bookpower Chapter 426: Ice Like This (1)
Chapter 426: Ice Like This (1)
This wasn't like the Eye of the Glacier, where a passage was barely wide enough for four people.
This was practically an open field.
The area the frontliners had to defend had expanded, but the number of frontliners had decreased.
‘Me, Jun, and Goblin.’
We were the only pure tanks left.
And Jun couldn’t even fight properly because of his crippled leg.
Therefore...
‘Puta Rikerburn, Kaislan, Raviyen, Amelia.’
The melee damage dealers formed a scattered line, barely a wall.
But we couldn’t complain about it.
We had chosen the best possible option.
Now we just had to see the outcome.
Swaaaaaaaaaa!
A black fog spread across the battlefield, engulfing the area.
It was the black mage’s doing.
The fog had a debuff effect, but the real purpose was probably to obscure our vision.
‘Visibility is about one meter.’
My senses sharpen as my vision is limited.
And then...
[Grrrr!]
Undead monsters emerge from the darkness, their teeth bared, their claws outstretched.
They were summoned by the priest from Karui.
Their numbers were useless in the narrow passages of the Eye of the Glacier, but not here.
Crack!
I swing my hammer, pushing back the approaching monsters.
And then...
[Mister...!]
Erwen’s warning, coming from her spirit form, pierces through the chaos.
Swish!
A sharp blade slices through the darkness, aiming for my neck.
Clang!
My reaction is slower than usual due to the limited visibility, but I manage to block it with my shield.
But at that moment...
Whoosh!
A white light erupts from my chest, where my heart should be.
I’m momentarily confused, but I quickly realize what’s happening.
「Periton Eriabosti has cast [Unquenchable Light].」
It’s one of the priest’s buff skills.
In the game, it only increased your Mental Power, so it wasn’t very useful...
But...
‘She’s using it to improve visibility? Clever.’
I can’t help but chuckle.
Swaaaaaaaaaa!
The white light emanating from my chest pushes back the darkness.
My visibility increases to about three meters.
But the shadows remain.
I can barely see Sven Parab and Amelia on my flanks.
But...
Clang!
Even though their faces are hidden in the darkness, their hearts are glowing brightly.
Like fireflies dancing in the night.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!”
I parry the incoming blades, swing my hammer blindly, and keep track of the lights around me.
Swaaaaaaaaaa!
The lights flicker and dance erratically, a testament to the intensity of the battle.
They might be easy targets for the enemies hiding in the darkness...
But they’re also beacons of hope for us.
Proof that my comrades are still alive and fighting.
「Erwen Fornachi di Tersia has cast [Focused Fire].」
Arrows pierce through the darkness.
「Benjamin Orman has cast [Moon of Purification].」
Light particles rain down from the sky, healing our wounds.
But as time passes...
Stab!
My body is covered in wounds.
Six, the female leader of the Rose Knights, speaks.
“...You’re much weaker than before.”
Well, I can’t use [Iron Fortress] now.
Even with Elemental Barbarian (Earth) activated, my Aura Resistance is significantly lower.
And...
I don’t have the Strength bonus from [Gigantification].
I can’t use my only attack skill, [Swing], or my occasional crowd control skill, [Eye of the Storm].
But...
I’ve said this countless times.
“So what?”
I grin and say,
“Kill me if you think I’m weak.”
“.....”
“I won’t fall.”
Or rather, I’ve decided not to fall.
In a battle like this, the one who stands last is the victor.
“...Are you relying on your priest?”
Well, she’s not wrong.
I wouldn’t be able to endure this without the constant healing.
But...
‘Why is she smirking?’
She’s trying to provoke me.
She wants me to show an opening.
That’s why she’s talking so much. The icy woman wouldn’t be wasting her breath if she wasn’t trying to get a reaction out of me.
The problem is... it’s working.
Whoosh!
I swing my hammer again.
But the doubts and anxieties persist.
Where are the others? I expected more enemies to focus on me. I thought it would make things easier for my comrades.
"Aaaaargh!!"
I hear a scream, piercing through the cacophony of battle.
"Bjorn Yandel, you're the last one."
Whose scream was that?
"I learned my lesson back then. You don't fall easily."
An enemy? Or an ally?
I don't know.
But...
"So I hope you won't fall until then—"
I force myself to calm down.
I can't just rush over there and check.
"Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!"
I can only trust my comrades and do my job.
_______________________
The Archbishop who had taken him in as a child had said:
[You have no parents now. Your only parent is Tovera, the glorious sun.]
[Secular attachments are meaningless to the Agent of God. Abandon your human heart.]
[From now on, your name is Jun.]
Jun, the former inquisitor of the Tovera Church.
The day he abandoned his surname, Arsene.
From that day forward, he lived as a beast, an Agent of God.
[It's something you have to do. You're a man, aren't you?]
He suppressed his desires with prayers.
[Ah, it hurts...!]
[You still have a human heart.]
He endured torturous training every day.
[You can rise again. As long as the sun shines upon you.]
He wanted to break, but the warmth of the sun forced him to heal.
By the time he reached adulthood, he was no longer human.
He had no doubts.
He just followed the church's orders, serving God and the world.
But...
'Why...?'
There was no specific reason.
It was an ordinary day.@@@@
The sky was cloudy, but the sunlight was warm.
"It sounded fun."
It would have been.
Even if the royal family, Noark, and all those who abandoned us became our enemies.
Stab!
A dagger pierces his heart.
Jun Arsene realizes.
His flame has been extinguished.
"..."
"..."
Silence.
His vision fades to black.
The flickering lights in the distance become distant specks.
And then...
Swaaaaaaaaaaa!
Darkness recedes, and the world is engulfed in light.
A warm, comforting light, as if welcoming him home.
"Heh, heh..."
Jun Arsene smiles.
Even if this is just a hallucination.
Even if it's a false hope.
"Save me... from my wanderings..."
He prays.
Not for punishment, but for forgiveness.
"Embrace my weary soul..."
He has finally found peace.
_______________________
There's no strategy, no tactics.
Just a desperate struggle for survival.
Kaboom! Slash! Stab!
Explosions, the clash of weapons, battle cries, and screams fill the air.
The chaotic battle continues for minutes, and then...
Swaaaaaaaaaaa!
The black fog that had enveloped the area begins to dissipate.
The black mage couldn't have run out of mana already...
'Did someone kill him?'
Well, I'll find out soon enough.
The fog clears, and my vision returns.
The first thing I see is a woman with a frown.
And...
'When did he get there?'
Melend Kaislan, the knight, is fighting in the distance, surrounded by enemies.
A robed figure lies dead at his feet, his head severed.
'Good job, Kaislan.'
I look around.
There are no casualties among the frontliners.
But they're all injured.
Raviyen is the worst.
She had boasted about her punching skills, but she's been battered and bruised without her sword.
'Good, no one's dead yet.'
What about the backline?
That's where I heard the scream.
'I think I heard someone shout our ancestor god's name.'
I'm not sure.
The battle was too chaotic.
Tadat.
I seize the opportunity and check the backline while the woman is creating distance.
It's a massacre.
Three Rose Knights are standing in front of the backline.
"..."
And a body lies on the ground.
My heart skips a beat, but I quickly realize it's a Rose Knight.
And...
'Jun protected them.'
Jun is standing in front of the backline, his body a shield.
I remember our conversation before the battle.
[You want me to hide in the backline?]
He didn't like my suggestion.
But he reluctantly agreed after I told him that the real battle would be in the city, that I would need his help then.
But...
'He couldn't even walk properly, and he fought until he was in this state...'
I sigh, looking at his mangled body.
He's covered in blood, there's barely a spot on his body that's unscathed.
He must have made a decision.
That this wasn't the time to be cautious.
'The backline would have been wiped out without him.'
I feel a wave of relief mixed with guilt.
Thanks to Jun's sacrifice, the backline was able to kill one of the Rose Knights—
Thump!
But then I notice something strange.
"Why..."
Jun is standing upright.
Even though he's not holding his shield.
But...
"His light is out."
Unlike the other members, his heart isn't glowing.
My heart pounds, but my mind quickly reaches a conclusion.
He's dead.
"...!"
I'm not the only one who notices.
The Rose Knights realize it too and charge towards the backline.
But their daggers don't reach their targets.
Clang!
Amelia, who had been watching the rear, intercepts them with her clone.
But...
Stab!
She's stabbed in the back.
It snaps me out of my daze.
'...I was wrong.'
I had been focusing on defense, thinking that if I endured long enough, we would win.
My active skills were sealed, after all.
I thought it was best to play it safe and be a meat shield.
But...
[Mister...!!]
Was that really the best option?
Was that all I could do?
I had thought I was doing my best.
But now I know better.
The paladin, who couldn't even walk properly, had fought until his last breath, protecting his comrades.
And even in death, he stood firm, blocking the enemy's advance.
You can only say you did your best...
When you've done everything you could.
Clench.
I make my decision and give Erwen an order.
"Erwen, change your element."
Earth element, specialized in defense, will only increase our casualties.
So...
[What? To what?]
As soon as I tell her the element I want, a change occurs.
Swaaaaaaaaaa!
Not water, not fire, not earth, not wind.
But Erwen's main element, the one that earned her the title of Blood Spirit Marquis.
「Character's body is imbued with the Darkness Spirit.」
A dark aura envelops my body.
Elemental Barbarian (Darkness) Berserk Mode.
「All Resistance stats are fixed at 0.」
「Holy Resistance is fixed at -200.」
「Darkness Resistance is fixed at +800.」
「Abyssal Blessing bonus.」
「Character gains immunity to all status effects.」
「All attacks gain an unavoidable hit bonus...」