Chapter 138. Chrono Knight
Normally, I would have sent out the monsters without fighting directly.
But this time, I planned to hold them back for a while.
After all, I decided to test my strength.
If I judged my life was in danger, I could request support then.
Of course.
I would fight while taking as much care as possible for my safety.
Even though that guy was currently one rank lower than me.
The weakening of power and the sealing of power were entirely different concepts, and he might also have a hidden card, just like Curse Devil Gentleman.
A move to annihilate an opponent of a higher class than himself.
[“It seems you have no intention of revealing your name. I understand your intent, nameless one. Now regret setting foot into this sacred world and die.”]
“Gauntlet.”
[“Hmm?”]
“Gauntlet, that’s my name.”
With those words.
I stepped into the air and swiftly approached him.
[“Looks like you’re ready to fight.”]
The Chrono Knight raised his gigantic sword and sliced through the air.
As the blade cut through, a rift in space-time appeared, and beings identical to the Chrono Knight emerged from the crack.
Clones? Illusions?
No.
Each one of them was an actual entity with SS-class danger levels.
[“The ability to summon versions of himself from different timelines, huh? It’s similar to the powers handled by the God of Time.”]
Nyara Nepenthis instantly appeared by my side.
And the other monsters joined in right away, instinctively binding the feet of the summoned Chrono Knights.
“Thanks.”
[“Be careful, my child.”]
I charged toward the Chrono Knight again.
He swung his sword in a circular motion.
The surrounding space distorted.
The Chrono Knight retreated quickly.
I approached where he originally stood, but at that moment, I felt my movements slow down noticeably.
It seemed the flow of time in the space I was entering had changed.
It felt like time was moving about five times slower.
‘…It seems his abilities work on me after all.’
If Chrono had been a pure A-class.
Then as a pure S-class, his abilities wouldn’t have worked on me, or even if they did, their effect would have been minimal.
But his power was directly affecting me.
This was the difference between a weakened power and a sealed power.
[“You’re powerless. As long as the concept of time exists, you can never defeat me.”]
Chrono said this.
He wildly swung his greatsword into the air around him.
【Pururu】─What’s he doing?
【Yumi】─He’s cutting through the air?
【Mir-Stin】─Weird monster, indeed.
Incomprehensible behavior.
To ordinary eyes, it would naturally seem that way.
But, I could roughly guess what this ability was.
He was a monster that controlled time.
So it was certain that what he was cutting now was the future.
Simply put.
If I stepped into the space he had just cut, the slashes from the past would strike my body.
In other words, it was a time-delayed attack.
He continued to toy with me, mixing time slowdowns and speedups appropriately.
The space around me slowed.
The space around him sped up.
Using this, he unleashed countless slashes at me.
Of course, none of the attacks worked.
I was purely a physical type.
A type that raises danger levels purely through physical strength.
Most attacks didn’t faze me, and the physical blows of someone ranked lower than me were nothing more than tickles.
Magical attacks came at me occasionally, but I could easily endure them too.
As he continued to toy with me.
I managed to use First Level once, successfully unleashing a shockwave in the middle of it.
The shockwave hit Chrono, and half his body was blown away.
But he immediately manipulated time to perfectly restore his body to its previous state.
It was a time-recovery ability.
【Rizenova】─A tricky opponent, indeed…
【Mir-Stin】─Isn’t that a cheat? His ability is way too overpowered!
【Mysticism】─😨
【Luna-chan】─So, in essence, his core is SS-class…
【Pururu】─First Level doesn’t work, huh.
【Pururu】─But at least that guy’s attacks don’t affect Geon.
【Yumi】─Even though Geon is a higher rank, it feels like he’s being pushed back…
【Bubble Bubble】─He’s not being pushed back. It’s just that their match-up isn’t great, so he hasn’t had a chance to attack.
【Bubble Bubble】─Once Gauntlet touches that guy’s body, it’ll be over in one move.
There were enough opportunities for an attack.
Once Chrono realized that long-range attacks didn’t work.
He would approach me and try to land a powerful blow.
That would be the moment.
When we shared the same space.
To be exact, when his body or sword made contact with me, the flow of time between us would momentarily align.
While thinking about this, the opportunity came.
[“Your body is annoyingly durable.”]
The Chrono Knight quickly approached me until he was right in front of me.
Even though he was right in front of me, the flow of time was still different.
He must have been controlling the space around us with fine precision.
But.
[“I’ve lost interest in you, so let’s end this amusement here. Now, die.”]
【Bubble Bubble】─Is he rushing to his own death?
【Luna-chan】─He doesn’t know his place, getting that close to Gauntlet. The fight’s over now. +_+
As soon as his greatsword slightly touched my neck.
Our flow of time synchronized, and I placed my palm against Chrono’s abdomen.
Ah. Naturally, my neck wasn’t cut.
Since I had tensed my muscles, not even a scratch appeared.
Anyway, now that my hand was on his body, the game was as good as over.
【Bubble Bubble】─Gauntlet’s Second Level technique is in action!
【Luna-chan】─Wow!!
【Pururu】─This better not be another finger flick, right?
【Mysticism】─🧐
Second Level.
Internal Collapse.
A technique that could only be triggered through physical contact.
If hit by this technique, the opponent’s body would collapse internally.
Even their soul would undergo structural collapse.
By injecting my power into their body, the opponent’s internal structure would be dismantled.
Until now, it hadn’t worked well even in practice, but in this current state, I could use it without issues.
After all, I had unlocked my power up to S-class.
[“Why is your neck so—”]
“Goodbye.”
I focused all the power stored within me into my palm.
Then, concentrating it once more into every joint of my fingers, I released the power, sending it through Chrono’s body.
In that instant.
[“W-what…?”]
Chrono’s armor crumpled and twisted all over,
[“Ugh, urgh…!”]
In less than a second, his entire body crumbled into a grotesque shape.
And his body and soul disintegrated into dust.
This time, there would be no using the time-recovery ability.
His soul had collapsed, after all.
【Pururu】─ㄷㄷㄷ
【Mysticism】─😰
【Yumi】─Wow… that move is terrifying…
【Rizenova】─If Gauntlet catches you, you’re basically dead.
【Mir-Stin】─It turns out Geon’s ability is more of a cheat than Chrono Knight. Was that a kind of magic or superpower?
【Bubble Bubble】─It’s just a kind of technique. Gauntlet can’t use magic or superpowers.
【Luna-chan】─It’s pure physical ability! The power and techniques of those who have mastered the physical arts can be as impressive as magic or superpowers!
When Chrono died, the other Chrono Knights that our monsters were fighting also vanished.
—
■Chrono Knight
─Actual Danger Level: SS-Class.
─Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: A-Class.
─Ability: Time Manipulation through Greatsword.
—
After Geon and the monsters completed their exploration and left the celestial realm.
At the edge of the celestial realm.
The Chrono Knight, whose soul had been shattered, gradually recovered and revealed his form again.
And then.
His body twisted grotesquely once more, and his existence began to rise abnormally fast.
This was not something that had happened suddenly.
From the beginning, Chrono was meant to be born as an SSS-class monster.
The reason he was born as an SS-class was simple.
The celestial realm of the Ancient Labyrinth, where he was born, had not been around for long, and it wasn’t yet prepared to imbue his body and soul with full power.
For that reason.
Chrono was temporarily born as an SS-class monster.
He had been slowly undergoing existential evolution since then.
Originally, this evolution was supposed to take several years…
However, the celestial realm, sensing Chrono’s death, concentrated all its power into reviving him, even binding the souls of other creatures that were supposed to be born in the celestial realm to Chrono’s soul.
Moreover, thanks to analyzing Chrono’s powers and utilizing the time acceleration ability, the existential evolution was completed in just a few hours.
In other words, his death had hastened and completed his evolution.
[“Gauntlet…”]
Chrono, who opened his eyes in his new form.
He recalled the Gauntlet who had killed him.
An ability that weakened his opponent.
An invulnerable physical body.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, his opponent was of a higher rank than him.
Fueled by revenge, but now aware of the gap between them after experiencing death, Chrono thought calmly and made his judgment without acting rashly.
[“I can’t defeat him in his current state. In that case…”]
Upon his rebirth, Chrono instinctively realized a part of his new ability.
The power to erase a past existence.
By doing so, he could eliminate a present existence.
He had no doubt that this ability would allow him to kill Gauntlet easily.
[“The past I can summon extends back five years… That’s enough. Based on the flow of time, Gauntlet has been in this supreme world for less than a year. That strange power he wields must have been obtained after arriving in this world.”]
A space where time did not exist.
A space where time was unified.
Chrono spread his unique domain wide.
And without hesitation, he unleashed his power with all his might, beginning to summon Geon from five years ago into his domain.
[“By erasing the past, I shall erase the present, Gauntlet.”]
Chrono Knight.
No.
After achieving existential evolution.
Now that his danger level had risen to SSS-class, his name was no longer Chrono Knight.
He had discarded his former name and given himself a new one.
Now, his name was Time Eater, the one who devours time.