Chapter 782

“W-What?! How is this possible?”

Acheron was genuinely shocked by what he was witnessing. He had pulled Siegfried’s soul into this realm that he had created within his consciousness. The Inner World: Realm of Consciousness was made using the power of his will embedded within the iron gates.

In other words, this world was not reality but rather a domain created by Acheron.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

However, Siegfried was actually defying Acheron’s will in this place created within the latter’s consciousness? This was something utterly incomprehensible, an impossibility.

Well, it wasn't exactly impossible.

Siegfried's actions were possible if his willpower was greater than Acheron’s. If that was true, then Siegfried could do more than just resist Acheron within the realm that the latter had created within his consciousness.

He could actually devour Acheron.

“Siegfried van Proa...” Acheron turned his gaze back to Siegfried, who was grinning amidst the flames.

A mere Adventurer. He was not a Master, nor was he anything special. He was just an oddball with a peculiar skill set, and in Acheron’s eyes, he was nothing more than a trivial human he could crush at any moment he wanted.

And yet, the insignificant man was standing there, laughing in defiance. All while he was being engulfed in the Flames of Nightmare, a force known for its ability to shatter the minds of any sentient being.

“Impossible... Are you telling me that your willpower is stronger than mine? Stronger than I, Acheron, the one destined to become the creator of a new world?” Acheron muttered in disbelief.

Siegfried smirked and snapped his fingers.

Snap!

The flames engulfing him and the shadowy hands reaching out from the darkness both dissolved into nothingness, completely vanishing into thin air.

“This?”

Siegfried snapped his fingers again.

Snap!

Shwiiiik!

Scarlet tentacles shot out from the darkness and wrapped themselves around Acheron.

“I-Impossible! H-How can a wretch like you have a stronger will than me?! How?!” Acheron shrieked, his voice filled with panic as the tentacles constricted him.

“I’d be embarrassed if my will were weaker than a delusional madman going around trying to become a god.”

“Y-You insolent—!”

“Kneel.”

Siegfried’s voice rang out throughout the abyss. It sounded calm yet there was an air of authority to it.

Shwiiik! Shwiiik!

The tentacles tightened and forced Acheron to his knees.

Thud!

Acheron’s knees struck the ground.

“...”

Rendered speechless, Acheron knelt before Siegfried, unable to process what just happened. Never had he imagined that he'd suffer such humiliation in a realm he had created with his own consciousness.

He attained immortality through the Emerald Tablet and had been living for centuries since then. His mental fortitude far surpassed that of any ordinary human, so much so that it rivaled even dragons, the most powerful sentient beings on the continent.

Yet here he was, overwhelmed by the willpower of a mere Adventurer.

“This... this is absurd...” Acheron muttered in disbelief, his voice sounding hollow and defeated.

“Why? Do you think life has been easy for me?” Siegfried asked with a chuckle while enjoying Acheron’s defeated gaze. He was no stranger to struggle. He had endured countless trials thrown at him by both the game and reality, and he had emerged from them as a hardened man.

However, his true strength lay in his resilience.

Fueled by an unrelenting will to persevere and an unrivaled competitive spirit, Siegfried’s mental fortitude was a force to be reckoned with.

It was this very trait of his that led to Deus choosing him as his disciple.

“Now then... How should I bind you?”

Siegfried skillfully manipulated the tentacles to restrain Acheron, binding him tightly.

“How does this look?”

With the tentacles adjusted, Acheron was bound in a very humiliating pose.

“...”

Realizing the disgrace and humiliation awaiting him, Acheron began to fade away. He had decided to retreat before his pride could suffer any further humiliation.

“This won’t happen in the real world,” Acheron hissed as his form dissipated.

Poof!

He vanished.

“

Tsk...

The bastard ran away,

”

Siegfried clicked his tongue in disappointment.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to stop him. This was Acheron’s realm. While Siegfried’s willpower was superior, it wasn't enough to prevent Acheron from escaping.

When Acheron disappeared, the surroundings peeled away.

“Kyuuu!

Owner punk!”

Siegfried opened his eyes to find Hamchi tugging at him and screaming.

Creak...!

The iron gates that were firmly shut by Acheron’s will swung open.

“Let’s go.”

“

Kyu!”

Siegfried stepped into the door, and the door slammed shut behind him, separating him from the hands that were trying to grab him.

“

Phew...!”

Siegfried finally let out a sigh of relief.

“What happened just now, owner punk?

Kyuuu!”

“

Hmm?

”

Siegfried smirked at Hamchi’s question.

“I had a little chat with Acheron.”

“

Kyu?”

“He’s a psycho. A complete lunatic.”

“You just realized that?!

Kyu!

No sane person would try to destroy the world!”

“Good point.”

Siegfried shrugged and moved forward. And just as he did earlier, more iron gates appeared, blocking his path.

“Open.”

Just like what Deus had done, Siegfried commanded the gates to open. One by one, the gates opened with ease. This was proof that Siegfried’s willpower had already overpowered Acheron’s.

Eventually, Siegfried arrived at the final iron gates blocking his path.

“Open up,” he commanded the gates to open.

Creak...

The gates opened, and Siegfried saw someone standing on the other side.

The figure was completely motionless.

“Master Shakiro.”

Siegfried came face-to-face with Weapon Master Shakiro. The Shakiro, who was brought back to life by Acheron and was now serving as a Cardinal of the Church of Osric, the Weapon Seeker.

***

“This is as far as you will go, Siegfried van Proa,” Shakiro said. His voice sounded calm yet firm as he stared deeply at Siegfried.

Floating around Shakiro were a huge variety of weapons, and they were ready to strike at any given moment. The sheer presence of his aura made it clear that he was not bluffing here.

“Turn back and prepare to embrace the new world,” Shakiro commanded.

Siegfried shook his head and replied, “That is not an option for me.”

“Then are you choosing death?” Shakiro asked in response.

“Please come to your senses, Master. You are not someone who can be manipulated by a cult like the Church of Osric,” Siegfried implored.

“Is that all you have to say?” Shakiro asked with not a single change in his expression. Then, without hesitation, he gripped a sword in his left hand and an axe in his right.

Siegfried clenched his fists and thought, ‘

I guess there’s no way around this. I will have to fight him. But... can I even win?’

He knew just how strong Shakiro was better than anyone else. The Weapon Master was not merely powerful; he was on an entirely different level, as he had transcended the boundaries of ordinary combatants.

Since their last encounter, Siegfried had grown considerably stronger, but he still felt like Shakiro was an insurmountable wall.

However, retreat was not an option. He believed it was his duty and responsibility to bring Shakiro back to his senses, or if it came to it, stop him permanently.

“I know you remember me, Master,” Siegfried said.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Whoever I was in the past holds no relevance to who I am now. I am the Weapon Seeker, the Blue Cardinal of the Church of Osric. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Very well, then. I guess I have no other choice.”

Without another word, Siegfried infused his Blood Frost Orb with mana.

Rumble!

A chilling frost burst forth, enveloping him in a glacial aura as ice shurikens materialized in the air, circling around him like a deadly storm ready to shred anything and anyone that dared to get near it.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The shurikens spun faster and faster, guided by Flying Sword.

“I’ll help you, owner punk!

Kyuuu!”

Hamchi took out his magical wheel and ran on it, buffing Siegfried.

Fwaaaah! Seuruk!

Siegfried placed down both Blaze Field and Shadow Hell at the same time. He even activated the third stage of Overclocking to add more buffs to himself.

However, he was not done yet.

He cast Wave of Suppression and Elemental Shower to debuff Shakiro. He also activated Eraser Swarm to deal even a bit more damage. He knew he was up against an individual far more powerful than him, so he could not afford to hold back.

“Come, Siegfried van Proa,” Shakiro called out, and his voice remained firm and unwavering. Then, he activated his own Flying Sword skill and commanded the arsenal of weapons floating around him to orbit him, transforming into a violent storm.

‘Speed and precision. That’s my only chance,’

Siegfried thought as he charged forward.

He knew this was not the final battle.

He had to end this swiftly if he wanted to complete the quest, "Pursuit and Annihilation."

Siegfried lunged forward with his +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp transformed as a lance, and he unleashed Lightning upon his opponent, Weapon Seeker Shakiro.

***

Shakiro was no easy opponent—no, he was beyond formidable that "overwhelming" was the right word to describe him as an opponent.

Despite the numerous debuffs on him, his combat prowess barely faltered. He moved as if the debuffs were minor inconveniences he could easily shake off, and he fought effortlessly as though he was unaffected by the debuffs.

However, the debuffs were not useless.

Siegfried would have been obliterated in mere seconds if it hadn't been for the debuffs.

Clang! Clang! Clang

Their weapons viciously collided in mid-air, and their movements were a blur; they were too fast for the naked eye to follow. Each strike was meticulously calculated; they struck with razor-sharp precision, as even the smallest mistake could be the difference between victory and defeat.

Even with his storm of ice shurikens, Siegfried failed to restrict Shakiro’s movements. His mana radiated with such intensity that the shurikens couldn't even get close to him.

What about the radioactive energy from the Eraser Swarm? Useless.

And then there were Shakiro's weapons, nearly a hundred of them. They attacked Siegfried from impossible angles, forcing him to devote all of his focus to defending.

In other words, the momentum of the battle was in Shakiro’s hands.

‘

I’ll lose if this continues!’

Siegfried realized that he was in a pinch. He transformed his +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a shield and attacked out of desperation, slamming Shakiro with full force.

Baaam!

The impact sent Shakiro flying, but even as he was streaking across the air, he didn't lose his control over the battle. He landed gracefully and slid across the ground, maintaining his footing with ease.

Shakiro’s combat instincts were as sharp as ever, even though his memories had been erased.

“It is futile,” Shakiro said, sounding calm as he prepared to attack again.

But then...

“...!”

Shakiro hesitated, and his eyes narrowed after noticing a change in Siegfried.

The ice shurikens orbiting Siegfried shifted. Their forms twisted and reshaped themselves into swords, axes, spears, and shields, an arsenal of weapons forged from frost.

“That’s... the Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain,” Shakiro muttered, and his voice was tinged with awe. He immediately recognized the skill as the ultimate form of the Torrential Flower Rain.

Siegfried infused his mana into his Blood Frost Orb, creating aura weapons.

“You’ve mastered it,” Shakiro said.

“Yes, the technique you taught me is now complete,” Siegfried replied.

“So, it seems that I was your teacher.”

“Yes, Master. You are one of my mentors.”

Shakiro seemed to waver for a moment as a flicker of emotion crossed his face, but his expression hardened once more.

“Even if you are my disciple, I cannot let you pass.”

“I understand,” Siegfried replied. Then, he added, “I never asked for you to let me pass so easily.”

“Then so be it.”

Shakiro raised his mana to its peak, and the weapons around him transformed into aura weapons.

Wooong!

The weapons spun faster, forming a maelstrom of raw energy.

Whoosh!

In response, Siegfried’s frost-forged arsenal of weapons moved faster and faster, creating an icy hurricane. Two powerful storms were brewing, and the two warriors were finally done with their preparations for the final clash.