Reincarnated User Manual-Chapter 338: Orion (5)

Kugugugung!

A shock from above shook the entire tower. Aisha, who had been waiting for the battle to end, was struck dumb by the unthinkable earthquake.

There was a kind of law: floors could not affect other floors.

To move from a lower floor to an upper one, one must use the designated method: the “door.” Digging through the ground or breaking through the ceiling was impossible.

Floors were separate worlds. Therefore, the top floor shouldn’t be able to affect the 99th floor, where Aisha stood. At least, that’s what she believed. Yet, the phenomenon occurring now shattered her common sense in real time.

The tremor extended beyond the 99th floor, reaching the floors below. The tower’s inhabitants, unfamiliar with such an earthquake, were stunned. Soon, everyone except the floor guardians was in chaos.

“Wow…”

The fairy on the 77th floor marveled at the repeatedly trembling ceiling. It was a good thing they had stopped the tower’s trials. But at the same time, the fairy lamented their immobility within the 77th floor.

‘Is there no way to watch this?’

A brilliant talent had been witnessed, and for the first time in 10,000 years, it felt like a waste to stop here. Using their authority as an overseer, they had allowed the girl to pass. Surely it wouldn’t be too much to wish to see how she was faring. They repeatedly convinced themselves that this level of desire was acceptable.

‘I can’t revive. I can’t be reborn after dying…’

Regret consumed them.

They should not have killed the floor guardian. They should not have done such a thing… As long as the tower existed, Yuriyuri would remain forever stuck in their dull role as an overseer, repeating it like a machine.

Falling Slash.

A blade of light descended from the sky, delivering a heavy and sharp strike without any additional effects or meanings. Yet, the Falling Slash always cleaved through and destroyed its targets. The one who called its name was a hero, and Lucia was a divine swordswoman. Therefore, what she willed often came to pass.

Squelch. Splatter.

A sticky mass spilled onto the ground. Unfortunately, what had been cut wasn’t Orion’s body but the veil of authority he had created. However, since the authority itself had been slashed, the darkness lost its form and fell in clumps.

Huff…

Orion spat out stardust.

Huff…

The sound of breathing was all that could be heard, but it was infused with dense energy. Before Sirius’s strike could land, Orion’s body crumbled.

Teleportation was impossible in this space filled with chaotic energy. But his body was no longer confined to flesh.

Kwoom!

Sirius struck the stagnant, muddy pool on the ground.

‘Where did he go?’

Orion’s form was nowhere to be found. Lucia quickly turned her head, scanning her surroundings.

In the distance.

Shiron was charging through the murky waters, splashing with every step.

Squelch. Squelch.

The veil of darkness, torn to shreds, lost its shape and became stagnant—an incomplete form of authority. Amidst the powers of destruction and annihilation, Orion’s form emerged.

Shiron unleashed a fearsome slash.

Then—

Bang!

And then—

Crash!

One after another—

Slam!

Orion’s form was struck by blazing blue flames. It became clear which stagnant pool of murky water he would emerge from next.

Shiron’s core throbbed. The more he exercised his foresight, the more mana drained from him in chunks.

He struck all the stagnant pools on the ground. As the holy sword dug into the murky water and shone with light, Orion’s dominion was severed.

In the starlit darkness, white spots began appearing. All the stagnant pools were being purified.

Finally, from the last contaminated pool on the far horizon, Orion’s form abruptly surged upward.

A mouth filled with curses and resentment chanted an unbelievably fast incantation.

At the pinnacle of a great mage’s abilities and the threshold of divinity, Orion had no need for incantations.

Still, he deliberately spoke the spell aloud. It was a reinforcement of his divine power, an intervention of the observer’s will into the world.

Waves rippled.

A tidal wave of starlight rose, aiming to reverse and annihilate the approaching Shiron.

Touching the starlight wave meant death. Shiron had to pierce through it head-on. The wave, spanning the entire horizon, surged forward. Its height was so daunting that it couldn’t simply be leaped over.

Pierce through it.

No lengthy deliberation was needed. Gripping the Hesed Shield, Shiron struck the wave. Boom! The starlight wave disintegrated, and a massive hole exploded at its center.

It was an incredible sight, but it came at a great cost. As chunks of mana drained from Shiron, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Even so, he did not stop his advance and finally reached his target. Orion held a dark spear in his grasp. Clang! The holy sword collided with the spear of annihilation.

A massive shockwave swept through the space, its aftermath violently whipping Seira’s hair even from a distance.

‘When did he become this strong?’

Having watched Shiron grow from a young age, Seira’s question was valid. It wasn’t out of disdain for the boy who once struggled with magic, but rather disbelief at the stark difference between his previous skills and his current prowess.

‘Was he hiding his strength?’

Each clash of sword and spear shook the heavens and the earth. The backdrop of the night sky rippled, and storms of authority swept through the surroundings.

Dazzling flashes burst forth, almost too intense to behold.

As if forbidding mortals from witnessing the war of gods, Seira’s eyes burned with searing pain.

Was Kyrie like this too? Although she hadn’t seen Kyrie’s battle against the demon god, she couldn’t help but wonder if it had been anything like this.

In the midst of the flashes, Lucia’s hair shimmered.

Despite the reverberating shock that made her insides tremble, she barely managed to swing her sword. She thrust Sirius into the darkness.

Even in a hellscape that mortal beings could scarcely comprehend, Lucia acted on her will.

‘I feel like I’m going to die.’

Her body screamed amidst the trembling vibrations of the space. Sirius, too, felt as if it might shatter at any moment.

‘Is Shiron okay?’

She caught a fleeting glimpse of Shiron’s face. The intense flashes prevented her from focusing, but the last look she saw showed him gritting his teeth.

‘Was I like this too?’

Her chain of thoughts was broken. She tried to recall her battle with the demon god, but all that surfaced was a blank, white void.

She had fought in a state of selflessness.

Her divinity had consumed her personality, leaving her as nothing more than an apostle bent on eradicating evil. Lucia instinctively understood this, even if she lacked the vocabulary to describe it.

Shiron, now, was in a divine state. Though only one step in, his being had risen beyond that of humanity.

Why?

A new question arose amidst the overwhelming shock.

She recalled the moment Kyrie ascended to divinity.

It was reckless to reflect on the past in the heat of battle, but even so, Lucia forced herself to remember.

“Magnificent!”

It was a day when she swung her sword into the air to calm her restless mind. The dawn air was cold, and Yura had somehow appeared beside her.

“…What did I do to deserve such praise?”

Kyrie, as always, scratched the back of her head shyly. She had merely swung her sword, yet receiving such praise made her feel more embarrassed than proud.

But Yura’s compliments always had a reason.

“Hmm, that’s strange. You’ve been elevated to a Divine Swordswoman.”

“…What?”

“Haven’t you noticed a difference? Like, like! A surge of power welling up from deep inside your chest, or a feeling that your perspective on the world has been elevated?”

“Hmm…”

Kyrie opened and closed the hand that had gripped the holy sword. Deep within her calloused palm, she felt a solid strength, but it was the same sensation she had before.

“I suppose it does feel… a little different!”

But Kyrie’s words were a lie.

Yura had never lied to Kyrie before. What she said was the truth, and what she desired often became reality.

It wasn’t that Yura merely assumed Kyrie had become a Divine Swordswoman. Yura simply wanted to see Kyrie, who was her everything, smile.

“Then, to celebrate, shall we have a drink?”

“A drink? Where in the world would you get that…”

“I have my ways! Kyrie, you just need to enjoy it!”

Though Yura’s face looked weary from traversing the labyrinth, at that moment, she found energy to embrace Kyrie tightly.

“Why?”

Lucia muttered as she swung her sword,

“Why do these memories keep surfacing?”

Her murmurs didn’t reach Shiron. In the midst of destruction, annihilation, and dazzling light, Lucia’s voice was swallowed whole.

Within the storm of annihilation, Shiron swung the holy sword endlessly.

He swung it almost absentmindedly, and the blade managed to slice Orion’s thigh. Even as tentacles and thorns filled with starlight enveloped him, the holy sword’s light stretched out and erased the darkness.

“Ugh… Aaaargh!”

Orion howled. His scream carried countless incantations and invocations.

Magic elevated to divinity gained its own will and surged toward Shiron.

A storm enveloped in starlight tried to hurl him away.

Despair, writhing in the darkness, grabbed at Shiron’s ankles.

Terrible thorns symbolizing death aimed for Shiron’s heart.

Dozens, hundreds, thousands.

A future of inevitable doom unfolded before him.

“Ha.”

Shiron sneered. Amid the chaos, the power of foresight illuminated the correct path.

The one and only path.

The future came into view.

The holy sword glowing with light, obliterating everything, and cutting through Orion’s neck.

‘The advantage is mine, isn’t it?’

The tide of battle had turned a while ago. Shiron couldn’t pinpoint when, but even with his demonic fusion, Orion’s attacks could no longer reach him.

And yet, what he saw with one eye painted a different picture.

A vision of himself, battered and broken. The fallen mage’s staff struck Shiron’s neck, dropping his head to the ground.

Thorns filled with curses were embedded in his vital spots, including his heart.

[Hero!]

Latera screamed in his mind. She had been silent, holding her breath to avoid disrupting the battle, but now her voice was filled with shock, as if she had witnessed something unimaginable.

“Why…”

Shiron murmured as he raised the holy sword high. Death surrounded him, but it felt unbearably slow.

The sword’s light pushed death away. It was as if the world had stopped, and Shiron’s strikes accelerated further.

Crack!

The thorns snapped one after another. Orion’s face twisted in shock. The act of raising his staff was sluggish.

Even though Shiron could have easily struck that shriveled, emaciated neck, he deliberately chose to deflect the approaching death from all sides.

“What is this?”

Even so, the future didn’t vanish.

Without cutting through Orion’s neck, there was no future in which Shiron survived.

“This is truly… relentless.”

[Hero! You mustn’t kill Orion!]

Latera’s warning rang out again. The trajectory of the holy sword grazed Orion’s arm. Slash! A horrific ooze splattered in all directions, and the apostle let out a beastly scream.

A brilliant flash.

Within the blue flames, a line was drawn across Orion’s neck. It screamed at Shiron to follow that line with the sword to survive.

What nonsense was this?

The advantage was already his. His victory was practically assured. It felt as though any reckless move would guarantee his defeat…

Screeech!

[Stop! You promised to stop!]

The strike imbued with divine power didn’t cease.

“…Damn it.”

Shiron chuckled bitterly and swung his sword. His body no longer obeyed him. Though his consciousness remained aware of what he was doing, the hand gripping the holy sword wouldn’t release.

His arm, carrying out the strike, wouldn’t lose strength. His legs refused to retreat.

And then…

At that moment of hesitation—

Shunk!

A thorn pierced Shiron’s abdomen. Peering at him, Orion wore a ghastly smile.

“…This is insane.”

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It was an attack whose timing Shiron couldn’t discern.

The longer his hesitation persisted, the more filthy thorns would pierce his body.

So, this was prophecy. He clenched the holy sword tightly.

[Hero…!]

Sensing Shiron’s resolve, Latera screamed once more. Detecting the strange shift, Lucia, who had been swinging her sword, opened her eyes wide.

“I’m sorry.”

Shiron muttered, stepping forward resolutely. As soon as he steeled his will, the world slowed down once more. Orion continued to smile at him, and Shiron’s steps felt so light that stopping was impossible.

The plan was canceled. Better to end this than to die.

The holy sword’s trajectory crossed Orion’s neck.