SSS-Class Sword Magus: My Wife Is A Goddess!

"It seems the darkness stretches farther than the city itself," Jack muttered, his eyes fixed on the sky above. He watched how the black haze bled past the city borders, creeping out into the barren lands beyond. The oppressive shroud showed no clear end, giving the impression that the entire world had been swallowed whole.

That realization brought a heavier problem. Since the night sky stretched far and wide, the monsters trapped within the domain were constantly nourished by the lingering essence of the explosion. Each one of them was stronger, sharper, more vicious than the ordinary beasts they had faced before. Luckily, their current position was far enough from the city walls that the monsters were not an immediate threat.

'That explains why Sommeil didn't bother to deal with them,' Jack thought, his brows furrowing. 'He was probably too lazy to care.'

Breaking the silence, Jack shifted his attention to Evelyn. "We'll take down that group over there first," he said, nodding toward a distant cluster of shadows prowling through the dim landscape. "After that, we'll scout around and hunt smaller groups one by one. Wipe them out, and keep moving."

Evelyn's expression hardened as she absorbed his words.

"We'll split up," Jack continued. "Fight alone. Train. If you need help, call for me."

"Mhm, got it," she replied firmly, though her voice carried a faint trace of hope. "Hopefully one of these things finally drops a weapon for me."

Without hesitation, Evelyn pushed herself to her feet and headed toward her chosen direction. Jack remained still for a moment, his gaze following her until she disappeared into the mist. Only then did he roll his shoulders and begin to move.

"Are you all right, Jack?" Lune's voice slipped through the quiet. She had been watching him closely, and what she saw unsettled her. His eyes burned—not with the usual calm determination, but with a raw, searing fire she hadn't seen before. It wasn't just focus. It was hunger.

Jack glanced at her. "Hm? I'm fine," he answered casually, stretching his limbs one last time. "Just focused."

His tone was the same as always, but Lune wasn't fooled. She knew him too well. What had unfolded in the last two days had scarred him deeper than even he realized. Every decision, every word, every silent step now carried the weight of that buried turmoil. He was suppressing it, channeling it into something else—into this fight.

But Lune also knew Jack's nature. Once his mind was set, nothing could sway him. And right now, she could see it clearly in his expression: nothing in this world was going to stop him from slaughtering those monsters.

Jack exhaled, steady and controlled. His essence surged, forming sharpened claws on his left hand while his right tightened around the sword's hilt. Ahead of him, the monsters came into view—hulking Zebra-Moose hybrids with unnaturally long horns and thick fur that gleamed under the dim sky. Towering and muscular, they pawed at the ground, waiting for him to make the first move.

Jack didn't wait long.

His pace quickened. Slowly at first, then faster, until his body blurred into a dash that tore across the field. The herd noticed him instantly, their heads snapping up, their breaths heavy with alarm. Some of the smaller ones staggered back. The larger, more confident beasts stepped forward to intercept.

But Jack was already upon them.

His claws sliced forward, essence-charged and deadly, ripping through the air with a sharp hiss. The closest monster didn't even have the chance to react. Its neck split open in a spray of crimson, blood bursting like a fountain as Jack immediately drove his sword through the wound, finishing it in one merciless thrust.

[You have killed a Horned Zebra.][You have gained 1 Time Essence.][You have gained 1 Wisdom Point.][Your sword has sharpened.]

The notifications rang in his head, but Jack didn't falter. He pivoted sharply, striking the beast to his right. It lunged with its massive horns, but he met its attack head-on. His claws slashed across its face, gouging deep into its eyes. The monster shrieked, blinded, staggering in pain. Jack followed without hesitation—his blade swept across its throat in a clean, efficient strike.

Another corpse collapsed into the dirt.

Using the dead weight as leverage, Jack pushed off and soared into the air. His landing was precise—right on the back of another monster. Without pause, his sword plunged deep into its spine. The beast convulsed, legs buckling as it collapsed under its own weight. Jack twisted the blade and then pierced its heart, silencing its screams in an instant.

Every movement was terrifyingly sharp. Aggressive. Relentless. Each strike calculated, honed by instinct and rapid adaptation. Jack wasn't just fighting—he was learning in real time. Every second, his body adjusted, his attacks refined.

But there was something different this time.

Brutality.

Blood spattered across the field, coating the grass in dark streaks. Limbs were severed, spines crushed, throats torn wide open. And Jack didn't flinch. There was no hesitation, no flicker of disgust in his eyes. He cut through flesh as if it were paper, indifferent to whether his victims suffered quick deaths or agonizing ones. Efficiency dictated his every move, but cruelty bled through the execution.

Lune's stomach tightened as she watched. Her face paled.

'He's… deliberately making it brutal,' she realized.

As a fighter herself, she could tell Jack didn't need to kill them like this. There were cleaner, faster ways. But his expression told the truth: this wasn't just battle. It was catharsis. He wasn't fighting to survive. He was venting. All the anger, all the frustration, all the exhaustion he had bottled up—it was spilling out in red arcs of violence.

Jack had always been calm. Collected. Even ruthless in his own right. But this? This was different.

Splash.

Another geyser of blood.

In less than a minute, five monsters were down. And the number only climbed higher. Ten fell in rapid succession, their corpses littering the dirt. The survivors, once so confident, began to step back in trembling fear. But Jack did not stop. His body moved like a machine, an engine of destruction that showed no sign of slowing.

[You have killed…][You have gained…][Your sword has sharpened…][You have evolved.][Your Time Essence has increased considerably.][Your strength has increased considerably.]

The cascade of notifications struck him all at once. A sudden, violent rush of power exploded through every fiber of his being. Jack's knees nearly buckled as his muscles convulsed, bones rattling under the surge. His body quaked like it had been plugged into a current of pure energy, Time Essence flooding every cell.

It was overwhelming. Intense. A storm ripping through his veins.

He staggered, essence seeping uncontrollably from his body, growing denser and brighter with each heartbeat. His eyes widened as realization dawned.

"I'm about to evolve…" he muttered, almost dazed. The revelation had crept up on him, hidden within the chaos of battle. He hadn't expected it to come so soon.

But when it hit, when the surge truly settled in—

The sheer intoxication of it nearly drove him to his knees.

His lips curved into something close to a smile, sharp and dangerous. "I'm… so much stronger."

And he was right. The battlefield reeked of blood, but Jack stood amidst it all, pulsing with newfound strength, a chronist reborn.

Slowly, he looked up at the terrified herd of monsters before he exhaled a long, satisfied breath. 'Well, this is a new step taken. I'm feeling a lot more powerful. Like my body is lighter and faster... I can see better, and my senses feel a lot sharper.'

The changes were so countless that Jack couldn't even feel them all immediately. However, his body was completely different from before. He could swear that even his skin looked spotless and smooth, with no flaws or anything ugly.

Then, Jack tried to channel his Essence, and he immediately noticed the immense increase in Essence, its quality, and how fast it could channel through his body. It was like a huge blockage that clogged his essence was destroyed, and now it can move freely and quickly.

The feeling was beyond satisfying.

Slowly, Jack clenched his fists tightly before he looked up at the monsters. They instantly stepped back, feeling terrified by his sheer presence. They noticed how his aura became even more terrifying out of nowhere, and the pressure he was exuding increased several-fold.

The already terrifying monster became even more terrifying. So, naturally, they turned around to scatter and run away. However, Jack's eyes sharpened immediately as he stepped forward. His foot sank into the hard dirt before he launched himself forward.

His speed... was terrifying.

*Swish*

In less than a second, he crossed several meters with one leap. It was way beyond what he expected. Before he even realized, Jack was already near the first target. It took no effort whatsoever.

He had become truly monstrous.