The situation truly felt like I was at a crossroads between life and death.
I had never experienced such pain and agony in my life.
Me, just a common man who normally played games, when would I have ever been injured to the point of death?
Even though my special ability reduced it, the excruciating pain piercing from my toes to the top of my head was intense enough to make me lose consciousness for a moment.
There was not a single part of my body that was unharmed, and the instinct to survive dimmed like a fading candle.
‘I can hardly move my fingertips…’
There were three places where the spear had struck.
Abdomen.
Right chest.
Thigh.
Only wounds severe enough to prevent me from continuing the fight.
Anyone, not just an ordinary person, would not be surprised if they died immediately from the bleeding and shock.
But I realized once again,
‘The durability of the body I’m possessing is incredible.’
The body he had possessed was beyond ordinary.
Feeling the buoyancy as if floating on water, I examined my body condition solely through sensation.
Though it was strong, in reality, even for ‘Julian,’ such wounds should have been fatal.
The only reason I could still breathe was purely because ‘Sombra’ had protected my organs and minimized the bleeding.
‘It doesn’t want to die either.’
The moment I absorbed the soul stone, ‘Sombra’ and I became one in mind and body. This diligent healing was also it struggling to survive.
‘I feel the same way.’
I didn’t want to die in a place like this.
And certainly not for something completely unrelated to me, dying due to the karma of something I didn’t even do is definitely out of the question.
‘I have to get up.’
As soon as I made up my mind, my body, which couldn’t even move a fingertip, gradually began to obey.
At the same time,
“Kuh.”
The nerves that had been asleep seemed to have opened their eyes, and the pain of the damaged body became all mine.
The discomfort pierced the sky.
I had no energy, it was hard to move, but the intense pain was distinctly felt.
“This much… I can endure.”
Nevertheless, this damned mouth boasted with bravado as I hypnotized myself.
The pathological aura was so strong that even I had to stick out my tongue.
‘Yes, somehow, endure it.’
If I die, who will water the orchids waiting at home?
And the two children I just adopted also weigh on my mind.
As the thought occurred to me, my will to live grew stronger.
“Ugh!”
Regaining my composure, I began to pull out each spear embedded in my body.
Bang!
Next to me, the sound of someone flying into the wall could be heard.
“Cough, cough!”
Ignoring that, I focused on pulling out the spears.
It was clear that pulling them out would cause severe bleeding,
‘If you want to live, then you better stop it.’
I wasn’t sure if communication was possible, but I spoke to ‘Sombra.’
If it had any sense, it would handle it.
One.
“Grunt…”
Two.
“Gasping, gasping.”
Three.
“Kuh.”
With barely any strength, I managed to pull out all three spears.
As expected, ‘Sombra’ had managed to block the potentially large bleeding holes.
My bloodshot eyes hurt as if boiling water had been poured on them, but my gaze instinctively scanned the surroundings.
‘Where is the Moonblade Sword…?’
The fighting spirit was tremendous, to the point where words failed me.
Even in this situation, I was sitting and searching for the sword.
But this time, I did not deny the abnormal fighting spirit of ‘Julian.’
The fight was not over yet.
The demon-turned Idel was still alive, and I was still at the crossroads of life and death.
‘Where is it?’
The expensive sword I had made was nowhere to be seen.
Already feeling like I would go mad from the pain, the absence of the sword irritated me further.
Cough.
Coughing, I barely managed to stand on two feet.
Was the sword broken? No, that couldn’t be it.
It must be somewhere among the pile of demon corpses.
‘Can I find it?’
No way.
I was certain of it. In this situation, I wouldn’t be able to find it.
I would have to search through the bodies one by one, and Idel wouldn’t wait for that, nor did I have the strength to do so.
Crackle.
Just then, a short sword wrapped in cloth fell from my pocket.
The sword used by Sword Saint Hayden Reich.
It was decrepit, with more than half of the blade missing, hardly reminiscent of its past glory.
‘Just like the current Sword Saint.’
Still, I grabbed the hilt of the sword.
It felt rough and strange.
Even amidst the storm of pain, I could distinctly feel it.
Originally, it should have been the protagonist, not the Sword Saint, who used this sword.
[<Amnesia> trait transformed into <New Sword Saint>.]
As unfamiliar text appeared, I felt the pain slightly subside.
At the same time, I began to have a clearer idea of how to handle the sword I was holding.
“For the Hyrans family.”
Through <Aura Conversion>, when I reinforced the short blade into a ‘Moonlight Sword,’ a sharp killing intent directed itself towards me.
Tri-horn demon, Idel.
The monster’s attention had shifted to me.
“Julian!”
Linne was here before I knew it.
“We must proclaim the greatness.”
“Be careful!”
Along with her shout, a spear flew at me, slicing through the wind towards me.
Clang!
Barely managing to divert it with my sword, the force was so great that it made my upper body stagger.
Moreover, the two legs I was forcibly standing on trembled as if they could collapse at any moment.
“Growl…!”
Still, I couldn’t afford to fall here. After all, I’m called ‘Julian,’ renowned as a ‘demon hunting genius.’
I gathered all my strength into my legs.
Feeling my muscles tense up from their previous squishiness, I closed the distance between me and Idel.
Clang!
As if refusing my approach, another spear flew towards me.
Having gained a new trait, my vision had improved. For instance, I could see the trajectory of speeds invisible to the naked eye.
However, while my ‘eyes’ had improved, my already damaged body remained the same.
Furthermore, the floor, mottled with demon slime and blood, was incredibly unstable.
Splat!
‘If I don’t dodge, I die.’
A sinister premonition invaded my mind.
“Ugh!”
Fortunately, that did not become reality.
Linne, who had followed beside me, swung her sword and barely deflected the ‘spear.’
Although she tried to block it directly, the power contained in that ‘spear’ was no small matter, causing Linne to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
‘That’s enough.’
Seeing that scene, I took another step towards Idel.
As I approached, Idel, instead of firing another ‘spear,’ began a close-quarters battle.
His arm, hardened beyond normal, struck at me in a straight line.
Crack!
Barely blocking it with my sword beside my face, sparks flew fiercely.
With each contact of Idel’s arm against my sword, the aura wrapped around my ‘Moonlight Sword’ gradually wore down.
“Argh, ugh…!”
Though my lower body was sticky as if glued to the ground and hardly obeying, I forcefully raised my arm and swung the ‘Moonlight Sword’ at him.
Crack!
Sparks flew again.
What was wearing down was not Idel’s body, but only the aura wrapped around the Sword Saint’s sword.
‘In that case, make it even sharper.’
It was nothing more than roughly enhancing a broken sword with aura, but I kept refining the aura.
Increasing the strength and honing the cutting power.
Knowing that it wouldn’t affect him, as he was coated in ultra-hardening across his body, I kept swinging the sword relentlessly.
The sparks that flew into the air touched my cheek, causing burns, but I didn’t stop.
This was the only thing I could do now.
“To the glory of the Hyrans family.”
Naturally, Idel was not just passively taking hits.
Each time I swung my sword, he retaliated, and I had to roll across the ground covered in the demon’s slimy blood and torn flesh.
A visceral repulsion surged from deep within my chest,
But shut up. Survival comes first right now.
“Hyrans.”
As I grew more accustomed to the Sword Saint’s sword, my ‘Moonlight Sword’ became sharper.
“To the family.”
Conversely, the blade of the sword grew shorter.
“To the glory… Growl!”
Eventually, when I was about to land a significant blow that would elicit a scream from him, the worn-down blade and the aura it carried no longer suited even to be called a ‘sword.’
“Ah, no…”
“Hehehe, hehehe.”
Amidst Linne’s despair-filled voice and Idel’s mocking laughter, I ignored them and kicked at the sticky ground.
Crunch!
There it was, the long-sought ‘Moonlight Sword.’
I found it.
“Could it be…”
Murmuring something, I left Linne’s voice behind and infused the aura into the Moonlight Sword, now familiar to me. It accepted my aura without any resistance.
This is how my sword should be.
I glanced at the sword in my left hand with a satisfied smile.
‘The sword used by the Sword Saint…’
I let it go from my hand.
Though this sword held great significance to me, there is no one in this world fit to wield it now. Only its perverted purity remains.
‘Farewell.’
With a self-deprecating smile, I grasped the Moonlight Sword with both hands.
“KRAAAAAAH!”
Perhaps sensing a stronger presence than before, Idel’s eyes widened.
With a menacing roar, he raised both hands, his absurd ability ‘ultra-hardening’ leading as he swung his arms brutally.
Swipe.
Riding on the enlarged demon hand, I charged towards Idel’s solar plexus.
‘I have only one crushing attack left.’
Considering my body’s condition, this would be my last strike.
[Using the trait, <Sombra>.]
Given the situation, I summoned every ounce of strength I had left, determined to use every means available to me.
[Traits, <Moonlight Sword> and <Sombra>, repel each other.]
The firepower was too much to handle even when my body was healthy.
‘Ah.’
But why, after wandering close to death, had my mind cleared?
I just realized why I hadn’t been able to control this power properly before.
‘It had no name.’
In this world, ‘names’ carry significant meaning.
The stronger the magic, the more likely it has a unique name, and this applies to individual traits and auras as well.
Even ‘demons’ gain strength if they have names.
“To the Hyrans family!”
At a critical moment, Idel mimics human speech, distracting me from my thoughts.
Damn him.
He must instinctively feel it too. That this is the end.
To finish him off, I looked at the ‘Moonlight Sword’ holding ‘Sombra.’
The blade, dark as if obscured by moonlight and shadows.
‘Eclipse.’
Yes, your name is ‘Eclipse (月蝕).’
[A new trait has been created.]
[You have obtained <Moonlight Sword/Eclipse> for the first time.]
‘Eclipse,’ now inscribed with a name, did not surge with uncontrollable aura as before.
Thanks to this, I could deliver a more precise strike.
‘The left chest where the Hyrans family crest has not disappeared.’
“TO GLORY!”
As Idel’s spear and fist flew towards me, hanging in the air, I spun my body and shook them off.
Then, I thrust my sword into his left chest.
Thrust!
The sword, which shone a bright black, swiftly pierced his heart, unlike before.
“Grrr, ugh.”
The emblem of the Hyrans family was shattered in one blow. I know that most of a humanoid demon’s soul stones are located in their heart… But Idel was still moving.
“It wasn’t near the heart…!”
“What a cunning bastard…”
He talked about the glory of his family, yet it wasn’t in his heart. Fortunately, this attack was never intended to target the soul stone in the first place. The characteristic of “Eclipse” lies not only in its sharpness but also in its ‘explosive power’ due to repulsion. When the sword that kills demons and the demon’s characteristics clashed, a controlled explosion could be felt resonating from the tip of the sword.
“Gah, urgh…”
With a crunch, multiple black sword blades shot out from Idel’s body like shadows.
“It seems the interior isn’t that solid…”
Splash!
A viscous, blood-like substance splattered on my face, and for a moment, Idel looked down at me as if time had stopped. His eyes, which were filled with a demon’s crimson ferocious aura, now bore only one emotion, resembling a human’s gaze.
“Ju, Julian…”
The one staring at me, with eyes filled with the color of ‘hatred’ above his head, was not the demon Idel but Idel of the Hyrans family.
“Did you properly serve the imperial family well? Didn’t you get exterminated because you caused trouble?”
This is so like ‘Julian.’
“Juliaaaaaaaan!”
With a scream-like roar, Idel’s body crumbled, and the sword embedded in his heart fell to the ground with a clatter. The blackened sword around ‘Eclipse’ gradually returned to its original form, the ‘Moonlight Sword.’
“…Haha, this is an absurd monster.”
In the corner, the black knight laughed weakly. Even Linne, who had dodged the spear by throwing herself, dragged her tattered body towards me.
“Are you alright, Sir Yulian!?”
Alright? Hell no. I’m on the verge of death.
“I’m only ashamed to be wounded by a mere demon.”
Even in this situation, my damn ego was putting on a brave face.
“Don’t joke around. The wound is so deep I can see through to the other side!”
She was right. Although Sombra had stopped the bleeding from the spear wound, it was still there. With a wound like this, I should at least be able to say it hurts.
“For a swordsman, such injuries are common.”
That damn pride.
Cliche Novel 