Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Lin Winterbell and I charged toward the red-haired man at the same time. It was an instinctive move, knowing that the strongest man here was him.

The wolves of Winterbell already knew whom to sink their teeth into first. Either we killed that man here, or we would be the ones to die.

“You dumb little brat! You should be going all in like your life depends on it, so stop hiding your strength and go full force!”

“You’re one to talk! Quit babbling and fight properly!”

We slashed our swords at him simultaneously from his left and right.

Clang!

With barely a flick of his wrist, the man neutralized our attacks without so much as a flinch.

On top of that, we were sent flying backward. Even with a body blessed by Winterbell, it was impossible to withstand the man’s raw strength.

The difference in level was painfully clear.

As I adjusted my posture midair, I activated the 7th-tier enhancement magic, ‘Bloodflame Body Reinforcement.’

By concentrating mana and stimulating the heart, it accelerated my entire bloodstream, making the blood in my body boil—a type of reinforcement magic. The longer my body remained in this state, the more explosive its power became.

And now, my body had grown far stronger than before. I originally could only maintain this for thirty minutes, but now I felt confident I could last two hours without issue.

“Is that all the name Winterbell amounts to?”

As the red-haired man swung his sword, a crimson blade aura shot forth.

I was certain that taking a direct hit from that would mean death. I kicked off the ground and leapt, narrowly dodging the man’s attack.

“And who are you to bear the name Winterbell?!”

“……”

The man’s expression twisted. For some reason, my words seemed to have struck a nerve. Lin Winterbell brought her greatsword down, infused with aura.

Boom!

It was a powerful strike, but the man easily knocked it aside by swinging his sword upward. Then, without pause, he closed the distance and punched Lin Winterbell in the abdomen.

Thud!

“Guh!”

With a dull sound, Lin Winterbell rolled across the ground. But she quickly got back to her feet and glared at the man.

“Did you ask who the hell I was to bear that name?”

“Why should I care? You lunatic bastard.”

Killing intent flared in Lin Winterbell’s eyes.

Winterbell Greatsword Style, Form One.

Falling Thunder.

The blade, coated in blue aura, came crashing down like a lightning strike.

Crackle!

The cold aura that burst out as the technique was unleashed reached the man’s body—but he swung his sword without hesitation. As if to say he could endure this level of cold all day long.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The man kept swinging his sword at Lin Winterbell relentlessly, and though she grit her teeth and counterattacked, the wounds on her body only continued to multiply.

“You son of a bitch! Quit standing there watching and do something! You want to see me die?!”

I did think that watching her die wouldn’t be the worst thing… but in this situation, if I lost her, my own chances of survival would plummet.

“Can’t you shut up and just fight?”

Of course, I wasn’t standing idle either. Using the enhanced speed of my body, I quickly closed the distance.

I aimed Behemoth at the man’s back and slashed—but his reaction speed far exceeded even my enhanced physique.

“!”

Crazy.

Was that really a speed a human could reach?

I couldn’t begin to guess how strong he truly was.

Aunt… No, how the hell had that damned woman summoned a monster like this?

‘Is it even possible to kill that thing without using Makina?’

When the red-haired man stomped on the ground, everyone’s bodies froze for a moment. He had released mana through his foot to shock the earth.

Back in the days of Van Descartes, I had fought opponents who used that kind of technique a few times…

But right now, I couldn’t even respond. I hadn’t imagined he’d use something like that.

It was because I’d grown complacent—possessing both the absolute authority of Makina and the Winterbell body had made me less cautious than before.

“Pandemonium.”

What the hell was he talking about now?

“This world will be ruled by Pandemonium.”

Before I could even question the sudden nonsense—

An overwhelming amount of mana erupted from his entire body. Just the release of that energy twisted the ground around us and sent tremors through the air.

Even with my entire body reinforced by Bloodflame Body Reinforcement, a pain like being sliced by blades surged through me.

This was dangerous.

Seriously dangerous.

Could I dodge it? No, impossible.

Then…

…Should I use Makina?

The ether—the essence of destruction and creation.

To block an attack of this magnitude, there was no choice but to activate my Makina, which bore the properties of Ether.

But…

Lin Winterbell was beside me. Activating Makina in front of her wasn’t a good idea. I still had no intention of revealing that I was Deus.

Of course, even if I did activate Makina, she likely wouldn’t immediately figure out I was Deus…

Still, I didn’t want to take that risk if I didn’t have to.

There was no time to hesitate. I had to make a decision.

It was then—

“Shit. I'm seriously gonna die at this rate.”

A storm-like force exploded from Lin Winterbell’s entire body. A bluish glow flared in her eyes right after.

‘What is this?’

A freezing storm coiled around her whole body.

Before I realized it, both her eyes and hair had turned a shimmering blue.

“Winterbell Style—Final Technique.”

“……”

“Snow’s Intent.”

Chwaaaa!

Centered around her, freezing air began to spread rapidly, and the ground froze over at an astonishing speed.

At the same time, the red-haired man finished his preparations and swung his sword in a wide arc toward both of us. A crescent-shaped blade aura surged out in an instant.

“Die, wench of Winterbell.”

“Kiss my ass.”

An aura like that of a goddess of snow, cold and noble.

Completely different from the usual rough image she gave off. But since that foul mouth of hers hadn’t changed, there was no doubt it was still Lin Winterbell.

When she swung her greatsword upward, the air along its path froze solid.

The two attacks collided.

Lin Winterbell rolled across the ground, coughing up blood—

But she had successfully blocked the attack.

The red-haired man’s face twisted in irritation.

“Desperate flailing. Damn Winterbell.”

He had been showing intense hostility toward Winterbell this whole time.

Why the hell was he so obsessed with hating them?

“Did you have a falling-out with the Winterbell family?”

“Falling-out? Did you just say ‘falling-out’?”

The red-haired man asked with visible emotion.

It seemed clear from how strongly he reacted that he had some kind of connection to the Winterbell family.

“You have a bit of an inferiority complex, don’t you?”

The moment he heard my words, the red-haired man’s face twisted into that of a demon.

“Inferiority complex? You're calling it an inferiority complex that those bug-like bastards couldn’t recognize true talent?”

Just as I suspected.

For whatever reason, that bastard harbored an inferiority complex toward the Winterbell family.

Emotional agitation.

I didn’t miss that opening—I drew out every last drop of mana and reinforced my entire body. The explosive force ripped through me, and my body screamed in agony, but that didn’t matter now.

This time, I wouldn’t be using Winterbell-style swordsmanship.

I would use the technique Van Descartes had frequently relied on.

A sword style built not for power, but for speed and pinpointing the vital spots.

Phantom Frenzy.

Chwararararak!

The essence of swift blade technique unfolded in my hands. A flurry of sword strikes poured out endlessly, like illusions. But they weren’t mere illusions. The afterimages were just a result of overwhelming speed. Every single one of my strikes was a killing blow—not a feint.

“Looks like you're just lashing out harder because of that inferiority complex, huh?”

“You filthy insect, running your mouth like that!”

“Oh, I get it now. You're from a branch family, aren't you?”

“……”

He didn’t respond. Which meant it was likely true.

If I had to guess, he was probably from a branch family who dreamed of making a name for himself as a Winterbell knight, only to be looked down on or discriminated against for not being from the main line. That probably led to resentment and revenge—he left the family and… joined some shady group to get back at them or something. A petty reason like that.

“You got kicked out of the family and now you're out for revenge, huh? So you joined that Pandemonium group or whatever to get even. Right?”

“Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.”

The red-haired man, his eyes rolling back in fury, swung his sword violently. I also met him with full force, but the gap in raw strength was overwhelming. Every time our swords clashed, my bones and organs howled in pain.

‘Not yet. Not yet. Just a little more. Just hold on a little longer.’

I activated both Bloodflame Body Reinforcement and Great Heavenly Bloodflame Art at once, maximizing their effects. I didn’t know what kind of side effects I would suffer afterward—maybe pain so severe it could threaten my life. But right now, I didn’t regret this decision at all.

If I didn’t survive here, it was over anyway.

The blood coursing through my body felt like molten lava. It was as if magma flowed through my veins. My entire body burned. Every heartbeat felt like it set off a flare of fire throughout me.

My perception of the world began to accelerate. Time slowed. Everything around me started moving in slow motion.

The only one still moving fast was the red-haired man. But even he wasn’t moving like before. I had finally caught up to his speed. How long could I maintain this?

I figured five minutes at most.

Still, even temporarily, I had gained speed and strength on par with him. That was enough. Worth the cost of sacrificing my body—and worth the time it bought.

There was no way I could kill that man in my current state, even if the sky came crashing down.

My role was to throw him off for just a moment.

And, if possible, to land even a slightly threatening wound.

One step. Two steps.

Bang! Bang!

Each time I kicked off the ground, a sonic boom echoed through the air. Faster. Even faster.

The strongest secret technique I loved using most back in my days as Van Descartes—

“First Annihilation.”

The principle was simple.

Pour everything into a single strike, accelerate explosively, and pierce the vital point like a flash of lightning.

In theory, it was simple—but pulling it off was anything but. I had spent five long years developing this technique.

“!”

My sword finally connected.

The red-haired man’s right flank split open, and dark red blood poured out. Smoke rose from the wound. This time, the fire-attribute energy imbued in my blade had worsened his injury.

“You son of a bitch…”

When the red-haired man slammed his sword into the ground, my body froze—I couldn’t move.

‘What… is this?’

A binding sword technique?

Right after that, his sword came slashing toward my neck. But I didn’t move.

Because I saw Cecil appear behind the red-haired man.