Exhibition: Darkest Warrior – 4

After successfully parrying for the third time, the Darkest Warrior stepped back, combat fatigue bursting forth as he slumped to the ground, then staggered back to his feet.

Compared to the beginning, the bloodshot eyes of the Darkest Warrior had lost much of their malice. Of course, his killing intent was still there, but if this continued, he might become a warrior who was broken in spirit rather than one seeking death.

The chatter from the Dark Night Order could be heard from here. It seemed that a warrior who could cause defensive magic to tremble merely from the impact of movement was now helpless.

The women who had been with me showed no signs of surprise; they knew my skills too well to be astonished by such a spectacle.

‘It’s about time to move on to the next stage.’

The Darkest Warrior’s idea of a “glorious death” was related to the clear time. If he fought a broken short sword for ten minutes, poking around and eventually managed to kill the one-hit-kill trainer, that was considered a glorious death.

But who knows what it is now?

Clang! He dropped the broken short sword. At the sound of the rusty blade hitting the ground, the Darkest Warrior glanced at it with trembling eyes. His fading killing intent surged back to life.

“Does that mean I don’t even deserve to wield such a crude weapon? How far must you humiliate me—”

“No. I mean I will face you with my full power.”

Nyx summoned the Wingless Nightmare, which she held precious between her legs. The broken short sword was kicked aside carelessly into a corner of the arena.

Despite the declaration of fighting with full power, the expression on the other side wasn’t all that bright. I could hear the sound of gritting teeth.

“After you so ruthlessly toyed and mocked me, now you offer to fight me with your full strength?”

“That’s right.”

“If that’s the case, you should have fought properly from the start! What on earth was the point of all that?”

The outcome depended on how well I could answer. I replied calmly.

“I had to test you.”

“…Test me? Me?”

A look of confusion emerged on his face.

“Didn’t I say before we began? You seem to have many things you haven’t experienced yet to talk about a glorious death. To me, you are just a human overflowing with bravado due to overestimating your own skills.”

“That’s not true! I really have nowhere else to go!”

“Then what am I, right in front of you?”

“…….”

Perhaps losing his ability to respond, the Darkest Warrior chewed on his lips.

Knowing that he couldn’t even defeat a single broken short sword and was being toyed with, he knew very well that saying he had nowhere else to go was a blatant lie.

“Well, originally, if you were a nobody like you seemed at first glance, I wasn’t going to kill you. I planned to toy with you and then let you go. Come back stronger. That’s why I called this a test.”

“…Was there a passing condition?”

As if there could be one.

There had never been a test from the start; it was more about dragging things out because it irritated me to see him act like he had lived the world despite having been born just a week ago.

Of course, I couldn’t answer that truthfully.

“Just think of it as something good for you.”

I pulled out the crystal staff with my left hand. I enchanted the weapon in my right hand to add magical damage while activating a buff to increase attack power, then floated a small blue sphere.

I put away the staff and took out the Sacred Catalyst, repeating the same process. I enchanted my right-hand weapon to add sacred damage and activated the buff for increased attack power.

However, I finished by floating a small sun and moon nearby. The palm-sized sun and moon, along with the blue sphere, floated around me, exuding a faint glow.

All three had the effect of amplifying attack power.

With the Sacred Catalyst secured at my waist, I summoned dark magic. The black flame that erupted from my left hand merged with the blade of the Wingless Nightmare. The blue and golden hues were enhanced by the addition of pitch black.

Normally, enchantments could only be activated one at a time, and stacking spells would overlap, but for me, that was an exception.

I stabbed the flaming Wingless Nightmare into the ground. Then I pulled out the repaired Blood-Stained Sword.

I stabbed it into my abdomen, draining my health to its limits and pulled it out. The blade stained crimson, but the key was not the sword, but the health that was reduced, so I carelessly tossed it somewhere.

I checked the runic tattoo drawn on my palm one last time. It was a rune that increased attack power the lower my health was. The other three had been my usual combination.

The entire process was completed in less than a second. Thanks to Eclipse assisting my preparations.

‘The groundwork is done.’

The number of stacked attack power buffs was one thing, but the real key to the stacked buffs was their numerical value.

The higher the magical stats, the greater the increase in buff value, with no upper limit to the increment. So, how would that apply now that my base stats were over 500?

“……h.”

As I completed the buffing in that short time and exuded an overwhelming spirit, the Darkest Warrior let out a hollow laugh filled with disbelief.

“It was a fight I could never win from the start. Seeing you now, I understand. Except for stabbing my stomach, I could replicate everything else, but even if I did, I couldn’t match what you are.”

His previously stiff tone returned to a softer rhythm.

“Ultimately, even if I approached normally, I wouldn’t have lasted long. You wouldn’t want your glorious death to come from casually swinging a weapon and getting struck, would you?”

“Absolutely not. Back then, I viewed you as my equal, so I would have resented my own stupidity for not recognizing your strength and unjustly met my end. As long as there’s even a sliver of regret left, I can’t consider it a glorious death.”

His head bowed slightly.

“Thank you. Even though you toyed with me using that broken short sword, it’s still unpleasant… but if it’s part of the process to assess my strength, I will gladly accept it. Thanks to you, I could realize your true strength. Just like how humans don’t put their full power against ants. You were like that too, huh?”

‘What’s with the word choice?’

Full power and true strength. Could it be that Eclipse fed him faulty knowledge?

“This is the first time anyone’s fought after stacking buffs like this. And you’ll be the last. So, what do you think? Is that enough to satisfy you?”

It wasn’t a wrong statement. If I had tried to apply buffs while fighting the Creature that Devours the World, my body would have been torn apart.

“My first and last… how glorious that is. It means you’ve given your all to fight me, a being scarcely greater than an insect.”

The Darkest Warrior assumed his stance.

“To make a human pour all their power just to kill a single ant, what more glorious death could there be from the ant’s perspective?”

What shone in his eyes was no longer anger or helplessness. It was a fighting spirit. A fierce fighting spirit blazed in his crimson gaze.

I also calmly readied my sword. I didn’t need any grand gestures. Once would be enough.

With only 1% health remaining, it might be enough for him too, but there was no doubt who held the advantage in this situation.

The Darkest Warrior slammed into the ground. A red aura swirled around him, indicating he had buffed his attack power. The red energy enveloping his body deepened.

I also took a small step forward, pulling my sword toward my left side, and bent down to prepare for a swing. All sensations in my body focused in unison.

‘Now.’

Calculating the timing to extend my arm, I pushed with my left foot at the exact moment. The staff in the Darkest Warrior’s left hand glowed blue.

But I was faster. Stomping down with my right foot to shift my weight, I reached out. The Wingless Nightmare, infused with three enchantments, was swung horizontally. A thin line of trajectory appeared in front.

Half of the circular arena was sliced along that trajectory.

First, the wall separating the audience from the arena began to shift. The thin line of crack widened as the wall started to buckle under its weight.

Next came the audience seats. The empty seats, with no one above, began to tilt and gradually increased their speed. The stones supporting them shifted awkwardly, causing greater incline.

RRRRUMBLE…

It seemed to momentarily hold on, but that was all. Eventually, with the collapse of a single brick as a signal, a great sound erupted, causing it to tumble down as if a butterfly effect was set off.

But that wasn’t the end. The tremendous strike that carved out the arena continued to sweep behind, slicing through the thick forest and the mountain back there.

“…….”

Even I was surprised by what I had done. Who would have imagined the scale would be this large?

Others were surprised as well. Even Kaiquilia and Minerva, who seldom flustered, as well as Nyx, stood frozen in awe, unable to speak.

As everyone was left dumbfounded by the attack that sliced through the terrain just by amplifying my power, the Darkest Warrior knelt with a satisfied grin.

Though it seemed he wouldn’t be able to stand any longer.

“Finally….”

Blood droplets formed at the slit in his neck.

“Solar… Kaelum….”

Clatter, his severed head rolled away.

“Oh, you came sooner than expected.”

“How did you get here…?”

The Darkest Warrior was bewildered to see Delta sitting casually next to the Goddess. How could that man be here? Moreover, the Creator was right beside him.

“I need to verify if you arrived at your desired location. Right, Goddess?”

“If that’s what you wish, I will gladly oblige.”

Suddenly, he pondered if he had just been killed by someone far more extraordinary than he had realized.