The realization was both chilling and numbing.
A human dominated by a dark seed, standing before him as a possible future for Helmut.
It was like staring into a terrifying mirror of the future.
Veins stood out on his pale hands. This was an opponent that was oppressive both physically and mentally.
The creature raised the corner of its mouth in a mocking smile at Helmut.
The malicious grin on its face would have terrified most people.
It was staring at the ashen Vis blooming from Helmut’s sword.
As if finally realizing what kind of being Helmut was.
The creature must have felt the Seed of Darkness within Helmut too.
But fortunately, the Seed of Darkness didn’t seem to recognize each other as comrades.
Demonic energy was a cruel and savage force. In the Forest of Roots, beasts constantly fought and devoured each other.
Even if peace was established by hierarchy, demonic beasts always sought to tear each other apart.
The Seed of Darkness was the essence of the instinct to kill. Even similar beings would annihilate each other.
Helmut’s Seed of Darkness stopped wriggling. As if it had never been uncooperative. This was a relief for Helmut.
‘Good. I don’t have to suppress the dark seed while fighting.’
The Seed of Darkness knew. If Helmut lost his life, his Seed of Darkness would also cease to exist.
A parasite couldn’t survive without its host.
After a moment, the attack resumed. The creature lightly tapped the ground and flew like an arrow.
It clearly showed Helmut what a human with a bloomed dark seed was like.
Why the temple regarded them as enemies and tried to kill them as babies. How ferocious and dangerous they were!
A powerful body, extensive combat experience, immense regenerative power, and the overwhelming demonic energy emanating from its entire being.
It was an opponent Helmut couldn’t claim superiority over in any aspect.
Had Helmut’s swordsmanship not been superior to the creature’s, even engaging it would have been impossible.
‘I’m grateful for the harsh training from Darien.’
Every nerve in his body was on edge. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down for a moment.
A single lapse could cost Helmut his life.
Meanwhile, the creature, with its monstrous body, had an absolute advantage.
Helmut’s strikes would hardly affect it.
The creature’s demonic energy protected its body from Helmut’s attacks, and even if it was wounded, it would quickly heal.
‘It needs to be a fatal blow.’
Aiming for the neck, head, or heart. Only targeting those areas could bring the creature down.
Since it was originally human, its vital points should be the same.
But the issue was piercing through the thick demonic energy enveloping its entire body and overcoming its rapid movements to strike it with his sword.
There wasn’t even a glimpse of an opening or gap. The creature appeared flawless.
And there was one more problem. Helmut’s sword was one he had bought in Ratona.
Helmut had never used Darien’s swordsmanship with that sword.
Of course. The sword was purchased for disguise, not for wielding the Sword Saint’s techniques.
The creature saw through this. Helmut’s flaw.
Bang, crack, shatter!
The sword in Helmut’s hand broke apart.
Fragments imbued with Vis scattered in all directions. Though he dodged them, one piece grazed Helmut’s cheek, drawing a line of blood.
The impact from the creature’s strike had been too much for the sword.
It was a sword purchased in Ratona. It was a decent sword, but not a legendary one.
Vis should have been evenly distributed to absorb the shock through the entire sword, but Helmut was too focused on using swordsmanship to pay attention to that.
‘No, it’s useless.’
Helmut soon thought differently. It would have shattered eventually anyway.
The sword couldn’t withstand Helmut’s Vis.
“Grrrr.”
The creature looked down at Helmut leisurely from a distance.
As if to say, ‘What can you fight with now that you don’t even have a sword?’
In the moment the sword shattered, the creature could have delivered a fatal blow to Helmut. He had been completely defenseless, losing his weapon.
But the creature didn’t. And now, it watched Helmut’s reaction, like a cat playing with a struggling mouse.
It was a humiliating moment, but Helmut instead found solace and steadied his mind.
‘It’s being arrogant.’
He had faced stronger foes and survived countless near-death experiences in the Forest of Roots.
There would come a time to make the creature pay for its arrogance and complacency. As long as he stayed alive.
Nothing was more important than that.
Although he didn’t have the leisure to change swords, Helmut didn’t miss the chance the creature gave him and drew a sword from under his cloak.
This time it was Darien’s sword. It fit his hand incomparably better than the previous one, as if melting into his grip.
He felt he could now take on the creature. With Darien’s sword, combined with his Vis, he could deliver a fatal blow.
He was also more accustomed to wielding Darien’s swordsmanship with this sword, so his chances had improved.
‘But I might not be able to do it alone.’
It wasn’t the time to let pride get in the way. He pondered whether he should join forces with the other humans, even if they wouldn’t be much help.
At the very least, they could distract this demonic beast.
This was a kind of dilemma Helmut had never faced since entering the human world.
The opponent was strong. So strong that he could imagine himself collapsing after exhausting all his Vis if he continued to fight like this. That image was surprisingly realistic.
Even if he could defeat the creature, there was no guarantee that Helmut himself would remain unscathed.
Otaku_Tensei
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