Chapter 68: Hunter of Divinity (2)
A dazzling wave of light burst forth from the center of the chira horde.
Perhaps due to the awakened ability, the reach of the glyph’s light extended far beyond its usual range. However, this didn’t an the light engulfed the entire chira swarm.
The radius barely covered less than a quarter of the entire group.
But that was enough.
“Kyaaaaaaagh!”
“Kkeeegh!”
The chiras, baring their fangs, recoiled in agony and scread in pain.
Exposed to the light, they writhed and convulsed, each one glowing wildly. With the light emanating from the center, the number of chiras caught in its radiance was countless.
Chiras turned frantically to escape the light, shoving past others in a frenzy.
They trampled one another as they stumbled and rolled over in chaos.
The surroundings devolved into pandemonium as disoriented chiras crashed into each other, only to be trampled by the stampede that followed.
The result was a grisly scene of crushed bodies and splattered blood.
The panic effect induced by the glyph created a chain reaction.
Boom―!
The surging wave of chiras carried the hills of corpses along with it.
The chiras tangled with the piles of bodies and rolled across the ground.
It looked like watching thousands of fish dumped out of a net all at once.
I clicked my tongue at the unexpected outco and retracted the glyph.
“This is practically a cheat skill.”
If the ancient glyph also worked on humans, it would be an omnipotent trump card. Unfortunately, its effects were limited to chiras.
‘And it’s not like I can use it endlessly.’
The mana that had brimd within monts ago had been completely drained. Extracting the full power of the glyph ca at the cost of severe mana consumption.
Landing lightly on the ground, I began to recover my mana while surveying my surroundings.
The area was in shambles.
Most of the chiras had been incapacitated by the glyph’s power.
The only active threats were the massive chira group and Arena Huaton.
As expected, powerful entities were far more resistant to the glyph’s effects compared to the others.
After a quick scan, I decisively turned in one direction and dashed forward.
Beyond the collapsed hills, I saw a pulsating black aura shimring ominously.
Using the aura as a marker, I pinpointed her exact location.
‘It’s not like she’s unaffected….’
Arena’s skin was scorched red from the light, but the problem was her recovery speed. Her skin was regenerating almost instantly, as if painted over with new layers.
“Her regeneration is insane.”
This had to be the effect of the "Hundred Hearts" listed in the Divine Manifestation.
[Arena Huaton – Incarnation of Retonicalus the Immortal (70%)]
Her completion rate had already surpassed 70%.
Even now, somber, radiant energy continued to flow into Arena’s body.
The endless expanse of corpses made it clear that physically stopping her incarnation was impossible.
Elimination was the only option left.
As I stepped closer toward her, I flinched in shock. In the blink of an eye, Arena vanished.
“Guh!”
Instinctively, I twisted my body in response to the killing intent. Without my heightened combat senses, I wouldn’t have detected her extraordinary speed.
Whooosh—!
A small fist, tinged crimson, grazed past my side and pierced the air.
The shockwave from the missed punch swept through the surroundings, creating an explosion of air. That kind of force was not sothing a human body could withstand.
If my body took even one direct hit, it’d be ga over.
As she ca at again, I urgently triggered the glyph.
Fortunately, Arena’s body—occupied by one of the hearts—was that of a chira. And the glyph’s ability was a natural nesis to chiras.
As golden light filled the space, Arena hesitated montarily.
But only for a mont. Her blazing skin healed almost instantly as she charged through the light directly toward .
Grinding my teeth, I prepared to evade her next attack, but then Fenry Chaser grabbed by the scruff of my neck and threw backward.
“You crazy bastard, if you’re going to die, do it at my hands.”
At the sa ti, Arena’s fist flashed toward , and Fenry extended her claw-like weapon to intercept it.
Ka-ka-ka-ka-kang—!
A blinding clash ensued.
The two figures darting through the chaos moved like lightning, relentlessly aiming for each other’s throats. Their speed was so overwhelming that it couldn’t be tracked by sight alone—it had to be sensed.
“They say fools are fearless….”
A chill ran down my spine.
Watching Arena fight Fenry up close, the difference in skill hit hard.
Even after my awakening, which made considerably stronger, holding out against Arena seed impossible—let alone winning.
Arena, carrying the heart of the Immortal, was overwhelmingly powerful.
“...Guh!”
With a tallic groan, Fenry stumbled back to my side, her expression twisted in frustration. Blood dripped heavily from her shoulder and thigh, with clear bite marks visible on her arm.
“The more we fight that monster, the worse it gets.”
Although Arena bore a deep wound on her chest, it had already healed.
The difference in regeneration speed was insurmountable.
As Arena moved, the massive chiras began to swarm toward her.
I quickly summoned the glyph again to immobilize the larger chiras.
But Arena steadily advanced, weaving through the light.
Fenry was right—dragging out this battle would only lead to our deaths.
“We can still run. It’s not too late.”
She still had a hint of confidence on her face. Even without using shadow sorcery, she seed confident she could break through the encirclent.
But there’s such a thing as timing—a mont that, if missed, could never be recovered.
“She must be eliminated here.”
“You can’t win. You’ve seen it yourself.”
“It’ll be different. I’ll help.”
“How’s a guy like you going to help?”
“Block the others.”
“What are you even saying?”
Instead of answering, I stretched my hand into the air and poured all my mana into one place. The light streaming from my body began to take the shape of a bow.
The shimring bow resembled a longbow made from compacted white snow.
Gripping the bow suspended in midair, I slowly drew its string.
As the glyph lost its light, massive chiras lunged toward .
Fenry cursed and unleashed her clawed weapon, barely keeping them at bay.
Fortunately, Arena stopped in her tracks.
For so reason, her gaze locked onto .
Rather than eting her eyes, I focused entirely on the halo behind her.
The black aura and the runes drifting above it.
Divine Manifestation.
[Arena Huaton – Incarnation of Retonicalus the Immortal (80%)]
[Chira Body Modified to the Extre]
[Hundred Hearts]
The Divine Manifestation text etched itself into my vision.
The incarnation was now 80% complete.
It had to be stopped—no matter what.
By now, a mystical arrow had ford at my fingertips.
Murmuring softly, I whispered one of the Divine Manifestation attributes.
“...Chira Body Modified to the Extre.”
With that, I released the bowstring lightly.
Twang—!
The arrow disappeared like a streak of light.
As the arrow hurtled toward her, I shouted to Fenry.
“Attack! This is our last chance!”
“Damn it, this better be the last! If this fails, I’m leaving your ass behind!”
Cursing under her breath, Fenry pushed back the chiras and charged forward.
The arrow sliced through the air like a beam of light and struck the halo behind Arena.
[Chira Body Modified to the Extre]
The mont the halo was pierced, one attribute turned gray.
And then the change happened right before my eyes.
Arena, who had been rushing toward us, staggered and collapsed onto the ground with a thud.
She quickly stood back up, but her movents faltered as though she couldn’t maintain her balance.
Fenry didn’t miss the opportunity.
“Die!”
Darting forward like a thunderbolt, Fenry slashed at Arena with her black claws.
Normally, Arena would counter with her fists, but this ti, she crossed her arms defensively to block the claws.
The sudden shift to a defensive posture made Fenry’s eyes gleam sharply.
Arena had grown noticeably weaker.
From then on, the battle beca one-sided.
Her once-immaculate body was covered with horrific wounds in an instant, and she struggled under Fenry’s relentless assault.
Sluggish movents and diminished power.
Arena barely managed to fend off Fenry’s strikes, resorting to defense and evasion just to hold on.
Blood gushed onto the ground with every motion of Fenry ...claws, painting the earth crimson, but Arena stubbornly refused to collapse.
Wounds that should have been fatal closed up almost instantly. Watching her battered form regenerate repeatedly, Fenry let out a dry laugh.
"She’s got regeneration that makes trolls look pathetic."
[Hundred Hearts]
Thanks to the unbelievable regenerative power granted by the "Hundred Hearts," killing her in a short period of ti was virtually impossible.
"…Aim for the heart! Go for the heart!"
"Do you think I don’t know that? Why don’t you tell where it is, genius?"
Fenry had already attempted to stab her presud heart several tis, but there had been no reaction.
The only way seed to be fully subduing her first and then striking at her heart—but the giant chiras made it nearly impossible to completely pin her down.
Each ti Fenry tried to finish the job, the massive chiras threw themselves in the way to shield Arena.
The hulking beasts were shredded to pieces by Fenry’s claws, but there were simply too many of them. Breaking through them was proving extrely difficult.
"These damned nuisances! Can’t you do sothing about them?"
"…It’s no use. I’m out of options," I replied, clenching my teeth and exhaling harsh breaths.
I wanted to assist Fenry, but ever since releasing that arrow, I’d been unable to move as freely. Simply maintaining the arrow’s sealing effect was draining completely.
The power to seal parts of the Divine Manifestation ca with an imnse cost.
The "Arrow of the Divine" demanded an astronomical amount of Sacred Power to sustain.
I hadn’t expected it to be this exhausting.
It was clear that my own capabilities weren’t enough.
‘Damn it… I need to hurry….’
Fenry’s skill was exceptional—more than enough to deal with the giant chiras one by one.
The problem was their overwhelming numbers. She could not possibly take them all out in the limited ti we had.
And ti was not on our side.
[Arena Huaton – Incarnation of Retonicalus the Immortal (90%)]
The completion rate of her Incarnation was reaching critical levels. If we allowed her to complete the process and transform into the fully incarnated being, it would be impossible for the two of us to kill her.
[……95%]
Every second counted, and it was slipping away.
My mind raced furiously.
We had to separate her from her heart imdiately—but we still didn’t know where the heart was located.
What about using the Illusion Scroll to launch a concentrated assault?
No, that wouldn’t work. Even with all our efforts focused on her, her unyielding body and incredible regeneration were preventing us from taking her down.
We needed an attack that could deliver overwhelming damage in a single blow—sothing capable of tearing her body apart entirely.
‘An overwhelming shock. Enough to shred her physical form into pieces.’
Among my abilities, was there anything that powerful?
There was.
And just thinking about it made my expression twist into a grimace.
I didn’t want to use it—not this.
[……97%]
But there was no other way. No matter how much I hated it, this was the only solution left.
"Shit, this is way too cruel, isn’t it?!"
I didn’t know who I was complaining to. Gritting my teeth, I retracted the sealing effect and began sprinting toward Arena.
Instead of using the Hunter’s powers, I activated the ancient glyph.
A half-circle of radiant light expanded outward, engulfing Arena and everything around her. The chiras scread in pain and backed away in droves.
But the mont the seal was lifted, Arena regained her full strength and launched herself at Fenry with frightening ferocity.
"…Damn it! What the hell are you doing?!" Fenry shouted, her voice filled with panic.
"Blow it up! Now!"
"Blow what up—"
"The scroll!"
Fenry hesitated for a split second before pulling a scroll from her pocket. She aid it toward Arena, her eyes narrowing.
The Illusion Scroll.
As Arena’s crimson fist shot toward her like a bullet, Fenry ripped the scroll apart without hesitation.
The air around Arena distorted violently.
The Illusion Scroll erupted in a brilliant flash, filling the space with dozens—no, hundreds—of phantom figures identical to Fenry.
For a mont, Arena hesitated, her eyes darting between the countless illusions.
"Now’s your chance!" I shouted.
Fenry moved like a shadow, weaving through the sea of illusions and closing in on Arena. Her claws glead ominously as she launched a flurry of attacks.
Ka-ka-ka-ka-kang—!
Her claws tore through Arena’s defenses with relentless precision. Phantom Fenrys attacked from every angle, confusing Arena and leaving her vulnerable.
Finally, Fenry found an opening.
"Take this, you freak!"
With a feral roar, she plunged her claws deep into Arena’s chest.
For the first ti, Arena scread—a genuine, visceral cry of pain.
"Khhhhaaaaagh!"
Blood gushed from the wound as Fenry’s claws twisted violently.
But even then, Arena’s regeneration refused to relent.
"Damn it, it’s still not enough!" Fenry snarled.
Her eyes darted toward . "If you’ve got anything left, now’s the ti to use it!"
I nodded grimly.
There was only one thing left to try.
I reached for the last reserve of Sacred Power within and directed it all toward a single point.
Light began to condense around my hand, forming a sphere so blindingly bright it was almost painful to look at.
"Hold her down!" I yelled.
Fenry growled in frustration but obeyed, digging her claws deeper into Arena’s chest and pinning her to the ground.
Arena thrashed violently, but Fenry held on with sheer brute strength.
"This better work, or we’re both dead!"
With no ti to respond, I hurled the sphere of condensed light directly at Arena’s heart.
The world seed to freeze for a mont.
And then—
Boom!
A deafening explosion of light engulfed Arena. Her scream pierced through the chaos, echoing into the night.
When the light faded, Arena’s body lay still, smoke rising from her chest.
But even then, I could see faint movents—her heart still beating.
"Damn it…," I muttered, collapsing to one knee.
Fenry, bloodied and exhausted, looked down at the motionless Arena with a grim expression.
"Is it over?" she asked.
I shook my head weakly. "Not yet. We still need to destroy the heart."
And so, we prepared for the final strike.
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