Chapter 160: A Storm in My Hand

The hook latched onto the distant ceiling.

I immediately reeled myself upward, swinging over the heads of the knights as my companions stared at me in disbelief at what looked like a suicidal move.

But it was necessary.

I needed to drag that Knight Commander into the fight.

Aldebaran still hadn’t moved from his position.

Those crimson eyes followed me through the air as he raised his black-flamed greatsword, preparing to cut me down the instant I entered his reach.

But I had prepared a fiery attack of my own.

The moment I drew close, I switched the Legion Arm from its first function to the second.

Metal plates shifted and protruded from its sides.

Deep inside the arm—

The Explosive Stake was primed.

"TAKE THIS!"

I roared as I drove my fist forward with everything I had.

Knight Commander Aldebaran responded immediately, bringing his greatsword down in a brutal vertical slash meant to split me cleanly in half.

And in the next instant ...

My fist collided with his sword.

The Explosive Stake detonated at maximum power directly in his face!

BOOOOOOM!!!

The flames erupted instantly, engulfing the Knight Commander completely as fiery sparks scattered everywhere around us alongside a deafening explosion.

The force of the blast sent me sliding several meters backward before I finally regained my balance.

And likewise...

The Knight Commander was pushed back so violently that his feet dug into the ground and shattered it beneath him as he tried to steady himself.

My explosive attack had successfully forced him backward.

But I wasn’t particularly happy about it.

Even though the blast had left a few scratches across his armor, the suit had endured the attack completely.

His health bar had not moved at all.

"This bastard..."

"He’s just like the Iron Demon."

Both of them were armored monsters capable of enduring direct attacks.

Except this one was even worse.

He was covered in full armor from head to toe.

Overcharge: 2/10

While I was thinking about how I could possibly get past that armor, my attention returned to Overcharge.

It had already begun accumulating damage.

The more successful attacks I landed, the more powerful the electrical strike I would eventually be able to unleash.

But its condition was harsh.

I could not take any damage.

If I did, the counter would immediately reset to zero.

Which meant I needed to land ten consecutive successful hits if I wanted to use Overcharge at maximum output.

Normally...

That would be almost impossible against a monster like this.

But then my mind returned to my first attack.

The one he had blocked with his sword.

Overcharge had still counted it as a successful hit.

"Could it be...?"

I had my suspicions, but I didn’t get the chance to think properly.

The Knight Commander had already charged toward me in fury after my previous attack.

Swinging his sword, he released a wave of black flames in my direction, threatening to swallow me whole and burn me alive.

Fortunately, I managed to evade it using the Grappling Hook.

At the same time, I extended my other hand and used Telekinesis to control the Executioner’s Sword, forcing it to attack Aldebaran from behind.

He blocked it again with ease using his sword.

But the exact same thing happened as before.

Overcharge: 3/10

That was when I realized something was wrong.

Blocked attacks were not supposed to count as successful hits.

"His sword isn’t normal..."

"No..."

"It’s not."

My eyes widened slowly as Wise Raven Insight revealed something I had failed to notice before.

The Knight Commander’s health bar was not completely full like I had originally assumed.

At the very edge of the bar...

There was a tiny gap.

So small it was almost impossible to notice with the naked eye.

But he had definitely lost health.

It had dropped from one hundred percent—

To ninety-nine.

Barely anything.

But it had dropped.

Which meant that black-flamed sword...

Was somehow a part of him.

That realization changed everything.

A wide grin spread across my face as I recalled the Executioner’s Sword back into my hand.

Aldebaran was already moving toward me, clearly intending to kill me with his next attack.

But that no longer mattered nearly as much after I had discovered the truth behind his weapon through Overcharge.

"Release Storage."

Using the Legendary Weapons Master blessing, I released ten swords from my weapon storage.

Then, using the Telekinesis of the Executioner’s Sword, I made all ten weapons float around me.

And immediately afterward—

I launched every single one of them toward Aldebaran like projectiles.

Naturally, he blocked all of them.

He even shattered them completely since none of those weapons possessed anything close to the durability of the Executioner’s Sword.

They dealt no visible damage.

His health bar remained exactly the same.

But they had already accomplished their purpose.

Overcharge: 10/10

This was the first time Overcharge had ever reached maximum charge.

My heart began pounding so violently from excitement that it felt like a jet engine had started inside my chest.

Aldebaran was already right in front of me.

Black flames erupted from his weapon once again as he prepared to attack.

In response, I switched the Legion Arm to its third function.

Lightning immediately surged through the mechanical limb, pulsing inside it with brilliant light.

An enormous electrical charge gathered around the fist of the Legion Arm.

It expanded at terrifying speed.

"OVERCHARGE!!"

I shouted with everything I had.

And the lightning exploded from my arm in response to my command.

At first, the electricity surged violently with a bright yellow color.

Then its power increased—

Turning into a brilliant sky blue.

But it continued evolving.

The lightning darkened into a deep violet, the same form I had used when attacking the Iron Demon.

Except this time...

It was stronger.

Far stronger.

The lightning roared violently before finally turning crimson red.

At that moment—

I felt as though I were holding an entire thunderstorm inside my mechanical arm.

A storm I unleashed with everything I had directly toward the Knight Commander.

The black flames from his sword collided with the crimson lightning.

And a violent battle between the two elements began.

The crimson lightning devoured the black flames at astonishing speed right before my eyes.

Then countless red electrical serpents crawled past his defense and slammed into his armor with terrifying force.

The roaring snakes of lightning ravaged Aldebaran, forcing a monstrous howl from beneath his helmet.

Every single one of his knights turned toward him at once.

And so did all the Hunters.

Each of them stared in shock at that enormous crimson thunderbolt.

The entire reason I had chosen to fight Aldebaran myself...

Was to buy time for my companions and uncover his secrets.

I had never once thought I could actually defeat him.

He was far stronger than me.

But...

Even if it lasted only for a brief moment—

I truly looked like the victor.