episode_0165

Quaddddeuk!

The golden light spear, leaving a long shadow, clashed against the black barrier and shattered into pieces.

Beyond the magic barrier dissipating with all its might, the witch with a smirk on her lips licked her tongue while eyeing Freid’s sword.

“Ambersteel blade and golden light spear… That sword, it’s Nevelung, isn’t it?”

“….”

As a former priestess of the Goddess sect, Arianne immediately recognized the Holy Sword and even the name. Confusion and wariness were evident in her crimson eyes.

“I heard that Nevelung’s master is a man named Freid, but how in the world… Could it be that the voice and the face don’t match?”

Instead of answering, Freid raised his sword once again. The blatant lust for blood was overflowing within that simple motion.

“…Are you ready?”

“Hyaaah!”

With a wolf-like low stance, Freid charged forward, swinging his greatsword.

The three streaks of light trails cut through the air, turning into spears of light, followed by the black cloak fluttering in the darkness like wings.

“If it were Terveng, I wouldn’t be surprised, but facing Nevelung, this is unexpected…”

“We were caught off guard too, you know?”

After crushing the severed head of Gangel into a pulp, I pushed off the ground with all my strength and launched myself towards Arianne.

The threat towards the assassins temporarily disappeared, and with Gangel’s head now a crushed mess, the hostage play between us had completely fallen apart.

The only way forward was to fight this battle head-on and hope that the assassins would cast aside their curse and join forces.

“Haah!”

“Hyaaat!”

Two blades flying from both sides, imbued with the power of the Goddess. Arianne’s eyebrows furrowed in displeasure.

“…Arrogant.”

In the next moment, a dozen black lightning bolts burst forth simultaneously, sweeping through the surroundings.

– Kwarrrring!

“Ack!”

“Ugh…!”

Freid and I were both knocked back simultaneously. Freid slid along the ground, pinning Nevelung down, while I crashed into the ground and rolled a few times.

“Kkuuugh…!”

Groans escaped involuntarily.

The pain felt like fire coursing through my veins. My muscles spasmed uncontrollably, and the lightning strike on my side left a horrific burn.

Four lightning bolts flew towards Freid. Nine were unleashed by the golden light spear he had shot. And two struck me.

I managed to deflect one with my sword, but the other hit me head-on.

The speed was faster than expected, and the impact was greater than anticipated. Despite being exhausted, I couldn’t even block with just two feet.

– Chiiii…!

The torn Nubi armor revealed the side that was now drenched in crimson blood.

It wasn’t just a burn from the lightning. My flesh itself was emitting smoke, decaying slowly.

It was a curse I knew all too well.

Arianne’s favorite curse magic, Kelbern’s Black Thunder.

Combining electrocution with decay, it was a vicious curse that caused the body to rot and die in a paralyzed state.

“Damn, this hurts like hell…!”

Gritting my teeth, I activated .

The cold spreading through my veins suppressed the pain, cooling the decaying area on my side.

Frozen things don’t rot.

Feeling the curse’s power slowly dissipating, I quickly got up from the paralysis.

“Phew…”

My breath felt icy cold. It wasn’t because of Ice Heart, but because of the tension in the air.

“…To take that hit and almost immediately get back up. Impressive to be able to outsmart the Ganaegle.”

“Her hands are shaking. It felt a bit tingly, but with this kind of magic, she couldn’t even kill one orc.”

I smirked, feigning nonchalance.

Of course, it was all just a show.

In reality, if the situation had been a little worse, I wouldn’t have been able to get back up.

Thanks to the magic resistance of the Luck Iron Armor, the power of the lightning was weakened, and thanks to the Ice Heart, paralysis and decay could be suppressed.

If I had lacked either one of them, it would have meant certain death.

‘…Indeed, this woman is dangerous.’

To have such power without even using my full strength. Truly deserving of being called the strongest Abyss Priestess.

Freide, wielding the Holy Sword and using the curse and divine protection to block the lightning, completely neutralized the light attack she unleashed without leaving a trace of it.

Since I didn’t bring my usual subordinates with me from the original, I thought that teaming up with Freide, who wielded the Holy Sword, might be worth a try… but it seems I misjudged.

To kill this witch without any sacrifices, at least three people were needed. Freide and I, both in top condition, plus another strong individual on our level.

“…She’s strong.”

Freide seemed to have the same thought as me, cautiously watching the witch’s movements instead of recklessly charging in, despite her anger.

“But I can’t forgive her. How dare she injure Hill- no, Creamhilt’s body…!”

Perhaps in response to her owner’s anger, the golden glow emanating from Nibelung intensified. It was bright enough to drive away the darkness and illuminate the surroundings.

“…She seems to be a hero. I don’t know why the hero of Laein is cooperating with Heide.”

Ariane muttered as she stepped back, avoiding the blinding light as if it was too bright.

Did they consider us to be in a cooperative relationship with Heide? It seemed like their information wasn’t very accurate.

No, more importantly, when are those damn assassins going to strike?

I glanced around, my eyes subtly scanning the assassins who had fallen under the curse and collapsed.

Among the bodies lying motionless in their black robes, Edga, who had been knocked away by the curse instead of dying, was the only one who showed any signs of life. The rest seemed to be completely incapacitated.

Useless.

Not only were they wiped out by a wide-area curse, but they were still lying there. Wasn’t their resistance too low, even for ordinary assassins?

Even though their skills were mediocre, I thought Baynum would at least start to wake up. It seems I was mistaken once again.

“What about Ganaegle? Did you kill her?”

Did I kill Ganaegle?

“If you’re curious, stick your neck out. It’ll only hurt at first, and you’ll soon be able to reunite with your husband.”

Yes, I killed her. Rather than releasing all the captured Abyss Priests, I thought it would be better to just kill her and engage in a fight with low odds of winning.

To be honest, I thought that if Freide drew the Holy Sword and launched a surprise attack, we might have a chance against the resurrected assassins. Unfortunately, the plan only half succeeded.

For now, it was certain that the assassins had escaped from being hostages.

As long as Freide and I were in close proximity, the witch wouldn’t be able to impale the assassins with the black spear like before.

In fact, it was almost a relief.

If she revealed such a gap while facing us on this street, Freide and I might be able to take one of her arms each.

“Is that so? Well… if she’s dead, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Ariane shrugged lightly, exhaling a soft sigh.

To come all this way to save a fellow officer, only to find out they’re dead, and to have such a reaction.

Even those who have dropped a coin in the water seemed sadder than that.

“Well, it’s a bit disappointing. I wanted to take at least one useful test subject before leaving. Oh well, it’s just one of those days.”

Stepping back a few paces behind Aria, she widened the distance between us.

As if retreating with a loaded gun in hand, she aimed her arms at us, wrapped in thick magic.

“Leaving? Are you talking about the Kuma Yeokcheonhoe?”

“That’s right. It wasn’t a particularly appealing organization to begin with.”

Aria chuckled as she spoke.

“Leonard was suspicious, Gangal was foolish, and Ord was arrogant. Hug, who only made grand plans, and Higgs, who didn’t say a word, died a long time ago.”

As the distance grew, Aria began to disperse her magic altogether.

I was expecting a bloody battle, but she seemed unexpectedly uninterested in fighting.

Perhaps the reason she came all the way here had already disappeared, so she didn’t seem to have any intention of risking her life to fight.

It seemed that she was as wary of the Holy Sword’s light as we were of her.

“Even the second-in-command is a spy for another organization. Such a group won’t last long, right? And with two heroes together, it’s strange not to fail at this point.”

…That’s new information. Was that setting in the original? I don’t remember it, probably because it wasn’t there.

“I have no intention of staying on a sinking ship. If I die as a spy and bring shame upon myself, where is the dignity in that?”

“A spy…? Where from?”

“Well, where do you think?”

“…?”

No intention of answering, is it?

Well, I didn’t expect it in the first place. A spy only reveals their organization when they’ve been subjected to 3000 times the level of human modification.

“Anyway, now that it’s come to this, let’s go our separate ways. There’s no need to shed blood over something that’s not beneficial, right?”

Is this a way of parting without fighting for our lives?

As far as I was concerned, it was a welcome development. It was a bit uncomfortable to be taken advantage of unilaterally, but.

And Freide seemed much more uncomfortable than I was.

“Are you going to let her go?!”

Abandoning her cautious stance of carefully observing the opponent’s movements, she wielded her Holy Sword and charged forward like a storm.

“I’ve already let her go, young hero.”

The next moment, a black mist rose up and enveloped Aria.

“Wait there-!”

Freide desperately swung her sword to cut through the mist, but by the time the mist dispersed, no one was left in its place.

“Damn it…!”

Freide looked around with a furious expression.

Whether it was a short-range spatial transfer or just a concealment spell, it was clear that she had lost track of the witch.

…I guess I should be thankful.

“Phew….”

Feeling the tension release, a wave of exhaustion washed over me. I let out a deep sigh and sheathed my sword.

The fight was over.

We had achieved our goal perfectly here, and we had survived without major injuries.

‘I was lucky.’

I couldn’t bring myself to say those words out loud, but honestly, the result could only be explained by luck.

If Aria was a combat maniac who didn’t care if I got hurt, there was a high chance that we would have lost our lives in exchange for injuring her.

Anyway… we survived another day.

I sat down on the ground, looking up at the sky, forcing a smile.

‘…Next time, I’ll definitely tear her apart.’

If I ever meet Ariane again, I promise to tear her body apart little by little and count the pieces.

======[ Ariane. ]======

“Whew. I almost died back there.”

Deep in a secluded forest far from the rocky hill where Ganagel met his end.

Ariane, after escaping at full speed as soon as she was free from the clutches of the hero of Rhine, finally stopped and let out a sigh of relief.

Reflecting on the danger she narrowly escaped by venturing out to capture an experimental subject.

Although she pretended to be relaxed and boastful, in reality, she had only been thinking of fleeing since the appearance of Nibelung.

If her true feelings were exposed to the enemy, there would be no chance to escape, so she did her best to hide them.

“Damn Elianel. Not content with being the owner of Tirving, now you want to be the owner of Nibelung too. Is that why you want to kill me?”

The reason she chose to flee was simple.

Although she was confident she could defeat the young Nibelung owner and the black-haired knight in artifact armor, she had a gut feeling that it would not be an easy task.

To kill them, Ariane would have to expend a considerable amount of time and magic power, perhaps even risking serious injury.

And that would mean her death.

“…If that happens, it’s over. How will I defeat that sinister prince Heid with my exhausted body?”

If she wasted time, she would inevitably be exposed and defeated by Heid, who was already close to Suvina.

That’s why she chose to flee.

Not because she was afraid of two heroes, but because she knew she couldn’t handle another battle with a party of heroes that would follow.

To fight and win against two heroes was impossible even for Ariane.

If it had been possible, there would have been no need for elaborate schemes against Heid in the first place.

Ariane was a woman who could coldly distinguish between what she could and couldn’t do, and the moment she aimed for Nibelung, she was certain she couldn’t do it alone.

That decision saved her life.

Knowing when to escape accurately, she could survive even as a high-profile fugitive.

Unlike other Abyss priests who died because they couldn’t escape, Ariane, who survived unscathed today, was proving that this was the truth.