Chapter 130: The Lord is With Us (51)
Chapter 130: The Lord is With Us (51)
Thwack!
The skull of a Flesh Seed lunging at me was crushed instantly.
Spewing blood and brain matter, the creature stumbled and collapsed, but there were still countless others swarming toward me.
One from the left, two from the right.
My hand axe shot out like a bolt of lightning. Crack! It split the temple of the one on the right, then pivoted mid-air to bury itself in the crown of the next one’s head.
As for the one coming from the left, I grabbed its outstretched arm and used its momentum to slam it into the ground with all my strength.
Thud!
A shockwave rippled out, accompanied by a wretched scream.
My hand moved in a blur, drawing the sword from its sheath. The blade, coated in silver Aura, pierced straight through another Flesh Seed’s brain.
The creature’s frantic twitching ceased almost immediately. Having to aim specifically for the head made them a real pain to deal with.
Taking a brief moment to catch my breath, I glanced behind me. A chaotic melee was unfolding.
Golden claws tore through the air.
The shimmering golden Aura trailing behind her increased the already sweltering heat of the battle. Five sword paths carved through the air; three Flesh Seeds caught by the True Strikes shrieked as their bodies twisted in agony.
But the flames, once ignited, were unstoppable. Soon, the three creatures were charred black and slumped to the ground.
Celine and Seria were performing a Joint Strike. Fortunately, with the two of them covering both flanks, there was little risk of being blindsided.
Boom! Boom!
Every time Celine swung her sword, an explosion followed without fail. She was pouring every ounce of her mana into each strike. The overloaded mana detonated upon impact, scattering blood and chunks of meat in every direction.
In contrast, Seria was dealing with the Flesh Seeds with a far more refined swordsmanship.
One step—a ghostly downward slash severed a Flesh Seed’s arm.
Two steps—a blue horizontal line bisected another’s legs.
And finally, three steps—the head of the creature floundering on the ground was split wide open.
Surprisingly, everyone was holding their own. However, the Flesh Seeds were relentless. They were being reinforced continuously from within the pit.
To turn the tide, we needed a powerful finishing blow. Just then, a scream pierced my ears.
“Kyaaaah! H-help! I-Ian!”
Snapping to attention, I lunged forward to retrieve my hand axe from the skull of a fallen enemy. Without even looking toward the source of the sound, I whipped the axe through the air.
It tore through the wind, tracing a lethal arc toward the Flesh Seed lunging at Senior Elsie.
Splat!
With a sound like a pumpkin shattering, blood and brain matter sprayed everywhere.
Senior Elsie was on the ground, trembling violently. Her pale face made it clear just how terrified she was.
Dealing with the waves of Flesh Seeds had left us no room to form a defensive perimeter to protect her. And even if we had, how were we supposed to block enemies dropping from the ceiling?
With a sharp whistle of wind, the head of a Flesh Seed charging at me went flying.
My sword had claimed its neck. Before the head could even begin its descent, more hairline cracks appeared in the air.
A high-speed chain of attacks caused another creature’s head to burst. I ran forward, ignoring the spray of blood.
As I raised my hand, the hand axe returned to me along its predetermined path. I threw it once more, and another Flesh Seed targeting Senior Elsie became a fountain of gore.
I quickly reached her and tapped her cheek. She was still dazed, unable to snap out of it.
“Senior Elsie! Senior Elsie!”
She was hiccuping and gasping, clearly not in a normal state of mind. It seemed the combination of a death threat and a hand axe flying past her face had sent her into a state of shock.
Covered in blood, she huddled into a ball and muttered to herself.
“I-I’m sorry… E-Elsie will be good… I-Ian. Don’t abandon me…”
“…Elsie Lainella!”
I finally lost my patience and roared her name. Her body flinched, and an instinctive response slipped out.
“Y-Yes!”
Only then did I offer a satisfied smile and stroke her hair.
It was damp and sticky with blood, but I didn’t care. I could feel her trembling body gradually begin to relax.
I leaned down and whispered into her ear.
“Start chanting.”
She looked at me with a bewildered expression.
“B-but Ian… there are too many enemies right n—W-waaaah?!”
Without warning, I scooped her up with one arm. With my hand axe in the other, I began to tear through the battlefield.
Whenever a Flesh Seed lunged, I threw the axe to crush its skull. Utilizing the Secret of Stillness in Motion, the axe returned to my hand just in time to bash the head of another creature crawling toward us.
Thwack!
Blood and flesh splattered. It was a sight I had grown so accustomed to that it no longer stirred any emotion in me.
Senior Elsie, who had been dazed at first, finally regained her senses when I shouted one more time.
“Chant!”
“I-I’ll do it!”
She hurriedly began to recite the secret, mystical language. With every whispered repetition, bright blue electrical charges gathered around us.
Sensing the unusual flow of mana, the Flesh Seeds’ eyes turned toward me all at once. The monsters began to charge like madmen.
I threw the axe to take down one, then crushed the skull of a second. Even so, several more were closing in. Senior Elsie kept her eyes squeezed shut, focusing entirely on her chant.
In that case, there was only one person I could rely on.
“Senior Delphine!”
“…I know!”
Delphine gritted her teeth and drew a dagger from her vest, hurling it forward.
The dagger, wreathed in fierce golden Aura, buried itself in the forehead of a Flesh Seed lunging from my flank. As the monster stumbled back, the Aura flared into a blaze.
As the creature thrashed, the fire spread to the other Flesh Seeds nearby. It was pure pandemonium.
Still, there were too many of them. I was forced to throw myself to the ground. In the process, I ended up exposing my back to one of them.
Blood flowed. A highly acidic poison seeped into the wound, searing my skin and veins. Even though I was protecting myself with mana, the poison was slowly melting my skin as it traveled through my blood.
The pain was excruciating. But even in the midst of it, I held onto Senior Elsie, shielding her to minimize the impact.
Thanks to that desperate effort, her magic was finally completed.
“...The logic of Heavenly Thunder that connects the stars, the moon, and the sun! O wandering light and flame, come forth! The winds are calling for you!”
The crackling electrical charges reached a white-hot intensity.
My vision turned white, and heat radiated against my skin along with a static roar.
Sensing the power of the impending spell, I shouted to the others.
“Everyone, close your eyes and get down!”
And in the next moment.
“Gale and Thunderbolt!”
An explosion shook the world.
A thunderous roar bypassed the hands covering my ears and vibrated through my entire body. Flashes of brilliant white light pierced through my eyelids, leaving orange afterimages burned into my retinas.
Screams erupted—the death throes of the Flesh Seeds. I could feel the presence of bodies thrashing haphazardly.
After some time had passed, I slowly raised my head while still holding Senior Elsie in my arms.
Charred corpses gave off a pungent, acrid smell. The floor of the cave was gouged in several places, a testament to the intensity of the lightning storm.
This was the true power of a Mage. The Flesh Seeds that had been above the pit were now completely annihilated.
But this was only the beginning.
I could feel the remaining Flesh Seeds struggling to climb out of the pit. A few would surely make it out and crawl back up to the ceiling.
There was only one way to end this.
Destroying the Flesh Nest.
I gritted my teeth and stumbled to my feet. Seria’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the wound on my back.
She rushed over, her hands trembling as she pulled a healing potion from her pouch. I stopped her.
“Don’t. It’s poison. A healing potion can only do so much.”
Besides, my body had already sustained countless injuries. Even if the Blood Essence had healed the previous ones, a simple healing potion wouldn't have much of a meaningful effect now.
I could still move, though I was unsteady. The poison was continuing to spread, so I had to settle this as quickly as possible.
Instead, I looked at Senior Delphine and shouted.
“Senior Delphine, we’re going into the pit!”
Delphine, having reached the same conclusion that the Flesh Nest had to be destroyed, nodded without hesitation.
The pit was swarming with dozens of Flesh Seeds. Naturally, the two strongest combatants—Delphine and I—had to go down.
“Celine, Seria! Support Senior Elsie and keep the Flesh Seeds from climbing out of the pit!”
After seeing them both nod, I immediately kicked off the ground. I leaped toward the pit.
The Flesh Seeds all looked up at me at once. As the uninvited guest, I decided to show them the gift I had prepared.
I hurled my hand axe mid-air.
Thunk!
The axe buried itself in the forehead of a Flesh Seed that had been staring blankly up at me. Seeing this, the rest of the creatures let out a collective shriek of hostility.
However, the hand axe pivoted again, killing another Flesh Seed. Blood sprayed from its crown just as I landed in the pit with a heavy thud.
I walked forward and pulled the axe free. Behind me, Delphine’s golden Aura drew a line of fire between me and the monsters.
The Flesh Seeds shrieked and recoiled from the rising flames. Some of them caught fire and began to thrash about.
Even so, there were too many.
Dozens of pairs of eyes glared at Delphine and me. Their momentum was ominous.
As the Flesh Nest let out a grotesque sound, saliva began to drip from the mouths of the Flesh Seeds. Even the ones writhing in pain from the fire turned to stare at us.
It was as if they had forgotten the meaning of pain.
I let out a short laugh. My eyes met Delphine’s.
“I think we’re screwed.”
Delphine’s brow furrowed. She looked at me as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
“Ha. And here I thought you said you’d make sure we win…”
Then, as if in sync, Delphine and I each took a step forward.
A Flesh Seed that had been aiming for our backs was sliced in half and collapsed. Since the monsters no longer felt pain, the only option left was to kill them in a single blow.
For Delphine and me, that was possible. We just didn't know how long we could keep it up.
“…I’ll trust you a little longer.”
Delphine said, and I wore a bitter smile.
Without a word, both of us lunged forward. The dozens of Flesh Seeds leaped to meet us as if they had been waiting for that very moment.
Could we win? I forced my ragged breathing into a steady rhythm and stared straight ahead, masking my faint anxiety.
At the far end, the Flesh Nest was making a sickening noise.
It sounded like a mocking laugh. A bizarre, eerie voice that echoed gloomily through the cave.
Its size alone was overwhelming. It stood well over the height of two grown men, roughly six meters tall.
Breaking into a cold sweat, I reached into my coat.
I felt the rough texture of parchment.
It was time to put an end to this long story.