The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 412: Blood (2)

“Urgh...?!”

Suan quickly infused more mana into Kalduan’s gauntlets, which responded immediately with a bright blue glow. Just as he raised his arms to shield his face and block the incoming scythe from the monster, he heard Karyl shout out from behind him.

“Suan, don’t block it. Dodge! You’ll lose an arm!”

“...What?”

Startled, Suan instinctively tried to retreat, but the sudden shift in balance disrupted his stance. The monster did not miss that opening.

BWOOOOOM...!!

With a shriek that tore through the air, the massive blade closed in on his neck at terrifying speed.

“Shit...!!”

Cursing, Aidan rushed forward.

SKANG—!!

Lightning cracked beneath his feet as he kicked off the ground, his body bursting into motion. Just before the scythe could cleave into Suan, Aidan slammed into him, shoving his large frame away with both arms.

Shadow Arts Stage 4 Awakening: Shadow Collapse

The scythe’s edge sliced through the air, barely grazing Suan. Aidan flung him back like a slingshot, putting much-needed distance between them and the monster.

“Cough, cough...!”

When he finally skidded to a stop, Suan collapsed and doubled over, his insides reeling from the sheer speed. He retched and gagged, barely holding himself up.

“You owe me for that one.” Aidan grinned as he gave Suan’s trembling shoulder a firm slap. The ground behind them, where he had sprinted through, was scorched black as though grazed by fire.

Crackle... crackle...!

Small flames sparked where his boots had touched down, catching on the wild grass and slowly spreading from the heat and friction.

“Shit... It feels like my guts just twisted into a knot,” Suan muttered as he wiped his mouth.

“You’ll get used to it after a few more times.” Aidan gave a chuckle, but his eyes never left the monster that had tried to cut them both down.

“Come on, get up already! This isn’t the time to be dazed!”

The monster emerged slowly through the embers Aidan had left behind. Unlike the slime-like Tarak they had been fighting until moments ago, this one walked upright on two legs. It stood at least one and a half times taller than Suan, its gaunt, skeletal body unclothed—save for the swirling black smoke that clung to it like a cloak.

Most striking were the skeletal wings jutting from its back, reminiscent of a Bone Dragon. They creaked with every step it took, shifting with an eerie, grinding sound.

The black smoke swirling around the Tarak gradually thinned and took shape, revealing a dark crimson armor, glistening like blood. The scythe it held trembled faintly, vibrating with an unnatural screech, as if it were alive and groaning.

“Call me Captain Obvious, but that thing looks like something straight out of hell... I’ve raided more dungeons than I can count, and I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Just then, Aidan’s expression suddenly stiffened as he wiped his left cheek with the back of his hand.

“...!”

So I didn’t dodge it completely...

He felt a thin cut across his cheek, his hand wet with blood. Even with his speed pushed to the extreme, the pressure wave from the monster’s scythe had pierced his defense and drawn blood.

Despite being an elite assassin, honed through countless battles, that monster managed to send a chill down his spine.

[I can’t believe it... How is it here already?]

[There were no signs... There’s no way a higher-ranked Tarak should be able to appear this early. The First Tarak hasn’t even been fully awakened yet. This makes no sense.]

The Spirit Kings were just as rattled as Aidan, shouting in disbelief as they stared at the monster.

“Stand back.”

Karyl stepped forward, placing himself between the monster and the two men, his eyes fixed on the enemy.

“My Lord, what... what is that thing?” Aidan asked, his voice shaking.

[Karyl, it seems like the gods are seriously pissed at you,] Allen remarked, his tone half-serious, half bewildered. [Even during the Great War of the Spirits and Gods, it was rare to see a Reaper-class Tarak appear this early. For one to show up at the very start of the war... Yula must be desperate.]

Shing—

Karyl made no response. Without hesitation, he drew the sword of Polsetia and pointed it directly at the monster.

“Are you curious as to what that thing is?” Allen asked Suan and Aidan, appearing beside them in his shadowy form, drawing Duaat’s power.

“That creature’s name is Malek, and it's one of the highest subordinates of the gods. I’ve read about it in ancient texts, but to see it actually exist, you can say I’m shocked.”

“...Malek?” Aidan repeated in disbelief.

The monster before him looked like a nightmare come to life, but Karyl seemed intrigued rather than afraid, which made this encounter even more surreal.

“There are four kinds of Tarak,” Allen continued. “The base species is called Xeck-Mut. That’s the kind you were all fighting just a moment ago.”

“Wait a second... Isn’t Xeck-Mut the name of a god from another dimension?”

“Correct, but Xeck-Mut is both the god’s name and the name of his creations. We once called him the Lord, remember? That god ascended to rule over others, shaping those creatures in his own image and giving them his name.”

It was Ramine, the Blazing King, who answered Aidan’s question instead.

“Like all gods before him... it was an act of pure arrogance.”

“He shaped it in his own image?” Aidan scoffed and spat toward the Reaper’s grotesque skull. “If that slimy thing is supposed to resemble a god, then that god’s got some serious problems.”

“The Xeck-Mut described in scripture looks much more humanoid. This one must still be incomplete,” Ramine explained.

In my past life, the fanatics in the Blue Roar, formed by Rael under Yula’s command, referred to all Tarak as Xeck-Mut. Who gave them that name, I wonder? If Yula herself told them, I can’t even imagine what she must’ve felt...

The surviving gods of the Great War had each claimed dominion over their own dimensions. Karyl now understood that this world wasn’t the only one, and that ruling a single dimension didn’t place one at the pinnacle of divinity. To him, Yula was nothing more than a failed god who had lost the race for divine domination.

With a faint, bitter smile, Karyl glanced toward Allen.

“What matters is that this one isn’t Xeck-Mut. If Xeck-Mut mirrors the form of the Lord, then the species above it, the Skadron, possess the Lord’s powers of light and darkness. But above them are two greater beings, Morax and Malek. They represent the extremes of that power, pure light and pure darkness, respectively.”

“I don’t need a whole lecture to understand what we’re dealing with...” Aidan muttered. “That vile aura makes it clear already. That thing’s Malek, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. The Oracle has yet to be fully delivered, and yet the highest-ranking Tarak has appeared. Not even Yula could summon something like Malek without risking everything.”

“Starting off with a final boss, huh? Guess subtlety isn’t their thing. Even S-class dungeons ease you into the horror. Looks like we’re skipping to the epic do-or-die battle.”

Despite the light banter in his voice, Aidan’s smirk had long vanished. His expression was cold, his eyes settling on his target.

“Let’s go,” Suan Hazer said with renewed resolve, steading himself.

“Go where? Didn’t Lord Karyl tell us to fall back?”

“We fight.”

“Didn’t you hear the Spirit King? That thing’s a top-tier Tarak.”

“Look around. That monster isn’t the only one here. There are still plenty of lesser ones getting in the way. We’ve still got a job to do.”

“You’re insane... But that’s what I like about you.”

With that, Aidan released a sharp blade from the back of his hand, glancing at the empty scabbard on his hip. Karyl had used Thunderstrike to absorb the cave’s lightning, leaving him only with the Thunderclap.

“I’ll take the left.”

Of course, Aidan didn’t complain about the missing weapon. The word “retreat” wasn’t even part of his vocabulary, and he didn’t plan on adding it.

...Will it even work?

His cheek was still throbbing, reminding him that even with his maximum speed, he hadn’t managed to fully dodge the monster’s scythe.

“Damn it... Just when I thought I was catching up, a new kind of monster set up a new wall.”

But oddly, this feeling of frustration wasn’t unpleasant to him. If anything, Aidan felt a thrill at the chance to surpass himself again. He had once been discouraged by the strength of his comrades, but that old insecurity was gone. Now, anyone stronger than him only stoked the fire that drove him forward.

“Doesn’t matter whether it shows up now or later. Either way, we’re going to have to kill it. This is war. You think the enemy’s going to wait for us to be ready?”

Karyl’s low voice reached all of them.

“When an opponent opens with their strongest card, it means they respect your strength. Watch closely. The stronger the enemy, the more proof we have that even the gods fear us.”

Grrrrrrrr...

Just moments ago, the monster had swung its scythe at Suan and Aidan without hesitation. But ever since Karyl had appeared, it hadn’t made a single move. It simply stood there, glaring at them yet hesitating.

“And if it feels fear... it’s not immortal.”

“ϪstωφϪ󰔞......!!”

Malek let out a furious howl, as if he understood Karyl’s words, and suddenly charged forward.

“Runic Language...?” Aidan muttered in disbelief, recognizing the tongue.

A dull glow burst from its skeletal wings, and where there had only been bone, faint traces of flesh and energy began to pulse.

“Hearing Runic Language, which is supposed to be the purest usage of mana, from that thing’s mouth... Repulsive...” Allen bit his lip.

Mana was often called the gods’ blessing, but as someone who had devoted his life to understanding it, Allen hated the idea that it could belong to gods like these.

“Don’t worry, Allen.”

Polsetia’s blade began to ring, and Allen immediately understood that Karyl was drawing on both his dragon mana and the Two Powers at the same time.

“A sword has no eyes. And power, no matter how divine, can become anything depending on its wielder. In my hands, even the gods’ mana can become the very thing that kills them.”

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“There were countless Tarak within Pharel, and I stepped over every one of them to reach the top.”

CLANG!

Karyl blocked Malek’s scythe mid-swing as it came down in a wide arc.

“I killed too many to remember their names. But that face... I remember that one.”

As Polsetia’s blade locked with Malek’s scythe, the monster’s massive frame bent backward under the weight. Slowly, its back arched further and further, overwhelmed by Karyl’s strength.

Karyl leaned closer, staring at the monstrosity from between the blades.

“Out of my sight, small fry,” he growled.

Everyone around them froze, stunned by Karyl’s nonchalant defiance against the top-tier Tarak.

“ϪstωφϪ󰔞 stϪω φφϪ......!!”

Though Malek’s screeches were unintelligible, its panic was unmistakable as Karyl mercilessly drove it steadily closer to the ground.

The blade kept pressing against Malek like an executioner’s axe, and just before the monster could wriggle free, Karyl grabbed its skull.

Sssssssshhhhh!!

Rasis and Duaat’s powers surged into Karyl’s grasp, producing pure blacklight, searing the monster’s skull.

“GHRAAAARH...!!”

As black smoke rose, Malek broke into an agonized scream, flailing and struggling desperately.

“See? Whether it’s a Nephilim or a Tarak, they all scream the same.”

CRRRKKK—!!

At last, Malek’s spine gave way against Karyl’s force, snapping with a sickening crack.

“You’re no different.”

Rumble...!

Karyl turned his gaze to the entrance of the Blood Cave. There stood another figure.

“That’s the First Tarak... Blood.”

Shing—

Karyl stepped over Malek’s shattered remains and muttered, “I’ll be sure to hear your scream too.”

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