Chapter 62 : Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Erosion (4)

---

I finally found the dark mage’s real body.

Now I could focus entirely on the fight without wasting energy elsewhere.

‘His use of clones was creative, but he’s not skilled at deceiving opponents.’

If the dark mage had intended to keep his real body hidden until the end, the battle would have been much tougher.

He should have maintained a calm expression even if an attack was aimed at him.

If he had, I wouldn’t have been able to act with such certainty.

Thanks to that, I could eliminate all the clones—except the one trapped with Eidon—and face the dark mage in a one-on-one duel.

“You arrogant brat… you won’t die peacefully.”

The dark mage ground his teeth as he spoke.

His tone was completely different from the leisurely attitude he had shown at first.

The black demonic energy he had drawn to block my sword enveloped his body like reptilian scales.

And then, as if he were a martial artist, he raised his fists and glared at me.

His hunched, clumsy posture hadn’t changed, but I couldn’t attack recklessly.

Even the Branch of World Tree, imbued with the [Severance] tune, couldn’t cut through his defenses.

Charging in blindly would likely be futile.

“Do you think I can’t kill that clone? I could make it bite its tongue or smash its head into the ice.”

“Go ahead.”

I replied coldly.

I knew that even if the clone committed suicide, it wouldn’t trigger the tune’s effect.

[Painter of Deception] wasn’t that convenient a tune.

Its power only activated when the clones were killed by an opponent.

“Do whatever you can. I intend to do the same.”

“Arrogant punk.”

He was the type to fight by burrowing into his opponent’s psyche, slowly draining their will.

But that wouldn’t work on me, since I understood the principles of his tune.

Seizing the moment when we were at a distance, I unleashed [Flame of the Spirit].

Whoosh!

Blue flames, burning with intense heat, engulfed the dark mage.

I had been confident that those flames could burn anything, but they didn’t seem to affect him.

When the dark mage casually shook his burning hand, the flames that had caught on his scales quickly fizzled out.

‘There’s nothing like [Flame of the Spirit] for raw firepower, but it’s useless here.’

If it didn’t work, I discarded it.

I rushed toward him.

Kicking off the ground with my right foot, I closed the distance in an instant.

Clang!

My sword clashed with his arm, but it didn’t cut through and immediately, the dark mage’s fist came flying at me.

Whoosh!

The sound of his punch cutting through the air was audible.

Its power was beyond what I had anticipated.

I barely dodged by twisting my body at the last moment.

“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it? The demonic energy of this place makes me stronger.”

He was right.

The demonic energy saturating the erosion site was aiding him.

His posture was sloppy, but his fists carried undeniable strength.

He swung without bothering to guard or dodge, ignoring my attacks.

Even if his punches were haphazard, a single hit would likely crush my body with ease.

I buried my fear.

In this situation, there was only one thing I could do.

Right now, while Eidon was holding out, was when the dark mage was at his weakest.

And I had a technique honed over a long time.

A swordsmanship born from observing Adjak on the screen and refined under Tayon’s guidance.

Linked Sword.

I had to trap the dark mage in my flow, ensuring his fists couldn’t reach me.

I charged at him again.

I stabbed and swung at the dark mage with my sword.

He still didn’t bother defending.

Ignoring the attacks aimed at him, he threw another punch.

His fist came at an astonishing speed, but I didn’t frantically adjust my stance as before.

If he had no intention of blocking my attacks, I would pour them out without hesitation.

Clang! Clang! Claaang!

A barrage of sword strikes rained down on the dark mage.

Even if it was just a matter of trading blows, the flow was gradually tilting in my favor.

I could feel small cracks forming in the sturdy demonic scales covering him.

The mana in my sword was pushing back the dense darkness of the erosion.

The dark mage’s fist, now accelerated, flew toward my face.

I dodged by moving just enough to avoid it.

Crack!

The Branch of World Tree struck his right arm, which I had targeted the most, and the black mana surrounding it shattered and scattered.

I quickly withdrew my sword and struck the same spot again.

Then, a strange phenomenon occurred.

The surrounding demonic energy instantly rushed toward the broken scales.

In an instant, the demonic energy filled the gaps in the scales.

As a result, the Branch of World Tree got caught between them.

“Khahaha!”

The dark mage laughed with his mouth wide open and immediately swung his fist at me.

Thud!

I barely managed to withstand it by deploying [Intangible Armor] in time.

I drew up my mana. And I put all my strength into pulling out the trapped sword.

But the dark mage didn’t miss the opportunity.

He seemed surprised when his critical attack was blocked by the sudden [Intangible Armor], but he soon began flailing his arms again.

I couldn’t block all of the dark mage’s wild attacks at close range.

Each clumsy motion was imbued with the demonic energy of dark magic and Myeolji.

In the end, [Intangible Armor] shattered.

I was kicked in the side by the dark mage’s foot.

It was a comical kick, but the damage to the impacted area was severe.

It felt like my ribs were cracked, and I could barely breathe.

The Dragon Heart, as if enraged, drew mana from my heart.

The sound of my heartbeat roared loudly in my ears.

But listening to it strangely calmed my mind.

‘I was wrong. To think I could just attack a Sixth-Rank recklessly.’

According to Eidon, this dark mage was a Sixth-Rank.

A realm where one transforms mana to suit their traits, achieving strength far beyond the Fifth-Rank.

Even if this dark mage looked pathetic and fought in an odd way, he was still a being I couldn’t face head-on.

The methods I had used so far wouldn’t work against him.

I glanced at Eidon.

The demonic energy was slowly seeping into the ice coffin he had created.

If the coffin broke, and the dark mage’s clone died, there would be no chance of victory.

‘What should I do?’

In this desperate situation, as I looked around, grasping at straws, something caught my eye.

The demonic energy filling the surroundings.

If I could dispel the aura aiding the dark mage, even for a moment, it might create an opening to attack him.

If I could clearly materialize my mana, it would be easier to drive out the demonic energy.

But the realm of aura was still beyond my reach.

‘I can’t use aura… but I can’t give up here.’

I thought about my options.

No, there had only ever been one option.

I just needed to release more mana—overwhelmingly more mana.

My heart pounded fiercely in response to my will.

Soon, the dense darkness began to recede, and the surroundings grew brighter.

“You’re resorting to futile tricks!”

Realizing I was spreading my mana, the dark mage cackled and approached me.

Having noticed my condition deteriorate rapidly after a single successful attack, he blatantly looked down on me and charged.

I steeled myself as I watched him approach.

I couldn’t fight without taking a single hit.

But now that I had altered the battlefield with my mana, his situation wouldn’t be the same as before.

My sword and his fists clashed.

Instead of dodging, I focused on landing even one more strike.

The slashes drawn by my sword tip multiplied into dozens, then hundreds.

The dark mage’s punches weren’t flashy but were thrown with tenacity.

A fist struck my shoulder, and my knees buckled.

My mouth was already stained with the blood I had coughed up.

Still, I gritted my teeth and swung my sword, ensuring my grip didn’t weaken.

There was progress.

Several of the dark mage’s scales were damaged.

In some places, his gaunt bones were exposed.

But he remained defiant.

“It’s useless!”

He shouted loudly and spread both arms wide.

It was to repair his scales with the surrounding demonic energy.

But soon, the dark mage’s eyes widened.

My mana, pushed to its limits, was blocking the demonic energy’s approach.

I pulled my sword back with all my strength and thrust it into the dark mage’s now-vulnerable chest.

Crack!

The black scales were breaking.

I couldn’t pierce through in one go.

I pulled the sword back again.

The dark mage, realizing something was wrong, hurriedly brought his arms to his chest.

But it was clumsy.

It wasn’t a proper guard.

Merely covering his chest with his arms left too many openings.

I thrust my sword again.

The dark mage groaned.

But even this time, I couldn’t pierce his chest.

And I wasn’t in good shape either.

My arms, fatigued from the long battle, trembled faintly.

On top of that, I could feel that my mana, overexerted, wasn’t responding as I wanted.

How many more times could I thrust?

How many more strikes would it take to pierce those scales?

By now, the scales covering the dark mage’s chest were almost completely gone.

“Arghhh!”

“You, you lunatic!”

Both I and the dark mage roared as we continued the fight.

It wasn’t because we had strength to spare.

We were both at our limits, squeezing out every last ounce of energy.

Instead of calculating how many more times I could thrust, I needed to gather all my remaining strength and strike.

Slash, slash.

I no longer had the energy to shout.

Only the sound of my sword clashing against the scales echoed.

Was that enough?

Was it enough to just kill this guy somehow?

In the future, I would face opponents stronger than him.

I might manage to win this battle by some stroke of luck, but this method wouldn’t work against an even stronger foe.

I had to become stronger.

The moment that thought struck me, an image formed in my mind.

My mana filled the surroundings.

If I could gather this mana and condense it at the tip of the Branch of World Tree.

The mana scattered around responded to my will.

It gathered at the tip of the Branch of World Tree.

The demonic energy, previously pushed back by my mana, began to repair the dark mage’s black scales again.

But I didn’t look at him.

I stared at the tip of the sword I held.

The faint mana barely gathered at the blade’s tip.

But that mana carried a weight I had never experienced before.

Aura.

Proof that I had taken another step forward.

I thrust my sword once more.

The Branch of World Tree, imbued with aura, pierced through the repaired black scales and plunged into the dark mage’s chest.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.