The Sword Emperor Transmigrates-Chapter 247

The sound disappeared.

This was a realm where the concept of the speed of sound became meaningless. The flames erupting from Leonard’s back silently painted long streaks of light in the air.

Among Demigod Tier individuals, the Grand Magi couldn’t possibly track his movements in real-time, as their physical abilities were inferior to those of the knights.

In this place, only Demian and the reanimated knight commanders—awakened after centuries of dormancy—could perceive his speed. Even they could only barely follow the faint afterglow with their eyes, struggling to keep up. Leonard, however, had already reached Scylla’s face.

One second—in the superhuman realm where time seemed to slow, one second could stretch to feel like a minute or even ten. Yet, heightened perception alone did not translate into enhanced physical response. Recognizing a second as a minute did not mean you could act within it as if it were a minute. At best, you could slightly adjust your trajectory or optimize your technique in response to slower movements.

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But Leonard was already surpassing even that boundary.

Shiiiiing!

The clear resonance of his Sword Cry, in mental harmony with him, reached Leonard’s ears. A faint smile crept across his face as his blade followed its intended path.

Had the Vermilion Bird itself descended into Leonard’s Mindscape? His dark blade, now a deep crimson, radiated scorching heat, incinerating the air and extending outward in a brilliant flash.

If the martial artists from murim that took pride in their swift swordsmanship were to witness this, they might feel compelled to forfeit their titles right away.

Literal streaks of light traced dozens, even hundreds, of arcs in an instant, enveloping Scylla’s final head.

Fwooooosh—!

In a flash, the last head was shredded into pieces smaller than a fingertip, flesh and blood scattering everywhere. Scylla writhed in agony, unable even to scream.

The beast, mimicking the Hydra, possessed immortality but not invulnerability. As such, its heads were not impervious to damage; they could be cut, smashed, and destroyed. The problem was only what followed—the relentless regeneration.

— Haha■■,you...! ■definitely, at least■...■kill■you■...!

Even after Leonard’s fierce attack, Scylla’s regeneration speed remained absurd. No sooner had its body been torn to shreds than its head began to regenerate. Despite the inefficiency and disproportionate energy consumption required to regenerate from such destruction, the god still managed to restore its colossal form.

The principles governing beings like Scylla, fixed in realms beyond this world’s natural laws, were akin to privileges reserved for True Gods.

But Leonard remained undeterred.

It may imitate the Hydra’s power, but its core remains Scylla. This is just a fragment, incapable of fully containing the strength of a True God being.

The insight he gained through his state of unity and his Dragon Eyes revealed every flaw and imperfection in Scylla’s form with startling clarity.

If this had been the true body of the Outer God Hydra, no amount of destruction would have been enough. But this creature was not that. It wasn’t truly immortal, and its power could be nullified.

Nine seconds left.

Leonard’s conviction was absolute, as if guided by fate itself. He knew. That much time would suffice.

—Die■■! I’ll ■■you■■pieces!!!

With a deafening roar, Scylla unleashed a power designed to tear everything apart. Unlike its usual ranged breath attacks, this was an immediate, all-encompassing assault targeting everything nearby.

Despite its rage, this was also a calculated move. Scylla knew Leonard’s heightened state could not last, and this attack was a ploy to buy time. It wasn’t a coincidence that serpent-like Monstrous Gods were symbols of cunningness and malice. This was a perfect response—deadly and precise for the situation.

In this next second, Leonard could see the countless fractures spreading through the space like cracks on thin ice. He understood the lethality of the attack and knew what it meant—to retreat even a single step would be to lose.

Crackle!

The spatial rupture tore through Leonard’s body, shattering it instantly. His form, nearly indistinguishable from a fiery blaze under the effects of Vermillion Bird’s Descent, scattered like a meteor breaking apart before impact.

Anyone witnessing this would assume his death was certain. Even Scylla, ready to sneer triumphantly, faltered in its glee.

Fwoosh...

The countless scattered embers of Leonard’s form coalesced once more. Within the distorted space, he reappeared at Scylla’s flank, impossibly close. One of the abilities granted by Vermillion Bird’s Descent had been activated.

While the Vermillion Bird and the Phoenix had many commonalities, there were still a few differences. A Phoenix was reborn through death, but the Vermilion Bird simply did not die. Borrowing the power of this Divine Beast, Leonard had attained a form of immortality akin to Scylla, who was borrowing the Hydra’s powers.

The monstrous beast, built to fight multiple Demigod Tier beings at once, lacked the means to kill someone like Leonard outright.

All cards are on the table now.

The battle was reduced to a test of endurance. Whose immortality would fail first?

Scylla’s eyes, wide with disbelief, blazed with murderous intent as its regenerated head exploded again. However, the head regenerated before the echo of the blast could fade, its eyes locking onto Leonard with monstrous focus.

The creature understood—this was a slaughter. Each had to kill the other one more time than they could recover.

Fwoosh!

The third second—before the next spatial rupture could fully discharge, Leonard’s blade cleaved through the head, disrupting the regeneration process with hundreds of rapid strikes. The force, swift and relentless, evaporated the surrounding air, leaving a vacuum.

Scylla’s blood boiled and solidified into blackened charcoal, then crumbled into ash as Leonard’s attacks rained down.

The fourth second—his sword kept going, carving right through Scylla, descending below the heads and carving its massive form into fragments.

The colossal beast, measured in kilometers, was being butchered by a creature the size of a human. The scene seemed ripped straight from the myths of gods and monsters.

—■You■ pest■!

The fifth second—between strikes, a sliver of a moment, a gap so infinitesimal it was almost meaningless, emerged.

In that fleeting instant, Scylla seized the opportunity, restoring itself just enough to unleash a roar at Leonard. The power of the roar was overwhelming, far beyond what Leonard could match in sheer force. He disintegrated into embers once more, only to reform in Scylla’s blind spot.

Perhaps I was too greedy.

He had overextended, trying to gain as much advantage as possible. Still, the momentum remained his, the balance of the battle still tilted in his favor. Scylla knew this too and sought to turn that tide by any means.

Blades and roars collided, both sides tearing into each other with unrelenting ferocity.

This isn’t human combat anymore.

A bitter smirk strayed on Leonard’s face as his body shattered and reassembled. As a martial artist—and as a human—his sense of normalcy crumbled in an instant. He was rapidly adapting to a battle that transcended mortal limitations, a clash where even the fundamental boundaries of human existence were thrown out the window.

His head was blown off, yet his consciousness remained intact. His limbs were torn apart, yet he could still feel the sword in his hand.

The sixth second—a spark of realization flashed through Leonard's mind as his fully reconstructed body stood once more. In a battle of this caliber, was there even a need to maintain the shape of a human?

Heavenly Nature Sword Art

The Third Nature

Sword-Body Assimilation

As this thought formed, Leonard merged with his sword. The crimson aura of the Vermillion Bird’s Descent enveloped the blade, sending shimmering heat waves into the air. Naturally, controlling a single sword was far more efficient, faster, and provided more freedom than wielding it with one’s body. body.

Booooom!!

The blade, surpassing even Scylla's reaction speed, pierced through one of its heads, detonating and shattering it from the inside.

Leonard wasn’t done. The blade returned, burning and cutting through the regenerating wound, crushing and spinning like a violent tornado. His movements were wild and razor-sharp, much faster than the Lightning and Wind Cleaving Slash—not the result of wielding a blade, but of becoming the blade itself.

The seventh second—Scylla’s regeneration had slowed down visibly, finally nearing its limit. At the same time, Leonard's Vermillion Bird’s Descent was also weakening, the flames flickering and dimming around him.

Releasing from the Sword-Body Assimilation, Leonard stood against the fully regenerated Scylla. Both paused, as if taking a moment to compose themselves. They knew, instinctively and without doubt, that this would not stop until one of them was obliterated.

This is it.

The eighth second—Leonard and Scylla both moved at once, unleashing their full might in a final, all-or-nothing clash. There were no thoughts of survival, only the absolute focus to pour every ounce of strength into this decisive moment.

Combining Calamity Extinguishing Flame and Fiery Scarlet Point, Leonard destroyed one of Scylla's eyes. In retaliation, a burst of spatial rupture tore through his arm.

They kept going back and forth—or more accurately, neither side tried to retreat, focusing solely on annihilating the other. The duel had become so fierce that it outpaced even the perceptions of the knight commanders.

The ninth second—in terms of sheer damage, Leonard had inflicted nearly three times as much as he had sustained. Yet the difference in raw power and presence meant he could not decisively claim the upper hand.

He needed a finishing blow. Something that could annihilate Scylla’s remaining immortality along with its physical form—a final, ultimate strike.

Responding to his determination, his jet-black sword, now ablaze with crimson light, seemed to ripple with unimaginable power.

...This is the end. Let’s finish this, Vermillion Bird.

The Vermillion Bird emerged from within Leonard, its flaming wings spreading wide as it ascended his blade. The dive from the skies was the deadliest strike of any bird of prey—an instinctive and lethal plunge toward its target. Even for the Vermillion Bird, a divine beast, this principle held true.

Moreover, to a bird of prey, serpents were the simplest and most familiar targets of the hunt.

Scylla, realizing Leonard’s intention at the last possible moment, gathered its powers and prepared to unleash its ultimate destructive force. However, the speed of the Vermillion Bird’s dive was beyond comprehension.

One Origin Five Elements Divine Sword

Sun God of the South

Ultimate Secret Technique: Falling Sun

Ultimately, a sun fell upon the waters of the Sixth Sea District of Atlantis.

* * *

Rumble—!!

Adventurers operating in the Fourth Sea District witnessed the strange phenomenon. A sun suddenly rose far in the distance—the Fifth Sea District, or perhaps even farther, in the Sixth Sea District—and vanished just as quickly.

The heat carried by the blast was so intense it could be felt dozens, even hundreds of kilometers away, heating up the air like a blazing inferno. It felt no different from a natural disaster. Who on earth would have believed that a lone swordsman had done this?

But despite the skepticism of any witnesses, the truth remained the same.

“...Hah... Hah... Huff...”

Leonard, having unleashed an ultimate technique of the One Origin Five Elements Divine Sword, staggered midair, barely holding himself upright.

It was only natural. Not only had he forced himself to step into a higher realm, but he had also unleashed something that could rightly be called an ultimate technique. It wouldn’t be surprising if he suffered from energy deviation or if his organs were torn apart from the backlash.

...Still, I won.

He gazed wearily at the epicenter of the explosion.

They say it’s a miracle the world wasn’t destroyed during the God-Slaying War. Now I understand why.

No trace of Scylla remained where Leonard’s Falling Sun had landed. Its heads, its body—everything had been incinerated down to the last fragment of flesh and bone.

Even after reducing the Outer God’s physical manifestation to ashes, the power of the Falling Sun persisted, its immense heat evaporating the seawater and causing a steam explosion that revealed the seabed for a fleeting moment.

The water surged back, creating towering waves that sent the Golden Dragon Knights’ colossal mount, the Zaratan, tumbling over the horizon before it finally returned.

In a bygone era where dozens or even hundreds of True God beings clashed, the resulting cataclysms would have been far more apocalyptic.

―Stop staring at the sea and look at your sword

Ancestor Cardenas’ voice came through.

Leonard’s eyes widened. The jet-black sword—originally forged by Pollux’s cast-iron fist—now shimmered with a faint crimson hue.

...Why has it changed?

―Even though it was merely a fragment of an Outer God, you defeated it, and your blade carried the spirit of a divine beast. That combination elevated the sword’s very essence. Many legendary or cursed blades from myths weren’t forged as such—they were shaped by the feats of their wielders. If you keep using it, this blade may very well become the symbol of who you are.

Not a bad outcome, it seems. That’s enough for me, Leonard remarked plainly. His tone, calm and collected, prompted a chuckle from Ancestor Cardenas as she yawned languidly, her presence beginning to fade.

―Well, fair enough. I’ll return to my slumber for now. Should something arise, I’ll awaken immediately. Take care of yourself until then.

Understood, Leonard responded, watching as her consciousness fully submerged back into dormancy. With her departure, Leonard began his descent, landing steadily on the deck of the Zaratan.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

The crew of Zaratán, Drake, Demian, the two Grand Magi, and the Golden Dragon Knights all stood in silence, waiting. The atmosphere was thick with unspoken anticipation, their collective gazes fixed on Leonard.

Reading the room, Leonard raised the sword still clutched in his hand and broke the silence, “The objective of this expedition, namely the subjugation of the Outer God Scylla, has been achieved. In simpler terms...”

He exhaled deeply, mustering the last vestiges of strength in his weary body to utter the words they were all waiting to hear.

“We won!”

“...”

“WOAAAAHHH...!!!”

“YEAAAHHHHH...!!!”

“WE DID IT...!!!”

A deafening roar of cheers and shouts erupted, so overwhelming that even the wind seemed to recoil and flee from the scene. In the middle of the Sixth Sea District, a region deemed a death trap by the Atlantis Maritime Alliance, the triumphant voices of the living echoed far and wide.

The ominous skies, once laden with dark clouds unique to this Corroded Realm, were finally clearing. Sunlight pierced through, revealing a sea so ordinary in its glimmering tranquility that it was almost hard to believe this was the infamous Sixth Sea District.

The natural environment, once corrupted by the Outer God’s influence, was quickly returning to its original state.

The ordeal involving the three Outer Gods—Charybdis, Scylla, and the Hydra—in a sinister entanglement had finally come to an end. The serene landscape before the expedition team stood as a reflection of their hard-won victory.