Chapter 288 - Dissipation (1)
-The connection with the Hero Universe has been temporarily disconnected due to interference from an internal member. The administrator will begin repairing the system from now on. She will never aim for your life, but please note that we cannot guarantee the safety of anyone else...
“Administrator, it’s very noisy. I’ll read them when I’m done, so close it now.”
The administrator’s message in his retinas was blocked, and Kang Shin-hyuk raised his head. Before him was a woman who was so strong that she gave the illusion that time itself had stopped. When Kang Shin-hyuk first obtained the Godslayer sword and examined it with his spiritual power, he had seen that figure performing that beautiful sword dance. It was a movement of a dimension he couldn’t understand, and it was a powerful way to deal efficiently and powerfully with spiritual power. Kang Shin-hyuk’s growth began the moment he awakened his spiritual power and entered the Hero Universe, but his combat skills began to develop properly when he met that sword.
“...Huh? Sorry, Anvil. Did you want to kill this? You don’t have to worry about these bugs.”
Kang Shin-hyuk was convinced as he saw the motion of the sword being pulled out of the dead Adelaide’s head. She was definitely the one who danced with the Godslayer. He couldn’t be sure even when he saw the Godslayer in her hand, but surprisingly, he became naturally convinced with that one move. It was really sad, but she was Janus. Perhaps Tsukuyo also knew about Janus’s present appearance.
‘At the time, I only heard they were safe and pretended to be relieved, and I didn’t push for more information... I was already anticipating this to some extent, but I thought there wouldn’t be a direct collision with me, so I turned away.’
The meaning of the name Janus, taking the Godslayer... Even the changes that took place in Jormungand. Wasn’t it obvious? Janus was now representing Jormungand, and Jormungand would never have anything to do with the Hero Universe. From the start, even the administrator didn’t tell him everything; they just said that someday he would know. Maybe now was that time. Personally, he thought it was the worst timing, but this was also a result of Kang Shin-hyuk tricking himself and taking a comfortable path.
“Anvil, I’ll say it again. I’m going to kill everything here. I’m going to loosen up a bit, so get out of here. And let’s talk again later.”
“...Janus.”
“Come on, come on.”
She called him Anvil and herself Janus. She took a light step forward, and with just that, a heavy vibration reverberated through the area.
-Kooooung
“Kahak?!”
“Oh!”
“E... Earthquake...!”
Kang Shin-hyuk managed to regain his footing by raising his spiritual power to resist the feeling that he was being strangled, and then he realized that the vibration came from someone’s great spiritual power. Just as Kang Shin-hyuk himself could use his enormous spiritual power to overwhelm his surroundings, this person could do the same. They suppressed all beings in the eroded space just by being that. Only Kang Shin-hyuk, who had spiritual power himself, could vaguely guess how ridiculous it was.
“Haha.”
He just laughed, feeling very pathetic. Just because he had some relationship with Janus from before, there was no need to blame Janus for appearing here. However, it must’ve been his mistake for not recognizing Adelaide’s existence in advance. Given that Nathan’s journey to Jormungand was unclear, his past should’ve been fully considered. Could it have been that he was intoxicated with that sense of omnipotence because he became strong? Compared to other Hero Universe members, he was still incomplete, but he had been too excited. It could’ve been prevented... But now, Janus was here.
‘She was right there; if I was even a little interested, I could’ve known.’
Kang Shin-hyuk readied his sword as he confronted Janus. The sword in her hand was engulfed in darkness. Inside, he could feel Oh Joo-young’s energy. Jormungand had used him to strengthen the Godslayer.
“Anvil, we can fight later. But not now. It’s annoying, but... First of all, we have to finish this.”
In the past, Janus and Anvil had conversed using the whisper system. It wasn’t like this at all back then, that feeling of boredom Janus had. What was scary was her energy, which didn’t give out at all, was overwhelming everyone in that space. Even the monsters that appeared from the gate were immobilized. No, that may have been fortunate, but... Kang Shin-hyuk clenched his jaw and took a step forward in response.
“I can’t let it go like that.”
“No, it will surely be that way.”
Janus swung her sword regardless of his determination.
-Saaah
As soon as she swung it, Kang Shin-hyuk moved desperately to block it, but her speed was so fast that he could barely block her sword only after it had struck about 70%.
-Saaaaah
“Kh...!”
The moment their swords collided, Kang Shin-hyuk felt a terrible pressure on his body. They were colliding with their weapons, but his very soul felt twisted. It wasn’t a special skill, but this was probably the true power of that dance. His opponent was overpowering him with her existence, her physical strength, and her spiritual power. The only reason he didn’t fall was that Janus pulled back the sword the moment they collided.
“Anvil, no. If you interfere...”
“...You.”
Kang Shin-hyuk, who barely stood in place, was able to see what sort of result that 70% caused. Following the path drawn by her sword, a blade of invisible dark spiritual power had down everything in its path. Both humans and monsters had fallen, and the ceiling had collapsed to reveal the bloody sky. They hadn’t been released from the erosion, however, and the energy of the gate continued to expand outside the gym.
“It’s true that it’s nice to meet you, Anvil, but I don’t have much time here. So, don’t disturb my work, okay?”
“Work?! You’re killing people...!”
The damage caused by that one attack she threw out playfully was far more than what the gate erosion caused. Claire seemed alive, but it was hard to expect all of his friends were in the same state.
“If you want to talk more with me, I’m very sorry, but I can’t help but neutralize it.”
“Janus!”
They meant nothing now. Kang Shin-hyuk ground his teeth as she raised her sword to swing it again. Astrafe was a whopping X-rank weapon, but it had little bite against the Godslayer. Perhaps his sword of light would do a little better. Both of his armaments broke the current limit, so they didn’t fall too short compared to the Godslayer. The problem was not the armament, but the user. The reason why Kang Shin-hyuk became a VIP was that he was a skilled craftsman...
‘No, even so.’
Kang Shin-hyuk pulled out the branches of Halo he had been keeping. Without worrying that Janus’s eyes went wide, he put them in the Great Heavenly Spirit. It wasn’t something he could pull off just because he was pushed to the brink, but now was the time he needed it most. The branches gave off explosive magical power, but he immediately packed them into his belt, converging all that energy to himself. If not used immediately, his whole body would explode, but fortunately, he already had several weapons to use that enormous energy.
“Anvil.”
“Where do we go?”
As he held Astrafe in one hand and the sword of light in his other, he knew very well his swordsmanship wouldn’t reach his foe. If they collided once more, he would be neutralized. So, in order to tie down his opponent as much as possible, he was planning to explode the power of the source of the artifact. He could stimulate the armament with spiritual power, allowing their ability to be exercised to the limit.
[Fragarach]
[???3333]
[Special Abilities: Milky Way, Annihilation,???,???]
* Milky Way: Controls the power of the countless stars in the sky with the power of the god embedded in the armament to bind enemies.
*Annihilation: Light is fired to destroy the enemy.
*???
*???
In fact, it was a sword that he couldn’t even confirm the rank of, so he didn’t want to use it until his skills improved. However, the situation reached this point, so he had no other option. Even Janus’s eyes went wide as Kang Shin-hyuk raised his power with the two swords in hand.
“It’s the power of God, the ability to create God. So I guess you could’ve made my new sword... I hope you can hold it again. I can’t fill the hole of the Godslayer with this lowly soul.”
“Be careful, Janus.”
Not because he didn’t want her to die. It was so they could make the most of the time.
“Anvil, why is it so hot?”
“Milky Way!”
“Oh...!”
The moment the power of the sword of light, Fragarach, was activated, countless lights sparkled from beyond the reddish sky, and dozens of chains fell down. The eroded gate’s power was reduced as the stars embedded in the sky penetrated the gate and bound Janus’s body. He poured out all the energy overflowing in Astrafe and Fragarach to trigger both of their special abilities.
-Kwaaaang!
A god who destroyed the enemy with electricity and one that brought about annihilation with light: Astrafe and Fragarach vanished from his hands, turning into lightning and light, to rush at Janus from above and the side. Janus, who was already bound by Fragarach’s ability Milky Way, seemed to have no way of avoiding it. However, Janus’s response far exceeded his expectations.
“Anvil, I don’t think this is completely yours yet.”
When the two attacks were about to collide with Janus, she realized her spiritual power and caught Fragarach, which reached her first. It was propelled with the Great Heavenly Spirit’s tremendous energy, using Kang Shin-hyuk as a conduit, but Janus took control of it and used it to knock Astrafe out of the sky. A beat after, she manipulated the Godslayer in her hand to unleash the chains.
“I’ll give it back. It seems a little bit unusable.”
Astrafe and Fragarach returned to his hands. Kang Shin-hyuk felt a sense of collapse as he suddenly noticed something. Janus’s spiritual power was in the sword.
“Kh?!”
“I won’t kill you, never.”
Janus spoke with a smile.
“It’s trickier than I thought, Anvil. I’m a little sleepy.”
The two swords straightened and flew towards Kang Shin-hyuk’s abdomen. His eyes went wide at the attack he couldn’t react to. A ‘real’ lightning strike descended from the sky to hit both swords directly.
“You, I’m going to kill you.”
Kang Shin-hyuk saw the boundary of the eroded gate tear as Shin Eunah descended inside. Rather than feeling reassured, his anxiety grew for some reason.
Now, all the leading roles had gathered.