Ch.515Battle with the Fragment (2)

– BOOM!

The thunderous sound echoed. The fierce battle that felt like it was scraping nerves with a blade continued, turning the already ruined city into an even greater wasteland.

The right arm of the evil god. It was merely a severed forearm, yet it exuded overwhelming might as if to prove the god’s immense power.

Though not comparable to a dragon, it was still a monster I couldn’t face with my current abilities. If Ceylon and Lacy hadn’t been there, if Nigel and Leonore hadn’t diverted even a little of the creature’s attention, I would have already been torn to shreds.

“Kyaaaah!”

I gritted my teeth, shook off the negative emotions, and slashed through the black waves.

Like a captain of a small boat navigating through a storm with only a single beam of light, I deliberately ignored the overwhelming sense of hopelessness that kept surging forward.

My other companions were also suppressing their fear and fighting with all their might against the calamity brought by the evil god.

“The wicked one conceived sin, bore disaster, and gave birth to falsehood; may the gracious heavens strike down my enemy with lightning!”

The Church of Elpinel’s attack miracle, Thunder Judgment. Pure white holy light transformed into a spear of lightning and shot forth.

“Judge of the Scales. This land is filled with the sin of bloodshed, and arrogant brutality has filled the city; forge chains to wrap around the sinner’s neck and strangle them!”

The “Weight of Sin” that Ceylon manifested wrapped around the monster like chains, slowing it down.

And then.

【 Vo҉̢̦̯̦̙͇̖̙̱͇͍id҈̨͎̱͚̫̤̯̤͖͍͚̭̗ͅ.̸̭̰̬̖̞͍̮̯̦͉̰̗̫͉̠͜ͅ 】

A distorted, twisted sound like static noise filled with interference echoed.

The lake of dark mana boiled over and swirled like a whirlpool. Lacy’s lightning spear was engulfed by the dark mana and disappeared, and the golden chains binding the monster’s body all shattered at once.

“Not yet, not yet…!”

“No one can escape Astraea’s judgment!”

However, Lacy and Ceylon did not yield, continuously emitting holy light and firing miracles.

Circles of divine script formed around the monster like a siege, pouring down a barrage of punishment, and pillars of pure white light pierced through the lake of dark mana. It was both magnificent and desperate.

“Lacy! Fight while conserving your strength! Don’t fixate on attacking! If you collapse, neither blessings nor recovery will be possible!”

I shouted urgently. While Elpinel’s lightning spear was an effective technique against magical beasts, it was a waste of energy to repeatedly use it against an enemy that wasn’t particularly vulnerable to it.

What I expected from Lacy wasn’t offense but supporting our allies who were facing the enemy.

Enhancing physical abilities, blocking fatal attacks, purifying dark mana that invaded the body, and healing wounds. Those were Lacy’s most important roles.

The moment her power ran out and the blessings she bestowed upon our allies disappeared, our precarious coordination would immediately fall apart.

Ceylon and I could manage to hold out even if Lacy collapsed. Ceylon was fighting with Astraea’s blessing rather than relying on Lacy’s power, and I was barely affected by the dark mana thanks to my mana resistance and stigmata.

My physical abilities had improved somewhat thanks to Lacy’s blessing, but I could maintain similar capabilities on my own by pouring more karma power into the fight.

In other words, thanks to Lacy, I could fight longer.

On the other hand, Nigel and Leonore were practically alive only because of Lacy’s blessing.

Without Lacy’s blessing, they would have already collapsed from dark mana corruption, or been hit directly by that monster’s attacks and fallen into critical condition or died.

If Nigel and Leonore fell, it was clear that Lacy would soon follow. They were thoroughly protecting Lacy, who was slower than us, from all kinds of dangers.

“Don’t worry! My stigmata is pulsating more intensely than ever right now!”

Lacy raised her cross spear and shouted as if to reassure me.

The stigmata engraved on her wrist. The proof of being the agent who received Elpinel’s full favor was faithfully fulfilling its role, multiplying the efficiency of her miracles.

…Will she be alright?

I wasn’t sure. Unlike in a game, there were no gauges showing remaining power in this world that had become reality. I had no choice but to believe she was fine.

[ Dodge! ]

I couldn’t afford to pay more attention anyway.

In that brief moment when I focused on Lacy, the monster’s arms overlapped to form a wall and came swinging toward me!

– Whoosh!

The air displaced by its arm groaned. It was like an entire rampart covered with blood vessels and flesh charging at me.

Too late to dodge. I gripped Durandal firmly and let out a fierce roar.

“Kyaaaah!”

Like a swirling torrent, I unleashed a golden blade barrier by layering slash upon slash. Flesh exploded and blood sprayed. The blade imbued with destructive intent cut through everything it touched. It felt like cutting water with a sword.

However, the monster’s arm was too fast to cut through all its flesh. Before the overlapping slashes could form a complete plane, the half-severed giant arm reached right in front of me.

– Splurch!

A sound like a water-filled leather pouch bursting. My vision turned red as my body was sent flying. The air pressure struck my back.

With a single groan, I flew through the air for about a hundred meters before crashing into a pile of debris.

It was a force that a human body made of blood and flesh couldn’t withstand—one that could have caused instant death from total body rupture if it had been a direct hit.

If I hadn’t defended, I would surely have suffered a fatal wound.

[ Are you alright! ]

‘My head is ringing…’

I dug myself out of the debris pile and straightened my staggering body, dizzy from flying at high speed and crashing.

[ It’s fortunate it ended with just that; if I hadn’t blocked it, you would have died! ]

‘…Well, that’s true.’

The veil of murder karma that had been covering my vision melted away.

The power of murder karma that had been gradually filling up since Hersella awakened. The death energy that hadn’t accumulated much had now been depleted by nearly half.

So I could only use this kind of defense once more? Well… I shouldn’t complain since it saved my life.

I knew well that diverting attention elsewhere during battle was dangerous, yet I allowed a direct hit because my attention was drawn to Lacy’s waste of holy power. It was an unavoidable but critical mistake.

【 Gr҉̢͡oo҈̧̛oo҉̧͡o҉̡҇oo҉̧̛!̷̡͝ 】

There was no time for leisurely reflection. The distance between me and the monster had already widened. Ceylon was struggling desperately to hold the line in my absence.

Golden holy light swirled like a storm, breaking and reforming repeatedly.

I shook my head from side to side to clear my mind, then kicked off the ground and charged once more.

—-

Although I had been hit and sent flying, the defense I had attempted earlier had left an indelible wound on the monster’s arm.

An arm with more than half of its inner wrist severed. The monster had submerged that arm in the lake of darkness and was rampaging with its remaining seven arms.

I had effectively sealed one of the monster’s means of attack, but it wasn’t a sight that warranted optimism. The lake water that had rushed into the wounded area was gradually solidifying, replacing the gouged flesh.

It was a form of repair more similar to Dryad’s method than regeneration.

Small wounds wouldn’t mean much.

If it could replace injuries with dark mana, the only way to end the monster would be to inflict a fatal wound that would extinguish its life before it could repair the damage, rather than gradually wearing down its vitality by accumulating small wounds.

…Whether that was possible against such a massive body was questionable.

I added more strength to my advancing legs and shot forward like a cannonball. The distance between me and the monster closed rapidly.

Although the shield of murder karma hadn’t completely blocked the impact, as my whole body was still a bit creaky, the holy light of Lacy that remained in my body was quickly healing the damage to my muscles and bones.

“Lord Median! Are you alright?”

Lacy brightened with relief. Nigel and Leonore also seemed to have been worried about me, as their expressions lightened.

“Thanks to you!”

I left a brief word of thanks as I passed by them, heading toward Ceylon.

It had taken me only about twenty seconds to return after being forcefully blown away, but Ceylon looked terrible, as if he had endured tremendous hardship in that short time.

The holy armor he had manifested with his power was completely corroded by dark mana, and the halo of scales floating behind his head had also become semi-transparent and dim.

His face was covered in dirt and sweat. Blood trickled from between his firmly closed lips. His left arm, which dangled as if broken, was filled with healing power.

He had been able to hold out only because of the tenacity unique to paladins; a knight of equal rank would have been incapacitated long ago.

I really did well bringing him along.

I announced my return by cutting down a black whip flying toward Ceylon, then took his place at the front line as he retreated, catching his breath.

【 Gr҉̡̕uu҈̧̕u҉̧͡…?̵̢͡ 】

Perhaps because someone it thought it had killed had returned unharmed, or maybe it was my imagination, but the monster’s voice seemed to contain something like a questioning emotion. Though it didn’t last long.

【 Gr҈͜͠aa҉̢͝a҉̡͠a҈̧̛a҈̧͞a҈̨͞!̶̢̛ 】

With a roar that shook the sky, the monster’s hands began to pour down toward me. It was like facing an avalanche head-on.

I sharpened my senses, drew upon more karma power, and pointed Durandal toward the monster’s arms rushing at me.

If small wounds were useless… I had no choice but to aim for the head.

I spread the power of heroic karma throughout my body and threw myself into a colorless world.

【 Tale of Heroes – Defying Fate 】

In a world that had slowed almost to a standstill, I leaped toward the monster’s slowly approaching arm.