Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Shadow of the Gods: Creighton Lukebart (7)
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—Genius.
It was a accolade bestowed only upon the exceptional, one that Austin Rainer had carried with him since childhood.
He was a swordsman who had honed his blade to a considerable level.
He was also a man of solid faith.
He was diligent, devout, and honest.
Yet, what truly elevated him to the ranks of genius above all else was a single shining talent.
Intuition.
Through his intuition, Austin had navigated countless adversities and trials.
He could instinctively sense dangerous positions.
He knew when to retreat.
He understood the choices necessary for survival.
Sometimes that intuition led him to absurd conclusions, but Austin Rainer trusted it above all else.
And thanks to that intuition, Austin had earned the cardinal's trust at a relatively young age.
It was also why he had been able to infiltrate the Veil of Truth, the secret society of black mages.
“…….”
And now, Austin Rainer was watching someone's back while heeding the warning blaring from his intuition.
A grotesquely massive altar.
A dagger stained with viscous blood.
And atop it, the writhing form of a human.
The back of the black mage who had arranged this scene was, to any observer, that of a heretic preparing a perilous ritual.
“The stupid dwarf held things up too long preparing the ritual.”
Shurra-la-la-rak—.
The pages of the grimoire in the black mage's hand began to turn.
The highest-ranking executive leading the Veil of Truth, one of the Five Candles.
The Black Candle—Lionel—was standing alone at the altar to complete this dangerous ritual.
And now, Paladin Austin had successfully infiltrated the altar where Lionel was conducting the ritual.
From behind a large boulder.
He was holding his breath there, gripping his sword alone.
“…….”
Hoo-eup—.
Austin suppressed his breathing as much as possible and observed Lionel's surroundings as the black mage prepared to begin.
A tree behind the black mage.
Another presence emanated from there.
A small-statured man, trembling with a bushy beard.
Anyone could tell at a glance that he was a dwarf.
‘A dwarf? Did the black mages kidnap him to prepare the ritual?’
Dwarf and altar.
Austin's mind easily pieced together their connection as he alternated his gaze between them.
The dwarf, covered head to toe in bruises, was clearly terrified of the black mage.
The black mage in the dark robe had undoubtedly laid hands on him.
It seemed Lionel was using the dwarf as a slave.
“—[Grimoire] activation.”
Lionel, who had terrified the nearby dwarf, slipped a sheet of darkness-stained paper into his grimoire and spoke.
Woooooong—.
Vast mana spread out as Lionel's grimoire began to emit mana light.
Lionel had finished all preparations and was now stepping into his role.
Austin's eyes watched Lionel intently.
Kwaak—.
Strength entered the hand gripping his sword.
‘Should I wait until Duke Creighton arrives?’
As Austin stared at Lionel, someone else's image flashed through his mind.
The impregnable mage, Creighton Lukebart.
In this situation, he was the mage Austin could rely on most.
Creighton might sweep away the hordes of black mages at Thorn Rock the moment he arrived.
‘But that might not give us enough time…….’
However, Creighton had sent Austin ahead first to stop the black mages' final desperate act.
There was no guarantee when he would arrive.
Austin's eyes clouded with doubt.
He wasn't certain.
Meanwhile, Lionel's voice continued to echo.
“—Abyss. Follower of memories. Recreate the miracle.”
Kwaaaaaang—!
A black pillar slammed down onto the altar.
A roar reverberated as the altar shuddered.
Austin, glaring at the sight, raised his sword.
He needed certainty.
He gauged the level between the black mage before him and himself.
“…….”
Kung—!
Anxiety pulsed in Austin's chest.
He wasn't certain.
He lacked the conviction that he could defeat the man before him.
Austin Rainer's intuition told him he could not win against Lionel.
He was a genius paladin, but one lacking experience.
And the Lionel before him was a true sorcerer who wielded black magic.
He was still too green to face such a seasoned black mage.
‘……I can't win.’
His intuition told him so.
He had to wait—.
Swik.
Austin's hand pressed down on his sword.
Patience was always a virtue for a paladin.
He gritted his teeth and continued watching the scene before him.
“—Fragment of the abyss. Great star. Annihilation that swims the obsidian sea. I, Lionel, beseech an audience with you.”
“…….”
“—Behold. Respond. And descend.”
Lionel, glaring at the black pillar, opened his mouth.
Flaaash—!
Contradictory light streaked across the sky.
Kra-rung, kwaru-rung—!
Storm clouds blanketing the heavens unleashed lightning.
Sacrifice and incantation.
An affirmation directed at the world's edge.
The rite to summon a transcendent being took form through Lionel.
“—Know that your worshipper is here.”
And as those words wove into a single narrative.
Jeejek—.
Above Lionel's head, entwined with tentacles, a cracking sound echoed.
Kiiiiik.
Twisting. Warping. Fracturing.
Hearing the rupture creating fissures, Lionel looked up at the sky with a panicked expression.
“Ah—.”
A short sigh escaped him.
At the same moment, Austin's eyes also turned to the same sky.
Jeejek, jeejejeek—.
Beyond the cracking sky.
Dense noise spread there.
An alien landscape.
Lionel fell silent as he beheld it.
“…….”
Silence and stillness swept the altar's surroundings.
No one could find words to describe the scene.
Zizizizik—.
Beyond the spreading noise, red eyes emerged.
One. And another.
Forms overlaid on the noise gazed down upon the ground, altar included.
Zizik, zizizik—.
An incomprehensible vista.
Zizizizizik—.
From concepts beyond cognition, the red eyes multiplied rapidly.
Gazes proliferating at an uncountable speed.
Lionel stared up blankly at the red eyes that seemed to pierce all.
- …….
The fractured space.
The crumbling time.
The world where fissures spread—.
Trembled before the ‘unknown’ gazing down from the heavens.
Kung—.
The tentacles pulsing beneath Lionel halted in place.
They too, quietly, looked up at the sky.
- Kkiiiieeeeeee——!
Then, they began shrieking wildly.
Kung! Kung! Koooung—!
Lionel's tentacles broke free of the black mage's control and rampaged madly.
- Kkiek! Kkiiiieeeeeee——!
Lionel's body, bearing the shadow of the outer world, convulsed.
Deuleuleul—.
His trembling hands could no longer continue the ritual.
The backlash of black magic had locked his body rigid.
Keurk—.
He barely managed to breathe, unable to control his own form.
‘Now! I have to act right now—.’
And Austin, watching the scene, finally felt a surge of intuition and rose from his spot.
An opportunity had arisen.
For some reason, the black mage Lionel's tentacles had slipped from control.
Now, he could kill the black mage before him.
Austin's intuition assured him of it.
‘If now, I can kill him!’
Kwaang!
Paladin Austin's legs kicked off the ground, charging forward.
Roughened breaths.
A gaze locked on the enemy ahead.
Within it, Austin's time began to slow.
Chalna—.
The brief moment stretched thin, his perception reaching a distant realm.
The inexperienced paladin had entered a time incomprehensible to him.
“———.”
Kung-. Kung-. Kung-. Kung—.
His heartbeat gradually slowed.
Austin's sword aimed at the foe within the slowed time.
Lionel, overwhelmed by the rift in the sky, stood frozen, awaiting his blade.
“———.”
The paladin seized the opportunity of a lifetime, his sword baring its ferocity.
A razor-sharp blade.
A flash of sword light.
The instant Austin's strike sought to pulverize the enemy before him.
Kung—!
Paladin Austin's intuition rang another alarm.
“Ah…….”
—You will die.
The moment he aimed his sword, Austin intuited it.
If he killed Lionel, he himself would die.
Somehow, he knew it to be true.
“This…….”
The moment Austin, sensing danger, abandoned stopping the ritual and tried to retreat.
Kung—!
His intuition rang out once more.
—Everyone here except me will die.
This time, a different warning resounded.
Contradictory warnings.
Yet Austin's intuition pointed to a path forward.
To survive, he had to flee this place immediately.
That was the only answer given to him.
“Damn, you, paladin……bastard……!”
Austin's eyes, steeped in hesitation, turned to his foe.
Lionel's sharp voice—.
The slowed time began to flow again.
The fleeting moment granted to him was not infinite.
“…….”
The key to halting the ritual still lay in his grasp.
Now, he had to decide.
Die.
Or kill everyone.
In this binary choice, everything urged Austin to choose.
“Die, you——.”
Lionel's head began to turn slowly.
Kkaduk—.
Amid overflowing intuition, Austin's teeth cracked.
“I——.”
Suddenly, Creighton's voice echoed in his ear.
—“I trust you, Sir Austin.”
Creighton had said he trusted Austin.
What exactly had he trusted?
Had he trusted Austin's intuition?
Believed he would survive the ordeal?
Or believed he would save everyone from it—.
He couldn't know the right answer.
Amid echoing doubts, the paladin's eyes gleamed.
“……Sorry, Mary.”
But one thing he could be certain of.
Austin Rainer.
He was the Church's paladin.
He did not flee from injustice.
That was Austin's conclusion.
“Keuheok……!”
Kwadeuk—!
Austin's blade pierced Lionel's heart.
The sensation of flesh parting.
At the same moment, the yawning sky slammed shut.
Kwaaaaaang—!
A heavy roar shook the space.
Nausea threatening to surge churned Austin's insides.
“Keuheok… Keuheeeok……!”
“Dieeeeeee——!”
Kwajik, kwadeudeuk—!
Austin twisted the blade in his grip.
Kuluk! Keuheeeok!
Blackened blood erupted from Lionel's mouth, his heart lost.
The black mage's ritual was interrupted.
The darkening sky began to regain its light.
In the scene of the halted ritual, Austin's eyes turned to the black tentacles.
- One for one.
Wriggle.
The tentacle undulated.
- I will claim the price.
Wriggle, wriggle.
The shrieking tentacle moved.
From Austin's mouth, watching it, blood gushed forth with a walak—.
“Ah, ah…….”
Kuluk—!
Coughing up blood, Austin's eyes looked to his abdomen.
When had it happened?
Somehow, a massive hole had been torn through his abdomen.
Teolseok.
His powerless hand reached toward empty air.
“I… knew… it would… end like this……!”
A deep sigh escaped Austin as he stretched his hand skyward.
The moment he killed Lionel, he would die too.
He had intuited it from the instant he thrust the sword.
Yet even so, Austin had driven it home.
Because he understood a paladin's duty.
“Keuuk, keueuk……!”
The wound was grave.
Even treatment in the Holy City wouldn't save him.
Austin's consciousness rapidly faded with the severe injury.
Amid hazy memories, his life flashed before him.
“Ma, ry… I couldn't… keep my promise…….”
Holy City. Guide. Sword. Knight.
And Mary—.
Amid spilling life, Austin struggled to hold onto consciousness.
Swik—.
Austin's hand delved into his bosom.
“Heu…….”
Consciousness blurred.
Fading. Flickering.
And fading again.
In the confusion, Austin kept moving his hand.
Groping through his bosom.
He still had work to do.
“…….”
How much time passed in his blurring mind?
Rustle, rustle—.
His fingers finally grasped a paper he had found earlier in his bosom.
A paper detailing the enemies threatening the Holy City.
Augmented with Austin's own blood-written insights on the black mages.
That paper was now in Austin's hand.
“Kuluk……!”
Spitting blood, Austin barely extracted the paper from his bosom.
The information he had uncovered here.
It had to reach someone trustworthy.
Keuheok—!
Unable to stem the surging blood, Austin clutched the bloodied paper tightly.
“There was a commotion, so I rushed here, but it seems I've arrived far too late.”
“…….”
“Are you alright?”
Then, a familiar voice echoed in his ear.
Chief Mage Creighton.
The voice of the mage he had trusted and sent here.
The voice of the ‘trustworthy person’ Paladin Austin had hoped for.
Teobuk, teobuk—.
Creighton's footsteps approached him.
“I'm… going… to die…….”
Kuluk!
A strained voice was wrung from Austin's blood-spitting mouth.
Hm—.
Creighton let out a low hum at Austin's words.
“I suppose so. Doesn't look like you'll pull through.”
“The… other… mages……?”
“I ordered them to retreat with the wounded as much as possible, pulling back the magic corps.”
“…….”
“Given the emergency, I judged it faster to come alone.”
Creighton's solemn voice resounded toward Austin, lying on the ground bleeding.
Good—.
Paladin Austin thought so.
His sacrifice had saved everyone.
All thanks to his intuition acting at the crucial moment.
“Duke… Creighton, I… did my best…….”
“Seems like you did. Well done, Sir Austin.”
Creighton offered Austin his respects.
The northern hero's words swelled Austin's chest with pride.
Swik—.
Had he lost too much blood?
Austin's body was gradually growing cold.
“……Duke Creighton.”
Austin mustered his strength and extended the paper in his hand.
He still had work left.
“This…….”
His trembling hand held up the blood-soaked paper.
Information on the site investigated by the black mages.
Augmented with insights Austin had intuited himself.
Tok—.
The neatly folded paper slipped from Austin's hand.
Creighton's hand quietly picked it up.
“This… to you…….”
“…….”
“To you… I entrust it…….”
Sararak—.
Creighton unfolded the paper.
Austin gave a faint smile at the sight.
Creighton would recognize its value.
He was a soldier who loved the Empire's peace above all, before being a fine mage.
“Is this what you investigated?”
“Please… deliver… this information… to the Church…….”
Thus, Austin trusted without doubt.
Creighton would surely relay this to the magic corps and the Church—.
With that faith, he gazed quietly up at him.
Thinking it was okay to close his eyes like this.
As he recalled his beloved's face, feeling sorry, and was about to shut his eyes.
“Sir Austin. What a pointless endeavor.”
“Ah……?”
Chiiik, chiik—.
The sound echoing in his ear yanked his sinking consciousness back.
He heard what he should not, and his eyes flew wide.
The document in Creighton's hand.
The information Austin had gathered infiltrating this place was being torn to shreds.
“Why……?”
Austin stared at Creighton in disbelief.
The impregnable sorcerer, Creighton Lukebart.
The paper in his hand was being ripped apart.
Moreover, Creighton's actions didn't stop there.
“—Ignite.”
Hwaruruk—.
He set the paper scraps ablaze with magic.
With the incantation, Creighton scattered the burning papers everywhere.
All the information Austin had gathered turned to ash and dispersed.
“Ah, ah…….”
A cry of despair escaped Austin's lips.
Eyes filled with shock captured Creighton's form.
But Creighton brushed the soot from his hands unperturbed.
Ttak, tak—.
Having dusted off his palms, Creighton's eyes met Austin's.
“Want to ask why I did this?”
“…….”
“Because the information you investigated is inconvenient for me.”
Swik.
Creighton drew a cigar from his pocket.
Lit it, and brought it to his lips.
Huu—.
Inhaling the lit cigar, Creighton regarded Austin with impassive eyes.
As Austin's gaze stared at the unbelievable reality.
Combat mage Creighton Lukebart spoke.
“Sir Austin. Better late than never, allow me to introduce myself.”
“…….”
“A member of the Celestia Secret Society, Creighton Lukebart.”
Paladin Austin Rainer.
Only then did he realize his faith had been betrayed.