Chapter 600
As he said that, Su-ho smiled.
A smile.
Pyo stared blankly at Su-ho for a while because of that smile, then soon let out a faint laugh.
“I think I understand why Roland acknowledged you, Pope.”
“Does that mean you acknowledge me?”
“With my head and heart, I do. Whether it is armor or a sword, as long as there is power that enemies fear, the method itself should not matter. However.”
Pyo lifted the blood sword Su-ho had offered and examined the blade as he spoke.
“You said the meaning of Monks seems to have changed greatly, but I would like to say that rather than changing, an obligation was added. Of course, it is hard to deny the reality that the tail seems to be wagging the dog.”
“I agree with that duty to protect the Pantheon as well.”
“Yes. That is why I said I acknowledge it with my head and heart. But should a sword acknowledged by armor not naturally be a sharper sword than the armor itself?”
Pyo returned the blood sword to Su-ho and said,
“So please show me, just as you showed Roland. Show me how sharp the sword of the Pope, who possesses a color never once seen in the history of the Pantheon, truly is, and how much all enemies will fear it.”
“Will you be all right? My sword can cut through any shield or armor.”
“Hahahaha!”
His thick white brows lifted, and the eyes hidden beneath them were revealed, shining with a magnificent light.
Pyo took his stance.
“I will look forward to it. But allow me to say one more thing. In the history of the Pantheon, nothing has ever properly cut me.”
“You may look forward to it.”
“Yes, I am looking forward to it. Because that would mean you are the Pope I have long hoped for.”
Whoooooosh!
In the burning desert.
Beneath it, the moment drew near for his battle against the second pillar supporting the Pantheon.
Su-ho offered first.
“Prepare anything you need.”
“There is nothing. Armor does not prepare. It simply waits, always firm.”
“I see. Then I will prepare. Since I must show you my sharpest sword.”
“As much as you wish.”
He smiled.
Not because that confidence seemed arrogant, but because it seemed tremendously reassuring.
That was why Su-ho had no intention of taking out any summons.
He immediately stamped his foot.
[ Heracles’s Lion Head Helmet has been summoned. ]
[ Heracles’s Club has been summoned. ]
[ Blood Armory has been activated. ]
[ Blessing has been activated. ]
[ Paladian has been activated. ]
[ Divine Aura has been activated. ]
[ Mana Detection has been activated. ]
[ Endurance has been activated. ]
[ Enhancement has been activated. ]
[ Eye of the Nightsmith has been activated. ]
[ Sword Energy has been activated. ]
[ Rage Mode has been activated. ]
[ Foxfire has been activated. ]
[ Heracles Mode has been activated. ]
[ The first power is released. ]
[ The second power is released. ]
Skill notifications poured down in a stream.
In an instant, his power rose severalfold.
Seeing Su-ho’s aura, Pyo murmured in admiration.
“You are remarkable.”
“I intend to go all out from the beginning without taking it in stages.”
He meant it literally.
He did not want to bring out Rage Mode and Foxfire later and cut in stages.
This was a place to prove himself, not a place to test his opponent.
After drawing out even Eclipse and pulling up as much power as he could, Su-ho took his stance and aimed at Pyo.
Pyo still stood in the same stance he had taken at the beginning.
He had done nothing else.
No skill notifications sounded, nor did it look like any other item was being activated.
What was this?
Did he really intend to endure it with his body?
Having finished preparing, Su-ho said,
“Are you truly not going to counterattack?”
Pyo quietly nodded.
Very well.
Since you proposed it, I will do my utmost, if only out of respect for you.
Thinking that, Su-ho focused his mind.
He intended to draw the blade down only once.
Su-ho’s eyes, which had narrowed for an instant, widened as the sword swung.
[ Enhancement has been activated. ]
[ Diamond Cut has been activated. ]
[ Enhancement has been applied. ]
[ The power of Diamond Cut grows even stronger. ]
At that moment.
Slice!!
The sword was swung cleanly.
What Su-ho chose was Diamond Cut.
There were other options, but in terms of single-strike destructive power, he judged that nothing was as certain as Diamond Cut.
The sensation in his grip even told him, somewhat apologetically, that he had properly cut Pyo.
Because it had been a slash swung with his waist rotating as well, Su-ho recovered the sword and looked at Pyo.
Pyo remained motionless.
His eyes were invisible beneath his thick white brows.
Could he have died?
Just as Su-ho was about to speak, wondering whether he had died because there was far too little reaction, Pyo’s mouth opened at the same time.
“Heheh....”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. I was a little surprised, but I am fine.”
“...!”
Fine?
Even though I cut him while wrapped in full buffs?
But Pyo straightened himself again as though he truly was fine and pressed his palms together.
“Remarkable. Pope, it seems you possess far greater power than I imagined.”
“Haha. Hearing that from a Master who is perfectly fine after taking the strike doesn’t exactly sound like praise.”
“No. You truly were remarkable. Then is that all the power you wished to show me?”
That all.
Those words scraped at him.
At the same time, his competitive spirit was provoked.
“...Surely not. Might you give me another opportunity?”
“Yes, of course. If you still have lingering regret, it is only right that you resolve all of it until none remains.”
“Haha....”
Pyo was clearly speaking kindly, without any malice.
So why did it scrape at him this much?
Hiding his emotions, Su-ho asked,
“Thank you for giving me another chance. But before that, may I ask you something?”
“As much as you wish.”
“Is what is protecting you a Holy Art, Master?”
“Yes, that is correct. More precisely, it is a protective Holy Art used by Monks.”
“A protective Holy Art?”
“Yes. We Monks keep our protective Holy Arts active at all times. Therefore, Holy Arts protect us anytime and anywhere, and according to the practitioner’s will, they can protect not only others, but even a designated area.”
He had never heard of this before.
It was not that he had never seen Monk Players, but he had never heard of them using this sort of protective Holy Art.
‘It must be a special Holy Art exclusive to the Monks of the Pantheon.’
It seemed useful.
A Holy Art that automatically defended on its own.
That made him even more determined to succeed in cutting Pyo.
A Holy Art was a skill, and a skill belonged to the Player.
“Does that Holy Art also grow stronger the more you train it?”
“That is correct. Ah, for reference, there are many kinds of protective Holy Arts, but what the Pope cut was a type of Outer Hardening Art among protective Holy Arts.”
“Outer Hardening?”
“It is called Outer Hardening Art because it hardens the outside of the body.”
“Then there must also be Inner Hardening Art?”
“That is correct.”
“And yet I failed to pierce even the Outer Hardening Art.”
“Haha.”
He laughed instead of answering.
Haha, this is driving me insane.
That laugh provoked him even more.
Su-ho asked,
“Can protective Holy Arts only grow through training?”
“Training is training, but they are also greatly affected by mana. After all, they are Holy Arts.”
“I see.”
The fact that they were affected by mana gave him at least some consolation.
Because if there was one thing he was more confident in than anyone else, it was mana.
And since he had learned the secret, he naturally understood the method to break through it as well.
Su-ho raised his sword again.
“I think I’ll succeed this time.”
“I will look forward to it.”
Pyo stood with his palms pressed together.
He did not even take a particular stance.
That was how much he trusted his protective Holy Art.
Haha, seeing him like that, he really does look like a Shaolin master from a martial arts novel.
As if, after accumulating internal energy for a long time and mastering martial arts, he possessed an invulnerable body that would make him confident no matter what swordsman came at him.
It was fine.
Because now he knew how to attack it.
Su-ho focused his mind again.
The buffs were still wrapped around him.
Then, with his focused mind as the foundation, the sword swung.
[ Enhancement has been activated. ]
[ Reverse Scale Slash has been activated. ]
[ Enhancement has been applied. ]
[ The power of Reverse Scale Slash grows even stronger. ]
Slice!
Reverse Scale Slash.
A sword technique that cut not the outside, but the inside.
He had said that just as there was Outer Hardening Art, there was also Inner Hardening Art, but surely Inner Hardening Art could not be stronger than Outer Hardening Art.
And this time, too, he felt the sensation of having cut properly.
Su-ho’s eyes flashed.
But Pyo’s expression was peaceful.
He truly was impossible to understand.
Su-ho asked,
“How was it?”
“Haha....”
Pyo merely laughed.
“Wow....”
There was nothing much to that peaceful smile, and yet it really scraped at a person’s insides.
But what would getting excited accomplish?
Suppressing his agitation, Su-ho asked,
“Was it not much?”
“It was strong.”
“Between striking the outside and striking the inside, which felt stronger?”
“In terms of danger alone, the strike to the inside was more dangerous. After all, Inner Hardening Art is more difficult to train than Outer Hardening Art.”
“As expected.”
His prediction itself had been correct.
It was simply that even Pyo’s Inner Hardening Art was sturdier than Su-ho’s swordsmanship.
Su-ho’s eyes narrowed.
Pyo asked,
“Are you finished now?”
“Surely not.”
Su-ho took his stance again.
If possible, he had wanted to end it in one blow.
But Pyo was stronger than expected.
No, it would be more accurate to say his Holy Art was strong.
So he changed his thinking.
The target of his strike had not been Pyo in the first place.
‘It was the Holy Art.’
Su-ho focused his mind.
Then the world inverted into black and white, and the golden aura flowing from Pyo began to appear like bundles of nerves.
Dense.
Abundant.
The golden aura like nerve bundles was all protective Holy Arts defending Pyo.
Su-ho swung his sword.
[ Enhancement has been activated. ]
[ Soul Severing has been activated. ]
[ Enhancement has been applied. ]
[ The power of Soul Severing grows even stronger. ]
Shaaaak!
It was swung properly.
The swung sword cut at the protective Holy Art.
But.
Kaaang!
“...!”
The moment Su-ho’s sword touched the protective Holy Art, something astonishing happened.
The protective Holy Art repelled Su-ho’s sword.