books44 Chapter 263
Chapter 263
Chapter 263
The Bloodstone Cult’s Two.
Name: Unknown.
Level: Unknown.
Main Weapon: A massive axe.
A towering figure over 190 cm, yet not as excessively bulky as one might expect. His muscles are not just for show but are battle-hardened, refined muscle, compressed for maximum efficiency.
Thus, contrary to the usual image of someone wielding a massive weapon, he is not sluggish at all.
He excels in martial arts and, befitting his rank as Two, is naturally proficient in Blood Arts.
At first glance, his temperament appears hot-blooded.
Those facing him might consider exploiting this by provoking his temper to make him lose composure, but that usually doesn’t work.
Even his rough speech is merely a tool for provoking his opponents.
For most adversaries, he maintains an unshakable calm throughout battle.
Body. Mind. Martial prowess.
He is a near-perfect absolute master in all aspects.
And now, such a man was radiating killing intent directly at me.
I felt my eyes tremble involuntarily.
“... I couldn’t destroy everything.”
“What?”
“Regrettably, I couldn’t destroy everything. Since I was already at it, I wanted to bring it all down... but these barriers are stronger than I expected.”
I pointed beyond him, toward the barrier.
The very barrier that had protected the Bloodstone Cult’s stronghold from the outside for hundreds of years.
Now, a massive hole had been blasted into it.
Or should I even call it a hole?
At least one-fourth of it was simply gone.
Though it had seemingly been restored, forming a thin protective layer, the damage was evident.
Two also turned to look behind him and furrowed his brows.
“What the...?”
He looked at me as if I had done something absurd.
Well, he wasn’t wrong.
I had completely ignored his presence.
Two had thrown his axe and delivered a grandiose line, only for it to be utterly dismissed. He had every right to be angry.
But neither I nor the Blood Witch paid him any mind.
As if we had planned it, the Blood Witch spoke up.
“Ahh. Now that I think about it, I seem to have gained some insight too.”
“Insight?”
“Yes. You see, Ian, that radiant Infinite Cataclysm you just unleashed...”
The Blood Witch deliberately enunciated each syllable, ‘In. Fi. Nite. Cat. A. Clysm.’
It felt a little embarrassing that my technique had already been given a name.
She was grinning slyly, clearly teasing me.
But only for a moment.
“You managed to contain infinity within a single point.”
Her voice suddenly turned serious.
So serious, in fact, that it felt as if only the two of us existed in this place.
She spoke her realization aloud.
“Ian, you contain things, but I stop things. So what happens... if I stop infinity itself?”
“Wait... does that mean you were only stopping a part of it before?”
I knew her ability.
She could halt everything, almost as if freezing time itself.
She nodded.
“Normally, my power only stops an area. However...”
— BOOM!
We both leaped back instinctively, cutting our conversation short.
Of course—
Two had hurled his axe at us once again.
The ground where we had stood caved in violently.
“Save that kind of talk for when you rent a damn room!”
Crack.
A vein bulged on Two’s forehead as he yelled.
Hah.
Looks like we finally got to him.
Being ignored is probably the most infuriating thing.
Two may be difficult to deal with in many ways, but he’s not invincible.
Even a seemingly solid mental fortress can be chipped away with time.
Seeing his anger boiling up from deep within, I couldn’t help but smirk internally.
“So, what brings you here?”
“What? What brings me here?! You bastards destroyed the barrier!”
“Ah, that?”
I casually pointed toward the barrier again.
Another vein popped on Two’s forehead.
He turned toward the Blood Witch, eyes narrowing.
“Right. I expected this brat to act like this. But Three, what the hell are you doing? Why are you just standing there, watching?”
“Two.”
The Blood Witch’s gaze remained utterly unwavering.
“I desire strength more than anyone.”
“And?”
“That is also the creed of our cult. Above all else, we pursue power.”
“I’m running out of patience. Get to the point.”
He quickly pressed his thigh, forcing the energy to stop spreading.
The Blood Witch covered her mouth, chuckling.
“If I hit your pressure points, your movements will be restricted.”
“Shut up!”
That was the only conversation exchanged.
The battle continued without a moment to breathe.
Our teamwork was effective.
Maybe it was because we had spent more time fighting together than we realized.
The Blood Witch aimed for his arms, while I targeted his legs.
When I moved within Two’s line of sight, she naturally maneuvered behind him.
We were in sync.
And with that, we began to overwhelm him.
Or so we thought—
“Damn it!”
Two suddenly shouted and leaped backward.
Then, he tore off his upper garment.
...What the hell is he trying to do?
I barely had time to question it before—
— GLOOP.
A dense black light suddenly engulfed the surroundings.
“Hold your breath.”
The Blood Witch’s sharp command cut through the air.
I obeyed immediately.
— WHOOOSH!
A black wind swept through the area.
Grass, trees—everything that had been alive turned ashen gray in an instant.
And when the darkness receded, Two emerged.
His entire body had turned pitch black.
“You’ve forced me to use this.”
I wanted to ask—
What the hell is “this”?
But I didn’t have time.
— BOOM!
By the time I realized it—
I was already flying through the air.
His fist had connected squarely with me, sending me hurtling backward.
I barely managed to block with Lunar, but—
— CRACK!
The metal shattered, scattering into fragments.
Overwhelming speed and power.
But I had no time to analyze.
— FLASH!
Two had already lunged at the Blood Witch, his axe swinging down toward her.
It happened in an instant.
‘She can’t dodge.’
The blood woman couldn’t dodge.
That certainty gripped me.
“DIE!”
The moment his axe was about to cleave through the Blood Witch’s forehead—
— THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Her heartbeat echoed three times.
The third beat—was louder than the rest.
And then—
— DRIP.
A single drop of blood fell, rippling across an invisible surface.
Like a disturbance in water, the world shuddered.
“...!!!”
In an instant—
The entire world turned red.
As if someone had painted reality itself with a single color.
And then—everything stopped.
All movement.
All time itself.
“T-This... how?!”
“Your tricks could never stop me before!”
Two’s eyes widened, his lips barely moving in protest.
Somehow, we had entered a realm of pure crimson.
And in this blood-drenched domain—
The Blood Witch merely smiled.
— Click. Click.
Her heels echoed against the red-stained ground.
The master of this domain began to approach Two—
One slow, deliberate step at a time.