Chapter 433: The Sword That Slays Gods [Part 2]

The Sword That Slays Gods [Part 2]

Evelyne’s breathing grew heavier.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to steady herself.

Her eyes widened.

She couldn’t believe what was happening.

So Victor wasn’t as weak as she had thought.

Not even close.

But if this continued...

What could she actually do?

The question sent a chill through her.

Would she really die here?

Would she die without even getting the chance to retaliate?

The thought was unbearable.

She was Evelyne.

The once-feared Heaven’s Sword.

She had crossed countless battlefields.

She had faced enemies stronger than herself and walked away from battles that should have killed her.

She had stood above countless swordsmen.

Yet now...

She couldn’t even move.

She was being treated like an ant beneath someone’s foot.

The humiliation burned far hotter than her anger.

She clenched her teeth.

Her pride screamed at her to keep fighting.

But what was pride worth when her body refused to obey her?

Nothing.

She had no choice but to grasp at whatever excuse she could find.

"What kind of sorcery is this?!"

Her voice echoed through the cave.

"Isn’t this supposed to be a fight using only our sword skills?! Why are you using magic now?!"

The moment the words left her mouth, Evelyne knew how ridiculous they sounded.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

She was grasping at straws.

There was no dignity left in the argument.

But dignity didn’t matter when she couldn’t even lift a finger.

She had to find some way out.

Anything.

Victor tilted his head.

His golden eyes stared at her.

There wasn’t any anger in them.

There wasn’t even mockery.

Instead, there was genuine confusion.

"A fight using only sword skills?"

He paused.

He seemed to think about it.

"Was this that kind of fight?"

"Hmmm..."

He looked genuinely thoughtful.

Evelyne stared at him.

For a moment, she couldn’t even believe what she was seeing.

Was this man seriously thinking about the rules now?

After everything that had happened?

Her forehead twitched.

She almost felt a vein throbbing there.

Victor lowered his gaze.

He remained silent for several seconds.

Apparently, he was considering her words with complete seriousness.

Then he looked back at her.

He nodded.

"I see."

His expression suddenly became calm.

"You’re right."

Evelyne’s eyes lit up for a brief moment.

Finally.

He understood.

Then Victor continued.

"This is a battle using sword skills."

The hope vanished from Evelyne’s face.

She stared at him.

Silence filled the cave.

For a moment, she genuinely didn’t know how to respond.

"That’s right!"

Her voice rose in frustration.

"So stop using this bizarre ability that makes me unable to move!"

Victor(?) blinked.

"Huh? That’s not an ability or anything, I mean I didn’t do anything at all."

Silence.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

This time, it was Evelyne who showed a confused expression.

Her brows slowly drew together.

"If this isn’t an ability or a spell of some kind then why can’t I move?"

Victor(?) looked at her as though the answer should have been obvious.

"Isn’t that because your body is instinctively fearing me?"

The words landed harder than any sword.

Evelyne froze.

Her pupils contracted.

Fear?

Her body was unable to move because it was afraid?

For the first time since the battle began, something deeper than anger appeared in her eyes.

Shock.

Her body had recognized something her mind refused to accept.

Fear.

No.

Impossible.

She had never feared an opponent like this.

Not even during the battles that had once pushed her to the edge of death.

Her jaw tightened.

"Me... afraid?"

The words came out almost as a whisper.

Then the humiliation became unbearable.

Evelyne suddenly shouted, not at Victor(?), but at herself.

She refused to accept it.

She would not allow her own body to dictate the outcome.

Her Ki exploded.

With sheer force of will, she broke through the invisible pressure that had imprisoned her.

Her body moved.

One step.

Then another.

Her thousand blades followed.

She charged forward again, unleashing every sword toward Victor(?).

The cave shook beneath the tremendous force.

Yet before even one of those attacks could reach Victor(?)’s body—

They stopped.

Every blade froze in midair.

The silence that followed was almost absurd.

Evelyne stared.

Victor(?) looked at the countless swords surrounding him, then back at Evelyne.

There was no arrogance in his expression.

Only mild curiosity.

"I see, even though you’re so weak and scared, you still wish to challenge me. I don’t really like fighting such weak opponents but seeing your spirit excited me a wee bit."

As he spoke, Victor(?) slowly raised both hands.

His posture changed.

The casual figure from before disappeared.

His hands lifted above his head, forming a stance that resembled someone holding an invisible sword overhead.

Evelyne’s instincts screamed.

She watched every movement.

The change was subtle.

There was no tremendous explosion of mana.

No surge of Ki.

No gathering of external energy.

Yet something about the air itself had changed.

Victor(?)’s empty hands suddenly began to shimmer.

A sword formed between them.

Evelyne’s pupils narrowed.

That sword wasn’t made from mana.

It wasn’t made from Ki.

She could tell immediately.

The blade possessed a strange quality that she couldn’t comprehend.

It felt as though the weapon had not been created by energy at all.

It had emerged from something far deeper.

From Victor(?) himself.

From his very soul.

Evelyne’s breathing stopped for half a heartbeat.

What kind of sword was this?

Victor(?) lowered his gaze toward her.

Then, with a calmness that somehow made the moment even more terrifying, he spoke.

"Origin Swordsmanship, first stance, {GOD SLAYER}."

Victor(?) then swung his newly formed sword downward.

It wasn’t fast that one couldn’t see the motion of the swing, but that move still felt undodgeable.

[Reader Note: Victor(?) is not a different person or a separate soul. He is the original soul of Victor’s body—the soul from his first incarnation. The question mark is only used here because Evelyne does not yet understand his true identity or realize that the soul standing before her is the original Victor.]