Chapter 274
Banatel let out a roar as he raised his sword toward the sky.
“Ooooooh!”
The crimson Blade Aura swelled ever larger. It pierced endlessly into the void, expanding left and right until it transformed into a massive pillar that pierced the heavens. The sheer size of it was staggering, and its light alone dyed the entire world in a deep crimson hue.
A Blade Aura of unimaginable scale, spanning dozens of meters in diameter and stretching hundreds of meters in length. It was an absurd amount of power, impossible to believe as the Aura output of a single human. Throughout history, only Banatel had ever displayed such a feat.
Even though they were sworn rivals, Gerard couldn’t help but admire the sight before him.
‘It really is incredible.’
If Banatel had possessed the versatility of other Aura Users, he would have become an unparalleled War God, one whom no one in history could stand against.
But Gerard quickly shook his head.
‘No, if that were the case, he wouldn’t have been able to amass such an overwhelming amount of Aura in the first place.’
This was the divine realm that could only be reached by one who had forsaken everything else to specialize in a single path. Was it not the same with his own martial school? He had abandoned everything else, and in return, he had attained this body.
“Haaaahp!”
Banatel’s shout grew even louder as he continued to draw every last drop of Aura from his entire being. His vast, seemingly limitless Aura all condensed into the shape of a single blade. The massive crimson Blade Aura became a colossal pillar connecting the heavens and the earth.
The twelve gods and Seiya, the supreme deity who watched over the world.
Among them, there was a great titan believed to uphold the sky, supporting the world between Aerias of the Sky and Redanti of the Earth. The mighty god of mountains, willpower, and balance, Atlas.
Banatel’s divine presence evoked that very legend. And so, the people had bestowed a god’s name upon his Aura Skill. The Atlas Order had protested, deeming it blasphemous, but with their limited influence, they couldn’t dare reprimand a Sword Star of his caliber.
The legendary downward strike that once reduced Astad, the great fortress of the Graim Kingdom’s southern region, to rubble in a single blow.
Castle-Cleaving Sword, Pillar of Atlas.
“This is exciting!”
Gerard, his face alight with exhilaration, slightly bent his knees. He assumed a stance as unshakable as a great mountain, pulling his right fist back behind his waist.
Then, from his entire being, radiant golden Aura ripples began to emerge.
One, two, three, four…
The waves started to link together in sequence.
The force that could snap giant trees and shatter boulders multiplied several times over, transforming into a monstrous power capable of collapsing bridges and piercing cliffs. In the end, it became a fearsome force worthy of being called Castle-Breaking Fist, one that could bring down even fortified walls reinforced with the strongest physical defenses. It shimmered with a golden light, writhing with raw energy.
Wooooong!
The rising Aura waves coursed sequentially through Gerard’s right arm, pulsating with a vigorous rhythm.
Gripping Pillar of Atlas, Banatel let out a low chuckle and muttered to himself.
“Kukuk, it’s been a while since I’ve gone up against that.”
His Aura Skill, Pillar of Atlas, truly lived up to its name, possessing immense power. However, its strength was not concentrated in a single point. It was a blade capable of cleaving through the walls of an entire kingdom’s fortress, yet it was still inadequate when facing a single opponent.
Thus, after grueling efforts, Banatel devised a new technique.
A technique created solely to counter Gerard, his Calamity Horn.
“Ultra-High Compression!”
Pillar of Atlas trembled for an instant. Then, it began to rapidly shrink.
The immense destructive force gathered violently in Banatel’s right hand, which gripped the sword. The crimson glow darkened and intensified, its density increasing. The radiant energy that had once reached the heavens compressed, shrinking further and further until it was reduced to a mere 10 meters in length.
Unlike others who concentrated their Aura into a sharp blade to enhance its cutting power, Banatel had no such finesse. He simply and stubbornly compressed more and more Aura into his weapon, to the point where sharpness and precision had long since vanished.
At this point, it could hardly even be called a Blade Aura anymore. It felt more like an Aura Club.
Yet, the power contained within that light had already reached a level where sharpness was meaningless.
As the compressed Aura wavered, its surface scraped against the air, sending sparks flying. Crimson flames surged across it like the surface of the sun, resonating with sonic booms.
Holding the ultra-highly compressed Blade Aura that had shrunk to 10 meters, Banatel took a stance for a piercing attack.
“Come at me, Gerard!”
Banatel, the unparalleled dullard who lacked the ability to create new techniques, had no sense for intricate moves, and struggled to imitate even slightly complex techniques crafted by others.
Yet, through sheer persistence, he had gathered and honed the only things he could do, eventually forging a technique to counter Gym Unbreakable’s Calamity Horn.
A thrusting technique that compressed Pillar of Atlas to its absolute limit.
Apocalypse Stinger.
“Heh, this is going to be exhilarating!”
Gerard, his eyes filled with anticipation, raised his golden Aura to its peak. The air trembled, and the wind roared louder by the second.
"I'll take you on, Banatel!"
Four Aura ripples had already emerged, and behind them, golden waves continued to surge, stacking their power one after another.
The fifth ring bestowed a terrifying force capable of distorting space itself. The sixth wave transformed into transcendent destruction, piercing the heavens and scorching even the clouds. The seventh pulse, an overwhelming power capable of splitting mountains and parting seas, settled within a single human fist.
And then, the final, eighth ring began to rise...
Even Banatel had never witnessed that one before.
"Eightfold Stacking?!"
Gym Unbreakable’s ultimate technique, Calamity Horn.
The resplendent light engulfed Gerard. Banatel, filled with expectation and excitement, let out a cry of admiration.
"As expected! You've grown even stronger than before, Gerard!"
With all their power condensed into sword and fist, the two warriors glared at each other. Over their shoulders, crimson and golden energy pulsed, sending ripples in every direction. The two forces, compressed to their limits, roared as if pleading for release, as if demanding absolute freedom.
A brief silence…
"Huaaahp!"
"Taaaaah!"
Apocalypse Stinger and Eightfold Stacked Calamity Horn tore through the world as they collided.
* * *
A crimson flash and a golden bombardment.
Each force was powerful enough to shake the heavens and the earth. They clashed midair, erupting in an explosion of blinding light that consumed everything in sight.
A colossal detonation followed.
The impact sent a deafening roar across the battlefield, and the shockwaves rippled through the air, forcing the surrounding atmosphere to momentarily turn into a vacuum. Then, in an instant, the air rushed back toward the explosion’s epicenter, forming an updraft that spiraled into the sky, creating a massive pillar of clouds.
Repenhardt and the other Aura Users watching from a distance stood slack-jawed in disbelief.
"W-what the hell?!"
"What did those insane monsters just do?!"
The entangled crimson and golden Aura continued to clash, releasing intense heat that scorched the air itself. Then, an enormous shockwave spread outward, shaking the ground violently.
A hurricane-like gust swept across the battlefield. Boulders were hurled into the sky, and massive trees shattered midair. Entire sections of the forest collapsed and caught fire.
The shattered rocks and splintered trees turned into countless fragments, hurling toward the partially ruined Antares White King’s Castle. The castle’s walls and structures cracked and crumbled as holes were blasted through them. The subsequent heatstorm raged like a sandstorm, consuming the entire fortress, reducing it to nothing but ruins.
The heatstorm surged toward Aura Users from every nation. The survivors trembled as they rushed to their fallen comrades.
“Damn it, those brute lunatics!”
“Protect the wounded! Hurry!”
“Got it!”
They squeezed out the last of their strength to deploy Aura Guards, shielding both themselves and the unconscious. The dead were beyond saving, but they couldn’t let those who had only fainted get caught in the blast. Even if they weren’t particularly close, basic human decency demanded they do at least this much.
“Iniya! Attila!”
Repenhardt frantically called out to them. He scooped up Iniya, who was too exhausted to even raise an Aura Guard, and turned his back to the approaching heatstorm. Attila stood behind them, casting a spell to protect them all.
“Mother of Stone, stand firm in your place with a thousand-year tear!”
A transparent protective barrier enveloped the three of them. Moments later, the heatstorm swallowed them whole. The scorching wind battered against the Aura Guards and magical barriers alike.
This wasn’t an attack, merely the aftermath of destruction. Even in their exhausted state, everyone here could endure at least this much.
After a while, the storm subsided, and Repenhardt cautiously raised his head.
‘Is it over?’
As silence returned, his first instinct was to check behind him. He had been too rushed before to pay attention…
‘Siris?’
Were Siris, Russ, and Tassid safe? The place where they had been sitting was completely obliterated by the heatstorm. Just as Repenhardt was about to panic and start searching for them
The ground nearby trembled, and a mound of dirt rose. Soon, dust-covered figures crawled out from beneath the earth.
Right before the heatstorm struck, Siris had used earth elementalism to dig a pit and create a shelter.
Repenhardt let out a sigh of relief.
“Whew, you’re all safe.”
Finally able to calm himself, he turned his attention to Banatel and Gerard. The moment he shifted his gaze toward the epicenter of the explosion…
“Haha…”
He couldn’t help but laugh. A pure, dumbfounded laugh.
The exact spot where Apocalypse Stinger and Eightfold Stacked Calamity Horn had clashed…
A massive crater gaped open before them.
It had to be at least 20 meters deep, with a diameter easily exceeding 200 meters.
Reshaping the landscape was one thing, but this was ridiculous! Just add some water, and it would make a perfect lake.
There was an old tale about a tyrant king who forced his people to build an artificial lake just so he could enjoy boat rides, only to be overthrown by their fury. If he had these two around, he could have kept his throne without a problem.
Blinking in disbelief, Repenhardt muttered to himself.
‘This… honestly isn’t that far off from a 10th-circle spell.’
Of course, Calamity Horn and Apocalypse Stinger alone didn’t reach the level of 10th-circle magic. However, their collision had exponentially amplified their destructive force, making the aftermath truly overwhelming.
‘It’s not quite Nuclear Burst, but it’s definitely stronger than Meteor Fall.’
The sheer devastation sent shivers down his spine.
Given the sheer force of the impact, there was no way the two combatants had escaped unscathed.
The two old warriors, Gerard and Banatel, who had given birth to this cataclysm, were now embedded in the crater walls, bleeding profusely.
Gerard coughed up blood, his body trembling as he muttered.
“Guh… Another damn draw. Son of a….”
Banatel, skin cracked and oozing blood, gritted his teeth painfully.
“That bastard… never loses, not even once….”
The continent’s two strongest warriors, the Sword Star and the Fist Emperor, fainted simultaneously, as if by agreement.
Marrad, one of the surviving Aura Users from another nation, rushed toward the crater with a look of concern.
“This is bad! Sword Star!”
Repenhardt, equally shocked, kicked off the ground.
“Master!”
Like him or not, his master was still his master. Sure, Gerard was never exactly kind, but Repenhardt didn’t particularly hate him either. Despite all his fear and hesitation earlier, seeing his master collapse before him made his body move instinctively.
Marrad supported the fallen Banatel, while Repenhardt carried Gerard out of the crater. Calling Attila over, he entrusted Gerard to him before turning to the four remaining Aura Users still standing.
Repenhardt asked bluntly.
“You still want to keep going?”
Marrad hesitated.
At present, their remaining forces consisted of himself, Dekril, and Sir Werl of the Teikan Kingdom. On the other hand, not a single one of Repenhardt’s warriors had fallen.
Purely by numbers, they had clearly lost.
However, it wasn’t that simple. They still had just enough strength for one last strike. Meanwhile, Repenhardt’s side was barely standing, one hit, and they’d collapse.
‘Do we settle this here and now?’
He wasn’t particularly loyal to the Empire, but retreating now would mean those who had died today would have perished for nothing. At the very least, they needed to take a few heads to salvage their dignity.
Just as the tension peaked, Kamerun, missing an arm, shook his head and stopped Marrad.
“Let’s end this.”