Chapter 83
Chapter 83
11. A War Without Faith -3
In a fight against many, seizing the momentum matters more than anything. So I charged in before the enemies could.
BANG──!!
"Guh-huk!"
I swung the 『Claw』, pulled in tight, and smashed one of the holy knights. As if he'd been hit by a truck, his full-body armor crumpled and he flew about two meters, both legs lifting off the ground.
"Insane!"
"To handle a holy knight that lightly⋯⋯!!"
[Impact Conversion: 1%]
The blow was strong enough to charge it just from my own strike, so it must have hurt quite a bit. Seeing the carnage, I sneered at the holy knights whose movements had momentarily frozen.
"Come on in. Here's your chance to fight the alien god you've been sucking up to and flattering all this time. Isn't that right? For a warrior, there's no greater honor than this."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯!!"
"Come on! I'll crush the first one who steps in!"
⋯⋯Or so I said.
'Please don't come in.'
Inside, I was praying for the exact opposite.
If I were in good condition, I could have taken them all. But I wasn't in top form right now. I'd used more power than expected on the 『Bestowal』 I'd just scattered over the bishops.
With my Magic Power bottomed out, even body reinforcement was difficult, and I had no reserves left for skills. My limbs were running at less than half strength. Honestly, I wanted to lie down.
What I'd scattered at them was nothing more than a fragment with no effect whatsoever, but back on Earth I'd gone through hell just refining a single strand of thunder and lightning into a skill. So even making that dummy skill had been exhausting.
『Bestowal』 had terrible cost-efficiency. I didn't know if I'd used it wrong or if there was some trick to it⋯⋯ but my Magic Power had drained in huge chunks.
To sum it up, neither 『Skill Creation』 nor 『Bestowal』 was a technique a D-rank hunter like me had any business reaching for. And I'd done both at once, so of course I was worn out.
That's why I'd tried drawing aggro, something I never do. To buy even a little time to rest.
But did that mean I was backed into a corner? ⋯⋯No. The deformed shield in my hand, the 『Claw』, was an item that charged itself just by blocking enemy attacks, as you know. And its destructive power exceeded any skill I possessed.
If I could just use it, I could win.
It's belated, but I felt grateful to Elijah. If she hadn't found that shield in Joero's warehouse, I'd be seriously considering running away right now. Or accepting significant losses.
"Not coming in? Then I'll—"
The precious breathing room, like a timely rain, came to an end with Bishop Bento's shout.
"Do not be deceived, holy knights! If that man truly stood as an equal to great gods like Lord Moon Shadow, we would already be dead. So that is nothing but a lie!"
"What about the Holy-God Faction's inexhaustible resources? You've all heard of it. Where do you think that came from? If you think it was divine power, doesn't everything fit together perfectly?"
"Even if it is the truth, nothing changes. If anything, if it is the truth, we must capture and kill him all the more! If he were truly an absolute being, he wouldn't be standing there babbling, and we've already earned his enmity! Follow orders! There is no other choice anyway!"
He was right. Convincing enough to persuade the hesitating holy knights.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The holy knights stepped forward with killing intent in their eyes. Their movements were still cautious, but the encirclement was slowly, steadily tightening.
I couldn't let myself get surrounded. Without the ability to use skills like 『Azure Wind Wanderer』 right now, if I got pummeled from all 360 degrees, there'd be no way out.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
And I wasn't alone. I had to protect Andersen. No matter how well I fought, if she got captured, everything would be turned on its head.
I shielded Andersen with my body and slowly retreated with her, repositioning.
With that retreat, the holy knights' momentum gradually swelled. They were realizing, bit by bit, that I'd been bluffing. And among them, one particular bastard⋯⋯
"Ha, a god like you? Don't make me laugh. I'll repay the humiliation you dealt me right here!!"
He broke from the ranks and charged straight at me. I couldn't see his face because of the helmet, but from the voice, it was the one who'd tried to rob the saintess's carriage and gotten beaten by me.
Here, to break their momentum, I needed to end it in one—
BANG─!!
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?!"
A gunshot rang out from behind me, and a wisp of gunpowder smoke drifted past, stinging my nose. A red flower bloomed inside the holy knight's helmet. He staggered, then toppled backward.
In the suddenly silent interior of the 『Grand Sanctuary』, a woman's flat voice rang out quietly.
"That is blasphemy."
"⋯⋯Andersen?"
Blasphemy, she said.
Andersen had somehow already drawn a pistol hidden against her thigh beneath the hem of her nun's habit. Smoke was curling up from the muzzle. What had taken the holy knight's life was none other than a bullet.
I gauged the pistol's effective range and the distance between Andersen and the holy knight, then felt impressed. That wasn't a distance where you'd expect such a clean hit.
"Nice shooting, Andersen."
"⋯⋯That wasn't actually my intention. I didn't think I could hit him. The Holy God must have blessed me."
Seeing a flicker of embarrassment cross her cool eyes, it seemed she wasn't being modest—it really had been luck. I raised a hand as if wiping my mouth to hide the corners of my lips curling up.
Anyway, thanks to that, the enemy's momentum broke once more.
A precious single breath.
Tap.
Warmth pressed against my entire lower back. Andersen had turned around and pressed her back against mine. It was a textbook defensive formation, in a sense—each of us covering the other's rear.
She really was a strong person. The pope she'd trusted had betrayed her, and the bishops had made a mass escape. A normal person's mind would have been shaken, yet here she was, resolutely drawing her gun and standing her ground.
Then, at a timing so uncanny it felt like she'd read my thoughts, Andersen parted her lips.
"A moment ago, I honestly almost gave up."
"⋯⋯Did you?"
"But before I even had time to give up, you changed the flow, Noah Won. This is already the third time you've saved me from a dead end. Opening the firearms deal, contacting me with a week left before the conclave, and lastly, tossing those people a single coin as charity."
Like the ground hardening after rain, strength gradually returned to her once-shaken voice. And at the end of it⋯⋯ a certain faith had taken root.
Tap.
Andersen tilted her head back and lightly tapped my back with the back of her head.
"I may lack talent, but I'm not stupid. After experiencing something three times, you learn there will be a fourth, don't you? This time too⋯⋯ I believe it will turn out that way."
A hint of laughter was mixed into her words. It felt like she'd tried to suppress it but couldn't help letting it slip through her lips. A faith both light and heavy. I suppressed my own laughter as I answered.
"⋯⋯Are you putting pressure on me right now?"
"Yes, I am putting pressure on you."
"Then let's climb that fourth hill together. If we go through it point by point, we actually have quite a few advantages. Sohye will handle the hostile forces outside the conclave, so if we just clean up here, it'll be a neat coup."
"Cleaning up over fifty holy knights with just the two of us⋯⋯ is what you're saying?"
If we work hard, it's not impossible.
And⋯⋯ I could feel it. Just like before, Andersen's eyes were probably glowing faintly right now. I was certain of it.
『────』.
Having experienced the gazes of multiple high-ranking hunters now, I could distinguish it clearly without confusion. This was a gaze.
Probably the Holy God's gaze. And it was gradually deepening.
The native god Holy God's decline and silence—a silence that had persisted even as its planet was being invaded by three high-ranking hunters—had it finally stirred because its own saintess was in mortal danger?
If so, that was one more basis for victory. It wouldn't have revealed its presence just to flash its eyes at this critical moment, so it would surely do something, wouldn't it?
In the end, what we needed was time. If we could just endure the waves, we would be the ones to seize the flag in the end.
"Try not to get hurt, Noah Won. You're someone who will accomplish great things."
"I don't know who should be saying that to whom. Andersen!"
"Strike──!!"
I crushed the grip of the shield 『Claw』 in my hand and faced the charging holy knights.
I would not let the years Andersen had endured go to waste.
THUD-!!
[Impact Conversion: 4%]
One holy knight threw himself at me in a tackle. I brought the shield to the front and deflected him, then used the butt of my dagger like a hammer and struck his temple. The key was delivering impact.
CLANG!
"Guhk⋯⋯?!"
"Wh-what the!"
Then I hooked his ankle and shoved him diagonally. The holy knight charging in from that direction stopped his attack and hesitated as his comrade's body blocked his path. A makeshift human shield, so to speak.
A holy knight came at me from the front, swinging a mace.
WHIIING-! CLANG!
I blocked the mace coming down from above with my shield. It stung quite a bit.
[Impact Conversion: 7%]
Another one came from the right. This one had a longsword. I focused and read the trajectory. The longsword was aiming for my neck. I lifted my chin and dodged. I needed to reduce their numbers.
The armor was good. It wrapped all the way around the neck, so there was no gap to shove a dagger into. I'd have to use some finesse. I tossed the dagger in my right hand into the air.
"He's thrown away his wea⋯⋯ gahk!"
Then I struck upward with my empty hand as if shoving his chin, snapping his head back. For a brief moment, his neck was visible through the gap in the helmet. I caught the falling dagger in midair and swung it lightly. The tip of the loosely gripped dagger traced a subtle curve.
Shik-
With the sound of wind, a single red line was drawn. Gurgle— the holy knight collapsed without even managing a single cry.
The next wave was three of them. They must have belonged to the same bishop, because their coordination was quite good. A well-structured chain of attacks poured in from left and right in succession.
But no matter how precise the combination, there was still a sequence. If I read it accurately and angled the shield little by little⋯⋯
CLANG-! CLACLANG!
[Impact Conversion: 15%]
Yes, blocked.
"⋯⋯How is he blocking all of that!"
"Widen the angle! Spread out and thrust from five directions! The ones in the back, get in close too!"
"Don't order me around, Moon-Shadow scum!"
They were grinding against each other. The numbers had increased, but that actually created openings. They dared to squabble in front of me? I tapped Andersen with my heel as a signal, then leaped forward like a tiger pouncing on a deer.
"Haaaah—"
"Wh-whoa!"
The holy knights suddenly loomed close. Close enough to see their dark eyes through the helmet gaps. At the same time, Andersen, having received the signal, turned and aimed her pistol. The smell of gunpowder and the crack of gunfire erupted.
BANG! BABANG! TATATATATA!
Judging by the tempo, it wasn't just one gun. Dual pistols, then. She'd hidden another one. If she'd had a cigar clenched between her teeth there, it would have suited her perfectly.
"Oh Holy God— guhk!"
"B-Bishop!"
Andersen's wild spray poured toward the bishops who had been muttering incantations. Several holy knights were pinned down protecting them, and the thunderous noise of firearms—still unfamiliar to the people of this world—slowed their movements, if only slightly.
I swung the 『Claw』 like a blunt weapon. At knees and ribs—places that were easy to target and crippling to fight with once broken.
KUUUNG──!! CRACK! CRUNCH!
"GRAAAH!"
"AAAHK!"
[Impact Conversion: 18%]
They really weren't as elite as I'd thought. With the factions divided, their cooperation was poor, so at this rate I could win more easily than expected⋯⋯
"『Moon Shadow (月影)』!"
Of course not. Right.
Flash. The necklace around Bishop Bento's neck gleamed. He threw his arms wide, the whites of his eyes showing, and howled. He was about to use a bestowed item. I had to stop him.
Could I use Azure Wind Wanderer? No⋯⋯ if I used it, I'd collapse right after. Should I throw my dagger, then? There were too many holy knights in front. But charging in recklessly was⋯⋯
"I command in the name of the 『Serpent-Subduing Young Lord (蛇伏公子)』: kneel and prostrate yourselves before the exalted one! Humble yourselves, and you shall enjoy power in the end!"
"Savidero!"
SHAAAA-!
As the sound of a snake flicking its tongue echoed, thud, thunk— the holy knights staggered and involuntarily lowered themselves into awkward crouches. For a moment, my field of vision opened up. This was my chance.
I swung the shield wide, pushing back the front line, and shouted.
"Andersen! Hit the head and we win!"
"⋯⋯Stop putting pressure on me!"
Andersen gripped the pistol with both hands, answered with a hint of irritation, and fired.
BANG──!!
Did it hit?
"⋯⋯Moon shadow, descend upon this place! Let the place where He descends become a moonlit night of madness!"
It didn't hit. Sohye would have made that shot.
But the incantation had faltered once in the middle. Perhaps because of that, crack— a fissure formed in Bishop Bento's necklace. Judging by how Bento's face twisted into a deep scowl, something had gone wrong.
But the spell hadn't been completely nullified, it seemed.
A hazy white light—neither pure nor clean—rippled across the area. Just looking at it made my stomach churn. A deeply unpleasant light.
And when that light touched the holy knights⋯⋯
"Oo, oooooooh⋯⋯"
"Grrrk, grrgh."
Cracking sounds came from their bodies as they began to stagger about. The Moon-Shadow Faction's holy knights were said to receive doubled strength on moonlit nights, but this was clearly not a normal buff.
Some of the holy knights' bodies swelled to nearly twice their size. Armor burst apart, revealing grotesquely thickened skin that had turned pitch black. In an instant, a giant roughly four meters tall appeared.
That, no matter how I looked at it, was close to a trap like the 『Hyeonggwang Jineungin』⋯⋯
"Olmun, go kill him!"
"UWAAAAAAAH──!!"
The giant called Olmun charged, shaking the ground with each step. Even his own allied holy knights were caught in the rush and sent flying, but I couldn't exactly celebrate that as a gain—the pressure was overwhelming.
"Andersen, take Savidero and fall back!"
"⋯⋯Understood!"
If we stayed bunched together, we'd all go flying together.
I pulled Andersen back and instead charged forward to meet the giant Olmun head-on. The thing let out a shriek and swung its arm. An upward swing from below, as if scraping the ground with its hand.
I put every ounce of strength into my body and thrust the shield forward. And then.
BANG-!!
"Guhk⋯⋯!!"
[Impact Conversion: 38%]
Struck by a blow more powerful than anything the holy knights had hit me with so far, my body lifted off the ground and flew.
The pope was watching the battle from a corner of the 『Grand Sanctuary』, trembling. The white-haired holy knight was fighting like a hero out of legend, and Savidero and Andersen were lending their aid as well⋯⋯ but in his eyes, they were just short.
The holy knight giant Olmun was bearing down on him with enough force to shatter boulders, and behind him, the holy knights frenzied by Moon Shadow remained. Even the Binder Faction's bishop had yet to bring out his bestowed item.
There were still too many mountains to climb. And compared to that, the white-haired holy knight looked exhausted.
They would be defeated. Right before achieving their great work.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
And they would be defeated by the pope's own hand. The dagger driven into the heart of the Holy-God Faction just as they were about to win—that had been the traitorous pope's seal and signature.
Excuses sprouted in his mind like weeds after rain.
He hadn't known it would come to this.
He hadn't known Andersen could go this far.
He hadn't known his own surrender would become such a fatal blade. He'd thought it was hopeless no matter how they struggled. He'd thought this wasn't betrayal, but helping Andersen, who had foolishly set herself on a path of self-mortification.
So, rather than that, rather than shedding blood like this—he'd thought it was right to salvage at least a handful of happiness through surrender. He'd believed that was the best he could do for his adopted daughter.
But⋯⋯
"You're not thinking of giving up, are you, Noah Won? For big attacks like that one, I'll put up a barrier!"
"It still hurts even with the barrier, Andersen!"
"If you can feel pain, then it's not enough to kill you, is it!"
The saintess had not given up. In those eyes was a steadfast conviction. Not certainty of victory. A belief⋯⋯ that even in defeat, pushing forward on this path was right.
Of all the expressions he had ever seen on Andersen's face, these were the brightest shining eyes.
"Ah, aah⋯⋯"
Only then did the pope realize his mistake.
It wasn't a matter of betrayal. It wasn't a matter of how capable Andersen was, or whether her plan could have succeeded. None of that mattered. If there was one greatest sin Pope Soleo had committed—
This foolish old man had been stubbornly blocking the steps his own daughter had decided upon and taken for herself.
He had to make amends. Even now.
"Oh Holy God—"
A final ember caught in the eyes of the old, weary pope.