Chapter 205: The Darkness of Duaat (1)

“Humans participated in the Great War of the Spirits and Gods? Ramine, you never mentioned that.”

[You didn’t even know that gods and spirits had a war in the first place.]

At that, Karyl shrugged lightly.

“Well, there aren’t many records of spirits in human history. In any case, for the Five Great Spirit Kings, including Duaat and Rasis, to be sealed away by the gods... I’m surprised you went down that easily.”

[It’s a past well behind us.]

“But I didn’t know humans were involved in that defeat. Seems like there’s a lot I don’t know...”

Crack—

Karyl twisted his neck from side to side. Blood was still dripping from his collarbone, which had been shattered by Duaat moments ago.

“Ptooey!”

Karyl then spat out a blood clot and wiped his lips before saying, “It’s not just any past. Even if the humans of the past did that, it’s still a human act. Is that defeat the reason the Spirit Realm disappeared?”

[I can’t deny that.]

“Why didn’t you mention such an important thing?”

[What difference would it make?]

Ramine’s flames flickered, appearing to reflect his state of mind.

“There is a difference.”

Karyl tried casting a healing spell on the wounds inflicted by Duaat, but the healing light radiating from his hands was quickly suppressed by the surrounding darkness and failed to exert its full power.

“This is important. I don’t know how humans caused the defeat of the spirits, but I’m different from those humans.”

It seemed that Duaat’s dark energy was suppressing Karyl’s mana.

“Damn it!”

After a few more attempts, Karyl eventually gave up and waved his hand dismissively.

“If you follow me, this time we will succeed.”

[What nonsense are you spouting? A Spirit King under a human? It’s absurd. Ramine, have you finally been deceived by a human’s silver tongue?]

Duaat glared at Karyl. The bandages covering his face had been slashed by the Freezing Talon, revealing his expression more clearly than before.

[Me? Not at all.] Ramine shrugged. Whether it was a trick of the light or not, the image of the flame giant seemed clearer than before.

[Do you really think that I, after witnessing thousands of years of history, would be swayed by a human’s words?]

[...]

[I didn’t submit to his words. I submitted to his power.]

BOOM—!!

CRASH—!!

At that moment, Duaat was flung much further back than when Karyl had been thrown earlier. He barely managed to block the attack by lifting his hands. The Jamadhar, which was trembling violently, managed to hold off the Freezing Talon, but Karyl’s assault wasn’t over yet.

[This is...]

The energy emanating from Karyl’s entire body began to strip away Duaat’s dark energy, tearing through the darkness. The black flames of the spirit were being consumed by Ramine’s flames coming from Karyl.

[Dragon mana...?!]

Ramine seemed pleased as he felt the intense mana flowing from Karyl’s heart.

[Now you remember? This is the same power that stopped you before, the power of the Flame Dragon.]

WHOOSH...!!

Karyl gripped Agnel tightly. Concentrating Ramine’s flames into the dagger, the fiery blade extended to match the length of the Freezing Talon. The magic blade solidified, giving Agnel the appearance of a long sword forged from red steel.

CLANG—!!

As the two blades crossed, a sharp sound echoed through the air.

[...]

Paying attention to Karyl’s movements, Duaat rotated the blade of his Jamadhar upward.

CLINK—!

When he reached out, the Jamadhar embedded into the ground flew back into his empty hand.

SWISH...!

Black energy spewed forth from the blades on both his arms, and thorn-like spikes sprouted from the extended blades.

[Be careful. Wounds inflicted by his blade can’t be healed with mana.]

“And you’re telling me this now?!” Karyl chided Ramine while holding his throbbing collarbone.

BOOM—!!

Without missing a beat, Duaat and Karyl launched themselves at each other with all their might. The immense pressure between them shattered like glass with their collision.

“...!!”

Though it was just a sound, Aslak curled up, covering his ears as if an explosion had occurred right next to him.

One strike, two strikes, three strikes...

Karyl did not stop his assault, kicking off the ground and leaping behind Duaat to unleash a barrage of sword strikes. With each blow, his sword danced through the air, cutting through the wind with precision, his breathing halted in concentration.

[Grr...!!]

Duaat could no longer deny that he was being overpowered by a human. Each clash with Karyl’s sword sent his arms flying back. The power of the Flame Dragon was outstanding, but he hadn’t thought that alone could push him to this extent.

[That sword...]

Duaat gritted his teeth, staring at Agnel. Though his lips were hidden by bandages, the grinding of his teeth was clearly audible.

Karyl’s sword slashed through the air; the very air it touched oxidized like fireworks, creating a series of explosions that sent black smoke billowing with each swing.

Fourth Stance: Riffle Posture.

It was one of the five stances Karyl had perfected over eons of practice. As his physical form reached its peak, so did his swordsmanship.

Like the fast-flowing water in a riffle, Karyl relentlessly swung his sword at Duaat.

[Give it up. You should remember. In the Great War of the Spirits and Gods, the only thing that consumed your dark energy was Riseria. Even if he’s human, this one carries the will of the Flame Dragon. You can’t match that.]

[That was only because it was the Flame Dragon! Human flames mean nothing to me!] Duaat shouted as he swung his Jamadhar.

It’s not enough.

Even amidst the intense battle, Karyl realized his strikes were not fully connecting. Despite pushing Duaat to the brink, the Dark Spirit King managed to narrowly evade Karyl’s attacks by a hair’s breadth.

[You're stubborn.]

[You... hiding behind a dragon on the gods’ side... You still have the nerve to speak! Ramine!!] Duaat roared in response.

Bang! Bang! BOOM! CRACK—!!

Dozens of black spheres shot out from Duaat’s shoulder and exploded all at once. The blast sucked the air away, pulling Karyl toward Duaat.

[Gods and humans...! I will never forget!]

Duaat’s rough voice, like the sound of scraping metal, tore through the air. Amidst the black smoke, two beams of violet-red light surged toward Karyl.

Thud...!

Boom...!

Karyl twisted in midair to avoid the beams, landing smoothly on the ground.

“Huff... Huff...”

To absorb the shock, he plunged Agnel and the Freezing Talon into the ground, and Duaat's dark energy spread outward from the blades.

[Aaaargh...!!]

At that moment, Duaat leaped into the air and spread his arms wide, revealing four pairs of massive black wings from his back.

“...Wow, this just keeps getting better, doesn’t it? Ramine, he’s different from your time.”

A trickle of blood ran from Kary’s lips down his chin. He wiped it away with the back of his hand, looking at Duaat with a smirk.

[I was sealed in Riseria’s lair. And because of that seal, the Flame Dragon’s power you possessed was superior to mine,] Ramine grumbled. [If your spirit power were greater, I could do the same as Duaat.]

“Did I beat you just because of the Flame Dragon’s power?” Karyl asked, resting the Freezing Talon on his shoulder.

[...Let’s not talk about it.]

He chuckled at Ramine’s response.

[Remember, we don’t have much time. Using both dragon mana and my power at the same time is taxing, even for you.]

Swish—!!!

The Jamadhar gleamed in a crescent arc through the darkness. In the blink of an eye, Duaat, who had been floating in the air, appeared before Karyl, swinging his blade at his neck.

“...!!”

A chill of death swept over him. An ordinary person would have stepped back at that moment, but through his endless fighting and ascending in Pharel, Karyl had learned to focus on winning rather than just surviving.

His conclusion was this—instead of retreating, Karyl stepped further into the path of the Jamadhar aiming for his neck.

Thunk—

Agnel pierced Duaat’s side.

Whoosh...!

Simultaneously, flames burst from the blade, engulfing Duaat.

“Damn!”

However, the fire surging from Agnel, which had pierced Duaat’s side, began to dissipate as it met the dark energy seeping through the Spirit King’s bandages.

“Ugh—!”

Karyl gathered all of his mana, his heart pounding violently, his mana veins heating up. Drawing upon his dragon mana through his yet-to-be-fully-opened meridians was putting too much strain on his body.

[A monster? Just a weak and wretched human.]

Duaat’s voice was icy as he looked at the blade digging into him.

“Why do you hate humans so much? You also opposed the gods, didn’t you? Let’s hear how humans wronged you first,” Karyl sneered.

[It’s always like this. You humans are reckless, chaotic, and only care about your desires.]

Duaat slowly raised his sword.

Crack—!

He then pressed his elbow into Karyl’s wrist, and a dull crack echoed in the air.

“Ugh?!”

Karyl’s face twisted in pain.

Seizing the opportunity, Duaat aimed for Karyl’s vital points with his Jamadhar.

[Watch out!]

Ramine’s shout echoed, but it was too late for Karyl to avoid the attack.

Bang! Boom! Bang! Bang!!

At that moment, the Jamadhar targeting Karyl was knocked away, causing Duaat to stagger. Unlike with Karyl, the Dark Spirit King barely managed to dodge the lightning bolts summoned by Nain Darhon.

“Light...?” Karyl murmured in disbelief as light suddenly blinded him.

[Kid, have you become dull just from holding a sword? Why aren't you using your Arcane mana?]

“...!!”

Was it an auditory hallucination?

[It’s true that the power of the Blazing King is your mightiest weapon, but it’s not always the answer.]

Karyl doubted his ears. He quickly looked around but saw nothing.

[There’s not much time left. Remember the nature of the Arcane mana I taught you.]

He couldn’t believe it. The voice coming from the darkness was none other than Allen Javius.

[The power of dragons and spirits is great, but sometimes the power created by humans can overturn everything.]

“Light and darkness...” Karyl unwittingly muttered, as if to answer the voice in his head.

Nain Darhon’s lightning was the answer. Why had Karyl been using Ramine’s flames to create light against Duaat’s darkness when he possessed the pure power of light himself? After all, Arcane mana didn’t contain only darkness.

Sizzle... Crackle...!

At that moment, the flames surrounding Agnel vanished, a milky Aura Blade taking their place.

Sizzle...!

Instantly, black smoke began to rise, smoldering over Duaat’s darkness that had swallowed the flames.

[AAARRGHH...!!]

Duaat’s scream echoed in Antihum. Karyl gripped his sword tighter and drove the blade further into the Spirit King’s side.

“I admit humans are reckless. So I’m recklessly asking you to trust me one more time. How does it sound?"

[You...!! How can you wield this power alongside dragon mana?!]

At Duaat’s shocked exclamation, Karyl managed a strained smile.

“I told you, I’m different from those in the past.”

Karyl grasped Duaat’s shoulder. Twisting the hand holding Agnel, he stirred the embedded blade.

“I’m actually glad. Isn’t our meeting something to celebrate?”

Surely that wasn’t something to say while stabbing someone, but it seemed like the only way to have a conversation with Duaat.

“Yula.”

Karyl drove the blade further in as he spoke to Duaat.

“In the end, we both think the gods are scum, right?”

Duaat stared at Karyl, seemingly forgetting the pain for a moment.