Rogue Villain-Chapter 383: Pause

Ackster ignored The Hero and cut him to pieces again. For now, it seemed like his best bet would be to try and destabilize The Hero or get his sword to interfere with the flow of world power until The Hero collapsed.

However, even when he cut apart The Hero into a thousand tiny pieces, his sword didn’t drain anything from The Hero. It was like the surface of white light that appeared everywhere he cut was too smooth. There wasn’t any friction or resistance for the Demon Sword to grab hold of, so it just slipped right through.

The Hero pieced himself together and looked at Ackster. Now that he had gained more power and acclimated to it, he could sense something off about Ackster.

*This power that you’re using... What is it?* 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

*It’s the power of your mom’s disappointment.*

The Hero glared at Ackster.

*It’s not a power humans should have. What is it?!*

*Fuck if I know. Your mom gave it to me and told me to use it to shut you up. I’m just doing as I’m told.*

*I don’t have a mother!*

Ackster tilted his head.

"I don’t think she would appreciate you saying that."

*Shut up!*

The Hero roared and took a step forward as he summoned the Evil-Slaying Sword into one hand while conjuring a sword of white light in his other. He lashed out with a cross-slash with the steely green and white swords, drawing two streaks through the air.

Ackster broke apart the slashes with a cut before lunging forward and skewering The Hero. He let his Demon Sword sit in The Hero’s chest for a moment to see if that would help. But The Demon Sword still couldn’t quite grasp The Hero’s world power.

’Hmm.’

The Hero pushed out the Demon Sword with a violent gust of world power before going on the offensive.

Ackster’s bullshit had poked The Hero’s nerves. Well, the real Hero never would have become emotional from such childish replies. But the being controlling The Hero wasn’t as stable or in control of its emotions as The Hero.

Otherwise, there was no way it would trigger the end of the world.

*WHO ARE YOU?!*

The Hero, enraged at the blue-haired swordsman playing with it and taunting it right when its lifelong dream was about to come true, couldn’t help but question Ackster’s identity.

Ackster shrugged while reducing The Hero and the island to rubble that drifted in the ocean. He stood on the water.

*Honestly, I have no idea. But I’m sure I’ll get a clue when you die. So, if you let me kill you, I’ll let you know what I found out, okay?*

*How dare you get in my way?! Die! Die like the disgusting pig of a human that you are!*

Ackster’s honest answer only drove The Hero’s anger further, and The Hero charged forward like a mad bull mixed with a weathervane as his arms spun and unleashed a stream of world power.

Seeing the blazing stream of white light coming toward him, Ackster got an idea. Instead of repelling it with his miserable Demon Sword, he opened wide. It bore a passing resemblance to fire in its current state. But it was as far from fire as something could get.

But that didn’t matter. It was just its appearance that gave Ackster the idea. That was all he needed.

Ackster inhaled the world power without regard for his body. If he could devour, absorb, adapt to, and make the world power his own, he might find a clue in exterminating the Will, tainting the world power controlling The Hero’s body.

*Haha! Idiot! Stupid fucking donkey!*

The Hero laughed like a madman as he saw what Ackster did.

There was no way a human could handle the power of the world with their mortal body. A human would die and explode on the spot as soon as they ingested even the tiniest drop of world power.

It was a power that represented the world. It was what made the world go around, the wind blow, the trees grow, and the sunlight bear fruit. It was the power of the entire world, no matter the amount.

Humans, or any being, for that matter, weren’t worthy of such a power when they could work like mules their entire lives and not affect more than a single tree.

However, The Hero was wrong. No, not exactly wrong. He had just underestimated Ackster.

The Hero saw Ackster’s human outer appearance and classified him as one. He knew Ackster used a power that didn’t belong to humans, but his deep-rooted prejudice and hatred for humans and intelligent beings made him ignore the possibility that Ackster was more than a human.

And even if he was, what would that matter? It wasn’t like he was a god.

Ackster might not be a god. But he wasn’t far from it.

Ackster possessed Ichor, the power of gods. He had a body that transcended the limits of mortals by far. His vitality alone ensured that his lifespan wouldn’t end. He used a martial art that affected reality. He had a skill from a Calamity that could burn gods. He had refined a piece of Heavenly Iron, the metal of gods, into his physical body. He was the Sword God’s disciple. He had stolen fire from the world’s Core.

Ackster had long since left behind the fragile shell of a human and a mortal.

The world power still wrecked his body with the sheer purity and intensity of its existence. But if there was one thing Ackster was confident in, it was his body’s ability to recover from any and all damage it took.

It also wasn’t the first time Ackster ate a power hostile to his body. The last time he did it, it had been with a demon’s miasma. But after refining it with Smelting Furnace, Ackster didn’t have a shred of trouble with miasma. In fact, it only made him stronger.

The incident with that demon and its miasma was made easier by the Demon Sword’s presence. But this time, it was Ackster’s turn to help the Demon Sword. If he got used to world power, he could help his sword steal it from The Hero.

Ackster funneled the world power he absorbed into Smelting Furnace and dialed up the heat. Unfortunately, since he needed to refine it into his Ichor, Ackster had to put a pause on using it during the fight.

It inhibited his combat ability, even if he could use his other sources. And with the growing amount of world power swirling around and inside The Hero. He gradually found it difficult to cut apart The Hero.

However, if he let up his assault, The Hero would amass more and more world power until he was finally strong enough to destroy the world that gave him his power.