⌈Just because I said it is a sword that causes destruction does not mean it is slow. Destructive abilities tend to be slower than other methods, but my art is different. My sword art is also fast and swift. Why destroy your enemies slowly when you can erase them before they even blink and realize they are already dead?⌋
Fast and destructive. A terrifying combination, I thought as I listened attentively.
Then I asked, "You said the sword is destructive, but wouldn't that be a liability? For example, if you wanted to take out an opponent silently or perform an assassination, I would prefer to remain unseen and unheard, rather than being discovered and ganged up on by the opponent's party."
⌈Will you let me finish talking for once?⌋ Virgil glared at me. ⌈I was getting to that part. The sword art is not entirely about destruction. Only some of its techniques are explosive… well, most of them. But those you will learn later. Other techniques are neither overly destructive nor any less lethal.⌋
⌈If you did not know, space is generally considered silent. It is a near-perfect vacuum, lacking the molecules necessary for sound waves to travel. While audible sound cannot propagate in the void, the cosmos is full of electromagnetic radiation, radio waves, and plasma waves. Just like silent space, some of my sword art techniques are meant to kill without sound.⌋
I nodded in realization. Since sound waves cannot travel through space due to the absence of a medium, using the cosmos on my planet would be as silent as the night. Humans can only hear sound. Attacking with something that produces radiation, something that cannot be heard, seen, or smelled, would be the perfect surprise attack. The only giveaway would be the color of the affinity, but that could be dealt with if one was fast enough.
⌈Let me demonstrate.⌋
An ordinary sword materialized in his right hand, its grip suited for one-handed use.
⌈Hmm, let's see… which one would be a perfect target…⌋ Virgil muttered as he gazed at the distant planets scattered across space.
⌈Ah, there. A perfect target.⌋ He pointed toward an orange-colored planet.
"Please tell me you're not going to do what I think you're going to do," I said, frowning as a bead of sweat nearly slid down my corporeal form.
⌈Just watch.⌋ He grinned treacherously.
Cosmic energy wrapped around the blade. In a blur so fast it left behind an afterimage, Virgil swung vertically toward the orange planet hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. I heard nothing. No sound of a sword cutting through the air, no hum from the cosmos affinity. Complete silence. He lowered the sword, and the cosmic energy dissipated.
There was no sound.
No pressure.
No shockwave.
Nothing happened.
Honestly, I didn't expect anything to happen. The distance alone made it feel impossible. But then again… he was a god.
Then less than a minute later—
The orange planet split cleanly into two halves. A massive supernova-like explosion followed, brighter than anything I had ever seen. Energy waves burst outward, so immense I felt certain they would obliterate nearby planets and kill me as well.
But the shockwaves never reached us. They remained confined, locked in place, as if trapped within an invisible sphere, never spilling outward. That was undoubtedly Virgil's doing.
I stared at him with wide, terrified eyes. "Are you insane?! Aren't there people living on that planet?" I snapped.
Virgil glanced at me, smiled, nodded, and replied calmly, ⌈Yes.⌋
This bastard was far too nonchalant after just murdering billions of innocent people. I was about to lecture him about slaughtering lives for demonstration purposes, but he interrupted me.
⌈Before you lecture me, you should know that those vermin are—well, were, since they are now extinct—a race that lived by sacrificing innocent people and offering their souls to their evil god. Nasty creatures. Such deeds are what I despise the most. So tell me, do you still think what I did was unfair?⌋
I frowned. "How do I know you aren't lying and killing them for nothing?"
Even if he was telling the truth, did he really feel nothing after erasing an entire race? That was too inhuman—
Ah. Why was I trying to judge him? He wasn't human. He was a god, and I was just a human. Who was I to judge his actions?
Virgil clicked his tongue. ⌈It's good that you doubt me. You shouldn't trust anyone so easily. I could show you my memories of that place, but you wouldn't like them. You'd wish you had never seen them. So listen when I tell you this: you don't want to know. You're too naïve. You haven't experienced hell yet. And when you do, you'll call this version of yourself foolish.⌋
I wanted to see… but resisted the urge. If they truly committed such atrocities, they truly deserved it.
Am I too soft?
I need to change the way I think.
⌈Anyways, as you saw, I performed a slash with power equivalent to a supernova. You didn't hear a thing. You only saw the destruction. If this place weren't protected by me, all the surrounding planets, this sanctuary, and you would be long gone.⌋
"That was unbelievable," I said, shaking my head slowly. "If I told anyone at the palace that I met a god and watched him destroy a world with a sword, they'd call me insane. Did that attack consume a lot of mana?"
Virgil laughed.
⌈Kid, that attack wasn't even one-third of my power. Sure, weaker gods couldn't perform such feats without draining themselves, but when it comes to gods of my caliber, such things are trivial. And mana consumption? My mana supply is infinite. Especially when I'm in an environment…⌋ He gestured to the stars around us. ⌈…that amplifies my power. It functions like a domain.⌋
"I know about that," I replied. "When a swordmaster reaches the 7-star level, they can create a domain that gives them an advantage over their opponent."
When swordmasters reached the seventh star, they could manifest their will into a temporary domain that engulfed both them and their enemy. Inside a domain, the owner gained overwhelming advantage. The opponent would be suppressed unless they released their own domain, leading to a clash where the stronger domain prevailed. Otherwise, only death awaited.
⌈Exactly.⌋ Virgil nodded. ⌈When you reach godhood, your domain expands. You'll be able to create spaces like this. Oh, speaking of creating, I almost forgot. The Cosmic Sword also governs creation.⌋
⌈Creation in the sense that you can create things through spatial manipulation, a trait of the space element, which is part of the cosmos. I can create, rearrange, or restore matter. The cosmos constantly creates, transforms, and rearranges matter and energy. That's how I created this place. And if I wanted, I could recreate that planet I destroyed, either by reversing time—since it's still possible.⌋
Virgil swung his sword downward, severing the ground and forming a deep chasm. With a wave of his hand, the earth stitched itself back together. Flowers bloomed anew. I stared, stunned.
Right. He could manipulate time as well. Space and time were inseparable.
"Reversing time means those people would still be alive?" I asked.
⌈Yes. As long as it's within my capabilities, I can restore them by reversing their world's time. Or I could simply recreate the planet from scratch, leaving its people gone.⌋
"I see…" I muttered. "Damn. You're too powerful. Space, time, lightning, maybe even light. The cosmos… too many broken affinities."
⌈Now you see my greatness.⌋ His star-filled hair swayed despite the absence of wind.
"Yeah, but does that mean you're the god of all those affinities too? Are you the one blessing people with them?"
⌈No. My true affinities are only lightning and cosmos. The rest are merely aspects of the cosmos itself, so I can wield them at will. There are other gods who specialize in those affinities. They may have a better understanding and control than I do.⌋
"I see."
Even so, he was still a being not to be challenged.
⌈Now then...the Cosmic Sword has 9 techniques…⌋
Author's note: Thank you for the collections:)