Chapter 155: The Lich (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155: The Lich (5)
Joking around in a situation like this.
That’s so like Cloud.
Frillite let out a dry laugh.
Seeing her laugh, Cloud’s brow furrowed as he reached out and stretched her cheek.
“...Isn’t that a bit rough?”
Frillite grumbled, but Cloud ignored her and stretched her other cheek just as hard.
Suddenly, both her cheeks were pulled taut like marshmallows.
If anyone had seen her, the soft, squishy sight would have shattered the authority she held as a noble and a hero.
Just as Frillite sighed and tried to pull his hands away, Cloud spoke.
“You got a death wish? What are you doing, not running away?”
At his words, the hand she had raised slowly fell. Speechless, she couldn’t even answer his question.
Was it because she had nothing to say?
No.
It was because she knew exactly how Cloud would react no matter what she said.
“No, don’t bother. I can guess what you were thinking.”
Of course, his reaction was the same even without her answer.
Cloud let go of her cheeks. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her head and pulled her into a tight headlock.
“Are you out of your mind? Are you crazy, fighting those things alone?!”
“Cloud... that hurts... Could you be a little gentler?”
“Quiet! It’s supposed to hurt!”
“Mmm... Understood.”
Seeing that Cloud was more upset than she’d expected, Frillite obediently shut her mouth.
In this case, she really had no excuse.
“What was that you said last time? Huh? ‘I know my station, my role, and my responsibilities’? So what is the person who knows all that doing here?”
“...”
“Frillite? Did the fight make you go deaf? No, that can’t be right. We were just talking fine a moment ago.”
“Ah, alright. I was wrong. I’ll apologize properly later, so could you let me go? This isn’t the time to be...”
Her words trailed off.
The undead legion, which had been charging at her ravenously just moments before, was now standing dumbly, watching her get scolded.
The Lich, in particular, was observing them with leisure, as if enjoying a rare spectacle.
...I’m definitely going to kill that bastard.
Frillite vowed to herself.
“Frillite!!! Are you even listening to me!?!”
“I-I’m listening..!”
“I have a lot more to say, but I’ll stop here for now. This isn’t the right situation for it.”
“There’s still more...?”
Frillite wore a weary expression, but Cloud nodded firmly, dashing her hopes.
“Of course! Just you wait until we get back.”
—Get back? Such insolent words.
The Lich, who had been watching from a distance, interjected.
The undead legion began to stomp the ground.
Thud! Thud!
The earth trembled.
Above them, two Corrupted Dragons flew, flaunting their presence.
—Do you truly believe you can break through this army and return safely? If so, you are quite the optimistic child.
Cloud’s gaze shifted to the Lich.
“Are you the master of this undead army?”
—I am, O newly appeared hero.
“I’m Cloud. Thanks for waiting.”
—Cloud? Ah... are you the hero who defeated that child, Creas?
“I don’t think he was small enough to be called a child.”
—Perhaps to you humans, but not to me. I have watched the master of the sea change twice over; to me, he is no different from a child. Come to think of it, that child was quite pitiful. He had only just become the master of the sea before being made one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
“What are you talking about?”
—It is a story you need not know. Let us return to the matter at hand. Hero, how do you intend to break through my army and flee?
Cloud tilted his head.
“Flee? Why would we flee? We’re going to take you down.”
—Hoh, you say such things even after seeing this army. Spoken like the veteran hero who defeated Creas. So, what is it you intend to do?
The Lich asked as if intrigued, but his tone was mocking. Instead of playing along, Cloud drew his holy sword and plunged it into the ground.
Whoosh.
A small magic circle appeared on the ground, centered on the holy sword. Then, a larger one formed around it.
And a third, larger still.
A total of three magic circles overlapped.
Cloud knelt on one knee and murmured.
“O white steed, guardian of pure maidens. As your master, I command you: answer my call.”
The overlapping magic circles began to spin like clockwork, each at a different speed.
They started to glow with a sacred light.
A brilliant radiance illuminated the area before fading, and at the center of the magic circles stood a pure white horse.
The steed’s appearance was far from that of an ordinary horse.
A thick, sharp horn protruded from its forehead, and angelic wings sprouted from its back.
—Neigh!
Rearing up on its hind legs, the horse let out a loud cry. It then spotted Frillite and trotted over to nuzzle its head against her.
Frillite, though puzzled, stroked the horse’s mane.
“What is this horse? It looks most peculiar.”
“A unicorn.”
“So it’s called a unicorn. A beautiful name.”
As Frillite smiled, the unicorn neighed happily, as if pleased.
“It seems to be a summoned beast that is quite fond of people.”
“It’s not fond of people, it’s fond of virgins.”
Cloud approached the unicorn. It immediately snorted, growling low in its throat as it became wary. It looked ready to gore him with its horn at a moment’s notice.
“Isn’t this horse your summon? Why is it so hostile toward you?”
“Like I said, it likes virgins. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman; it despises any human with sexual experience.”
“I see... Hmm? Wait, Cloud. What did you just say—”
Before she could ask about the strange feeling she got from their conversation, Cloud smacked the unicorn on the back of its head.
“You little shit. How dare you? Don’t you recognize your own master?”
Then he grabbed the unicorn’s horn and ripped it clean off.
—Heeeeigh!!!
The unicorn shrieked in agony.
Frillite was stunned as she watched blood stream from its forehead.
“Cloud?! Why would you pull that out?!”
“It’s fine. It’ll grow back.”
Cloud replied nonchalantly, wiping the blood from the horn before infusing it with holy power.
The horn, filled with holy power, bubbled and melted down. Cloud skillfully shaped the molten material into a sword.
“Take it.”
Frillite accepted the sword with a dubious expression. But as she felt the powerful holy energy contained within, she couldn’t hide her astonishment.
“What is this immense holy power?! Didn’t you just infuse it with a little holy power and shape it?”
“Don’t let its attitude fool you. This thing is a mythical creature,” Cloud said as he mounted the unicorn. Unlike before, the creature showed no signs of resisting him.
He patted the saddle behind him.
“Get on, quick. It looks like they’re done waiting.”
Frillite glanced at the undead and the Lich.
Just as he said, the undead were beginning to stir. They could charge at any moment. Frillite quickly sat behind Cloud.
Cloud took the reins.
As he pulled, the unicorn began to walk forward slowly.
Its pace gradually quickened until it reached the speed of a normal horse. At that moment, black flames erupted from Cloud, enveloping the unicorn’s body.
Frillite flinched, but she soon realized the black flames weren’t harming her and grew curious.
“Cloud, what is this?”
“It’s a power I got recently, so I don’t know the details myself. I just figured it would work well against the undead,” he said, stroking the unicorn’s mane to soothe it.
“It seems you’ve acquired many strange powers since I last saw you.”
“Well, something like that. More importantly, we’re about to really start moving, so hold on tight. Don’t try to hang on with just your leg strength.”
“Mm... Understood.”
With a slight cough, Frillite wrapped her arms around Cloud’s waist.
Cloud pulled the reins and spoke to the unicorn.
“Go.”
—Neigh!
As if in response, the unicorn’s speed increased dramatically, far surpassing that of an ordinary horse.
—Uwaaargh.
The distance to the undead legion closed in an instant.
Just before impact, the unicorn leaped. Bounding from one undead head to another, it continued its advance.
The saddle swayed precariously, but the unicorn’s footing was remarkably stable.
—Graaaah!!
The black flames spread to the heads of the undead the unicorn stepped on. From their heads, the flames traveled down their bodies, quickly incinerating them completely.
It wasn’t just the ones who were stepped on; any undead merely grazed by the black flames were burned to ash.
“The firepower is considerable,” Frillite commented as she cut down the undead that lunged at them.
Between the power of the black flames and Frillite’s swordsmanship, most of the undead couldn’t even get close.
But the Platinum Knights were not most undead. Despite being undead, they could still manifest sword aura.
Blue or red.
Each wielding their own colored aura, they charged toward the unicorn.
“..!”
Seeing the once-brilliant platinum armor now tattered and worn, Frillite hesitated for a brief moment.
Just as she steeled her resolve to cut them down, Cloud gave a command.
“To the sky.”
Cloud flicked the reins, and the unicorn flapped its wings, soaring into the air.
The gust of wind from its wings sent the undead Platinum Knights tumbling helplessly.
“If it’s hard for you, you don’t have to cut them down. This all ends once we kill that one guy, anyway.”
“...You’re right.”
Frillite’s gaze fixed on the Lich. Her red pupils shimmered with killing intent. Her grip on the sword tightened.
—A flying horse, you say. I did not expect you to evade my army in such a manner.
The Lich chuckled and waved his hand.
A massive magic circle materialized around him.
—Then let’s see you dodge these as well.
Countless black chains shot out from the magic circle.
“Frillite, hold on tight.”
“Got it!”
The moment Frillite wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, the unicorn’s movements became dynamic.
It performed somersaults in the air, dodging the incoming chains and the Corrupted Dragons’ breath attacks by a hair’s breadth.
But dodging the attacks didn’t mean it was over.
“Cloud, we’re surrounded!”
The chains hadn’t been intended to hit them from the start.
They had simply flown to their designated positions.
The dragons’ attacks had also been a mere diversion.
The black chains intertwined, forming a net.
The dense net of chains closed in to envelop them, while the two dragons blocked their only escape route.
“Frillite. When I give the signal, get ready to strike.”
Strike what?
She didn’t ask such a foolish question.
It was obvious what she had to cut.
“One...”
The net tightened around them.
“Two...”
The mouths of the two dragons glistened with corrosive fluid.
It was a desperate crisis.
Yet, strangely, Frillite felt no anxiety.
It was thanks to the solid feel of his back against her.
She calmly tightened her grip on her sword.
“Three.”
Cloud stroked the unicorn’s mane once more, then flicked the reins lightly.
“Charge.”
—Hee-hee-hing!
The unicorn reared up on its hind legs.
On its empty forehead, a golden horn began to grow once more.
The pure white steed brought its forelegs down and kicked off the very air.
BOOM—!
The air exploded.
The unicorn and the two heroes vanished, leaving behind nothing but faintly dying black flames.
The light in the Lich’s empty eye sockets flickered.
They vanished?
Could they have used a short-range teleportation spell?
A hero who is a high-level mage capable of using Blink? No, wait...
The Lich’s eyes caught sight of a shattered section of the chain net.
Only then did he realize.
They hadn’t teleported at all.
They moved at a speed even my eyes couldn’t follow...
The Lich’s thoughts were cut short.
Schlick—
The holy sword, forged from the unicorn’s horn, split the Lich’s skull vertically in two.