Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 947: Two Days

Virelass appeared in his hands as he immediately entered a stance, his mood for talking and joking vanishing instantly as though he were no longer the same person. He even narrowed his Omni Perception to a single meter, turned off his Soul Perception and Emotion Perception abilities, as he wanted to rely on nothing but his natural senses and talent… well, together with Accelerated Thought Process.

FatelessPen’s imitated soul-bound book floated before him as he activated the abilities within it once more.

[Fictional Reality: Personification Type: Sword Master]

[Fictional Reality: Summoning Type: Excalibur]

With that, his entire demeanor shifted once again as whatever FatelessPen Asher had known earlier completely vanished. Although the Sword Master ability was merely a watered-down version, it was still far beyond whatever level Asher had reached, which only went to show just how absurd that man called Morthern truly was.

No signal was given. The moment Excalibur appeared, FatelessPen was already on the move.

At a speed that seemed faster than a blur, he appeared before Asher with nothing but a single step, his sword already singing toward Asher’s shoulder. Before Asher could even blink, his shoulder was torn apart, flesh ripping open as blood splattered through the air. His body shot backward from the immense force, his back colliding violently against the trees behind him as a trail of blood followed in his wake.

FatelessPen didn’t pause or slow down simply because he had landed a blow. He immediately pressed forward, seeking to inflict another wound. He appeared behind Asher, his sword striking like a venomous viper as he moved to split Asher’s spinal cord.

But Asher reacted. He twisted midair, Virelass teleporting from his right hand to his left as he blocked without hesitation. The moment the two swords collided, a violent repulsive blast of wind erupted outward, tearing everything within a hundred-kilometer radius backward. Trees snapped from their roots, mountains flattened, and the earth itself groaned beneath the overwhelming pressure.

In a blur, they both vanished, one leaving behind a black trail while the other became a streak of purple. Continuous clashes echoed endlessly as their swords met again and again. Within only a few brief seconds of exchanging blows, Asher’s body was already riddled with injuries, his purple clothes completely soaked in blood.

FatelessPen remained silent as he observed everything without saying a word, allowing Asher to discover his own rhythm and tempo within the battle.

Asher didn’t allow Virelass to heal his injuries. Instead, he embraced the pain, allowing every wound to remain fresh and every ache to sharpen his focus. Every strike from FatelessPen felt impossibly heavy. No matter how he adapted, whether he shifted from blocking to parrying or from parrying to deflecting, FatelessPen always seemed capable of discovering the tiniest flaw or the narrowest opening hidden between each of his movements.

The next moment, Asher’s instincts screamed as FatelessPen’s knee shot toward his temple from the side with blinding speed. Asher couldn’t help but curse inwardly as he wondered if FatelessPen had forgotten the very rule he had set.

He immediately raised Virelass to block, but the moment he did, FatelessPen’s knee abruptly stopped, as Excalibur completed an almost imperceptible movement, and with horrifying ease, Asher’s left arm was severed cleanly from his shoulder.

‘It was a feint… a trap,’ Asher thought to himself as he blurred backward, completely unbothered by the loss of a limb, the blood pouring from his shoulder barely registering in his mind.

Although FatelessPen had forbidden attacks using any part of the body other than the sword, he had never said those body movements couldn’t be used as feints to create openings.

And he, Asher, had fallen for it like a classical fool.

The moment Asher retreated, FatelessPen instantly closed the distance once more, never allowing Asher even the slightest opportunity to breathe or gather his thoughts. The instant he sensed that Asher had begun adapting to the rhythm and tempo of the battle, even for the briefest moment, he immediately altered it. Sometimes he slowed the pace, while at other times he accelerated it without warning, shattering every adjustment Asher had painstakingly managed to make.

Two days passed. The sky darkened as night descended, only to brighten once again when morning arrived.

Throughout those entire two days, Asher pushed both his body and mind to their absolute limits. His injuries had long since clotted over, his complexion had turned noticeably pale, and countless shallow wounds that had naturally begun healing without Virelass’ assistance were repeatedly torn open under FatelessPen’s relentless assault.

He looked nothing like the genius who had dominated the Inter-Empire Tournament. He looked nothing like the Dominator the world knew. He looked nothing like the Eclipser the world admired.

Moments like these reminded Asher that while he might have been powerful, compared to the true powerhouses who stood at the peak of Crymora, he was still little more than an ant.

Asher’s right hand trembled violently as he had been fighting with only that one hand for the past two days. His chest rose and fell heavily, his stamina nearly exhausted as FatelessPen continuously pushed him beyond his limits. His eyelids threatened to close from exhaustion, but every new injury blooming across his body jolted him back to full awareness through sheer pain.

But regardless, there was progress, far too much progress.

Even FatelessPen found it difficult to believe that a Human being could improve at such a terrifying pace. Accelerated Thought Process continuously processed everything Asher saw, experienced, and understood with astonishing speed. Although it couldn’t slow FatelessPen’s movements enough for Asher to physically keep up with him, it could rapidly analyze every exchange, allowing Asher’s understanding to evolve with every passing second.

FatelessPen closed the distance once more, Excalibur becoming nothing but a blur as he effortlessly severed Asher’s remaining hand at the wrist. The hand holding Virelass fell to the ground with a dull thud, leaving Asher with no hands left to wield his sword.

FatelessPen didn’t hesitate for even an instant, he immediately slashed toward Asher’s chest.

But Asher’s body snapped backward, his spine bending until his back became nearly parallel to the ground as he smoothly evaded the attack. Excalibur sliced through the empty air where his chest had been only a fraction of a second earlier, erasing everything within a thousand-kilometer radius in its wake.

FatelessPen remained completely unsurprised, as though he had already predicted that Asher would dodge in exactly that manner. His sword instantly shifted trajectories, changing from a horizontal slash into a downward thrust aimed directly at Asher’s chest.

Before the strike could connect, however, Virelass suddenly teleported into position, intercepting Excalibur with flawless timing.

Asher didn’t dare remain where he was. Since Virelass had successfully bought him a brief moment, he immediately vanished from his location, his exhausted figure reappearing atop a tree as the separate space automatically repaired itself wherever it had been destroyed.

Before him, Virelass engaged FatelessPen in a one-on-one exchange. After all, it wasn’t as though she became useless simply because Asher wasn’t wielding her.

Her silver form blurred through the air with incredible speed as she danced around FatelessPen in a endless assault. Yet it remained futile. After only a handful of exchanges, FatelessPen effortlessly deflected her aside with almost insulting ease, her pointed tip crashing into the earth and tearing open an enormous sinkhole.

With Virelass temporarily dealt with, FatelessPen immediately closed the distance between himself and Asher once more, a diagonal upward slash already singing toward Asher’s abdomen.

Before the attack could land, however, Virelass teleported once again. This time, her hilt appeared directly inside Asher’s mouth. He bit down firmly, then immediately blocked.

FatelessPen arched an eyebrow, genuinely surprised for the first time. A smile slowly spread across his lips as this was the first time he had ever witnessed someone wield a sword with nothing but their mouth.

He blurred backward, reappearing atop the crown of a tree as he spoke, “heal yourself. Restore your stamina through the Lightning method you used against the Arianna girl, then continue,” he instructed flatly.

Asher immediately did as instructed. His injuries rapidly vanished, his severed limbs regenerated, stamina surged back into every corner of his body, and his physical condition returned to its peak.

Only the mental exhaustion remained. The constant strain of keeping up with FatelessPen couldn’t simply be healed away.

The moment Asher finished recovering, FatelessPen closed the distance once more without wasting even a single heartbeat, showing no intention of stopping until Asher achieved the breakthrough he sought. Their swords met once again, and another storm of steel, blood, and constant pressure began without the slightest pause, as though the previous two days had merely been the beginning.