Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 240

Chapter 240: The Supreme Sword That Severs Evil

 

Everyone present froze in time.

 

All eyes were on one person. A cool beauty wielding dual blades, dressed like a samurai.

 

No one, save for a single individual with extraordinary perception, could comprehend where she had come from.

 

That was understandable; the skill Shino had just used belonged to a profession so unique that no one had ever obtained it before.

 

The unique class: ?Sword Saint?.

 

The movement skill she used was called—[Swift as Thunderbolts].

 

An ultimate skill allowing instantaneous travel within a 10-kilometer radius. However, it came with a severe condition: it consumed all of the user’s MP when activated, making it impractical for frequent use.

 

Even so, Shino, having expended her entire MP pool, showed not the slightest hint of worry, even in the face of a formidable enemy.

 

“Hm, perfect timing. Sora, take Shio and guard Princess Setsuna,” she said calmly, all the while parrying the curved blades with her dual swords.

 

Sora obeyed without hesitation, rescuing his sister and retreating to safety.

 

Meanwhile, facing the sudden threat, Gresil widened his eyes in alarm.

 

“YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!?”

 

—To him, the dual-bladed war goddess who had slain countless Dark Believer was as detestable as a shining angel of death.

 

Among her victims were high-ranking members of the Demon Lord Shaitan’s inner circle, beings akin to brothers to Gresil, born of the same mother:

 

—Carnywean of the Fairy Nation.

 

—Kareau of the Dragon Kingdom.

 

More recently, the demon Soneiron, who had schemed to unleash a catastrophe before the return of a princess in the Enoshigaios Kingdom, had also fallen to Shino’s hand.

 

To Gresil, she was the hated slayer of his kin. The one he swore to destroy with his own hands.

 

Consumed with murderous intent, his eyes burned with pitch-black rage.

 

In terms of stats, he was certain of his superiority.

 

He believed that if he pressed forward in the current clash of blades, victory would be his.

 

Confident in his ultimate trump card, Gresil prepared to settle the fight.

 

But he had gravely underestimated Shino’s mastery.

 

“So, just brute force, is it?”

 

A faint sigh escaped her lips.

 

Effortlessly, Shino redirected the force of his blades, channeling the momentum away with unparalleled skill.

 

Both of Gresil’s curved blades tore through empty space, cutting nothing but air.

 

“—Wha?”

 

It was a seamless and perfected defensive technique, surpassing even Shio’s evasive maneuvers.

 

To Gresil, it felt as though his swords had deliberately veered away of their own accord.

 

The unexpected failure caused a brief hesitation in his next move.

 

Seizing the opportunity, Shino smoothly transitioned into an offensive stance.

 

Her dual blades emitted a blue skill effect, and with merciless precision, she drove both into Gresil’s chest in a twin-thrust attack.

 

“Guh…!”

 

What happened?

Gresil’s face twisted in a way that seemed to ask that question.

 

This distance is problematic. After taking a moment to calm down and putting some distance between them, he activated the four-strike technique that had shattered the guard of Rou earlier.

 

Sharp blades were unleashed, seemingly cutting through the very air, but Shino remained in place, facing them with ?Sword Guard?.

 

Gresil, whose stats had been dramatically enhanced by his demonic transformation, laughed at the idea of her not evading. He believed that no matter how high her level was, no one could withstand an attack capable of knocking back even the shield of an experienced fighter.

 

Even if she blocked the first two strikes, he believed the third would break her defense, allowing him to land a critical hit with the fourth.

 

It was the exact same situation that had just occurred with Rou.

 

With that scenario playing out in his mind, Gresil swung his blade with full force.

 

“Why do you look so smug?”

 

The question escaped Shino’s lips.

 

Indeed, the power in his strike was comparable to ?Rage Slash?, and it had speed to match. If taken head-on, it could be troublesome, but it wasn’t a level that Shino couldn’t handle.

 

Rapid successive strikes were unleashed, but Shino, who had crushed many strong enemies before, effortlessly deflected them with her dual swords, even turning the tide and launching a counterattack.

 

“Huh?”

 

Gresil’s HP dropped by a few points.

 

Though the damage was minimal, a mere scratch, the unexpected blow had a psychological impact, momentarily halting his thoughts for a fraction of a second.

 

In battles between powerful fighters, that fraction of a second could turn into a major opportunity for the opponent.

 

Shino took a potion from her storage, restoring her MP to full, and then raised her dual blades, activating the skill of ?Sword Saint?.

 

“Swift as the Wind—”

 

The moment she spoke the skill’s name, her figure completely vanished from Gresil’s view.

 

“Gah!?”

 

Like a divine wind, a single strike deeply cut into Gresil, who was caught off guard.

 

But it didn’t stop at one. Strikes followed—two, three—each landing with such speed that Gresil couldn’t even track them with his eyes.

 

The Archdemon attempted to capture Shino, but he couldn’t keep up with her at all.

 

His HP was gradually and relentlessly whittled away, dropping to half.

 

The thought of defeat must have flashed through his mind.

 

Desperate, Gresil unleashed flying slashes in all directions, trying to halt Shino’s movements, even for just a second.

 

Meanwhile, Sora and the others, having been reinvigorated by the arrival of Shino, defended against the incoming slashes near Setsuna.

 

The faithful followers, who had been targeting Setsuna to aid their revered demon, were all wiped out by stray attacks.

 

The result of this technique was only that, the brief disruption of the enemy’s momentum.

 

No matter how many slashes were thrown, they never hit their target.

 

For someone like Shino, who had crossed blades with countless warriors, dodging those wild attacks required no effort at all.

 

A far cry from refinement, a grotesque attack, Shino judged it harshly.

 

“Incomprehensible as the shadow.”

 

The complete masking of presence, a concealment skill that could only be pierced with Sora’s ?Insight? skill.

 

Having activated the skill, Shino swiftly moved between the gaps in the slashes, approaching step by step until she stood behind the enemy.

 

The survival instinct of the Archdemon conveyed the imminent danger approaching from behind.

 

Sensing a cold presence on his back, Gresil quickly chose to evade, but—

 

“…Too slow.”

 

Two swift strikes carved large cross marks into Gresil’s body, almost as if marking the score for the battle so far.

 

Crimson damage effects appeared, and the Archdemon knelt for the first time.

 

His HP was reduced to 30%. Meanwhile, Shino had taken zero damage.

 

Gresil, who had believed that only angels could oppose Archdemons, was struck with shock.

 

“Why, why are my attacks…”

 

“Not working? It’s simple. Since I acquired the unique profession ?Sword Saint?, I have never ceased my training.”

 

“Meanwhile, you became complacent with your own stats and neglected your training. That’s the result of this battle. Everything stems from that.”

 

“Grrr, you… you…!!!”

 

Fury boiling over, Gresil consumed a significant amount of MP and unleashed ?Magic Burst?, sending a wave of destruction in all directions.

 

At such close range, Shino should have had no time to escape and would likely have been caught up in the explosion.

 

But using the same high-speed movement skill from earlier, she had already moved to a safe distance.

 

“You are a threat, and I will make sure you lose your life here!”

 

While spitting curses, Gresil stabbed his own curved blade into his body.

 

As his HP dropped to 10%, he used the blood to empower the curse within his weapon.

 

The curse strengthened, attaching the most dreadful skill, which reduced the victim’s life points by 50 upon death.

 

In other words, for any player whose fate is linked to their life, if their life points drops below 50, they will be killed by Gresil, and their remaining lives will be depleted.

 

For players whose fate is tied to reality, losing to him would bring them closer to death.

 

“Master!”

 

“Sora, stay there and watch quietly.”

 

Shino calmly restrained Sora, who attempted to intervene, then readied her dual swords for the fight.

 

The atmosphere around them was charged with the killing intent of both Shino and the demon.

 

Against the evil killing intent, Shino’s pure, refined battle spirit clashed with it like a clear stream, free of distractions.

 

With her dual swords imbued with white and black, light and dark skill effects, Shino declared death upon the enemy before her.

 

—As swift as the wind,

—As slow as the forest,

—As destructive as fire,

—Immovable as the mountain.

 

“Sword Saint’s First Secret Technique — Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain.”

 

A distinct ching sound of the sword being sheathed echoed.

 

Before Gresiel could even finish his devastating attack, his weapon was split in two.

 

No, it didn’t stop there.

 

A line appeared carved into his body.

 

Crimson damage effects emerged, but not just once. The line continued, cutting deeper and deeper into his HP.

 

“N-No… This… is impossible!”

 

The final blow brought his remaining HP to zero.

 

All those present witnessed the divine speed of the four consecutive slashes, none of which could be seen in real time.

 

With this sword, all darkness was severed.

 

Shino had defeated the fourth Archdemon, earning the title—?Sword that Cuts the Devil?.

 

Effect: Deals special damage to Demon-type enemies.

 

Having claimed a decisive victory with her otherworldly technique, Shino turned her back on the disintegrating particles of light from the Archdemon.