Chapter 358: A Thousand-Year Promise, A Thousand-Year Wait (3)
Chapter 358: A Thousand-Year Promise, A Thousand-Year Wait (3)
It was a dark night.
The world had shrunk to a narrow space illuminated only by the torches flickering atop the castle walls and the flashes of mana erupting from fingertips.
Elisha Sylvan Glenziel paused in the middle of casting a succession of spells and let out a shrill cry.
"Eek! Just how many of them are there?! They must have sacrificed most of their numbers to create that cocoon-like thing!"
"Stop whining and chant another spell, Elisha! It only feels like more because the others aren't here!"
The barrier of Cyclic Life had already been shattered, and the support from the World Tree, which had helped intermittently, had grown sparse.
Now, they were barely holding on, relying solely on the castle walls and the defensive magic engraved upon them.
The forces at the level of High Magician or above, who would have been their greatest strength, were currently fighting at the front to hinder Ugly Prosperity, just as Yandel had requested.
In a way, it was only natural that the burden on those defending the walls had increased.
Elisha knew this well. She knew, but…
"That doesn't change the fact that this is exhausting! Don't you feel the same, Carla?!"
"I don't know! I just want to see Master!"
"…Stop saying things that sap my strength! I'm sure Yandel is doing fine on his own!"
Despite her words, Elisha was quite worried about Yandel.
It wasn't that Elisha lacked talent or mana, but she was someone who had always run toward goals far beyond her current reach.
Having experienced mana exhaustion and the agony of converting her life force into mana several times, it was easy for her to imagine the state Yandel might be in.
However, whenever her worry for Yandel surged, Elisha forcibly pushed it aside and channeled her mana.
He asked her to believe in him, so she believed. Since they had made a thousand-year vow, she, too, promised a thousand-year wait.
That was the love of an elf.
It was a heavy love indeed, but right now, that weight acted as an anchor, preventing her from being swept away by the harsh waves of malice.
Whoosh—
A torrent of water poured from Elisha’s hand, pushing back the enemies, and immediately after, a gale from her other hand blew away the staggered foes all at once.
This chain of magic continued without pause. She wasn't casting once or twice and resting as before; she was firing them off incessantly.
And these weren't low-grade spells, but intermediate magic.
Considering that most intermediate magicians had to give their all just to cast a single intermediate spell, she was essentially transcending the limits of her rank.
The continuous battle over the past four days had pushed her potential to its absolute limit.
Yet, that alone wasn't enough to bring victory.
Many cultists and monsters had been absorbed by Ugly Prosperity, but most of them were mere rabble.
Conversely, those remaining now were the absolute elite among the followers of Ugly Prosperity.
No matter how fast she cast, Elisha’s magic had its limits, as it could not exceed the firepower of intermediate spells.
And it was Carla who filled that gap.
"…Prominence Flare!"
Flames of intense heat, reminiscent of a miniature sun, incinerated the front lines.
The dark world brightened for a brief moment, illuminating the surrounding carnage and revealing the sources of the short-lived death cries.
"Kerrrk!"
"O, Ugly Prosperity…!"
A few more charred lumps of coal were added to the piles of corpses, where ally and foe were indistinguishable.
Shortly after, the world returned to darkness. The effect of the Prominence Flare had ended.
No matter how one looked at it, the power was far too excessive for a normal intermediate spell.
Having consumed a hatchling’s Dragon Heart and received the origin of the Lintblum Breathing Technique from Yandel, Carla’s magic, like Elisha’s, had grown a step further under these extreme conditions.
However, no matter how incredible Carla’s magic was or how well she synchronized with Elisha, the army of the Evil God was even more cunning.
"Carla. Was there an Archbishop-class among the ones who just died?"
"No. I got a Bishop-class and an Orc Variant, but the others were quick to retreat. They threw their subordinates forward to buy time."
"Tsk. I thought we could take down at least one this time."
The area around Yggdrasil was already within reach of Ugly Prosperity’s authority. In other words, it was a situation where the cultists received strong buffs while the allies suffered heavy debuffs.
The Cardinal-level threats were being held back for now thanks to Grimhill and Tumila from Yggdrasil’s side, but…
Unlike themselves, who grew more exhausted as time passed, the cultists would only get stronger.
Therefore, they had to take down at least one more high priest now. However.
"It’s not easy."
"The situations are different, but Master used to pull it off so easily even when he was just an intermediate magician. I thought we could do it if the two of us teamed up."
The bizarre authority of the Evil God repeatedly nullified Carla and Elisha’s combined attacks.
The followers of Ugly Prosperity knew it, too. There was no need for them to overextend themselves right now.
By tomorrow, the advantage would be even more firmly in their favor.
"How much longer can we hold out, Carla?"
"Who knows? Two days at best? If we’re unlucky, we might collapse today."
If it were just a matter of the two of them working harder, it might be different, but the other elves had already reached their limits.
In fact, several married elves who had 'awakened to pleasure' had been unable to fight properly and were sent to the rear.
Furthermore, Iris, Iona, and Helena, who were at the front hindering the descent of Ugly Prosperity, were also a concern.
They had fought well so far, and their efforts had been effective; Ugly Prosperity had only managed to pull out its other arm and head, with not even half of its upper body having emerged from the birthing chamber yet.
However, that, too, was reaching its limit.
Iona, who had been fighting at the very front by utilizing her vampire regeneration and her immunity to lust, returned every time with a limb or two missing.
Iris poured out her mana unsparingly every day to the point of exhaustion… but she was never given the time to recover it.
As their combat window shrank, the day they would be forced to rest was bound to come.
The only one relatively unscathed was Helena. Of course, it was nearly impossible for Helena alone, who had yet to fully awaken her power as a Saintess, to hinder Ugly Prosperity.
No matter how they looked at it, the situation was desperate. Carla’s comment that Yggdrasil might fall today if they were unlucky was no exaggeration.
But that wasn't a reason to despair.
"Then that means Yandel will be back by then."
"…Wow. I didn't expect you to say something like that, Elisha."
"Hmph! I already have his vow. And Yandel is quite good at keeping those, isn't he?"
"True. Master is like that. …By the way, when are you going to call me 'Sister'?"
"I'll call you that once, right before I die."
"How cruel."
At Elisha’s firm answer, Carla playfully pretended to sob.
Even while doing so, the two did not stop casting their magic.
Fortunately, the retreat of the Archbishop-class had given them enough breathing room to engage in this much banter.
It was at that moment, while the two were focused on the battle with a moderate level of tension.
Flicker.
"Huh?"
The faint mana light of the castle walls, proof that the defensive formulas were active, flickered for a moment, and the torches hung as lights swayed in the wind.
And then, a single shadow wavered in the darkness.
Elisha hurriedly gathered her mana at the presence of the intruder, whom even her sensitive High Elf senses had detected too late… but it was already a step too slow.
An assassin holding a dagger that looked like black haze had already closed the distance to Elisha’s nose.
"Ah."
Hadn't the followers of Boiling Silence all died while guarding Ugly Prosperity’s birthing chamber?
Had one survived? Or had they quickly summoned one from nearby?
Yandel had told her before in the Levantine Empire that those black daggers possessed an authority that ignored magic.
She had cast her shields thicker than usual, but would they all be pierced?
'Am I… going to die?'
It was sudden, but the premonition of death was inescapable.
Faced with it, Elisha did not choose to weave her gathered mana into a spell.
Nor did she stake her fate on the impossible gamble of twisting her body to dodge the dagger.
She simply closed her eyes.
'You…'
In her final moment, she wanted to think of Yandel just a little more.
Closing her eyes tight, Elisha accepted her own death, carrying a small amount of lingering regret and guilt.
.
.
.
.
.
"……?"
No matter how long she waited, the sensation of her throat being slit by a dagger never came.
Sensing something strange, Elisha cautiously opened one eye.
"Hic!"
The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was a black blade stopped right in front of her throat.
However, the follower of Boiling Silence—more accurately, the assassin wielding that authority—could not move an inch from his current position.
That was because the small branches of the World Tree had wrapped around his body, pinning him firmly in place.
The assassin tried to break free with all his strength, but the branches didn't budge. While Elisha was blankly processing the situation, Carla’s magic struck the assassin first.
"Rock Spear!"
Thwack!
A sharp stone spear shattered the assassin’s head.
Judging by the level of his stealth, he seemed to be a high-ranking priest of at least Archbishop-class, yet he lost his life vainly to a single low-grade spell.
Elisha might have met such a vain death herself, but right now, her mind was filled with something else.
"Elisha! Are you oka—"
"It’s the World Tree! Carla! The World Tree has started moving again!"
"Yeah. We survived thanks to that. Let’s save the thanks for later and focus on the battle, okay? It looks like the next batch is already swarming in."
"No! That’s not it! Why do you think the World Tree has been still until now?!"
"Well, because she was pouring all her strength into maintaining the barrier and had to step back from direct combat… wait?"
Carla realized something was strange only after saying it herself.
Indeed, Cyclic Life had poured all her power into the barrier, and now that the barrier was destroyed, her divine power had been so depleted that even moving the World Tree should have been impossible.
However, there was no way that she, who had remained on the surface for the past 300 years collecting faith, would have run out of power already.
The reason Cyclic Life hadn't moved was that she was investing all her remaining divine power into Yandel.
Knowing this well, Carla had silently guarded the wall without a single complaint.
If so, the fact that Cyclic Life had started moving again meant…
"Master! Master is back!"
"Yes! I’m sure of it!"
Carla and Elisha looked around with expressions full of excitement.
As if to confirm their expectations, before long, a thick branch extending from the World Tree slammed down into the middle of the battlefield.
Boom—!
Ratatoskr stood with a majestic presence, as if it had come to end this war.
Its door opened, and the person who stepped out was a familiar face.
Yandel Lindelheit.
Enveloped in a shroud of light, he was looking up at the sky.