It was a chaotic battle.

The spider attacked recklessly, not caring if its body was torn apart, and I counterattacked with everything I had.

I couldn't afford an endurance match. My body was too damaged to maintain the hit-and-run strategy from before. But the spider was slower now, and I was faster.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

My heart pounded relentlessly.

Hot blood circulated fiercely through my veins.

As my perception of time slowed, my body accelerated.

I carved into the spider's flesh and reversed my grip on the sword.

I smashed its dented exoskeleton and withdrew. After retreating two steps, I bent my waist to dodge an attack.

A refreshing breeze followed the leg that narrowly passed above my face.

'It's not using its venom again?'

That made sense. The venom had clear warning signs before being spat.

It was only a threatening weapon when I wasn't paying attention. There was no reason to get hit if I was careful. In fact, if it tried that again, I was confident I could counter properly.

My eyes were already capturing every minute movement of the spider.

The spider's claw aimed for my shoulder.

It wasn't difficult to dodge. Even if it hit, it wouldn't be a serious wound.

No. On second thought, this was actually an opportunity.

'Don't fear pain. Think of wounds as medals.'

Did you have that much time?

Were you leisurely enough to cleanly exchange attacks and only strike at obvious openings?

Even now, somewhere, blades are pointed at you.

Remember the tracking party. Do you think they won't follow after all this noise?

Do you think the trackers will just sit idle after seeing these massive traces?

If there's no opportunity to attack, create one. Throw your body if you must.

What do you have besides a sturdy body right now?

You just need to be able to fight. When one battle ends, it's enough if you can fight the next one.

'I'll take the hit.'

The flesh of my left shoulder was torn away.

I cut off one of its legs. The first achievement after a long exchange of blows.

We fought as if writhing in agony.

In the slowed time, I swung my sword relentlessly. Blood sprayed. I couldn't tell whose blood it was. Blue and red blood mixed together indistinguishably.

The blue seemed much more abundant. The absence of the leg I'd cut off earlier was significant.

Its defense was noticeably sloppy. That was the price it paid for not giving up on attacking. I ruthlessly targeted the spider's damaged side.

Then my leg momentarily disobeyed me. It was where I'd exposed myself earlier while breaking the exoskeleton near its head.

The pain was bearable, but the torn muscle caused trouble.

It was a fleeting moment. Less than a second. That brief misstep proved poisonous.

A massive leg struck one side of my body.

I didn't fall pathetically like before. I managed to stand firm, but the impact was substantial.

The problem came next. My posture was completely ruined, leaving me unable to prepare for what followed.

"Razen!"

A familiar voice reached me.

Something cut through the air. Then the "next" attack that should have reached me disappeared.

Crack! A familiar hand axe was embedded in one of the spider's eyes.

Sirien had created an opening.

Now? There was no time for lengthy consideration. Action preceded judgment.

I moved directly in front of the suffering spider's head. Until now, this would have been suicide, but this time was different.

Crunch! My sword pierced through the thin exoskeleton and precisely penetrated beneath its jaw.

Sticky, hot blood flowed down my arm.

'Please. Just die already.'

I thrust my sword in as far as it would go.

My blade seemed to endlessly penetrate through the thick flesh.

Just a little more. It felt like just a little deeper would completely cut off its breath.

But things in this world never go as planned.

My sword suddenly hit something and stopped.

The sensation transmitted to my hand was devastating. It felt too solid to pierce through.

While I was blocked, the spider's fangs touched my shoulder as if it had been waiting for this moment.

Something warm yet cold entered my body.

I wasn't foolish enough not to recognize it as deadly poison.

The venom spread quickly.

My body instantly grew heavy, and my consciousness drifted away.

I barely managed to stay standing as my body staggered.

'Have I failed?'

No. That can't be.

I had to end this before I became unable to move.

I pushed my sword harder toward the blocked head. Naturally, it didn't budge.

Still, I had to succeed. If once wasn't enough, then once more. I had to cut off this spider's breath even if it meant squeezing out every last bit of my strength.

I absolutely couldn't let it live.

The moment I thought that—

A "miracle" occurred.

* * *

[Excerpt from "Saint, Reverse Harems Are Impure!" Volume 7, Page 127]

Count Vertus's sword energy was fundamentally black.

A deep black sword energy visible even in the dead of night. Blood-colored lightning roared around it.

I had heard that a Sword Master's sword energy embodied everything about that person.

Among these elements, the belief held at the moment of reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship had the strongest influence.

If so, Elise couldn't help but be shocked every time she saw that cruel swordsman.

How could Razen Vertus's sword energy be so ominous and turbulent?

It was a sword that seemed to contain only killing intent.

All it contained was malice to destroy and break others.

Belief? What belief could possibly be found in there?

Even if there was belief contained within, Elise felt she neither wanted to know it nor could acknowledge it.

Pure evil.

Somehow those words had become strongly imprinted in Elise's mind.

She seemed to intuit it at that moment. For the world everyone hoped for, that person must be eliminated.

For the first time, Elise found herself thinking about someone who deserved to die.

* * *

Kill it!

Both reason and instinct shouted simultaneously.

After the miracle found me, my mind was bleached white.

Nothing came to mind except the thought that I had to kill this spider.

I must kill the enemy.

I must kill it even if I have to burn my body to do so.

My body felt light. It was as if the poisoning from earlier had been a lie.

The venom was still rampaging inside me, but it had no effect.

Never in my life had my sword felt so much like an extension of my body.

My sword was already moving toward where I wanted to cut, and my eyes seemed to foresee the optimal sword path two or three moves ahead.

"Huaaaah!"

A spark flashed before my eyes.

It was a faint electric discharge. Compared to descriptions of how it would consume the surroundings just by being drawn, it was incredibly weak and insignificant.

The sword energy was equally pathetic. The limit of my ability was just a very thin layer covering the blade.

But for now, this was enough.

A dark mist overlaid the steel blade. Night sky opened between the morning sunlight along the path my sword moved.

The exoskeleton that had been so hard and tough was cut like paper.

I slashed wildly at the spider's body.

I cut off its legs. I sliced its eyes. I deeply stabbed its extended head and then carved it up, cutting off its jaw as it tried to spit venom.

The spider rushed toward death in an instant. That meant it was still alive.

It's not dead until it's dead.

My boiling blood shouted.

- Kill it!

I'll move your arm, so make sure you kill the enemy before you.

Crush anything that interferes, cut down anything that bothers you.

Power for that purpose alone filled my body.

Suddenly I became dissatisfied with the sword I was swinging.

I wished I had a heavier, larger sword. How nice it would be to leave a bigger wound with a single slash.

Yes. If one isn't enough, use another.

I noticed the axe Sirien had thrown earlier. I pulled it out and brought it down.

Crack! Crack! The contents of the spider's head scattered wildly.

Finally, the spider collapsed. My eyes didn't miss its still twitching legs.

'It's still alive.'

Then I'll finish it off.

The spider's head flew off. The fallen head pieces were in the way of killing it. I kicked them aside.

Burning breath erupted from my mouth.

I understood. Why Razen's sword had to possess such extreme aggression.

This power brought terrible strain to the body. Every time mana flowed through my bloodstream, it felt like it left tiny wounds inside.

This must be the price for becoming a half-baked Sword Master. In exchange for gaining more destructive power than ordinary Sword Masters, this was the price I had to pay.

There was no need to reveal this fact.

Razen was strong enough and talented enough.

No one doubted that he had become a Sword Master through the orthodox path.

The Razen in the novel also lacked time. To survive, he needed power, even if it was half-baked.

How many more times did I swing the sword and axe?

I stopped the weapons I had been swinging in a trance.

"Haa. Haa..."

When I came to my senses, a miserable corpse remained.

That was fortunate. I was reaching my limit too. As soon as I withdrew the sword energy, the deadly poison tightened around my windpipe.

The last thing I saw as I collapsed was Sirien rushing urgently toward me.