Chapter 102
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Alvis vs Celine
Celine's unshakable composure—one of her greatest strengths, never faltering no matter the situation.
But I know the truth.
She earns that reputation because she's never truly faced anything that could shake her to her core mentally.
Of course, she's genuinely calm and unruffled by most things, but once a situation pushes beyond what she can mentally endure, she loses all reason. She goes berserk, turning into a mad warrior willing to throw her life away, and ultimately meets her end.
Sometimes she died clashing with her old academy comrades after they became enemies. Other times, feeling betrayed by Brayden himself, she defected to the opposing side, fought him to the death, and fell by her lover's hand.
Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis at least had endings where they went half-mad but survived. Celine? In every single one, without exception, she died—no paths to survival anywhere.
Every possible future branching from the game Holy Warrior Brayden NX ended up like that, so to save her, I decided on a rather harsh prescription.
Push her into a mental state she's never experienced before, one she can't endure. Then, once she starts showing an opening, subdue and restrain her.
It's easier all around than trying to talk down someone who's already lost it, sword in hand and raging. Better to capture her, calm things down, clear up misunderstandings, reveal the real enemy, and secure her cooperation.
So, I enlisted help from Ravi, Elfin, and Lenis—her closest friends from academy days.
I knew exactly how they'd interacted back then, so they attacked her and her subordinates in ways that deliberately stirred up her old memories.
Lenis unleashed the flashy but shallow spells Celine had practiced heavily in the past—glamorous on the surface, lacking solid fundamentals—dragging those buried memories to the forefront.
Elfin summoned her signature carnivorous plants, weaving those resurfaced memories into the current chaos.
On top of the plants' assaults, they fired carefully controlled arrows at Celine's airborne subordinates.
Arrows strong enough to inflict real damage but not lethal. Right after impact, the plants would fling the targets away, out of Celine's sight.
She only caught a glimpse of her troops getting hit by arrows—no time to check their injuries before they were hurled away. Naturally, anyone would assume her subordinates were done for.
To ensure the flung ones didn't die, Linian cast sleep and healing magic from afar, keeping them out of the fight. She grumbled about being treated like a walking healing potion, but...
Once Celine realizes her subordinates might have been killed or wounded by her old academy besties? Her mind will snap right then.
And Ravi seals it by mirroring the exact combat habits Celine remembered from their sparring sessions, hammering her psyche further.
Of course, I didn't expect Celine's counter to graze Ravi's hood and expose her hair—but in the end, it worked out even better.
Seeing Ravi's hair sent Celine into hyperventilating danger territory. That was my cue. With Lenis's magic, I hopped up into the trees.
'Jeez, this is kinda scary...'
I'm no bunny-kin powerhouse or elf with natural agility—just a regular human. No wings from abilities either. Standing on a branch several meters up? Terrifying thought of plummeting.
Of course, I didn't show it.
The moment she spotted me, as expected, Celine's eyes rolled back and she gripped her greatsword.
"Alvis...!!!"
"Nice to see you after so long, but no time for an alumni reunion. How about we both back off peacefully? Make a mutual agreement and call it?"
"Shut up! You think I'm negotiating with a terrorist scum like you? And who the hell were those people earlier? You know something—spill it!"
"Oh, them?"
I smirked down at her, arms still crossed.
"You're better off not knowing."
"!!!"
That snapped her last thread of reason. She swung her massive greatsword with ferocious momentum, unleashing a blade beam straight at me.
I leaped down swiftly. Ravi burst from the forest, snatching me midair in a hug and landing safely.
Elfin and Lenis joined, and we immediately bolted from Celine. Seeing that, she spat blood-fury rage.
"Where do you think you're running! You won't escape me!! I'll kill you!!! And I'll expose every last one of your cronies!!!"
Ravi kicked at the air toward Celine, firing a sword wind. Celine swung her greatsword to cancel it and charged after us like a maniac.
"Squad leader! Going alone is dangerous!"
With the attacks on the Goddess's Sword squad halting, her troops caught their breath and tried to stop her urgently. But Celine, eyes rolled back, ignored them.
"I'll handle the criminals! Check on the wounded!"
"Squad leader!"
"W-We’ll come with you!"
A few still able to fight chased after her, but she was too fast— they couldn't even keep up properly.
Before long, separated far from her main force, Celine pursued us, slashing wildly with her greatsword and screaming.
"Alvis, you bastard!!! Stand still!!!"
Seeing her demon-possessed chase, Ravi whispered quietly.
"Now, Alvis?"
"Not yet. Let's widen the gap a bit more. She'll panic when she thinks we're almost escaping—lose even more composure."
Elfin and Lenis, running alongside, chimed in at the sight.
"Never seen Celine lose it like that."
"This okay? She looks like she'll fight to the death before surrendering."
"No way she'd surrender. We'll have to knock her out and subdue her."
We led the rampaging Celine all the way to the edge of the wild hills.
Flatland in sight at last, I gave the order to the three.
"Now. Scatter! The second she shows an opening, hit her hard and knock her out. We won't get two chances."
"Got it!" "Yeah!" "Leave it to me!"
The three split off in different directions, leaving me to face Celine head-on. I unleashed the ability I'd been hiding.
Ascension of Light
Creates temporary wings for short-duration flight. While active: extreme resistance to dark magic, sorcery, and curses. Inflicts lethal damage on those tainted by such effects. All light powers greatly enhanced.
Splaying translucent golden wings, I soared into the air and cast wide-area Judgment over Celine's position.
"Gasp..."
Sensing the spears of light raining from the sky, Celine urgently raised her greatsword overhead, using the flat as a shield.
BOOM!!
I'd maximized the range at the cost of power, so she blocked it without issue.
Ascension of Light boosted Judgment far beyond before—even spread wide, each spear cratered the earth, kicking up dirt and rocks to blind her.
The hail of Judgment ended. Celine swung to clear the dust and hunt me.
"Damn it...! You think this makes me give u—"
Spotting me hovering midair on wings, she staggered back in shock.
"Wh-What the...?"
I followed with immediate Descent, plunging straight at her.
KABOOM!!!
I crashed right in front of her nose. Light waves erupted from the impact, engulfing Celine.
She tried raising her sword against the surge, but too close to ground zero—she tumbled dozens of rolls backward.
"Urk... Aaaagh!"
Unlike the Underground Vermin, Celine was devout to the goddess, untainted by selfish desires. She took far less damage from my powers than others.
Even caught so close in Descent, aside from the tumble, she didn't seem badly hurt.
My abilities stem from the goddess's power—natural she'd shrug it off, a faithful, pure follower.
She sprang up, readjusted her stance despite the shock, sword grip steady, glaring daggers.
"You bastard... What the hell was that...?"
"Don't think I haven't grown a bit since academy graduation."
"This...! Haaah!!!"
Clang!
Celine roared and charged. Her greatsword clashed with my Light Saber.
'Damn, what’s with this weight?'
Her greatsword was heavier than expected. Forget pressing her—I could barely hold balance long.
And her sword mastery dwarfed mine. She quickly gained the edge, swinging to corner me.
"Alvis! Why all the terrorism? Why kill people? Do you even know how many died because of you? And those terrorists with you—who are they? Don't tell me it's who I think—"
"People died because of me? Even if it's a criminal haven like Libertà, you and Brayden burned the whole city and slaughtered everyone. You got room to talk?"
"!!!"
Hitting her trauma dead-on dulled her blade instantly.
"N-No...! I didn't kill anyone!"
"Ah, so you just stood by while your boyfriend murdered? Loving a killer must be nice."
"Sh-Shut... up!!!"
Thud!
She batted my Light Saber aside and kicked my gut.
Snatching my flying form, she slammed me into the ground and raised her greatsword.
"International terrorist scum—you end here by my judgment! Don't hate me!"
Before her sword could impale, I maxed Light Saber's output. The blinding flash made her squeeze her eyes shut.
Simultaneously, a powerful mana arrow streaked at her. She dodged back, swinging to shatter the spell.
But vines lashed from all sides, binding her limbs.
"Tch... Get off me—"
As she thrashed to break free with raw strength.
"Sorry, Celine."
Hearing Ravi's voice, Celine's face twisted in disbelief, freezing her utterly defenseless for a split second.
Crack!
Ravi charged from behind, striking the stunned Celine's cervical vertebrae. Celine crumpled without even seeing her, mouth agape.
"Ma... Words..."
Thump.
Already frayed from nerves, exhaustion, and trauma triggers, Celine managed one dying gasp before blacking out cold.