Chapter 229: A Human Weapon [3]

Vitality surged through my entire body.

It felt as though I had been reborn.

The stiffness and aches that had plagued my body just moments ago had completely disappeared. My limbs felt incredibly light, almost as if gravity itself had loosened its grip on me.

I slowly stretched out my hand, savoring the overwhelming magical power coursing through my body.

To think that I, who had always struggled with a lack of mana, would suddenly possess such an enormous amount of it...

It was beyond satisfying.

In fact, it was almost intoxicating.

For the first time in my life, I understood what it felt like to have more magical power than I could possibly need.

Of course, I knew this wouldn’t last forever.

Even now, I could feel the first signs of the backlash. My skin was beginning to tingle, and a strange prickling sensation spread throughout my body, as though countless needles were slowly piercing me from the inside.

The effects were already taking their toll.

But that didn’t matter.

This brief window of power was more than enough to finish off that bastard.

"What... What is that power?!"

The old man’s expression twisted in disbelief as he stared at me.

"If you were in my position, would you willingly reveal your secrets?"

"What?! You insolent brat...!"

I couldn’t help but smirk at his reaction.

However, I wasn’t foolish enough to believe this newfound power made me invincible.

I had no idea when the side effects would kick in or how severe they would be once they did.

This was a power with a time limit.

I had to end this before my body reached its limit.

Without wasting another second, I bent my knees and channeled lightning into my feet.

Crackle!

The ground beneath me cracked as I kicked off.

In the next instant, my body shot forward.

It was a speed that no ordinary human could ever hope to achieve.

Like a bolt of lightning, I closed the distance between us in the blink of an eye.

"Not a chance! You fool!!"

The old man reacted a moment too late.

His black tentacles shot toward me from every direction, attempting to intercept my advance.

Unfortunately for him, they couldn’t keep up.

Crackle!

My body moved so quickly that several afterimages were left in my wake. I slipped between the incoming tentacles, narrowly avoiding each one as I continued charging toward him.

In just a few moments, I had broken through his defenses.

I was right in front of him.

With my hand extended, I prepared to deliver a decisive blow to his face.

But just as I was about to strike—

Something approached from my side.

A tremendous force.

I immediately sensed the danger and twisted my head.

A massive wave of black energy was rushing toward me.

At this rate, I would be pierced before my attack could even reach him.

"Tch!"

I abandoned my offensive and quickly redirected the magical power flowing through my body toward the incoming attack.

Whoosh!

THUD!

"!"

I managed to block it just before it could pierce my body.

However, blocking the attack didn’t mean I could completely nullify its impact.

The tremendous force sent me staggering backward, disrupting my balance for a brief moment.

The old man didn’t miss the opportunity.

Another attack came rushing toward me, aiming directly for my exposed opening.

I immediately threw myself backward, narrowly avoiding it.

"Tch!"

A sharp pain spread through my mouth.

The impact must have torn something inside.

I spat out a mouthful of blood and wiped the corner of my lips with the back of my hand.

So much for my plan.

I had thought that overwhelming him with my speed and attacking at close range would be enough to secure an easy victory.

But his defensive abilities were far more troublesome than I’d anticipated.

Even with this much power, approaching him recklessly wasn’t going to work.

I needed another approach.

One that didn’t require me to get anywhere near him.

I glanced at the old man standing in the distance.

If I couldn’t break through his defenses with speed, then I’d simply overwhelm him with raw power.

From outside his sphere of influence.

I’d wipe everything out with a single, overwhelming attack.

"Huff..."

I slowly exhaled, forcing myself to calm down.

My heart was pounding wildly, and I could feel the remaining time slipping away.

I couldn’t afford to waste any more energy.

Crackle...

Tiny sparks began dancing across my body with every breath.

I closed my eyes and focused on the enormous amount of mana surging within me.

Slowly, I began gathering it.

Thump. Thump.

My heart continued to beat.

Crackle!

With every heartbeat, the magical power inside me transformed into electricity.

It was a strange sensation.

The energy was fierce and overwhelming, yet there was something strangely peaceful about it.

Sharp, yet gentle.

Violent, yet strangely serene.

The electricity coursing through my body gradually began to synchronize with the rhythm of my heartbeat.

Thump. Thump.

Crackle...

The resonance grew stronger.

It was almost as if my heartbeat itself had become the source of this tremendous power.

I slowly raised my left hand.

All the magical power within my body began gathering toward it, concentrating little by little until an enormous amount of electricity surrounded my arm.

BOOM!

The air trembled.

The old man seemed to notice that something was wrong. His expression shifted as he watched me gather my power.

Then, suddenly, he burst into mocking laughter.

"I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, but it’s already too late! Soon, I will be reborn as a being that surpasses even the gods!"

I briefly glanced at his appearance.

He had changed considerably.

His former human appearance was almost completely gone.

Unlike the Mains, his body now resembled that of a demon, with an unsettling presence that made it difficult to even recognize him as human.

He was practically on the verge of completing his transformation.

But...

"No. It’s not too late yet."

I quietly answered him.

My left arm continued swelling as the enormous magical power gathered inside it. The electricity surrounding it grew increasingly violent, threatening to tear my arm apart.

I could feel it.

One more step, and I might lose control of this power entirely.

Still, I didn’t stop.

I raised my trembling arm and pointed it directly at the old man.

Then, I slowly closed my eyes.

The noise that had filled the surroundings just moments ago gradually faded.

The old man’s laughter.

The crackling of electricity.

Even the sound of the wind.

Everything seemed to disappear.

For a brief moment, the entire world fell silent.

I could feel the enormous amount of magical power swirling inside my left arm, compressing into a single point at my fingertips.

More.

Gather even more.

I poured every last bit of power I could muster into that one spot.

And then—

I released it.

"GO TO HELL!"

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A tremendous explosion shook the entire area.

In an instant, the world was swallowed by brilliant white light.

The darkness that had previously covered everything was swept away as a massive beam of electricity burst from my fingertips.

It was like a pillar of light piercing through the heavens.

The beam expanded, swallowing everything in its path and pushing back every trace of darkness.

Countless sparks scattered through the air, filling the surroundings with blinding flashes of lightning.

The sheer brightness was enough to make anyone lose their sight.

For a moment, there was nothing but white.

No darkness.

No sound.

Nothing.

And then...

Slowly, the light began to fade.

I opened my eyes.

The result was... quite satisfactory.

The sky had been blown wide open.

The darkness that had covered the surroundings was completely gone, and the space in front of me had been reduced to nothing.

There was no sign of the old man.

No trace of his tentacles.

Nothing remained.

It was almost as if time itself had stopped.

I stood there, staring at the unbelievable destruction before me.

"...I did it."

A faint smile appeared on my face.

I had actually managed to pull it off.

But just as I was about to celebrate my victory, something felt terribly wrong.

I slowly turned my head and looked down.

My left arm...

There was nothing there.

"...Huh?"

I stared at the empty space where my arm should have been.

For a moment, my mind couldn’t process what I was seeing.

Wait.

Where did it go?

I tried to move my left arm, but naturally, nothing happened.

"..."

Oh.

So that’s what happened.

Before I could fully comprehend the situation, a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over me.

My vision blurred.

My legs grew weak, and the strength drained from my entire body.

"Ah..."

Thud.

I collapsed to the ground.

The remaining magical power inside me rapidly faded, and the sensation of being overwhelmed by energy disappeared as though it had never existed.

Only exhaustion remained.

My eyelids grew unbearably heavy.

Could this be...?

Were the side effects of swallowing the Dreamscape Orb finally catching up with me?

"...Damn. I’m sleepy."

I tried to lift my head, but even that simple movement felt exhausting.

Through my increasingly blurry vision, I could see the sky above me.

It was wide open, stretching endlessly into the distance.

And unlike before, the sun had returned to normal.

The oppressive darkness was gone.

The sky was blue again.

So blue that it almost hurt my eyes to look at it.

I stared at it for a while, allowing the peaceful scenery to fill my vision.

What a strange feeling.

After all that destruction, the world looked so peaceful now.

I wondered what would happen next.

Would someone find me?

How long would I remain unconscious?

And most importantly...

Would my left arm ever grow back?

"...Well, whatever."

I couldn’t think anymore.

My consciousness was slipping away, and no matter how hard I tried to resist, I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

The last thing I saw was the beautiful blue sky stretching above me.

Then, little by little, everything faded into darkness.

And I fell into a deep sleep.

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Author Note:-

The novel is about to end in next few Chapters