Chapter 75: We Are the Same Kind Who Walk with Death
“You bastard!”
Dean Silver’s tone turned frantic and exasperated.
Its fluffy snow-white tail swayed dangerously, as if it couldn’t wait to leap onto Rast and deliver a flurry of meow-meow punches.
However, considering Rast’s injuries had not yet healed, Dean Silver ultimately held back the urge.
But at that very moment—
Rast heard those light footsteps approaching him and then halting right in front of him.
“You…”
“You heard it?”
That voice, evoking the image of a snow-covered mountain, sounded again.
It came from just a few steps away.
“Yeah.”
Rast nodded calmly.
At a time like this, even if he wanted to deny it, it was impossible. So he might as well admit it honestly.
Moreover—
To be honest, Rast was somewhat interested in Akxia, the current top-ranked student of the Starfall Obelisk.
Or more accurately, in her Nightblade, 「Angel of Death’s Decree」.
Although information about Akxia, the number one in the academy, was scarce, the available data was enough to make a general assessment.
Among the many Nightblades wielded by Night Travelers, Akxia’s 「Angel of Death’s Decree」 was likely akin to Shiltina’s 「Infinity Blade」—belonging to the highest tier.
Moreover, compared to the 「Infinity Blade」 which emphasized steady and cumulative growth through time and effort,
The 「Angel of Death’s Decree」 was undoubtedly more dangerous, more uncontrollable, but also more violent.
Rast’s current stats in both the mystic and spiritual domains could be considered luxurious.
However, he still lacked in the realm of direct combat.
Compared to Shiltina unleashing her True Name from the start and leveling the field with a light cannon in simple, brutish violence—
Rast’s means of offense, whether it was the Ironwoven Moon revolver or the sniper rifle of the Sevenfold Vision, remained confined to the realm of firearms.
Although he had Shiltina as a companion in both Nightworld instances he’d experienced thus far, which covered for this weakness, he knew full well that he couldn’t always team up with her…
Even if they entered together, they’d inevitably encounter situations in the Remnants where they’d have to split up.
Of course, marksmanship was a skill he had honed over three hundred years and was what he excelled at most, so he had no intention of giving it up.
But bullets bound by pure physicality had inherent limitations…
And while the method of forging ammo from all things using Martial Arts of All Creation had been effective, it was excessively taxing on the eyes.
Besides, now that Nightworld retrospection had diminished in effectiveness for Rast, he couldn’t rely on it as a regular method.
Thus, if he could use the Fool’s Library to obtain Akxia’s Nightblade, the 「Angel of Death’s Decree」,
And then infuse those legendary “Death-knelling” instant-death spellwords into sniper bullets—
Whoever he aimed at would die, whoever he sniped would perish…
Just imagining that skill combo was thrilling.
“That old man said.”
“As number one, the strongest, the leader,”
“I must set a perfect example for my juniors.”
That cold voice once again rang in Rast’s ears.
Perhaps because of the Nightblade, she couldn’t converse normally with others and could only occasionally communicate via mental dialogue,
Due to lack of practice,
Akxia’s speech wasn’t fluent or complete, but rather extremely concise, omitting all unnecessary content.
“Since… you heard it—”
“Then…”
“Kill.”
What kind of normal student council president would silence someone just for overhearing her ordering ten hamburgers in one meal?
Just as this thought surfaced—
The next moment.
Rast felt the air around him grow still.
It wasn’t the mental space created by 「Whispers Beneath the Moon」 used for psychic conversation—this was the real world.
A clear voice echoed in the frozen air.
A girl was speaking, using the language of the Old Era.
The syllables were very similar to how Shiltina sounded when releasing her True Name.
Although it was just a single word in an ancient language, under the Nightblade’s effect, it directly stirred the laws at the root of the world.
That word meant: “Death.”
He felt the air around him cooling down, the chill crawling across his body.
Rast knew what this sensation meant—it was the temperature of death, the shroud of the Reaper.
In the three-hundred-year loop of Deep Blue Port, every time he approached death and initiated a new cycle,
Rast had experienced this exact feeling.
For ordinary people, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but to him, it had long become familiar.
A thousandth of a second later—
The decree of death was issued to every cell in Rast’s body, even to the depths of his soul.
That searing sensation, like a bone-deep affliction wrapping his entire flesh, vanished without a trace.
Even the darkness in his vision was dispelled, and light returned to his eyes.
Rast tried to open his eyes and found his sight had fully recovered.
What entered his vision was the unfamiliar ceiling of the school infirmary.
On his torso and limbs, countless wisps of fine black flames quietly dissipated into nothingness in the air.
Rast moved a little, feeling his body in an unprecedentedly good condition.
The so-called joint murder plot by the student council president and Dean Silver, of course, had just been a joke.
Judging from what had just happened, Akxia had likely used the spellword of her 「Angel of Death’s Decree」 Nightblade to directly “kill” the black flame curse left behind by the Scarlet Moon contaminant.
However—
The 「Angel of Death’s Decree」 could actually erase not only living beings, but even abstract concepts like curses.
If Akxia herself ever ascended to Legend-tier, wouldn’t she fast-forward to the point of “as long as it’s alive, even gods will be killed before your eyes”?
After evolving Shiltina’s 「Infinite Martial Arts」 to a hundred thousand layers and blasting an evil god with a single shot,
Now the evil gods might have gained yet another possible death scenario.
A Nightblade that couldn’t slay gods wasn’t a good Nightblade…
At some point, even beings as lofty as evil gods had become fixed targets for Rast to measure Nightblade potential.
Of course, killing gods was still far beyond his reach.
But regardless, a concept-type Nightblade capable of directly interfering with laws was undeniably powerful.
As a devout power-scaler, Rast considered it absolutely necessary to obtain it via the Fool’s Library.
“Regardless, thank you very much for your treatment, President Akxia.”
Rast looked at Akxia beside the bed and sincerely expressed his gratitude.
Before him—
The girl with icy-blue shoulder-length hair tilted her head slightly at the waking Rast’s thanks.
Her icy-blue strands draped over her delicate shoulders, and a faint trace of confusion flashed through her purple eyes.
“Same kind?”
That cold voice echoed once more in Rast’s heart.
“What kind?”
Rast realized that even with the mental communication of 「Whispers Beneath the Moon」, talking to the academy’s top student council president wasn’t easy.
Due to her lack of experience conversing with ordinary people, Akxia’s statements often resembled fill-in-the-blank exercises—
Just a few brief keywords, and he had to guess at what she truly meant.
“You. And me.”
Akxia stretched out her slender, pale finger, silently pointing at Rast, then at herself with an expressionless face.
“Same kind.”
“Have seen, have experienced, death—many times.”
“Walk with death…”
“Same kind.”
Akxia tilted her head and studied him for a while longer, her violet eyes still tinged with a bit of puzzlement.
After a long pause, she finally averted her gaze from Rast, as if she had found nothing.
Expressionless, Akxia stood and walked toward the room’s exit.
As she passed the nightstand, she glanced sideways at Dean Silver who was silently munching on a dried fish atop it.
Her cool voice sounded again in the spiritual space.
“Kitty.”
“Promised reward.”
“Don’t… steal snacks.”
Having said all that, Akxia finally swayed her icy-blue long hair slightly and vanished through the infirmary door.
Leaving only the utterly dejected Dean Silver on the nightstand.
“Told you already, I’m a ferret, not a kitty.”
“And who would eat junk like Mega Big Burgers anyway? Ferrets only eat fish, okay?”
…………