Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Rain of Swords
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Twelve blades pointed to the sky.
Inspired by Commander Magda’s Meteor, he had reversed the direction of the Convection.
A reverse flow, surging upward from a single point in an instant.
Sheville rode the vortex of Convection, paused for a moment, and then, ignoring the horde of ghouls and dark priests, rained down like a bombardment upon a single figure in the rear.
As if to end their past grievances in a single blow.
As if to leave no room for personal conversation, not even the possibility of it.
Becoming a brilliant rain of swords—
Shwaaa—!
It poured down on Amy.
But the dark priests, who had embraced the inhuman, were a fraction faster.
Kwa-kwakwa-kakaka—kak!
Smashing their broad backs together, they took all the blades with their bodies.
If there was one difference from when he first faced them, it was that Sheville now pierced their armor-like skin.
Loan immediately channeled more mana than usual into his will and retrieved Sheville.
‘Too far.’
He ran forward to meet it.
The returning Sheville tore the ghouls' bodies into fragments that scattered into the air.
He had overexerted himself aiming for a single strike. For a moment, he felt a sharp pain.
"Phew..."
His body felt heavy, but thanks to that, his mind grew clearer.
He found meaning in the fact that he had launched Sheville without hesitation. With that, any potential mental barrier had been shattered.
But the enemies did not wait for the small opening that had appeared.
They swarmed in.
"Kaaak!"
Suddenly, the ghouls' tongues, teeth, and sharp claws filled his vision.
The moment he reflexively activated his Domain.
A greatsword swung in a wide arc with Loan as its axis. Then, Lucas's flustered voice followed.
"Whoa?"
Inside Loan's Domain, Lucas's feet got tangled.
It wasn't intentional, but losing his balance added to the rotational force.
A fiercer sword wind than usual swept forward from the claymore.
A wave of ghouls was bisected in one fell swoop.
Lucas was once again bewildered by the attack, which was stronger than before.
"Hey!"
He couldn't blame him since he was trying to help, but the ensuing situation wasn't exactly bright.
"Huh? Huh!"
Another opening appeared as the two friends readjusted their movements. Through the path Lucas had cleared, a dark priest lunged forward.
Its two arms, transformed to resemble a mantis's forelegs, came crashing down on Lucas.
Kwaang—!
With a loud crash, it was Sophie who blocked the blow.
"Are you two going to get it together?"
Sophie immediately struck the opponent's arm upward with her small shield and unleashed her signature chain of attacks.
She was the one called a prodigy before Loan arrived. Here, she too had grown once more.
Jjeong- jjeojeong—!
Although she couldn't wield Aura like Sienna, her sword style was incredibly heavy.
When combined with her shield techniques that blocked the enemy's attacks and disrupted their breathing, the dark priest's body momentarily staggered backward.
Lucas did not miss the precious opportunity Sophie had created.
"I'll!"
A spinning strike past Sophie, aimed at the creature's neck.
Loan followed its trajectory, releasing his Domain as Convection to add power, while Lucas instinctively embraced the acceleration he had experienced once before—
"Uraaaaaaah!"
He sent the creature's head flying.
The massive head was swept up by the ensuing gust of wind and crashed down with a thud toward the enemy's center, where Amy was.
Lucas didn't let up his assault, swinging his sword to block the enemies' approach. He shouted.
"Loan!"
It was as if he was telling him to push forward.
He had noticed it from Loan's unusual demeanor the moment he'd launched Sheville.
That Loan's old score was yet to be settled. That its target was right ahead.
Freed by his friends' consideration, Loan once again focused entirely on the battlefield.
The knights of the Honor Division solidified their shield wall, and the mages narrowed their range, conjuring their respective magic circles in the air.
From both flanks of the clustered Le Tell, fierce attacks continued to pour in.
‘It's complicated.’
Even though Loan had always read mana extensively in his daily life, he had never been in a situation with so many people gathered together.
Moreover, simply reading and observing wasn't the important part.
This was a chaotic free-for-all where everyone fought with their lives on the line, using their own weapons and techniques. That was why he'd gotten tangled up with Lucas.
Loan broadened his mana-reading senses while solidifying his Convection.
He refined his own senses to be more detailed, allowing him to react to even the smallest mana fluctuations.
Thanks to this, he heard a voice.
"Step forward."
Though she was clearly far away, Magda's voice seemed to whisper right in his ear.
Without looking back, he replied by imbuing his voice into the mana fluctuations.
"Yes."
Loan had already read the path he would take.
He wove the once straight Narrow Path through the gaps in the crowd, taking everyone's varying speeds into account.
A long and complex, yet fastest, path leading to Amy.
There were many opponents to cut through, but for now, it was the best option.
Wooooong—
As Loan charged down the Narrow Path, the star-shaped formation of Sheville began to spin like light on his palm.
A small but powerful vortex of Convection, another one formed within his own Domain.
He had gained the insight from Commander Adrian's Incandescence.
An epiphany that came from trying to mimic the sizzling movement of mana within the intensely projected sword energy.
If he couldn't load the power of a single massive blow, he just had to keep adding centrifugal force and acceleration.
He had already confirmed its effectiveness when he'd lent power to Lucas's sword.
By reducing the size of the Convection, the mana consumption was low, yet the destructive power was formidable.
Chwaat— Seogeok- Puhak—!
The ghouls' heads, arms, and legs were severed and ground to pieces.
From the half-opened waist of a dark priest, cold blood poured out in a rush.
Advancing through what seemed like a clear deathtrap, Loan distinctly heard the voices of his seniors.
From behind, from the left, and now from the right.
Admiration followed.
"I can't even guess its origin. It might as well be a unique magic."
"A monster has joined the Faith Division."
"Our girl is no pushover either. Just the other day, she was still awkward with her shield."
"Their talents are exceptional. They're growing noticeably even in the midst of this."
Though it was a commentary almost leisurely for a battlefield, it was brimming with morale.
Unaware that he had contributed to it, Loan steadily closed the distance to his destination.
"At this rate, the youngest will take all the credit."
"It's the finale. We've completely cornered them."
Pushed from all sides by the Union, the remnants of Le Tell were completely herded into the center.
Their numbers and appearance were pathetic.
The ghouls, who had reason but had lost their humanity, were the majority. There were two mutated dark priests and one who still retained a human form.
And the woman commanding the battlefield from atop a bizarre, seemingly living cart, was all that remained of their forces.
Flutter- flutter—!
The flags of the Faith Division and the Honor Division, signaling to stand by, rose and fluttered simultaneously.
A subtle standoff in the lull.
Loan kept Sheville spinning, ready to launch it again at any moment, and stared ahead.
Just then, the mouth that had whispered to him opened once more.
‘Not, yet...’
That's what he read, but he couldn't understand the meaning.
"What is this..."
But what he finally realized was that the entity with that mouth was not human.
It had Amy's appearance, but it wasn't Amy. If it were human, its mana distribution and flow couldn't be like that.
"Find it strange?"
Just then, Magda's voice sounded, as if whispering in his ear.
This time, she was right next to him.
"It's a doll. A familiar of the caster."
"Ah..."
Was that it? Was that what it was?
Was this also magic?
Had I been running rampant without even knowing that?
Loan's face suddenly flushed red.
He felt ashamed, as if he had shown his friends and seniors a reckless side of himself.
Magda said.
"Don't blame yourself. It's difficult to notice even when face-to-face. Especially since that caster is at a masterful level."
Having said her piece, Magda stretched out her hand.
An enormous magic circle appeared above the heads of the Le Tell remnants.
Le Tell reflexively looked up, and Magda chanted an incantation.
Soon after, the magic circle transformed into a cloud of fire seething like lava and unleashed a torrent of flames all at once.
In an instant, everything was engulfed in flames.
"Kweeeek!"
"Guoooooooh..."
Within the unending waterfall of fire, Loan watched Amy's doll burn and melt away.
Even though it was a doll, it writhed in agony as if it were human.
Those that escaped, wreathed in flames, were slaughtered by the Faith Division.
No one held back with hesitation or mercy.
After all of Le Tell's gang had turned to ash.
Tadak- tadak—
On the now silent battlefield, only the occasional sound of dry wood burning could be heard.
The Union had suffered almost no casualties.
Their skill was one thing, but the watertight strategy they had employed was just as powerful.
The Faith Division scoured the quarantine zone for any remaining stragglers, while the Honor Division searched for any of Le Tell's documents that might have survived and even collected the burnt remains of the doll.
Meanwhile, the quarantine zone's barriers crumbled in a chain reaction.
And so, Loan's first mission came to an end.
* * *
Upon returning to the Union, Loan had to attend various meetings and debriefings without rest.
It was thanks to his many accomplishments.
After all the debriefings were over, Director Lazaros of the Administration Bureau personally showered Loan with praise.
"Your achievements are so great it's hard to call you an Oz. The kingdom is astonished as well."
"Has the report been sent up?"
"Of course. We need to quickly resolve the chaos caused by the mayor's execution and the removal of the barrier."
"Then Ollen..."
"The kingdom will manage it directly for the time being. The officials in charge will be stopping by the Union. They expressed a wish to meet you as well, Lord Loan. There will be a reward for your distinguished service soon."
Having all his contributions acknowledged was a joyous thing, but his heart didn't feel so light.
Loan expressed his gratitude to Lazaros and then headed to the Faith Division Commander's office for the afternoon meeting.
Commander Adrian, Vice-Commander Oscar, Sienna, and Lucas were already seated around the circular table.
The commander greeted Loan.
"You're here?"
Loan placed a fist over his chest in a salute before taking a seat next to Lucas.
Commander Adrian spoke.
"Well, the mission debriefings are pretty much over. We've gathered now because of you."
"Because of me?"
"To be precise, about that... subordinate of yours? Friend? Spirit beast? What should I call it? Anyway, there's something to discuss regarding that creature, Aul."
"Ah..."
Loan unconsciously stroked the paw print on his sleeve with his finger.
"As you know, the report only states that you saw through the mayor's treason with your unique magic. The kingdom, the Administration Bureau, and the Honor Division have all shown interest, but since it's unique magic, they won't try to dig any deeper."
"Is that really okay?"
"There are sword styles whose origins are difficult to trace, so why would magic be any different? We can't just dissect and inspect unique magic. So there's no need to reveal it to outsiders."
It was a relief.
The word 'investigation' itself was off-putting. Since Aul had been very uncomfortable with it, this was for the best.
Watching Loan nod, the commander continued.
"However, I'm personally a bit curious. So, Loan, I'd like to ask for your understanding."
"What kind of understanding, sir?"
"I was just thinking... maybe we could see it, just among ourselves..."
When Loan tilted his head in confusion, the commander gestured lightly to Vice-Commander Oscar.
Oscar brought out several large bundles from behind his desk and placed them on the table.
The severed heads of dark priests.
They had gone to the trouble of retrieving several and bringing them all the way here.
Commander Adrian's face was filled with curiosity as he spoke.
"Let's try feeding it. Hmm?"