Chapter 167: You Can Enter Whenever You Want, But… (1)

Since the fifth star was grasped in my hand, I could breathe a bit easier in this endless struggle.

I swung the star that shone as bright as the sun.

Whenever I did, wails flowed from the mouths of the dead.

Then, at some point, the scenery changed.

A massive army of over 100,000 troops filled my vision.

Beyond them, the capital of the Typhon Kingdom stretched out.

It was a familiar sight.

I had been among them not long ago.

It was the army of the Church of Hor, gathered around Laplace.

The one at the front stared at me.

A single red line ran across skin that lacked even a hint of vitality.

“Kkeu… eu…”

The gazes piercing into me from every direction were fierce.

Like the dead of Riot Castle, they erupted in resentment.

Alisa, Alan, Laplace, and the wizards of various nations were all there.

I exhaled slowly.

In this illusion, I had already received more than enough hatred.

It was silly to be flustered now.

“This isn’t fun anymore.”

I gripped my sword and charged.

Knights blocked my path, and magic rained down from the sky.

A battle between 100,000 men and a single person.

A fight that should have been impossible in reality unfolded in this fake world.

*Kwaaaaang!*

A profound, nameless spell scorched my body.

Even within that searing explosion, the knights clung to me tenaciously.

*Kwang, kwang!*

Indeed, the combination of knights and wizards was superb.

If I lost my focus to the magic pouring down like rain, my head would be taken by the knights’ blades.

Conversely, I couldn’t focus solely on the knights while ignoring the magic.

I died several times in an instant.

And then I died ten more times, and then dozens more.

An ordinary person would have had their mind shattered long ago.

But I had a debt to pay.

Using the light as a shield, I advanced step by step.

Even if this body were to crumble into a handful of dust and scatter, I would not retreat.

[Six Swords of the Sword Saint — Activated]

Before I knew it, another star had been added.

Once again, I could breathe a little easier.

*Peeng—*

With a single flick of my sword, the trajectory of the magic flying toward me distorted.

The spells struck the unfortunate corpses instead and exploded.

Pieces of rotten flesh rained down upon the ground.

*Kadeuk!*

As I repeated the cycle of killing and being killed, a strange sensation dominated my body.

My mind, which I had been desperately supporting with light, felt hazy.

‘Have I already gone completely insane?’

A dark thought suddenly crossed my mind.

But that wasn’t the case.

*Peeng, peeng—*

The magic pouring down at a rate of nearly hundreds per second was deflected by the stars, blowing apart the knights instead.

*Kagag!*

Every time I swung the sword in my hand, it left a massive scar on the earth.

Little by little, my deaths grew sparse.

On the contrary, the deaths of my enemies repeated rapidly.

When my mind felt as heavy as if it were soaked in water, I began to move even more efficiently.

‘This is…!’

It was a sensation I had felt before.

A State of No-Self, something I had experienced thanks to my Hyper Focus talent.

That total immersion was once again leading me to a new realm.

*Kugagagag!*

I wove Aura into my sword.

I layered another coating of Aura over that one.

The corpses’ bodies were sliced apart by the sharp energy swirling in all directions.

This was the realm of a mature Swordmaster.

For some reason, I felt like I could perform the next technique.

So, I tried it.

“Kueeeek!”

I no longer needed to worry about the corpses rushing at me like madmen.

The stars and chains protected me perfectly.

*Kudeuk.*

The double-layered Aura that had swallowed the blade crawled up the back of my hand along the sword hilt.

Then it moved to my wrist.

Then past my shoulder—

*Kudeuk, kudeudeuk!*

The Aura greedily devoured my entire body like a monstrous beast.

It felt as if I were wearing full plate armor.

It was the ultimate armor and the sword itself, something only those who had reached the supreme realm of Grand Sword Master could wear.

Currently, the only living Grand Sword Masters were Ludbihi, the Lord of Bartenberg, and Vallach.

And now, my name was added to that list.

I took a step forward, following this uncontrollable power.

***

The air surrounding Richard changed drastically.

The ground he walked upon was left with savage scars, making Richard look like a walking ‘slaughter.’

Corpses clutching weapons rushed at him.

However, they couldn’t even touch him.

*Kadeudeuk!*

The tips of the blades thrust against his armor simply crumbled into dust and scattered.

Richard raised his hand and lightly covered a corpse’s face.

With that leisurely motion, the corpse’s head vanished as if it had been erased.

*Seog-seog—*

Richard slashed his sword horizontally.

With that, the waists of hundreds of screaming corpses were cut in half.

[Eye of Laplace — Activated]

More things than ever before became visible to his eyes.

The battles he had repeated while hovering between life and death had not only advanced his swordsmanship.

He could clearly see how the enemies would move and what attacks they would launch. It was as if he could see the future.

From that moment on, it could no longer be called a battle.

There was an unbridgeable gap between the one who had crossed the wall and those who hadn’t.

*Whoosh!*

Richard leaped and plunged into the midst of the corpses, swinging his sword as if dancing.

He cut down everything in sight.

At some point, the corpses stopped coming back to life.

*Clap, clap, clap!*

While Richard stood alone, catching his breath, the sound of applause drifted from somewhere.

[As expected! Did you grow even more in that short time?]

Arahel and Mamon were sitting atop a pile of corpses.

They were looking at Richard with flushed faces.

For a moment, a sense of relief flickered in their eyes.

[Actually, I was worried deep down.]

[I wondered what I would do if your fragile self had already broken…]

Soon, a captivating smile hung on Arahel’s lips.

[But instead of breaking, you’ve become so dignified.]

[Aya! You look truly magnificent.]

Richard narrowed his eyes.

He wasn’t flustered even after seeing the two Grand Army Commanders appear suddenly.

Their intrusion was something he had naturally expected.

No, it was something that had to happen for his plan to be executed properly.

“How much time has passed outside?”

At his calm question, Arahel rested her chin on her hand and smiled.

[I wonder.]

[How long do you think has passed, Father?]

Her voice was full of mischief.

“To me, it feels like more than 10 years have passed, but obviously, that can’t be the case.”

Richard responded readily to the pathetic provocation.

Upon hearing that, Arahel and Mamon burst into fits of laughter.

10 years.

It was a long time if long, and short if short, but ten years of repeated death must have felt like an eternity.

And.

The hell prepared for Richard had not ended.

[Only 10 minutes have passed outside.]

[One year here is only equivalent to one minute out there.]

Mamon spoke in a voice that sounded like he was dying of happiness.

[We are giving you time, just as you wanted, Father.]

[Of course, you must pay the price for it.]

One year of hell for 1 minute of time.

At the question of whether these were good enough conditions, Richard let out a smirk.

Questioning looks appeared in the eyes of the two commanders.

This wasn’t a situation he should be laughing in.

Though he was shrouded in the Aura of light, Richard’s eyes, visible now and then, were a murky color that suited the word ’empty.’

Even if they didn’t know the details, some part of his mind must have been cracking after the repeated deaths.

Despite that, their father was smiling.

“One minute for 1 year… good. Very good. I’ll be able to play with you guys to my heart’s content. After all, you don’t die even if you die here.”

The armor of light surrounding Richard slowly began to crack.

Since he had just reached a new realm, it was a distant goal to fully exert that power.

Soon, his face, clearly exhausted, was revealed.

“Let’s play until I collapse from exhaustion.”

In that state, Richard charged without hesitation.

***

*Kwang!*

There were no more corpses in the illusionary world.

Such extras would only get in the way of playing with their father.

*Kwang!*

Mamon’s bone sword and Richard’s sword locked in a struggle of strength.

*Kwagagang!*

Suddenly, an explosion erupted behind Richard’s back.

Since this was a world created by Arahel, any kind of strange phenomenon could occur according to her will.

“Keok…”

Richard coughed up blood.

At the same time, Mamon’s bone sword, seizing the opening, drove into his neck.

*Udeudeuk—*

His neck bones were shattered.

However, Richard didn’t just take the hit.

A sudden burst of light scorched Mamon’s skin.

Amidst those dazzling rays of light, a sword strike mixed in and pierced Mamon’s heart.

[A-ha! Ahahaha!]

[How many deaths has this been for you?]

[I am winning, Father.]

Mamon let out a child-like laugh.

He had also died and been resurrected five times, but his twisted interest was focused solely on Richard’s deaths.

[Father has already died ten times—]

As if he had won a bet, Mamon prattled on innocently.

“You damn bastard. If it weren’t for Arahel, you would have died a hundred times over.”

Richard growled, spitting out blood-mixed saliva.

His broken neck and his exploded back had already been restored to their original state.

[Oh my.]

[What did your lovely daughter do to deserve that?]

These loathsome things.

Richard, scowling deeply, adjusted his grip on his sword.

After a brief chat, the battle immediately resumed.

***

As time passed, deaths became more frequent than kills.

The sensation of being sliced was felt more often than the sensation of slicing flesh.

Dealing with two commanders at once was incredibly taxing, even for Richard, who had reached a new realm.

Even more so since he wasn’t wearing his Aura Armor.

Perhaps that was why.

The star came to find him.

[Seven Swords of the Sword Saint — Activated]

Once again.

Richard could breathe a little easier.

[Eh?]

Mamon’s arm fell off in the blink of an eye.

Next, his small head went rolling across the floor.

“Whew… you’ve reached ten times now, Mamon.”

Richard said, panting for breath.

[Father has already died twenty times.]

[Please don’t talk as if we’re similar.]

Mamon grumbled.

However, he couldn’t hide the flush on his face.

Ah.

To think a day would come when he could play so harmoniously with his father.

[Now, I’ll go first this ti…]

Mamon’s excited voice suddenly stopped.

[What is that, Father?]

Something red was wriggling within the blade of the sword Richard was holding.

An energy that definitely hadn’t been felt until just a moment ago was now approaching poignantly.

Something familiar…

“Well. A welcome fellow has arrived just in time.”

Richard drove his sword into the ground.

Something crawled out from the blade and slowly emerged into the world.

Mamon and Arahel’s eyes widened.

A massive red body.

Red hair and red eyes.

“Kkeu-hu…”

That laugh that sounded like grinding metal.

[Big Brother Kalgos…?]

[How… How can Brother be here!]

The two commanders stared with wide eyes, unable to believe it.

It was Richard who responded to their shock.

“This guy’s soul stuck to my sword. He decided to help me in exchange for letting him stay for a while.”

What an absurd thing to happen.

Mamon and Arahel looked at Kalgos with eyes full of disbelief.

Then, suddenly, one important thing came to mind.

[The… The Rift…]

*Kkeu-hehehe…*

Kalgos laughed.

[Gulp.]