Chapter 36
Chapter 36 - First Try(2)
My vision blurred for a moment.
I hurriedly turned and ran to Lord Margrave.
"No! A-are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy... Cough!"
Lord Margrave waved his hand dismissively but broke into violent coughing.
Drip drip. Blood poured out. His cough was half air, half blood. At that moment, I realized.
'...It failed.'
It's over. His body was no longer in a condition to fight.
He had been pushing himself to the limit.
"... Ah... ugh...!"
I couldn't even ask if he was okay.
Lord Margrave would surely say he was fine. Even if his body was destroyed or split in two, he would insist on continuing the operation. That's the kind of man he was.
In the end, I clenched my fists and bit my lips in helplessness.
"...I'm sorry. Because of my incompetence..."
Lord Margrave looked at me as if asking what I was talking about. He tried to smile, but his face soon contorted in pain.
'Damn it. What a messed up situation...!'
There's a limit to delusions. There's a limit to getting ahead of yourself.
Me keeping up with Lord Margrave? What nonsense. He had just been protecting me and dragging me along by the collar this whole time.
'I was just being carried along like a baby in a stroller!!'
I had been relying on him too much.
Because of that, Lord Margrave's strength ran out this early.
I realized it. But by the time I did, it was already too late.
No wonder his strength seemed to defy common sense. Such techniques couldn't come without a price. I was foolish.
I immediately supported Lord Margrave and started heading back the way we came.
"Let's go back! If we leave now, we might still make it...!"
"...No."
Lord Margrave shook his head. Then he slowly got up and tried to grip his sword properly.
The sword tip was trembling like an aspen leaf. He should know better than to put up a front. I was about to tell him to have hope and stop being stubborn about running away.
―Breathing... flesh... coming here....
That was until zombie-like creatures in dark bishop robes holding skull staves appeared at the end of Lord Margrave's gaze.
"Death Bishops... This is troublesome..."
Lord Margrave wheezed with a frustrated expression.
Death Bishops? Come to think of it, I remember Lord Margrave mentioning them once before.
I quickly examined them. Their appearance matched the description. I immediately activated Mimir's Eye to scan their status window.
[Monster Information]
[Name: Death Bishop]
[HP: 237/237 MP: 1379/1379]
[Strength: 8 Agility: 14 Intelligence: 213]
[Details: Cursed apostles who are resurrected corrupt bishops of the ancient holy nation of Schuetz. They freely use powerful attack magic and curses among black magic.]
'They're mages!'
Well, they advertised that fact from their appearance.
In any case, it was certainly a troublesome situation as Lord Margrave said. There were five Death Bishops blocking our path. Looking at their stats, even one would be too much for me right now.
The Death Bishops raised their staves and started mumbling words I'd never heard before. Something black started gathering and swirling at the front of their staves.
―El... Dia... Blo....
When they chanted the spell in unison, the black energy started flying toward us like arrows. Under pressure from the black spheres coming from five directions, I quickly threw myself aside.
Whoosh! The hem of my clothes barely grazed it, but that black sphere seemed to greedily suck in my clothes before eating away at my skin.
"Urgh!"
I groaned at the pain of my flesh being torn.
Looking at my side, blood was pouring from the wound that was cut with surprising precision. It was as if that part had been precisely carved out with a cutting tool.
I immediately drank an ether. Along with the refreshing sensation, the pain subsided and the wound healed quickly.
―El... Dia... Blo....
But the Death Bishops' chanting wasn't over yet. I clicked my tongue and immediately prepared to dodge, but their black bullets had already reached right in front of my nose.
I'm going to die.
Damn it, this meaninglessly?
I haven't even met the final boss yet!
"Dispel!"
The moment I tightly closed my eyes was almost simultaneous with a translucent barrier appearing in front to block the bullets.
Ping ping ping! With a piercing high pitch, the bullets crumbled into nothing in mid-air like a lie. I quickly turned my head.
"Kheugh!"
There was Lord Margrave, barely standing using his sword as a staff.
"...Lord Mar….grave."
I instinctively knew. The transparent barrier before my eyes was created by Lord Margrave. And that he was now squeezing out his last spark of strength.
Without realizing it, I shouted out loud.
"Lord Margrave! I-I'm fine! I'm really fine so please drop the barrier and run! Hurry!!"
"......"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he slowly approached me and, thunk, handed me something.
I looked at what I received in confusion.
"This is...."
"I told you about it once before. That's a rune."
"A rune? This?"
What Lord Margrave handed me was a small stone engraved with unknown letters.
As I quietly stared at it glowing in five colors, Lord Margrave spoke in a dying voice.
The trail of blood flowing from his mouth was particularly vivid.
"Magic that deals with space is arcane knowledge that only a select few can handle. Even I can only imitate it. Actually... that was something I was saving to use as an absolute last resort."
"No, what are you saying... more importantly, hurry and run...!"
"That's a rune with teleport magic stored in it."
"!!"
"Please evacuate the two ladies from Halcenberg. I ask this of you, Sir Jeong-yong."
Lord Margrave didn't say anything more.
He just fiddled with the rune that had appeared on my hand.
Without hesitation, he turned his back to face the Death Bishops.
"... Ugh!"
Paaaaang!
In that moment, the rune emitted a dazzling light, and a familiar dizziness came over me. The same sensation as when I rode the gate in the trial's veil.
'Teleportation... teleport!!'
My body being swallowed by the magic circle and Lord Margrave rushing toward the Death Bishops happened almost simultaneously as my vision distorted.
"Don't be sorry. Thanks to you, I was able to dream of Halcenberg's future, if only for a while."
Lord Margrave's last words echoed in my ears as he disappeared from view.
My consciousness faded, and Lord Margrave's figure completely vanished.