259th Chapter
It was neither elegant, beautiful, nor miraculous.
The trajectory of the sword that Preches had to oppose was simply bizarre.
It wasn’t about pushing the limits of the concept of swordsmanship; it was closer to a blasphemy against the very idea of swordsmanship.
Preches felt irrationality as he faced Ray’s sword strikes.
The myth reenacted through their bodies swallowed one side.
It couldn’t reach.
Even though he knew it couldn’t reach.
Preches lifted his sword as if unable to let go of lingering regrets and swung it down.
In the calm silence,
the sword Preches held shattered.
Only then did a long gash open across Preches’s chest.
His right arm was almost completely severed, swaying back and forth as if ready to fall off at any moment with the wind.
“…”
Preches lowered his sword.
Preches painfully realized that the past he had clung to so tenaciously had already departed.
Time had passed, and many things had changed.
Many things had advanced, and many had fallen.
Only Preches had remained standing in the past.
Crack!
The body Preches had been wielding began to crack like a dried-up sandcastle.
Preches still stared at it impassively.
Then his lips parted.
“It’s pathetic… foolish… and pitiable.”
Preches pitied Ray. That much was sincere.
“You too… are the same. Thinking you sacrificed for a mission that should have been accomplished naturally, your free will taken away, yet convincing yourself that you chose this ending… unable to truly dwell on regret… and thus will scatter like this.”
“…”
“Therefore, I pity you.”
“…Hey, Dragon.”
Ray spat out blood from his mouth and smirked.
“I know this is all just a dumb game.”
Preches’s expression shifted slightly.
A hint of bewilderment crossed her face.
Ray looked up at the sky, exhaling deeply.
“This whole thing… I know it’s just a show for those bastards watching us from beyond the heavens.”
Ah, fuck, what a mess.
Ray muttered a curse under his breath and turned back to Preches.
“My wish isn’t grand. No lofty missions or great causes.”
Even though things had gone wrong, and the world had become harsh, forcing him into this cynical situation…
Ray’s wish had always been simple.
With a deepened tone, Ray asked Preches:
“Isn’t it the same for you? You’re not doing this madness because of some grand mission or cause, right? You just look pissy, so maybe you’re just throwing a tantrum… Isn’t that it?”
“…”
“In the end, this is nothing more than an immature emotional battle. Whether it’s you or me… there’s no difference.”
Preches closed her eyes tightly, then opened them, smiling faintly.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
At best, it was petty retaliation.
No matter how much decoration was added, the essence didn’t change.
“You’re… right.”
Preches felt the Blessing of the Dark God descending upon her crumbling body.
She resisted.
If she accepted the Blessing here, her current body would be completely consumed by it.
Preches didn’t want that.
Moreover, even if she received the Blessing, her body would collapse soon anyway.
“…Unfortunately, this is where it ends. It’s time to finish this.”
“Yeah, let’s finish it.”
Ray, who had bled enough, barely managed to regain his balance.
Ray moved forward, intending to cut down Preches before she could do anything else.
Preches sensed that Ray still had hidden means and strength left.
Her current body could no longer withstand Ray.
Besides, the remaining Imperial forces were beginning to join the battlefield.
Their power wasn’t overwhelming, but with Preches having fallen to Ray, it was clear which way the battlefield would tilt.
Preches cleanly acknowledged the failure of her plan.
The plan to contaminate the Imperial Capital had failed.
With the plan failing, it was now time to retreat gracefully.
Creak!!!
As Ray swung his sword toward Preches, something blocked it.
It was a staff. A staff that emerged from A-Space blocked Ray’s sword.
“…!”
Ray recognized the form of the staff.
Years ago, when Ray fought a Devil Worshipper in the Osiris Countdom, a mage from the Tarannis Family named Brigette wielded this very staff.
The staff, like the Command Blade, was a relic of the Dark God.
Back then, Ray succeeded in killing Brigette but failed to destroy the relic of the Dark God.
Now, the relic he failed to destroy stood before him.
Ray’s expression twisted instantly.
“Fucking hell…”
Zzzzang!!!
Mana erupted from the staff, pushing Ray back.
Planting his feet firmly into the ground, Ray surged forward, determined to cut down the accursed staff and Preches.
However, Preches exhausted her remaining strength to briefly restrain Ray’s movement.
While Ray tore away the power clinging to his body,
Preches forced her collapsing body to spread wings and swiftly retreated to the Golden Tower.
Seeing her nearly collapsed form, the Devil Worshippers were shaken.
Preches gave a brief order.
“The plan has failed. We’re retreating.”
Creak!!
Preches plunged the staff into the Golden Tower.
The staff absorbed the mana flowing through the veins of the Imperial Capital and transferred it to the Golden Tower.
The Golden Tower restarted, projecting light upward.
Aptel advised Ray.
[Long-distance transfer… Warp Magic.]
Normally, warp-related magic couldn’t be prepared in such a short time.
However, the Golden Tower under Preches’ control had warp gate deployment functionality built-in from the start.
Moreover, the immense concentration of the Dark God’s blessing within the staff enabled a miracle.
[If we leave it as is, we’ll lose them.]
“Support me. We must capture them.”
Command Blade, the staff, traitors, Devil Worshippers…
If they let these escape here, the losses would be far too great.
Just considering the lives lost, they had to capture and kill them all.
Crack!
Meanwhile, cracks appeared in the nearby barrier that had covered the area.
Preches had used most of her strength in the battle with Ray, and the Dark God’s blessing nearby was rapidly consumed to open the warp gate, weakening the barrier.
Soon the barrier would collapse, and the Imperial Army would flood in.
Until then, Ray had to hold onto the Devil Worshippers, and they had to open the warp gate in time.
Preches, sensing Ray approaching, pulled out the Dragonheart from inside the Golden Tower.
The Dragonheart originally housed within the Golden Tower was intended to be used as the core to contaminate the mana veins.
However, abandoning the contamination of the mana veins rendered the Dragonheart purposeless.
Preches could use it freely without issue.
Kwaaak!
Preches embedded the Dragonheart into her crumbling body.
Even Moros couldn’t interfere with the Dragonheart embedded and used by Preches within her body.
Hooowwwaaaakkk!!
An immense output burst forth from Preches’ body.
Even an average knight might find it hard to approach, but to Ray, it was laughable.
In an instant, Ray approached Preches and swung his sword.
Kwa-drrrrk!!!
The powerful defense barrier, condensed with immense mana, was effortlessly sliced apart by the azure Sword Energy.
Neither the power of dragons nor the blessing of the Dark God could withstand Ray’s sword strike.
The nearby demons dared not oppose Ray.
To them, Ray was a living nightmare.
Chomp!!!!
Ultimately, Ray sliced Preches’ waist in half.
Due to the severe damage to her body, Preches could no longer resist Ray.
Passing by Preches, Ray attempted to demolish the Golden Tower with a single blow.
Several enemies guarding the Golden Tower were visible, but tearing them apart would be simple.
Suddenly, however, a massive typhoon swept around Ray.
Preches, using the Dragonheart’s mana to its limit, created a typhoon akin to high-level magic to drive Ray away.
Preches herself became the core of the magic, directly clinging to Ray and pushing him outward.
Meanwhile, the warp gate in the sky continued to take shape.
Gruuud!
Ray, pushed close to the boundary of the barrier in the blink of an eye, grabbed Preches’ face.
And with all his might, slammed her head into the weakened barrier.
Zzzzzang!!!!
The force combining the distortion of space, the blessing of the Dark God, and the power of dragons mixed together as Preches’ head was slammed into the barrier.
Zzzzzang!!! Zzzzzang!!! Zzzzzang!!!
Repeatedly, Ray slammed Preches’ head into the barrier with sheer nerve.
As if driven mad, Ray repeated the motion as if intent on completely shattering Preches’ head.
Finally, part of the barrier crumbled, creating a hole.
Both Ray and Preches were simultaneously ejected outside the barrier through the newly formed gap.
On the other side, the waiting Imperial Army seized the opportunity.
Massive firepower concentrated on the broken hole in the barrier, starting to completely dismantle it.
Soon, the Imperial Army gathered in the Imperial Capital and began rushing into the barrier.
Inside the barrier, the warp gate was nearing completion.
Blocking the Devil Worshippers’ escape now fell to the Imperial Army.
A deafening roar echoed.
Some of the Imperial Army chased after Ray and Preches.
With the help of his cloak, Ray glided through the air and glanced back at Preches.
Preches, only unfolding her fiery wings belatedly after exiting the barrier, landed in the center of a square within the Imperial Capital.
Kwaang!!!
The place where she landed was the square where the Sacred Sword was embedded.
Knights steadfastly guarding the Sacred Sword despite the chaos were pushed back with their shields raised as Preches launched a sudden attack.
Eventually, Ray also landed on the ground. In his sight was the figure of Preches standing before the Sacred Sword.
Thud!
Preches pulled the Dragonheart embedded in her chest.
The energy of the Dragonheart was too strong; her ruined body could no longer endure it.
There was no way to maintain her current body anymore.
This was really the end. Finally…
“Now, I bid you farewell.”
Preches mourned quietly.
“We parted ways long ago, but it took me too long to let you go.”
From the start, Preches intended to return this child’s body to dust at this place today.
Because she had clung to it for too long, and because she was no longer the same as before.
Now, she planned to erase this child’s traces.
The crude patchwork she had protected, nurtured, and cherished for so long was collapsing.
As the Blessing of the Dark God and the Power of Dragons disappeared, a fleeting light of the past illuminated the ancient eyes of the body.
“For the last time…”
You chose, and you met your end in that very form.
The First Hero.
The First Sacred Maiden.
And the first one to wield the Sacred Sword.
Exactly as on that day…
Preches grasped the Sacred Sword while reminiscing about the past.
The Sacred Sword… being drawn.
And.
Clunk!!
The partially drawn Sacred Sword stopped abruptly.
After attempting to draw it a few more times with her remaining arm, Preches turned her head to look at Ray.
Ray wagged his finger at Preches.
“Were you expecting it to come out and got your hopes up?”
“…”
“But what can you do? If you want to pull it, you need my permission.”
Confrontation (5)
