Chapter 308: Wings of Freedom (9)

Harley had a total of three horns on its head. One in the center, and one each on the left and right.

Kai’s Sword that Divides the Sky had cut through the world vertically and sliced Harley’s central horn in half.

—

Kraaaargh!

Harley twisted its massive body and writhed in pain.

Ding!

[You have destroyed Harley’s first horn.]

[Harley’s magic attack power has decreased by 30%.]

[Harley’s mana suppression has decreased by 30%.]

Hm?

Originally, Kai had swung his sword to slash through the water cannon. In other words, cutting Harley’s horn had been nothing more than a lucky accident, and fortunately, the horn on the dragon’s head was a vital point that handled mana. It had been pure luck, but it was enough to shift the tide of battle.

—I-I’ll kill you!

Harley’s bloodshot eyes widened as it screamed.

But to Kai, it looked like nothing more than a desperate outburst.

Not scary at all.

The mana escaping through Gravity Field had been reduced, which meant Harley’s dominance over the area had significantly weakened.

And its magic attack power dropped by 30%.

On the other hand, Kai had once slain the Death Dragon Sineras and earned the special title Hatchling Slayer. The title's effect granted 30% additional damage against dragon-type enemies.

And right now, I’m...

He was possessed by none other than Patrick, one of the legendary three people of the Solairan Church.

Come to think of it, my swordsmanship feels a lot more refined now.

Kai quickly skimmed through one of Patrick’s Descent skills he hadn’t yet fully grasped.

[

Swordsmanship of Radiance (Passive)

]

Grade: Legendary

Become a master of the sword, increasing power by 300%.

Maybe it’s because of this.

Even the grip of the holy sword in his hand felt entirely different. He had never found it uncomfortable before, but now it felt as though the sword had been a part of him since birth.

Is this what they call perfect unity between sword and self in martial arts novels?

Thanks to that, he didn’t think he could possibly lose.

Kai smiled and prepared for his second strike. “Mimic, one more time.”

“

Kkaaaak!

”

Mimic soared in a wide arc through the air, then dove vertically down toward Harley. It felt like riding a roller coaster without any safety gear, as Kai was standing on Mimic’s back the entire time.

If I lose focus, I could fall.

As Kai sharpened his concentration, it felt like every cell in his body awakened.

—I’m gonna kill him... I’ll kill you!

Harley leapt into the air and opened its jaws wide. Compressed spheres of water formed in its mouth and shot toward Mimic one after another.

“Not gonna happen.”

Mimic darted through the air, dodging them effortlessly, and any attack that couldn’t be dodged, Kai handled them.

—You rat!

As Mimic dodged its attacks and closed in, the two remaining horns on Harley’s head began to glow.

With thick clouds hanging above the already vapor-heavy sea, the area held more moisture than anywhere else in the world, and that vapor began to freeze. Dozens of ice spears formed in an instant and flew straight at Mimic.

“

Huh?!

”

It was impossible to dodge all those attacks while closing in on Harley.

In that case...

A rocky island caught Kai’s attention. “Mimic! Use that rock island as a shield for now!”

At Kai’s command, Mimic quickly fled behind the visible rocky island.

—There’s no point!

There was no way Harley would just watch that happen. The wave of ice it unleashed instantly covered the island, turning it into an iceberg.

However, Mimic, who had easily avoided the attack, soared from behind the rock and ascended toward the storm clouds.

—Trying to escape?!

From that moment on, Harley’s horns began to flash crazily. With each pulse of light from the horns, dozens of spells were summoned and hurled toward Mimic.

Mimic dodged, and Kai swung his sword the best he could, but even they couldn’t avoid hundreds of attacks completely. Eventually, one sharp ice spear pierced through Mimic’s abdomen.

—

Kahahahaha!

Harley burst into laughter, opened its mouth wide, and unleashed a final water cannon blast.

Having sustained a severe injury, Mimic failed to evade the water cannon and was forcefully unsummoned on the spot.

—Now that you’ve lost your means of flight, it’s over for you.

As the wyvern was unsummoned, Kai, who had been riding on its back, fell like a kite with its string cut.

—Prison of Water!

Seawater surged upward and bound Kai’s limbs. Then the water instantly froze and transformed into an ice prison.

—You insect... it’s been a while since something gave me this much trouble.

Harley sneered at Kai, who couldn’t speak a word.

—Earlier you were so quick to speak, but now it seems you can’t say a word, huh?

In the end, he was just like any other human.

Scoffing, Harley opened its mouth.

—It’s over now. Die, you worthless insect.

A massive amount of water began to gather at its mouth.

His opponent couldn’t escape anyway.

I’ll finish him for good.

Without letting its guard down, Harley decided to unleash its strongest card, and just as it fired the water cannon, its left eye turned red. Then, before it could even process what had happened, its left horn was severed. A groan followed a second later.

—

Argh

...

Grraaaagh!

Ding!

[You have destroyed Harley’s second horn.]

[Harley’s magic attack power has decreased by 30%.]

[Harley’s mana suppression has decreased by 30%.]

“Okay, nice.”

No matter how strong Harley was, with 60% of its total power gone, it had no way of overpowering Kai. In fact, quite the opposite...

Ding!

[The White Death Dragon Set effect, Contempt Against the Weak, has been activated.]

[All attacks toward the target deal an additional 10% damage.]

Finally.

Contempt Against the Weak was an effect that activated during combat against weaker opponents! It was nothing short of a final verdict that Harley could no longer defeat Kai.

“Just like you said, this really is the end.”

Kai’s holy sword swiftly sliced off Harley’s last remaining horn.

Ding!

[You have destroyed Harley’s final horn.]

[Harley’s magic attack power has decreased by 30%.]

[Harley’s mana suppression has decreased by 30%.]

At the same time, the oppressive control Harley held over Kai vanished without a trace, and that wasn’t all.

“The sun.”

The clouds that had been sliced apart by the Sword that Divides the Sky were only a fraction, but when Harley lost all its strength, the rest of the storm clouds began to scatter.

Kai looked out over the sea that now reflected bright sunlight, and smiled.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Thud!

Harley’s massive body crashed onto a nearby rocky island.

Kai drove his sword into Harley’s neck, finishing it off.

No way I’d let my guard down against someone like this.

—What happened...?

Sensing its own death, Harley tried to resolve its intellectual curiosity in its final moments.

—I’m sure I took down your wyvern. And I had you completely bound in that spot...

huh?!

Looking up at the ice prison, Harley’s only remaining eye widened. Kai was still bound there.

—I-I don’t understand. I can’t...

“It’s simple. The one you kept targeting wasn’t me, but my doppelganger.”

Solarian Self had been Kai’s trump card.

—A doppelganger... When did you make the switch...?

Oh!

Harley screamed,

—The rocky mountain!

There had only been one moment during the entire battle when Kai had vanished from its sight. It was when Mimic circled behind the rocky mountain.

—You pulled off such a strategy in that brief exchange of blows...?

“No. I planned all of this way beforehand.” Kai calmly spoke as he pulled his holy sword from Harley’s neck. “You never know when, how, where, or who you’ll be fighting. It’s only natural to prepare this much.”

It was an attitude befitting a ranker. In that brief moment during battle, he had escaped Harley’s sight, loaded the doppelganger onto Mimic, and dived into the sea himself. It was a plan only Kai could pull off thanks to his proficiency in underwater movement.

—... I lost.

Harley readily admitted defeat. It had been such a perfect tactical loss that it had no words left. At the same time, its eyes slowly began to close.

When it crashed into the jagged rocks, its entire body had already been shredded to bits.

“Farewell.”

To Kai’s final farewell, Harley sneered and muttered,

—... So long, you disgusting human.

***

"I forgot to say something."

At Kai’s calm remark, Harley gave him a dazed look.

—What... what is this? Didn’t I die?

"Oh, you are dead. Your body’s right here,” Kai tapped the spot he was standing on with his foot as he spoke.

Just as he said, Harley’s corpse remained on the sharp rocky peak. In other words, Harely was currently in a spiritual state.

"I summoned you because I wanted to talk for a bit."

It was a skill of Cherantia, embedded within the Holy Ring Petra, Eternal Rest.

—

Sigh,

how bothersome until the end. What did you want to say?

Harley asked in a voice filled with irritation.

In response, Kai slowly spoke the words he had been thinking about for some time. "I’ve been wondering—if there are really beings born into this world just to be treated as pets from the start."

—

Hmph

, and?

"There aren’t."

At Kai’s firm response, Harley stared at him intently.

—... There aren’t? But you said before...

"

Yeah.

I said the birdfolk shouldn’t be treated that way, but I didn’t mean it was okay for others to be treated like that. Sorry for making it sound like that."

—It’s not like it matters to me. If you’re done talking...

"There's one more thing."

—Then hurry and say it.

Kai placed his small hand on Harley's translucent head and said, "You must’ve had a hard, scary, and lonely time. You probably kept wondering why you were even born. On behalf of humanity—I’m sorry. I’ll destroy the Church of Muldine with my own hands so they can never do something like this again. I promise, right here and now."

It was something Harley had never imagined hearing. An arrogant, self-centered human, one who cared only for their own kind, apologizing?

Ridiculous human. Does he think I’ll be moved by an apology like that? Absurd.

Harley let out a snort of laughter without even realizing it. No matter how many times it thought about it again, it only made it laugh.

Kai, who had been quietly watching him, said, "Don’t cry."

At Kai’s words, Harley blamed the gods.

This is all the god’s fault. Just because my physical body is dead and lying around, now my emotions are malfunctioning.

Harley tightly shut its eyes and growled.

—Shut up. I’m not crying.

"

Oh?

You’re crying? Are you really crying right now?"

As Kai grinned and teased Harley, its face turned red as it shouted,

—I-I’m not crying! You inferior human!