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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“I thought he was a genius.”
The young master, who had supposedly never held a sword before, was catching up to him.
He had considered him a prodigy, perhaps even comparable to Kaitel.
He had believed it would be a long time before Robert surpassed him.
“It seems I misjudged him.”
Verod brushed falling debris from his head, watching Robert’s single, decisive strike. It wasn’t about catching up. Robert was simply reclaiming a skill he already possessed. It seemed impossible, yet there it was.
The effortless mastery, the seamless execution, couldn’t be explained by mere talent.
He had momentarily lost sight of the Minotaur. But he had witnessed the moment of impact. The monster’s explosive speed hadn’t even grazed Robert.
A clean cut, severing an arm.
He couldn’t comprehend how it had been done.
That was the level Robert had reached.
Untouchable, inexplicable.
Only Robert himself knew what he had done. He wiped the Minotaur’s blood from his blade, his movements elegant and precise.
A level Verod would likely never reach, even after a lifetime of training.
“Sword Saint.”
A title worthy of this era.
Verod no longer worried about defeat. It would be strange if Robert lost. He now considered what would happen after the Minotaur was slain.
The battle would soon be over.
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The Minotaur hadn’t imagined its arm could be severed. Its body was incredibly resilient. Not even a god could easily wound it.
Yet, despite its weakened state, its arm was gone.
It had unleashed its full power in that attack. No one had ever survived a direct hit.
Yet, this human, wielding a single sword and empowered by divine power, had not only survived, but also injured it. The thought amused it.
It chuckled, its gaze fixed on Robert.
“I hope there aren’t any more humans like you. If the others awaken, they’ll be decapitated before they can even react.”
Could the human replicate that attack?
It doubted it.
The attack had been empowered by divine power, a momentary burst of speed that had made him invisible.
It had sacrificed its arm because it couldn’t react in time. But a human body couldn’t sustain such speed. It heard the human’s ragged breathing and lost interest.
A few more attacks like that, and it would be dead.
Otherwise, it would only suffer more wounds.
Demons were difficult to kill.
That was why even the gods had chosen to seal them away.
“Are you giving up?”
“I was the one who attacked. I was the one who sought you out here. Of course, we would have met eventually.”
It was tired of consuming humans to regain its strength. It had planned to escape eventually, but after encountering this human… it no longer desired to fight.
It could continue, but this wasn’t the kind of battle it craved.
A battle where both sides fought to the death, a clash of pure power. This human was the first to make it feel a sense of danger, a threat to its life.
It didn’t want this fight to end so easily. It liked this human.
Perhaps even more than the Four Dragons it had once served.
“You had no reason to fight me. Why didn’t you run?”
“If I hadn’t fought, you would have escaped eventually.”
“There’s something outside, isn’t there?”
The monster chuckled, noticing the coldness in Robert’s eyes.
Humans always had that look when they had something to protect.
A sense of unwavering loyalty that no one else could understand.
If the old man who guarded the woman was driven by blind loyalty, then this man was driven by a need to protect. Such humans were dangerous.
The Minotaur touched the scar on its forehead and channeled its mana.
Its massive form shrunk, transforming into a human shape.
Its severed arm remained missing. It glanced at the empty space and chuckled.
This was amusing.
It, the mighty Minotaur, reduced to such a pathetic state. The others would be surprised. Only this human could witness such a sight.
Robert stared at the monster, now with red hair, realizing it was using Polymorph, not its true form.
“Why didn’t you transform earlier? You wouldn’t have lost your arm if you had been smaller.”
“Where’s the fun in that? I always fight seriously. I stopped because I know you can’t maintain that level of power. We would only injure each other further.”
A battle of attrition wasn’t what it desired.
The reason was somewhat anticlimactic.
Robert realized his body was nearing its limit.
He had regained his skill, but his physical condition wasn’t what it had been after decades of training.
The divine power filled the gap, but the strain was taking its toll. He was pushing his body too hard. He felt the lingering effects, the subtle damage accumulating within him.
He chuckled wryly.
One more attack like that, and he would lose his arm.
The monster had stopped because it knew that.
Was it a demon, or just a battle-crazed beast?
The Minotaur sensed Robert’s concern.
He was worried about what would happen if the fight ended here.
Did he think it would indiscriminately slaughter everyone?
It was a demon, a being considered nobility in the demon world. It wouldn’t kill without reason.
It had only ever killed those it deemed strong.
It had slaughtered armies that attacked it, but it wouldn’t rampage through a defenseless village.
That was something the other demons did. It enjoyed battle, not slaughter.
It chuckled and sat down on a pile of corpses.
“If you’re worried I’ll escape and kill everyone, don’t be. I don’t have time for that. I need to find the others. I have to leave this place eventually.”
“If I kill you here, I won’t have to worry about that.”
“Can you?”
If he tried, it would be a mutual kill.
Verod was unlikely to help him fight the Minotaur.
He had barely managed to injure it with his regained skill, and even then, the demon was weakened.
If he failed to defeat it here, the entire North could be in danger. It was wiser to negotiate.
He couldn’t fully trust the monster’s words.
He asked how he could believe it.
The Minotaur paused, considering its answer.
It knew it wouldn’t be believed. It wouldn’t believe itself in Robert’s position.
An idea came to it.
“I’ll start by telling you that I have no intention of following the Four Dragons.”
“That’s exactly what I don’t believe.”
Adriana, sensing his doubt, approached Robert, channeling divine power and glaring at the monster.
She was relieved he was unharmed. If he had been injured, she would have ordered Verod to attack.
What was the monster’s motive?
The Minotaur sighed, shaking its head at her narrowed eyes.
“I can’t blame you for not believing me, but perhaps I should share a secret.”
It had intended to reveal this after its arm was severed.
It had once been intrigued by the Four Dragons, but now that it had found something more entertaining, it had no reason to follow them.
The other demons could do as they pleased.
It glanced at Robert, sensing something within him.
The Four Dragons’ trickery resided within this man.
He had reached this level through repeated regressions.
Perhaps he could see even more. To allow him to reach that level, it had to alleviate some of his current concerns.
About the regressions, for example.
About the purpose of his 101st life.
The other two were likely unaware.
The Minotaur chose its words carefully.
“I’ll tell you something you don’t know. Something that will pique your interest. Even if you didn’t intend to speak with me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Four Dragons and the Moonstone.”
The Moonstone was an artifact that didn’t exist in this timeline.
Only those who had experienced regressions could perceive it, those who understood its unnatural disappearance.
The Minotaur noticed the shift in Adriana and Robert’s expressions and grinned.
“I’ll tell you how they’re connected.”
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The countless inscriptions on the wall referred to a single being.
Arwen traced the blackened wall, muttering to herself.
Her hand stopped abruptly.
“If this is true…”
The information Robert had provided shattered all her previous theories.
The idea that his regressions were accidental, a random occurrence, was now discarded.
One hundred deaths, a 101st life.
The anomalies that followed.
All of it was intentional. If Robert had pursued a specific goal, it would have failed for inexplicable reasons.
Successes would have turned into failures, his mind broken by repeated losses. But the one orchestrating this hadn’t anticipated Robert’s resilience.
His ability to overcome repeated deaths. Only one who had endured an eternity of death could end this cycle.
The Four Dragons had initiated the regressions.
And the one who could kill them was…
Robert, in his 101st life.
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