Chapter 271 [Illustration]

The expression on the entity’s face twisted for a moment. The unsettling smile it had worn all along was now tinged with displeasure.

‘Did “it” recognize Tiamata?’

Kurung!

A mass surged forth from the wall of darkness blocking the entrance. Not blades, but a wave.

Only then did we realize that it had been toying with us so far.

At that moment, it became clear to me that the one who was going to die that day was Sabioleen Tana.

I let out an audible gasp.

A wave couldn’t be blocked with a sword.

Kukwakwang!

Sabioleen Tana didn’t use her sword. Instead, she unleashed a massive amount of mana from the protective barrier surrounding her body, neutralizing the encroaching darkness.

Kurung!

The impact was strong enough to crack the palace floor. I was astounded by what I had just witnessed.

She had swept away the wave of darkness with a burst of pure mana.

So that was what a Grandmaster-level monster with S+ rank mana was capable of. It was beyond superhuman.

It was hard to believe she could still wield such power while in such a terrible condition.

The darkness surged towards us from all directions. Though Charlotte was in front of us, I turned away because of the intense sense of unease that I felt coming from behind me.

The darkness lunged at me, and I maximized my physical enhancement.

I believed. There was no way I was on Sabioleen Tana’s level, but I believed I was.

No. It wasn’t even about belief. I had already succeeded once, so doing it again would be easier.

With an extreme sense of exhilaration coursing through my body, I raised Tiamata to intercept the incoming blade of darkness.

Kwaang!

“Ugh!”

There was no time to marvel at myself for blocking the blow without coughing up blood.

The force behind it was so immense that it almost tore Tiamata from my grip.

Bang! Kwabang! Bang!

Sabioleen Tana was descending the stairs, inching closer to Charlotte.

‘Is there any point to this fight? If she gets close, Charlotte will just melt into the darkness and disappear. Can she subdue Charlotte before that happens?’

Just because she had done it before was no guarantee that she would be able to do it this time. Charlotte’s attacks were focusing more on Sabioleen Tana than on me.

I just needed to stay alive.

As long as I didn’t hinder Tana, I was doing my job. The moment I made her worry about me, everything would be over.

Swish!

Clang!

“Ugh!”

Thankfully, Tiamata was effective against this darkness. An ordinary sword would have been cut through or brushed aside by the dark blades.

There was no swordsmanship to this. I had never learned to fight something like this. However, one didn’t always get to choose one's opponent.

Even if I didn’t know how to handle the situation, I had to manage somehow.

I focused on the attacks coming at me and did my best to counter them.

Kwarung! Kwarurung!

It was hard to believe this was a battle between humans.

Sabioleen Tana charged at Charlotte like a monster. When the wave of darkness surged forward, she repelled it with a burst of mana, and she scattered the blades coming at her with a single swing of her sword.

It was impossible to imagine what she was capable of in top condition.

In an instant, Sabioleen Tana rushed at Charlotte and tried to grab her.

Srrrk.

But the entity simply melted into the darkness and disappeared.

“Damn it...!”

It reappeared twenty steps to Tana’s right.

Spear-like shadows formed around it and shot forward.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Once again, Tana charged in.

And once again, just as she pierced through the storm of blades to try to subdue it, the entity vanished into the darkness just before she could reach it.

Sabioleen Tana was a spear that could pierce through anything, but the entity that was Charlotte would not allow itself to be hit.

She had to be faster. She had to grab “it” before it melted away.

However, there was no way for her to close the distance any faster. To do so, she would have to extend her sword, not her hand.

Inevitably, she would have to kill Charlotte.

As long as subduing Charlotte was the only option, Sabioleen Tana would only be worn down and killed by the entity that controlled the darkness.

I was already on the brink of my limits, just fending off the shadowy blades rushing at me.

I couldn’t help Sabioleen Tana, and even if I tried, I would only put her in more danger.

“Ugh!”

She wasn’t in the best state mentally, but that wasn’t the only problem.

I could see that her right shoulder was stained with blood.

When I thought about it, I realized she had been wielding Tempesta with her left hand all the while.

She hadn’t been using her right hand at all, but as the situation grew more dire, she had been forced to wield the sword with both hands.

‘Is she right-handed?’

If so, that meant she had been using her off-hand alone to wield the sword.

Of course, it was common to hold a sword in both hands, but if one arm was rendered unusable, that would result in a drop in combat effectiveness by half, if not more.

Sabioleen Tana, while using her injured right arm, had clearly reopened a wound that hadn’t been properly treated.

She gritted her teeth. Her eyes were bloodshot.

“Keke... Hehe... Hehe...”

Charlotte was laughing.

She was enjoying the sight of Tana at her limit.

Three more times, Tana, with her injured right arm, managed to get close to Charlotte.

Each time, after enduring such agony, she reached out with her hand instead of her sword.

She could have killed Charlotte three times, but each time, she tried to subdue her instead.

Kwaang!

“Ugh!”

As a result, her right arm was completely ruined, and she was struck by a blade of darkness and thrown against a wall.

Kwung!

A spiderweb of cracks radiated out from the point of impact. It sounded as if she had collided with a rock.

“Ugh... Argh!”

Thud!

Sabioleen Tana coughed up blood and crumpled to the floor.

‘Is she dead?’

I couldn’t tell.

Even if she wasn’t, she would lose her life soon if this continued.

Swish!

The dark creature launched a final dark spear at Sabioleen Tana.

I had to stop it. No, I would stop it.

Clang!

My body, responding to my desperate will, momentarily surpassed its limits and deflected the dark spear that was hurtling toward Sabioleen Tana.

I stood in front of her fallen form.

“It” looked at me with that eerie smile, as if amused by my defiance.

I couldn’t tell if “it” understood words or not.

Was it a being created solely from malice?

“It” had no intention other than to kill, and did not seem to possess the capacity for conversation or communication.

Sabioleen Tana had lost consciousness.

Charlotte had said that when her powers went berserk, she lost her memories.

There was no reason to hesitate anymore.

I had anticipated this possible turn of events. There was only one being capable of pushing the world’s strongest human, despite being in an awful condition, to this extent.

The previous Demon King, Baalier...

I activated the Ring of Sarkegar, returning to my true form.

In Baalier’s form, I stared at the creature. “As the rightful heir of the Demon Realm and the legitimate ruler of the Dark Land, I ask you. Who are you?”

Unfortunately, I did not receive the response I’d hoped for.

“Hehehehehehe...”

The entity merely let out a low, deep laugh, just as it had from the beginning.

‘Is it not the Demon King?’

Or perhaps, it was merely a remnant, a fragment of the Demon King’s madness. I gripped Tiamata tightly, staring at what was ultimately just a shard of the Demon King’s insanity.

I hadn’t expected much, but even my ability to control demons didn’t work. Whether it was because the level of my ability was too low or because it was a fragment of an Archdemon and therefore immune to such influence, I couldn’t tell.

The result was the same. Whether I revealed myself as Baalier or not, there was no way to avoid this fight.

I returned to Reinhart’s form as I didn’t want to fight in Baalier’s form.

I continued to look at the entity, gripping Tiamata firmly. “If you’re not the Demon King and you don’t recognize your king, that’s your sin. And if you

are

the Demon King, then not recognizing your own child is also a sin.”

“Heh, heh. Hehe. Keke. Ke.”

The entity, increasingly consumed by madness, prepare to launch another wave of darkness.

“But what pisses me off the most is that you’re wreaking havoc inside Charlotte’s body.”

Woooong...

Tiamata hummed.

It was a bizarre sensation, as if the sword itself was crying out.

“So, whatever you are, if you’ve pissed me off, you deserve a beating.”

A barrage of dark spears rushed towards me.

Tiamata was in an unusual state, but I felt as if I was still more than able to fight.

I extended Tiamata towards the incoming dark spears.

Flash!

A burst of light emanated from Tiamata, filling the Spring Palace in an instant.

Divine Magic, “Sanctuary”...

“Kyaaaaah!”

I succeeded in manifesting the Divine Magic that Olivia Lanche had embedded within it.

***

I had been working on this for some time now.

I shared ownership of Tiamata with Olivia Lanche, and so I had a conversation with her about it. About Tiamata.

“You know, Tiamata...” I said.

“Yeah, yeah. What about it?” Olivia responded.

“Honestly, it’s useless, isn’t it?”

Olivia stared at me. “It’s a Holy Relic... Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

“Come on. It’s not like it’s a god itself, just something made by a god. And I didn’t say the Holy Relic was useless.”

“Then what’s useless?”

“Both Tiamata and I, the one using Tiamata, are useless. It’s like we’re not compatible.”

Olivia understood what I meant.

“Hmm... That’s true. Among the Holy Relics, Tiamata and Alixion have always been wielded by priests. Reinhart, you’re the first to become Ouen’s champion without being a priest of Ouen, right?”

“Exactly. I can’t use Divine Power, but this thing is an amplified or Divine Power. What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Well, the sword itself is pretty sharp, isn’t it? Although, there’s a saying that if you harm an innocent life with Tiamata, you’ll face Ouen’s judgment.”

“That’s just superstition.”

Considering that it had been transformed into a dark relic before, all this talk about innocent blood was pointless.

“Well, I know that too... But calling the official doctrine of the Church of Ouen a superstition... Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

“If it isn’t true, then it’s superstition. What else would it be? You know that much by now, right?”

“You’re really ruthless, Reinhart...”

Anyway, that was the basic problem.

Tiamata was a very powerful Holy Relic, but it was fundamentally designed to be wielded by priests or holy knights. In my hands, it was nothing but a very sharp sword.

It wasn’t like Ellen’s Lament or Alsbringer, which were useful even without access to Divine Power.

Olivia stared at me blankly, as if asking what I wanted to do about it.

“So, you and I co-own this thing, right?” she asked. “Heh, it feels like we’re co-owning a property... I like that...”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Why are you bringing that up now?”

“No, it’s not as if we co-own a property. Since it’s soul-bound to both of us, you and I are technically soulmates, right? Which means W-We’ve... already... gone all the way...”

“Ugh, please, control yourself!”

“You’re always so angry! I hate you! Even though you always treat me poorly, I always come whenever you call. Don’t you find that charming?”

“Shut up and listen to me,” I responded.

“Fine. What is it?”

What I wanted from Olivia Lanche, who seemed to be developing more and more personality, was this.

“Tiamata is essentially a Divine Power amplifier, right? And it contains immense Divine Power, whether in the form of Ouen or Kier, right? Can’t I somehow tap into that power?”

“Hmm?” Olivia tilted her head in curiosity. “So, you’re asking if you can utilize the Divine Power embedded in the sword itself?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a creative idea. But wouldn’t you need to join the Church of Ouen first? The people would be thrilled. ‘The Champion has revealed himself!’ they’d cry.”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

I couldn’t use Divine Power, but the relic I possessed was designed to amplify the power of those who could. In my hands, Tiamata was just a very sharp sword, especially effective against the undead.

But in the hands of a holy knight, it would turn an already formidable warrior into a human killing machine.

I wanted to harness Tiamata’s power more effectively, and I needed Olivia Lanche’s help.

“Could you imbue Tiamata with power, so that I can activate and use it when needed?”

“Hmm... Such a concept isn’t entirely unheard of. There are magical tools and artifacts imbued with Divine Magic that non-believers can use.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure if it would work with a Holy Relic. And those are usually small-scale magics, not large-scale or powerful Divine Magic.”

“But our situation is unique. We have one item owned by two people, so there are essentially two soul-bonds.”

As much as I hated to admit it, Olivia Lanche and I weren’t soul-bound, but we were connected through the same item.

I wanted to know if it was possible for me to wield the influence Olivia had imbued in Tiamata.

“Hmm. I don’t know. We’d have to try. But why do you want to do this?”

“Knowing how to make better use of a Holy Relic can’t be a bad thing, right? You never know when something might happen.”

“Hmm... You’re planning some trouble again, aren’t you?”

“No! Who said that?”

“Yes, you are. Even if you don’t have any plans now, you’ll definitely use it for something bad later.”

She was right. I did have an ulterior motive.

But I never thought I’d have to use it in such a manner. I merely thought that having access to powerful Divine Magic would be useful if I ran into trouble with the Vampire Council.

I was concocting a plan to intimidate vampires, and so I couldn’t even tell Olivia my true intentions.

With that in mind, I had been training with Olivia Lanche. She would imprint Divine Magic on Tiamata, and I would see if I could draw on it.

Naturally, it hadn’t been going well. It was impossible unless I acquired a new talent for Divine Power, but Divine Power, built on faith and prayer, was fundamentally incompatible with me. I was satisfied with believing in myself, but this required believing in something else.

However, as I faced down the dark entity, rage boiling within me, I had a strange certainty that it would work.

Tiamata was crying out. The sensation, as if the sword itself had awakened, gave me confidence.

I could do it.

“Kyaaaah! Kyah!”

Kurururung!

The dark wave surged towards me, but I stood firm, holding Tiamata tightly. The sword, resonating with newfound power, seemed to glow with an inner light.

“You’re going to regret ever messing with Charlotte,” I muttered, feeling the Divine Power coursing through the blade.

The dark spears clashed against the light emanating from Tiamata, and for a moment, it seemed as though the entire palace was bathed in a radiant glow. The darkness recoiled, unable to withstand the Divine Power.

I had succeeded in manifesting the Divine Magic, Sanctuary, through Tiamata.

The entity, now visibly agitated, let out a guttural scream, its form flickering as if struggling to maintain itself against the overwhelming light.

This was my chance. I had to press the advantage and end this once and for all.

Sanctuary’s light clashed against the darkness spewed forth by the remnants of the Demon King as I tightened my grip on Tiamata.

The Holy Sword Tiamata was responding to my will, emitting Divine Power.

Glowing white words appeared along Tiamata’s milky-white blade.

[Purify the world with rage.]

Seeing those words, it suddenly dawned on me.

‘Rage... Tiamata responds to rage.’

My anger at this wretched remnant trying to consume Charlotte’s soul was drawing out Tiamata’s power.

Kurung! Kurung! Kurung!

It writhed in agony, spreading its hands towards me, trying to push me back.

“Ugh...!”

Kuwung!

The intangible force of light clashed against the intangible force of darkness.

It felt like a physical struggle, as if we were pushing against each other, wrestling to achieve the upper hand.

It pushed against me, and I was forced to take a step back, forced back by the recoil.

Kurururung!

Light clashed against darkness with a chorus of thunder, repelling each other each time they met.

Tiamata was the ultimate weapon against the undead, but the light emanating from Tiamata was also a definitive countermeasure against this entity that moved through and attacked using darkness.

The light clashed against the incoming waves of darkness and scattered in all directions, effectively immobilizing the entity. I had to push it back and overwhelm it.

I had to surround it with light and subdue it. I hadn’t intended to use this power, but it seemed I had no choice.

Drawing on the light from the sword, I tried to force myself forward towards the dark entity that was desperately trying to push me back.

With every step I took, it retreated a step.

I had to corner it against the wall, bind it with light, and knock it out.

Kurung! Kurung! Kwarung!

The fierce flickering created by the constant clash of light and darkness looked like flames, or perhaps lightning.

The darkness retreated as I advanced.

The being could swallow the light from magical lamps, but it couldn’t consume this light that had its source in Divine Power.

Kwarururung!

“Give me back Charlotte!” I yelled through the roar of noise around me.

“

Kyaaaaaah

!”

With every step I took, the entity screamed in agony.

It was clearly suffering, either because of the Divine Power or because of the intensity of the light.

“Kyaaaah! Kyak!”

It let out inhuman shrieks, trying to engulf the domain of light around me with darkness.

Kukung! Kukukukung!

Tiamata further amplified Olivia Lanche’s power.

Not only was it protecting me from the dark attacks of this unknown entity, but it was also steadily driving away the darkness that had enveloped the area.

I had to keep pressing forward, had to keep pushing it back. The light from Tiamata was my only hope of saving Charlotte and subduing this malevolent force. With every ounce of strength and rage I could muster, I advanced, determined to end this once and for all.

The light flickered constantly. The light of Sanctuary emitted from the sword intertwined with the serpentine darkness, burning it away while being diminished in return.

The blaze of black and white flames was truly a bizarre sight.

It was a chaotic, unbelievable scene, two beasts of light and darkness entangled with each other.

“Ugh!”

But the darkness wasn’t so easily driven away.

Both light and darkness had form and matter, and the darkness was pushing me, the wielder of light, backwards.

It almost felt like Tiamata was facing some strange, immense force of magnetic repulsion.

“Kyaaaaaa!”

The being screamed, trying to push me back with all its might, stretching out its hands towards me, while I pushed forward with all my strength.

But I was running out of strength.

Kurururururung!

There was still a long way to go.

Kuwung!

And its strength was greater than mine.

I was being pushed back. Instead of advancing, I had to focus all my energy on not retreating.

“Damn it... I don’t want to end up in crutches again...!”

I tightened my grip on Tiamata and poured all my remaining strength into it.

I had already reached my limit, but I had to squeeze out more.

I was surely on the verge of coughing up blood.

I had to reach it, and bring Charlotte back.

‘I will do it. I will use Mana Reinforcement!’

I had to harness both maximum physical enhancement and Mana Reinforcement in order to push back the darkness.

‘I have to move forward!’

Kurung!

A rush of intense exhilaration shot through me. It felt like every cell in my body was awakening from the extremities.

Woooong!

The blessing embedded in Tiamata by Olivia Lanche strengthened my body, while it continued to emit the light of Sanctuary.

Crack. Crackle!

It felt as if every fiber of muscle was enhanced beyond its limits. Every bit of my body was crying out.

I believed... That I would take a step forward.

Kung!

Even though it was just one step, a thunderous noise reverberated around the palace.

Even though Olivia Lanche’s Divine Power was strengthening my body to prevent it from collapsing, I could feel my muscle fibers breaking down and regenerating in real-time, and my mana circuits burned with intensity.

I had over thirty steps to take.

It wasn’t difficult, I just had to walk forward. That was all.

With each step, the palace seemed to shake, and the battle between light and darkness grew more intense. The Divine Power coursing through my veins, amplified by Tiamata, gave me the strength to push forward despite the overwhelming power of the darkness.

“Give Charlotte back!” I shouted, my voice echoing through the palace.

“Kyaaaaaa!” it screamed in agony, clearly affected by the Divine Power.

I took another step, and then another, each one a monumental effort. The light from Tiamata burned brighter, pushing back the darkness inch by inch. The entity’s screams grew louder, more desperate, as it struggled against the Divine Power.

I had to keep going. I had to reach it. For Charlotte.

With every ounce of strength and rage I could muster, I advanced, determined to end this once and for all.

There was nothing simpler than this.

Each step was just a little bit harder.

Kung!

‘Twenty-nine steps left!’

Kururururu!

In this fierce battle between light and darkness, the strength that truly came from me was minimal.

Aside from Mana Reinforcement and my supernatural power, all other power was borrowed.

No, even those weren’t truly mine. They were borrowed as well.

There was only one thing I could do.

Endure the pain, even though it felt like my body was being ripped apart, and take a single step forward.

‘Overcome the pain. Stay conscious. Take one step. Keep taking those steps.’

That was all.

‘I have borrowed everything. Nothing is truly mine. All of these are borrowed assets.’

Wielding this unfair power, fueled by borrowed strength, the least I could do was be relentless.

“Ugh...! Ughhh!”

“Heh, hehehe! Eek! Eeeeek!”

The dark entity screamed, but whether in madness or fear, I couldn’t tell.

I kept believing that I wouldn’t fall. That I would be able to take just one more step.

If I could turn this one step into twenty-eight steps, I would survive the night.

Even though I didn’t know what would happen later on, I could still save Charlotte.

If the next day brought danger, then I would save her then as well. And the day after, and the day after that.

All I had to do was to keep surviving each day. That would be enough.

I wanted to give to Charlotte, the child whose life I’d once saved, something beyond mere survival... Something more.

‘I will let her live a real life.’

Beyond the boundary of deception, beyond the boundary of belief.

‘I will sweep away the darkness that has fallen where spring should be, and restore what rightfully belongs here.

‘I will bring back the one who loves flowers.

‘Just as I once saved you, I will this time too. And the next time, and the time after that... Continuously.’

“Ugh, ah. Ahh!” I screamed.

Thud!

One step.

Thud!

Two steps.

Thud!!!

Crack!

“Kyaak! Kyak! Kkyaak!”

Taking three steps in one go, I ignored the pain of my bones breaking and knitting themselves back together.

The power of Self-Deception... If I believed I felt pain, I would feel it all of it. But if I believed I didn’t feel anything, I would feel nothing.

I aimed to surpass even that power.

Blood ran down my eyes and blurred my vision. Yet, I did not close my eyes.

Thud!

I pushed forward through my blood-red vision, taking one more step towards the thing whose expression was slowly turning to horror. Towards the remnant of the Demon King, but also towards Charlotte, who was that “thing.”

I walked.

Thud!

Kururururung!

With each step I took, the entity slowly came within my grasp.

“Kyaaaaaa!”

Its jet-black hair fluttered wildly in the light, and its slitted red pupils were filled with shock and fear.

“It” was right in front of me, and “it” couldn’t escape. Just as “it” was struggling to endure, so was I.

I reached out and grabbed it by the neck, feeling as though my entire body was being ripped apart by fierce winds.

My fingernails broke and my knuckles twisted as I wrapped my right hand around Charlotte’s neck.

Kurururur!

“Ugh...! Ugh...!”

Self-Deception was a power that only affected me.

If I believed in something, it only happened to me.

However, I had to surpass that.

It wasn’t enough that it only affected me. I had to make it affect others as well.

“Dis... Disappear...!”

“Heeek! Hek! Eeeeek! Eeeeeek!”

To make my power affect others, I didn’t need to believe.

I needed to declare it.

It wasn’t a power that manifested because I believed something. It was a power that manifested through a statement of will.

I wanted it to happen. And because I wanted it, I was sure to have it.

“Disappear from Charlotte’s body!” I declared.

[The rank of ‘Self-Deception’ has increased.]

[‘Self-Deception’ has reached A-rank.]

[A derivative ability has emerged.]

[‘Incantation’ has been awakened]

Flash!

My words had moved the world.

***

The world was in darkness. It was a rainy night.

Kurururung...

Charlotte realized she was being held by someone.

“Ugh. Huh...? Who, who...?”

“... You’re awake.”

Though she couldn’t see clearly, Charlotte recognized Reinhart’s voice.

“Rein...hart? Reinhart?”

“... Yes.”

She could hear the strain in his voice. The situation was dire.

Why hadn’t he left? Why wasn’t she in her bedroom but here, in the palace’s grand hall?

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Charlotte saw the fallen chandelier. The palace was in shambles, as if a giant beast had rampaged through it.

And clearest of all, Reinhart’s face, battered and bruised, as though it was a miracle he was still alive.

Despite the severity of his injuries—it was surprising that he was even conscious—Reinhart had laid her head on his lap like a pillow.

She couldn’t understand the situation.

She didn’t know why he hadn’t left.

Slowly, Charlotte began to piece together what could have happened.

“Did I... hurt you...?”

Once again, she had lost control, and possessed by that strange power, she had hurt Reinhart.

No one else could have done this.

Despair and guilt welled up within her, and she was about to burst into tears.

Srrk...

“No, you didn’t.”

Reinhart, his hand trembling and so injured that his bones were visible, carefully brushed her hair aside.

Reinhart looked down at her as he stroked her head. “You didn’t hurt me... I saved you...”

Charlotte couldn’t understand what he meant.

“Just, remember it that way...” he said.

Though it was clear she had hurt him, Reinhart seemed to be emphasizing something more important.

“What happened, Reinhart? What happened...? What really happened?”

She wanted an explanation, but Reinhart was in no condition to give one.

“Sorry... about the flower.”

Reinhart’s reply was completely unexpected.

As if that somehow mattered.

Despite being so badly injured, instead of demanding gratitude for saving her, he had suddenly apologized.

“When I received it... in that position, with that kind of meaning behind it... it felt like it would be the last gift I’d ever get from you... and I didn’t want that...”

Please think of me.

A flower, with that meaning behind it.

Reinhart had known what it signified.

He knew that that flower, given so casually, had been a farewell gift.

“So... I threw it away...”

Reinhart had discarded the flower, rejecting the farewell that Charlotte had subtly offered him.

With those words, Reinhart lost consciousness.