Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World

Heart of Darkness (3)

Leon Hart raised his right hand and pointed to the skies.

“Light of Althea, heal your children!”

A rejuvenating brilliance loomed over the entire battlefield.

In the pouring radiance, the fallen soldiers began to rise one by one.

The wounds on their bodies slowly disappeared, and their energy began to return.

Their fear disappeared as courage took place in their hearts.

“Hey, this is—”

“It’s Leon Hart!”

The dying soldiers had risen once more.

The monsters hummed in dismay.

Leon Hart wasn’t done yet.

He continued by tracing a series of successive signatures in the air.

“Kybriel’s protection, embrace their bodies!”

Subtle darkness coated the armor of knights and soldiers, boosting everyone’s defenses.

“Let Yessen’s flame ignite your weapons!”

Fires began to cover the blades of everyone’s spears and swords.

Due to that, they were given the ability to deal more damage against enemies higher-leveled than they were.

The knights and soldiers charged forward, their morale and spirits reaching the extremes.

“Ahhhhh!”

“Die, you filthy monsters!”

“I’ll kill you all!”

The war situation had changed.

The majority of the monsters’ ranks began to collapse due to the assault of a minor human army.

Through the skills of a powerful Spiritist, their capabilities were pushed past their limits.

“With that, the dire situation has been cleared.”

Leon Hart clenched his fist after taking care of his troops.

Most Spiritists often stayed behind the frontlines, coordinating the situation to their advantage.

But Leon Hart was different.

He was both a powerful supporter and a frontline commander.

“Activate, Uroboros’s snake!”

His artifact, Uroboros’s coat, unsewn itself and slithered across his skin like a snake, covering his whole body.

The coat’s threads, which became firmer than steel, defended his arms, legs, body, and neck.

He then used another skill in that condition.

-Ectoplasmic Body!

Sheer energy covered his limbs.

With the power of regeneration and rejuvenation, Prana, empowered his muscles and increased his defense.

That was Leon Hart’s fighting style.

“Huh-up!”

Leon Hart charged against their opponents.

The black shadow ran towards the monsters’ line, dashing a distance of several tens of meters at once.

Boom!

Four monsters were swiftly dealt with as he rushed in, delivering blows to their bodies.

The bewildered monsters roared as they began to fight back.

“Argh!”

A giant Ogre swung its heavy club against him.

He took a step forward and crouched down. Leon Hart threw a punch against it as its attack passed by overhead.

His body rose up as his uppercut connected.

“The night is Kybriel’s holy territory!”

The Ogre’s head exploded.

It was an instantaneous death.

More creatures flocked to Leon Hart.

Claws, swords, and clubs were aimed at him.

“Argh!”

“Urgh!”

But he didn’t back down.

Instead, he maintained a firm posture by solidifying his stance.

He closed in on the Orc’s chest, held it down, and beat it up!

“How dare you Alien beasts destroy the serenity of the night!”

The blown Orc collided with other Orcs, causing it to burst into a scream.

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

Leon Hart charged forward again.

He continued to punch and kick in various angles as he let his anger out.

“I will punish you in the name of the six Goddesses!”

With a gust of wind, he rolled through the monsters.

Every time his attacks connected, a monster’s blood and flesh were spilled.

“Oh, he’s my uncle, but…”

Marcus clicked his tongue at the sight.

“He’s a unique person.”

It wasn’t uncommon for a weak Mage or a Spiritist to learn martial arts as a means to defend themselves in close-quarters combat.

In such situations, they must escape from the crisis to use magical or spiritual skills again.

Thus, Mages, who used staffs, learned how to use cudgels for physical training and combat assistance purposes.

In the case of Spiritists, who needed his hands to weave signs, their combat training focused on bare-handed fighting styles.

Spiritists and Mages that were better than decent warriors or boxers in close-quarters even sometimes appeared.

Just because they had a talent for Mana or Prana didn’t mean they didn’t have a knack for martial arts.

That was simply a misconception.

However, the limitation of martial arts without the support of Aura or Force was evident.

It was absurd for a Mage or Spiritist to compete against a high-ranking Magic Swordsman in martial arts.

But there were cases when a master who transcended common sense was born.

Leon Hart was one of those masters.

-Why should a Spiritist be under the protection of others?

He wanted to take the lead in battles.

Eventually, he succeeded in converging Prana with bare-handed tactics to reach an entirely new level.

He was the first spiritual boxer in the long history of Latna.

His achievements, including brilliant displays against the Aliens, gave Leon Hart the honor of being chosen as worthy of the Goddesses’ blessing in his late 30s, a relatively young age.

* * *

“Taaaaah!”

With his hands hardened, Leon Hart continued to rush through the monsters’ ranks.

“Yessen’s anger, envelop my hands!”

Flames covered his two steel fists.

Maintaining the blazing state of his arms, he punched every monster around him.

The fire spread with every punch.

It was a spiritual flame that didn’t seem to weaken, much less be extinguished.

“Rhamniana’s torrent, become my storms!”

Blue liquid coiled around his legs.

Every time he launched a kick, the targetted monster’s body fluids boiled, causing them to vomit blood.

The monsters he fought screeched against his might.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

A huge Drakan blocked his way.

It opened its mouth, letting out flames of its own.

Boom!

Bending down and changing to a low tackle position, Leon Hart attacked the Drakan’s lower body.

He hooked his arm around the back of its knees and pulled it towards him.

The huge Drakan knelt in front of Leon Hart, who was only half its height.

“Gasp!”

Its eyes had lowered.

He didn’t miss that chance.

He penetrated through the Drakan’s shoulder, damaging it.

Of course, the Drakan’s defense was far too high for it to be killed immediately.

But it didn’t matter.

“Sorondi’s rocks, rise!”

He used a throwing skill and a spiritual art simultaneously.

Dozens of earthen spikes protruded out of the ground.

‘I’m going to throw you on it!’

“Ahhhhhhh!”

The earthen spikes penetrated the Drakan’s body, causing it to spill blood.

Leon Hart didn’t stop. He continued to reduce the number of the monsters.

Thanks to his support, the knights and soldiers could fight bravely.

The number of monsters began to decrease exponentially.

Leon Hart grinned at the situation.

“It’s time to finish the battle!”

He shouted with a cheerful cry.

He weaved an extremely complicated and time-consuming sign.

Spiritists above level 100 could individualize their Prana to create their own arts.

Leon Hart had his own unique spiritual art.

“Wall of Althea!”

It was a spiritual art that Spiritists frequently used to prevent enemy access and control the war situation.

A low-level Spiritist could only create three-meter-long optical walls. However, at the hands of a high-level Spiritist, it became even stronger.

A brilliant light covered the field.

Countless barriers of light blocked the monsters’ paths.

Instead of a simple barrier, a vast radiant maze had trapped all of the monsters.

“Argh?”

“Argh?”

The trapped monsters knocked on the walls in an attempt to get out.

The most common step to take was to send troops into the labyrinth to destroy the scattered monsters.

But the knights and soldiers didn’t move.

They were already aware of what’s going to happen next.

“Oh! What is that light?”

“It’s over!”

Leon Hart delivered the final blow.

-Unique Spiritual Art: Bloody Rose!

The massive maze began to be demolished.

Like dominoes, the barriers broke down radially, falling on the monsters.

The maze mercilessly crushed them to death.

“Ahhhh!”

Frelsis’ knights murmured as they felt chills running down their spines.

“He’s the only one who uses defensive barriers like that.”

“How did he become a Spiritist with such a belligerent personality?”

It didn’t take long before the sound of the spell disappeared.

Red roses bloomed on the vast fields.

It was in the shape of a Bloody Rose made out of the bodies of countless monsters.

“Whoa…”

Breathing properly, Leon Hart loosened his fingers.

He smiled proudly.

“Perfect, you filthy monsters.”

Cheers echoed across the battlefield.

“Hurrah!”

“Long live Leon Hart!”

* * *

Kibie gave an explanation.

“You won’t get the Heart of Darkness right away even if you go to Generosus.”

The Sacred Peak Generosus, where the Heart of Darkness was located, was sealed using the powerful divine seal of Kybriel.

“That much should be obvious. We can’t just let anyone get their hands on the holy item.”

Only those chosen as the apostles of the Goddesses were qualified to take it.

Ryu Han-bin asked.

“You’re the Goddess of Darkness. Can’t you just unseal it yourself?”

She was irritated.

“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not a Goddess right now. I’m an incarnation!”

Kibie didn’t have the power to solve her problems.

But not too long ago, she wouldn’t have found any of what’s happening problematic.

The Goddess had already blessed the Sword King Baotolt.

“Of course, technically, the blessing he received is a reward for his feats, not to be chosen as an apostle…”

However, it still meant he met the conditions needed to release the seal of the Sacred Peak Generosus.

Until recently, they thought they could simply find Baotolt and grant him the Heart of Darkness.

“But now that the Sword King is dead…”

Convinced, Han-bin nodded.

“You need another apostle, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

The blessings of the Goddesses had been granted three times so far.

Thirty-three years ago, the Top Four were the first to be blessed by the six Goddesses.

They weren’t even candidates.

The other three, except for Baotolt, were Kibriel’s enemies.

The second blessing was given 21 years ago.

It was gifted to the level 108 Magic Swordsman, Kakelard, who had cleared 38 dungeons in the Four Prohibited Areas and captured three-digit Aliens.

As soon as they heard the name, Artis and Effir spoke as if they knew him.

“Oh, you mean the turbulent Magic Swordsman, Kakelard?”

“I don’t think he’s going to be able to help us either.”

Ryu Han-bin curiously asked.

“Huh? Why?”

The reason was simple.

“He’s dead.”

Kakelard was the commander that led the 200 top Hunter Corps against Kruse Murg.

Because it was such a famous incident, even Artis and Effir knew about it.

Thanks to that, there was only one option left.

Nine years ago, Latna’s first spiritual boxer was chosen as the third carrier of the Goddesses’ blessing.

“Leon Hart Katel Frelsis.”

Kibie concluded.

“I need him. He is the only ‘key’ that can open the seal of Generosus.”