Bab 405: The Weight of Killing Intent
The reprieve Cecilia's spellcraft granted me was brief, but it gave me the breath I needed to stay standing. Her precision was impeccable, her fire spells weaving through the battlefield to pressure the Paladin of Void into constant defense. The way her mana burned through the dark astral energy surrounding him was nothing short of extraordinary.
But my thoughts were heavy with the sobering truth of this battle: the Paladin was a monster.
Even at low Immortal-rank and only recently awakened, he was a force beyond anything I'd ever faced. I had thrown everything at him—God Flash: Absolute, Stellar Cascade, and even Cecilia's relentless support—but I could barely hold him back. His regeneration, his Domain, his mastery of combat; it all combined into a nightmare of overwhelming power.
And he was still holding back.
If this was him now, what would he become at his peak? The question sent a chill down my spine, but I shoved it aside. That future couldn't matter if I didn't survive the present.
The Paladin raised his blade, a shadowy menace that seemed to devour the light in the room. His regeneration had slowed, but his movements were no less precise. His strikes carried the weight of mountains, each one threatening to crush me outright.
I pressed forward, weaving through his attacks with Divine Copy. Every swing of my blade was calculated, every counter designed to exploit the smallest openings. But even as I fought, I could feel the strain mounting. My movements grew heavier, my breaths more labored. The Paladin's Domain hung over me like a stormcloud, pressing against my every action.
Then his stance shifted, and I realized too late what he had seen.
His gaze flicked to Cecilia.
"No!" I shouted, surging forward, but the warning came a second too late.
The Paladin broke away from me with a burst of speed, his sword carving a deadly arc through the air as it aimed for Cecilia. Her eyes widened as she began casting a defensive spell, her movements quick but not quick enough.
His blade shattered her shield with a deafening crack, the remnants of her defense raining down like shards of glass. The sword connected, slicing into her side.
Her scream cut through the battlefield like a blade, and my heart stopped.
"No!" The word ripped from my throat as rage overtook me. I surged forward, channeling everything I had into a single strike. My blade, wreathed in light and astral energy, crashed into the Paladin with enough force to send him hurtling into the far wall.
But I didn't care about him. My focus was entirely on Cecilia.
I dropped to my knees beside her, my hands trembling as I touched her pale form. Blood poured from the wound on her side, staining her dress and the ground beneath her. Her breaths were shallow, her eyes fluttering closed.
"Cecilia, stay with me," I whispered, my voice cracking. "You're not allowed to die. Not here. Not now."
I activated Soul Resonance, reaching deep into the core of my being where Rachel's Gift of Saintess was stored. Golden light enveloped my hands as I channeled the healing magic into her wound.
The light flowed through her body, sealing torn flesh and mending broken tissue. The warmth of the magic was steady and soothing, but the strain it placed on me was immense. My vision blurred, my limbs trembled, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.
"You're going to be fine," I murmured, more to myself than to her. "You're going to be okay."
Her breathing steadied, her complexion returning to its usual glow. The wound closed completely, the bloodstains fading as the golden light did its work. But the toll of using the Gift of Saintess was immense. My mana reserves were nearly depleted, and my body felt like it was weighed down by lead.
Cecilia's eyes fluttered open, her gaze meeting mine. "Arthur…" she whispered, her voice weak but steady.
"I'm here," I said, my voice firm despite the exhaustion threatening to pull me under. "You're safe."
Her lips curled into a faint smile, but her gaze shifted past me, her eyes widening in alarm.
I turned, just in time to see the Paladin charging again, his blade raised for a killing blow.
But before he could strike, a wave of killing intent exploded from me, unbidden and uncontrollable.
The air in the chamber grew heavy, oppressive. Even the Paladin paused, his blade hovering mid-strike as his eyes narrowed.
"You…" he said, his voice low and filled with something I couldn't quite place. "What are you?"
I didn't answer. My gaze locked onto his, unyielding and unrelenting. The killing intent didn't fade. It hung in the air like a storm, an unspoken promise of destruction.
The tension in the air was palpable, a charged silence broken only by the faint hum of astral energy that crackled between us. The Paladin of Void, his blade poised mid-air, hesitated. For the first time, his unrelenting confidence flickered. Not out of fear, no—fear was beneath him—but out of caution, a wary respect born of sheer instinct.
I locked eyes with him, my lips curling into a sharp smile. "Wait your turn," I said, my voice cutting through the stillness like a blade. "I'll kill you soon enough."
His dark eyes widened in disbelief. "Kill me? You?" His voice was incredulous, his tone caught between mockery and astonishment. "A mere boy dares to claim he'll kill me?"
"Try me," I shot back, the rhythm of my Sword Heart thrumming in my chest like a war drum. The light from my astral blade flared brighter, casting an almost divine glow across the room. My feet shifted, finding their anchor as my focus narrowed to a singular point. "I'll tell you now. I will attack you from this position. That attack will surpass you. It will end you. That is my declaration."
For a moment, the only sound was the hum of energy surrounding us. His grip on his sword tightened, his stance adjusting ever so slightly. He was preparing, his instincts screaming at him to take my words seriously, no matter how absurd they sounded.
"You're announcing your attack?" he asked, incredulous. "A duel is no place for such theatrics, boy. You'll lose the element of surprise."
"Maybe," I replied, "But it doesn't matter."
The Paladin's brows furrowed. For the first time in our battle, uncertainty crept into his expression. He took a step back, his stance shifting to one of readiness. He was no longer advancing—he was bracing himself. Preparing to defend.
Good. Let him prepare. It wouldn't make a difference.
From deep within, I felt the beat of my Sword Heart grow louder, resonating with every fiber of my being. Every scar, every battle, every lesson I had endured until now burned in the rhythm of that resonance. My body ached, my mana reserves were perilously low, but none of it mattered. This was my final move, and I would pour everything into it.
'Arthur,' Luna's voice cut through my focus, her tone tinged with both urgency and concern. 'You're going to push yourself too far with this.'
I didn't need her to tell me that. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones, in the thrum of energy that coursed through my body like a raging river about to overflow its banks.
'I know,' I replied, my voice steady even in the telepathic connection. 'This move isn't ready. It's going to take more out of me than I have to give.'
Her silence was telling. She knew the truth as well as I did: this attack would bring me to the edge of death itself. The risk wasn't just great—it was absolute. My body, already worn to its limits, might very well shatter under the strain.
But that didn't matter. This wasn't about survival. This was about winning.
In the heat of our battle, I had glimpsed it—a technique so pure, so devastating, that it could bypass even the monstrous regeneration of an Immortal-ranker. The pieces were there, scattered like stars in the night sky, waiting to be connected. And now, at the precipice of exhaustion, I would forge them together.
I inhaled deeply, the weight of my resolve grounding me. My stance shifted slightly, my blade poised like an extension of my very soul. My entire being screamed with a singular purpose.
Kill.
The thought pulsed through me, a mantra, a command. To kill the Paladin. Not to wound him, not to outlast him, but to strike him down, completely and utterly. This wasn't a battle anymore. It was an execution.
I felt the weight of Luna's gaze, though she didn't speak again. She didn't need to. She knew better than anyone that there was no turning back now.
All of my abilities flared to life, one after another, their energies converging and overlapping until I was a blazing storm of power. Mythic Body, Soul Vision, Seraphima's Embrace Astral Manifestation, Mind's Aegis, Lucent Harmony—every part of me was honed to its absolute peak.
The Paladin's dark astral energy bristled, his defenses coiling tighter around him like a fortress. He didn't taunt me this time. He didn't mock or jeer. He simply waited, watching me with the focus of a predator staring down an equal.
"Let's finish this," I said, though the words were more for myself than for him.
The ground beneath my feet cracked as I prepared to launch, the air around me shimmering with the heat of my mana.
Then, my God Flash rang across the battlefield once more.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone