Chapter 267

Truly, it was the most horrifying ten minutes ever.

Being cut, burned, torn, and melted—it felt like I experienced every kind of pain a person could endure.

The pain itself might have vanished like a mirage, but the shock still lingered like a stubborn stain.

My head was still spinning like crazy.

[Are you awake? If so, get up! How long do you plan to stay on your knees?!]

Get up, you say…?

…Ah. Right. I need to get up.

I gathered my exhausted mind and reined in the thoughts threatening to spiral out of control.

Nothing was over yet. The enemy was still standing right in front of me.

I forced strength into my trembling legs and lifted my body.

Clenching the hilt of my sword with a stiff grip, I staggered to my feet and raised the blade.

My heart pounded like it might burst. My lungs felt like they were about to seize.

I used sheer willpower to calm the churning in my gut.

I shattered the illusions of the underworld and the nightmares that tried to swallow me.

So… I’m about halfway there now.

“Sir Median, are you alright…?!”

Lacey, who had hurriedly risen, slammed her cross-shaped spear into the ground, unleashing a miracle.

A veil of holy light wrapped around me like a sun-dried blanket. Warmth seeped into my battered mind, clearing my consciousness.

“…Ah, yeah. Thanks. I almost got taken out there. I thought I could block it with anti-magic, but…”

“Be careful. Even the blessings of anti-magic have their limits. Elpinel, grant us life as warm as the spring sun.”

A pure white light coated Lacey and Ophelia’s bodies, healing their wounds before fading away in an instant.

The holy light, careful not to interfere with Ophelia’s magic, healed only the injuries and vanished without a trace.

It was a testament to Lacey’s precise control.

“Haah… Seriously, what a terrifying monster… To think we’re struggling against something like this, the late Emperor would’ve been impressive to witness.”

Ophelia, having regained her strength, glared at Isabella and straightened her posture.

“How…! Even if you’re a ‘variable,’ there’s no way you could break free from a perfectly cast nightmare…!”

Isabella, staggering, muttered incoherently as she propped herself up with insect-like legs.

The deep gash on the witch’s upper body was already healing.

This wasn’t the ‘Illusion of the Underworld.’

The wound was slowly closing. Inside the barely visible cut, countless centipedes squirmed.

Right. That’s the power of the ‘Writhing Nest.’

She’s just stitching the wound shut using the parasites inside her body.

Hersela did something similar when the Ghost Sword guy slashed her.

It’s not recovery or resurrection—just emergency surgery, forcibly sewing the wound shut.

It might stop the bleeding, but the fact that she was cut doesn’t change.

Ophelia, standing tall, pulled something from her waist and swallowed it.

It’s probably not a healing potion… I wonder what it is.

“Huuu… Yeah, this is it.”

Ophelia, tossing the empty vial into the sewer, muttered to herself as if impressed, her body trembling.

Her face flushed like she was drunk. The aura of magic she emitted grew even more violent.

“Now I feel alive…!”

Ophelia, baring her fangs, wrapped her left arm around herself and laughed.

Seeing this, Lacey furrowed her brow slightly.

“A mental stimulant… It’s a highly addictive substance, banned from sale.”

“If I make it myself, it’s not illegal, right? You need this much to withstand mind control.”

So, she’s using the effects of the drug to block mental magic.

What can I say? Her way of thinking is just different.

Anyway.

“Can both of you still fight? Honestly, I realized it’s tough to handle alone.”

“Of course.”

“A frontal assault was reckless, though.”

Lacey raised her cross-shaped spear, and a vortex of magic coiled around Ophelia’s arms.

Their unwavering hostility was directed at the witch with the twisted face.

“Haaa… Right. We can figure out the reasons later.”

A black sigh scattered like smoke.

Isabella, having fully reattached her body, emitted dark energy and spread a magic circle in the air.

Her attitude suggested that this level of injury was nothing.

But she couldn’t completely hide the fact that her presence had weakened somewhat.

The source of her power, her dark energy, had undoubtedly diminished.

Just looking at the number of spells she was casting—only about twenty, unlike before.

Right. Since she can’t fully revive anymore, her dark energy isn’t infinite like it used to be!

After the earlier magical bombardment and the manifestation of powers like the ‘Embracing Nightmare,’ it’s no wonder her strength is waning, even for a witch who’s lived over a century.

“I’ll take my time and ask your body directly!”

Isabella, spreading her arms wide, roared as twenty spells rained down.

“You already seem tired—do you really think you can pull this off?!”

Gripping Durandal tightly, I charged forward, whipping the tendrils of life force.

Black chains shattered against lightning, and holy feathers purified curses and toxins.

A multicolored firework of light exploded above, scattering with a deafening roar.

Life force, dark energy, holy light, and magic.

Four different types of power endlessly clashed and collided.

“Isabellaaaa!”

“Don’t call me so casually, you little brat—!”

Burning each other’s power like flames, the battle of attrition continued until one side faltered.

In the midst of chaos reminiscent of a battlefield, I could only stare at the witch’s mouth.

On guard against another psychic power she possessed, ‘Black Rest.’

It was best not to give her any chance to cast it, but if she did, I had to be the one to take the hit.

Considering the principle behind dispelling ‘The Clinging Nightmare’…

Black Rest might actually work in my favor.

And then.

Countless amounts of magical energy melted into the air, and countless insect arms piled up on the ground.

“Descend into death, dreaming of a languid nightmare as if embraced by shadows!”

“As Amplexa Umbra Somniat Tepidus Formidolos Somnium, Descenda in mortem!”

Finally, Isabella’s full-powered fourth ability reached out towards me.

Breaking through both Lacey’s blessings and my own anti-magic resistance.

【Black Rest】

The world sank into darkness.

=====[Underground Waterway]=====

Swords and spears sang endlessly.

A thrown dagger bounced off and embedded itself into the wall, shattered holy light glittering on the water’s surface.

The sound of collisions like a torrential downpour. A metallic orchestra reached its climax, sparks flying in all directions.

Flickering shadows danced like lovers at a ball, then scattered with a loud noise.

Fragments of the shattered wall sank into the underground water, creating ripples.

The three-on-one fierce battle was nearing its end.

Heading towards an outcome no one present desired.

“Not yet…! Do you think you can break the sword of the east with just this level of threat…!”

Nigel, who had been slammed to the ground, spat out blood and got up.

His left hand, missing the ring and little fingers, grabbed the dropped dagger again.

His coat was already torn and soaked with blood, the armor on top shattered into fragments.

But the fighting spirit in his chest still burned fiercely.

Do not fear. Fight without retreat.

Sacrifice your life for your lord.

Words he had sworn, abandoning his original name and revealing his true self.

The knight’s conviction guided his spear.

Towards an unbeatable enemy.

—-

“Ugh…!”

Bels, her face pale, staggered up, clutching her left shoulder.

Her left arm was completely gone below the shoulder.

‘Such a mistake…! Of all times, now when I’m separated from Elmain…’

The strike she had tried to block with her usual shield of devotion suddenly became several times stronger upon contact, leaving her unable to react.

Ernst’s full-powered slash didn’t just sever the arm; it shattered it into pieces.

Unbelievable power.

They didn’t know it, but that moment was when Isabella, having broken the underworld’s farewell, began to unleash her true power.

Naturally, Ernst’s body also absorbed the suddenly surging magical energy of its master, revealing its full strength without restraint.

“…Elpinel.”

Bels gritted her teeth and summoned holy light once more.

She was trying to recover with healing blessings, but for a holy knight, healing abilities were merely supplementary.

Compared to the miracles of healing performed by priests, it was feeble.

Recovering from such a severe injury that resulted in losing an arm entirely was difficult even for Lacey, let alone Bels.

Unless they had ample time, it was impossible to restore the arm during this battle.

With Bels, one of the main pillars of their strength, collapsing, Nigel was quickly pushed into a defensive position.

Even if Bels hadn’t been severely injured, he would have been on the defensive anyway.

Because Ernst after that was simply a monster.

Underneath his exposed skin, countless swarms of insects gathered and scattered incessantly.

Just facing his sword felt like being hit by a carriage.

Even a graze tore armor like paper, and dodged strikes shattered walls. Like Hasharl’s attacks.

It wasn’t just his strength that increased.

Even if you cut off the wildly swinging arms, dozens of centipede-like insects would jump out from the cross-section and reattach the severed limbs.

Penetrating wounds didn’t even count as injuries.

—-

“Ha…ha…brother…!”

Leonor gasped for breath, wrapping her torn sleeve around her forearm.

A wound from a broken blade passing by.

Compared to the other two, it was nothing, but that was only in terms of physical injuries.

In reality, her spirit was as tattered as walking barefoot on broken glass.