Year: 1203 AD,
(Just after teleporting Fuji and Jerius back to the palace. Continuation from mid Chapter 12)
I am still stuck in this hell.
I managed to teleport Fuji and Jerius back to the palace successfully, however now I will face my biggest trial.
After uttering NAAG ROOPAM, Mayor just disappeared.
Here I am, running and trying to find a better spot to hide myself, fully knowing that it is futile anyway.
I unsheathe my sword.
It's finally the moment I need to use my secret technique, the one I was hiding from the very beginning.
I am a user of SWORD STYLE 0.
Yes, that's true. I can use Sword Style 0.
I am not a cursed human in the traditional sense, but I wield such a technique.
It was the only reason I could defeat the special demons serving under the Great Demon Lord back in my Grey Adventurer days, even though I was just an A-Tier Adventurer.
Suddenly, it began.
My trial.
The sky tore open, thunder cracking through it. The already dark atmosphere started raining blood.
From the torn sky, a gigantic creature appeared.
It was massive.
It had two snake heads, and the remaining body was humanoid, except it had no legs—only a long tail.
It was Mayor's demon form.
It was at least four miles long.
It was horrible.
I was scared.
Even though everything was going according to my estimations, experiencing it firsthand was a different case.
My whole body was wet with blood.
One of the snake heads glanced at me, and in the very next moment, the tail lashed toward my body with terrifying speed.
I barely dodged it.
Even with such a huge body, the speed was still too great.
[Mayor]: This is my demon form, kid. How are you supposed to face it?
Both heads released a powerful beam. I dodged it only because I had prepared divergent space beforehand.
The beam landed on a nearby mountain and reduced it to nothing.
A huge mountain vanished right in front of my eyes.
Suddenly, the ground started tearing itself apart.
An army of undead began to rise.
I lifted my hand and projected a spherical-shaped magic into the sky.
The speed wasn't great; it moved upward with a constant slow velocity.
It wasn't meant to attack anyone.
I started swinging my sword in a circle and dashed toward the army of undead.
Bones and half-dead flesh flew through the air.
The blood rain was still active.
I realized that the blood rain was actually meant to poison me and break my DNA.
However, it wasn't working well on me.
While I was busy dealing with the army of undead, a huge superbolt hit me directly.
It was powerful. It melted all nearby skeletons.
Sand turned into glass.
I barely took any damage. My torn clothes instantly recovered, as they were magical.
My nervous system endured the sudden shock easily.
Seeing the army of undead being futile against me, Mayor was getting annoyed.
He must be thinking that these fodders were just granting me experience.
Seeing this, Mayor decided to take action himself.
A chill ran through my body.
He crashed into the ground and entered beneath it.
The whole terrain trembled violently.
After some time, it became silent.
I stayed cautious. He could appear from anywhere.
I cast several defensive barriers—shock-absorbing barriers and even a high-tier defensive shield ability.
Exactly then, the ground trembled again, and Mayor erupted from below me.
All my defenses were broken.
I had anticipated an attack from below and strengthened my defenses there the most, but even then, they shattered.
"This is annoying."
I muttered to myself.
Guess I need to go all out now.
("I will be using Sword Style 0, so sync yourself with it and target Mayor's demon form.")
Status Pool: Analysing Sword Style 0.
Analysis completed.
Battle mode shall be enacted.
I activated Sword Style 0 and gave control of my body to Status Pool.
{Notification}: Unknown Tier Ability (OBSERVER) activated.
{Notification}: S++ Ability (HEIGHTEN EXECUTIONER) activated.
A magnificent beam of light struck me.
After a few moments, I was glowing with a completely different aura.
It was overwhelming and refined.
It was bright.
This is my Sword Style 0—HERO'S WILL.
With this, almost all my stats easily reached Semi-Hero Tier level.
Mayor watched in amusement and gave a sinister smirk.
[Mayor]: I see. This is the very reason you could kill the Great Demon Lord's special demons during your Grey Adventurer days. Let's see how far you can go.
[STATUS]: Shut up, reptile! Let's start.
Aw, that was disrespectful.
Well, Status abilities are always disrespectful after taking control of my body. Not that I can complain.
In just a few seconds, a thousand clashes took place, each one creating massive shockwaves.
Mayor's skin was extremely tough now. The same applied to mine.
Status attacked with great precision and power.
Mayor directed multiple superbolt attacks at me, while my body endured them as if they were nothing.
My durability is equal to that of a Semi-Hero Tier, so this is believable.
Ability (OBSERVER) was analysing and copying many of Mayor's abilities, while (HEIGHTEN EXECUTIONER) accelerated the process and ensured my stats grew exponentially.
Mayor manipulated his scales, directing their sharp ends toward my body while simultaneously controlling gravity.
Status teleported my body behind Mayor and attempted to land a powerful blow, but Mayor saw through it and dodged easily.
In the next moment, we were crashing through massive monuments as if they never existed.
[Mayor]: BLACK BOLT!
[STATUS]: ABSORPTION!
With every exchange, the terrain was being completely destroyed.
A landmass as large as a kingdom was being annihilated by two maniacs.
If it weren't for this dimension, half of the Royal Empire would have been erased.
After some time, Status found the best possible opening when Mayor was frozen by his own attack below him.
[Status]: ALANKAR SLASH!
When this technique was released, it carved a massive scar.
It was 100 miles long and 10 miles wide.
Mayor was split into two—but he regenerated.
He released thousands of snakes toward me, and Status absorbed them all through my hand.
[Status]: Let's end this.
Yes. I believe you, partner.
Status had analysed and copied many of Mayor's abilities through (OBSERVER) and (HEIGHTEN EXECUTIONER).
{Notification}: New abilities acquired.
S++ Tier Ability (BLACK BOLT)
S+++ Tier Ability (GRAVITY MANIPULATION)
Others…
{Notification}: A new ability has been developed by (OBSERVER) — Ability (BINDING CHAINS).
[Status]: I hereby bind you, reptile. Feel free to resist.BINDING CHAINS!
Thousands of massive chains wrapped around Mayor.
He broke many of them, but new and stronger chains kept forming.
Evolution to Hero successful.
Individual Derono Rial has ascended to Hero Rank.Congratulations.
All physical stats are increasing.
Successful.
New abilities added to arsenal.
Successful.
Status Pool upgraded to Status Lake.
Successful.
(Status): Unseal Blue?
("Yes.")
After my confirmation, I suddenly felt dizzy.
I fell to the ground.
Mayor was still chained—not dead, but completely immobilized.
"What is happening?"
(Status): Huge amount of mana is being consumed.
I predicted this outcome.
{Warning}: Mana reserves critically low. Heartbeat slowing.
Yes. I know.
Suddenly, the spherical magic I had projected upward before the battle descended and hit me.
My heart returned to a normal rhythm.
Mayor glared at me with pure hatred.
I was alive, but I couldn't maintain consciousness anymore.
I think… I will fall asleep…
I closed my eyes and collapsed forward.
Just before losing consciousness, I heard a voice.
[Voice]: I am finally freed. This is true ecstasy. Gleno will surely be annoyed to see me. I suppose I will have the same reaction. At least we're mutual about it.
The voice came closer and whispered into my ear.
[Voice]: Sleep well, my lord. I will clean up the remaining mess.
I wanted to open my eyes and witness everything myself, but I lost consciousness completely.
My Sword Style reduces my lifespan and puts immense strain on my body afterward.
I have used it ten times in my lifetime…