I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-134

Ch-134

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*

《You have eliminated an ‘Impurity’!》

《Two ‘Impurities’ remain.》

《You have achieved the Feat: “The Screams of the Tainted.”》

He did not stop. Not a single step backward.

He simply continued to advance.

In just a few days, he had eliminated most of the Impurities.

Watching that sight, Aria was genuinely struck with awe.

*He’s using swordsmanship…*

Randolph of the Five Pillars.

He could wield a sword.

And he could wield it *properly*.

At first, he had shown a few techniques as he continued his slaughter, but once the combat shifted into close quarters, his demeanor changed entirely.

His eyes, his posture, even his breathing.

The very image of a true swordsman—one who stood upon the foundation of the art itself.

At the time, she had dismissed it as impossible.

But upon seeing the swordsmanship that followed, Aria found herself speechless.

*A master… someone who has reached the realm of true mastery.*

To Aria’s eyes, his swordsmanship had already reached that realm.

Perhaps—he was even above her.

But how could a corpse crow possibly wield a sword? No matter how much its form had changed through evolution, its essence was still that of a corpse crow.

To reach a level like that, one had to devote countless years to nothing but the blade.

*And on top of that, what he showed at the end was unmistakably…*

While striking down this latest Impurity, there had been a brief moment when energy flowed out from the blade.

Sword-Aura.

No—an even more refined force than Sword-Aura.

And its color and shape were…

*Sword… Force.*

Aria still couldn’t bring herself to believe it.

But she had seen it with her own eyes.

Sword-Force.

As far as she knew, there was only one person in the world capable of scattering Sword-Force.

*The human I saw on Mount of the Practitioners… was he not the only one?*

But how?

How could she encounter a user of Sword-Force twice in such a short span of time?

Even if one lived a lifetime, one would never see a single wielder of Sword-Force.

*Then the reason I mistook him for Baal…*

Thinking back, when she had first laid eyes on Randolph, his face had momentarily appeared like *Baal*.

Perhaps that was the reason.

Her instincts recognized how overwhelmingly strong—how terrifying—he was. And so, for an instant, she projected onto him the visage she feared most.

A being too powerful… so powerful she instinctively mistook him for the strongest being she knew.

*Ah.*

Her fingers trembled slightly.

That shiver soon spread across her entire body.

Randolph. She could not see his end.

He was like a mire, like an abyssal pit, like the Deep itself.

She had never encountered a being like this.

A wall so unreachable, so untouchable.

Thus, when they entered Faisalmer—

*Why did he stop?*

Randolph, who had been rampaging forward in a frenzy, stopped for the first time.

He simply stood still and began staring at something.

“…I do not know who you are, but this is where you stop.”

At the same time, a woman appeared accompanied by hordes of Barbarians.

The Queen of the Tainted—draped in a massive white serpent—finally revealed herself.

When someone began warping around and eliminating Impurities, Isabella had not been particularly concerned.

The desert city of Faisalmer was desolate beyond measure.

There was no reason for anyone to come here, and even if someone did, they posed little threat.

At most, she thought, they would remove a few Impurities and leave.

But Isabella soon realized how wrong she was.

*Fast.*

The speed at which the Impurities were being removed—

The speed at which the outsider approached Faisalmer—

It surpassed mere swiftness and reached the level of the inexplicable.

Every time one Impurity was eliminated, the others grew drastically stronger. The difficulty rose with each one removed.

And yet, that unhesitating advance—what in the world was it?

Even walking straight down an unobstructed road would have been slower than this.

He was far, far too fast.

*A Transcendent.*

Without a doubt, the outsider was a Transcendent.

At least a 2-Star Transcendent.

The closer the darkness drew, the more Isabella felt certain.

Shh-iiiiik.

The serpent that devours the world—Jörmungandr—began to react.

Why would a Transcendent of that magnitude appear in this barren land, where nothing could be gained?

A desert isolated from the world, with no ties to outsiders.

*Not all the Impurities must be eliminated yet.*

But before she realized it, only two remained.

And one of those was her.

“Mm.”

A sudden throb of pain made her press her brow.

With each Impurity that fell, her power increased.

But in contrast, her reason was slowly slipping away.

She was becoming something that was human, yet no longer human.

Even so, she could not leave Faisalmer.

*I must not allow the final one to remain.*

These Impurities that had tainted the city were no ordinary Impurities.

When she arrived in Faisalmer, she had witnessed the tainted city—and had gotten close to the source of the Impurities.

Afterwards, she became the Queen of Faisalmer, forcibly suppressing the other Impurities by continually releasing them.

*Desert Queen. I will not allow things to go your way.*

She had no choice.

This corruption had been caused by the former Desert Queen.

Kidnapping gifted children, draining their life force, the Desert Queen had been conducting terrifying experiments in a hidden chamber.

All of the hellish past had been part of her experiments.

Thanks to that, Isabella had learned the fundamental nature of “Impurity.”

*Impurity is not some kind of Divine-Plague.*

It had nothing to do with the endemic disease born when the continent rose into the sky.

This experiment must never be completed.

Isabella stood.

And then—she faced the “darkness.”

*

*

《The “Constellation of the Radiant Hero” watches you.》

For the first time since the start of the Main Quest, a Constellation from the People’s Hall expressed interest.

*The Constellation of the Radiant Hero.*

He had watched me intensely during the Demigod Trait Dungeon as well.

He had continued showing interest afterwards, but this time was unexpected.

When I slew Baal of the Four Fiends, 27 Constellations lost their light—a sign that they were paying a heavy price to follow my story.

Increasing the reward depending on the outcome was a burdensome act for them.

*As expected, the others are nowhere to be seen.*

All Constellations except the Radiant Hero remained absent.

They had yet to replenish what they had spent, and even the Constellation Council had not resumed.

I thought none of them would appear.

And yet—one did.

Most likely, he was intrigued by my relationship with Isabella.

“Foreboding one. Return to where you came from.”

I was surprised as well.

…Damn.

I nearly blurted out *Why the hell are you here?*

When Main Quest 8 began, a map of Faisalmer had appeared before my eyes.

A single mark was drawn on that map.

The mark representing an Impurity—was located exactly where Isabella stood.

*She’s corrupted.*

Isabella had become corrupted.

The Tainted only revered and followed the Impurities.

But Isabella was slightly different.

*No transformation. But instead…*

A white serpent was wrapped around her.

It was a mystery, but not a mystery.

*The Star of a Transcendent. And a fully manifested Named Star at that.*

A Star manifesting so vividly was extremely rare.

Only certain “Named” Stars did so.

And they possessed abilities unlike any other.

Jörmungandr.

The serpent that devours the world—a Star never before seen.

I had no way of knowing what ability it granted Isabella.

However—

“Isabella, kaa-ak.”

“…?”

“What are you doing here, kaa-ak?”

“………?”

Isabella’s expression stiffened instantly.

That voice emanating from the ominous entity.

That peculiar, trilling *kaa-ak*—she could never mistake it.

Only one being in the world made such a sound.

But the ominous creature before her was no corpse crow.

This was…

*Ah.*

Isabella barely steadied herself as her body threatened to collapse.

Her head throbbed.

Pain so sharp it felt like her skull would split.

It would not be strange if she fainted immediately.

…And seeing Isabella like that, I frowned.

*The Impurity’s influence, I presume.*

The fact that she retained her mind at all, even after becoming an Impurity, was impressive.

And the fact that she reacted to my words meant she still remembered me.

“Isabella. I asked why you have not returned and why you remain here, kaa-ak.”

“…Silence. Reaper of the Empire.”

Isabella’s pupils dilated.

To her, the ominous being was a reaper sent by the Empire to eliminate her.

Imitating someone she knew, attempting to lure her with false words—

Clearly, this was a trap.

Chwaaaa!

A white whip suddenly appeared in her hand.

Covered in serpentine scales, she swung it.

Shiiik!

Before I could dodge, my body was bound.

*Forced Restraint!*

A skill that binds by severing the surrounding space itself.

Like being constricted by a serpent, pressure tightened around my body.

…This had never existed before.

And since the Giant’s Anti-Magic failed to activate, this was clearly an ability she gained through Transcendence.

Chwaaaak!

She swung the whip again, and the crushing pressure threatened to tear my body apart.

《“Serpent’s Bind” has stacked 2 times.》

《At 5 stacks, Jörmungandr will devour you.》

Not only restraint—stacking effects were added on top of it.

But I had no idea what “Jörmungandr devours you” meant.

*Instant death?*

Well, if I got eaten, I wouldn’t exactly walk away unharmed.

I couldn’t just sit still and take this.

*Jörmungandr is a divine serpent. Using Darkness here would be suicide.*

Then what could I do?

There was one final method available.

《While “Bound,” you cannot use the Dark-Domain skill.》

Chwak!

《“Serpent’s Bind” has stacked 3 times.》

…Unbelievable.

Even Domain skills were suppressed. What kind of broken ability was this?

At this rate, there was no way to break free normally.

*At least 5 seconds. The bind weakens right before she swings.*

Still, after three binds, I had noticed something.

There *was* a moment when the restraint weakened.

She had to swing the whip every five seconds to maintain it.

If I counted exactly five seconds and struck before the next swing—

《“Sword-Force” manifests, increasing damage by 50%.》

《“Sword-Force” cuts through “Serpent’s Bind.”》

*Crack!*

Sensing the moment when the restraint loosened, I didn’t miss the chance and severed the snake coiled around my body.

Now I’d avoided the stack—
—or so I thought.

Ssshhhk!

《‘Serpent’s Bind’ has reached 4 stacks.》

I quickly slipped out of the restrained spot and aimed for Isabella in midair.

…And yet, I was bound *in midair*.

On top of that, the stack effect remained exactly as it was.

*Tricky.*

So it wasn’t a stack applied to the *location* of restraint, but to the act of *being restrained* itself?

This was more troublesome than expected.

Especially in a one-on-one fight.

Generally speaking, abilities of this kind belonging to a star could only be countered by another star’s ability.

Or by a power overwhelming enough to ignore even that.

*“All I have to do is stop her from swinging.”*

It was a powerful binding ability, yes—but judging from its use, the range seemed short.

If she had long-range control, there’d be no reason for her to show herself in front of me.

And it looked like the stacking—and therefore the restraint—only triggered when the whip *actually struck*.

Thus, another five seconds passed.

Whoosh!

I shot forward in an instant and swung the Northern Heaven Ice Sword right at Isabella’s side.

The incoming whip clashed with the Ice Sword, blocking her attempt to swing.

That should prevent the final stack.

“…Foolish.”

《‘Serpent’s Bind’ has reached 5 stacks.》

…But even without fully swinging, the restraint began.

Could it be that the act of swinging the whip had been a feint from the start?

The original Isabella would never pull off a feint like that.

She must have learned it from watching me fight at her side.

…Not bad.

In the end, the fifth and final stack was completed.

Sssssss—

In an instant, the whip transformed into a massive serpent.

Kyaaaaaah!

The serpent opened its mouth, baring razor-sharp fangs, and lunged to swallow me whole.

Bound and reduced to prey, I watched Isabella speak with eyes devoid of all emotion.

“Be devoured by Jörmungandr and die. Imperial wraith—… Ah!”

Isabella’s movement froze.

And with it, Jörmungandr also stopped moving.

…Whew.

I quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Either way, I made contact.

《Darkness blooms from the target.》

《‘Eyes of the Dreadful Omen’ open.》

As long as I make contact, I can drive the opponent into a state of darkness.

A wielder of a Darkness skill is always shrouded in darkness, by default.

Thus, I could forcibly activate the Eyes of the Dreadful Omen.

Since its master couldn’t move, Jörmungandr couldn’t move either.

《‘Jörmungandr’ is swallowing you.》

Hm?

Jörmungandr was clearly right in front of me.

It hadn’t swallowed me yet.

So why did this message appear?

I soon understood the reason.

*Rrrrip!*

…Jörmungandr wasn’t swallowing *me*—
—it had swallowed Isabella, who had been standing right next to me.

Ssssssshhhaaaa!

With the Eyes of the Dreadful Omen’s bind released, Jörmungandr began rampaging wildly.

*What on earth is that thing?*

For the first time, genuine shock struck me.

That’s supposed to be a star?

Sure, named stars were all bizarre in their own way—but I’d never seen a star like *this*.

A star that ate its own master and moved however it pleased?!

Kyaaaaah!

《‘Jörmungandr’ is swallowing you.》

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