The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 347

They recognized each other.

The only difference was that Seong had already known about her existence—more precisely, the existence of another Galaxy Sword Dance successor—while she had not known about him.

He had been looking, but he hadn’t expected to encounter her by chance like this.

As Seong deliberated over what to say, he sensed a strange atmosphere.

Within the woman’s expressionless face...

There was no wariness, but hostility.

A taut, wire-thin tension hung in the air—an explosive standoff.

Realizing something was going wrong, Seong opened his mouth to say something.

But the first to move wasn’t Seong—it was the woman.

Tap—

Her step lightly touched the ground.

But the speed that followed was explosive in contrast.

She cleaved through the air, and even Seong couldn't ignore her speed as she approached.

In response to her rapidly closing distance, Seong instantly created a wall of blood.

However, in that moment—

A faint glimmer, like starlight, shimmered—

And then it split the blood wall in a single stroke.

A slash wrapped in radiant brilliance.

It was unmistakably the Galaxy Sword Dance.

Shhk—!

Even after cleaving the wall, her speed remained explosive. It didn’t take long to reach Seong.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Yet even if it was a fleeting moment—

Helena could have intervened but didn’t.

Well, it was a fight between fellow successors, after all.

So she merely watched.

Of course—

‘There’s no way Seong would lose.’

Her trust in Seong played a role as well.

And so the battle began.

Watching the expressionless woman charge toward him, Seong could only accept it as understandable.

‘Anyone would find it suspicious to suddenly meet someone else who uses the Galaxy Sword Dance without knowing why.’

Especially if that person was a dark mage who manipulated blood—it would be all the more suspicious.

It was a natural course of action.

Seong nodded inwardly.

‘Let’s entertain her a little.’

He didn’t know her exact skill level—

But Seong never once considered the possibility that he would lose.

More importantly—

‘This is also a good chance to test the extent of Blood Lord.’

He hadn’t yet put Blood Lord to the test.

She seemed like the perfect candidate.

Seong lightly summoned countless droplets of blood into the air.

Droplets scattered throughout the surroundings.

Seeing that, the expressionless woman instantly widened the distance between them.

Approaching further would only put her at a disadvantage.

Sure enough, Seong’s droplets didn’t shoot like points but rather drew crimson lines toward her, and she narrowed her eyes at the streaks.

Eyes filled with galaxies—mysterious and cold, all at once.

Seong, seeing those eyes, knew what technique would come next.

As the woman swung her sword—

Starlight burst forth from her and spiraled around her like a vortex.

The starlight that moved about her looked just like a galaxy, and if glanced at, like a storm.

The blood droplets that shot out like rays were blocked by the swirling starlight, unable to pass through.

The galaxy sliced through all those rays and then surged forward like a wave.

For a moment, the sword seemed to extend, whipping like a wave as it charged forward.

KWAHHHHHHHH——!!!

As the wave of starlight swept toward him—

Seong, too, summoned the power of the Blood Lord and raised a crimson wave to meet it.

KWAHHHHHHHH——!!!

The two forces clashed, swallowing each other and trembling in midair.

Shockwaves rippled outward, a colossal force sweeping through the area and shattering everything in its path.

Except for the spot where Seong and the woman stood—everything else, trees and ground alike, was torn apart.

Seeing this, Helena quickly cast magic.

Using abyssal magic, she cloaked the area in concealment, making sure they wouldn’t be seen by the Intelligence Knights.

The surroundings became saturated with the abyss, turning into a separate space.

But neither Seong nor the woman paid it any mind—they only stared at each other, and once again, the woman made the first move.

Sword in hand, she charged again—this time even faster than before.

Her movement, wreathed in the brilliance of the galaxy, left a comet-like tail as she rushed in at terrifying speed.

Yet Seong remained calm and forged a crimson sword in midair.

A sword made of blood.

Seong reached into the blood essence of the blade, calling forth one of the concepts embedded in it.

VMMM—

He awakened the concept of flesh—one of the meanings blood contains.

As if it were an extension of his own body, the crimson blade came alive with Seong’s swordsmanship.

The effect was enough to make the woman’s expressionless eyes tremble.

FLASH!

Galaxy brilliance wrapped the blood sword.

It was identical to the woman’s sword.

That’s why her eyes wavered—and when that tremor subsided, a faint anger flickered on her face.

She moved again and swung her sword.

And the crimson sword did the same.

The same Galaxy Sword Dance form, Meteor Sword, collided head-on.

——————!!!

A violent wave of energy exploded, light radiating out in all directions.

Neither her sword nor the blood sword yielded, sparks flying as they clashed again and again.

If one strike wasn’t enough, then deliver another.

With that thought, the woman swung her sword even faster.

One strike.

Two strikes.

Three strikes.

As countless stars seemed to rise in the sky—

Her sword strikes burst forth as if she were releasing those very stars, flowing between thrusts, horizontal slashes, and vertical cleaves, pouring out waves of starlight.

However—

Seong’s crimson sword met each of her strikes head-on, steadily increasing in tempo and painting its own galaxy in return, as the colliding galaxies birthed new stars and scattered brilliant light around them.

KRAKAKAKAKAKA——!!!

Everything the light touched was obliterated—ground, air, everything shattered into pieces.

But within that chaos, two figures remained unharmed—Seong’s crimson sword and the woman.

As the sword blocked all her attacks with identical precision, a subtle crack appeared in the woman’s stoic expression.

Though she hadn’t used her full strength—

He had defended against her techniques with the exact same forms.

And not even with his real sword—but with one made of blood.

It was enough to leave her stunned.

Watching her, Seong scratched his cheek a little awkwardly.

‘She’s stronger than I thought.’

He never expected a Galaxy Sword Dance successor to be weak—

But she was stronger than expected.

Thanks to that, he was able to test Blood Lord more effectively.

Still, the battle was dragging on a bit too long.

Thinking it was time to reveal a little more of his strength, Seong drew further upon the power of Blood Lord.

Blood contains more concepts than one might think.

Where darkness is mostly negative—severance, rejection—blood contains both negative and positive meanings in abundance.

“Flesh” was one such positive concept.

And now Seong summoned another.

From the crimson sword he had created, vitality began to surge.

FWOOOSH—

What Seong wielded was undoubtedly dark magic.

The woman knew that well.

But what she saw now could hardly be called dark magic.

Vigor, vitality, and a powerful life force radiated from the crimson blade.

Seeing this, the woman realized something was happening and gripped her sword more tightly.

Before her, the blood sword now throbbed—as if it had a heart.

Thump.

Thump—

Thump——!

In this mystical scene of life forming, the light born from it gleamed—starlight.

If stars were given blood and a heart, would they look like this?

Then, as the crimson sword—now a star itself—moved,

Starlight filled the air, condensed—

And the sword became a vessel for an entire galaxy.

Seeing it, the woman’s eyes trembled violently.

“...An Ultimate Skill?”

She muttered without realizing it, and as Seong moved the blade,

The galaxy etched into it spun, swirling with deadly sharpness.

The woman, seeing this, instinctively invoked her strongest defensive technique.

Galaxy Veil.

The strongest defense below the realm of Ultimate Skills.

But—

As she watched the torrent of starlight rushing toward her with that crimson sword, she realized—it was on another level from the galaxy she had summoned.

And Seong—

Drew upon one of ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) the Ultimate Skills earned through the Token of the Galaxy, unleashing his strike as he gazed upon the ferocious current of starlight.

Galaxy Sword Dance: Ultimate Skill 『Galactic Torrent』

The torrent devoured everything in its path.

The woman raised her galaxy-forged veil to stop it—

But it was no use.

The ceaseless stream of colliding stars shattered her steadfast barrier and surged toward her, breaking through as her expression finally crumbled.

Her emotionless face broke into one of shock and regret.

Sensing her end, she quietly closed her eyes.

She expected to be torn apart by the torrent.

But—

Nothing happened.

“...?”

So, opening her eyes again in confusion,

She saw Seong smiling lightly at her.

“Are you ready to talk now?”

“...?”

Her face asked, Why didn’t you finish me?

Seong answered her plainly.

“Is there really a need to fight?”

“...Huh?”

She was the successor of the Galaxy Sword Dance, and he was a dark mage who used the Galaxy Sword Dance.

She didn’t know how he came to possess it—but it felt unjust.

But with how things were unfolding, the woman swallowed hard.

Could it be... that she had misunderstood?

As she looked at Seong—

He pulled a pendant from beneath his clothes and showed it to her.

“I inherited the Galaxy Sword Dance from Hero Hindel.”

“A dark mage, from Hero Hindel...?”

“Yes.”

She spoke as if that made no sense.

But as Seong nodded, affirming it—

She startled and said,

“Wait... don’t tell me—you’re the Overlord?”

If she knew that much, things would be easier.

Seong nodded to her and replied,

“My name is Seong.”

Hearing his introduction, the woman’s expression filled with deep remorse.

Then she bowed her head and spoke as well.

“I’m Nina Rubellin. I greet the master of Overpalace to whom I owe a great debt.”

“...?”

At Seong’s puzzled look,

Nina explained,

“Uh... I work for Overpalace’s audit division, which hunts down rogue dark mages.”

“...Ah?”

Hearing that, Seong could only think of one thing—

Why is everything involving the Galaxy Sword Dance always so damn complicated?