Chapter 37
Lydia raced across the rooftops of the shopping district with Morgan on her back. Each stride carried her several meters, her golden hair streaming behind her like a meteor’s tail.
Tat-tat-tat—!
The height of the buildings meant nothing;
she was like a flash passing straight through space itself.
“?!”
Morgan was dizzy.
“Ugh…!”
Her vision spun wildly from one direction to another.
The wind whipping against her cheeks was fierce.
Was this what it felt like to be an arrow with eyes?
Her head spun round and round.
Morgan finally screamed.
“Aaaagh—?! Ugh, Lydia, slow down a little…!”
“Shh, don’t talk. You might bite your tongue.”
“Ugh…!”
“I can’t slow down now. If you really can’t take it, just throw up on my back. It’s fine. That’s common on a battlefield.”
“Grr…!”
As if I could do that, you idiot—!!
Morgan’s lips quivered as she squeezed her eyes shut. Along with Lydia’s footsteps, she could hear someone following them. It was one of those Gallian knights.
Tat-tat-tat—!
….”
Mave had kept her mouth firmly shut for a while now. She simply followed Lydia, her expression resolute.
Lydia glanced at her, then looked ahead again.
“…We’re here.”
Before long, they were close enough to see even the number of teeth in the skeletal rider’s grin. The two black stakes piercing its spine in the shape of a cross were clearly visible, too.
The skeletal rider roared thunderously.
[Gwoooar—!]
The skeletal horse it rode burst into blue flames as well. Then skeleton soldiers sprouted from the ground like weeds.
Clatter
Clatter
Clatter
Lydia surveyed her surroundings, too.
….”
This was where the Sun God’s temple should have stood.
The area around the skeletal rider was packed with skeleton soldiers wreathed in blue ghostfire. Hundreds of skeletons clutching shabby spears and swords covered the shopping district like a blue wave.
Clatter
Clatter
Clatter
-Heehee—!
-Kikiki…
-Kyahaha…!
Hundreds of skeleton soldiers had trespassed into the Sun’s domain.
It was the return of a nightmare.
It almost felt as if they were in the Dark Realm.
….”
‘As expected, doubling the number of black stakes must have strengthened its minion-summoning pattern, too… At this scale, my game knowledge is practically useless.’
Dozens might have been manageable,
but hundreds of monsters were a disaster all on their own.
Just by marching, they could bring a city to its knees.
The academy itself might even end up isolated…
“…Phew.”
That bastard Albert…
He was devious in everything he did.
‘Even if he had to put his own goals on hold, he succeeded in making the biggest mess possible. I didn’t expect him to cause this much chaos so much earlier than in the original story…’
No wonder he caused so much trouble later on.
Before it was too late,
I had to expose his true identity and kill him.
Lydia made up her mind.
Morgan watched the scene and muttered,
“It’s hopeless. This city’s finished. Before long, there’ll be more skeletons than people.”
….”
“Surround the leader with hundreds of soldiers, and keep making skeletons endlessly farther down the road… If we charge in, we’ll just get surrounded. We’ll be soaked to the bone in no time.”
It was a coolheaded assessment.
And an accurate one.
Mave said grimly,
“Unless we sweep them away at once with the country boy’s Sacred Sword… I don’t think we can manage it on our own.”
….”
Of course, she was right.
But she wasn’t entirely right.
What they needed now was a strategy.
Lydia studied the layout of the nearby shops.
“Hmm.”
The road ran straight to the academy. The skeleton soldiers had blocked off the entire length of it.
[Gwoooar—!]
The skeletal rider had chosen to isolate itself. But it was ready to flee toward the academy at any moment.
“…There is a way.”
“?”
“?”
Just then,
a crowd came into view in the distance.
They were elite Swordsmanship cadets who had reached the Fluid Realm, along with holy knights who hadn’t sided with Raul.
-Form up! Elite cadets, to the front—!
-Yes, Sir Lucian!
-Charge—!
-Brothers! Charge beneath the Sun—!
Lucian charged at the head of the formation, his body radiating blue energy. The skeletons that struck his broad shoulders were smashed to pieces. He surged forward like a grizzly splitting a river.
Crunch!
Crack!
“Halt the charge! Scatter the skeleton soldiers from here! I’ll be the shield for this formation! Theology cadets and holy knights, watch each other’s backs—!”
“Yes, Sir Lucian!”
Lydia nodded.
“Sir Lucian’s the anvil, then. Quite sturdy.”
“…?”
Mave didn’t understand.
But Lydia continued.
“Then I should prepare a hammer.”
“A hammer…?”
“I have an adorable hammer on my back, don’t I?”
Morgan poked her head out from over Lydia’s shoulder.
“I’m… adorable? Really…?”
Mave frowned.
“That’s the part you’re reacting to?”
“…Hmph.”
Lydia let their exchange pass and looked toward the Sun God’s temple. Countless skeletons had firmly barricaded its entrance.
‘If only we had enough holy water…’
Lydia explained her idea to Mave and Morgan. Both of them widened their eyes.
“Mixing holy water with my water magic and raining it down… It’s a little crude, but it should work. It’ll actually help that we have fewer people on this side.”
“That’s right…! It’ll be much easier if we draw the skeletal rider out.”
“Exactly. Then let’s break through to the temple right now.”
“Yes!”
With the wind brushing past their ears,
they leapt down into the shopping district’s street, now covered in blue ghostfire.
Tap!
Lydia and Mave drew their swords and took aim at the dozens of skeleton soldiers blocking the temple entrance.
Shing—!
*
“Die—!!”
In a split second,
the Sacred Sword slipped from Arti’s hand.
“…!”
Arti’s empty fist twitched.
Raul’s roar echoed in his ears.
-Without the Sacred Sword, you’re nothing—!
And he watched the blade slowly approach.
….”
Indeed…
It was true.
‘That would’ve been true until recently!’
Now, within him,
love and faith stood together.
【Wield your will.】
Even if he wasn’t a Hero,
he could fight as ‘Arti.’
‘I can still fight!’
Arti clenched his fist. The Sacred Sword’s crest glowed on it, and holy energy gathered, gradually taking the shape of lightning.
Crackle!
What came to mind…
was the meaning behind his daily prayers.
Preparing for the dawn.
Reflecting in the evening.
The foundation that helps people move forward.
“O Sun—!!”
Help me move forward.
Blue lightning began to surge around Arti’s fists.
They were the sacred spells used by priests.
The power of those who understood God’s will had manifested.
Crackle—!
Arti thrust out his fist, wreathed in blue lightning, and blocked Raul’s sword. The fist of one who prayed was not cut by an apostate’s blade.
Clang!
“?!”
Raul’s eyes slowly widened.
Arti threw another punch.
He wasn’t wielding the Sacred Sword;
he charged at Raul with his own two fists.
“Haaah—!!”
“…!”
Fist and sword.
The two wills clashed once more.
Blue lightning surged, burning away the shadows.
KABOOM—!
With a dazzling blue light,
the shadow of the crumbling chapel wavered for an instant.
“Ghk…?!”
Raul frowned and drew back his sword.
Every time that madman’s sacred spell—the blue lightning—struck him, pain shot through his entire body. It was the pain of being reminded of a truth he wanted to forget.
Namely…
the fact that the Sun God was rejecting him.
He was being treated like the heretics
he’d spent his whole life cutting down.
‘I… am being punished by the gods? Me? I, who’ve served as a holy knight my whole life? I, who’ve spent my life cutting down the Church’s “enemies”?’
Raul gritted his teeth. Trembling with betrayal, he blamed everything but himself.
“Everything is wrong…! This world, the sun, everything!”
If that was the case,
then he no longer needed the sun.
“I… will have only Aria…!”
The black stake embedded in Raul’s chest read his thoughts. It trembled endlessly, spewing shadows. It welcomed his ‘corruption.’
Tremble…!
Beyond the Dark Realm,
a demon opened its arms and whispered.
[Mortal, welcome…]
Your soul
is now completely mine.
Raul’s veins writhed.
“Graaah—!”
The black stake pulsed like a heart, spewing black shadows like a fountain. They looked like the embodiment of the ugliness within him.
The shadows instantly engulfed Raul.
Crack—!
Crrrack!
His body broke,
twisted,
and swelled.
At last, what emerged was a knight surrounded by cursed shadow-spikes. It was a shadow of ‘arrogance’ that sought to paint everything in its own colors.
The ‘arrogant monstrosity’ cried out. It was a mournful wail from a revenant who had lost even its final shred of will.
[Graaagh—! Aaaaaria—!]
Arti gasped for breath. The black energy pouring from the shadow spikes was utterly repulsive.
“Hah…!”
The great evil throbbing before his eyes frightened him. He wanted to turn his back on that shadow and run away.
But he didn’t.
“I… will protect the Saintess, Aria—!”
Because that was what he had chosen.
Arti brought his hands together,
and summoned blue divine power.
He prayed to drive back the shadows around him.
“O Sun! Grant me the strength to hold on to my will—!”
A blue barrier appeared around Arti.
[Grrrr…!]
The monstrosity looked his way. Clutching the sword in its swollen right hand, it spat out a voice steeped in hatred.
[Sacred Sword Technique… Divine Punishment—!!]
The monstrosity still believed itself to be justice.
Black lightning surged from the cursed shadow sword.
Rumble—!
At last, it pounded against the blue barrier.
Arti’s blue divine power desperately pushed it back. But the black lightning pressed against the barrier, slowly tainting and eroding it with shadows.
“Graaah…!”
Arti gritted his teeth.
If he gave way here,
Aria would be taken by that bastard…!
At that moment.
A voice came from beside him.
“Hero—!”
“?!”
Arti turned around.
Aria was there.
“S-Saintess…?!”
“Now I’ll protect you.”
A flash of blue entered the edge of his vision.
Her silver hair shimmered with blue energy as it swayed.
Aria held the Sacred Sword Danan in both hands. She stood firm, as if she had wielded a sword for a long time.
Arti was stunned by the sight. The Sacred Sword, which scattered like a shadow whenever anyone else tried to wield it… was firmly held in Aria’s hands.
“H-how can you wield the Sacred Sword…?”
“Now I’ll protect you.”
Not as the Saintess.
“As Aria.”