Chapter 129
Kaaz’s form twisted, and his shadow writhed as it grew even larger. Black tentacles squird in all directions, and four arms ford, each ending in sharp claws. Horns sprouted from his head, and his once hazy figure gradually beca more solid.
"Your shadow now belongs to !"
Kaaz shouted.
At that mont, the shadow beneath my feet surged, trying to swallow like a swamp. I felt my body slowly sinking downward.
"As long as your body is within my domain, you’re as good as being in the palm of my hand!"
The black swamp crept upward, climbing my legs as it tried to restrain my body. Kaaz faintly smiled, as if certain of his victory.
But I wasn’t shaken in the slightest.
Rather, I closed my eyes and lightly gripped my sword.
'Without light, there is no shadow.'
I drew in a breath.
In that instant, a blue light burst from the tip of my sword.
Kaaz flinched.
"What...?"
His shadow trembled. The light extending from my sword was forcibly tearing apart the darkness.
He must have thought it was rely mana, but this ti, sothing was different.
I swung my sword to the side.
Shraaaak—!
The light that burst from my blade split through space as it scattered. The shadow binding was torn apart, and blackened blood splattered from Kaaz’s body.
Kaaz’s form wavered.
"This… isn’t just ordinary light!"
Fear flickered in his eyes.
I lightly raised my sword and spoke.
"Your ability is strong, but it has one weakness. You cannot avoid the light."
Kaaz bared his sharp teeth and shouted.
"Then... I’ll devour the light itself!"
As he spread his hand, the surrounding darkness surged massively. That darkness gathered into one and transford into a gigantic mouth, trying to swallow whole.
But I lowered my body and swung my sword to the side.
'It’s ti to end this.'
The blue light gathered at the tip of my sword grew clearer and more vivid.
"I’ll finish this with a single strike."
I thrust my sword forward.
In that instant, a brilliant light burst forth from the tip of my blade.
That light was like frost pouring down from the sky, and as sharp as lightning cutting through the wind.
"Ilseom!"
The sword strike carved through space, leaving behind a massive trajectory.
Kaaz tried to evade, but the sword of light pierced straight through his body.
In an instant, his form trembled, and the sound of his shadow shattering could be heard.
"Kraaaagh—!"
Kaaz let out a horrific scream. The darkness forming his body cracked like fractures, then began to shatter like glass.
"Th-this... is this the power that controls light...?!"
He scread as he clutched his body, but it was already too late.
My sword precisely pierced his core.
In that mont, all darkness scattered into pieces.
Kaaz let out one final scream before vanishing.
His very existence was completely erased from this world.
I sheathed my sword and let out a breath.
The battle was over.
I looked around. Kaaz’s shadow no longer existed anywhere.
Lightly swinging my sword to shake off the dust, I muttered quietly.
"It’s finally quiet."
Though he was relatively weaker compared to the other Legion Commanders, he was still a being at the level of a Legion Commander. Since it was my first hunt after being reborn, it felt sowhat new.
[Not bad. You’ve grown a lot compared to before.]
I slowly sheathed my sword.
In the place where Kaaz had vanished, darkness no longer existed. As if it had never been there from the beginning, the air was clear and cold, and the shadows had returned to their original state.
I let out a short breath. The victory was certain.
"Fuu—"
However, my fingertips were trembling ever so slightly.
The fight just now hadn’t been easy for either. Kaaz wasn’t an opponent of re strength; he was one who shook his enemy’s senses and instincts. If my judgnt had been even slightly delayed, the outco might have been different.
I placed my sword into its sheath and turned my head.
Not far away, Izumi Winterbell was looking at .
Behind her remained the shattered remnants of a massive chunk of ice, and there was no trace of Vaaz to be found anywhere.
"Looks like you finished it."
Izumi spoke as she slowly walked over.
I quietly nodded.
"Yes. It’s finished on my side as well."
She looked up and down, then let out a small smirk as if amused.
"You’re in better shape than I expected. I thought even a single Legion Commander would be too much for you."
I didn’t particularly respond to her words.
It was only natural that she thought that way.
A Legion Commander wasn’t just any ordinary demon. It wasn’t an opponent a human could easily handle, so what Izumi had expected from was probably just to buy ti.
But I had fought—and won.
That alone was enough.
"It seems you’re safe as well, Lady Izumi."
I spoke calmly.
Izumi shrugged her shoulders and fastened her sword back at her waist.
"Of course. You didn’t forget who you were fighting alongside, did you?"
There was a strange ease in her voice.
I knew well that her confidence wasn’t re bluff.
Izumi Winterbell—she was a knight close to the strongest within the Winterbell Ducal Family. She had faced Vaaz alone while simultaneously dealing with the flood of demons pouring in.
She stepped a bit closer and gestured toward with her chin.
"But how on earth did you beat that guy?"
At her question, I fell silent for a mont.
I looked down at the hand holding my sword.
A battle of light and shadow.
I found light within the darkness, and in the end, I cut down my enemy with that light.
I gave a short answer.
"I made use of the fact that a shadow cannot exist without light."
Izumi seed to think for a mont after hearing my words, then soon nodded.
"Hmm... I suppose that makes sense."
She ford a aningful expression, then suddenly gave my shoulder a light tap.
"Well, as long as you’re safe, that’s what matters."
I was slightly surprised by her touch, but soon responded calmly.
"What will you do now?"
I looked around.
The battlefield wasn’t over yet.
The demons that had poured out from the rift had mostly been taken down during the battle between Izumi and , but there were still survivors.
They were keeping their distance, retreating as if gripped by fear.
Having realized that their Legion Commander had fallen, the demons could no longer recklessly charge forward.
Izumi glanced at their reaction and let out a smirk.
"They’ll be preparing to run now. Without a Legion Commander, they can’t maintain formation."
She drew her sword.
"In that case, we should finish this."
I agreed with her words and drew my sword once more.
"As you command."
At that mont, our gazes t.
And—
"Clean up the remnants!"
With Izumi’s command, she and I charged into the battlefield at the sa ti.
The mont the order to eliminate the remnants was given, Izumi and I moved once more.
With the Legion Commanders already fallen, the remaining demons were thrown into chaos. Like a pack of wolves that had lost its leader, they scrambled in all directions searching for sowhere to flee, while a few attempted a last stand.
But their efforts were crushed so easily it was almost futile.
"An enemy that can’t maintain formation is nothing more than prey."
Gripping her sword, Izumi stepped forward and cut across the battlefield. Every ti she swung her blade, blue frost surged violently. Wherever her strikes reached, the demons froze instantly.
Without even having ti to scream, they lost their forms and shattered apart.
The sa went for .
I no longer felt any significant threat from the demons. With the battles against the Legion Commanders over, the remaining demons were already as good as defeated.
My sword moved with precision and efficiency.
One step, then another.
Each ti my blade flashed, a demon’s head flew off, and their black blood splattered across the snowfield.
"Kraaaak!"
"Run! The Legion Commanders are dead!"
So demons turned their backs in an attempt to flee. But Izumi had no intention of letting them go.
She swiftly flipped her sword and swung it through the air.
"Glacier Severing."
Whoosh—!
The freezing gale released from her sword swept across the battlefield.
In an instant, the feet of the fleeing demons froze solid. They struggled to break free, but it was already too late.
Izumi slowly walked forward and spoke coldly.
"You attacked us, and now you think you’ll get to leave alive?"
She raised her sword.
At the sa ti—
Slash!
The ice shattered all at once, and the bodies of the demons trapped within it broke into pieces along with it.
Watching that scene, I quietly sheathed my sword.
'It’s almost over.'
There were barely any demons left within my sight. The few that remained had already lost their will to fight and were kneeling.
Izumi let out a scoff at the sight.
"You don’t think kneeling now will save you, do you?"
The demons bowed their heads, trembling in fear.
"Please… please spare us…!"
"We… we were only following orders…!"
"We didn’t choose to fight…!"
Their excuses were utterly pathetic.
Izumi looked down at them.
Her gaze was as cold as ice.
"Spare you?"
She slowly raised her sword.
"You should have asked the sa of the comrades you killed."
Her blade flashed like a streak of light.
In an instant, the demons’ heads flew into the air.
Their bodies collapsed, and the battlefield grew quiet once more. Izumi lightly shook off her sword and turned toward .
"Now it’s finally cleaned up."
I nodded.
"Yes, it’s completely over."
I looked around.
A battlefield where only death and ice remained.
Before the fight began, this place had been a snow-covered field, but now it had turned into a desolate battlefield where blood and ice were mixed together. A grueso scene.
The traces of war.
The battle was over.
The demons had been annihilated.
The Winterbell Ducal Family—no, we—had achieved victory.
"Let’s head back."
But even so, the unease did not fade.
A premonition that an even greater storm would co continued to cloud my mind.
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