Chapter 161 : Chapter 161

Chapter 161

The 8-star magic Schtenberg Style, created through research on the Curse of Grotesquery.

[Curse of the Abyss.]

Based on the ‘Curse of Exploration,’ one of the hundreds of curses possessed by Grotesquery, Johannes perfected this new curse.

It was magic that didn't simply attack the opponent's body, but struck deep into their soul and spirit.

Those afflicted by the magic would be dragged to the deepest part of their souls, where they would confront the moments they feared most in an endless darkness.

Past wounds, traumas, and suppressed feelings of guilt would intertwine and torment them.

It was like.

[An infinitely repeating nightmare.]

Johannes never forgot the thrill he felt when he first created this curse.

The boundary between reality and hallucination would collapse, and one would become unable to distinguish which world they were in.

The soul, which every living being possesses, would gradually be chipped away in terror.

The pain would be comparable to having one's limbs slowly burned.

[You all have looked down on the realm of the 8-star.]

Whispering ominously, he approached the three Superhumans who had fallen under the curse.

Saaaa. Saa. Saaaaa.

Those who had crossed the wall by human standards.

A deep darkness was rising before their eyes.

Benzen Fiorellan, Escardo Schtenberg, and Killian Eurasia.

They stood in different places, but there was no difference in the emotions of fear and despair they were feeling.

[The boundary between reality and hallucination will collapse. Fuhuhu… You’re the fastest.]

Johannes’s gaze turned to the Arch Mage who had collapsed to the floor.

Benzen was looking around with a hazy gaze, as if trapped in a nightmare.

He instinctively shrouded his body in mana, but even that was wavering.

His hands trembled, and the scenery before him appeared distorted. The more he used magic, the deeper the curse's darkness dug in.

Escardo was not much different.

The middle-aged knight, with his eyes closed, was swinging his beloved sword around.

It was because the nightmares of his past had come alive to torment him.

The memory of his murdered family head, the reality of having to flee by wielding his sword when he had tried to raise his family, which had been nearly annihilated in a political struggle, with that same sword.

He was holding on with a strong will, but he too was gradually crumbling under the curse.

And.

[Killian Eurasia.]

Johannes stared at the darkness he had specially reinforced.

A barrier made not only of the Curse of the Abyss but also of several chain magics.

There was Killian Eurasia, his limbs bound.

[You surprise me.]

He was still resisting even within the curse.

The curse he had absorbed was not merely the Curse of Exploration, and the Divine Power he had absorbed through his sword was also not just one.

The Curse of Grotesquery and the Divine Power were clashing with each other.

What was surprising was that his mana was also not just one.

He had one forged Mana Heart, yet two types of mana, one blue and one violet, could be felt.

‘Did a being who hasn't even reached 8-star awaken a Trait?’

Johannes’s gaze turned to the pendant around his neck.

[A knight chosen by the Violet Magic Tower as well. I'm growing more and more interested in you.]

If he could uncover that secret, he would be able to understand the reason he had reached such a realm at a young age.

The more Killian Eurasia resisted, the stronger the curse became within his body.

Watching this, Johannes smiled with satisfaction.

[No matter what power you possess, you cannot escape the abyss.]

He raised his hand and strengthened the curse further.

Saaaaaaa.

The souls of the three men were stained by the evil energy, and they slowly lost their light in the deep darkness.

[Realize your powerlessness before the realm of the 8-star.]

Just as he was enjoying the three Superhumans' pain, his eyes glinting.

Escardo Schtenberg's body seemed to squirm.

Fwhoosh.

The sword he held cut through the empty air.

A simple slash, just like before.

The difference was that the sword was aimed precisely where Johannes was.

[…….]

Johannes fell silent at the unexpected situation.

He was resisting.

It was not a futile resistance like that of Killian Eurasia or Benzen Fiorellan.

Fwhoosh.

The sword, swung again, was closer to where he was.

[What is this.]

The darkness did not answer.

Johannes focused the evil energy he had distributed among the three people onto Escardo.

[What is it that allows you to withstand the curse?]

Then, the memories of Escardo, who had fallen into the abyss, began to appear clearly.

***

Simon Eurasia.

Unlike Escardo, who was at the 4-star, he had reached the 6-star.

There was no way he could be a match, either physically or in terms of experience.

Nevertheless.

“I am the young master of the Schtenberg Family!”

Escardo, who had difficulty controlling the fire in his heart, did not let go of the sword he was swinging until the end.

Even after pouring out the family's secret techniques that he had clumsily inherited and unleashing dozens of attacks, he could not inflict a single wound on him.

In the end, after swinging his sword nearly a hundred times and exhausting all his mana, he fell to his knees.

“If you keep acting up with that level of skill, you'll lose your life in no time.”

Simon said, sheathing his sword.

“What the hell do you know.”

“I know as much as others do. The story of a fallen family is perfect to go with drinks.”

“You bastard!!”

He tried to stand up, but a reflux occurred, making it difficult to even keep his balance.

Escardo, while staggering, glared at Simon Eurasia.

“I'll kill you…”

“Oh? Do you have the skill to kill me?”

“I will kill you…”

“You’ll just be a man of empty words. I plan to leave this place in two days.”

“……!!”

“My name is Simon. If you feel like challenging me again, come find me.”

After saying that, he left without looking back.

Escardo later returned to the inn where he was staying to recover, and it was then that he discovered an unexpected fact.

Although his entire beaten body was covered in bruises, not a single one of them was on a vital spot.

He belatedly realized that Simon Eurasia had been holding back.

Rage boiled inside him.

He quickly recovered and sought out the place where the man named Simon was staying.

Simon of the ashen mana, a man who sought out famous knights and mages to request a duel.

Since he was making a name for himself in the area, it was not difficult to find where he was staying.

Kwang!

A rematch with real swords.

Escardo found himself sprawled in a backyard he had never seen before.

“Are you incapable of learning?”

“What the hell do you know…”

“If I were from the Flandes Family, I would have ended your life. It's best to nip a future problem in the bud.”

“Don’t just spout nonsense…”

“You have the look of someone who thinks they’re the most unfortunate person in the world.”

Simon said, clicking his tongue in disgust.

“I have seen enough of the Schtenberg's sword. It's just a shame that the teachings were not properly passed down.”

“What…?”

“At most 4-star. You must have been 2 or 3-star when your family met its misfortune. At that level, it's difficult to perfectly replicate the sword of a renowned family.”

“……”

Escardo's face went blank.

It was something he had never thought of before.

He had forged his Mana Heart at a young age, trained with the sword from an early age, and learned the numerous Ke and Shik passed down in his family.

Even though his family had been ruined, he had reached the 4-star at the age of twenty, so he was more than worthy of being called a genius.

But the man before him.

The man who seemed to be born with even greater talent than himself, seemed to pity him.

“You'd be better off following me.”

“What… are you talking about.”

“If you stay here, I don't think you'll live long.”

Simon mentioned the rumors he had heard while wandering the continent.

“Didn't I tell you? Those who devour other families do not leave behind future problems.”

He said that while Escardo was wallowing in despair, unable to accept the reality of his fallen family and swinging his sword, the Flandes Family was likely preparing a justification to eliminate him.

“Unless you're a Superhuman who has crossed the wall, it will be difficult to save your life.”

Therefore.

“How about following me to the eastern frontier?”

“To a backwater like that…”

“There's no better place than a backwater to hide and train.”

“How do I know who you are to…”

“Simon Eurasia. The man who will become the future head of the Eurasia Family, and.”

The man who will become the king of the rebuilt Eurasia.

Also.

“The knight who will reach the 9-star.”

Escardo met Simon Eurasia's eyes.

Only then did he realize.

The emotion dwelling in his eyes was not arrogance, but confidence.

That he was the one who had looked down on the world and been arrogant.

“If you follow me, I will help you with your family's revenge later. When Eurasia goes to war with the Empire, we will have to fight a decisive battle with the Flandes Family as well.”

“……”

There was a strange resonance in those words.

There was no need to hesitate any longer.

The next day, Escardo quietly followed him.

Afterwards, he wandered the continent and the frontiers, watching him cross swords.

Simon said that he had lived like that since his teens to survive the threat of the family head competition, and that he was eager to overcome the wall in order to end the competition even a day sooner.

A few years that felt like decades.

By the time Simon, who had crossed the wall, returned to his family.

Escardo had become a 6-star knight.

“Now I can finally wrap things up.”

On the way back to the family, Simon calmly told him about Eurasia's past and present.

“I plan to rebuild Eurasia. To do that, there are a lot of people I need to cut down.”

The family head competition was a war that took place on the eastern frontier.

Escardo, who had stayed by Simon's side during that time, also had to shed much blood.

Was it because he too was one who could not protect the position of family head? Escardo did not hesitate to swing his sword.

Even after gaining control of the family, they had to deal with several frontier families.

He cut and cut again.

As he did so, he came to be called the Ghost Sword.

A moniker given to him for cutting down Simon's enemies as if he were a ghost.

He thought it wasn't bad, as it was similar to the color of his blood-red mana.

Thus, it took over a decade for the fallen royal family of Eurasia to become the hegemon of the eastern frontier.

“The family finally looks presentable.”

Simon said dryly at a drinking party one day.

“It has been a difficult path. Are you really thinking of confronting the Empire?”

“If we stop here, it will all come to nothing in the end. If that were the case, I wouldn't have started in the first place.”

Thud.

Simon, setting down his cup, suddenly emitted his Haki.

Escardo emitted his own Haki in response to prevent the reception room from collapsing.

“Congratulations on crossing the wall.”

“So you knew.”

“How long have we been sticking together?”

“From now on, you'll have to spend more time with the Matriarchs.”

“You say scary things.”

A few celebratory drinks were exchanged.

“Was crossing the wall influenced by overcoming your desire for revenge?”

“I can't say it wasn't.”

He had wandered the continent and the frontiers for no small amount of time.

In the process, he had cut down countless people.

Humans and other races who wielded mana, monsters who wielded evil energy, priests who wielded divine power.

There was not a single one who did not claim to be special.

“But we.”

Grin.

Simon, holding his cup, smiled.

“Will be the ones to bring down the Empire.”

“Us?”

“Am I wrong?”

“I have no choice.”

Twitch.

The corners of his mouth rising, Escardo raised his cup in response.

“I will help you with my humble sword.”

That day.

The two men formed a bond of brotherhood.

***

[Simon Eurasia.]

The Curse of the Abyss was no simple magic.

It simultaneously destroyed the opponent's mind and led their soul to ruin.

And the process was slow and painful.

While the soul was being eroded into darkness, one had to feel constant pain.

Ultimately, the one under the curse would be eternally trapped in the abyss and meet their end with their soul being extinguished.

[Truly a radiant being.]

He had not touched the power of Grotesquery, nor had he touched the power of a God.

The pure Karma he built up as a knight who trained in mana.

With that alone, he was a being who had reached a class that even those who had lived for hundreds of years could not achieve.

He knew now.

That the few heroes who left their names in history were born with a destiny like his.

[But not you, Escardo Schtenberg.]

No matter how brightly the memory of Simon Eurasia shines, he was still just a 7-star.

[Unless an 8-star knight is here in person, the curse cannot be cut.]

Just as Killian Eurasia, who was evaluated as the third sword of Eurasia, could not.

Escardo Schtenberg, the second sword, would be no different.

[All that will be left after being broken in the abyss is a body to be used as a test subject.]

He whispered and extended his hand.

A deep darkness descended before Escardo's eyes.