Chapter 149: The Sage Points His Blade at the Demigod

The demigod stiffened in surprise.

His right arm had been severed cleanly.

Blood spurted from the cross-section and soaked the ground.

When the demigod put his other hand on the stump, the bleeding stopped.

Perhaps he used his ability to hold it in.

He then stared at his fallen arm.

That arm disappeared in a split-second motion and was drawn to the demigod.

He used his working arm to grab the limb and pressed the two cross-sections against each other.

Soon the arm was joined again.

The demigod flexed his fingers to test his mobility.

There didn’t seem to be any particular discomfort.

It seemed as though the nerves inside had also connected accurately.

What a terrifying restorative ability.

The demigod landed on the ground where the remains of Grom lay.

It merely exuded miasma without any sign of movement.

“That final blow was brilliant.”

The demigod held out his hand as he said that.

He compressed the space above Grom and shattered what little remained of him into dust.

It was a thorough act of destruction that completely incapacitated Grom.

“…”

I actively tried to be level-headed.

As long as I supplied magic, it was possible to revive Grom.

He wouldn’t perish so easily.

In terms of immortality, his own was one of the best.

Therefore, I couldn’t lose my composure here.

The demigod glanced at the shattered Grom.

Then he looked at me.

“As expected, it still isn’t a big deal. Before my power, he was merely a vulnerable existence.”

“He properly accomplished his duty. That’s more than enough.”

I retorted at the demigod.

As the demigod sighed, he gestured with one arm.

His muddy eyes showed dismay and contempt.

“Is it about cutting off one of my arms? Or is it about showing part of my ability? Either way, it's a trivial thing. It won’t affect the outcome of this duel.”

The demigod stated with a chilly tone.

Grom’s struggle was treated as meaningless to him.

I didn’t say anything back.

I didn’t come here to argue with him.

Even if I were to defeat him in an argument, it wasn’t like it would be advantageous to me.

What I needed to do now was to show the fruits of Grom’s labor, to prove that his contribution was worth the effort.

There was nothing else to it, I shouldn’t be so overwhelmed by emotions.

I pulled the sword out of the scabbard and held it in a familiar manner.

It was the swordsmanship style that once cut down the Demon Lord.

Even recently, it was used to slaughter various heroes.

The sword itself was imbued with inescapable causality.

And tonight, yet another victim would be added to its record.

The demigod gave a suspicious look as he scanned my form.

He then asked me.

“Isn’t it just a sword? Are you that arrogant to try and fight me with that?”

“I am not arrogant. I’ll show you proof of that right now.”

I stepped forward.

With the sword in hand, I quietly and casually approached the demigod.

I didn’t rush and kept moving my legs at regular intervals.

I roughly understood how the demigod fought.

I could also understand how he used his ability.

On top of that, I could predict how he would act.

It wasn’t like I moved without thinking.

That person’s swordsmanship was apt for counterattacking.

The basis of the technique was refined with defense as its main focus.

She tried not to be injured in any way because even a small wound could spell the difference between victory and defeat against the demonkin.

It could be considered as a necessary skill to be a hero.

As a result, her swordsmanship was sublimated with that in mind.

“…”

The demigod keenly observed me.

Although he pretended to be calm, I could see the restlessness in his movements.

It seemed he was confused by my unexpected approach.

Perhaps he thought I would rush immediately at him.

Apparently, the demigod wasn’t used to combat.

I could see he was definitely lacking experience.

Considering his movements up till this point, he did seem trained, but it was more makeshift.

He relied on his ability more than everything else.

However, his lack of combat experience could hardly be called his weakness.

It was because he could defeat most opponents with just his magic.

That was how abnormal the demigod’s ability was.

It was that strength that allowed him to have the upperhand and become victorious in many battles.

However, it wouldn’t be as effective if the opponent was as strong or stronger than him.

The demigod tried to move his arms.

I focused more on his behavior and the minute changes he made.

His outstretched finger faded from its tip and disappeared.

It would connect to some distant space and transfer only a part of his body to another location.

It seemed he intended to ambush me that way.

It was the thing he did when he hit Grom from the back.

I followed my intuition and slashed my sword.

The slice I made as I bent my upper body managed to cut the hand that approached from my blind spot.

Then I continued to unleash a series of slashes.

The demigod’s hand had its fingers down to its wrist chopped into many pieces when it extended from the void.

“…gh.”

The demigod withdrew his hand.

The hand he had stretched into the void of space came out bloody but the cut points had already joined.

He sure treated it fast. It seems he is used to doing it.

Such dexterity would be impossible if he was merely proficient in space magic.

Perhaps he was trained to not die.

I could see his effort.

“Why is your sword not broken? It should have been destroyed the moment I made contact with its blade.”

The demigod said that while looking at the keepsake sword.

I shook off the smeared blood and answered.

“I merely slashed at a speed beyond the interference of space magic. It wasn’t that difficult.”

When an object touched the demigod, the space around it would distort and it would be destroyed mercilessly.

Even with my capability in space magic, it would be hard for me to resist it.

At first glance, it would seem to be an invincible attack but it wasn't actually maintained all the time.

The demigod had to consciously activate it.

Just like that time when Grom used the thread of miasma, an attack would be effective against the demigod when it wasn’t in an activated state.

In addition, the space magic of the demigod had a drawback wherein there was a cooldown before it could be activated again.

I noticed that during the battle earlier.

The stronger the spell he used, the longer the cooldown he needed.

It was merely a brief moment, but that moment was enough time to cut off an arm before it could be reactivated.

By increasing the speed of the sword, it was possible to deal with the demigod’s space magic.

“No way…”

“Does this prove it? I wasn’t being arrogant, I intended to defeat you with all my might.”

I declared while pointing the tip of the blade at him.

The keepsake sword reflected the pale light of the moon as a line of blood ran down and dripped to the ground.

The demigod grumbled as he paid attention to his slashed arm.

“I thought you were a magician, but it seems I misunderstood. To think you are Lich who is also a swordsman.”

“Are you scared?”

“I merely thought it was surprising. It won’t affect the subjugation of the Demon Lord.”

The gaze of the demigod was filled with fighting spirit.

Even though measures were taken to go against his ability, he wasn’t giving up on victory yet.

He intended to use all his power to kill me.

That appearance of his was certainly that of a Herald.

“—Let’s go.”

The demigod took a stance and created space distortions in all directions.

Then, he used them to attack me.