Chapter 302
Chapter 302
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 302
Chapter Title: Final Battle (10)
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“Eek!”
Adeshan flinched as she focused her mind. It had been quiet for a while, but now it was acting up again. A familiar woman's voice stabbed into her mind.
She was sick and tired of even asking what was dangerous this time. Confirming that the mana of the shadows had been disrupted, she let out a sigh. It seemed she'd need to refocus her attention to concentrate again.
“Haa... seriously.”
Adeshan irritably opened her eyes. She saw the allied forces gathered in formation, the Star's Blessing covering everywhere, and beyond that, the flashing sky. The battle between Ronan and the Giant King seemed to still be ongoing.
“Ronan.”
She bit her lip as she looked up at the sky. Her heart felt heavy, as if she'd left the outcome of this fight entirely to Ronan. Of course, aside from him, the only one strong enough to face the king was Navardoje.
'Is there anything more I can do to help?'
Navardoje's whereabouts were still unknown. They'd sent out a detachment to check if she was alive or dead, but no word of her discovery had come yet.
It would be great if she could provide covering fire, but even that wasn't feasible. She might have to attack with magic, but the mana of her and the entire allied force was being transferred to the Savior.
“No helping it...”
No matter how much she thought about it, this was the best they could do right now. Adeshan was about to refocus on her task when a low chuckle echoed from behind her.
“Ahaha... then Ronan can't use you.”
“What?”
Adeshan whipped around. A woman in a pure white dress was slowly walking through the gaps in the allied forces. Her eyes widened at the blindingly beautiful sight.
“...Lady Iril?”
It was unmistakably Iril. She'd been reported as unconscious, but had she woken up? Adeshan narrowed her eyes as she shifted her gaze. Every time Iril took a step, the people around her were collapsing one by one.
“Wh-what is this?”
Their life signs seemed normal, so they weren't dead or injured. Everyone in the direction Iril had come from was already down.
She couldn't make sense of it. As Adeshan instinctively sensed something ominous and tried to take action, strength suddenly drained from her body.
“What's happening right now...”
Thud. She staggered and dropped to one knee. Amid her blurring consciousness, an inexplicable sense of happiness began to well up.
“...Huh?”
Something was wrong. Her senses were twisting one by one. The horrific battlefield scenery was turning into the view of Phileon Academy from the hill of the Four Seasons. The acrid smell of ash and blood became the scent of cherry blossoms.
“Senior. What's wrong?”
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in her ear. The startled Adeshan clutched her forehead and turned her head. Ronan, in his school uniform with his hands in his pockets, stood there.
“Ro-Ronan?”
“Did something tough happen? Like student council stuff sucking?”
Ronan asked in a concerned tone. He was looking down at her with the gentle gaze he only showed when they were alone. Adeshan stammered.
“I... um...”
“Don't push yourself. You're already doing amazing.”
With that, Ronan lightly hugged her. The cozy, warm embrace was unmistakably that of her lover. Her thoughts froze for a moment.
“Ah...”
Adeshan knew. Everything she was seeing, hearing, and feeling right now was fake. But regardless of her cognition, the rising happiness was clouding her judgment. Suddenly, a woman's voice came from not far away.
“Yes. If you're tired, take a little break. You've been running hard all this time.”
“...Mom?”
The tone was familiar. Adeshan's face hardened as she turned her head. Her mother, who had died in her childhood, and her two older brothers were climbing the hill.
“You've grown so much, Adeshan.”
“My little sis is taller than her big bros now, huh?”
Her two brothers waved. Their appearances hadn't changed since the last time she'd seen them. Adeshan muttered in a daze.
“No way...”
This was too much. Her vision blurred with tears at the overwhelming familiarity. She belatedly realized she was also in her school uniform.
“This can't be real... right?”
Of course, it didn't matter anymore. Adeshan toppled sideways and sat on the ground. Her shoulders began to shake as she bowed her head.
“Ahaha... ha.”
***
The wind howled fiercely. Far below at his feet, a sea of white clouds flowed by. It harmonized beautifully with the deep blue sky above.
It was a peerless vista. But Ronan had no leisure to admire it now. He spat and asked irritably.
“Let's end this already. Aren't you bored, huh?”
But there was no reply this time either. Before him, the Giant King was flapping its wings. Unable to fly, Ronan kept his aura active at all times, orbiting around it like a satellite.
'Fucking huge. Seriously.'
Ronan clicked his tongue as he watched the king. Its size, ten times that of a normal giant, completely blocked the scenery behind it. Especially the eight wings—even turning his head, it was hard to take in the whole thing.
Several wounds from Ronan's attacks marred the pure white colossal body, but none were decisive. Its defense was as outstanding as its overwhelming size.
Whatever. He wanted to settle this soon. His overworked limbs were trembling like they might break. Gripping the hilt tightly, Ronan shouted loudly.
“Die already!”
At the same time, Ramancha dyed an even deeper crimson. Whoosh! The pulling force strengthened, propelling Ronan's body forward.
Ramancha drew a wide arc, slashing at the Giant King's neck. Just as the blade was about to sever its throat. Boom-! A savage clash rang out. Ronan grimaced, clutching his ringing hand.
“Damn...!”
A broad, thick greatsword blocked Ramancha. The king's main weapon looked less like a proper armament and more like construction equipment.
Unlike the light-based ones other giants used, this had a solid physical form, so Ronan couldn't cut through it easily. Aiming for the neck was too obvious, huh. Taking a deep breath, he flashed a deliberate grin.
“Pretty quick for your size. They give you the right equipment down there?”
『......』
But the king didn't rise to the provocation. Ronan could guess where the giants' characteristic cynicism came from. Amid the tense silence. The king silently twisted its body and swung the greatsword widely.
“Ugh!”
Ronan read the trajectory and bent backward. Whoosh! The greatsword narrowly grazed his floating forelocks.
A beam of light fired along the sword's path shot toward the horizon. Boom-! Soon, an explosion tore through the sea of clouds.
“Fuck me.”
The belated shockwave swept the area. Ronan cursed. Good thing this was a remote spot; it could've wiped out a whole city.
Whoosh! The giant's follow-up came immediately, but he couldn't even dream of blocking it. Dodging or parrying to maintain distance, Ronan twisted his lips.
'Screwed. How do I catch this.'
Frankly, he saw no answer. It wasn't elected by popularity vote or anything. They occasionally landed effective hits on each other, but usually Ronan took the worse damage.
All he could do was buy time so the embers wouldn't reach the allies and wait for the curse inside him to dissipate completely. Suddenly, a familiar girl's voice echoed in Ronan's mind.
“What, Lin?”
Ronan's eyes widened. It had been a long time since he'd heard that voice. Lin, the spirit of the holy sword dwelling in Ramancha. Dodging the king's slash once more, Ronan tilted his head.
“What's up all of a sudden?”
The blade hummed each time she spoke. Ronan furrowed his brow. The implication was clear.
“...You think I can't win?”
“A new approach, huh.”
Ronan groaned. She was right; the king had memorized all his attack patterns. Unless he attacked very irregularly, he couldn't land effective hits.
He had to pierce its guard perfectly just once and sink it. Ronan's mind heated up rapidly. A new method, something he hadn't thought of before. After a few seconds of silence, he snapped his fingers.
“Aha.”
“High chance of failure, but worth a shot. Let's try it.”
As Lin tried to shout something, Ronan suddenly pressed the sword against his left thigh and slashed. Slash! Blood spurted like a fountain from where the blade dug into his flesh. Ronan gritted his teeth against the burning pain.
“Shit, cut too deep maybe.”
Lin asked in disbelief. Instead of answering, Ronan shoved the blade deeper into his flesh.
Just enough blood to not die. His leg could limp a bit later. Lin belatedly caught on and groaned in dismay.
“Yeah. This much should hurt even that bastard.”
Ronan chuckled. Red energy climbed the blade of Ramancha. It was the property of the weapon that grew sharper the more blood it drank.
Preparation needed before unleashing his trump card. The sword had to rip through flesh reliably first.
Now for the main part, but honestly, this was where the gamble began. As Ronan tried to whisper the plan to Lin. A low, thick voice resounded across the sky.
『Stop.』
“What?”
Ronan instinctively froze. It felt like his marrow was ringing. This voice was on another level from any giant he'd heard before.
He sensed it was the king's voice. Calming his breath, he looked up. The king had lowered its greatsword and was staring at him.
“You can talk too, huh?”
『Mortal creature living a fleeting life, tell me the whereabouts of the previous king while I still have mercy left.』
“Previous king... what?”
Ronan tilted his head. He couldn't understand what it was saying.
Did 'previous king' mean there was a king before this one? The king continued.
『Your blood... smells like the previous king.』