Chapter 240
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 240
Chapter Title: The Star That Turned Its Back on the Light (8)
The Arch Paladin was, without a doubt, the nightmare of Kadim's first playthrough that he could never forget.
A being who stood out like a sore thumb even in the righteous and just Elga Church of the past. A being who had fallen into fanaticism and recklessness due to his excessively overwhelming power. Because they had overlooked that being's danger, Melissa had her tongue ripped out by the roots, Cyril had all her skin peeled off like a snakeskin, and Kadim himself had his limbs' bones shattered and joints twisted.
They were memories that had faded in time later on. After encountering far more horrific demons in the demonic realm and enduring even greater ordeals, his encounter with the Arch Paladin had become little more than a tale that brought a sigh whenever recalled.
But in the second playthrough, where all his power had been reset to zero, that nightmare had regained its vivid colors and come back to life. For a while, it had made Kadim obsessively wary of the Elga Church.
Of course, now that he had regained nearly all of his first playthrough's power, he was starting to let his guard down a bit...
- Whiiiiiirrr!!
...but this aged Arch Paladin's strength was more than enough to remind him of the vigilance he had been forgetting.
Hendark mercilessly thrust his spear while trampling the gale-like Radiant Horse beneath him.
Thwish - splash!
The spear shaft became the wick, the spearhead the detonator, and the cluster of light the explosive. The cannon-like thrust detonated fiercely upon touching the hammerhead.
―――――― BOOOOM - !!
The heavy impact pushed his body back; Kadim hurriedly widened his stance. He avoided falling but slid back over ten meters, crumbling the dirt ground beneath his soles.
Hendark's divine weapon, Lucaon's Meteor, was an infinitely light spear compared to the thousand-catty hammer. Yet the superhuman user's muscular strength and the explosive power of light bursting from the spear tip perfectly offset the weight difference. Thanks to that, he wasn't being pushed back in their contest of strength—in fact, he held a slight edge.
However, Kadim had compensated for his weapon's shortcomings as well.
Whoosh, whoo - shh ――――― Kwang - !!!
"...Hngh."
The relentless counterattack came without respite; Hendark hurriedly yanked the reins. He avoided being unhorsed but staggered as if he might slip off the saddle at any moment.
No matter how skilled in martial arts one was, freely wielding a colossal weapon like the Star Crusher was impossible. Yet the transcendent warrior's superhuman strength handled it as lightly as a feather duster. Thanks to that, he could parry the spear thrusts like beams of light one after another and even find openings to counterattack like this.
The probing exchanges didn't last long. They had both keenly realized that their current abilities were evenly matched, that neither could back down for their own reasons, and that they fully intended to kill each other.
The knight wielding a shining spear and the warrior hefting a massive hammer—the two superhuman powerhouses began clashing in earnest, staking their lives.
"Hraaaaaah - !!"
- Whiiiiiirrr - !!
―――――――― Creeeack!!
The first clash, and an erupting shockwave. The moment they were pushed back a step by the irresistible reaction, they charged right back in.
―――――― Bang, Kwang!!! BOOOOM - !!
One clash, two, three, four... They repeatedly smashed into each other without yielding an inch, like rogue planets drifting through a dense star field, utterly unconcerned with the damage from each collision.
Their clashes truly evoked colliding wanderstars more than human combat. Eye-searing flashes flickered, and deafening explosions rang out one after another. A stray breeze that happened to approach was caught in the vortex of turmoil and shredded to tatters.
The evenly matched contest between tiger and dragon dragged on without tipping either way. However, as veterans who had traversed countless battlefields, both sensed that the other was preparing some means to overturn the flow.
And the one who first revealed their trump card to shake the board was...
Whiiiiiirrr - !
...Kadim, who steadily unleashed the "shock" gathered in his hammer.
――――――――― BOOOOOOM - !!!
- Whinnyyyy....
'Shock Accumulation', the massively piled-up shock exploded all at once like a geyser. The Radiant Horse directly hit disintegrated in an instant, scattering into motes of light, and even Hendark, who had immediately dropped the reins and pulled back, couldn't avoid being swept up by the shockwave and launched skyward.
"...Hngh!"
In a situation where he might plummet helplessly and take a fatal follow-up blow, Hendark turned the crisis into an opportunity to play his own card.
In midair, he twisted his body in a spin to stabilize his posture. He pulled his right arm back, tensing his biceps to build power. Compressing the blazing cluster of light at the spear tip, he precisely aimed at his target and hurled it.
"For the wicked ghost... there shall be judgment of light..."
Thwoooooooosh - !!
The divine weapon Lucaon's Meteor shot forth like a falling star true to its name. In less than 0.1 seconds after Kadim caught sight of the beam of light cleaving the world in two.
Doomsday descended upon the winter field.
Creeeack!!
―――――――― BOOOOOOM - !!!
The expanding blaze devoured the earth, gnashing it to bits. The raging blast pressure pushed all things aside like a giant's sigh. A single throw unleashed waves of heaven-scorching devastation that blanketed the heavens and earth, turning hundreds of meters in radius into ruins.
Yet Hendark knew this wouldn't fell his opponent. Sure enough, as the dust cleared, a bizarre figure emerged from the epicenter.
As if... a colossal tree dusted in volcanic ash.
It was Kadim, who had activated his Demonic Tattoo of Woodification. He had wrapped himself in ironwood bark for a momentary boost to defense. He peeled off the charred bark casually and stroked the flickering pattern on his neck.
Humm, hum, hum, huuumm...
"I've known since first laying eyes on you that you weren't to be underestimated..."
"..."
"...but you're even better than I thought. Without this wooden shell, you might've ended up like your comrade struck by heavenly punishment."
He meant it. After blocking the explosion, all the ironwood bark cloaking his body had peeled off, and the Blessing of Fire and Ice had nearly been depleted in one hit. If the scattered flames were focused into a single point, it might rival that unidentified "heavenly punishment" in power.
Nor was the attack's firepower the only impressive part. To turn the Shock Accumulation that had battered other Decagram members into bloody pulps against him into an attack opportunity—his endurance and battle sense were exceptional as well. He was undoubtedly a cut above the Arch Paladins Kadim had faced before, evoking the overwhelming Arch Paladin of the past.
The surprise was mutual. Hendark's expression hardened with distress. At first meeting, he could match him even holding back his power, but now he was a formidable foe even at full strength...
Coincidentally, Kadim also recalled the moment of their first clash.
"Can you still take an axe to the forehead like back then, I wonder."
A lightning bolt shot from his waist in a surprise attack.
―――― Thraaaaaack - !!
Instead of taking it to the forehead like before, the Arch Paladin lowered his helmet to dodge the thrown axe. A sinister sneer curled the barbarian's lips.
"No leeway to take it head-on like that time, huh. Well, you did say you worried your disciples might cry if your forehead got scratched."
"..."
"But... doesn't matter now, right? Those disciples are getting slaughtered by that archbishop anyway, and you're dying here too."
An unexpectedly vicious provocation. Before he could even be startled, similar mockery followed. Flames of rage blazed in the Arch Paladin's eyes, and the grinding of teeth echoed through his visor.
Yet the one mocking didn't seem particularly pleased either.
"...Isn't this what you wanted?"
Kadim, on the contrary, grew serious.
"Didn't you call me an utterly wicked ghost? So I played along as you wished."
"..."
"Anyway... looks like senility's really set in. Falling for such cheap bait."
"...What do you mean."
"What are you saving that Stigmata that pierces truth for? Surely not planning to offer it up nicely to me."
"...!!"
No sooner had the words ended than Hendark quelled his rage. Because his 'Star that Pierces the Truth' had discerned Kadim's mockery as a bluff. The star buried in profound darkness had momentarily forgotten it could even pierce truth.
Naturally came the realization that this man was no "wicked ghost." But Hendark shook his head, fully denying his own thoughts.
"No, my stigmata... the 'Star that Pierces the Truth'... is incomplete."
"..."
"The truth I see... is merely the personal truth believed by a dim-sighted creature... It is not an absolute truth that pierces like clear light... the truth. In this world, the only ones who can pierce absolute truth... are the solemn guide of light, Elga... and the apostle chosen by him, the archbishop..."
"..."
"...I was wrong. You are a 'wicked ghost.' You are exactly as the archbishop said, a 'wicked ghost.' You must be the utterly wicked 'wicked ghost' who dons a hood, slaughters Elga's agents without reason, and will plunge this world into suffering... Yes, you must be, you must be, you must... so that I can kill you and..."
...save the young ones suffering cruel torment.
The Arch Paladin, unable to lie, couldn't voice his inner thoughts. But the stifled fury beyond his throat reached the warrior intact on ragged breaths. They glared silently at each other for ages, like brothers reuniting as enemies on the battlefield after decades.
Was it mercy for past useful dealings, respect for upheld convictions, or neither... perhaps recalling the memory of sacrificing someone precious, granting this trial.
Atala's great warrior solemnly issued his final admonition.
"One last time, I give you a chance."
"..."
"Abandon your disciples' lives. Leave the Elga Church, uphold your convictions, and fight to the end for the innocent. Do so, and I shall spare your life, Arch Paladin."
The 'Star that Pierces the Truth' felt as if its heart had dropped to its gut. Even more bone-chilling barbs followed the heavy hammer blows.
"You know it better than anyone. That the direction your spear points is wrong. The true enemies you should aim at aren't me or my allies, but that blackmailing archbishop and the petty gods shielding him."
"..."
"Think about it. Even if you obey that archbishop's dog like that, there's no guarantee he'll save your disciples. No, he'll realize you're a useful leash and exploit you even more viciously. But abandon your disciples, and you can at least surely protect the other things you wish to safeguard."
"..."
"The conviction to guide the lost even when all around is dyed in night's darkness. And the lives of the many innocents like stars."
Those were words he himself had once confessed to this man.
The holy knight, caught in self-contradiction, trembled in his pauldrons. He spat out clotted words as if vomiting blood.
"...Shut that mouth. No more slandering Elga and his apostle with your cunning tongue... The truth I've believed is mere twisted illusion, and only the truth proclaimed by the archbishop is the real truth..."
"No. He's not the truthful one—you're the one turning from truth, choosing defeat and submission. Because you lack faith in beating him, fear losing what you have, lack the resolve to stake everything."
"Please, please, shut up... What do you know...? My disciples, those children, were treasures far more precious than this old heart or stale soul of mine... About the helplessness of doing nothing while their fingers are severed, eyes gouged out... What do you know...?"
"No one knows better than I. Have you forgotten?"
"...What?"
"I told you. I killed my old comrade who unleashed demons with my own hands."
Hendark froze as if his heart had stopped.
The stigmata on the back of his hand unwaveringly confirmed it was truth. The great warrior flatly invoked the Blessing of Fire and Ice.
"Thanks to that, I prevented a greater catastrophe and saved the world... but I'm still not sure if it was worth more than the life of that woman who bore an unquenchable flame in my hands. Yet I killed her because it was what I had to do."
"..."
"You want to say your disciples are innocent unlike my old comrade. But the same goes for your allied pleas to save them. To become the vanguard of a mad fanatic trying to kill millions just to save dozens you favor more... Do you truly think that's what you must do?"
"..."
"...Cease this misguided 'struggle.' Rather than abandon convictions for submission, burn away facing the strong to the end, even losing all. Then gladly, in the name of the god of struggle and wilderness, I shall bless the end of you and your disciples."
A long silence. Even the wind and breaths halted in the stillness.
The Arch Paladin's answer to the great warrior's final admonition was...
"The will of god... is more profound than the deepest abyss... beyond the grasp of humans less than mere specks..."
...to hurl the light-infused spear once more.
Thwish!
―――― BOOOOOOM - !!
The explosion gouged the ruined earth deeper. His gaze trapped in the helmet gazed up at the heavenly sun, followed by a voice as if his soul had been torn to rags.
"I could betray the archbishop... but not apostatize from Elga... I could break convictions... but not abandon faith..."
"..."
"This cruel pain, trial, test... must surely be the path to brilliantly shining truth... The lord of light always watching over this land... surely harbors some sacred will... Please, please, it must be so..."
Less a heartfelt testimony than a desperate plea to shore up crumbling faith.
Kadim glanced sidelong at it. The heavenly eyeball that overlooked all tragedies on earth. The inscrutable divine eye that mercilessly judged even its own servants yet spared itself.
Suddenly, he recalled a devout priest who, even in the eternally overcast demonic realm, always prayed toward that sun.
"Do you remember Gordon?"
"...Gordon? The 'Gordon Who Turned His Back on the Light'?"
"Yes. You told me about him before. Then you remember what he said before being excommunicated from the church."
"..."
He couldn't forget. It was an unbelievably shocking statement from a priest canonized as a saint while alive.
That Elga, the god the church worshipped, was "fake." A "false being" masquerading as Elga.
"If that was true... would you still serve that, Arch Paladin?"
"..."
Hendark froze like a specimen under the light's afterimage.
――― Groooowww...
Flames began blazing in the eyeball floating high in the distant sky.