Chapter 25
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Corrupting Sword (3)
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Evan watched the shadows rushing before him with intense focus.
In Evans mind, the most vital organ for a warrior was the eye.
The eye to see an attack.
And the eye to predict the future.
Intuition was nothing more than a prediction based on sight and experience, with a slight adjustment.
Whoooosh.
Evan's sword erupted in a brilliant white light as warm, divine power enveloped his body.
"O Goddess! Grant me the strength to strike down your enemies!"
After reciting the Holy Knight's prayer, Evan swung his sword at the approaching shadows.
Clang! Kang!
His rapidly moving sword deflected the shadows pouring toward him.
Each time Evan swung his sword, infused with divine power, the shadows it touched recoiled slightly.
But it was only enough to create a momentary opening.
Completely suppressing the ceaselessly advancing shadows was impossible.
Evan's steps began to falter, pushed back by the wave of approaching shadows.
"Do you plan to keep running?"
Left. And right.
Shadows shot out from both sides simultaneously, moving to strike Evan.
Evan's darting eyes assessed the danger of the attacks.
Clang!
Evan blocked one of the incoming strikes and twisted his body.
Swoooosh!
A shadow that had been aiming for him grazed past his shoulder.
The fabric of Evan's clothing covering his shoulder was torn away.
Evan swung his sword, batting away the shadow that had grazed him, then turned his gaze back to the enemies before him.
'I can't get close because of these shadows.'
The number of shadows Yutenia had unleashed was simply too great.
The moment Yutenia's shadows caught him, even moving properly would become difficult.
Even when he tried to approach, the shadows' interference was severe.
Nevertheless, to land an effective blow, he had to close the distance.
Tap.
Taking a step forward, Evan began to calculate a path to his foe.
'Even if I create an opening, I'll likely only get one chance.'
The title of Inquisitor was granted only to the most virtuous and powerful of the Holy Knights.
Even so, Evan had no confidence he could sustain a long battle against an Apostle.
The Apostle he faced was just that much of an unreasonable existence.
This was a moment that required the right choice.
Having judged the value of his next move, Evan drew forth even more of his divine power.
The sword in his hand shone with a light even more brilliant than before.
"O Goddess! Guide my path!"
Evan took a ragged breath and, sword in hand, began to sprint forward.
Evan's eyes, honed through constant martial training, illuminated the path he would take.
Amidst the countless extending shadows.
A brief gap had formed as the shadows' movements shifted.
Spotting the small opening, Evan aimed for it and pushed through.
Clang! Kang!
The flashing blade of light deflected shadow after shadow as he advanced.
With each swing of Evan's sword, a shadow's trajectory was thrown off, its grasp striking the ground instead.
""
With swift footwork, the distance between the two closed in an instant.
Evan, panting heavily, looked at Yutenia.
He was close enough to reach her with a swing of his sword.
Yet, Yutenia showed no sign of reacting.
It seemed now was his only chance to land an effective blow.
Hhup.
With a short breath, the muscles in his right arm contracted.
Just as Evan's sword, cloaked in brilliant light, thrust forward.
"Barrier."
Kra-koom!
With a loud crash, Evan's sword came to a halt.
The hand gripping the sword felt no sensation of piercing through anything.
Evan frowned at the sight of his sword, stopped dead in mid-air.
Directly in front of Yutenia, who had her book open.
A barrier had formed there, rippling with immense power.
"It failed...!"
"You seem quite disappointed."
Evan gasped for breath, his sword blocked by the barrier.
It was a barrier created with vast amounts of mana.
It wasn't the kind of defense he could break through with a few more swings.
In fact, dragging this out would likely cause more problems.
If cutting down the Apostle before him was impossible, then the best course of action was to deal with the black magician next to her and retreat.
Quickly changing his target, Evan turned his head to look at the black magician.
He intended to eliminate the black magician in Yutenia's place.
"Release!"
"...!"
And he was met with a spear of lightning flying swiftly toward him.
The magic was extending from the black magician's dagger, which was aimed at Evan.
Since he was already thrusting his sword at the barrier, a proper response was difficult.
Evan gritted his teeth at the lightning strike aimed at him and surged divine power throughout his body.
KRA-KAAAAA-BOOM!
With a blinding flash, the impact sent Evan's body flying backward.
Pierced by the spear of lightning, Evan was thrown dozens of meters back from where he was hit.
"Cough...!"
Thud!
Sent flying a great distance, Evan only stopped after slamming into a tree behind him.
A thick cloud of dust rose from where Evan had crashed.
Staggering to his feet, Evan looked ahead.
Even after surging his divine power to minimize the damage, he had still suffered this much.
It was undoubtedly an attack his body couldn't withstand a few more direct hits from.
Spitting blood, Evan lifted his head and glared at the black magician.
"So you had... a hidden card up your sleeve."
"This is the grace of the Great One!"
Evan clicked his tongue at the black magician's cry as he raised the dagger shrouded in darkness.
It seemed he was borrowing the power of an item.
The power of an item was, in the end, only temporary.
Evan believed that once all its power was spent, only ruin would remain.
"Grace, you say? A mere tool like that will eventually..."
"It seems our time is up."
"What did you just say?"
Yutenia, who had been watching their exchange, closed her open book with a listless sound.
The shadows that had been flowing from beneath her feet had also vanished at some point.
Yutenia's ashen eyes stared at Evan.
Her gaze, devoid of any amusement, swept over Evan's form.
"Didn't I warn you?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Words have consequences."
As soon as Yutenia finished speaking, Evan felt a powerful flow of mana from the sky.
Crackle. Sizzle.
In the empty sky, immense lightning mana was taking shape.
It was a miracle.
A miracle performed by a transcendent being beyond comprehension, one closer to divine punishment.
"This is...!"
This wasn't magic used by the black magician before him.
A god from another dimension, looking down.
Evan held his breath as he looked up at the sky, at the miracle created by a god from beyond dimensions to interfere with the world.
At some point, countless spears of lightning had formed in the sky.
It wasn't difficult to understand who that miracle was meant to judge.
A direct hit would be fatal.
To live, he had to escape.
"The price for blasphemy is always the same."
Fzzt!
A thin bolt of lightning streaked past Evan as he looked up at the sky.
A black scorch mark was left in the lightning's path.
A faint wisp of smoke rising from the ground gently caressed Evan's cheek.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Faced with a fragment of a transcendent being, Evan's heart began to pound violently.
The tension that suddenly gripped his entire body made his breathing ragged.
"Hoo..."
His senses on high alert, Evan surged his divine power and moved his sword.
A being beyond humanity was watching him.
From beyond dimensions, invisible to mortal eyes, a malevolent gaze was fixed upon Evan.
A presence that made the Apostle before him seem insignificant was there.
The mere awareness of it was terrifying.
The opponent was a giant of immeasurable scale.
All that was permitted to an insignificant human was a desperate struggle, like a child's tantrum.
"O Goddess!"
Evan moved his bleeding lips, crying out the Goddess's name with all his might.
The Goddess of Honor was the object of reverence to whom he had always offered his prayers.
But his cry to the heavens received no meaningful response.
Nevertheless, Evan did not stop his cry to the sky.
His mortal body alone could not help him.
In this moment, the only thing he could turn to, the only thing that could save him, was his faith.
"Guide my path!"
K-Rumble!
Lightning struck from the dark, clouded sky.
At the same time, a shadow fell over Evan's face.
Instead of the Goddess's answer, what came for Evan was the deafening roar of thunder.
Evan's voice began to be drowned out by the roar of lightning echoing through the mountains.
Amidst the increasingly tumultuous surroundings, Evan raised his voice with all his strength.
"O Goddess!"
K-Rumble!
Thunder rolls. And a flash fills his vision.
Lifting his head, he saw lightning there.
Countless divine spears, poised to pierce Evan.
How much divine power would he need to summon to block such a number?
At the very least, it was clearly beyond the realm permitted to a mere Holy Knight.
"O Goddess..."
Chk.
The sword in Evan's grip became wreathed in light.
It was proof that Evan's faith in the Goddess still remained firm.
It was a radiance that once seemed dazzlingly bright, but now, it looked dimmer than the thunderclouds looming in the sky.
How many could he truly block?
That was a question even Evan, gripping his sword and unleashing his divine power, could not answer with certainty.
"Goddess, please..."
K-R-R-R-RACKLE!
The spears of lightning that had gathered in the sky finally began to rain down, aimed at Evan.
At the sight of the lightning strikes pouring down on him, Evan swung his sword with all his might.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning crashed into the ground and exploded before Evan's eyes.
"Godd... ess..."
His ears ringing, Evan raised his sword again.
BOOM! KRA-KAAAAA-BOOM!
A continuous barrage of lightning strikes shook the ground.
With each falling bolt from the lightning bombardment, a brilliant white flash consumed Evan's vision.
One of the falling spears of lightning pierced Evan, completely ravaging him from within.
Struck by the lightning, Evan was thrown a great distance, tumbling across the ground.
Hit directly by the magic, Evan staggered back to his feet.
The hand gripping his sword was trembling violently.
"..."
The voice calling for the Goddess was heard no more.
In its place, only the irregular rumble of thunder echoed.
Evan Alemier.
For the first time since becoming a Holy Knight, he chose to run.