Chapter 1126
Snap! Rector inhaled sharply, his gaze fixed on the descending form of Archangel Ramiel, who was cloaked in a veil of static.
'He has become the lightning itself.'
Since Ramiel had saturated his physical form with electricity, his velocity had surpassed the tracking capabilities of the human eye. Rector, a practitioner of the Ten Thousand Swords, was a master of the Quick Sword, yet even his honed perception struggled to pinpoint Ramiel's position.
'To the right?'
A sudden surge of murderous intent prickled the skin near his right collarbone. With desperate reflexes, he lashed out with his blade to intercept a fist heavy with high-voltage energy. The collision was deafening; the moment steel met the electrified knuckle, a shockwave tore through Rector, threatening to splinter the bones of his arm and shoulder.
'Gah!'
Rector clamped his jaw shut, swallowing the howl of agony that rose from his gut.
'This is getting critical...'
A searing torment radiated through his right arm—the same limb Ramiel had previously mangled during the rescue of Mustan. His fingers spasmed, nearly relinquishing their hold on the hilt. With a faint hissing noise, Rector looked down at his arm; it had charred to a bruised, sickly black.
'My nerves aren't responding.'
The Archangel’s bolts remained lodged in his flesh like jagged splinters, refusing to fade. Every attempt to purge them with his own internal aura only caused the energy to burrow deeper, heightening the torture.
'I have to find a way...'
Just as Rector prepared to forcefully eject the embedded lightning at the cost of permanent damage, a sharp crack signaled Ramiel’s arrival behind him. The speed was so absolute it defied reaction.
'Where is the strike landing?'
The adversary moved too fast, his presence masked until the final microsecond, leaving Rector blind to the target. In the heartbeat he had left, Rector had to gamble on a single point of defense.
'His ego is bruised because I parried him once. In that case...'
He’s going for the kill. Rector shifted his blade, centering it directly over his vital organs. The gamble paid off; Ramiel’s glowing fist smashed into the flat of the sword. The sheer force of the "boom" sent Rector flying backward like a scrap of parchment caught in a gale.
His arm had gone entirely numb; the only reason he still held the weapon was through sheer mental obsession.
'Is this where I fall?'
The secondary impact had caused the lightning within him to sync with the external shock, paralyzing his right side completely. It truly felt like the end of the road.
"Master!"
Mustan’s voice cut through the roar of the storm, a desperate shout that seemed to push back the static. His student watched with shaking hands, his eyes pleading for Rector to survive.
"Old man! Don't you dare quit now!"
Even Lawrence had abandoned his usual mask of boredom, his fists raised and his expression taut with genuine concern.
'That's right. I’m not done.'
Rector forced his head up, a bloody grin spreading across his face.
'I have to get those two out of here alive.'
Even if his life ended on this soil, he had to ensure that Mustan, his legacy, and Lawrence, who was like kin to him, escaped this slaughter.
'And I can't leave yet. I haven't seen my grandson and granddaughter in far too long!'
He had spent months infiltrating Derus’s territory to gather intelligence on these Angels. Until he could deliver that data to Raon and see the boy's smile, he refused to collapse.
'But I can't win by defending.'
The disparity was too great. Rector was fading, while Ramiel’s power was surging to heights beyond perfection. Since skill alone wasn't bridging the gap, he needed a cold, tactical sacrifice.
'I'll give up the right arm.'
He shifted his blade to his left hand, turning his back to the foe. He silently vowed to take Ramiel’s life in exchange for the limb that was already ruined. With a sharp pop of air, Ramiel materialized as predicted, driving a heavy fist toward Rector's crippled right shoulder.
Even anticipating the move, the velocity was staggering. Rector didn't flinch or retreat; he leaned into the blow, offering the arm as bait.
A thunderous explosion of pain racked his mind—not a dull ache, but a sensation so sharp it transcended feeling. The agony threatened to snuff out his consciousness entirely.
'Hold on!'
But his spirit was tempered too well to break from mere pain.
"Grrr!"
Rector ground his teeth until they cracked, thrusting the sword in his left hand toward the arrogant Archangel.
'A swordsman is defined by his soul, not his limbs.'
For a Master who has reached Transcendence, the true weapon is the unbreakable Willpower forged over decades. The loss of an arm was a small price for a killing blow. With a low rumble, Rector ignited every drop of aura and Willpower he possessed, driving his blade through the shimmering lightning barrier and deep into the left side of Ramiel's ribcage.
The sound of shattering bone echoed as the sword sank in, and blood glowing with a faint light sprayed across the ground.
"Arrrrgghh!"
The Archangel shrieked—a raw, visceral sound of someone experiencing true vulnerability for the first time. In his panic, he discharged a massive burst of electricity.
'Tch...'
Rector bit his cracked lip.
'I missed the center.'
While the steel had pierced the chest, the explosion of lightning had deflected the tip just enough to avoid a total rupture of the heart. It was a partial victory.
"You worm!"
Ramiel clamped his hand over the blade protruding from his torso. He funneled lightning into his grip to wrench the weapon out. However, with Rector’s aura vibrating inside his chest, the Archangel’s power flickered; the surrounding bolts were noticeably weaker and thinner.
"You aren't going anywhere!"
Rector roared, planting his heels into the dirt. Using every ounce of leverage, he shoved his left arm forward, driving the blade deeper. The sound of shearing meat followed as the blue steel disappeared further into Ramiel’s chest, causing a spray of crimson to erupt from the creature's mouth.
"Guuurgh!"
Ramiel doubled over, his strength beginning to fail as his grip on the blade slackened.
'Now. I have to finish it!'
Rector began to pivot his hips, intending to saw through the creature's entire torso, but Ramiel found a second wind. The Archangel gripped the steel with renewed desperation. Yellow sparks flared across his knuckles, radiating a terrifying pressure.
'He still has this much left?'
Even with a mangled heart, the entity's power was immense. Had he been at full strength, Rector realized he would have been vaporized instantly.
"You filth!"
Ramiel snarled, his teeth bared in a feral grin. He squeezed the blade so hard the metal groaned, swearing to shred Rector into pieces.
"Mmmmh..."
Rector gasped, shocked by the sheer physical dominance Ramiel exerted.
'Is the gap between species this wide?'
He was pushing with the weight of mountains, yet even a dying Archangel felt like an immovable object. It was like trying to shove a spear through a solid peak.
'I can't let go. If I let go, we die!'
He had burned through his reserves to land this one hit. If he retreated now, he, Mustan, and Lawrence would be slaughtered. Survival required him to stay in the heart of the fire.
"Huaaaaaaah!"
Rector gave a primal shout, sinking his weight into his knees. He used his entire body as a piston, forcing the sword another fraction of an inch into the Archangel's chest.
'I have to end this before he adapts.'
Half of Ramiel’s heart was now shredded. A mortal would have been a corpse, but the Archangel endured. Rector had succeeded only in neutralizing the enemy's peak power, not his life.
"Die! You parasite!"
Ramiel swung a heavy fist into Rector’s face. It sounded like a boulder striking a cliff, but Rector only smiled through the blood, his grip never wavering.
"You're getting weak. If that had been your full strength, I wouldn't have a head left!"
Rector mocked him, channeling his final aura into the blade. The energy surrounding the steel expanded, carving through muscle and bone, causing a fountain of ichor to burst out.
"Gaaaaargh!"
Ramiel howled at the fresh agony, hammering his fist into Rector’s side.
"Keep trying. It's not enough!"
Rector grinned with a mouth full of blood, continuing to twist the steel in the wound.
"Graaah!"
Ramiel’s frame convulsed as his healing factor struggled against the constant tearing. His radiant wings began to droop, stained and heavy with gore.
"A mere mortal..."
He glared with eyes that burned like dying stars.
"A mortal dares to challenge the divine!"
Ramiel snarled, reaching his free hand toward the darkened heavens.
"Receive the judgment of the high heavens!"
As his hand dropped, a torrent of red lightning fell. It was a deluge of crimson fire that engulfed both combatants in a massive, earth-shaking detonation.
"Kuherk!"
Rector fell to one knee, coughing up blood. His skin was scorched black from the direct contact with the celestial strike.
"Heh heh..."
Ramiel hadn't escaped unscathed; his own skin was blistering, and blood leaked from his lips. Yet he smirked, seeing Rector’s state was far worse.
"Man was never meant to endure the wrath of the sky."
He nodded, satisfied with the destruction.
"You're burning too, aren't you?"
Rector panted, watching the Archangel’s flesh melt under the lingering heat.
"True. The lightning does not discriminate. But..."
Ramiel tilted his head back, his eyes full of scorn.
"I am born of Holy Power. My resistance is absolute. You will ash long before I do!"
He raised his hand again, signaling his intent to call down more fire. The clouds roared in response, a massive bolt forming in the vortex above.
"Graaaah!"
Rector lunged, trying to find the last of the Archangel's heart. But the grip on his sword was like a vice; he couldn't move the blade an inch.
"Keheheh..."
Ramiel seemed to find a sick pleasure in the stalemate, calling down a second strike. Rector watched the javelin of light descending, his mind racing.
'Damn it...'
There was no way to dodge. To protect himself, he’d have to pull back his aura, which would allow Ramiel to heal and kill them all from a distance. He had to stand his ground, even if it meant being cremated.
'Hold on! He has to be at his breaking point too!'
As the sky prepared to shatter, two figures blurred into the space above Rector. With a resounding boom, Mustan and Lawrence arrived. They threw their combined techniques upward, meeting the descending bolt head-on. The clash was tectonic.
As their energies met the red lightning, a dark fissure seemed to split the very air between the ground and the heavens.
However, the divine power was overwhelming. Mustan and Lawrence were being slowly crushed by the weight of the sky.
"Nnnngh!"
Mustan’s arm buckled, his bones groaning under the electric pressure.
"Stand firm!"
Lawrence attempted to divert the energy using the Reverse Wave Arts, but the Holy Power was fundamentally different from the energies he knew, making it nearly impossible to redirect.
"Ah..."
Rector watched in stunned silence. He had never expected them to jump into the middle of this divine firestorm.
"Get out of here! You can't stop that!"
He yelled, his voice cracking.
"Would you have run, Master?"
"Exactly. You're the one who taught us to be stubborn, old man!"
The two disciples remained anchored, refusing to yield an inch. Their sheer desperation seemed to ripple through the air, and the lightning finally sputtered and died just feet above Rector's head.
"Vermin will always be vermin!"
Ramiel’s expression twisted in genuine fury. To be thwarted by those he considered insignificant insects was an unforgivable insult.
"I will burn every trace of you from this world!"
He swept his hand down, and dozens of bolts began to rain from the sky.
"Mustan, take the far right! I'll hold the rest!"
Lawrence screamed, throwing his body into the path of the storm. Even as his hair scorched and his skin blistered, he didn't move.
"Old man..."
Lawrence glanced back at Rector, a defiant smirk on his lips.
"Forget about us. Just kill him!"
He gave a sharp nod, urging Rector forward.
"Uaaaaaaah!"
Mustan couldn't find the words, only a roar of encouragement as he fought the sky.
"Thank you..."
Rector nodded, his focus narrowing entirely onto his blade.
'If I fail now, I’m not fit to be called a swordsman.'
Witnessing their sacrifice, a final barrier in his understanding of the Ten Thousand Swords shattered. A new enlightenment took hold. His mind and body synchronized into a single edge; his left hand suddenly felt as natural and potent as his right.
With a hum of resonant power, Rector’s aura pierced through the Holy barrier and finally slid deep into the center of Ramiel's heart.
"Huh...?"
Ramiel’s mouth fell open, his entire body trembling at the icy sensation of steel finally hitting its mark.
"You... you mongrel!"
Faced with his own demise, Ramiel released his core essence. Eight massive wings erupted from his back as golden lightning exploded in every direction. The force was cataclysmic. Mustan and Lawrence were hurled away like dolls, crashing into the broken earth.
Rector was also blasted back, coughing up dark blood as the shockwave hit him. But even as he tumbled, he kept his mental tether to the sword buried in the Archangel's chest.
"I didn't think a human could force me to this state."
Ramiel spat, looking at his fully manifested wings.
"For that, I will make your end an eternity of suffering!"
He reached out a hand wreathed in gold. With a sickening tear, Rector’s chest was sliced open. The old swordsman finally lost his grip and collapsed.
"Guuurgh..."
Rector’s left palm was flayed open, the skin gone from the friction of holding the sword until the very last second.
"Persistent trash."
Ramiel looked at the indentations Rector’s fingers had left on the hilt, his brow furrowed in disgust.
"First, you’ll learn what pain is. I'll pull your skeleton out piece by piece."
As Ramiel reached down to hoist Rector up by the throat, a small bird—a swallow—appeared in the blackened sky with a sharp whistle.
"A swallow?"
As Ramiel looked up, a thin red line manifested across his throat. With a hiss of heat, the line erupted into a searing blaze, bisecting the Archangel’s form and sending the pieces tumbling back.
"You... you are..."
Rector’s breath hitched as he recognized the man who had just decapitated the Archangel and now stood before him.
"Why are you here...?"
"Rest. I've got it from here."
The newcomer lowered his hand, releasing a soothing, dark sacred energy that began to knit Rector’s wounds together. Once the bleeding stopped, he gently placed the old man on the ground.
"Huh..."
Rector felt the agonizing pressure of the lightning finally lift.
"Golden hair and crimson eyes. You're the one Derus was talking about..."
Ramiel snarled, holding his head against his neck as he glared at the intruder.
"Be quiet."
Raon Zieghart. The leader of the Light Wind and the Sword Emperor whose name shook the continent, stood tall. His eyes burned with a cold, predatory light as he stepped onto the golden sparks.
"I’m going to show you exactly what happens when you touch my people."
