Chapter 1914
A chilly white sword energy flowed through the small space. It was a structure that prevented the dragon from spreading his wings.
[You are ephemeral. It is a pity that you are so obsessed with trivial things.]
Trauka and Hayate were at the same eye level. Trauka, who polymorphed into a human being, even sealed away his innate energy and magic power. That alone made the dragon killing space lose its value.
“Did you not consider our counterattack? The dragons, who regained their duty, will gradually become organized and efficient. We won’t hesitate to invade human nations and cities if necessary. The half-draconians and other creatures will add strength to our efforts.”
A burn-like wound spread across Trauka’s hand as he stroked the white sword energy. That was it. Hayate’s dragon killing energy became even weaker. It was because in the previous battle, he resisted Raiders’ ‘rewind’ ability while expanding his mental world and consuming Origin True Energy to pierce Trauka’s heart.
The present Hayate was far from a perfect state. It was much more than Trauka, who had suffered a series of battles and received considerable wounds.
“You should’ve prepared for a great war, rather than sacrificing yourself to save a few people and one dragon.”
It wasn’t wrong. Hayate was a strategic weapon. As long as he existed, most dragons wouldn’t be able to act rashly. However, he insisted on taking the lead against the unbeatable Old Dragons. He became worthless. In a word, it was a dog’s death.
“I’m glad you are stupid. I will use your death as the starting point to establish the right order.” Trauka slashed at the sword energy.
Hayate rushed in like he had been waiting. He swung his sword and plunged the Dragon Killing Sword into Trauka’s exposed chest.
“Do you think you can beat me in that condition?”
“That is a stupid question.”
Trauka snorted and slammed his sword down. He didn’t even care about the sword stuck in his chest. He might’ve sealed his magic power to resist the Dragon Killing Sword, but his endurance and resilience were intact.
Hayate’s sword failed to cut through Trauka’s muscles and ultimately failed to reach his heart.
Evasion, counterattacks, and collisions were linked without any time difference. The attacks of the Absolutes who secured a distance had basis and confidence thanks to their insight. It was done immediately and all the swords produced the desired results. Strategies were meaningless.
Hayate’s body flew like a cannonball.
Trauka’s stab contained the power of a meteorite. If Hayate hadn’t twisted the sword to defend himself, his chest would’ve been pierced and he would’ve died immediately. Hayate crashed into the sword energy barrier and crashed down. Trauka was chasing after Hayate when a gust of wind blew at Trauka’s feet. It was the aftermath of the dragon killing energy created by Hayate’s defensive sword.
A foot pierced through the storm and trampled on the afterimage left by Hayate. Hayate rolled over and stabbed Trauka in the waist with the sword held in reverse. It was the feeling of stabbing metal, not flesh.
Hayate corrected the sword that stopped while digging into Trauka’s waist and rotated it once. Then the sword managed to dig a bit deeper and touched Trauka’s pelvis. It was very hard. It was to the point where the sharp edge of the Dragon Killing Sword, made by Grid, disppeared to a certain extent.
Then Hayate’s face exploded. It was the aftermath of being hit by Trauka’s knee. To be exact, it only grazed past his ear but the wavelength created was like an explosion. Hayate’s face was red as his life was saved by just three centimeters. Blood splattered from his ripped ears that were swept away by the wind pressure and splashed on his face.
After that, hundreds of attacks and defensive moves were exchanged repeatedly. Every time Hayate’s sword blurred, three or four light wounds appeared on Trauka’s body. Hayate was clearly superior in swordsmanship.
In the end, Trauka’s whole body was covered in blood and it wouldn’t seem strange for him to die soon. However, he moved smoothly without letting out a single groan. The wounds shedding blood were healing in real time.
On the contrary, Hayate’s body became heavier and heavier despite having few wounds. The tip of Trauka’s sword grazed Hayate’s neck before blooming like a flower.
Trauka changed the shape of his weapon on the fly. A hideous hook was stuck in Hayate’s neck. It tore through arteries and muscles and clung to his neck bone.
“Cough...!”
Hayate couldn’t get rid of the hook. The moment this came out of his neck, his whole neck bone would be ripped out and he would die. He desperately followed Trauka and swung his sword. Trauka’s sword bloomed like a flower and struck again and again until the tip was broken.
At this point, all of Hayate’s ribs were broken. It was impossible for him to handle the power of Trauka’s fist at close range without the dragon armor.
“Ephemeral things are always persistent. But what does it mean?”
In the end, Trauka grew tired of the sight of Hayate breaking his sword and trying to survive. He clicked his tongue while pointing to the sword energy around him that was fading.
The flashing white sword energy—the energy of a Dragon Slayer contained in it was as precarious as a candle on the verge of extinguishing. It also meant Hayate’s remaining vitality. Soon, the only Dragon Slayer in history would die.
“You said to me... I am... obsessed with trivial things…” Hayate opened his mouth while clutching the hook stuck in his neck bone.
His pronunciation was inaccurate due to the blood that filled his lungs and throat. Hayate felt that his internal organs and his spine were severely damaged. Since all his ribs were broken, his upper body bent over and swayed like a marionette whose strings had fallen. Nevertheless, his blue eyes didn’t waver.
“...It isn’t trivial... My mission is...”
Today, Hayate realized time and time again that the Old Dragons were truly monsters with infinite power. It was very hopeless. Therefore, he reflected on his role even more. It was a role he could reflect on thanks to meeting Grid and letting go of his fears.
Dragon Slayer—he was completed in order to destroy a dragon.
“You...?” Trauka noticed that Hayate had completely gray hair and reflexively stabbed him.
A hole pierced the bright red shirt. The completely out of focus eyes captured the blade piercing his chest.
The only Absolute among human beings—he was supposed to be an example to all so his body was always straight and upright. Now he tilted over terribly.
Flinch!
However, a chill went down Trauka’s spine. The sword held in Hayate’s completely collapsed hand—it was because it touched his heart. It was a sword attack with a terrible power that stopped without being able to cut his skin. Even so, Trauka somehow got goosebumps.
“......!”
Trauka’s eyes were bloodshot as he frowned.
Just then, blood gushed out of his eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. Hundreds of wounds were carved on his body. The large and small wounds, which had been mostly healed except for a few, were moving unevenly. It was the aftermath of Hayate’s sword that injected the energy of a Dragon Slayer into Trauka’s body.
It was thinner than a hair. It was an extremely small, secret weapon made on the assumption that an Old Dragon, which was infinitely large and difficult to fight against, was the enemy. It made the huge body irrelevant.
It pierced the target’s body and flowed through the blood vessels. In the process, it tore open all the wounds inflicted on the target and finally touched the Dragon Heart.
“Gasp...!”
Trauka felt a sharp blade piercing his chest. Cracks quickly occurred. The sealed dragon energy and magic power started to leak out.
“...Kuaaaaak!” In the end, Trauka couldn’t stand it and screamed. The pain of turning the magic power, which started to flow through his whole body due to the forcibly loosened seal, being turned into dragon killing killing energy was so unbearable that even an Old Dragon who had lived for eons couldn’t bear it.
“You...! How dare this ephemeral bastard...!!”
Trauka went on a rampage. He struggled to immediately get rid of the source of this terrible pain.
“I will burn your soul!!!”
Hayate was unable to escape the hand that Trauka swung randomly. He was already immobilized, so he was helplessly grabbed by the neck.
The light in Hayate’s eyes was completely gone. It was hard to say that he was still alive. In fact, it was like hitting a corpse.
Trauka’s anger became even stronger as he was filled with shame.
“This bastard!”
It happened as Trauka was about to break Hayate’s neck... The space of the dragon killing energy, which had been completely shaking for some time, disappeared without a trace. At the same time, two men emerged from the shadow beneath Hayate’s feet like they had been waiting.
One was Faker, who activated the shadow technique.
“Yooooou!”
The other person was Sword God Biban. His expression was distorted more terribly than Trauka, who was roaring and shedding bloody tears. He stabbed Trauka in the chest with the Broken Sword and expanded the size of the sword.
“Ku... ock!!”
The landscape around Trauka quickly changed.
After passing through dozens of mountains and rivers, as well as several wilderness and seas, he finally crashed into a desert. The whole desert shook and a huge sandstorm raged. Trauka realized that the situation wasn’t positive. He regained his form and raised his head above the storm.
Biban could be seen flying toward him.
[You’ve lost your fear!]
The blood-soaked Breath and the tear-soaked sword intersected. The endless chain of shock waves caused desert sand to soar into the sky. In the end, sharp cliffs were formed throughout various parts of the desert and lava seethed below them.
The yellow sand that stained the sky yellow gradually turned red. It was too red to be interpreted as being heated by Trauka’s fire. It was too much to interpret it as being wet with the blood that Biban spilled. Each grain of sand too numerous to count was emitting a red glow.
“Who dares to disturb my child’s rest?” A chilly voice was heard in the burning desert.
***
“......”
Faker’s expression was stiff.
Hayate’s body in his arms was strangely light even though it was limp. It was as light as a child. It was as if all the blood and intestines had drained from his body.
“...Shit.”
Faker shook his head to shake off this eerie delusion and returned to the Tomb of the Gods. The gray ash left a trail. They were particles oozing out of Hayate’s body.
“Hayate!”
The situation didn’t change even after arriving at the Tomb of the Gods. Hayate was disappearing. All types of potions and healing spells had no effect. It was because he had already been declared dead.
He had become an Absolute with a human body. Therefore, he was noble, but weak. He was different from the Old Dragons, who were endowed with a tenacious vitality. He was different from Marie Rose, who took the life force of others. He was also different from the gods, who were eternal unless they were forgotten.
He wasn’t as evil or selfish as Baal, who reigned with fear and secured infinite lives. This was the reason why—
[The Goddess of Light, Rebecca, is descending.]
He was loved by the Goddess.
A holy being who cared for the poor—the divinity that came from the golden sky blessed Hayate. It was despite the risk to herself.
[The guardian of the world is appearing.]
There was a roar that shook the earth and the image of the Goddess in the sky tilted. The blood she shed made people witness the transparent scales of the Refractive Dragon.
Soon, the two beings left.
[The world has overcome the crisis of destruction.]
The world message emerged.
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