R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 38

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 38 (in editing-v1)(Divine Scan updated)

What was it like to fight against the worst villain in humanity's history?

Micheal was about to find out.

A wave of mental oppression slammed into Micheal, attempting to crush his Soul. The shock sent him reeling back for a split second, causing his mind to go blank.

Ever since he obtained the Eyes of the Deep Ability, Micheal made the conscious decision to judge stats by the letter scale that Divine Scans operated by. Humanity’s Status gave his own stats in exact values, but the Divine Scan reading made it easier to compare himself to other beings.

Micheal’s Soul stat, by the Divine Scan metric, was 'B'. This stat was tremendously high for someone on the Second Layer, which made sense given the enormous amount of effort Micheal had put into raising it. In comparison, his next highest stat, his Strength stat, was only 'C'. A high stat for a being on the Second Layer, but not unusually so.

Constantine, on the other hand, had a Soul stat of 'A-'. He was an absurd anomaly.

This was the first instance after coming back in time that Micheal went head to head against an enemy with an overwhelmingly higher Soul stat than himself.

The Vile King’s undulating Aura did its best to crush Micheal, making his body feel heavy and slow while also trying to throw off his concentration. It was as if a layer of mental fog had settled upon him, turning him sluggish.

Micheal’s Heartflame Physique immediately activated in response, its natural resistance shrugging off the brunt of the pressure. It couldn’t negate everything, the sheer difference in Soul stats forming a gap that couldn’t be bridged, but thanks to Micheal’s self control, it was enough to let him regain his focus.

Micheal’s concentration had only lapsed for roughly half of a second, but by the time he came to, he faced a dozen glowing red playing cards slicing through the air towards him.

‘Time Bubble!’

Micheal spawned a Temporal Bubble on himself that sped up time by 30% and immediately jumped to his left, bringing out several of his floating Life Orbs to help shove his body to the side. The movement turned into a graceless, jerking motion, but was abrupt enough to let him successfully dodge.

The air crackled and vibrated as the cards flew past him, creating an odd echo. Micheal noticed, just as they passed, that the cards were beginning to dissipate, destroyed by the very energy they were imbued with.

Micheal paused for a split second, analyzing the attack.

‘What the… how did those cards form a vacuum?’ He immediately surmised with a frown, recognizing the noise they made.

Micheal’s thoughts flashed back to his Divine Scan of Constantine, where it said he walked the ‘Path of Absolute Annihilation.’

‘Are they destroying everything they touch, even the air?’ He had no idea what Ability or Artifact was causing it, but the effects seemed potent.

Micheal set his thoughts aside for the moment as he spawned a new Time Bubble in front of himself and accelerated forward, rocketing off towards Constantine.

While the Vile King held an absolute advantage over Micheal in terms of Soul, Micheal had superior stats when it came to general physical strength, and he intended to take full advantage of that.

“You’re fast.” Constantine observed as he flicked his right wrist, sending half a dozen more glowing playing cards rippling through the air at Micheal. Then, in his left hand, he pulled out a single silver card and held it instead of throwing it.

The silver cards blasted through the air once more, ominous red energy annihilating everything they came into contact with, spreading a loud, crackling echo.

Micheal’s gaze sharpened as he saw the incoming cards, his eyes tracing each one.

His right hand flickered.

Several loud explosions rang.

Golden, Master Tier Sword Energy clashed with the ominous red energy surrounding the cards and…

Easily cut them apart, casually destroying both the energy and the cards with absolute precision.

Constantine began to frown.

The Vile King had an incomparably powerful Soul, possessing both talent and genius that Micheal was more than willing to admit stood above him...

But talent and genius weren’t the only factors in a fight.

This Recorded Clone of Constantine was from midway through Constantine’s first year...

And at this point in time, Constantine had yet to become a Master.

Constantine sent out more than 20 more play cards at Micheal, each one containing more and more of the raw, destructive Annihilation Energy, as Micheal decided to dub it. The cards shattered the air and blew up everything in their path…

Until they reached Micheal’s sword.

One card, one cut, each slash simple and short, but exactingly precise.

Not a single one managed to reach Micheal.

Constantine’s brows tightened when he saw this, a reaction that brought a cold smile to Micheal’s face.

This was probably the first time that Constantine had ever encountered something that could directly destroy his own Annihilation Energy.

From Constantine’s perspective, it likely made no sense.

The energy he was using was fabricated from the very essence of ‘Annihilation.’ It existed solely to destroy things. Even the cards he imbued were being destroyed as they flew towards Micheal.

Given that, how could Micheal just casually slice that energy apart, with no apparent repercussion?

The answer had to do purely with Micheal’s Sword Energy.

It was a power Micheal used daily, but it had been a long time since Micheal ever really thought about in detail.

What exactly was Sword Energy?

At its very core essence, it was a conceptual power with a singular purpose:

To cut.

Legend had it that warriors who mastered Sword Energy to its very peak were glorified as Supreme Swordmasters that possessed the power to cut apart entire dimensions.

In Micheal’s case, Master Tier Sword Energy wasn’t quite that powerful, but its conceptual sharpness was far and beyond anything this Recorded Clone of Constantine would be able to conceive.

As a result, none of Constantine’s attacks managed to land on Micheal.

The Vile King went to attack again, but by this point, Micheal had already reached him.

Micheal’s right hand flickered as he cut forward with his blade, a golden light flashing out.

In response, the silver card Constantine had been holding in his left hand began to glow a bright green.

Immediately, a large green bubble shield appeared in the air surrounding Constantine, forming a thick, protective barrier.

Micheal’s sword sheared through that shield like it didn’t even exist, slicing towards the Vile King so quickly it was imperceptible to the human eye.

“Tch.”

Constantine’s eyes grew cold, a hint of annoyance appearing and then vanishing.

Just a mere moment before Micheal’s sword would separate Constantine’s head from his body…

The space surrounding Constantine distorted.

Micheal blinked, resisting the urge to flinch as the tangible space in front of him visibly twisted, his vision going wonky. Constantine’s body appeared to fold in on itself, smushed together and tugged down at a sickening angle.

When Micheal’s sword hit the distorted space, it cut through it like normal. The Ability that was causing space to distort was unable to affect Lightshorn while it was under the influence of his Master Tier Sword Energy.

Because of that, Micheal’s attack missed.

Micheal took it in stride and immediately followed up with a second attack, unsurprised.

In the first place, he had already expected that his attack would somehow fail. Defeating Constantine could never be so simple.

Before he could even begin the motions to strike again, however, a necklace that had been hidden under Constantine’s suit activated.

The distorted space returned to normal as a large gust of wind blew through the air, causing Micheal to stumble backwards.

As soon as the gust appeared, Constantine was covered in a flurry of white lights and vanished, teleporting roughly 40 meters to Micheal’s left.

“You almost had me there.”

Constantine looked at Micheal from afar as soon as he re-appeared, giving him a smile that failed to reach his eyes.

“A Fairy Winds Artifact, huh?” Micheal muttered, recognizing the scene with a slight nod.

The Fairy Winds Artifact was a Defensive Artifact that cost 186,000 Points in the Shop. It had the ability to teleport its user up to 40 meters in any direction at will, but came with a passive recharge time of around an hour. It was an extremely popular Artifact on the Third Layer, where at any time an errant misstep could send you falling into the endless Void.

“You're well informed.” The Vile King returned.

Before he could say anything else, Micheal’s eyes widened and he abruptly threw himself backwards, a layer of blue Sky Tier Ki appearing around him in a protective shroud.

Not a split second later, two loud, rippling explosions shook the air, detonating just a few meters from Micheal. A flurry of smoke, dirt, and dust was thrown up into the air, forming a small, stormy cloud.

“Tch. You’re unnecessarily observant.” Constantine’s smile transformed into a frown, watching as Micheal’s figure burst through the newly formed dust cloud.

Micheal’s arms burned and his eyes blazed as he charged at the Vile King, his heart laced with irritation.

‘I was careless. That could have seriously injured me.’ The constant layer of mental oppression emanated by Constantine was dulling his senses.

In the moment when the Vile King activated his Fairy Winds Artifact to flee, Constantine had pulled out and armed two Close Impact Bombs from behind his back. The Vile King took advantage of the distorted space to hide his movements and then used the flash of light and winds from his Defensive Artifact to bury the bombs in the ground next to Micheal.

Close Impact Bomb were small, white cubes with a magical sensor on them. The tiny weapons were set to detonate once they detected even the slightest hint of movement after being armed, and were commonly used on the First Layer as traps to take out Morenkai.

Anything that could kill a Morenkai could easily kill a human. Micheal got away with only a couple minor burns on his arms thanks to his evasive dodge and Sky Tier Ki, but that light injury served as a wakeup call.

Even in his first year, Constantine Lancaster was a lethal threat.

In this fight, Micheal could not afford even the slightest lapse in judgement.

While Micheal came to this realization, the Vile King didn’t just stand there and wait. As soon as he saw Micheal reappear, the man pulled out a large blue staff and immediately began to activate it.

Micheal recognized it the moment he saw it.

It was a Promethium Staff, a rare Limited Artifact worth 326,086 Points in the Shop. It was a magic tool from an ancient civilization that allowed its user to cast the Tier 3 Spell Promethium Thunder without the need for Mana, a Mana Circle, or a Mana Heart. The Promethium Thunder Spell was a powerful, wide-range electrical spell that couldn’t be blocked with a sword.

In response, Micheal flung his left hand forward and activated his Silk Strider Glove, sending out 5 long threads of titanium, coated in Master Tier Sword Energy.

The metal strings shot through the air like bullets, glinting brightly.

They intercepted Constantine before he could finish the activation process, forcing the Vile King to interrupt his casting to protect himself.

Once again, the space surrounding the Vile King distorted. Micheal’s metal threads pierced through where the Vile King had been standing and seemingly passed through him, stabbing into the ground behind him.

After the metal threads landed, the Vile King waved his right hand, causing the space around him to return to normal.

Immediately, Micheal jerked his left hand, directing the metal strings from his Silk Strider Glove to slice Constantine to bits.

Before they could move, Constantine made a twisting motion with his hand and caused the space surrounding Micheal’s 5 metal threads to distort and condense, trapping them in the ground.

“You have excellent instincts.” The way the Vile King spat out his words made it sound like an insult.

Micheal didn't respond as he sprinted towards the man, his heart pounding with adrenaline. Each step he took held enough force to crack the earthen floor of the arena, drawing on every bit of strength he possessed.

After giving the trapped threads a tug, Micheal took advantage of their trapped state and used them to pull himself forward, propelling himself into the air. He spawned multiple Time Bubbles as he soared, causing himself to move extremely quickly.

The second that Constantine saw him go airborne, he threw out a new torrent of silver playing cards, coating them in chaotic red Annihilation Energy.

This time, however, as he threw them, Constantine angled the cards in a spread out, staggered manner. The flashing cards now burst through the air in a wide-ranging but carefully aimed assault.

Micheal’s eyes narrowed when he traced the attack, instinctively grasping its pattern.

The way the cards were lined up was at just the right angle to prevent Micheal from blocking them all. No matter how quickly and accurately he cut, at least one of the cards would make it past his defense and hit him.

‘Monster.’

Micheal had only attacked him a single time, but that alone was enough to let Constantine accurately judge Micheal’s strength, skill level, and allow the man to come up with countermeasures.

Micheal faced the attack head on without flinching. Slowing down to dodge would only give Constantine more space to plan and react.

Time flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Just before the silver cards were set to collide with Micheal, when it seemed clear that there was no way to block the attack…

In that exact moment, Constantine simultaneously activated 6 different rings.

These Artifacts had, before this exact moment, been completely invisible. The Vile King’s hands had appeared bare, even to Micheal’s Master Class senses.

6 different Curses slammed into Micheal as Constantine activated his Cursed Ring of Weakness, Cursed Ring of Slowing, Cursed Ring of Confusion, Cursed Ring of Blindness, Cursed Ring of Pain, and Cursed Ring of Exhaustion. The Curses operated exactly as one would expect, each one inflicting its relevant named state onto its target.

The instant the deluge of Curses came down on Micheal, his Heartflame Physique activated in response. His Physique gifted him with a natural resistance to Curses of all kinds, letting him dodge the brunt of the attack.

Micheal just barely managed to keep his concentration and, right before the silver cards hit him, he stamped down hard, jumping in mid-air.

A split moment later, Constantine’s silver cards sliced through the air where Micheal had been, missing him completely.

Micheal then activated his Cloud Stepping Shoes for the second time, using the momentum from his first jump to add on to a second jump, accelerating forward even faster. In the same movement, he disconnected the threads from his Silk Strider Glove, freeing his left hand in the process.

Constantine’s eyes widened, but, before he could launch a new attack, Micheal reached him.

Micheal’s right hand transformed into a blur as he sliced down at Constantine, intent on killing the man right where he stood.

Once more, space distorted, causing Micheal’s blade to miss.

Micheal didn’t let up, however, and simply continued attacking, cutting forward over and over.

‘There has to be a limit to his power.’ Micheal thought, his eyes flashing.

Using brute force to overcome something he didn’t understand wasn’t exactly the prettiest method to victory, but that fact hardly mattered to Micheal.

Constantine was already giving him an unprecedented feeling of danger.

It felt absurd even in Micheal’s eyes, but the last time his instincts had warned him this heavily had been during Humanity’s Final Battle, when they were all killed by the Morian Tribe of Deities.

One cut, two cuts, five cuts, ten cuts, Micheal’s sword ripped out in a succession of slicing attacks, each one geared with golden Master Tier Sword Energy.

The Vile King constantly manipulated space to cause Micheal’s attack to miss, but after the third cut, every new spatial undulation caused Constantine’s expression to grow tighter and tighter. Micheal was not giving the man even the slightest bit of leeway to react.

Finally, after his thirteenth cut, the Vile King took action.

Space returned to normal as the blue Promethium Staff in Constantine’s hands began to glow brightly, giving off a severe wave of power.

The Vile King forcibly activated the Artifact, overloading it with energy to skip its casting time, and then threw it at Micheal.

The Spell it cast would only be half as strong as a result and it would destroy the Artifact afterwards, but it was enough to force Micheal to respond to it.

Micheal aimed his next attack at the Staff, his right hand transforming into a blur as he cut it in half. A loud crackle of energy shook the air when Lightshorn slammed into the staff, making the Spell misfire.

The resulting explosion shocked Micheal and burned his right hand, painfully melting his fingers together and causing them to stick to his sword. The bright flash of light dazed him, temporarily blinding his eyes.

As Micheal’s body reeled from the impact, the mental oppression that came from Constantine’s Aura grew stronger. The Vile King was going all out, flaring his Soul to try and break Micheal’s concentration.

Micheal immediately spread his Master Class senses outward, violently making himself get over his shock. His Soul clashed with Constantine’s and, after a brief, silent struggle, he barely managed to keep his focus through sheer force of will.

As a result, despite being unable to see, Micheal noticed when space distorted in front of him and Constantine vanished.

For a small moment after, time seemed to stand still.

Micheal stood there quietly, all alone in the world, burned and bleeding, his body trembling from electric shocks and Curses.

The moment ended.

Time resumed.

Micheal’s eyes glowed golden as Constantine reappeared, this time directly behind Micheal’s back.

The Vile King held a single silver card in his right hand, just inches from Micheal’s neck. Red energy washed over the card as he prepared to attack, aiming to defeat Micheal in one fell swoop.

And then... just before he struck...

“Ah.”

Constantine gasped and came to a halt.

A spurt of blood burst free from the Vile King’s lips as he looked down in shock.

A long, golden line of Master Tier Sword Energy was stretched out from the sheath Micheal had on his hip, pierced directly through Constantine’s heart.

Micheal’s left hand rested on that sheath, moved there just moments before, after he released the metal threads in his Silk Strider Glove. The sheath wasn’t technically a sword, but its shape and purpose was close enough to allow him to use it all the same.

“You can emit this energy beyond your sword? I see.” The Vile King stared down in disbelief. He then sank down to the ground, causing the blade of golden energy to rip a bloody trail upward through his chest and shoulder.

Throughout the entire fight, Micheal had kept his Master Tier Sword Energy entirely self-contained within Lightshorn, even when Constantine lashed out with an attack that was impossible to block otherwise.

Constantine might be familiar with Sword Energy in general, but given how early on this Recorded Clone was from… what were the chances that he had fought against a Master before?

Close to zero, Micheal had figured. There were less than 10 Masters on the entire Second Layer, and details about their techniques were a closely guarded secret. It was only on the Third Layer that the powers of Master Tier Sword Energy were common knowledge.

His guess, as it turned out, was correct, and his gamble paid off.

Micheal took a deep, ragged breath as his vision returned to him. The mental oppression from Constantine’s Soul began to ease up, sending a clear signal to his brain.

He had won.

Micheal spun around to face Constantine, his heart pounding with excitement.

And it was here, for no apparent reason, that Micheal’s intuition flared within him.

Without even questioning why, Micheal threw himself to the side, using his Life Orbs to propel himself away. He spawned a Time Bubble to accelerate himself, moving as fast as he physically could while donning a layer of protective Sky Tier Ki.

In his final moment alive, Constantine’s Clone couldn’t help but to grin.

“You really do have great instincts.”

A millisecond later…

A cluster of 46 invisible Close Impact Bombs exploded two meters away from Micheal’s face.

.