The price for ruining my peaceful day is going to be quite steep.
The moment those words left my lips, the air between me and the massive cataclysm grew taut. The annoyance I’d felt just a moment ago curdled into a cold, sharp fury, forging itself into a new kind of battle intent. A normal life? Even thinking about such a thing was a luxury when a maniac like this was standing right in front of me.
I needed to end this in the fastest, most efficient way possible.
*Forget testing the waters. I’m going at maximum output from the start.*
I reached deep and pulled upon the Authority of the Sky I had usurped on the beaches of Hawaii. Against a mountain-like monstrosity like this, the most effective tools were the wrath of the heavens, lightning, and a storm composed of tens of thousands of blades.
I thrust my right hand toward the empty air. With the voice of a Usurper, the true master of this divine power, I commanded the heavens.
"Hear my voice, O Sky! Your breath shall become blades, and your tears shall be the lightning that strikes down my foe!"
As if responding to my will, the surrounding atmosphere began to seethe. Moisture-laden winds converged upon me, honed into the shapes of invisible, razor-sharp blades. Simultaneously, ink-black clouds swallowed the mountain peaks in an instant, flickering with the cold glint of blue lightning.
"I decree a tempest here and now!"
I unleashed the collective force of the gale-shards and the heavenly lightning directly at Jiha Daegukjeok.
SHWAAAAAA—! BOOM!
A chorus of thousands of blades tearing through the air rushed toward him like a tidal wave, followed by dozens of lightning bolts piercing down like celestial harpoons. Facing this cataclysmic torrent of Authority, one of the creature's nine heads let out a mocking sneer.
[Nothing more than toys of wind and spark, Usurper!]
The monster didn't even bother to dodge. With his massive iron club slung over his shoulder, he prepared to take the entire brunt of the assault with his bare body.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG! KABOOM! SCREEEEEECH!
An unimaginable din erupted across the mountainside.
The moment the thousands of wind-blades touched his pale skin, they were deflected, scattering into showers of sparks. Even the lightning bolts falling from the firmament shattered upon impact as if hitting a colossal hunk of iron, merely scarring the ground around him.
My Authority didn't even puncture his hide. It dissipated fruitlessly, leaving behind nothing but faint soot and white scratches. He hadn't spilled a single drop of blood.
"...What?"
A hollow voice escaped my throat. The Authority within me expressed pure bewilderment at the fact that it had 'failed to leave a single wound' on that thing.
All nine heads of the monster laughed in unison. Nine different tones of mockery blended into a singular, booming noise that rattled my brain.
[Kyahaha! Is this the extent of the power you stole? It merely tickles, Campione!]
[This body is of a different caliber than the mediocre gods you've devoured!]
[Do you think this flesh, which has endured the crushing pressure of the deep earth for millennia, would be wounded by mere wind and lightning?!]
*A body like steel? No, this isn't on that level.*
I realized it instinctively. It wasn't just physical toughness. It was a sense of alien interference, as if he were draped in a different set of laws—a physics from another world entirely. The moment my Authority touched him, it felt as though the very 'concept' of the power was being weakened.
"Damn it...."
The situation was spiraling. Our scales of power were fundamentally different.
[Disappointing, Usurper! Was this all you had!]
The creature began to stomp toward me. The entire mountain shook with every step of his massive feet. Seeing that my attacks were ineffective, he no longer viewed me as an 'arch-nemesis,' but as a 'toy' to be unilaterally violated.
*The compatibility with Tāwhirimātea's Authority is the worst. Fine, then. A different method.*
I immediately switched to Plan B. I shifted my conscious focus from my right hand to my left. If the sky wouldn't work, I’d use the power of the earth. If direct destruction failed, I’d rely on an abnormality.
As the beast swung his massive iron club over his head, I thrust my left hand toward him. I recited the shortest, most immediate curse I knew.
"All who behold me, all who face me. Turn to stone and fall into silence."
From my fingertips, a grey wave of departed life shot out at the speed of light.
CRACK-CRACK, CRUNCH!
This time, there was a reaction!
The moment the ashen curse touched his massive form, his pale skin began to stiffen into rock. The petrification swept across his entire body with ferocious momentum.
"...What?!"
For the first time, one of the nine heads showed a trace of panic. Feeling his body harden against his will, the monster's motion to swing his iron club faltered.
That was the opening I needed.
RUMBLE—!
"Grrrgh...!"
A burst of Divine Power, on a level of magnitude entirely different from anything I’d felt before, exploded from the creature's body. Consequently, cobweb-like cracks began to race through the grey stone encasing him.
SHATTER! CRUMBLE...!
Like a thin plaster statue bursting from within, the petrification covering his body was reduced to drifting dust.
"You... arrogant pest...!"
For the first time, pure rage surfaced on all nine heads.
[You... you dare try to turn me into a pebble!]
[Unforgivable, unforgivable!]
[I shall tear you limb from limb and use your remains as pillars for my subterranean kingdom!]
I was shocked. But at the same time, a sense of dissonance flashed through my mind. This was a distinctly different reaction than before. As I retreated, I worked my brain desperately.
*...Wait. Something’s different.*
Memories of my battles with gods flickered by. The storm god Tāwhirimātea 'feared' my petrification. The fire goddess Pele 'swallowed' it. But this thing is different. He 'broke' my curse with sheer power.
*I see. His defenses have an absolute affinity against external physical and energy attacks. However, authorities that interfere with laws—curses that bypass the exterior to strike the interior—actually work. Even if he can break free by overwhelming it with raw Divine Power!*
I’d found a clue to defeating him. But it wasn't exactly cause for celebration. Against his overwhelming reserves, Medusa's Authority could only buy me a few seconds at best.
The monster’s nine pairs of eyes looked down at me mockingly. This time, the massive iron club wasn't being swung in play; it was coming down with genuine, unfiltered murderous intent.
There was no dodging. The wind pressure generated by the club was already ripping trees out by their roots. This wasn't just a physical strike. It was a blow designed to crush space itself.
Amidst that gale of death, my thoughts became cold and clear. It wasn't over yet.
In that split second, I raised my right hand toward the descending club. I chanted a new Incantation for defense.
"All that trespasses upon my domain, the breath of the firmament shall stand against you!"
At my fingertips, the atmosphere let out a scream as it compressed. Fighting the ferocious pressure of the monster's attack head-on, I built a massive storm-shield to divert the force.
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!
The shadow of death eclipsed me.
The iron club collided with my storm-shield. The sound was like the end of the world. Along with the shriek of the invisible gale wall being shredded, the shockwave slammed directly into me.
"GAH...!"
A scream escaped me. Accompanied by the agony of bones grinding together, my body was sent flying dozens of meters before crashing into a massive boulder. My vision flickered, and the metallic taste of blood rushed up in my mouth.
But I was alive.
It was a strike that would have left nothing but dust if it had landed directly. By using Tāwhirimātea's Authority as a shield to bleed off the momentum, I managed to survive with injuries that, while severe, weren't immediately fatal.
"...Heh... haha...."
I forced myself up from the rubble, spitting out blood. My entire body was screaming, but my eyes were shining with a colder light than ever before.
The nine heads of the beast were no longer mocking me. Instead, they watched with an expression of budding interest.
[Hoh. Impressive, Usurper. I took you for a mere thief, but it seems you possess a glimmer of a King's quality after all.]
The situation was the worst it could be. But only now was the true battle beginning.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register