The longsword that blocked the strike quivered with a metallic hum.
Heavy…
Just from blocking a punch, his arm went numb.
If not for Jun’s support magic, his palm might have been torn open.
“He’s at least as strong as a level 7. Be careful!”
Jun shouted, but Thaerdin inwardly shook his head.
No… that’s not level 7.
Thaerdin himself had been at level 7 for quite some time.
Even so, the enemy had blocked his aura-infused strike barehanded without flinching.
If not for Jun’s support spells, he wouldn’t have even scratched the guy’s arm.
“You are quite strong, benefactor.”
“……”
“I’d like to enjoy this longer, but now isn’t the time. I’ll go all out as well.”
A dark crimson aura surged violently around the Butcher Monk.
And just as he said, it became clear he hadn’t been fighting seriously until now.
Fast…!
As soon as the Butcher Monk vanished from sight, Thaerdin instinctively swung his sword to the right.
But he gave up trying to block.
[Shield]
[Enchantment Type: Support]
[Enchantment Spell: Strength Concentration]
Clang—!
Jun’s summoned [Shield] had been reinforced just enough to momentarily block the Monk’s punch.
It shattered like glass in an instant, but that moment was enough for Thaerdin.
He retreated and landed on the ground, immediately launching himself forward again.
Certain that he had caught the Monk off-guard before he could recover his stance, he swung his sword—
Thunk!
But shockingly, the Monk stopped the blade with just two fingers.
“What—!”
“Your sword is heavy, benefactor, but not heavier than the grudges I carry.”
Even Jun was inwardly shocked by the sight.
That monster… just how many has he killed?!
Even without eyes like Eleanor’s or Maya’s that could see souls, it was obvious.
The Butcher Monk had returned with [Blood Mountain Reincarnation] grown far beyond what it was the last time.
Carrying that much power should never have been easy, yet here he stood.
Clatter!
But Thaerdin wasn’t simply standing there in shock.
He was a knight who hunted down and executed the criminals of Blackout.
He was always prepared to respond, no matter what unexpected variables appeared.
In an instant, he drew the dagger from his belt and hurled it at the Butcher Monk’s eyes.
“Hmm.”
The Monk took a single step back, and for a moment, a tense standoff followed…
But it didn’t last long.
“First, I’ll take care of you, benefactor. Then I’ll repay my debt to the mage behind you.”
Jun’s supporting efforts for Thaerdin had been grating on him from the beginning.
Meanwhile, Jun had already caught on to the Monk’s intent.
I have to protect Captain Thaerdin no matter what!
It was fortunate that Thaerdin’s skill was so high. If not, the Monk would have split Jun’s skull in two long ago.
Captain Thaerdin is struggling more than I expected. Has that monster really reached Level 8?
But he didn’t seem complete yet.
Which, in a way, was only natural.
He hadn’t reached Level 8 by steadily cultivating pure mana to build a firm foundation.
It was clear he had forced his way past the threshold by advancing [Blood Mountain Reincarnation].
That means he must have weaknesses.
The [Blood Mountain Reincarnation] he wielded rapidly drained away whenever he failed to kill.
On top of that, this wasn’t an aptitude zone saturated with malice and energy.
Should I buy time?
To unleash a spell strong enough to harm the Monk, he needed preparation.
But asking Thaerdin to hold out alone for over a minute against him was impossible.
Alright, then I’ll endure it.
He had to half-abandon any hope of reinforcements from the prince’s side.
The distance was too great, and besides, the outcome of the assault itself was still uncertain.
If their allies abandoned this battle only to let an even greater disaster unfold elsewhere, it would be disastrous.
If only Eleanor were here, she’d have been a huge help.
But unfortunately, Eleanor wasn’t.
Which meant draining the Monk’s strength fell entirely to him.
Crack-crack-crash!
Even now, Thaerdin and the Monk clashed blow after blow.
Illusia. I’m counting on you.
Shrrrk—!
From this moment, protecting Thaerdin would fall entirely to “Illusia”.
With the [Shield] he had summoned buying time against attacks Thaerdin couldn’t react to, Jun prepared another spell.
[Enhancement: Memory Boost]
He cast the acceleration spell on himself, heightening his thought process, and began multicasting.
He focused on timing his spells precisely to catch the Monk by the ankle.
[Detecting Target]
[Mana Guidance]
[Target Lock]
He overlaid the Butcher Monk with modified tracking magic designed to pursue opponents as swift as a viper, then unleashed a barrage the Monk could not possibly dodge.
[Lightning Whip]
[Ice Spear]
[Fireball]
[Earth Burst]
[Air Bomb]
[Grease]
Yet the Monk proved why Jun called him a monster, effortlessly breaking through every spell.
He seized the lightning-charged whip barehanded and tore it apart.
The ice spear shattered under a single, spike-like punch.
The fireball, exploding right before him, became fuel for his momentum as he pressed Thaerdin harder.
And that wasn’t all.
The instant mana gathered into the earth, he stamped forward, detonating it underground to disrupt the pattern.
The air bomb burst in midair, only to be countered with a mana-infused shockwave from his fist.
He’s moving that violently, and yet [Grease] doesn’t even affect him?
Truly, a monster.
Jun gritted his teeth, but the situation wasn’t dire.
Fortunately, Thaerdin still showed no signs of fatigue and even seemed to have regained his composure.
It meant their original plan to stall for time against the Monk was still working.
“You are troublesome indeed. So, you intend to delay me, benefactor?”
Of course, the Butcher Monk was fully aware of it.
His mission this time was to escalate the incident even further.
Sword Soul… a shame I can’t see you in person.
If possible, he would have faced him directly, but Sword Soul was likely too busy protecting the imperial members at the front.
He shouldn’t have been stalled this long by just two people.
“Hoo…”
With that, the Butcher Monk began channeling [Blood Mountain Reincarnation] once more.
“Asura Salvarta.”
Thick killing intent oozed down from his massive fists.
Sensing something ominous, Thaerdin leapt back, widening the distance between them.
Regardless, the Butcher Monk focused solely on the energy gathering in his fists.
The power that had elevated him to Level 8 was now being used to shape the killing intent.
[No Mercy in Slaughter]
A punch extended. It was agonizingly slow.
In that moment, Thaerdin felt as though death itself had taken form and descended before his very eyes.
Th-This is…
Even though they were still far apart.
So far, in fact, that it should have been a distance for arrows, not fists….yet it felt like that punch was already right in front of his nose, sending a numb shiver through his entire body.
A fist containing guilt heavier than death itself. So powerful it seemed nothing could possibly stop it.
A technique formed by pure killing intent condensed into aura. Something only a butcher so deeply familiar with murder could produce.
Standing before it, Thaerdin bit his lip until it bled.
“I’ll take it…!”
There was no escape.
It felt as though his entire body had been bound just like when facing Tobias, the Vice Captain of the Heavenly Dragon Knights, and his overwhelming pressure.
This technique was structured similarly to a kind of spell, and Thaerdin summoned his mana in response.
“I’ll show you. There’s no such thing as an unavoidable death!”
That long-standing wall of Level 7.
Recently, after watching Tobias fight up close, he had felt powerless for quite some time.
But if he had bowed down to that small difference in power, he never would’ve even dreamed of surpassing the Blackguards Captain who hunted down the most heinous criminals of Blackout.
Aura surged into the longsword in his hand.
And not only that… he poured even his very will and spirit into the blade.
Something that should have been impossible.
The difference between a Level 7 and a Level 8 warrior was often defined by whether or not one could manifest their will into form.
For Thaerdin, who was still at Level 7, such a feat was beyond reach.
And yet, at this very moment, cracks began to appear in the wall of Level 8 that had blocked his path.
It wasn’t just some fleeting fluke.
It was the culmination of years spent gazing at that wall, the effort to break it, and the fury over his fallen comrades.
And finally—
Steel…!!
Jun’s eyes locked onto Captain Thaerdin as he observed the standoff between the two.
As someone who held sway over the surrounding area, Jun could clearly sense it.
The metallic mana swirling violently around Thaerdin.
He’s manifesting a metallic element within his willpower? That should still be impossible at Captain Thaerdin’s current level!
Sure enough—
The aura surrounding Thaerdin, an illusion-like projection of his inner will, was distorted and hazy like static.
I have to support him!
If that projection collapsed, Thaerdin could suffer a critical injury.
Jun racked his brain, desperately trying to find a way to support the captain.
This mana… it’s a different kind of intensity from Tobias, Vice Captain of the Heavenly Dragon Knights…!
While Tobias crushed his opponents with the sheer weight of compressed mana—
Thaerdin was like solid steel.
A will forged from the need to remain unshaken, no matter what happened.
To match that, Jun strengthened the enchantments and reinforcement spells already placed on Thaerdin. Then, on top of that, he began chanting a spell to spread metallic properties throughout the area.
[Iron Rampart]
Steel walls erupted from beneath the sand, enclosing the battlefield on all sides.
[Iron Fist]
[Multicasting]
He even drew on the power of “Illusia” and instantly conjured dozens of [Iron Fist]s before launching them at the Butcher Monk.
The Butcher Monk shattered the [Iron Fist]s with nothing more than the shockwaves from his advancing step.
But that didn’t matter.
Thaerdin’s mental image, now one with his sword, merged seamlessly with the metallic mana Jun had summoned. Like water blending with paint.
[Will Manifestation – Path of Iron]
Thaerdin stepped forward.
It was nothing more than a single step, but the result was anything but ordinary.
The Butcher Monk’s brow twitched.
It was only natural.
Even with Jun’s support, Thaerdin had been seen as inferior….yet here he was, breaking free from [No Mercy in Slaughter]
In the slaughter the Butcher Monk had created, that single step of rejecting death was far from meaningless.
And then, the moment both of them swung their sword and fist—
As if it had always been that way, their forms passed each other in an instant.
Even Jun, who had been focusing mana into his eyes, lost sight of their movements for a brief moment.
At last, a victor emerged between the two.
“Golem!!!”
The golem Jun had summoned charged straight at the Butcher Monk.
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