The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy - Chapter 278

Chapter 278: Aestrea Versus The Goddess Of Light (Final) [V]

BAAAM!

The silver aura surged like a tide.

Midnight rose once more in my hands, its edge trembling with a strange, silver-blue-blue unbearable power.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

The words escaped my lips as a white and black moon mark suddenly glowed on my pupils.

『 Sixth Move! (✦ Moonlight Descent ✦) 』

The world froze directly.

Even the Goddess of Light’s movements stilled, caught in the weight of that silver domain.

A crescent moon bloomed in the void above us, its glow cutting through her golden brilliance.

SHHHHHHHHRK!

The blade fell.

A single stroke, yet it seemed to carve across heavens and hell alike.

CRAAAAAAAASH!

The barrier screamed, space rupturing in ribbons of light. The strike ripped through her divine radiance and cleaved straight down her frame, shoulder to hip.

SLIIIIIIIIIIICE!

Her body split apart, golden ichor spraying as half of her form toppled sideways, severed clean.

The battlefield went silent.

For one breath… two… three…

“…Haah…”

My breath broke the silence.

“…Did I kill her?” I wondered.

But then, my thoughts instantly dissipated away.

Glughhh… glrrrhh… gurgle!

Her body twitched.

The halves slithered back together, divine ichor bubbling like molten gold.

Flesh fused, wings knitted, bone reformed.

In moments, she stood whole once more, glowing stronger, her golden light burning hotter as though mocking my effort.

I staggered back, my blood turning cold.

And then I remembered what the system had told me…

[You can only kill a god by making them not want to live anymore.]

My knuckles whitened on Midnight’s hilt.

“Fuck… ah…” My breath came shallow and ragged.

She looked almost entertained, brushing dust from her shoulder where the cut had once been.

“You… actually managed to wound me,” she said softly, her voice a mix of awe and disdain.

“But it doesn’t matter. We do not die by the sword, but that was a nice try… I guess.”

I grit my teeth.

“Then…” I muttered coldly.

“Let’s see how immortal you really are.”

I lunged.

Midnight’s obsidian edge carved through her abdomen, splitting her in two again. But I didn’t stop there.

My free hand gripped her arm and twisted ut.

CRRKKKK!—

Her bone shattered, snapping like brittle glass. Next, I slammed my knee into her ribs and drove the sword upward, tearing across her chest.

Golden ichor poured out like molten sunlight.

But the Goddess of Light… didn’t flinch. Her eyes remained steady, cold.

“Pointless,” she whispered, her tone steady, unshaken.

I snarled, rage boiling hotter.

Midnight rose and fell, again and again.

SLASH!

FWIP!

SPLURT!

I cut her apart, arms, legs, throat, wings, carving her into ribbons of flesh and glowing blood.

Each strike cracked the air, space splitting like thin glass around us.

And yet… she didn’t scream, or anything… like she didn’t feel pain at all.

She only looked at me, eyes unwavering.

“…Futile.”

The word stung worse than any counterattack.

BAM!

I grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head into the ground.

BAM!

Again.

BAM!

And again.

The ground cratered beneath us, each impact shaking the divine barrier around the battlefield.

I pressed my knee into her chest and drove Midnight through her skull, slicing her face in half.

Her golden blood sprayed across me, hot as fire.

Still, she looked at me through the ruined halves of her face… and smirked.

“…You cannot kill what is eternal.”

My breath came ragged, fury searing my throat raw.

I yanked Midnight free and dragged it down her body, splitting her torso to the hip, severing spine and organ alike.

Her chest cavity peeled open with a wet, sucking noise, ichor boiling out in rivers.

But her expression didn’t falter.

“…Worthless.”

“SHUT UP!”

I stomped on her chest, crushing ribs to powder.

RIIIIIIP!

I pulled her arm until it tore free at the socket and tossed it aside.

I carved her wings into fragments, shredding the golden feathers into tatters.

Midnight spun in my grip like a reaper’s scythe, slicing her body into countless pieces, until nothing remained but twitching fragments scattered around me.

My chest heaved, my vision burned with silver fire.

I stood over her butchered remains, panting, blood, hers and mine, soaking my skin.

For a moment, silence.

And then…

Schlrrrchh… glggghhh…

The pieces crawled back together.

Flesh knit and bones reformed.

The golden ichor rose like molten rivers, crawling into place. In seconds, she was whole again, standing before me as though I’d never touched her.

“Still not enough,” she murmured, brushing her lips with the back of her hand.

Rage overtook thought. I dropped Midnight, grabbed her by the face, and crushed.

CRRRRNNNNNCHHH!

Her skull caved under my grip, ichor spraying, her head collapsing like rotten fruit.

I slammed her into the ground and ground her face deeper, the earth splitting open beneath the force.

Her body convulsed for an instant… then stilled.

And still, her flesh reformed, her head blossoming back to perfection as though nothing had happened.

“…Pathetic,” she whispered, as calm as before.

My hands trembled.

The silver aura began to flicker.

My legs buckled.

The Moon Mark on my forehead pulsed once, twice, then dimmed, fading like smoke.

Midnight slipped from my grasp and clattered against the ground.

I fell to my knees.

All strength drained.

My forehead pressed to the cold earth, breath ragged and broken.

Above me, the Goddess of Light stood pristine, her golden radiance undiminished, her face as serene as it had been at the start.

The Moon Mark vanished completely. And now my body was currently on its limits.

And as the silence stretched, her voice fell on me like a knife:

“…And this is the extent of your defiance?”

Her words carved deeper than any blade.

I clenched my fists against the earth, nails drawing blood from my palms, but I couldn’t rise. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t even lift my head.

She hadn’t even needed to fight back.

And still… I had lost.

Rustle…

The Goddess’s golden sword twinkled as she pressed Solara to my throat, its radiance searing against my skin.

Her voice dripped with amusement.

“Look at you… crawling on your knees. A mortal swinging at divinity as if effort alone could bridge the abyss. Tell me, was it worth the humiliation? You’ve proven nothing but your own weakness.”

And then, her smile sharpened as she tilted the blade ever so slightly, ready to finish it.

“…Pathetic to the very end,” she whispered, raising Solara.

But just as her swing descended…

Click.

My index finger rose. One single finger pressed against the flat of her blade, stopping it cold.

Her golden eyes flickered with the faintest surprise before narrowing again. She arched a brow, her lips curving into a mocking grin.

“Oh? A miracle? Or just desperation making you flail?” she murmured. “Do you truly believe holding my blade with a finger changes anything? Still useless. Still futile.”

Her mockery rolled over me, but I didn’t flinch. My eyes stayed locked on hers. Slowly, deliberately, my lips parted.

“You… the Goddess of Light… you’re supposed to be the very symbol of purity, aren’t you?”

For the first time, her expression shifted. Not with fear, obviously, but merely curiosity.

She laughed at my words.

“Hah… Purity? Yes, that’s what they call me,” she admitted, amusement curling in her tone.

“So what of it?”

That was when my own smile surfaced, faint but sharp.

My hand shot forward, gripping her slender wrist.

Skrrrchhh!

Flesh tore under my grip, her radiant skin splitting as I yanked her arm toward me. She hissed slightly, more annoyed than pained.

“…Oh?”

Her golden eyes looked at me wryly.

“What now? Going to break me into pieces again? Did you forget how easily I reform?”

Her gaze flicked to the veins bulging across my temple, to the faint, silver glow that pulsed weakly from my body.

She tilted her head, lips curling as she mocked further.

“Ah… I see it now. You’re burning away your lifespan, aren’t you? Using your own existence as fuel to scrape at me a little longer. Tsk. That’s even more pathetic. How many years did you just throw away for this pointless show?”

I didn’t answer.

Instead, my grip tightened around her wrist until the bones cracked, and I pulled her closer.

“Against you…” I uttered coldly, my breath brushing against her skin, “…the only thing I need to do… is defy your purity.”

Her eyes widened, just slightly, as the weight of those words sank in.

BAAM!

And then, before she could react, I pivoted, driving her into the ground with a brutal slam. The earth splintered beneath her divine body, stone and dust erupting in waves.

Her golden aura flared in outrage as she twisted, but I pinned her with every ounce of strength my dying life could muster.

“W–wait…” For the first time, her tone faltered, catching on her own breath. “W-what are you doing?”

The moment trembled, her composure breaking at the edges.

RIIIP!

Her divine garments tore under my hand, shredded like paper, exposing the flawless skin beneath.

Her golden eyes widened in disbelief as the sound echoed through the broken battlefield.

“You wouldn’t dare…” she started, her voice finally trembling, but my shadow fell over her as I leaned close.

Her light clashed against the silver flare in my gaze, two absolute opposites pressing against one another.

And under her stunned silence, I replied to her first question lazily:

“…Defiling a Goddess.”