Just before the collision, I felt a strange presence.
First of all, they were not the elves. They were simply keeping their distance and watching me carefully. It was a natural judgment considering that Leorick had just demonstrated his power.
The ray erases everything in a straight line.
It had a destructive power that was on a completely different dimension compared to the range spell that distinguishes between allies and enemies with exquisite control. There was a risk of being swept up in the ray if anyone approached me recklessly.
If that happened, I would turn to dust.
Along with me.
I could see an elf in the distance nocking an arrow to the bowstring, but it wasn’t yet time to be wary. Therefore, all my nerves were focused on Leorick.
Still, I sensed something odd.
It was like the feeling of termites gnawing at my nerves. I instinctively had to look around for that strange sensation.
The only one in front of me was Leorick.
At least until that moment.
My gaze was drawn to a specific point as if pulled by a magnet. It was the flesh boiling under Leorick’s feet. There were several spots bubbling with unusual intensity.
There were three locations in total.
Had I taken two steps, something suddenly burst forth from that boiling flesh. A sharp shriek echoed as if it would tear my eardrums apart.
Kieeeek!
It was a snake.
Judging by the familiar triangular head, it was clearly a two-headed serpent. At this point, I couldn’t help but suspect the intentions of the serpents that appeared from three locations far from me.
Should I charge ahead or stand still?
I was in a moment of hesitation.
Yet, as the snakes opened their mouths wide, my body instinctively stiffened.
Inside the snakes’ mouths was an elf’s face instead of a tongue.
One of them looked particularly familiar.
Betty.
Abiyang’s younger sister, the elf girl who had been held in Leorick’s arms.
I cursed inwardly and prepared to throw myself forward.
The elves’ heads began to glow brightly, resonating.
Aaaahhhh!
And a storm of light drew a line through the void.
I attempted to dodge urgently, but it was too late.
In the last moment, I tried to concentrate my aura on the sword surface, but ultimately, I was brushed aside, blood pouring from my side as I fell. I could hear the sound of flesh sizzling.
“…I’m going to lose it.”
With a faint groan, I coughed up blood.
My aura was pushed back by the ray. If not for that, my sword might have evaporated.
Still, it wasn’t entirely a loss.
In the final moment, the trajectory of the ray had been altered. Just a little, but it was clear.
The aura refracts the ray.
It was simply that my aura was too weak.
The pain from my spine was creeping up. I bit my lip and forced myself to stifle my groans.
The magic had obstructed the heat, but my insides couldn’t possibly remain intact after that shock. At least it was fortunate that the flesh had been cooked, so I didn’t need to worry about bleeding to death.
As I struggled to rise, the snakes’ eyes all turned toward me.
Leorick let out a boisterous laugh.
“Hahaha! Do you see our alliance? Our power?!”
“Shut your mouth… What have you done to Betty?”
Leorick wore a friendly smile at my low growl. If an outsider saw it, they might have thought he was an exceptionally benevolent religious man.
But to me now, it looked nothing more than the grotesque grin of a monster.
Leorick spoke as if it was nothing.
“I merely borrowed a bit of her strength. All the brethren with ‘blessings,’ not just sister Betty, can lend their power to me.”
“I wonder if Betty agreed to that.”
“If she had not agreed, how could I force her? To receive a ‘blessing’ means that… she becomes one of us.”
Leorick gestured lightly as if he were a conductor.
Then the snakes began to open their mouths again. Their skulls glowed white as if they were lanterns.
A tremor resonated gently through the atmosphere.
I focused power into my eyes.
It was impossible to make predictions based on strict calculations. I was not a mage, and among mages, only a few could perform operations like that in the middle of battle.
A swordsman relies solely on instinct.
In a battle that breaks moments into instants, swordsmen must make accurate decisions at every moment.
From the trajectory of the flying sword to the actions to take thereafter.
This was a clash that far surpassed the speed of thought. A brain accustomed to high-speed skirmishes makes judgments based on experiences repeatedly inputted.
Just like now.
It felt as if a virtual trajectory was being drawn in front of me.
After crossing a few lines, my senses had sharpened even more. Although it began as many experiences from the ‘me’ of the future, it was no longer that.
Now I could see.
Whether that man was walking a thin line between life and death.
The moment I took a step, lines of light and heat heated the atmosphere.
I gripped my sword tightly. My aura blazed like wildfires.
One step, a sharp resonance pierced my skull.
Aaaahhhh!
At that moment, the trajectory of light was drawn sharply.
I transferred the power I had taken a step with into my upper body and rolled away. I felt a subtle heat on my back, but it wasn’t a fatal wound.
As my body was straightened, I stepped again as if to bounce off.
Yes, two steps.
As if waiting, another beam of light flickered.
With a flash, my vision turned bright white.
The angle was slightly lower; it was a trajectory that could not be avoided unless I rolled on the ground.
If so, I could simply respond with a leap.
My body flew through the air, spinning. After landing, a white ray scorched the ground behind me and cast a shadow over me.
I took another step toward that shadow.
In the end, three steps.
As I ran as if flying, Leorick was now right in front of me.
Of course, Leorick had been watching my rush all along.
There was no way he would allow me to approach freely.
As the third snake opened its mouth, light began to seep from Leorick’s eyes and mouth.
And the skulls began to resonate.
Aaaahhhh!
It would not be shot at the same time.
So far, the explosions had never echoed simultaneously. There was always a regular sound of thuds against the ground before the rays were shot.
But what if those gaps were infinitely short?
There was no way to avoid it.
I focused the strength I had been gripping onto the sword. The aura that was blazing like wildfires gradually subsided, and refined light began to swirl around the blade.
There was a decisive moment.
Leorick’s booming shout echoed at that time.
“Immanuel!”
It was a deception.
The first one to spit out the ray was the last remaining serpent. For the first time since beginning my rush, my steps faltered and came to a halt.
Time began to flow sluggishly.
In the seemingly frozen time, Leorick’s crazed eyes were fixed on me. That lingering smile seemed to be telling me something.
‘You can’t dodge it.’
So I also smiled back, giving an unspoken reply.
‘I know, you brat.’
And in the next moment.
The slowly flowing time began to rush like it had met a torrent. The sound of my blade clashing against the ray echoed.
Normally, the sword would evaporate or at least be flung upwards into the sky.
However, the revealed result was the exact opposite.
The ray could not penetrate my aura.
The tightly gathered magic was gradually pushing the ray back. And just before the ray burst forth from Leorick’s mouth, I gritted my teeth and angled the sword.
Then the ray was shot toward Leorick.
It was the moment when the two rays met.
Aaaahhhh!
Ooooooooooo!
The already fired ray could not find its way through.
Leorick and the snake were letting out woeful screams. If the snake merely closed its mouth, that would be the end, but if it had been able to do that, it could have countered my evasion from the very beginning.
Leorick had a somewhat flustered expression.
It was ‘Result.’
Even until the very end, there was hesitation, but the effect was certain. It was indeed a vision befitting a great witch among the masters.
I gritted my teeth and took a step forward.
And minding the angle of the sword, another step.
Boom! The clash of the two rays ended in a draw.
“…Kuh!”
Leorick had no choice but to stagger back from the impact.
Already, my sword was drawing a silver line within the trajectory.
The man’s arms crossed in front of me to block my sword. As before, Leorick’s body possessed a strength akin to steel.
It didn’t matter.
There was another vision following ‘Result.’
Bang! His arms burst apart, splattering blood and flesh around.
No matter how I looked at it, there was no mark that suggested contact with the sword. It felt as if he had been hit by a cannonball.
That was ‘Release.’
It disrupted the binding of matter and further pushed the flow solidified by ‘Result’ inward.
The result was being displayed right before my eyes.
Dazed gazes and silver lines intersected.
In the severed time, blood gushed and scattered into the void.
It was my victory.
With a thud, Leorick’s body crumbled, submerged in the boiling flesh.
And screams erupted everywhere.
“Ah, aahhh!”
“Lord Leorick! How dare a mere human!”
There were countless voices condemning me. Even so, no one dared to approach me.
Leorick was not only their mental support but also served as the focal point of unimaginable power.
The one who had held that status had been decisively brought down.
It would be normal for those stunned to be unable to act. I felt a need to not miss this opportunity to escape.
I took a deep breath and clutched my side. The wound was still deep.
I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere without finding a proper priest…
First, rescuing Abiyang was my priority.
As I thought this and began to move slowly, I felt déjà vu once more.
I quickly turned my eyes behind me.
And a strange point immediately caught my attention.
The snakes did not disappear.
No, it wasn’t just the snakes. The boiling flesh I was standing on was still bubbling and expanding its territory.
It didn’t take long for me to reach a conclusion.
I had been through too much against such enemies before.
“…Damn it.”
I ran madly, escaping from the boiling flesh. I nearly threw myself in the last moment, fearing it would be too late.
Then, I heard a sound behind me as something shot up.
“Aah, Immanuel! Praise the Lord! No, hate Him! Lord… why do you not grant me death!”
Another snake.
No, the faces of four snakes were writhing and changing in real-time. An elf with a face Betty didn’t know, and again another unknown elf transformed into Leorick.
Would I have to eliminate all these snakes?
Even the snake from which Leorick’s voice erupted was changing in real-time.
“Lif, as, a, gift… end it all! End it all!”
Leorick was no longer able to maintain his sanity.
Tentacles sprang from the boiling flesh. They began to drag the elves standing nearby one by one as a caution against me.
The overflowing flesh engulfed those elves, gradually increasing in size.
With each elf that disappeared, one more snake emerged.
I crawled desperately and gathered Abiyang into my arms.
I was plagued by frantic thoughts.
How can I defeat that guy?
No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed impossible. Above all, my body was already injured, and besides, wasn’t I alone?
I had fought many times alone until now.
It had always been crucial moments.
The role of bringing conclusions had always been mine.
But the reality was that my need for the existence of my comrades was greater than anyone else’s.
They had always opened the path for me.
They supported my back and protected those dear to me.
How could I stand at the forefront without that?
I, too, was just a cowardly and weak human.
Heroes are never made alone.
Even now, I couldn’t properly keep hold of just Abiyang.
I shivered as I held Abiyang close.
Was this unnecessary meddling?
The imagination of protecting my neighbors, that small girl, and, along with them, my precious comrades could very well be nothing but futile behavior.
But it was too late to regret.
No, I couldn’t even afford regret.
I had decided to live a life where I would not give up anything.
I was the one who chose not to follow the path set by others.
So I resolved to muster my fighting spirit once more.
As I gently laid down Abiyang and rose again at that moment.
“Judgment of Light!”
Boom!
Kieeeek!
A tempest of thunderstorm was pouring down.
With each electric shock landing, a blue current flowed over the ground like an afterimage. One of the snake heads burst open, splattering blood.
The actions of the mass that had been abducting elves and multiplying stopped.
And the snakes’ gazes turned toward me.
To be precise, they were aimed at my back.
Only then could I hear the familiar voice.
“…Master!”
It was Senior Elsi.
I unintentionally broke into a faint smile.
Amidst this chaos, Senior Elsi was still brimming with tears.
After all, she was a woman with a surprising amount of tears.
