Chapter 36
For a moment, my vision went blurry.
I hastily changed direction and rushed towards Halsenberg.
“Not! Are, are you all right?”
“I’m fine… Just a little dizzy… Cough!”
Halsenberg waved his hand defensively but ended up coughing violently.
Thud. Blood was spilling out. His coughs were half air, half blood. At that moment, I realized.
“…It’s a failure.”
It was over. This was no longer a condition to keep fighting.
He had pushed himself to his limits.
“…Ah… That…!”
I couldn’t even ask if he was okay.
Halsenberg would definitely say he’s fine. No matter if his body is falling apart or splitting in two, he would insist on continuing the operation. That’s the kind of man he is.
In the end, I clenched my fists tightly and bit my lips in frustration.
“…I’m sorry. It’s because of my incompetence…”
Halsenberg gave me a look as if asking what I was talking about. He seemed to try to smile, but soon his face contorted in pain.
‘You bastard. What the hell…!’
Even illusions have their limits, and drinking the broth has its boundaries.
Was I really keeping up with Halsenberg? Bullshit. He’s only been dragging me along by the collar, protecting me all this way.
‘I’ve been led around like a baby carriage!!’
I was relying on him too much.
Because of that, Halsenberg had used up his strength prematurely.
I realized this, but by the time I did, it was already too late.
I should have guessed. Any technique powerful enough to break common sense would surely have a cost. How foolish of me.
I immediately supported Halsenberg and began to retrace our steps.
“Let’s go back! If we go now, we might still make it back alive…!”
“…No.”
Halsenberg shook his head. He slowly straightened his body and tried to grip his sword again.
The sword tip was trembling like a aspen leaf. You can only put up a front to a certain extent. I was about to tell him to have hope, stop being stubborn, and run away.
―Breathing… lumps of flesh… to have come here…
Until the zombies dressed in black bishop robes with skull-shaped staves appeared at the end of Halsenberg’s gaze.
“Death Bishops… This is problematic…”
Halsenberg groaned with a mix of frustration and resignation.
Death Bishops? Come to think of it, Halsenberg did mention this once before.
I hastily examined the foes. The description sounded similar. Immediately, I activated The Eye of Mimir to scan the status of the creatures.
[Monster Info]
[Name: Death Bishop]
[HP: 237/237 MP: 1379/1379]
[Strength: 8 Agility: 14 Intelligence: 213]
[Details: The cursed apostles resurrected from the defiled bishops of ancient Schultez Holy Empire. They freely use potent offensive dark magic and curses.]
‘Mages!’
They were advertising the fact that they’re mages from their appearance alone.
Nonetheless, our situation, as Halsenberg put it, was indeed troublesome. Five Death Bishops were blocking our path. Just looking at their stats confirms that I wouldn’t stand a chance against even one of them in my current state.
The Death Bishops raised their staffs and began muttering something I’ve never heard before. Shadows started swirling and gathering in front of their staves.
―El… Dya… Blo…
As the Death Bishops finished their incantations, the dark energy surged toward us like arrows. Coming from five different directions, I quickly dodged out of instinct when the dark orbs of energy came flying.
Sssss! My clothes seemed to have barely made contact with the orb, but it greedily consumed the fabric and started eating away at my flesh too.
“Ugh!”
I winced in pain as I felt the flesh being torn from my side.
Looking down, I saw a startlingly clean cut on my side with blood gushing out. It was as if a precision saw had cut through it exactly.
I immediately drank an Ether potion. Along with the cool sensation, the pain subsided and the wound began to heal quickly.
―El… Dya… Blo…
However, the Death Bishops hadn’t finished their incantations yet. I clicked my tongue and prepared to dodge once again, but their orbs were already right in front of my face.
I’m going to die.
Damn it, like this? So pointlessly?
And just when I haven’t even met the final boss yet!
“Dispel!”
The moment I closed my eyes tightly, a translucent barrier appeared in front of me, blocking the orbs.
Piing! The orbs shattered in the air with an ear-splitting sound. I quickly opened my eyes.
“Haaack!”
There was Halsenberg, barely standing with his sword as a walking stick.
“…Halsenberg.”
I instinctively understood that the barrier in front of me was created by Halsenberg and that he was exerting every last ounce of his energy.
Without realizing it, I shouted.
“Master Halsenberg! I’m fine! Truly, I’m fine, so please let down the barrier and run! Hurry!!”
“…”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he slowly approached me, and ‘thud’, handed me something.
I blankly looked at the object handed to me.
“This is…?”
“I mentioned it once before. That’s a rune.”
“Rune? This is it?”
Halsenberg handed over a small stone with unknown characters engraved on it.
As I stared at it, glowing with various colors, Halsenberg spoke with a fading voice.
The blood streaming from his mouth was unusually vivid.
“Manipulating space is the specialty of very few. I can only imitate it, you see. In fact, this was something I intended to use when all hope was lost.”
“No, what have you… Rather, run quickly…!”
“This is a rune storing a teleportation spell.”
“!!”
“Rescue the two ladies from Halsenbergburg. I trust you, Jung Yong.”
Halsenberg did not say another word after that.
He simply touched the rune I held in my hand once and turned his back without hesitation, confronting the Death Bishops.
“Uaaargh!”
In an instant, the rune emitted a blinding light, and the familiar dizziness set in. It was the same sensation as using the gate in the exam veil.
‘Teleportation… Teleport!!’
As my vision twisted and my body felt consumed by the magic circle, Halsenberg’s dash towards the Death Bishops happened nearly simultaneously.
“I’m sorry not to have felt regret. Thanks to you, I was able to dream about the future of Halsenbergburg for a moment.”
Halsenberg’s words, fading from view, echoed in my ears.
I became lightheaded, and Halsenberg’s figure completely disappeared.
