Chapter 107
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 107
The Black Mana saturating the area was, to put it simply, like air thick with poison.
Even breathing was a struggle. In her anxious state, calculating the coordinates for Teleportation Magic was nearly impossible. The oppressive pressure was enough to make an ordinary mage collapse on the spot; even Garot could barely hold on to her consciousness.
What should I do?
Her head throbbed. Her stomach churned. Biting her lip to force herself back to reality, Garot raised her head.
I need a plan…
At that exact moment—
Whoosh.
The instant she looked up, a Black Thorn whipped past her.
It was too fast for the naked eye to track.
From behind her came a wet, bursting sound.
Garot trembled, unable to bring herself to look back. The person standing directly behind her was a fellow knight who had fought by her side for over three years. She lacked the courage to see his mangled remains.
“Ah…”
Her mind went completely blank. Letting out a faint groan, Garot slowly, agonizingly, turned her head. Yes, maybe… I won’t know for sure until I look.
As she turned, she caught sight of another knight rushing toward her from the edge of her vision, perhaps trying to get her to safety.
Garot recognized that sandy-brown hair. He was a young boy recruited from another subjugation squad last year. A prodigy of the sort seen only once in decades, he had been particularly fond of her.
Ah, no, don’t come—
Crunch.
It was all utterly futile.
A Black Thorn impaled the boy, crushing him—and every memory of him—into oblivion.
“Ah… ah…”
A strangled cry escaped her lips.
She felt on the verge of losing consciousness. Time itself seemed to grind to a halt. In a span so brief it could only be called an instant, a flurry of thoughts raced through her mind.
Clutching her throbbing head, Garot desperately forced herself to focus.
She had to survive.
Even as everyone around her was being slaughtered, she had to find a way to live.
Uin… Where is Uin?
Barely managing to steady her breathing, Garot frantically scanned the area.
Finding Uin was easy.
She was standing right next to the thorn that had just crushed the sandy-haired knight. The spike had slammed down so close that she was completely drenched in his blood.
She was trembling violently.
Consumed by a chaotic mix of mortal terror, rage at the helpless slaughter of her comrades, and crushing self-loathing at her own powerlessness, she had clearly lost her grip on sanity.
“Ah… Aaaaaaaah! AAAAAAAAH!”
Unable to contain her boiling emotions, Uin Historia shrieked.
It was blind hatred. Driven by pure, unadulterated rage, Uin lunged toward Swallow like a moth rushing into a flame.
“Uin!”
A sharp, commanding shout rang out at the same time. It was Ar’s voice.
Uin whipped her head toward the sound, her eyes still burning with raw hostility as she glared at him. In that brief moment, their gazes locked in a silent clash of convictions. Uin could not accept this reality. She had no outlet for her overwhelming rage.
“Uin,” Ar called out again.
Only then did a dull spark of clarity return to her crazed eyes.
“Ugh… hic…”
Her face, on the verge of bursting into tears, silently demanded an explanation. Why must they just stand here and take this? Why couldn’t they protect anyone?
Finally halting her advance, Uin shrieked.
“I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him!”
While Uin let out her agonizing cries, Garot turned her attention back to Swallow.
After blocking their Teleportation Magic, Swallow had been leisurely skewering humans with his thorns. Now, he resumed his expansion, returning to his true form.
At this rate, they would all die.
They were in extreme danger.
She had to find a way. But how? Somehow. She had to give it everything she had.
Everything we have…
Something she had forgotten flashed through her mind. When they had traveled to Knecht via the Teleportation Hub, hadn't the entire Edelbreas Black Wolf Knights come prepared to risk absolutely everything?
If we are to give it everything…
Garot’s gaze shifted to Ainar, who was standing further back. At that exact moment, Ar turned to look at him as well.
“Ainar!”
Garot screamed at the top of her lungs. Understanding her intent, Ainar immediately bolted forward.
The 36 Masterpieces.
Of the few Masterpieces possessed by the Empire, the Edelbreas Black Wolf Knights held two.
Masterpiece No. 24, the Magic Sword ‘Blood Mary.’
And Masterpiece No. 3, the buckler ‘Wall of Heart.’
Their only hope was still escape, and the only way to escape was still Teleportation Magic. To cast it amidst this volatile Black Mana, the spell had to be woven slowly and meticulously.
They needed to buy time, and to buy time, they had to block Swallow’s onslaught.
Masterpiece No. 3, the ‘Wall of Heart,’ was one of the few defensive armaments among the 36 Masterpieces.
And Ainar was the one who carried it.
Having waited in the rear for Ar’s command, Ainar sprinted forward with the buckler in hand. To project a barrier wide enough to shield the entire order, he had to get to the very front.
Spotting his movement, Swallow fired a Black Thorn at him.
The dozens of meters between them vanished in an instant. Though the thorn flew at a blinding speed, Ainar was just a hair faster.
Just as the barrier was about to unfold—
Slash!
Out of nowhere, Guillotine’s Tooth materialized and severed Ainar’s wrist.
“Ah…”
His severed hand spun through the air. Ainar’s face was a mask of sheer disbelief. A succession of Black Thorns immediately skewered him. Like a soldier struck by a cannonball, his small frame was slammed into the ground by the spikes with a sickening crunch.
The unique ability of the ‘Wall of Heart’ failed to manifest. Just as their sole hope—the buckler, still clutched in the severed hand—hit the ground, Sturman, limping heavily, threw himself forward.
“…!”
Startled by the sight, Rene hastily drew her blades. Without a moment to aim, she threw them toward Sturman with all her might.
The razor-sharp blades flew straight toward his wrist. Even seeing them coming, Sturman did not pull back.
Reach it… somehow, please, just reach it!
The high-speed blades sliced deep into Sturman’s arm, unleashing a fountain of blood.
Yet, he refused to pull back.
Enduring the agonizing pain, his outstretched hand—
—finally reached it.
Grabbing Ainar’s severed hand, Sturman pried the buckler loose and collapsed to the ground. In that split second, as Swallow, now fully restored to his original form, swung a massive front paw, Sturman deployed the barrier.
CLAAAAAAANG!
Swallow’s strike collided with the barrier, unleashing a deafening roar. It was a miracle of split-second timing.
Having successfully deployed the barrier, Sturman coughed up a mouthful of blood. A portion of the impact absorbed by the ‘Wall of Heart’ had rebounded onto him.
“Just a little longer! Just a little more!” Garot’s desperate voice cried out.
Taking a deep breath, she began casting the Teleportation Magic. In an area so saturated with Black Mana, any rush would cause the spell to collapse. She had to calculate the formulas slowly, starting from the absolute basics.
They only had one shot.
I have to hold on… no matter what!
Sturman grit his teeth and poured his energy into the ‘Wall of Heart.’ As Swallow swung his paw again, another earth-shattering impact reverberated through the ground.
Spitting out another mouthful of blood, Sturman forced his head up and locked eyes with Swallow through the barrier. Separated only by that single translucent shield was an endless abyss. Its depth was unfathomable, making him feel as though it were pressing right against his face. He felt like he was being sucked in, consumed. The abyss stared back, poised to swallow everything in an instant.
…Yet, Sturman held on. He clenched his jaw so hard that blood seeped from his gums. This was no longer just about the survival of his comrades; the fate of humanity hung in the balance. Cursing his aging body, Sturman poured every ounce of his remaining strength into the barrier.
But…
Why?
Looking into Swallow’s golden eyes, Sturman felt a cold dread wash over him. The ancient monster before him seemed to be smiling.
No, he was smiling. Unless his mind was playing tricks on him, the beast was mocking him.
The monster parted its jaws. Within that cavernous maw, tens of thousands of razor-sharp teeth came into view. Unlike other beasts, even the roof of its mouth was lined with rows of jagged fangs. It was a vision of hell itself.
Before he could even wonder why, a magic circle manifested before its gaping maw. A series of crude magic circles aligned, woven entirely from that dark, alien mana.
Every knight, save for Garot who was entirely focused on her spell, stared in horror. They had already witnessed the devastating aftermath of Swallow’s magic in Riaze. Though it took the form of a low-tier spell, its destructive power would far surpass that of any high-tier magic.
The casting didn’t take long. Soon, the magic circles vanished, signaling the spell’s completion. A cold shiver ran down Sturman’s spine.
Steeling his resolve, he focused everything on maintaining the barrier. This was the ‘Wall of Heart’—one of the legendary 36 Masterpieces. It had already blocked Swallow’s attacks twice. He only needed to hold out for a few more seconds.
I can hold on.
He had to, and he believed he could.
The magic collided with the barrier, unleashing a blinding flash of light. Sturman squeezed his eyes shut. A faint, desperate hope flickered within him—if he could just block this one attack, they would make it.
But when he opened his eyes again, despair took hold.
“It… broke…”
There was no way it could have held.
The barrier had vanished without a trace. The only saving grace was that the spell itself had dissipated along with it.
The buckler on his arm was completely shattered.
One of the 36 Masterpieces had been destroyed.
He had never even heard of a Masterpiece being destroyed so effortlessly.
Only then did the terror he had kept at bay come rushing back. Sturman collapsed to his knees. The old veteran’s indomitable will had been anchored by the power of the Masterpiece. Now that it was gone, he was left utterly defenseless. Crushed by sheer terror, Sturman bowed his head and trembled as his blood pooled on the ground.
What about the Teleportation Magic…?
He prayed desperately that the spell was complete, but there was no sudden sensation of weightlessness.
The casting was still ongoing.
Now, only death awaited them.
“…”
Swallow’s four eyes locked onto Ar. Ar stared back blankly, as if his very soul had been hollowed out. With no options left, his will to fight had evaporated. There was truly no way out. In the distance, Garot’s spell was finally showing signs of completion, but it would take at least two more seconds.
Two seconds was an eternity.
Swallow looked down at Ar, his four eyes filled with utter contempt for the insignificant creature before him.
Staring back with lifeless eyes, Ar managed to utter one final sentence.
“…I admit defeat.”
CRASH!
A Black Thorn plunged toward Ar, and only then did the Teleportation Magic finally activate.
*
A carriage rattled across the plains.
Though it was the dead of night, the surroundings were so bright that even the tiny insects in the grass were visible. To be precise, the light was coming from behind them.
It was only natural, given that the entire city behind them was engulfed in flames.
“I’m pretty sure this wasn’t what we came here to do,” Swallow muttered, lying in the back of the carriage as he watched Knecht slowly being consumed by the inferno.
Cleaning up—destroying Knecht—had been simple enough. He had merely swiped his front paw a few times to ensure it could never be rebuilt, then had Melju help him set fires throughout the ruins. The wind blowing through Knecht did the rest. Fed by the cold, dry air, the flames quickly swelled into a raging inferno. With no one left alive to extinguish the blaze, there was nothing to slow it down.
“Still, we didn’t leave empty-handed, Lord Swallow.”
“Even if it’s only one thing,” a clear, melodic voice chimed in.
Swallow turned to see Rene gently touching the Higanbana tucked into her hair. She had just survived a chaotic, life-or-death battle, yet the flower remained perfectly intact, without a single petal out of place.
Impressive, Swallow thought, before turning his gaze to the pile of stones loaded in the back of the carriage.
It was the Golem, its power source now completely drained of mana. It had collapsed after utterly devastating an entire district of the city. He had unleashed it merely to test the limits of its destructive capabilities, and the results were quite satisfactory. Many golems were poorly designed, inefficiently wasting mana on unnecessary movements, but the golem from the stone quarry was clearly of a higher caliber.
Yes, it did quite well.