Chapter 84: Heretic? – 5

Chapter 84: Heretic? – 5

“…What the hell is that?”

*That’s divine magic used to take down high-risk demonic beasts. At that level, he’s probably on par with a Cardinal, wouldn’t you say?*

“No, no, no. That’s not what I meant?! Why the hell is something like that coming out?!”

Suddenly, light pouring from the street, and light heading towards me? That’s possible.

The inquisitor Commander giving up and using divine magic to capture me? That’s also within the expected range.

…But I didn’t expect that divine magic to be *that*.

Countless chains of light poured down.

A way to avoid them? Just keep running forward.

…The problem is that the ‘forward’ I can go is gradually shrinking.

*Ahem, this is screwed.*

‘…At least you shouldn’t be saying that, should you?!’

*Well, I thought it was a reckless plan from the start. As it is, I guess I should pray Christie arrives before I kick the bucket, right?*

If it were something I could somewhat overcome, I would have resisted using potions, but this time, even that was impossible.

The attacker who came to the Duke’s mansion at least didn’t use magic much, so the potions’ magic was effective,

But this time, it’s someone who uses magic even better than me, so the potions’ magic is easily shattered.

In fact, the greatest advantage of magic created with potions is just that they can be spammed; the quality of each individual one isn’t incredibly good, so even more so.

“Ack…!”

One chain grazed my cheek and embedded itself in the ground.

…If I get hit by that, it probably won’t just end with being restrained.

***

Thinking that, I sprinted through the dark night streets, avoiding the pursuit.

People woke up to the light chasing me, and looked out their windows at the chains stretching towards me.

…But, in fact, no one did anything.

In a way, it was fortunate that at least no one was trying to stop me.

Blocked paths had to be circled, or jumped over, or I had to climb onto the roofs of other buildings to avoid them.

Nevertheless, the pursuit did not weaken.

Slowly, I was heading past the district where my shop was located, towards the central district of the capital.

***

Even after crossing a street and passing a fork in the road, the chains chasing me did not decrease.

At each fork, they split themselves, increasing their numbers,

The more distance I ran to escape, the more chains swarmed from all directions, I don’t know where they came from.

Before I knew it, the space I could escape into was no longer ‘forward.’

Perhaps they had circled through the complex streets of the capital, chains were flying not only from behind, but from all diagonals and sides.

A few times, I directly struck the chains with my greatsword and barely escaped.

Thus, the path left for me was not simply ‘forward,’ but solely ‘straight ahead.’

…The chains and light relentlessly pursued me.

Fiercely and persistently, as if there was no place for a human to escape beneath the light.

Just as I was wondering what kind of magic would cause this, I had reached the clock tower located in the center of the capital.

And the chains, which had gradually narrowed my possible directions, finally surrounded me.

The massive clock tower located in the central square of the capital’s central district.

It was a clock tower with the setting of being responsible for everything from citizens’ meeting places to tourist attractions.

And it was also a path that those chains had not yet blocked.

Boom!

My greatsword, thrown with all my might, collided with the outer wall of the clock tower.

The clock tower showed no effect whatsoever.

Only my sword was embedded in the wall of the clock tower.

…In a perfect position to step on and jump.

‘Christie…! You’re damn late, seriously!’

Honestly, considering the chase I had with these crazy chains and the distance covered, Christie would have something to say… but it was still a fact that she was late.

I had run so much that this ridiculously overpowered body was complaining that its stamina was at rock bottom.

Listening to my heart pounding as if it would burst, I took a short breath.

And then, I jumped.

Onto my greatsword, which was embedded in the wall, serving as an excellent foothold.

…For some reason, I didn’t dislike this incredibly dangerous moment.

It wasn’t because my mind had gone crazy. It was because of a quest that suddenly appeared before my eyes.

*Quest! – Desperate Resistance

-> You have encountered an opponent you cannot defeat with your current abilities!

-> Nevertheless, the user has chosen to continue resisting and enduring!

=> Endure until your reliable support, Christie, arrives, and prove that you are the victor of this chase!

+On Success: Skill – ????

+On Failure: Arrest by the Holy Kingdom, high probability of instant death

*

I don’t have many skills right now.

Among them, the ones I’ve benefited from are ‘Alchemist’s Treasury,’ ‘Christie-style Greatswordsmanship,’ and ‘Deal.’

The rest are mostly related to potion creation, performance enhancement, or damn appearance traits.

Even ‘Deal’ is still on cooldown, so I can’t use it.

In such a situation, a skill as a reward? That’s very welcome.

Anyway, it was clear that these system guys didn’t want me to be caught so futilely.

It’s somewhat forced, but it’s a damn thrilling and interesting life.

‘……In that sense, can’t I get an advance on the reward?’

*What the hell are you talking about? Those guys are chasing you!*

Unfortunately, Ria didn’t seem to agree with my thoughts.

The chains were already approaching the clock tower, slowly climbing its outer wall.

But I still had a plan.

“You know what, Ria? Why I embedded my greatsword here and jumped onto it?”

*…What other strange thing are you going to do…?*

However, Ria stopped speaking when she saw the two potion bottles in my hand.

A potion crackling with electricity, and a potion burning with flames.

…I saw earlier that if you use these two potions at once, you get a very spectacular explosion, right?

And, naturally, since this clock tower is actually functioning, there are entrances and exits.

Those damned chains have blocked them now, but this clock tower doesn’t just have one entrance.

Holes used for ventilation everywhere.

They were too narrow for me to enter, but enough space to detonate potions.

And such a hole was right next to me.

KABOOM!!

A roar of a different magnitude than when my sword hit the wall erupted.

My hands tingled, and my skin felt hot, so it seemed my body wasn’t unscathed either.

Perhaps if it weren’t for the clothes Christie gave me, I might have fainted here and fallen into that pile of chains.

…Especially since physically, it wouldn’t be strange if I collapsed right now, but I’m stubbornly holding on.

But I won’t fall.

It’s not some superhuman reason like willpower or anything; it’s because of this pale potion in my hand.

I have dozens of incredibly reliable stamina potions stacked in my inventory.

If a potion can make someone stay up all night, why wouldn’t it be able to make me move a little longer?

The small hole that had been for ventilation had now turned into a large enough hole for me to enter.

…Judging by the commotion above, the clock tower’s caretaker seemed to be rushing down here… but I cleanly ignored him and ran up.

The caretaker, who was about to scream when he saw me, saw the chains following me at a terrifying speed through the hole I entered, and immediately shut his mouth.

***

“……Amazing. I didn’t expect it to come to this.”

This clock tower, which was said to be the most impressive sight in the capital besides the imperial palace, was indeed ridiculously tall.

So much so that the entire central district of the capital, as well as the central square where it was located, could be seen at a glance.

And what I saw then were the chains of light that had taken over the entire street of the capital’s central district and were chasing me.

Of course, the defense force quickly responded to this sudden emergency, and I could see some chains being cut in the middle.

The top of the clock tower.

The chains finally climbed to the top of the clock tower where I stood, and all that remained was to bind me and take me to their master.

Perhaps to commemorate this, the light flickered for a moment, and the image and words of the inquisitor, still in his place, were conveyed.

Armament? None. The greatsword was already used as a foothold to climb the clock tower, and I don’t have the strength to make potions with ‘Alchemist’s Treasury’ right now.

Chance of the enemy showing mercy? Also none.

Then, the chance of system intervention or a miracle happening? Also none, I’d say.

“Has your mind finally snapped? Well, I figured as much when you caused that explosion to enter the clock tower.”

“…Sorry, but my victory condition in this chase wasn’t to outrun your pursuit.”

“You speak strangely. If you believe the Empire will protect you, let me tell you that’s a vain belief.”

“Really? Then… who’s that person behind you?”

“What…!@#$”

And the next moment, all the chains that were chasing me disappeared.

…It was truly a dramatic timing.

Someone approached me, who had lost all strength and collapsed right there.

“……You’re going to have to explain this properly.”

……It was the clock tower’s caretaker.

Oh, right. I broke the clock tower wall, didn’t I?