Chapter 254

Clang! Clang!

Swords screamed as their sharpened edges slashed through the air, carving viciously toward their targets.

One blade glowed black, the other gold.

These opposing lights clashed violently, each blade aiming greedily to rip and tear at its enemy’s flesh.

Their strikes targeted the neck and chest—each a fatal blow if even grazed.

Every single strike carried lethal intent, with dozens of intricate techniques woven into each motion.

In this suffocating arena filled with murderous intent, only someone of the highest martial caliber could survive.

Yet,

Clang! Clang!

Kyle’s expression remained composed.

With his arms crossed, he struck down the sword aiming for his neck with his left palm and deflected the blade aimed at his chest with his right.

Thrown off balance, Hilda and the Dragon Emperor kicked off each other mid-air, propelling themselves backward to create distance.

‘What kind of madman…?’

Their swords were infused with sharp, concentrated mana.

Yet Kyle had just swatted them aside barehanded as though it were nothing.

It was a feat that defied all reason, a display that would have been dismissed as arrogant foolishness if anyone unworthy had attempted it.

But Kyle executed it effortlessly.

And even more unsettling was his utter lack of offensive drive.

He stood tall and still, as if demonstrating the vast gulf in their abilities.

If he wanted to flaunt such arrogance, then they would exploit it.

Black and golden auras engulfed Hilda and the Dragon Emperor once more.

Their ultimate techniques—the Ten Blade Radiance Wings and Dragon Emperor Manifestation—had brought them to the pinnacle of their respective paths.

As their distinct domains merged, the battlefield itself warped under their overwhelming energy.

The one constant was their shared madness.

Darkness deeper than pitch-black spread across the battlefield.

And then—

Boom! Crash! Crash!

Explosions roared, shaking the earth and toppling ancient trees like dominos.

The space they occupied became an enormous crater, a coliseum-like pit born of sheer destruction.

Dust hung heavy in the air, swirling chaotically.

This was no longer a human battle—it was a clash that bordered on the divine.

Hilda and the Dragon Emperor moved as blinding flashes of light, their forms nearly imperceptible.

Yet Kyle, surrounded by their luminous onslaught, moved with simple yet precise movements of his arms and legs, effortlessly deflecting every blow.

Boom!

With one counter, Kyle sent the Dragon Emperor flying across the battlefield.

The deafening impact scattered dirt and debris as the Dragon Emperor coughed up blood, momentarily pausing to gather himself before launching another attack.

Kyle’s voice broke through, his tone detached and biting.

“How pitiful. Is this the best you can do after all these years?”

It was not a remark directed at himself, but rather at Hilda and the Dragon Emperor.

Their faces twisted in rage.

Grinding their teeth, they lunged at him, swords raised to strike.

But Kyle intercepted Hilda’s wrist mid-swing, driving his fist into her ribs with brutal precision.

Crack!

The sickening sound of bones breaking echoed as Hilda was sent flying, her body crashing violently into the ground.

Boom!

His unyielding strength was overwhelming.

Despite their reputations as unparalleled masters, their combined assault left Kyle entirely unscathed.

Hilda and the Dragon Emperor’s expressions hardened, the frustration and desperation evident in their eyes.

The Dragon Emperor, fueled by sheer rage, charged Kyle relentlessly, ignoring his broken arm and shattered ribs.

Hilda, though driven by different motives, shared the same resolve—not to crumble in the face of such overwhelming power.

“KYYYAAAHHH!”

Hilda screamed, unfurling her Ten Blade Radiance Wings.

Dozens of beams of light rained down as she dove in, her strike reminiscent of a meteor shower.

Boom!

The deafening explosion sent a shockwave rippling outward, forcing Kyle to step back slightly.

The attack’s destructive power far exceeded his expectations—no doubt a result of the Outer God Hilda had contracted with amplifying her abilities.

‘Two of my swords have been destroyed.’

Kyle noted the damage calmly.

Though it was unfortunate, there was no reason to hold back now.

He could always replace the broken blades later.

Meanwhile, faint streams of Ascension Light began to ripple faster across his body.

Hilda bared her teeth at the sight.

“Stop mocking us… Draw your sword!”

Hilda’s roar carried pure fury, but Kyle didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

Instead, he smiled.

“Do you truly believe you can handle it?”

His hand moved toward the hilt of his sword.

In one swift motion, he drew and swung.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With a single stroke, towering trees fell like dominos, and the earth split apart, leaving a razor-sharp chasm just before Hilda.

“You shouldn’t make claims you cannot back up. But then again, you’ve never been one to bear responsibility for anything in your life.”

With a soft click, Kyle sheathed his blade and motioned for her to come at him.

“At least show me half the dignity of my wretched father.”

As Hilda locked eyes with Kyle, she felt only one thought clawing at her mind:

How could she ever accept this injustice?

Was she not a Chosen One?

Had she not been granted the power of regression for this very purpose?

She had meticulously woven the threads of cause and effect in this final regression, even tampering with the fortuitous events that had once shaped Kyle’s rise.

And yet, why?

Why was she forced to endure such overwhelming violence?

‘I am sick of this... This vile absurdity...’

If this was truly her fate, how could she ever accept it?

She couldn’t.

To do so would be to admit that she was nothing more than a puppet for the gods’ amusement.

And so, she rose once more.

This world was her creation—the culmination of her life’s work, a nearly perfect masterpiece.

“A world I’ve painstakingly built over a lifetime... To hell with their games! If the gods have reduced me to this, I’ll sever their heads and drink their blood!”

Her voice thundered as she roared,

“You think you, a mere mortal with only a fleeting existence, can take this world from me?”

Her blade glowed, and the Ten Blade Radiance Wings flared brilliantly.

But Kyle cut through her attack with ease, deflecting her desperate follow-ups head-on.

There were no tricks in his movements—only unyielding precision and overwhelming dominance.

With every clash, Hilda’s once-sharp momentum began to wane, bit by bit, strike by strike.

***

Crash!

Hilda's form was hurled backward, slamming into a towering tree.

Dark liquid, an indistinguishable mixture of blood and bile, spilled from her lips.

Watching this, the Dragon Emperor could no longer deny the overwhelming sense of defeat settling over him.

Is this truly possible?

Hilda was a chosen regressor.

The difference in the time they had lived was immeasurable.

Yet here they were, utterly overwhelmed by someone whose existence spanned a fleeting moment compared to their own.

The realization weighed heavily on his chest, suffocating him.

It was as though he stood before an insurmountable wall—impossibly solid and towering.

Victory felt tantalizingly close, just a few steps away.

And yet, those few steps seemed endlessly far.

Thud.

The Dragon Emperor forced himself to take a step forward.

Hilda, in her current state, would not rise again.

"You can afford to give up."

"You have that luxury."

But he could not afford the same.

Not this time.

Not when he was his father.

Not when he had once been the sky under which his son stood.

He had no intention of relinquishing that sky again—not even the faintest sliver of it.

Darkness began to envelop him, thick and all-consuming, obscuring even his own body.

The shadow deepened, swallowing him entirely.

If becoming darkness itself would grant him a chance to reach that monstrous foe, then so be it.

He would give everything.

Dragon Emperor Manifestation.

In this moment, there was no need for reason or distinction between ally and foe.

All of his strength was poured into his lethal intent.

The shadow rose, a terrifying entity devoid of humanity.

Kyle’s expression twisted in disgust as he watched.

“Ka—yle!”

The Dragon Emperor’s voice thundered as he charged, his blade wreathed in darkness.

The ferocious attack bore down on Kyle, intent on splitting him in two.

BOOM!

But the strike, honed to its lethal peak, was stopped effortlessly.

“—!”

Sparks erupted from their clashing blades, but Kyle remained unmoving.

There wasn’t even a flicker of strain on his face—only a look of utter boredom.

“Did you think staking everything would give you the power to defeat me?”

Kyle sneered, pushing the Dragon Emperor back.

“Or perhaps you believe that if your body were intact, the outcome would have been different?”

Grit.

The Dragon Emperor ground his teeth, fury seething within him.

He had vowed never to let his sky be taken again, yet no matter how many techniques he unleashed,

Not a single blow reached Kyle.

Not even a scratch.

The shadow of the Dragon Emperor Manifestation began to dissipate, retreating into his battered body.

With each passing moment, as the darkness faded, his face crumbled into one of utter despair.

“Did you not understand? Even sharing a duel with me requires my permission.”

Finally, Kyle drew his sword, Caliburn.

The immense killing intent emanating from him weighed down on the Dragon Emperor like a mountain.

“K-Keugh!”

An invisible force bound the Dragon Emperor, dragging him to the ground.

No matter how much he struggled to rise, the oppressive pressure pinned him down.

He attempted to rise once more, refusing to betray his vow.

But—

CRASH!

The four half-swords surrounding Kyle pierced through the Dragon Emperor’s limbs, pinning him in place.

Pain twisted his face into a grimace, his expression brimming with humiliation.

He had failed yet again.

He had once more bowed before Kyle.

Rage burned in his bloodshot eyes, and crimson trickled down from his lips.

Kyle, who had been watching with a cold, detached expression, finally spoke.

“Perfection? Do you truly believe this is anything more than an attempt to stop the likes of you—ancestors who discarded their duties like mongrels abandoning scraps?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Though spoken to him, the Dragon Emperor knew these words were not solely meant for him.

Kyle’s words were also a reply to Hilda’s earlier declaration.

But at the same time, they revealed the burdens Kyle had carried all this time.

“A perfect world? When errors as colossal as you exist? How laughable.”

For the first time, a faint trace of anger seeped into Kyle’s usually impassive face.

He was beginning to reveal the emotions he had kept locked away.

But—

“No, such words are wasted on the likes of you. This is enough.”

Kyle reined in his emotions, swinging Caliburn in one fluid motion.

Slice.

Thud.

The Dragon Emperor’s head rolled across the ground.

Kyle, his expression cold and composed once more, stared down at the severed head for a moment before sheathing his sword.