83. Law of Betrayal (1)
The being glaring at Isolde as though he intended to kill her.
Isolde calmly steadied her breathing.
‘So that man is....’
The one who ruled Violess from behind the scenes.
A member of the Dark Merchant Company’s leadership, Iratum.
Because he wore a vicious-looking mask, she could not see his face or expression.
However, Isolde could perceive the irritation twisting his features behind that mask.
“I already have more than enough work to do!!”
It was irritation born from nothing other than anger.
Whoosh!
Iratum’s fist collided with Isolde’s Armored Gauntlet.
She felt the tremendous weight behind his blow through the tip of her gauntlet.
Isolde’s face hardened beneath her mask.
‘He’s strong.’
So strong that she could not imagine herself defeating him.
Isolde tightly bit her lip.
Iratum’s enormous fist remained pressed against her Armored Gauntlet.
It was crushing both the gauntlet and Isolde beneath it.
He was not an opponent against whom she could afford to weigh her options. He was even less of an opponent against whom she could conserve her strength.
Isolde squeezed Holy Power into her Armored Gauntlet. The concentrated Holy Power seethed violently.
Golden Divinity exploded around her gauntlet.
Divine Martial Fist, Valencia Style - Radiant Strike.
Rumble—Boom!!
The perfectly executed Radiant Strike forced Iratum’s fist backward.
That was when Iratum tilted his head to the left.
“I thought I’d been sensing a strange energy from you....”
The corners of his mouth suddenly stretched upward. They twisted into a grotesque smile.
“So you were a Worshipper of an Empty Shell?”
Iratum raised one foot high before slamming it into the ground.
KABOOOOOM!
The earth cracked apart from that single stomp, sending soil erupting upward.
Isolde’s balance momentarily collapsed.
She pulled back the fist she had extended, pushed off with her opposite foot, and opened the distance between them.
“You possess fairly decent judgment.”
Iratum laughed savagely and reached toward Isolde with both hands. The pressure felt as though a colossal mountain were crashing down upon her.
....She could not evade it.
In that case—
Isolde poured every bit of Holy Power she could muster into her Armored Gauntlets.
At the same time, she unleashed a continuous barrage of punches.
Divine Martial Fist, Bianca Style - Holy Purge Assault.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—Boom!!
Explosions of divinity erupted ahead of her like an artillery bombardment.
However, Iratum did not evade them.
“Petty tricks!”
Iratum roared, clenched his outstretched hands into fists, and directly countered every one of Isolde’s attacks.
Bang-bang-bang! Ba-ba-ba-bang!
Dozens of exchanges occurred within a single instant.
The heavens and earth trembled beneath the impacts and thunderous noise. Their speed and destructive power were tremendous.
....But Isolde was the one being overwhelmed.
Each collision produced the sound of bones shattering inside her body.
Her muscles, tightened to their absolute limits, repeatedly ruptured and regenerated.
Crack! Crunch!
The pain felt as though it were battering her mind. Isolde’s consciousness began cutting in and out.
....He was strong.
Absurdly so.
And this was despite her having activated Divine Ascension.
Of course, its power was somewhat diminished because she had already used it once.
....But would it have made any difference?
Even if her Divine Ascension had been at full strength, would she have been able to keep up with Iratum’s speed and power?
“Urgh...!”
A groan escaped through her tightly clenched lips.
“So you were a bitch?”
Iratum’s mocking voice rang loudly in her ears.
“A bitch who worships an empty shell....”
Iratum’s gaze roamed across Isolde’s entire body. Then the corners of his mouth twisted upward.
“You must be a ‘Plaything of an Empty Shell’.”
Iratum’s presence changed abruptly. In an instant, his enormous fist filled Isolde’s entire field of vision.
There was no technique behind it whatsoever.
It contained only overwhelming strength that rendered technique unnecessary.
Nothing more.
Isolde bent her upper body sharply backward to evade the attack.
Her field of vision abruptly tilted back. Iratum’s fist grazed past above her—
Violence.
At that moment, Isolde witnessed the true identity of the Lawless City, Violess, and its ruler.
Baaaaang—!!
The sound of the air being torn apart erupted a moment later.
A tremendous blast of wind surged outward, sending Isolde’s body spinning like a top.
Her vision spun along with it. Her five senses became twisted and entangled.
Isolde clenched her teeth and planted both hands against the ground.
She rotated her body, swung her leg like a whip, and detonated her Holy Power.
Divine Martial Fist, Malenia Style - Blossom Pulsus.
Ba-ba-ba-ba-bang!
Using the rotational force of her spinning body, petals of divinity surged like a violent storm.
However, none of them could penetrate Iratum.
Iratum’s skin was as coarse as rock. It was also genuinely as tough and solid as rock.
Both his destructive power and physical durability overwhelmingly surpassed those of a human.
Iratum stared at Isolde from within the storm of divinity as though it did not affect him in the slightest.
“Such insignificant power, sustained by nothing but hollow faith.”
Iratum’s mocking words cut through the storm of divinity and echoed outward.
At that moment—
KABOOOOOM!!!
A tremendous roar shook Isolde’s consciousness.
Before she knew it, Iratum’s fist was pressed against her abdomen. Isolde’s body folded around the blow and flew through the air.
Her mouth fell open from the impact, and crimson blood poured uncontrollably from it.
‘....I couldn’t even react.’
Would she have been able to react if her Divine Ascension had been at full strength?
She did not know. She could not be certain.
Crash!
Isolde’s body slammed disgracefully into the ground.
* * *
The night in Violess was exceptionally dark.
Even the moonlight above Violess had been dyed black, leaving not even the faintest light shining down.
“Stop them!! Stop them by any means necessary!!”
Yet Violess was filled with the commotion of chaos and fierce combat.
“Kill everyone who interferes! Destroy every enemy who stands in our way!”
“The Black Market belongs to us!!”
Visters were rampaging throughout Violess.
They ran wild everywhere in pursuit of supremacy over the Black Market, while those wearing Ashen Masks desperately attempted to stop them.
The balance of power teetered on a knife’s edge.
Blood sprayed in every direction as screams and battle cries intertwined.
A muscular man with a rugged appearance charged into the heart of the battle.
“The true ruler of Violess is none other than the great Sarpedon!!”
Sarpedon, the Ark Master of the Black Grasp.
When he swung his blunt weapon, the alley wall shattered instantly as explosive force erupted outward.
“Damn it! They’ve broken through the defensive line!!”
“Support! Call for support!!”
When a breach formed in the defensive line, the Visters wearing Ashen Masks rushed to fill the opening.
“All right, let’s go!!”
“Wipe them all out!!”
The Visters of the Black Grasp, wearing black gloves, surged forward in a great wave.
As though enchanted with powerful magic, their black gloves displayed tremendous strength comparable to steel, overwhelming the Visters of Ashen Masks.
Coarse curses flew through the air as screams and battle cries filled the surroundings.
Kiiiiiiiiing—!!
At that moment, a thunderous sound that tore through the air divided the two sides.
Coming from somewhere far away, it resembled the roar of a colossal beast.
“What was that...?”
“That sound just now...?”
The Visters faltered simultaneously.
As though they had all agreed upon it beforehand, the blades pointed at one another began trembling.
They did not know why.
However, for some inexplicable reason, they could not move their bodies.
Fwoosh, fwoooooosh!!
A massive flame soon surged upward as though setting the very air ablaze.
The rising flames cut through Violess’ sinister darkness and finally revealed their true form.
“A Dragon...?”
* * *
Isolde lay sprawled disgracefully against the ground.
The impact battered her entire body, and blood forced its way through her tightly clenched lips.
“Cough...!”
She had to….get up.
However, her body refused to obey her.
“You were not powerful enough to cause this much chaos.... Tsk.”
Iratum clicked his tongue as he approached. Each step of his enormous body produced a heavy vibration.
His oppressive presence was overwhelming. It crushed Isolde’s body beneath its weight.
“Could it be that you had an accomplice?”
Isolde’s hands trembled involuntarily against the ground. The strength repeatedly drained from the legs supporting her.
Her consciousness grew hazy, and her field of vision gradually narrowed. The fear of standing before that enormous being slowly eroded Isolde’s reason.
“I can’t….go on.....”
Isolde’s legs finally buckled, and she collapsed onto the ground.
And precisely then—
Iratum’s approaching footsteps also stopped abruptly.
Iratum was likewise unable to move, as though something were crushing him in place.
But what kind of oppressive presence could possibly be powerful enough to suppress that colossal terror known as Iratum?
Isolde’s confused mind was suddenly filled with questions.
As though answering those very questions—
Kiiiiiiiiing—!!
A bizarre roar that seemed to tear through the air awakened Isolde’s fading consciousness.
Then a voice came from behind Iratum.
“Not an accomplice—”
....It was Adrian.
Isolde barely managed to lift her gaze.
She identified both the owner of that voice and the source of the oppressive presence crushing Iratum.
‘What in the world is that...?’
For some reason, what Isolde saw and felt was not Adrian.
It was a Dragon.
A Dragon that appeared to have been forged from blazing flames.
The Dragon of fire crouched its colossal body around Adrian’s arms.
Then its savage eyes flashed—and its enormous, ferocious maw opened wide—
“I’m the mastermind, you bastard.”
Rooooooooooooar—!!
The Dragon was released in a terrifying burst and swallowed Iratum in an instant.
Isolde realized that something was strange. The being visible to her eyes was no longer Adrian.
The presence she felt against her skin was not Adrian’s either.
‘That is....’
A Dragon, the strongest existence reigning above all creation.
* * *
Dragon Rage Explosion [E], which I had cast while Isolde drew Iratum’s attention and bought me time.
By perfectly exploiting Iratum’s carelessness, I managed to land a proper blow.
The power of Dragon Rage Explosion [E] was not to be underestimated.
It was powerful enough to injure even a Monarch.
Iratum’s upper body had been completely obliterated by the direct hit.
Iratum’s body, which had originally stood four meters tall, had been reduced to less than two meters.
‘To think he managed to twist his body aside at that very moment.’
However, because I had waited for the perfect opportunity, he had been unable to evade it completely.
And now that he had taken a direct hit, there was no possibility that Iratum could remain unharmed.
Sure enough, Iratum’s lower body lost its strength after losing its upper half and collapsed.
A message confirming Iratum’s “certain death” appeared before my eyes.
The experience reward was approximately 550,000.
Considering that the Lycanthrope granted approximately 100,000 experience points, it was an enormous amount.
“The First Law of Betrayal: The more you trust someone, the more the blow to the back of your head stings.”
The final diversionary operation was a resounding success.
◆You have defeated Iratum!
◆You have gained 557,506 combat experience points!
◆Your level has increased!
◆Your level has increased!
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