Chapter 42

Яеａｄ​ ｏη ǨаｔＲеа​ɗ​ίṅǵϹａſҽ

Recently, the Holy See had developed a new elixir.

Called the “Ascender”, this elixir could amplify divine power to an extreme degree, boosting combat power dozens of times in a short period.

However, after a certain amount of time, the body would collapse, leading to certain death.

It was a sacred elixir, permitted only to clergy entrusted with extreme missions, to be used solely for the holy duty of purging heretics.

And now, it had been used right in front of Lucy.

“Step back, Master.”

Darcan spoke in a serious tone.

“I’ll handle this.”

Standing before Darcan and Lucy was Arthur, who had consumed the Ascender.

Arthur no longer looked like an old man.

He was now over two meters tall, his body transformed into a hulking mass of muscle.

His eyes burned white, and steam billowed around his body.

“Heretics…”

His voice, too, was strange.

“Mu… must be purged…”

He seemed unable to speak properly.

“Shut up, monster!”

Darcan shouted, swinging his greatsword.

Bwoong!

Darcan’s greatsword shot forward with ferocious momentum.

But,

Thud—

Arthur casually caught Darcan’s greatsword.

With his bare hand.

“Tsk.”

Darcan tried to pull his sword back.

But the greatsword, gripped by Arthur, didn’t budge.

“Not letting go?”

No matter how much Darcan struggled, it was the same.

The greatsword remained firmly in Arthur’s grasp, as if suspended in midair.

Eventually, Darcan gave up on the sword and charged at Arthur.

Taat!

Darcan aimed for Arthur’s legs.

His plan was to grab his legs, knock him down, and then climb on top of him to deliver a punch to the jaw.

But Darcan’s plan didn’t come to fruition.

Mid-charge, Arthur swung his fist, sending Darcan flying.

Puh-eok!

Darcan flew through the air like a puppet with its strings cut, tumbling roughly across the ground before crashing into a wall.

His limbs were bent at unnatural angles.

His blue eyes flickered precariously, like a candle on the verge of going out.

“…”

Lucy immediately canceled Darcan’s summoning.

Leaving him like that felt somehow pitiful.

But it wasn’t the right situation for Lucy to go over and restore him by infusing him with magical power.

“Kuuuh!”

Arthur roared, swinging his fist at Lucy.

A fist twice the size of Lucy’s face.

If it hit, she’d end up just like Darcan.

But Arthur’s fist never reached Lucy.

The Shadow Shield, sensing the threat, activated on its own and blocked Arthur’s punch.

Kwaang!

A shockwave rippled through the surroundings.

The air vibrated, and the raindrops around them evaporated instantly.

It was as if an invisible, circular wall surrounded them, bending the rain around it.

When the shockwave subsided, the rain began to pour again.

Swoosh—

The sound of the heavy rain made the standoff between them even more intense.

Lucy was slightly startled by Arthur’s power but quickly regained her composure.

After all, as long as she had the Shadow Shield, she wouldn’t be hurt.

“Bone Spear.”

As Lucy extended her hand, a massive bone spear shot forward.

Since it was cast at such close range, Arthur couldn’t dodge.

No, he didn’t dodge.

Thud—!

The bone spear pierced Arthur’s solar plexus.

But Arthur, unfazed, grabbed the bone spear with both hands.

“Kuuuh!”

Arthur’s arm muscles bulged.

He slowly pulled the bone spear out.

“Kuuuuh!”

The gruesome sight made Lucy shiver slightly.

A large hole had been torn through Arthur’s solar plexus, revealing the space behind him.

Instead of blood, white smoke flowed from the hole, seemingly healing the wound.

He was truly a monster.

Taat!

Arthur kicked off the ground and swung his fist at Lucy again.

Kwang!

But he still couldn’t harm her.

Kwang! Kwang!

Arthur circled Lucy rapidly, continuously swinging his fists, but all his attacks were blocked by the Shadow Shield.

Lucy cast another skill.

“Dark Inferno.”

With Lucy’s soft voice, black flames erupted.

Whoosh!

The black flames quickly spread, coiling around Arthur’s body like a snake.

“Kuuuuh!”

Arthur thrashed and screamed.

The black flames tightened around him, leaving no room for escape.

The white smoke rising from Arthur’s body was gradually consumed by the black flames, fading away.

Thud—

Arthur’s knees gave out.

His body was shrinking.

As the divine power dissipated, his body was returning to its original state.

Yet, his eyes still burned white with rage.

Those eyes glared piercingly at Lucy, but it was meaningless.

Lucy simply met his gaze calmly.

Arthur slowly opened his mouth.

“Your mother…”

Then he collapsed, unmoving.

Lucy frowned slightly.

Was that a curse?

“…”

The black flames clinging to Arthur’s body faded.

Arthur’s body, now revealed, was thoroughly charred.

His skin was wrinkled and twisted, and his limbs were grotesquely deformed.

It must have been due to his body swelling earlier.

Most notably, he was naked.

The black flames Lucy had cast had completely burned away his clothes.

Lucy stretched out her hand again.

She intended to cremate Arthur’s corpse.

She couldn’t just leave the body here.

But then,

“Lucy—!”

A voice called out.

Turning her head, Lucy saw Ed running toward her.

Beside him were Ron and Ellie, followed by Theodore and a group of guards.

“Huff, huff… Lucy, are you okay?!”

Ed asked, panting heavily.

His eyes quickly scanned Lucy.

Lucy, drenched from the rain.

Her neck was bruised a deep blue, and her knees were scraped and bleeding.

And beside Lucy, an old man laid there; collapsed.

Not a single thread of clothing on him.

The situation was easy to piece together.

“You perverted bastard!”

Ed clenched his fists and charged at the old man.

Theodore quickly grabbed Ed from the side.

“…He’s already dead.”

“Hah, but this bastard did something weird to Lucy…!”

“Lucy!!”

At that moment, Ellie rushed forward and hugged Lucy tightly.

“Lucy, are you okay? You must’ve been so scared. That old man, he finally…”

“…”

Lucy didn’t say a word.

It seemed everyone had misunderstood the situation.

◈

To summarize, this is what they thought:

While Lucy was alone in Ellie’s room, the old man had broken in with ill intentions.

Terrified, Lucy had desperately run away, only to find herself cornered here.

The old man, with a vile grin, had stripped off his clothes and approached Lucy…

“…And then what happened? How did this old man die?”

One of the guards tilted his head, looking at the old man.

At that moment,

Kwaang—!

A loud thunderclap echoed, and a thick bolt of lightning struck down.

The sudden flash of light made everyone shut their eyes tightly.

The lightning was massive, as if the sky itself had been torn apart.

“Gasp!”

The guards stepped back in shock.

Ellie let out a small scream, “Eek!” and hugged Lucy even tighter.

Swoosh—!

Everyone looked up at the sky.

The rain-filled sky flickered as if burning with divine wrath.

It was a strange sight, as if a holy judgment had been delivered.

One of the guards spoke in a trembling voice.

“Th-the gods have punished him themselves…”

At that, everyone exchanged glances and nodded.

They all seemed to share the same thought.

That this was divine judgment.

A heavenly punishment for threatening an innocent girl.

“The gods protected her, that girl…”

“The gods themselves have delivered justice…!”

“Ooh…!”

The people now looked up at the sky with awe.

Through the faintly visible storm clouds, it almost seemed as if the eyes of the gods were gazing down upon them.

“…”

Lucy was flustered by the situation, as everyone nodded in agreement.

It seemed they all believed the old man had been struck by lightning.

While it was absurd, it didn’t seem like a bad outcome.

After all, it saved her the trouble of explaining.

“…Lucy, let’s go inside. You’ll catch a cold. I’ll help you wash up.”

Ellie led Lucy back into the castle.

Ed, Ron, and Theodore followed behind.

Meanwhile, the guards stayed behind to deal with the old man’s corpse.

“What should we do with the body?”

One guard asked, and a higher-ranking guard answered.

“Just dump it in the forest. I’ll report it to the lord separately.”

“Understood.”

It would be difficult to identify him anyway, since he’d been struck by lightning.

And there was no need to find out.

He was probably just another vagrant wandering the roads.

And so, Arthur’s body was discarded in the forest.

The Holy See would be horrified if they found out, but that was unlikely to happen.

Swoosh—

In the rain-soaked forest.

Animals began to gather, tearing into Arthur’s corpse.

As his flesh was ripped apart, faint white smoke rose before dissipating.

The effects of the Ascender had completely vanished.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
How nice of him to mask his own death, at least he doesn’t leave misunderstandings~