Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Helgaru's Demise
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“What’s going on…!?”
Noel, whose senses were the sharpest, looked up at the sky and shuddered.
Even Ethan was speechless, merely raising his shield higher.
The sky, dyed as deep and dark as an abyss, was just that bizarre.
But I… understood it, transcending all logic.
That abyss had been created by the magic sword.
-Do you understand? That is merely a fragment of this body. Having devoured a massive amount of energy, it was simple to achieve.
A massive amount of energy… he was talking about the Void Dagger.
He had successfully transferred the vast energy contained within it to the magic sword.
I knew it instinctively.
As long as that abyss covered the sky, I could use the magic sword’s power.
In other words, even in broad daylight, I could turn it into a stage where I could unleash my full strength.
-Overconfidence is forbidden. After all, it is only a fragment of this body; it cannot be sustained for long.
How long can it last?
-Right now, five minutes is the limit. If it strains your body, perhaps up to eight minutes.
That’s enough.
My mana was depleted anyway, and my body was injured from the backlash.
If I couldn’t finish it in eight minutes, there wouldn’t be a next time anyway.
“You all retreat with the surrounding knights.”
“Theo, you…!”
Ethan reached for my shoulder but pulled his hand back.
Instead, he nodded and pushed my back.
“I believe in you, friend!”
“But… alone…….”
Noel seemed like he wanted to say something more, but he was dragged away by Ethan’s hand.
Leon… probably still couldn’t hear anyone else’s voice.
“Hahaha!! I thought you couldn’t use Deathwise’s power, but you’re not half-bad! Good, very good! That’s how it should be!!”
Helgaru grinned broadly, as if delighted by something.
He was happy that I could use even a portion of Deathwise’s power?
Happy that his enemy had grown stronger?
“Are you insane?”
For someone like me who wants to live peacefully without fighting if possible, I couldn’t comprehend it at all.
But the opponent was a demon; it was right to think there was no room for understanding from the start.
“Your foul mouth is just like Deathwise’s. But fine. The Inferno Helgaru will burn even your bones to ash anyway!”
Paang!
Helgaru roared as he clashed his flame-wreathed fists together.
The roar threatened to tear my eardrums, making my face grimace involuntarily.
Stiffness from the roar.
Helgaru’s fist flew at me, targeting that brief opening.
It wasn’t fast, but it pushed the air itself aside.
A direct hit would feel like being struck by a five-ton truck.
Dodging wasn’t hard.
Rather, the flames wrapping the fist, madly scorching the surrounding air, were more annoying.
The Ring of the Absolute was still charging.
One wrong move, and I’d get burned by those flames first.
“Deathwise.”
-I know what you’re thinking, so stop giving orders one by one.
A jet-black aura rose from the magic sword, enveloping my entire body.
It was a primal barrier created from the energy absorbed from the Void Dagger.
It wouldn’t form a perfect barrier like the Ring of the Absolute, but it should be enough to block the flames.
Whoosh!!
I ducked my upper body to evade the incoming fist.
The compressed air shook my hair.
The heat grazed my cheek but vanished without a trace.
Deathwise’s buff compensated for my deficient physical abilities.
The senses needed for battle had been honed sufficiently through training.
I would end it in one go.
Gripping Deathwise’s hilt with one hand, I dove into Helgaru’s embrace.
The inevitable gap created by throwing a punch.
As if refusing to let me exploit it, Helgaru thrust out his other arm attached to his torso.
A double strike ignoring the recoil.
But such an obvious weakness made the counterattack predictable.
I slid my center of gravity back as if retreating.
At the same time, I thrust out Deathwise to meet Helgaru’s punch.
I had no intention of blocking.
I merely tried to redirect Helgaru’s power against him.
“Tch…! So tough…!”
Even after redirecting the opponent’s force, not even a scratch appeared on Helgaru’s skin.
Instead, despite the magic sword’s buff, my hand went numb.
-The flames serve as his armor. Helgaru’s body itself is quite sturdy, so it won’t be easy.
“If you have time to explain, reinforce the blade first!”
The magic sword brimmed with ominous darkness.
I twisted my body greatly, slashing at Helgaru’s arm, and blue blood sprayed.
It wasn’t easy, but it could be cut.
As if realizing that, Helgaru hurriedly pulled back his arm.
If he was turning to defense, now was the time to press the attack.
The moment I drew my sword to strike, Helgaru opened his mouth wide.
A breath attack.
I instinctively recognized it, but there was no way to block.
I concentrated all of Deathwise’s energy on the blade.
Just as I tried to minimize the damage somehow, a noble golden light mixed with blue cleaved the breath in half.
Helgaru immediately retreated at the sudden intrusion.
“Sorry. Leaving you with the enemy.”
Even under the abyss-dyed sky, the holy sword retained its nobility.
After all, beyond the curtain of that abyss, the sun still shone brilliantly.
Leon, cloaked in light like the sun, filled his red eyes with nobility more than ever.
“It’s fine. Taking down that thing comes first.”
“Understood. What should I do?”
“Buy some time. Just three minutes.”
Helgaru was a tough opponent.
Surviving three minutes unscathed would be difficult.
But Leon nodded without a hint of hesitation.
Golden light tinged with blue charged through the darkness.
Exwise, relentlessly swirling without pause for even a second, seemed equal to Helgaru for a moment.
I glanced at Leon, who was somehow keeping Helgaru pinned in place, then focused my mind on the magic sword.
Concentrating power could cut Helgaru, but it wasn’t enough.
To fell that monster, overwhelming firepower was needed.
The first thing that came to mind was Leon’s Exwise.
The mana release radiating golden light all at once was akin to a bombardment.
Exwise and Deathwise were the same model of sword.
What Exwise could do, Deathwise should be able to as well.
I gripped the hilt with both hands.
I poured all my power, including the energy enveloping my body, into Deathwise’s blade.
Wooong, wooooong…!
The red runes on the blade glowed ominously.
Overloaded black energy rose like heat haze and surged upward.
Its form resembled the holy sword just before entering its second form.
But instead of transforming further, the magic sword bound the mana entirely to the blade.
I raised Deathwise high.
The mana was so immense it seemed ready to explode at any moment, making fine control impossible.
But if the power was sufficient, that was enough.
Exactly three minutes later, Leon slapped away Helgaru’s fist and created distance from him.
Only one enemy remained in the diagonal line.
I steadied my breath and brought the sword down straight.
The darkness shot from the blade tip bisected the world vertically.
The explosive yet condensed mana of the magic sword devoured everything in the diagonal line as violence incarnate.
The straight-extending darkness swallowed Helgaru’s flames.
In that brief clash, Helgaru twisted his body while detonating his flames.
The explosion spread Helgaru’s flames, which were then eroded by the darkness.
His steel-hard outer skin was crushed as easily as tofu.
However, it deviated from the original trajectory.
Was it not enough?
I had unleashed all my mana.
No matter what, I couldn’t do it twice.
Then, I would swing without mana release.
The moment I forcibly readjusted my grip on the sword, the flames enveloping Helgaru’s body flickered and died.
“This is… the last… huh…….”
Helgaru was bisected diagonally from his right shoulder to his left side.
No azure blood overflowed from the cut surface.
Like slashing a wooden doll, it merely tilted obliquely.
“Even if it fell… as expected of a magic sword. Deathwise……. But do not grow complacent. My kin have survived as warriors far stronger than in the past. You may fell me with this level, but facing them is a pipe dream…. You will surely, surely meet your death at the hands of my kin…!”
The flames cursing Helgaru slowly died out.
Yet Helgaru’s expression somehow looked relieved.
-Tch, what a tiresome fool.
Deathwise absorbed Helgaru’s energy.
It seemed unfazed even after hearing Helgaru’s curse….
Certainly, Oculeus alone was stronger than Helgaru.
At first, I thought Helgaru was stronger, but as the magic sword partially regained its power, my judgment flipped.
But even now, fighting Oculeus wouldn’t guarantee victory….
“Ugh…….”
My head throbbed as if it would split.
My nose and mouth felt wet; wiping with my sleeve revealed thick blood.
Ah, I’m screwed.
-Foolish one, you overdid it.
Over Leon, Ethan, and Noel’s voices calling me, layered atop the magic sword’s voice.
My consciousness cut off just like that.
“An unfamiliar… ceiling…….”
I muttered blankly, lifting my eyelids.
My voice was quite hoarse.
To think I’d actually say this line myself.
No, strictly speaking, it’s the second time.
“You’re awake.”
I turned my head at the familiar voice.
My vision was blurry, so I couldn’t see properly.
Pressing my eyelids with my hand for a while, Leon’s face sitting by my bedside finally came into clear view.
“What are… you doing there?”
“Nursing you.”
“Then this is a hospital room?”
Leon nodded.
No, with bandages all over him too, what kind of nursing is this?
My mind felt strangely dazed.
I stirred my foggy brain, as if not fully awake.
Why did I collapse again?
Ah… I overexerted myself fighting Helgaru.
My memories were hazy, but since I vomited blood, collapsing wasn’t strange.
“Ugh…!?”
I tried to sit up first.
Just lifting my upper body slightly triggered intense pain, stiffening my whole body rigid.
“You can’t strain yourself yet.”
Leon carefully laid me back down.
It seemed only my right arm could move without issue.
“First… how long was I out?”
“Four days.”
Four days unconscious.
The magic sword had grown stronger, but was this the backlash?
Or maybe because I overdid the mana release with the magic sword at the end.
“Nothing else happen in the meantime?”
“Nothing major. The demon was safely dealt with. The territory’s residents had evacuated in advance, so no civilian casualties, but three knights died and eight were injured. The family has decided to take responsibility and support their bereaved families.”
There were casualties.
Leon’s voice was heavier than usual as he said it.
“We haven’t found who manipulated Onitsusen’s corpse. We’ve strengthened patrols in the territory, but no other incidents. Also, Simon Tower is intact.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried I might’ve wrecked it.”
Half-joking, half-serious.
As I smiled wryly, Leon cast his red gaze downward and bowed his head.
“I’m sorry. I got swept up in my emotions and just watched as you were put in danger.”
“What are you talking about…?”
“I should’ve acted faster. It’s because I’m inexperienced.”
What the hell is he saying?
Doesn’t he remember saving me twice?
No, it’s Leon.
He probably doesn’t even realize it, seeing it as just what he had to do.
So he doesn’t think at all about what he did well and apologizes for failing in his duty.
“…I don’t like it.”
My true feelings slipped out unconsciously.
Leon only bowed his head further.
Those who strive deserve reward, and good deeds deserve praise.
There’s no such thing as the obvious in this world.
I glared at his pitifully downcast eyes, but Leon looked even more pitiful.
Pondering how to handle this… I just reached out my hand.
Smack!
A crisp sound struck Leon’s forehead.
Caught off guard, Leon just blinked his red eyes.
“Ease up on the self-blame. It’s harder on the one watching.”
“That’s…”
“I get the gist. Who stays sane in that situation? If the roles were reversed, would you chew me out for joining late?”
Leon shook his head with a somewhat sullen expression.
He wouldn’t blame others, but he blamed himself.
That was Leon Hilfenberg’s nature.
“So that’s that. End of story. Don’t argue; my head hurts.”
Good thing my right hand works properly.
I settled more comfortably into the bed.
Despite sleeping for four straight days, I was still tired, my eyes closing on their own.
“…Thank you.”
Between my slowly blurring consciousness, it seemed Leon whispered something.
But before I could ask if I heard right, I fell back into slumber.