SWNOVELXO Chapter 164
Chapter 164
How to Deal with an Arch Lich.
There were two ways: either completely incinerate its core energy with overwhelming Aura, magic, or holy power, or destroy its Life Vessel.
Aden had not yet acquired the strength to execute the former, so he aimed for the latter.
‘Since it’s a Lich and also the kingpin of this kingdom’s gambling den, there must be a Life Vessel somewhere in this kingdom.’
No matter how exceptional a Lich was, it couldn’t indefinitely keep its Life Vessel separate from its body. It needed to maintain a certain distance.
So, Aden decided to find it.
It wasn’t particularly difficult.
‘Andromalius, it was good that I kept you around.’
Andromalius’s power, “Tracking,” was its second ability—the “Power to Find Objects.”
This ability, which detected the desired object within a 400-meter radius, was a humble, almost embarrassing power to be named as such. Still, it was a remarkably useful ability.
Using information obtained from the ‘Unnamed,’ Aden confirmed the existence of the Life Vessel by identifying a few places heavily guarded by the forces of the gambling kingpin.
He then had Unknown steal the Life Vessels before entering the gambling den.
—
“Eek! You want me to break into such a place? So that’s why you brought me along!”
“Of course. It’s what you’re good at, isn’t it?”
“Well, you’re not wrong, but it’s too dangerous! You said Warlocks and incredibly strong people are guarding it! No! I won’t go!”
“Well, if you’re so worried, take this with you.”
“…What’s this? A worm-eaten apple?”
*Crawl!*
“Say hello. This caterpillar will be your temporary partner.”
“…”
– The Demon Sword Seere… says… it’s at a loss for words… –
—
Unknown infiltrated the interior and made good use of the Winter Slumber Worm’s sleeping incense.
This deadly scent, capable of instantly putting even the strongest to sleep, neutralized the guards, allowing Unknown to easily swipe the Life Vessels.
And now, in the present…
“Noooooooo!”
*Crunch!*
Aden munched on the Lich’s Life Vessel as if it were a snack.
The Lich lost its mind as it watched Aden devour the Life Vessel, the very heart of its existence.
“You lunatic! Do you even know what you’re eating? Stop that at once…!”
“No, I don’t want to.”
“Aaaaargh!”
The creature suddenly let out a painful scream.
It writhed in agony, its smooth skin beginning to wither, and its once-beautiful face becoming wrinkled.
“My power, my life force…!”
As Aden devoured one Life Vessel after another, the Lich’s life and power dwindled exponentially.
The pain from losing its strength left the creature no time to attack or stop Aden.
“That’s not some kind of ultimate elixir…! Are you trying to kill yourself?”
“No, I won’t die. Don’t worry.”
“Raaaaargh!”
The Lich’s Life Vessels were condensed forms of life force, tainted with dark magic.
Aden’s act of consuming them without a care was terrifying to witness.
When Aden ate the first Life Vessel, the Lich aged into a middle-aged man.
With the second, it became an old man with white hair.
By the time Aden consumed the third, the creature was hunched over, barely able to stand with the help of a cane.
And when the fourth and final Life Vessel was consumed…
*Crack… crack… crack…*
The creature’s outer skin peeled away, revealing its true form.
A black skeleton, tainted by dark magic.
In the empty skull, eerie flames of hatred burned where its eyes once were.
The Lich had lost its flesh and muscles, leaving behind only bones.
From a mighty Arch Lich, it had been demoted to a mere half-baked Lich.
– You… I will make sure you die a slow and painful death…! Aden Remes…! I’ll kill you…!
However, its menacing aura grew even more intense.
Sinister and ominous dark energy began to seep out around the Lich.
Somora of Delight, who had lost its vocal cords, poured out its boiling hatred and anger through a telepathic scream.
– How foolish! If you thought those were my only Life Vessels, you’re gravely mistaken!
The Lich originally had a total of seven Life Vessels.
Aden had destroyed four of them, with one stored far away at its base.
Two more Life Vessels still remained somewhere within the Holy Kingdom.
As long as even one Life Vessel remained, the Lich would weaken, but it wouldn’t die.
– The Demon Sword Seere… says it feels… staying here any longer could be dangerous! –
“Well then… I’ll be off now! Good luck!”
“Yeah, take care.”
Frightened by the ferocious and terrifying aura of the Lich, Unknown used its “Power of Escape” to flee.
Thanks to its previous achievement of stealing jewels from the Viscount of Heraid, the power had been enhanced and could now be used “twice a month.”
– Kill him!
– Roar!
A Corpse Golem bellowed.
Following the command of Somora of Delight, it charged at Aden, intending to crush him.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Every step the golem took cracked and cratered the ground.
Despite this, Aden simply closed his eyes and absorbed the energy from the Life Vessels.
—
– You have consumed the ‘Lich’s Life Vessel.’
– Warning! This life force is tainted with dark magic! The dark magic is trying to damage the user’s body!
– ‘Regenerative Mana’ is restoring the user’s body!
—
Consuming the Lich’s Life Vessels and covering the risk with Mana Control and Regenerative Mana was something Aden had done multiple times in his past life.
However, this time, there was a specific reason why Aden chose to consume the Life Vessels rather than just destroy them.
*Thump.*
His heart began to pound violently.
The life force and dark magic from the Life Vessels surged through his bloodstream.
Aden straightened his sword and formed an Aura Blade.
The blue Aura Blade danced along the blade of his sword.
—
– To those who listen to the world’s cries.
—
A voice, or perhaps a will, or something else entirely, echoed in his mind.
Aden knew what it was.
‘The words from that ancient text.’
The words resonated in Aden’s mind.
—
– To those who listen to the world’s hatred.
—
In his past life, the Silver Witch Niketa had said this to Aden:
Dark magic was a power created to fight against the beings of the underground world.
‘And she said it was a power meant for humanity.’
Aden had fought against Warlocks and, beyond them, the creatures of the underground world.
In that sense, he was akin to the ancient Warlocks.
Aden recalled.
He recalled Niketa banishing the armies of the Frozen Land in the North.
He recalled the Warlocks of Florence’s Fire, whom he could only see as humans.
Through those memories, Aden naturally understood the words from the ancient text.
Perhaps it was something Aden had already been doing for a long time.
‘Mana is alive and remembers.’
Mana remembers the breath, the movements, the emotions of everything that possesses it. That’s why it’s called a “memory.”
Mana warriors were those who fought by using those memories.
‘Then what about dark magic? What is dark magic?’
Perhaps Aden had known the answer to this for a long time.
It was the sound he always heard whenever he consumed Life Vessels or devoured the hearts of monsters.
– Aaaaaah!
– Uoooooh!
Despair, anger, hatred, madness, and desperation… The resentful cries and hatred of those whose life forces were sacrificed to create a mere Life Vessel.
That’s right.
The essence of dark magic was “screams and hatred.”
Those who listen to the world’s cries and those who listen to the world’s hatred refer to those who hear the screams and hatred of dark magic.
‘I’ve been listening to these voices under the guise of a request.’
So this time, he listened again, and it came to him.
Painful, resentful, hateful, kill me, avenge me.
Distilled and condensed into sticky, filthy, and clinging wills.
He could hear the voices filled with dark magic’s malice.
Such malice that anyone else would have their sanity devoured on the spot.
‘Yeah. Do you feel that resentful? Do you want revenge? Of course, you do.’
Aden sympathized with those voices.
‘Then request it of me.’
He spoke to the dark magic.
‘Become my strength. Show your will through me.’
The screams and hatred, hearing Aden’s will, responded.
—
– Swallow the screams of lamentation and unleash them as a steadfast blade.
—
*Fwoooosh!*
The blue Aura Blade flickered as a black shadow-like mirage entwined with it.
Blue light mixed with black light.
And finally…
—
– Then the flames of the dark heavens will ignite.
—
*Fwoooosh…!*
Black flames burst forth from his sword.
The dark magic fused with the Aura, swirling violently.
As if it intended to consume and burn everything hateful in this world.
‘The Flames of the Dark Heavens.’
These flames were ominous, dangerous, and at the same time, breathtakingly beautiful.
– Roar!
A Corpse Golem over six meters tall.
A monster born from consuming countless corpses and deaths, it swung its fist to crush Aden.
Its fist, the size of a boulder
, would kill Aden instantly if it landed.
Facing that fist right in front of him, Aden raised his sword high.
*Slash.*
He swung the pitch-black Aura Blade, the Flames of the Dark Heavens.
Then…
*Fwoooooosh…!*
The enormous Corpse Golem was split in half by the Flames of the Dark Heavens.
“No, what…!”
Somora of Delight, witnessing the scene, was so shocked that its jaw dropped, and the flames in its eyes flared up.
Whether or not it was surprised, the black flames that had cleaved the golem charged straight toward where it stood, like a raging wolf.
A shiver ran down its spine.
The moment the Lich saw the black flames, its body froze in fear.
Finally…
– Wait, wait! I surrender! I surrender! I…!
The Flames of the Dark Heavens, which had devoured the monster born from corpses, slashed through Somora of Delight.
A storm raged in the aftermath.
The walls and ceiling crumbled with a deafening roar, and boulders fell like hail.
And a moment later…
“Haha…”
Aden looked up at the ceiling and let out a hollow laugh. He could hardly believe what he had done.
“It’s been blown open quite spectacularly, hasn’t it?”
The ceiling had been pierced.
Aden now found himself gazing at the night sky, where moonlight poured in from above the underground arena.
—
* * *
—
Somora of Delight, one of the top executives of Chaos, was not dead.
To be precise, it was dying.
Buried under the rubble, it wept.
– Ugh… To think that I, Somora of Delight, would meet such a futile end…!
The “Flames of the Dark Heavens” that Aden had used possessed terrifying power.
Its lower body had been incinerated instantly by Aden’s strike, and its upper body was rapidly disintegrating.
‘Damn, my strength is fading rapidly. No, it’s being devoured…’
The lingering Aura, fused with dark magic, continued to gnaw at and destroy its body and bones.
The remaining Life Vessel couldn’t replenish its strength fast enough to keep up with the speed at which the lingering Aura was consuming it.
How could there be such a greedy and relentless energy?
‘This is dangerous. If this continues, I’ll truly be annihilated.’
It made a decision.
To flee.
‘I’ll transfer my soul to the remaining Life Vessel. That way, I can at least avoid complete annihilation!’
It knew that its boss would be disappointed if it returned after failing the mission and losing its body.
But it had to survive first.
Just as it was about to hurriedly initiate the soul transfer…
*Thud!*
Aden’s sword, Baalzebul, pierced through its skull.
– Aaaaaaagh!
“Where do you think you’re going? Did you think I’d just let you escape?”
Aden activated one of the powers within Baalzebul.
—
– Activating the unique power of the Sacred Weapon, ‘Gluttony.’
—
*Shhhh*, Baalzebul’s power of Gluttony devoured the Lich’s soul and remaining energy.
– Uwaaaaaaagh!
Somora of Delight let out a horrifying scream before being completely absorbed by Baalzebul.
*Shhh*, the remaining fragments of its body crumbled into bone dust.
—
– You have consumed the essence of the Lich.
—
Aden gazed at his sword with a beaming smile.
He looked like a child who had just received a birthday present.
“Let’s see, the bone dust should make the Ents happy if I send it to them later. As for the Arch Lich’s wraith… If I feed it to Inmen, I might get top-grade fruits from it.”
Since this Lich was one of Chaos’s top executives, it must have had a wealth of knowledge.
He might be able to gain a lot of information by reading its memories later through the “Wraith’s Flashback.”
Wow! What a treasure trove!
How generous of it to give so much; I wonder if there’s another Lich like this somewhere!
As if reading Aden’s thoughts, Curse timidly asked.
– Dragon Slayer, be honest. Are you perhaps the incarnation of the Demon God? Or maybe the reincarnation of a demon?
The damned curse was accusing an innocent man.
—
– You have defeated the ‘Arch Lich.’
– Analyzing the user’s achievement.
—
The system notified Aden that Somora of Delight had been completely defeated.
What title would it give this time?
Considering that he had defeated an Arch Lich, it should be a pretty useful title.
As Aden was brimming with anticipation…
—
– You have recreated a portion of a forgotten great achievement.
—
A message appeared, unlike anything he had ever seen before.
—
– You have acquired the incomplete ‘Sword Dance of the Dark Heavens’ from ??? ??.
– A title, ‘Successor of ??? ??,’ has been generated.
– You have obtained the first form of the Dark Heavens Sword Dance, ‘Ravenous Blade.’