Chapter 298: What is More Important Than Pride (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 298: What is More Important Than Pride (2)
"Haa... haa... haa..."
Her breath hitched raggedly.
Her trembling fingers made it clear that her physical strength and mana were completely depleted.
Alice painfully raised her last remaining harpoon.
"Monster..."
"What terrifying strength. Damn it. Is she even mortal?"
"Fewer than twenty of us survived..."
The members of the Revisita Clan shook their heads in disbelief.
Over three hundred clansmen had emerged from the shadows as reinforcements.
Because they were slaughtered as soon as they appeared, more and more had crossed over, eventually reaching this staggering number.
Yet, barely twenty of them now stood in one piece.
Even that was only because Matriarch Abigail had joined the fray. Had she merely watched with folded arms, they would have faced total annihilation.
"I thought Amuram was a fool when he was defeated... but looking at this now, I can see why."
Abigail let out a soft sigh.
She had thought Alice would be a wingless tiger with her Unique Sacred Chant sealed...
But it seemed they were the ones who had underestimated her.
However, this long, grueling battle was finally drawing to a close.
Only one final step remained.
"You were truly magnificent. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you the strongest Matriarch in history."
[The Unique Sacred Chant 'Scythe of the Ghost Tree' awakens.]
Kieeeee!
The massive eye embedded in the scythe began to shriek furiously.
Even without a mouth, its ear-splitting roar reverberated throughout the entire city.
Whoosh!
It was at that exact moment that Abigail's body dissolved into smoke and vanished.
A teleportation akin to Blink.
Instantly appearing behind Alice, Abigail raised her scythe high.
...Too fast.
Alice instinctively swung her harpoon.
Deflecting it completely was out of the question, but if she could at least deflect its trajectory...
Crack!
The harpoon shattered in a single blow.
As if forgetting the typical limitations of a long weapon, Abigail wielded the scythe with absurd speed.
"Aaah!"
Crimson blood sprayed from Alice's body.
True to a Unique Sacred Chant possessing ultimate cutting power, a harpoon made from 'Blood Rod' was simply no match.
Alice barely managed to steady her trembling legs.
She had to move.
She had to keep moving to hold out even a moment longer.
"Running away at this point...? No, are you trying to buy time? Fufu. You really choose to do the most foolish things until the very end."
The corners of Abigail's mouth curled upward.
Now that Alice had turned her back, victory was assured.
They say a wounded beast is the most dangerous, but that only applies when it still has the strength to fight back.
A completely exhausted beast would only struggle pathetically before being dragged down from its throne.
Slash!
Slice!
With every swing of the scythe, fresh streams of red blood sprayed into the air.
Her clothes, now reduced to tatters, could barely even be called clothing anymore.
"Ah... haa... haa..."
Alice's breathing grew even more ragged.
She forced her blurred vision and unresponsive legs to move.
However, having lost all sense of direction, her body did nothing but stumble repeatedly.
"What's wrong? Giving up already? Try running a bit more. Struggle like a bug to survive!"
Abigail's mockery continued.
But why?
Alice felt no anger.
I guess... I had resigned myself to this more than I thought.
She had never imagined she would face her end with such calm acceptance.
If there was only one regret...
Just once more, at the very end...
She wanted to see her contractor's face.
That single wish was her only lingering attachment.
Thud...
Alice's knees hit the ground.
"Finally!"
"Kill her!"
"The enemy of our people! The disgrace of our clan!"
"Woahhh!"
Wild cheers erupted.
Like spectators demanding the execution of a defeated gladiator in the Colosseum, the onlookers thirsted for blood.
"Don't worry too much. I'll sever your head before you can even feel the pain."
Abigail pressed the scythe against Alice's neck.
The cold sensation crept up her nape and brushed against her cheek.
With this, her short journey was over.
"..."
Alice quietly closed her eyes.
Whoosh!
She heard the sound of the scythe... slicing horizontally through the air.
But right then,
Vroooooom!
An unfamiliar Gate materialized in front of everyone.
At the same time, runes of a form never seen before enveloped Alice.
Clang!
The scythe was blocked.
Time itself seemed to freeze.
* * *
Tap!
Abigail leaped back, widening the distance in less than a fraction of a second.
A barrier... capable of blocking my scythe?
It was impossible.
There was no way such a thing could exist.
Yet, she could not deny the reality unfolding right before her eyes forever.
Just then,
Vroooom!
The green-tinted surface of the Gate rippled.
As the Gate, adorned with unfamiliar runes, opened completely, a man wearing a black longcoat stepped out.
In one hand, he held a segmented sword.
And in the other, a silver pistol.
It was Jinhyuk.
"...?!"
Alice slowly raised her head.
Life returned to her fading pupils.
"You... shouldn't... be here. It's dangerous... Why on earth? Why did you come? Why did you come?!"
With what kind of resolve had she given up her life and bent her pride?
She had thrown away everything just to save him.
So why, of all people, had he come here!
Her voice trembled.
The emotions she had suppressed so fiercely surged violently.
Yet, at the same time, she was incredibly grateful that Jinhyuk had come for her at this very moment.
Without a word, Jinhyuk took off his coat and draped it over Alice's shoulders.
Then, he slowly stood up and stepped forward.
Step.
His footsteps... were cold.
Even the sound of his walking was heavily, quietly subdued.
"Are you the one who made our little vampire cry?"
He asked.
Demanding to know who the culprit behind this was.
Meeting his gaze, Abigail smirked.
"And what if I am?"
"Then you die."
Churururuk...
The blade of the segmented sword extended.
Click!
An attribute bullet inscribed with runes slotted into the chamber.
"Insolent human. Who do you think you're talking to? Matriarch, let me cut this bastard down!"
A clansman drawing a rapier lunged forward.
He was fast and precise.
His skill in slipping into the blind spot to thrust his sword was flawless.
"It's over!"
However,
Splat!
The body of the smugly smiling clansman was instantly split in two.
It happened so fast there was no time to react.
Flick, flick...
The segmented sword shook off the blood onto the road.
"You're next."
"A mere human like you, challenging me, a Matriarch? If you're acting cocky just because you can use a slightly unusual barrier, you are making a grave mistake."
"You're overestimating yourself for a mere Matriarch. If I couldn't handle someone like you... I wouldn't have come here in the first place."
"I look forward to seeing if you can spout those same words as you draw your last breath."
Abigail tilted her head to the side.
At her signal, the remaining clansmen prepared to move as if they had been waiting for this.
"Has he lost his mind..."
"A human interfering in a vampire conflict. Utterly insane."
"He knows how to handle a sword."
"It's fine. He's just one man. If three of us team up, we can stop him from swinging that strange sword."
"I'll show you the difference in our levels, brat."
The clansmen, who had been utterly helpless against Alice, stepped forward with confidence.
Beside the vampires stood grey wolves as large as bulls, summoned from who knows where.
They were 'Pasod Wolves', one of the familiars controlled by the bloodline.
Due to their ferocious nature, they were extremely difficult to tame, but once unleashed, they possessed a relentless tenacity, never giving up until their enemy's throat was torn out.
"Grrr..."
"Bark! Bark! Bark!"
The Revisita Clan and a massive pack of Pasod Wolves.
All bared their fangs to tear Jinhyuk apart.
It was laughable.
How their attitude shifted so drastically simply because he was a human.
"I don't have time to deal with each of you individually."
And above all, there was no need to.
"Come out."
At Jinhyuk's call, the 'Cord of Conviction' was activated.
A dimensional rift tore open wide to his left and right.
From within,
Bellus and Ophelia emerged.
"You bastards... How dare you lay a hand on Lady Alice!"
"...Is it Matriarch Abigail this time? Our family head really causes massive incidents wherever she goes."
And then,
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Heavy footsteps echoed through the connected cord.
A moment later,
a massive roar followed.
"Kroooar!"
"Ohhh!"
"Prepare for battle!"
The 'Trolls', non-human species of the Tower whom Jinhyuk had befriended at the Freshwater Lake.
Caracal, their leader, greeted Jinhyuk from the very front.
To be honest, Jinhyuk had been a bit worried since it had been a while.
But as expected of a hero of the Troll race, he seemed to have grown remarkably in the meantime.
He was incomparably stronger than when they had last met.
Of course, no matter how strong they were, they couldn't match the vampires in individual quality. However, they possessed a force at least ten times larger than the vampires.
It was time to clearly demonstrate that there is no match for sheer numbers.
"Human. I have come to keep my promise. Tell us what we must do."
Caracal rested his long spear on his shoulder.
"Take care of the small fry."
"And you?"
"I'm going to take off the head."
There was only one person here who could defeat Abigail.
"Very well. We shall follow your command."
Caracal gestured to the soldiers behind him.
"Kalam. Prepare to charge from the left in groups of three. We will restrict the Pasod Wolves' mobility and systematically crush them one by one."
"Understood. Deploying immediately."
Centered around the flags, the troll commanders moved in perfect order.
In the blink of an eye,
the formed army swept through the city center.
Boom! Crash!
A massive impact erupted as the heavily armored monsters charged.
"Aaargh!"
"Kroooar!"
A full-scale battle broke out, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.
* * *
"W-what on earth is happening right now...!"
Abigail looked utterly bewildered by the series of unexpected events.
She knew she had to respond immediately or face danger,
but she had no idea where to even begin.
Y-yes... I must contact Exencion first. He isn't far, so if I ask for help, he'll come right away.
It didn't matter what variables arose.
As long as Exencion and the Ataraxia clansmen who followed him arrived, they could easily crush any variable.
But then,
"This is no time... to be looking away, is it?"
Jinhyuk's voice echoed from behind.
Boom!
"Argh!"
With a heavy impact, Abigail was sent flying to the side.
Instantly, the Scythe of the Ghost Tree slashed wildly through the air.
But Jinhyuk had already leaped back to create distance.
"Kuh! A bastard who can do nothing without a surprise attack... Huh?"
A shiver.
A cold chill ran down Abigail's spine.
She saw runes layering over one another, taking shape.
"Here I come."
An incredibly alien mana surged around Jinhyuk's body.
With the lost language...
and through the 'Ancient Barrier' copied from Beltor,
he manifested the ultimate barrier.
[The 11-Star Barrier 'Zodiac' is deployed!]
Starlight from the twilight sky connected along a single line.
Responding to the new mana, star after star wove together to form a single constellation.
[The 'Sagittarius' of December awakens!]