Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: The Flower Saint Hears the Inner Thoughts
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Originally, it was forbidden by the rules for another participant to intrude into the arena. If such a thing were allowed, people could side with each other and create a numerically disadvantageous situation.
However, that didn't mean lending another's power was prohibited.
I was exploiting a loophole in Pseudo-Seance Hollow, trying to complete Idea even if just a little.
"A pointless endeavor. You cannot kill me, a Death Knight. I don't recommend flailing about; find another method."
Ching─!
The Dullahan still hadn't drawn his Holy Sword, instead pulling out another pair of swords and continuing his assault on me.
This was clearly looking down on me.
Seeing me as a toy he could kill anytime, he didn't care what method I used.
That fact irritated and annoyed me a little. I parried the Dullahan's attempt to stab my eyes with his twin swords and used a kick to side-swipe his torso.
A pain so intense it made my foot tingle.
I couldn't begin to guess what his armor was made of; it seemed resistant not only to physical attacks but to magic as well.
"What, starting to get scared?"
"This is why I dislike hot-blooded young fools."
I spoke while wiping the blood trickling from my mouth.
Maintaining Idea with one hand while continuously blocking the Dullahan's attacks was nearly impossible.
But I couldn't give up in advance.
I used the Coresword I held in my other hand like a shield, deflecting his attempt to leap into the air and strike down at me, when...
"The scythe that slew the creature with the most lives in the world, Drepanon."
"...!!!"
Right at that moment,
The Dullahan, who had switched the weapon in his hand from twin swords to a scythe without a moment's hesitation, appeared before my eyes. He used an unorthodox move, hooking the scythe like a grapple to bat away the Coresword I was holding.
I immediately countered by releasing the sword from my hand and driving my fist right into the center of his armor.
A reverberating metallic clang echoed from the impact, and the Dullahan was pushed back slightly, leaving a deep, dragged footprint on the ground.
"...The bow and arrow that shot down and killed the creature with the largest wings in the world, Argyrotoxos."
With distance now between us, the Dullahan drew a bow to exploit that advantage. Since my party also had Taryon, called the Divine Archer, I could easily anticipate this variable.
The opponent was a Weapon Master who could wield countless weapons freely.
I had prepared thoroughly to face such a foe until now.
I had even asked Kheltar to reteach me how to fight and pre-planned several countermeasures using magic.
'Right now, I need to close the distance instead...!'
I made a show of dashing swiftly towards the Dullahan aiming his bow. Gritting my teeth, I poured strength into my legs, kicked off the ground, and soared into the air.
"...Have you forgotten that if you fly into the air, there's nowhere to hide?"
Creak─, seeing this, the Dullahan immediately shifted his bow-aiming posture, targeting me as I floated in the air.
It was a calm, cold judgment. Watching his skill in remaining unshaken by any event during battle and finding the appropriate response, I could feel he had crossed countless battlefields.
But,
'In magic, I'm one step ahead.'
There was one thing he lacked that I possessed.
A lifetime of researching magic, striving to save as many people as possible—its fruit was now cradled in my hands.
This magic wasn't created to avenge my parents, nor to bring peace to the world.
Because I wanted to protect everyone.
Because on this journey to defeat the Demon King, I wanted to send every single person home alive.
This modest magic, containing such a small hope and my personal desire, now floated in the air.
And,
"Kyle, Victoria! From this distance, you should be able to reach it, right!"
The distance had now closed enough that my comrades sitting in the spectator seats could touch the magic circle just by reaching out.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Victoria and Kyle couldn't help but leap to their feet as they saw Idea approaching right before their eyes.
"Astal, you too. If you had a trump card like this, it would've been nice if you'd told us sooner."
Contrary to the words spat out, a smile more satisfied than anyone else's was plastered on the Hero Kyle's lips.
That guy Astal was always like this.
Saving people with ingenious methods no one else thought of, then laughing it off as if it were nothing—a good guy.
"Don't you find even that part endearing? The way he thinks day and night about how to save people, yet doesn't speak up for fear someone might worry about him."
"Well, I think lovers should have no secrets. At least he could have told you, Victoria."
Kyle, transferring the flame from his Holy Sword to the thread to send power, and Victoria, offering prayers and sending Divine Power.
They were following Astal's proposal without a shred of doubt. This trust was born from the experience of overcoming countless battles and incidents together.
"I think Astal-nim, with his many secrets, is cuter. It's also easier to tease him later."
"You two really have a deep love..."
"Love is meant to be deep and intense."
Kyle couldn't help but smirk upon hearing Victoria's words.
Just a month ago, they looked like sworn enemies who couldn't stand each other. How did they become like this?
At first, it seemed like they were just matching words and pretending to date, but now it was obvious to anyone that they genuinely liked each other.
I shouldn't mention that I've noticed, right?
Kyle, who was quicker than others at reading the atmosphere, was glad to have a secret he would carry for life.
"...Alright! Preparations are complete! Astal, give that un-hero-like fool a taste of his own medicine!"
"Astal-nim, I look forward to another splendid victory."
Having poured all the power they currently possessed into Idea, they signaled to Astal, shouting for him to blast away the Dullahan before their eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Dullahan stopped breathing for a moment as he saw the strange light gathering before his eyes for the first time in his life.
The moment he saw the magic circle begin to glow in a rainbow of colors, a foreboding sensation crawled up his entire body like insects.
"...If I get hit by this, I'll be annihilated? Me, with an immortal body that can never die, the ruler of this Pseudo-Seance Hollow?"
The Dullahan almost let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
It wasn't a conclusion born from rational logic or judgment.
Because every survival instinct in his body was screaming, 'That's dangerous.'
It was a sensation he was experiencing for the first time as an undead who had lived for ages, unable to die unless his Life Vessel was destroyed.
"Ha, ha, uhahahaha!!! Fine, let's give it a try! If you hadn't wished for such a battle, I would have had no reason to spare your life anyway!"
Seeing Idea floating in the air, grown even larger, descending upon him, the Dullahan raised his voice.
He had to hide his trembling fingertips. He had to cast away the feeling of being afraid of that.
"...Be annihilated, be silenced, be extinguished."
Kooong─!
The Dullahan first tried to block Idea using the Death Words he possessed, but it only pulsed greatly once, showing no change.
There was still a way to counter.
Because he had the ten legendary weapons passed down from myth.
Still clinging to a thread of hope, the Dullahan drew not his Holy Sword, but another weapon.
But,
"Damn it, what the hell is it made of that none of my weapons work...?! Don't tell me you really put a Holy Sword inside the magic circle?!"
The flame of the Holy Sword that Hero Kyle had sent into Idea was blocking the attacks of other weapons from reaching it.
"...Ha, you crazy bastard. Do you really think it's possible to kill His Majesty the Demon King with magic?!"
The Dullahan spat curses while looking at Idea. How on earth could he have created such magic?
Do I really have to draw it?
But if I use this and fail, that horrific memory will surely resurface.
The memory of killing the person I loved and the child we had together with this Holy Sword, to surrender to the Demon King Ergothum.
This was why the Dullahan hadn't used the Holy Sword—his last shred of pride.
A pitiful struggle to still believe he wasn't wrong, and not wanting to publicly admit his surrender to the Demon King.
"This magic is still incomplete. It's flawed, too crude in many parts...! It could never reach His Majesty's neck!"
The Dullahan finally drew his blackened Holy Sword from its sheath, and instantly, a dark energy began to emanate, enough to dye everything in darkness.
Schwick─!
Drawing his Holy Sword, the Dullahan slashed at the focal point where the three-dimensional magic circles overlapped the most. No matter how solid and intricate the magic, nothing was without a weakness.
However,
"...Sorry, but it's already far too late."
"......!!!"
Astal had factored even that into his calculations from the start. Ever since learning the Dullahan was the First Hero, he never thought he wouldn't use the Holy Sword.
Chwarararak─!
Idea, disrupted and scattered by the Dullahan's Holy Sword, once again enveloped the Dullahan's surroundings, reforming into a spherical shape.
"And originally... this wasn't made to attack anyone. It's magic created to seal the Demon King. So that I and my comrades can all return home safely."
Enduring the pain of his hands beginning to burn from the magic's backlash and his Mana Core burning away as if expending its last life, Astal forced a smile.
It was magic impossible without eyes that could see magical power and the genius-level mana control honed since childhood.
"─O source of infinite wisdom, Quintessence of countless failures, O Magic. This humble Astal Kaisaros pleads, Descend the primordial light into these hands." ⟨ Idea ⟩
Paang─! With his clenched fist gesture, the magic circle emitted light, pouring all its energy towards the trapped Dullahan as if purifying something unclean.
Kwaaaa─!
Within that light, Astal was flung far away, and the expanding explosion and noise engulfed the entire arena area.