Chapter 119: The Wall Does Not Move
Darkness peeled away.
Raven inhaled sharply and sat straight.
Wooden beams. Flickering candle. The faint scent of melted wax.
The same room and the same moment.
His body was whole again.
Raven lowered his gaze to his hands. They were steady—too steady for someone who had just been cleaved in two.
"…So that's how it feels," he murmured.
Zera's voice slithered out of the void, distorted at first.
[Did you feel any change?]
Raven leaned back against the bedpost and closed his eyes.
"I lasted longer," he replied calmly. "Barely."
[Lasted longer? What do you mean?] Zera asked in puzzlement.
Fragments of the fight replayed in his mind: the vertical slash, the golden footsteps, the momentary hesitation in Jace's movements—then the cut.
The wall.
"It didn't matter," Raven continued. "Even with Solomon there… even with Pathfinder spell… I still couldn't cross it."
[... I don't even understand a word of yours.] Zera muttered.
Raven sighed deeply and told her about the loops.
[If what you said is correct, that man is not a wall you can climb sideways.]
He exhaled slowly.
"Strength," he said. "Without more strength, I can't injure him."
He thought of his body.
Advanced Radiant rank.
Close to perfection—but not quite.
"My physical attributes aren't fully maxed yet," Raven muttered. "If I could absorb more magical beast corpses… my body could still grow."
He paused.
Then shook his head.
"But mutation takes time. Days. Weeks. I don't have that luxury." His eyes opened, sharp and cold. "And I don't have the corpses."
[Even if you did,] Zera added, [the process wouldn't complete before the next loop resets.]
"Exactly."
Silence settled between them.
Raven's gaze drifted to the spear resting beside his bed.
Frozen Ender.
"…That leaves only one path."
[Spearmanship,] Zera said.
Raven nodded.
"But I'm only at an intermediate level," he said quietly. "Against Jace, that's nothing. To even injure him properly, I'd need to be an Advanced Spearman."
A bitter smile tugged at his lips.
"A hopeless situation."
He sat there for several seconds, breathing slowly, letting the weight of that truth settle into his bones.
Then—
He inhaled.
Deeply.
Raven said, eyes hardening, "Until I break this wall, I can never get out of this loop."
[That's the reason people call this 'Nightmare Loop.' Either you break down mentally and lose yourself in this loop madness, or break the loop itself.]
He stood, took out the stopwatch, and checked the time.
'11.02.'
After having a short meeting with his knights, he concocted the potion, sent a letter to Daisy, and went to Rowena's mansion.
He repeated the process like the last loop.
Events replayed.
The same corridors. The same preparations.
And once again—
The reception hall.
Raven and Jacob killed Millie.
Solomon also arrived a few seconds later.
And finally—
Instructor Jace stepped forward, long sword in hand.
"Your wounds are healed?" Jace asked, voice smooth, eyes sharp. "By the way, what are you doing here at this hour, Patriarch?"
"That should be my question, Instructor," Solomon replied coldly, raising his hand. "What are you doing here at this hour, even carrying a sword?"
Heat gathered.
A sharp spear of molten lava formed out of thin air and hovered in mid-air, radiating blistering heat.
Jace stopped.
His sword slid free of its sheath with a whisper.
At that instant—
Raven's forehead burned.
The vertical eyelid opened.
Golden lightning erupted.
A dense, compressed ray shot forward—fast, violent, absolute.
Even for a Mystic Walker, lightning was not something one dodged lightly.
The golden bolt slammed into Jace's chest.
Crackle—
His body seized.
Just for a moment.
But a moment was enough.
Solomon's eyes narrowed.
The molten lava spear roared forward like a falling star.
By the time Jace tore free from the paralysis, the spear tip had already touched his chest, scorching through cloth and flesh.
Jace's eyes squinted, followed by his body hardening like stone skin.
The spear clashed with the hardened body the next heartbeat.
Jace was dragged backwards more than ten feet, lava splashing across his body, burning away half his clothing.
The molten spear dissolved, dripping onto the floor in glowing fragments.
Jace staggered.
His stone skin receded.
A small, charred wound marred his chest, flesh split open and blackened.
He raised his head slowly.
His cold and killing gaze locked onto Raven.
But then—
His steps faltered.
"…?"
A wave of dizziness washed over him.
His grip on the sword weakened.
'Poison?'
Jace glanced down at his wound. Something felt wrong. Very wrong.
His strength was leaking—slowly, insidiously.
'When…?'
There was no time to think.
Raven was already moving towards the left, holding the spear in hand.
"Humph," Jace snorted coldly, forcing strength back into his grip. "Fleeing after attacking me?"
Greenish sword aura surged around his blade, thick and oppressive, distorting the air around it.
He raised it.
And brought it down.
A vertical slash tore through space.
Raven didn't even look at him.
He stepped sideward.
Just one step.
The invisible blade split the ground beside him, carving through stone, wall, and even the ceiling in a single flawless line. Dust rained down as the hall groaned.
Jace's eyes narrowed.
He moved.
In an instant, he appeared behind Raven, sword already mid-swing.
But Raven blurred as he cast the 'Shadow Teleport.'
He vanished like a shadow swallowed by darkness and reappeared several steps away—
—and immediately felt it.
Presence.
Right behind him.
His senses screamed.
The killing intent wasn't approaching.
It was already there.
The sword descended.
But Raven ducked before it even moved.
He dropped low and rolled forward as if he had rehearsed that exact moment a thousand times.
The blade sliced the air above his back.
At that same instant—
Jace frowned.
His legs refused to move.
Ice crawled upward from the ground, freezing both of his boots solid, crystalline frost locking him in place.
Raven's grip tightened around Frozen Ender.
Intermediate aura wrapped around the spearhead in a tight, condensed layer.
He lunged.
Straight, fast and precise.
Jace did not panic.
Even with his legs frozen, his upper body remained fluid.
His aura-coated sword snapped downward and blocked the spear effortlessly.
Steel met frost-wrapped metal.
Sparks burst.
But just as the spear was about to fully clash—
Raven disappeared.
Again.
He slipped like a shadow.
And reappeared behind Jace.
Frozen Ender thrust forward, the spear tip nearly brushing the center of Jace's exposed back.
"Humph."
Jace's skin hardened instantly.
Stone-like texture spread across his torso.
At the same time, his arm moved in a smooth, casual arc.
He slashed behind him without even turning.
Raven's senses detonated.
Time fractured.
His Mind Web ignited.
Every muscle fiber in Jace's arm.
Every ripple of aura.
Every microscopic twist of his wrist.
All of it unfolded in slow motion inside Raven's mind.
And then—
He saw it.
Not the blade but something else.
A compressed crescent of green aura detached from the sword mid-swing.
It didn't travel like a normal attack.
It flewlike a projectile.
Silent and sharp, arriving at his neck in a blink.
Raven's pupils contracted.
But it was too late.
The aura blade passed through him without resistance.
His vision spun.
The world flipped upside down.
He saw Jace standing upright—
And then he saw his own body still standing for a fraction of a second before collapsing.
There was no pain.
Just a sudden absence before darkness swallowed everything.
…
Raven opened his eyes.
He inhaled slowly.
"…It's hopeless."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
For a brief moment, silence filled the room.
Then his fingers closed around Frozen Ender.
Without hesitation, he stepped into the Illusionary World.
…
The narrow street materialized beneath a dark, starless sky.
Frost hung in the air. Cold mist escaped Raven's lips as he exhaled.
Dark brick houses loomed on both sides.
A sharp whistle pierced the silence the next second.
Raven didn't look up.
From above, an arrow descended like a falling meteor.
He lifted the spear as a yellowish aura wrapped around its shaft.
Clang—
The arrow was deflected cleanly.
He stepped forward.
Another whistle.
Two arrows this time.
One aimed at his left shoulder.
One at his head.
Raven stepped back half a pace and turned his head slightly.
The spear spun.
Clang.
The left arrow shattered mid-air.
The right arrow brushed past his cheek and embedded into the stone behind him.
He blinked.
No numbness or shaking.
No wasted strength.
"…I can control it."
His aura usage had tightened.
Every movement was efficient.
No extra motion or no excessive force.
He allowed himself a faint, internal nod.
Ahead—
The blue-skinned knight approached on horseback, his eyes were cold and deadly.
The strange antenna-like structure on his forehead seemed to be scanning him.
Then—
The knight vanished and reappeared behind him, while attacking without giving him any opening.
The thrust came instantly.
Raven stepped forward instead of backwards.
He bent slightly at the waist.
The spearhead grazed past his back.
At the same time, Raven rotated his spear in a tight arc and clashed against the incoming shaft.
Sparks burst.
He thrust toward the knight's heart.
The alien knight's eyes widened briefly—
Then he sidestepped.
His movements were fluid and precise.
The duel began.
Spear clashed against spear.
Gold sparks sprayed into the frost-laced air.
Movement flowed into movement.
Raven no longer fought wildly.
He measured the opponent, adjusted his strength, and even started reading the opponent's movement.
The exchange accelerated.
Fifty blows.
Seventy.
Ninety.
One hundred.
Golden arcs streaked through the narrow street.
But the difference was still there.
The knight adapted faster.
He easily adjusted to his attacks and even predicted his moves as time passed.
Raven bled.
Small cuts accumulated.
His breath grew uneven.
The knight remained composed, wounds shallow and insignificant.
On the 125th exchange—
Raven's foot slipped half an inch too far.
It was a tiny misalignment but the spear had already pierced his chest.
Pain erupted.
"Damn."
Darkness swallowed him.
…
Raven opened his eyes.
"11:10."
He stood immediately and continued to focus on reality. He made preparations like the previous loops and faced Jace with everything.
Alas, the result remained the same.
He was killed mercilessly after a few moves.
"Again." Raven gritted his teeth as he gripped the spear.
This time, in the Illusionary World—
He lasted longer.
One hundred and fifty exchanges.
He forced the knight to retreat once.
He carved a deep wound along its ribs before being impaled through the throat.
A little progress.
But measurable.
…
Then—
He returned to reality and faced Jace.
Though Solomon supported him by casting another fire spell called 'Crimson Net' to bind him, it was of no use.
Jace's aura blade tore through the net made of fire like paper and killed him.
Again.
And again.
And again.
…
Raven lay staring at the ceiling after the twelfth reset.
There was a trace of pain, panic, and confusion visible on his face.
Though there was no wound on his body, his mind was filled with endless pain as he had died multiple times already.
His hands trembled slightly as he tried his best to control his emotions.
His breathing was heavier now—not from fear, but from the endless mental pain.
Alas, there was a hope in his eyes.
"He's poisoned," Raven muttered.
[You're certain?] Zera asked.
"Yes."
He replayed the memory.
Frame by frame.
When the lightning struck, Jace moved almost invisibly.
When the molten spear burned his chest, there was a slight delay.
Later—
When Jace swung the aura blade that decapitated him—
The motion was clearer.
"Each second," Raven whispered, "his movement speed decreases. Slightly."
[So the poison is working.]
"Yes. But too slowly."
He closed his eyes and reenacted the fight.
"When he uses sword aura… when he activates skills… the drain accelerates."
Zera went quiet.
Raven's eyes opened.
"So the more he fights seriously… the more he weakens."