Chapter 607
Episode 156: Purification of Chaos (11)
[That took longer than usual, didn’t it?]
Chaos lifted its head and spoke.
Today was the first day of October, 1801. Jin had crossed the gate of Chaos after three months since their last battle. Until now, they had fought only at one-month intervals—this was a first.
“I was choosing a gift for you.”
Jin’s voice was low and calm, but beneath that calmness lay a deep-seated hatred directed at Chaos. Anyone with eyes sharp enough to read such malice would see Jin now as little more than a vengeful demon.
[A gift?]
Over the past year and three months, Jin had undergone many changes. Through long, grueling battles, he had regained about half of his lost energy and accumulated new power through training.
Still, he had never been a match for Chaos.
Even the record from their last fight—18 minutes and 27 seconds—was hardly a proper battle. Jin had spent most of the time dodging before fleeing.
But today, Jin believed things would be different.
[So, you brought a toy to amuse yourself on this boring day?]
Chaos sneered.
‘The Spirit Sword ultimate skill… Could it be that he finally perfected that technique he’s been thinking about every time we fought?’
In this space, Chaos could read Jin’s thoughts.
That’s why, in every battle, Chaos had gathered information on all of Jin’s new martial arts, including the Spirit Sword ultimate skill, and easily countered them.
‘Actually, there was no need to counter anything. None of those techniques ever fully manifested because he lacked the power to unleash them properly.’
Until now, the only thing that had truly irritated Chaos was the pure hatred Jin carried. Just sensing that hatred made Chaos feel uneasy.
Chaos rose to its feet and looked down at Jin. As always, in its eyes, Jin appeared weak enough to be crushed beneath a paw.
But moments later, Chaos sensed Jin’s hatred suddenly fading.
[Oh? What’s this? You’re realizing you can’t win against me… huh?]
It wasn’t just that.
Along with the vanishing hatred, Chaos realized it could no longer read Jin’s inner thoughts.
This was unprecedented.
[What did you do?]
Jin didn’t answer.
In his right hand now gleamed Bradamante, stained black with spiritual energy. Chaos was shocked—he hadn’t even noticed Jin drawing the sword. A cold shiver ran down his spine, his scales bristling.
[This!]
Swish—!
Chaos swung a paw swiftly, but felt no resistance. Another swipe, a frantic tail strike—still nothing.
‘Where did he go!?’
Chaos turned its head this way and that, but Jin was nowhere to be seen. It was as if he had never entered this space at all.
‘No sign of him opening a door and escaping.’
If Chaos unleashed its energy throughout the space, Jin would have no choice but to be caught.
But Chaos worried about one potential problem if it did that—though now was hardly the time to hesitate.
Suddenly, its vision was blocked.
‘My eyes…!’
For a moment, Chaos thought it had gone blind.
This subspace was made of Chaos itself, but the colors and outlines of both Chaos and Jin’s bodies usually stood out against the void darkness.
Not now. Even when Chaos brought its paw and tail before its face or looked at its wings, all it saw was pitch-black darkness.
Nothing visible.
Only then did Chaos realize: Jin’s hatred hadn’t disappeared—it was simply being blocked, as if its vision had been snatched away.
There was no need to wonder what was causing the blockage.
Spiritual energy.
In an instant, the entire subspace, made of Chaos’s energy, was engulfed by Jin’s spiritual energy.
“So it seems this works on you too…”
Jin’s low voice sounded again, and Chaos twisted instinctively.
It couldn’t tell from which direction the voice came. By then, Chaos had given up worrying and was unleashing energy in all directions—but it felt no impact on Jin.
Since the dawn of life, darkness had never lost its association with ‘fear.’ For the first time, Chaos was overwhelmed by fear.
The opponent who had seemed so laughably weak just seconds ago had become an unknown terror, pressing down on Chaos.
[Hey, wait, wait a minute. How is this possible? This is my domain…!]
“Finally, I get to see you panic like the first time and reveal your shallow true nature.”
[You bastard!]
“Oh, and I guess you can’t read my thoughts in this state? If you’d just kept your mouth shut, you wouldn’t have known.”
Chaos’s blocked vision was a ‘sign’—the sign that the Spirit Sword ultimate skill was about to be unleashed.
That sign had naturally colored the subspace from the moment Jin decided to use the ultimate skill. Since then, Chaos’s senses had dulled without it realizing, and the moment Jin drew his sword was precisely then.
Chaos hadn’t missed Jin’s sword draw out of carelessness.
“Thanks to that, I can be a little more confident.”
The Spirit Sword’s secret technique, which had plunged Jin into despair countless times over the past year and three months, was beginning.
Spirit Sword Ultimate Skill, Form One: The First Night
The darkness swallowing Chaos deepened. Whether eyes were open or closed, only endless blackness swirled in Chaos’s mind.
It felt like its head was going mad.
This wasn’t just a feeling. Chaos sensed its known senses flickering out one by one like candle flames.
First, vision. Then sensation.
The sense of moving its body, the feeling of air touching its flesh, the sounds reaching its ears—all were vanishing.
As if it had become an object.
Panic surged, and Chaos wanted to scream, but no sound came. Its throat felt blocked.
It couldn’t see, move, or make a sound.
Not even the sensation of struggling remained. Like a puppet with its strings cut, like a corpse, all Chaos could do was exist.
‘Even my thoughts… my thoughts too!?’
The last thing to be cut off was consciousness.
The darkness flooding everywhere seeped into Chaos’s mind like water. It tried desperately to cling to its fading awareness, but was helpless.
‘No…!’
With that thought, all of Chaos’s senses and consciousness went dark.
It couldn’t be more defenseless. No matter how many times it was cut, it couldn’t wake up or even feel pain.
Step, step…
From within the darkness, Jin’s figure slowly approached Chaos.
Unlike Chaos, Jin could clearly see what form the creature took. Chaos hung motionless, suspended in a veil of spiritual energy.
‘This is different from when I used it on the Twin Gods. They were just powerful monsters, so it worked.’
Jin stared at Chaos for a moment.
He wasn’t being casual—he was simply too exhausted to do anything else after unleashing the Spirit Sword ultimate skill.
‘Indeed, as the brothers said, the Spirit Sword feels less like a sword and more like a divine power.’
Spirit Sword Ultimate Skill, Form One: The First Night is based on Spirit Sword Form One, “Soul Slash.”
-But didn’t you say earlier that Soul Slash is both the beginning and the end of the Spirit Sword?
-That’s right.
-So even if you master Soul Slash, the best you can do in this training ground is leave about a hundred sword marks?
-If you only master Soul Slash, yes. But when you reach the pinnacle of the Spirit Sword art, Soul Slash becomes not a sword technique, but a divine power.
This was a conversation I had with Garmund when I first began learning the Spirit Sword in Laprarosa.
He said that when you reach the ultimate of the Spirit Sword and unleash Soul Slash, you can take the life of any opponent whose will is weaker than yours at any time.
The First Night is the intermediate stage before you can wield Soul Slash at that level.
If Chaos had a stronger, more resolute will than Jin, the outcome would be completely different.
“Hoo…”
Jin caught his breath and took a stance. It was time to cut this creature down and end this long nightmare.
Swish, shing—!
Jin darted through the darkness filled with spiritual energy, swinging Bradamante. Each strike sent flashes of sharp black sword energy slicing through Chaos.
Like glass shattering.
Chaos’s body was breaking apart.
Until now, Chaos had never been hurt even once. Yet, as soon as Jin mastered the Spirit Sword ultimate skill, he was cutting it down so easily. A mix of emptiness and thrill shook Jin’s heart.
There was also the exhilarating feeling of regaining his power. With every piece of Chaos’s body shattered, glowing chunks like ore were revealed—these were the energies Chaos had stolen from Jin.
Jin snatched them up, replenishing his strength and swinging faster and faster.
Before long, Jin had reclaimed all his energy. His eyes snapped open, filled with power, and what he saw next was Chaos’s body so broken down it was unrecognizable.
As the First Night ended, a wave of overwhelming exhaustion washed over Jin, threatening to undo the fullness of the power he had just regained.
‘No, I can’t afford to get this tired now.’
He still wasn’t certain the chaos was truly over. It seemed almost finished, but there was still a chance the creature could recover.
And before even a few seconds passed, that fear became reality.
“Damn you…!”
Chaos had somehow reformed its body and was now looming over Jin from above.
The one small relief was that it was far weaker and smaller than before.
Jin, on the other hand, was only temporarily exhausted. If he could just survive this moment, victory in the next battle was guaranteed.
“You bastard!”
Chaos descended, spitting daggers straight at Jin’s chest. He managed to block three, but the fourth was unstoppable.
Worse, the fourth dagger aimed for his face—if it hit, his head would be gone in an instant. Gritting his teeth, Jin raised his sword, but it was too late.
“Stopped?”
For some reason, the dagger froze just a hand’s breadth from Jin’s eyes. Had it not, at least half his face would have been torn away.
Seizing the opportunity, Jin could open a portal with his spirit sword and escape—securing his victory in the next fight.
But suppressing that urge, he locked eyes with Chaos.
“You’re telling me… you can’t kill me?”