Mitchell held his sword and sharpened his senses, but he couldn't sense anything nearby.
Then Calian spoke to him.
[Go over beside the tent.]
Following his words, Mitchell went to the tent and found a large footprint.
And on the rock beside it were clear claw marks.
[Judging by the footprint and claw marks, it was a Mad Bear.]
“……So it's a bear-type Magic Beast, right?”
What kind of bear leaves claw marks on a rock…….
Mitchell cautiously struck the rock with his sword wrapped in Heaven-Breaking Annihilation.
CLANG—
Sparks flew, leaving only a slight mark.
It was definitely not soft rock.
Then wouldn't that mean the Mad Bear's claws were as hard as his sword wrapped in Heaven-Breaking Annihilation?
Mitchell shuddered.
[Most Magic Beasts tend to be like that, but Mad Bears are especially ferocious. Their bodies are also so hard that they seem clad in steel.]
“……Is it as strong as the Nightmare Horse?”
[Even if dozens of Mad Bears attacked together, they would not be able to defeat the Nightmare Horse.]
Huh? Put that way, it suddenly sounds manageable.
Mitchell straightened his shoulders as confidence suddenly welled up inside him.
[It should be roughly on par with you as you are now. Its body is extraordinarily tough, so you may even be at a disadvantage.]
“That's all? Perfect. You just told me to hunt different kinds of Magic Beasts anyway.”
[……I can never tell whether you have guts or are utterly gutless.]
“Now that it's visited this place once, it might come back again. If I can't sleep comfortably anyway, I'd rather hunt it.”
[That is true.]
Mitchell ate a quick meal, then got to his feet with his sword.
It was time to hunt the Mad Bear.
[I shall help you track it.]
Thanks to Calian, who had hunted Magic Beasts for many years, Mitchell was easily able to determine which direction to go.
Whenever he encountered a new Magic Beast along the way, he eagerly began hunting it.
After all, hunting various kinds of Magic Beasts was exactly what Mitchell needed right now.
THUD!
He killed a mantis Magic Beast.
SLASH—
Then a toad Magic Beast.
CRASH—!
And a monkey Magic Beast as well.
‘That itching sensation is definitely getting stronger and stronger!’
Just as Calian had said, the more different kinds of Magic Beasts he hunted, the more something seemed to be stimulated within him.
Because of that, Mitchell walked while lost deep in thought.
Meanwhile, Calian watched him and shook his head.
[He is already making progress?]
As though trying to make its progress obvious, Mitchell's dark Aura repeatedly surged and rippled.
Mitchell himself didn't seem to notice because he was too lost in thought while walking.
[I thought it would take another month, but it seems he may cross the wall within a few days…….]
Calian had pointed him toward the right direction for enlightenment, but even he hadn't expected Mitchell to sense something this quickly.
The reason he had told Mitchell to hunt many different kinds of Magic Beasts was because he wanted him to understand the differences between souls.
The key was not merely recognizing the differences in their outward appearances with his eyes, but sensing the fundamental nature of each Magic Beast's soul.
Yet after spending only half a day moving around and killing several different Magic Beasts, Mitchell already seemed to have grasped something.
[Hmm, is that so?]
Then as his master, Calian couldn't simply stand by.
Besides, things had been far too easy for this to truly qualify as hellish training.
Calian quickly surveyed the surroundings.
[Go to the right.]
Even at the sudden instruction, Mitchell changed direction without any particular reaction.
Mitchell was currently half immersed in a state of complete selfless absorption.
Calian had often seen people enter such a state while performing repetitive actions such as swinging a sword, but entering it while constantly moving and fighting was nearly impossible.
That was how exceptional Mitchell's concentration was.
[There is a new Magic Beast over there. The joints between an Iron-Horned Insect's body segments are its weak points.]
“…….”
Mitchell immediately moved.
He shot forward with Forgotten Soul Movement Art and unleashed Heaven-Breaking Tremor.
The ground shook, causing the Iron-Horned Insect to flinch.
Mitchell drew his sword, wrapped it in Heaven-Breaking Annihilation, and charged.
CLANG!
But the Iron-Horned Insect thrust out its enormous horn and blocked his sword.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Every time Mitchell attacked, the creature swung its horn, trading several exchanges with him as though they were dueling with swords.
But Heaven-Breaking Annihilation wasn't the only thing Mitchell possessed.
Using Ghost Soul Steps, he instantly moved to the Iron-Horned Insect's side.
SKREE?
The Iron-Horned Insect panicked when Mitchell suddenly disappeared from sight.
But Mitchell's sword was already closing in on its flank.
SQUELCH—
SKREEE!
He precisely stabbed Heaven-Breaking Annihilation into the joint of its hard shell, and the Iron-Horned Insect died on the spot.
Mitchell immediately absorbed its soul and began examining it.
Even as he did, he continued walking.
Just as before, Calian guided his direction and led him toward another new Magic Beast.
Two hours passed.
Then four.
Before long, night had grown deep, yet Calian didn't tell him to stop.
Mitchell was no different.
With enlightenment drawing steadily closer, he had forgotten both hunger and sleep.
Calian carefully monitored Mitchell's physical condition and made him rest whenever he judged that he had pushed himself too far.
[Let us rest before continuing.]
“…….”
Once the rest was over, they resumed moving.
The next day was the same.
And so was the day after that.
Only then did Calian finally let out an incredulous laugh.
[He is insane. Completely insane.]
There was probably no one more suited to the name Sword Demon than this bastard.
But Calian was also somewhat worried.
Had Calian not properly guided his path, Mitchell would already have collided with some powerful Magic Beast and died.
The same had been true at Rapel.
[I will have to warn him later.]
Later, of course.
Right now, Mitchell's dark Aura was boiling.
It churned as though it might erupt at any moment.
It was reacting to what was happening within Mitchell.
In other words, there wasn't much left before he crossed the wall.
And most importantly…….
[Disciple, the Mad Bear is nearby.]
Mitchell immediately shot forward.
Calian quickly examined the traces.
The Mad Bear's footprints were deeply embedded in the ground.
Simply moving around couldn't have left tracks like these.
[It seems to be chasing something.]
If things went well, Mitchell might be able to reap the fisherman's profit while others fought and finish the hunt with little effort.
But that thought vanished before long.
More and more tracks from different Magic Beasts began appearing as they advanced.
[There is no reason so many different Magic Beasts should gather together and fight…….]
There were not only traces of the Mad Bear, but also Blood Wolves and Blood Marsh Frogs.
Even the cries of Black-Eyed Birds were mixed in among the sounds.
Taken individually, the Mad Bear was the only one among them that would be difficult for the current Mitchell to handle.
Yet an unexpected bloody battle was raging among them.
There was no harm in being cautious.
[Go slowly. Something seems to have happened here. Hey! I told you to slow down!]
But Mitchell didn't reduce his speed.
Even while immersed in selfless absorption, his instincts had recognized that the energies of these new Magic Beasts weren't particularly strong.
When he finally reached the center of the commotion, a bizarre spectacle unfolded before him.
“GRAAAAAH!”
There were more than ten Magic Beasts surrounding the figure, so Mitchell couldn't see his face, but he could tell that some beggar was fighting them while making animal-like noises.
Every Magic Beast was attacking only the beggar.
The beggar fought them with his bare fists.
At times, he even sank his teeth into the napes of the Magic Beasts.
The face that was revealed whenever he did was streaked with layers of grime.
[Heh heh, it seems he has been wandering the Demonic Region for quite a long time. But the way he looks…… he resembles one of my descendants…….]
“Huh? Grant?”
The sight of Grant appearing out of nowhere snapped Mitchell out of his concentration.
Why the hell was he here, and why did he look like that?
“This isn't the time for that.”
Mitchell immediately charged toward where Grant was fighting.
Grant was enduring attacks from the Mad Bear, Blood Wolves, and Blood Marsh Frogs while simultaneously dealing with the Black-Eyed Birds that continuously searched for openings from above.
His entire body was already drenched in blood.
He didn't look as though he could last much longer.
Mitchell stamped the ground with all his strength.
His body shot high into the air.
From there, he unleashed Heaven-Breaking Annihilation toward the sky.
SLASH—
A Black-Eyed Bird diving toward Grant was shredded by Heaven-Breaking Annihilation and fell to the ground.
But more Black-Eyed Birds remained.
To ease Grant's burden, Mitchell fired Heaven-Breaking Annihilation repeatedly, and before long, every Black-Eyed Bird had fallen.
[Aside from their ability to fly, Black-Eyed Birds are nothing remarkable. The ones remaining are powerful Magic Beasts, so concentrate.]
Mitchell nodded and quickly absorbed the souls of the Black-Eyed Birds.
At that moment, a powerful sensation struck him.
The thoughts he had accumulated until now expanded, and he discovered something different within the Black-Eyed Birds' souls.
‘Light. And they smell like dry wind. They seem blue too…….’
Every one of those sensations came from the Black-Eyed Birds' souls.
Until now, while examining the souls of Magic Beasts, he had only been able to tell that there was some kind of difference between them.
But for the first time, the sensation of a soul became clear.
Mitchell realized that this was exactly what Calian had wanted him to understand.
‘Just a little more…….’
Mitchell summoned his Incarnation and used Ghost Soul Steps.
SKRIEEE—
A soul let out an eerie shriek as it gathered into his sword.
A powerful pull arose from both the Incarnation and Heaven-Breaking Annihilation.
The once-blurry soul became clearer, making it much easier to control.
Mitchell felt that he could go even further.
He poured in more energy, and Heaven-Breaking Annihilation became even more compressed and darker.
His Incarnation also grew clearer.
Mitchell raised his sword.
A power stronger than anything he had ever experienced filled his sword, his body, and his Incarnation.
And at that moment, Mitchell brought his sword down.
BANG—!
The blade moved so quickly that the air itself burst.
Heaven-Breaking Annihilation had grown just as much stronger.
The nearby group of Blood Marsh Frogs was sliced apart.
Mitchell immediately held out his palm and absorbed the new souls.
‘Damp and clammy. I can see something like the color of mud too.’
It was even clearer than before.
He wanted to confirm it just one more time.
Then he felt he would understand for certain.
Mitchell charged at a nearby Blood Wolf and sent its head flying.
Blood sprayed as the headless corpse collapsed to the ground.
Mitchell immediately absorbed its soul, examined even the Blood Wolf's soul, and opened his mouth.
‘Ah…….’
Now he could see it perfectly.
Smell it.
Feel it.
It was as though he had acquired a sixth sense.
Mitchell turned his head toward the Mad Bear.
Things he had only been able to sense after absorbing a soul could now be felt merely by looking at the creature.
Mitchell opened and closed his hand.
The muscles throughout his body tingled.
The dark Aura that had been writhing explosively awakened every cell in his body.
He had grown stronger.
He had crossed the wall.
Mitchell shuddered, drew in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
This feeling was a feast to savor after the battle ended.
SKRIEEEEEK!
As his understanding deepened, several of the steps previously required to break a soul down into dark Aura disappeared.
Thanks to that, the moment he absorbed a soul, it immediately became dark Aura and accumulated within his Aura Hole.
His Aura Hole, which had been on the verge of becoming completely empty, filled to the brim.
Mitchell raised his sword and charged toward the Mad Bear.
His strengthened Heaven-Breaking Annihilation struck the creature's body.
CLANG!
Even though he had only struck its hide, it sounded as though two hard objects had collided.
Mitchell swung his sword again.
If once wasn't enough, he could simply do it again and again.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
His sword continued to fall.
The Mad Bear's hide gradually began peeling away.
The creature had deliberately ignored Mitchell because it was focused on Grant, the stronger opponent, but as the pain steadily intensified, it finally turned its head.
“Mitchell! Watch out!”
The Mad Bear finally charged toward Mitchell to deal with the small fry first.
But Grant wasn't about to stand by and watch.
Grant took the attacks of the remaining Blood Wolves and Blood Marsh Frogs with his body while punching the Mad Bear in the face.
[There should be a fluid-filled sac on the back of its neck. That is its weak point.]
Mitchell nodded, kicked hard against the ground, and leapt upward.
THUMP—
Mitchell landed on the Mad Bear's back, compressed Heaven-Breaking Annihilation as much as possible, and quickly searched the back of its neck.
Sure enough, just as Calian had said, there was a sac about the size of an adult man's fist.
Mitchell reversed his grip on his sword and drove it into the sac.
SQUELCH—
His sword pierced through the sac and sank deep into the Mad Bear's body.
GRRROOOAR—
THUD—!
The Mad Bear let out a rough roar and collapsed to the ground.