At the very instant the massive sword slashed down, the vast sky suddenly lit up.
This brilliance was more dazzling than the sun, hotter than any flame, and it gathered above the clouds into a radiant beam of light.
It descended from the heavens, like the staff of God itself shining down upon the world.
Justice, light, glory—this sword of light that fell from the sky embodied countless awe-inspiring positive forces.
Smoker, Tashigi, the Marines, the villagers—even the Fishmen—were all overwhelmed by this divine power.
Smoker was so shocked he forgot to puff his cigar.
After witnessing the light, he finally began to believe the nonsense Garen had spouted earlier—
That his power came from justice.
Tashigi, on the other hand, stared blankly at the sword of light, completely captivated by the unparalleled sword technique.
Once the sword of light, which pierced down from the vast heavens, finally faded away, the world returned to its tranquil state.
Only the clouds, scattered by the sword's glow, still faithfully bore witness to that brilliant moment.
As for the Fishman who had been the target of Garen's attack—the one judged by Demacia's justice—
He was already dead.
His body, as if scorched by some intense heat, had been charred black from the inside out, leaving behind a statue of charcoal.
Yet, the righteous light had caused no harm to anything else—not even the grass beneath the Fishman's feet was singed.
"About 80%..."
Garen silently memorized the number.
As the one who used the ability, he could clearly feel the intensity of that divine strike.
His skill descriptions never included explicit damage numbers—
Because his abilities only had a threshold—a maximum limit.
Within that limit, Garen could freely adjust the strength of his attacks.
Take his "Decisive Strike" for example—he could either smash his target with full force, leaving them half-paralyzed,
Or gently tap them, just brushing against their body.
But no matter what, Garen's skills could never exceed their damage cap,
And that cap was determined by his own physical strength.
If his body didn't improve, he would always deal the same maximum output, with every strike carrying the same force.
This was also why Tashigi viewed Garen as a swordmaster from some classical epic.
However, just now, that strike—Demacian Justice—had an actual effect that surpassed Garen's maximum output by about 80%.
Considering Garen's ultimate already dealt substantial damage,
An additional 80% boost was enough to instantly obliterate that low-tier Fishman into ashes.
The scene fell silent, everyone still immersed in the stunning spectacle they had just witnessed.
"Um..."
Garen turned to the remaining Fishmen and said,
"Would you guys mind helping me test the sword again?"
"Huh?"
The Fishmen snapped out of their shock and glanced at each other in panic.
"Uhh..."
Cold sweat dripped from their foreheads as they forced awkward smiles, their faces pale and anxious.
"Maybe… that won't be necessary?"
In the end, Garen still used them to test out the Greatsword.
But this time, he didn't kill anyone.
Thanks to his precise control over the skill's damage output,
He could summon a pillar of righteous light from the sky that merely gave the target a sunbath without doing any actual harm.
And the damage boost from the skill was calculated based on the damage Garen actually dealt.
So he could apply just enough force to cause a light graze and still test the boost mechanic.
Thus, under the watchful eyes of the Marines and villagers,
Garen repeatedly summoned divine light from the heavens several times in a row.
The first time people witnessed the Greatsword, they all wore shocked expressions like they were about to "meet their maker."
But after seeing it a few more times, everyone got used to the celestial light show.
"Skill touches the World… the World connects to the divine!"
Despite having seen the light show several times now, Tashigi was still utterly entranced.
She clutched the hilt of her sword tightly and muttered to herself,
"To think that he's fused his belief in justice into his swordsmanship..."
"How far has Senior Garen walked down the path of the sword?"
Meanwhile, Garen continued carefully researching the damage-boost mechanism of his Greatsword.
With Nami, who had infiltrated the Arlong crime syndicate, pointing out the remaining Fishmen,
Their past crimes were quickly exposed.
And based on their deeds, Garen was able to roughly determine a correlation between a person's degree of evil and the damage boost his ultimate could receive:
If someone had intentionally killed for evil purposes,
Then their "evil level" would increase the damage boost by at least 60%.
Someone like Hatchan, who wasn't naturally cruel toward humans but still killed under Arlong's orders,
Contributed a boost close to 50%.
Among all the Fishmen tested, Hatchan had the lowest boost.
"Not enough test subjects..."
Garen muttered to himself.
Then, his eyes suddenly lit up as he looked over at Nami:
"Nami?"
"How about you give it a try too?"
"No problem!"
Nami's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Garen had already explained to her that he could summon righteous power to gauge a person's evil level.
Since the sword of light wouldn't cause harm,
She excitedly stepped forward, eager to experience this bizarre moral "checkup."
Another pillar of light descended, striking Nami directly.
Garen used the smallest possible amount of power,
So Nami only felt a faint warmth—like the soft glow of candlelight.
Once the light faded, Nami hurried over and asked excitedly,
"What's my 'evil level'?"
"Uh..."
Garen thought for a moment and said,
"Fifteen percent."
"Fifteen percent?!"
Nami frowned in confusion.
"What's the evil level of a good person supposed to be?"
"Well..."
Garen paused before offering his opinion:
"A pure, flawless good person..."
"Should be zero percent, I think?"
"What?!"
Nami blurted out in surprise.
"Someone as kind-hearted as me has a 15% evil level?"
"You..."
Garen gave her a strange look.
"You don't exactly strike me as a sweet, innocent girl."
"The first time we met, you dragged me into a dine-and-dash and nearly stole my sword."
"Hmph."
Nami's cheeks flushed, and she turned her head away awkwardly.
"Smoker!"
Garen then looked over at the Marine, who had been watching with great interest.
"Wanna try it too?"
"Sure."
Smoker readily agreed and stepped forward with interest.
Once Garen's 80-second cooldown ended, another beam of light descended.
Garen announced the boost level he sensed:
"Your evil level is..."
"Ten percent."
"Huh?"
Smoker frowned and responded unhappily,
"I'm a Marine who carries the weight of justice. How could my evil level be that high?"
"Tch."
Miss Nami, with her 15% evil level, didn't hesitate to expose Smoker's past:
"Try asking those Marines you beat up back at HQ. They probably wouldn't agree with your self-assessment."
Smoker stayed silent, his face dark as he quietly smoked his cigar.
"Senior Garen!"
Tashigi suddenly stepped forward with an excited expression and bowed slightly.
"Please let me experience that sword technique too!"
"Of course."
Garen was more than happy to welcome a willing test subject.
Tashigi immediately stood at attention, brushing down her slightly messy hair,
As if she were preparing for some sacred ceremony.
Her eyes were filled with anticipation, with a hint of nervousness.
"No need to be nervous."
Garen smiled gently.
"Your evil level shouldn't be high at all."
"Mm."
Tashigi nodded confidently.
In truth, she didn't care much about what her "evil level" would be.
Garen slowly raised his sword, then said thoughtfully,
"Everyone in this world carries some darkness that others can't see..."
"I don't think a pure, zero-percent evil person truly exists."
As he said this, Garen felt a little guilty—
He was just a guy who wandered around doing good deeds to rack up kills and grow stronger.
Yet he pretended to be a flawless knight of justice in front of others.
Just for this hypocrisy alone, he'd probably give his sword enough damage boost to land a pretty heavy hit on himself.
"Senior Garen?"
Tashigi, growing impatient, urged him on—
She was eager to personally feel the swordsmanship of a true path-walking swordmaster.
"Here it comes!"
Garen slashed his sword, and a beam of light fell from the heavens.
Tashigi felt the radiant aura within the sword's light, and once again found herself immersed in a profound understanding of the way of the sword.
"How much? How much?"
Nami couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked aloud.
Even Smoker, still silently smoking on the side, perked up his ears.
Garen stood frozen, gripping his sword, stunned.
Then he said, almost in disbelief—
"Zero percent."
(End of Chapter)