257th Chapter
By the time Ray descended from the sky and touched the ground, very few truly understood what had transpired during that sequence of events. The demons too only grasped the situation in fragments, leaving them confused.
One clear fact was that the intruders had successfully breached through formidable firepower to land on the ground.
The three intruders began advancing towards the demons upon touching the ground. None of these three were Lords — that much was certain.
If they weren’t Lord-level, then they could be overwhelmed with sheer force and numbers. No matter how strong they were, even if they were among the best in the Empire, there were enough troops within the barrier to drain their arms and stamina.
The intruders had already expended countless artefacts just to break through aerial interception and land on the ground.
If this process repeated just one or two more times, the situation would come to an end.
The demons manifested dark magic and altered their bodies. Under the Blessing of the Dark God, the demons’ eyes glowed a fierce red.
Even though this wasn’t the Demonic Realm, the influence of the Command Blade and Preches’ assistance amplified the demons’ strength.
“…”
Anthonyus belatedly realized that the sweat streaming down his forehead was cold. Only after stepping onto this overwhelmingly disadvantageous battlefield did Anthonyus realize how vividly emotions like tension and unease could return to him.
Finally able to empathize, albeit faintly, with the fallen ones who had turned their backs and fled on the battlefield, Anthonyus began earnestly channeling the power contained within the holy relic.
Every weapon — spear, sword, shield, and chain mail — was a potent holy artifact.
High Templar, Anthonyus.
Though alone, he was not truly alone.
Anthonyus might dislike the fact, but his weapons bore the sanctification of hundreds of years of fervent prayers by countless clerics kneeling before them.
With the prayers of so many clerics accompanying him, Anthonyus, though alone, was an army formed by faith.
Kuuuung!!!
A translucent castle made of light descended centered around Anthonyus.
The blessings emanating from the Light Temple illuminated and purified the darkened land, rippling outwards.
Sensing the ominous presence, the demons indiscriminately unleashed their firepower towards Anthonyus.
However, walls and chains of divine protection surged from the light-infused ground, beginning to nullify most of the incoming attacks.
Krrrrdrrrd!!!!
The sacred barriers and chains repeatedly shattered and reformed, emitting dazzling flashes of light.
As the vision brightened, several massive demons charged towards Anthonyus.
Calmly drawing his sword, Anthonyus swung it like a hammer.
With a thunderous sound, a demon’s head exploded, and Anthonyus’ shield crushed another demon that had sneaked up from behind.
While the High Templar’s prowess was being fully displayed,
Michael steadily advanced towards the Golden Tower, manifesting a faint sword aura.
Michael’s momentum was so tranquil that a demon, despite suspecting a trap, still attempted to ambush Michael from the side.
Tss-
Something was severed.
The demon belatedly realized that his arm reaching for Michael had been cleanly cut in two.
Michael’s sword still only emitted a faint aura.
When the trajectory of Michael’s blade approached the demon’s neck, the demon finally grasped what had cut him.
A shadow-like flash, dark and descending like a shadow, extended from Michael’s sword.
The concealed slash, mingled with shadows, once again tore through the demon.
Tshak-
The demon’s neck was effortlessly severed by Michael’s technique known as “Shadow Cutting.”
Seeing this scene, the enemies approaching Michael hesitated and slowed their pace.
At that moment, the sky grew even darker.
A horse with colossal wings, engulfed in black flames, was descending from the sky.
It was a high-ranking dark spirit—an upper-tier dark spirit.
Upper-tier dark spirits could unleash tremendous firepower and were incredibly difficult to neutralize.
There was no better way to sap the intruders’ strength than using a spirit.
However, Preches frowned and signaled for the spirit to retreat to the rear.
The dark wizard tried to summon the spirit back, but before he could, the spirit’s scream violently echoed within the barrier.
“…”
Preches watched the spirit covered in blood while gesturing to the nearby demons.
“Above us.”
“?!”
Bundles of sword energy split the air and bombarded the area above the demons’ heads.
The demons preparing their spells narrowly survived thanks to Preches’ warning and rolled away from the ground.
“Harshia…!”
The mere mention of that name, worthy of being called a nightmare, spread unrest across the battlefield.
Some demons muttered Harshia’s name and trembled like frightened children.
Seeing this, Kieran snickered.
“I thought it was just rumors… Looks like the Empire really succeeded in restoring Harshia’s swordsmanship.”
Six hundred years had passed, yet instead of fading, Harshia’s legacy had grown even larger, pressuring every existence on the battlefield.
Michael, sensing the spreading unrest among the enemies, rejoiced.
Forgetting the fear of the battlefield, Michael couldn’t control the heightened emotions causing his shoulders to quiver slightly.
Michael realized once again that he stood on the battlefield where new myths would be written.
There was no battlefield worthier for a knight to stake his life on.
Michael was prepared to die. In fact, he desired it.
He deeply wished to burn gloriously and have his name etched into history.
That was Michael’s greed as a knight, not as a Royal Guard.
Meanwhile, Ray confirmed the weakening enemy offensive and prepared an artefact.
“The longer the battle drags on, the less advantageous it becomes. We’ll immediately strike that woman and the Golden Tower.”
With the output of the artefact Ray possessed, flight was entirely possible.
As Ray stepped forward, ready to plunge himself into the midst of the enemies, Anthonyus deployed all available divine barriers to protect Ray.
Seeing this, Preches muttered.
“He’s coming.”
If the Golden Tower completely collapses, Preches’ plans will face disruptions.
Interception was necessary before Ray reached here.
The only one capable of reliably stopping Ray here was Preches.
Ddddeek!
Preches pulled the Command Blade from the Dragonheart.
“Defend this place.”
Preches handed the Command Blade to a knight clad in black armor after issuing the order.
Though the erosion might slow slightly without the Command Blade, dealing with the intruders took priority.
The moment Ray wrapped himself in a divine barrier and propelled himself off the ground using the artefact’s thrust,
Preches also pressed against the ground, spewing fire from both wings.
Blobs of light shot towards each other and clashed mid-air.
Kwaang!!!!!!
With a thunderous sound, Ray fell to the ground, scraping along the paved road as he slid.
Ray chuckled while trying to stop his body.
Having pushed the sword energy to its limit, Ray had been overpowered in strength during their clash in mid-air.
It was unfamiliar territory for Ray, who had been accustomed to breaking through and overwhelming opponents’ strength.
Preches approached Ray, his massive fiery wings spread wide.
As they faced each other, the ‘authority’ inherent in their souls resonated, making it increasingly difficult to control.
Preches was familiar with suppressing such phenomena, but Ray clearly was not.
Looking at Preches through the inadvertently manifested decoding authority, Ray commented in a low voice.
“You’re not a dragon.”
*
About 600 years ago.
The dragons that existed until the very end said their time, either the appointed time or the permitted time, had come, and returned to dust.
If that was a fate they inevitably had to meet, surely a price was needed to defy such destiny.
Ray didn’t know what that price was.
But he could tell that the entity before him wasn’t a complete dragon.
“Perhaps not the main body. A contractor? A clone? Or maybe a figure you created yourself?”
Certainly, Preches wielded immense power akin to the mythical dragons.
However, most of the power Preches wielded wasn’t his own.
The mana veins beneath the Imperial Capital and the Dragonheart placed to control those veins.
Preches was drawing immense power from there.
Of course, it was evident that Preches was closely related to the existence of a dragon, but he was definitely not the main body.
Preches quietly observed Ray and smiled faintly.
“What changes if this body isn’t the main one?”
With overwhelming output, the authority of a dragon, and the Blessing of the Dark God.
Even if Preches wasn’t a complete dragon, he remained an adversary hard to handle.
“…”
Without a word, Ray gripped two swords and accelerated towards Preches.
Preches retreated while continuously unleashing flames at Ray.
The cold emanating from Ray’s core and circle extinguished the flames, but Preches tried to overpower Ray with sheer force.
Ray grimaced, feeling his body screaming in pain.
If he went all-out, he might be able to break through Preches’ firepower, but he wasn’t sure how long his body would hold up if the battle continued so recklessly.
At that moment,
A flash erupted from the hilt of Moros in Ray’s hand.
Hwaaak!
“…?!”
Moros.
The imperial divine sword imbued with the will of the primal dragon.
Like Preches, Moros was an entity capable of interfering with the system of the Imperial Capital.
Tzuzuk!
The wave of light spreading from Moros began interfering with the system of the Imperial Capital that Preches controlled.
Preches resisted but couldn’t completely exclude Moros’ interference.
Eventually, the massive energy supply to Preches was cut off, and the fiery wings behind Preches began to fade.
“Mother…”
Preches furrowed her brows.
Her expression looked like someone trying to suppress tears.
“You never changed till the end.”
Recalling forgotten memories of the past, Preches clenched her fists and returned to reality.
“Your devotion troubles me. But I do not resent you. I merely hope… that you were without regret and satisfied until your final moment.”
The fiery wings summoned by Preches disappeared completely.
By now, Ray had approached close to Preches and raised his sword.
A hint of excitement tinged Ray’s sword strike.
The opinion of magicians and scholars that a part of the lost Imperial Capital system could be temporarily reclaimed using Moros had proven accurate.
Preches was neutralized, and cutting him down would allow Ray to destroy the barrier much more easily than expected.
Already feeling an excruciating pain in his chest, Ray hoped this would be his final blow.
At that moment,
A sword hanging ornamentally at Preches’ waist was drawn out.
Chheeng!!!!!
The swords clashed, raising a cloud of dust.
Ray stopped, facing Preches with crossed blades.
The full-force strike Ray had just delivered… Preches perfectly countered it.
The thunderous sound echoed, and dust rose, but Preches absorbed all the shock smoothly.
Ray stared at Preches with a stiff expression.
Preches opened her mouth, sensing Ray’s gaze.
“Arrogant human. Do you think dragons are stupid beasts who only boast of strength?”
“…”
“This body—what is it, you ask? This body belongs to my kin.”
Preches smiled lightly.
Emotions and memories that had eroded over an exceedingly long time felt unusually warm today.
“The owner of this body… was extraordinary. Yes, an extraordinarily unique individual. A mutant born without a Dragonheart. A malformed child without a heart…”
“…”
“Just barely surviving was possible, but I thought this child would be nothing more than a burden to our kind. However… it was my mistake.”
What this child possessed—
The talent to accept others’ powers, not their own.
The talent to refine and harness the powers of other beings in the place where a heart should have been.
“This child created something we could never imagine and achieved feats we could not accomplish. And when this child fulfilled their role, they shattered into pieces.”
“…”
“I pieced together this shattered body. Because I loved this child. Because I didn’t want this child’s body to turn to dust and be forgotten.”
“…”
Ray recovered his stance after withdrawing the crossed blades, instinctively realizing that without prior preparation, he wouldn’t be able to respond.
Preches still lingered in reminiscence, a calm smile on her lips.
“This child held a sword, not magic. Embraced refined mana and divine power in their chest, not a Dragonheart. That knowledge… they bestowed upon you.”
Preches finally emerged from reminiscence and directly faced Ray.
“This child was the origin of the numerous sword techniques you wield…”
And also,
“The first Sacred Maiden and Hero.”
Recalling the trajectories of the sword this child once drew, Preches occasionally moved her sword.
From the distant past unrecorded in human history to the present day, whenever her heart ached, she performed this clumsy tribute.
Through the endless flow of time, although Preches managed to resemble the paths this child once traced, it was only that.
Only that.
“With your shallow human swordsmanship…”
The sword that had endlessly slashed the sky in vain finally turned towards Ray after crossing vast amounts of time.
“Try to block it once.”
Preches moved her sword.
The descending sword strike split the scenery from top to bottom.
Without retreating, Ray crossed the two swords in his hands towards Preches.
Reenacted from their bodies were relics of a rotten past.
The most brilliant history that overcame destruction collided, wounded and distorted.
Confrontation (3)
