The smoke from the massive explosion cleared slowly.
The Gold-Rank Church Executor spun around. His cold blue eyes went completely wide. He stared at Saile Retrac, who was standing perfectly still right behind him in the ruined alley.
"Impossible," the giant man whispered.
Saile did not give the Executor a single second to recover from the shock.
He gripped the heavy, rusted hilt of the Corroded Divine Blade with both hands. Channeling his Level 22 strength and the ten percent partial synchronization, Saile stepped forward.
He twisted his hips sharply and swung the blunt iron sword in a brutal, horizontal slash, aiming directly for the Executor’s exposed side.
The Executor reacted with the terrifying speed of a Level 48 veteran.
He quickly pulled his massive, flaming holy greatsword back, bringing the thick flat of the blade up to block the strike.
Clang!
Bright orange sparks and holy fire flew wildly into the night air.
The heavy impact rattled Saile’s teeth. A powerful shockwave rippled down his arms, making his wrists ache.
The rusted black iron scraped violently against the glowing silver steel.
Crack.
Saile pulled his sword back, his eyes widening.
A nasty, deep chip was missing from the edge of his rusted blade. The heavy iron groaned loudly, threatening to snap cleanly in half.
The mundane rust simply could not handle the extreme heat and pressure of the S-Rank holy magic.
If he hit that greatsword one more time, his only weapon would shatter into useless pieces.
"You are incredibly fast for a rat," the Executor snarled.
His voice boomed loudly, shaking the brick walls.
"But your garbage weapon is already breaking. You cannot kill the Light with a piece of trash!"
The giant man pushed off his back foot.
The ground trembled violently.
He swung his flaming greatsword in a wide, deadly arc.
A wave of blinding, burning holy fire shot out from the blade, rushing straight toward Saile’s chest.
Saile dropped his weight low to the dirt floor.
He planted his hands and whipped his right leg around in a rapid spin sweep. He did not aim for the giant man’s armored legs. Instead, he used the spinning momentum to throw his entire body sideways, completely dodging the incoming wave of fire.
The holy flames roared past his shoulder, scorching the remaining bricks behind him into black ash.
The heat was absolutely suffocating.
Saile’s skin blistered, and he gasped for air.
He bounced back up to his feet, transitioning smoothly into a tight backflip to create more distance.
He landed lightly.
But the Executor was already moving again.
The giant man raised his burning sword high above his head, preparing to bring it down and crush Saile flat.
"Your weapon is dying, boy!"
Naicul sneered loudly inside Saile’s mind.
The ancient God sounded completely disgusted.
"I told you that rusty iron would not survive a real fight. You are holding a piece of my soul, but it is asleep."
"Wake it up!"
"How?"
Saile thought back desperately.
He raised the chipped, heavy blade, preparing to block the deadly strike even though he knew the iron would snap.
"Pump your raw EX-Rank mana directly into the hilt!"
Naicul roared.
His heavy voice shook the inside of Saile’s skull.
"Feed it! Let the System consume the Weapon Fragments you saved! Show this arrogant zealot what my actual arsenal looks like!"
Saile closed his brown eye.
His left eye continued to burn with a piercing, glowing silver light.
He stopped holding back.
He reached deep into his chest and grabbed the freezing, violent dark mana hiding inside his EX-Rank core.
He pulled the dark energy up through his shoulder, pushing it forcefully down his right arm.
The dark mana flooded directly into the rusted hilt of the sword.
At the exact same time, Saile pictured the remaining Weapon Fragments he had stored inside his System inventory.
He demanded the System use them.
He commanded the magic to forge.
A bright golden screen flashed directly in front of his vision, overlapping with the blinding glare of the holy fire.
[EX-Rank Talent: Endless Devourer Activated.]
[Consuming stored Weapon Fragments...]
[Warning: Divine Weapon Awakening.]
The rusted black blade began to vibrate violently in Saile’s hands.
The cold iron grew freezing to the touch.
Thick, pitch-black smoke poured out of the metal, swirling wildly around Saile’s arms.
The Executor swung his flaming greatsword down with all his terrifying might.
"Die, Heretic!"
"Wake up!"
Saile screamed back.
BOOM!
The rust completely covering the ancient blade shattered outward.
It exploded with a deafening sonic boom.
A massive, circular shockwave ripped through the narrow alley.
The violent physical force blew the thick smoke and dust completely away.
The wind shrieked like a wild animal.
Heavy chunks of flying rust slammed into the Executor’s silver armor, scratching the polished metal and forcing the giant man to halt his downward strike.
He raised his heavy gauntlet to protect his face from the flying shrapnel.
Saile stood in the center of the deep crater.
He was no longer holding a heavy, blunt piece of scrap metal.
The sword had transformed.
It was now a long, jagged, pitch-black odachi.
The dark blade was perfectly smooth and sharp, catching no light at all.
It looked like a tear in reality.
Wild arcs of dark-purple lightning danced aggressively up and down the black steel.
The air smelled heavily of burnt ozone and raw, untamed power.
The weapon felt incredibly light in his hands.
It felt exactly like a natural extension of his own body.
A new, brilliant golden System screen chimed loudly in his vision.
[Divine Weapon Unlocked: Calamity Fang (Fragment 1/5).]
[Stats: +200% Attack Power.]
[Passive Ability: Passively Devours Holy Mana.]
"Yes," Naicul purred inside Saile’s mind.
The ancient God sounded deeply, truly satisfied.
"That is the Calamity Fang. Now, cut him down."
The Gold-Rank Executor lowered his arm.
He stared at the jagged, pitch-black odachi.
His cold blue eyes widened with pure, unadulterated shock.
He could feel the terrifying, ancient power radiating off the dark lightning.
His own S-Rank holy aura actually seemed to shrink back from the weapon.
"What kind of dark magic is that?"
The Executor stuttered loudly.
His deep voice cracked for the first time.
"That blade..."
His eyes remained locked on the weapon.
"It is eating the Light!"
"It is exactly what you asked for," Saile said softly.
His voice was completely flat and cold.
Saile did not wait for the giant man to recover his courage.
He pushed off his back foot.
The ground cracked instantly beneath his foot.
He dashed forward with blinding Level 22 speed, crossing the destroyed alley in a tiny fraction of a second.
The Executor panicked.
He gripped his massive greatsword with both hands and swung it horizontally, trying to keep Saile away.
The thick holy flames roared loudly, burning everything in their path.
Saile did not dodge.
He did not use Phantom Step.
He simply raised the Calamity Fang and swung the pitch-black odachi directly into the incoming wall of fire.
Smack!
The dark blade collided cleanly with the holy flames.
But there was no explosion.
There was no heat.
The Calamity Fang instantly absorbed the burning S-Rank magic.
The dark-purple lightning swirling around the odachi grabbed the holy fire and violently pulled it into the black steel.
The flames vanished completely, leaving the Executor holding a dull, normal steel sword.
"My fire!"
The Executor screamed in absolute terror.
"It is gone," Saile stated.
Saile twisted his hips sharply.
He dropped his weight low, spinning his body in a tight circle.
He whipped his heavy boot around in a flawless spin sweep, slamming his heel brutally into the back of the Executor’s silver-plated knees.
The giant man yelled in sudden pain.
His sturdy fighting stance broke completely.
His heavy legs were swept right out from under him.
The Executor fell backward, his massive silver armor crashing loudly against the dirt floor.
Saile popped right back up to his feet.
He brought the Calamity Fang around in a fast, fluid arc.
He did not aim to kill.
He struck the giant man directly in the center of his glowing gold breastplate with the flat side of the black blade.
BOOM!
The physical force of the strike, multiplied by the sword’s massive new stats, was completely overwhelming.
The heavy gold armor caved inward with a loud crunch.
A visible shockwave exploded from the hit, lifting the huge Executor off the ground and throwing him violently backward.
The giant man flew through the air, crashing brutally through a stack of rotting wooden barrels.
He hit the stone street outside the alley, rolling heavily across the dirt.
The Gold-Rank Executor stopped moving.
He groaned weakly, grabbing his crushed chest plate.
He was completely out of breath, staring at Saile with wide, terrified eyes.
Saile stood at the entrance of the ruined alley.
He held the pitch-black odachi loosely by his side.
Dark lightning continued to arc softly off the sharp edge, drinking in the faint moonlight.
He had just overpowered a Level 48 veteran using a fragment of a God’s true power.
He was ready to finish this hunt.