## Chapter 1285 – An Extremely Ominous Being

And so, I recovered my strength.

After about five days of focused rest and meditation, I was able to regain my original condition at a rapid pace.

Now that my strength was fully restored, there was something I needed to do right away. I grabbed Vugal, found a suitable spot, kicked off the ground, and soared into the sky. In that state, I flew far away, to a place where no one would be.

—Screeeeeeeeeech!!

After flying for a long time, I found a suitable place.

There, I properly grabbed Vugal.

“What I’m about to do now…”

Was none other than testing my strength. Real Sword River. I needed to use it again. I had used it once before, so I needed to use it one more time to get a more perfect feel for it. Only then could I further strengthen this technique.

This Kim Kat is a progressive man.

He never just overlooks an opportunity for development. In fact, there was no need to just let it sit after using it once before. Now that the Lich had retreated, it was better to test it quickly.

—Whoosh.

Holding Vugal like that, I…

Lowered the sword and gazed at the sky. If I cut the ground, there might be unfortunate victims. Therefore, I would cut the sky like last time. But that was better. Cutting the sky would allow me to properly see where and how much was being severed.

“Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek…!”

—Squeeze…!

I gathered strength intensely…!
Grasping the handle of Vugal tightly!!!

“Real Sword River!!!”

As I unleashed Real Sword River as it was…

—Patzatzatzatzatzat!!!

A sharp, white force exploded with fierce momentum and settled on the blade! Yes! A realm strengthened beyond Sword Flame! The realm of Sword River!!! Actually, I had been using it continuously with my fists. Incorporating things like the Zealot’s Mystique.

I didn’t know because I didn’t have a proper sword, but I was already someone who had completed this!!

—Whirrrlrrrrlrrrl!!

Anyway, I felt a fierce power. In that state. I constructed the savage Mystique leading to Real Severance. I imbued the constructed sword principle into the sword. Into my hand. Into my heart.

—Gooooooo.

My spirit soared.

The gathered and gathered power…! Was compressed to the extreme! The power within my body vibrated intensely…! And thus, joy settled in my heart. The power of perfect destruction. I could keenly feel it being contained within me.

And so.

“Real Severance.”

I raised the sword and once again severed the sky.

「—Kugugugugugugugugugugu!!!!」

White.

It was simply white.

A ruinous strike extended to that sky, bisecting it. The color of that slash was an exceptionally brilliant white. —Sararararak. Fragments of the sky scattered like starlight.

It was like seeing the Milky Way in broad daylight.

“Good.”

The power that had been compressed to the extreme drained away in an instant.

I felt a sense of languor. I felt like my eyes were closing on their own and I was getting dizzy. It was a minor side effect that could be experienced when power was drained away all at once. I hadn’t felt it at all lately, so it had been a while.

In the first place, I didn’t feel it well during battle.

During battle, extreme concentration was constantly deployed, so the calculation leading to that Real Severance from just now could also be performed in an instant.

—Kugugugugugugu!!

Even now, a roar was erupting from the vertically bisected sky. The white cross-section stretched all the way to that high place.

“Good.”

Confirmation complete.

I had become able to perfectly execute Real Severance, and I had properly confirmed its transcendent destructive power. I landed on the ground with a deep sense of satisfaction.

“How long has it been?”

Just how long had it been since I succeeded again, Real Severance.

Very.

It felt like a very long time ago. It had actually been several years, so it was a long time ago. When was that? Right. It was spring, right after winter had ended. I had entered a suddenly appearing jungle with Copson without fear, and met the Dryads.

After suffering like that, I suddenly entered Alaune’s domain.

I met Alaune there.

“I thought I was going to die.”

Now she was my kind and sociable, cute Kim Ari, but the Alaune back then was a crazy, murderous monster. But he was trying to play with us. He launched a strange mental attack, and in an instant, I fell into the inner world.

—Chwaaaaaak!
—Chwaak!

There.

While cutting down countless beings, for a moment. For a very brief moment, I realized a part of the Mystique leading to the ultimate, and succeeded in grasping it with this hand.

And so, I overcame the crisis by drawing Real Severance.

When you think about it, it was only possible because I was also a fucking genius back then. That’s why I grasped a fragment of the ultimate when I was such a scrub. So from then on, I came to firmly believe in my own potential.

As a result, the current Kim Kat came to be.

Well, thank you, Ari.
I’ll have to touch your mask a lot.

“Still, as expected.”

It was a power that couldn’t even be compared to back then. Of course, it was quite strong back then too, but when you think about it, I could have just done that level of attack a long time ago.

Anyway.

“Dejaaaaaaat!”

I simply stretched. While examining the condition of my body. The remaining power in my body was less than about 10%. It took a total of five days to recover all of this, so I was confirmed to be convalescing again for the next five days.

But well, it’s not really convalescing. I could just rest for a day or two and then fly straight home at a moderate speed.

And then rest at home.

—Paaat!

Using the remaining time, I briefly unfolded swordsmanship. —Swaeeeek! —Chwajajajak! A murderous blade that moved as I wanted. Not at all. There was no obstruction at all. It had been a while since I had used a sword, but still.

It hadn’t deteriorated at all. No. It had become stronger. When I started using the sword again after not being able to use it for a while, the blade was unimpeded, like a fish that had found water.

If I had a sword from the beginning, I wouldn’t have struggled against that bastard Rudenko.

“This is Kim Kat.”

With a feeling of satisfaction, I returned to the city I had first come to.

* * *

“The strange things that the paladins experienced were all the work of heretics. There were various heretical magicians, but I killed them all, so rest assured.”
“Oh, oooooooo!!!”

The paladins cheered.

In fact, the starting point of this incident was none other than the fact that these paladins suddenly experienced disappearances, and were found without remembering anything.

They had entered Rudenko’s barrier, and fainted and lost consciousness because they couldn’t overcome that enormous energy. But for some reason, Rudenko didn’t touch the paladins.

Was it because the power the paladins possessed was too weak compared to the power he possessed? I don’t know. Anyway, it’s over.

“As expected of Paladin-nim! Ah! But… there was a ghoul attack a few days ago.”
“Ghouls, you say? I killed a lot of them too. The heretics were dragging them around.”

I killed all the Death Knights before they reached the village or city. All that was left were ghouls, but it seemed they had appeared near this city as well.

“That’s great!! Thank you so much!”
“Hehehe, it’s nothing.”

First of all, I didn’t tell the paladins about the Lich. First of all, that battle took place in the middle of a mountain range dozens of kilometers away from here. The Karga Kingdom had a lot of big, high mountain ranges. In that situation, no one knew that I had fought yet.

There might be someone who observed a strange situation, but well, let’s just gloss over it for now.

There was no need to tell the paladins right away.

I would have told Kadia first.

Still, I had to give a warning.

“But when I interrogated the heretics, I heard that they had a plan to invade nearby cities and replenish their sacrifices…”
“What!!!”
“It might be dangerous.”

I gave a moderate warning and continued the story. After doing all the necessary processing like that, I returned. But seriously, the paladins just believed everything I said.

* * *

I organized the information while flying through the sky.

The Lich, who might be anywhere.

The power of the Lich that had been revealed so far was considerable.

First of all, the mass-produced Death Knight unit. This was fucking dangerous. Considering that one Death Knight was stronger than a paladin, this was a very dangerous force.

Fortunately, it seemed that they couldn’t exert as much intelligence as ordinary humans, but this was enough to devastate places like cities that were not prepared. The Lich could mass-produce this. Given enough time, he might be able to make hundreds… no. Even thousands.

If time dragged on.

I would get stronger too, but he would also accumulate power. Those monsters using gate magic to move freely? I couldn’t stop them all.

And.

The shard of darkness.

The former hero Rudenko, made with it.

He was fucking strong. But the next guy would be stronger. If I were the Lich, I would definitely learn from this failure and create something even more powerful.

Therefore, the next guy I would face would be stronger than Rudenko.

But well, that didn’t seem to matter much.

“Thinking like the Lich.”

More than that… right now, the Lich was extremely focused on `creating` these undead-like monsters. What should I say, this was that. Raising the technology tree. The Lich was constantly creating undead in order to reach the ideal point he was aiming for.

What exactly was he planning to make?

What was at the ultimate end of that?

When I first saw Rudenko, I immediately thought that that was the ultimate thing the Lich was pursuing. But no. Neither that skeletal colossus, nor that giant gate. The Lich had not yet reached the ultimate. He was just an existence moving towards the ultimate, like me.

What exactly was that ultimate…?

Speculation was possible.

The shard of darkness, in which the power of that god was condensed, was shoved into Rudenko’s body. What that meant was one thing. Artificially creating a vessel that could contain the power of a god.

Yes. That would explain it.

The Lich was now creating undead in order to be able to properly use the shards or power of the god he had acquired. Undead that would become vessels that could contain the power of a god.

—Shard of God.

In fact, the reason I was able to absorb this was simply because I was Kim Kat. This Kim Kat was an absurd man who made the impossible possible. Even if there was a shard of god in front of another person, would they be able to take it?

“Impossible.”

It was only possible because it was me.

And the Lich couldn’t do that because he wasn’t this Kim Kat. That’s why he fell into such a sorcery. If he couldn’t contain the power. Then he could create a vessel that could contain it. It was clear that it originated from that thought.

In addition, that skeletal colossus, which was estimated to be even bigger than that Colossus… that was also the Lich’s secret weapon. Seeing that it had ice attributes, the legend of that Ice Giant I had heard in the past.

It seemed highly likely that he had discovered the person in question.

The Lich’s abilities reached that far. Making the ancient god Ice Giant his undead creation material. That was certainly amazing.

Then, what was his ultimate goal?

“Like me.”

Like this Kim Kat.

“He’s trying to become a god.”

In order to become a god… pursuing the ultimate? There was a high possibility. No. That was it. The actions he had shown so far were exactly that!

“The Lich is trying to become a god.”

Creating undead was just a tech to achieve that goal. He had already succeeded in creating a vessel to contain the power of a god. Then. Wouldn’t the next step naturally be to become a god?

“This is it.”

I became certain.

The Lich.

Like me, Kim Kat, was trying to become a god. He was thinking of becoming a god and achieving his purpose. He was thinking of carrying out the salvation he was talking about.

—Tremor.

My heart beat fast…!
Yes!

Was that what I was going to face!

“Trying to become a god like me!”

That crazy bastard had a lot of guts!

Trying to follow me!

But why was he making holes in the dimension? This was something I had to think about for a moment.

“It’s roughly organized.”

The Lich was also in a state where he had a lot of things to prepare. He was in a state where he couldn’t move rashly. He was also in a state where he had suffered considerable damage from me and was faltering. At times like this, I should find him first.

I couldn’t pinpoint his location, damn it.

Let’s go home first.