Chapter 633: Last Will (7)
Chapter 633: Last Will (7)
Thud!
Before the blood could even spray, the body of the knight who had met his end went flying through the air. Celine had hurled the heavily armored man away the moment she stood up.
And she had done it with only one hand.
The knight who had been thrusting his sword was understandably bewildered. While his vision was obscured by the corpse of his former comrade, the knights charging from behind began to swing their blades in succession.
There was no time to look back. It seemed like a complete checkmate, but—
Stab!
The charging knight’s body jerked to a halt, and a surge of blood spilled from between his lips. The girl still had her back turned to him.
An unnaturally long blade had sprouted from beneath the woman’s armpit. That cold line of light was buried deep in the knight’s heart.
It was a strategy that utilized the longsword’s reach to its absolute limit.
Despite this, the remaining knights did not stop. Neither did Celine.
Matching the rhythm of their thrusts, the girl, still facing away, slipped into a knight’s embrace. Then, the hand that had been holding the longsword in a reverse grip transitioned back to a standard stance.
Skreech!
With a twist of the blade, the woman’s hand scattered a flash of death.
A Single Flash.
The Karmic Flame of hell, flowing down the longsword, instantly scorched the surroundings.
“Aaaaaagh! The—the Resistance Armor… Why is it—aaaaargh!”
One knight who had ignored the heat and charged forward collapsed with a scream. The flames consuming his body were mercilessly biting through even the armor protected by various spells.
The utility of the fire did not end there.
The sudden burst of flames restricted the knights' vision.
From beyond the veil of fire, a trajectory of light claimed the life of another knight. Though the Imperial Guards could not hide their agitation at this unexpected resistance, they waited for the flames to subside.
If only the girl hadn't torn through the wall of fire first.
The next victim failed to react to Celine’s sudden sprint. It was because Celine had launched herself from a low crouch, making her already small frame even harder to track.
It was around then that the knight in training urged Iris to flee.
“Your Highness, run!”
Right then.
The mages chanting spells in the rear raised their hands high. It meant they had finally completed their magic during the time the knights had bought with their lives.
No matter what kind of monster she was, no one could withstand a joint strike from the court mages.
The common sense that had held true until now would surely demonstrate its power again today.
Or so Iris thought, until a certain sound rang out.
Snap.
The sound of fingers snapping echoed.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Whoosh!
Flames erupted from the ground, beginning to incinerate one of the court mages. No matter how much he screamed or writhed, the fire would not go out; instead, it grew greedily, devouring his body.
The spell was canceled, of course. It was simply impossible to comprehend.
Iris and the mages turned their gazes toward the source of the sound. Once again, the sound of a finger snapping.
“Guh?! H-how… Aaaaaagh!”
Amidst the blazing fire and shimmering heat, the girl was slowly stepping forward.
By now, none of the knights who had charged ahead were responding. The woman, whose hood had fallen back in the aftermath of the battle, walked forward, her luscious black hair trailing behind her like a dark wake.
Every time she snapped her fingers—
“Aagh, aaah… Aaaaaagh!”
The screams of the court mages overlapped.
There was no omen, no warning; the flames simply erupted, bypassing all defensive magic.
It was a sorcery Iris had never even heard of. Only then did small beads of sweat begin to form on her forehead.
Celine came to a halt, leaving the burning earth behind her. It was as if she were gauging the skill of the knights in training who guarded Iris to the last.
There were only two of them, but their skill was such that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them the best.
High Experts.
One of the two was among the twenty or so strongest individuals on the continent, and the other was a powerhouse only slightly behind him.
The outcome should have been clear.
No matter how strong she was, there was only one of her, and two of them. High Experts who could properly manifest their Mental Imagery were a force incomparable to ordinary knights.
Yes, surely.
Iris, soothing her startled heart, finally regained her composure. Or perhaps she was merely pretending to have regained it.
Her lips were trembling ever so slightly.
“Do you… have any idea what you are doing right now?”
Her words were venomous.
Her tone and gaze were filled with blatant hostility and murderous intent. In contrast, the answer that came back was as dry as ash.
“Do you?”
‘You.’
Iris’s brow furrowed at the informal address she had rarely heard in her life. A title devoid of even a shred of respect or deference was ill-suited for a noble princess.
But there was no time to voice a complaint.
“Do you truly understand the weight of what you’ve done?”
The amber eyes asking the question were hollow. They were so devoid of emotion that they seemed almost weary, yet Iris hesitated to answer for a moment.
Why?
She felt a strange sense of crisis from that toneless voice. It was an alarm triggered by an intuition that transcended sight or sound.
The longsword was leveled.
“I’ll make sure you find out now. Exactly what you’ve done.”
Celine’s posture lowered slightly as her hands gripped the hilt tightly. Her legs were coiled as if ready to spring at any moment, and the sword’s point was aimed straight ahead like the horn of a rhinoceros.
“And the price you have to pay.”
Further conversation was useless.
Boom!
The explosive sound of her movement was actually late. In a world of supersonic speed that even sound could not keep up with, the collision was an event that had already reached reality.
Celine’s hands were already positioned above her shoulder. In the process, the sword’s point had been aimed forward, but that was merely a secondary effect.
The sword coiled like a whip.
The strike, which maximized rotational force, added power proportional to the length of the blade. The explosive sound was born the moment after.
Sword met sword, and the knight who took the first impact leaned back.
It was to keep Celine’s flames at bay. As if to prove his choice was correct, the Karmic Flame immediately bared its greedy tongue.
However, his opponent was a master who had built a legacy with the sword.
Normally, one would focus on recovering their stance after leaning back, but common sense was useless in battle.
A flash of light shot out like a bolt of lightning.
Simultaneously, another sword was plunging down from above, aiming for the crown of her head. At this rate, Celine’s only remaining move would be to retreat.
If she did, she would have to give up ground bit by bit.
Distance, timing, and eventually, her very life.
This was the terror of a pincer attack. To respond alone, one had to exert several times the power of the opponents.
That was common sense.
But, yes.
Common sense is useless in battle.
Celine tilted her head slightly to the side. That was the extent of her evasive maneuver.
Stab!
“W-what… Cough!”
A cry of shock erupted from the knight who had leaned back. Anyone with common sense would have reacted the same way.
Because two swords were now buried in Celine’s body.
Thanks to the tilt of her head, she had protected her crown, but the blade that had dug deep into her neck had reached almost to her collarbone. Furthermore, the sword of the knight who had leaned back was piercing through the girl’s solar plexus.
Instant death.
Anyone would have thought so. Yet Celine was still looking down at the knight with indifferent eyes, and her longsword was already halfway through his chest.
Eyes full of disbelief pleaded against the injustice. In terms of the severity of the wounds, the girl’s should have been far more fatal.
Yet the only one losing his life was the knight.
The knight’s grip tightened on the longsword with lingering resentment. As if determined to be of help even in death.
Seeing that resolve, the last knight gritted his teeth.
“Jade!”
But it was too late.
Taking advantage of the grip on her longsword, Celine swung the knight’s corpse like a blunt weapon. What followed was the same as always.
Boom!
Flames erupted, and the knight, unable to withstand the impact, was sent sprawling onto the ground. With a dry expression, Celine pulled out the swords embedded in her body.
Clang.
The masterless swords rolled pitifully across the ground.
Blood did not flow from Celine’s body. Instead, sparks scattered with a fwoosh, fwoosh, slowly knitting the wounds shut.
Her amber eyes turned toward the final victim. Iris, though her voice trembled, managed a haughty assessment.
“……You aren't human.”
It was something she had expected. Given the clear circumstances of her kidnapping by the Dark Cult, it was easy to guess that her body had been modified.
But to have this level of immortality.
She had been stabbed in two vital spots. Yet Celine hadn't even screamed, let alone bled.
Who could call this monster ‘human’?
Iris’s brilliant mind instantly reached a conclusion.
“Likely a ‘Vessel of Greed’… But why would someone as insignificant as you—?”
“So that’s how you’ve been looking down on everyone your whole life.”
Once again, the toneless voice rang out.