Chapter 406: Advanced Legendary (Request Subscription)

“Is this… the Legendary?”

Herbert felt the power of the Legendary.

It was no longer pressure sensed from others, but from within his own soul.

That gushing, brilliant radiant light, radiating a vast Legendary pressure, surged forth from the depths of his soul.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunderous roars echoed in his ears; he felt his blood begin to boil.

That was the soul’s roar.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

He felt his entire body’s muscles tear apart like ripping silk, disintegrating with each breath.

That was the flesh’s scream.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Every bone in his body rang like quenched steel, shattering inch by inch as if crushed under immense pressure.

That was the bone’s roar.

Herbert’s physical form was rapidly disintegrating, unable to withstand such overwhelming power.

He knew he was about to break through to the Legendary realm.

Herbert was strong, but this post-breakthrough power was stronger—far beyond what he could currently endure.

After waiting so long at the threshold of the Legendary, his sudden breakthrough brought an unimaginable leap.

The Legendary realm is the barrier separating mortals from the transcendent.

To most mortals, practitioners are an entirely different kind of being—possessing greater power and longer lifespans.

But that is incorrect.

At least, not entirely.

Low, Mid, and High—so long as a practitioner remains within these three stages, their power is far from inhuman.

They may be powerful, but nowhere near that extreme.

But the Legendary is different.

Any being that steps into the Legendary realm undergoes a tremendous leap in life’s tier, truly entering the transcendent state!

Though they still look up to the gods, they have already risen above mortals.

Legendary masters no longer require food or drink; the magical energy they inhale sustains their basic life.

Even melee practitioners who never studied spells can now sense the presence of laws and hear voices mortals cannot perceive.

A Legendary priest can cast the Revival Divine Art to resurrect someone within fifteen minutes of death.

As long as the deceased or the priest’s patron deity is strong enough, and the soul is not utterly destroyed, the soul can be snatched back from Death’s emissaries within those fifteen minutes.

Especially since the Death God of this world began slacking off—so long as sufficient cost is paid, the rescue window can be doubled.

For some melee practitioners, wounds that once meant instant death no longer kill them outright.

Unless the head is severed and destroyed, even a Legendary warrior whose heart is ripped out can remain active for over fifteen minutes, even up to half an hour—and likely trigger a Death Rage state.

If they kill their enemy within that time, then have a priest use a divine art to regrow their heart, they can survive.

Or they can endure for fifteen minutes, then find a Legendary priest within fifteen minutes after death—half an hour to an hour is enough time for many things.

Transcendent.

Countless mortals walk this path, striving to train, hoping one day to reach this realm.

But the path to Legendary is impossibly hard; countless lives fall along the way.

They never glimpse the true face of the transcendent world.

Countless beings fight and kill along this path, striving to go farther, hoping to reach the end.

And now, Herbert has stepped across that threshold—he has finally passed the towering barrier that blocks over ninety-nine percent of all beings.

But something seems to have gone wrong… a big problem!

This overwhelming power is too much for his own body to bear.

Before destroying evil, this holy light is about to destroy him first.

At this moment, Herbert strangely felt no pain—he observed his body’s transformation from a detached perspective.

“Huh, am I dying? Am I already seeing my life flash before my eyes?”

A ridiculous thought flashed through Herbert’s mind; he couldn’t help laughing.

“Pfft, hah!”

Like hell I’m dying.

Why am I even making hell jokes about myself now?

“What nonsense—I’m not going to fall here!”

Herbert had always been confident; he never believed he’d collapse on the path to Legendary like other pitiful fools.

This wasn’t arrogance—it was a conclusion drawn after understanding everything.

With all this help, if he still couldn’t break through to Legendary, he’d be utterly useless.

Herbert is not useless. He never was.

He would never fall at the threshold of breakthrough; he would not allow it.

She wouldn’t either.

“Nenasha!”

So Herbert silently called out in his heart:

“Save—me—”

Sister, save me, please!

Stop just watching over there!

Help me!

【“Pfft!”】

The Goddess of Humor hadn’t expected Herbert to so easily beg for help; she laughed and teased: 【“Oh? Are you pouting again?”】

【“You can’t even hold out this long? This is just the beginning!”】

【“Well! Since you’ve been so well-behaved today, I’ll be merciful and help you this once… hmm?”】

Nenasha sensed Herbert’s physical state and couldn’t help scoffing: 【“What are you doing? Do you really need me? Even if I don’t help, you won’t be harmed at all!”】

My dear ally, what are you doing?

Are you in pain?

You’re not in pain!

You’re perfectly fine!

Why call for help?

Are you teasing me on purpose?

【“Are you really pouting?”】

The Goddess of Humor sighed in disbelief—but Herbert honestly answered her.

“Kind of?”

Herbert smiled and nodded: “Compared to enduring the process of breaking through to Legendary, I’d rather talk to you right now.”

While others must give their all to endure the breakthrough to Legendary, Herbert remained remarkably relaxed.

【“Why?”】

“Because you’ve always been with me.”

He smiled softly: “I want to share every moment, every sensation I feel with you.”

Every tremor, every thought in my heart—I want to share it all with you.

This may sound ordinary, but it’s a direct confession.

Facing Herbert’s blunt advance, Nenasha showed no shy, girlish reaction.

【“No, it’s not you.”】

She chuckled lightly, speaking with certainty: 【“It’s always been this way.”】

What are you still saying now?

Wasn’t it always like this from the start?

I share everything with you; you share everything with me.

You are me; I am you.

Our bond is stronger than any other.

Allies. Accomplices.

Inseparable.

Interwoven fates. Side by side, bound by life and death.

They silently felt this for a moment, then both softly laughed.

They did not press further into this topic—some bonds need no words.

They cherished this relationship, this way of being together.

“So this is what it feels like to enter the Legendary?”

Herbert, feeling his flesh and blood continuously shatter, sighed: “What a miserable sight.”

【“It’s all torn and ragged.”】

“Mm, indeed.”

He nodded in agreement and asked, “So, you really won’t intervene? Or am I fine even if you don’t?”

Really no need?

I think I might still be salvageable?

Although Herbert likely guessed that rebirth would follow destruction, under the current circumstances, his body didn’t seem capable of enduring until rebirth began.

It’s almost turned to pulp!

Yet Nenasha remained calm, saying casually: 【“Mm, this time you don’t need me at all—you can resolve it naturally yourself.”】

【“Time is nearly up. Have you felt it?”】

“Felt what? I… oh?” Herbert’s spirit stirred, redirecting his awareness back to his physical form.

He finally felt pain.

“Hss!”

The agony struck harder than expected, tearing through every muscle in his body.

His flesh and soul were being torn apart, shattered by the surging holy power.

Dark red blood spurted from his pores, mixed with fine bone fragments expelled from within.

Rebirth through destruction.

Emerging from annihilation into renewal.

And just as his entire body seemed ready to crumble into dust, the long-awaited rebirth finally began.

Before bone and flesh regenerated, the first to change were the Holy Marks on his body.

Hum—

Golden Holy Marks spread from his fingertips, intricate patterns like living enamel crawling over his palms, then up his arms, finally extending to his back.

But this was not the end—only the beginning.

Once the Holy Marks Herbert already possessed surfaced, their growth accelerated instantly, spreading across his entire body within a few breaths.

His whole body was now covered in brilliant Holy Marks, as if clad in a magnificent battle armor!

No, it was no illusion!

All the Holy Marks dimmed simultaneously, then blazed back to life at once.

Click-click-click…

The Holy Marks transformed into a splendid crimson battle armor encasing him, etched with golden intricate patterns.

His blood-red wings unfurled, more than twice their previous size.

Only Herbert’s head remained exposed; his white hair, illuminated by the crimson armor, now glowed with a tinge of blood-red.

He snapped open his eyes, golden light flashing briefly within.

He had no time to feel the changes within his body, no time to test the armor’s properties.

As bones shattered and flesh tore apart, the armor replaced them, holding up his frame.

He had not fallen—and would never fall.

And since he had not fallen, this rebirth would continue.

The transformation was still ongoing!

The true rebirth had begun.

In a daze, Herbert heard a thunderous hammer strike explode beside his ear.

Boom!

He felt his body become a vast furnace, burning and hammering him from within.

Everything destroyed by the holy light now regenerated under its radiance, stronger than before.

A virtuous cycle began; this advancement finally found its proper course.

Just as Nenasha had said at the start—even without her intervention, Herbert could easily pass this trial.

【“Though later than I expected, it doesn’t matter—you’ve finally reached this point.”】

Nenasha was pleased.

The chains of the mortal world no longer bound Herbert.

She whispered softly beside his ear: 【“I don’t know what held you back, what you couldn’t let go of.”】

【“I’m glad you’ve finally made your choice.”】

To others, Herbert’s advancement seemed astonishingly fast—but to Her, it was somewhat slow.

In Nenasha’s view, Herbert should have ascended to Legend long ago.

The reason he’d remained stuck before Legend was surely because something within him was too precious to abandon.

She knew—but never brought it up, waiting for him to release it himself.

Now it seemed clear: what he couldn’t let go of was the weak, naive noble youth he had been before meeting her.

“...Mm, thanks to you.”

【“Hehe! That’s right—you could thank me even more, you know~”】

Herbert smiled. He vaguely suspected Nenasha had misunderstood something, but offered no further explanation.

Because something was off…

Herbert felt as if he had become a sphere of light and heat.

Within the Mirror Realm, countless mirrors reflected the light radiating from him, then returned it back to his body.

All the light converged upon him, making him feel as if standing beneath a spotlight, growing brighter and brighter!

Lulucalia had long since covered her eyes and hidden away from the blinding glare.

Moreover, the crimson armor on his body seemed to relish this light, absorbing it relentlessly and growing hotter.

He was like a man wrapped in flowing flame… or a red-hot tin can.

Only Herbert’s fire resistance spared him from unbearable agony—he’d otherwise be suffering terribly.

His body felt scorching hot—about to ignite!

Herbert knew that, if this continued, he would grow hotter and hotter until he found a way to release it.

He couldn’t stay here—but where would be the right place to act?

“...Hm?”

As Herbert pondered, he suddenly sensed something and turned his gaze toward the Ancient Mirror.

With a thought, the scene shifted, landing upon Elda Domain.

In the night, a massive three-headed beast lurked silently within the mist’s shadows, its greedy gaze fixed on the now-silent town.

Danger was approaching!

“...Got it!”

Herbert’s eyes lit up; his crimson wings beat once, carrying his blazing form straight into the mirror.

(End of Chapter)