Chapter 250: Villain [1]

Chapter 249

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Episode 63 - Villain [1]

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The result of the Trial was the death of the Holy Church’s Inquisitors.

I had no intention of killing anyone who wasn’t from the Holy Church.

And naturally, I wasn’t going to kill the Student Council President either. To me, he was simply an idiot who knew how to do nothing but flaunt his arrogance.

Why should I pay attention to someone who wouldn’t even have a future?

There was only one reason I killed the Inquisitors.

’Chapter 3 focuses on the Holy Church, and naturally, they’ll become my enemies.’

I was preparing for the day when I would settle my affairs with the Holy Church and for what would happen three months from now.

So becoming enemies with the Holy Church starting today didn’t matter to me.

Sooner or later, they would become my enemies; there was no reason to wait.

So I used the Third Form of my Sword Art, Inverted Heaven, and killed every Inquisitor present in the Trial Hall.

The smell of blood filled the air.

It was so strong that it made me instinctively wrinkle my nose.

Chunks of flesh, bones, and pieces of armor were scattered across the floor.

The only people left were the Student Council members and their president, along with a few third-year professors.

"All right, then I’m leaving. See you around, friends."

I turned around, sensing the fear and terror in everyone’s eyes.

The Student Council President, who had been arrogant moments ago, was trembling.

Perhaps because all the Inquisitors present were Six-Star Awakened, just like the Student Council President himself, who was considered the strongest cadet in the entire Academy.

Seeing an entire group of Inquisitors die so miserably, he had probably realized just how strong I was and started trembling.

With a faint smile, I silently left the Trial Hall.

The soles of my boots stained the floor of the main building bright red as I walked toward the main exit.

Along the way, the cleaning staff, professors, and assistants were terrified.

Some tried to stop me, but I simply used Spatial Movement and sent them away from here.

The scene I was about to cause outside would turn their stomachs.

"Disciple, you’re really only going to kill the Inquisitors. You could’ve killed that idiot."

My Master, sitting on my shoulder, asked.

"I’m not some killer who murders anyone who gets in my way, you know?"

"Whatever. Either way, tomorrow your head will be plastered everywhere, with a bounty of millions of gold coins on it."

"Like I said, I don’t kill indiscriminately."

I’ve never been comfortable with killing people. Of course, I didn’t care if they were villains.

They weren’t even human anymore because they had abandoned their humanity.

However, killing people who were genuinely human didn’t sit well with me.

My emotions might be suppressed thanks to my Without Emotions Trait, but that didn’t mean I was truly incapable of feeling emotions.

I didn’t kill because I wanted to, but because I had no choice or because they were my enemies.

Enemies who could potentially endanger those closest to me.

"Aah."

I let out a sigh after reaching the main exit of the building.

Then I took a deep breath. Waiting outside was an entire Order of Inquisitors, along with a leader.

’I wonder, do I need to use Eyes of the End to fight an Eight-Star Awakened, or can I fight him without Eyes of the End?’

Using Eyes of the End would raise my power to the Seven-Star level. I would become a Seven-Star Awakened for ten minutes, but only in terms of raw power, not possessing the actual abilities of a Seven-Star.

I thought about it for a moment. However, after using my senses, I noticed that the leader wasn’t particularly powerful considering the amount of Mana he possessed.

’Could he be an old man?’

After thinking about it for a moment, I decided not to use Eyes of the End.

In any case, this was perfect. I could finally use 100% of my strength against an enemy strong enough to handle it.

Creak!

I pushed the doors open, and they emitted a faint creaking sound.

"....."

At that moment, countless eyes turned toward me, or more accurately, toward the blood covering my body.

’I’ll have to take a bath later.’

The smell of blood permeating my body spread outside.

At that moment, all the knights drew their swords and pointed them in my direction.

Then, their leader, an old man with a thick beard, drew a greatsword nearly three meters long and pointed it at me.

"Filthy heretic, you dared to kill the followers of the Light and innocent people. By decree of the Holy Church, you will be executed here and now."

Ignoring the old man’s words, I stretched my body to warm up.

’All right, I’ll get rid of the numbers first, then deal with the leader.’

But first, I needed to send the leader far enough away to give me time to kill all his subordinates.

Then, I moved my hand, and suddenly, the leader disappeared.

"..."

Perhaps because he was an Eight-Star Awakened, the amount of Mana I used was enormous.

But instantly, my Divine Body and natural Mana recovery began replenishing all the Mana I had just used.

Within a few minutes, the lost Mana would be fully recovered.

With that, I took a step, and in the blink of an eye, time became extremely slow.

Using the Second Form of Inverted Heaven had altered my perception of time to such an extent that everything now seemed unbearably slow.

Evidently, this was also a sign that I was on the verge of awakening a Trait related to time dilation.

Whoosh!

I appeared in the middle of the group of Inquisitors. Then...

"Third Form: Intention."

Boom!

Countless thin, invisible blades multiplied as they tore through space.

The invisible blades were so fast due to the acceleration of Time along their trajectory that, within mere seconds, an eerie silence filled the entire plaza. However...

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Pieces of armor fell to the ground, along with swords and shields.

Then came the sounds of chunks of flesh, bones, and finally, blood hitting the ground.

At that moment, if I could see it, it would have been quite a spectacle, like fireworks painting the sky crimson.

".....!"

"Ugh, damn it, the smell of blood is too strong."

I suppressed my sense of smell to the bare minimum and finally stopped perceiving any scent around me.

"Y-you damn heretic."

"....."

I turned my head in a particular direction.

The elderly leader of this Order of Inquisitors was approaching at high speed.

His expression was pale, yet filled with rage, as if he were about to explode.

Noticing his arrival, I picked up a head that still had its spine attached and held it out toward him, giving it a slight shake.

"You’re late, and I’m sorry about your subordinates."

The old man’s rage exploded, and he lunged at me at incredible speed.

Using my senses, along with my Eight-Star reaction speed and agility, I easily dodged his sword.

From my perspective, he moved so slowly that he looked like a turtle.

Boom!

His sword struck the ground, but perhaps because the Academy’s grounds were made from some special material, it didn’t leave even a scratch.

However, the old man’s Light Mana carved a long path across dozens of meters, sending a vibration through the air as well.

Whoosh!

The next second, I moved my fist and struck his head.

Boom!

The old man’s head snapped to the side, and his body went flying, crashing into the stairs leading to the main building.

Then, I gathered strength in my legs and kicked off the ground. In an instant, I appeared in front of the old man and formed a Mana Sword in my hand before swinging it down.

Clank!

The old man created a Mana Sword in an instant and blocked my attack. However, due to the difference in physical strength...

My Mana Sword cleaved through his and struck his body.

A massive wound opened, and an enormous amount of blood poured from it.

The old man gathered Mana in his right foot and kicked me in the abdomen.

Boom!

I staggered back fifteen steps before straightening myself.

"For an old man, you’ve got quite a bit of strength."

The old man rose from the ground while using Light Mana. The wound on his chest stopped bleeding and, before my eyes, began to regenerate.

"Y-you damn heretic, you’ve allied yourself with the Devil. Otherwise, how could someone so young possess such strength?"

"The Devil, my ass, old man. There’s this thing called talent, along with more than a year of hard and consistent training."

Boom!

Swinging my sword at the old man, I moved and reached him in the blink of an eye.

Clank!

The old man managed to block my attack; however, he was forced backward by the difference in physical strength.

At that moment, I retreated and immediately assumed a combat stance.

"Imperfect Heavens Art, First Stance: Art of Imperfect Deception."

Moving my legs and then my arms, I struck the old man from every angle.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Striking vital points and acupoints, the old man’s veins quickly bulged and burst.

I continued pummeling him with a barrage of punches and palm strikes. Moreover, I infused every blow with Inverted Mana.

This caused the old man’s Mana Circulation Channels to shatter.

However, the old man defended himself throughout the process, even as his body was being torn apart from the inside.

Boom!

Using highly purified Light Mana and his Sword Art, the old man unleashed a series of complex movements.

Whoosh!

Dodging each of his attacks one after another and counterattacking, unfortunately, I couldn’t block every single one of the old man’s attacks.

As a result, numerous minor wounds opened across my body.

Blood began dripping from the small wounds, despite the fact that they regenerated almost instantly.

Boom!

I created some distance just as the old man lunged at me, and at that moment, I murmured.

"Growing Flower."