SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will-Chapter 109: The Core Breaks

The corrupted man’s roar came as a reply instead.

As he gathered an enormous mass of vines into a single crushing attack. The energy required was massive. Arthur could see the tainted mana rushing desperately toward the chest.

The core flared brighter than ever.

Exactly what Arthur wanted.

He pretended to misjudge the attack and allowed the vines to close in, surrounding him from all sides. Escape routes sealed instantly.

The trap looked complete.

The corrupted man surged forward to finish him.

Arthur’s voice came out calm.

"Got you."

A violent wave of fire exploded outward.

Fire Manifest Intent burst from his body in a circular blast, burning every vine that surrounded him. The sudden destruction forced the corrupted man to regenerate all at once.

Arthur saw it clearly.

The core overreacted.

The condensed energy expanded to maximum output, pushing layers of protection aside as it poured power into the damaged body.

For a single moment.. It was exposed.

Arthur moved.

Intent Step carried him forward like a flash of light. His dagger burned with concentrated fire as he drove straight toward the man’s chest.

The corrupted man tried to defend, but his reactions were slow. His mind was gone. He couldn’t think, couldn’t strategize, couldn’t understand the trap closing around him.

Arthur’s blade struck.

It pierced the chest, reaching the dense knot of corrupted energy within.

The tainted core resisted.

It hardened instantly, pushing back against the attack. The force threw Arthur slightly off balance.

He clicked his tongue.

"Not enough, huh?"

His eyes sharpened.

Execution Intent activated.

The world seemed to narrow around the single point of weakness. The unstable lines within the core revealed themselves, cracks hidden beneath the surface.

Arthur twisted the dagger and drove it deeper.

Fire surged through the blade.

A sharp cracking sound echoed.

The core shattered.

A violent burst of tainted mana exploded outward like a storm breaking free. Dark energy surged through the air in uncontrolled waves, making Arthur’s skin crawl violently.

It was revolting.

Heavy and suffocating.

He leapt backward immediately as the corrupted man screamed. Without the core to regulate the energy, the tainted mana flooded his body uncontrollably.

His form collapsed.

Limbs twisted. Flesh decayed.

The regeneration stopped completely.

The corrupted energy that once obeyed him now spilled into the air without direction, dispersing into the forest like black mist.

Arthur watched quietly.

"If you kept that inside... your body would’ve burst eventually."

The man dropped to his knees, barely recognizable as human anymore. The vines around him crumbled into ash.

The fight was over.

Arthur approached slowly, observing the remaining flow of energy with his enhanced perception. He studied how the corrupted mana scattered, how the ritual’s connection faded, and how the unnatural circulation disappeared completely.

He was learning.

Even now.

He crouched slightly, examining the remnants.

"So that was how you they used the corrupted mana," he muttered. "Copying monsters. Letting the mana control you instead."

There was no response.

The corrupted man collapsed fully, lifeless.

Arthur exhaled and straightened.

"It’s done."

Far away, at the Ironroot Pass stronghold, the battle had taken a different turn.

The captains were the first to notice.

The massive vine beast slowed.

Its movements lost precision. The pressure it once emitted weakened rapidly, and the terrifying regeneration that had exhausted them began to fail.

Captain Veylor’s eyes widened.

"It’s weakening!"

The vines were easier to cut. Their attacks lacked coordination. Even the spider monsters moved sluggishly, their aggression fading.

Hope spread quickly.

Explorers who had been barely holding the line suddenly found breathing space. Their weapons struck deeper. Their attacks landed cleaner.

Some laughed in disbelief.

Some dropped to their knees in relief before forcing themselves back up.

"We’re pushing them back!"

"We can win this!"

Behind the defensive line, civilians who had been trembling in fear slowly raised their heads. The suffocating pressure in the air had lifted. The sense of certain death faded.

A child began to cry.

A woman covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face.

Hope returned quietly, then all at once.

Captain Veylor raised his weapon high.

"Don’t stop! This is our chance!"

His voice carried across the battlefield, strong and steady. The explorers answered with renewed strength, charging forward with everything they had left.

The weakened vine beast fell under their combined assault soon after.

Cheers erupted.

But while others celebrated, Captain Ryn remained tense.

His eyes stayed fixed on the direction Arthur had gone.

He could still feel the distant pressure rising earlier. Something intense. Something dangerous.

He gripped his weapon tightly.

"Hold on, kid," he murmured.

Then suddenly..

The pressure vanished.

The tainted mana that once flowed in a focused direction dispersed into the air without control. The heavy presence was gone.

Ryn froze.

Then a slow smile appeared.

"If the source is gone... then you’re alive."

Relief washed through him.

Around him, the battlefield erupted into celebration as the remaining monsters were quickly cleared. Exhausted explorers laughed, shouted, and collapsed where they stood.

They had survived.

Captain Veylor walked over, resting his weapon on his shoulder.

"That kid in your division," he said casually. "He had something to do with this, didn’t he?"

Ryn didn’t deny it.

"He’s... something else."

Veylor chuckled. "A gem. The sixth division commander picked well."

Ryn nodded quietly, still staring toward the forest.

"Yeah," he said. "she did."

The battlefield had finally grown quiet.

The last monster had fallen, and the heavy air that once suffocated everyone slowly faded. What remained was exhaustion, relief, and the strange silence that always followed survival.

Then the celebrations became even louder.

Explorers laughed weakly, some dropping their weapons as they sat on the ground. Others helped the wounded, their hands still shaking from everything they had endured. The civilians gathered in small groups, whispering prayers, holding their loved ones tightly like they might disappear if they let go.

They had lived.

That alone felt unreal.

As Captain Veylor stood at the center of the field, watching the aftermath with a satisfied nod.