Chapter 65: The Calamity (4)

“Damn demon!”

The Sword Master shouted as he charged toward Agor with determination.

“Hoho? Calling a demon like me ‘demon’ sounds more like a compliment, don’t you think?”

Agor chuckled, placing his hand on Kang Geom-Ma’s head in a mocking gesture.

Blood dripped from the Sword Master’s jaw, the wind whistling through the hole in his abdomen.

Around them, the flames danced as if they were living creatures, consuming life in the area like a rapidly melting candle.

There was no hope of victory, but even so, Siegfried, the Sword Master, tightened his grip on his sword and ran forward resolutely.

“Even if it costs me my life, Agor, I’ll at least take your legs with me!”

Buzz—

Siegfried’s sword resonated with a lament, as if it understood its master’s resolve.

Then, pure white light began to emanate from the sword’s hilt, running along its blade like a sacred veil that wrapped around it.

Agor, seeing this, opened his eyes in surprise. A chill ran down his spine. His voice reflected a mixture of amazement and disbelief as he muttered.

“…Aura of the Sword Saint?”

The white light enveloping Siegfried’s sword was something Agor remembered well, an echo etched into every fiber of his being—the aura of the first Sword Saint, who had threatened his life 700 years ago.

“Aaron Nibelung.”

The white aura, like a barrier of light, covered Siegfried’s sword. It was the power that, 700 years ago, had made even the Fifth Commander of the Demon Army tremble. It was a legendary technique that transcended human limits.

The name resonated as an echo of fear in Agor’s mind. That human who once stood before him, sword in hand, and carried the fight to the very gates of death for both of them.

During the First War between Humans and Demons, a vision appeared of someone holding a cold sword in front of a human figure and a commander of body superimposed with the sword. After a moment of confusion, an unpleasant feeling emerged from the depths of Agor.

“…That damn worm of a human…!”

Agor frowned in fury, just as he was about to shout in contained rage.

Boom.

A dark shadow began to spread across the sky, covering the sunlight. The magical flames that had roared fiercely started to vanish.

“…!”

It wasn’t a whim of the weather.

An unfamiliar sensation began to pierce through Agor and the Sword Master’s bodies.

The wind’s direction reversed, as if expelling the tension that had just filled the air.

In this unexpected situation, Agor simply lifted his chin and looked up at the sky.

“What the hell is happening now?”

The air grew heavy, the atmosphere felt inverted as if everything was being pushed in the opposite direction. Agor lifted his gaze, bewildered.

The sky, once clear, began to darken as if night had descended unnaturally. The sun hid behind a circular shadow, leaving behind a radiant halo.

In that darkened sky, countless stars began to shine, filling the space with an overwhelming luminescence. Each star seemed like a gaze filled with intention, all directed toward Agor.

Immediately, the sound of lightning struck his ears.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A bolt of lightning fell with a deafening roar, illuminating the dark sky like a brilliant crack in the heavens.

The electric discharges continued, one after another, splitting the clouds like roots seeking the earth.

Boom! Boom!

The sound rumbled ceaselessly, as if the very sky were collapsing.

Amid this celestial chaos, the golden leaves of the great tree Yggdrasil began to fall like snowflakes.

Soon, the lightning bolts converged into a single point, spiraling violently downward toward where Kang Geom-Ma and Agor were.

Agor, still in disbelief, couldn’t react in time. The lightning struck him directly at the speed of light, enveloping his body in a blinding glow.

“Aaarghhh!”

Agor’s agonized scream echoed through the forest, his cry bouncing back like a melody of torment. His charred figure emerged from the thick cloud of dust, his cracked and blackened skin oozing small droplets of blood like broken roots.

“Haa… ha…”

Although his wounds began to regenerate quickly, Agor’s expression was marked by confusion.

Dust covered the ground while flickering lights consumed the flames that had once raged fiercely.

Then, an overwhelming energy made its presence known. Agor’s eyes automatically moved toward its source.

“This, this can’t be.”

There stood Kang Geom-Ma, looking at her.

A dazzling halo of light surrounded him, the thunderous sounds of battle resounding around him as background noise.

His eyes shone with an indescribable intensity, and his body seemed to bend the space around him, creating a rippling mist that enveloped him.

The Sword Master, observing the scene, swallowed hard.

Even as he squinted, he couldn’t capture the exact form of Kang Geom-Ma.

Screeech.

The sashimi knife that Kang Geom-Ma held with both hands emitted a sacred resonance.

“What is that!”

The Fifth Corps Commander, Agor, whose face still showed an expression of astonishment, shouted almost in panic. There was an emotion in his voice that he had never experienced before: fear.

The unknown power and weight radiating from Kang Geom-Ma pressed against Agor’s entire body, making him tremble as if he were a mere insignificant being.

“….”

Kang Geom-Ma remained motionless, completely silent, his back to the great tree of Yggdrasil.

Slowly, he turned his head, meeting the gaze of the Sword Master, who was visibly shaken. The Sword Master’s expression was filled with a sense of sacred reverence.

“Ah, ah.”

The Sword Master’s wrinkled eyes slowly turned red, and soon warm tears welled up. These were not tears of sadness like before, but tears of joy.

The Sword Master bent one knee and showed respect.

If someone were to ask him later why he did it, he would simply say it was an unconscious act as a swordsman.

“I will cut it.”

Kang Geom-Ma spoke without moving his lips.

It was a direct statement that resonated in the brain, not through the ears. Although it was clearly Kang Geom-Ma, the voice, which seemed to echo directly in the mind, had an unfamiliar, strange, and divine quality.

At that moment, the flesh in the hole in the Sword Master’s stomach began to bubble and soon the wound closed completely. New skin also began to grow over the amputated arm.

“…What exactly is happening?”

The Sword Master touched his stomach and his arm with an incredulous expression. No matter how hard he tried to understand it, he couldn’t find an answer.

Agor watched this with unfocused eyes. Even as he tried to analyze the situation, it was beyond his comprehension.

Kang Geom-Ma closed his eyes without saying a word. The sound of demonic flames consuming the water gently echoed in his ears.

Kang Geom-Ma gripped the hilt of his knife firmly. At the same time, pure white light emanated from his feet and began to spread over the earth.

Flash.

[The Blessing of Pain Insensitivity manifests.]

[The Blessing of Regeneration manifests.]

[The Blessing of Transfer manifests.]

The two divine blessings were transferred to the Blessing of Transfer, covering the entire line of the world and sustaining the universe.

It was a mysterious realm that went beyond ordinary blessings.

To Agor’s eyes, Kang Geom-Ma appeared shrouded in an unreal mist.

It was as if Agor’s brain refused to acknowledge Kang Geom-Ma’s very existence, paralyzing both his body and his senses.

‘That is not a human.’

Agor forced his body to move and gathered all his magical energy. The heat made the water boil, while the corpses in the stream began to melt slowly.

He focused his consciousness, released the upper limits of his body, and unleashed the accumulated magical energy in an instant. The curtain of fire burned more fiercely than ever.

Fwoooosh.

“Firestorm.”

A gigantic fireball rose into the air, drying out the vegetation and water, then began to melt it. It was such intense magic that it could consume even the physical body that Agor had descended into the world.

“If we leave that man here, he will surely hinder the future of our demonic race.”

Agor’s doubt turned into certainty. His gaze hardened, and he stretched out his hand. The flesh on his forearm melted away, exposing blackened bones.

Boom.

A gigantic wave of sparks erupted and spread. The intensity of the fire was enough to incinerate the entire island. Even a single beam of fire melted rock as if it were lava.

Kang Geom-Ma calmly watched the monster of fire approaching, his eyes serene and untroubled.

His retinas reflected the space distorted by the burning fireball and the countless red lines drawn along it.

Kang Geom-Ma slowly lifted his sashimi knife. It was a clean, natural movement, free of any murderous intent or unnecessary emotion.

The tip of the knife pointed toward the sky.

A bright flash crossed the blade.

Then, the blade pointed toward the ground.

—Whoosh.

A crisp sound resonated. The pillar of light cut the fireball diagonally.

Fwoosh⎯!

The flames that had been melting everything around them extinguished without a trace, not even leaving residual heat.

Kang Geom-Ma’s sword strike was like a law that brought the concept of “annihilation” into the real world, a phenomenon that reversed cause and effect.

In contrast, Agor’s flames, though formidable, were still part of the fabric of the world.

The incomprehensible phenomenon of his sword cut through the very essence of magic.

“Ah.”

Agor murmured in disbelief. A long wound appeared on his waist, and then his body split in two halves as if it slid apart.

It took him a few moments to realize what had happened. The severed flesh did not regenerate, and not a drop of blood flowed.

Thud.

The upper half of his body fell and rolled on the ground. Even as he tumbled, Agor’s eyes captured a scene that left him speechless.

A slanted fissure appeared in the very landscape. The boundary between the sky and the earth had been redefined.

The sky, now divided in two halves, poured columns of light down onto Yggdrasil. The abrupt mountain peaks displayed smooth surfaces where they had been cut cleanly, and the infernal chaos covering them dissipated.

The forests regained their lost green color, and the brilliant sun once again illuminated the scene.

The world turned once more, and Agor’s gaze lifted to the sky.

Through the crack in the sky, the sunlight burst from the darkness, filling everything with a blinding brilliance.

“Ugh.”

Agor let out a groan as he felt the proximity of death approaching in steady steps. With a trembling hand, he tried to lift himself, dragging his mutilated torso.

“I can’t die like this.”

Agor clenched his teeth and gathered all his remaining strength. Even in the face of his impending death, he couldn’t comprehend the magnitude of the blow he had received. Only one certainty repeated itself in his mind.

“Kang Geom-Ma… the existence of that guy is a calamity for demons.”

Kang Geom-Ma’s body swayed slightly, as if he were losing his balance. He had delivered a monumental strike, and his body seemed unable to endure it any longer.

“Now is my chance.”

Agor gathered his remaining life force, converting it into magic as he began to chant a spell.

“Flame.”

With great effort, he managed to move his fingers to cast the spell, but just before it activated, a sharp sound cut through the air.

Thud.

The impact of a blade. A pure white sword pierced through Agor’s nape and exited through his mouth.

Agor turned his head with creaking movements to see the Sword Master behind him, wielding the sword with his single arm.

“Leaving your back exposed to your enemy… It seems you and Basmon, the Sixth Commander, are alike.”

Agor’s nails clawed at the ground desperately, while the Sword Master gritted his teeth and continued.

“This son of a bitch⎯!”

“Go to hell, demon.”

The sword, still lodged in Agor’s mouth, emitted a sacred light that tore his body apart from within. Even the malignant energy in Lei Shen’s eyes began to drip away as if being drained.

The divine light illuminated Agor’s body, and cracks began to form. A burst of light escaped through the fissures, lighting up the scene.

“Aargh, damn descendant of Aaron!”

“You’re more tenacious than Basmon, I’ll give you that.”

The Sword Master twisted the hilt of his weapon, and with a final sound, Agor’s body crumbled to pieces. The energy remaining within him vanished like a mirage.

Thus ended the life of Agor, the Queen of the Succubi and Commander of the Fifth Demon Corps. Her death was as silent as it was unexpected.

“And to be clear, my name is not the descendant of Aaron. My name is Siegfried von Nibelung.”

The Sword Master wiped the blood off his sword with his single arm before staggering toward Kang Geom-Ma, who was barely standing.

Siegfried carefully laid Kang Geom-Ma on the ground, examining his condition. Although visibly exhausted and gaunt, Kang Geom-Ma was still breathing.

After confirming his safety, Siegfried sat beside him, checking his wounds. With his experience, not only as a warrior but as someone familiar with the side effects of blessings, he knew exactly what to look for.

‘His breathing is stable, some minor blockages in blood flow, but nothing fatal. He’s not in immediate danger.’

Siegfried let out a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. He looked at Kang Geom-Ma with a mix of curiosity and bewilderment.

“…Kang Geom-Ma, who are you really?”

Initially, he had considered him a peerless genius, but over time, doubts began to grow, and now he even felt disconnected from what he saw before him.

Siegfried replayed Kang Geom-Ma’s strike in his mind. Despite his years of experience, he couldn’t understand what he had witnessed. That technique wasn’t just an attack, but something more, as if it were a phenomenon itself.

A mental hammering sensation still coursed through his body. Expanding his reasoning, he tried to find an explanation using all his knowledge and experience.

Finally, a new hypothesis began to form in his mind.

Is this person… really human?

Siegfried lowered his gaze to Kang Geom-Ma’s unconscious face. Even while lying down, it seemed as though he could still behold the entire world.

Looking up at the sky revealed another surreal sight—clouds cut cleanly floated above. Turning back to Kang Geom-Ma, Siegfried could only remain silent.

“…”

Since ancient times, humanity has believed that incomprehensible wills reside in the universe.

Phenomena like storms, floods, and lightning striking from clear skies have always been considered manifestations of supernatural forces.

Paradoxically, while these forces inspired fear, they also led people to seek blessings and protection.

Those forces, both venerated and feared, were called…