Chapter 187: Divine Showdown (1)

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Mental Image World.

Carl slowly descended into the space that had now become quite familiar.

It was a similar situation to what had occurred in the Territory of Tohochu, but the key difference this time was that unlike then, when he had been a total wreck, now he could fight Kylos on equal footing.

Tap.

Kylos landed on the ground and looked around with an indifferent expression.

Seeing his unexpectedly composed demeanor, Carl narrowed his eyes and watched him.

“You’re not surprised?”

“When I saw you open the door and come in, I figured you must have had some kind of trick. You could never have beaten me in Tossen using direct methods.”

“Isn’t that a bit arrogant? You abandoned your body and fled from my flame, didn’t you?”

“I only pretended to abandon it. To see your hidden trump card. Once I crush just that, I’ll gain the upper hand.”

“So, can you capture it?”

“Hmph.”

In response to Carl’s words, Kylos reached into the air.

A rippling mass of light green light surged up and formed a cross-shaped sword.

In the instant his form vanished, Carl swung his sword backward as if he had expected it.

Boom!

An explosive roar erupted.

Kylos had thought Carl wouldn’t be able to block his attack and would be flung away, but Carl stood there perfectly fine, gripping his sword tightly.

“…I see.”

Kylos withdrew his sword and stepped back, narrowing his brow as he stared at Carl.

“This is a world created by your subconscious. You’ve built your own domain and placed it under complete control.”

“It’s what you’d call a mental image. Your other Divinity was also absorbed here.”

Strictly speaking, that time he had received help from beings like the Heavenly Demon and Bingbaekmok.

If they hadn’t pinned down the rampaging Kylos with force, Carl wouldn’t have even dared to fight.

But now, things were different.

Ssshhhhh—

Here, there was no need to worry about external interference or observation, allowing him to fully concentrate on battle.

Carl drew upon all ten stars of his Primordial Unity Divine Art and gripped the Heavenly Thunder Sword.

Rumble.

The ground trembled subtly as an overwhelming pressure dispersed.

Facing this tidal wave of power, which even pushed back his own Divinity, Kylos opened his eyes coldly.

“You’re making one mistake. Even if I’ve been split into fragments, the being before you is still a part of a Divine Being.”

Crackle!

Violent sparks erupted from his clenched fist.

Twisting that fist, Kylos smirked at Carl.

“Breaking down a mere human’s subconscious isn’t such a hard task.”

Creak, craaack.

The space began to distort.

The meadow scenery born of Carl’s mental image tore apart, and wrinkles began to form in the empty air.

Beyond that lay nothing but a dull, colorless world.

A raw subconscious realm, untouched by mental imagery.

Slash—!

But Kylos failed to achieve what he intended.

Had he not pulled back his hand or turned his head—

Drip.

He wouldn’t have avoided the trajectory that grazed his cheek.

Tap.

Retrieving the Heavenly Thunder Sword into his hand, Carl looked up with a faint smile.

“This is the beauty of this space. No matter how much energy I use, I never run out.”

This didn’t apply to intruders within the world of mental imagery.

But here, Carl could unleash all his techniques without any limitation.

Swish.

Raising his clenched fist, he crossed his arms to form a hand seal.

The Heavenly Thunder Sword rose gently into the air and pointed itself toward Kylos.

“……”

Kylos narrowed his eyes and touched his cheek.

Despite being a spiritual form and not bound by physical limitations, a mere graze had drawn blood.

‘Is it that sword’s power? Or is it the result of absorbing my Divinity? Or maybe it’s due to his unique energy?’

Whatever the reason, it was clear that it couldn’t be ignored.

If he were to fall here, he’d be devoured just like the fragment in Tossen.

‘The same goes for him.’

The deepest part of the mind and soul is the subconscious, also known as the mental image world.

Because it’s a space of absolute influence, if one were defeated here, not only the soul but also the body risked being taken over by the opponent.

If he could break Carl’s soul and take over his body here…

“Then I could finally be free of that damned seal and escape.”

In that case, reuniting and merging his Divinities wouldn’t be difficult.

He needed to move quickly to prepare for the upcoming Ragnarok.

“……”

Kylos closed his eyes.

Each of his sealed Divinities had different temperaments and personalities.

The one sealed in Tossen had a hot-tempered nature and likely charged in without thinking.

His defeat probably stemmed from that very reason.

‘But I’m different.’

Kylos brought his hands together.

With his eyes still closed, he joined his hands in front of his chest and traced a triangle with his fingers, releasing his Divinity.

Flash!

A deep green radiance swirled around his body.

To counter Carl’s domain of absolute influence, he sanctified the ground beneath his feet with Divinity, establishing his own territory.

Flutter.

Four pairs of wings spread behind him, scattering feathers.

The activation of Divinity—this was Kylos’s strongest trump card.

“A mere human dares to challenge a Divine Being.”

His voice echoed across the space like a god disciplining humanity.

Kylos slowly raised his hand and pointed toward Carl, who stood still with the Heavenly Thunder Sword.

Vmmm!

Green light gathered at his fingertip.

Condensed into a round orb, the Divinity pierced through the air and shot forward with a fierce force.

Whoosh—!

A beat later, a fierce shockwave erupted and the ground split open.

Despite being incredibly thin, the fired laser left a deep and distinct mark on the ground.

Vmmm!

Carl didn’t stay still either.

As he extended both hands forward, searing light began to blaze over the blade of the Heavenly Thunder Sword floating in midair.

It was an extreme sword technique manifested through the Primordial Unity Divine Art.

A supreme technique said to be harder and sharper than reinforced energy, able to cut through anything.

Aside from the Heart Sword, which cuts with willpower, there was nothing that could possibly rival it.

Slaaash—!

However, the Technique of Sword Mastery Over Weapon Carl unleashed collided sharply with Kylos’s laser mid-air.

Neither side yielded an inch as they pressed forward to bite into each other’s throats.

Crack.

The massive clash of energies disrupted the internal balance.

Though the space itself remained intact, the meadow landscape born of mental imagery collapsed and was drawn toward the clashing epicenter of the two forces.

Shhhhaaaak!

As if being sucked into a black hole, the wide grassy plains were pulled into the impact point created by the collision of the Technique of Sword Mastery Over Weapon and Divinity.

All that remained around them was a dull, colorless world.

……Boom!

At last, Carl, having neutralized all of Kylos’s lasers, retrieved the Heavenly Thunder Sword.

“……”

He wasn’t lacking in internal energy.

As mentioned before, in this space, he could use any technique freely.

But the problem lay in his mental stamina.

Crack.

Gritting his teeth against the throbbing pain in his temples, Carl clenched his jaw.

If it had been physical pain, he could’ve blocked the sensation or offset it with pain elsewhere, but there was no way to ease mental fatigue.

‘Instead of consuming mana, it heavily depletes mental strength.’

Carl took a slow breath.

He had never once heard anyone say his mental strength fell short.

He had undergone brutal training as an assassin, and eventually, he even erased his emotions to live as a tool of killing.

Even for someone like him to feel his mind shaken and burdened—it showed just how formidable Kylos truly was.

‘That’s why I must take him down.’

If he could defeat Kylos here, he would once again transcend his limits.

And then, he instinctively knew that a transformation would occur in his cultivation realm.

“…Hold on.”

Just as he was about to unleash the Technique of Sword Mastery Over Weapon again to pressure Kylos, Carl suddenly realized something and stopped his hand.

“I see now. There was no need to waste my strength unnecessarily. This is how I should’ve done it from the start.”

“…?”

Kylos furrowed his brows at Carl, who was now withdrawing the energy of the Primordial Unity Divine Art.

At a time when risking one’s life in battle wasn’t even enough, why was he stopping?

But the very next moment, Kylos’s face twisted in rage at what unfolded.

Flaaash.

Carl forcefully drew forth the Divinity of Kylos that he had absorbed.

Normally, he exercised extreme caution and used only minimal amounts, wary of backlash from internal energy and mana.

Unless he was facing demonic enemies like during Origin, he avoided mixing other energies recklessly.

If any backlash occurred, he would have to endure all of its consequences with his own body.

Fortunately, unlike the common sense of the previous world, internal energy and Divinity accepted each other without much resistance and even blended into one, true to the name of the Primordial Unity Divine Art.

‘But eventually, I need to get used to handling Divinity too.’

The only thing Carl could do with Divinity was to use it for healing or providing buffs.

To control Divinity after absorbing Kylos’s Divine Being, it was only natural that he had to become familiar with the power.

“Hmph, so this is how it’s done.”

Carl recklessly drew his Divine Power to the extreme.

It was the first time he had unleashed his full power since absorbing Kylos’s Divine Being.

Just like Kylos had done, he brought all ten fingers together and formed a triangle in front of his chest.

“You dare challenge me with my own power? Laughable. Controlling Divinity is no easy task. Crude imitation like that can’t even come close…”

Flaaash!

Contrary to Kylos’s insults and denial, the Divinity Carl summoned gradually began to take on a distinct form.

‘I’ll need to learn Divine Magic too.’

Carl thought to himself.

Depending on how it was used, Divine Magic could be several times more efficient than regular magic.

With the right connections, learning it wouldn’t be that difficult.

For now, imitating Kylos would suffice.

Flutter.

Though slightly smaller and somewhat crude in form, a clear outline of wings appeared behind Carl.

To the unknowing eye, the sacred and solemn presence could have easily been mistaken for that of an angel.

Seeing Carl manifest Divinity right before his eyes with his own power, Kylos ground his teeth.

“There is a line that humans must never cross. And you… you just crossed it.”

Swish.

Kylos lightly waved his hand.

At the same time, dozens of magic circles opened in the air, and thousands—no, tens of thousands—of bullets made from Divinity rained down solely on Carl.

Boom! Boom!

Each shot was as powerful as a secret art or ultimate technique.

Yet Carl defended himself with the Divinity he had summoned.

‘Had I blocked it with internal energy, the damage would’ve been significant.’

The weakness of Divinity was not demonic energy, but other Divinity.

Divine Power showed extreme vulnerability to its own kind, and thus, the bombardment that poured down upon Carl’s fully spread wings didn’t even reach half of its original power.

“…Ah.”

“Let’s stop with the ‘how is that possible’ line. I’ve heard it too many times—it’s boring now.”

Having even his astonishment stolen from him, Kylos clenched his teeth.

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