The Returned Fated Enemy (4)

The shocking news had turned us all to ice.

Yet the first to recover and take command wasn't me, the Successor of the Divine Beasts, nor Khan. Nor was it Alice and Fairy, who had been pushing us forward.

It was Gerald, the lord, whose seasoned experience showed its worth.

And Jewel, scrambling after him to deploy the maids with brisk efficiency, was a bonus. At that sight, Khan and I exchanged a glance and headed for our own rooms, agreeing to arm ourselves first and meet back outside.

I came out in the lightest possible gear to maximize my agility. Alice, who fights in a style similar to mine, had chosen armor somewhat more protective than mine, though by an ordinary knight's standards it would still count as light equipment.

At the entrance, Khan wasn't in light armor, but he had fitted himself with protective gear down to his gauntlets. Fairy, perhaps surprisingly a fast-combat type, wore light armor just like ours.

The first to depart would be me, Alice, Fairy, and Khan.

I summoned my wind spirits, and five spirits in total, Jeongryeong among them, revealed themselves before us. The situation was desperately dangerous. The soldier had said the second wall had fallen and he had run as fast as his legs could carry him to deliver the news. Which meant the last wall was already... under attack.

"These are my wind spirits. Don't worry, just ride them. They're faster than a carriage — you can trust that."

At my words, Khan and Fairy nodded and climbed onto the backs of the wind wolves. Jeongryeong had apparently given the others separate instructions, because the wolves accepted their riders without a hint of resistance.

Just as Alice met my eyes and mounted a wind wolf of her own, Gerald called out to me.

"Successor."

"My lord."

"As master of this territory, I beg of you. Successor — please cast out that symbol of evil."

I nodded, turned, and lightly vaulted onto Jeongryeong's back. Settled on top of him, I gave his head a single affectionate stroke and spoke.

"Move out!"

With my cry, Jeongryeong let out a howl so loud it seemed to ring across the entire ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠field — and kicked off the ground, surging forward. As Jeongryeong sprinted toward the battlefield, the wind wolves guarding behind us tore after him at full speed.

The newly risen moon, as though idly watching the final defense of the last wall about to begin, simply poured its bright light across the night sky.

About three hours later, we found the traces of battle.

Signs of fighting on the inside of the wall... that meant proof, right there, that the enemy had already breached it. Realizing the situation had deteriorated far worse than expected, we pushed our pace even faster.

What appeared before us then was a half-ruined wall and the soldiers waging a desperate holding action upon it. Even with every advantage a defender enjoys over an attacker, they were being pushed back this badly... I had personally seen the soldiers of Crystal Territory and judged them remarkably capable — men of real skill gathered under one banner. But that thought ended there.

Alice drew up quickly beside me and spoke.

"First priority should be dealing with the enemies already climbing over the wall."

The lords were all former commanders in their own right. She had repelled the Tide of Corruption in Cumul Territory as well — a horde so vast the history books had recorded its numbers. And the one who had punched through that army and seized the victory had been none other than Alice herself.

There wasn't a single reason to doubt her, so everyone, myself included, sprinted for the wall. Khan and I scaled it in an instant and landed firmly atop the ramparts, while Alice and Fairy followed up a ladder and began their climb.

The moment I crested the wall, I saw corpses of soldiers and demons heaped wall to wall.

- Kieeeek!

At that screech, which greeted me all too enthusiastically, I whipped my head toward the sound and dodged the dagger of a mid-tier demon.

"Mid-tier demon. A Piet."

A demon shaped like a clown, slicing with its dagger and cackling malicious laughter to sow terror in its opponents. Useless against me. As I evaded the dagger, I slammed down my right hand onto the arm wielding it and, in the same motion, drew the Sword of the Azure Sky from my hip and took its head.

Leaving a spray of blood, the demon's body slowly crumpled as if to prove its life had ended — but I was not so leisurely a man as to stand there watching it die. Next up the wall came a high-tier demon, a 'Mad Scientist'.

Counted alongside the 'Black Mask' that had appeared in the Tide of Corruption as one of the two most dangerous high-tier demons. If the Black Mask is a lunatic who splashes poison and disease into the ground to kill the land itself, that bastard sprays poison into the air for mass slaughter.

Naturally, the airborne mixture of poison and disease lingers for hours, poisoning everyone without warning — a psychopath who gloats as the afflicted wither and die. He slipped his hand into his snow-white coat, reaching for something inside, and I swung my sword to stop him — but lower demons threw themselves up as meat shields, catching my every blade-stroke on their own bodies before it could reach the Scientist.

Demons would never do this of their own free will!

Most demons are selfish to the core; plenty of them would tell even a higher-ranked demon to go to hell and get themselves disemboweled for it. Which they usually do. Even if these wretches had been ordered by a superior demon, knowing how precious their own wretched lives were, they'd sooner shirk the command than honor it.

And yet they had thrown their lives away to block my path to the Scientist. I'd already cut down three of them. Three strikes — that should have been plenty of openings to sever the wrist he was digging around in...!

I channeled current into my blade. Fierce electricity came crackling off the steel, and the instant I swung it, the demons threw themselves forward to soak my attack with their bodies, same as before. But there was one difference.

Bolt from the Blue carried the chain-lightning effect.

The current scatters. Which means when I land a strike, every demon pressed close to my target takes damage too.

- Kik! Aek! Kik!

Lower demons let out short, choked shrieks at the paralysis and collapsed where they stood, unable to move. And the Mad Scientist, who had finally gotten his vial of poison into his hand and was about to hurl it at me, had been caught in the chain-lightning's radius — his whole body locked up in paralysis. I severed the Scientist's poison-laden wrist on the spot and safely caught the vial out of midair.

Then, a horizontal cut. The headless high-tier demon's corpse, unable to keep its balance, toppled down off the wall. I kept my sword moving, cutting down every one of the vermin who still clawed their way up over the ramparts. Without pause. Relentlessly.

Left! I evaded an arrow that came screaming for my head and searched for the archer.

At the base of the wall — a pitch-black something armed with a bow. Here was evidence that that bastard Florence had come to this place. The arrow from moments ago must have been one of the fiend's.

But I had no leisure to spare for the fiend. I kept my sword swinging — and then, from the far side of the wall...

An overwhelming azure glow swept over half the ramparts.

"A Domain Proclamation...?"

That azure light was a Domain Proclamation — and it was Khan's domain. His world, which literally summoned the sea itself to create terrain favorable to attack, had manifested right here.

First, I focused on the enemies in front of me.

A wind-charged sword strike drove forward in a straight line and cleaved through the demons' necks. Leaving behind demons spilling blood and crumbling into dust, I made my way toward where Khan had unleashed his Domain Proclamation. Anxious every step of the way, I approached the domain and slowly stepped inside its boundary.

Within the domain, three supreme demons and Khan were locked in a ferocious fight. The three of them were barely, but quite competently, turning aside Khan's attacks.

The problem was that their defense was focused solely on Khan.

Salt water conducts electricity beautifully. Against these things, it would be a devastatingly effective attack.

The Orc General blocking Khan's spear currently stood axe in hand, eyes on him.

- Pajiik!

I coiled force into my legs and blasted forward. Mid-charge, he glanced sideways and realized I was coming at him —

"Too late."

With a golden arc of sword-light, the Orc General's head went flying. At the same time, the remaining two Orc Generals seized up in paralysis, robbed of all movement by the sea's exceptionally high conductivity. Even if Khan released the domain now, the paralysis would linger; they would not be moving anywhere.

Once I'd finished off the two immobilized Orcs, Khan looked at me and asked, "What are you doing here? You were assigned to the left wall."

"I already cleared my side and was on my way. The moment I saw you proclaim a domain, I figured something big was happening, so I came straight over."

"I'm fine. Not a scratch. I just proclaimed the domain to end it quickly."

"Glad to hear it. But I think we need to deal with the base of the wall first, don't you?"

At my words, Khan looked down at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the base of the wall and grimaced. I studied his expression seriously and spoke.

"If I punch a hole open for you, can you charge through that gap and sweep them away?"

Khan nodded. To open a gap meant killing a whole cluster of demons in a single ranged strike. I had means of hitting targets at range, but nearly all of them were limited in uses. There was, however, one skill — with only a modest condition — that let me drop a devastating ranged attack anywhere within my line of sight.

A lightning strike. To carve out my opening, I gathered clouds over the densest concentration of demons. The gathered clouds churned and ground against one another, building charge until they stood on the very brink of discharge.

"Come down!"

It was near dawn, and the gray clouds, thick with coming rain, hurled a ferocious bolt down at the earth.

- KWAANG!

The lightning struck the ground with a thunderous roar. And for all that noise, the strike showcased overwhelming firepower — enough to fell a mass of demons in a single blow.

"Now!"

At my signal, Khan leapt forward, spearing aside and sweeping away the demons that barred his path, advancing without hesitation. I wanted to help, but the situation atop the wall wasn't easy either. I could go, if it came to that — but most of my techniques are high-power strikes, and every single one carves flesh from my own body. A few more uses, and there'd be no one left to stop Florence.

So my choice had been to hold the overwhelming horde here myself and send Khan, whose high-power area attacks could cut through many at once.

- Seoseoseoseok!!

"They're endless. Where do they keep crawling up from?!"

The moment I blurted out my frustration, Alice appeared before me, slicing down a demon, and spoke. "They've got ladders up at the far end. You cleared out quite a lot, Hyun — so they've built new ones and are sending troops up."

"These bastards..."

"Don't worry. They're all held for now, and Fairy's managing somehow — leading the soldiers and the centurions in defense."

...Fairy? Well... if Alice trusted her enough to leave it to her, I could believe it too.

I pointed a finger at the black mass below the wall and spoke. "The fiends keep multiplying. That means Florence is hiding somewhere in this army."

"...You're going, then?"

"...Yeah. Florence's attacks ignore defense — Khan's overwhelming defense and tanking will be useless against him."

"Understood. In exchange — come back victorious."

"Of course."

With Alice's smile behind me, I leapt down from the wall.

And now that the fiends had shown themselves, it was time to use everything I had.

I gripped the wind sword driven into the ground with my empty left hand and poured the Guardian Dragons' authorities into each blade in turn. Ice into the wind sword. Flame into the Sword of the Azure Sky.

I charged, crossing the two swords and shearing through everything in my path. Opposing attributes meeting head-on generated opposing force between them, driving their power to its absolute peak. Mid-slaughter, something caught my eye.

Someone — something — sheathed in black liquid was... climbing up the wall.

...Don't tell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me. Had it anticipated us coming down and gone up instead?

"Even now, I can't turn back..."

It was already too late. The path I'd carved with a single full-powered strike had been sealed off again by a flood of demons and fiends. Between a rock and a hard place. Catching him meant accepting the risk — but still!

Yes, Alice's swordsmanship was superb. But there was exactly one reason only a Successor could stop a Successor: their authorities can never be parried by mere swordwork.

Then, from atop the wall, a tremendous sound rang out — the clash of sword against axe.

"They're fighting?"

No time for this. I'd cut my way through, link up with Khan, and get back up on that wall. Even that looked far from easy — but so what. Pushing myself just one more time was a price I could pay.

The temperature around me plummeted. The wind drank in the deep chill, slowing the fiends and demons to a crawl. Frost began creeping across the ground from beneath my feet. The wind spirits, once emerald green, turned white and lingered at my side.

"Run wild."

At my single word, the white wolves began to hunt the demons. This was no desperate killing for survival or defense. What the wolves displayed was simply the motion of predators putting down whatever dared crawl beneath me. Even the fiends could not resist the wolves and dissolved where they stood.

How this skill should be wielded... I felt it, deep in my bones.

I raised both swords straight overhead and brought them down as one.

- Huuuung-ung!!!

A wind steeped in killing cold swept the entire battlefield, freezing everything it touched. Literally — a scene of a deep freeze wailing across the land, every living thing upon it locked in ice. Enemies who couldn't move could hardly impede me. The demons and fiends around me were already more than frozen — they were nearly shattered.

"Jeongryeong!"

At my call, Jeongryeong broke off his hunt, sprinted to me, bore me up, and leapt toward the top of the wall. As expected, Alice and Fairy were holding off the soldiers, coordinating their attacks against Florence.

...!!

An overwhelming terror materialized before my eyes. Alice, Fairy, and I — none of us could move. We simply stood, frozen.

I shook off the fear and, with Jeongryeong's help, swung a blade of deep-freeze sword-energy forward. Darkness and freezing cold met head-on, and the collision burst apart — I'd managed, barely, to block it.

But more urgently — what state were those two in?! Through the drifting smoke, I checked on Fairy and Alice. Jeongryeong's help made them easy to find.

Fairy was all right. Roughly intact, unharmed as far as I could tell — she had merely fainted.

Alice was not. There was a wound across Alice's back — carved there by Florence's authority. Because she wore light armor, the darkness authority had punched through her clothes and armor with terrifying ease.

The wound of darkness was eating into her. It spread wider with every passing moment; she broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't open her eyes. I laid Fairy, unconscious, and Alice, gravely wounded, down in the corner of the wall.

The smoke cleared, and Khan — who had barely forced his way up through the path I'd opened — turned his gaze on me, then on the fallen Fairy and Alice. Fairy was fine, but Alice's condition was grave. Seeing that, Khan looked at me and spoke.

"I'll hold out as long as I can. I'll guard them — so go and fight."

Without a word, I took up both swords and stepped forward, facing him. Florence looked at my face, let out a kick- of laughter, and mocked me.

...

Yeah. That's how it is, then.

Fury flooded through every inch of my body. The time had come to draw out a new power.

"Crescent."

At my voice, Crescent — who had recently become my Guardian Dragon — manifested at my side.

- Yes, Successor.

The playful lilt was gone from her voice; she must have read my state. She bowed her head in greeting.

"Let's kill them all."

- As my Successor commands.

I didn't know what hour it was. But I did know this much, at least: tonight was going to be a long one.

The rising sun vanished, and the world transformed into the domain of midnight. Everything around us went black.

Without answering, I closed my eyes and unleashed the Moon Dragon's authority. The pale light of dawn died away, and brilliant moonlight emerged in its place. The flames that had clung to the Sword of the Azure Sky had long since gone out. In their place, something of a deep violet-black had taken residence in the blade.

"Domain Proclamation."

When I opened my eyes, a full moon hung in the sky.

"Moonlight Dance."

The price for touching what is precious to me is your life.

Florence.