Chapter 118
Fwoosh!
The blue blood of the beasts splattered into the air.
Letting out monstrous screams, the beasts charged wildly at Chris.
In an instant, he was surrounded by their attacks. Chris dodged, deflected, blocked, and countered them with blade-like instinct.
Every second was a brush with death.
In the border between life and death, his will was being endlessly sharpened.
But it’s not enough.
Chris recalled a question.
What exactly is the perfect will he seeks?
No—more fundamentally—
What is will?
Chris mulled over the same question he had repeated countless times over the past two weeks.
A mental image that seemed within reach, yet always slipped away.
He realized it instinctively.
There’s no answer at this rate.
Chris bit his lip and made an unexpected decision.
He threw off the “Cloak of Survival.”
He cast away his last lifeline.
A reckless choice.
No matter how strong Chris was, there was no way he could survive under these conditions.
However—
If I can achieve it before I die, then it’s enough. I can do it.
As soon as he discarded the Cloak of Survival, he felt his will being honed to a level beyond comparison.
His body moved in ways that were previously impossible.
Amid the spray of beast blood, his consciousness began to sink deeper.
At the precarious edge of egolessness, he envisioned a thought.
Maybe finding the answer to what a perfect will is was never possible to begin with.
It’s meaningless.
With that thought—
The will embedded in his Aura Blade began to faintly transform.
Something that even Chris himself wasn’t aware of.
Fwoosh!
The Aura Blade flashed—and the beast’s arm was severed.
It was puzzling.
That beast was of the 5-star rank, with an exterior so tough that even Chris’s aura couldn’t cut through it—yet it was cleanly severed.
The inexplicable didn’t end there.
A perfect will doesn’t exist. To be exact—
The illusion magic Chris had cast descended upon the beasts.
The beasts screamed.
As if the illusion had materialized and was inflicting real pain.
What form will takes, or what kind it is—it doesn’t matter.
Fwoooosh!
Destruction-type dark magic flared up.
Fire, ice, and lightning—
Three elements intermingled and scattered through the surroundings.
But once again, an unusual scene unfolded.
Chris had used a low-powered destructive dark magic, typically used as a two-star or three-star level suppressive spell.
Yet the beasts suffered heavy damage, falling or retreating backward.
As if the spell had been cast as a high-tier magic.
However, Chris didn’t realize this strange phenomenon.
His consciousness was no longer focused on the beasts.
His gaze had sunk deeply—into himself.
What matters is who harbors the will.
There are countless forms of will in the world.
The will to become stronger.
The will to survive.
The will to protect someone precious.
And so on.
It’s impossible—and meaningless—to rank the superiority of those countless wills.
What matters is: who is the bearer of that will?
Not long ago, during our spar, Master Nordian showed that state.
Back then, Nordian distorted the laws with will alone, infused with the dignity of his being.
It was only possible because Nordian’s level of existence had reached an exalted realm.
In other words, the power of will changes depending on who possesses it.
Then my will can be perfect—because the one who holds it is me, the most perfect of all.
An absurd thought.
But it wasn’t arrogant delusion—it was an objective truth that no one could deny.
Because there was no one in the world more exceptional than Chris.
In that case, the will possessed by such a Chris could also become more perfect than any will in existence.
The will I harbor is the manifestation of my very being.
—Because I, the master of this will, am infinitely self-sustaining and vast, the will I possess must also be perfect.
That was the conclusion Chris reached.
And in that moment, an unbelievable phenomenon occurred.
Chris’s perfect self was reflected into his will, and his identity and will became conceptually unified.
Will, which had merely been a manifestation of intention, merged with selfhood—and was elevated into a higher dimension of power.
Had Nordian witnessed this, he would have been horrified.
It was akin to what Nordian had shown—embedding his level of existence into his will.
Of course, what Nordian demonstrated was from a much higher realm of mastery, but the fundamental principle was the same.
Fwaaaaaaaash!!!
A brilliant radiance erupted from Chris’s sword.
The familiar Aura Blade.
But it was different from before.
Unlike the previous versions, which still held a trace of incompleteness—this was a firm, unwavering brilliance.
Mid-tier of 5-star rank—Elder Middle Level.
He had reached the realm where he could raise Aura purely through will alone, without any technique.
Naturally, its power couldn’t be compared to when it was at the lower level.
Slice!
The radiance cut through the beast’s neck.
Normally, there should have been a strong sensation of resistance, but it was as clean as slicing through paper.
And that wasn’t all.
Chris sheathed his holy sword and drew another blade.
Fwoosh!
His will infused the black sword.
Once again—slice!
The beast’s hide was cut as smoothly as paper.
It was an unbelievable sight.
The beast he had just cut down was a 5-star Kelphington.
A beast that couldn’t be physically harmed without Aura-enhanced energy, yet it had been cleaved by the black sword alone.
The meaning of that was clear.
Chris’s will-infused black sword now possessed power comparable to Aura Force.
Even the Alliance’s Aura Blade is far stronger now. It's on a completely different level than the Aura Blades used by other standard 5-star middle-tier Elders.
All thanks to the increased strength of his will.
This power of will will only grow stronger as I grow.
What Chris had achieved was the unification of will and self.
As Chris's rank increased in the future, the power of his will would also grow in accordance.
He had succeeded in establishing the ultimate foundation, just as he intended.
As a demonic cultivator, I’m approaching 4-star high-tier. Though, honestly, that doesn't mean much anymore.
Through enlightenment alone, Chris had already more than fulfilled the conditions to reach the 5-star level.
It was only that, as a demonic cultivator, he hadn’t yet solidified several other fundamental elements—so he remained at 4 stars.
Those were all matters that time would resolve.
…Now, it’s the next one’s turn.
Chris narrowed his eyes.
Was it just a feeling?
The surroundings had grown quiet.
The beasts that had been roaming the area had vanished, and only a chilling silence remained.
Along with a tense, skin-prickling atmosphere.
Clap, clap.
“Wow, impressive. How on earth did you make your will that strong?”
Sherad appeared with a bright expression.
“Especially that Aura. If I faced it head-on, even my Blood Steel Aura might not be enough.”
“……”
“No matter how I think about it, it’s such a waste to kill you now. Ahh, what should I do? I can’t disobey Father’s orders, and yet… to let go of such an interesting little brother so soon.”
Sherad wore a regretful expression, as if truly disappointed.
Chris frowned in disgust.
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Heh heh. Still, I’m glad—it looks like this will be a satisfying meal after all. I guess I’ll have to go all out. I’m still not quite used to Will Manifestation, though.”
Will Manifestation.
A chilling concept.
It meant that Sherad had reached the realm of 6-star power.
So he really is a Master-class. Probably at the lower tier.
Even though Chris had achieved a new level of enlightenment, the gap was still too great to overcome.
But—
It doesn’t matter. The one who dies today is him.
All preparations were already complete.
“Wait. I have something to say. Can you give me a little time before we fight?”
“Hm?”
“Yes, to recover my strength. I’m exhausted, and I don’t think I can fight properly like this. You wouldn’t want to face me while I’m drained, right?”
Sherad nodded.
“Fine. I’ll wait however long you need—recover to a perfect state if you must.”
Chris sat down and closed his eyes.
He looked defenseless, but there was no need to worry about a sneak attack.
Sherad waited with a relaxed face as Chris restored his demonic energy and mana.
He even hummed a low tune, seeming to be in a good mood.
He looked as giddy as a child awaiting a feast.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited this past month for this moment to come. It’s been ages since I met someone as interesting as you.”
“……”
“So recover to the most perfect condition you can and entertain me. Come on, come on.”
Chris frowned inwardly.
Annoying. I can’t focus like this. Anyway...
Chris quietly opened his eyes slightly.
Fortunately, it seems he hasn’t caught on to my trick.
Recovering strength was just an excuse.
Chris was quietly laying a trap.
More precisely, he was preparing to activate the trap he had secretly set up over the past month.
And then—
“It’s done. Let’s begin.”
“Hm? You sure you don’t need more time? I can still wait.”
“This is enough.”
Sherad grinned, showing his teeth.
“Good. Honestly, it’s been hard holding back the urge to kill you. Then shall we get started?”
With that declaration—
Sherad’s body vanished, turning into a mist of blood.
Chris instinctively dodged to the side.
Flash!
The mist struck down on the spot where Chris had been moments ago.
Sherad, returning to his original form, burst out laughing and extended his hand.
“Ha ha! Do your best to keep me entertained for as long as you can!”
“!!”
Drops of blood began to bloom from Sherad’s fingertips.
Each and every drop of blood carried the power of Blood Steel Aura.
A technique of the upper 5-star level, where the form of Aura can be transformed according to one’s will.
But Chris wasn’t easily outmatched.
Flash!
The Aura Blade infused into the broken holy sword struck down the blood droplets, and the Blood Steel Aura contained in them lost its power and vanished.
He didn’t yield even slightly against a Blood Steel Aura unleashed at the upper 5-star level.
That’s how powerful the force of Will Chris had attained truly was.
Sherad grinned.
“As expected, just what I’d hoped for. How long has it been since I’ve had a fight like this? Very nice. Then, how about taking this next one too?”
Sherad smirked as he drew in more power.
His silver hair surged with a blood-colored energy.
The surrounding view shimmered like a heat haze, and Chris felt his insides churn.
Blood Reflux!
It was a blood resonance technique—Blood Curse Art—that disturbed the flow of an opponent’s blood by resonating with their blood energy.
If your reaction was even a little late, you could be incapacitated instantly.
But that doesn’t apply to me.
Chris quickly drew up his demonic energy and calmed the turbulent blood.
There were dozens of points where his blood flow had been reversed, but he didn’t miss a single one.
“Excellent response! Good!”
This time, Sherad raised his hand.
Fwoosh—
The blood-colored energy surged like flames.
“Take this. This time… it might be a little harder.”
The blood-red flames crashed toward Chris like a roaring wave.
That Blood Flame is made of hardened aura. I can’t take it head-on.
As he prepared to dodge, the blood flame suddenly changed form.
It swelled from the front, then whoosh—like a serpent coiling around its prey, it circled around Chris and ignited.
He was now surrounded by a wave of Aura.
Sherad playfully snapped his fingers.