Chapter 55 : Chapter 55

Chapter 55. Damned Annoying (2)

“Damn it…”

Bang! Kwaang! Thud!

“Why do I have to do this unpaid overtime?”

Patrick was fighting alone against a monster summoned from the demon world.

At first, he thought it was nothing special.

It was a guy who was leaking much more intense demonic energy than the black mage, but….

‘First strike wins.’

No matter how strong the enemy, if you chop off their head, that's the end of it.

Patrick’s sword, extending like a ray of light, struck the enemy’s neck. The head then fell to the ground, and it was disappointingly easy….

“Krggrgrgrgr…”

“Huh?”

This isn’t right.

That thought came to him the moment the enemy’s head, lying on the ground, glared at him.

And the enemy picked up its fallen head with its left hand, then summoned a jet-black sword by gathering black demonic energy in its right hand.

‘Wow, so there are guys in the world who can fight even with their heads chopped off. How fascinating. Ah… wait a minute? I think I know this.’

What came to Patrick’s mind then was an old story his mother had told him in his childhood.

A demon that mothers often used to scare their children, saying it would take away naughty kids.

A cursed being, a knight who had abandoned his honor, fallen into hell, and transformed into a demon.

The name of that demon, which fought with its own head in one hand and a sword in the other, was surely….

“Dullahan.”

“Kuaaaaaaaargh!”

The Dullahan let out a bloodcurdling scream and attacked Patrick.

Kwaang!

A terrifying strike.

As the black demonic energy exploded, a fearsome destructive power erupted from the tip of the Dullahan’s sword.

In terms of a knight, it was an attack with a destructive power that easily surpassed 6-star.

Patrick smoothly dodged it and delivered dozens of sword strikes to the enemy’s body.

Patrick’s sword strikes sharply penetrated Dullahan's body, but….

“This is…”

That was all.

Black smoke billowed from the Dullahan’s severed body and then sealed the body back together.

The Dullahan’s attack began again on Patrick, who was flustered by the regenerative ability that would put a troll to shame.

Bang! Kwaang! Pow!

A monotonous but terrifyingly destructive attack.

Moreover, it wasn't a random attack wielded by a mere monster; it had a certain discipline to it.

‘A monster that knows swordsmanship. This is quite novel.’

Patrick continued the engagement, parrying the Dullahan’s attacks.

The Dullahan’s attacks were powerful, but not enough to threaten Patrick.

In the midst of their exchange, all the hits were landed by Patrick’s sword, but the Dullahan was not intimidated in the slightest.

The warrior of death, with its terrifying regenerative power and ignorance of pain, was attacking Patrick with increasing ferocity.

‘It’s quite strong. Sanson wouldn’t be able to win. If it were April… Hmm, she shouldn’t be able to win. It’s normal that she shouldn’t be able to… But for some reason, I feel like she would win.’

In any case, it was fortunate that he had come to this place alone.

If he had brought the others, they would have been quite a hindrance.

He would win, of course, but it was certainly a tricky opponent to fight while protecting the youngsters.

At that moment, the Dullahan, which had been fighting Patrick for a while, pointed at Patrick with the head it held in its hand. Then….

“Kuaaaaaaaaaaargh!”

A sinister-feeling blue flame shot out from its eyes and flew towards Patrick.

“It uses magic too? A talented fellow, I see.”

The blue flames flying from all directions were more dangerous than powerful.

Realizing that it would not be good to be touched by them, Patrick responded swiftly.

[ Twin Dragons Eight Sword Forms

Fifth Form

Dragon Scale Whirlwind ]

As Patrick’s body spun, his sword energy, following his movements, rotated as if soaring from the ground to the sky, forming a whirlwind of sword energy.

The only defensive form of the Twin Dragons Eight Sword Forms, Dragon Scale Whirlwind.

Although a defensive form, it was also a form that possessed the aggressiveness of both offense and defense.

Papapapapapang!

The blue flames emitted by the Dullahan could not penetrate the wall of the whirlwind and fell away.

And when the whirlwind of sword energy stopped….

“Krrrgh?”

The Dullahan faltered.

The enemy that should have been in front of it was not there.

The enemy was not in the spot where it should have been after the whirlwind of sword energy disappeared.

At that moment, Dullahan felt it.

The shadow of something was blocking the sun from it.

When it reflexively looked up at the sky, there was….

“It’s the end.”

Patrick, who had soared into the sky on the whirlwind, was now falling towards the ground, crossing his two swords behind his back.

[ Twin Dragons Eight Sword Forms

Second Form

Great Dragon Cross Sword ]

It was the same attack he had used to defeat the King Ogre in the past.

Back then, he had overexerted himself to execute it, but the situation was different now.

He could freely use an attack with far greater power than before without worrying about suffering internal injuries.

A clear, enhanced ki formed on Patrick’s twin swords.

The blade of light, called an Aura Blade on this continent of Pangemonia, which could only be used upon reaching the 7-star level, the so-called pinnacle of mastery, formed on Patrick’s sword.

“Haaaaaap!”

Once horizontally.

Once vertically.

The power at the intersection point of the cross (十) formed in this way was more than ten times that of a normal sword strike.

And the Dullahan, standing precisely at that intersection point, had to face judgment from the great cross of light falling from the sky.

“Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!”

Crunch! Squeeeeze!

The Dullahan is a monster that can regenerate infinitely as long as demonic energy exists.

It has no vital points and no weaknesses.

However….

“I just have to make sure not a single piece of flesh or bone fragment is left.”

Patrick landed on the ground and said mercilessly.

The Dullahan, which had taken the full force of the Great Dragon Cross Sword that he had executed with all his might, disappeared without a trace.

All that remained was the earth, engraved with a giant cross-shaped scar, clearly visible even from the sky.

Patrick sheathed his sword with a satisfied expression and said.

“It’s been a while since I had a good workout.”

Following the King Ogre, a Dullahan.

Each of them was a monster that could cause a national state of emergency, but Patrick had already dealt with two such monsters.

The world did not yet know that such a monster existed in this eastern region.

Not yet, that is.

A moment later.

Only the brutally butchered corpse of the black mage remained in that place.

* * *

“The demonic energy is felt here, but…”

Patrick spread his sensory perception throughout Pilseu Mountain to search for the demonic energy.

The black mage was not a demonic practitioner, but his actions were similar to one.

There were two reasons why a demonic practitioner would kill people and commit cruel acts.

One was when their mind had gone crazy due to the demonic energy seeping into their very marrow, or when they were trying to augment their own power.

The life force of commoners, the innate qi of young boys and girls, the yin energy of virgins, and the yang energy of virgin men.

The tastes were varied, but in the end, harming people was to extract power from them.

In the past, a demonic practitioner from the Blood Cult had wiped out five villages inhabited by common people, and his purpose was to absorb their life force to refine a pill.

The act of that black mage was probably for a similar purpose.

“He didn’t seem to have lost his mind, so he must have had a purpose. It’s probably here…”

Patrick sighed as he looked at the scene before him.

In front of him was just a cliff.

He could feel a faint demonic energy from within the cliff, but there was no visible entrance.

“A formation… no, is it magic?”

It seemed that some measure had been taken for concealment. Usually, when one discovered something like this….

[Hahaha. It’s my turn. Step aside, you ignorant swordsmen.]

[Says the ugly one.]

[Seriously, how can you look like that?]

[Guilty by face.]

When Jaegal Hyeon would step forward excitedly, Patrick and his friends would grumble but would step aside.

In reality, there was no formation in the Jianghu that the Ugly Dragon Scholar could not solve.

But that ugly and smart friend was not here now.

So, what should he do?

“Well, what can I do?”

Patrick raised his swords in both hands and smiled sweetly.

“I’ll just have to break it with force.”

It was a moment when the belief that most of the world’s problems could be solved by beating them up shone once again.

Kwa-kwaang!

With a terrifying roar, a large sword scar appeared on the cliff. And what was revealed after the dust cleared was….

“Oh, so you were hiding it after all.”

It was a cave large enough for a large cargo wagon to pass through.

It seemed the black mage had used some trick to conceal the existence of the cave, but as expected, it could be solved by beating it up.

“I should check what’s inside and take care of it.”

Once the barrier or formation, whatever it was, disappeared, he could feel the demonic energy flowing out from inside the cave more clearly.

If something like this was left alone, it would definitely cause problems.

He had personally come all this way to prevent a situation where, for example, a jiangshi left behind by a crazed demonic practitioner long ago suddenly woke up and caused a massacre, hadn't he?

“Kuhuhu… I think I’m too nice.”

Says the crazy bastard.

In any case, Patrick entered the cave.

The cave was quite dark, but looking at the walls, there were some daily necessities, including a lamp that could provide light.

“So he was living here.”

The source of the demonic energy was further inside.

Patrick, cautiously entering while preparing for any possible traps, saw….

“A tree?”

It was a peculiar tree existing inside the cave.

The very existence of a tree inside a cave was strange, but this tree was strange at a glance.

A sinister energy was felt from the tree, and its leaves and stem were also reddish.

It was this tree that was emitting the demonic energy Patrick had been feeling.

“I’ve never seen this before. What is it?”

After being reborn in this world, he had learned some general common sense. But he had never heard of a tree as red as this.

“Should I take it and ask someone? But then…”

If he took such a suspicious item….

[Seize that man. He is the black mage’s subordinate.]

He couldn't say that such a thing wouldn't happen.

“I have no choice. Let’s just get rid of this cleanly.”

Patrick drew his sword.

As he said before, most difficult problems can be….

“Solved by beating them up.”

And Patrick’s twin swords drew a sharp flash.

Dozens of arcs of light, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal, crossed the red tree in front of him. And then….

-Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeek!-

“Huh? What’s this?”

Simultaneously with a sound like a demon’s shriek, blood gushed out from the severed section of the tree.

“What a creepy tree. What is this?”

A tree that bleeds?

He had truly never heard of or seen such a thing. The demonic energy gradually drained from the fallen tree.

Patrick was about to turn back after confirming that the tree was completely dead. But at that moment….

[Thank you.]

[Thank you.]

[Thanks to you, we have been liberated.]

“This is…?”

Faint voices were heard by Patrick’s ears.

They were the words of gratitude conveyed to Patrick by the souls that had been contained within this tree as they were liberated.

Patrick didn't know it, but this tree was a demonic beast that grew by taking root and absorbing the blood and souls of people dying within a certain area.

The black mage’s goal was to grow this, make it bloom, and harvest its fruit, but Patrick had come and cut down this tree before that could happen.

As a result, the resentful souls bound to the tree were liberated, and their spirits became free.

Each of the small orbs of light that rose one by one from the fallen tree was a resentful soul of those who had died unjustly.

They endlessly conveyed their gratitude to Patrick and disappeared.

Patrick saw them off with a calm gaze and comforted the resentful souls of those who had died unjustly.

“Go to a good place. Suffer no more.”

Patrick was not his Master, who would get hives all over his body if he couldn't perform a righteous deed, nor was he his father, who couldn't rest until he had helped someone pitiful. However….

“This is how I was taught, so…”

That was all.

He didn't know the value of good deeds or a great cause.

He was just taught this way.

The one to whom he owed a debt he could never repay in a lifetime told him to do so.

The parents who gave birth to and raised this body told him to do so.

So he just did it.

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