“I’m sorry, brother.”

A thin stream of blood spurted from the man’s throat, where a white light had seeped in.

“Ah…?”

The male user let out a dazed sound, but it was only for a moment. Blood gushed out, and his head was severed, falling to the ground.

Thud! Roll…

Soon, nine heads rolled on the ground, leaving empty spaces where they once stood.

“Watch out!”

“It’s a monster! A monster!”

A ripple of confusion spread among the enemies. The simultaneous decapitation of nine people was quite a shock. But there was no room for hesitation or mercy. As soon as they fell, I charged forward, thrusting and slashing my sword fiercely whenever my path was blocked.

Thrust! Slash!

The tip of my sword pierced hearts with precision, and the blade mercilessly sliced through necks. I aimed for vital points to kill in one strike, minimizing unnecessary follow-up attacks to advance further. Fortunately, I exploited the chaos well, and each strike left gaping holes in the enemies’ necks and chests.

I was carving a path, but my urgency grew.

By now, the spirit summoner must have sensed something was wrong. If they detected danger and retreated, my chance to kill them would drop to zero.

‘I need to move quickly…’

Reflecting my urgency, my grip on the swords shifted slightly. I reduced my defensive focus, concentrating more on offense. Though it sacrificed some precision, it increased destructive power.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The fluid sword path I had been following began to trace a twisted trajectory, carrying the sound of a fierce wind. I leaped in, pivoting on my left foot, and spun half a turn. As my right foot stepped forward, I swung my arms with all my might.

Slice!

With a sharp slicing sound, the complex trajectory left behind a trail of fierce sword energy, spreading in all directions. The quick-witted ones tried to dodge or raise shields, but as soon as the sword energy hit, fountains of blood erupted, obscuring my vision.

I plunged into the blood-soaked space, crossing my swords with all my strength. The targeted enemy raised their weapon in surprise, but it shattered, and they fell to the ground.

“Back off! Back off!”

“Stay away from the monster!”

As I continued to break through, loud, unintelligible shouts mixed with the chaos around me. At the same time, a change began in the movements around me. The enemies started to distance themselves from me. The once tightly packed surroundings now parted, giving me a path wherever I went.

‘Huh?’

I was puzzled by the enemies’ sudden retreat. At the same time, I felt a chilling intent pierce the back of my neck.

Then it happened.

Whizz!

A sinister sound from behind made me instinctively turn my head.

Whoosh!

‘Huh?’

What grazed my neck was a small, spinning hand axe. I was prepared for attacks from behind, so dodging it wasn’t difficult. However, the power behind the axe was impressive enough to send a shiver down my spine. I quickly assessed the situation.

Even amidst this, the enemies continued to distance themselves from me. A circular space was forming around where I stood.

I tilted my head in confusion but quickly dismissed the thought. I sharpened my senses, ready for anything, and charged forward with my swords raised. The lack of arrows or magic attacks was suspicious, but having come this far into enemy territory, I couldn’t stop until I achieved my goal.

I raised my swords and sent out a wave of energy as I charged.

Clang! Clang!

But this time, they were prepared. The wave was quickly blocked by layers of barriers. As I frowned at the sight, I sensed eight presences closing in from all directions.

The eight were approaching in a formation that completely surrounded me. Their smooth and swift movements indicated they were no ordinary foes.

They closed in quickly. Soon, eight figures emerged in front of the retreating enemies.

Three, three, two. Half seemed to be melee fighters, and the rest looked like assassins. I took a deep breath, feeling the air tinged with a subtle killing intent.

‘Can’t ignore them.’

Despite the chaos I had caused, all eyes were on me. The place was packed with enemies. The conditions severely limited my ability to use my spatial abilities for movement. I was forcing my way through when these eight appeared.

Their intent was clear. They aimed to temporarily restrain my rampage.

‘Are they trying to regroup?’

“You shall die…”

The brief standoff broke when a low voice echoed. As the man in front spoke, all eight charged at me simultaneously. Feeling the killing intent from head to toe, I calmly activated my spatial ability.

Whoosh!

A quick glance back revealed the attackers converging on where I had just been. Their coordination was astonishing.

I turned and swung ‘Caligo Abraxas’ horizontally, unleashing the ‘Sword Light’ ability from ‘Victoria’s Glory,’ which I had two uses left.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Moments later, long sword marks appeared on the backs of those who had turned their backs to me, and a white light grazed the necks of those facing me. The man who had declared my death, along with three or four others, let out faint groans as they collapsed.

Three remained. I clicked my tongue inwardly.

The reason ‘Sword Light’ is so powerful is that it can incorporate my user information into its original strength. I had just used the power of a ‘Sword Expert,’ and at times, I could even imbue it with the power of ‘Fire Spirit.’ In hindsight, I regretted hastily using the ability in my urgency.

‘I should save the last use.’

The goal wasn’t to duel the spirit summoner but to kill, take, and escape. Although I had a trump card left, it was wise to conserve the last use of ‘Sword Light.’ With that resolved, I faced the three remaining attackers.

“Kyaah!”

With a unique battle cry, the three spread out and charged. Coincidentally, all the assassins from the previous fight were dead, and the incoming foes were all melee fighters wielding greatswords.

I calculated their trajectories and calmly raised my sword to defend. As the swords clashed, I felt a weight on my wrists, but as soon as I returned the force, I saw them bounce back. The true value of my technique was revealed.

Though they managed to hold onto their weapons, all three had their arms raised, exposing their chests. I prepared to finish them off, raising my sword.

Then it happened.

Drip!

A cold drop of water fell on my cheek. My eyes widened, but I quickly finished the task, delivering rapid jabs with my sword. As I confirmed the blood spurting from their necks, I wiped my face.

The moisture on my wrist was unmistakably water.

The appearance of water surprised me momentarily, but I calmed myself and surveyed the surroundings with my sword raised.

In hindsight, it was strange. Even if the fight with the eight ended quickly, the fact that the enemies remained quiet during that time was hard to understand. Moreover, they had blocked all sides but retreated to give me space.

Perhaps because of this, the atmosphere among the enemies watching me was peculiar. They seemed to be waiting for someone’s command. While there had been some confusion earlier, now there was a strange confidence.

It wasn’t just that. I sensed numerous spells ready to be cast, and countless arrows and crossbows aimed at me. The melee fighters stood firm in front of them.

The hundreds of users surrounding me now showed a much more organized formation than before. It felt like facing a ‘concentrated fire’ formation.

‘Could it be…?’

A sudden thought flashed through my mind, and I quickly focused on sensing magic. It wasn’t long before I realized the air was thick with the scent of water. This could only mean one thing: a water elemental mage was nearby.

“Strange. They shouldn’t be close enough yet… Ah.”

No, it was possible. I had clearly miscalculated. The water mage hadn’t chosen to flee. Instead, they had sensed my approach and decided to confront me head-on. We were closing the distance between us. It made sense; running away from a lone intruder wouldn’t be logical.

“Fire!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Before I could fully process this realization, a command rang out, followed by the sound of countless spells being unleashed. The spells arced into the sky, tracing graceful curves before descending upon me. I cursed under my breath. The enemy had cunningly set up a barrier around themselves and were bombarding my position with simultaneous attacks.

Determined to hold my ground, I gripped my twin swords and began deflecting the incoming ice spears and wind blades.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Though my swords sliced through the spells with precision, the sheer volume was overwhelming. I could feel slight tremors in my body from the ones I couldn’t deflect. My innate magic resistance was holding for now, but I couldn’t be sure how long it would last under continuous assault.

“Fire!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Caught in a dilemma, I focused on defense as a rain of arrows sliced through the air, descending in a deadly diagonal. There was no way to fend them all off. Gritting my teeth, I activated my spatial shift ability. With no other escape route, I reluctantly took to the air.

Once airborne, I glanced down to prepare for any homing spells and was met with an unexpected sight.

The ground I had just vacated was now a pincushion of arrows, easily numbering over a hundred. None of them were returning to me.

And then it happened.

Splash!

As if on cue, a water attack sliced through the air, a single stream cutting a path toward me.

A water whip lashed out, aiming straight for my head. Calmly, I raised my sword and deflected it. As I surveyed my surroundings, a realization struck me, and my eyes narrowed.

Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash!

Dozens of water streams had appeared around me, suspended in mid-air.

‘They anticipated my spatial shift.’

But that wasn’t all. The water streams I had initially deflected were now merging, forming new tendrils that coiled around, ready to strike again.

Swish!

In that fleeting moment, I ducked my head.

What I saw next was the group of mages controlling the water, with a woman with striking blue hair standing at their center. She met my gaze with a cold smile.

”…Heh.”

I returned her smile, gripping the sword in my right hand, “Caligo Abraxas,” with renewed determination.

A message appeared in the air.

『Activating Caligo Abraxas’s latent ability: Broken Fragments.』

---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=

Hello, this is Royujin.

Yes, I’m back today. My exam finished in the afternoon, so the midnight update is a bit late. (I hope you understand!)

Thanks to your support and patience, the exam went well. Of course, I’ll have to wait for the results, but I feel confident that I prepared well enough not to disappoint my parents. :D

I read through your comments today, and some of you have very sharp insights.

The feedback that resonated with me the most was about the excessive descriptions, even though the story is from the protagonist’s first-person perspective.

Upon reflection, I realized the descriptions were indeed quite verbose. This detracted from the urgency and made the situation feel less tense than it should have been. Haha.

So, I’m planning to streamline the prose and cut down on the embellishments.

I do love descriptive writing, so I’m a bit worried about how well I’ll manage. It’s been five days since I last wrote, so I’m feeling a bit rusty. If you notice anything awkward, please don’t hesitate to point it out.

Ah… Anyway, I’m relieved the exams are over. They were tough with so many subjects, but I had fun studying with my siblings at the school library, staying up late, and snacking. Everything feels beautiful now that I’m in a good mood. Hahaha.

Thank you once again for your patience, and I’ll resume daily updates starting today.

Thank you. (__)