〈 Chapter 227 〉 The Final Battle (2)
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“Sky Cleaving!”
First, Sara’s overload strike split the front line, as expected, with tremendous power. But alas, it was blocked by an Apostle wielding a massive shield.
Seemed like a 2-star relic had its limits after all.
Of course, there was no need to pull out a 3-star relic just yet.
Shine.
Light erupted from the Royal Sword in Elsie’s hands as she swung it, sweeping forward.
As the Apostle’s stance was already broken, he couldn’t defend against it.
A massive beam of light slashed across the battlefield.
However, the sheer power wasn’t lethal against the Apostles.
But it successfully disrupted their formation.
“Keep charging!”
Now that their formation was broken, it was time for the real battle to begin.
The Demon Kings also began revealing their Demon King forms one by one.
“Charge!”
Those who charged were pierced by the Apostles’ attacks but quickly regenerated.
Then, with sharp claws, they ripped at the Apostles.
Indeed, they displayed overwhelming combat ability outside the barrier.
‘But I can’t just leave it to them.’
Essentially, one Demon King’s combat ability is higher than an Apostle’s.
However, leaving it solely to them would mean facing a significant disadvantage due to their numbers.
Furthermore, to prepare against the High Priest’s barrier, it was necessary to conserve the Demon Kings’ power as much as possible.
“Luel.”
That’s why I asked Luel.
“Is Miss Weiss not here yet?”
“Just a little longer. It’s almost…”
It was at that moment.
Swoosh.
A massive ice wing spread out.
It emerged from Weiss’s back.
Soon, she started creating icicles and shooting them in all directions.
Though it was a simple spell, the power was enormous, thanks to the strength of the ‘wings.’
Six months.
Although the time spent in trials took longer than expected, it turned out to be enough for Weiss to learn magic.
And because of that…
Weiss had effectively become a top-tier force.
After all, her combat ability had already been proven to be impressive even as Demon King Weiss.
Creeeek!
On the white snowfield of Ice Valley.
The ‘wings’ began to rampage as if to demonstrate her return.
But at that moment.
‘What the…’
I saw something flying towards Miss Weiss.
‘Thorn…!’
I drew Albert.
And… cut through the air.
No, I cut the thorn.
The distant thorn that was flying didn’t seem to anticipate my strike and shattered.
‘Wilhelm!’
I turned my head toward where he was standing.
He was still there, as if waiting for me to look.
Right, it was time.
He needed to be marked by me.
‘Wait there.’
I communicated to him with my gaze.
Then I informed Luel.
“Luel, I’ll be back shortly.”
Her Magic Shield wouldn’t work against his thorns.
So it was better for me to go alone.
“Understood.”
As soon as I confirmed her response, I blasted off the ground.
‘Wind’s Power.’
With the power of the wind beneath my feet, I dashed toward Wilhelm as if flying.
But a different Apostle blocked me.
As expected, being the archer position, it was natural for there to be a guard for him.
‘By the way, this guy…’
I already knew him well.
Spearman Duke.
The hero who was the companion of Schurz and Stella.
But now, he had completely lost his will and had become the High Priest’s puppet.
‘This is troublesome.’
It wasn’t troublesome because he was an enemy.
After all, he was already dead.
Forcing him to fight like this would only be a quicker salvation for him.
However…
‘A tricky opponent.’
He was likely someone who had reached the pinnacle of spear techniques.
No matter how much he lost his will, I couldn’t take him lightly.
Proving that, he lunged forward with his spear in a swift motion.
Clang!
I barely managed to block his spear with my sword.
But he withdrew the spear in an instant and followed up with another attack.
“Ugh…!”
The second troublesome point.
One of my weapons is my understanding of swords.
So if my opponent uses a different weapon, the matchup isn’t favorable.
As a result, I couldn’t seize the initiative in the fight against him.
I was managing to block using Libero’s swordsmanship, but his spear techniques were just as unpredictable.
‘At this rate…’
I had no way to block Wilhelm’s thorns.
If he fired them now, I would surely die.
But…
‘Why is that?’
Wilhelm wasn’t firing his thorns.
He simply stood there watching me.
‘What are you thinking?’
I had no idea what his intentions were.
But in my current situation, I was thankful for it.
While I was continuously being pushed back, I finally saw a gap.
‘Now!’
There was no time to hesitate.
A clear opening.
If I didn’t take this chance, I might not get another.
‘Blood Magic!’
I used Blood Magic to strengthen my right arm.
Then I thrust forward with my sword.
The strike empowered by Blood Magic was quite powerful.
It was enough to break through a mediocre defense.
Twist.
Finally, his posture broke.
Seeing that, I immediately readied my sword for the finishing blow.
But at that moment.
‘Huh?’
Though he was losing balance, he was still holding his spear upright.
He wasn’t grounded, so he shouldn’t have been able to apply any strength, yet he took such a stance…
‘Don’t tell me?’
It could only be a thrust.
His signature technique, also known as the spear’s pinnacle.
He was trying to thrust it into me from a distance.
‘Damn it.’
Even if I managed to dodge, it would still be a critical hit.
But of course…
“Immature.”
I had an ally.
Bang!
Suddenly, the Demon King Tel rushed in and struck away Duke’s thrust.
“Leave this to me.”
He said, skillfully parrying Duke’s follow-up attacks with quick spear movements.
“Understood.”
I immediately turned my gaze back to Wilhelm.
As expected, he was quickly preparing his thorns against his bow.
‘Right, you want to fight one-on-one, huh?’
I was willing to comply.
I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt because of him.
‘Wind’s Power.’
I started sprinting toward him again.
At the same time, thorns were flying toward me.
Swoosh.
I tried to slice them again from a distance, but it seemed he anticipated my move, dodging with a shift.
But it didn’t matter.
If I couldn’t intercept with one stroke, I could just swing my sword again and again.
Clang!
Gripping my sword tightly, I began to slash wildly into the air.
But the thorns deftly avoided my strikes and drew closer to me.
Just as a thorn was about to reach me.
‘Gwen.’
I activated that sword technique.
It was the same sword technique I had used during my duel with Karkel.
Shink.
The sword traces I left in the air glowed again.
And they surrounded the thorn, breaking it apart completely.
Finally, I could see Wilhelm showing signs of agitation.
Of course, only for a moment.
Soon, he regained his composure and began to smile as he loaded the thorn onto his bow.
‘Sure of himself, huh?’
He was now enjoying our duel.
“Finally lost your mind, huh?”
That gleam in his eyes sparkled with excitement.
His gaze was solely fixed on me.
“Wilhelm!”
His thorns began to shoot at me ceaselessly.
As I approached him, I swung my sword madly to intercept his thorns.
With every time I did, I felt his firing speed increase.
‘Just a little more…’
Not much time left.
If I got closer just a bit more, I could use Libero’s swordsmanship to bring him down.
But then, at that moment.
Thud.
Something pierced me from the side.
It was a thorn.
“Ugh…!”
It stabbed precisely into my right arm.
But it was somewhat fortunate.
Since it was my right arm, it meant I could still use Blood Magic.
‘But…’
I couldn’t endure like Luel.
The thorns operated according to Wilhelm’s will, injecting poison.
I had to catch Wilhelm before that happened.
‘Wind’s Power.’
I accelerated my speed even further.
And I gripped my sword with my left hand.
It would be difficult to deflect all the incoming thorns from now on.
But all I needed was a little time.
It was really close now.
Thud.
Thud, thud, thud.
Thorns began to embed themselves into me one by one.
But it was already too late.
Swoosh.
After I cut down Wilhelm, the thorns embedded in me activated.
“Gah!”
Wilhelm fell to the ground, blood gushing from the wound in his chest.
I was about to deal a fatal blow to him… but then I lowered my sword.
‘Wilhelm?’
The thorns that should have activated didn’t.
Yet, Wilhelm was not dead either.
‘Why not?’
Approaching the pitiful fellow who had given up even his last struggles, I asked,
“Are you begging for your life?”
But he shook his head.
“No, just kill me. My life was never important to begin with.”
“Then why did the thorns not activate?”
With a bitter look, he answered,
“Because I lost.”
There was no longer a trace of will in him.
Only a sad figure who had given up everything remained.
And so I was curious.
“What were you aiming for that made you like this?”
The Wilhelm I knew wasn’t like this.
He was simply someone who shot arrows quietly.
At least not someone who was so dry of emotion and blindly obsessed with winning.
“I…”
In response to my question, Wilhelm slowly murmured as he faded away.
“I envied you.”
“Envied me? For what?”
He had won against me in the Graduation Tournament.
Although there were limits to his growth, he was still stronger than me considering that.
So what could he possibly be envious about?
“…It was probably the expectations. Those expectations that were placed upon you. I never had that.”
That statement was quite unexpected.
But at the same time, I understood.
‘A guy who has never received expectations throughout his life.’
No matter how successful he became as an archer, he could never escape the shadow of his family.
The standards were set far too high.
From everyone around him, to his father, to the Divine Seat.
But…
“I thought you were a bit smarter than this.”
Disappointed slightly.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You didn’t lack strength but you never shot your bow. You should have tried shooting at least. Or pretended to shoot.”
At that, Wilhelm summoned his last strength and rose.
With veins bulging around his neck, he shouted,
“What suddenly is this nonsense! Didn’t you see me shoot hundreds, thousands of arrows?”
“Then was that bow meaningful?”
“Meaningful?”
Suddenly, his expression turned pale.
“Meaning was…”
Probably nonexistent.
It was simply about improving his archery skill.
There wasn’t any purpose behind it.
Of course…
“I think it did have meaning.”
At least the fact that the strongest archer, Wilhelm, was born was the first meaning.
However, aside from that, what mattered now was…
“Meaning can be created anytime.”
“Meaning can be made anytime?”
“Wilhelm, we have to stop the High Priest. If we don’t, the world will be destroyed.”
“What do you mean…”
He appeared momentarily flustered, but upon seeing my determined expression, he regained his composure.
“I understand. I’ll trust you for now.”
“Then you know what I expect, right?”
“You want me to use the thorns to kill the High Priest, right?”
“Exactly, you understand well.”
This was the reason I took the time to converse with him.
His thorns could be an effective way to kill the High Priest.
However, he shook his head.
“…I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do that.”
“Wilhelm?”
“I used up all my thorns. I’ve exhausted every last bit remaining within me. After all, I was ready to stake everything on this battle.”
Unfortunately, if that was the case, there was nothing that could be done.
I was not dependent solely on him either.
“I understand.”
I turned my gaze back to the front.
I needed to return to the battlefield as soon as possible.
Rustle.
At that moment, I heard a sound from behind.
Turning around, Wilhelm was pulling a bow from his inventory.
“That’s…”
The bow that had been passed down in his family.
He was attaching a plain arrow to it as he said,
“Let the High Priest die by your hand. I’ll create the path for you.”
He looked more serious than ever.
He looked as pale as if he could die at any moment anddrawing the bowstring with all his might.
And then…
The arrow was fired.
It was undoubtedly an ordinary arrow, but to anyone watching, it felt like a comet.
An arrow that carved a path through the enemy lines.
That single shot was beyond anything I had anticipated from Wilhelm.
“Wilhelm.”
I called out to him as he fell, having shot that arrow.
“That was above my expectations.”
He likely didn’t hear me, having lost consciousness as soon as he shot it.
But I pushed forward, running along the path he carved.
The High Priest was now just ahead.
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