Chapter 153 Intangible Slash
――He swung his sword.
The moment he swung it, the sword in his hand disappeared.
It didn't shatter or break. Instead, it transformed into a blade-shaped slash that flew towards the enemy.
The distance between the ends of the vast Temple interior was not short, even for an explorer. The slash flew too far, making it impossible to land a direct hit.
But Logan's slash flew as if distance meant nothing.
With a speed that could slash the enemy in an instant, without losing any power.
And then――
――[Dragon-Slaying Flash: Invisible Ruin]
It was a technique that used a blade bound to an aura that even Dragon Scale couldn't withstand, cutting through anything without question, and simultaneously releasing a massive amount of aura that would envelop the target, causing it to deteriorate and crumble in an instant, turning it into dust.
The fusion of sword and aura was unstable, and its time until natural collapse was short.
But while it existed, it was strong enough to destroy anything, with a sharp blade.
Therefore, defense was impossible.
Moreover, part of the aura released from the back of the blade accelerated the blade itself. Even for humans――no, even for dragons and all living beings, it was impossible to catch up to its speed.
Therefore, evasion was impossible.
That's why it was recognized as one of the strongest techniques among the Sword God's skills.
The aura's exhaust that accelerated the blade would kill the user. That's why it was impossible to use it without a body protection like [God's Body], and it would cost one's life in exchange.
A limited, ultimate technique that only a select few could master, recognized by the gods.
――Aaron's [Slash] was...
He swung his arm, and the sword vanished. It didn't look like a slash had been unleashed. Faster than Logan's, an invisible slash――no, that's not it.
It was an intangible slash.
The target to be cut was clear, but the objects to be cut were infinite. That's why the slash lost its form, retaining only its minimum role, and flew silently.
However――the phenomenon of cutting existed.
And, filling the brief moment of emptiness, the two slashes collided.
"――――."
LLogan couldn't see it. He didn't even sense it.
Logan's unleashed slash disappeared just before reaching Aaron――――without making a sound or emitting any light, leaving no trace of resistance, silently. It was as if that was the natural course of events.
Immediately after.
"――――!?"
Without even realizing that his own blade had vanished, he was assaulted by a strange sensation.
Whoosh.
It felt like something was passing through his body at an incredible speed.
He couldn't say where or how. It wasn't just one place. He couldn't even describe it. It was as if something was racing through the cells of his entire body.
"......"
He felt the heat.
His skin was burning with an intense, scorching heat.
"......is this, possible?"
He looked down at his body.
The [God's Armor] that was supposed to be sealed was undone, and he felt the scorching heat filling the [Temple] with his bare skin.
He fell to his knees.
And then, he collapsed forward.
There were no wounds. He hadn't been cut anywhere. Yet...
His aura can't be trained. His skills won't activate. He's even lost the physical correction from his Job. To begin with, he can't sense any magical energy within himself.
――Magical energy depletion.
The effects of the "Activator" should have lasted for several more hours, but his eyes are slowly returning to their original color.
The nanomachines in his body, which were materialized by magical energy, are disappearing.
Logan finally realized what had happened to him. What had been cut off from him.
"My... magical energy was cut off...that's what happened."
Still lying down, he turned his face to the side and looked up with only his eyes.
Aaron, who was still maintaining his [Chaos Strength], was standing over Logan, looking down at him.
"Even if it's transformed...aura is just a form of magical energy...so the slash disappeared too, I suppose."
"......"
"If there's no magical energy, Jobs' powers can't be used...it can't be activated."
Logan muttered to himself, guessing what was happening to him right now. He was almost certain that his assumption wasn't far off.
But even after understanding the result, it was still an unbelievable phenomenon.
It wasn't just a matter of cutting off some physical object, but rather cutting off and erasing the very existence of "Logan's magical energy". The phenomenon was tracing back to the root of the magical energy that was the source of the aura's variation.
Logan couldn't even imagine how this was possible.
――He thought he had reached it.
The heights that no one living in this world had ever achieved.
That's not a mistake. In that moment, Logan Abrams undoubtedly became a being who had reached the pinnacle of the Swordsman class since ancient times.
But Aaron went beyond that.
And for Logan, there was no vision of catching up to that Aaron again. He couldn't even imagine how to achieve it, so he didn't know what to do.
The concept of cutting magical energy was already incomprehensible.
An invisible slash? What could he cut with no blade?
"Hahahahahaha!!"
He laughed.
With a refreshing, carefree face, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
It wasn't a laugh of defeat. There was satisfaction floating in his eyes.
As a Swordsman, it was certainly frustrating to be shown a realm he couldn't reach. However, the fact that he could feel frustrated at all was proof of his own talent.
Anyone who saw that would normally feel frustrated.
That must be... an ultimate sword that surpasses even the gods.
Logan didn't know that the technique he used was the highest-level technique of the Sword God, but he thought so.
So, with a genuine feeling, he declared:
"I lost... but I'm satisfied. I gave it my all and enjoyed it... there's nothing more I could want... Ah, Aaron..."
From his prone position, he somehow managed to flip over onto his back.
With an open and defenseless posture, as if offering his heart, he continued:
"Kill me."
Now, Logan was one of those who had started a stampede.
In appearance, he would be considered the ringleader.
Aaron would probably despise him.
So, go ahead and kill me if you want――with that kind of mindset, the words Aaron let out were:
"Tsk! What's with you, acting all high and mighty, you fool!!"
This greatly irritated Aaron's nerves.
Of course, he wouldn't show any mercy to the ones who started the Stampede. He had already decided to take care of Logan thoroughly.
However, Aaron wasn't the type to simply kill someone with a satisfied look on his face after being told to do so.
If he was going to kill, he wanted to make the person regret their actions greatly, cloud their face with despair, and then kill them. If possible, he wanted them to die in despair, which would be even better. It was really frustrating that he couldn't do that, and instead had to let his enemies die with a satisfied look on their faces.
That was Aaron Gale's genuine, unfeigned thought towards the masterminds behind the Stampede.
It wasn't that he couldn't kill them without making them regret their actions, but rather...
When he thought about why he couldn't kill him, he noticed the unnaturalness of Logan's actions. What was he trying to do, anyway?
Considering Logan's actions as one of the masterminds behind the Stampede, there were many questionable points.
What was this place? Why did Logan go so far as to ask Chloe for help and bring them to this place? If it was just to defeat him, it would have been more advantageous for Logan to fight on the ground.
As Logan said, Aaron couldn't choose the option of abandoning the people who were fleeing from the Stampede.
If he fought in a way that would involve many innocent people, he could have killed himself, too.
He had confidence that he could handle it even if it was a chaotic battle, but if Logan had fought with all his might, he wouldn't have had that confidence. Protecting someone or something while fighting was that much of a disadvantage.
It's not like Logan didn't think about it.
So, Aaron concluded that it was worth keeping Logan and Ail alive as a source of information, to find out what they were trying to do and what they knew.
At the very least, it was okay to kill them after hearing everything they had to say.
"You're going to tell me everything you know and did, got it?"
"...Sorry, but I can't talk about it. It's not that I don't want to talk, it's just that I have a contract that prevents me from doing so."
Logan laughed weakly this time.
A type of magical contract.
It seemed that Logan was bound by an extremely powerful contract, one that Aaron had never heard of before. And from the way Logan spoke, Aaron somehow grasped that Logan didn't entirely share the same thoughts as the "Stampede mastermind".
Aaron, who had a firm understanding of the situation, said.
"Then, die and talk already!!"
Logan's expression turned blank at those words.
Then, he burst out laughing,
"Hahaha! ...I see. I'll try it. If I can talk in exchange for my life, I'll give it a shot."
Aaron nodded curtly, his nostrils flaring.
Logan forced a smile, his eyes clouding over. No matter what happened, no matter what pain he might face, he would use his willpower to move his lips and speak, even if his mouth wouldn't move on its own...
"Chronosphere is...—eh?"
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"...Chronosphere. The organization's name is...Chronosphere."
For some reason, Logan's eyes widened in shock as he spoke, and Aaron looked down at him with a mixture of disgust and curiosity.
Chronosphere. The word didn't have its usual coercive power, neither in the speaker's mouth nor throat. It moved smoothly, as if there was no problem at all.
――[Testament (Contract before God)]
The power's influence was completely gone.
"What...!? Why can I talk...!?"
Logan was in confusion. Why was this so?
On the other hand, Aaron made a guess.
"Anyway...I don't know what, but it's just lucky, I guess."
Let's try to correct it. If he call this a guess, it's a defeat for his intelligence. Aaron couldn't think of anything, so he decided to just accept it as good luck.
"No way, that's stupid..."
Logan was confused, and so was Aaron, at this point. They didn't know.
The reason was that it wasn't something Aaron had planned, but rather a complete coincidence, something that not even God could have predicted.
The [Slash] Aaron unleashed...
had cut off the [Testament (Contract before God)] that was binding Logan Abrams, erasing it.
"What...?!"
"Shut up!! Speak quickly!!"
Old Man Logan was kicked repeatedly by Aaron, and stood there in a daze for a moment――.
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