Chapter 46: Subjugation (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 46: Subjugation (2)
The pavement shattered, completely torn up by her monstrous cornering.
Seeing Noel plunge her hand directly into the earth to use as a pivot, it became glaringly obvious just how fast she was moving.
They had reached the outskirts of the Imperial Capital—a ghost town filled with nothing but abandoned buildings. This was where Aiden had guided Noel. Just as he requested, the area was spacious and completely deserted.
“Is this the place?!” Noel asked urgently, glancing back at the Lord Protector charging toward them like a runaway tank.
It was only natural for her to sound frantic. If they stopped for even a second, the enemy would be upon them.
The Lord Protector didn’t seem the least bit out of breath. Compared to Noel, who was already breaking a sweat, she looked impossibly fresh.
The fact that she was perfectly fine after an exchange that would have exhausted even Noel was a clear sign: her opponent’s strength was completely abnormal. To bind such a monster, ordinary means would never suffice.
Aiden glanced around.
“Just what did you prepare here—”
“That.”
Noel’s face contorted as she looked where he pointed.
“…Her Highness?”
No sooner had she spoken than a massive pillar of fire erupted. It tore toward the sky, dyeing the abandoned surroundings in a crimson glow.
It was an attack Katya had conjured on the spot without a single warning sign. Unleashing such power so effortlessly was enough to send a shiver down anyone’s spine, but an even more shocking sight immediately followed.
Despite ‘Divine Power’ holding an elemental advantage over spirits, the Lord Protector brutally charged right through the flames.
Seeing this, Aiden couldn’t help but groan. “…Ugh.”
“It’s not working—”
“—which is only natural.”
Fortunately, that attack was merely the groundwork for what was to come.
Before Noel could frantically point out its futility…
Bang—!
Bang—!
A dozen pillars slammed into the ground around the Lord Protector in rapid succession. These were the items Katya had prepared in advance.
Recognizing what they were, Noel’s eyes widened. “…Suppression Pillars? When on earth did you prepare those?”
“The moment I saw them, I resolved to make good use of them.”
They were among the items confiscated after subduing the gang that supplied goods to the capital under the orders of the Imperial Prince and the Administrative Minister. Aiden had been planning this ever since he checked the inventory list, back when Noel told him they had “gotten everything they could.”
“You really make the absolute most of everything you have.”
“…”
It felt a bit odd to receive such praise in a situation like this, but regardless. Although Noel had easily broken through those Suppression Pillars before, they had deployed several times that number now.
Soon.
Rumble—!!
BOOM—!!!!!
A sonic boom on a completely different level from when they subdued Katya crashed down, physically weighing on the Lord Protector.
The shamanic charms made of spirit wood resonated with one another, forming an airtight barrier. Even though its sole purpose was to bind the target rather than attack, the pressure was immense enough to tear the air apart and crush everything within.
The utterly appalled expressions on the onlookers’ faces spoke volumes.
“If anyone got trapped in that… even the Founder of the Empire wouldn’t be able to endure it, let alone me,” Noel muttered, rubbing her temples as if a headache was coming on.
Aiden silently agreed with her grim assessment.
But…
…The fact that she’s still moving makes no sense.
Aiden let out a dry laugh as he processed the sight. Despite being trapped inside such a suffocating barrier, the Lord Protector displayed monstrous strength, physically forcing her limbs to move.
Still.
So far, everything is going according to plan.
Her movements were visibly slowing down. No matter how strong she was, maintaining peak condition inside that barrier was practically impossible. Slower, slower, and slower still…
Until finally, as if moving had become too much of a struggle, she fell to her knees.
Now, it was his turn.
Aiden took a deep breath and drew his sword. The attack range of the technique Mayer had passed down to him wasn’t very long. He had to get close.
He approached the slowed Lord Protector, readying his blade. All he had to do was unleash the technique he had prepared. Then, victory would be theirs.
But at that exact moment, Aiden locked eyes with the Lord Protector.
* * *
Suddenly, goosebumps erupted all over his body.
An undeniable, chilling intuition that something was terribly wrong shot down his spine.
Those eyes… she had been waiting for this. It was as if she had intentionally exposed a weakness to lure her fleeing prey closer.
She deliberately showed an opening—
Before Aiden could even fully process the thought, the Lord Protector’s arm blurred into motion. It wasn’t the sluggish movement of someone suppressed. It was the exact same terrifying speed she had displayed from the very beginning.
“Watch out—!”
Someone slammed hard into his side. It was Katya. Observing from the sidelines had allowed her to grasp the situation faster than anyone else. It was solely thanks to her that he didn’t die instantly.
“—!”
Before he could even raise a proper defense, a sword flashed like lightning, slicing into Aiden’s side. It cleaved through the Divine Barrier and Katya in one smooth motion before biting halfway through Aiden’s flank.
The sickening sensation of skin, muscle, and bone being sliced apart gnawed at his nerves. As Aiden gasped for air, blinded by an agonizing pain that made it hard to even breathe, the Lord Protector was already transitioning into her next move.
[Subjects of the Empire, fear not—]
From beneath the battered armor, that same cold, solemn voice rang out.
Qi gathered in tandem with the Lord Protector’s words. Fierce and volatile, like a bomb on the verge of detonating, a highly concentrated malice gathered at the tip of her sword.
[—for I have arrived.]
In the next instant, his vision went completely black.
* * *
His consciousness buzzed. His vision was blurry. Every nerve in his body screamed in agony.
…This is seriously unfair.
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Aiden bitterly chewed on the thought.
He hadn’t really felt it lately because he had been copying and wielding all kinds of terrifying skills from various people, but at his core, he was just an ordinary guy who had stumbled into a world of superhumans. Taking just one unexpected blow at close range was enough to put him on the brink of death.
No. If Katya hadn’t thrown her entire body to shield him, that exact spot would have been his grave.
— System Message
▶ Critical injury detected.
▶ ‘Skill: Holy Body’ has been activated.
▶ Wound recovery and regeneration speed are increased.
His only saving grace was that he had somehow acquired a skill suited for a situation exactly like this. Since he lacked Katya’s innate Divine Power, its performance was far inferior to the original. Still, he could feel the wound—one that easily could have killed him from shock alone—slowly, bit by bit, beginning to mend.
“…It really… hurts…”
Barely managing to support himself, he leaned his entire body against some unrecognizable structure nearby. When he finally looked up, he saw a wide main street—completely different from the alleyway they had been in just moments ago. He couldn’t even begin to estimate how far he had been blown away by that single strike.
The surrounding scenery was entirely unfamiliar. He must have flown a terrifying distance.
Thud—!
And despite flying so far, a heavy footstep echoed nearby.
It was the Lord Protector. She raised her sword, pointing the bloodstained tip at Aiden, and took slow, deliberate steps forward to finish the fight.
…Danger…
His mind recognized the threat, but his body refused to budge. Even with the Holy Body skill healing him, his recovery was far too slow to react.
The Lord Protector, now standing right in front of him, raised her sword high. For a second, Aiden could almost see the illusion of the Grim Reaper raising his scythe.
But then…
Suddenly, the sword froze in midair.
“—?”
Even with his battered body, Aiden looked up at his opponent, his gaze filled with confusion.
It was a bit self-deprecating to admit, but this was the perfect opportunity for the enemy to kill him. There was absolutely no reason to stop. Why was she hesitating?
As he wondered, a figure slammed bodily into the Lord Protector. Even through his blurry vision, he could clearly make out a knight clad in Pure White Qi.
Noel let out a thunderous shout, gesturing to Katya, who had followed right behind her.
Though her attitude was resolute, the trembling in the hand holding her sword was visible even to Aiden’s unfocused eyes. She was clearly shaken by the fact that she was pointing her blade at a woman who had been both a teacher and a parent to her.
But soon, determination hardened her gaze. She was reminding herself that the opponent standing before her was merely a puppet.
“—Stay back!”
With those words, Noel lunged at the Lord Protector.
The Lord Protector, who had halted her downward strike, seemed to recognize her challenger. She locked her glowing red, lantern-like eyes onto Noel. A boiling battle cry erupted from beneath her visor.
An instant later, a clash capable of upending the entire surrounding landscape erupted between the two knights.
Meanwhile, Katya rushed to Aiden’s side, grunting with effort as she helped him up.
“—Get up, quickly! We have to run!”
“…Run?”
“Lionheart can handle this on her own. There’s no way someone as strong as her will lose!”
“…”
Theoretically, that was true. No matter what ‘level’ of knight the Lord Protector was, she ultimately shouldn’t be able to surpass Noel.
But that was only true if the Lord Protector hadn’t been artificially strengthened by the quest’s influence.
“—Ugh!”
Noel was forced entirely onto the defensive. Even the great Lionheart was being pushed back. Though she managed to parry most of the blows, wounds were steadily accumulating across her body. If this continued, she would lose. It didn’t take long for Aiden to reach that grim conclusion.
“…What’s wrong? I said we have to run—”
Katya’s voice urgently prodded him from outside his field of vision, but Aiden stood rooted to the spot. He repeatedly scanned his surroundings through his blurry vision.
A way…
The plan they had prepared had gone completely awry. But he had to find a way. He had to improvise. He had to find a way to win so Noel wouldn’t die.
He focused his eyes on the Lord Protector. Then, he looked at the place he had been leaning against just moments ago. He scanned the specific object the Lord Protector had been looking at right before she stopped her attack.
It was a statue. One draped with the flag of the Empire.
Since it was the Harvest Festival, decorations were hung everywhere, and the imperial flag was bound to be among them. This was just one of those festive banners.
And once he clearly recognized what it was…
Click.
A switch flipped in his mind.
“…”
Realization dawned on him. He finally understood what he had been missing.
Ah.
Aiden let out a deep sigh.
What an idiot.
He couldn’t help but curse himself.
…If I wanted to suppress her, I didn’t even need those Suppression Pillars in the first place.
When he thought about why that person was fighting… the answer was glaringly obvious.
“Katya.” Taking a ragged breath, he barely managed to squeeze out the words. “Help me.”
* * *
Her breath was ragged.
It wasn’t from exhaustion. Noel’s body had been trained to never betray her will, no matter the circumstances.
But even so.
Clang—!
She couldn’t even remember the last time she had faced an opponent this strong. Once again, their clashing swords showered sparks as both figures recoiled from the heavy impact. Noel reached over with her free hand, firmly gripping her sword wrist, which had begun to tremble violently.
Cold sweat poured down her face. An emotion she hadn’t felt in a long time during a fight weighed heavily on her entire body.
Anxiety. Fear.
…Why?
Part of it was the instinctual fear of defeat and death. But it was clear that something else was mixed in.
Noel… could hardly believe that she was fighting Theresa in a life-or-death struggle with her own two hands.
…Still!
Forcing those emotions down, she gripped her sword once more. The Lord Protector, catching her breath with eyes gleaming ominously, pointed her blade toward Noel once again.
So, she prepared to meet her.
She adjusted her breathing technique to align the flow of her Qi. The tension reached a hair-trigger peak. The tips of their swords radiated a chilling aura.
Then, a flash.
As the sword light of the two knights scattered in all directions—
“—?”
Noel’s eyes widened. It was a natural reaction, as she couldn’t immediately process what she was seeing. Soon, sheer shock filled her wide-open eyes.
“Mr. Aiden—!”
She had thought she was finally getting used to the man’s bizarre antics, but she never expected him to throw himself directly into the center of their oncoming slashes. And with his body in such a battered state, completely ignoring her warnings to run!
Noel gritted her teeth and focused all her concentration into her sword wrist. Operating near the absolute pinnacle of superhuman strength and sheer instinct, she managed to alter the trajectory of her already unleashed slash in a fraction of a second.
While her redirected slash violently sheared the facades off several nearby buildings, Noel threw herself toward Aiden without a second thought. Just because she had pulled back her attack didn’t mean her opponent would do the same. If left like this, he would undoubtedly be ripped to shreds!
“Mr. Aiden, you have to get out of the way—!”
But regardless of her panic, Aiden stood calmly in place, wrapping something around his body. It was the imperial flag, emblazoned with the symbol of the lion.
Even as he watched the Lord Protector’s slash hurtling toward him, he merely muttered an incomprehensible apology.
“My apologies, Lord Protector.”
He pulled the flag tight around himself and stared straight into the Lord Protector’s eyes.
Why? What on earth—!
Noel’s mind went completely blank. She had no idea what he was doing, but a sudden wave of despair washed over her, screaming that it was already too late. A horrific scene flashed before her eyes: Aiden being sliced in two, his upper torso flying through the air in a spray of blood.
Indeed, the Lord Protector’s slash showed no signs of slowing down. It was as if she didn’t care about Aiden’s safety in the slightest.
But then, in the very next instant…
The moment her gaze locked onto the imperial flag wrapped around Aiden’s body—
“…Huh?”
—the Lord Protector’s movement ground to a sudden, dead halt.