Chapter 291
Chapter 291
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 291
Chapter Title: Chapter 6-4. Blue Spear Knights
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Seeing him perfectly fine made me laugh without realizing it. I felt bad for him, but honestly, I had no intention of saving him by repeating my deaths over and over. Saving just Arhil would have been enough for me.
But with Asmodeus's help, we'd escaped the labyrinth in an instant, so there was no need for such dilemmas anymore.
"......"
Staring deeply at each other like that wasn't great for two men, so I quickly turned around to look at Arhil.
Arhil, with her huge eyes that showed her blue irises completely, was gazing up at me with eyes that looked ready to burst into tears.
The girl who had been behind Iris ran straight into my arms.
She must have been really scared, because she was trembling.
Her trembling told me she was alive.
Two deaths, three starts.
It was more than worth it.
'Warm.'
The body heat I felt through her clothes was a reward that soothed the mental strain from that short time.
I patted her back gently.
Her long hair was frizzy, covered in dust, but that only made it better.
"You're okay now, Arhil."
It was something I said to her, but also to myself.
It's okay.
After comforting her a bit more, I grabbed her shoulders and very carefully pushed her away.
I wanted to hold her longer, but we didn't have the time.
She tried not to let go, but Arhil understood the situation and didn't cling too hard.
After watching her step back, I turned to Iris this time.
She held a scythe that flickered like flames or heat haze, formless.
"Thanks. You protected us well."
Even if I'd repeated deaths, I wondered if I could have saved Arhil or Lime without her.
Even with her help, we'd ultimately failed to protect these two, but just delaying death was enough to make me deeply grateful.
As I bowed my head in thanks, Iris waved her hand as if it were nothing.
"It was what I had to do. I'm your companion too."
There wasn't time to leisurely pull out my notebook and jot down notes for her, so she spoke directly.
Her voice was soft.
I smiled genuinely from the heart.
Bringing Iris along might have been the one divine move.
In the game, where she only buzzed around the player, assigning her as Judah's companion felt like the only thing they'd done right.
Well done, past me.
I even had the leisure to think such idle thoughts while looking at Iris.
But when I saw the Blue Spear Knights in the distance summoning spears again and preparing to throw, those thoughts vanished.
My smiling lips dropped in an instant, and my expression turned icy.
Iris, who had been watching me, turned around as well.
'Right, this isn't the time to relax.'
I was happy to see the living Lime and Arhil, but now there were real targets for my frustration.
The Blue Spear Knights' supreme commander Karycthes, Metatron's apostle Organ, and the saintess wielding the demon sword Carbenia were all gathered in one place.
'Basilisk, that guy's probably nearby too.'
During my first death, the Basilisk had appeared where the saintess was now.
During my second suicide, from Lucien Ardahan's shoulder, I'd seen additional Blue Spear Knights and soldiers surrounding us in layers.
The longer we dragged this out here, the more certain my death became.
'Hmm.'
I felt a gloom settle in.
Truthfully, if it was one-on-one against them, I was confident I could win.
Even with stat differences, as long as it wasn't overwhelming, I had the privilege of reviving once from death, and I'd obtained Rudmilran this time, so it was plenty possible.
I'd actually confirmed it before my first death.
Karycthes, who had virtually no offensive power except defense with Moonlight, I'd beaten easily, and Organ had been tough, but I'd chosen death by offering myself as Altemia's sacrifice along with her.
But the saintess? I had no confidence against her.
She wielded the demon sword Carbenia.
Not all fragments have the same performance.
It depends on the user, but there are fragments like Carpediem that are utterly useless in combat, ones like Altemia that require specific conditions to shine, or ones like Yakal that come with risks.
There are even fragments like Valentine with no conditions, but... most fragments demand specific prerequisites.
Unless I collected all twenty-four fragments, those prerequisites would chain me like shackles.
'Or get the twenty-third fragment.'
With the twenty-third fragment [Silver Cross], things might change.
It could mitigate the fragments' prerequisites and even amplify their power itself.
Anyway, among the twenty-four fragments, the first pair—the twin swords—were among the most outstanding.
The demon sword and holy sword had immense innate power, but what was even scarier was how they bizarrely boosted the user's abilities.
The holy sword granted its power under conditions that burdened the user not at all.
The demon sword was like Yakal's class, risky, but it gave definite power.
As the first fragments Perlnirn ever made, their performance was overwhelmingly strong compared to others.
'Ha, if only there was no saintess...'
If I had Lucien Ardahan protect Arhil and Lime while I rushed in with Arhil to take down Karycthes first, then cooperated to fell Organ, snatching a fragment wouldn't be hard.
But taking Lucien Ardahan to tie up the saintess even briefly would leave no one to guard the Arhil and Lime I'd just saved.
I frowned bitterly at the sourness.
Fate had twisted like this, and in the most annoying way possible.
The Blue Spear Knights encircling the labyrinth, Organ, and Karycthes were merely wary now that I'd appeared—they weren't attacking rashly.
The longer the standoff dragged on, the worse it was for me, so I decided to break out of here.
"Lime."
"Yes, speak."
"If we move quickly, can you follow?"
"I don't know how fast you're planning to run, but tracking a Spirit Sword owner's movements with the eye is difficult, so probably impossible. But at a moderate speed, I can keep up. As long as my mana holds out."
It might be better to summon a wraith knight to carry Lime and Arhil.
Nodding to show I understood, I ordered Lucien Ardahan, who was still half-emerged from the sub-space, to slam the ground.
Groooooar!
Roaring like an engine starting up, it raised its two fists high.
The Blue Spear Knights flinched as they watched those massive hands emerge from the mysteriously colored sub-space.
Naturally, Lime, Iris, and Arhil right below also frowned at the sight.
Boom!
As the two fists slammed the ground, the ash-covered soil that had sunk into the floor billowed up thickly.
In that moment where not even an inch ahead was visible, I summoned six wraith knights.
I ordered the two with the Spirit Sword owner's soul to carry Lime and Arhil, called Iris's name, and broke out in the direction opposite Karycthes, Organ, and the saintess.
We burst through the dust and ran quickly.
The four wraith knights flew through the air in wraith form, following behind, while the two carrying Lime and Arhil on their backs chased closely in materialized form.
'Good enough.'
The speed was satisfactory.
On top of that, Arhil had her arms locked around the wraith knight's neck, securing her body firmly, and was applying blessings one by one.
A warm energy seeped into my body.
Metatron, Organ.
It felt completely different from their holy power.
Under the blessing's effect, my body felt light, and power surged into my legs with each step.
It was baffling no matter how many times I thought about it—how a holy blessing could attach to evil-aligned wraith knights.
It made sense that holy power would harm them if used to heal, but why was the blessing allowed?
Putting aside the fleeting question, I headed toward the Blue Spear Knights' encirclement.
They seemed panicked seeing our group approach but soon aimed their spears.
Spears without fragments couldn't match them, no matter their skill—unless they rivaled Sword Saint Via in the elves' forest, blocking me and Iris was impossible.
"Spear throw!"
One of the Blue Spear Knights shouted.
Silver spears shot toward us.
Encircling us roundly, the spears targeted our group simultaneously.
Iris advanced, swinging her black-form scythe widely.
The scythe stretched long, leaving afterimages in the air.
Spears touching those afterimages crumpled pathetically and bounced off.
I couldn't just watch either, so I activated [Shadow Heresy 8th Form, Punishment - Scythe of Execution].
A reaper appeared above my head and swung its scythe widely.
Lines drew across the Blue Spear Knights' feet, and mana burst from them.
Skilled knights noticed the lines at their feet and retreated to evade, but some failed to react in time and stood frozen—only to have their bodies bisected horrifically.
Without a word on who went first, Iris and I melted into the shadows.
The Blue Spear Knights were startled by our sudden disappearance.
We reappeared behind them.
"Behind!"
Someone shouted, but it was too late.
Iris's swinging scythe cleanly severed the Blue Spear Knights' necks.
I was a bit crueler.
I raised Yakal overhead and slammed it down forcefully, cleaving a Blue Spear Knight.
Even in armor, it couldn't withstand Yakal's attack power plus my <Glorification>.
After felling one, I hurled Altemia into the next.
The knight's body exploded from Altemia's power burrowing through the armor, spilling blood outside.
As they reformed encirclement with shields for protection, I threw Altemia again, unleashing the fragment's power.
Red lines sprayed from the thrown Altemia's blade.
Slicing sharply through the air, it shredded everything in its path.
Shields blocking it were useless.
Thrusting spears were no match either.
These empire elites among elites died in an instant, and the encirclement shattered pathetically easily.
Stepping over the dead Blue Spear Knights' armor via the wraith knights, I immediately called Iris's name and escaped that spot.
As soon as the encirclement broke, countless spears flew from behind, but Lucien Ardahan emerged, splendidly blocking them with its massive body.
Another group of Blue Spear Knights appeared ahead.
Unlike the tight seal around the labyrinth, these were grouped in fixed numbers at intervals.
Farther still, a fair number of soldiers were visible.
But more urgent was the massive cubic cube blocking our front.
Semi-transparent, but tougher than it looked—not something easily shattered.
Karycthes was pouring mana into it to prevent escape, making the semi-transparent hue grow increasingly opaque.
"I'll handle it."
Just as I was about to channel mana into the Yakal in my hand, Iris passed by my side.
The twentieth fragment, Ginnungagap, fully manifested in Iris's hand.
Black heat haze flickered like fierce flames.
The scythe wrapped in it swung twice rapidly, warping the surrounding space like twisted air.
An X-shaped line etched across the massive cube's wall.
Followed by a harsh crunching sound—kwakakak—and the slash erupted belatedly along the line.
The cube's wall couldn't withstand the attack and collapsed silently.
The falling cube shards bounced off our bodies painlessly, melting into the air like settling snow.
Kwakakakakak!
Then, a sound like the earth's crust flipping came from the side.
Turning my head, three shark-fin-like slashes flew amid massive dirt clouds.
Clearly mana slashes, yet they zigzagged like living creatures, approaching erratically as if disoriented.
========== Author's Note ==========
1) When leaving, gotta snag at least one fragment, right!
2) Was planning to kill Lime, but saved her for Arhil's mental health. Sprinkled so many death flags that I felt I should've...
3) Ugh, with everyone yelling for catharsis, now I feel burdened about whether to kill them all and steal the fragment like I was thinking. But if I do, future enemies get too strong, so let's compromise on one. Rushing the plot too fast means redoing all my settings...