Ch.67Oath (2)

“How…?”

It was a completely unexpected appearance.

Melody was definitely in Marcy. She was working in that city with the reward she was going to give me.

So why was she here?

It made no logical sense. I had arrived here using the teleportation device in the Pantheon, and I hadn’t even figured out exactly where this place was.

Unless she had teleported the same way, she shouldn’t have been able to reach this place.

But now, Melody had saved me. More precisely, she had saved my mind.

For a moment, I wondered if this was an illusion or my own delusion.

A hallucination while dying, or perhaps something I was seeing after actually dying.

But Melody covered her mouth and laughed at the expression on my face, then lightly jumped down.

The words she muttered slowed her fall, and she finally landed on the ground.

She landed with her cape fluttering and approached my side.

While staring intently at the still-frozen vampire.

Her usually narrowed eyes were wide open, not leaving the enemy.

Because the enemy was that strong.

Melody frowned slightly as she looked at the red beast.

“I thought this would be a chance to score points, but it seems like a difficult situation.”

Standing beside me, Melody whistled briefly. I felt vitality flowing into my body and slowly stood up.

“I’ve killed vampires before, but never one like this. Though it seems weakened.”

“How did you get here?”

“…This isn’t the place to discuss that.”

A bitter smile appeared on her face. When I looked at her, she twirled her sword, gripped it properly, and said,

“I’ll tell you when this is over.”

When it’s over. She prepared for battle with confidence in victory.

Just then, the paralysis spell binding the red beast was wearing off.

The same spell couldn’t be cast twice. Like diseases or poisons, resistance develops. Knowing this well, Melody muttered something and ran her hand along the blade.

Whoosh!

Flames flowed along the blade. Not quite at the level of Star Blade, but an effective attack method against those with regenerative abilities.

She didn’t stop there. She snapped her fingers in the air and pulled out a long axe.

An iron axe with red cloth wrapped around its handle. She handed it over to me.

[Screamer]

[“Do not mourn me.”

-???

This iron battle axe was originally made for cavalry use.

It was the work of a craftsman who hoped his child would make a name for himself on the battlefield.

But the craftsman’s child, originally a cavalryman, became a Mourner, and thereafter became famous for using this axe without mounting a horse.

The screams of those who died in his mourning still echo through the axe.]

[Adds 1 point to hit and damage rolls.

Additionally, if the user is a Mourner, adds up to 4 points of sonic damage to the axe while maintaining ‘Mourning’.]

“The reward. I promised to give it to you but couldn’t.”

Melody smiled brightly. After I took the axe, she turned her smiling face forward.

“Thank me later. Shall we go?”

Along with her cheerful voice, I heard something breaking.

The paralysis spell wore off, and the red beast charged forward, leaving afterimages.

The red afterimages led straight to Melody, not me. Even while being controlled, it had instinctively sensed who was more troublesome.

I gritted my teeth, steadying my creaking body.

[Mourning]

[Time remaining: 60 seconds]

My body heated up with the message appearing in the corner of my vision. The fatigue and pain that had built up were suppressed as my arm rapidly regenerated. With my body now covered in armor, I gripped the axe.

—!

The axe screamed. The way the air around it violently shook reminded me of a tool I had seen before.

A tool that uses vibration for cutting power. An ultrasonic cutter. I gripped such an axe and blocked her path, but.

“I’ve got this.”

Melody smiled, pushed me aside, and swung her cape.

Zzzzzzing!

When the swung cape touched the red trajectory, a golden ripple occurred.

Even with my head dizzy from blood loss, I could immediately recognize the magical effect.

And as if it were natural, the red beast’s movement stopped.

The red beast hesitated as if it had encountered strong resistance.

I finally understood what item Melody possessed and why it was called the Golden Cape.

The cape was clearly purple, but the magic imbued in it flowed and fluttered like golden embroidery.

The Golden Cape, the finest magical item among defensive capes.

It had many effects, but what activated now was its most essential function.

Nullifying an attack once every 6 seconds. Melody withdrew her cape and thrust her thin sword held in both hands.

Kagagagang!

A quick attack stabbing four times at once. Melody’s secret sword technique, Scale Splitter, famous for its delicate footwork and movement.

Despite being a combo attack said to bring down even dragons, the red beast only shed a few drops of blood from its arm.

“How tough!”

She exclaimed playfully. It wasn’t the situation for that, but the reason was obvious.

Because she trusted me. To respond to that trust, I gripped the axe with both hands, including my newly regenerated arm.

I charged in before the red beast could make a move against it. A spinning kick flew toward me as I dashed to the side.

A force that would break the spine and kill instantly if I were human. But I didn’t dodge. Instead, I twisted my lips and swung the axe to meet it.

A thunderous sound rang out simultaneously. A resounding crash that couldn’t be described as merely two people hitting each other.

As my body flew backward, the red beast was also pushed back, dropping blood from its slashed chest.

Our eyes met. Eyes still clouded with madness, whether being controlled or not. With such eyes, Hertol had killed Edilum and beaten Isla and Lorian.

To save them, I had no choice but to draw him in and fall. There was never any chance of winning from the start.

But now it was different. I ran forward with the axe in hand, and the red beast charged to meet me as if welcoming me.

Its trajectory was still invisible to the eye. The acceleration using blood far surpassed mine.

But.

“‘Behold, the struggle of this foolish insect!'”

Melody’s timely shout became magic. The red beast slowed momentarily, creaking.

My axe fell toward his expressionless face.

Zzzrk!

Despite blocking in time, his body was knocked back. I followed up with a kick to his leg, and he was pushed back helplessly.

“—!”

My speed increased following Melody’s hummed rhythm, and Melody, accelerating just the same, struck the rolling red beast with her blade to raise him up.

The beast that had been dragged along the ground stopped by plunging its arm into the floor, but it was too late.

I concentrated power in my legs and accelerated by kicking off the ground.

What I performed with the explosive acceleration was a front kick.

When I kicked along the path guided by knowledge instinctively engraved in my brain, the red beast grabbed my leg to block it.

Wheeeeeeee!

I applied force as if trying to pull it out, but it didn’t go as the red beast planned.

A whistle that rang out soon after released my leg, and as soon as my leg was free, I jumped up and struck his chin with my knee.

I brought the axe down on the shoulder of the red beast as it was pushed back.

“‘The mountain echoes, and shouts resound! Ah, brave six gladiators!'”

Six projectiles shot by Melody pierced the red beast, making it bleed.

I swung my axe again at the opening created, cutting off all five fingers, but.

The red beast was still a level 20 blood mage. Though pushed back by the axe, it immediately tore up the floor and threw it.

The flying rocks were aimed at Melody. They reached her before she could swing her cape in front of her.

And what plunged down before her widely opened eyes of surprise was a red flash.

Chaeng!

With a sharp metallic sound, the rock was cut in half and deflected to both sides.

Snow-white hair fluttered, and red eyes covered in crimson armor met Melody’s gaze.

The one who had intervened was Blood Knight Lorian. It was his first time meeting Melody.

Naturally, he didn’t know who she was. He could tell she was a vampire just by looking. But he had protected her. Melody stretched her empty hand forward.

Tak!

The sound of snapping fingers rang out. The red beast’s body stiffened with a jolt. Lorian rushed toward the opening created.

Chaeng!

His swung execution blade dug into the red beast’s side, bursting blood.

—!

I raised my screaming axe and carved a vertical gash in its chest.

Muscles and skin harder than steel. But I made eye contact with Lorian and coordinated our assistance.

Bbeok, chaeeeng!

When Lorian prepared and swung a big attack, I kicked the beast’s legs to break its stance.

Ddddddrk, jjeok!

When the red beast tried to counterattack my forceful big attack, Lorian willingly filled that gap.

The red beast couldn’t put up any meaningful resistance in the place where Lorian and I worked together.

Even what little resistance it managed was blocked.

Even when it forcibly broke through and sent Lorian and me flying, Melody stepped in.

“One, two, three, let’s take a break here. Yap.”

Kagagagang!

Melody, who had been casting magic by singing, humming, or making speeches, was a minstrel and a complete swordsman.

She rushed into the gap left by Lorian and me, deflected attacks with her cape, and thrust her sword at a fierce pace.

The continuous metallic sounds came at a speed and volume hard to believe were from muscle and steel colliding.

Amid the continuous metallic sounds like a swarm of bees, Melody maintained her smiling face and sharply and quickly handled the attacks.

She blocked or avoided punches, elbows, pushing kicks, and downward kicks with sword techniques, the blade, cape, and spinning. At the end, her thrust was imbued with golden light.

Zzzzzzzzzeng!

A thrust with enough power to knock the red beast far away. Clearly a strike imbued with magical power. But Hertol didn’t fall.

Even Nerilmaeus would have trouble remaining unscathed after taking that hit.

Instead, he accelerated again, leaving red trajectories, and aimed for Melody, but.

Kwaduk!

An accurately flying arrow stopped him. He stiffened with a jolt. The arrow that pierced the back of his knee had a crimson arrowhead.

In human form, he had no choice but to stop. But before he could pull it out or break it, I recognized it.

It was a fragment of my armor. I reached out my hand toward the arrow.

Kaang!

The armor fragment burst, creating a hole in Hertol’s knee. His stance collapsed.

I made eye contact with Isla, who was wagging her tail at me from afar, and rushed forward without hesitation.

Arrows rained down, and Lorian ran beside me, lowering his stance as if sliding and cutting the other leg.

Melody thrust her blade sharply twice into that opening and jumped up to avoid an attack, while I approached at close range, took a punch with my body, and embedded the axe.

My body shook, and an arrow pierced the leg the red beast was trying to extend.

Kwajik!

When the arrow exploded with the Iron Man effect and pushed him back, my hand crossed that empty space.

I grabbed his forearm and clenched my other hand.

The axe was still embedded in the beast’s body.

What remained was pure grit and determination. I gritted my teeth and swung my fist that I had pulled back.

It felt as if the air burst in a circle. My consciousness momentarily faded before returning. Melody’s whispered rhythm breathed vitality back into my body.

Making a teeth-grinding sound, I lowered my body to avoid the fist aimed at my head and embedded my fist in the beast’s abdomen.

Zzzzzrk!

It felt like hitting steel. But I didn’t hesitate. I pulled my fist back again and embedded it once more.

I repeated this. Even though I knew I would die first from doing this.

That’s why the red beast, with what little reason it had left, engaged with me.

Jeng, zzzzzeng!

With each fist embedded in me, my consciousness faded, and what little armor I had regenerated shattered into fragments.

Yet I continued this mindlessly brutal exchange of blows.

A flying fist finally pounded my head, and the metal pieces covering my face all shattered into fragments.

I vomited blood from the fist embedded in my abdomen, and the following elbow strike nearly tore my neck, but.

I endured. Barely, I endured, walking with death as my companion.

All to land one technique.

I knew. That this beast couldn’t be killed by conventional means.

There was only one technique that worked. The only attack this monster-like man, who took all attacks with his body, had completely avoided.

Feeling death standing close by, I clenched my fist.

Heu, a flowing smile appeared on my face.

Formless energy gathered in my clenched fist.

It was different from visible magical power. That power doesn’t show off. Because everyone can see and feel it, they don’t consciously notice it.

But that doesn’t mean it’s weak. Rather, it’s stronger than anything else in this world.

The principle that regulates life and death. That dwells in my fist.

This time, you won’t be able to dodge.

My nonsensical words resonated beyond reason, and the beast, flinching and stiffening, was struck.

“Mortality.”

My fist embedded. Cracks bloomed from where it hit.

The white cracks spread slowly throughout his body without hesitation.

And as pieces fell away, I saw something in the place where life was scattering.

‘I swear.’

A still young Hertol proudly swearing to someone.

Whoever heard those words smiled, lowered the corners of their mouth, and inwardly saddened, patted the beast’s shoulder.

That face was…

The same as what was reflected in the red beast’s eyes now. The beast looked up blankly and smiled.

“Father, I’m sorry. I couldn’t keep it.”

The skin on his face fell away, turning white. Watching the pieces fall, I unconsciously opened my mouth.

“I forgive you.”

The beast, who had closed his eyes, opened them again, looked at me, and smiled faintly.

He was now looking at me, not his father.

“Be careful of… the Emperor.”

It was a sudden statement.

Before I could fathom its meaning and ask,

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

Messages appeared in the corner of my vision, and then.

“…He’s here.”

Hertol’s body collapsed.

In a messy way, as if someone had forcibly unraveled it.

In the place where Hertol had turned to dust and settled, all that remained was an ominously appearing status window.