MTLNOVEL Chapter 156
156. Show Me Your Liberation
Facing Jack, who had transformed into a dragon warrior, Rudolf’s vigilance reached its peak.
“A solemn, divine aura, contrary to that ominous appearance—this is not the power of dragons or demons.”
He readjusted his grip on the massive spear, longer than his own height.
Leaning forward more than usual, he slowly raised the tip of the spear.
The Heavenly Spear Second Form, which prioritized charging power and destructive force over the standard First Form.
While it focused on the charge and the subsequent downward strike, its evasion capabilities were significantly inferior to the First Form.
It was a form that sacrificed defensive capabilities to specialize in offensive power.
“I’m intrigued by your strength. After I defeat you, I’ll take my time to hear all about it.”
“You won’t be able to ask… because you’ll be dead soon.”
The dragon warrior clad in bluish-black armor coldly declared.
The murderous intent radiating from him was a stark contrast to the gentle man he had been earlier.
Had Rudolf’s attack triggered something within Jack?
“If you possess power akin to a god—my spear will shatter even that god. It will cleave the heavens. That is why my strike is named the Heavenly Spear.”
The red warrior kicked off the ground and charged.
“Now, break! Jack Jarce!”
In contrast, the dragon warrior stood almost motionless.
Slow—
Rudolf smirked inwardly.
Indeed, Jack’s power and speed were threatening.
But his movements were amateurish.
As a masterful warrior, Rudolf skillfully mixed feints to confuse his opponent—and from a blind spot, he unleashed a strike that even the most exceptional physical abilities couldn’t defend against.
After disorienting his opponent with multiple feints and disrupting their timing, he accelerated to his maximum speed.
Focusing all his muscular strength, he unleashed the [Heavenly Spear Second Form], specialized for destruction.
“This is my victory!”
Rudolf unleashed what he believed to be the decisive strike.
—With a dull metallic sound, the spear he swung down shattered into pieces.
“Wha…!?”
He couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
An attack that should have been impossible to block.
An angle from which no reaction should have been possible.
And yet—Jack had casually deflected it, as if swatting away a flying insect.
No.
This was different.
Power, speed, combat technique—this man stood on a level far beyond such dimensions.
To think it would come to this—
The time he stood there in stunned silence was likely less than a fraction of a second.
But that moment decided the outcome.
“Guh, ah…!? Ugh…!”
Jack’s right fist, launched like a cannonball, pierced through Rudolf’s chest, armor and all.
“Me… of all people…”
In his darkening vision, the figure of the dragon warrior appeared.
With a wet, bloody sound, Jack pulled his arm free.
“Fo…ol…”
With a groan, Rudolf collapsed.
A gaping hole in his chest spilled a torrent of blood.
It felt as though his very life was flowing away with the blood.
“All I wanted was to live in peace…”
Jack muttered bitterly.
Beneath the dragon-like mask, his expression seemed to twist in anguish.
What a naive guy, he thought to himself.
To possess such overwhelming power—yet his heart was far from that of a warrior.
That might eventually lead to Jack’s own destruction.
How foolish.
And what a waste.
Rudolf felt a complex mix of emotions.
“Why do you interfere…?”
“Haha, no… that’s not it…”
Struggling to breathe, Rudolf laughed.
“You’re just like me… a destroyer…”
“Me… like you…?”
“A burning, savage impulse to destroy… you’re struggling to contain it… I can see it… the flames smoldering within you…”
The dragon warrior silently raised his fist.
A black aura enveloped it, visible to the eye—an overwhelming energy.
“Show me your liberation… I’ll watch… forever… heh… heh…”
In the next instant, a black radiance filled Rudolf’s vision.
The surge of energy Jack unleashed erased the red warrior without a trace.
※
“Am I… a destroyer…?”
Jack quietly repeated Rudolf’s dying words.
He had killed someone.
Erased them without leaving a trace.
He found it strange that he felt no remorse.
When he had fought Levin before, he had been deeply shaken by killing him and his female knight subordinate.
Was it because the situation was different now?
Or had he himself changed?
“I am—”
Jack reverted from his dragon warrior form to his human form and began to walk.
He walked aimlessly, with no destination in mind.
Before he knew it, the sky had darkened with clouds, and rain began to fall.
As the rain beat down on him, Jack pressed on.
—Perish.
The words Levin, who had once possessed the skill of domination, had thrown at him during their final battle echoed in his mind.
“Destroy…”
The echoed words subtly shifted, seeping into Jack’s being.
—Break.
“Break…”
—Everything, without leaving a single trace.
“Everything, without leaving a single trace…!”
With each step, he felt something within him sharpen.
Something within him was awakening.
“I am…”
Brilliant lightning erupted from his entire body, scattering in all directions.