Chapter 64 – Fragment of Authority

Wooong!

The limitation of the Mounting Skill, which normally only allows mounting on living beings, expands to include inanimate mechanical devices.

It doesn’t stop at simply being worn; he drives the Demon Armor, drawing out abilities beyond its limits.

At this moment, the Demon Armor was no longer just armor but practically his exoskeleton.

Kiiiiing!

The intricate gear components forming the Demon Armor spin rapidly, their output surpassing the critical point.

Kurung- Pat!

A reflex speed so fast he could react immediately even if thunder struck right beside him.

He now felt confident that in terms of speed alone, he wouldn’t fall behind Sangwi, who had reached the 8-Star level.

Chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa!

“That’s it! That’s the way!”

Perhaps thinking that the more Lee Hanseong showed his growth moment by moment, the higher the possibility of the archipelago’s liberation, Sangwi let out a hearty laugh even as the wounds on his body increased.

Lee Hanseong also ignored the gears of the Demon Armor wearing down from the movements beyond its limits and the steel plates overheating, glowing red-hot.

After all, due to Ink Cloud Dispersal, the situation involved constant real-time decomposition and recombination.

Zzirrrrrrring!

In an instant, he draws dozens of sword paths on Sangwi’s body.

His Absolute Sword Art had now improved to the point where he could cut down to the muscle layer beneath the skin.

But it still wasn’t enough to inflict a fatal wound.

‘There’s no decline in combat power from injuries either.’

It was similar to him when using No Retreat in Battle.

Having grasped Three Named Swords Undefeated, Sangwi could display his peak combat power until the battle ended, no matter how many wounds he received.

‘But I’m the same.’

No Retreat in Battle, which he had displayed while fighting Shuten-doji, was still ongoing.

Even after one Life-and-Death Duel ended, the judgment was that the battle wouldn’t end until all Hundred-Man Slaughter duels were finished.

Moreover, from the moment he acquired the Driving Skill, the hostile environment filling the Domain no longer felt as lethal as before.

The storm, thunder, rain of fire, and the decomposition ability of the Reversed Ink Cloud were all trying to breach his body and mental image through Devouring Heaven, the Demon Armor’s Reconstruction Property, Primordial Chaos Gang Qi, and Unyielding Indomitability if he let his guard down even slightly.

‘…The fluctuation of Starlight has decreased.’

From the moment all his General Skills evolved or integrated into Rare Skill level or higher, the stability of Eightfold Annihilation had increased dramatically.

As stability was added to the flow of Starlight circulating through his body’s circuits, his Demon-Resisting Power against external Laws also strengthened.

It was natural.

The circuits of General Skills inevitably had a small limit on the amount of Starlight they could accept.

When a massive torrent of Starlight poured through Eightfold Annihilation, the circuits of over a dozen General Skills inevitably became a source of inefficiency.

Every time the Starlight passed through the circuit sections connecting Unique Skills to Rare Skills and Rare Skills to General Skills, it had to be geared down to match them.

But now that the minimum grade of the Skills he possessed had risen to Rare grade.

The gear-shifting sections were reduced to less than half, and the minimum circulation speed also rose to the limit of Rare Skills.

‘At this level, I should be able to sufficiently channel Starlight into Legendary Equipment, though Awakening Skills might be another matter.’

Thanks to Supreme Crafting, the efficiency of Steel Alchemy had increased, but it was also welcome news as the Starlight charged into the Steel Gauntlet was about to run dry.

If not for this, he probably would have had no choice but to opt for a short, decisive battle.

Woong.

He channeled a portion of Eightfold Annihilation’s Starlight into the Steel Gauntlet, taking measures to ensure the Demon Armor’s Reconstruction Property wouldn’t be severed.

Just as he was planning to methodically break down Sangwi step by step with a prolonged battle in mind.

“That’s not it. Do you plan to stop at just this level?”

Sangwi, who had been repeatedly laughing at Lee Hanseong’s growth, frowned.

Having noticed that the steep growth curve had flattened, he realized Lee Hanseong had chosen the path of winning stably.

It felt like a hit to the core.

Having grown a little, he was prioritizing safety again.

“If you want to get stronger, you must also stake your life! If that’s difficult, I’ll force you to stake your life, even if I have to!”

“……”

He had nothing to say.

Sssssssak!

Daitoren, Shotoren, and Kenmyoren began drawing sharper sword paths than before, interfering with the sword path of the Devouring Heaven Demon Sword.

‘Get stronger from here?’

The swordsmanship skill Sangwi displayed had clearly increased.

The reason was immediately apparent.

The traces of the Sword Demon emanating from Sangwi’s swordsmanship.

‘Was he influenced by my swordsmanship?’

Just as he had seen the Sword Demon’s swordsmanship in a dream and gained inspiration, it seemed Sangwi had also gained inspiration from his own swordsmanship, which imitated that Sword Demon’s swordsmanship.

Moreover, it wasn’t just swordsmanship that had changed.

“Thanks to the Guarantee of the Righteous Will, my talent is now combined with the talents of Kitsune and Akamaru. I’m not the only one who can grow from this fight.”

Whoooosh!

Wind blows towards the Shotoren held in Sangwi’s left hand, and ink clouds imbued with decomposition power gather.

And the ink clouds settle into the Gang Qi enveloping Shotoren, transforming into Ink Cloud Gang Qi.

Kururururung!

Within the ink clouds condensed into Ink Cloud Gang Qi, thunder and lightning continuously flashed.

The Yokai Power of the Yokai Fox that had resided in Shotoren increased the instability of the clouds, raising the probability of lightning strikes.

It could no longer be called just ink clouds.

The clouds, dyed with the color of pale lightning, were closer to a blue halo.

“It seems my Domain no longer feels threatening to you, so I decided to focus on the Divine Artifact.”

Whooorururuk!

Next, Sangwi called the rain of fire into the Gang Qi of the Daitoren in his right hand, and the flames filling the sky also settled into the Sword Flux.

Perhaps because Daitoren bore the inscription of the Red Demon.

The flames contained within the Gang Qi resembled Shuten-doji’s Hellfire.

It was Jade Flame Gang Qi.

Zzirit zzirit!

The blue Thunder Radiance and the red Fire Radiance.

Seeing that, a sense of crisis surged, making his hair stand on end.

‘That looks a bit dangerous…’

To avoid danger, he could step in and block it now.

According to his Mind’s Eye, that was merely an intermediate stage of some technique that wasn’t yet complete.

If he intervened now, he could sufficiently disrupt it.

“Why, do you want to interfere?”

At Sangwi’s question, his foot wouldn’t lift.

He had entered Hundred-Man Slaughter to become strong enough to awaken Mirinae.

If he only protected himself in the face of danger, becoming as strong as he desired would be far off.

“No, I won’t block it. I’ll clash head-on and use that stimulus as a stepping stone for growth!”

“An admirable attitude.”

As Lee Hanseong stopped his attack and gave time, Sangwi smiled with satisfaction and clashed the two Treasured Swords in his hands.

Woooooong!!

From the two swords touching, blue and red light drew a Taiji as they rotated, then merged into a purple light.

It then shot towards Kenmyoren, which was moving on its own in the air.

Paaaat!

“Thunder-Fire Dual Radiance. Purple Twilight Annihilation Light.”

A twilight light, as if to bring about the world’s destruction, wrapped around Kenmyoren, then unleashed a horizontal slash towards Lee Hanseong.

Chwaaaak!

A surging purple twilight surges forth, tearing through the Great Evil Red Raging Cloud.

Overwhelmed by the flood of Purple Twilight Annihilation Light like a tidal wave, Lee Hanseong felt a sense of being overpowered.

He knew instinctively.

‘If I get hit by that, I’ll definitely die, no matter how many lives I have left!’

Since most High-Rank Spirits possess Resurrection Abilities, Resurrection Nullification Abilities that erase multiple lives at once could easily appear.

But though he felt overwhelmed, he didn’t retreat or evade.

He knew that now, with real death before his eyes, was the moment for rapid growth.

Thud.

Instead, he took a step forward and raised the Devouring Heaven Demon Sword straight up.

As Purple Twilight Annihilation Light drew closer, his perception time slowed, and a panorama of his life unfolded.

Then, suddenly, he remembered the absorption ability the Sword Demon had imbued in the Formless Sword.

‘……!’

An ability reminiscent of the Wolf’s Maw, similar yet different from Devouring Heaven.

He realized it was the natural counter to Purple Twilight Annihilation Light.

An intuition told him that to oppose Purple Twilight Annihilation Light, he needed to recreate at least a fragment of that ability.

Responding to his wish, Primordial Chaos Gang Qi moved.

Woong.

[<Primordial Chaos Gang Qi> links <Devouring Heaven Demon Sword> and the Stigma 《Myriad Fire Transformations》.]

“Bite and swallow, Devouring Heaven!”

He withdrew the power of Devouring Heaven, which had been primarily protecting him from the hostile environment of the Great Evil Red Raging Cloud, and focused Devouring Heaven solely on the Purple Twilight Annihilation Light ahead.

The moment Devouring Heaven activated and an invisible maw appeared, the transformation ability of Myriad Fire Transformations altered the shape of that maw to resemble a wolf’s.

Though far inferior compared to the Wolf’s Maw imbued in the Sword Demon’s Formless Sword, it was an undeniable power of the same kind.

Jjeoook!

The gaping Wolf’s Maw swallows the twilight.

A suction force even a god cannot escape!

Blink!

The surging Purple Twilight Annihilation Light vanished in an instant.

Including Kenmyoren, which was at its center.

“……”

“……”

The power exceeding expectations left even Lee Hanseong, let alone Sangwi, momentarily silent.

‘…Three Named Swords Undefeated has been broken!’

Chwak!

Immediately after, realizing that Three Named Swords Undefeated had been deactivated because one of the three Treasured Swords had disappeared, Lee Hanseong swung the Devouring Heaven Demon Sword once more.

He realized that at his current level, he couldn’t fully digest the swallowed Purple Twilight Annihilation Light as it was.

Then, only one method remained.

“I’ll give it back.”

Kwakwakwakwakwakwa!

Once again, the purple tidal wave revealed itself within the Great Evil Red Raging Cloud.

This time, with its direction of travel reversed.

Seeing his own strongest attack returning towards him, Sangwi had no choice but to acknowledge defeat.

“That’s right, you’ve won.”

The next moment, Sangwi was swept away by the Purple Twilight Annihilation Light.

And a short while later.

Where the Purple Twilight Annihilation Light had vanished, no trace of Sangwi remained.

A death from which not even a Corpse could be revived.

It was Lee Hanseong’s victory.

* * *

‘What was that just now… Could it be an Authority?’

The Evil Spirit Mask, who had concealed himself on the outskirts of the Great Evil Red Raging Cloud and watched the duel between Lee Hanseong and Sangwi, was in a state of great shock.

Both the Purple Twilight Annihilation Light Sangwi unleashed at the end and Lee Hanseong’s Devouring Heaven, which swallowed and spat out that light.

Both were abilities that surpassed the limits of ordinary Mythic Skills.

‘No, it probably isn’t an Authority.’

The Evil Spirit Mask soon regained his composure and shook his head.

From General Skills to Legendary Skills, combining two Skills into one causes evolution into a higher-grade Skill.

But Myth Skills were different.

‘An Authority doesn’t simply emerge from combining two Mythic Skills.’

The next stage after Myth Skill is Authority.

According to the teachings of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, to form an Authority, a total of seven Myth Skills must integrate, centered around a Divine Artifact.

Among them, two are <Reversal> and <Synthesis of Opposites>, which everyone who reaches 10-Star commonly obtains.

To fill the remaining five, aside from the two obtained from mastering 5th and 6th Awakening Skills, three Myth Skills are needed.

Even if the four Legendary Skills obtained from mastering 1st to 4th Awakening Skills are integrated in pairs to add two more Myth Skills, it’s still insufficient.

Therefore, the four Unique Skills obtained at 5-Star and 6-Star must be integrated to obtain one more Myth Skill, making a total of seven.

‘In other words, the Ultimate Techniques they displayed are abilities positioned between Mythic Skill and Authority.’

One question was that it was the result of two Ultimate Techniques clashing.

Clearly, the number of Skills contained within Sangwi’s Purple Twilight Annihilation Light was greater than in Lee Hanseong’s transformed Devouring Heaven.

At the very least, all six of Ootakemaru’s Awakening Skills were inside Purple Twilight Annihilation Light.

That’s the equivalent of four Myth Skills combined.

In contrast, Lee Hanseong’s Ultimate Technique was at a level where at most two, or maybe three, Myth Skills were combined.

By simple numbers, Purple Twilight Annihilation Light should have won.

‘But the result was the opposite.’

Though the Evil Spirit Mask didn’t know this fact, it was the difference between a technique in the process of creating a new Authority and a technique imitating an already completed Authority.

But unable to know this fact, the Evil Spirit Mask prepared for the next Life-and-Death Duel without resolving his doubts.

* * *

Meanwhile, immediately after defeating Sangwi, a new message appeared before Lee Hanseong’s eyes.

[Special Feat, ‘Defeat of Japan’s Three Great Oni’ has been achieved!]

[As a reward for the Special Feat, the Folklore Treasure ‘Guarantee of the Righteous Will’ is bound to your soul.]

The Guarantee of the Righteous Will, which Sangwi had manifested through Legend resonance, became his power in the form of a Folklore Treasure.

Folklore Treasure.

Similar to Spirit Hero Treasure or Legendary Equipment, but unlike those containing Awakening Skills or Legendary Skills, it refers to a treasure containing Folklore.

‘Oh.’

The biggest difference between a Skill and Folklore is the necessity of activation.

A Skill requires an activation process to see its effect, but Folklore applies its effect constantly, even without activation.

Naturally, from the moment he obtained the Guarantee of the Righteous Will as a Folklore Treasure, its effect was applied to Lee Hanseong.

‘Similar to Transcendence, but a Promotion Effect with limits.’

Due to the Guarantee of the Righteous Will, Lee Hanseong’s actual Grade was amplified from 3-Star to the 4-Star level.

However, while Transcendence applies a full Promotion Effect even to beings of 7-Star or above.

The Guarantee of the Righteous Will only raises the effect by one grade up to a maximum of 6-Star, and from 7-Star onward, the promotion effect drops to half.

But considering it’s a constantly applied effect, that level of limitation wasn’t particularly concerning.

‘At this level, it’s barely reaching the 8-Star threshold, right?’

In a situation where the power lost as the power obtained through Geass faded away was refilled by the Guarantee of the Righteous Will effect.

“Whoever will undertake the next Life-and-Death Duel, step forward.”

The next Life-and-Death Duel immediately followed.

Sssk!

And he won right away.

A victory achieved without dying even once, unlike the previous three fights.

For him, whose specs, though barely, had stepped into the 8-Star level, Contractors who had undergone Divine Possession with 7-Star Spirits were no longer difficult opponents.

“Next.”

“Next.”

“Next.”

The number of victories began to fill up rapidly.