Chapter 71 – The Black Knight, Kalt (4)

“Rubia, wake up!”

A lukewarm liquid flowed into my mouth. The divine power deep within my body stirred and began to awaken.

I twisted my stiff neck side to side and opened my eyes.

“Sister! Hurry, wake up!”

“Priestess… we don’t have much time.”

“What… what is all this…?”

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the black sun hanging high in the sky.

The black sun, the symbol of the Apocalypse, just as I had seen in past visions.

I exhaled shakily and turned my head.

A blood-red carpet, formed from spilled blood, stretched before me.

From where we stood to the overturned ground ahead, it was hard to believe this was the result of a battle between humans. The destruction was far too immense.

It would be easier to explain by saying Karahan’s height had been reduced by about fifty meters.

Shaking my head, I forced myself up.

Even though my limbs had been torn apart by Kalt, reducing me to something like a worm, I was fully healed now.

I barely had time to be disgusted by my monstrous body.

Dragging my creaking frame, I followed the trail of blood forward.

“Sister…?”

“Priestess, be careful—”

“How are you and your employer so alike? Hey! Rubia! Don’t go off on your own!”

Then, the blood-soaked ground began to mix with shadows.

The shadows squirmed without rest, stabbing at my legs.

I stomped them, jumped over them, ran, and tried to push them away with divine power, but they stabbed, cut, and constricted my legs without fail.

“Ugh…! Yuria!!! Help me!!”

“What in the world… are these remnants of shadows?”

“Oh, for the love of—this is ridiculous.”

Panic grew heavier in my chest. My breathing quickened, and my steps grew faster. My walk turned into a sprint.

Even as blood burst from my legs and my body was torn apart, I kept moving forward without stopping.

“Does it only affect living beings…? The roots the Master summoned seem fine…”

“That seems likely, but we can’t be sure. Hephaestus, go into the subspace—it’s dangerous.”

“Hey! Rubia, you crazy idiot! Get over here! This thing is safe—wait, what the hell is that…?”

And at the end of it all.

There stood Noah, shrouded in a dark crimson aura, locked in battle with Kalt—no longer human, but a shadow itself.

The shadows covering the sky rained down on Noah.

“No-Noah, sister!”

Shadowy tendrils that overturned the earth wrapped tightly around Noah’s body.

“Noah…?”

Thousands upon thousands of shadowy blades shot out from Kalt’s body, all aimed at Noah.

“Goddamn it, this isn’t the time! Yuria! Go, hurry up!”

Noah.

She threw herself into the heart of that hell.

She charged at Kalt and slashed.

She kept cutting, slashing at the shadows that had no form. With each swing, blood sprayed from her body.

More blood than one would expect from someone of her size.

It was as if her heart had been squeezed dry, as though it was wringing out every last drop of blood, creating a crimson carpet.

From where we stood to where she was now, she hadn’t retreated once.

She had pushed forward, enduring it all.

We could hear the gasps from our group as a deafening roar echoed, tearing through the sky.

Kalt’s scream reverberated across the peak of Karahan.

Noah’s anguished cry reached our ears.

And then, silence fell.

Yuria’s roots lifted me up, and we sped toward Noah.

Charlotte’s flames tore through the shadows, clearing a path for us.

Divine power radiated from me, healing Yuria and Charlotte while driving away the remaining shadows.

Noah came into view.

From a distance, she seemed fine.

The dark crimson aura surrounding her was almost entirely black now.

But it was only red because of all the blood that had stained her.

What seemed like an intact arm was actually twisted, broken, and shredded.

Her skin looked like it had been haphazardly sewn together in a grotesque patchwork.

Her fingers were gone. Her legs, too, were in a similar state.

Her once cute, long hair had been reduced to a length barely reaching her shoulders.

Her spine was poking out through the skin of her back.

And yet, she kept fighting.

The blood aura, like Carpeng’s, forced Noah’s broken body to move.

Even though she should have died long ago, even though her life had long since ended, the blood aura wielded her body like a puppet, forcing her to swing her greatsword.

Forcing her to keep cutting Kalt down.

The speed of their battle was impossible to track with the naked eye.

Before the blood droplets in the air could even hit the ground, new ones would spray out.

Before those droplets could take shape, before they could settle, Noah’s body moved.

Her greatsword swung.

With each swing, dozens of sonic booms filled the air.

Noah’s shattered body moved faster than any of us could keep up.

And Kalt was even faster than Noah.

But Noah didn’t give up. She continued to charge forward, biting, clawing.

Tears streamed down her face, blown away by the wind, mingling with the blood droplets.

The tears and blood merged into the shadows, creating yet another bloodstained path.

Following the trail of blood, chasing after Noah’s back, I saw it happen.

Noah’s arm was severed.

Her body stopped.

The blood aura that had been forcing her body to move dispersed.

Kalt’s laughter echoed.

And yet.

Noah still tried to move.

She extended her leg, trying to take a step.

Her body tilted forward.

She braced herself with her hand.

But the hand, just a limp piece of skin without bones, couldn’t hold her up.

Neither could her elbow, nor her shoulder.

Nothing could support her broken body.

But she didn’t stop.

She twisted her head, dragging her jaw against the ground.

Her jaw dislocated. She scratched at the earth with her teeth.

Her teeth broke. She clawed at the ground with her gums.

And then, a shadow pierced through her body.

The roots carrying us surged forward with greater speed.

The flames that had been holding the shadows at bay flared up, scattering the shadows that surrounded us.

I knelt down and began to pray.

For the first time since becoming a priestess, I prayed with all my heart.

And then.

[What do you desire?]

A voice reached me.

It was somehow familiar, yet one I had never heard before.

The strength to protect.

The hope to dream of tomorrow together.

Everything I need to save the person I love.

[For whom?]

For Noah.

For her, and her alone.

[I see.]

Eight silver wings unfolded behind me.

[No payment is needed.]

The wings spread wide, as if to block out the black sun, and wrapped around Noah’s body.

The shadows that had pierced through Noah disappeared.

The remnants of the shadows that had consumed the entire area scattered and faded.

The black sun slowly began to retreat.

Kalt let out a monstrous scream.

Yuria launched her attack.

It grazed him.

Charlotte’s flames surged toward Kalt.

They passed through him, doing nothing.

My divine power followed suit.

No matter how many times we attacked, it was futile.

And then, the thousands of shadow tendrils rushed toward us.

Charlotte’s flames resisted.

Yuria’s beasts and plants fought back.

My divine power pushed them away.

“How… how are we supposed to attack him…? How did Noah—”

“Argh!! Rubia! Can’t you do something with those wings?! Gaaah!”

Noah’s body twitched.

Her remaining left arm groped blindly.

She tried to lift herself up with her forehead, skin hanging in tatters.

Even after all this.

Even with her body completely wrecked.

A body that should have died long ago.

She kept searching for her sword.

The greatsword had fallen far behind her.

Charlotte’s sword was also out of reach.

“Is there… is there no sword? Anything, anything I can swing… something… anything at all…”

Even after everything.

Even after seeing Noah in that state.

I hated myself for having no choice but to rely on her once again.

I felt so helpless and disgusted.

Pathetic and useless.

But I still searched for a sword.

And then, a hand emerged from between the tree roots.

Hephaestus’ hand.

“Here! A sword…!!”

In her hand, she held a sword I knew well.

It was Luchi’s sword.

Hephaestus handed the sword to Noah’s trembling hand.

The lifeless left arm, seemingly drained of all strength, slowly lifted the sword.

Charlotte’s flames wrapped around Noah’s body.

Yuria’s plants coiled around her limbs.

I concentrated the divine power that had been fending off the shadows, channeling it into Noah.

Noah raised her arm.

Yuria swallowed hard, glancing at us.

She nodded.

“Damn it! Do something… anything! Hurry, damn it!”

The ground around the roots erupted as hundreds of beasts leaped out.

Sharp thorns sprouted everywhere.

Leaves, vines, and petals scattered through the air.

The speed increased.

The roots surged forward, moving so fast it was hard to keep my eyes open.

We reached Kalt.

Just as the shadows shot out from Kalt’s hand—

Noah’s arm fell gently.

With a weak swing of her sword, the shadows around Kalt were torn apart.

The shadowy tendrils shredded as the sword cut through them, revealing Kalt’s body underneath.

His heart was pierced by the blade, and dark, corrupted veins pulsed around the wound.

Yuria’s thorns shot forward.

Charlotte’s flames roared and surged.

I poured everything into one final divine strike.

There was no sound.

No screams.

No howls of pain.

No sound of flesh tearing or bones breaking.

Only silence.

Clang—

Kalt’s sword fell to the ground.

The black sun collapsed.

The sky cleared.

A gentle warmth spread, enveloping Karahan.

And then.

Noah’s hand.

The sword she had been holding…

It slipped from her grasp.