Reaper of the Martial World

Book 11: Chapter 87: Fear (2)

Dyon had failed to comprehend War’s will even after devouring his corpse. This would have been a regret of his, however, this seemingly precarious situation gaze him another chance.

If he had to fight Famine again, wouldn’t he have to battle War again?

‘This world has the ability to suppress my achievements gained on another plane… However, it has no ability to limit my height of improvement here! It can only slow down whatever progress it is I make!’

Dyon understood that the reason he had failed to comprehend War’s will wasn’t because he was lacking in talent. This was the last thing he was lacking in. Rather, it was this world purposely obscuring his vision, making it more and more difficult for him to comprehend its secrets.

Since it wanted to hide its secrets from him, Dyon wanted to see them all the more.

‘I can only rely on myself. Even Hell’s Right Eye doesn’t function properly in this place… The more you want me to fail… The more I’ll enjoy snatching this victory.’

Dyon’s gaze turned an opaque white once more. The drain was just as substantial as he remembered, but he had no choice. Eternity’s Balance was his best chance at improving quickly.

If the Heavens really wanted something from Dyon, they chose the worst method by far. It was rare for Dyon to change his mind after deciding upon something. Since he had decided to crush everything in his path… He would do exactly that.

Dyon attacked like a madman.

It was as though he had no concept of pain or fatigue. Even with every part of his body screaming, even with him losing almost every exchange, his tenacity only grew.

Concepts grew simply too slowly even in comparison to wills. They were too enigmatic, too difficult to comprehend. They didn’t have a formal ranking system, nor were there systematic divisions between them. Yet they were the underpinnings of some of the greatest strengths that existed in the cosmos.

Yet, Dyon was actually attempting to comprehend this elusive existence at a rate faster than the four horsemen would grow in strength. He was nothing short of a maniac.

“… Again.”

Dyon pushed himself up from the ground, his gaze nearly vacant. The burning illusory flames still coated his body, but they were mostly obscured by the crackling golden lightning.

If he didn’t continuously push his lightning to this extent, the famine qi would have long since devoured him completely. Unfortunately, this also made Famine’s counter attacks pierce all the savagely.

Dyon’s muscle and bone could clearly be seen in many places. He no longer cared to maintain the illusion around his left eye, so he could only blankly stare forward with his right.

Since his Treasures of the 33 Heavens didn’t seem to be working properly, his sealed inner world projection had obviously failed as well, leaving him minus yet another one of his trump cards.

However, even with all of this being the case, he hadn’t hesitated for even a moment to stand back up again.

Almost a century ago, when he fought Oshire, he had nearly given up completely. It was one of the greatest shames of his life, one that made him look back on his younger self with sheer disdain.

That was only one of the starting points toward his own sense of identity spiraling out of control. However, that day in Sprite Alliance Territory, he reclaimed what it meant to be himself.

Dyon took deep, ragged breaths.

‘My holy type qi likely isn’t working as well as it should for the same reasons my pills aren’t working… In that case, my avenue for improvement isn’t only in Concepts, but also this world’s qi…’

Dyon was sent flying once more. If only these floors and these walls weren’t so hard, maybe he wouldn’t be in such a sorry state.

“[Devour].”

The qi that threatened to pierce through Dyon’s body even as he flew through the air was suddenly targeted by Dyon.

One would think that he was a fool. What was he doing absorbing the very energy he had put so much effort into expelling from his body?

However, Dyon didn’t use this qi in the way one would think. He suddenly remembered back to his battle to protect the dwarves. Hadn’t he used [Devour] and then applied it to the corpses? In that case… Why not use [Devour] to snatch control of this qi and use it as he pleased?

The famine qi surged with an unbridled ferocity. Dyon understood [Devour] well. The more will someone had, the more difficult it was to use it on them.

Unfortunately, Famine not only had its own powerful will, but famine qi was infused with the faith tied to every person to ever feel hunger… How could it be so easy to [Devour]?

This famine qi was on a completely different level than the first round of this trial. Dyon’s plan not only failed, but it failed terribly, causing backlash to surge through his mind’s eye.

However, in those moments, Dyon still managed to grasp something faint.

Just what had Famine been fusing all this time? Why was this horrible famine qi that combination of a pure white and a dark black? What about famine required the marriage of two things…?

It was then Dyon suddenly understood.

For there to be darkness, there had to be light. There was no shadow without the sun. How would you feel happy if you didn’t understand sadness?

Dyon’s body crashed into another pillar, but he sprang back upward, crossing the battle room in a flash. His sword treated Famine’s barrier as though it was never there, slicing both him and his steed in half.

‘… How could there be famine without satiation?’