Chapter 24

"Cooperate a bit. You just lend me your strength; I'll do the rest."

-You... really...

Crack!!

Enlightenment is such a convenient system.

Strength accumulates in the body, but the realm of understanding and enlightenment is etched into the soul.

For me, who has already experienced enlightenment, the so-called new change is merely the solidified mana returning to its original state.

Although the recovery rate has slowed down recently, it's not due to a lack of enlightenment but rather because a large amount of mana has suddenly been released, creating a gap.

The heavy sword, which can be considered the original version of the Taishan Pressure, wielded by Harees, tore through the air with immense power.

Although it was a strike with insufficient mana, the holy sword, as if to prove it was not just any holy sword, channeled a vast amount of divine power through its host to compensate for the lacking mana.

As a beam of pure white light passed through the air, the red smoke dissipated instantly, leaving behind a gruesome sword cut.

"How long are you going to hide? Come out already."

There was no response to my words.

But I could definitely sense something coalescing.

"I expected you to be a vampire, but I never thought you'd be a high-ranking one."

The black bats coalesced together, gradually forming a shape from the torn air.

At the same time, the black bats formed a single mass, creating a human figure.

"We've met before, haven't we? Miss Maid."

My teasing voice made the figure, which had regained its feminine form, slowly open its terrifyingly cold, red eyes.

* * *

Recalling what I knew about the vampire race, one thing was certain.

A race with pride that pierces the sky and breaks through the atmosphere.

These self-proclaimed nobles form their own hierarchy, which is a reflection of their noble class.

Of course, they possess great power, which is a fact.

They are the only race capable of using blood magic.

Like the innate ability of dragons to use dragon speech, vampires have a strong instinctual control over blood...

Blood Polaris, or the sanctification of vampires, is also a type of such power.

"I knew someone was behind it when my subordinates were attacked, but I never thought it would be you."

Her tone was condescending.

She looked down at me silently, not appearing particularly surprised.

"I am quite capable, after all."

Naturally, my response was a provocation to her pride.

"Would you mind coming down a bit? My neck hurts from looking up."

"Hmph, how dare you..."

"Besides, with that dress, your underwear is showing. Typical, black."

I smiled calmly.

"So, come down now."

Crack!!

At the same time, a beam of light once again tore through the space where she stood.

Of course, my recovered mana was not enough to slice through space.

What I cut was just a part of this red mist.

But it didn't matter.

The holy sword Caltharas is a sword with a self-awareness and a vast amount of divine power.

Unfortunately, vampires and those infected by them, being part of the undead, are extremely vulnerable to divine power.

As my next strike was even stronger than before, she frowned and slowly descended to the opposite side of the training ground.

"If I cause such a large-scale disaster, even if I deal with me, Baris, and Winry, Queen Liness won't be able to cover up the crime. Relations with the Boltez nation will deteriorate, but the Boltez nation won't start a war with the Ron kingdom, as it would face the wrath of many other nations."

"..."

She glared at me, her pride seemingly cracked.

"I assume you came out in front of me because you're confident you can kill me? You've thought it through, but it's time to close the shop, sir."

"Meaningless, low-class tone..."

As she coldly spoke, she spread her arms, and blood droplets gathered in her hand.

At the same time, a red whip formed in her hand, and she mercilessly swung it at me.

Whirr! Crack!!

With a tearing sound, the whip struck the ground, completely destroying the magically reinforced floor.

Oh, you're really angry.

Moreover, the part where the whip hit turned a deep red, and sharp thorns rushed towards me at an incredible speed.

Crack!!

Of course, I had no intention of taking it, so I lightly swung my sword, and the thorns that were rushing towards me were cut and scattered.

"Unexpected, but you're still just a lowly human."

"Isn't that lady also a human's subordinate now?"

"Ridiculous tongue tricks!!"

The whip, swung forcefully, tore through the air again. She seemed extremely angry, but there was nothing I could do.

The most effective way to deal with vampires is through their tongues.

- A Vampire Lord? They're strong, really damn strong. They're the strongest of their kind, after all. They're born crazy, and the most outstanding one among them inherits the succession and becomes a lord. If there weren't any natural enemies like High Elves, they'd be hard to kill.

- So how did you defeat them? I made them so angry with my tongue that they lost their minds and I killed them. No matter what creature, when they get too angry, their actions become simple. Especially vampires, with their strong pride, can be made to lose their temper by pointing out their birth or appearance.

This was said by the sword spirit, who was lying on a wooden platform, having become lazy.

Come to think of it, the Palan Empire seems to revere sword spirits quite a bit. I wonder what would happen if they knew the truth about him.

Crack!! Crack!!

The whip continued to come at me, causing sonic booms and relentlessly pursuing me.

Even if I were well-trained, a single hit would be hard to withstand.

Especially, a whip is not a weapon that can be easily blocked.

The blood-red thorns on the whip pierced through, blocking my escape route.

Avoiding it was becoming difficult. If I retreated further, it would affect the humans lying on the ground.

"The only result left for you is death."

She coldly said, evading my sword.

"Even with the power of the holy sword. That woman who inherited the sword spirit's sword technique eventually fell."

Her arrogant tone made me swing my sword again, but the red blood droplets surrounding her body deflected the sword energy.

"Blood Barrier..."

- A vampire of Count rank or higher! Though young, she has pure blood that could challenge a lord.

I nodded quietly at Caltharas's words.

'I need to deal with this now.'

- Is it possible?

'Of course, why wouldn't it be?'

Despite the overwhelming momentum of the whip surrounding me, I calmly raised my sword and lightly twisted my body.

With a rough tearing sound, the red whip struck around me, narrowly missing by a hair's breadth.

Avoiding such an unconventional attack is difficult, but once you learn the trick, you can easily counterattack.

As my attack, which I thought would hit, narrowly missed, Sharis's expression stiffened.

And, without missing the brief opportunity, I pressed forward, crushing the red thorns that were pursuing me.

A very short moment.

But it was enough for an attack.

A completely inefficient, obvious sword trajectory, but it intensified the force even more.

My target was her, and the giant gem floating in the air, emitting this damn red mist.

"Did you inherit the sword spirit's sword technique? You're mistaking a superficial understanding for the real thing."

- This... sword technique?!

A light horizontal cut, practiced tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of times.

It was a single cut that matched the Taishan Cut used by Princess Ilna on Valtean, though it had slightly changed color to suit me.

However, its power was clearly different from what she had shown.

"What?!"

The momentum I instantly released shocked her, and she reflexively created another blood barrier, but...

It was too late.

Crack!

"What?!"

A massive force, condensed without mercy, created a giant beam of pure white light, tearing through space and her body.

* * *

The aftermath of the massive strike was truly immense.

The training ground, which had maintained a certain shape even under her attacks, collapsed with a massive tremor.

The floor, made of sturdy magical stones and protected by dozens of layers of protective magic, was reduced to powder by a single weapon.

The hero Heraclase, known as the "Survival King," said this:

- What? Can't you just use better items to make up for your shortcomings? Danger can come at any time, whether you intend it or not! Will you really have the best artifacts or items when it happens?

The lazy sword spirit Harees and the alcoholic centaur Dukgo Jun said this:

- This guy still hasn't grown up.

- Think simply, brat. Is a very strong person with a famous sword stronger than a weak person... Ah, I'm getting drunk. What was I saying... Ah, right. Is a weak person with a famous sword stronger? Ah, where was I?

The mage Odin said this:

- If that's the case, why learn magic? Just swing a staff with excellent magic stored in it. By the way, is this guy calling me a cliff dirt kid and changing the subject?!

When did I?

Finally, the divine physician Hippocris pinched my cheek and smiled.

- Are you asking me this because you've already been scolded by others? I'm not a combat expert, so I can't give you much advice. Just remember that borrowed things must be returned. There's a big difference between what you build and what you borrow.

Ultimately, the corridor was filled with various people, but they all said the same thing.

Don't overly rely on item power.

But.

Once you taste the synergy that item power brings, it's hard to stop.

"Wow... it's amazing, that's why people talk about item power."

- I don't understand what you're saying. In my time! What?!

"Damn mouth."

The holy sword Caltharas spoke with a very refreshing voice.

He had been stored proudly for thousands of years without an owner.

Even after finding an owner, his owner's skills were still lacking, so he couldn't materialize and remained in a brooch form, which must have been quite frustrating.

- But, tell me. What are you? How do you arbitrarily draw out my power? And how do you know about me? The sword technique too! Just now, what you showed was definitely the Taishan Cut.

"That's true."

- Moreover, you act as if you've known me for a long time...

"Let's just stick to our contract. Is there any need to dig into unnecessary facts?"

- What do you mean...