Prequel – Justice [1]
[24]
Speira had no intention of showing mercy.
Thus, those who faced Speira had to accept death.
The dark radiance was a disaster that required at least a Lord-level being to barely counter.
Even Johanna’s adaptable Core couldn’t establish proper combat against it.
“Big Sister!!!”
Delun urgently checked the fallen Johanna.
Hearing Delun’s voice, Johanna reflexively tried to move her body but, due to the immense shock from receiving the Sacred Sword, she could only grope the air with unfocused eyes.
A Cleric hurriedly emitted holy power to aid in Johanna’s recovery.
At the same moment, a Templar who had lost their shield had their waist bisected by the Sacred Sword.
Realizing they needed to buy time, mages including Frio instantly activated their magic circles to their limits.
They were elite forces selected from the Empire and thus prepared with means to counter formidable foes.
KWAANG!!!
The first spell to hit Speira was a fiery explosion that obscured their vision.
Immediately after, five floating Artifacts accelerated and began orbiting Speira.
TCHUNK-!
“…?”
Even trapped within flames, Speira lightly staggered as if observing the situation.
For the first time since engaging Johanna, Speira took a step back.
TCHUNK!
The metallic equipment protecting Speira’s body started pulling or tightening on Speira without control.
The powerful magnetic field created by the mages using the Artifacts was causing this phenomenon.
When dealing with demons possessing bizarre abilities, indirect attacks inducing physical phenomena often proved more effective than direct mana-based strikes.
This new Artifact and tactic developed by the Empire based on such learning was somewhat novel to Speira.
GACK!!
Knights immediately fired spear-shaped Artifacts as soon as the magnetic field took effect.
Upon entering the magnetic field, these spear-shaped Artifacts shed their outer layers and released metal projectiles imbued with mana.
Accelerated within the powerful magnetic field, these metal projectiles indiscriminately tore through space.
Though inefficient due to low firepower compared to production costs and being single-use, these Artifacts were quite effective in surprising and harming peculiar demons.
However, this was only true when the opponent was of comparable strength.
KWAANG!!!!
With a casual swing of the Sacred Sword, Speira shattered all forms of force enveloped by the dark radiance.
Despite the Empire’s investigation team already expecting such an outcome, their expressions contorted in despair.
Everyone sensed impending death and intellectually understood that any struggle would be meaningless.
Yet, knowing its futility, they still had to make that desperate attempt—a truly disheartening feeling.
CRUNCH!!
A Templar blocking Speira’s path had their head explode simultaneously as a knight kicked by Speira had their torso disintegrate into six pieces.
Despite the highly advanced equipment provided to the investigation team due to the mission’s importance, none of it fulfilled its purpose.
Speira walked forward again.
Even though Speira could have moved much faster, they chose to leisurely advance.
Thanks to this, Johanna barely managed to gather her senses and properly grip her sword.
“GURK…!”
Johanna spat out blood rising from her throat along with phlegm.
Even deflecting a casually swung attack had dealt an overwhelming blow to her body.
“…There’s no way to win. No way to escape.”
It was utterly perplexing, leaving her completely at a loss for what to do next.
Ordinary Lord-level beings couldn’t slice through energy like water.
No matter how great a warrior, they wouldn’t dare underestimate the power of Graduates’ blade energy.
That was Johanna’s unchanging common sense—until now, watching it shatter right before her eyes.
Johanna momentarily stared blankly ahead.
It felt unreal, as if suspended in mid-air.
Though forcibly gripping her sword, Johanna could no longer summon the proper fighting spirit.
Her heart faltered before her body even did.
But still…
Even so…
‘I have to… I must.’
Johanna was the only one among the Empire’s investigation team capable of drawing Speira’s attention.
If Johanna gave up and collapsed here, it would mean total annihilation.
The death of the investigation team wasn’t the end; failing to stop Speira would result in catastrophic consequences for the continent.
Johanna feared not her own death but the terrible aftermath that would follow.
Not out of fear of dying but to protect her cherished hope, Johanna couldn’t afford to fall here.
Reaffirming that precious hope which she valued above her own life, Johanna once again steeled her resolve.
“Case open.”
As Johanna’s command rang out, the air warped, and a silver case emerged from A-Space.
Among the weapons spilling out from the disassembling case…
Johanna glared at Speira.
If Speira hadn’t lied, they had already obtained the dark radiance in the past.
Johanna didn’t know exactly when—it might have been the very moment Speira accepted their role while grasping the Sacred Sword.
However, the point where Speira gained the ability to freely use the dark radiance was after obtaining the artifact here.
They likely weren’t fully accustomed to handling this power yet.
This moment was the sole opportunity to halt Speira before they fully claimed the dark radiance as their own.
CRUNCH!
Ignoring the desperate disparity in strength, Johanna tightened her grip.
Though unable to fully comprehend what the dark radiance bestowed upon Speira entailed, one thing remained clear.
From now on, every weapon at her disposal would have to be treated as expendable. Fortunately, Johanna had many.
KWAANG!!!
Surpassing the wavering investigators who had lost their resolve,
Johanna accelerated towards Speira.
Smirking faintly, Speira finally gripped the Sacred Sword with both hands.
AAARRGH!!!
The trajectory of the sword wielded by Speira with both hands was nearly perfect in technique.
Even Johanna would have to evade rather than directly counter Speira’s strike at close range.
KA-GA-GAK!!
Johanna’s shoulder guard, equipped with active defense functions, moved on its own to block the Sacred Sword but shattered into pieces.
Covered in fragments of top-tier Artifacts, Johanna’s eyes became bloodshot.
The Sacred Sword smoothly changed direction and approached Johanna’s waist from below.
SNAP!
The sword held in Johanna’s left hand shattered upon attempting to block the Sacred Sword.
Using the slight gap created by the broken sword, Johanna evaded the attack again.
When Speira re-gripped their sword, a purple spear launched from behind struck their elbow.
Though the purple spear cracked upon contact with the dark radiance, it slightly twisted Speira’s stance.
Seizing the opportunity, Johanna caught a newly levitating sword with her left hand and spun her body.
Two trajectories aimed for Speira’s heart and neck.
Speira attempted to take a step back but halted.
A crimson spherical Artifact was descending behind Speira.
The crimson sphere exploded upon touching the ground, emitting a thunderous roar.
KWAANG!!!
Pressure from the explosion engulfed Speira.
An ordinary knight would have lost balance and stumbled, but Speira utilized the rearward pressure to recover their distorted posture and accelerate the Sacred Sword.
Active defense Artifacts wrapping around Johanna’s waist deployed to delay the Sacred Sword’s acceleration but were instantly shattered.
Simultaneously,
Johanna pulled and twisted Moros, held horizontally, between her fingers in a clockwise motion.
This unconventional attack, hardly qualifying as swordsmanship, caused Speira’s judgment to falter for the first time.
SQUEAK!
Moros’ blade grazed Speira’s wrist.
A small scratch.
That was the price paid for consuming top-tier Artifacts.
“Huff…!”
Johanna’s head throbbed painfully, and nausea kept surfacing.
Attempting to simultaneously utilize numerous Artifacts with different functionalities made her head ring and blurred her vision.
Still, Johanna further reddened her bloodshot eyes and amplified her senses.
Any minor misjudgment, calculation error, or emergence of variables would lead straight to death.
To regain focus, Johanna clenched her teeth hard, but overcoming the strain on her body by willpower alone was impossible.
She had to conclude things before making a mistake.
CRUNCH!
The variable Core embedded in Johanna’s heart rippled.
Johanna no longer considered her survival in this battle.
All her thoughts were concentrated solely on severing Speira’s neck.
‘Still clumsy.’
Speira had yet to fully control the dark radiance housed within their body.
Perhaps it was just mockery, but Speira’s movements were undoubtedly less refined and balanced than before.
‘Let’s exploit it.’
Johanna made her decision.
Of course, her movements until now hadn’t inflicted more than scratches on Speira.
Using special-function Artifacts to confuse Speira also had clear limitations.
Such antics had little effect on Speira who had achieved the second awakening.
Ultimately, what Johanna had to rely on was her own body.
CRUNCH!
Mana heated to a boil within the Core condensed between her joints.
Amplifying explosive force beyond limits, releasing the boiling mana between her joints would likely tear her limbs apart—but at this point, what did it matter?
Johanna ceased her breathing.
BOOM! It echoed in everyone’s ears.
!!!!!!!!
First acceleration using Overdrive.
Second acceleration utilizing Acceleration.
Third acceleration harnessing Artifact thrust.
Johanna’s body became a fleeting flash of light.
Speira’s movements momentarily froze.
“…!”
Even with the second awakening, Speira’s dynamic vision failed to fully track Johanna’s movement.
Having lost sight of Johanna, Speira concluded that Johanna couldn’t overcome their own speed—an arrogance of Speira.
Unlike Speira, who possessed disproportionate power,
Every ounce of strength within Johanna was built through countless fierce battles.
AAARRGGHH!!!
The trajectory of the sword drawn by Johanna, now a flash of light, descended like a thunderbolt without a trace of disturbance toward Speira.
Speira stepped back.
Speira continued stepping back.
It was certainly not to mock Johanna.
Speira had no confidence in stopping the falling thunderbolt other than retreating.
Johanna quickly closed the distance with the retreating Speira, relentlessly dropping thunderbolts.
Together with the flash, streams of blood gushing from Johanna’s breaking body painted both their visions red.
Johanna’s red dedication to confront evil reminded Speira of memories from the past.
In front of the Warp Gate,
Ray’s back, raising his sword to stop Eridanus despite his body crumbling, briefly overlapped with Johanna’s figure.
“…”
That day, Speira had harbored admiration.
That day, Speira resolved never to forget the memory.
But Speira no longer wished to recall that day’s memory.
Whenever memories related to that day surfaced,
Nostalgia, betrayal, longing, vengeance, regret, resentment, repentance, anger—they all churned Speira’s mind into chaos.
Speira wanted to grab that person by the collar.
Speira wanted to pour out everything to that person by the collar.
But since that person had died on their own terms,
Those aimless memories and emotions…
Now made Speira despise them.
“…Impressive.”
With a cold expression, Speira muttered toward Johanna.
Yes, it was impressive—impressive enough to evoke traces of someone once admired. Yet,
What Johanna had accomplished was merely an imitation of a hero.
What was bestowed upon Speira, however, was the ultimate creation crafted by transcendentals 600 years ago to eliminate Harshia.
Far purer and more intense than the clumsy power mimicked by the last dragon Preches.
“You can’t win.”
While muttering those words, Johanna pierced through Speira’s defenses.
This time, Johanna hesitated no longer.
Without considering retaliation, she thrust Moros, enveloped in azure sword energy, toward Speira’s heart.
KWAACKK!!!!!
Moros pierced into Speira’s chest.
An impeccable strike that could not be refuted as perfect.
Yet…
It was far too slow.
The azure sword energy meeting the dark radiance slowed down almost instantly, struggling to progress further.
Exactly… Why…?
Was it insufficient power? No, it wasn’t about the magnitude of power.
The dark radiance, the fusion of destruction’s authority by El-Lam and evil deities, was corroding and collapsing the lump of mana crafted by humans.
No matter how much mana Johanna infused into the sword energy, the dark radiance dismantled the cutting force embedded within it.
As if proving the insignificance of humanity, the dark radiance swallowed Johanna’s fleeting flash exerting all its might.
Moros was still laboriously piercing through Speira’s skin.
At this rate, it would take over ten minutes to pierce Speira’s heart.
“…”
Blood dripped steadily from Johanna’s trembling arms.
After a brief silence,
Speira kicked Johanna in the waist.
PUUUGH!!!!!!
The last remaining defensive Artifact protected Johanna’s waist from being severed.
“Big Sister!!”
Delun, clearly knowing interference would only hinder but unable to join the fight, caught Johanna mid-air.
Delun absorbed the impact of landing with his own body and shouted while sliding across the ground.
“Jusephin!! Take care of Johanna!!”
Without responding, Jusephin lifted Johanna from Delun and carried her away.
Johanna still retained some consciousness but was no longer in any condition to fight.
Jusephin immediately turned and pushed off the ground to flee.
As Speira raised the Sacred Sword to cut off Jusephin’s leg,
Delun shouted again.
“Stop her!!!”
Stop her—that was Delun’s order.
Miles, an Expert Knight, wiped his face and charged toward Speira, while the mages began forming magical incantations.
Truly a pitiful final resistance.
The moment Miles’ neck was severed, the mages unleashed their magic.
However,
The fireball conjured by the mages didn’t target Speira.
KWAANG!!!!!
The fireball struck the wall, triggering a massive explosion.
When the investigation team initially entered this space, they meticulously examined its structure to ensure there were no traps.
Having analyzed the structure, they roughly knew where to concentrate firepower to collapse this entire space.
Delun’s “stop her” command was a signal to bring down the entire area.
KUUUNG-!
Chunks of rock rained down from the ceiling.
Regardless of whether Speira approached or not, the mages concentrated their firepower on the walls, eventually causing part of them to collapse and trigger a chain reaction.
KUGUUGUNG!!
Someone had to survive this place.
Survive to warn others of Speira’s danger and stop them.
Thus, the remaining members sacrificed themselves. They hoped, at the very least, that their deaths would hold value.
“Jusephin…!”
Johanna, who barely opened her eyes, tried to stop Jusephin from fleeing as she watched the plaza collapsing.
However, Jusephin ignored her and ran.
Seeing this, Speira, annoyed, brushed aside a large rock falling from above and pursued Jusephin.
But Delun blocked Speira’s advancing path.
Johanna screamed Delun’s name, telling him not to do this reckless act.
“Delun…!!!!”
Hearing Johanna’s voice from behind, Delun smiled bitterly.
And with a single shrug of his shoulders, he bid farewell.
“…Big Sister, stay safe.”
KCHUNK!!
Facing Delun, Speira indifferently thrust the Sacred Sword.
Delun lacked the strength to block such a casual strike.
Abandoning futile defense, Delun allowed the sword to pierce through his abdomen.
PUUUK!!
The moment the Sacred Sword pierced through his innards,
Delun surged forward instead.
“AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”
Amidst the pain of his torso splitting open, Delun squeezed the mana within his Core.
Delun’s talent wasn’t sufficient to properly utilize high-tier techniques like Overdrive as Raina or Johanna could.
So Delun simply hurled himself at Speira, exploding the mana within his body as best as he could.
POW!!
A crude body charge.
Due to Delun’s futile resistance, Speira took a few steps back.
Retreating was more akin to Speira’s whim. It was because they hadn’t seen this face in a long time with Johanna, so Speira briefly indulged Delun’s final resistance.
The recoil from colliding with Speira sent Delun flying backward.
Shreds of blood and internal organs sprayed from his torn waist.
By the time Delun hit the ground, the collapsed ceiling had completely sealed off the exit where Jusephin had fled carrying Johanna.
“Haa…”
Delun chuckled in the darkening vision.
Approaching death felt strangely relieving.
“Now… it’s enough.”
Wandering.
Agonizing.
Unable to leave.
Unable to steady his heart.
Continuing such a life unwillingly was indeed a painful ordeal.
So this was enough.
This ending was sufficient, Delun self-deprecatingly thought.
“…”
The future I dreamed of wasn’t supposed to be like this.
His vision grew darker and darker.
Knowing he wouldn’t open his eyes again, Delun quietly closed them.
Consciousness sank into darkness.
*
The ceiling collapsed, and the passage was blocked.
But the blocked passage was something Speira could easily break through by waving their hand a few times.
The investigation team’s final resistance was meaningless.
Before chasing after the fleeing Jusephin, Speira raised the Sacred Sword to decapitate Delun.
TUCK!
“…”
The Command Blade intercepted the swinging Sacred Sword.
Turning their head, Speira furrowed one brow.
“Is this why you came?”
“…”
“Anthonyus.”
