Chapter 398
Chapter 398
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 398
Chapter Title: Unknown Threat (4)
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Temiran McClaire's blood-red eyes closely scrutinized the radiant holy sword aimed straight at him.
Even as he did, his mind raced at full speed, desperately searching for the best way to turn the situation around.
'Alright, I've bought some time for now... but what do I do next?'
The sudden arrival of Heinrich Saint Landgard, the saint of the Church of the Main God and champion of the Main God—the Knight of Light.
His intrusion after shattering Temiran's inner world, 'Behind the Twilight,' was an enormous variable.
Just his presence alone made it impossible to guarantee a clean escape.
'Annoying. No wonder things were going too smoothly.'
Temiran's eyes twitched at the sharp sword energy that seemed ready to pierce him at any moment.
The opponent's aura probed for openings here and there, relentlessly seeking a weakness.
In response, Temiran twisted the surrounding flow to threaten the girl collapsed behind him.
The encroaching pressure faltered and retreated slightly, but soon resumed circling stealthily, waiting for another chance.
"Hoo—persistent, aren't you?"
"Tch, that's my line."
For now, the opponent couldn't rush in recklessly because of the girl behind him, but prolonging this standoff benefited Temiran not at all.
This place was the heart of enemy territory for him, an apostle of a god exiled to the Abyss.
'I managed to restore the inner world somehow... but the situation inside has probably all leaked to the outside by now. No guarantee it won't shatter again.'
If the great sorceress crone hadn't interfered at first—or if the high elf's intervention had been just a bit later—he could've secured his target and slipped away without issue.
But coincidences piled upon coincidences, grabbing at his ankles, and now the situation had spiraled into the worst possible outcome.
...No, in truth, he already knew.
This wasn't mere coincidence. It was a catastrophe born from his god completely losing control over the causality It had desperately clung to.
'Every scheme failing one after another—no wonder It took a hit.'
From the Immortal King's emergence to the flood of madness and the revolutionary's schemes.
Orchestrating continental-scale disasters without paying any price? Impossible.
Especially while confined in the Abyss's hellish environment—the burden was even heavier.
Yet most of those aggressive bets had failed.
It was like scraping together every last coin for a reckless venture, only to lose it all.
Temiran, not yet fully prepared as an apostle, had been forced to act ahead of schedule because of it.
He'd hoped to succeed with his remaining contingencies, find a path to recovery, and secure a reversal... but this situation suggested even that had gone down the drain.
"...Thinking about it pisses me off again. In the end, I'm just cleaning up after others and fixing the mess? Ugh, what am I suffering like this for—fame and fortune?"
"I agree completely, Temiran McClaire. Why not just surrender peacefully here? Wouldn't that save us all the trouble?"
"Tch, if only I could..."
The boyish youth smacked his lips at Heinrich's words.
Unfortunately, he wasn't in a position to act on his own desires.
Bound by a slave contract, he had no choice but to stick it out even knowing the ship he was on was sinking.
Temiran scratched the back of his head and grumbled.
"What can I do? If I'm told to jump, I jump. If you think about it, you're in a similar spot..."
He trailed off mid-sentence, freezing.
His gaze dropped to his feet.
'Wait, the shadow...?'
He noticed the subtle anomaly purely by chance.
An angle so faintly off that it seemed perfectly normal at a glance.
But trusting his instincts, he moved immediately.
And right after—
———!
A sonic boom beyond audible range exploded.
The phenomenon struck abruptly, skipping any preparation as if intermediate steps had been erased.
Ku-gu-gu—!
A gale-force wind roared, shredding the air.
"...Close. Good instincts."
From the storm's center came a voice chillingly calm.
Tap-tap—
Amid the chaos, clear footsteps rang out as a man in a long coat—uncertain when he'd arrived—stepped forward slowly, coat billowing.
His cold-featured handsome face showed no regret despite his words, as he rubbed blood from his fingertips.
His red eyes turned to a dusty corner.
In his opposite arm, he lightly cradled the fainted girl.
"Mister—!"
Aaron, who had squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden gale while clutching his grandma and Rafi, lit up and shouted at the sight.
How could he not be thrilled? The one he'd longed for appeared out of nowhere and rescued his sister.
Of course, he was grateful to the saint who helped in that desperate moment, but to the boy, Heinz—whom he knew personally—was even more welcome.
"...What the hell? When did he get in?"
Then, from where Heinz looked, a low growl echoed.
Temiran emerged from the settling dust, his small frame covered in grime.
Blood dripped from one dust-caked arm.
"I didn't detect any intrusion. How...? And this..."
His gaze fell to the wound on his arm.
Not a serious injury, but the unilateral damage from the surprise attack mattered.
Oddly, the wound wasn't regenerating properly.
No—now it wasn't just failing to heal; necrosis spread from the site like potent poison.
Pu-hwak—!
Temiran grimaced, tearing and incinerating the wounded flesh himself.
'...Not poison. A dominance clash between vampiric factors of different natures.'
Hostile blood infused with adversarial essence had infiltrated like guerrilla forces.
But understanding didn't make it acceptable.
This was his home ground—his own body—with defenses far from weak.
Yet a few drops of enemy blood had done this?
"What the hell did you do?!"
He couldn't comprehend, but it wasn't strange.
Heinz 2nd's vampiric factor had undergone monstrous mutations, reaching evolutionary perfection.
Against standard immunity reliant on individual tier, it was a one-against-thousands monster.
"Who knows?"
Heinz 2nd had no intention of explaining, merely smirking arrogantly.
He casually swept back his glossy black hair with spotless hands.
"Not the important point right now, is it?"
His taunting words carried a hint of mockery.
Temiran's body jolted, face twisting.
He hurriedly reached sideways and leaped again.
Kwaaang—!
A brilliant beam swelled rapidly, unleashing platinum waves like crashing tides.
Like a beast freed from all restraints, the radiant pulse devoured space voraciously.
Temiran barely blocked, one hand charred black, grinding his teeth.
"Kuh! Ambush! For a saint, you're despicably petty...!"
"Hm? That's a fresh reaction. Pretty casual talk for a hostage-taker."
But Heinrich just chuckled.
They were both eyeing gaps amid the tension—whose fault was it for getting distracted?
...Though he'd induced that situation himself.
"We've talked plenty already, Temiran McClaire. If you still have more to say, I'll gladly listen."
The silver-haired beauty, wings of light unfurled and holy aura enveloping him, smiled softly.
"Of course, a little procedure first. So we can chat more comfortably and safely. Will you cooperate?"
"...Ha, hahaha. Damn it."
The flow had completely shifted.
Temiran frantically searched for options, but the two gave him no opening.
'Grab the hostage again...'
The girl was impossible—out of reach.
The rumored 'Vampire King' protected her personally.
His earlier move confirmed the rumors weren't exaggerated.
And their compatibility was nightmarish.
Heinrich was the hunter-counter to his apostle nature; Heinz, a fellow kin but apex predator.
Unfinished as an apostle and rushed into the world, Temiran couldn't fully escape his racial frame—making Heinz, a Sacred Blood and 'Lord of all Blood,' a nightmare matchup.
'Others... tch, that high elf makes it impossible.'
Lydia had gathered the injured great sorceress, involved residents, and summoned spirits for ironclad defenses.
Instead of joining the saint against the foe, she'd entrusted that side fully, focusing on minimizing civilian harm so he could fight freely.
Rushing there now would only snag his ankle further.
'No choice. No hope like this. Cut losses and retreat first.'
If he'd known, he'd have bolted right after the saint appeared!
Greed had worsened things—better move now before it got uglier.
Ku-ru-ru—
With his resolve, 'Behind the Twilight' shook violently.
This space was a miniature world shaped from his thoughts and essence.
Not just a barrier—it could do more.
'Using it as a one-shot will cost more than it gains. But at this point, no time for that.'
Kwa-gwang! Bang!
At his will, the world turned hostile, expelling intruders fiercely.
Quakes split the earth, lava erupted.
Air turned toxic, lightning cascaded, lethal radiation spewed from the ground.
An extreme environment no ordinary person could survive a second.
"Pointless!"
Heinrich's wings flared with his shout.
Holy sanctuary spread instantly, shielding those inside.
The space self-collapsed, energy surging endlessly—not easily slashable like entry, but holding out was feasible.
Precisely what Temiran wanted.
'That binds the saint. Now for the rest...'
He wouldn't last long.
Exhausted, the space would crumble.
But Temiran had no time to lament that.
"I can hear your scheming from here."
"Hah, that's all I learned watching from above!"
The Vampire King blocked his path.
Vampiric instinct screamed: pure predator—unwinnable head-on.
'But with the whole inner world rampaging, focusing solely on evasion...'
Not impossible.
Especially with that burden in his arms!
"Farewell! Let's never meet again!"
He seized a split-second gap and escaped the inner world.
Sealed it tight behind— they wouldn't follow immediately.
Enough time to flee fully via an Abyss rift.
'Not a total loss. Observed the fragment-bearer—tracking won't be as hard. They can't guard her forever.'
Veil of causality lifted once—opportunities aplenty ahead.
Thus self-justified, as Temiran stepped to leave—
Gu-uuung—
His body froze under immense unidentified pressure.
"...What is this?"
His gaze followed the energy upward.
There, covering Tar拉克's entire sky: a colossal magic circle.
"Finally out."
At its center—above Temiran's head, looking down.
Isea, prepared in advance on signal, smiled faintly.
Mages could work miracles beyond their power with time and materials, but she was special.
"How long since I prepared a spell so leisurely?"
Her unique skill, Infinite Power, multiplied her handleable energy near-infinitely.
Not just mana—fuel for spells.
Gu-gu-gu—
Mental power essential for rituals yet unquantifiable; cognitive, computational brainpower too.
If she perceived them as such, they became prime 'energy sources' at her disposal.
'Well, only recently possible for me.'
Quantifying abstracts isn't easy.
Trials forged her growth.
Strengthened before Immortal King clash? Excellent news.
Isea gazed down coldly.
The being struggling futilely in her painstakingly layered seal.
This was the saintess's foreseen 'unknown threat.'
No letting it slip here.
Gu-gu-gu—
The massive circle spun intricately like clockwork gears.
And—
"Stop." ⟨ Word of the Archmage ⟩
The archmage's newly transcendent word froze time at one point on the ground.
A mere instant—not long.
But enough for the predator fleeing the inner world to seize the fugitive's nape.