420 - Regressor of the Fallen Family

### Chapter 420: "Can I Do It?" Harman questioned himself inwardly. The answer emerged almost blandly quickly. A sword strike powerful enough to bend that light of destruction? He couldn't even begin to fathom its principle with his own mind. "To think I was told to kill such a being..." Had the gods ever considered his safety, even for a moment? It was unlikely. Weren't they the very monsters that sought to swallow his soul from the start? A bitter smile crept upon his face unbidden. "You're laughing!?" The air erupted with a resounding roar. Misunderstanding his smile, or perhaps acknowledging it with unwelcome clarity, his relentless opponent, the Mage of the Slicing Wind, bared his fury as he unleashed yet another wave of blue and white winds. Was it called the Army of the Slicing Wind? The famous magic, once renowned, now seemed inconsequential. Swish. Boom. The magic dissipated left and right in the face of a light flick of the sword. To him, who had realized the power of the soul, disrupting the flow of magic was effortlessly simple. It was as if he were merely batting away a lower-tier wind spell instead of dealing with the formidable forces of the slicing wind. "How is this possible!!!?" The sight of his pride being shattered. At the devastating sight of his magic being nullified once more, Gallan's face twisted in desolation. And yet. “This is troublesome.” Harman couldn’t bring his enemy to an end in a single strike. Swish. Slash. The sword swung, the aura extending out only to futilely cleave through empty air once more. The opponent had evaded at a speed surpassing his own movement. A bizarre sight unfolded where a mage moved quicker than an aura user; it had already occurred numerous times. Despite his disguise, his essence was none other than the divine swordsman, Harman Killibrew. No matter how renowned his opponent was as the Mage of the Slicing Wind, the scenario was beyond reason. But Harman knew the reason all too clearly. “Damn it, this creature.” Hum. The sacred artifact, Licentia, now stubbornly clung to Harman’s neck without any intent to part. Inside it, a staggering 60% of his strength was tied up, suppressing the divine power that attempted to seize his soul. Moreover, he was hesitant to use his greatest power, the 'Holy Aura,' after the shocking experience of nearly being controlled by the deity he once worshipped. Thus, Harman could not even wield 20% of his original strength in his current state. All he could do was supplement his lacking abilities with heightened enlightenment to pressure the Mage of the Slicing Wind, a feat that was his utmost capability at the moment. If there was any consolation... Boom! “Die!” It was that the madly rampaging female knight beside him, no, the queen, was overwhelming the remaining three mages. The moment the original young aura user fell wounded in retreat, she had intervened like a savior and was displaying an absolutely overpowering might. The icy, seismic, and torrential cascade spells that the pale-faced mages unleashed continuously were futilely dispersed the moment they touched the flame-like aura barrier surrounding her. The queen defeating those three mages seemed merely a matter of time. “So hold on, King Logan. There are many things I wish to discuss.” Harman’s gaze, which had once been fixed on his assassination target just a day ago, turned to the azure-hued space cloaking the backdrop. As if in response to his gaze, golden light began to emanate from the blue space in streams. --- The ninth form of divine swordsmanship, Light Slash, which had slightly twisted the light of annihilation, could no longer be used. The exhaustion of aspirational power and already depleted energy were problems, but the soul, which had not yet escalated to ‘Up,’ was only at the threshold of mastering. The strength to twist causality was onerous to wield even at the legendary realm of an aura master. However, that said, he was still an aura master. “I can do it.” An aura master, esteemed to contend with a mage of the seventh circle or even an ancient grand mage, meaning an eighth circle mage. Moreover, Logan's soul, having briefly wielded the powerful strength beyond limits through aspirational force, had surpassed merely crossing the threshold. That was why the emperor had failed to grasp his true capability, and why he could remain composed before the emperor. “My stature is slightly higher.” Of course, compared to the utterly exhausted Logan, the emperor was in perfect condition. So he needed to seize the moment of complacency. And the emperor now, was providing that complacency splendidly. “To put it nicely, an absolute domain...” In reality, it was merely projecting his magical power onto the surroundings, tinting the very space itself. Surely, manifesting magic and projecting it here would be much easier, but had he known that his adversary was his equal, he would never have wasted such strength. Thanks to this, Logan easily exploited the gap with relatively little effort. Crack. Within the space dyed entirely in blue magic, golden fissures began to appear. It was a display designed to resemble the golden aura struggling amidst the blue magic. “How dare you!” As the emperor’s voice boomed in rage, Logan’s sword moved silently. “I will end this in one move.” Flash. From between the golden fissures, lightning burst forth, traversing the thirty-meter distance and bisecting the emperor. “Ugh!?” Despite the unexpected attack, the emperor reacted instinctively. With a concentrated blue magic he claimed dominance over the space where the slash emerged, simultaneously propelling himself outside the attack’s reach. Yet the slash imbued with might enough to cleave through space and soul penetrated the emperor’s counterattack and swept his moving body. “Agh!” With a terrible scream, the blue space shattered like glass. “Damn it all.” Sweat poured down him like rain. Despite having exhaustedly squeezed out a blow backed by his soul's strength, it hadn’t managed to fully end the opponent. However. “My arm! My arm…!!” The sight of the emperor, clutching his left shoulder with his right hand and screaming as if in agony, wasn’t normal. The reason became clear—there was no longer an arm attached to the emperor's left shoulder. Moreover, since the strike contained the power of the Soul Slash, no divine force could ever restore that wound. Though the emperor still managed to retain seventy percent of his magical power, making the current disadvantageous situation his own, not Logan's. "You scoundrel! You've been hiding your skills all this time! How dare you!!" The emperor's twisted face contorted further, his black eyes widening with outrage. 'How dare I, indeed.' Logan thought it would be more comforting for the emperor to believe he had been concealing his abilities rather than having elevated his prowess during the battle. But if his opponent had lost composure, it was to Logan’s advantage. 'I’ll see this through to the end.' Logan clenched his teeth, steeling himself for what was to come. Hum. He hastened the revolution of his nine force cores, desperately attempting to replenish his depleted energy even as his body trembled. He didn't dare take a step forward, afraid to reveal the trembling in his legs. His grip on his sword turned his fingers white, such was his force—he couldn’t let his trembling hands be known. He never assumed that everything would resolve easily from the start. Then suddenly— “…An aura master. Hahaha, how is it possible at your age… Do you, by chance, also possess the 'Inheritance'?” The emperor’s eyes, brimming with madness, seemed to regain clarity as his voice took on an eerily calm tone, uttering nonsense. “Inheritance?” The emperor’s nonsensical words caused Logan to scowl, and he stared at Logan intently, slowly nodding. “…It seems you truly do not. Indeed, that wouldn't make sense. But how, at your age... Ha, hahahaha…” Logan felt a hollow laugh break upon his ears as he fortified his legs to prevent them from buckling completely. Whatever misconception gripped the emperor, Logan needed more time above all. Hum. As the eight force cores resumed orbiting the initial core and his drained force began to replenish, strength slowly seeped back into his limbs. But that window of opportunity was too brief. “At that time, I should have found a way to make you my own. At any cost…” Echoing like a soliloquy, the emperor's voice regained its former composure, and his face, once pulsating with prominent veins, began returning to calm. When the emperor glanced at his severed shoulder, the rage was gone from his eyes, and similarly, as he looked at Logan, his demeanor was strikingly composed, unlike before. The semblance of the emperor that had left Logan shaken years ago presented itself once more. “...I will rectify that mistake today.” Advertisements “Isn’t it too late for that?” Logan attempted once more to provoke the emperor’s temper, but this time he failed to succeed. “The moment you think it’s too late is when you can be fastest.” Before the last syllable of “fast” could escape, blue lightning crackled around the emperor’s form. Boom! “Ugh!” In a blinding instant, the emperor gestured behind Logan, and Logan's body was catapulted forward. ‘Damn!’ The impact made him feel as though his spine had shattered. Had it not been for the instinctual defense of Whiplash, the outcome would have been decided right then and there. No matter if he was a grand mage, the emperor’s speed was incomprehensibly swift. But there was no time to be startled. Thud. As the emperor took a large step, a massive earthen spear suddenly emerged from the ground in front of Logan, striking him full force. Bang! “Cough!” Logan spat blood as he desperately shattered the earthen lance. Yet in that very moment, countless invisible blades rained down through the dust, shredding the space where he had stood. Crash! “Haaa!” Exerting the last of his strength in a Space Slash, Logan managed to narrowly avoid the peril. “Pierce him!” At the emperor's command, the blood spilt on the battlefield erupted into countless daggers, targeting Logan. Boom! “Argh.” Barely shielding his vitals, Logan found himself drenched and staggering, blood pouring from various wounds. ‘Damn it! If only I had recovered a bit more strength…’ However, the emperor, now standing before him with dispassion, extended his right hand. “I'll burn your soul. Mekido!” Azure flames ignited from his palm and swept towards Logan's entire body. Feeling that the slightest touch of these flames would spell the end, Logan gritted his teeth. “Hyaa!” Crack. A sensation—or was it intuition—warned Logan that his force cores, already overtaxed, were nearing their breaking point. His red hair faded to nearly white, and Lux, swung like lightning, radiated a dazzling golden light. Advertisements Flash. Bang! The explosion of light cascaded into a shockwave, which rumbled across the ground, splitting it as though an earthquake had struck. The devastation from the clash of mighty beings captured all attention on the battlefield. “Cough. Gah!” Logan, now with hair turned half-white, vomited a scarlet mass. Lux, anchored to the ground, propped his body up, but his trembling frame seemed barely able to manage another step. “Ha, yet... it is my victory.” The emperor himself had a fist-sized hole in his side, dark blood dripping endlessly from the corner of his mouth, but it seemed he retained enough strength to maintain his stance. However. “That's enough. Withdraw, Emperor.” The appearance of a silver-haired mercenary abruptly shifted the balance of power.