Debuff Master

“Eh?” Siegfried was flustered after reading the message that popped up in front of his eyes. How did he acquire a skill when he did not even level up? Was this even possible to begin?

“My disciple.”

“Yes, Master?”

“The skills I have created have already been absorbed into your subconsciousness. Your body will need to be strong enough for you to use a few of them, but that is not the case for some of those skills.”

“What does that mean, Master…?”

“I thought you said you realized something?”

“...!”

“You have attained enlightenment, so the skill you've thought of will naturally occur to you.”

“Ah!” Siegfried exclaimed. He finally understood what Deus was trying to say.

Simply put, there were skills that required the user to reach a certain level to acquire, while there were skills that required the user to attain enlightenment to acquire. In other words, the Debuff Master’s skill tree did not rely only on leveling up, as the user could also acquire skills through attaining enlightenment.

As expected, there was a reason why a Hidden Class was a Hidden Class.

Of course, the skill would have to exist in the Debuff Master's skill tree for Siegfried to acquire them through enlightenment. Otherwise, he wouldn't acquire the skill that he wanted to acquire, no matter how many times he was enlightened.

“I did not do anything. You thought about things yourself and was enlightened to it, which awakened the skill slumbering in your subconsciousness.”

“I understand what you mean, Master.”

“Keke! It’s good to see you starting to become a proper human being. You were worse than an animal when I first started teaching you!”

“M-Master…? T-That is a bit…” Siegfried retorted meekly while sweating profusely.

“Oh? If you weren’t worse than an animal then were you human? You barely were on the same level as an animal after receiving my teachings, and now you’re barely acting like a human being.”

“Erm… T-That is…”

Siegfried was speechless at Deus’ brutal facts, as he knew just how bad he was before meeting Deus.

Was there a point in bringing up his past and talking about it? Saying that he was worse than an animal was already putting it in a nice way, as he was nothing more than a piece of trash back then.

“I apologize for being worse than an animal… Sniff…” Siegfried muttered, sulking and sniffling after being forced to admit—no, the bitter truth.

“Still, you've become almost a human being after what you’ve achieved today,” Deus said with a warm gentle smile. Then, he added, “So hurry up and become a proper human being, my disciple.”

“Yes, Master! I will strive to become a human being!”

One thing to point out was that the meaning behind "human being" in Deus and Siegfried's eyes was equivalent to a Master—someone who had overcome the Level 299 wall.

In other words, those who had yet to surpass that wall were not a human being in Deus' eyes. Was this a privilege only those invincible could enjoy?

“I will be going now, Master.”

“Sure, go and destroy Sieghart’s descendant.”

“Yes, Master!” Siegfried replied confidently and left for the Espadrille Province.

***

On that same evening, Siegfried went to find Duke Decimato.

“I am at your service, Your Majesty,” Duke Decimato bowed and greeted him.

“I have heard that your efforts were immensely helpful in our retreat yesterday.”

“Not at all,” Decimato shook his head and replied. Then, he explained, “It was all thanks to Your Majesty’s wise tactics. I am merely Your Majesty’s pawn, moving according to each and every one of Your Majesty’s commands.”

“You are too humble.”

“I was just stating the facts.”

“Haha!”

Siegfried could not help but love Duke Decimato.

To be honest, the duke was far too good for the Proatine Kingdom that it was akin to a pig wearing pearl necklaces. After all, Duke Decimato was a Great Wizard capable of easily becoming a duke in any powerful kingdom out there.

In fact, he would be guaranteed the title of at least a count or a viscount if he went to the Marchioni Empire right now. He'd also definitely rise up the ranks at a very fast rate.

Despite all that, Duke Decimato had decided to stay in the Proatine Kingdom and do his duties as one of Siegfried’s subjects.

“I always feel bad for not giving you the treatment you deserve, Duke Decimato.”

“Not at all. Your Majesty saved my life and introduced me to the very person who helped me become a Great Wizard. Your Majesty’s grace is as vast as the ocean to me, so why would you say something like that?”

“Still…”

“I will forever stay as Your Majesty’s loyal subject.”

“Hahaha! I would be grateful if you did that!”

“Anyway, is there anything Your Majesty needs from me?”

“Ah…” Siegfried hesitated for a second before whispering something into Duke Decimato’s ears.

***

The next day, the morale of the coalition forces that retreated to the Marmont Territory had hit rock-bottom, and the atmosphere within the walls was similar to the atmosphere of a funeral home.

It went without saying that the commanders were not feeling too good about their current situation either.

“Should we request reinforcements from our church?”

“We have no idea when they’re going to attack us!”

“There’s no way our defensive lines can withstand their siege…”

“This is a huge problem… Our men’s morale has fallen far too low, and I’m not sure if they can even perform in the next battle.”

Siegfried had already told them that he had found a wa to defeat Count Arial, but the representatives were still uneasy. However, it wasn't really strange, as Siegfried had yet to show anything substantial while Count Arial was performing miracle after miracle.

He was truly like a god that had descended upon the continent.

“Hmm? Is there something wrong?” Siegfried asked, tilting his head in confusion after sensing the atmosphere in the room.

“We had a small debate over how to combat the enemies,” Cardinal Shrink replied.

The cardinal’s face was ghastly pale. The drink that Siegfried had graciously provided had made him vomit his guts out.

“But you don’t have to worry about them anymore,” Siegfried said.

“Pardon me, Your Majesty…?”

“They won’t be attacking for now. I believe they will be laying low for a day or two at least.”

“How could Your Majesty be certain of that?”

“Because Count Arial has to rest…”

“Eh?”

“Count Arial is borrowing the powers of an ancient artifact to perform all those miracles.”

Siegfried did not bother telling the representatives about the soul fragment and instead told them that it was an ancient artifact.

“He can’t overexert himself unless he wants to get swallowed up by that ancient artifact.”

“Does that mean this is our perfect opportunity to strike them?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“Even a rat trapped in a corner will bite a cat. Let me ask you this. Do you think Count Arial will push himself now or not?”

“If what Your Majesty said is true, then I doubt he would risk getting—”

“But what if we pushed him, and he ends up getting devoured by the ancient artifact? Don’t you think that’s going to make things more complicated? I mean, he could go on a rampage with reckless abandon.”

“...!”

“Our enemy is like a bomb. The bomb will grow bigger the longer we let it be, yet we can’t simply pounce on him, as we have no idea when it will explode. I know it’s frustrating, but we will have to slowly appease him while beating him up.”

The only reason Count Arial, who was not even a Great Wizard, could stop the soul fragment from taking over his body was all thanks to his lineage of being Sieghart’s descendant.

The third eye and Dragon Speech ability that his bloodline had gifted him allowed him to still stay sane despite the corruptive powers of the soul fragment. Well, it was a stretch to say he was completely sane.

“Hmm…”

“Anyway, I am confident that he won’t do anything for the next one or two days.”

“But what about after that—”

“He will attack first, as the victory from the previous battle would have given him courage.”

“Then…”

“That’s when we finish him off,” Siegfried said with a smirk. Then, he pointed to the ground and said, “Right here. In the Marmont Territory...”

He planned to kill Count Arial, retrieve the soul fragment, and put an end to this civil war in the next battle.

***

Everything Siegfried told the representatives turned out to be true. The rebels stayed cooped up in the Paraffin Territory for two days and showed no signs of doing anything.

“Arghh…”

Count Arial spent two days trying to keep the rampaging energy of the soul fragment under control, and this was all because of Siegfried.

“That damned bastard… Were we mortal enemies in our previous lives…?”

Count Arial gnashed his teeth upon recalling Siegfried’s face. He originally had no plans of using his powers. His plan was to focus on keeping the soul fragment under control, but the problem was that the Paraffin Territory was left empty by the coalition forces.

The rebels had easily conquered the city, as it was left unguarded, but the coalition forces completely emptied it beforehand.

Therefore, Count Arial was forced to keep the soul fragment under control while continuously performing miracles to provide food and water to his people.

“I’m not going to grant you a quick and easy death, you vicious bastard. I will destroy your kingdom and execute your family before your very eyes before I kill you…!” Count Arial swore under his breath.

Ironically, the rage he held toward Siegfried proved helpful in keeping the soul fragment under control, and this allowed him to mobilize with his army from the Paraffin Territory.

Time was of the essence now, as the coalition forces’ morale had hit rock bottom while the rebel forces’ morale was as high as it could get. The rebels neither tired nor died, so Count Arial knew this was the perfect opportunity to finish the coalition off.

As scary as it sounded, Count Arial’s armies could wage war three hundred sixty-five days in a year without ceasing as long as he could keep the soul fragment in check.

The rebel army was more like an undead army at this point.

“Move out, my soldiers! Your enemies are tired and afraid of us! Go and establish my holy kingdom!”

“To God be the glory!”

The rebel army led by Count Arial left the gates of the Paraffin Territory and headed to the Marmont Territory, where the coalition forces were hiding.

A few hours later, the rebel forces arrived in front of the Marmont Territory, and they stopped just shy of cannon-firing range.

“Lift up your eyes and look, my people!” Count Arial exclaimed and waved his hand at the Marmont Territory.

Krwaaaang!

The walls that spanned more than two kilometers came crumbling down at a single wave of his hand.

“Oh!”

“God is with us!”

“He is omnipotent!”

The rebels were in a frenzy after witnessing Count Arial destroy the walls with a single wave of his hand. Their morale surged crazily, reaching new peaks.

“Go forth and punish those blasphemous fools who dared to go against God!” Count Arial pointed at the exposed city and raised his voice.

Waaaaaaaah!

The rebels, armed with Super Armor, charged at the Marmont Territory with reckless abandon.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The coalition forces fired their cannons at the waves of rebels, and both sides clashed in melee combat.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you!”

“I am always with you!”

“Arise, my soldiers! Death has no grasp over you!”

Count Arial multiplied into dozens of copies and started providing support for the rebels just like the battle prior.

“Phew… Let’s go.”

“Let’s go! Kyuuu!”

Siegfried let out a sigh once the battle started and headed straight toward the rebel forces with Hamchi. He activated the second stage of Overclocking to buff himself with Super Armor and transformed his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a shield.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

He charged forward like a train off the rails and bulldozed past the rebels.

“Where are you going, foolish one?”

One of Count Arial’s copies teleported and blocked Siegfried’s path.

The two of them were now standing face to face, merely meters apart.

“Have you come to die?” Count Arial asked.

“Do you really think so?” Siegfried asked with a shrug.

“What are you planning, foolish one? Are you perhaps trying to act like a hero? Or is this your idea of committing suicide? You can struggle all you want, but nothing is going to work against me.”

“Really?”

“I am God, and only divine punishment awaits those who go against God.”

“You’re a god? Pfft! Y-Yeah, sure, you can be God if you want to,” Siegfried replied, barely managing to stop himself from bursting into laughter. Then, he flashed a smug smirk and added, “If you’re God, then I’m about to drag a god down his high seat and plunge him into sewage.”

“What nonsense is—”

It was then.

“Alright! Time to dive in shit water!” Siegfried exclaimed.

Zhwooom!

A blue wave burst out of Siegfried and swept across the entire battlefield.

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