“Prolonged battle serves no purpose. The next strike decides it all…”
As he spoke, Sang gripped his sword with both hands and raised it high, pointing it straight at Morton Montgomery. He closed his eyes slightly, attuning himself to the channel within his body. With a deep breath, a massive surge of mana flowed through the channel into him in an instant. He released it as wind, which swirled around the Knight Sword – Dawn.
Centered on the knight’s sword, an immense wind gathered with ferocious power, forming a towering tornado. It not only scattered the surrounding ruins but also tore away the clouds overhead, revealing a clear expanse of sky glittering with countless stars.
In that moment, whether it was the residents of Rita’s city center or the slaves nearby, everyone took in the sight of that heaven-piercing vortex. They all wore expressions of shock in unison.
The next instant, the massive tornado compressed abruptly. The astonishing wind power condensed onto the blade.
It was less a sword strike and more a thrust—like a laser beam.
Iyefut Cape murmured, “This… is this my power? What’s going on with this human?”
At that moment, the chibi avatar representing emotion popped up again, smug and triumphant. “Mm~ o(￣▽￣)o. Not bad for this lady’s power—so impressive~”
The chibi representing reason went “Smack!” (ｏ‵-′)ノ “(ノ﹏<。), slapping her awake and grumbling, “You should be practicing your own superpowers! Instead, you’re marveling at someone else’s strength. They wield your power better than you do—aren’t you ashamed? Aren’t you ashamed~! You big dummy!”
In reality, Iyefut covered her ears and put on a pitiful expression.
Wah~ Don’t hit Iyefut anymore…
But the feeling was truly peculiar. This was clearly her own power, yet someone else wielded it better than she ever could—in both quality and quantity. It was utter domination.
And… this exaggerated, shocking force felt so familiar.
After a long moment, Iyefut Cape finally remembered. She’d once sensed a power with this same flair on the Black Knight – Noitra. But… how could that be?
That man was a Diamond-tier knight, vice commander of the Central Knight Order’s Black Gear, one of the Central Hub’s top fighters.
In this world, there were fewer than a hundred Diamond-tier knights.
Had this human already touched the threshold of Diamond?
It was the first time she’d encountered such a miraculous human. He completely upended her understanding of humanity as a species.
As Iyefut reeled from the boy’s sudden surge of power, Morton Montgomery likely sensed the mortal threat. Like a beast in its death throes, he activated [Forced Deformation], swelling to over ten times his size—a giant twenty or thirty meters tall. With terrifying speed, he lunged at Sang, each step triggering earthquakes across a hundred meters.
A direct hit would be disastrous.
Yet facing the oncoming Morton, Sang didn’t flinch. His gaze remained calm as he regarded his foe, as if staring at a lifeless object—or perhaps offering a silent prayer.
“Die, King of the Dark World!”
In the next instant, the boy swung the Knight Sword – Dawn with all his might.
Iyefut, watching from the side, thought the fight was over.
But then, an unexpected figure burst into view—the human girl who’d been ranting from her cage earlier, Olina Walker.
No one knew where she’d come from, but she threw herself between Sang and Morton Montgomery, still deluded. She shouted at the top of her lungs, “Brother! Even in this form, I still love you the same!”
The moment Sang spotted Olina Walker, his sword froze mid-swing. He slammed on the brakes just in time… but Morton Montgomery didn’t stop. His bloated, ten-plus-meter frame charged like an American football player with a brutal shoulder tackle, sending both Sang and Olina flying.
“Brother Morton, why?” Olina was launched skyward, flipping a full 180 degrees. She spat blood while staring upside-down at Morton Montgomery.
Perhaps because of the inversion, she suddenly saw him clearly. This wasn’t her brother. It was a monster.
For so long, Olina Walker had been human nobility, yet she’d always looked down on humans. She yearned desperately for the Blood Race, caking her face in white powder makeup every time to get closer to them.
This was a dark world. She felt humans lived without freedom. Obsessively, she believed only the Blood Race could live truly free.
Thus, she’d made Morton Montgomery her faith.
She never hated the Blood Race—only hated that she wasn’t one herself.
She never imagined she’d end up like this.
Regretful tears streamed down her face.
As despair gripped her, a graceful figure gently caught her. Looking up, she saw it was Iyefut Cape, her elegant form like that of an angel. Iyefut glared at Olina Walker, furious. Because of this woman, they’d nearly failed to finish off Morton Montgomery.
Iyefut wanted to slap Olina but held back. Biting her lip, she said, “Back in the Slave Warehouse… I got a key from the children and almost escaped… but then Morton showed up. You didn’t rat me out… Wake up, you big idiot!”
Mm.
Yes.
Back in the Slave Warehouse, Iyefut had nearly escaped, but Morton’s sudden arrival forced her to play it cool… At least this woman, like the other slaves, had stayed silent instead of betraying her.
Hearing this, Olina Walker clung to Iyefut and burst into loud sobs.
In that moment, she finally woke up.
In the Dark World, it was fine to have faith—whether in the Blood Race or humans—but not in villains.
“Mad Rogue, are you okay!?” The next second, Iyefut turned anxiously toward the airborne Sang.
“Uh… Keep an eye on that woman. I can go again! This time, I’m definitely killing you, Morton Montgomery!” Don’t underestimate this Wind Mantle. Though his power hadn’t reached Diamond tier, it was already Platinum Peak. He could tank that impact.
No one expected it—but at that moment, Morton Montgomery regained a sliver of awareness. His willpower was no joke; he overcame the [Philosopher’s Stone], stabilizing his constantly swelling, twisting, deforming body into the form of a twenty-five-meter muscle demon.
Morton Montgomery loomed over the boy, his face twisted in malice, his voice dripping evil. “Ha… Humans are such foolish creatures… In this Dark World, they don’t need their own will. They need only worship me as faith. I say they live, they live. I say they die, they die… And you, Hero of the North. Do you want to be the savior? No… impossible. You can’t save humanity. You never will…”
But in the face of Morton Montgomery’s taunts, Sang just smiled disdainfully. “Hah~ You know why I let you finish your nonsense?”
“Why?”
“Because… the dead deserve respect!”
What kind of person doesn’t let the dying speak their last words?
Iyefut, watching from the side, couldn’t help smacking her lips. She had to admit—this Mad Rogue had a real talent for trash talk and mockery.
When Morton Montgomery heard those words, his hard-won stability shattered again. He was furious beyond reason.
The next second, he roared, “I’ll kill you!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Morton Montgomery charged at Sang once more. Sang assumed the stance of Snow Style Swordsmanship. Though it was her form, his next move was uniquely his own—Mystic Art: Great Power Creates Miracles!
Amid a flash of pale green light, the sword slashed down!
“It’s over…”
Halfway to his target, Morton Montgomery froze in place. He stared at the boy before him and said, “Human, don’t think you’ve won. You won’t gloat for long. Kill me, and the Dark World’s big shots won’t let you off. Hahaha, I’ll be waiting for you in hell.”
With that, he split vertically in two, cleaved clean apart.
Dead.
They’d fought so long, yet the long night hadn’t reached its end… But thanks to that last sword strike, the sky seemed a bit brighter. Strands of silver light bathed the land.
Sang didn’t care about what came next. He might fear, waver, hesitate—but there were times he absolutely could not retreat!
If no other torches remained after this, then he would become the sole light!
In that moment, Iyefut Cape gazed at the radiant boy in the distance. An unstoppable flutter stirred in her heart. Perhaps it was the perfect moonlight, but he looked so pure.
