Chapter 403: The Nephilim War (3)

As Judex extended his arm, a massive greatsword materialized in his hand. Running his fingers along the blade, he chanted in the Runic Language, igniting it with a fierce red glow. In a flash, he swung the sword, its arc zigzagging toward Karyl like a bolt of lightning.

CLANG!

As his greatsword collided with Karyl’s blade, Judex pushed him back.

“You...!” the angel growled, lifting his sword high above his head. Light coalesced into a brilliant orb at the tip of the blade, which then exploded into dozens of radiant arrows that rained down on Karyl.

Thwick! Swoosh!

As Karyl deftly sliced through the arrows of light, the fragments exploded on either side of him. He charged forward through the blasts, undeterred.

However, more arrows rained down from behind.

“Watch out...!” Miliana shouted in alarm, running toward him. Raising her arms, the dragon scales sprouted to resemble a shield, blocking the hail of arrows

Bang! Bang!! BOOM!!

Miliana staggered under the fierce barrage, but she managed to hold her ground, refusing to yield even an inch.

“You worthless pests!” Judex snarled, his gaze fixed on Miliana.

Clang...!

Before Judex’s greatsword could descend upon her, a thick iron chain coiled around the blade, dragging it down.

“Pull!” shouted Aidan.

At that, the Snakel warriors gripped the chain tight and pulled it taut. Aidan sprinted along the chain and leaped onto Judex’s shoulders, wrapping his legs around his neck.

Slash!

He drove the Twin Blades, Thunderstrike and Thunderbolt, repeatedly into Judex’s spine, stabbing relentlessly from his neck down to his lower back.

“Graaah...!!”

Judex flipped Aidan off, roaring in pain. Aidan landed softly on the ground and disappeared in an instant.

Poof...!

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind Judex’s massive wings, barely visible in the shadows. Taking a deep breath, he plunged his blade deep into the joint of one of the wings.

Thwack!

He kept stabbing and slashing, darting in and out of the shadows. Though it seemed as if he were teleporting, Aidan wasn’t satisfied. He clenched his jaw, driving himself even further.

Shadow Arts, Stage 1 Awakening: Cloud Spirit

Shadow Arts, Stage 2 Awakening: Ghost Form

As he awakened the first two stages of the Shadow Arts, Aidan’s form suddenly blurred, and his face darkened. He darted freely through the shadows cast by Judex, his mobility surpassing human limits.

Crimson markings stretched from his darkened forehead down his cheeks to his jaw. Eventually, Aidan vanished entirely, slipping into the shadows like a phantom.

Shadow Arts, Stage 4 Awakening: Shadow Collapse

He reached the absolute pinnacle of speed.

Simon Coden, the former master of the Eastern Land and inheritor of the Shadow Arts, had only reached the thirst stage. The reason Aidan had surpassed Simon, despite not mastering the Shadow Arts, was the unparalleled speed he could achieve with Shrink the Earth.

Aware that his incredible speed was the only thing allowing him to compete with Sword Masters, Aidan had pushed this skill to its absolute limit. As a result, he had unlocked the Fourth Stage, a level no one in the Eastern Land had ever reached before.

[It seems my efforts rolling around in the Dragon’s Land have paid off,] Allen Javius mused, watching Aidan with a faint smile.

Moving faster than the eye could see, Aidan stabbed Judex repeatedly—his shoulder, arms, torso, legs, and even his ankles. The Archangel was covered in bleeding puncture wounds, his wings drenched in crimson.

“Take that...!!” The Snakel warriors cheered at the devastating assault.

Aidan now stood among them. He realized once again just how much Karyl had changed his life. The assassin who had once been confined to the shadows now thrived in the heart of the battle.

“You...!” Judex growled, gritting his teeth against the searing pain. He forcefully lifted his sword, straining against the chain wrapped around the blade, and swung it horizontally at Aidan with all his might.

“Aargh...!”

The elite Snakel assassins gripping the chain were tossed aside, while others were sent sprawling across the ground.

Clang...! Clink!

Aidan hurriedly jumped in the air to avoid the blade, but the chain managed to wrap around his leg.

“...!!”

Judex yanked his sword downward, slamming Aidan into the ground. He then spun the blade, wielding the chain like a massive flail to shatter the surrounding pillars and tear through the fortifications.

The ground quaked with each strike.

“You alright?”

“...Yeah. Thanks,” Aidan replied, still shaken.

The chain around his angle had been severed, and Aidan found himself held by none other than Zouk de Holde.

“Just a bit more, and I would’ve reached him...” Aidan muttered, biting his lip in frustration. “No matter what I do, it seems our lord remains far beyond my reach.”

He looked dejected, his ankle crushed.

“I wish I were as strong as you.” Zouk clicked her tongue, pursing her lips.

“...What?”

“Then I would have landed a blow on him too.”

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Naturally, a goal will push anyone to grow, but if that goal is unreachable, most people lose hope and give up. It had become the norm for people to feel despair when comparing themselves to Karyl.

Swordsmanship, magic, even spirit mastery—Karyl stood at the absolute pinnacle, eclipsing even the strongest people out there.

But Aidan wasn’t like everyone else. Indeed, upon realizing just how far away he was from Karyl’s level, he had felt the same despair as everyone else, but he had chosen to surpass it, refusing to give up.

Through his mastery of Shrink the Earth, Aidan had managed to become a Sword Master, and now he was pushing beyond that level. The fruit of his efforts was undeniable.

Mastering everything was impossible, but dedicating himself to one skill had brought Aidan here, making a Nephilim bleed.

Like Zouk, people found more hope in Aidan’s relentless pursuit of strength than in Karyl’s innate greatness. He was proof that one needn’t be Karyl MacGovern to achieve greatness.

Zouk’s words of praise brought a slight smile to Aidan’s face.

“A swarm of insects, so what?! You’re still just insects!” Judex sneered, swinging his sword with disgust.

At that moment, Karyl leapt into the air and grabbed Judex's face.

“Yeah, they look the same to me.”

Crack...!

Karyl plunged Polsetia’s blade slightly below Judex’s collarbone, making the angel shudder as though electrocuted.

“Perhaps you wouldn’t follow Yula blindly if you saw what I saw in the Thousand-Year Ice Cave.”

“Ugh...!” The Archangel struggled to pull the sword out of his chest.

Bang!

But Karyl swiftly leapt behind him, delivering a brutal punch to a puncture wound along Judex’s spine. A sickening crack echoed as his vertebrae snapped, bending him like a bow.

“Gah...!”

Blood sprayed from Judex’s mouth as Karyl hurled him into the air. With a flick of his hand, he sneered, “To him, you’re nothing but insects.”

Then, he drove the Freezing Talon and Lakna deep into the Nephilim’s sides.

“Aaargh—!”

Judex’s agonized scream was cut short, as Karyl promptly pulled the two blades out and plunged them into his legs.

“Did you... Did you think I would succumb to a mere flesh wound?!”

Judex raised both arms, forcing his broken spine to regenerate instantly. He pulled the swords from his legs and roared, “I AM YULA’S CHOSEN!!!”

Clank...! Clung...!

Judex’s frenzied shout was followed by the movement of the Celestial Fortress. Its four towers tilted downward, seemingly taking aim at Karyl.

[Karyl, be careful. The Celestial Cannon is coming.]

Karyl nodded, acknowledging Ramine's warning.

He could feel the power gathering at the tips of the towers: Radiant Power, wielded by the Nephilim only. The sheer scale of the energy sent chills down his spine.

“You’re going to fire at me? You’ll be within the blast’s radius.”

“You fool...! Us Nephilim aren’t affected by the power of light! Only humans will be annihilated! You have no chance. We serve only the divine command!”

“Is that so?”

With that, Karyl turned his back on Judex and sped toward the towers before they could fire.

“Huh...? Stop him!” Judex shouted, scrambling to chase after Karyl.

The Nephilim soldiers guarding the crystal controls of the towers drew their swords in a panic, trying to intercept Karyl.

Of course, these guards were no match for the MacGovern swordsman.

Woosh! Thud!

With each stroke of his blade, arms and heads fell to the ground, blood spraying everywhere.

“...This is madness! No human could ever control the Celestial Fortress!” Judex shrieked, visibly panicking over Karyl’s actions.

“The Radiant Power you Nephilim possess... it’s the power of light, and at the same time, it carries the very nature of the power Yula holds,” Karyl remarked.

Clunk...! Vroooom...!!

Stepping over the fallen angels, Karyl placed his hand on the crystal sphere. To Judex’s astonishment, the tower’s cannons swiveled toward him, seemingly according to Karyl’s will.

“Yula isn’t the only one with a connection to light.”

A brilliant aura unfurled around Karyl like a cloak, taking the shape of wings.

“Rasis...” Judex murmured the name, recognizing the form.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM...!

The concentrated light of the towers burst forth, swallowing Judex whole.

“Don’t you get it? The Celestial Cannon has no effect on us Nephilim!”

Judex defiantly charged into the light, sneering at Karyl.

“And that’s your fatal mistake, thinking that was my trump card.”

“Huh...?”

“Checkmate.”

***

“Grrr...! Graaargh...!!”

Judex lurched forward, his left arm and shoulder gone. The blast had destroyed nearly half of his torso, and yet the Judge remained standing.

“You freak... You possess great vitality, I’ll give you that,” Karyl muttered, shaking his head in mild disgust. He sat atop a turret, his arms crossed.

“H-How...?” Judex stammered, blood gushing from his torso, bits of flesh hanging by a threat. He looked as though a hellish beast had savaged him, and yet he refused to die, his shaky legs defying death itself.

“You didn’t realize that I wield the Two Powers? If you did, you’re a fool for challenging me. You spoke of arrogance before. Well, yours reaches the heavens,” Karyl scoffed.

“As if... As if someone like you could ever put me down! Only Yula herself can kill me, the god I serve!” Judex spat defiantly. “I’ll give you that much, vermin king. You’re more tenacious than a cockroach.”

Judex’s mauled body was already regenerating, muscle and tissue weaving back together, inch by inch.

[So not even that is enough to bring him down. What’s next?] Allen Javius clicked his tongue.

“Nephilim are Yula’s creations, blessed with fragments of divinity.”

[Right, beings of light. And you attacked him with Duaat’s power. Even with the amplified force of the tower, you couldn’t kill him,] Allen challenged.

“No need to worry. I was just testing that power on him, and it worked. I confirmed that the power of darkness indeed affects them.”

[The only way to end a Nephilim’s life is with the power of corruption. That’s why Duaat, the Spirit King resembling corruption the most, is effective,] Ramine chimed in.

“Yes. I needed to understand why the Platinum Dragon sought Rasis’s power. If he truly wished to become a god, light wouldn’t have sufficed. There’s only one Divine Throne, and to claim it, one must dethrone its current occupant.”

Karyl narrowed his eyes.

“But the dragon didn’t want to ascend the throne with Rasis’s power. Quite the opposite.”

With that, he approached the bloodied Nephilim.

“Graah...! Ngh...!” Judex desperately tried to hasten his regeneration, but Duaat’s darkness was seeping into his scarred muscles, crippling his recovery.

“It’s clear now that the Platinum Dragon also knew the secret of the Thousand-Year Ice Cave. He only needed Rasis’s power to control this.”

At that moment, Polestia’s blade shifted from emerald back to its silvery-gray hue.

“Corruption.”

Shiiing—

Karyl pointed his sword at Judex.

[So the leader of the Nephilim was just an experiment for you—a mere stepping stone in your search for a surefire way to kill a god. Truly ruthless.] Allen gave a sinister chuckle.

“Nephilim, if you truly serve a god, then you should also kneel before this power.”

“How dare a mere human....”

Judex’s eyes widened as he stared at the blade’s tip, the lethal energy radiating from it making one thing painfully clear.

He really was about to die.

“Yes, a mere human.”

As Karyl lifted the now obsidian-black sword high above his head, Judex felt as though he were gazing up at a looming monolith.

“No... It can’t be...!”

He rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what they showed him. The monolithic image faded like a mirage in the wind, leaving Karyl’s sword descending upon him.

“Yes, it is—the godly power that only humans can wield...”

Shing—!

“...The power to slay a god.”

The blade carved through Judex from head to groin, his two halves splitting apart with a sickening

crack

, releasing a spray of crimson.