Chapter 270: Overwhelming strength
Kyle had already failed two quests in the past. The last one had slipped away simply because he had been too occupied to even notice it had been issued.
That was why, the instant another quest appeared before him, he abandoned all restraint.
For the first time, he unleashed the one technique he never believed he would need beneath the Moon.
With Ethara’s blessing, he was already frighteningly powerful, his strength brushing against the realm of a special grade. He had always assumed that would be enough. There had never been a reason to activate Overlord, a skill capable of tripling his power.
Yet here he was.
His stats surged toward one hundred and twenty, nearly twice that of the creature standing before him. His endurance, in particular, had reached an absurd level. That’s why, claw meant to pierce his chest struck his body, only to bend grotesquely on impact as though it had collided with an indestructible wall.
Power flooded every inch of his body.
It roared through his veins like a raging river, so overwhelming that even Kyle felt a flicker of fear at what he was capable of doing to the creature before him.
His entire body burned with violent energy, desperate to be released. Every passing second made the pressure inside him grow heavier, as though his own strength would drive him mad if he failed to unleash it.
[Host, you need to deactivate the effect as soon as possible. Your body simply isn’t prepared to withstand this much energy.]
Kyle understood even before the warning appeared.
His own body was already screaming at him.
Without wasting a single moment, he casually swung his hand.
The demon was blasted away.
It was nothing more than a lazy swat, yet the same creature that had kept Kyle on the defensive moments ago was sent hurtling through the air like a ragdoll before crashing into the barrier and dropping to the ground.
Kyle took a step forward.
The earth trembled beneath his feet. Cracks raced across the ground with every step as he slowly closed the distance.
The demon lunged at him again, refusing to give up even now.
But in Kyle’s eyes...
It was unbearably slow.
He simply reached out and caught its arm.
CRACK!
His grip was barely firm, yet the demon’s arm shattered apart as if it were made of brittle glass.
Kyle did not pause.
With the severed arm still in his grasp, he casually slapped the demon across the chest.
BOOM!
The impact hammered the creature into the earth, carving out a massive crater as dust and shattered rock exploded in every direction.
The detached arm remained in Kyle’s hand.
The terrifying aura pouring from his body did more than suppress the demon’s regeneration. Even the barrier enclosing the battlefield began to tremble and weaken beneath its crushing pressure.
The Knull resident could only stare in horror.
The human who had been nothing more than a gifted child a few moments ago had transformed into an unstoppable behemoth, a monster it could no longer hope to challenge.
"Y-You... you could have killed me from the beginning... but you chose to fight me instead... why?" the Knull resident asked, perhaps voicing the last question it would ever have.
Kyle stepped forward.
Looking down at the broken creature, he replied in a calm voice, "Blame the quest, not me."
He raised his right leg.
The demon never even had the chance to understand what had caused such an overwhelming shift in the battle.
Then, like judgment descending from the heavens, Kyle’s foot crashed onto its face.
BOOM!
The barrier exploded into countless fragments as a devastating shockwave swept across the battlefield.
The Knull resident was erased.
Silence followed.
Veronica stood frozen, unable to utter a single word.
The sight before her felt unreal.
A battle that had dragged on for several minutes, with Kyle being completely overwhelmed, had ended in the span of a few heartbeats.
He stood alone.
Victorious.
Her mind struggled to accept what her eyes had just witnessed.
But when Kyle turned toward her, the shock she felt was instantly replaced with concern.
His face was twisted in pain.
Every breath seemed forced.
He looked as though he was barely holding himself together.
"Please..." he muttered through clenched teeth. "Don’t let them know... I killed this thing..."
The moment the words left his mouth, he disappeared.
Before Veronica could even call out his name, he was gone.
Her eyes failed to catch even the faintest trace of where he had vanished.
Left standing alone, she silently stared at the corpse of the creature as the distant sound of hurried footsteps drew closer.
The reinforcements had finally arrived.
But now...
What was the point?
The battle has already been concluded.
....
"Haah... haah..."
Kyle didn’t even know how he had made it back home.
The entire journey was a blur.
He had known this would happen.
The moment Overlord wore off, the backlash would begin.
If not for the lantern still hovering above him and Golden Limb constantly repairing the damage, he would probably be rolling on the floor, screaming in agony.
Even then, the pain was unbearable.
His muscles convulsed violently beneath his skin. Thick veins bulged across his arms and neck as if they were about to burst. His face had turned deathly pale while ragged breaths escaped his lips, each one an exhausting struggle.
He clenched his fists and forced himself to stay conscious.
This...
This was madness.
Never in his life had he wielded such terrifying strength.
An enemy he could barely keep up with had become laughably slow within seconds. Every attack had looked predictable. Every movement had felt sluggish.
The difference was so absurd that part of him wanted to believe the entire battle had been nothing more than a dream.
The combination of Ethara’s enhanced blessing and Overlord had multiplied his power to an unbelievable extent.
Far beyond what his body had been built to withstand.
[Host, please remain dormant for as long as possible. The sudden surge in strength nearly tore your body apart. Had you not gained some control over Overlord and possessed your blessed state, you would have suffered severe injuries today.]
"Yeah..." Kyle muttered between labored breaths. "But... did I have a choice?"
Shaking his head, Kyle closed his eyes and rested his forearm over his forehead.
Despite everything...
Despite the consequences, the pain, and the risk...
He had cleared a rift by himself.
He had defeated a special grade.
A feat that would have sounded ridiculous to him not long ago had now become reality.
Yes, if Veronica thought about the battle rationally, she would probably keep the truth to herself. No one would believe what had actually happened, and exposing it would only raise dangerous questions.
But Kyle didn’t care.
Whether the world knew or not was irrelevant.
What mattered was that he now understood the upper limit of his own strength under the right circumstances.
With Ethara’s blessing and Overlord working together...
He believed he could even face a Sentinel.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
The thought no longer felt impossible.
Fighting a Sentinel had slowly become one of his goals. He had no intention of recklessly challenging one anytime soon. He still had a long way to go.
But for the first time...
The path toward that goal no longer seemed out of reach.
"Haah..." He let out a tired breath before looking toward the floating screen.
"Hopefully... that satisfied the quest."
[Indeed it did, Host. You have successfully completed the quest.]
Kyle grinned.
"Nice."
Ignoring the protests from his battered body, he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position and rubbed his hands together with anticipation.
"Now..."
"Let’s see what reward I got."
°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Imagine getting a box of tissues after all that shit.
Thanks for reading. If you have been enjoying the story so far, please drop a comment to motivate me.
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