Chapter 128
Chapter 128
Chapter 128
Seven Arks (3)
"Kugh!"
Dugrid broke out in a cold sweat as he looked at his burst right arm.
The pain of having his nerves completely severed was something that even a warrior of his caliber couldn't maintain a completely composed expression through.
"We need to retreat for now, Dugrid."
"Yeah..."
He had never let his guard down, not even for a moment.
But allowing this single blow was a painfully critical hit.
Since even Crosel, who had delivered the attack, hadn't been aware of this strike, it was like experiencing a natural disaster.
"Who did you say would send you?"
Crosel, having temporarily regained most of his power and feeling confident, displayed his authority while pressuring Layla.
She visibly panicked as the barrier made of her magic began to shake.
"Ugh, my barrier...!"
"Hehehe, now that my unique authority of Erosion has activated, this barrier is mine."
The nightmare barrier that had been deployed to trap the enemy now became a prison confining themselves.
'Hmm, I should be able to finish this easily enough.'
Due to Rigos's authority of equality, an overall combat power increase of 2-3 times had been achieved.
With over 20 fighters possessing such power, Layla and Dugrid found themselves completely on the defensive.
"Kill them."
"...!"
Following Crosel's command, the high-ranking demons wrapped their entire bodies in thick demonic energy and rushed at the two.
Dugrid created an aura axe with his left arm and prepared to respond, but he couldn't deny that his momentum was much weaker than before.
"Kiyaaaaaaak!"
As the demons rushed forward, snarling like beasts.
"Ah, damn."
Rudian looked toward the outside of the barrier and clicked his tongue slightly.
"What's wrong?"
Elvin, who had been catching his breath, asked with confusion at Rudian's attitude.
"I thought we could at least take down those two, but it seems we've rung the bell."
The moment those words ended.
CRACK! CRACK!
Spider web-like cracks began to appear in the nightmare barrier that had been eroded by Crosel's authority, as if a glass window was breaking.
"Hmm?"
Crosel, who had been triumphantly about to sever Dugrid's neck, was startled when cracks suddenly appeared in the nightmare barrier.
Normally, Crosel would have cautiously retreated, but right now, Crosel was in quite a good mood due to the backlash from losing control of his power.
Therefore, rather than retreating, he maintained his attack on Dugrid with the mindset of 'whoever comes, I'll face them head-on!'
DING!
And that carelessness resulted in fatal consequences.
BANG!
"Kraaaak!"
A young man and an old man appeared, breaking through the barrier.
The lightning-like strike delivered by the young man sent Crosel's body flying.
"...!"
STARTLED!
The demons who had been about to charge at the two people stopped their advance at the impressive entrance of the young man and old man.
"Rowen! Lord Galdran!"
Layla beamed with joy at the sight of the two who had suddenly appeared.
The old man called Galdran spoke in a grave voice.
"The nightmare barrier suddenly became corrupted. Something seemed to have happened, so I intervened. Were we interfering?"
"Not at all. We never thought that Rowen's prediction would be right... It's our fault for ignoring it."
"The one who became a hero by driving out demons has joined hands with demons..."
The old man looked with interest at Rudian, who was watching the situation from afar.
"Huh, are they similar to us?"
In response to those words, Rudian raised his middle finger as his answer.
"Kekeke, definitely one of ours."
But the old man just laughed pleasantly and shook his head.
"Kughhhh!"
Meanwhile, Crosel, who had been sent flying by the single blow, gritted his teeth as he looked at his side, which looked as if it had been torn by a wild beast.
"I'll kill you!"
It was impressive that the attack had penetrated his defense while he was at full power and wounded him, but this wasn't a fatal injury.
SWOOSH!
Just by concentrating his power for a moment, the wound healed cleanly.
As Crosel, having healed his wound, was about to snarl and charge again.
"Hey, I think it would be better if you stopped there."
"Rudian Belstad..."
Rudian advised Crosel, trying to stop him.
"If it's four people instead of two, it'll be quite disadvantageous for you."
"I am a Demon King! How dare you ignore the power of a Demon King?"
"I'm just telling the truth..."
"No matter who you are, if you tarnish my honor further, I won't forgive you!"
"..."
He had seemed somewhat reasonable to talk to, but apparently he was the type who became a complete blockhead when his temper flared.
Rudian sighed and said.
"Fine, do as you please."
Who's maintaining that authority will become clear with time, anyway.
But Crosel would never get the chance to learn that fact.
"These damn bastards!"
Excluding the injured Dugrid, there were Layla, Rowen, and Galdran.
The power of these three was enough to block even the combined assault of Crosel and the demons, even if all restrictions were lifted.
Moreover, the time Crosel could maintain that power was only 2 minutes.
Those 2 minutes passed in an instant after they exchanged a few full-power attacks and defenses.
"N-no...! The power... The power is draining away!"
The power that had been blazing like an active volcano instantly subsided.
The bird that had been flying freely suddenly crashed and found itself floundering in water.
And the result was...
"Guh, huk!"
The moment the 2 minutes of maintaining his authority ended, Crosel's upper body was sliced apart by the great sword carried on the back of the old man named Galdran.
The wound looked as if it had been cut with a saw, causing some of Rudian's group to slightly furrow their brows.
'Sword Breaker. The famous weapon of Hegemon Galdran.'
The one who wields such a great sword with its blade honed like a comb would be only that Galdran in all of continental history.
"L-Lord Crosel!"
With their leader, the Demon King, defeated, the demons' morale instantly crumbled.
Jagan glanced at Rudian, their ally, but...
'They're the ones who ignored my words and rushed out, so what would I gain by helping them?'
Actually, he had wanted to reduce the Seven Arks' forces here, but that sentiment applied to the demons as well.
Using barbarians to control barbarians.
Whichever side lost forces, it wouldn't be a loss for Rudian.
"Heh, is it our turn now?"
But this bastard Eugene still seemed eager to fight the Seven Arks, cracking his knuckles and stretching like a magician preparing for battle.
Then the young man called Rowen from the opposing group stepped forward and spoke.
"Count Rudian Belstad, Your Excellency."
"Speak, Sir Rowen Elaid, 'Swift as Wind and Thunder.'"
STARTLED!
Not only Rowen but everyone nearby showed surprised expressions at Rudian's words, which accurately pierced through not only his name but also his nickname.
"I don't know how you knew my nickname, but..."
Rowen continued with a slightly hesitant tone.
"Would you let us go now?"
"That's strange. Now that you and the Hegemon have arrived, shouldn't your side have the advantage in terms of forces?"
He tried to provoke them with a sly smile, but Rowen didn't take the bait and shook his head.
"That might be true in terms of apparent strength, but I'm not foolish enough to believe at face value that you've shown your full power. Also, my comrade Dugrid's injury can't be left untreated any longer, so further combat is impossible."
"How wise."
In fact, if they had really been determined to fight to the death, Rudian had been planning to deploy Yev without hesitation.
"Then I'll take that as you letting us go."
Dugrid's right arm was already beyond recovery.
Of course, with Layla there, attaching a new arm would be possible, but it would take a long time to regain his former prowess.
"Go."
"R-Rudian, sir!"
Eugene vehemently opposed that decision.
"Wasn't it you yourself, Rudian sir, who requested that we keep the Seven Arks in check! But now you're letting those bastards go?"
'This cunning snake...!'
His intention in revealing this in front of them was clearly because he wanted to have a fight with them.
Did he have some past grudge against them?
"Still, now is not the time to fight."
Rudian soothed Eugene and shook his head.
"As long as we're in this great forest, there will be plenty of opportunities to fight them, so hold back for now."
"Right."
Layla, whose dignity had been thoroughly crushed by Rudian's authority, spoke with her facial muscles contorted menacingly.
"There will always be opportunities to kill you."
"Refrain from provocation, Layla. Dugrid's condition isn't good."
As the atmosphere grew tense, Galdran quietly issued a warning.
It wasn't just that his arm had been blown off; since he had been hit by demonic energy, Dugrid's complexion was quite ashen.
"Tch!"
Layla turned her head irritably.
"Fine. We're withdrawing for today, but next time we meet, we won't let you go so easily."
Though she spoke like a third-rate villain, when the speaker was effectively the leader of the Seven Arks, those words carried different weight.
Feeling annoyed, Rudian decided to do a little provoking of his own.
"Ah, Sir Rowen."
"What is it?"
"How is Miss Evangeline doing?"
"...!"
At that moment, the expressions of the Seven Arks members changed dramatically.
"How do you... Know Evan's name?"
"When I know all of your names, wouldn't I know Miss Evangeline's name too?"
"That child is not a member of the Seven Arks."
"I know. That's exactly why I brought it up."
Rudian spoke with the most artificial smile he could manage.
"Please tell Miss Evangeline that I'll visit her when the opportunity arises."
"..."
Rowen didn't respond to those words.
Seeming quite angry, he temporarily cast aside his polite demeanor and roughly turned to leave.
The others also glared at Rudian with quite menacing expressions before disappearing.
'Even after hearing that, they won't try to fight? They have quite a bit of patience.'
Belated regret washed over him for not being able to deal with Dugrid and Layla.
After all the Seven Arks members disappeared, Gray showed curiosity and asked.
"...Brother, who is Evangeline?"
"She exists. I can't tell you now, but... I'll let you know someday."
Because you all knew that child well too.
Rudian barely swallowed these words that were about to come out.
'The Guardian of Spirits, Evan.'
Her real name was Evangeline Sigrun Elaid.
Rowen was the only good person among the Seven Arks.
Evangeline was that very Rowen's sister and the spirits' only friend, beloved by all spirits of everything in the world.
She was one of the companions on Rudian's recruitment list and also the final member of the protagonist Abel's party.
'At this point in time, she would be thoroughly hidden as the Seven Arks' secret weapon, so it's no wonder they're surprised.'
Evan, the only one among Abel's party to join in Chapter 2, was actually a poor child who had undergone human modification for the Seven Arks to gain an advantage in competition with other organizations.
Of course, due to her brother Rowen's active opposition, the Seven Arks' work had been repeatedly postponed, but...
'Her existence became the decisive motivation for the Morian Empire and the Seven Arks to split apart...'
Given the Seven Arks' nature of utilizing anything to achieve their goals, Evangeline's future was as clear as day.
Eventually, in the original story, Abel's party destroyed the Seven Arks and Rowen left the organization.
Evan fell for Abel, who had freed her from her miserable fate, and joined the party.
'Having come this far, there's no need to drag out the time.'
Even now, that child was suffering from the Seven Arks' experiments conducted secretly behind Rowen's back.
...In the original story, she let out 'heartbreaking cries' no less than Rebecca, raising readers' blood pressure and expectations...
'Hmm, but I can't just not save her.'
The Seven Arks would be annihilated in this great forest.
He was absolutely determined to make it so.
"Well, let's head back now..."
At that moment, a somehow chilling voice was heard from beside Rudian.
"Hmm?"
When he turned his head slightly, he noticed Luciella, who was wearing a displeased expression for some reason.
"Evangeline? Where did you learn such a name again? I'm a little, quite curious..."
Why are you suddenly looking at me with such a scary expression, Princess?