Chapter 134

Chapter 134
## Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Uroboros

《The ‘Pollution Source’ has been eliminated!》

《There are two ‘Pollution Sources’ left.》

《The achievement ‘Screams of the Polluted’ has been earned!》

His momentum does not falter. Not once has he pulled back or hesitated.

He simply continues his relentless march forward.

In the span of a few short days, he has wiped out the vast majority of the pollution sources.

Watching this unfold, Aria felt a genuine chill run through her.

‘That blade work……’

Randolph was the primary power here.

He possessed a deep understanding of the sword.

And he used it with terrifying precision.

Initially, he had displayed a handful of specific forms while carrying out the slaughter, but once the fighting transitioned into a chaotic melee, his entire aura underwent a radical transformation.

The set of his eyes, his physical stance, even the rhythm of his lungs.

It was the unmistakable presence of a master combatant.

Even so, she had harbored lingering uncertainties.

However, as she continued to observe his martial displays, Aria was rendered speechless.

‘An expert who has stepped into the territory of true mastery.’

From her perspective, his skill with the blade had reached an incredibly deep level.

It was possible he had even gone beyond her own capabilities.

But how could a creature like a corpse crow handle a weapon with such finesse? Regardless of how much it had transitioned through evolution to alter its physical state, its core identity was still that of a scavenger bird.

Attaining that degree of skill demanded decades of devotion to nothing but the way of the sword.

‘And what manifested at the conclusion was definitely……’

As he struck down the most recent source of pollution, a burst of concentrated power surged briefly from the length of his steel.

Sword aura.

No, it was a force far more distilled and potent than simple aura.

Its specific radiance and structural quality.

‘Sword…… ray.’

Aria found it difficult to process the reality.

Yet she had witnessed it clearly with her own vision and etched the image into her mind.

A sword ray.

To her knowledge, there was only a single individual in existence capable of manifesting such a phenomenon.

‘The person I encountered on the peak of the ascetics wasn’t the only one?’

But how was this possible?

How could she cross paths with practitioners of the sword ray one after another in this manner?

A master of the sword ray was a figure one might go an entire lifetime without ever meeting.

‘Then that vision of Baal as well……’

Reflecting on it, when she first laid eyes on Randolph, his features had momentarily shifted to resemble ‘Baal’. Perhaps there was a reason for that.

Sensing instinctively that he was a being of overwhelming power and terror, her mind might have superimposed her ultimate fear onto his image.

Because his strength was so vast…… she had confused him with the most powerful entity she could conceive of.

‘Ah.’

A slight tremor shook her fingertips.

That vibration quickly traveled through her entire frame.

Randolph. It was because she could not perceive the limit of this individual.

He was like a bottomless mire, a dark void, or a yawning canyon.

She had never come across a person like this in her life.

An existence that felt like a wall reaching into the heavens, something beyond the reach of human touch.

In this state, they crossed the threshold into Paysalmer.

‘Why has he stopped?’

Randolph, who had been charging ahead like a force of nature, came to a halt for the first time.

He stood perfectly motionless, fixated on a specific point.

“……I am unaware of your identity, but you shall proceed no further.”

At that moment, a woman emerged, flanked by a multitude of barbarians.

The sovereign of the corrupted, draped in the coils of a giant pale snake, finally stepped into the light.

Uroboros

When a presence first began blinking into existence to wipe out the ‘pollution sources’, Isabella had not felt particularly concerned.

Paysalmer was a desolate city lost in the sands.

No one had a reason to travel here, and even if they arrived, they were viewed as no threat.

She assumed the intruder would destroy a few minor sources and then depart.

However, Isabella’s calculations were shattered in a heartbeat.

‘Too quick.’

The rate at which the sources of pollution were being snuffed out.

The velocity of their approach toward the heart of Paysalmer……

It went beyond simple speed; it was an impossible pace.

Every time a source was extinguished, those remaining became significantly more powerful. The level of resistance scaled upward.

And yet, what was this unceasing progression?

Walking down a completely clear road would have taken more time than this.

It was far too rapid. Unbelievably fast.

‘A transcendent being.’

One fact was undeniable: the stranger was a transcendent.

At the very least, a 2-star rank.

As the shadow drew closer, Isabella’s conviction only grew stronger.

Hiss.

The great serpent destined to consume the world, Jörmungandr, began to stir in response.

Why would a transcendent of such caliber show up in this lonely, ruined territory?

In a sequestered desert that held no connection to the outside world.

‘The remaining pollution sources cannot be cleared yet.’

But by the time she forced herself to focus, only two sources remained.

One of those sources was herself.

“Ugh.”

She pressed a hand to her tensed forehead as a sharp pang of agony shot through her.

As the