30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 224

Rumble—!

The walls behind Ihan collapsed with a deafening roar, but he didn’t even spare them a glance.

It didn’t matter if the walls fell or if the mountains crumbled—

The only thing that mattered right now was the superhuman in front of him.

There was no room for distractions.

Ihan loosened up his body.

Tuk. Tuduk.

He bounced lightly, almost like he was stepping in rhythm, testing his movements.

There wasn’t a single visible injury on his body.

Even after being slammed into a wall like that—

The only real damage was—

“Goddamn, that stings.”

—the spot where he got flicked on the forehead.

Somehow, that hurt more than being smashed into the wall.

“What kind of monster are you?”

“That’s not a monster—that’s a superhuman.”

“...Right. A superhuman that makes monsters look weak.”

“Enough complaining. Are you just going to whine all day?”

“As if.”

Tuk.

Ihan finished stretching, his eyes locking onto Baltar.

The gaze of a predator locked onto its prey.

But no matter how much he observed—

‘Of course. No openings.’

There wasn’t a single gap in Baltar’s stance.

And even if there was, it was probably a trap.

So—

‘Screw looking for an opening.’

Instead of waiting for a weakness—

He’d force one open.

Fwoom!

Ihan launched himself forward.

His legs coiled and exploded with force, accelerating like a missile.

The sheer speed of his charge rivaled that of a cheetah—

And his sheer impact matched that of a war machine.

The ground shattered beneath him as his body rocketed forward.

This wasn’t a technique meant to be used on humans.

It was a weapon of mass destruction.

And yet—

Thwack.

“Hoh. You’ve gotten stronger.”

“—?!”

“Come now. Put a little more effort into it. You’re still so weak.”

...This wasn’t human.

Ihan’s full-speed charge was stopped with one hand.

BOOM!

The shockwave from his impact sent knights flying—

But that was all.

The actual impact itself?

Completely negated.

Baltar let out a light chuckle.

“I remember when you first went off to teach at the Academy. You tried this move back then, too. What was it called? Shadow Step? Ah, nostalgia...”

“You old bastard—!!”

CRACK!

Ihan strained against Baltar’s grip.

But the more force he used, the tighter the grip became—like a spider’s web ensnaring him.

“Shall we recreate that moment, then?”

Tuk.

Baltar’s other hand landed on Ihan’s shoulder.

And then—

“You called this Internal Gravity Technique, didn’t you?”

“—!!?”

“It’s going to hurt a little more this time.”

Before Ihan could react—

BOOM—!!

His entire body was slammed into the ground.

Not just slammed—buried.

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

“Kghhh—!!”

The force didn’t just strike him—

It ripped through the ground, collapsing the very earth beneath him.

‘This is a little more?!’

If Ihan’s charge had been like a missile, then Baltar had just turned his palm into one.

The impact reverberated through his entire body.

For a brief moment, his vision went black.

“Cough!”

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Huff!

“That’s... disappointing.”

Tuk.

Baltar placed his foot on Ihan’s back.

A light touch.

But—

THUD—!

The moment his foot made contact, it felt like a thousand kilograms had just dropped on him.

“You remember that Heavy Thousand Strike technique you mentioned two years ago?”

“......”

“I gave it my own interpretation. I couldn’t quite match your fancy 600 kilograms, so I just rounded it up to 1,000.”

“......”

“Heh. Are you unconscious already?”

“Y-you... bastard...! Why the hell are you stealing my ideas?!”

“Ah. So you’re fine.”

“—!!?”

His rage boiled over.

Fine, his ass.

If he hadn’t activated Iron Body at full power, his back would’ve exploded.

This was insane.

‘If I hadn’t rebuilt my body, I’d be dead. Goddamn it!’

CRACK.

For a split second, he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward the fairies.

But gratitude could wait.

Right now—

“Hooh?”

He needed to get out of this crazy old man’s grip.

Swish!

Ihan burrowed into the ground.

Like a mole digging its way to safety.

For once, even Baltar looked a little surprised.

“Huh. So you really have abandoned the ways of men. Your goal was to become a mole, was it?”

His mocking tone rang out—

And from below—

“Don’t underestimate moles, you bastard.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suddenly, the ground began to hollow.

A series of small, circular holes formed around Baltar.

Enough to trigger anyone’s trypophobia.

And then—

BOOM!

“...Huh?”

From one of the holes, a fist shot up, grazing Baltar’s shoulder.

But Ihan wasn’t done.

“Let’s see you block this.”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Using the holes as gun barrels, Ihan unleashed a barrage of punches.

Each strike infused with Hundred Step Divine Fist and Shattering Strike.

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM!

BOOM!!

“Hah! What kind of insane bastard comes up with this?!”

Baltar laughed.

Even at his age, he had faced countless warriors, swordsmen, and mages.

But this?

‘This is completely new.’

BOOM!

He caught one of the punches.

Even through the ridiculous execution, the raw power behind each strike was no joke.

The way the energy built up and burst out—

If someone weaker had been standing here, they would have been ripped apart.

“How adorable. A young one trying to amuse an old man.”

A grin spread across his face.

Like a grandfather watching his grandchild take their first steps.

And because his grandchild had been so adorably reckless—

“Then I suppose it’s only fair that I take things seriously, too.”

Click.

Baltar lifted his iron sword.

Swords were dangerous.

Unlike bare-handed combat, where strength could be controlled, a sword was a weapon meant to kill.

But—

“You’re not the kind of man who’d die just because I drew my sword. So I’ll use it today.”

“Of course. Compared to mine, your sword is nothing more than a toy.”

“...You’re not wrong, but that still pisses me off.”

After all—his opponent was Baltar.

A man he could never kill, no matter what he did.

“Truth is often painful.”

“Goddamn it!”

Even as frustration boiled inside him, Ihan focused everything he had.

Huuuuu—

He pushed his concentration and senses to their absolute limits.

He only had one shot to land a clean hit.

And so—

Hummm. Wuuuuung—

The blade began to resonate.

A clear ringing sound filled the air.

As Ihan’s energy flooded into his iron sword—

And as he added the stolen techniques from the Northern giant and Black Blade—

Fwoooosh!

“Heh. You’ve made something interesting.”

“It’s not going to be ‘interesting’ when it hits.”

Aura Blade.

Like a starry night sky, but filled with a destructive force that was anything but beautiful.

Wuuuuuung!

A terrifying concentration of power, one that should never be used against another human.

Even the user was at risk.

And Ihan aimed it straight at Baltar.

“Even for you, this one’s gonna hurt.”

Ihan smirked, pointing the sword at him—

As if daring Baltar to dismiss it.

But—

“Hmm. Is that all?”

“...?”

“Hah. This is disappointing. Have you forgotten who I am?”

“???”

“If you’ve forgotten—then allow me to remind you.”

Wuuuuuuung—!

Suddenly, from Baltar’s own sword—

A wave of energy erupted.

At first, it looked identical to Ihan’s—

No.

It was even stronger.

Fwooooosh!

“—!!”

Ihan could only stare blankly.

Baltar smiled.

Not with mockery—

But with gentle amusement, like a teacher patiently explaining a lesson.

“Other knights struggle to even manifest Aura Waves—”

“But for us—”

CRACKLE!

“We are Aura Users.”

And then—

The aura changed.

Baltar’s blade didn’t just radiate energy.

It shifted.

Like waves crashing—

Like glass forming—

Until it condensed into something even deadlier.

Fwoooosh.

A glowing sphere began forming at the edge of his sword.

“...Compressed Aura Sphere.”

Ihan’s will to fight almost shattered on the spot.

Aura Blade Condensation.

Or as some called it—Aura Sphere.

A perfect orb of destruction, containing enough power to annihilate everything in its path.

And as more of them formed—

Ihan could only—

“...Hah.”

Laugh in disbelief.