Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: The Archbishops' Descent (3)
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“Sion!”
“You idiot……!”
As I caught my breath beside Mekringel’s corpse, Cain and Robel came rushing over in a panic.
“You, you really took down Archbishop Mekringel?”
“What the hell are you……? Ah, no. Are you actually okay? You took dozens of attacks that would’ve killed us instantly!”
“I’m fine. This cloak minimized the damage.”
I forced myself to stand.
But I staggered, and Robel hurriedly supported me.
“You’re clearly not fine!”
“As you can see, I have no injuries. I’m just worn out from the intense fight.”
I brushed off Robel’s hand as I said that, but he kept looking at me with worried eyes.
“Hey, Sion…… I know you’re stronger than us, but going one-on-one against an archbishop with 9th Circle mana was way too reckless!”
“I had no choice.”
“Even so……!”
“Cut him some slack, Robel.”
Cain sighed from the side.
“If we were stronger, Sion wouldn’t have had to push himself like this.”
“That’s…….”
“It’s frustrating how weak we are.”
Even as he said that, Cain’s expression wasn’t dark.
“Sion, you did something incredible. Without you, we’d all be dead here.”
“Cain bro.”
“When we were kids, I used to be pretty jealous of you. But seeing you take down Archbishop Mekringel like this…… I have to admit it.”
Cain clapped me on the shoulder.
“You’re the best of our generation.”
“Thanks for saying that.”
I hadn’t expected him to say something like this face-to-face.
Cain scratched his head, looking embarrassed after saying it himself.
“Uh, anyway. Our mission’s done now.”
“Yeah.”
Cain and Robel turned to look at Romancia City.
Battles were breaking out everywhere. The knights were hunting down the Dialogue Church’s purification priests.
“What about the Imperial Guard Knights assigned to the rear gate……? You think they’re okay?”
“With Sir Agatram and Sir Cassius there, they should be fine, right?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“An archbishop appeared at the main gate. It’s entirely possible someone of the same caliber showed up at the rear gate.”
“W-what?”
“No way…… You’re not saying there’s another archbishop-level threat, are you?!”
Cain and Robel looked incredulous.
But I had already confirmed an archbishop-level presence at the rear gate.
[This mana that reminds me of a pitch-black swamp…… No doubt about it. It’s Archbishop Egillas.]
‘With Brishura and Mekringel showing up, Egillas was the most likely.’
The infiltration faction archbishops were Brishura, Mekringel, Egillas, and Sapiras.
Sapiras, who had been injured fighting my father Kurt not long ago, wouldn’t have had an easy time sneaking all the way south, so Egillas was the prime suspect.
“Sion.”
That’s when Liz approached and spoke to me.
“You’ve used up a massive amount of mana in this fight. You shouldn’t push yourself any further.”
“Y-yeah!”
Robel agreed from the side.
“You rest here for now! We’ll handle the rear gate!”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Hey……!”
“Sion.”
Liz looked me in the eye and said,
“You’ve already done more than enough by taking down Mekringel.”
“…….”
“Step back. You can’t die here.”
Unlike usual, there was real force in Liz’s voice.
“Don’t worry, sis.”
“Sion.”
“I still have plenty in reserve.”
“Don’t lie. After a fight that intense…….”
“I’m not lying.”
I took a deep breath and unleashed sword aura along Ashurai’s blade.
A sword aura even more solid and powerful than the one I’d used against Mekringel moments ago.
“Could I produce a sword aura like this if I were at my limit?”
“How…….”
“S-Sion. What the hell is this?”
“Are you even human?!”
I withdrew the sword aura in front of my shocked cousin sister and cousins, then sheathed Ashurai.
“Let’s go, sis. Bros.”
“Sion…….”
“Our fight isn’t over yet.”
I was already prepared to face Archbishop Egillas.
I had already drained a ton of mana from Mekringel……
* * *
Cassius, second-in-command of the Imperial Guard Knights, was panting heavily.
It was because of the freak who had appeared alone at the palace’s rear gate.
‘I followed Her Highness the Princess’s orders and deployed the troops as Sion instructed…….’
Corpses littered the area around him.
But not a single one was from the Dialogue Church followers.
All the fallen were Imperial Guard Knights.
“W-we surrender! I surrender!”
“Spare our lives!”
“You cowards, where’s the honor of the palace-guarding Imperial Knights…… Argh!”
Blood sprayed every time the man wrapped head to toe in black bandages swung his arms.
The first and second defense lines had already collapsed.
“Captain, this looks bad…….”
“We may have to stake our lives on this, Sir Cassius.”
Agatram of the Imperial Guard Knights muttered in a heavy voice.
“That pitch-black figure, those arms much longer than a normal person’s…… It has to be Dialogue Church Archbishop Egillas.”
“Damn it, for a monster like that to show up at the palace out of nowhere…….”
“He slipped into the south amid the chaos at the Knight Order’s southern branch.”
In the end, Sion’s prediction had been spot on.
The Dialogue Church’s real goal was to strike the palace directly amid the confusion.
“I’ll take the right flank. You breach from the left.”
“Understood, Captain.”
Agatram was already badly wounded.
Cassius was somewhat better off, but still covered in blood.
They couldn’t retreat from here.
As the top two of the palace-guarding Imperial Guard Knights, they had to fight honorably to the end.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
They pushed their 8th Circle mana to the limit.
They reinforced their bodies with mana and unleashed sword aura.
Even if Archbishop Egillas was a 9th Circle swordsman, a direct hit from 8th Circle sword aura would draw blood.
If either Agatram or Cassius landed a hit, that would be enough.
With that in mind, the two Imperial Knights charged desperately.
“Begone.”
“……!”
“……!”
Slash!
Archbishop Egillas didn’t even draw the sword at his waist.
He merely swung his unnaturally long arms through the air.
That alone cleaved Agatram’s body in two from side to side, and sent Cassius’s right arm flying.
“Ar, gh……!”
Cassius groaned as he rolled on the ground.
If he had moved just a step faster, he would’ve ended up like Agatram.
‘This…… is Archbishop Egillas!’
This wasn’t just the gap between 8th and 9th Circle.
He trembled with a sense of helplessness, truly realizing what a genuine powerhouse was.
“…….”
But Egillas didn’t even glance at Cassius anymore.
He walked past indifferently, as if a combatant who had lost his fighting ability was beneath notice.
Watching those absolute footsteps, Cassius lost consciousness in utter despair.
* * *
Bang!
Archbishop Egillas frowned at the magical barrier blocking his path.
‘This is the real obstacle, as expected.’
Breaking through the Imperial Guard Knights outside hadn’t been hard.
They were mostly ragtag nobles’ sons, easy to cut down.
There had been two knights around 8th Circle, but they were no match either.
The problem was these magical security devices installed throughout the palace.
‘This is Mekringel’s specialty…….’
There was still no word from Mekringel.
Egillas was now deep in the palace center, making it hard to check the outside situation.
‘No choice.’
Egillas drew the weapon at his waist.
A longsword emitting an eerie glow of mingled black and green…… the Demon Spirit Sword ‘Alkais’.
“…….”
His nine circles reacted fiercely, drawing up mana.
As pitch-black sword aura cloaked Alkais, Egillas swung his arm without hesitation.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, the surrounding walls and pillars crumbled completely.
At the same time, the magical barrier blocking the way vanished.
He had brute-forced through with pure power.
‘However…….’
As he advanced, Egillas fell into thought.
‘It’s too quiet.’
After dealing with the Imperial Guard Knights outside, he had only encountered a few guards.
For the emperor’s residence, there were far too few people.
‘Did they all flee? Or hide somewhere?’
With Mekringel at the main gate, they couldn’t have escaped that way.
But secret passages were a possibility.
‘If the emperor fled, that’s not so bad.’
The emperor abandoning the palace out of fear of the Dialogue Church.
From the Church’s perspective, that was a triumph on par with killing him.
They had no intention of killing the emperor and usurping his throne anyway.
‘Though personally, I’d prefer capturing him and burning him at the stake…….’
Egillas was a hardline infiltrator.
He believed incinerating the world to purify it was the mission of a Dialogue Church archbishop like himself.
That’s why he wanted to push things toward maximum destruction.
He wanted to burn the palace and the emperor to ashes.
“Hmm…….”
Breaking through various magical security devices, he soon entered a vast space.
It seemed to be where the ministers audience with the emperor.
Of course, the throne where the emperor should sit was empty.
“…….”
Egillas flicked his finger.
Immediately, a storm ravaged the entire space.
After all the furnishings were destroyed, he checked again and spotted a hidden door beneath where the throne had been.
“Gotcha.”
An emergency escape route? Or just a hiding spot?
Either way, it didn’t matter.
Egillas wanted to check inside quickly and set the palace ablaze.
“Stop.”
But right then.
A child’s voice halted Egillas.
A small girl in a dress had appeared at some point, staring at him.
“Third Princess Atria…….”
“I cannot allow any more of this outrage, sir from the Dialogue Church.”
“Cannot allow?”
Egillas smirked.
The kid showing herself was probably to buy time.
To let the emperor properly escape or hide.
Entrusting such a role to a child showed just how desperate the emperor and his aides were.
“What will you do if I don’t?”
He approached with a menacing tone.
Her boldness was admirable, but he had no intention of showing mercy.
“Tell me. What will you do?”
“Something like this.”
With a curt voice, the ceiling collapsed, and sharp blades came raining down.