Chapter 281: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (74)
Chapter 281: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (74)
With a heavy thud, blood-soaked snow scattered into the air.
I thrust my sword into the ground to withstand the lashing gale. My body was still a wreck; every time I gasped for air, I tasted the metallic tang of blood.
Vitality, which had once vanished, was now circulating through me again. However, this was merely a temporary awakening.
It was only possible because my mana efficiency had reached an extreme peak for a very brief moment. If my remaining mana ran dry, my life would end right then and there.
The only saving grace was that the Corpse Giant had been significantly weakened.
I didn't know why.
Judging by the lingering warmth in the air, I could only guess that the Saintess had done something.
I was truly grateful.
Even so, a Corpse Giant at full strength was a formidable foe. That remained true even if I had gained a slight understanding of Binding and Unbinding.
Because it was weakened, I could continue the fight even with my battered body.
This was my chance.
I had to take the Corpse Giant down now.
However, it seemed others had reached a different conclusion.
A woman came running toward me, panting. Her black hair was tied back; her name was Celine.
Sighing in immense relief, she grabbed my arm without preamble.
"Th-thank goodness... Let's go now, Brother!"
"……Where?"
I asked back, my eyes never leaving the Corpse Giant.
The giant, having taken a hit from me, had become more cautious.
It paced slowly, measuring the distance between us, as if it finally recognized me as an opponent.
What an insolent creature.
Despite its caution, I couldn't let my guard down.
Though its power had diminished as its size shrank, it seemed to have gained speed in exchange.
The interval between its punches had become extremely short.
And above all, there was its regeneration.
Though significantly slower than before, the Corpse Giant was still regenerating.
The arm I had scattered was already regaining its shape. Unless I crushed the giant at a speed that surpassed its recovery, victory would remain out of reach.
A thunderstorm raged in the sky.
Lightning flashed, striking the battlefield. The thunderous roars were enough to make my ears go numb.
The Corpse Giant flinched and trembled every time a bolt struck.
Even if they weren't fatal blows, they were clearly a distraction.
The Lainella Family's Magic Corps was likely providing support.
Unlike me, who was carefully observing the state of the battle, Celine was merely thumping her chest in frustration.
"Back to the evacuation procession, of course! Right now, all the core forces, including you, have left their posts! We can't continue the evacuation without our main guards!"
"……Tell them to go on ahead."
With those words, I kicked off the ground again.
As I dashed across the battlefield, the Corpse Giant showed blatant wariness. The moment I leaped, the giant swung its fist again.
Of course, the result was no different from before.
A certain scene overlapped with my blurred vision.
It was the burning Great Forest.
Amidst the flaming debris, a man was walking with heavy steps.
A woman spoke as she caressed his cheek.
She was a beauty with black hair and pale green eyes, possessing an appearance so mature it felt almost foreign.
She spoke.
"……My first."
"I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Master."
Stammering, the man grasped the woman's hand with both of his.
No, was that man me?
My eyes, red from crying, throbbed with a dull ache.
"I was... too late... Sister Disciple, too. And you, Master……."
"What a pathetic First Disciple. A grown man shouldn't have so many tears."
Large craters were gouged out all over the forest.
Or should I even call it a forest?
Nothing remained in the aftermath of the clash between two powerhouses. There were no trees, no grass—nothing but flames surrounding the area.
Beyond them, I saw another woman collapsed and groaning.
At a glance, her face was the spitting image of my Master.
Master called that vampire 'Sister.'
She said it wasn't a metaphor, but a blood relation. That was why she could never bring herself to leave the Great Forest.
"It's fine. It was a knot I had to untie anyway... At least I won't leave with any regrets before I die. I'm glad I could settle at least one grudge before passing it on to you."
"I-it's because I'm weak……."
Master's pale green eyes stared intently at me.
"……Because I'm weak, I couldn't protect anything."
Master let out a long, heavy breath.
She gazed blankly up at the sky.
"Are you frustrated?"
I couldn't answer, as I was busy swallowing my sobs.
The sound of my whimpering echoed inside my chest.
"Because you're a lower noble with nothing, because your talent isn't great enough……."
"……Yes."
It was an answer I barely managed to squeeze out.
I had lost my Sister Disciple, and I was about to lose my Master.
How could there not be resentment?
I poured out my tears like mud vomiting up water.
Master spoke in a low voice.
"……You will likely feel frustrated many more times in the future."
I had an intuition.
That this would be Master's final lesson.
"The world is cruel and relentless. Those who have will take more, and those who have nothing will only keep losing... That is why Delphirem was born."
As she spoke, Master gave me a slight nod.
We had spent years together.
There was no way I wouldn't understand her meaning.
With trembling hands, I fumbled through my clothes, pulled out a pipe, and placed it in Master's mouth.
I filled it with dried tobacco and lit it.
Smoke drifted from Master's lips.
"Those who have cannot defeat Delphirem. Not me, not the Emperor of the Empire, not the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom... And those who have nothing will side with Delphirem."
It was an abrupt topic for a set of last words.
Nevertheless, I listened intently, making sure not to miss a single syllable.
These were the final words my Master would leave behind.
As her disciple, it was my duty to engrave them upon my heart.
"……So, you do it."
I chose silence, not knowing how to respond.
I simply stared at my Master without a word.
She wore a faint smile.
"Clash, break, fall... Eventually, you'll see the answer. I felt it from the moment I first saw you—a 'Fateful Intuition'."
It was a phrase Master always used.
I thought it was just something she said randomly, calling it 'Fateful Intuition.'
She really was consistent until the very end.
That only made it sadder.
I was in a situation where I had to let go of two precious people.
It would be strange if my heart didn't ache.
It was then that I suddenly sensed a presence.
The woman who had been collapsed began to writhe and stagger to her feet.
It was the 'Vampire.'
"Not... not yet……."
A faint scent of blood wafted from her panting voice.
At a glance, she looked as delicate as a single flower, but I knew instinctively.
That woman was dangerous.
Her eyes were half-unfocused, but the thick killing intent radiating from them was enough to make my skin crawl.
Blood was flowing endlessly from the woman's body.
It was an amount that would have caused any normal human to die of blood loss. Despite that, there was no change in the woman's complexion.
Of course, that was only natural.
She wasn't human.
The vampire spoke with an alluring smile.
"Sister, it's been hundreds of years... Our reunion can't be this short, can it?"
Master let out a weary sigh.
"Good grief, she won't even give me time to say goodbye to my disciple……."
Just as I was hesitating, wondering if I should retreat again.
Master spoke.
"……Watch closely."
Along with the exhaled tobacco smoke, Master's index finger moved.
Following that guidance, mana began to gather in the air.
It wasn't visible to the eye. Only a sense that transcended the five senses testified to its presence.
That something was there.
As the density of the condensed mana grew higher, the atmosphere trembled and let out a low hum.
"Because this is the only time."
It was then that my vision shifted completely.
Before I knew it, I was out of the Great Forest and standing right before the Corpse Giant.
No, more accurately, before the Corpse Giant's fist.
Sword light erupted, carving countless lines across the giant's fist.
Immediately after, blood sprayed and corpses tumbled down.
They were the remains that had constituted the Corpse Giant's fist until just a moment ago.
It was a counterattack launched before it could even reach me, but the Corpse Giant wasn't as stupid as it looked.
Another fist flew toward me in succession.
There was no time to plan another counter.
So, I raised my sword and condensed my mana.
The man in my memories called this 'Binding.'
To stand tall amidst the countless flows that constitute the world.
It wasn't just the atmosphere that circulated.
Time, space, and even strength or mana each had their own flows.
If one could read those flows, it was possible to distinguish between the violent waves and the gentle ripples.
Binding was the technique of parting those gentle ripples.
Like placing a stone to split a stream.
The only problem was that I had yet to master the understanding of these flows.
A fierce shockwave tore through the air with a heavy boom.
It meant I wasn't being pushed back one-sidedly.
However, the Corpse Giant was planted on the ground, while I had no foothold to speak of. In the end, I was the one blown back, unable to withstand the collision.
I cursed under my breath.
Just a little more... I feel like if I could just see a little more, I'd have it.