Chapter 283
Chapter 283
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 283
Chapter Title: Chapter 6-4. Blue Spear Knights
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Leading the way, the conical spear left Kalliktes's hand, followed by thousands of others soaring into the air. These heavy spears rose swiftly, but their descent was even faster.
The weight and gravity began to point their sharp tips downward.
"Wait! How do you expect the priest to survive that!?"
It was a spectacular sight, like something out of a grand spectacle. Distracted for a moment, Organ belatedly cried out in alarm, condemning Kalliktes's actions, but he offered no reply. He didn't even turn around, as if he hadn't heard her at all.
'The power of the fragments...!'
But it was too late. By the time she could act, those countless spears would already have struck the ground. Yet her prediction missed the mark.
"Hoh?"
Kalliktes, who had watched leisurely after throwing the spears to see how they would respond, let out a sound of admiration.
Among those at the labyrinth's entrance was the one called Iris, the woman who had written her name in the notebook and introduced herself. She suddenly shed her cloak. Clad in light leather armor that revealed her slender figure, she extended her right arm to the side. Black smoke billowed from her hand, instantly forming a long, menacing scythe. It looked as though she were gripping smoke itself.
She grasped the scythe's handle with both hands and swung it wide toward the falling spears. The handle stretched out abruptly, leaving a massive arc in the air. The spears then fell onto that lingering trajectory.
Clang!
Sparks flew as countless spears collided with the arc and bounced away. But there were too many falling spears. One swing couldn't deflect them all.
Of course.
These were javelins thrown by four thousand five hundred Blue Spear Knights. There was no way one person could block them all in a single motion.
Yet next, Priest Arhil and Magus Lime extended their hands toward the sky. A translucent golden barrier unfurled, overlaid with blue light that froze solid. A chilling crackle seemed to echo all the way here.
But the hastily erected shield was imperfect. Countless spears rained down on the two-layered dome.
Boom!
Since the barrier hadn't fully formed, the ice shattered helplessly, and the spears embedded into the golden layer below, delivering their impact. Unable to withstand it fully, both layers shattered in moments.
As the barrier crumbled inward, enveloping those inside along with the spears, a black arc erupted from within, surging outward.
The swing left an afterimage in the air, instantly pulverizing the falling spears and ice shards. The spears that struck the arc couldn't endure the force; they shattered, crumpled, or ricocheted away.
"......"
The ice and light that had formed the barrier crumbled into powder. Amid the debris stood Iris, holding her scythe and gazing this way with a cold stare. Though distant, the moment Kalliktes met her eyes, a chill ran down his spine. It felt like walking the edge of a honed blade, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward.
"Hahaha!"
Then he burst into laughter.
"Impressive! Truly impressive! It's just like a hero's party from a fairy tale!"
Judah Arche, that young man, was a spirit sword wielder. And Iris there seemed to be one as well. With two spirit sword wielders, a high-ranking magus, and a priest who wasn't ordinary—given that the saintess and knight had insisted she mustn't be killed—it wasn't an exaggeration to call them a hero's party.
'If they're the heroes...'
Then what did that make him and the Blue Spear Knights who attacked them?
Vile minions of an evil demon king assaulting noble heroes on a sacred mission? Or perhaps corrupt nobles? Either way, it felt like they were the villains.
But that didn't mean he intended to halt the assault. It was a given that gathering fragments would eventually make enemies. Killing Judah here would make his three fragments the empire's property.
No telling which ones he had, but with them, conquering the Baekje Empire and unifying the continent didn't seem impossible.
"Javelin..."
As he began to call for preparation, a chilling sensation prickled his back intensely—far worse than when his eyes met Iris's.
Kalliktes wasn't the only one who felt it. Everyone present did. And above Judah's group at the labyrinth's entrance appeared a nude beauty with purple hair.
"Ah!"
Someone gasped at her sight. Not just because of her voluptuous breasts, slim waist, smooth thighs, and long legs.
Horns protruded from her head, her sclera were pitch black. Bat-like wings with membranes spread from her back, and a long tail emerged between her thighs. No one could mistake her for a normal human, prompting the gasp. And upon seeing her, an inexplicable lust welled up.
Even he, well over seventy, felt arousal stir. The woman, exuding a seductive aura, smiled coyly before vanishing as suddenly as she had appeared.
"Asmodeus?"
The name slipped out unconsciously. Her appearance was unmistakably that of a demon—specifically, the embodiment of Lust among the Seven Deadly Sins, given her presence and aura.
To confirm, he turned to the saintess. Organ beside her wore a helmet, hiding her face, but the saintess's shocked expression said enough.
"Is she truly Asmodeus?"
The saintess nodded gravely.
"Yes, most likely. She's free at last. As the only demon who can use her full power in the mortal realm right now, she's extremely dangerous."
"But fortunately, she doesn't seem to possess a fragment."
Could he be sure? Asmodeus might have one, just not shown. As if reading Kalliktes's thoughts, Organ continued.
"If Judah... succumbed to her? Seduction? Subjugation?"
Organ tilted her head, helmet and all.
"Hmm. Not sure the right word. Defeated, let's say. If he was defeated, all his fragments would be in Asmodeus's hands. Would she, holding four fragments, test that power and then just leave?"
"......"
"She might, if she's cautious. But either way, we can only hope Judah Arche holds all four fragments."
True enough. Kalliktes's eyes narrowed beneath his helmet, now filled with clear killing intent. With the seal of one of the Seven Deadly Sins confirmed broken, he would go all out. If Judah emerged from the labyrinth, he would kill him immediately.
"To that end, we have no choice but to deal with them quickly."
"Should we join the battle too, Saintess?"
"Didn't you say we mustn't kill the priest?"
Kalliktes tossed the words casually, and Organ fell silent. When Holy King Metatron had briefed her on Judah, he mentioned the priest traveling with him was Gabriel's saintess—avoid killing her if possible.
"No helping it."
Indeed, no helping it. How could she save her alone in this situation? Bursting in to knock her out and extract her might work, but what then? Learning her comrades were all dead, how would she react? Even serving another holy king, she might harbor grudge against fellow priests, misuse her saintess status for vengeance. She might even choose suicide.
Or live like the walking dead, day by day. There were many such cases. Above all, before she could enter and retrieve Gabriel's saintess, Kalliktes here would likely annihilate them all with his Blue Spear Knights' javelins. To him, the saintess seemed unimportant.
'In that case, better by my hand.'
He would grant her a swift, clean death in one strike. Organ stood beside Kalliktes, relic fragment in hand, assuming a javelin stance.
"Target the magus first."
"Then I'll feign targeting the priest to create an opening for you."
Kalliktes summoned a new spear into his hand. Silver particles gathered to form it.
"All units, prepare javelins."
-Prepare javelins!
But before they could throw, the magus over there seemed to attempt spatial transfer magic; their bodies began to glow. Watching, Kalliktes sneered.
"Think you can escape?"
Foolish. He hadn't come unprepared.
Kalliktes summoned the nineteenth fragment that earned him the title Empire's Shield, <Moonlight>. His left arm throbbed, and a shield materialized over his gauntlet. A kite shield—round at the top, pointed at the bottom, shaped like a water droplet.
A soft glow emanated from the summoned shield, and in an instant, the labyrinth and surrounding area were encased in a massive cubic barrier. Judah's group, mid-spatial transfer, panicked as the magic activated but they didn't move.
"Perfect. Throw with all your might! Javelins!"
As Kalliktes shouted "Javelins!" and hurled his spear, the prepared Blue Spear Knights followed in sequence. Like missiles launching one after another, 4,500 spears flew.
"Hup!"
Organ inhaled deeply. Muscles tensed across her body, her magic infusing the relic fragment. Left foot forward for balance, she twisted her waist and hurled it with full force.
Whoosh!
The instant it left her hand, a sound incomparable to the others rang out as the relic pierced the air. It targeted Lime precisely amid Judah's group, who were blocking the spear barrage like a downpour.
Kalliktes's spear, wrapped in magic, aimed for Arhil, but Iris spotted it and swung her scythe to deflect. She tried to bat away the following spears toward Lime too, but Organ's relic was far faster than anticipated. It even accelerated mid-flight.
Slash!
Iris swung her scythe, tracing an arc toward the relic, but it sliced only the afterimage by a hair's breadth.