Chapter 395: Clark(4)
Chapter 395: Clark(4)
The weapons of the two collided, and a roar like a bomb exploding filled the underground temple along with a brilliant flash of light.
Because they were underground, the roar echoed several times, while the flash faded quickly.
Despite the clash of two immense forces, both stood their ground with imposing dignity.
"Ugh..."
Correction: Clark stood at ease with his axe resting on his shoulder, while Kate’s expression was far from pleasant.
Her beautiful face was distorted as she struggled to endure the pain.
As if to prove that agony, bright red blood dripped from both hands gripping the mace, soaking the floor.
Even though it was a simple clash of weapons, the skin on her palms had been completely shredded.
Throb. Throb.
It wasn't just her palms; her wrists were in bad shape as well. Fortunately, thanks to her physical reinforcement, her bones hadn't shattered.
It was just painful enough to feel like they had. If just a little more force had been applied, they truly might have snapped.
Kate hurriedly began healing her injuries with Divine Power as she stared ahead. Clark remained still, seemingly having no intention of attacking.
'Such strength...'
As a Grand Inquisitor, she had fought countless fierce battles. Before hunting demon worshippers, she had purged heretics, honing her martial prowess in the process.
However, this was effectively the first time she had been so thoroughly overwhelmed by raw power. They had simply gone bang, yet the skeleton was perfectly fine while she was the only one injured.
Divine Power, like mana, can be used for physical reinforcement or imbued into weapons. Thus, one can possess great strength depending on the amount of Divine Power they hold.
Furthermore, Kate had received the blessing of Luminous, and in the present era, few could rival her in terms of Divine Power.
The reason she had been able to slay so many heretics, demon worshippers, and powerful enemies until now was thanks to her overwhelming Divine Power.
[It’s not good to cling only to God, young lady.]
Clark, accurately piercing through Kate’s confusion, offered a bitter piece of advice.
Her strength—that is, her Divine Power—was certainly excellent, to the point of being peerless. Even Clark, who had crossed the line between life and death more times than he could count, acknowledged this.
However, because she relied solely on power, her 'technique' was severely lacking. In many ways, it was a vulnerability perfectly suited for a fanatic.
She was the type to drive herself toward destruction by blindly trusting in God so much that she failed to look at herself.
"Shut up!"
Stung by Clark's advice, Kate shouted. Though she was outmatched in strength, she hadn't lost yet.
Besides, as long as she had a single second and Divine Power remaining, she could heal her body at any time.
As she moved her hands to grip the mace, Clark took hold of his axe as if to say, 'I figured as much.'
Clang!
The mace, wreathed in golden flames, swung out, only for the handle of the axe to easily block the strike.
Clark pushed back with all his might, and as the distance between him and Kate widened, his legs moved with lightning speed.
In an instant, Clark’s form vanished from Kate’s sight. It was a level of agility and speed that didn't match his massive, heavy frame.
Kate didn't panic even when Clark disappeared from view. Unless it was teleportation, any movement would inevitably be accompanied by the flow of the wind.
Boom!
"Ugh!"
But even that was too late. By the time she turned her gaze, Clark had already completed his move.
Just as he had suppressed the investigation team earlier, he stomped his foot heavily, creating a shockwave.
Stone fragments and various debris flew toward her face, blurring her vision, and the ground shook, throwing her off balance.
While Kate formed a barrier with Divine Power to protect her face, Clark gripped the handle with one hand and pulled back.
Then, using strength and momentum, he swung powerfully.
"......!"
Kate desperately leaped backward as the massive axe blade swung down toward her. She had deployed a barrier, but that alone was far from enough.
From the moment their weapons had first clashed, she had realized that a contest of strength against Clark was a losing game.
CRASH!!
Clark’s axe slammed into the spot where Kate had just been standing. More than half the blade buried itself in the floor, and the impact sent debris flying in all directions.
The entire cave vibrated as if an earthquake had struck. If she had taken that head-on... the mere thought was horrifying.
Kate steadied her breathing and racked her brain for a way to deal with the skeleton before her.
A contest of strength was obviously impossible, and Divine Power seemed meaningless. She had to defeat him through pure martial skill and physical ability alone.
[Hmm.]
Meanwhile, Clark fell into thought for a moment as he retrieved his axe from the ground. As expected, he couldn't bring out the same power he once had.
Being resurrected as a skeleton and still being able to feel his five senses was good. Having mana similar to what he had in life was also good.
However, because he had been resurrected as a skeleton, he had absolutely no 'muscle,' meaning he couldn't exert the same full power as when he was alive.
Whether it was dodging, stomping the ground, or this swing using momentum—none of it was satisfying to Clark.
'I suppose this can't be helped.'
Still, he had more than enough strength to suppress the greenhorn fanatic in front of him. After retrieving his axe, he looked at Kate.
It was true that her beauty was striking even upon second glance, but what bothered Clark more was how much she resembled someone.
[Hey. What’s your name?]
"What?"
[I asked for your name.]
Kate was momentarily bewildered by Clark’s sudden question, but she quickly hardened her expression and retorted.
"I have no name to give to one who rejects the Natural Order of God."
[Hah.]
At the response so typical of a fanatic, Clark let out a dry huff and shook his head.
Fanatics like her were truly exhausting to deal with, but there was only one way to make them listen.
Suppress them unconditionally until they were willing to talk. In truth, killing them was the easiest method, but the situation didn't allow for that.
Besides, they were the type to offer a confession to God even as they died, apologizing for their own inadequacy, which always left a bad aftertaste.
[Eli was at least willing to talk... I guess I have no choice.]
Clark muttered, habitually stroking his skull—or rather, his head. He looked at Kate, who was still burning with fighting spirit.
She had said it earlier: prove that he wasn't evil.
For a man who had spent his entire life fighting, the only way to prove anything was through combat.
He had never been particularly gifted at speaking or writing as articulately as his grandson.
Dash!
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Clark jumped high. Perhaps because his body was lighter as a skeleton, or perhaps he had always been that way, but his movements were incredibly light.
Kate quickly tracked him with her eyes as he leaped. If she let her guard down, she would lose track of his movements; she couldn't take her eyes off him for even a second.
Then, while in mid-air, Clark shifted the axe he held with both hands to the side and threw it like a boomerang.
The sight of the massive axe curving through the air like a boomerang was something an observer might have considered an acrobatic feat.
Of course, from Kate’s perspective, it was an attack she absolutely had to dodge, defense be damned.
Thump!
The axe, spinning like a boomerang, slammed into the spot where Kate had been. Kate had narrowly avoided it, but unfortunately, the attack wasn't over.
Clark, still in the air, arched his back like a bow and then snapped forward, hurtling toward the axe.
As soon as he landed near the axe, he grabbed the handle and swung it at Kate, who had barely managed to evade.
"Kh...!"
Kate let out a groan as she barely dodged Clark’s fierce assault. But as soon as she dodged, Clark pursued her relentlessly, launching another attack.
Unlike swords, the attack patterns of those who use axes tend to be very simple. The skeleton before her was no different.
The problem was that there were absolutely no openings. More accurately, even trying to force an opening felt like a gamble.
His fighting style was feral and aggressive like a beast, backed by immense strength. Even if she wanted to block, she didn't dare try.
'I have to dodge, no matter what.'
Therefore, evasion was the only answer for now. Strike the axe with her mace to deflect its path?
Kate didn't possess such a technique. As someone who had slain her enemies solely with overwhelming Divine Power until now, such a thought never even occurred to her.
She believed that as long as her faith deepened, she would grow stronger, and all she had to do was pray. She only needed to bring down the hammer on those who threatened God and Isaac.
But now that she had encountered an opponent against whom that faith didn't work at all, her confusion could only intensify.
BOOM!!
Clark spun in place once and slammed the axe down with one hand. It was a strike powerful enough to send debris flying everywhere, but in exchange, it left him wide open.
Kate seized this moment and swung her mace toward his body. The mace, flickering with golden flames, hurtled toward Clark’s shoulder.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed through the underground temple. It was definitely not the sound of bones shattering.
As if to confirm this, Clark’s shoulder was perfectly intact, even after taking a direct hit from a mace made of iron.
Kate’s jaw dropped at the impossible durability of his bones. Even looking closely, the skeleton's bones appeared ordinary.
Whoosh!
In the meantime, Clark regained his stance and swung the retrieved axe horizontally. Kate hurriedly gathered her emotions and retreated.
But her mind was a tangled mess. A contest of strength didn't work, and the attack she had finally found an opening for had been rendered futile by his absurd durability.
Just what kind of being was he? Why weren't her attacks working?
Could it be that her Divine Power was only this much?
Had her faith in God been lacking? Was her devotion to Luminous and Isaac actually pathetic when looked at closely?
She was someone who had faced countless walls while walking the path of an Inquisitor, encountering terrible pain and desires she should never have met.
She had struggled at first, but she had overcome them all. Each time, she had scaled the walls with faith, endured the pain, and humbly accepted even her desires.
'No...'
Kate shook her head violently. God is always right. God always guides her on the correct path.
Therefore, this too must be a trial. Her attacks weren't working? Then she just had to imbue an even greater amount of Divine Power than before.
Just as she was about to regain her composure through those thoughts, Clark spoke in a heavy voice.
[Immature believer. Faith does not solve everything.]
"......What are you trying to say?"
[I’m saying don't treat yourself as a tool. Do you think God would be happy with this? He would be saddened.]
God is not pleased by this. It was a comment that directly refuted the ideology held by a fanatic.
Especially for Kate, who had lived for Luminous since she was a child, it was nothing short of a personal affront.
"......It’s absurd to hear such words from one who defies the Natural Order."
[There is nothing more irresponsible than judging everything by what you see and hear with your eyes and ears, and then pushing that judgment onto God as His will. Isn't that exactly the kind of heresy you all despise?]
Another heavy Fact Bomb delivered.
Clark had said earlier that he wasn't good with words. However, he had the experience to cover for that.
He hadn't met just one or two fanatics like Kate. He had encountered all sorts of people while traveling the world.
That was why he could make a statement that pierced through to Kate’s very essence. And humans are beings who become enraged when their essence is mentioned by someone else.
Especially if it is deeply connected to something they have dedicated their entire lives to, they are more than likely to lose their minds.
"Shut up!"
Kate was no different. She flew into a rage and charged as Clark directly denied her convictions.
Her blue eyes blazed like fire, and her beauty, which held the purity of a country maiden, was stained with wrath.
"How dare one who defies the Natural Order have the right to say such things!"
In truth, the game could be considered over from this point. The flames wreathed around her mace became much stronger due to her anger, but that was all.
A greenhorn who couldn't even control her own emotions after being provoked. That was how she appeared to Clark.
Still, her qualifications as a Cardinal and her faith were likely the real deal. One could easily predict that by looking at the Divine Power imbued in her mace.
The problem was simply that it manifested in a twisted direction, like any other fanatic. Perhaps the only saving grace was that she wasn't extreme.
[I do.]
Clark replied stoically as he watched Kate charge toward him with a roar. Then, he slowly raised his firmly gripped axe.
[Not just humans, but even the Gods...]
Just before their weapons clashed once more, Clark uttered his final words.
[Are never perfect.]
Along with words that, for some reason, felt tinged with bitterness.
CRASH!!
The entire underground temple was filled with light.
The battle between Kate and Clark ended sooner than expected. If they had fought without saying a word, it would have dragged on, but it ended early because Clark provoked Kate.
Of course, the aftermath left the interior of the underground temple in a mess. The skeletal remains that the archaeologists had painstakingly organized for research were scattered everywhere, and several were damaged.
If the scholars had seen this aftermath, they would have been in tears, but fortunately, they had already evacuated outside. They wouldn't be coming back in for a while.
Entering needlessly would only interfere with the battle and cause trouble in many ways, and even if it were over, they had no intention of entering until reinforcements arrived.
Therefore, only Kate and Clark remained alone in the underground temple.
Kate was lying on the floor, unconscious, and Clark was quietly waiting beside her.
He wanted to read the Xenon Biography he had received from the archaeologists, but it had all been destroyed in the battle just now.
The same went for his cigars. He looked around to see if any had fallen on the ground, but not a single one turned up.
Thus, he had no choice but to wait patiently beside the unconscious Kate, reflecting on the past.
"Ugh..."
While he was waiting endlessly, Kate furrowed her brows and let out a groan. It was a sign she was regaining consciousness.
Clark heard the sound and shifted his gaze. As he did, Kate grimaced a few times before slowly opening her eyes.
Eventually, her eyes, reminiscent of the blue sky, were revealed, and after blinking a few times, her eyelids fully opened.
"......"
Kate, having just regained consciousness, stared blankly at Clark sitting beside her. At first, she wondered what a skeleton was doing there, but soon her memories came flooding back vividly.
The words that had directly denied her convictions and, furthermore, sharply criticized her.
But strangely, she didn't feel angry like before. On the contrary, her head felt clear.
[Are you awake now?]
At Clark’s heavy greeting, Kate tried to stand up without a word but hesitated.
Perhaps due to the aftermath of the blow she had struck just before losing consciousness, her entire body ached.
Not only was there pain in every muscle, but her palms were shredded again, and this time, it felt like her wrists were broken.
She could somehow heal herself with Divine Power, but there was something she wanted to confirm first.
"Why..."
[Why didn't I kill you? Because, as you said, I am not an evil being.]
"......"
Clark, having read her thoughts, cut her off. Kate fell silent upon hearing the answer.
In many ways, Clark was an incomprehensible being. Setting aside the fact that Divine Power didn't work, nothing she did had any effect.
Stubbornly persisting here would only lead to the same result. Thinking back, she had a different reason for coming here.
The oracle from Luminous to bring back the honored guest. There was no need to fight Clark.
However, there were still parts that didn't sit right, so she pushed herself up. In that short time, she had almost completely healed her ruined hands and muscle pain.
"Whew..."
[Do you have something to say?]
"I do."
Kate was still using informal speech. Even though he hadn't killed her, she still seemed unable to trust him.
Then, she looked at Clark with sharp eyes and asked a question. Her tone was filled with hostility.
"The investigation team told me earlier. That your purpose is to find Lord Isaac and Lord Hawk."
[Yes.]
"For what purpose are you seeking them? If you do not answer truthfully, I will stop you even if it means my death."
She had realized through the battle they just had that he was an opponent she couldn't defeat. However, it was something she had to do regardless of her ability.
Clark, seemingly unbothered, shrugged his shoulders and replied in his characteristic heavy voice.
[Does a man need a reason to go see his son and grandson?]
"......What?"
[I’m going to see my son and grandson. Normally, just my soul would be enough, but my son wanted to bury my remains. This was the only way.]
"......?"
Kate blinked at that answer. If anyone else had heard it, they would have dismissed it as nonsense.
But she had already received the 'oracle' before coming here. To head to the underground temple and bring back the honored guest.
The moment that thought occurred to her, it felt like a hammer had struck her head. At the same time, she had an intuition that she had made a massive mistake.
"W-Wait a minute. No, wait a moment."
[Hmm?]
"E-Excuse me, but your name... no, your h-honored name is..."
Even after asking, she prayed it wasn't true. If it were real, she would have committed a grave sin.
But cruelly, Clark calmly revealed his name.
[Clark Maishal.]
"M-Maishal..."
Isaac and Hawk had the middle name Ducard, but Clark did not. This was perfectly natural, as the middle name had been granted starting from Hawk’s generation.
In other words, the fact that Clark didn't have a middle name made it even more credible. If he had one, it would have leaned toward being a lie.
Kate felt like her head was spinning, and her mouth hung open like a goldfish. Then, she whispered.
"Why..."
[Hmm?]
"Why... didn't you... tell me?"
If he had told her, this situation wouldn't have happened. Kate swallowed the rest of her words.
At that question, Clark raised one side of his brow—or rather, the light in his eye sockets expressed such a look—as if to say, 'What nonsense is this?'
[You didn't even ask. You just charged at me, claiming it was God’s will.]
"B-But the investigation team also..."
[Those guys didn't believe me. Honestly, I wouldn't have believed it either. A suddenly resurrected skeleton is the grandfather or father of a famous person. Would you believe that? Unless you received an oracle, you wouldn't believe it at all. That’s why I stayed quiet.]
"......"
Though he likely had no such intention, every one of Clark’s words became a dagger that pierced Kate’s chest.
In fact, there had been a chance. If Kate had received more information from the investigation team, she would have heard Clark’s name.
However, she had brushed aside all those opportunities to confront Clark and, furthermore, engage him in battle.
If only she had looked into it a little longer, if only she could have remained calm without being swept up in her faith.
If she could have at least maintained a conversation, this disaster wouldn't have happened.
"......"
It was a sin. This was an unforgivable sin.
She had willfully rejected the oracle given by Luminous and, furthermore, almost harmed Isaac’s grandfather.
Fortunately, Clark was much stronger than her, but if he hadn't been...
No. This was simply a sin.
She had committed a sin against both Luminous and Isaac.
"Ugh... ugh..."
[Huh? Eh?]
"Uwaaaaah. Waaaaah..."
At that thought, tears began to flow from Kate’s eyes. Clark was greatly flustered when she started crying.
[Hey, hey. Why are you crying?]
"I am sorry. Hic... I am so sorry..."
[It’s fine, so stop crying. Everyone makes mistakes.]
Though he didn't know the full circumstances, Clark tried to comfort her as best he could. Despite having lived a rough life, he seemed to have some consideration for a crying woman, as he patted her on the back.
"WAAAAAAAAH...!"
Though it didn't help much.