Chapter 311
Chapter 311
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 311
Chapter Title: Chapter 7-1. The Sixth Fragment, Requiem
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The dragon head mount hesitated to descend, and just as Judah was about to urge it forward, Lime called out from behind.
"Wait."
He turned to see Lime's urgent expression as the man shouted "wait" once more.
"?"
"Wouldn't it be better to just wait until she tires herself out? Even if we just watch from here, those who've lost their minds and are rampaging wildly are attacking her, right? If we charge in now, we'll get hit from both sides."
Glancing around, Judah could see more and more gathering here. Even dragonkin were arriving in droves, using short-range spatial jumps by stepping on the building debris—not an insignificant number. Charging in recklessly didn't seem like a smart choice. At least, that's how Lime saw it.
"Let's play it smart. We use them to our advantage as much as possible!"
"No."
Judah flatly rejected Lime's proposal. Waiting for Esther Serion to tire out, as he suggested, could indeed work to their benefit. Those enthralled by Requiem's mana wouldn't bother Judah's group as long as they stayed up here—they'd focus solely on her.
Unfortunately, there was a time limit. Or at least, there would be.
Thanks to the dragon head mount, they'd arrived faster than expected and had some leeway, but unlike the game, no one knew how long the fight with her would last. The longer it dragged on, the more Requiem in her hand would absorb surrounding mana and unleash greater power. Even the higher-grade dragonkin resisting its pull would eventually swarm in, creating an even bigger headache.
"Why...?"
"Because we don't have time. If we don't take her down as quickly as possible, we could get trapped in this world too."
He didn't have time for a long explanation, but Lime would understand. The endlessly repeating world. Reaching its end meant looping back to the start. With Judah's group here, who knew what would happen. In the game, entering another realm reset from that point, but here they might get expelled beyond the sandstorm—or simply cease to exist.
"Let's go."
Judah turned from the silent Lime and urged the dragon head onward. It hesitated, clearly reluctant, but repeated prodding finally made it lean forward and descend from the building.
He resummoned Lüsen Ardahan and the wraith knights, which had been destroyed back on the black land. Space tore open as Lüsen Ardahan appeared, summoning his 24 Akan subordinates.
Lüsen Ardahan and 24 Akan.
Three wraith knights infused with the spirit sword owner's soul, plus three regular wraith knights.
The subjugated dragon head mount... This should at least protect Arhil and Lime from the mindless rushers for a while. Assuming no higher-grade dragonkin showed up yet.
Judah promptly activated his skills in sequence.
Demon Eye and Shadow Deployment. Potential Release. Even Guardian Shadow Wall, which he never used due to mana drain, and swordsmanship and heresy arts enhancements that boosted power at the cost of heavy mana consumption—he held nothing back.
No sooner had his feet touched the ground than a nearby dragonkin sized him up, deeming him as dangerous as Esther Serion, and blinked in via short-range spatial jump.
Charrlk!
He summoned the golden chains, Rudmillan, binding the one materializing in midair, then slashed its body with the freshly drawn Yakal. Blood sprayed out. As it tried to unsummon the chains, Judah felt mana flowing into Rudmillan from the bound dragonkin.
He'd already summoned Lüsen Ardahan and wraith knights without restraint, yet his mana wasn't depleting—in fact, it was rising.
"?"
Puzzled by the sensation, a translucent hologram window appeared before his eyes.
[The twenty-second fragment, Rudmillan, absorbs the overflowing mana around it!]
[The chains' strength is further reinforced!]
[The fragment's power increases mana by 1!]
Normally he'd dismiss it without reading, but the mana gain caught his eye. He slashed another charging heteromorph with Yakal while scanning the rest of the messages—and soon broke into a faint smile of admiration.
Rudmillan was greedily sucking up mana from the temple's massive outflow of holy power and the mana-rich dragonkin.
With any luck, he could substantially raise his mana total here, low as it was even for a spirit sword owner. As more dragonkin closed in, Judah felled them while summoning chains without mercy.
He climbed the stairs, clearing those ascending alongside Iris.
"Watch out!"
He glanced back at Iris's shout to see a flame-wreathed slash streaking down from above. Iris swung her scythe to block it, but the flames merely scattered briefly before pressing on. At her cry, Judah dodged back, eyes on the frontal charger.
Fwoosh!
The fiery slash sliced through the dragonkin's outstretched claws. Its body ignited instantly, small flames crackling where the slash had passed.
Looking up, he saw Esther Serion sweeping away those around her in an instant.
Her eyes bloodshot from endless tears, every swing of her sword birthed fierce flames that burned her foes to ash.
"......"
She stared silently at the corpses turning to cinders amid the blaze until another attacked, her shoulders then heaving.
"P... please... stop."
She still clung to some reason. In the game, once she entered combat after crying, she only ever uttered "...." until defeated.
Perhaps centuries of repetition had built mental resistance to Requiem.
Charrlk!
Judah stabbed a chain into the fallen dragonkin's corpse and pressed on up the stairs. He'd embedded sixteen of his twenty-two chains into dead dragonkin hearts—his mana surged instantly. Already up by an extra 2.
Lüsen Ardahan was thoroughly shielding Lime and Arhil with his 24 Akan. Once, a higher-grade dragonkin appeared above Lime.
The wraith knights reacted, but a regular one got smashed away instantly.
The soul-infused wraith knight prioritizing Arhil moved, but too late. Judah, having just cut down a climber from below, spotted it and shadow-jumped behind Lime to block—saving him from certain death here.
"Ugh...!"
Leaving the sighing Lime with a quick "be careful," Judah returned to Iris's side.
They'd cleared the temple's broad stairs of dragonkin and heteromorphs, but more kept swarming from nearby.
The showed them crawling in like ants. Looking up, Esther Serion had finished off those near her.
'She burns them clean—no blood left to absorb.'
He and Iris had absorbed their victims' blood via Altemia, but sadly, hers were reduced to ash by flames, leaving none.
'Storage is high anyway, so no issue.'
Blood from imperial soldiers and blue lance knights on the black land remained plentiful. Feeling the air grow sweltering from Requiem's heat, Judah said to Iris beside him,
"I'll take the front."
She nodded, understanding the brevity. They moved at once. He leaped stairs three or four at a time toward Esther Serion; Iris turned to face downward.
Crackle!
Just then, Lime froze the lower stairs with magic. One heteromorph slipping on the ice tumbled as it tried to climb.
But the instinct-driven berserkers reinforced their bodies with mana, bounding up or scaling the sides.
Iris stretched her black silhouette scythe long, cleaving them all.
Meanwhile, closing in on Esther Serion, Judah activated Yakal's Frenzy skill and brought his sword down on her. She nimbly twisted aside, evading the overhead greatsword strike.
Boom!
The instant it cratered the stairs, a flaming sword thrust from the side. Judah used Shadow Sword 4th Form - Phantom Sword to retreat, summoning chains.
From over a dozen ripples in the air, phantoms lunged at Requiem, only to burn—but chains burst forth, binding it. The silver blade, wreathed in flames, was ensnared by golden links.
As Esther Serion reached to reclaim the pierced, chained Requiem, Judah unsummoned some chains absorbing mana from dead dragonkin corpses via straw-like conduits and resummoned them at her.
Charrlk!
The moment eight chains appeared, her tail whipped out, shattering six mid-emergence. The blow's monstrous strength pulverized them on contact.
Only two managed to coil around her sword-arm and neck holding Requiem. Then Iris appeared behind her, gripping her scythe two-handed.
Esther Serion's eyes flicked to Iris.
And from Esther Serion erupted an immense surge of mana and presence.
'Huh?'
It felt familiar, and the chained Requiem stirred ominously.
Keeeen!
A chill raced up his spine as Rudmillan binding Requiem melted away. Freed once more, the sword slashed at Judah in a flash, then whipped toward Iris behind.
Clang!
"...Ngh!"
The scythe haft met blade with a clear ring, but Iris—uncharacteristically—groaned softly as she was flung back.
Deeming the sudden rear threat greater than Judah, Esther Serion brought her terrifying, flame-cloaked sword howling down on Iris.