “Rufina,” who had transformed into the long sword End, let out a faint sword cry in response. Although she used the lightest possible tone, it was clear that she was not relaxed at all.
“… I should have left you to Veer.”
Ig said. He could feel that from the beginning, Verafia had been drawn into his domain by another envoy of the abyss.
Facing the attack of the dark greatsword and an enemy far beyond his strength, Ig only had time to throw Verafia away.
If he had also left Rufina to the girl, with such a sword spirit, she would have been much safer, right?
Ig couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
Although Veer, like himself, possessed the demonic power of the stars… but with such a young body and completely unfamiliar power, how much strength could even Verafia exert?
Moreover, Verafia now had no divine spark or the power of the blazing goddess to rely on, and she was facing an incarnation of Original Sin.
Holding the hilt of End, Ig couldn’t help but become anxious.
“… It’s actually a sword with a spirit. Is it the sword spirit born from the sword of that Lord?”
Suddenly, a hoarse and deep voice came, making Ig raise his eyes. The black swordsman held the greatsword, with dense darkness sticking to the worn wolf head insignia on the greatsword. His pupils under his hair were still cold, and he walked forward expressionlessly.
“However, you are still thinking about a woman.”
Don’t you know that this woman and the “that Lord” you speak of are actually the same person?
Ig was not in the mood to joke. He also looked up and said, “She is Veer.”
A cold laugh mixed with ridicule came.
Taking advantage of the momentary pause in the opponent’s attack, Ig was recovering the demonic power in his body. The opponent was not only black-clothed but also adorned with several fragments of metal, which faintly resembled the markings on his greatsword, like the remains of armor.
Staring into the opponent’s cold pupils. This swordsman who had fallen into the abyss had once worn wolf-patterned armor and sworn with wolf’s blood as the watcher of the abyss.
“Hodrea…”
Ig’s lips moved.
In fact, Ig had inquired about this name, but he didn’t get much information. He only knew that Hodrea had been the youngest Saint Rank in Fran Fortress, a genius who was said to be most likely to step into the legendary realm.
However, after the abyssal turmoil thirty years ago, he chose to defect and had disappeared for thirty years. When he reappeared, he was already a swordsman who had fallen into the abyss.
There were rumors that Hodrea once studied under the “Sword Saint” Geon, and it was believed that his mind was greatly disturbed by the fall of the “Sword Saint” in order to suppress the turbulent abyss, thus falling.
Ig looked up at Hodrea’s face. He had not forgotten that the last time he met this dark swordsman, the opponent was still a crystal. But now, the swordsman who appeared before him had clearly reached the Saint Rank, and could even be considered top-notch among anyone Ig had seen.
“Is it because he chose to reshape his body with the abyss, that he fell from the Saint Rank… and now has regained the authority of the Sacred Domain?”
Ig remembered Verafia’s explanation from before. Although Ig had never seen Hodrea before, he had a feeling that the current him was far stronger than in the past.
In the True Sight Eye, Hodrea’s essence was not human, but a condensation of the abyss.
— This is a powerful swordsman of the Sacred Domain’s abyss!
The sound of footsteps fell beside him, and Hodrea walked over, not attacking. His eyes swept over him.
“You are the successor of that Lord, your sword technique can indeed be called excellent… However, you have disappointed me. Ig, the abyss brand on you has not grown at all.”
The swordsman’s voice did not hide his disappointment at all.
“Abyss brand?”
Ig responded. He remembered the abyss brand that the opponent had given him, however, over the years, let alone using it, he felt resistant.
Even when borrowing the dark blood of the Demon King, Ig had never attempted the abyss brand.
“Then, is it because of the abyss brand that you are holding back against me?”
The opponent was undoubtedly a powerful swordsman of the Sacred Domain. Although Ig was struggling immensely and could only barely resist, he also knew clearly that Hodrea was far from using his full strength.
What was presented on the dark greatsword was merely his demonic power, sword technique, and traces of the abyss. Hodrea had not even unleashed his sword skills or his Saint-level domain, let alone another greatsword on him.
“Hodrea, what do you want by giving me the abyss brand?”
Ig looked up, facing the swordsman’s pupils, as if the endless abyss was flowing within them.
—
Suddenly realized that “Hodrea” was misspelled as “Holdrea” in the previous chapters, correcting it here. (This is a character from a long time ago, and I almost forgot his settings 2333)
