Crack! Rector took a deep breath as he watched Archangel Ramiel falling, wrapped in lightning.
'His body moves as fast as lightning itself.'
After Ramiel enveloped himself in lightning, his movements became too quick to follow with the naked eye. Since Rector pursued the art of Ten Thousand Swords, he had expertise in Quick Sword techniques, but even with his swift blade strokes he found it difficult to track Ramiel.
'From the right?'
He sensed Ramiel's killing intent near his right collarbone. Desperately, he swung his sword to block the incoming lightning-charged fist. With a deafening crash, as soon as his blade met the lightning-wrapped fist, he felt an impact that threatened to shatter his shoulder and forearm.
'Ugh!'
Rector bit his lip, suppressing the scream that threatened to erupt from his soul.
'This is dangerous...'
Unbearable pain shot through his right arm, which had been injured by Ramiel when he tried to save Mustan. His grip nearly failed, almost causing him to drop his sword. With a sizzling sound, Rector bit his lip as he looked at his arm, which had turned black like an overripe banana.
'My arm won't move as I want it to.'
Ramiel's lightning remained embedded like thorns, refusing to dissipate. When he tried to force it out with his aura, it only burrowed deeper, intensifying the pain.
'Still, somehow I must...'
Just as Rector was about to erase Ramiel's lightning embedded in his arm, prepared for serious aftereffects, Ramiel appeared behind him with a crackling sound, moving at a speed that made it difficult for him to react.
'Where is he aiming?'
The enemy's speed was too fast, and he had approached while concealing his presence, making it impossible to know where he was targeting. With no time to spare, Rector had to choose just one spot to defend.
'His pride is wounded after his first attack was blocked. So then...'
He'll be thinking of killing me with this attack. Rector lowered his sword, positioning it in front of his heart. Fortunately, his prediction seemed correct as Ramiel's lightning-wrapped fist came rushing toward his blade. With a thunderous boom, as soon as he blocked Ramiel's fist with his sword, the powerful impact sent his body staggering backward like a sheet of paper.
His arm seemed to have lost all sensation; he only felt that he was forcibly gripping the sword.
'Is this the end?'
The impact from moments ago had caused the internal and external lightning to connect, rendering his right arm immobile. It truly seemed like the end.
"Master!"
As Rector gritted his teeth, Mustan let out a cry that seemed to push back the lightning. His disciple was calling out to him with trembling hands, as if begging him to return alive.
"Old man! Pull yourself together!"
Lawrence too had raised his fist, his usual bored expression replaced with alertness.
'Right. It's not over yet.'
Rector raised his trembling head with a blood-soaked smile.
'I need to keep those two alive.'
Even if he died here, he had to ensure that his disciple Mustan and Lawrence, whom he treated like a younger brother, survived and escaped this place.
'Besides, I can't die yet. It's been too long since I've seen the faces of my precious grandson and granddaughter!'
He had been collecting information about the Angels while attacking Derus's forces. Until he could pass that information to Raon and see that child's smile again, he absolutely could not fall.
'But holding out like this is impossible.'
Realistically, there was a huge gap between himself, pushed into a defensive position, and Ramiel, whose power was exploding beyond mere wholeness. Since he was already outmatched in terms of martial prowess, he needed to make a cold assessment now.
'I'll sacrifice my right arm.'
He transferred his sword to his left hand, turning his back while vowing to devour Ramiel's heart, sacrificing his right arm that wouldn't move properly and was beyond recovery. With a crackling sound, Ramiel appeared out of thin air as expected and brought his fist down toward Rector's right arm.
Despite knowing it was coming, the attack came at such tremendous speed that he couldn't block it. Instead of retreating, he offered up his right arm.
With a thunderous crash, immense pain enveloped his mind, not dulled but rather amplified beyond sensation. The extreme agony nearly made him lose consciousness.
'Endure it!'
But the pain wasn't deep enough to break his will.
"Grrr!"
Rector bit down on his molars so hard they nearly shattered as he thrust the sword in his left hand toward the sneering Ramiel.
'For a swordsman, hands are not what's most important.'
For those who have achieved Transcendence, the most important things are an unbreakable will and the Willpower built through the sword. Losing one arm would never be enough to make him fall. With a rumbling sound, Rector exploded with the aura and Willpower he had accumulated throughout his lifetime, pushing forward to pierce through the lightning shield and thrust his sword into the left side of Ramiel's chest.
With a crushing sound, Ramiel's flesh and bones crumbled under the sword as blood with a subtle glow poured out.
"Arrrrgghh!"
He let out a throat-tearing scream like someone feeling pain for the first time since birth, exploding lightning outward from his body.
'Damn...'
Rector bit down hard on his chapped lips.
'It didn't strike properly.'
Though he had managed to plunge his sword into Ramiel's chest, the powerful lightning the creature had unleashed prevented him from completely splitting or bursting his heart. It was only half a success.
"You insect!"
Ramiel grabbed the sword blade embedded in his chest. He surrounded his grip with lightning to pull out Rector's sword. However, with the aura-wrapped sword stuck in his heart, he seemed unable to exert his true power, as the lightning streaks were noticeably thinner than before.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Rector shouted that he would never let go as he planted his foot firmly. Pushing against the ground with his foot, he thrust his left arm holding the sword further forward. With a slicing sound, the bluish gleaming blade drove deeper into Ramiel's chest, causing bright red blood to spurt from his mouth.
"Guuurgh!"
Ramiel let out a deep groan as he hunched his upper body forward. Perhaps due to the pain, the strength began to leave the hand gripping the sword blade.
'Now. I must kill him!'
Just as Rector was twisting his waist, trying to slash through Ramiel's entire body with the sword that had pierced his chest, Ramiel seemed to regain his senses and gripped the sword with renewed strength. Bright yellow lightning erupted across the back of his hand, transmitting terrifying power.
'He still has this much power?'
Despite being unable to use his full strength due to his damaged heart, Ramiel was still this powerful. If he had been uninjured, Rector would likely already be dead.
"You insect!"
Ramiel glared at Rector, grinding his teeth. He gripped the sword blade embedded in his chest with such force that it nearly broke, declaring he would tear Rector's pathetic body apart.
"Mmmmh..."
Rector drew in a sharp breath, astonished by the monstrous strength Ramiel was exerting through his left arm.
'Is his physical ability fundamentally different from humans?'
He was thrusting his sword with the full force of ten thousand weights, yet despite the enemy's heart injury preventing him from exerting his full strength, it was still difficult to maintain his position. It felt like he was trying to pierce a mountain, not a person.
'Still, I absolutely cannot let him go!'
He had consumed much aura and Willpower to break through Ramiel's defense. If he let him go now, he, Mustan, and Lawrence would surely die. Ironically, to survive, he had to hold on with all his might.
"Huaaaaaaah!"
Rector let out a battle cry as he bent his knees. Using the momentum, he drove the sword half a finger joint deeper into Ramiel's chest, utilizing not just his left arm but his entire body.
'I must finish this somehow while he's weakened.'
Ramiel's heart was now about half destroyed. An ordinary human would have died long ago, but he was an Archangel. Unfortunately, preventing him from using his true power was all Rector had accomplished so far.
"Just die already! You leech!"
Ramiel raised his fist and struck Rector's face. There was a sound like a rock exploding, but Rector smiled without letting go of his sword.
"You've weakened. If that had been your original strength, my head would have exploded!"
Rector sneered as he concentrated his aura into the sword. The energy surrounding the blade expanded, splitting Ramiel's flesh and bone, causing blood and fluid to burst forth.
"Gaaaaargh!"
Ramiel screamed at the renewed pain, pounding Rector's waist with his fist.
"That's not enough to bring me down."
Rector smiled with blood-soaked lips as he continued to twist the sword.
"Graaah!"
Ramiel's entire body trembled as his regenerating flesh and bones were torn apart again. His once magnificent wings began to droop, soaked in blood.
"A mere human..."
He glared at Rector with fiery red eyes.
"How dare a mere human challenge an Angel!"
Ramiel gritted his teeth and raised his left hand, which wasn't gripping the sword blade, toward the sky.
"I shall bring true divine punishment upon you!"
As he lowered his hand, red lightning descended from the sky. With a thunderous crash, the crimson lightning poured down like a flash flood, enveloping not just Rector but Ramiel as well, causing a massive explosion.
"Kuherk!"
Rector coughed up blood as he bent his knees. Having taken the lightning's impact with his body, his skin burned black.
"Heh heh..."
Ramiel also seemed unable to completely avoid the lightning's impact, as blood flowed from his mouth. However, he curled his lips into a smile as he watched Rector suffering greater pain.
"A mere human could never withstand heaven's punishment."
He nodded as if to say he had expected this.
"But you're also taking damage, aren't you?"
Rector took a rough breath as he observed Ramiel's skin melting from the lightning.
"Of course. I cannot completely avoid the lightning either. But..."
Ramiel lifted his chin and sneered.
"I have strong resistance to Holy Power. You will be the one to die first!"
He raised his hand again, implying he could withstand such lightning indefinitely. With a rumbling sound, an even larger bolt of lightning appeared through the clouds at Ramiel's gesture.
"Graaaah!"
Rector gritted his teeth as he drove his sword deeper toward Ramiel's heart. But the creature's grip on the blade was too strong, preventing him from thrusting it all the way in once again.
"Keheheh..."
Ramiel seemed to have adapted to the pain now, dropping a second lightning bolt with a cold smile. With a thunderous crash, Rector gritted his teeth as he watched the lightning falling sharply like a javelin.
'Damn it...'
He couldn't dodge or block that! To defend against the lightning, he would have to release the aura suppressing Ramiel, but then the creature would immediately regenerate his chest wound, create distance, and easily kill him. Even if it meant dying from the lightning strike, he couldn't back down.
'Hold on! He must be nearing his limit too!'
Just as Rector was gritting his teeth, preparing to endure the lightning, two shadows appeared above his head with a sharp sound. With a thunderous boom, it was Mustan and Lawrence. The two of them raised their sword and fist, launching their own techniques against Ramiel's descending lightning. The collision made a deafening crash.
As Mustan and Lawrence's aura clashed with Ramiel's lightning, a pitch-black rift opened up, seeming to connect heaven and earth.
Unlike with Rector, however, the lightning began to overwhelm Mustan and Lawrence's aura, pushing toward the ground.
"Nnnngh!"
Mustan's sword arm trembled violently as if his body was being crushed by the lightning's pressure.
"Hold on!"
Lawrence tried to deflect Ramiel's lightning using the Reverse Wave Arts, but he was struggling since it was a technique composed of Holy Power rather than the bloody energy he had studied.
"Ah..."
Rector's eyes widened, as if he had never imagined Mustan and Lawrence would intervene in this battle.
"Run, run away! This isn't something you can block!
He shook his jaw, urging them to retreat.
"Would you run away if you were in our position, Master?"
"That's right. You'd have done the same, old man!"
Mustan and Lawrence gritted their teeth, standing firm against the lightning as if they would never retreat. With a whooshing sound, perhaps because their desperate determination resonated, the lightning finally lost its power and dissipated right in front of Rector.
"Insects remain insects no matter how many gather!"
Ramiel bared his white teeth, seemingly genuinely angered at being interfered with by Mustan and Lawrence, whom he had dismissed as insects.
"I'll scorch you all to ashes!"
As he lowered his hand again, dozens of lightning bolts poured down from the sky.
"Just block the far right! I'll handle the center and left somehow!"
Lawrence instructed Mustan while spreading both hands to block the pouring lightning with his entire body. With a thunderous crash, he refused to back down from the falling lightning even as his long hair burned and his skin was seared.
"Old man..."
Lawrence turned his eyes to Rector, curling his lips.
"Don't worry about us, fight to the end!"
He nodded, telling Rector to press on.
"Uaaaaaaah!"
Mustan, seemingly without the luxury to speak, let out a scream as if to encourage him.
"Thank you..."
Rector nodded and concentrated his aura into his sword.
'If I lose here, I'll be nothing but trash.'
Seeing Mustan and Lawrence blocking the lightning with desperate Willpower, a new revelation emerged in his stagnant Ten Thousand Swords technique. A new sword enlightenment. His entire mind—no, his whole body—became heightened like a sword, and a path appeared where his left hand could demonstrate the same skill as his right.
With a resonating sound, as Rector focused on this new enlightenment, the aura in his sword pierced through the white-hot Holy Power and began to dig into Ramiel's heart.
"Huh...?"
Ramiel's jaw trembled at the cold sensation of the blade penetrating deep into his heart.
"You, you bastard!"
Sensing his own death, Ramiel opened his life-source energy, causing eight wings to sprout from his back as golden lightning exploded, sweeping through the surroundings. With the most massive thunderclap yet, Mustan and Lawrence, who had been blocking the lightning, were violently thrown back and embedded into the fractured ground.
With a slicing sound, Rector also took a great impact while processing his new enlightenment, coughing black blood as he bent over. But despite taking the lightning with his body, he did not let go of the sword piercing Ramiel's chest.
"I never expected a mere human would draw out my true power."
Ramiel gritted his teeth as he looked at his eight extended wings.
"As payment, I'll kill you as miserably as possible!"
Muttering that he wouldn't kill him quickly, he stretched out his lightning-infused hand. With a tearing sound, Rector's chest split open and blood burst forth. He finally let go of the sword and collapsed to the ground.
"Guuurgh..."
Rector's left palm had its skin torn away, revealing raw red flesh. It was a wound that reflected his unwillingness to let go of the sword until the very end.
"Stubborn bastard."
Ramiel deeply furrowed his brow as he observed Rector's grip marks on the sword hilt.
"First I must let you know my pain. I'll tear out your ribs one by one."
Just as Ramiel stretched out his right arm to grab Rector's collar and lift him, a small swallow appeared above the pitch-black lightning-filled sky with a whistling sound.
"A swallow?"
As Ramiel squinted, fixing his gaze on the swallow, a red line appeared across his neck as he held Rector's collar. With a searing sound, the red line drawn on Ramiel's neck exploded with crimson heat, causing his body to split in half and fly backward.
"You, you are..."
Rector's jaw trembled as he saw the face of the swordsman who had cut Ramiel's neck and now stood before him.
"Why are you here...?"
"Please rest a little."
The swordsman lowered his hand, summoning a sacred black energy, and Rector's chest and shoulder wounds began to heal slowly. After completing the temporary treatment, he carefully laid Rector down.
"Huh..."
Rector sighed as he felt Ramiel's lightning, which had been weighing down and torturing his body, mostly erased.
"Golden Hair and Red Eyes. You're the one Derus mentioned..."
Ramiel glared at the face of the newly appeared swordsman while holding his torn-off neck in his hand.
"Shut your mouth."
Raon Zieghart. The master of the Light Wind Palace and the unrivaled talent who had earned the title of Sword Emperor through his own ability flashed his fierce eyes as he trampled the golden lightning.
"From now on, I'll show you who you've messed with."