Silence. Nothing Remains But Silence.
A massive dust cloud, which had billowed up like the sky clearing after a storm, slowly dissipated. Hallidery narrowed his eyes and glared at his enemies.
"Hoh."
They hadn't fallen yet. Aljes, who had been crouching behind his massive greatsword like a shield, slowly uncurled his body. His armor creaked noisily. It was proof that while he'd survived the attack, he couldn't completely ignore the damage.
"Hup!"
There was no conversation. Aljes charged like an enraged bull, tilting his greatsword diagonally toward Hallidery.
Boom!
The sword clashed with the barrier, kicking up a ferocious gust. Hallidery retreated a step behind his shield, then swung his staff in one fluid motion, unleashing a burst of mana.
Kaboom!
Dark arrows fired in rapid succession, pummeling Aljes's body.
"Use―less―!"
The Death Knight blocked the storm of magic with his body alone. The oversized monsters traded blows without respite. The barrier shattered and reformed repeatedly, while countless arrows dented Aljes's armor. Sparks flew everywhere, and scattered mana swirled chaotically.
The balance of power was perfect. A sword that destroyed anything versus a shield that blocked anything. Neither seemed on the verge of collapsing in one blow.
Hallidery and Aljes. The two powerhouses would continue their deadly exchange for hours more, each hunting the other's life.
But that wouldn't end it. A fight needed a conclusion. Kill or be killed.
So how to shatter this perfect equilibrium?
"Now―!"
A blind spot. One invisible unless you focused completely. No matter how strong Hallidery was, he was still human at his core. Not a true lich, he couldn't defend perfectly in all directions.
Right behind Aljes's massive frame. Hallidery's overlooked weak point, a place where he could lose his life.
Yoahim burst out from there.
"Grahhh!"
He sensed the aura of death. Hallidery felt a momentary terror of mortality. Because what pierced his chest now wasn't just a sword—it was Kakarri's authority.
"Insolent fool!"
Yoahim's eyes widened at the storm of mana hurtling toward him. He knew exactly why this was happening.
Too shallow!
The strike had been too shallow. He should have thrust deep and finished it, but it hadn't penetrated properly. And this was the result.
"Yo―ahim!"
Aljes's focus wavered as Yoahim flew backward. The moment he instinctively turned his head, Hallidery swung his staff and shouted.
"Drain!"
The black magic that stole mana and life force. Using it, Hallidery siphoned Aljes's mana to heal his wounds, then slammed the staff's tip into the ground.
"Rise!"
Rumble rumble boom!
One of the coffins stored in his subspace trembled, then its lid shattered. What emerged was a knight in armor.
A Death Knight?
Even if it was a Death Knight, levels mattered. A Lv.112 Hallidery couldn't summon one as strong as Aljes.
No, that's not a Death Knight.
Blue light leaked from the armor's joints—like will-o'-the-wisps animating it from within.
Its true nature was a Living Armor, not a Death Knight.
"Kill the apostle!"
The Living Armor faithfully obeyed its master's command. Sword in one hand, shield in the other, the armored figure charged at Yoahim.
"You think I'll just take it?!"
Two battles erupted in the same space. Aljes versus Hallidery. Yoahim versus the Living Armor.
They swung swords and hurled spells at their foes, locked in fights that would end only with death.
What power...!
Yoahim gritted his teeth at the overwhelming shock from clashing swords with the Living Armor. He hadn't checked its level, but it was clearly higher than his.
Clang! Clang!
The Living Armor wielded sword and shield adeptly, pressing Yoahim hard. He had some confidence in his swordsmanship, but piercing its defense seemed impossible. Its sword arm and shield arm moved with fluid independence, like two people controlling them, parrying Yoahim's strikes. Sometimes it blocked with the sword, other times bashed with the shield.
Yoahim, who had started on the offensive, gradually lost ground and shifted to defense.
"Kuh!"
The Living Armor's attacks weren't limited to sword and shield. Contrary to expectations of sluggishness from its heavy armor, it was skilled in hand-to-hand combat. After slashing with the sword and shoving with the shield, it whipped its leg like a flail.
Yoahim tumbled across the floor with a choked gasp after the kick to his gut. The Living Armor followed up without mercy, but he rolled aside to dodge. Forcing down the pain, he sprang up like lightning.
Blood streamed from his mouth, but he had no time to care.
I'm gonna die for real!
It hurt. He'd survived near-death scrapes before, but pain was pain.
Yoahim bit his lip and focused on the Living Armor's movements.
Normal attacks won't cut it.
A Living Armor was just animated armor. Swords alone couldn't easily breach it. Aiming for the joints was possible but difficult, and it wouldn't deal much damage anyway. Because inside wasn't a living body—just a soul.
Unless he struck the soul core directly, it wouldn't matter.
I need to infuse mana into the sword.
Just swinging wouldn't work. He needed a single, armor-shattering blow.
Not sure if it'll work, but...
Yoahim recalled Aljes smashing the gate. The overwhelming sight of mana gathered at the greatsword's tip, pulverizing the gate in one strike.
Infuse mana into the sword. But not sword aura—that was for swordmasters.
Yoahim's skills weren't there yet. But it didn't matter. He wasn't refining mana along the blade for sharpness.
Instead, he evoked the feel of swinging a blunt weapon.
Gather mana, compress it.
Aljes had concentrated mana at his sword's tip like a blunt mace, then released it in a burst to demolish the gate.
Yoahim was merely imitating that.
Gather mana at one point, increase density. Then swing and unleash it all at once.
A wry chuckle escaped him even now. People might call him mad if they heard. Or scoff.
It sounded simple, but without swordmaster prowess, even attempting sword aura on a weapon was rare. Infusing mana into one was no easy feat.
But I'm not swinging sword aura. Just mimicking it.
Manipulate mana delicately, focus it to a point. Odds were fifty-fifty, but Yoahim trusted his ability.
He'd never formally studied magic, yet he'd combined two spells to invent a new one before. Yoahim didn't know what a genius was. But if it meant succeeding on the first try at something requiring years of training—just by thinking it through—then yes, he was one.
"Take... this!"
Preparation complete. Mana flickered at the sword's tip, hanging like a glowing iron ball, asserting its presence.
Draw the sword, then swing. Gather mana, then release. Start, then finish.
"...Eat this!"
The mana-charged sword lunged. The Living Armor reflexively crossed shield and sword in defense. Planted firmly, as if daring him to come.
Yoahim charged. Spear versus shield.
Light flashed. A roar echoed, and a fierce wind howled.
And the end was...
"Gr...uhhh!"
The armor crumpled. No—shards flew like torn paper.
The soul trapped inside shrieked in agony, as if ripping apart.
But Yoahim didn't stop. Roaring louder than the screams, he pressed the Living Armor relentlessly. As if to end it now, to see it through here, to claim victory.
The mana surge didn't halt, hurling the tattered Living Armor's body backward.
Unable to resist the immense force, it hurtled through the air at terrifying speed.
And where the wrecked Living Armor flew...
"Useless trash!"
Hallidery ground his teeth at the incoming projectile. He'd already taken heavy damage fighting Aljes. Drain had stolen mana, but not enough to heal everything—wounds accumulated faster than he could recover.
But it didn't matter. Aljes was hurt too. His black armor was ragged like the Living Armor's, movements dulled.
So Hallidery didn't fear defeat. Apostles were mere annoyances. One more hit, and Aljes was done.
He wouldn't lose! That confident thought made him ignore the flying Living Armor.
"...What?!"
Killing intent. Hallidery sensed someone targeting him. But from where? Not Aljes—the direction was wrong.
Then where? What could possibly threaten him now?
A sharp throb. His chest ached. The wound from the first strike.
"No way!"
He spun, thrusting his staff toward his guess. Mana gathered to fire a spell, but...
"Look―at―me!"
Aljes's attack disrupted it. He twisted away, but his aim and focus shattered.
That tiny gap—just an instant.
The blind-spot strike pierced it.
From behind the flying Living Armor, Yoahim leaped with his sword.
"Die...!"
Crunch!
"I... can't accept this..."
This time, it went deep. Yoahim felt it in his fingertips. The authority of death claimed the necromancer who walked death's path.
"Th-this... death is..."
Thud.
Red blood soaked the floor.