Chapter 367

The Nameless Sovereign stared at the intense light radiating from the ring on his hand.

The mocking shards shimmering before him.

The newly formed jewels.

All of them seemed to gaze at him with ridicule and disdain.

“Yoo Tae-ho…!”

Crash! Crackle!

As if mirroring his emotions, the Nameless Sovereign’s magical energy roared violently.

The ferocious surge of power reduced everything around him to ash in an instant.

The scorching heat radiating from his hand and the blinding white light grew ever more intense.

[“Patch in progress.”]

[Progress: 3%...]

Crackle!

Sparks erupted from the ring as soon as the vaccine program patch began.

The sharp sting caused the Nameless Sovereign’s face to contort with fury.

“You insolent wretch… how dare you?!”

The pure white light danced momentarily across his skin before sinking beneath its surface.

In that instant—

Slash!

Without hesitation, the Nameless Sovereign severed his own right arm.

“You dare to scheme against me.”

He glared at his dismembered arm, now overtaken by the invasive white light from the vaccine program.

Grinding his teeth, he directed his gaze at the radiant ring, glowing as though mocking his efforts.

Wuuuung!

He stretched out his left hand, and magic began to concentrate within it.

To destroy the discarded right arm and the vexing ring, the Nameless Sovereign carefully adjusted his power, crafting a beam of annihilation.

Fwooom!

A crimson-black ray of destruction shot toward the arm and the ring with unrelenting force, threatening to leave nothing but oblivion.

The deafening resonance of the beam lingered, and as the light began to fade, the Nameless Sovereign’s eyes flared with anger at what he saw.

[Progress: 37%...]

The ring continued to shine brightly, the vaccine program’s patch progressing steadily.

Sssssss…

From the Nameless Sovereign’s core, thin black threads emerged, drawn toward the ring.

The sections of his body closest to the ring began to glow with the same pure white light as the program absorbed his power.

For a moment, the Nameless Sovereign did nothing.

He simply watched as his strength drained from his chest and flowed into the ring.

“Fine. Do as you will. If this is the final trial before I ascend as the One True God, then I will see it through to the end.”

Despite his seething rage, he accepted this as a test.

No matter what appeared before him, he was confident he could obliterate it and claim his rightful throne.

Then, from the ring, an unknown wave began to pulse.

Thump. Thump.

The pulse was like the beating of a heart.

The rhythmic resonance of the ring carried an inexplicable air of mystery, akin to the creation of life itself.

To Theo, the sight was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

The light emanating from the ring began to take shape.

Starting from the right arm, the light extended to form a shoulder, then a torso, legs, and finally, a head with flowing hair.

At that moment, Theo realized—

“That’s… my body.”

The realization struck as Theo’s consciousness surged toward the newly formed body.

Crash!

A small barrier shattered as Theo’s soul shot forward, merging seamlessly into the radiant form.

The body, once composed solely of white light, transformed to resemble Theo himself.

Clad in pristine attire and free of exhaustion, it was a body restored to perfection.

Finally, the body opened its eyes.

Theo had regained his form.

“This is mine.”

Clang! Clatter!

As Theo reached out, Caliburn, which had been hanging at the Nameless Sovereign’s side, trembled violently before flying into Theo’s grasp.

“This body is perfect.”

The reconstructed form not only matched his original body but possibly surpassed it in strength and resilience.

Had it been the result of newfound enlightenment? Or perhaps—

“I must have absorbed that bastard’s power.”

Theo had noticed the Nameless Sovereign’s strength being drawn into the ring.

It occurred to him that the progress percentage might be tied to that process.

Pop!

A burst of sound signaled the Nameless Sovereign’s sudden approach.

His hand was now mere inches from Theo’s face.

“He’s fast.”

Theo barely registered the movement. The Sovereign’s fingers seemed like points of light, moving at incomprehensible speed.

Though the attack lacked killing intent, Theo only managed to sense it at the last moment.

If not for instinctively raising Caliburn in time, his skull would have been pierced.

Though Theo marveled at his own reflexes, the Nameless Sovereign’s expression was far more telling.

“Are you getting desperate?”

The Sovereign’s face twisted into a monstrous snarl, his fury unmistakable.

“You speak too freely.”

His murderous gaze bore into Theo, so intense it felt like a physical attack.

The chilling malice wrapped around Theo like an oppressive shroud.

Having been fused with the Nameless Sovereign moments before, Theo could still sense the Sovereign’s unbridled rage.

He could also feel the Sovereign’s power continuing to be siphoned away.

Click!

Theo tightened his grip on Caliburn.

“If I can sense it, then surely he can as well.”

The Nameless Sovereign must have felt the same invasive sensation.

“How amusing, to see you boast after receiving barely a fraction of my strength.”

The Nameless Sovereign suddenly gathered his magical energy.

Theo sharpened his senses, preparing for an attack, when a blade appeared in the Sovereign’s left hand.

It was a weapon Theo recognized.

Though it had lost its former brilliance and now exuded only murderous intent, it was unmistakably the sword that had accompanied the Nameless Sovereign throughout his life.

Shiiing!

A new right arm rapidly regenerated, and the Sovereign gripped the sword tightly.

“Arondight.”

The blade, now dyed in a deep, ominous black, emitted a chilling aura, resonating with the Sovereign’s deadly magic.

“His presence has changed.”

Before, his power had been overwhelming, like a bomb ready to explode.

Now, his aura was sharp and refined, cutting like a blade.

Even though the Nameless Sovereign had only drawn his sword, Theo felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

The tension between them was palpable.

The sheer pressure from their standoff tightened Theo’s chest, and his vision blurred with strain.

One wrong move, and he knew instinctively that his head would be severed.

This wasn’t a feeling unique to Theo.

“As expected, watching from afar is nothing like facing him directly.”

The Sovereign’s countless eons of experience and dominance as a supreme being created an unmistakable gulf between them.

Yet, Theo’s stance showed no openings.

The Sovereign couldn’t deny it—Theo was his equal.

“Infuriating.”

Though the Nameless Sovereign had lost roughly thirty percent of his power, the mere thought of viewing a "whelp" like Theo Ragnar as his equal was a profound humiliation.

“Yoo Tae-ho… let’s see how far your chosen one can endure.”

The Nameless Sovereign didn’t expect to kill Theo Ragnar with a single blow.

Nor did he entertain the thought of losing.

Though his strength was being drained with time, it was a simple matter—he just had to kill Theo before it reached a critical point.

“Trembling like that… do you really think your sword could even graze me?”

Boom!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The words barely left his mouth before a sonic boom erupted from his position.

A dazzlingly beautiful arc of light shot toward Theo with deadly precision.

Clang!

Theo swung Caliburn to deflect Arondight.

“Here it comes. Something truly monstrous.”

The initial strike was nothing more than a probe to test Theo’s abilities.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Dozens of beams of light followed, weaving into a deadly net aimed at tearing Theo apart.

“Ugh!”

A strained groan escaped Theo’s lips.

Each beam carried an overwhelming amount of magical power, far beyond what could be called simple sword strikes.

Boom! Boom!

The impacts were more akin to direct bombardments than conventional swordsmanship.

Theo’s grip felt like it would tear apart, his wrist on the verge of breaking under the strain.

His body bore countless wounds from the relentless barrage.

As Theo had seen in his memories, the Nameless Sovereign was an unparalleled swordsman, a genius who never missed a day of training—even after his fall into darkness.

Naturally, his swordsmanship had reached its pinnacle.

“But it’s not beyond what I can handle.”

The blows were far more intense than Theo had initially expected, exceeding his worst-case scenario by a wide margin.

Boom! Boom!

Still, there was no denying the awe-inspiring mastery behind the Nameless Sovereign’s strikes.

The sheer force of their clashes created minute ripples, causing the void around them to resonate loudly.

However, Theo was beginning to adapt.

What had once felt like his wrist was about to snap now felt like nothing more than a dull ache.

Fwoosh!

The Nameless Sovereign leapt backward, creating distance as the tip of his sword lowered to point at the ground.

“...This doesn’t make sense.”

The Nameless Sovereign observed Theo with a dissatisfied expression.

The outcome of this battle seemed clear. Victory was inevitable for him.

When Theo had initially been overwhelmed by his swordsmanship, the Sovereign had assumed this would be an easy win.

The fact that the vaccine program had chosen Theo as its vessel only reinforced his belief that Yoo Tae-ho was foolish and arrogant.

“It doesn’t seem like the vaccine program has granted him anything special.”

From what he could see, Theo had only absorbed a portion of his power, around thirty percent at most.

Even that portion didn’t seem to have fully awakened, as the patch process had stalled.

“Or was it arrogance?”

Had he subconsciously let his pride push him into this situation?

The thought was absurd, unthinkable even.

Theo’s death was supposed to solidify his path to becoming the One True God. Entertaining such thoughts was preposterous.

“Could that whelp truly stand as my equal?”

He didn’t want to believe it, but no other explanation made sense.

“Why?”

Their bodies were identical, and he still retained close to seventy percent of his power.

The numbers made it clear where the advantage lay.

Yet, the Nameless Sovereign couldn’t ignore the nagging thought creeping into his mind.

Rumble!

Suddenly, a chilling wave of energy emanated from the Nameless Sovereign.

This was different from before. Merely brushing against this aura would rot flesh and bring death. It was suffocating.

“What’s going on in his head?”

Theo didn’t know what had caused the shift, but it was clear that something had changed in the Nameless Sovereign’s thoughts.

His cold, calculating gaze was now fixed intently on Theo.