Chapter 772

Chapter 772

My World Is... (7)

Tak.

The sound of light footsteps echoed, yet the air instantly grew heavy.

The high priest of the Salvation Church was an old man dressed in a black robe.

He was gaunt, and his complexion was as pale as that of a sickly man, yet the pressure he exuded was heavy enough to crush a mountain range.

Grrrrrraaaaaaagh!

The monsters now rushed toward the priest. Without a black mage to control them, they no longer distinguished between friend and foe.

“Pitiful vermin...”

Kwaaaang!

As the priest released his energy, the surrounding monsters were torn to shreds and vanished.

Kyle, who had been confronting him, also staggered several steps back from the sudden shock.

He was quite exhausted at this point. Though he had attained enlightenment and reached the realm of a Transcendent, he wasn’t in a condition to continue fighting for long.

That was why, even a light impact that he normally would have withstood easily had pushed him back like this.

The priest scrutinized Kyle closely before speaking.

“So, you were hiding your power after all.”

“......”

“You’ve been conserving your strength, fighting just enough until someone stronger showed up. And now, unable to endure any longer, you’ve revealed your true skills.”

“......”

“To think you possess such swordsmanship and can also wield magic and command spirits. Truly remarkable.”

“......”

Kyle didn’t respond. It seemed the opponent had only just arrived after making various assumptions on his own.

It was fortunate, in fact. Had he shown up earlier, Kyle might have been killed before even reaching this state.

The priest slowly circled Kyle as he continued speaking.

“That magic—you can’t use it anymore, can you? If you could, you’d have used it already, right?”

“......”

Kyle stifled a chuckle.

He already knew the Salvation Church was trying to conserve their strength as much as possible.

Through Ismogen, he had learned just how cautiously they moved. Even in the Elven Forest, the Salvation Church wouldn’t have engaged unless they were certain of victory.

But the fact that he remained cautious even in a situation like this meant this one was particularly suspicious by nature.

The priest raised his hand and gave a sinister smile.

“You seem quite worn out now. Then again, even I would be exhausted if I had fought like that.”

Paaaaaah!

At his fingertips, a dark shape twisted into a sharp spear.

It soon launched straight at Kyle.

Kwaaaang!

The massive spear of darkness pierced the ground.

With an explosion, the earth split open and rocks erupted.

“Kh!”

Kyle twisted his body and barely rolled aside to evade it.

In his exhausted state, the destructive force was too much to face head-on. Kyle had no choice but to be extremely cautious to avoid taking a direct hit.

Seeing Kyle like that, the priest laughed.

"Yes, yes. You're definitely exhausted."

Kyle still gave no reply, quietly raising his sword once more.

The priest was now certain that Kyle was spent. Neither his breathing nor his movements resembled those of a normal Transcendent.

Even so, he didn’t engage Kyle directly.

‘There might be another hidden trick.’

That was why he kept his distance, continuously releasing energy. His intent was to wear Kyle down even further.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaaang!

Kyle couldn’t even dare to approach, forced to roll and dodge the attacks.

‘Damn it...’

From the standpoint of buying time, it wasn’t bad—but as far as the fight itself was concerned, it was the worst-case scenario.

If only the opponent came closer, he might find an opening to exploit, but the priest showed no intention of doing so.

This was the most troublesome aspect of fighting someone overly cautious and suspicious. Such people held back until they were certain of victory.

To the exhausted Kyle, this was a particularly difficult opponent.

Kwaaaaang!

Dozens of waves of black energy rained down like a storm.

Kyle moved quickly, but dodging them all was impossible.

In the end, he had no choice but to block some with his sword.

Kwaaang!

With a powerful shockwave, part of the energy rushing at Kyle was dispersed. But in his depleted state, he couldn’t block them all.

Paaaak!

A sharp burst of energy pierced Kyle’s shoulder. Another sliced through his side.

The sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking rang out simultaneously.

“Grrgh...”

Kyle gritted his teeth. Blood surged, and his vision blurred, but he didn’t stop.

Clinging to his fading consciousness, he batted away the mana and charged forward. In a situation like this, closing the distance first was his best option.

Kyle launched a series of relentless attacks to prevent the priest from regaining composure.

Slaaash!

The first strike cleaved the air. The second sliced the priest’s robe.

And the third...

Sgak!

Even if only shallowly, it cut into the priest’s body.

“You wretch!”

The startled priest reached out with his hand.

Thung!

With a dull sound, Kyle’s sword was knocked away.

Weakened, Kyle couldn’t hold on. Immediately after, the priest’s hand reached out again.

Kwaaaang!

The black energy struck Kyle’s body dead-on.

‘Ah...’

His body was flung into the air.

A few ribs seemed to break, and the horrific pain made it impossible to breathe.

He had hoped to hold out a little longer, but his off-balance body was helplessly hurled back to the ground.

Thud!

“Kegh... guh!”

Blood spurted from his mouth, staining his lips.

His mana was now completely depleted, and his arm hung limp, likely broken. His legs wouldn’t move properly either—he couldn’t stand.

His entire body felt heavy, and his heart pounded as if it would burst. He couldn’t even curl a single finger properly.

It was only natural. Kyle was already in a state where it wouldn’t have been strange for him to die.

He had only managed to move a bit more by reaching the realm of a Transcendent.

Now, the priest was approaching with a relaxed smile. He was certain that Kyle had reached his limit.

‘…Is this really the end?’

Lying on the ground, Kyle was overwhelmed with a deep sense of despair.

His body had already accepted that he could no longer move, that this was truly the end.

The priest, who had come up to him without him noticing, looked down and raised his hand.

“I don’t know who you are, but you were truly remarkable. If you had led an army, you would’ve been terrifying.”

The priest meant every word. If someone who could fight like this alone had led an army, how formidable would that have been?

It was truly fortunate to be able to kill such a dangerous figure here and now.

Goooooh...

A powerful energy began to gather in the priest’s hand. To make certain of the kill, he held nothing back.

Kyle could only watch with dimming eyes.

He needed to move, but he had no strength left.

He knew better than anyone—this was the end.

‘Still… I did well.’

Darkness slowly settled over his broken body.

His eyelids, weighed down by exhaustion, grew heavier.

Beyond his fading vision, he faintly recalled the image of the dwarf children who had escaped.

Those small, helpless ones—those children who had been crying—were now alive.

That was enough.

Soon, memories of those he had been with flowed through his mind.

Julien, Deneb, and Astion, who had been with him since childhood.

The rugged mercenaries who had laughed and fought alongside Kyle in the harshest battlefields.

Dark, gruff and noisy, but always by his side.

And...

“Ghislain.”

That name escaped his lips like something shattering.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the one who had led Kyle this far was Ghislain.

Thanks to Ghislain’s efforts, he had gained the power to protect others and had ultimately reached the realm of a Transcendent.

How could he not be grateful?

The memories of those people gently warmed his heart.

The sorrow of not being able to see them again wrapped around him.

But he had done his best. He had given it everything he had.

Though his body had fallen, his spirit never wavered.

This was not a powerless death—it was a death that protected someone.

And for that, Kyle could be content.

‘My role… ends here.’

With that thought, Kyle forced a smile.

The priest did not like the look on his face.

“To think someone about to die would smile.”

It was as if Kyle were mocking him. In a situation where begging for his life in fear wouldn't have been enough.

That was why the priest drew up even more energy. He intended to reduce him to dust—leaving not even a corpse behind.

Just as the priest was about to deliver the final blow—

Paaaaah...

From far away, like the first light of dawn—

A sacred energy, serene and overwhelming, burst forth—more divine than anything before.

“...What is this?”

The priest paused and lifted his head.

He knew instinctively—this was neither ordinary magic nor typical divine power.

It was something far greater.

And in that brief moment of hesitation—

A brilliant wave of light swept across the battlefield like a crashing tide.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaah!

The light surged like a storm, engulfing everything in its path.

The dark energy the priest had gathered shattered the instant it touched the light.

“Graaaargh!”

The priest's body was engulfed in holy flames and began to burn.

At the same time, Kyle’s eyes slowly opened from where he lay collapsed.

‘...This is.’

A faint smile spread across his blood-soaked face.

‘Deneb.’

He could feel it instinctively.

This was Deneb’s divine power.

This warm, all-embracing divinity—he had only ever felt it from her.

‘You... did it too.’

He didn’t know what had happened. But one thing was certain—a tremendous miracle had reached her, allowing her to release such overwhelming divine power. And that filled him with pride and joy.

Kyle embraced the pain weighing down on him once again.

His bones screamed in agony, but he could move—just a little.

The divine power that had swept past had healed some of his wounds and restored a bit of his vitality.

“Grrgh...”

Kyle gritted his teeth and forced strength into his trembling arms.

His mana was still completely drained—but the fact that he could move again was what mattered.

Gasping for breath, he formed a faint smile at his lips.

“Hey... let's go one more round. I’ve still got one last thing to show you.”

“Grrrragh! You bastard!”

The priest glared at Kyle with a twisted expression.

Even if only for a moment, he had been wracked with tremendous pain. A significant amount of his energy had burned away.

And he had no idea why divine power had suddenly swept through the area like that.

‘It definitely radiated from the direction of Valskrum’s center. Did something happen?’

That was where the two Prophets were fighting. There was no way they would fail.

But facing this monstrous divine energy had undeniably shaken him.

‘I need to kill this guy quickly and go confirm it.’

Only then could he decide whether to flee or continue fighting.

“Die!”

The priest surged forward, drawing up his energy and rushing toward Kyle.

The opponent had exhausted all his strength. Thanks to the divine power that had brushed past, Kyle could barely move.

So, the priest intended to smash his skull—to ensure he was truly dead.

No more miracles.

Paaaak!

The moment the priest’s hand reached out, Kyle instinctively ducked.

But he couldn’t completely dodge it.

Kagagagak!

The black energy slashed across his back like lightning, tearing chunks of flesh from his body.

Kyle endured the pain and gripped his sword tightly with both hands.

He couldn’t keep fighting. He had neither the stamina nor the mana left.

So, he had to deliver a critical blow with this one attack.

‘This is… the final strike.’

Twisting his body, Kyle raised his sword.

The rotation began at the tips of his toes, carried through his waist and into his shoulders.

Drrrrr!

His mana was long gone. It was just an ordinary sword now—but Kyle didn’t care.

— "Using mana isn’t everything. You have to read the flow of the world. If you follow that flow, you can cut through anything."

Ghislain always said that.

Back then, Kyle hadn’t understood. Truthfully, he still didn’t fully comprehend it even now.

But he could faintly see the path.

He could feel the grain of the world at his fingertips.

And all it took to sever it was a single blade.

Paaaaaaak!

Kyle’s sword rose in an arc, cutting skyward from below.

It was no ordinary slash—it was a desperate blow, fueled by every ounce of resolve and despair he had endured up until now.

“Kraaagh!”

The priest, his body sliced deeply, screamed in agony, and stumbled back.

More than the pain, it was the shock of the impossible that rattled him.

“H-How... without mana...?”

With a normal sword, devoid of mana, Kyle had cut the body of a Transcendent. It was something that defied the priest’s understanding.

Even if he’d been weakened by divine power, this was unthinkable.

A sword technique he couldn’t comprehend. A willpower he couldn’t grasp. A situation beyond his reason.

All of it brought terror to the priest.

Paaaaah!

Black smoke billowed furiously from the wound that split his body.

The priest clutched at the injury. Normally, such a wound would have healed quickly, but the lingering divine power made recovery slow and difficult.

“Grrrrgh…”

The priest glared at Kyle with bloodshot eyes.

He couldn’t comprehend how someone on the verge of death could still be standing and fighting like that.

Even now, Kyle was staggering, sword still in hand.

The priest clenched his teeth. His body wasn’t in perfect shape either—but he was still in far better condition than Kyle. One more attack would be enough to finish this.

Just as he gathered his energy to move again—

Puff!

A flash of light burst from the sky.

The priest lifted his head in confusion—only for his eyes to widen.

Within that light, a figure dropped like a bolt of lightning.

Kwaaaaang!

In an instant, a hand seized the priest by the throat and slammed him into the ground.

Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

With the sound of bones grinding, a deep trench tore through the earth.

Overwhelmed by tremendous force and speed, the priest was crushed into the ground and dragged along helplessly.

“Kraaaaagh!”

His scream echoed across the battlefield. He had no idea who had struck him—all he could do was endure the pain threatening to snap his neck.

When he finally regained his senses, he saw the man who had pinned his throat—

The man who had fallen from the sky—Ghislain—spoke with a chilling expression.

“Is it fun picking on someone weaker?”

“W-Who…?”

The priest blinked, flustered in that moment of shock.

He had no idea who exactly this “weaker one” was supposed to be.