Chapter 452

As thunder roared down and carved out yet another massive ravine,?a slicing sound came from within.

Serr—k.

A short, clean slicing sound.

And in that gap, Kyou had withdrawn the spear of the lightning god that had created the ravine, frowning as he backed out—

while Reaper, facing Kyou, charged straight at him with twin blades in hand.

Seeing that, the viewers could only fill the chat with question marks.

-???????????

-How did he cut through that?????

-???? Isn’t his mobility skill on cooldown????

-Do Lord-class skills not have a cooldown concept?????

-No, no, last time it had a cooldown......

-Then what was that just now????

The viewers couldn’t help but be thrown into confusion.

The Reaper who they’d thought was dead came back alive—appearing behind Kyou and attacking him.

The spear of the lightning god had clearly pierced Reaper and made a ravine.

So they couldn’t understand how he’d shown up behind Kyou.

His movement skill should’ve been on cooldown, and they’d definitely seen him get hit.

Even Kyou looked stunned.

He’d defended his exterior with storm, lightning, and even ice, but—

this attack from Reaper was different from before.

Blood dripping, Kyou pulled himself out of that spot.

Reaper’s technique was unquestionably exceptional.

He pierced through the defense and succeeded in striking Kyou by concentrating on a single point.

‘Damn it.’

Kyou had figured out the trick in one shot, but—

Reaper would know too.

That Kyou had noticed.

The moment he rushed Kyou, he’d thrown Kyou’s eyes into chaos with indistinguishable shadow clones, deceived him somehow, and appeared behind him.

In the meantime, Kyou had tried to sense him through the storm, but it hadn’t caught—

because Reaper had even cut through the wind, disguising himself naturally.

A precise, covert technique.

And wielding that kind of technique to land an attack on Kyou—

meant Kyou was bound to take it.

‘Guess it can’t be helped...’

Thinking that, Kyou narrowed his eyes.

At this point, he had to admit it.

Kyou’s firepower was great enough that he could beat Kim Che-geon with raw power, but he’d nearly lost in a head-on clash against Kim Che-geon’s strength—

and now, against Reaper, he was practically losing in a contest of refined technique.

In that situation, Kyou quickly recalled his own traits.

‘My firepower is decent, and my technique is decent.’

A talent that you could call middling, depending on how you looked at it.

Of course, even compared to ordinary people or most rankers, both his firepower and technique were outstanding.

But among the backup team, which could be called the very top—

he couldn’t help but get pushed back.

So Kyou thought he needed to find his own way.

Reaper charged at Kyou with a similar thought.

If he gave him time to think, Kyou would definitely grow.

So if Reaper wanted a safe victory, he had to win before Kyou grew.

Thinking that, Reaper rushed Kyou immediately.

The moment shadows stretched long and draped everything in the world in dark shade—

lightning gleamed in Kyou’s eyes.

‘The power to handle storms. And my advantage.’

As the world sank into black shade and tried to swallow Kyou—

Kyou still didn’t stop thinking.

As the lightning in Kyou’s eyes, which had been gradually brightening, became a fierce light that lit up his surroundings,?Kyou realized it.

‘Lightning, thunder, and rain aren’t things you “control.” And neither am I.’

It sounded like some edgy middle-school line, but—

that was Kyou’s essence.

He worshiped freedom, bound by nothing.

Wind, lightning, and rain were like that too.

Things that came down to the earth, endlessly free.

Storms were like that as well.

They formed and vanished however they pleased.

The moment he fully understood that storm—

a storm on an entirely different level from before began to rage out of Kyou.

Lightning, ice, and storm mixed together, wrapping the world in lightning—

and the light of that lightning passed through ice, brightening the world’s light even more strongly.

They mixed freely, and the storm raged.

The instant a true storm was born, the viewers’ reactions burned hot.

-What is this?????

-This feels different from before??????

-Did he awaken?????????

-Wow, but it’s pretty......

-Seriously......

Helena and Seong nodded, as if agreeing with the viewers’ words.

It really was beautiful.

And—

“He found his original storm.”

“Right.”

Not everyone could understand what Seong and Helena meant, but—

at least they could tell Kyou was different from before.

The storm gave off various lights, drifting freely around as it spread a savage aura.

And the more it did, the shadows—following the light—grew darker and longer, trying to cover the world.

Light and shadow confronted each other, desperately trying to devour one another.

Unable to seize the upper hand, light and shadow that charged only to destroy each other—

exploded in an instant.

―――――――――――!!!

It was as if scorching heat and a chill that stole endless heat spread at the same time,?and a tremendous pressure split and erased everything around them down to the atomic level.

The destructive power from that overwhelmingly strong explosion was beyond imagination.

It covered everything, and the entire field nearly vanished—

but because Helena and Seong blocked it,?it didn’t spread any farther.

The viewers were shocked for a moment by that power, but—

when Seong and Helena stopped the explosion as if it were no big deal,?they were amazed in a different way.

-lmaooooooo

-No, if you block that that easily ??????

-Now it makes their fight look kind of sad ?????

-They turned it into a neighborhood kids’ fight ??????

-But wasn’t that basically Secret-Art level???????

-Yeah, I think so.

-It’s probably a Secret Art?????

The viewers laughed at Seong and Helena, but—

some of them voiced the opinion that Kyou and Reaper’s attack just now might’ve been a Secret Art, and Seong agreed.

That attack had definitely been a Secret Art.

For Kyou, and for Reaper too.

Both of them had used a Secret Art.

Because a Secret Art is when you use it by putting intent into your Lord power.

You could say they’d essentially completed their own Secret Arts.

And then, at that moment—

Pat!

Pabababat!

Cha-chaejaejaejaejaejae-jaeng!!!

Countless metallic sounds and collision noises rang out,

and hearing it, the viewers started chattering, wondering what it was.

-What is that sound???

-No idea????

-Isn’t that blades clashing?

-But isn’t it coming from the center???

-No way they’re fighting in that heat???

-That’s possible????

While the viewers were full of questions—

in the center, the ground was repeatedly cooling and melting from the intense heat and cold, producing insane steam as a mushroom cloud rose up.

And as that sound kept repeating—

in that instant—

Paaaaaang—!!!

The mushroom cloud burst from their collision, and in the center, you could see it:

Kyou’s spear—now in Storm God Mode—

and Reaper’s twin daggers—now a Shadow God—

colliding.

Reaper’s hand, free in form like a black shadow, growing darker and deeper and stretching longer the more light existed—

whipped and bent like a lash as it flew at Kyou.

Kyou swung his spear with the power of lightning, blocking everything as he tried to counterattack.

But Reaper’s arms that invaded even blind spots weren’t something you could “just block.”

Yet Kyou wasn’t easy either.

‘So free.’

‘That technique is really...’

Reaper read Kyou’s freedom.

Kyou read Reaper’s precise technique.

As they grasped each other, they tried to gradually pressure the other.

But the one getting pressured was Kyou.

Keeping that mode going for long was still difficult.

And using wind, rain, and lightning at the same time still wasn’t fully mastered, so he couldn’t help but feel like he was being pushed.

Even so, he fought desperately to win.

Kwaaaaaang—!!!

Kyou knocked one dagger away with his spear and surged in.

Toward Kyou, Reaper rapidly shortened the shadow holding the dagger that had been knocked away, bringing it back in front of him—

and in that instant, like something shooting out as a line, Reaper thrust out his hand.

The moment Reaper’s dagger fired like a single point, Kyou knocked it away again and closed in—

and then a sound of piercing rang out from behind Kyou.

Puuuuuk!!!

In that moment, Kyou looked at Reaper’s hands as if confused.

Both of Reaper’s hands were clearly right in front of Kyou’s eyes.

So what had stabbed him from behind?

But then, one of the two arms Kyou had been seeing in front of him disappeared.

A shadow illusion.

The instant Kyou was stabbed by the dagger—

Kyou could feel it.

That he couldn’t move.

“Ah.”

Shadow restraint.

With this, Reaper couldn’t move his legs either, but—

it was still better than Kyou, who couldn’t move his entire body.

If it stayed like this, Kyou’s defeat was obvious.

So Kyou used his final move.

With all the power of the storm, he poured everything into Reaper right in front of him.

And then—

Kwaaaaaaaaaaa—!!!

The storm’s ferocity swept over Reaper, and in that moment, Kyou felt his body able to move again.

But then, in that instant—

Serrk.

A chilling sound rang out, and the moment Kyou turned his head—

the head he turned spun in place and fell to the ground.

Seeing Reaper—who had appeared behind him again—Kyou could realize it.

It was the timing when the mobility skill’s cooldown would’ve come back up.

The moment Kyou realized that, he collapsed, and heavenly power descended, healing Kyou’s body.

He’d been healed at the brink of death, but—

Kyou’s face was full of regret.

On the other hand, Reaper’s face held a clear happiness.

And then, at that moment—

“Reaper’s victory.”

Seong’s words rang out.