Chapter 267: Ragnarok (13)

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Shiaaak!

A sharp slash surged forward.

Second, who was taking the lead, flipped her body lightly as if used to it, and struck the enemy with a forceful punch without hesitation.

Puh-buh-buh-buk!

When her fist, tinged with a green glow, struck the noise-corrupted body, it collapsed, unable to maintain its form.

Landing on the ground, Second didn’t stop and immediately dashed toward the presence she sensed up ahead.

“Above, careful!”

At Queen’s voice from behind, she stomped hard on the ground to stop.

Thud.

She braked urgently, changed direction, and reversed her grip on the blade to evade the ambush of the descending monster.

“Tsk.”

Beyond the waterfall crashing into the lake was a den of monsters.

The transformed, noise-corrupted monsters—once participants of the previous round—popped out from all directions and began their assault.

However, something seemed strange.

She had heard that such entities appeared frequently at the Second Trial, but why were there so many of them again in the Third Trial?

“Master, I don’t think all of these were participants.”

“Indeed. The number is too great for them all to be participants.”

Carl nodded after lightly slashing apart one of the noise-corrupted entities.

“It’s likely they wandered in from somewhere else.”

“…Or perhaps, they were intentionally captured and locked up by the Guardians of this stage!”

Zzzzt.

Queen’s trail through the darkness cut down more than a dozen of the noise-corrupted in an instant.

Once no enemies remained alive, Carl approached the one that still retained a somewhat intact form.

He hadn’t had the leisure to examine them before, but now that the trial had just begun, there was still time.

‘Mabel must have realized I went to the hidden space.’

The Guardians of Ragnarok were probably monitoring the trial as well.

They would have seen the process of entering this place through the bottom of the lake.

This was likely a space hidden from view from the outside.

He could feel a strange energy flowing from the walls, ceiling, and floor, wrapping around the entire area.

‘Wait.’

Carl narrowed his eyes.

There was something familiar in the energy flowing through this space.

As he placed his hand on the wall and recalled his memories, he found a match.

“It’s the same energy as that which composes the corridors of Ragnarok.”

“This place?”

“The appearance is entirely different though…”

The rugged cave and the corridors of Ragnarok were composed of the same force.

That meant they were either made by the same person or were deeply related.

“Let’s go further in for now. We don’t know what’s deeper inside.”

Carl muttered as he looked down at the constantly vibrating Divine Thunder Sword.

The deeper he walked, the more intense the tremor became.

At this rate, he might not even be able to hold or swing it.

Step.

Aside from the entrance, no more noise-corrupted appeared.

Since they had given up on earning points after discovering the cave, they advanced cautiously, exploring their surroundings.

“Huh?”

Second, at the front, spotted something.

She narrowed her eyes to enhance her vision and spoke to Carl behind her.

“Master. There’s something written on the walls and ceiling. I can’t read these characters.”

“They look ancient, but I’m not sure either.”

As Second and Queen shook their heads, Carl stepped forward.

But even he could only interpret so much.

“They are indeed ancient letters, but I’ve never seen this form before. It won’t be easy to interpret.”

Carl frowned.

He had examined every kind of ancient script to the point of exhaustion during his time at the Bayern Academy.

Hoping to uncover legacies left behind by the Ancient Heroes.

Thanks to that, he had gained help in many ways, but unfortunately, it seemed deciphering this particular ancient text was beyond him.

—…If thou art one who holds qualification, proceed.

‘Kylos?’

The rarely speaking entity had interjected.

—It is a variant of the common language from a thousand years ago. I thought it was extinct—who would’ve thought it would appear here.

‘There shouldn’t be much difference between the common tongue of a thousand years ago and now, though?’

—The language itself hasn’t changed much, but the script has changed significantly. It went through three major revolutions before the blank period in my memory. You might as well consider it a different system.

‘And the next part?’

—…If thou art unworthy, thou shalt regret it.

A standard warning.

The problem was—what lay beyond this point?

When Carl relayed what Kylos had told him, Second grinned and pointed further inward.

“Shall I sneak in and check what’s inside?”

“You think it’ll be that easy?”

Queen voiced her concern, but Second radiated confidence.

When Carl gave a slight nod, she summoned the energy of the White Tiger Divine Art and lightly kicked off.

“I’ll be back in ten seconds.”

Thwack!

In an instant, she pierced through space and shot forward.

Just as Queen was about to caution her to be more careful, it was too late—the girl had already departed, and her hand only grasped at empty air.

The problem was that Second vanished the moment she exited the passage.

“……”

Even after ten seconds passed, Second had not returned.

Queen placed a hand on her waist as she let out a short breath.

“It seems to be a barrier, doesn’t it?”

“Looks that way.”

“That’s why I told her to be careful.”

Queen clutched her head.

When a warning was written in ancient script, shouldn’t that be a sign to be cautious?

Had they examined it more thoroughly, they might have realized there was a barrier.

She must have been too excited to be taking part in the trial with her master.

“Let’s go. We can’t leave Second alone.”

“Understood.”

Carl and Queen lightly stepped forward.

She was one of the strongest in NOX.

Thinking that surely nothing serious could happen deeper inside, they stepped past the barrier.

Splat─!

Second was hurled out, scattering blood.

Queen’s eyes widened as she instantly kicked off the ground and caught her tumbling body.

“Second! Second!”

“…….”

She had been so gravely injured in such a short time that she couldn’t even speak.

“……This is.”

Carl lifted his head.

Inside was a wide space, and signs of a fierce battle were etched all over the place.

At that moment, Carl spotted a Black Knight in the center of the room, holding a long sword.

“Queen. Take Second and fall back.”

“…….”

Tap.

Without another word, Queen quickly retrieved Second’s body and retreated.

She tried to exit the barrier, but the way out was sealed—it was impossible to backtrack.

Step.

Carl drew the Divine Thunder Sword and slowly walked forward, locking eyes with the Black Knight.

“Doesn’t seem like an Ancient Hero.”

The moment they faced off, the subtle trembling of the Divine Thunder Sword came to a complete halt.

How should he interpret the sword’s reaction?

Carl carefully examined the surroundings, but seeing nothing else of note, focused on the Black Knight.

‘So the key isn’t the space itself, but the knight.’

His sword? The armor? Or perhaps the soul within?

Though ominous energy radiated in tendrils, it wasn’t the same type as the Demons he had encountered inside the Barrier of ‘Rest.’

Rather, the aura felt… truly pure.

Swoosh!

In the blink of an eye, the Black Knight slashed upward with a long sword strike.

Carl stepped back a pace and narrowly evaded the trajectory, then spun lightly.

Crash!

With a backward kick, he struck the center of the armor and sent the Black Knight flying.

Despite having imbued considerable inner power, the armor showed no dent or damage.

The Black Knight, who had landed lightly, lowered his body and angled his sword sharply.

Swoosh!

Black smoke surged thicker as the knight’s form vanished.

But Carl, too, was a master of hiding in darkness.

He slipped into the black smoke alongside the knight, using Dark Flow Footwork.

Clang! Clang!

Each clash between the Divine Thunder Sword and the knight’s blade sparked bright yellow flares.

Holding his breath and concealing his presence, Carl tracked the knight’s form hidden within the smoke with a sharp gaze.

‘His aura keeps growing stronger. Does he adapt to his opponent?’

Even so, for Second to be completely defeated in mere seconds without moving a finger…

That meant his base combat power exceeded that of most superhumans.

Clang!

Carl deliberately created a powerful shockwave to parry the knight’s sword.

The resulting force tore through the dense black smoke, revealing the knight’s hidden figure at its center.

Flash!

The energy of the Primordial Unity Divine Art exploded.

The Divine Thunder Sword surged forward in a straight line, shooting from Carl’s hand and piercing the air.

Thunk!

The Black Knight’s helmet was skewered.

His body was pushed back and toppled backward.

Carl flicked his index and middle fingers to pull back the Divine Thunder Sword embedded in the face—

Clack.

The Black Knight released his own sword and gripped the blade of the Divine Thunder Sword that pierced his face.

Carl frowned, but the knight emitted a dark aura that clung tightly to the withdrawing blade.

Ssshhhh!

The aura began to engulf the entire Divine Thunder Sword.

Its radiant white light distorted and soon its form began to change.

“Dammit.”

Even defying the will of its rightful wielder—Carl, who had been recognized by ‘Justice’—the sword began to return to the knight.

Clack.

The knight finally pulled the embedded sword from his face, exhaling black smoke as he gathered his energy.

“This… was not expected.”

To have the Divine Thunder Sword taken from him.

And worse, that the black smoke had corrupted the sword’s very nature.

Though there might be a way to restore it, to lose the blade entirely…

Swoosh!

The Black Knight wasted no time and charged.

Now barehanded, Carl enveloped his arms in Divine Art energy and blocked the oncoming corrupted sword.

Crack!

His Protective Aura cracked, shards of internal energy bursting out.

At the jarring impact striking his arms, Carl frowned, and from within the broken helmet, crimson eyes glared at him.

Zing!

Black smoke gathered inside the armor, then exploded toward Carl like a cannon blast.

Boom!

With a thunderous roar shaking the air, Carl leapt away to dodge.

Just as a deep crater formed in the floor, he flipped in midair and landed on solid ground.

Clang!

But the Black Knight didn’t give him a moment to breathe.

With the momentum of seizing the sword, he stuck close and unleashed a relentless barrage.

As Carl’s Protective Aura shattered, gray energy scattered through the surroundings.

Driven to the defensive, Carl’s eyes sharpened and he clenched his fist tightly.

“No more playing around.”

Crack!

A vivid Energy Wave he hadn’t revealed until now surged across his entire body.

As he clenched his fist, the air distorted, and he hurled a Straight Punch directly at the onrushing Black Knight.

Clang!

The strike landed cleanly.

Though the knight raised the Divine Thunder Sword to block, he couldn’t withstand the force behind it and was flung back, crashing into the wall.

Tap. Drip. Tap.

Carl flicked his hand and looked at the stream of blood trailing down his forearm.

So the enemy had targeted the gap in his broken aura and pierced through.

Carl stiffened at the realization that the knight’s movements had evolved even further than before.

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