771 – Like a Warrior (17)
The Warrior Party has crossed the creature’s hallway.
Giant Monster Kraken Encounter. Emperor Hunt. Hyeolbiggaek Raid. Catacomb Expedition…
In the massive events surrounding Oknodie inside and outside the Gift Academy, Ishtar’s participation rate was over 50%.
She always took the lead during crucial moments, wielding her sword for Oknodie.
Was it because she was a Foundation Scholarship Student?
That was her initial reason for following Oknodie, after all.
Because she was caught in a bind.
Because weaknesses emerged.
Because she had made a contract.
But now it was different.
When stripped of all prejudice, one can see just how kind-hearted Oknodie truly is.
One can also see how considerate of a child they are.
Aside from her childhood friend, Saintess Yufi, she was the only one who recognized and comforted her.
Such a person opened a dimensional gate before her and returned to the Foundation.
And she came back.
Forgetting her true intentions, losing the image of a timid and afraid child, she appeared as a monster imitating the vague emotions of good and evil from their first meeting.
Even in the form of that monster, Oknodie was recalled.
Her true nature.
The heart she held for the Warrior.
“Th-this…”
At the end of the corridor, a grotesquely deformed body rolled on the floor, covered in bodily fluids.
The largest and most tenacious creature twitched its lips, a gaping hole in its chest.
[Please… kill me.]
“…I’m sorry. For the ‘discarded beings’ of the Foundation. This is all I can offer you. I’m sorry I couldn’t respond faster as the Warrior.”
The comrades, drained from skirmishes big and small, bowed their heads or closed their eyes in prayer.
Ishtar shook the creature’s fluids off her sword and stepped forward to open the door at the end of the corridor.
“Let’s go.”
Beyond the hallway, they were greeted by secretaries resembling butlers.
“Warrior Ishtar. The current Warrior is criticized for being indifferent to the people, lost in public affairs, yet you surprisingly possess such soft emotions like compassion.”
The entrance leading to the Foundation’s flagship central facility.
With all magical traps deactivated due to the attack from the former emperor, the security of the key location was handled by the secretaries.
It was only natural for the Secretary Office Head to hold the position of commander in such an important facility.
“Don’t you think… every single thing you do is utterly trash?”
“Absolutely. Many people are dying at the hands of the Foundation and are being used as hostages.”
“And yet, knowing that, possessing such power, how are you able to work for the Foundation?”
The Secretary Office Head replied with a cold expression.
“While you were preoccupied with gathering comrades at the Academy last year, the average temperature across the continent rose by 5 degrees. Over ten million lives were lost due to poor harvests, droughts, and fires across the continent. What did you do?”
“Ten million…?”
“Nothing. You only dealt with the conveniently visible enemies. The true enemy of humanity isn’t the Foundation. The Dragon Principal, who the Foundation failed to isolate, secure, and eliminate, is the true greatest evil.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Even if that were true, what you’ve done means nothing. Ripping apart and isolating Oknodie’s soul is merely to tame the murderous weapon you’ve created!!”
“…We were both ignorant of many aspects of each other. However, it doesn’t change the fact that we are enemies who must overcome each other.”
As the conversation dragged on, their positions remained parallel.
Tension escalated beyond the clash of beliefs and values.
Everyone knew it.
A confrontation was unavoidable.
It was too late to find a peaceful resolution.
They didn’t truly know each other.
Now they understood that.
If they had just a little more time, perhaps they could have cleared up misunderstandings and found grounds for compromise.
However, the unexpected ambush occurring on the surface brought dramatic changes to the standoff.
Boom!
The flagship of the united fleet at the coastline.
From a ship, battered and revitalized by tidal waves, an enormous output mana cannonball soared toward the flagship.
[Flagship of the Maritime Power Kingdom of Florence]
[Max Output Mana Cannon Fire]
Abandoning the ship’s repair functionality and risking sinking, a single shell was fired.
It exploded simultaneously, destroying the propellers, pin-shaped wings, and equilibrium mana tank sustaining the stabilization of the Foundation’s flagship, throwing everything out of balance.
“!!”
The tilted vessel.
Butlers slid toward the Warrior Party.
Ishtar’s sword extended reflexively, and the first butler to lose balance had his head severed.
The feast of carnage began.
The furious Secretary Office Head’s fist collided with the Warrior’s Holy Sword, unleashing a powerful mana shockwave.
In the aftermath of the clash, a deafening metallic clang followed, with the repeated collisions accelerating.
[Spirit Tool]
[Glove of the High Earth Spirit]
An unholy spirit tool that grants power when buried alive gave the Secretary Office Head overwhelming strength.
The spirit, starved for a long time in the Foundation’s warehouse, accepted the Secretary Office Head’s convenient contract.
The scope of burial was widened at the command of the Foundation to include the dying not-so-lucky scholarship students.
The hungry spirit accepted the expanded interpretation of the contract.
Receiving orders through the Secretary Office Head and accumulating the sacrifices of countless buried scholarship students over a long time.
He awaited the day he could deliver the tower of sacrifices he built to the Director.
But at some point, he realized.
The rate at which I grow stronger is far outpaced by the speed at which even one Director becomes stronger!
Like a Warrior permitted to transcend the limits of humans, his growth knew no bounds.
As people died and humanity’s future was engulfed in darkness, the growth rate of the Secretary Office Head paled in comparison to the Director’s growth, which was two levels higher.
So he waited for allies.
Ignored requests for assistance from many nations.
Saw through the Director’s schemes.
Firmly rejected temptations from the Spirit Realm to make him the new ruler of the Foundation.
He even sent the once formidable revolutionary double spy Wessker away.
He took up the assassination knife named Oknodie.
He buried the ominous movements in the Underworld, blocking news from reaching the Director.
Thus, the former emperor’s surprise attack that lurked underground to gather strength inflicted considerable damage to the Foundation.
He allowed the Dark Trading Company’s owner, Jezel, who protects Oknodie, an opportunity to raid the Foundation branch.
He provided many opportunities, yet this was the outcome.
Giant Monster – A warrior adept at stamina pattern recognition.
If they couldn’t overcome that one, then the Warrior must step up.
She had to prove she could surpass the Director.
Show me that you have the hope to surpass the Director!
The Secretary Office Head’s fist struck his chest, shattering seven dimensional stones simultaneously.
Before the power of the seven dimensions scattered beyond the broken stones, the Secretary Office Head distributed all incoming attacks across the seven dimensions.
There was only one way to overcome this.
Attribute Power. Instead of the conveniently strong mana combination, it’s about unleashing the pure force of raw martial arts that can’t be dispersed!
Ishtar’s blade succeeded in proving this.
Her sword no longer relied solely on the stacking and amplifying attacks of the Holy Mirror.
Ishtar. You know that a sword solely dependent on amplification can collapse in an instant if there’s a trap mixed in? So, why not use amplification solely for psychological warfare to lure traps and prepare counter techniques?
Ishtar sensed it.
The scattered powder of seven dimensional stones surrounding the Secretary Office Head.
Among them was the power of [Amplification].
Amplification of power.
Piling up the Holy Mirror into one point to unleash the maximum amplification in a singular strike—the peak of point-blank amplification.
Ishtar willingly abandoned that convenient path.
Instead, she spread multiple observable Holy Mirrors around the Secretary Office Head.
Turns out the Emperor Hunt was merely luck. Is the Warrior’s potential only at this level?
Disappointment clouded in the Secretary Office Head’s eyes.
As Ishtar’s sword energy entered the Holy Mirrors, the Secretary Office Head arranged the dimensional stone powder to deflect the incoming amplified sword strike into another dimension.
A shallow strategy, attempting to capitalized on the amplification’s strong hits to create rigidity and win through a continuous assault.
A pitch-black dark aura surged around the Secretary Office Head’s entire body.
The peak of Mana Refinement Technique.
Super Armor that ignored all crowd control techniques unfolded.
The moment rigidity is thwarted, I’ll seize the opportunity and twist your wrist that recklessly intruded!
If she lost her Holy Sword, it would be the end for the Warrior.
It would be her demise right there.
Better to snuff out the unbloomed flower here than to recklessly approach the Director and gift him “experience points.”
With that determination, her outstretched hand brushed the void, and the Secretary Office Head witnessed too late as Ishtar’s new form gradually retreated, despite looking ready to charge at that moment.
[Unique Sword Technique of Oknodie – Acceleration Afterimage Sword]
“…!”
Feigning a charge, she played with his stance, pushing back the ground to dodge.
Before the short duration of the activated Super Armor wore off, the Secretary Office Head charged in to receive the upcoming [Strong Attack].
[Gantlet of the High Earth Spirit]
[Spirit Bloom]
[Transformation Magic – Earth Assassin Sword]
The gauntlet capable of parrying even the Holy Sword transformed into an assassin sword, piercing deeply into Ishtar’s heart.
Thwack!
It pierced through.
Ishtar, who had lost her heart, staggered.
A look of shock appeared in the Secretary Office Head’s eyes.
There was no sensation in his fingertips.
This wasn’t the first time.
This, the second action, was still part of the continuous paint.
In such a decisive moment, this being abundant with power like a Warrior used deception consecutively?
As Ishtar’s strong blade struck through the collapsing form of the Secretary Office Head, the Super Armor that should have protected his body had already lost its effect.
Boom!
The body of the Secretary Office Head, shattered along with the uselessly unleashed assassin sword, rolled on the floor.
“Impressive.”
“You, why did you still have strength left…?”
“With caution like that, you wouldn’t simply fall to the Director. I have no regrets entrusting my power to you.”
“…”
“Finish it.”
Ishtar’s foot crushed the Secretary Office Head’s cracked head.
“Your boss is dead. If you don’t give up…”
“You don’t have to worry about that. We are merely the limbs following the Secretary Office Head. We’ve been waiting for this day to come.”
Recovering her exhausted stamina in real-time by applying the Secretary Office Head’s experience points, Ishtar pressed forward, and the secretaries laid down their weapons and surrendered.
Thus, the path leading to the central facility of the Foundation’s Airship, where the Black World Tree is located, was completely opened.
“But there is still one more mountain to overcome ahead.”
“…Does the Foundation still have power left? Could it be… that infamous top-tier secretary known as [Butler of Foundation]?”
“This time it’s the former Academy professors who surrendered and are now under a leash from the Director.”
“?!”
All at once, the Warrior Party, who had been full of confidence as they prepared to attack the Black World Tree, froze and their expressions changed.
“Among the betraying professors, is there perhaps Professor Sadako familiar with Dark Mana?”
“No.”
“What about Professor Plato, who only conducts extremely difficult lectures because he believes students should walk back with their own two legs?”
“There isn’t.”
“How about Professor Demonika, who hit students while pretending to be the most popular lecture that Duke Andersen attended the most?”
“While we received information that she was swept into a dimensional collapse, she is not on the list of betrayers.”
As the names of professors continued, the Warrior Party began to bear a strange thought.
“They’re all Empire Faction professors.”
“Moreover, they were professors appointed with power during the time of the former emperor.”
“Professors who have no real skills only trust their titles to assign horrendous assignments!”
“I want to completely smash them, should we just walk in?”
“We can smack the tank with our shields!”
Seeing the overflowing morale of her comrades, Ishtar confidently took the lead.
“If the professors who only relied on their titles have stepped down, then they must pay for their sins!”
