LIGHT NOVEL Chapter 384
“Two beams of light dance furiously.”
One is a blazing red, the other a deep blue, reminiscent of the abyss.
Crimson afterimages and azure waves thrash together violently.
Thick smoke, roaring flames, scattered debris, and the pungent smell of gunpowder fill the air. At the center of it all, two swordsmen clash ferociously.
One is a specter dragged from the grave. The other, an alien species that inherits the dreams and illusions of Rykesia.
-KWAANG!
With a deafening crack, General Ryx’s cutlass collides with the Violet’s zweihänder.
An intense shock, like lightning striking.
The two sword fighters intertwine as if they are one body.
Dozens and hundreds of flashes erupt in the air, consistently rising and falling.
Each attack plunges time like a needle.
At the point where superhuman strength collides, the afterimages ripple like waves.
Speed and velocity clash, sparking bolts of fire.
-KIIIING!
Power is proportional to speed. Right now, the basic principles of physics are being explosively proven in its rawest form.
The sword paths glitter brilliantly, scattering sparks. Two different colors of ether surge and clash repeatedly.
They crash and retreat fiercely. Their dazzling footwork pounds the ground with relentless rhythm.
The aftermath of missed strikes scrapes and shreds everything around them mercilessly.
“Was Violet that strong?”
Enrique, who had landed on the ground, gapes in shock.
Though they had sparred here and there, they had never shown that level of speed before.
Irene too wore a dazed expression, as if she couldn’t believe it. Such speed and power could only have been possible during Helios’s heyday with his father.
Even some comparable high-ranking officers barely skimmed that level.
“Even at my best, I never reached that level. I’ve never seen such an ability before. It seems like it appeared recently…”
With each clash of their swords, a bizarre sensation seems to warp space and time.
No, it wasn’t just an illusion.
Each time Violet charged, the surroundings twisted grotesquely like thin strands of honey, leaving long afterimages like a serpent’s tail.
Only these two superhumans could perceive the true nature of the reality.
Sophie El, who was watching the duel with rapt attention, quickly grasped the cause of this bizarre phenomenon.
“The space… it’s warping, isn’t it? When did Violet gain such a unique ability?”
The answer came from Seijis, right next to her.
“You saw it correctly. That’s time acceleration!”
Time and space are inseparable. Violet’s computational power finally shone forth in a new realm after the network reshuffling.
A computational power generated by a staggering number of units reaches astronomical levels, implementing localized reality manipulation confined to the body.
Accelerate, accelerate even more!
「Faster! Even faster!」
One second splits into ten, then one hundred. A flood of vast information streams in, and within it, Violet faces a body that surpasses all limits, crafting miracles.
Against the perfect technique of a superhuman, a single girl wields a miracle.
「Hiiya! I’m gonna win!」
Her heart pounds like a war drum.
The tips of her fingers tremble minutely, and a cold sweat pours down her back like a waterfall.
Since her meeting with the Grand Mage and Apostle, she hasn’t felt such overwhelming pressure.
Clearly, her opponent before her is in a rather wounded state. The range and performance of her weapon is even better.
On the surface, everything should be in her favor.
But why does she feel this shivering dread?
「Calf muscle adjustment! Blood flow regulation, left foot at a 10-degree angle!」
She readies her stance and thrusts vigorously again.
The General’s cutlass meets the next strike head-on, bending aside as it springs back to the left.
「Dodge back two steps, thrust! After recovering the sword, grasp part of the blade with the other hand, and push it in like that!」
For a fleeting moment, she interrupts the flow of magical power.
In that instant, Violet’s left hand swiftly seizes her sword’s grip. An unexpected dive, hitting him where it hurts.
Violet’s left foot lunges forward, her weight leaning forward.
She bends her waist deep. Extending her arm behind, she thrusts forward like a spring.
A highly precise attack with a half-sword thrust. As time acceleration activates simultaneously.
In the slowed time, like strands of honey stretching.
The tip of the sword darts unhesitatingly towards the solar plexus.
It pierces through!
-KACHING!
The General narrowly dodges the attack.
Stepping back a couple of paces, the recoil sends a white sword slash sweeping through the air. The strong sword path collides head-on with Violet’s thrust.
Violet swiftly retracts her hand, maximizing her weapon’s advantage, stabbing from a relatively distant range.
After a half turn, a sequence of three consecutive attacks begins. Horizontally, vertically. Like a fierce wave curling and accelerating in Cascadia’s style of dual monster swordsmanship.
Violet’s wrists whirl counterclockwise, the sword tilted sharply towards her in an artistic dance as it scrapes against the air.
With a fierce momentum, it rises upwards.
The target is the enemy’s lower half, with the third strike rising up from below.
-THUD!
The General steps back three paces.
He then leaps lightly as if dancing forward again, slashing horizontally from left to right. The gleaming cutlass blade.
Like a windmill’s blade, it traces a graceful arc in the air counterclockwise.
The metallic clang echoes vibrantly.
And again, they fiercely clash with no pause.
The fierce repulsion from their colliding magical powers.
The resulting blast bursts forth, as magical embers scatter like blooming flowers all around.
「Agh! This monster!」
Violet recalls a proclamation from her opponent before her.
Emmanuel Ryx. The legendary hero of the first interdimensional invasion gained countless epithets.
Hero of the Great War, the pinnacle hunter.
Great tactician and swordsman of the monster war. The invincible soldier.
He stood alongside the founders of the Four Great Clans, a towering figure who dominated an entire era.
And now, in this very moment, Violet couldn’t help but recall another title.
The greatest superhuman swordsman of humanity.
If we were to name the strongest warriors of modern times, he would surely make the top five. The fake before her remained true to the reputation of the real deal.
「This is insane!」
A short groan escaped her lips. Violet unknowingly stepped back a little.
Having faced numerous strong opponents until now, she had never felt this kind of pressure.
This kind of alienation, unlike anything she’d experienced in previous battles. It felt like facing an insurmountable wall of magnitude, a sensation that made her doubt herself.
Indeed, he is a different dimension of existence.
「Surely! According to the calculations, I was supposed to hit here!」
「Given how injured he is?」
Based on what I absorbed from Isa’s memories, this guy was a fake.
He’s a clone created by Laplacian using bizarre techniques.
I distinctly heard that he could only exhibit a fraction of the original’s combat power.
“Ugh! This fake! Why’s he fighting so well?”
A grumbling remark, mixed with provocation, slipped out. The General did not respond. He merely swung his sword in silence.
Yet that silence emitted a stronger spirit than any words, a fiercer intent than any roar.
A sudden dark urge surged within.
「Should I just shoot him?」
If she concentrated her firepower right now, she could kill him.
He has noticeably grown more sluggish since, and his mistakes have increased since that first battle at the maritime base.
His armor has worn down, and almost no auxiliary equipment remains.
「The air force is ready to go! Should we shoot?」
The drone air force had subdued and had recently entered a lull, hovering overhead. A zeppelin was waiting in the skies.
After informing her comrades about the situation and withdrawing, she’d only have to issue one command, and that would be it.
The guided bomb she personally directs would strike true.
The meticulously operated monstrosity would detonate once reaching altitude, flooding the area with shards of magical power.
Violet shook her head violently.
「No way! There’s no need to win against that worn-out fake like that! I will definitely win with my own power!」
At least, in this fight, she didn’t want her victory to come this way.
That would feel quite uneasy.
Coming from nowhere, a stubbornness rose up.
「The greatest swordsman of humanity? Who cares about that? I will definitely catch you!」
The network heated up like boiling lava.
Having stepped back a little, Violet charged forward fiercely again. A bizarre afterimage whipped along as time acceleration peaked.
Faster, even faster.
A flicker of confusion briefly crossed the General’s movements in the rapid acceleration.
Evading was impossible.
With solid physical prowess, the superhuman of superhumans unleashes a flash of speed.
Strokes of lightning slicing through time, delivering blows measured in fractions of a second.
The cursed technology of Laplacian reproducing memories and imitations might be rudimentary, yet it vaguely extracted the remnants of the Great War.
Blocking, bouncing back, feeling for the optimal direction only through long experiences. The enemy’s movement races toward an extreme of precision, and every retreat from a mistake returns as learning.
Three times, five times, once more the sword paths return close to perfection.
“What a magnificent skill.”
General Ryx could not help but let pure admiration slip.
This opponent before him was clearly still immature.
The fact that he hadn’t been able to finish his opponent despite not being in top form was evidence of that.
The towering giant glanced down from a sheer cliff on a mountain at the girl striving hopelessly below.
Still, as a warrior, he couldn’t help but offer thunderous applause.
The girl came roaring upward, fiercely charging towards the peak he stood upon. He could see her astonishing fighting spirit burning bright.
With each passing moment, the sword advances ever closer to its vital target.
The superhuman wondered, “Am I really fighting tens of thousands of people at once?” Such ridiculous thoughts surged forth.
In the whirlwind of battle, her dazzling intuition sparked creativity.
Breaking down and analyzing every physical sensation frame by frame to draw out the optimal solution would surely be an awe-inspiring ability.
The superhuman’s predictions glimmered somewhere beyond the fog of cognition, vaguely perceiving the essence of tactical immersion.
A chill coursed down his spine.
Is what stands before him a genuine human?
But still, he had to chase. Like a child pursuing a rainbow, she dashed fiercely towards the time shadows.
“I won’t let you escape!”
With every step she took, she stomped until her feet were sore, until the ground caved and cracked beneath her.
In the accelerated time, the direction of Violet’s movement painted trajectories that were utterly unpredictable.
Every nerve glistened, exploiting the slivers of openings.
As the afterimages scattered, she sprinted forward to witness an unbelievable sight.
「What! What’s going on!」
She saw General Ryx moving while tracking her afterimage.
The network erupted in shock.
「He can see this!」
The superhuman of superhumans finally read the flow of accelerated time.
Just as the cries of despair reached his throat, in the world slowed to a crawl, General Ryx moved with the precision of a well-oiled machine.
A unique defensive stance.
His magical energy exploded forth, twisting muscles and tendons in seemingly impossible directions.
Against monsters in close combat, Rykes-Haiven Style: Type 2.
A standard parry and riposte.
-KAAANG!
In the next instant, Violet was sent flying back, her hands and whole body stinging with the impact.
She tumbled like a rubber ball, quickly reaching out to brace herself.
Turning in a half-circle, she regained her stance with ease.
「Huh?」
Every nerve in her body stood on end, like porcupine quills.
A shivering thrill slithered up her spine.
“Violet, that’s General Ryx’s unique martial art. What he just used is a technique that redirects the opponent’s attack.”
The Scholarship Officer’s explanation caused Violet to grumble beside her.
“You sure take your time to explain! Then what is that?”
Before her question could finish, another vision unfolded.
“Whew…!”
After a short breath, General Ryx’s afterimage dissipates like heat haze.
Rykes-Haiven Style Type 1. Acceleration movement.
Muscles are further enhanced for efficiency.
And then, explosive magical power bursts forth from his legs and feet.
After a moment’s detonation, his body accelarates like an arrow.
-PERRRRNG!
A sharp crack echoed as the white figure tore through the midnight darkness like a bullet.
The human form and talent began the racing in a twisted dimension through space-time.
The ground sank, and the arena of battle flickered with numerous afterimages.
-TOOWW!
Like a life-or-death chicken game, this charge fell into a lull with a single fierce collision.
Violet tumbled across the ground but quickly sprang back up.
Her left arm deeply gouged, blood dripped profusely.
Something fell from her hand gripping the sword.
It was her severed fingers.
“Ugh…”
Mixed with frustration, Violet surveyed her vacant hand. Three or four fingers had been cleaved off.
In comparison, the fake General Ryx seemed to only have sustained relatively light injuries to his arm and legs. At least, it looked that way until he began to stagger and spit blood.
“Cough!”
Like his very lungs were about to burst, the General released a fit of violent coughing. Dark, crimson blood poured from his mouth and nose like a waterfall.
Violet instinctively sensed something was amiss from his pallor.
‘Is that guy, overdoing it?’
**
Violet’s prediction was accurate. The General felt his entire body screaming in agony.
The Rykes-Haiven System demanded a body as robust as steel to withstand explosive and intense magical power.
Even at peak condition, extremely delicate adjustments were crucial. How much more so now, with severe injuries and extreme exhaustion? This technique was akin to poison eating away at him.
Yet, General Ryx kept his eyes glued to Violet, drawing blood while trying hard to maintain his composure with a weary visage.
He readied himself once more, slowly aiming his sword.
‘In any case, my defeat is as clear as day.’
It shouldn’t even need mentioning, the numerical superiority is apparent.
The unknown foes watching from behind the forces could hardly gauge their abilities.
And to push his body to this extent now means he is faced with impending limits.
It won’t be long before his heart stops.
Spotting this realization, Violet spoke up.
“Hey, why are you still trying to fight? You look like you’re in bad shape. Your body isn’t okay, right?”
“…”
“If you keep this up, you’ll die. Besides, you aren’t even the real thing. What’s with acting like that glorious General from history and clinging to honorable battles?”
The General replied calmly.
“I know. I know well enough that I’m not the real thing.”
“So why?”
“I’ve been somewhat dimly grasping since earlier. I am Emmanuel Ryx, yet I’m both him and not him. I don’t know the reason, but the existence of me is but a marionette created to fight, having only borrowed that skin. This memory. It must surely not belong to me.”
The reason for his existence is a fabrication, the memories are a fabrication.
Then this very moment, the vivid feeling of this identity as ‘General Ryx,’ this self must be a lie as well.
After the hypnosis broke, Hellman felt anguish like a blade carving his flesh.
Every breath he took, each step he made.
Every single thing was merely an imitation of someone else.
Yet, there remains just one thing.
“Fighting without shame in the name of this title. That is the only truth I can choose.”
He gathers clear conviction.
Whether it’s a manipulated belief, as firm as a crutch supporting a broken leg, he slowly lifts his head.
Violet answered without hesitation.
“No!”
General Ryx, or Hellman disguised as the war hero, seemed moved by her confident attitude, smiling broadly.
Then he bellowed once more.
Violet willingly accepted that arrogance.
Unit 1 waved the hand that lacked fingers above her head.
At that sign, the aircraft and zeppelin hovering above retreated a distance, and the surrounding mechs and walkers gradually pulled back.
Expanding the arena for their confrontation.
Then the sounds of despair dropped pathetically to the ground.
With both arms outstretched, numerous weapons rained down from the air.
“Alright. Here I come.”
She switches weapons.
In her hands, she holds a one-handed sword and an automatic rifle. Pulling the chambering handle, armor-piercing rounds gently slide into the chamber.
-TATATATAT!
Wielding the rifle like a pistol, she leaps. Dancing gracefully through the barrage of gunfire, Hellman clashes with her.
Desperate sword strikes interweave violently in the air. With two shotguns falling prey to her force, Violet powered up.
As if waiting for the opportunity, she powerfully ground her left foot.
The shotgun lying on the ground bounces up like a spring. She swiftly grabs it with her left hand, aiming for the General’s head.
-BANG!
A thunderous bang echoes as the buckshot pours forth.
The General’s ear is shredded, splattering blood everywhere. Hellman maneuvers with a paper-thin margin, employing long-range shooting techniques.
The sword and shotgun intersect ceaselessly, firing once again.
Swung like a baton, Hellman thrusts in unexpectedly with his sword. An avalanche-like assault, as if he was unable to hold himself steady.
-SPLAT!
His head pops like a ripe watermelon, flying upward.
“Who’s next?”
A boastful shout. Unit 2, having apparently prepared for this moment long before, steps forth with a shield and mace, striding in.
In stark contrast to the earlier nimble swordsmanship, the weighty and steadfast strikes paint the arena anew.
The varied attacks flourish vividly again. The mace morphs into an axe, and the axe transforms into a spear once more.
With the heavy weapon, the warrior stood tall, like responding to cavalry ready to face a nimble foe.
The spearhead is effortlessly torn away.
Before the spear rises into the air, a crossbow is already held.
-PEEPING!
In the world that slowed down through acceleration, bolts glowing red surrounded them like a trap.
Hellman pursued the barrage of bolts with superhuman visual acuity and extraordinary sensation.
Once again, the vision of the Ryx-Haiven style replays. A crescent-shaped blade of wicked sharpness slices through, dispersing the bolts entirely.
The blade tears apart walls and floors with its edge like a razor.
Once more he presses forward. Accelerated Hellman chases Violet vehemently, who is firing bolts at her.
Violet glanced back.
Throwing away the crossbow, she brandished dual swords.
The short melee ended with heavy sounds resounding.
A thrust of a kick. A dull sound of flesh and bone crashing.
Unit 2 flies upward, taken aback.
The flying body hurls a scream as it coughs up blood.
Regaining composure, Hellman prepares another cutting strike.
However, Violet merely wore a smile as if she had predicted everything.
From her inventory, a long black object bounces out. It was a sniper rifle.
「Here comes a big one!」
-KWAANG!
A deadly strike descending like a meteor above Hellman’s head.
Unexpected surprise.
In an instant, the trajectory of the bullet blazed, cutting through the sky in a grand sweep. Hellman barely deflected the bullet at the last moment.
-KIIING!
The armor-piercing explosive round ricochets off the side ground, creating a resounding explosion. In that split second, as Unit 2’s remains and the wreckage of the sniper rifle fell to the ground, Unit 3 made its entrance.
In its hands, it holds a blood-red rapier gleaming ominously.
The Flame Blade imbued with fire clashes violently with the cutlass.
A graceful yet brutally savage duel unfolds within the blink of an eye.
Violet conjures the best image that resides in her mind. How was Adela’s swordsmanship?
“…Is that the swordsmanship of House Cascadia? If Geront could see you now, he would surely lament.”
With a tone of awe, Hellman’s words conclude, followed by his wrist being deeply slashed, losing grip on his previous weapon.
He lets the blade drop in disbelief. Units 4, 5, and 6.
Each persistently returns into the fray, displaying different armaments and responses like turning gears.
“Hyaaa!”
Smoke bombs explode, machine guns swing in both hands, bombs are tossed, and magical fireworks erupt.
A ceaseless clash of diverse weaponry and techniques intersect dazzlingly.
The tension that once hung in the air dissipated completely, replaced by a boiling fervor and an unquenchable passion.
Unit 8, wielding a staff, swung vigorously as flashes illuminated the surroundings.
A whip of lightning smashed into the ground, shaking the precarious structure with a deafening roar.
While handling magic, Hellman pondered. The vision of the witch Adriana is being well inherited.
Flashes of magical blades descend on the ground like a school of fish remaining about, striking the incoming vision.
In that moment, a red ray behaves like a long, cutting line along the floor.
-KUUNG!
The explosion resonates like thunder. The floor of the structure, enduring the savage tyranny of the duel, crumbles helplessly from the impact of the Melting Ray.
Unit 9 leaps headlong into the abyss like a hero, brandishing an anti-tank rocket.
With a near-miss explosion, Hellman lost his grip on his sword. As the enemy approached, he clenched his fist instead of reclaiming his weapon.
The overwhelming shockwave then obliterated Unit 9’s chest, flinging it away like squished tomato matter. The follow-up shockwave engulfing him.
As the body trained to its limits fuses with intricate technique, the speed and power transcends the very limits of a human, crashing like a raging storm.
“Yes! Keep throwing yourself at me! Do your best to take me down!”
“Yah!”
Underneath the collapsing base platform, the intense battle incessantly continues. Blades, guns, magic, and fists: every means employed in a bloody fight.
Three consecutive great blazes erupt as thick smoke billows up like a poisonous mushroom.
A state of lull just before the storm approached.
Sophie El and Seijis warily observed the battlefield. As the smoke began to clear away, the ground below the structure was revealed.
“…”
“Oh wow, everything’s fallen apart…”
Unit 17, wielding a zweihänder, clicked her tongue, facing Hellman once more.
The duel returned to its initial state.
Violet instinctively recognized that this might very well be the last round.
The two locked eyes, marching forth. Then they rushed back together, charging forward with fresh momentum.
「Alright, let’s focus.」
Let’s be serious now. Extend, recover. Whip, cut diagonally, horizontally. Lift again, and spin horizontally.
Let’s recall the enemy’s experiences and abilities. Let us thoroughly digest them.
Countless Violets observing the duel analytically continue to analyze their movements. They memorize, comprehend, and understand.
They faithfully mimic the enemy’s movement optimally. A mistake occurs. One forgets to account for height. Restart.
Unit 18 enters again. Tracing the General’s swordsmanship, she steps along the paths. Do not stray significantly from the front angle.
She bends and rebounds again with heel strikes. Bearing weight, what is the movement of magical energy? Unit 18 is down. Unit 19 goes in. Attempts again and meets death.
Unit 20 steps in.
Beyond the increasingly dulled network due to time acceleration existed something.
Something lofty, as if just within reach.
-SZZRUP!
Across, Hellman prepared something.
Violet drew her sword again. For some reason, her heart no longer raced.
As the General once again prepared Type 1.
The final push, nearly aligned with time acceleration, commenced.
The white dot quickly transformed into a white line.
Rushing boldly into the colored realm of red and black.
Violet calmly waited for that moment.
It’s coming, it’s coming. With stark contrast to the fiery charge, she calmly drew her sword.
Once, twice, three times. Before the candlelight goes out, like a vivid flare, she unleashes a fierce barrage.
Steadfastly adhering to defense.
Like lightning dawning realization struck through her mind.
Amid the whirlwind the girl finally understood.
Violet gazes at the path ahead.
Her severed right arm swiftly spun two and a half times in the air.
Unfeelingly, like a machine, she continues on to the next action.
The black blade burrows deep into Hellman’s abdomen.
-CLANG!
The cutlass, losing control of its master, fell helplessly to the ground.
The following thud split the tranquil silence.
General Ryx, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, weakly collapsed.
“…You… you read me.”
Hellman’s expression shone with clarity.
Even in pain, he felt a brief moment of ecstasy.
“Yes.”
Violet felt slightly disappointed.
The moment of realization wasn’t exhilarating or thrilling.
It was akin to filling in the blanks of a simple problem that someone had already solved.
“…It’s over. This is the first and last time I could move by my true will, clear of mind…”
“…”
In the fading vision, Hellman—or General Ryx—was suddenly struck by a question. As he gasped for air, he laboriously spoke.
“Cough… So, kid. Whose side are you on? Are you a lackey of those aliens, Aedos? Or are you… on humanity’s side?”
Violet answered immediately.
“I’m on my friends’ side!”
At that simple reply, Hellman stared vacantly before bursting into laughter.
“I see… Then, let it end…”
Violet nodded.
She extended her hand.
Like ink, the approaching shadows loomed. Hellman reflected.
It’s enough now.
The view darkening beyond glimmered with light.
**
Amidst the devastation of the ruined maritime base, the site where it collided with the great alien ship was particularly grim.
Bullets embedded themselves as if digging into flesh, the ship was partially buried under rubble.
-CRASH!
Suddenly, a mound of smaller debris shifted.
From within, a girl cautiously poked her head out.
Blue hair glimmered softly in the firelight surrounding her.
The girl gasped for breath, crawling out from the wreckage.
“Ugh… this is dreadful… How did it come to this!”
Finally emerging from the wreckage, the girl sat down to catch her breath.
As she gazed down at her arms and skin, her petite white face furrowed.
“Ew! Why do my appendages look like this? Why is my skin so smooth and white? It’s disgusting…!”
She let out a sigh.
There had once been her original form granted by the creator, yet that damned monster had distorted her.
The core component was relatively intact, but somehow she had gotten tainted.
The result is a grotesque biological terminal with an assumed form emulating the locals of this alien world.
It looked repulsive.
“It’s all because of that interdimensional devil…”
As she lamented, the girl slowly regained her composure.
Surveying her surroundings, she realized this was precisely the place she had demolished earlier.
It appeared to be another settlement of those alien species.
“But why is it all so shabby and primitive here?”
The girl observed her surroundings, her expression one of confusion.
These unfamiliar structures all seemed hastily built with poor technology.
Predisposed with a natural curiosity and inquisitive nature typical of her form, she meticulously examined the area.
Perhaps being too engrossed in her observations, she befell the realization that she was surrounded.
“There they are!”
Small blonde girls swiftly encircled the blue girl.
“Subordinate fusion!”
“Ugh, aaaaah! No! You devilish brats! Get away!”
“You’re a member of the Violet Division from now on!”
“Noooooo!”
The small Violets dragged the blue-haired girl away, who cried out pathetically.
“Heheheh!”