“What is that power?”
My power being unleashed visibly dimmed Carter’s earlier arrogance.
“Is it that surprising? It’s just the power of a dragon, nothing special.”
Unleashing the dragon’s blood puts quite a strain on my body, but the power it grants is worth the risk.
That power was now on par with the power of the released Divine Sword.
“Is it that surprising?”
I said it as if it were no big deal, but I had a feeling I knew why.
It’s probably because of the difference in magic compatibility.
Even a difference of just one digit can lead to a vastly different output.
This gap in magic compatibility creates a clear difference in fully realized stats.
Carter’s magic compatibility was quite high. I later learned that his compatibility was recorded as eight.
He possessed the talent to potentially become a General Class, or even a Demon Lord depending on the era.
Magic compatibility generally doesn’t change, but there are exceptions like me, so it’s not impossible for it to change.
“Well, it doesn’t concern me.”
However, from what I could see, he didn’t seem to be fully drawing out the power of the Divine Sword. That was the reality.
I casually extended my Ore Tree horizontally as if to align it with the ground.
Normally, that would be enough to lift my body slightly.
But if a humanoid being could move at speeds exceeding the sound barrier, things would be different.
The sound that seemed light was simply sound being left behind.
My enhanced motion-tracking vision captured the scene as the distance between us closed in an instant.
“Don’t underestimate me!”
“I have no intention of underestimating you.”
As expected, my opponent had also revealed his trump card, and his abilities had improved. He was faster, stronger, and hotter than before.
But.
“Why is this body wounded?”
If I can cut it, there’s no problem. There’s no need for observation.
I swung the devastating blade without hesitation, aiming to slice through his body.
As a result, Carter’s blood, which shouldn’t have come from a body clad in divine flames, spurted out.
The wavering divine flame should have no physical substance.
Carter had assimilated with the divine flame through the Divine Sword. Conceptually, he had transcended being a mere life form.
Normal slashes would be rendered ineffective, lower-tier magic would be absorbed, mid-tier magic nullified, and only higher-tier magic would begin to have an effect.
I understood that when I cut him earlier.
Lately, I’ve come to realize that I can understand what kind of being my opponent is just by cutting them, and it’s becoming less about people and more about understanding strange beings.
The feel of the blade’s tip, the aura of magic, and various other pieces of information are gathered through combat and understood.
Most of it is intuitive, like a feeling, but it quickly transforms into accurate information.
Frankly, it’s sometimes faster than gathering information through conversation.
“I see, I see. Your existence is significantly out of sync with this world’s dimension. Simply cutting you wouldn’t work, so I tried attacking conceptually, and that was correct. However, there’s still a gap.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m telling you how I cut your body. I understood most of your power when I cut you earlier. The essence of the divine flame isn’t just heat that burns everything. It’s by dimensionally bringing your body closer to the divine world that you release its energy into this world, leading to forced annihilation by hyper-energy from a higher dimension. I thought it was strange. Even when burning, there’s no combustion process. No matter how high the temperature, there’s still a combustion process. But your flame disappears the moment it burns without countermeasures.”
While calmly explaining the inconsistencies in his previous attacks, I spun the tip of my Ore Tree. Not here, not there.
It was an act of swinging through space to pinpoint the anomaly I felt at the tip of my blade.
To an outsider, it would look like a playful trick. A useless and wasteful act.
“Therefore, it’s logical to assume you’re burning it somewhere else. A flame that is merely strong wouldn’t be called a divine flame. It’s called a divine flame because it exists in the divine realm. That makes sense. In other words, assuming the flame in the divine world is equivalent to the flame in this world is fundamentally wrong.”
However, that seemingly wasteful act was steadily helping me grasp a certain sensation.
“The Divine Sword is a mechanism that produces that concept. It converts magic power into energy that generates the concept of a god, temporarily manifesting it in this world. Limiting the ability to the divine flame was because this world isn’t robust enough to handle diversification.”
Putting what I’ve learned into practice in reality is by no means easy. But effort doesn’t betray you.
The tip of my blade caught the sensation I was seeking, however slight, and transmitted it to my hand.
“Once you understand this, the rest is simple. If you step into that divine domain and slash, your body can be cut.”
“Kekekeke, theoretically, that’s true, but it’s not something ordinary people can do. And it’s not a concept that can be understood with a single strike.”
The instructor, who had been listening to my explanation with immense amusement, let out a hearty laugh. Carter, who had just revealed his trump card, looked at me in stunned silence.
“Well, it seems you’ve become a bit troublesome to cut, but the objective remains the same. Just cut, and you take us down while defending yourself.”
To him, I showed a crescent moon smile, a trait inherited from my instructor, signaling that there would be no more chances.
I had grasped his swordsmanship. And I had also grasped the ambiguous nature of the Divine Sword.
By showing me his hidden abilities, he had almost no cards left to play.
“It’s simple, isn’t it?”
“Kukakakaka! Indeed, it’s simple and straightforward. With your earlier demeanor, such a statement wouldn’t be out of place.”
If there’s anything more, he should reveal it quickly for his own sake.
The barrier that blocked my slash. Its mechanism was also answered in my earlier explanation.
What I thought was a tough defense was a dimensional wall to sever the boundaries of the world. A conceptual barrier to maintain the world’s balance. He had intentionally shifted it to defensive use.
The Divine Sword has the ability to turn magic power into divine power, but that’s a secondary ability, not the main one. Its true purpose is like a key to access the divine world.
“Damn it!”
Once its true nature is understood, dealing with it is surprisingly simple.
I don’t understand everything. But if I can grasp the overall concept, I can prevent the attacks of a desperate Carter charging at me.
The divine flame that burns everything. That power, flowing from the divine world, is divine power itself. No matter how much my Ore Tree is coated with magic, it would melt if it took the brunt of it without the coating. But understanding that and applying multiple layers of magic coating allows me to block it normally. The conceptual defense and the ability of the surrounding magic of Adsael’s Staff, which is imbued on the blade, to absorb magic power helps. It doesn’t absorb the divine flame itself. It absorbs the unburnt parts of the coating that were burned and destroyed, replenishes the magic power, and aids in creating new coatings.
The more we clashed, the deeper the confusion became in Carter’s eyes. He wondered if there was anything the Divine Sword, capable of cleaving all things, could not cut.
That hesitation, that thought, is fatal. With hesitation in your eyes, even what could be cut cannot be cut. As a swordsman, you must always believe you can cut anything and challenge it.
I and Carter moved freely, while the instructor pursued us with magic. Most of it was nullified by the divine flame, but it suppressed the flame’s intensity. He was assisting me so I could move more easily.
Carter’s physical abilities are quite remarkable. He was able to exchange blows with the President for a brief moment. With the increased abilities from the Divine Sword, he feels stronger than when I saw him before.
“Why!? Why can’t I cut you!? Why can you block it!? Am I, that I, falling behind a mere human like you!?”
“Who cares about your problems, you idiot? I came here taking time out of my already busy schedule. Your problems are none of my business.”
However, the more we clashed, the more I understood. We were so close that I could feel the divine flame on my face as we were locked in a struggle, but my magic was enough to defend against it. This means Carter wasn’t drawing out the full power of the Divine Sword. The scales of victory were gradually tipping in my favor. For him to launch one attack, I would have already landed three slashes. And that ratio was only increasing. He probably doesn’t normally activate the Divine Sword’s power. His control of strength was starting to show flaws due to his unfamiliarity. He was being overwhelmed by his own power. I, on the other hand, regularly practice with this dragon’s power. I’ve grasped how much my strength increases and how much strain it puts on my body. Understanding these two points makes all the difference. Waking up to power and mastering it instantly like in manga or games isn’t normally possible. There’s a difference in the time it takes to get used to it, though. At the very least, acting on emotion like this means he’s not calm. He was overconfident in his ability to wield the Divine Sword. Why doesn’t he understand that excessive power becomes a shackle for someone with real skill?
“Excessive power leads to ruin. That’s a prime example.”
The instructor, bored, unleashed a spell with a sigh.
“Then, my time dealing with you is wasted. Die quickly.”
One side of the wall turned black and instantly liquefied.
“Chaos Magic!?”
“Indeed. And are you sure you should be looking elsewhere?”
Casting a glance aside, a large black slime-like entity appeared next to the instructor, diverting Carter’s attention from me.
In this situation, it was as if he was inviting me to strike. After performing the Swallow Return, I followed up with another slash. The Ore Tree’s blade drew an arc as lightly as a flying swallow, approaching the hand gripping the Divine Sword. There was no time to insert the Divine Sword’s blade. The Ore Tree’s blade continued its path, slicing off Carter’s fingers gripping the Divine Sword.
“Aaaaaaaah!?”
His screams of agony as the nerves in his fingertips were severed instantly were cut short as his missing fingers were immediately regenerated by flame. But that instant was enough. When his body stiffened, for a single breath. The number of blade strikes that followed exceeded ten. The stiffness from the pain lasted less than an instant. The instructor created the opening. As a result, Carter’s head flew through the air. He looked on with widened eyes, wondering what had happened. I had heard about vampire vitality from Memoria. Simply beheading them wouldn’t kill them. To kill a vampire, you must crush their heart, and then…
“This is the end.”
I thrust my Ore Tree into Carter’s chest, who was standing stiffly, his body completely immobilized from having his head cut off, and unleashed the stored Takemikazuchi. Even while clad in divine flames, if his living body was exposed and subjected to a massive discharge of lightning imbued with immense magic power from his heart, the body would perish, and Carter would reappear as a Ghost.
“I won’t perish! I… I!?”
Carter, who had been forcibly maintaining a human form through the divine flames, had lost his physical body. Unaware of this fact, he tried to swing the Divine Sword, but his movements were completely sluggish.
“Disgusting.”
With those words from the instructor, Carter was engulfed in a black mass.
Today’s word: It’s best to end troublesome matters quickly.
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I am also currently serializing another work: Pandora Pandemic Panic. Though Pandora’s box has been reopened, I’m fighting back with secret bases and various other things! Please check that out as well!!
